Cult of Stephen Kenny

tastyt

Also some would have you believe that Kenny is the only manager on earth that will have us trying to play football . Get someone else who likes to pass the ball but will also inspire the team and be a bit more flexible . The choice isn’t Kenny or Allardyce like some would have you believe . Plenty of up and coming coaches would fancy an international gig for half a million

Where do you think Kenny would find a job in football if he was sacked tomorrow ? Honestly

erlichbachman

I wouldnt even let him put up the corner flags

Pussyhands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169534#Comment_119169534

Credit for the job he's done? At best he's met the minimum expectations. At worst, he's a monumental failure.

We've beaten Azerbaijan once and Luxembourg once. That's it.

When Mick left we were 42nd in the rankings. 2 years later and we're 47th.

O'Neill got us as high as 23 in the rankings and when he left we were 33 and that was with a bunch of "old" and "past it" players like Whelan, Daryl Murphy, Harry Arter, Stephen Ward, Randolph etc.

Pussyhands

Another thing is this. Kenny is constantly going on about how he'll build a good squad, how he is looking to win the Nations League group.

When these things don't happen, who is to blame? Kenny himself is looking to win it, so when he doesn't, surely that's failure?

Bobblehats

Remember the day man named Ireland; no less declared he had zero interest in representing his namesake?

Ominous. Your international football is now a shop window arguably more so than even the club game ever was. Certainly more fickle that’s what nationality has been reduced to; follow the money in this climate don’t see feeder Island’s fortune’s picking up any time soon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169776#Comment_119169776

you dont think we would win "any" of these games under any manager?

thats......insane

PokeHerKing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169883#Comment_119169883

Throw out a few names that could replace him for 500k a year?

Hes also a passionate Irish man, so at the very least I know he cares.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169797#Comment_119169797

I couldn't give a toss about Kenny, **** him out for all I care.

In fact, I hope you do sack him, it'll be a good laugh seeing these people move on to calling the next guy rubbish as well.

Gusser09

What about him losing to Luxembourg and Armenia and drawing with the power houses of Azerbaijan and Qatar.

I think we need a manager and setup that are going to beat teams like that an ensure that we are in groups until the last few games. We have always been the type of team that needed a big home or away result against the better teams to get to a playoff. If you're losing to the above teams you have no hope of staying in a group.

He's there until 2024 anyway so let's hope he doesn't do harm and actually manages to progress the things a little. It's hard to see though if he can't conjure up a game plan to beat those types. He has a good enough squad to be beating Armenia for goods sake.

As I've said if he doesn't get at least 4 points from his next two games then it'll be the start of the end and it's a long stretch to 2024. At least though the LOI / Kenny supporters won't be able to complain. He will have had more than long enough.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169312#Comment_119169312

Shifty two tournos brings us up to the 2026 WC, three brings us to the ‘28 European championships, by which time he would be in the job 8 yrs without qualification. It is inconceivable that he would be given that amount of time without qualifying for a tournament, Ireland could be playing like 1970 Brazil, but if they can’t win matches then it will be utter failure. At some stage the bluffing has to stop and the results are required.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169672#Comment_119169672

It’s a long time long term to be failing, I posted his stats… they won’t improve over another campaign…. The team are not performing, the results are not forthcoming and the team isn’t qualifying. When the manager is questioned he sounds like a 15 year old having been caught going through his mothers purse… excuse after excuse with little regard for why he’s there and the expectations of him and his players…other times it’s like he’s watching a different game.. excuse after excuse.

Again…

Matches : 23

Won : 5

Draw : 9

Lost : 9

A win rate of 21.74%

his drop points rate is 78,26 %

so I don’t think as borne out above, the problem is with any Olè Olè brigade… the problem is Kenny and his players being categorically and consistently unable to meet the base expectations placed on them….

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169883#Comment_119169883

The only place Kenny will find himself is back in the LOI.

with plenty to cheer his failure but the LOI supporters see him just being there as an ego victory .. to hell with his record, his abject failure… one of theirs got the number one gig. Recognition, progress…….but……failure !

problem with the LOI die hards is setting low standards and failing to achieve them is classed as success in their worlds… it’s weird

erlichbachman

Absolute delusion, the standard of loi football is just above Sunday league.

we were challenging for euro and World Cup qualifications, losing some playoffs yea, but it was rare we were uncompetitive.

now the team is a laughing stock, kenny is a bluffer, he is right about one thing though, we will win a nations league, unfortunately though it’s when we get relegated to the bottom and stuck with San Marino and Faroe Islands

PokeHerKing

Watching the English German game here. The Germans really do play the best type of football imo. Aggressive, penetrative passing to match their dynamic athleticism.

They lose the ball but its always with a 50/50 ball in that final 3rd. I think SK wants to play a more Spanish style but I think we'd have more success with a German style.

Obviously we dont have the player quality of either countries but I think Germanys style would suit us more.

Apologies, Dav, you're correct.

That was my stance when he was appointed, so you can include Qatar in that list. There's no way he'll make it past 2024 if we don't qualify, though, never mind 2028

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119171183#Comment_119171183

Revisionist nonsense.

We've qualified for 2 tournaments in two decades and we were whipped like a redheaded stepchild in one of those.

People who are claiming we should be doing this and that and beating x, y and z have over-inflated opinions of where we are in the grand scheme of things. We have a total of 4 wins in finals tournaments. Four, in our entire history. That's our level.

Even in our 'golden generation' we qualified for two world cups and that was it. We've only been able to replicate that recently when they expanded the number of teams who qualify.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119171124#Comment_119171124

As above, 4 wins in finals tournaments before Kenny came on the scene. No ability to do the basics. Playing late 1980s style hoof ball. Panicking when in possession. Not knowing what to do when we go in front, ffs, we were defined by our ability to mess up a one goal lead for a while there.

That's why we're a laughing stock, not because of a freak result against Armenia. And that's changing, undeniably so.

Do you still think two years is a 'long time' in international football?

Traps record was 40%, O'Neill slightly worse at about 35% (from memory). Even the mighty Jack (RIP) couldn't break 50%. And they were all over much longer periods of time.

If his record is as bad by the end of his tenure, I'll be the first to admit he was a failure. I think it's too early to call it that yet, especially given the fact that he inherited a bunch of lads who wouldn't have made the subs bench in the 90s and is trying something radical.

Donald Trump

How come the whole covid situation didn't help?

Was it not the case that a lot of prisoners were let out early from their sentences when it came in?

That should have increased, maybe doubled, the number of potentially available soccerball players for the local teams

Fandymo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119171396#Comment_119171396

That’s right up there with the Fr Ted school of “Is there anything to be said for another mass??” He’ll have had almost 30 games by the time this international window closes.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119170400#Comment_119170400

I don't see the point in it meself. It's as if, by moaning about a manager, they are implying that there would be a great team there if there was another manager.

How many of those current players are regular players with top clubs? I wouldn't claim to know anything, but I get the impression that very few, if any. I never bothered much with the soccerball but the impression that I have from years ago was that there would always have been a core of players who were regulars, if not fairly top men, in their clubs, where those clubs were competitive. There would be a few permanent players on the teams contesting the top of the English League.

Is it not more the case that most of the current players took up the soccerball because they were never able to get a run out at corner back on the local junior B team back in the day?

fryup

Its Stephen Kenny's face isn't it? he's got such unassuming nice guy face with a simple grin - that you just can't hate the guy

i reckon the FAI had him hauled into the office to sack him on several occasions, but when they looked at his 'nice guy' face they just couldn't go through with it😙

erlichbachman

Wot are you on about, nobody is asking to play in every euros or World Cup, only that we are competitive, well we were in the past, and now we aren’t, kenny has dragged us to a place in world football where we should never be, he’s a bluffer, bog standard loi manager who was appointed by Delaney in a last ditch effort to save his job, get rid of him.

DJB030244

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119171356#Comment_119171356

Golden generation - what years do you mean there? jacks period 86-95?

Pussyhands

If you're only defence of Kenny is that there's no one better available then it's a non argument. If he's the wrong man then it doesn't matter who's available.

Any appointment could turn out better. Jim Crawford is doing a good job with the under 21s. Alan Pardew is available. Ralf Rangnick was available! Daniel Farke was available. Roy Hodgson was available.

noodler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119171735#Comment_119171735

It's been the strongest defence of him to-date.

We were competitive under previous managers. We are not under Kenny.

CorkRed93

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119171735#Comment_119171735

crawford has less managerial experience than kenny who youve called an amateur. why the hell would farke take the job? hes just taken on a great number in bundesliga. ragnick will be getting a fortune to manage his home country. pardew is a melt.

CorkRed93

is there anything to be said for alan curbishley?

Pussyhands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119171780#Comment_119171780

I never said I want Crawford as manager. Kenny is a low level so if he's the wrong man, then anyone with any bit of credentials with the possibility of being the right man deserves it over Kenny when Kenny has proven he's not up to the task.

Gusser09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119171396#Comment_119171396

A freak result against Armenia? What about Luxembourg, azerbaijan and Qatar?

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119171735#Comment_119171735

Let’s be fair, Hodgson is too old, as already posted, Farke has taken a job at a big club in the Bundesliga and wants to rebuild his reputation, Pardew is a nut job and Rangnick was not available, he jumped from the clusterfuck that is Utd straight to Austria. I’m afraid I have no idea who Jim Crawford is, so hardly an upgrade on the incumbent.