Advertisement
thank u next

The key stats and numbers through Martin O'Neill's reign as Ireland boss

After five years, he’s parted company with the FAI ‘by mutual agreement’.

AND SO, MARTIN O’Neill’s reign as Republic of Ireland manager is over.

Martin O’Neill Wave goodbye: O'Neill and Keane. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

The FAI confirmed this morning that the Derry man and Roy Keane, along with their coaching staff, had parted ways with the association after five years in charge.

O’Neill took over from Giovanni Trapattoni in November 2013 and led the Boys In Green to the Euro 2016 finals, producing some unforgettable wins along the way and in France.

But the last 12 months have brought nights to forget, more so.

Here, we look a little closer into the stats of the Martin O’Neill era.

***

His record in charge of Ireland, spanning across 55 games in total, brought 19 wins, 20 draws and 16 defeats.

That reflects a 34% win rate. 

Monday night’s stalemate in Denmark means that O’Neill now has the lowest win percentage of any Ireland manager in the modern era. It sees him dip below Steve Staunton, who held a win rate of 35%, while Brian Kerr’s 55% leads the way.

Martin O'Neill celebrates at the final whistle Celebrating against Italy at Euro 2016. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

Breaking the results down year-on-year, here’s how they looked:

2013

1 win (3-0 v Latvia: friendly)
1 draw (0-0 v Poland: friendly)

3 goals scored, 0 conceded.

2014 

4 wins (2-0 v Oman: friendly, 2-1 v Georgia: Euro qualifier, 7-0 v Gibraltar: Euro qualifier, 4-1 v USA: friendly)
3 draws (0-0 v Italy: friendly, 1-1 v Costa Rica: friendly, 1-1 v Germany: Euro qualifier)
4 losses (1-2 v Serbia: friendly, 1-2 v Turkey: friendly, 1-5 v Portugal: friendly, 0-1 v Scotland: Euro qualifier)

17 goals scored, 14 conceded.

2015

4 wins (4-0 v Gibraltar: Euro qualifier, 1-0 v Georgia: Euro qualifier, 1-0 v Germany: Euro qualifier, 2-0 Bosnia: Euro play-off)
4 draws (1-1 v Poland: Euro qualifier, 0-0 v England: friendly, 1-1 v Scotland: Euro qualifier, 1-1 v Bosnia: Euro play-off)
1 loss (1-2 v Poland: Euro qualifier)

12 goals scored, 5 conceded.

2016

6 wins (1-0 v Switzerland: friendly, 1-0 v Italy: Euro 2016 group stage, 4-0 v Oman: friendly, 1-0 v Georgia WC qualifier, 3-1 v Moldova: WC qualifier, 1-0 v Austria: WC qualifier)
4 draws (2-2 v Slovakia: friendly, 1-1 v Netherlands: friendly, 1-1 v Sweden: Euro 2016 group stage, 2-2 v Serbia: WC qualifier)
3 losses (1-2 v Belarus: friendly, 0-3 v Belgium: Euro 2016 group stage, 1-2 v France: Euro 2016 last 16)

19 goals scored, 14 conceded.

2017

3 wins (3-1 v Uruguay: friendly, 2-0 v Moldova: WC qualifier, 1-0 v Wales: WC qualifier
4 draws (0-0 v Wales: WC qualifier, 1-1 v Austria: WC qualifier, 1-1 v Georgia: WC qualifier, 0-0 v Denmark: WC play-off)
4 losses (0-1 v Iceland: friendly, 1-3 v Mexico: friendly, 0-1 v Serbia: WC qualifier, 1-5 v Denmark: WC play-off) 

10 goals scored, 13 conceded.

2018

1 win (2-1 v USA: friendly)
draws (1-1 v Poland: friendly, 0-0 v Denmark: Nations League, 0-0 v Northern Ireland: friendly, 0-0 v Denmark: Nations League)
4 losses (0-1 v Turkey: friendly, 0-2 v France: friendly, 1-4 v Wales: Nations League, 0-1 v Wales: Nations League)

4 goals scored, 10 conceded.

Ireland’s biggest win under O’Neill was a 7-0 European qualifier victory over Gibraltar in 2014, while their heaviest defeats came to Denmark in 2017 and Portugal in 2014 with four goals the difference on each occasion.

Martin O'Neill O'Neill being unveiled as Ireland manager in 2013. Donall Farmer / INPHO Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO

Of the 20 draws during O’Neill’s tenure, eight of those have been scoreless, while 10 ended 1-1.

Looking at possession, Richard Barrett delved deep into those statistics for Pundit Arena.

Year-on-year, here’s how it looked:

Ireland’s average possession under O’Neill

2013 — 56%

2014 — 47.9%

2015 — 44.8%

2016 — 43.9%

2017 — 41.2%

2018 — 36.2%

So from when O’Neill took the jobs in 2013 to now, average possession has tumbled from 56% to just over 36%.

Barrett also concluded that average shots on target went down from six to two between 2013 and 2018, while average shots against grew from seven to 14.

Looking at the stats, regression is a common theme but 2018 has been something else.

One win.

Alan Judge’s last-minute goal against the USA made it 2-1 back in June. Ireland’s only win this year came in a friendly match on home soil.

That record of just one win in nine games in 2018 comes as the worst return in a single year since 1982 under Eoin Hand.

Four goals scored.

Ireland found the back of the net just four times in those nine games. Three of those goals came in friendlies, and they scored just once in the Nations League.

Martin O’Neill Dejection: Monday night in Aarhus. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

As of now, it’s four games — or 397 minutes of football as The42‘s Aaron Gallagher examined yesterday — without a goal. Four games without converting, for the first time since May 1996.

And now, relegated.

After finishing rock bottom of Group 4 in League B of the Nations League, Ireland are down to the third tier, and will definitely be third seeds in the Euro 2020 qualifying draw.

That takes place in Dublin on 2 December and we had a closer look at the best and worst-case scenarios for Ireland in the draw this morning. 

But surely, without a manager, the focus will be on finding Martin O’Neill’s successor before then.

Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:

Your Voice
Readers Comments
4
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

    Leave a commentcancel