THE LIFE OF a footballer is generally perceived as glamorous, yet for the vast majority in this profession, glory is in short supply.
Only the Irish Sea separates the Premier League and the League of Ireland geographically, but in most other respects, the two are worlds apart.
While an average Premier League player is a millionaire, the typical League of Ireland footballer is constantly fearing for his future, unsure where the next step may lie.
While Dundalk have managed to buck this depressing trend with their astonishing and highly lucrative (by Irish teams’ standards at least) European exploits, they are a welcome anomaly to the generally less encouraging developments of late.
In recent years, the league has unfortunately been dominated by bad news stories centred on clubs struggling to stay afloat and player wages stagnating at best.
And since Cork’s surprise FAI Cup final triumph, earlier this month, for everyone bar Stephen Kenny’s Europa League challengers, the off-season has well and truly set in.
It is a period that many players dread. The financial limitations of Irish clubs means most players are restricted to 44-week salaries and one-year contracts. Once the season ends, the uncertainty sets in. What is supposed to be a period of rest and relaxation is actually the most stressful part of the year for some. As The42‘s resident League of Ireland columnist John O’Sullivan once put it: “The off-season doesn’t exist, not for you. The only thing that turns off is income.”
Players contemplate the pros and cons of going on the dole versus getting a part-time job as they wait patiently for contract offers.
So the League of Ireland is a surreal environment in many ways. Players, if they impress on a consistent enough basis, can be called up to Ireland squads, and yet still play in front of half-empty stadiums more often than not.
It is a league whereby, virtually every young player — if they’re honest — hopes to escape and seal a move abroad to England or another far more exotic location.
And one individual who did manage seal a move abroad and earn a full-time contract was James Chambers. The Dubliner spent over a decade plying his trade in the League of Ireland with a number of clubs, including Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic.
In his last year with Pat’s in 2015, Chambers claimed the club’s Player of the Season award and also made the PFAI Team of the Year. In January 2016, however, Bethlehem Steel — a Pennsylvania-based side in the United Soccer League, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid — came calling.
And while it has taken Chambers some time to grow accustomed to his new surroundings, he is enjoying life in the States so far. Moreover, the midfielder finished the US season particularly strongly, scoring some eye-catching goals in the process.
With the North American campaign having ended, Chambers has returned to his native Dublin and is already back in the gym with his personal trainer, as he prepares for next season, having taken just two weeks for “complete rest”.
“It went okay,” he tells The42, when asked about his debut season in the US. “I still think I’ve more to offer. I’m getting used to the style of the game and stuff like that.
“With the couple of goals towards the end of the season, people started to take a bit more notice (of me).
In the US, it’s different, people are more concerned with your stats, with your assists and with your goals than they are maybe with your performance. So, as a player, you’ve got to be tuned into that side of things as well — that’s what they like over there.”
Bethlehem Steel FC / Twitter
Bethlehem Steel FC / Twitter / Twitter
Although he is happy with life at present, at 29, Chambers is already contemplating career options after football. Coaching and media work are two potential paths, and he is about to start his youth cert, while the ex-Hamilton Academical player has already acquired plenty of experience coaching various age groups for Malahide and his local team, Baldoyle.
I don’t think everybody who plays the game can be a coach,” he says. “I might fall into the bracket that I know a certain amount, but after that, my mind might go blank and I might not really take to it that much. It’s definitely something that I want to dip my toe into and figure out for myself.
“It’s different when you help with the younger age groups, you get more satisfaction out of it because you see a bit more of them taking on board what you’re saying as opposed to the senior players.
You’re just there to facilitate the senior players really. You may give them some ideas, but as regards them getting much better under your tutelage, (the chances are) very slim, especially at the amateur level, because the guys are just doing it for fun. It’s a couple of days a week to stay active, and there’s a fun element.
“It’s different with the kids, they want to get better. Obviously, it’s fun too, but they’re looking to progress and they’re only young kids, so they all want to be professional footballers.”
Furthermore, as someone who spent several years playing in the League of Ireland, Chambers is more than a little familiar with the difficulties of keeping busy during the off-season.
Some footballers would put money aside to sign on for welfare and live off their savings,” he explains. “Others would do the same, but work. Some guys would probably do neither and just live off the welfare essentially.
“That’s the world we live in and for players coming into the league or being in the league, you know what it’s all about. You have no choice but to deal with it. It’s not ideal and it’s not right — if you’re trying to run a professional league, there needs to be a professional environment.
For me, the last three or four years on the trot, I’ve worked in Brown Thomas. Last year, I worked in a company out in Park West. I knew a person out there.
“Basically, I’ve worked during the off-season, because it’s not ideal sitting around the house. You miss the game, but you don’t want to be sitting around, moping, either.
As much as football is your main source of income, you need to stay busy, otherwise you’d go crazy.”
https://vine.co/v/5nqFeOvqxv6
The issue of footballers needing to be deeply committed to their primary profession for the other nine months of the year complicates the matter further. Not too many companies are willing to take on staff for just three months each year.
Of course, that’s the difficulty,” Chambers says. “The only thing I found was helpful to me in retail, the company were only looking for someone for the Christmas period. It suited me down to the ground. That’s why I continued to go back because we both had an understanding that it was going to suit us both.
“(Finding that job) was pot luck, to be honest. Then last year, the company I was with knew that I was going to be going off to America, so they were completely fine with it.”
One of the benefits of playing in the US is that Chambers now gets the rare luxury of a 52-week salary, although it wasn’t a “major factor” in his decision to move abroad.
It was something that interested me to go and to try America. When the opportunity arose, I was going to take it anyway. But the fact that the contracts are actual contracts, that was another bonus. It wasn’t anything major, but it was a small factor, it was nice.
“My sole focus is getting fit and being ready to go for pre-season in January, as opposed to thinking: ‘Where are my next few pounds going to come from? Where is my next move from here?’”
And while player salaries and uncertain futures are among the most serious issues in football currently, perhaps unsurprisingly, Chambers says these topics are seldom discussed in the ultra-macho environment of the dressing room.
“It wouldn’t be a major part (of discussion) because players live in the now and the present. It’s a cliché, but really, all they care about is the upcoming game and training and enjoying yourself. That’s what it’s about.
Nobody’s going to start talking about the future, because truthfully, it scares a lot of footballers. And there’s a male bravado environment in the dressing room, so nobody wants to be the one that seems like they’re the weak link and like they’re a little bit petrified of what’s around the corner.”
Such uncertainty and doubt is not healthy for players in the long term and often seemingly leads to worrying consequences. In 2014, a study conducted by the players’ international union, Fifpro, assessing six leagues including the League of Ireland, found that 26% of current players suffered from depression or anxiety, while this number rose to 39% among retired players.
Chambers, who has spoken openly about his problems with depression in the past, feels too many players are ill prepared for life outside of football.
I’m of the older generation,” he says. “All we did was play football, there was no thought of what we were going to do after football. Whereas now, it’s becoming a younger man’s league, especially the League of Ireland — that’s my opinion from the outside.
“Players now need to start thinking about (the future) early doors. ‘I need to go to college, to get an education and you can still play part-time on the side. But when I have that piece of paper in my pocket, then I can start to pursue a full-time career. If it doesn’t work out, I can always fall back on it.’
Some players think: ‘I’m going to be a professional earning 200 or 300 a week,’ when they’re 18 or 19. But unless you’re one of the few that continues to go up the ladder, the likes of (Dundalk star) Daryl Horgan and people like that, you’ll need to look at life outside of football, and that comes a lot quicker than is (often) anticipated by the player himself.”
Chambers will return for another season in America shortly and one person who would ideally like to follow suit is Ryan Coulter.
Coulter, whose father Phil is the indeed the famous Irish musician, spent the end of last season with Longford Town, having left a financially stricken Athlone side earlier in the campaign.
In 2009, he was part of Dundalk’s A side and was their second-choice first-team goalkeeper for a brief period.
However, Coulter left the Lilywhites for the University of San Diego, gaining a degree in communications and marketing in the process, while playing football on the side in America.
After completing his degree, Coulter returned to Ireland and had a stint at Sligo Rovers in 2014. He had hoped to return to the US prior to the start of last season, but had to undergo an operation to get a lump removed from his back. By the time he recovered, the slots for international players joining American sides had “dried up,” so he opted for another season in the domestic league.
I came back and signed with Athlone with Alan Matthews and played five games there and then there was a mass exodus out of Athlone. Fortunately enough, I had a number of calls from different managers around the Premier Division. I took Longford up as the option. There were other options, but to me, it seemed like a good move and I knew I’d be busy if I got into the team — although there were no guarantees.
“Fortunately, I got straight into the team and went on to play half the season. I know the team got relegated, but from a personal standpoint, to get in and play 15 games or whatever it was, I was happy from that point of view.”
Following Longford’s relegation, Coulter became one of the many out-of-contract League of Ireland players looking for a new club.
While he has received no “concrete” offers yet, a return to the US is the 27-year-old’s preferred destination.
I’ve been in university over there for five years. I did very well while I was over there. I have an American girlfriend. And with the toing and froing and the lack of stability in the league here, it makes it quite difficult to settle down (in Ireland).
“My head would almost be set on trying to get away to America. I’d be open to a couple of different options here, but first and foremost, I’d be looking to America to get settled.”
Irish and British players are often criticised for their ostensible reluctance to play football in countries further afield. However, there are signs that the situation is changing of late. Robbie Keane, Kevin Doyle and Sean St Ledger may be the most high-profile examples, both some notable ex-League of Ireland players including Eamon Zayed, Colin Falvey and Richie Ryan have also enjoyed encouraging spells Stateside in recent times.
Nevertheless, Coulter still feels not nearly enough Irish footballers are aware of the benefits of playing abroad in places other than England.
Unfortunately, so many people in this country have the blinkers on and they don’t really see the bigger picture,” he says. “It’s England or it’s back to the League of Ireland, where it’s ‘oh, I’ve failed and I’ll just have to play in the League of Ireland,’ which isn’t the case.
“You’d look at kids here, and I’d have been the same at youth level, you’re thinking: ‘I’ve got to get over to England.’
There’s more to football than just England. People think ‘I’ll go over and sign for a Championship team and be on several grand a week, happy days, I’ll be living the high life. But a lot of these kids go over and it doesn’t happen for them.
“Even the fallout with a lot of Irish kids, they don’t even come back to play in the League of Ireland, they fall completely out of the game. I’d be urging players to stay here to get a bit of experience and maturity before they go away to see what professional football is all about, because it is tough and it is ruthless.”
Moreover, the uncertainty and the unsatisfactory wages are big reasons why Coulter would prefer a move abroad rather than another campaign in the League of Ireland.
How someone can be considered a full-time pro on a 44-week contract is beyond me,” he says. “It’s a shame because there are a lot of great pros in the league and to subject them to 44-week contracts is embarrassing really.
“The players put so much work in and to have it ‘rewarded’ with these short-term contracts is just not right.”
Like Chambers, Coulter, who is also preparing for his youth coaching cert as well as undertaking an online personal trainer course, emphasises the importance of staying occupied during the dreaded off-season.
“Once the season finishes, it really does dry up and you find that you’ve so much free time on your hands,” he says.
On a Tuesday night if you’ve got training, you’re thinking about training all day. You’re leaving the house at four o’clock to get there for half five or six to get through the traffic. An hour-and-a-half training session still takes about four hours out of your day depending on how far away you live from training.
“But once it all finishes, you have got a lot of time on your hands. I even found the same being full-time in Sligo. If you don’t stimulate your mind, you can just waste your day doing nothing.
You have to work (in the off-season) as well. I know a lot of lads that would have kids and wives and whatever else. A lot of them sign on (to the dole) because it just guarantees that they’re able to put a roof over their heads. With the 44-week contracts, sometimes, the players are left with no alternatives.
“Once the season finishes, if they’re going around trying to hand out CVs for jobs, that might take two-to-four weeks to get done. Then you’re looking at only getting work for only two-and-a-half months anyway. So if people know that you’re a footballer, they’re not going to want to employ you in a job you’re going to want to stay in.
You might get temporary work in a sports shop. But if you want to get work for experience after football, it’s going to be extremely different. If you’re an architect or an engineer or any business and you’re looking to get a bit of experience, businesses are going to be reluctant to take you in, because they know you’ll just be walking out the door in two months.”
Coulter is at his most passionate when the aforementioned 2014 study is mentioned. He says he is not surprised by the 26% figure in relation to footballers’ problems with depression.
When you look at the league historically, or even this past season, you have teams struggling to pay wages. You have teams talking about pay cuts and possibly going under. From having been in that situation, where the team is talking about pay cuts and saying ‘you have to take a deduction,’ we might have to let players go or we might have to do this.
“When you sign a contract with a club, you’re signing, you’ve agreed on the money. We’re not talking about 10 grand a week where you think ‘look, I’m going to be grand, I don’t have to worry about my money situation’. The League of Ireland is set up in a way where you really have to go in and fight for every euro that you’re going to get, because teams are trying to pinch it as much as they can.
When you allocate what you’re earning from the club into paying your electricity, your gas and everything else, and to be able to put money aside when the season finishes, now all of a sudden when you have people talking about pay cuts and everything else, you’re thinking ‘where’s this money going to come from for all this?’ Be it putting a child through school, buying school uniforms, putting dinner on the table, paying bills, phone bills, car insurance, whatever it’s going to be, absolutely that’s going to stress you out.
“I don’t have any kids, but I’ve a girlfriend and even for me, it’s stressful when they start talking about these things. Luckily enough, the PFAI are there as well and are able to back you up when these things come around.
It may affect your performance, but first and foremost, mentally you’re going to struggle, because you’re going to be worried about everything else apart from your football.”
While reiterating the importance of the work done by the PFAI in raising awareness about the potential pitfalls that players can succumb to, Coulter is still alarmed by the number of footballers he encounters with no obvious future ambitions.
“From playing with younger lads, it is remarkable the amount of them that don’t really have a plan set up for when football finishes and they’re living for the here and now.
What happens if I don’t get a club or what happens if I get injured? Any of the negatives I don’t think they’re looking at. They’re thinking: ‘If I have another good season here, maybe I’ll get away to England.’ I’ll do this or I’ll do that. You’ve got to have a fallback plan. Fundamentally, that was why I ended up in America.
“I was with Dundalk’s A team at the time and I was second choice up there and I said to the manager: ‘Look, I’ve got a few offers to take scholarships in America and I’m going to go.’
Why did I do that? Because fast forward four years later, I come back and I’m playing in the league, but the difference is, I’m playing in the league now with a degree behind me and some kind of security, whereas had I just stayed, yeah I’d have played a lot more games in the league and people would know more about me, but what happens then when I retire? It’s Ryan Coulter with four more years in the league, but Ryan Coulter without a degree. Who would I prefer to be? The Ryan Coulter I am now.
“You look at the fallback plan for most of the players in the league and they probably haven’t got it. The PFAI mentioned a statistic about a staggering amount of people (in the league) that don’t even have a Junior Cert. That’s worrying stuff.
There are lads that are working full time and playing part time on the side and they’re in good jobs with good options to be able to progress in companies. I know we’ve a few lads in the team working in banks and various other places. They’re good steady career jobs. Even when you retired from football, you’d stay in them.
“But it is worrying when you look across the leagues, especially with the lack of stability in them, the fact that it’s a one-year rolling contract, so many of these players could easily fall out of the league. What do they do then?”
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Excellent read which the result and results over the past number of years in perspective.
Stick with Stephen and staff .it will eventually prove fruititous.
@John Kenny: John I think we should stick with him for sure but disagree with your final sentence. Look at the teams that we would call in the past our barometer: Belgium, Austria, Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Turkey, Czech Republic, Poland. These were sides that not so long ago Ireland had a 50/50 shot of beating. Over two legs you’d of said yes. How many of those would we compete against never mind get a result off of now? Our level is tier 4/ seeded 4 whatever they call it now. This Luxembourg team is our current level. Here are some others Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands, Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia. This is our level now
Thanks for the article Paul. The result from last night is the repercussions of over 20 years of mismanagement from the FAI. The problem with this team as been apparent since the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers, in the final stage of the O’ Neil era. We should follow the footsteps Wales made at the beginning of the 2010′s under Toshack. They blooded in young players such as Bale and it was worked for them. We are in this process under Kenny. The players are the problem not the manager and it won’t change if we change the manager.
@Sorcha Morrissey Excellent points re. Wales.
Had forgotten that .
Look, Michael O Neill in Northern Ireland went through a similar string of poor results. Won 1 in 19 ,I think. Lost to Luxembourg away and drew at home.N.I. were ranked 129 in world rankings and he got to 20 in his 8 years stint.Built a side over these years.
More time required with this project.
@John Kenny: I also forgot about Micheal O Neill. We just badly need to restart the whole concept of football in Ireland.
Out of his depth end of
@Bar Hay: Bar stool expert …..elaborate please?
@Austin Shields: fairly self explanatory at this stage go back to bed man
@Bar Hay: your wrong about Kenny, he’s forgotten more then you will ever learn . You go back to bed or at least , educate yourself
@Shane Lad: ok lad you stick with Kenny it will be great craic
@Bar Hay: Explain why? What would a new coach do differently with this squad?Some thought we were going to qualify for World Cup, most football people knew was’nt going to happen this time with this squad.Fair play to Kenny for trying to get them playing decent football, not his fault they can’t get the ball into the net, but these are the players he has at the moment. At least with Dundalk he had players who were used to winning and knew how to play….
@running man: kenny has a league of ireland C. V his last step up in level in Scotland didn’t go to well… He is not and has not enough high level management… Way out of his depth… A dic##ead Delaney appointment…
@running man: we can’t score and just got beat by Luxembourg and the manager was actually frightened talking on tv last night and you want me to explain seriously
@Damien Garvey: Damien – he isn’t just a league of ireland manager he is a league of ireland manager that made a league of Ireland team competitive in the europa league getting points on teams with vastly more money and experienced and playing great football……. that’s exactly the type of cv we need someone who can do more with less – but last night wasn’t good enough.
@Bar Hay: Honest question…do you think NI fans thought Micheal O’Neill was out of his depth??
@Damien Garvey: You’ve chosen to ignore what he did with the under 21s there
Exactly. Let’s develop our own academies and stop hoping the British do that for us. At least its out of our hands now with Brexit.
Perspective is needed. Irish players are of poor quality which took the field last night. Injuries have ravaged the squad. Everyone has said how poor the opposition are but they have beaten Georgia and drew with France in the past few years which we struggle to do. People calling for his head when I dont know what other manager could do better unless you go back to playing ultra defensive and hope for a draw or to sneak a set piece win !
@John Michael Mcdonald: ah this is the problem though. I agree we don’t have the players to be confident that we’d be in the 13 that would qualify. But we have better players than Trap, and O’Neill gave us credit for, we can play football and average more than a pass a minute. and kenny has proved that. But we also have far better players and a far deeper squad than Luxembourg. I’ve been all for the development we need, BUT despite all our signs of development against Slovakia and Serbia (and even Finland). None of it counts for a lot when you can’t beat a team that you are much better than. It’s dejecting. The only thing saving kenny is that there is no obvious alternative – other than one that will revert to the outdated tactics that we are trying to move away from.
@Augustus hoop: but chalk and cheese from the quality that o’Neill and trap had. That’s exactly the problem. I could barely watch them play under trap and o Neill. Then they were totally found out at the Euros. It’s time to get a philosophy of play from the ground up. How many times have we seen players who cant play a ten yard pass to a team mate. Michael o’Neill had the north playing much better football than us. Says it all.
@Augustus hoop: We are not “much better” than Luxembourg though are we Augustus? Serbia gifted us the second on Wednesday night & all we heard was ah we scored two goals away from home. Totally outplayed on Wednesday and it was clear from the off last night who had the better ball players. THEM.
@John Michael Mcdonald: Kenny Cunningham has been slated on the comments here for bigging up the opposition. While he went a bit too far with some of his assessment, he was right about a lot of it. They were more comfortable and creative on the ball than we are (regardless of who them being from a tiny country), they were confident and hungrier to. Sadlier made the point that when we went behind we played with more urgency and that would suggest that we didn’t play with any attacking tempo for 80 mins which I would agree with. Again there was no passion in the players in the anthem, and no heart or desire by most involved. Perhaps Kenny is too soft on them when they could do with a kick up the hole
@Noel Doherty: I just want to know who everyone thinks they should get in and what else they would do with the squad that is available at the moment. Think the players are good enough to win last night but didnt have the appetite for it. Motivation comes from within. If they cant get themselves up for a match then it’s a reflection on the players. Managers cant make players better in a few days at international level
@Noel Doherty: re Serbia – they gifted us the second, but we arguably gifted them all 3, and should have had a peno. That was the best we’ve played in an away game since 2016 euros….
Re Luxembourg my point is that player by player we are much better than Luxembourg in terms of quality and depth of squad, but last night it didn’t look like that, which is a killer. Because up to now I’ve felt we’ve been really unlucky but the change in approach was worth it (I was so sick of watching us not be able to put a pass together and cling on for lucky draws in previous regimes) but if change of approach means you can’t beat poor teams I don’t know where it leaves us.
@Augustus hoop: I agree with you change was needed & no way do I think Stephen Kenny should go. I’m only saying, which I think we are both in agreeance, that we are at a poor level now player wise and it’s depressing. I beg to differ on Wednesday night with you but that’s fair enough we are allowed to banter ;-)
@John Michael Mcdonald: I think Kenny should be retained & supported John.
@Aidan Prior: remember a few years back watch Georgia pass us off the pitch and we scraped a draw. Players definitely need to be pulled up.
@Aidan Prior: when he tried to light a fire under them, someone dobbed him into the Press for it.
Needs to stronger support for the league of Ireland. Too much money from Irish football fans going across the water
I still think all this mess over the last few years is one person’s fault for not doing his job – John Delaney!!
@Garry: I agree. Nobody in the FAI with any foresight. Hell, it doesn’t even take foresight! The IRFU have provided a blueprint.
Fewer professional teams with a more secure funding structure. A more competitive cross border league including teams from N Ireland and Scotland would be my suggestion.
We simply don’t have good enough players, there has been glimpses under Kenny of potential. But realistically the players coming through are not ready yet and the older generation of Brady, McLean , Hendrick among others are not up to it, and there is nothing in between. A few poor campaigns on the horizon I think.
If anyone can convince me that Stephen Kenny kicks the ball for players, who couldn’t play a simple 3 yard pass last night, then I will concede that he has to go. But last time I looked, he stood at the side of the pitch with the same bemused look on his face as all the Irish fans had. If the players energy levels are drained, how can the tempo go from zero to frenetic after Luxembourg scored. How come they put in their best shift in the last 5 minutes plus stoppage time when their lack of game time and match fitness is used as an excuse. Kenny isn’t the problem, the lack of quality coupled with the lack of spirit from the players is a couple of the many problems deep rooted in Irish football. It’ll be a long time before we will be able to consistently compete at a high level again.
@Paul Linehan: his interview last night after the match showed he can’t handle it and he knew
@Bar Hay: His interview showed how devastated he was, nothing else. The Seamus Coleman interview was similar, so I suppose by your assessment he can’t handle whatever your ‘it’ is either. The difference in performance between last night and the one in Belgrade were light years apart. The players let him down big time
Stephen Kenny is going nowhere. The FAI don’t have the resources or the will to sack him even if they wanted too.
I would like to see thou the acceptance that (A)
there is no excuse for not having pride in the jersey.
(B)
the failings in the development structures argument have been going on for decades and it was never a reason for any other manager for not getting the boot.
(C)
Results matter. If we are short players for whatever reason, than play a system that suits the game in hand now. If thats long ball or park the bus for a game or two than so be it. If SK is the man with the plan than he must have more than 1 way to play.
As this train wreck of a campaign has to go on can we at least call it as we see it and not make excuses for him as we pretend time will solve everything?
I’ve a pain in my hole reading about great young lads “coming through”. Lads in the reserves of Premier League teams or playing for Stoke or Millwall or the like.
@Tuesday Paddy: sorry about your hole, but you must enjoy it if you keep going back for more!
Under Noel Kings reign as Under 21 manager we hardly ever read an article about talented young Irish players that had done well in his team or in the UK
Michael O’Neil had a shocking start to his Northern Ireland career (6-0 loss to Holland), but they stuck with him. I believe we have to do the same otherwise the whole Kenny experiment is a waste of time. If we revert to the Trap style approach we’ll never move forward.
These young lads are decent players but they’re not ready yet for this level. Playing them isnt the managers fault as he’s little choice.
Some may not go on to be Premier League class, but hopefully some will and if playing regularly at international level they will gel and progress if given time.
Kenny’s luck has to change, if Connolly, Parrot, Obafemi and Idah start kicking on things will look brighter.
We’ve decent players in Kellegher, Bazuna, O’Shea, Knight, Molumby, Cullen, possibly Ronan, Kilkenny, Connell, Collins
The project is right but he’s the wrong person to implement it. I know a lot has gone on and the luck with situations hasn’t been great, and the FAI are a shambles but it’s clear to see that Kenny is really out of his depth.
Now I haven’t a clue who is the right person to be honest. We’d all have our dream choices, really world class coaches who can handle this project. They’d be too expensive and no interest in the Ireland job. Then there’s the next group, level 2, with the likes of Hughton in there and even he wouldn’t want it. So we would need to look at 3 or 4 levels down and that’s where we got Kenny from. So who is the right person, the fall guy for this campaign, probably Kenny. So we will end up sticking with him even tho he is out of his depth.
@Ultimate FM: This culture Ireland have soccer if team’s do badly sack the manager has to change kenny in the job a wet weekend he needs time,once players go on to the pitch it’s up to them to take responsibility for how they play manager’s can’t do anymore, changing manager’s Willy nilly does nobody any good they need time to built up a relationship with one another and as the team don’t play together week in week out they need to gel, soccer unlike GAA the Dublin player’s train together a couple of times a week they know what to expect from their team mates I know GAA is an amuter sport unlike soccer, the Irish soccer team don’t train together very often before they play a match and most off them don’t play together when play for their clubs rome wasn’t built in a day
@Moya Power-kelly: I 100% agree with you that the culture of changing managers willy-nilly isn’t great, 100%. However 10 games in international football is enough time to judge someone. I like Kenny, I really do but he is clearly out of his depth and as I said in my comment he will be kept on because I don’t think anyone better than him will want the job. So he won’t lose his job for now.
If we’re going to stick with Kenny let him start playing an U23 side from now on. Start giving these young players experience.
Why are the media so defensive of this guy, guy plays average football and is naive. His greatest managerial achievement is managing in Scotland where he didn’t last very long. Only reason he’s in a job is because the FAI are broke.
Stephen has shown himself to be extremely naive. Throwing in a bunch of unproven kids to a competitive World Cup campaign was crazy. He dismissed a lot of the under performing regulars too easily. McCarthy would have ground out a point in Serbia and won ugly last night. We are not Barca. His substitutions were poor, taking off centre half’s cost us the points last night. It’s lucky theirvwere no fans there last night as it would have been a case of a crowd calling for his head
@Pat Brennan: “he dismissed at lot of underperforming regulars to easily”
You’re a gas man Pat.
No he doesn’t. He just isn’t qualified to deal with players of several levels above where he is at. Who appointed him and in the first place. Looks like the yellow pack option. His whole demeanor lacks confidence. He is not able to look at an interviewer. This lack of confidence will seep down to players they see their manager struggling and will automatically loose confidence in him. The manager has to always appear confidence and in control not matter what’s going on around him this is not Kenny grat in loi but this is not loi.