Evan and hell: The A to Z of a tumultuous 2023 for Irish football
REAL DEAL: Evan Ferguson has shown he’s the real deal since this week last year when he struck against Arsenal. Pic: Steven Paston/PA Wire.
Women kicked off 2023 ahead of their male international counterparts and that’s the way it ended as Ireland’s Euro hopes ceased in tandem with Stephen Kenny’s reign.
Domestically, Shamrock Rovers were on the up in contrast to their old rivals Cork City going down but at least other proud provincials, Galway United and Waterford met them on the way up.
For portents of optimism, a teenager from Bettystown drew acclaim from Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, adamant he’s a Premier League striker for the ages. No pressure Evan Ferguson as we list our A to Z of what unfolded in the past 12 months.
The scene of Irish football’s highpoint of the year, the first major tournament appearance for the women’s team and kicking it off against the co-World Cup hosts before a crowd of 75,000. Brisbane and Perth were also taken in as the team traversed multiple timezones on their maiden odyssey.
: Roy, the FAI’s first ever independent chairman, whose near four-year term ended in controversy. The ex-stockbroking guru ignored expert advice to embark on a solo run to sanction an unorthodox payment to his chief executive and remained steadfast despite the flak he shipped from all quarters when his secretive action was uncovered.
: The home city of Miah Dennehy, who passed away at the age of 73. It was in 1972, 51 years ago, that the man raised in Templeacre Avenue, Gurranebraher became the first to score an FAI Cup final hat-trick, as Cork Hibs defeated Munster rivals Waterford United. A bona fide legend who unfortunately never fully recovered from an assault he was subjected to in 2007.
: What the FAI are still swimming in. While it has been reduced to €44m, Jonathan Hill admitted Covid-19 payouts by the State contributed. Discounted season tickets may be flying but there’s no Euro finals largesse and the indefensible absence of a main sponsor for the men’s team extends into a fourth year.
: Gleeson, the new women's team manager. Try as she did to divert onlookers off the trail, it was always likely she’d be in the frame for permanent residency once abseiled in as a stopgap after Vera Pauw’s dismissal. Six straight wins, albeit against inferior opposition, cemented her candidature.
: Evan, Ireland’s teen sensation. We’ve had lots of those fade off the scene but the Brighton man has shown he’s the real deal since this week last year when he struck against Arsenal. Double-digits have since been reached for goals in the Premier League and he’s become Ireland’s main man too.
: A 40% balance the FAI was under more pressure than other codes to comply with given their reliance on exchequer funding. The methodology, rather than the principle, was what proved contentious but any fears of the State tap being turned off dissipated when a delayed AGM endorsed a motion to include six females on an enlarged board of 14.
: Arrived in various guises but the most symbolic landmark was dated September 23. That was when the FAI belatedly opened the national stadium to the women’s team, two years after being gripped by fear of risk. Build it and they will come, a wise person once said, and so it transpired when Northern Ireland visited.
: For years, we’ve seen first-hand and heard how archaic facilities and the lack of industry for budding players are hampering the game and the FAI collated their analysis into a blueprint. All in all, they need €863m over the next 15 years to modernise the infrastructure, the vast majority of which is being asked from the Government.
Doherty, the diminutive winger was a Premier Division player operating in the First Division which Cobh Ramblers Shane Keegan made the most of. It was through no lack of ambition, for personal reasons decreed part-time status, and his 18 goals sent Cobh into the playoff final and Cork City pushing the boat out to finally nab him at 29.
: That’s Uchenna, the Nigerian striker whose downward header produced a Gordon Banks moment for Ireland goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan. That save onto the crossbar preserved a scoreless draw and a point in the final group game for Ireland - ensuring they didn’t return home with zilch in the final column.
: Carsley – the candidate that has remained a constant in the conversation about the next Ireland manager. He was respectful enough not to speak about his ambitions while Stephen Kenny was in the job and he had an Euro U21 tournament to win with England but the stars may be aligning for a homecoming.
: Jimmy The Warrier called time on his Ireland career at 34, though not exactly in the sequence he’d have wanted. Kenny’s misgivings about his former club player’s drop to Wrexham in League Two manifested in being initially cut from the October window. He eventually bowed out as skipper against New Zealand a month later with 103 caps.
: Where an unlikely bolter in Alex Murphy emerged. Between the resources at the Saudi-funded outfit and the Galwayman’s tender age, for the 19-year-old to be handed his Premier League debut in the win at Chelsea was ahead of schedule. The left-sided defender has remained on the fringes since.
: The queen of Knocknaheeny Denise achieved twin ambitions of joining the centurion club when facing then World champions USA in April before gracing that stage herself three months later. Honest to admit her frustration at displays against Australia and Canada, she flourished when belatedly pushed into an advanced role for the Nigeria concluder.
Upsets are such a rarity in the economic landscape of football that the feat of the fully amateur club in reclaiming their women’s national title warrants commendation. Neither Shelbourne’s three-in-row tilt nor a well-backed Shamrock Rovers side could compete with United’s surge to the crown with games to spare under the guidance of skipper Karen Duggan.
The swathes that remain unanswered from Jonathan Hill even after the FAI chief executive’s session before an Oireachtas committee in December. Notwithstanding his payment for untaken holidays rendered the visit damage limitation, his explanations on the timeline didn’t wash with the inquisitors. This one isn’t over.
: Shamrock, League of Ireland conquerors for a record-equalling fourth time in a row. Their painfully slow start wasn’t capitalised upon by any contenders, more akin to pretenders, enabling the experience and nous of the Hoops to pull clear and now set their sights on a drive for five.
In the same way it took the FAI accounts to illustrate the wreckage of John Delaney’s reign, the numbers don’t lie for Stephen Kenny’s tenure. World rankings are an imperfect science, yet the drop from 34 when he assumed control in 2020 to 60 by the end in November spoke volumes of the task his successor faces.
: Forget France and Netherlands – it was Greece who humbled Ireland in the Euro qualifiers. That could be credited to Gus Poyet’s tactical supremacy over Kenny or the class of Kostas Tsimikas but moreso the contribution of a journeyman captain approaching his 30th birthday when the teams met in June. Bakasetas set the tone for the two wins by slamming home the opener with a powerful penalty.
Two teen brothers from Cork, Franco and Jaden, flew the flag on the flanks with distinction and promised much for the future. Crystal Palace swooped for 18-year-old Franco while Cork City were in pre-season but there would be an Umeh in the team as his sibling became the youngest-ever league rebel in November by coming on at Dalymount Park. He was 15 years and 230 days old.
Pauw – the reigning RTÉ manager of the year descended from hero to zero over a tumultuous eight months that ended on August 31 with her contract not renewed. All but one of the FAI board agreed with a recommendation to jettison her and the recriminations flowed.
: Gnonto – the Italian instigator of a comeback that stunned Turner’s Cross in November. He may be in dispute with Leeds United but the attacker showed no rustiness when pilfering a late equaliser that denied Ireland a famous U21 qualification victory.
The new version of Twitter is where the chasm between Pauw and Katie McCabe, reflective of the overall malaise, was penned on July 31. A sideline spat between captain and manager during the Nigeria dead rubber, fuelled by Pauw’s post-match filleting, prompted a zipped mouth emoji within a half hour.
: Six is the amount Galway United spent outside the Premier Division before John Caulfield masterminded promotion. An impeccable record of 18 home wins set the foundation and the budgetary clout supplied by the Comer brothers insulates them for a competitive top-flight return.
Stephen Kenny foolishly disregarded the goals scored against Gibraltar by Ireland under his predecessor Mick McCarthy but at least they extracted points from Denmark, Switzerland and Georgia in the campaign. The latest Ireland boss lost all six of the matches against all but the minnows, marking the worst campaign for 50 years.
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