DOES THE LANSDOWNE Road crowd remain steadfast in its support of Stephen Kenny, or were there some boos following Armenia’s equalizer and does that indicate a changing of sentiment towards the Ireland manager?
One match-going fan resolute in his belief that supporters are behind Kenny is The42’s Kevin Brannigan. The documentary maker and regular of the South Stand, upper, said he couldn’t hear boos where he was sitting and that game-goers are united in their enthusiasm for the Kenny project, even if some in the media have cooled on the manager who has been in charge since 2020.
Brannigan said on the Football Family, a podcast available to The42 members, that Irish soccer has squandered the hegemony it enjoyed in the mid-90s, and is now moving towards a new era.
“Last night I went to the game with a mate of mine who would not be a football fan,” Brannigan said. “I asked him when was the last time you were at Lansdowne? He was like, “Do you know what, it was Kevin Moran’s testimonial in May 1994. That was 28 years ago. When the match went stale he was kind of like, ‘So what’s happened in the last 28 years with the Irish football team?’”
Brannigan joked that he gave his friend a “potted history” of the past three decades and added: “On a serious note, if you look back to May 1994, we had the hegemony then, it was the thing. So, it’s like we really wasted those years. We didn’t invest, we didn’t go with the zeitgeist that we had. And then next thing the GAA realised, ‘God we’ve got to do something’, and it took off.
“It was just interesting using his reference point of Kevin Moran’s testimonial to have a think about what the hell’s happened. I think Kenny is still seen by fans as an outsider, as not the FAI, he’s still seen as the rebels’ choice.
“Irish football is in a really weird position, still. It’s got no sponsor. The stuff that’s lingering in the background with Delaney hasn’t happened yet . . . that will come back into the news. And that’s why sponsors are probably sitting on the sideline wondering whether they want to come in? Do they want to be involved while that’s all being dragged up?
“This is still, when we look back on it in 10 years’ time, a transition period of moving out of that Delaney era into a new era of whatever that era is. And people are putting a lot of work into getting us to that new era.
“I’m looking forward to the Norway game, and looking even more forward to next year’s qualification and Italy away and England away or France away or whoever we get drawn with, we’re in pot three.
“But you know what, it’s definitely going to be fun. There’s going to be really late goals scored and if last night is proper qualifier we would have won 3-2 and we’d be happy now with three points on the table. It’s going to be entertaining, you can say that about the Kenny era, it’s going to keep being entertaining.”
Brannigan said since fans have been allowed back into Lansdowne Road en masse following Covid restrictions, they have been “totally behind” Kenny, with Tuesday night being no exception.
“I can see today there’s been a slight shift in tone in the media in that some people who I would have thought had been, you know, more behind Kenny than others have . . . I could see a change in tone in their match reports, they’re going like ‘This can’t go on, can it? Etc’ . . . But that hasn’t happened with the match going stadium fans, they are still 100% behind him.”
Brannigan argued there is unlikely to be a change of management in the near future.
“If anyone wanted to make a move against Stephen it would take a big personality to do it and it would be a big move, so I don’t see that happening any time soon,” he said.
To get access to Football Family, with Gavin Cooney, David Sneyd and Shane Keegan, become a member of The42 at members.the42.ie.
A lot of so called pundits are calling for Kennys head yet they should be asked one simple question. Who would they replace Kenny with???
@Patrick O Connell: good question.
Another good question would be, Are we going to be happy with… Good individual performances and… Moral victories… For the next 2 years?
The Euros is now more of a target than ever
@Peter Roche: this is the single biggest rebuild we have had to complete in Irish football. We literally had struggled to beat Gibraltar twice and Georgia once (including a draw) under Mick.
Taking the Armenia away game out of it, we have drawn in the Ukraine, beaten the Scots at home, drawn with Portugal and Serbia all while developing a nucleus of young players who’ll be here for the next 10 years. All those teams are better than us no matter how you dress it up, to think otherwise is lunacy.
It was a dirty job that not one other manager would have tried as they’re all about short termism. It’s been a painful ride at times but it’s put us in the best place to go forward
@Patrick O Connell: this is always the silliest argument. If your not performing at your job you get sacked. They don’t sit around crying “who is better out there”. Similarly with Irish job. When it becomes available they will assess candidates.
@Shane Obrien: Lads as a smarter boy than me said he is only a third ofa premier league season into the Job, 20 something games,its awful early to be panicking, and with the players he has,I think they are playing lovely stuff in the main,I’m an aul lad,but I’d love to see a big Hardy hoooor like Patrick Hoban,old fashioned 9 up front…?
@Gerry Campbell: I don’t think they will replace him now but that argument of “who else” is nonsense. Its not like there will never ever be another irish manager
@TheHospitalPass: well said mate
@Shane Obrien: Yes true,and in fairness we’re all Supporters…its nuts,international management, any management in football really,the boss is the lowest paid, club level too,I’m a Leeds fan since,Johnny Giles was playing with United,and some lad said Bielsa was still living in Leeds, fair point,but Aidan O’Brien won’t make a Derby winner by running the bollix out of something that isn’t good enough to win a Derby…we are where we are,and in my humble opinion we have the right man
@Shane Obrien: the Irish team is playing their best football in years compared to the era’s of Trapp and McCarthy. A lot of fans have returned to the Aviva for matches etc.
@Patrick O Connell: I’m not saying he should be sacked now. I’m saying it’s ridiculous to say “who could we replace him with” . Managers leave their jobs everyday in week and are replaced.
For me Kenny will be judged by the fans on the upcoming Euro 2024 campaign. He had to be given time at the start to bed in the new young players and get players used to the new system of playing. Now he’s had that time so it becomes more about results from now on.
@kev egan: I heard the other day that regardless of euro 24 qualifying results they’re is a chance we can get to a play off on the account of our League of Nations results…..now that is pretty funny you have to admit (hope we qualify obviously)
@Noel Doherty: That’s how we got a playoff place for Euro 2020. We could’ve finished last in qualifying and still got it for being one of the better ranked teams in the Nations League who didn’t auto qualify.
You need to look the lads he has brought in..How many players who played in that game against Scotland away on the weekend (a game we were unlucky not to get at least a draw in) were in the squad when Kenny took over.. He’s the only one who gave youth a chance, he plays way more attractive football, and if you look at the players letting him down most of then are actually the senior lads..Duffys passing is shocking, Hourihane was at fault on Tuesday and some of the lads coming through are turning into right little players because Kennys given them the chance..Bozuma, Collins, Ogbene, Molumby, Cullen, Obafemi, the young Centre back at Norwich. He’s developing our strongest team in years.. Hopefully we can get a friendly draw on the 9th and be in with a great chance of getting to the euro’s!
The only ones against Kenny are the barstoolers and Shamrock Rovers supporters.
The strange thing is some people will say Ireland don’t have the players and are not good enough but the same people will give out when they don’t play well.