{"id":601419,"date":"2021-09-09T07:04:55","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T11:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=601419"},"modified":"2021-09-09T07:04:55","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T11:04:55","slug":"stephen-kenny-and-the-civil-war-in-irish-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/09\/09\/stephen-kenny-and-the-civil-war-in-irish-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Kenny and the Civil War in Irish Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

It feels like the same old story again: one step forwards and two steps back for Ireland. Having failed to win a competitive game in 12 attempts, with opportunities like home fixtures against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg, Stephen Kenny is still the Republic of Ireland <\/a>manager. Despite shocking results, there is plenty to debate about whether Stephen Kenny is the right man to take Irish football forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

Irish Football’s Civil War Sees the Nation Divided Over Stephen Kenny<\/h2>\n

Jury Still Out on Kenny<\/h3>\n

This debate has caused a \u2018<\/span>civil war<\/span><\/a>\u2019 in the media\u2019s coverage of the Ireland team. Embarrassing results have sharpened the knives of fans eager to see Kenny removed from his position.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is desperation from some to see the Irish team become competitive in tournament qualification groups again quickly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is desperation from others to stick with a long-term plan that the \u2018new\u2019 FAI hopes can begin to repair the damage done to Irish football by the <\/span>previous regime<\/span><\/a>. Having brought success to Ireland\u2019s U21 team, come through the League of Ireland, and shown ambition to bring young players into the setup, no one is more qualified to do this than Stephen Kenny.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After more encouraging developments and more disappointing results, where is Irish football and why is it so divided?<\/span><\/p>\n

Deep Rooted Turmoil<\/h3>\n

Ireland\u2019s manager no longer has stars like Roy Keane or Damien Duff to build a team around. Many of Ireland\u2019s first-team squad play their football in England\u2019s third tier. There has been a monumental fall from grace in the quality of players in recent years.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is due to the horrific mismanagement of the FAI under John Delaney, which <\/span>nearly bankrupted the organisation<\/span><\/a>. The structures in Irish football are weak, and it has translated to the elite level. Azerbaijan (ranked 112th in the world) now enjoys the fruits of well-developed and funded academies that Ireland can only dream about.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Azerbaijan has an average of 26 full time employees per academy, Ireland has 0. Go figure. So important that we get things right.. pic.twitter.com\/3RNVjM4Usn<\/a><\/p>\n

— Andrew Dempsey (@AndrewDempsey98) September 4, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n