Republic of Ireland Team 2023/24 [old thread]

So it’s an arbitrary opinion of mine that Neil Lennon wouldn't have being a popular choice around February this year to be Irish manager?…it’s hard to debate with points so disconnected from reality so I’ll refrain from replying to anything you post in future.

A lot of those you mentioned would be outside of the €700 k a year salary range. Of those you mentioned I’d go with Moyes but they would need to find some billionaire tax exile to supplement the salary.

There should be a very high bar, and I would prefer no manager to someone with those accusations, you can brush it off all you want, but that says a lot about you, as it does those clubs. We all have differen't values, and I do want our manager to not be that kind of person. Of course he's going to deny it, and of course no charges were brought, it's almost impossible to get convictions for something even more serious let alone just being threatened.

You’re claiming that it would have been an unpopular decision which is your opinion. That opinion is merely your opinion and not at all based on reality, it’s just your opinion. You appear to be confused.

This is amazing. You’re calling into question my values and the values of the 4 senior football clubs mentioned because they didn’t rule out a manager being allowed to continue in his job and to be considered for jobs based on nothing more than a tabloid newspaper story?

More so the fact that you brushed it off as nothing more than a tabloid story. Have you looked at who Hibs just hired, they have no values.

The cheque would bounce

I have no time for Lennon, though he'd be more qualified than Josh.

That said, it is harsh that rumours about him were (allegedly) enough to keep the FAI away from him when proof against Duffy doesn't stop him getting selected. Its a bizarre moral compass.

Was it confirmed that Lennon didn't get the job because of these rumours or is it just copium for people thinking he was unfairly overlooked?

I have no idea. Maybe he just wanted the story to go away and bringing it to court wasn’t worth it. It hasn’t prevented him from getting several senior club jobs in different countries since then.

You're literally brushing it off now, repeatedly. This is a stupid waste of time talking in circles. I've said what I think and I mean it.

Malkay MacKay

You think minimizing it as a "tabloid story" isn't brushing it off. That was the point.

It's cool, we can let it go. I stand by thinking he should have never been considered.

You know, I was never really on the Manning hype train, and found some of the desperate calls for his inclusion online a bit OTT at times but it seems strange how successive managers don't really seem to rate him. Russell Martin was very keen to bring him along to Southampton, he's doing ok if unspectacular, not a huge success, but he was still getting decent game time for the best team he's even been at. I think he lacks a bit of Dynamism to play LWB at a really high level but to not even be a squad option is odd, when we probably have a few weaker footballers still in and around the place. I love Robbie Brady for what he's done in the past for Ireland, but I think his body has failed him over the last few years and he just won't ever be the player he was, and while I think McClean always got a bit of a raw deal from fans he also shouldn't be coming back at this stage.

I'd rather pick between Doherty, O' Dowda, Manning and Scales tbh, even if we went to a more conventional back 4. I'm not sure O' Dowda is ever going to work out as a full back either, and I respect his willingness to show up and play wherever he's asked, but he's another one you'd have had high hopes for that it's just not really gone anywhere. I really think between Left Back and CM, until we sort it we're an a hiding to nothing. Hoping that Scales is still finding his feet and will improve, while Doherty is a mystery, career has stagnated so badly, excellent footballer, can play anywhere along the back, he could be great but is he ever fully match fit? He has been such a let down, really desperately need players to sort their club situations out and be playing, which feels like a tale as old as time, but now that we have less stars to drag us along to greater heights I think it's more important than ever.

I think we're all fairly on board with O' Shea not getting the job now, but I really wish he used the 4 games to give more opportunities to younger players again. It's an incredibly tough job to walk in to now for whoever comes next with the fixtures the way they are.

It's hard to make any assesment of strikers or our attacking midfielders given how far back we can be pushed into our own half. They're not getting any oppurtunity to show what they can do.

It was quite telling for me watching Ferguson burst himself trying to influence the games he started in with Ireland when at the same time he was running riot in the PL. Given the service and/or a sniff of something in and around the penalty box, he was fantastic for Brighton. But if Ireland don't have that possesion and position, he's ineffective. That's not his/Idah's/Parrot's fault.