Mon to manage Republic of Ireland?

[Brazilian Villain]

I'm also quite intrigued by it. If I can forgive Keane for Saipan then I can easily forgive O'Neill for how it ended at Villa.

There was an interesting piece by Pat Murphy on the Monday Night Club about how MON and Keane had got to know each other whilst working for ITV. Ian McGarry also had an interesting slant. TBH it might just work, it could be a disaster, but I'd rather this than an insipid appointment like Hodgson.

[Brian Taylor]

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/international/2013/1105/484722-fai-confirm-oneill-as-new-ireland-manager/

[Damo70]

I think it's a recipe for disaster. Brilliant.

I don't know where your getting a recipe for disaster from. An egotistical, petulant, past his best manager with an egotistical, never had a best when it comes to managing, petulant assistant who half the fans don't want involved. What could possibly go wrong? I think it was lieutenant Frank Drebin who said 'It's a long shot, but it might just work'.

[Irish villain]

I'm quite intrigued about it. Trappatoni's tenure has made me used to the defensive, direct style that MON will stuggle to develop. His whimsical interviews will be a refreshing change to Giovanni's not so much broken as banjaxed grasp of English.

One thing I'm not looking forward to is uninformed gobshites asking again and again after we scrape past the might of Denmark and Hungary "Why were Villa so stupid to let him go?".

I do wonder whether he would have taken this gig if the Euros hadn't been expanded by eight extra teams. Ireland have a fighting chance of qualifying and if we do I imagine O'Neill will consider his reputation firmly restored as he looks for one last big club gig.

Good summary. There will also be a que of eejits pointing at me going 'villa have been crap since yee let him go'.

It's one of those annoying things you can only debate with somebody who follows villa really closely.

[Dave Clark Five]

Shouldn't this be on Other Football, maybe under Poison Dwarf Strikes Again?
It pains me to see that he is on another £1m a year contract, while still picking up huge sums from previous jobs that he has fucked up.
To see the twat so prominent on this forum is nauseating for me.

[brontebilly]

I'm probably way off the mark, but I wonder if he chose Keane as his assistant as a fall guy if things go wrong......

If things go wrong I see Keane as benefiting not MON to be honest, the heir apparent and all that

If things go well and one last big club comes MON's way then I suppose the handover should be pretty seamless too.

 

As much as it grieves me to say it, I think MON will do a good job for ROI. Despite what we all know about him, players will want to play for him & the fans will want him to succeed. However, I'm not sure about the combination with Keane. One thing Keane is not is a yes man, how will MON cope with being told he's an outdated cnut?.

Interesting change from MON re his backroom strategy, he used bring a choir of yes men with him to his gigs. Keane will be anything but you suspect. It's a brave move from MON certainly but Keane is no Peter Taylor.

The Irish media in an effort to gloss over MON's recent failure at Sunderland have pointed to the lack of John Robertson as the reason for his lack of success. Clutching at straws there I suspect. But at least MON is making some effort to change his support staff, his efforts at Sunderland were truly dire and bringing just Walford, McDonagh and Guppy with him again would be worrying. Keane isnt the tactical genius MON needs though. I think the game has move beyond personality managers without the smarts to back it up. More than ever the battle between MON/Keane and the RTE panel of Giles/Brady/Dunphy will be more entertaining than anything on the pitch. Brady hates Keane with a passion and MON has sued Dunphy before I'm pretty sure.

We have a very limited squad of players at the moment but the likes of Coleman, Clark, McCarthy, Gibson, Brady, McGeady and Long are at a key stage of their respective careers. Hopefully MON can inspire the best out of them and maybe a final lash from Dunne and Robbie Keane.

[fbriai]

I'm also quite intrigued by it. If I can forgive Keane for Saipan then I can easily forgive O'Neill for how it ended at Villa.

This is the real issue here, isn't it? I get the impression that some people are never going to forgive him for that.

[Monty]

I'm also quite intrigued by it. If I can forgive Keane for Saipan then I can easily forgive O'Neill for how it ended at Villa.

This is the real issue here, isn't it? I get the impression that some people are never going to forgive him for that.

He ended it like a petulant bitch, but I'm more concerned with the way he pissed away our best chance at becoming real contenders for many years before and after.

[Irish villain]

If MON can get her in the team they could go all the way.

[Clampy]

I'm also quite intrigued by it. If I can forgive Keane for Saipan then I can easily forgive O'Neill for how it ended at Villa.

This is the real issue here, isn't it? I get the impression that some people are never going to forgive him for that.

No, they won't, which is their perogative I suppose. I know we're more or less still paying for his overspending now but I more or less forgot about it not long after he left. What happened is in the past, we can't change it.

[eastie]

As one of those who felt he had taken us as far as he could I was pleased to see him depart albeit I would have preferred him to go in the may .

The disappointment for me was the appointments that replaced him and the cutbacks that followed - I had hoped mons departure would see us progress under a new dynamic manager .

[Irish villain]

As one of those who felt he had taken us as far as he could I was pleased to see him depart albeit I would have preferred him to go in the may .

The disappointment for me was the appointments that replaced him and the cutbacks that followed - I had hoped mons departure would see us progress under a new dynamic manager .

Me too. I was a huge critic of MON for the whole of 2009 and 2010. Not sure if anybody remembers that. I really felt he would go summer 2010 and that we would get somebody in to 'take us to the next level'.

The timing of his departure combined with the Board's lack of footballing expertise have instead brought us in the other direction.

[Ger Regan]

I wonder what cb's thoughts on this appointment are.

[adrenachrome]

I wonder what cb's thoughts on this appointment are.

Don't think she gives a fuck, to be fair. She is all about the horses.

[Pat McMahon]

Why does Brady hate Keane with a passion?