Jack Charlton's tenure as Republic of Ireland manager brought the team to new heights. Qualifying for their first major tournament in Euro '88, the Englishman went one better by getting Ireland to the World Cup in 1990.
Charlton was a disciple of Charles Reep's POMO (Position of Maximum Opportunity) philosophy, which was essentially direct football up to a target man. His football got the best out of his players but it could also be desperate to watch.
After a 1-1 draw with England at Italia '90, Corriere dello Sport ran the headline: "No football please - We're British". The next match against Egypt ended 0-0 and the style of play left RTE pundit Eamon Dunphy enraged.
"I felt embarrassed for soccer, embarrassed for this country, embarrassed for the players, but this has nothing to do with the players," he said. "We should be ashamed about the way we went about the game." He then threw his pen across the desk.
In not such outspoken words on Dunphy's podcast, then Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny revealed he was not a fan of the Charlton era because of the tactics, even refusing to go to matches.
"Whether he was good for Irish football is questionable," Kenny said.
The interview was conducted in January 2017 after Kenny had led Dundalk to a third straight League of Ireland title and became the second manager to lead an Irish side to the group stage of a European club competition. He earned plaudits for playing progressive, possession-based football, the opposite to what Charlton implemented and was now associated with the national team under Martin O'Neill.
When O'Neill left as Ireland manager, people wanted Kenny to be given the job to transform Irish football. The FAI, in typical fashion, concocted a strange deal that would see Kenny be the new U21 manager but he would take over the senior side after Euro 2020, irrespective of how Mick McCarthy performed in the role.
McCarthy continued the direct football that had become stale under O'Neill and the national team never improved. Covid-19 prevented the former Ireland international from completing his spell in charge, as Kenny was promoted last summer.
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| Stephen Kenny was a successful manager in Ireland with his progressive tactics. Photo by Eddie Lennon |
Trying to revolutionise a country's football culture that has been entrenched in one way for 35 years has been difficult. Doing it during a pandemic has been one of many fortunes of bad luck Kenny has endured in his first year in charge.
Kenny's first game in charge was a 1-1 draw in the Nations League to Bulgaria, a 93rd minute Shane Duffy header from a set-piece rescuing a point. If the aim was to make Ireland a more attractive, goalscoring side then Kenny has failed so far. In the 13 matches under Kenny, Ireland have failed to score in nine and only scored more than once on two occasions.
It is natural to blame the manager when results are not going well, especially when the record reads one win (a 4-1 win vs Andorra in a friendly). Finding a consistent goalscorer has been a problem since Robbie Keane retired in 2016. Last season, the six forwards Kenny has called up for the September qualifiers scored 46 times in 184 appearances.
Inheriting the worst Ireland squad in decades would not be helpful to any manager. It was hardly surprising when Luxembourg beat Ireland 1-0. The goal was scored by a Champions League player against a goalkeeper relegated from League One. This is how bad it has got (not quite Cyprus, though).
Add this to the FAI's financial troubles and the anti-English video that resulted in resignations from Kenny's backroom staff, not forgetting the trouble Covid caused in his first three months, it has been a tragic start for the Dubliner.
The light at the end of the tunnel is the talented youngsters Ireland have coming through. Gavin Bazunu, Caoimhin Kelleher and Troy Parrott are highly rated at top Premier League clubs. The trouble is that they are under 21 and not in their prime - there is a lack of quality in the 24-27 age group. These players will need to develop at club level before Kenny can get the best out of them on the international stage.
In the short-term, qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar seems incredibly unlikely. Ireland will need to pick up maximum points which still includes two matches against Portugal. If Kenny was to be sacked on the back of this, it would be another eye-rolling decision by the FAI. Euro 2024 should be the target and the enlarged World Cups starting from 2026 gives Ireland a greater opportunity to qualify.
The shift from Ireland being a long-ball side to a possession-based style was always going to take more than a year. While results are indefensible, Stephen Kenny deserves support in what he is trying to do. The fruits of his labour just may not be felt for a few years.
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