Irish king-makers plan succession

Football

Football

DAVID HUGHES

reports from Dublin

In nudging Jack Charlton on his way, the king-makers of the Association of Ireland have correctly given themselves time to appoint a successor prior to the World Cup group fixtures' meeting in Liechtenstein on 23 January.

However, Monday's PR own goal of the four officers - president Louis Kilcoyne, honorary treasurer Joe Delaney, and the honorary vice-presidents Michael Hyland and Pat Quigley - may see their fellow executives in the 20-man executive council balk at any recommendations for the new manager they make at the next meeting of 12 January. Presented with a fait accompli, they may opt for a compromise candidate, which is exactly how Charlton was elected on Friday night, 7 February, 1986 after receiving three votes out of 18 on the first ballot.

Comparisons with the succession to Maggie Thatcher's throne seem odious, but the equally conservative Charlton has had his tyrannical moments (ask Liam Tuohy, David O'Leary, Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton). If Charlton is Irish football's Thatcher, than Mick McCarthy would seem the obvious John Major in the making.

He has played the political game expertly, remaining in constant contact with FAI executives and the players through regular sorties across the Irish sea. Furthermore, in bringing on Mark Kennedy, Dave Savage and Kenny Cunningham he has arguably nurtured more young Irish talent at Millwall than Maurice Setters ever did at Irish Under-21 level. McCarthy even comes blessed with Charlton's imprimatur, although he is no clone of the previous leader's long-ball game.

Unbeknown to many within the FAI and the Irish media, the same could be said of Joe Kinnear. Despite moulding a more football-orientated and tactically varied style at Wimbledon off equally thin resources, the flawed perception of the Dublin-born son of a Guinness employee is of a Cockney spiv who promotes an even cruder version of Charlton's philosophy.

Also rumoured to be in contention have been Kenny Dalglish, Alex Ferguson and Ron Atkinson as well as a batch of former players such as Kevin Moran, Mark Lawrenson, Frank Stapleton and Liam Brady.

A Continental appointment is not as fanciful as it might sound, for there are at least three FAI executives, who would like to bypass the English game in appointing a successor who would also oversee a pounds 5m-plus per annum football school of excellence.

The only tangible legacy of the last 10 years is money in the bank - as much as pounds 7m - generated in the Charlton years. Now is the time to invest some of it in the future.

n The Association yesterday ruled out a re-match between England and the Republic of Ireland in February, a year after the riot at the Dublin friendly between the two countries.