Stephen Kenny and Gareth Southgate. Stephen Kenny and Gareth Southgate. “FOOTBALL IS a results business.” This is a sentence Ireland fans who have been paying any attention to the media coverage around the team have been hearing quite often for the last two years.
A draw is a better result than a loss, but Irish people were far happier following the 2-1 defeat to Portugal compared with the 1-1 debacle against Azerbaijan a few days later. ‘Football is a results business’ also implies an almost scientific detachment, but few businesses are as influenced by emotion as football and sport in general.
While the scepticism was palpable after an error-ridden display against Armenia last night, time is necessary and inconsistency inevitable given the scope of the changes that have taken place in the past two years. He is therefore indisputably England’s most successful national team manager since legendary World Cup winner Alf Ramsey.
“I’m the right person to take the team into the tournament,” he said. “I think it’s more stable that way, without a doubt.”really like? Rare insights on sport's biggest names from the writers who know them best. Listen to Behind the Lines podcast.Southgate in recent days has been arguably under more pressure than Kenny ever faced during his Ireland tenure, despite the English boss performing better than almost any other national coach at the past two major tournaments.
thejournal_ie paulfennessy21 Both are out of their depth.