John Fallon: Don't knock Brian Kerr for his honesty
Brian Kerr has remained a respected figure for his analysis of Irish and international football. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Centenary celebration day at the FAI was noteworthy to Brian Kerr for formalising his exit from the association’s “black book” even if the sense of rapprochement is not universally shared.
The “new” FAI, since the demise of his nemesis John Delaney in early 2019, has been doing everything in its power to bring Kerr back inside the tent, sometimes so eagerly the charm offensive backfired.
One such bungling attempt was by Noel Mooney. Kerr was already suspicious of Delaney’s former employee’s bona fides when he was parachuted in on secondment from Uefa to act as Red Adair but the offer to rejoin as a “media watchdog” merely served to douse the flames.
Niall Quinn and Gary Owens, after Mooney, regained some lost ground, as did new chairman Roy Barrett, with their softy-softly approach but despite tentative arrangements being made in the background, a proper sit-down with Delaney’s permanent successor Jonathan Hill has yet to materialise.
Kerr’s standing within Irish football, however, was evident to the chief executive at the function held in the green room of the Aviva Stadium prior to last Saturday week’s friendly against Belgium.
The man who led Ireland to gold at both the Under-16 and Under-18 European Championships of 1998 wasn’t the only outcast of the previous regime among the 300 guests. Eoin Hand, another former senior manager, was there, as was League of Ireland firebrand Roddy Collins. Packie Bonner has returned as an independent director. Even the maligned football writers received and accepted the invite. That “healing” Delaney often spoke of without delivering was belatedly getting liftoff.
Amid the showreel of footage reminiscing footballing milestones of yesteryear, the chronology eventually reached Kerr’s era as youth boss, which began by the Under-20s claiming bronze medals at the World Cup. Thomas Morgan from that team was on stage, soon joined by John O’Shea while the family of his Under-16 teammate Liam Miller were seated in the audience. When Kerr was primed to speak, any lingering awkwardness was buried by his referral to that black book of personas non grata, denoting the excising of Hand as more callous than his own.
He was anxious as well not to be caught in the time warp of his own spell at the helm, firmly tracing his links to the FAI back to the point himself and fellow budding coach, the late Noel O’Reilly, were brought onboard by Liam Tuohy. Together they masterminded a run of three European Championships on the spin, culminating in a trip to the USSR in 1985 for the Under-18 World Cup. Before Kerr’s Kids, there were Tuohy’s Tots.
He spoke passionately about how 'Rasher' had spotted something within the O’Reilly/Kerr combo, that fusion of traits attuned to coaching not blessed on everyone, even some of the finest players. Furthermore, he brought the same analogy into the modern era for a twenty-something novice capable of thriving on the tactical side.
Stephen Kenny had played under Kerr at St Patrick’s Athletic before embarking on his own coaching career at Tallaght Town but it was during his first senior League of Ireland posting in 2000 at Longford Town that his mentor exposed him to the international sphere. An invitation was extended to a youth tournament in Israel and the resultant exchange of views reinforced Kerr’s faith.
By 2016, on the back of Dundalk’s exploits at home and in Europe, he was marking Kenny out as Ireland management material, emulating his feat as a League of Ireland coaching graduate. That came to pass in late 2018, with the promise of promotion from Under-21 to senior boss two years’ hence.
At that stage, in his mid-60s, Kerr had completed his managerial stints with the FAI and Faroe Islands, sandwiched in between by a Director of Football return to St Patrick’s Athletic, and was a solid fixture in the media. That entails offering objective opinions to the viewership, devoid of emotion and attachment, based on informed analysis.
That Kerr hasn’t blindly endorsed the Kenny era since first calling the succession out for what it was – a popularity play by Delaney to appease baying fans – is his entitlement and doesn’t in any way tarnish his legacy. He’s no different to Liam Brady, Richard Dunne, Jonathan Walters, and Damien Delaney in espousing a similar view. Virgin Media’s growing coverage of the international calendar invariably presents Kerr with more airtime than others but it was concerning to hear that one of Kenny’s handlers last year expressed their displeasure at the narrative around the manager.
For some commentators, especially on social media, to use Kenny’s recovery in results as ammunition to accuse Kerr of making things “personal” or being couched in “jealousy” is utter nonsense.
Three years on from the first signals of the FAI righting the wrongs of the past, the clear blue water to Kerr is finally trickling away. That doesn’t mean he’s interested in frontline action, such as the Director of Football vacancy an internal panel will soon interview the final shortlist for.
Irish football has enough ongoing challenges for Kerr’s expertise not to be wasted and the charge of being honest, when the easy thing is to validate one’s own judgement, should be admired not admonished.
You’d have to wonder what it will take for the penny, or euro, to drop on the FAI to open the Aviva Stadium gates for the women’s team.
Records for attendances smashed across Europe in the past week illustrate the potential of attracting supporters to games at spanking stadia.
Champions League holders Barcelona ordinarily struggle to fill their 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium but broke the world record by attracting 91,553 to the Nou Camp for last Wednesday’s quarter-final second leg victory over familiar foes Real Madrid.
It’s the latest example of fans flocking to games — once they are marketed and priced appropriately. As England centurion Farrah Williams remarked during BBC’s women’s football show on Sunday, it all comes down to promotion.
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - have increased their turnouts when switching internationals to their national stadium.
Irish football will have paid at least €120m for their share of the redeveloped Lansdowne Road by the time their latest mortgage of 2040 expires. On top of the countless compelling reasons, utilising costly infrastructure in an equitable fashion is up there.
Tallaght Stadium has had its time. Discounted tickets, allied to mobilising the FAI marketing department, would entice 25,000 for what is likely to be a Euro playoff against Finland on September 1.
Like Troy Parrott, Dara O’Shea has only a season left on his contract and like his compatriot, he’s part of the Unique Sports Management agency.
O’Shea had been a client of Irish-based Quorum Sports for several years but has drifted to one of the UK’s heavyweight as talks commence on fresh terms at West Bromwich Albion.
The Dubliner is on track to reach his full match fitness but his ability to regain the levels he peaked at before breaking his ankle while playing for Ireland last September may determine how appealing the renewed contract is.
Defeat to local rivals Birmingham City on Sunday all but ended the Baggies’ prospects of breaking into the playoff zone. They will probably require five wins from their final seven games, starting on Wednesday against second-placed Bournemouth, to stand any chance of a miracle.
Steve Bruce is clearly a fan of the 23-year-old, predicting the club captaincy in time, but there’s no guarantee of the manager remaining in situ for a first full season at the club.
His abundance of central defenders at his disposal hasn’t been kind to O’Shea either, as his redeployment to right-back ended with a substitution at half-time against Swansea City.
That was five weeks ago and he hasn’t featured since, only the 63 minutes he got for Ireland against Lithuania last Tuesday. Convincing Bruce to restore him to his preferred position is more important right now than a contract extension.
