Well that's nearly the point isn't it, Brophs? The last thing we want is another manager in used to dealing with better players throwing his hands up in the air saying what did you expect me to do with this shower? Why not give Kenny a run while we're at rock bottom, where are expectations are zero? He's got mediocre players playing good football against better opposition. Why not? It's a low-priced punt that would give the domestic game a boost too. What have we got to lose?
Sorry for the late reply, but I guess this is more relevant now.
I'm not so sure, tbh. First, I would be pleased to see Kenny get the job, for a few reasons, not least that it would have a positive effect on the LOI and the perception on it. The style of football he tries to play, at least up to now, has been more progressive and in keeping with the sort of football generally played at this level. Also, he genuinely seems interested in growing the game as a whole and not just looking to get results with the senior team.
BUT
There are a lot of unknowns in hiring him. His record in Ireland is fantastic. His record in the year he was with Dunfermline is pretty mixed, at best. That's not to say that he wouldn't be able to translate his success domestically to the international game, but I don't think it's a given by any stretch. It goes without saying that his achievements, particularly in Europe, are extraordinary. And you're quite right that he is capable of making players play beyond themselves (you need only look at the likes of Darryl Horgan, McEleney and Andy Boyle when they've played away from him to know that he was able to unlock something in them that others haven't). I'm also not convinced that, in a lot of cases, lower league footballers, if he decided to move away from simply picking based upon the division they are playing in, will be up to it in the long term.
I'd also point out that he was able to get a tune out of those players he was working with on a full time basis. Is it unimaginable that the lack of time to work with the players, which is increasingly the case in international football, might not yield the same results? Likewise, he has, to this point, worked with players who are jobbing pros. Would senior footballers, many of whom have seen of much more experienced managers than Kenny, be willing to allow him to learn on the job, if there was a real adjustment period?
If he were to be given the job, he'd arrive to the worst squad since, from memory, the 80s. Asking a guy with very little top level experience to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear might just be a stretch too far. Sometimes, in international football where it's about being organised and motivated, the experience of someone who has been at the sharp end of the game can be invaluable. As an example, I suspect that if you hired quick fix like Allardyce, you'd possibly get better results in the short term, but be back in precisely the same position in two years time, or whatever it ended up being.
A lot of the talk around appointing him is along the lines of 'What's the worst that can happen?' to which the simple answer is that we could have a couple of bad campaigns, our world ranking and, as a result, seeding would suffer and we could conceivably end up as the fourth seed in qualifying, which would mean our chances of getting to tournaments would be pretty remote. We can't just toss off a campaign or two because we want something massively different to the last couple of guys.
None of which even mentions the financial side of things. Pogue mentioned some of the stats behind the FAI's finances earlier in the thread. These tweets gives some context to the precarious nature of international success.
I accept that people don't want to hear it, but an organisation such as the FAI needs the senior team to do the heavy lifting financially. If the team isn't successful and isn't qualifying for tournaments then they'll be constantly strapped for cash. Getting an appointment or renewal wrong could potentially mean quite a few wilderness years. Can you be sure someone like Kenny, with his limited amount of top level experience, will know how to navigate that? On top of that, we pay one of the highest salaries in European football (a nudge under €2m). To me, it would be negligent of the FAI not to see what that financial strength might be able to achieve in terms of candidates who were interested. If Kenny still looks like the right man after going through that process, then great. But, as I said above, this reducing of the choice to a binary O'Neill v Kenny or Mick v Kenny is somewhat odd and reminds me of the "Give it Giggsy t'end of season" narrative that sprung up (I only make the comparison in terms of one, somewhat left field candidate being pushed to the front based upon, in part at least, stuff that had little to do with how he might do the job). IMHO, his CV isn't so extraordinary that you'd instantly discount a whole range of potential candidates. That said, if the only two CVs in the pile were Mick's and Stephen Kenny's, I'd probably not take too long in getting on the blower to Dundalk to talk money.
All that notwithstanding, I am playing devil's advocate somewhat. For me, Kenny would be the first genuinely exciting appointment since Kerr. He might,
might be exactly what we need to jump start the national game. I'd really like to see him being given the chance to try something different. I'm just slightly more cautious about the idea that he and he alone is the saviour of the Irish game. The odds - and the players available to him - mean he's probably more likely to fail than succeed. I'd like to see us give it a go, though (whether with Kenny, or someone equally progressive and innovative) because the potential 'success' you'd have under him would be, in the long term, potentially far greater and transformative than anything someone like McCarthy or Allardyce.
). It's important to remember he did good stuff at the start with the Euros and all that stuff. Some great results in that and on the way. The most exciting times in Irish football for years. But it's clearly been on a downward spiral since then, and especially after the Denmark games last year. Terrible results for the last year, coupled with even worse football. I know the players aren't there but it can be more positive than this. Other nations of similar quality have proved this. 