Stephen Kenny takes charge of his first Republic of Ireland match tonight.
The Boys in Green are in Sofia to play Bulgaria in a Nations League encounter. This will be the first of a potential eight games between now and November 18th, when the reverse fixture is due to take centre stage at the Aviva Stadium.
There are no injury concerns, instead Kenny’s main issue is how to accommodate Seamus Coleman and new Spurs player Matt Doherty.
No Ireland manager has ever faced eight games in two different competitions in 10 weeks before. None of Stephen’s predecessors have played European Championship play-offs, Nations UEFA League games and FIFA World Cup qualifiers in a calendar year. Speaking of predecessors lets have a look at some of past Irish manager’s first games in charge.
Mick McCarthy
Mick McCarthy’s very first game in charge of the Republic of Ireland team was a friendly international against Russia on 27 March 1996 which finished in a 0–2 defeat. Just four days short of being 23 years later , on March 23rd 2019, McCarthy stood on the line once again directing traffic. Jeff Hendrick scored the only goal in a 1 – 0 win against Gibralter in very windy conditions.
Over his tenure much was made about Ireland’s inability to score, registering only Seven goals in eight qualifying games. Ireland came third in their group, which was enough to get into a playoff for the newly extended Euros. However with the pandemic causing the cancellation of the championship, McCarthy stuck to his succession obligation and handed the reigns over to Stephen Kenny, to lead the charge.
Martin O’Neill
O’Neill was confirmed as the new Republic of Ireland national football team manager on the 5th of November 2013 with former team captain Roy Keane being announced as his assistant manager. Former Northern Ireland skipper O’Neill’s first game in charge on was a mere ten days later on 15 November 2013 against Latvia. Ireland recorded a 3–0 win at the Aviva Stadium, with goals coming from Aidan McGeady, Shane Long and Robbie Keane scoring his 62nd international goal in 131 appearances.
Fans seemed to overwhelmingly positive about the appointment , with both O’Neill and Keane receiving a warm reception at the home ground.
Ireland’s performance at Euro 2016 produced some unforgettable moments, however the heavy 5-1 loss to Denmark in a World Cup playoff seemed to have soured fans.
A disappointing 2018 which included four losses and four draws seen the double act come to an end. In the modern era O’Neill has the lowest win record of any Irish manager with his record in charge of Ireland, spanning across 55 games in total, bringing only 19 wins, 20 draws and 16 defeats. That’s only a 34% win ratio.
Giovanni Trappattoni
Giovanni Trappatoni was arguably one of the greatest coaches in world football at a time. Having won the Serie A and Bundesligue, managing some of the biggest sides in the world, the appointment was considered a coup . Trappattoni’s first game in charge, a friendly against Serbia on 24 May 2008 played in front of a crowd of 42,500 at Croke Park, ended in a 1–1 draw. Andy Keogh scored a last minute equalizer to cancel out a 76th minute goal from Marko Pantelic.
His reign ebbed and flowed between highs and lows. Of course Irish folk were rallied by the unjust nature of our World Cup 2010 exit, thanks Thierry. However our performances in the 2012 European championship was an aberration, conceding an average of 3 goals a game. Atleast the fans had a good ould sing song in Poznan.
Steve Staunton
To say Staunton was something of a shock appointment as an Ireland manager would be an understatement. I mean sure he did have 102 Irish caps but we were promised a world class managerial appointment, John Delaney said so! To be fair Statuton did enjoy a “Fairytale start” , his words not mine. Robbie Keane captained Ireland for the first time and got on the scoresheet along with Damien Duff and Liam Miller. Ireland had defeated Sweden 3 – 0. That space between March 1st 2006 and May 23rd 2006 must of been exciting for Stauton in fairytale land.
He was swiftly brought back to reality with a friendly loss to Chile in his next game. This was followed by a 4 – 0 home trashing at the hand of the Netherlands, the largest defeat at home in 40 years. The losing streak continued in Ireland’s first competitive game against Germany, and still things were to get worse. After having been sent off against the Germans, Staunton watched from the stands as Ireland conceded five goals against the mighthy footballing powerhouse of Cyprus, in what is regarded as one of the lowest points in Irish football.
On the evening of 23 October 2007, after failure to qualify for the 2008 Euros, Staunton’s turbulent 21-month reign as international manager had come to an end.
Brian Kerr
No Irish team had ever won a major trophy before Brian Kerr. The man guided Ireland to an unprecedented double by winning both the under-16 and under-18 European Championships. In 1997 he brought an Irish side hailed as the “Malaysian marvels” to 3rd in a world cup. This seemed like a proper succession plan in action, as the youths progressed so did the manager.
Kerr replaced Mick McCarthy who had suffered two defeats in Ireland’s opening game in the Euro 2004 qualifiers. First up was Scotland in a friendly encounter on February 12th 2003. Kerr made the perfect start with an impressive 0-2 victory over the Scots with Kevin Kilbane and Clinton Morrisson bagging the goals .
Results and performances in the campaign were mixed and in the end a home draw with Russia and an away loss to Switzerland left the Irish in third place in the group, and extending Irelands exile from the competition. However Brian Kerr did manage to persuade Roy Keane to play for Ireland again after the whole Saipan debacle. This look promising with world cup qualification up next.
Ireland finished fourth in the group behind France, Switzerland and Israel, despite only losing one match. With that Kerr’s reign came to an end , even though he has the best win ratio of any Irish manager ever with 33 games played and 18 victories.. Kerr also has the best loss ratio. His problem was that he simply drew too many competitive games i.e. 50%.
Whatever the future holds for Stephen Kenny, we Irish fans wish him the best. He will be backed by thousands of singing Irish fans watching from their homes. He will feel the will and might of the people even if we cant be there in person. COYBIG!
