Givens Finally Moves Aside
Credit:
Ireland’s Under 21 manager for the last decade, Don Givens, finally decided that he was not the man best qualified to lead the next generation of potential stars.
Although there was a perceived inaction in the halls of Abbotstown it is hard not to believe that Givens was persuaded to kindly step aside as his team floundered upon another disastrous campaign.
Amid grumblings from many throughout the game Givens appears to have realised that he is not the man for the job and has duly stood down. Indeed several Irish football websites that represent the footballing community on these shores were planning a petition at the next home game in August had the status quo not changed.
Thankfully that will no longer be needed.
A second successive defeat to Armenia leaves the team with no hope of qualification yet again as the tale of woe that is underage football continues to hit new lows.
In the immediate aftermath of the game Givens had absolutely no intention of stepping down:
"We misplaced passes and miscontrolled the ball, and it's hard to understand. But I am not considering my position in the slightest.
He then had the audacity to claim there was a secret “agenda” brewing amongst Irish writers to hound him out:
"There are sections of the press that have their own agendas but I am about producing players, I have said that from the first day I came in to the job, that's what I am here for. I don't like losing games and I don't like it when the team plays poorly, I will consider my position if somebody in the FAI comes to me and says it, but I certainly won’t be going on journalists' opinions."
Now it has always been the case that the result is not the prerogative for the last stepping stone prior to senior involvement. But the current standings in the group are as grim reading as the days of Maurice Setters, another whose tenure failed abysmally.
Currently the Irish prop up the group table, behind Switzerland, Turkey, Estonia, Georgia and Armenia. Hardly household names in the scheme of soccer hot beds, yet good enough to comfortably dismiss our best efforts.
In normal business, a manager takes responsibility for the product he produces and if this fails the hierarchy act.
But as we all know football on this isle is not as transparent as the Mission Statements would have you believe.
To the contrary, the FAI let Givens fall on his own sword rather than tell the one time Irish centre forward that enough is enough and sack him.
Then rather than start afresh, build anew, he gets an apparent sideways promotion, in effect a golden handshake.
Givens now resides as the chief talent spotter for Giovanni Trappatoni in the UK. Now this is a strange appointment on so many levels.
The obligatory clichés were churned out upon the arrival of the news:
“I am looking forward to taking up my new position and would like to wish whoever is named the new under 21 manager all the very best in the job.'
Firstly can our senior manager along with his assistant Marco Tardelli not undertake this role as part of their wider job description? Is it me or does Capello, the English counterpart, not spend most of every weekend taking in live games? I will refrain from going off on a tangent but it’s a moot point nevertheless.
Secondly is there not an irony here that Givens has proved with his results over a career spanning close to ten years that he does not know the best players available? Is his acumen going to suddenly change now that he does not have to actually manage the players?
Thankfully one aspect of his reign that will not get a chance to repeat is his dictatorial approach that has seen him fall out with many a burgeoning star.
To focus solely on the negative aspects, which undoubtedly outnumber the positives, would be remiss of anyone reviewing his tenure as Givens gave vital experience to players who have gone on to represent at Senior level – the likes of Darren Gibson, Glenn Whelan and Leon Best.
One cannot help but feel that this decision, whoever made it, has ultimately come a campaign too late following the last European qualification campaign where Ireland finished rock bottom.
A false dawn prior to this failed quest for qualification came in the shape of an acclaimed draw with a strong German outfit- proving the exception to the rule- and was quickly followed with a resounding 3-0 loss to Turkey.
Speaking of Givens’ decision, Wim Koevermans, the FAI High Performance Director with responsibility for underage international teams said: 'I would like to wish Don well in new role as Chief Scout in the UK and thank him for his time with the under 21 squad.
“After almost a decade in charge of this age level, the time is now right to introduce a new manager and we expect to make this appointment before the next under 21 match on 10 August.”
Givens said of his time: 'I have enjoyed the job for ten years now.”
It has to be said by and large, unlike the people who have a keen interest in the underage team and have followed his side lurch from one bad result to another with only a speckling of good showings.
The overall record does not make for pretty reading:
Firstly in the games that count:
Competitive -- Played 43, Won 11, Drew 11, Lost 21
While overall reads little better:
Overall -- Played 85, Won 29, Drew 22, Lost 34
There is a bigger question on how the FAI intends to turn around the production line to develop the next generation of true stars. Not since Damien Duff and Robbie Keane emerged have we had anything to truly shout about and the knock on affect is one must wonder where the Senior team look to, it appears not to these shores in the short to medium term.
Rather focus on the loop holes created by FIFA’s eligibity rule change and hope to convince the likes of Kevin Nolan, Jamie O’Hara et al to wear the green.
That is a poser for another article but after trawling through the reams of fans opinion on Givens sorry tenure one post on an internet forum succinctly summarised what the majority of us have felt for the past while: “About Time!”
Although there was a perceived inaction in the halls of Abbotstown it is hard not to believe that Givens was persuaded to kindly step aside as his team floundered upon another disastrous campaign.
Amid grumblings from many throughout the game Givens appears to have realised that he is not the man for the job and has duly stood down. Indeed several Irish football websites that represent the footballing community on these shores were planning a petition at the next home game in August had the status quo not changed.
Thankfully that will no longer be needed.
A second successive defeat to Armenia leaves the team with no hope of qualification yet again as the tale of woe that is underage football continues to hit new lows.
In the immediate aftermath of the game Givens had absolutely no intention of stepping down:
"We misplaced passes and miscontrolled the ball, and it's hard to understand. But I am not considering my position in the slightest.
He then had the audacity to claim there was a secret “agenda” brewing amongst Irish writers to hound him out:
"There are sections of the press that have their own agendas but I am about producing players, I have said that from the first day I came in to the job, that's what I am here for. I don't like losing games and I don't like it when the team plays poorly, I will consider my position if somebody in the FAI comes to me and says it, but I certainly won’t be going on journalists' opinions."
Now it has always been the case that the result is not the prerogative for the last stepping stone prior to senior involvement. But the current standings in the group are as grim reading as the days of Maurice Setters, another whose tenure failed abysmally.
Currently the Irish prop up the group table, behind Switzerland, Turkey, Estonia, Georgia and Armenia. Hardly household names in the scheme of soccer hot beds, yet good enough to comfortably dismiss our best efforts.
In normal business, a manager takes responsibility for the product he produces and if this fails the hierarchy act.
But as we all know football on this isle is not as transparent as the Mission Statements would have you believe.
To the contrary, the FAI let Givens fall on his own sword rather than tell the one time Irish centre forward that enough is enough and sack him.
Then rather than start afresh, build anew, he gets an apparent sideways promotion, in effect a golden handshake.
Givens now resides as the chief talent spotter for Giovanni Trappatoni in the UK. Now this is a strange appointment on so many levels.
The obligatory clichés were churned out upon the arrival of the news:
“I am looking forward to taking up my new position and would like to wish whoever is named the new under 21 manager all the very best in the job.'
Firstly can our senior manager along with his assistant Marco Tardelli not undertake this role as part of their wider job description? Is it me or does Capello, the English counterpart, not spend most of every weekend taking in live games? I will refrain from going off on a tangent but it’s a moot point nevertheless.
Secondly is there not an irony here that Givens has proved with his results over a career spanning close to ten years that he does not know the best players available? Is his acumen going to suddenly change now that he does not have to actually manage the players?
Thankfully one aspect of his reign that will not get a chance to repeat is his dictatorial approach that has seen him fall out with many a burgeoning star.
To focus solely on the negative aspects, which undoubtedly outnumber the positives, would be remiss of anyone reviewing his tenure as Givens gave vital experience to players who have gone on to represent at Senior level – the likes of Darren Gibson, Glenn Whelan and Leon Best.
One cannot help but feel that this decision, whoever made it, has ultimately come a campaign too late following the last European qualification campaign where Ireland finished rock bottom.
A false dawn prior to this failed quest for qualification came in the shape of an acclaimed draw with a strong German outfit- proving the exception to the rule- and was quickly followed with a resounding 3-0 loss to Turkey.
Speaking of Givens’ decision, Wim Koevermans, the FAI High Performance Director with responsibility for underage international teams said: 'I would like to wish Don well in new role as Chief Scout in the UK and thank him for his time with the under 21 squad.
“After almost a decade in charge of this age level, the time is now right to introduce a new manager and we expect to make this appointment before the next under 21 match on 10 August.”
Givens said of his time: 'I have enjoyed the job for ten years now.”
It has to be said by and large, unlike the people who have a keen interest in the underage team and have followed his side lurch from one bad result to another with only a speckling of good showings.
The overall record does not make for pretty reading:
Firstly in the games that count:
Competitive -- Played 43, Won 11, Drew 11, Lost 21
While overall reads little better:
Overall -- Played 85, Won 29, Drew 22, Lost 34
There is a bigger question on how the FAI intends to turn around the production line to develop the next generation of true stars. Not since Damien Duff and Robbie Keane emerged have we had anything to truly shout about and the knock on affect is one must wonder where the Senior team look to, it appears not to these shores in the short to medium term.
Rather focus on the loop holes created by FIFA’s eligibity rule change and hope to convince the likes of Kevin Nolan, Jamie O’Hara et al to wear the green.
That is a poser for another article but after trawling through the reams of fans opinion on Givens sorry tenure one post on an internet forum succinctly summarised what the majority of us have felt for the past while: “About Time!”
