Knowing when to go a must for managers

ONE of the letters sitting on my desk on my return after a couple of weeks spent with the Republic of Ireland squad in Dublin had a Cork postmark, contained a cutting from the Star newspaper and no cover note.

The cutting was of a match report between St Patrick's Athletic and Cork City at Richmond Park under a byline Rory Kerr.

Written in biro across the top was: "No mention of Billy Woods, the best player."

Why it should have been sent to me was a puzzle, unless the person was looking for me to right some perceived wrong. Perhaps he/she hoped I would write an article in praise of Billy Woods by way of correcting the perceived lack of judgement on the part of the "Rory Kerr" who was responsible for the report.

Soon afterwards a colleague stopped me on the way to the canteen and said: "I was at the match against Georgia and I cannot understand why all the fuss about Kevin Kilbane."

The two incidents encapsulated some of sport's enduring appeal. Doctors differ, the old saying goes, and patients die, but in sport everyone can differ and take enjoyment from discussing the points of difference. Nobody need die.

In sport, as in life, everything is subjective. To hold an opinion is to be biased; in favour of one idea above another, one player ahead of another, one manager in preference to another.

Opinions are influenced and shaped by so many things: physical appearance, style of play, level of courage, personal demeanour, by association in an Irish context it adds to your popularity if you play for Manchester United or Celtic.

Opinions on all sporting matters have one common influencing factor and its relevance is enormous. Results dictate all, especially as they affect the standing of the team manager.

Brian Kerr is currently riding the crest of this particular wave. Six matches have been played, four in competition. Five wins and a draw amount to a ringing endorsement of his stewardship.

Kerr is obviously a good manager. His career at St Patrick's Athletic, with Ireland's under-age teams, and now with the nation's senior side is heavily weighted on the credit side of results.

Clearly, he is possessed also of good man-management skills. No group of players would produce the sustained level of hard work in both matches without having regard for the manager and respect for the shirt. Yet he is walking a precarious line, as are all managers one negative result, one off-colour performance, one failed initiative separates him from public vilification.

We had evidence of that after Ireland's match against Albania when they needed a goal in added time to win and the tactical formation was questionable. Suddenly Kerr must have realised the honeymoon period was over.

It goes without saying that we are too quick to rush to judgement. Kerr was saved the full force of the media and public blast of criticism by a couple of errors by Albania defenders and some good football from Stephen Carr, Gary Doherty and Robbie Keane.

Had Carr not delivered a good cross-field ball, had Doherty not controlled it well only to scuff his shot, and had Keane not put the defender under pressure then who knows how far Ireland's and the manager's fortunes might have fallen.

The negative fallout from a poor performance was, however, a glimpse of the future. All managers are granted just a limited spell and they must move on, out of choice or out of necessity.

The example of Mick O'Dwyer is entirely relevant. He has just delivered the people of Laois the enjoyment and satisfaction of a great day. His record is remarkable.

He did the same for Kildare, firing them to produce several seasons of spectacular games, spectacular results. But he could not deliver an All-Ireland.

Managers exert a great influence and carry a lot of responsibility, but they cannot work miracles. The trick is to know when to walk before it all turns sour.