With Trap now out the door, the search for his replacement begins in earnest. We take a look at some realistic and some not so realistic contenders to fill his shoes.
Although it was only confirmed this morning, the writing was on the wall for Giovanni Trapattoni long before Ireland’s defeat to Austria last night and the slow and painful death of our prospects of heading to Brazil for the World Cup next summer.
After five years, the FAI are on the lookout for a new manager again and after hand-picking some of the potential contenders and breaking them up into three separate categories, we take a look at the managers who could/might/probably will never fill Trap’s shoes.
Realistic
Martin O’Neill (4/5)
The overwhelming favourite for the job, O’Neill is available and would appear to be a popular choice given his exploits with the likes of Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa and (to a lesser extent) Sunderland in the past.
His ability to motivate a squad is not in doubt, but his teams haven’t always played the most exciting brand of football and players who have been on the fringes of teams he has managed have grown frustrated with a lack of opportunities to impress, two criticisms that were particularly prevalent under Trapattoni.
Mick McCarthy (8/1)
It says a lot about McCarthy’s reputation both as a man and as a manager that his potential return as Irish boss would be welcomed by a sizeable percentage of Irish fans despite all the water under the bridge from Saipan and the subsequent fall-out.
Big Mick has done OK at Ipswich and Wolves’ plight since his unfair departure shows that they never should have gotten rid of him in the first place. From a purely selfish point of view, JOE would welcome the opportunity to include the video below in the frequent pieces we’d have on McCarthy if he did make a comeback.
Chris Hughton (16/1)
If everyone was available, Hughton would certainly be one of the most popular choices amongst Irish fans to succeed Trapattoni but it’s hard to see him leave Norwich at this stage. Distinguished himself during his playing career with Ireland and knows the international game from his experience as Brian Kerr’s assistant.
Since stepping up to becoming a manager in his own right, Hughton has impressed in his own understated style with Newcastle, Birmingham and Norwich, but he will probably prove unattainable if the FAI were ever to try and convince him to take on the gig.
Long-shots
Roy Keane (14/1)
Keane’s name always pops up when people start talking about potential Irish managers, but although there are only three people quoted at shorter odds to get the job, there’s little chance of it happening.
Bar punditry, Keane hasn’t had a job in football for nearly three years and although he had a measure of success with Sunderland, he wasn’t exactly the most stable influence with the Black Cats or subsequently with Ipswich and seemed to have a flair for putting people’s noses out of joint.
Besides, do you really think the FAI would hire Keane given his history with John Delaney? It’s an exciting prospect given Keane’s status and his ability to create headlines but will it happen? We can’t see it.
Rene Meulensteen (20/1)
Meulensteen’s name has been tentatively mentioned in relation to the Irish job in recent days and it would be a very interesting appointment indeed.
It didn’t work out for the Dutchman at Anzhi Makhachkala because of the mess that engulfed the Russian club but he was extremely well regarded as a coach at Manchester United and the fact that he resisted efforts from David Moyes to stick around shows that he is keen to pursue his own career in management.
Manchester United one season, Ireland the next. Why the hell not?
A risky appointment and an unlikely one, but Meulensteen is one to keep an eye on nonetheless.
Owen Coyle (25/1)
If Trap had been removed two or three years ago, Coyle would have been way up the list in terms of potential replacements, but his stock fell following Bolton’s relegation to the Championship and his subsequent sacking and he is only now getting back to his feet with Wigan in the second tier.
At 47, Coyle is young in managerial terms, he’s enthusiastic, his teams try and play football the right way and if the FAI want corporate references into every single managerial interview then Owen ‘Barclays Premier League’ Coyle is their man.
It’s probably too early for him at this stage, mind.
Fantasy
Guus Hiddink (50/1)
Spells with South Korea, Turkey, Australia and Russia as well as his native Netherlands would appear to suggest that Hiddink wouldn’t balk at the prospect of another international gig and what a coup it would be to land a man who has managed the likes of Real Madrid, PSV, Valencia and Chelsea in the past.
Something tells us the FAI will be on the lookout for a man whose salary demands aren’t anywhere near the level of Trap’s, however and that could be one of a few stumbling blocks. Whether Hiddink would be up for another challenge at the age of 66 and with a long career behind him is also up for debate.
Alex Ferguson (50/1)
He hasn’t admitted it publicly, but even the dogs in the street know that Fergie is missing management already and with the United job out of reach, he would jump at the chance to lead Ireland sooner than you can say ‘Fergie time’.
There’s more hope of Fergie, Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney sitting down for a drink and a friendly chit-chat of course, but we can dare to dream for now.
Jupp Heynckes (50/1)
The club will say otherwise but Heynckes was shunted out of Bayern to make room for Pep Guardiola last year and then went out on an ultimate high by winning every trophy possible last season.
Surely he’d relish the chance to go from an all-conquering treble winning mega club to a struggling international side at their lowest ebb for quite some time, right? Right?
