Who Will Be Next Northern Ireland Manager?

This article appeared on SportsNews Ireland on December 8. I have since learned that Brian Kerr has not even made the IFA's shortlist. Interesting indeed!

Who should be the next Northern Ireland manager?

The BBC has reported that the Irish Football Association has narrowed down its preferences to a shortlist of six men, with Jim Magilton, Michael O'Neill, Iain Dowie, Gerry Armstrong and Dave Jones said to be on the list. Former Republic of Ireland and Faroe Islands boss Brian Kerr is among the favourites for the job and has repeatedly made his desire to take the job public.

So who is the best candidate? Which man possesses the requisite credentials to take Northern Ireland forward? Will we see managerial teams, or will such a prospect prove too expensive for the IFA?

Jim Magilton

Former Ipswich Town player and manager Magilton played 52 times for Northern Ireland during his career. Magilton was fiery midfielder with a no-nonsense attitude on the pitch and he appears to have carried this attitude on to his managerial philosophy. For example, the Belfast man was shrouded in acrimony when, as manager of QPR, he allegedly head-butted his own player during a post-match dressing room confrontation. This incident apparently led to Magilton's decision to leave QPR at the end of 2009. After a period in managerial wilderness, Magilton joined his compatriot Michael O'Neill as the assistant manager of Irish champions Shamrock Rovers. Magilton is considered by many bookmakers to be the favourite for the job, but he may end up forming a managerial team

Michael O'Neill

"My future is very much up in the air to be honest and the Northern Ireland job is very attractive, no doubt about that.". Those were O'Neill's words in mid-November. Like Jim Magilton, O'Neill is a young manager at 42 years of age and is also a former Northern Ireland international, having played 33 times during his career. However, despite his emphatic success as manager of one of Ireland's biggest football teams, O'Neill cannot yet boast an impressive CV, his experience prior to Shamrock Rovers limited to his time as manager of Scottish Second Division outfit Brechin City from 2006 to 2008. Therefore, considering this relative lack of experience, it is thought that, were Michael O'Neill to take the Northern Ireland job, his current assistant Jim Magilton would help form a managerial team contributing his greater experience to the IFA's cause.

Iain Dowie

English born Dowie is another former Northern Ireland international who scored 12 goals in his 59 appearances. Dowie's snarling visage has gone down in football's hall of infamy and, like Magilton, he is widely acknowledged to champion a strict approach. Out of all the touted candidates Dowie has one of the most extensive CVs, having managed six clubs, including Crystal Palace, Coventry and Hull City, but he has yet to steer the fortunes of an international team. Nevertheless he ticks many of the boxes for the Irish Football Association.

Gerry Armstrong

The newly appointed “Elite Player Mentor”, Gerry Armstrong has been tremendously vocal about his attempts to stop players from Northern Ireland opting to play for the Republic of Ireland and he has indeed been quite vocal about his desire to manage Northern Ireland. A legend of Northern Ireland football folklore, the World Cup hero has the advantage of having worked as an assistant to Bryan Hamilton and Lawrie Sanchez when they managed the team. However, Armstrong's managerial CV boasts only the lowly Worthing F.C., which, even at that, was a very short-lived venture. Rather than being appointed as manager, it is possible that Armstrong will reprise his previous role as assistant manager to a more suitable candidate.

Dave Jones

Dave Jones is the only candidate without a connection to Northern Ireland, but since being sacked from his job at Cardiff City, Jones has reportedly expressed an interest in taking over the reins. Jones has managed clubs in the top flight of English football, including Southampton and Wolves and has suffered the agony of narrowly missing out on promotion with Cardiff on three occasions. With the IFA looking for a man who is particularly aware of issues facing Northern Ireland football, Jones may not be the right man for the job, although his CV stands strong against the rest.

Brian Kerr

Although considered by some Northern Ireland fans as a non-runner due to his history as manager of the Republic of Ireland, Kerr is the only candidate who boasts extensive experience in the realm of international management. He has steered Republic of Ireland youth teams to success on the world stage as well as managing the Republic's senior team when Mick McCarthy stepped down. Interestingly, Kerr's Faroe Islands managed a draw with Northern Ireland in the European Championships Qualifiers, as well as doing what Nigel Worthington failed to do in defeating Estonia. Despite the apparent unease among sections of the Northern Ireland support, Kerr, like Iain Dowie has parents from Northern Ireland. However if he is appointed, I would expect a secondary role for someone such as Gerry Armstrong to soften the blow of having an ex-Republic of Ireland manager from Dublin as the Northern Ireland manager.

Ongoing Eligibility Row? Where?

To describe the eligibility of Northern Ireland born Irish nationals in the context of association football as an ongoing issue is, quite simply, a falsehood, because it is not an ongoing issue. Indeed, as the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said in a statement issued in response to the recent upsurge of speculation in the media, the decision reached by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the summer of 2010 granted the issue finality, once and for all. I have written extensively about the eligibility issue in the past, for the simple reason that it is something which presents a principle which is important to me, and over the past few months, it is the ignorant outbursts of Gerry Armstrong, the Irish FA's (IFA) newly appointed 'Elite Player Mentor', that have been the subject of my scorn.

Despite the emphatic nature of the finality which followed the outcome of that court case in Lausanne, elements within the media have deviously sought to ensure that the issue remains at the front of the minds of football fans in Ireland. The idea behind mounting such an aggressive media campaign, presumably, is to effect some kind of change by maintaining an atmosphere of discontent among Northern Ireland fans and, at the same time, attempting to encourage a feeling of sympathy or unease among Republic of Ireland fans. The rabidly sensationalist stories which continue to prevail are typically written by resident hacks who are embarrassingly ignorant of the statutes governing eligibility, as well as the very recent court case on the issue and they insist on propounding myths and outright lies in an effort to stir up frenzy among the Northern Ireland fan base. Of course, that many of these writers are sympathetic to, or even fans of, Northern Ireland is acceptable, but what is utterly inexcusable is the stubbornness of their ignorance in the face of readily available facts. It seems to suggest a defiant 'head-in-the-sand' mentality.

Since his appointment by the IFA as the association's 'Elite Player Mentor', Gerry Armstrong has continued this frustrating habit. The former Northern Ireland international has been extremely vocal about his intentions to persuade players to stick with, declare for, or in some cases return to, the IFA. However, it is hard to take anything Armstrong says seriously when he comes out with such short-sighted, erroneous gems as:

"If you are born in part of Northern Ireland that is your country of birth and usually, under FIFA or UEFA rules, that would be the country you would play for.”

As well as the oft-repeated fallacy that,

"Because of the Good Friday Agreement if you are born in Northern Ireland you can play for Northern Ireland or you can play for the Republic of Ireland"

In light of such astounding ignorance, it seems only logical to conclude that Armstrong, who is a relatively senior public figure within the IFA, does not have the faintest clue about that which he is talking about, which is odd, because the CAS case was, in effect, an expensive lesson in interpretation for the IFA. Amazingly, Armstrong has also been making completely unsubstantiated allegations against the FAI in the local media, claiming that the association is actively engaged in the “tapping up” of players aged 15 and 16 years of age – a claim which has been resolutely refuted by the FAI, who have stated their view that it is a player's prerogative whether or not they wish to play for their teams.Furthermore, Armstrong suggests that young players are facing pressure “from a political point of view”, whatever that is supposed to mean. The credibility, if there ever was any, to Armstrong's allegations is undermined substantially by the fact that, rather hypocritically, he is currently engaged in the “tapping up” of players who are registered with other associations, including players who were not actually born in Northern Ireland, such as Anton Rodgers, an English-born footballer who plays for the representative teams of the FAI.

If anything worthwhile can be taken from the recent proliferation of articles in the media, it is that, in the realm of complex issues such as national team eligibility, Irish football fans should always be wary of the oblique musings of former footballers. Instead, they should ideally refer to the report which was issued by the CAS following the IFA's complaint against FIFA and the FAI. Failing that, they should consult Daniel Collins' article 'FIFA Player Eligibility in the Context of Ireland: The Actual Rules, the Real Facts and Dispelling the Prevailing Myths' (2011), which remains one of the most in-depth examinations of the issue and outlines, with brutally clinical concision, how Gerry Armstrong and others of his ilk are absolutely out of their depth on this issue.

This article appeared on Backpage Football on 20/10/11

Wise Up, Gerry

Gerry Armstrong

The IFA's Elite Player Mentor, Gerry Armstrong, has issued a robust warning to those who are considering changing from the IFA to the FAI. He is urging them “to look before [they] leap”.

In his recent newspaper column for the Sunday Life, Armstrong has penned his most embarrassing article to date, an article which is characterised by an astonishing level of paranoia and outright ignorance. Indeed, such is the utterly delusional nature of his rambling that one might be forgiven for mistaking it for the blind-rage-fuelled rhetoric of the conspiracy theorists who accuse the FAI of sectarianism and plotting the downfall of the IFA. In fact, I suspect the column may, in fact, be the work of a conniving ghost-writer, but enough of my conspiracy theories.

“I've thought for some time and I still hold the view that the predator that is the FAI is simply taking players for the sake of it and at the same time knowing they are depriving Northern Ireland.”

- Gerry Armstrong.

In describing the FAI as a “predator”, Armstrong's credibility begins to crack, before it crumbles entirely with his erroneous statement that the FAI “may be within their rights because of the Good Friday Agreement”, concluding with his perfect moral compass that “what they are doing is morally wrong”. Two things: not only does the Good Friday Agreement have nothing to do with the scenario and since when did Gerry Armstrong and the IFA have a monopoly on moral judgement (and that's completely disregarding the fact that they too, are in the business of “poaching”)? Someone should remind him that they do not exist in a bubble.

Not content with flaunting his ignorance in those statements, the former international then goes on to expose what is quite an insulting and narrow-minded viewpoint - that national team eligibility should be determined by where one was born, not nationality - and that, my friends, just about sums the mindset up.

For, you see, the simple fact is that the IFA is as self-interested as any other football association. It does not possess the moral high-ground that it so foolishly tries to claim. Its agents have indulged and continue to indulge in the same type of “poaching” it claims to be a victim of and, crucially, it does not own players who are eligible for its teams.

Just read the CAS ruling, Gerry, or at least have a look at Daniel Collins' piece on the matter. Good man.

Gerry "Mainland" Armstrong

Gerry Armstrong, "Catholic Player Mentor"

Did you ever hear the one about "poaching"?

That's right, the one where elements within the IFA and hordes of Northern Ireland fans propounded the notion that their neighbouring association, the FAI, was involved in nefarious activity around the football pitches of the north. Apparently scouts were sneaking into football grounds draped in their FAI apparel, (hoping not to be seen, mind you) with a notepad in hand, checking off the "Catholic-sounding names" in a bid to fulfil the FAI's cunning plan to "sectarianise" football in Ireland. The 'Child-Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was even used by some IFA fans to describe their theory.

Let that image sink in.

I wish I could say that I was jesting, but this is exactly the type of paranoid nonsense that emanated from those quarters. Amazingly that delusional school of thought continues to prevail among some sections of the Northern Ireland fan-base. I wonder then, did they feel that overwhelming wave of irony as it washed over them when Gerry Armstrong was appointed as the IFA's new Elite Player Mentor?

Armstrong has been quite vocal in his opposition to footballers from the north playing for the FAI. He has also been quite vocal about what kind of tasks his new post demands. When James McClean announced his intentions to wait for a call up to the FAI, Gerry told us that it was imperative that he and James "have a chat".

It is also rumoured that Armstrong has been approaching players who are currently in the FAI set up, some of whom having just played for the FAI as recently as two weeks ago, about switching to the IFA.

What's that other one about the black kettle?

*Just to clarify, Gerry "Mainland" Armstrong is a nod to Gerry's referral to Britain as "the mainland".