Perhaps it is time to retire the cliché about the luck of the Irish. Stephen Kenny’s brief, ill-fated reign in charge of the Republic of Ireland has been marked by the sort of misfortune that suggests he is cursed and the kind of results that indicate he is doomed.
Ireland lost a Euro 2020 play-off on penalties. Wednesday, defeat to Bulgaria would condemn them to relegation to the third tier of the Uefa Nations League and possible meetings, as peers, with some of Europe’s genuine minnows. Within 11 weeks of his managerial bow, Kenny has made history of the wrong sort. Ireland are on their longest goal drought ever, some six games and 570 minutes since Shane Duffy equalised in Bulgaria in September.
The top scorer in Kenny's tenure is Fredrik Jensen, who has struck twice for Finland against Ireland. Kenny's side have more red cards than goals, meaning Jeff Hendrick is suspended against Bulgaria. But absentees outnumber everything else: today's cast list of the missing includes 13 of Kenny's original 26-man party. Hendrick and Jayson Molumbuy are banned while Matt Doherty and James McClean joined Alan Browne and Callum Robinson in testing positive for coronavirus. Seamus Coleman, John Egan, Enda Stevens, Aaron Connolly, Adam Idah, James McCarthy and Harry Arter are injured.
Across three international windows, Kenny has lost five players to positive Covid-19 tests. Six more missed games as close contacts of others and, in two cases, they were false positives. Kenny has even lost his goalkeeping coach, Alan Kelly, who cited his asthma as a reason for returning home.
A rejigged squad now features three Shamrock Rovers players and two from League One. Kenny will have to make at least five changes, but continuity has been impossible. And amid the makeshift teams and rapidly changing plans, he has tried to implement a new style of play: more progressive, with more possession.
It is an understatement to say it has not succeeded yet. Ireland’s six goalless games are proof of that. They have registered 19 shots on target in that time although, apart from a couple of opportunities for Browne in the play-off against Slovakia, too few have been clear-cut opportunities. And, in any case, Ireland have long struggled to convert those: since the centre-back Duffy opened his account three years ago, he is their top scorer. That one of their goal-shy strikers, David McGoldrick, recently retired from international football, scarcely adds to their firepower.
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England v Ireland ratings
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ENGLAND RATINGS: Nick Pope – 6: Didn’t have many saves to make but was a commanding presence in the area, claiming catches and punching to safety when required. Getty -
Reece James - 7: Looked assured and enjoyed his night pushing forward. He’ll feel he did enough to push for a starting place against better opposition. Getty -
Michael Keane – 6: In truth, he had little to do. Was rarely tested in and around his own half. PA -
Harry Maguire – 7: The captain is slowly returning to form and he complemented a solid display with a towering header to open the scoring. EPA -
Tyrone Mings – 6: Mings often opted for the long ball rather than the short pass. Threatened in and around the Ireland area on numerous occasions. Getty -
Bukayo Saka – 6: A decent performance from the Arsenal man who impressed up and down the left flank. His passing let him down, but his crossing was a constant threat. Earned England’s penalty. EPA -
Mason Mount– 7: An energetic performance in a slightly deeper role for the Chelsea midfielder, who linked well with Jack Grealish. Getty -
Harry Winks – 6: Crossed the ball for Maguire to head home and did the simple things well. Slightly overshadowed by Grealish and Mount. AFP -
Jack Grealish – 8: A brilliant performance from a player looking increasingly at home on the international stage. Was England’s most exciting player, always looking to create. AP -
Jadon Sancho – 7: Switched from flank to flank and was most effective when cutting onto his right foot from the left, which is how he doubled England’s lead. EPA -
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 7: A quiet night in front of goal until he stepped up to finish emphatically from the penalty spot. Worked hard to close down Ireland’s defence. PA -
SUBS: Dean Henderson - (On for Pope 46') 6: Made his debut but had little to do until he saved with his feet at Browne’s expense, and then diving low to his left. Reuters -
Phil Foden - (on for Grealish 61') 5 : Came on to replace Grealish and didn’t have the same impact. In fact, was uncharacteristically quiet. -
Alex Maitland-Niles (On for Mings 61') 5 : Came on as a right wing back but struggled to get into the rhythm of the game. Getty -
Tammy Abraham - (On for Calvert-Lewin 63') 5: A disappointing cameo. Was always in the thick of things but found opportunities hard to come by. AFP -
Jade Bellingham - (On for Mount 73') 7 – Impressed on his first start. Looked comfortable on the ball and totally unfazed by the situation. PA -
IRELAND RATINGS: Darren Randolph - 5: Couldn’t do much about the three goals and though he impressed with a Cruyff turn at Calvert-Lewin’s expense, didn’t inspire confidence. PA -
Matt Doherty - 5: Played at left-back instead of in the centre and struggled to contain Grealish and Sancho. Getty -
Shane Duffy - 5: A poor night for Duffy, who struggled with England’s front three and was outjumped by Harry Maguire for the opener. Getty -
John Egan - 6: Took a blow to the head and was substituted after just 14 minutes. He’d weighed in with some crucial interceptions previously, and Ireland looked worse off for losing his presence. Getty -
Callum O’Dowda - 5: Was full of running but was wasteful in possession. He too often played the ball sideways and backwards. Getty -
Cyrus Christie - 4: A tough night in which he was at fault for England’s second, and then brought down Saka for the penalty that Calvert-Lewin converted. AP -
Conor Hourihane - 5: Came off in the second half after having barely contributed anything going forward. PA -
Jeff Hendrick - 5: Barely threatened England in the final third and instead was guilty of playing too deeply and too conservatively. AP -
Daryl Horgan - 6: Looked tidy until he was replaced. Linked well with Browne and looked to get the ball forward, though he often misplaced it. Getty -
Adam Idah - 5: Needed to show greater urgency but struggled on his own. Ireland looked more threatening when McLean and Curtis came on. EPA -
Alan Browne - 6: One of few Ireland players to come out of the game with any credit. He had Ireland’s first meaningful shot of the game on 72 minutes. PA -
SUBS: Dara O’Shea (On for Egan 14') 6: Did ok when he came on and settled immediately. Had his hands full with England’s rotating front three. -
Robbie Brady (on for Horgan 60') 5: Found it hard to get into the game. A quiet night for the winger. -
James McLean - (On for O'Dowda 61') 5: Was thrown on to try and inject some positivity but couldn’t make an impact in the England half. -
Kevin Long - (On for Christie 61') 5: Seemed to be lacking a bit of sharpness and couldn’t influence the match. PA -
Jayson Molumby - (On for Hourihane 71') 6 – Did very little wrong when he came on. Looked very positive on the ball. PA -
Ronan Curtis -(On for Idah 71') 5: Won his fifth cap but was played in a lone strike role rather this usual position on the wing. Looked lost.
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The underlying question is whether Ireland can implement Kenny’s plans. His predecessor Mick McCarthy was in the commentary box for his first few games, offering the voice of pragmatism that has been the dominant school of thought among Ireland managers since Jack Charlton took over in 1986. McCarthy at least tried to be diplomatic while maintaining that crosses and set-pieces offered the best avenue to goal; others who felt implicitly slighted by Kenny’s so far unrewarded ambition were not.
“The style of play he wants to play with the players, none of them are good enough,” said a scornful Roy Keane. “There is a lack of quality.” He may not be an impartial observer, as Martin O’Neill’s assistant during a time when Ireland played increasingly awful football, but it is a valid theory.
Comparable countries like Wales and Scotland have far more talent; Wales, in particular, have more goalscorers. The Irish diaspora has added plenty, particularly in Charlton's day, but now Jack Grealish and Declan Rice, formerly Ireland's Under 21 and young player of the year respectively, line up for England. That should not mean Ireland should not aim for anything better than sterile, direct football but so far they have been inoffensive and innocuous.
“The current manager should be expecting now to be heavily criticised,” said Keane after Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Wales. Circumstances should mitigate that, but relegation after a wretched autumn might plunge Irish football into a civil war.
