Progressive Kenny leaves FAI with one simple decision

And with qualifying matches for Euro 2024 set to be held in 2023, this year risks becoming a particularly desolate year for basement strays like Ireland. Not only will the team continue to fight for respect among international brethren, but will continue to fight for its own fit with its own home audience. A couple of friendlies and a series of mediocre Nations League games in the dark will be the diet for this year. Fairly thin and round.

However, the FAI was able to gather some reason to rejoice recently when it announced on 1 March that it had sold 17,000 full-season tickets to six of Ireland’s home games, clearly a record. green. The first of those matches will be against Belgium on Saturday, followed by Lithuania three days later.

Those sales suggest there’s been some stir in the underdevelopment, possibly a budding excitement about the new-look team Stephen Kenny put in last year. to assemble. Or maybe it was just a case of FAI getting the right price on a wide range of ticket packages for die-hard supporters and their families. Perhaps there is also the post-pandemic that is still resonating with fans after two years of closure. Either way, there are glimmering signs of renewal after years of stagnation.

Kenny himself could be a catalyst in this, coincidentally enough given his modest background compared to his predecessors. The manager left to fight in early September last year after 12 grueling months at work. He shows confidence, defiance and resilience under pressure. Basically he showed a bit of leadership. It is possible that while the results were not in his favour, the footballing public appreciated his determination to do things his way, and recognized his clear belief that he was building Lay the foundation for a better era. If he certainly lacks any prominence of star quality at the start of his gig, he has revealed a quality of character that supporters will likely feel warmer about, they say. get to know him more and more.

This process clearly happened with his first and foremost constituency – the players. Time and again, they have publicly supported their gaffer – and they have accomplished a lot since the earliest days of his reign. He seems to have set up a training structure where they can learn from and an atmosphere around the camp that they can enjoy.

If that’s the case, then his strength of personality is making up for a lot of the dismal results he’s in charge of. Just a double win out of 15 games clearly means the result cannot speak for him. He had to say a lot to fill that particular void. Kenny is both stubborn and persuasive in this regard.

Last fall, the results finally began to speak a little. It was a 1-1 home win against Azerbaijan against Azerbaijan on 4 September that forced him into the fray when it looked like his job was ready. A 1-1 home win over Serbia three days later gave him some time and his final two World Cup qualifying matches, 0-0 at home to Portugal and 0-3 in Luxembourg. , seeing him sign up for a year has cemented his position. .

The debate over his tenure then ended and by the time his new contract was announced last week, it was pretty much all over. fail colleagues. Overall, the results looked poor in the ledger but growth in the final quarter of 2021 reinforced his position. His new style of play has also gone downhill; a raft of young players was brought in; There is a factual basis for moderate optimism. Plus, FAI won’t be thanked for bankrupting him and creating new instability when continuity is a more pressing priority. As a result, a new contract was more or less a done deal, although the season-ending negotiations were longer than expected.

So Kenny is tipped to Euro 2024. He’s put all his eggs in this basket. It’s Germany or bankrupt now. It seems like a fair enough arrangement for all rounds. However, it means that something really serious won’t happen for another 12 months; 2022 will be an organized year, a ford-water exercise by the League of Nations. Obviously, he won’t want to step foot on the team’s development side, but the international season for Ireland will essentially be a matter of necessity.

The store will close again after the game in Lithuania and won’t reopen until early June. It is then followed by Ukraine, Armenia, Scotland and Ukraine again in quick succession before closing again for summer.

The FAI will be holding some sort of review at the end of the year, and Kenny will naturally want at least a few wins to keep everyone feeling sweet. With this in mind, he hinted during last Thursday’s press conference that his testing period with the staff and roster is coming to an end. “Our focus right now is getting the whole team ready for the friendlies and the Nations League. We’ve rebuilt the team, so we don’t want to over-experiment any more. “

Another impressive performance by the manager in front of the media last week probably helped sell a few more season tickets. Big numbers are expected for the match against Belgium. A new international season with full houses in Aviva will definitely help breathe new life for everyone.