Gaffers (30 page)

Staunton quickly surrounded himself with experienced coaches, appointing former Aston Villa reserve-team coach Kevin McDonald. However, his and the FAI’s biggest gamble was the appointment of an ageing Sir Bobby Robson in the role of International Consultant. Sadly, Sir Bobby soon began a fifth battle with cancer and as a result had little interaction with the Ireland set-up.

Staunton’s reign became a constant battle with the media, although he struck the first blow himself at the start of his reign when he publicly declared himself the ‘Gaffer’. Although not quite in the ‘I am the special one’ vein of José Mourinho, Staunton’s self-proclaimed title earned him ridicule in the media and was the first of many such incidents with the press.

Any doubts as to his appointment were put to the back of people’s minds when in his first game in charge, with Robbie Keane as his new captain, Staunton led Ireland to a 3–0 win over Sweden. The impressive start was soon forgotten, however,
and doubts reappeared as Ireland lost their next two matches to Chile and Holland. The 4–0 defeat at home to Holland was Ireland’s biggest home defeat since a similar 4–0 loss to West Germany in 1966.

Staunton’s first competitive game in charge was a European Championship qualifier, and the heavy defeat at the hands of Holland was put to the back of people’s minds as Ireland produced a spirited display, managing to restrict Germany to a 1–0 home win. However, once again Steve’s inexperience as a manager was evident as a kicked water bottle, a reaction to his own frustrations, landed on the pitch and the referee reacted by sending Steve to the stands. It would be a costly mistake for the team as Steve was forced to watch Ireland’s next game, away to Cyprus, from the stands. With Kevin McDonald in the dugout, Ireland was on the end of an embarrassing defeat, losing 5–2 to one of Europe’s smaller sides. With the pressure mounting, Steve needed a run of results to appease the fans and critics alike. A 1–1 draw with the Czech Republic at Lansdowne Road, followed by a 5–0 win over San Marino, finally gave him some breathing space.

The return match against San Marino saw a return to the struggling autumn performances with Ireland needing an injury- time goal to come away with a 2–1 win. The team’s poor away results coupled with their inconsistent displays meant that Steve was under constant pressure. Successive 1–0 wins over Slovakia and Wales did little to inspire the nation, but despite this, Ireland remained in contention for qualification. Four games in September and October ultimately decided Steve’s fate, as a defeat away to the Czech Republic was followed by successive draws with Slovakia, Germany and Cyprus (who before the campaign had never taken any points from Ireland). Ireland would not be on a plane to the European Championship finals in Austria and Switzerland. Despite finishing the group in third place, Ireland were twelve points behind the Czech Republic.

Confusion about Staunton’s role surfaced thereafter, as the FAI refused to back their beleaguered man while Staunton refused to resign, the manager stating that he intended to see out the remainder of his four-year contract. However, in the end the FAI and Staunton bowed to public pressure, and his twenty-one month reign as international manager came to an end.

BACK TO BASICS

With his reputation seemingly in tatters following the Ireland job, it was a case of back to basics for Staunton. It was crucial for him to remain in football and lessen the damage done by his time with Ireland. Thankfully, his first opportunity for redemption arrived in the shape of the assistant manager’s role with Leeds United under another former Liverpool teammate, Gary McAllister. The move back to day-to-day coaching was essential to his redevelopment, and although he was sacked along with McAllister following a poor run of form, his reputation was not further damaged by the Leeds appointment.

During Staunton’s time at Leeds he worked with Alan Sheehan, a former Ireland Under-21 defender: ‘He was a massive influence on my game. He came to Leeds as assistant to Gary McAllister, and one of his main duties was to work with the defenders. As I am a left-back like him he really looked after me a lot. He passed a lot on to me, and he definitely helped my development as a defender. He’d work on defending exercises with us, and I found that he had a lot to give as a coach. When it came to games Gary would say his piece beforehand, and Steve would also get involved. The day-to-day involvement seemed to work for him. They were unlucky in the end at Leeds. A couple of bad results cost them in the end.’

His old Ireland teammate Mick McCarthy offered Staunton a coaching role with Wolves. During this time Staunton completed his coaching badges and took the opportunity to watch St Kilda, an Australian rules team, train in an effort to get an insight into other sports and their methods.

In October 2009 he returned to club management when he accepted the manager’s job at Darlington, who at the time were the ninety-second club in League football, rooted to the bottom of League Two. It was a big job for the manager, but he did not have to wait long for a morale-boosting victory, which came in his second game in charge. Taking the job with Darlington could be viewed as an attempt by Staunton to take things back to grassroots level. That was how Paul Ince, for example, had started out, and success with a small club, struggling with budgets and cash, can catch the eye of money conscious chairmen around the country.

When Staunton took over at Darlington they were at the bottom, and the only way, or so it seemed, was up for both club and manager. However, the remit of saving the team from relegation proved too difficult, and in March 2010 he was sacked from the role, with Darlington still rooted to the bottom of the League.

While he might not be recognised as one of Ireland’s greatestever managers, it is hard to dispute what Steve Staunton has given to Irish football over the last twenty years. While his reputation might have been tarnished by his time spent in the Ireland hot seat, with his growing experience he will have the opportunity to become a great manager in time.

STEVE STAUNTON’S CLUB MANAGERIAL HONOURS RECORD:

No management honours

STEVE STAUNTON’S IRELAND RECORD:

Total number of games in charge: 17
Total number of wins: 6 (ratio 35.29%)
Total number of draws: 6 (ratio 35.29%)
Total number of losses: 5 (ratio 29.42%)
Biggest win: 5–0
v
. San Marino
Biggest defeat: 4–0
v
. Holland
Longest run without defeat: 9 games

Collins Dictionary
describes a caretaker as ‘a person employed to look after a place or thing’, and on two separate occasions that is exactly what Don Givens has done for the Irish football team. Despite knowing that the role was only temporary every time he took it, he has managed the team in a professional manner, and the performances under him have been in line with what is expected of an international coach. Don has stepped in and helped his country whenever he has been called upon, whether in the dugout or on the pitch.

Imagine a striker who played at the top level of English football and was top scorer for his country for over nine years, and no, I am not talking about Robbie Keane or John Aldridge. Don Givens might be more familiar to younger readers as the Ireland Under-21 boss, but his goal-scoring feats for Ireland were the stuff of dreams. Over the years Ireland have been blessed with some fantastic strikers, from the great Jimmy Dunne in the 1930s and 1940s to Frank Stapleton, John Aldridge, Tony Cascarino, Niall Quinn and the current strike pair of Kevin
Doyle and Robbie Keane, all fantastic players, and, although they weren’t strikers, Noel Cantwell and Gerry Daly had impressive scoring records for Ireland. However, during the dark days of the 1970s Don Givens was a shining light for Ireland, and his exploits endeared him to the fans of the day.

He has a higher profile today, especially as a result of his time spent managing the Under-21s and his stints as caretaker boss of Ireland. And whereas Giovanni Trapattoni is known as ‘the Italian’, Givens will always be remembered as ‘the Caretaker’, for it seems likely that he will always be the bridesmaid and never the bride, although perhaps he would be better described as the best man, as he is still an essential part of the Ireland setup, overseeing the FAI’s UK-based scouting network.

There is no doubt that Givens can be very proud of the role he has played in Irish football, from his goal-scoring displays as a striker to his more recent roles, including being on the panel that helped select the current Ireland manager, not to mention his role in developing future talent while manager of the Under-21 side. He has given himself fully to the cause and deserves his rank as a legend of the game in Ireland.

Born in Limerick in 1949, Givens the footballer started his career as a seventeen-year-old with Manchester United, arriving at the club in 1966 in one of the most glorious chapters in the team’s history. Givens was surrounded by and learned from players such as George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, although it was two years later before he would make his debut for United. His time at the club was short-lived, and he only made a handful of appearances for the Red Devils before making the switch to Luton in a £15,000 deal. He spent two seasons with Luton, scoring nineteen goals in eighty-one games, before he transferred to Queens Park Rangers.

Gordon Jago was the manager at QPR at the time, and he was faced with the challenge of replacing Rodney Marsh. He recalls, ‘QPR had sold Rodney Marsh in March 1972 for £200,000. However, my instruction from the club chairman was that we would not buy any new players until after the season had ended. Other clubs knew about the money we’d received for Rodney and would tend to place a higher price on any players who were of interest to us. I was to consider new players, and we would make enquiries during the summer months.

‘I had seen Don play against us and was very impressed. He was a highly skilled player in control of the ball, quick and ice cool in front of goal. We knew that we would need two or three forwards to replace Rodney, and Don was my first choice. We contacted Luton Town in the summer to enquire if he was available. Fortunately for us they were in need of money, and we agreed a price of £40,000. Don was away playing for the Republic of Ireland in South America, so we had to wait until he returned before we could speak to him and discuss his terms. It was a nail-biting wait, for we were sure that other clubs would get to hear about our deal with Luton and there would be competition for his signature. Fortunately, we met with Don on his return, and he signed for us. Before the start of the new season we also signed Stan Bowles from Carlisle for £100,000, and not long into the season we added Dave Thomas from Burnley for £162,000. The new forward line was complete, and we won promotion to the First Division that season.

‘Both Stan and Dave were excellent players, but Don was the best buy when you consider the prices paid. He played forty-one games, only missing one League match and scoring twenty-three goals. He went on to play 293 games for QPR and scored 101 goals.

‘Not only was he a very good player, he was a first-class person. A quiet man who trained hard, he was very disciplined, always pleasant and a first-class role model for the young players at the club. He was exceptionally fit, and he would do extra training most days to practise his shooting and penalty taking. He was the club’s penalty taker in those days. Even though he was quiet he was very popular with the other players and was well liked, and, you know, I don’t recall ever subbing him in a match.

‘I was so fortunate to have him with the club and will always be indebted to him for the major part that he played in bringing success to QPR. I followed his later career, trying to contact him during his coaching spell in Switzerland, unfortunately without success, and I am just as pleased about his achievements as a coach.’