I have no problem with the Republic of Ireland etching out 1-0 wins. Honestly, it’s what our foundation was based on. We always had the heart, desire, and determination to make a game worth watching and keep you on the edge of your seat. That is gone as manager Stephen Kenny is out of his depth.
After watching the England and Wales games I can definitively say we have no heart or desire. The manager’s odd team selections don’t help either. It’s one thing losing 1-0 to Wales but being humiliated by a very average England team is beyond embarrassing.
But that’s what you get when the Football Association of your country wants to save a few euros and appoints someone who has won nothing. Before I get the league of Ireland nuts saying he’s won five Premier Division titles, it’s Ireland, I could win a league title there with a half-decent team. Honestly, if I knew being a league of Ireland manager with a few titles and one or two decent results in Europe could get me the international job I wouldn’t have left all those years ago.
It showed massively against Wales just how much we’ve fallen. Not only have we not picked up a win during Kenny’s seven-game tenure we have also scored only one goal in that time. That was back in his first game against Bulgaria.
His answer to this is to stick with 19-year-old forward Adam Idah of Norwich City. It’s okay if you don’t know who he is neither does anyone else. Given his appearance against Wales, he’s now played more minutes for an international team than he has for an EFL Championship team since September.
Idah’s impact on Sunday’s game was limited to running around like a headless chicken until being replaced by James Collins with 15 minutes to play. Collins had two shots on target during his brief cameo, which matched the total amount from the rest of the Ireland team during the first 75 minutes. He also won a free-kick which Robbie Brady fired into no man’s land.
Sure I can hear it now. The Luton fan sticking up for his player. Yes, I am. Because he did more in 15 minutes than the others did in 75 minutes. If he can’t see that it just proves yet again that Stephen Kenny is out of his depth with this job.
League of Ireland is his level. Maybe Dundalk will take him back after losing their title to the Tallaght based Shamrock Rovers. You can have him. I’ll drive him there myself if you’d like.
