The FA took a leaf out of the Football Association of Ireland’s book when it came to recruiting Thomas Tuchel as England manager.
Granted, they completed the process at a faster pace, only needing two months rather than the eight months it took the FAI to appoint Heimir Hallgrímsson, but the similarities are undeniable.
In the time it took to get foreign coaches, interim Irish and English managers John O’Shea and Lee Carsley had four games in charge before it was made clear that Hallgrímsson and Tuchel were the smarter route to reaching/winning the 2026 World Cup.
This meant that O’Shea and Carsley were forced to give vague answers to basic questions when both knew they would not be appointed as the permanent Ireland or England manager.
Ruben Amorim begins the task of weaving mainly average United players into a cohessive unit
The bird-shaped obsession that drives James Crombie, one of Ireland’s best sports photographers
Malachy Clerkin: Ireland can’t afford to miss the women’s Euros - once momentum is lost, it’s hard to get back
‘We’re not hiding’: Heimir Hallgrímsson making no excuses for 5-0 loss to England
The FA exposed Carsley to needless ridicule before his return to coach their under-21s. Now that everyone knows his comment about England needing a “world-class coach who has won trophies” meant Tuchel, who signed a contract on October 8th, I suspect there will be several opportunities for Lee to take a club or international job next year.
O’Shea, operating in a smaller media market, avoided similar grief before being named as Hallgrímsson’s number two.
I presume my former Ireland team-mates will take one key “learning” – to use corporate speak – from the entire process: be very wary of your employers in future dealings.
Hallgrímsson may have a zero missing from his salary when compared with Tuchel’s, but the message sent out by the FA and FAI is the same – neither association trusts its own coaching infrastructures enough to promote from within.
That’s the “learning” from Stephen Kenny’s 40 games as Ireland manager, when the basic expectation of being competitive during qualification fell short. And it applies to Gareth Southgate’s 102 internationals as England manager yielding two Euro finals and a World Cup semi-final, but no trophies.
Who can blame either association for turning to foreign, proven head-coaches? Hallgrímsson brought Iceland and Jamaica to major tournaments. Tuchel is a knockout specialist whose Chelsea team outmanoeuvred Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League final.
It is also clear after two Nations League camps that Hallgrímsson possesses an essential tool for the modern manager. Communication. His strong personality shines through under questioning.
Take the Nathan Collins gaffe that led to Finland’s goal?
“Shit happens.”
Or the Caoimhín Kelleher error, leading to a Greece goal?
“I have a goalkeeper coach who always says the same thing: football is a team sport until a goalkeeper makes a mistake, then it’s no longer a team sport.”
That’s an Ireland manager protecting two young mainstays in his team. That’s encouraging.
Clearly, Hallgrímsson has arrived in the job for one World Cup cycle, just like Tuchel, without any baggage. He brings fresh eyes to survey the Irish football landscape, struggling to accept the value of attending multiple EFL Championship matches when he can spot Jack Taylor on a trip to Ipswich Town to watch Sammie Szmodics and Chiedozie Ogbene.
If Ireland back up the three points gained in Helsinki by beating Finland next month in Dublin, Hallgrímsson can do all his player tracking on the Wyscout app from an office in Abbotstown, for all anyone will care.
The remit is uncomplicated. Drill his coaching philosophy into a squad of young professionals and thank the football gods for Robbie Brady’s left foot.
Brady delivered three elements sorely lacking from recent Ireland performances: passion, a brilliant assist for Liam Scales’s header and an expertly finished goal.
At 32, he knows his international career is nearing its conclusion. Robbie knows the next World Cup could be a summer too far, but he will drain every ounce from his legs to get Ireland across the Atlantic Ocean in 2026.
Ireland won in Helsinki after Hallgrímsson made an example of a veteran who did not bust a gut in September. Festy Ebosele’s promotion over Matt Doherty proved to be an inspired call.
Every Ireland team needs an Ebosele off the bench. I loved seeing Stephen Hunt on the sideline, preparing to come on, visualising the chaos he would bring down the left wing. Without fail, Hunty would get on the ball and take on his man.
Ebosele did the same against Finland and in Greece last Sunday, so much so that Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas was sent on to plug the left flank.
Neither the performances nor the results against Finland and Greece signal the start of an Irish revival. But a competitive win away from home must be applauded and the second-half against Greece, until Kelleher’s mistake, should inspire a performance at Wembley in November.
Actual progress is beating Finland back-to-back coupled with clarity of selection from Hallgrímsson. This starts with Evan Ferguson regaining match fitness, Szmodics continuing to make sacrifices for the team on the left and hopefully Andrew Moran or Finn Azaz making the creative midfield slot their own.
At least there are player options that previous Ireland squads lacked. And in Hallgrímsson the FAI have recruited a version of Tuchel they could afford. It’s a short-term solution but international football has always been about the next result.
