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Shay Given States Harsh Facts With Stephen Kenny/Steve Staunton Comparison

Shay Given States Harsh Facts With Stephen Kenny/Steve Staunton Comparison
James Fenton
By James Fenton
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Shay Given has given a grim assessment of the Stephen Kenny era, by comparing the Ireland manager's reign with that of the much-maligned Steve Staunton.

Kenny's era reached its lowest ebb of all on Friday night, as Ireland lost 2-0 at home to Greece with a display that was completely lacking in fight or any kind of direction.

It leaves the Boys in Green with a record of one win and five defeats in their Euro 2024 qualifying group, and you'd have to say that there's no way back for Kenny once the campaign is wrapped up.

The Irish supporters voted with their feet, as half of the Aviva Stadium crowd left before full-time, while many of those who stayed made their feelings known by loudly booing the performance from the home side.

Shay Given sums up mood with Stephen Kenny and Steve Staunton comparison

The current mood is somewhat reminiscent of the dreadful Steve Staunton era, when the legendary player oversaw a disastrous qualifying campaign for Euro 2008.

With many people making the comparison online, Shay Given did the same in the RTE studio, stating that Staunton had a better record than the current boss.

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"If you look at the three or four years he's been here, it's been flat and not good enough," said the former Ireland goalkeeper, who played both with and for Staunton.

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"Yes, he'll say that we made lots of debuts, lots of people have come into the team, but so have previous managers, Trapattoni, Mick McCarthy... Steve Staunton had a better record than this guy and was dressed as a puppet in one of the national newspapers."

Stephen Kenny v Steve Staunton

Sadly for Kenny and what remains of his backers, Given's view that is backed up by cold, hard facts. During his 17 matches in charge, Staunton had a win ratio of just over 35%, and was rightly fired following a 1-1 draw at home to Cyprus at Croke Park, another occasion on which boos rained down on a dreadful Ireland performance and result.

Kenny's win ratio is closer to the 27% mark, although with 37 matches under his belt, there is a larger sample size. If you were to come with another positive for Staunton, Ireland finished third in their Euro 2008 qualifying group, with four wins in their 12 games, which is not great in itself, but an improvement on the current campaign.

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When you take into account Ireland's other recent failures, you'd have to say that Kenny's reign is more forgettable than that of Staunton's.

Kenny will probably remain in charge for the Gibraltar game on Monday, and potentially even the November double-header, but anything beyond that is looking extremely unlikely at this point.

See Also: Didi Hamann Hits Out At "Needless" Keith Andrews Comments

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