Priority: Results or Style?

Up to the age of 15/16 it should be about developing their technical skills and the kids having fun.  Coaches who keep it tight at the back and hope nick a goal by one of the “flair” players is a total nonsense and is the reason why Ireland and the States have a huge lack of players with world class technique.  

There isn’t a choice between the two. The whole idea of ‘not pretty but it gets results’ belongs in the 1990s, and the last dinosaur British style managers who did it have all gone out of the game. Mick’s last campaign, Gibraltar were the only team we got maximum points off, very narrowly. By the end of MO’Ns time in charge and in Mick’s, we were absolutely played off the park by Georgia. Trying to play like a 1970s English First Division side will get us battered. 

It’s as outdated as thinking we have a right to be competitive in every game against teams like France, full of players who have won everything in the game, or that we’re still better than historically smaller nations, who actually nurture their domestic leagues and now play better football than us, because we have players who play in the sacred Premier League rather than Club Brugge or Trabzonspor etc.

To win games, you have to play well, have a plan and execute it effectively. It’s not ‘style’, it’s just being a good footballing team. There is no shortcut by playing kick and rush football anymore, and there’s no shortcut outsourcing our player development to England. 

We need to stop looking at the senior team in terms of ways we can sneak our way into every tournament hiding our shortcomings, and realise that the senior team, its style and its results are the end product of everything, player development, underage setups, domestic league production and good governance from the association. That’s our only way to consistently get results, which need a good style to come at all.

Trap junior wrote: Them foreigners don't like it when you get in amongst them.  We tried football.  It didn't work.  We need to go back to our roots.  Pure thuggery.  Boot them off the park.

Badgersboys9 wrote: You Tell Me wrote: It ultimately all comes down to money. Four year extended sponsorship from Vodafone for the Irish rugby team today. Winning teams get the sponsors, losing teams don't.  Results are what matters. If "style" comes with that then great. But it's all about results because it's all about money.  Jesus YTM, you're relentless sometimes. The topic has been addressed by the FAI, move on. Are you just chosing to ignore this or haven't seen what they said? They want to bring on multiple secondary sponsors such as the Circle K and Aviva deals and seemly have another few lined up. These would bring in a lot more revvenue than the  previous 3 deal and would be significantly more than any deal from 1 main sponsor on the market. What's the issue with that? Do you just want a sponsor on your jersey? The debt has also reduced aprrox.60 milion to 43 million.