No New Contract For Vera Pauw

Montage of Feck

I liked Vera, came across as a stern no nonsense type obviously not compatible with the fai culture of ineptitude.

TokTik

Her contract is up so free to get rid of. Kenny has a break clause in his, so if we lose to France and Holland next week, he’ll be gone too hopefully.

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045465#Comment_121045465

Her contract is up so free to get rid of. Kenny has a break clause in his, so if we lose to France and Holland next week, he’ll be gone too hopefully.

Northernlily

Egos on the women's team pushed her out. Very disappointing.

By getting us to world cup is progress. She had earned herself another contract.

They seemed United at qualification but think there has been infighting/personal relationships broken up on the team that has created a toxic atmosphere.

Jack Daw

Huge pressure on the players now going forward.Sacking the only manager to get the womens team to a major tournament the only manager who managed to get the team into the public conciseness is a very odd decision in my opinion.She's by far the best manager the team have ever had.

Strikes me she's been unfairly scapegoated because of the report from the US which to sensible people is essentially a non incident. If a coach of a professional team cannot ask players to improve conditioning without the players complaining and saying it damages their mental health then maybe said players should have chosen a career outside playing professional sport.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045432#Comment_121045432

I've seen plenty of articles. Still not as many newspaper inches when compared to the mens team!

Maybe you (or @DownByTheGarden) can be a bit more specific about the "drama" referred to in this post which (to me) does appear to be sexist crap (so prove me wrong)...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045385#Comment_121045385

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045621#Comment_121045621

I think it is probably one of the first times a manager has been sacked who is regarded far higher by the actual match going fans over the players.

The FAI with the finger on the pulse again.

Meanwhile the absolute slow motion train crash in the men's setup draws to a torturous inevitable conclusion.

Kenny gets a new 5 year deal.

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045468#Comment_121045468

The girl was encouraged by Pauw to keep losing weight, even when she had none on her up to the point that she had to quit football as she was so frail.

Did you miss the part in bold?? If you think that’s “professionalism” I hope you never coach ever. Don’t even download Football Manager.

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045491#Comment_121045491

This is in no way the same as getting a players body fat down.

“Vera would just tell (the player) constantly she was too big, too slow. I saw the shift of her going to the gym after training every single day,” said one former player in the article.

“Throughout the year… she was losing so much weight,” said another player.

“And Vera would praise her… ‘you look so good, you look so fit’. But it was getting to a point where it was not healthy.

"She ended up having to quit soccer because she couldn’t play anymore and Vera would not listen.”

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045743#Comment_121045743

She lead that team to their highest finish in their history.

Pauw says this is not correct and she only noticed the player’s weight loss during the last two weeks of the season. “I had asked (the) medical (department), ‘Is she doing OK?’. ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s under control’, that was the remark I got.

“She made the full season. It was not that she was dropping out earlier… it was the last two weeks.

“I did my job to get players fit. I give feedback to a player who’s getting fitter and it’s turned into that I am telling her it’s OK that she lost weight.

“If I would have been a male it would not have happened at all. Look at Pep Guardiola and what he said about (Kalvin) Phillips. I would never ever even in my dreams have taken that into my mouth.”

The joint investigation also reported that, at the end of the 2018 season, “a player had raised concerns to Pauw that Pauw’s mistreatment had caused a team-mate’s eating disorder”.

Pauw denied having any role in the player’s eating disorder and told the investigation that the reporting player should have “tak(en) responsibility as an adult” for her team-mate.

Pauw told The Athletic the player said in her exit interview that her team-mate’s disordered eating had been going on for five months.

“I asked her, ‘Why did you not say anything to the medical staff or to me or to anyone you trust outside the club to get help for her?,” said Pauw. “’You are an adult. Why did you not take responsibility when you saw her throw her food away?’ Can I not say this?”

For context this all happened at the height of the MeToo movement where everyone was a Witch.

DownByTheGarden

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045640#Comment_121045640

Well if you dont want to know what drama is surrounding womens football im afraid you cant be helped. Nodody is going to be able to explain it to you if you cant see it yourself. Its not exactly like it has to be searched for. The only reason you wouldnt be able to see it is you dont want to see it.

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045806#Comment_121045806

That’s ok then. Fcuk the girl who had her health and career destroyed, the club did well. There’s a reason Pauw is banned from coaching in the US.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045823#Comment_121045823

Are you referring to the drama whereby the women are being groped, etc?

Are you referring to the drama where the women are being treated completely differently to their male equivalents by members of their sporting bodies?

Or are you referring to some other drama?

Like I said, you're making sexist claims and seem reluctant to back down!

Furze99

She lost the dressing room, plain & simple.

There must be reasons for that and presumably they'll come out in due course.

griffin100

An ex female player pointed out this morning on the radio that in qualifying for the World Cup we got a very easy group and that Pauw never got a victory against a team that was ranked higher than Ireland. Her best result was a draw with a higher ranked team (Sweden). From what I can see players have never been open in their support for her, and that say's a lot. I'm sure it'll all come out when the players' books for the Christmas market come out.

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045658#Comment_121045658

I think there is a break clause in Kenny's contract so he might not be around much longer.

https://www.sportsjoe.ie/football/stephen-kenny-september-qualifiers-289653

It's a shame about Pauw but felt like it was becoming more and more likely, as usual though lack of forward planning in FAI I seriously doubt anyone else lined up to replace her.

iffandonlyif

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121046117#Comment_121046117

I’m sure what’s easy about a group with the home team and the then fifth-ranked team in the world.

DownByTheGarden

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045830#Comment_121045830

What are you referring to?

MisterAnarchy

I suppose the Fai have Stephanie Kenny lined up for the job now, jobs for the boys, er girls.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045456#Comment_121045456

Fair point.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045829#Comment_121045829

Women are as entitled to equal status as men are, if male footballers at elite clubs in top leagues are dropped/moved on/criticised for being overweight/performing below the required level by their clubs/managers, why the hell shouldn’t that apply in the women’s game?

Pep had no problem burying a £45m player over his weight and fitness, where is your outrage? Is Pep being sanctioned by the FA for stating the obvious?

https://theathletic.com/4030933/2022/12/23/kalvin-phillips-overweight-england/?amp=1

TokTik

You missed the team we were 18 positions higher then, who we couldn’t beat.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121046208#Comment_121046208

iffandonlyif

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121046494#Comment_121046494

What a stupid argument. The easiness of a group is not determined by the weakest team. But, anyway, Nigeria showed they are significantly under-ranked, holding one of the eventual finalists to a draw.

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121046577#Comment_121046577

Were we under-ranked in 2002? When we drew with one of the finalists, and were the only team other than winners to score in open play against them?

griffin100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121046208#Comment_121046208

The reference was to the qualification group for the world cup, not the group we had in the world cup

Dav010

Jesus wept. Ireland qualify for the women’s World Cup for the first time in their history, and some think that the manager under performed, lost the dressing room, made mistakes by not pandering to a player who thinks she should manage as well as play, then gets jettisoned. We have been here before, no one comes out smelling of roses, and twenty years later the team has never reached the same level. Any manager who now takes that job will think that if she/he doesn’t do what the players want, they will be fired. Great way to run a national team.

Akabusi

I think the FAI have made a mistake here, the message it sends is that future managers must tiptoe around the players in case they might upset them. There is a lot to criticise Pauw about but her record deserved another contract. Look at what Spain achieved when they stood by their manager (Ignore the other mad stuff) and their supposed best players walked away. The manager is the most important member of the squad, if there is a one or more players unhappy with them they can walk away.

jacool

Since the Athletic produced their well-researched article, the writing has been on the wall.

The fact that they published this in July didn't help anybody, and it took the attention in the press conferences at the time.

It wasn't Katie McCabe alone calling for changes to the team either, the pundits and the fans could see the risk averse approach that was not working. Anyone laying the blame at the players feet is deluded. e.g. It was the manager alone who decided that Barrett should only get a 20 minute cameo in one game, even though she was one of our main goal threats.

Let's see where Vera goes next and how that works out.

Good luck to Eileen Gleeson for the next 2 matches as well.

Liam O

I found it strange that she left Megan Campbell out because she was coming back from an injury but would have likely been fit to play by the time of the tournament and then played some players who are nowhere near the standard required who had contributed nothing in the qualifiers other than getting an Irish passport afterwards.

Australia nursed Sam Kerr though and we were told that Ireland would be the fittest team at the tournament which clearly wasn't the case. Campbell's throws would have been very useful and there was a dearth of players at WSL level, especially one who could play at LB and give Katie more attacking freedom.

I don't think the players come out of it great too but Vera seemed to lose the run of herself with forgetting who got them there and dropping players for the new ones they brought in post qualification.

Mr Q

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045138#Comment_121045138

If we win the rugby world cup you can say Ireland are the best rugby team in the world.

World rankings don't matter. Belgium were number 1 in football recently, winning tournaments make you the best, not rankings.