The postponement of the Euro 2020 play-offs means he will focus on Stoke now but his achievements deserve wider recognitionMichael O’Neill’s exit as Northern Ireland manager was inevitable and just one more, minor piece of fallout from the crisis afflicting football, but that does not diminish the significance of Wednesday’s announcement. A transformational, some might argue miraculous, reign is over and, while the now exclusively Stoke manager insisted he is “not the type of person who wants to do a lap of the pitch”, wider acclaim and recognition are precisely what he deserves.The image of O’Neill leaping through the air and hailstones at the Stade de Lyon remains vivid almost four years on. That joyous eruption had been caused by...
Aaron Ramsey return to Wales after a year out, Naby Keïta must step up for Guinea and Iceland will face a frosty reception The build-up to Wales’s remaining qualifiers has been dominated by the dismay that Gareth Bale’s call-up has caused at Real Madrid, where the forward has been on the sidelines for a month nursing a calf injury. Bale’s late winner against Azerbaijan in September proved how influential the forward can be in swinging matches Wales’ way but the returning Aaron Ramsey may be just as important for Ryan Giggs. The Juventus midfielder has been absent for Wales for a year so his return now, with two must-win games ahead, could not be better timed. Having just returned to...
Stoke’s attraction to O’Neill is obvious – he maximises resources by creating an environment players relishOne of Michael O’Neill’s final acts as the Northern Ireland manager emphasises why the lure of club football was always going to prove too strong eventually. O’Neill used to adopt self-deprecating humour when explaining how seeking out international players from the nether regions of the game had become normality. A trip to Blackpool v Peterborough in League One where the reason for attending, Jordan Thompson, went unused summed up a scenario whereby O’Neill had created national heroes from the unlikeliest of backdrops. There was time for the 50-year-old to attend Celtic’s League Cup demolition of Hibernian later the same day; none of the 36 players...
Prague steels itself for England’s fans, Ireland may have a new hero in Aaron Connolly and Scotland are desperate to find goalsIn what looks certain to resemble the world’s most unedifying stag party, an estimated 6,000 England fans will descend on Prague to watch Gareth Southgate’s team take on the Czech Republic. Unsurprisingly designated as a “high risk” fixture, this Friday night game will attract no shortage of thirsty visitors to the Czech capital, hellbent on making a weekend of it in a city renowned for the cheapness of its beer and myriad other nocturnal delights. Scheduled to kick off at 8.45pm local time, when more patriotic fans will have had all day to occupy the city’s Old Town Square,...
The Northern Ireland manager is due to hold talks over the Scotland job and must choose whether to leave behind his home nation for less lucrative terms but apparent advantagesOnly those fortunate enough to have encountered the scenario will understand. It is one not confined to football. The prospect of another job seems wholly attractive amid a rising sense of career stagnation, despite lauding from an employer.Then the notion becomes a reality. Stick or twist? Retain adulation and a safe role or disappoint those you have worked alongside to step into a position which in theory carries more esteem if less money. Related: Scottish FA to open talks with Michael O’Neill over vacant manager’s job Continue reading...