Losing those around him puts Kenny in eye of a storm
Kelly’s exit was flagged but the optics of a second departure are problematic
IT WOULD be a dramatic exaggeration to suggest that Alan Kelly’s departure from the Republic of Ireland set-up came as a bolt from the blue. Surprise is not a word that has been doing the rounds. But the optics of this turn of events following quickly in the aftermath of Damien Duff’s exit are troubling for Stephen Kenny.
The questions and commentary provoked by losing two staff members in less than a week are inevitable even if Duff and Kelly would have different perspectives on a lot of things, most notably the ‘Videogate’ controversy.
Officially, Kelly has stepped away on account of Covid-19 related concerns and that may have influenced his call to depart now seeing as it seems likely that the March window will be as complex as the previous three under that heading.
But from November onwards, there was a view in FAI circles that Kelly’s time under Kenny would be shortlived and there were some eyebrows raised when the manager said after the World Cup draw that his goalkeeping coach would be back in March. He was responding to a direct question when he said it but few were convinced.
While their personal relationship is understood to be OK, it is fair to say they would hold alternative views on certain issues which meant that they probably weren’t compatible in the longer term.
It is somewhat ironic that Kenny made widespread changes to the backroom team in all areas yet opted to retain Kelly from Mick McCarthy’s staff and that has now become a flashpoint. Kenny works off a small coaching staff with defined roles and feels the sole responsibility of the goalkeeping coach is to concentrate on the netminders.
Business
Under McCarthy, Kelly was used to having a bit more input in the general business of the coaching staff. This represented a clash of opinion and it’s strange this wasn’t broached when Kelly was agreeing to stay on. Perhaps they needed to work together before it became apparent.
But it was the details of the last gathering that pushed Kenny and Kelly further apart. The Preston native had advised against showing the video before the England game which became a source of such controversy. It’s believed that he also took issue with some motivational comments made by the manager in a subsequent speech – a separate matter to the video.
The fact that Kelly wasn’t enamoured with Kenny’s preparations for the England game led to unfair speculation that he was the source of the leak to the
UK ‘Daily Mail’ that brought the matter into the public domain. He was forced to deny that in a public statement and nobody involved believes Kelly was responsible for it getting out; that is an important point to stress.
However, his stance towards it did bemuse members of the group who saw no problems with it all and this strengthened a view that Kelly – a long-term companion of the previous manager – was more closely aligned to Kenny sceptics who had been pushed out or marginalised by the change of regime.
Influential figures in the FAI were troubled by the loss of Duff but have taken a more relaxed approach to this development. The view is that Duff vacating his post was a major setback for Kenny whereas the latest news might just work out better in the long run in terms of harmony at staff level. This is tied in with the belief that the priority should be to give the Dubliner full backing at this juncture and live and die by his own decisions.
Kenny retains the backing of the key decision-makers in Abbotstown, much as they are braced for a wave of negative publicity and speculation in response to the past week. The camps that have formed around discussion of Kenny’s tenure are becoming so entrenched that people will be inclined to choose the interpretation of developments that suits their agenda.
Kelly’s days were likely numbered regardless of whether Duff opted to stay or go, but the timing of his farewell piles on the pain. The glass-half-full take is that it provides Kenny with the opportunity to hire two replacements in one go and present a fresh front two
months out from the next gathering; it would have been worse if Kelly’s call was finalised closer to the time.
Naturally enough, Ireland players will be having their own discussions about what’s going on. The extent to which Videogate became a thing really did surprise the dressing-room.
Rapport
Granted, Daryl Horgan would have a rapport with Kenny going back to their Dundalk days – although he says himself that it’s only the Covid crisis that earned him a recall – but the Wycombe player summed up a consensus view of the England video in a chat with Newstalk’s ‘Off The Ball’ just as the Kelly news was breaking.
“I was shocked when anything came of it,” said Horgan, “I didn’t see much in it. I don’t remember most of it. There was a Ray Houghton header and bits and pieces. Nothing major. Nothing stuck out to me going ‘This is a bit much’ or anything like that,” he continued, when asked if there was any uncomfortable political comment.
“I didn’t think there was anything in it. I was very surprised when it came out that there was a problem. There’s a lot of different agendas. It was a nice easy one for people who wanted to put the boot in on Kenny because results hadn’t been great.”
Kelly’s absence will bring about a change for goalkeepers in the camp, particularly number one Darren Randolph whose own international future became a talking point in the November morass.
Kenny had to call him about retirement rumours, and Randolph may have a unique take to offer on that curious period. At least the emergence of Caoimhín Kelleher as an alternative is a good-news story. They have been thin on the ground for Kenny.
The biggest break in the international calendar is the gap between November and March but there has been no scope for respite. From the outside, he is stuck in crisis mode that he can only truly emerge from when a good result shifts the focus.
An unexpected spring clean of the backroom will not be enough to move beyond the longest of winters.
It’s fair to say they would hold alternative views on certain issues. They probably weren’t compatible in the longer term