NEXT IRELAND MANAGER

We are as unfashionable as it comes, yet when you look back over his career it's the unfashionable sides he's done rather well with. 

His attention to detail is second to none in regard to team discipline, structure, players knowing their roles, set pieces both defending/attacking etc.

I'd much rather we went for a young continental coach (I've been saying it for years) but we could do a hell of a lot worse than have Big Sam over us if we went down the experience manager route. 

 

We could absolutely do a hell of a lot worse than Allardyce...our current guys for example. I just question whether he would actually give a crap about the job or not. It might just be another manager getting a big payday...like our current one and our last one.

 

I think we need a manager who cares. That's what N Ireland did, Wales did, England did and Scotland* did and it worked for them.

 

*For Scotland I am referring to the year or 2 when Strachan had them playing decent football and they were looking promising...I realise it went tits up since

 

Anyway...wasn't "Big Sam" a LOI manager in another lifetime?

Going to be Duff lads but not until 2026

 

Well Stephen Kenny is only just turned 47 (thank you google) has a proven track record of getting the best out of average players and making them possibly overachieve. He plays good football that is both pleasant to watch and effective...sounds like exactly what you want for an international manager

That's exactly it. If we want things to continue as they are, and play a slightly better brand of non-football, by all means go for Sam. It would probably work to an extent in that we'd pull off a few results here & there amongst the dross. That would still be an improvement on what we have at the moment, which is 100% pure, undiluted absolute dross. 

If we are serious about changing, or maybe catching up on a decade's worth of where football has evolved to since about 3 managers ago, we do need an entire new philosophy, and whatever about the merits of Stephen Kenny, that won't be found with Mick, Lenny, Moysie, Pardew, Bruce and all the usual suspects on the merry go round. Would agree with TJ & DI from earlier, but half the battle in getting the right manager is setting out what we (ie the FAI) want from him in the first place. That's where I think it will fall at the very first hurdle. 

These are lads who in the past, switched a vote for next Ireland manager from Bob Paisley to Jack Charlton, 2 fellas who would have ever so slightly differing views on how football should be played, so anything much could happen. We would be unlikely to ever get a 'name' as big as Trap to manage us ever again, but even that had a limited timeframe, it was a short term answer after the Stan disaster, but not any kind of long term fix, no more than MON is. MON did the short term fix very well, as did Trap and all credit to both, but as usual, our leaders couldn't see the writing on the wall when it went wrong shortly after for either manager. 

The 'next manager' tends to be framed as a critical appointment each time, but we have rarely been appointing one from such a low base, and it looks like it will be even lower by the time these 2 are finished with us or the FAI begin to see what most fans saw a year ago. 

Contracts will have been signed I imagine

You sign contracts with an org not a person in this case.  Think about it logically for a few minutes. 

By the way how is it random or are you just doing what an awful lot of younger people do nowadays and use that word inappropriately a bit like Jamie redknapp and literally. 

Only a name change wouldn't effect the contracts in theory