ANY REASONABLE person involved in football, whether it be a player, pundit or fan, will take no pleasure in seeing a coach lose their job.
The sport at the highest level is unusual because managers who depart tend to get the type of compensation that ordinary people dismissed in most industries can only dream of.
Any high-profile coach who gets sacked is unlikely to be in a position where they are struggling to put food on the table, and in many cases, they can find another job relatively quickly.
But all those factors do not necessarily make such setbacks any less painful compared to ‘normal’ job losses.
So perhaps people who are tempted to speak vitriolically about Heimir Hallgrímsson over the next few days should take a moment to consider that they are talking about a fellow human being, and one who has routinely conducted himself admirably in a pressurised environment.
Like every Irish manager before him, Hallgrímsson will inevitably be on the receiving end of some pretty scathing abuse in the wake of last night’s demoralising loss to Armenia.
But every coach who signs up at this level knows what an unforgiving, cutthroat place the sport can be, and how you are normally only a few bad moments away from thousands of armchair experts proclaiming you to be a fraud or worse.
Yet in a sense, the Icelandic coach got out ahead of his detractors.
Hallgrímsson was frank in his post-match assessment, telling reporters: “When you have a performance like this, the coach’s job is under question.”
So let’s start with the result.
There is a case to be made that it is Ireland’s worst ever, seeing as it came against a team ranked 105th in the world.
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Yes, they were also beaten 1-0 by Armenia at the same venue in 2022, but it was a Nations League match, not a World Cup qualifier, so the stakes were lower.
Was it more appalling than the result the then-manager Steve Staunton never really recovered from — the 5-2 loss against Cyprus?
That 2006 setback, which, before the game in Yerevan, was the most recent time Ireland lost a qualifier to a side outside the top 100 of the Fifa rankings, was arguably more dismal because the Boys in Green had a far superior squad of players to choose from.
But while that result felt somewhat freakish, defeats such as the one suffered against Armenia have become normalised during the 2020s.
You could argue Stephen Kenny’s nadir, the 1-0 loss to Luxembourg, was worse because it happened on home turf — a result that effectively killed off Ireland’s World Cup 2022 qualifying hopes before they really began, just as last night seemed to do for 2026.
Was it any more pathetic than the 6-1 2012 defeat at the Aviva against soon-to-be world champions Germany? More humiliating than the embarrassing 1995 0-0 draw against a team of part-timers representing Liechtenstein, although the latter didn’t end up having a meaningful effect on the group as Ireland still made it to a playoff anyway and would have finished second regardless?
Whatever you think, there is no doubt that both the Irish players and coaching staff significantly underperformed on Tuesday night.
The manager made some gambles that didn’t really pay off.
Starting Chiedozie Ogbene, who hasn’t looked right since coming back from his long-term injury. Introducing the ineffectual Jack Taylor into the starting XI. Beginning the second half with just two recognised central midfielders in an area of the pitch where Ireland were already looking second best.
But is there another coach out there who would be both willing and capable of masterminding Ireland’s World Cup qualification?
It has been well-documented that the sport in this country has been badly mismanaged.
FAI/League of Ireland Academy Development Manager Will Clarke tweeted after the game: “The harsh reality is that our #LOIAcademy system currently ranks between 92-96 in the top 100 ranked countries in the world and the impact of Brexit has yet to reach the MNT yet.”
That issue was undeniably a factor last night, irrespective of the Brexit caveat.
There are five Irish players likely to get regular Premier League football this season.
Three are defenders — Matt Doherty, Nathan Collins and Jake O’Brien. One is a goalkeeper, Caoimhín Kelleher. And one is a midfielder, Josh Cullen.
Cullen, who qualifies for Ireland through his Leitrim-born grandparents, was born in Essex and so came through the English academy system.
It’s perhaps telling that the other four operate at the defensive end of the pitch.
Ireland simply are not producing enough technically accomplished, creative footballers at the top end of the pitch because resources are so limited.
Nevertheless, you could still make the case that the Irish squad has enough talent to beat a country at Armenia’s level.
Armenia players celebrate Eduard Spertsyan's goal. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
What they don’t have, though, is a midfielder who is capable of controlling the game and playing defence-splitting passes that Eduard Spertsyan exhibited last night.
Before the Armenia debacle, you could argue Hallgrímsson has performed to par as Ireland manager.
They have beaten the teams you would expect them to defeat (Bulgaria, Finland) and lost to the plainly superior sides they have come up against (England, Greece).
Drawing against a Hungary outfit 22 places above them in the Fifa rankings was, if anything, a slight overachievement and less likely to have occurred had the visitors kept 11 men on the pitch for the duration of the game.
Armenia is the first disastrous result the team have experienced under Hallgrímsson’s watch.
Consequently, it would surely be harsh to dismiss the under-fire coach on that basis.
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There is very little evidence over the last 72 hours to suggest that Ireland are capable of qualifying for the upcoming tournament in North America, but at the same time, it is still only 72 hours’ worth of evidence.
Kenny was given two full campaigns (along with a standalone playoff) to try to prove himself as Ireland’s manager. Will Hallgrímsson get more than two qualifiers?
The argument for making this drastic move would effectively mean accepting that Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign is already over and giving Hallgrímsson’s successor as much time as possible to prepare for the Euros.
If the FAI had an outstanding candidate waiting in the wings, the case would grow more compelling — a Stephen Bradley or Damien Duff, perhaps, though both might be reluctant to accept such an offer, given their respective and still relatively recent criticisms of the association.
But there are also financial considerations — ending Hallgrímsson’s deal prematurely and promptly appointing a successor would be costly and a tough sell for a cash-strapped organisation in the process of implementing voluntary redundancy programmes.
Therefore, it seems fair to at least allow Hallgrímsson a full crack at a qualification campaign, especially as only giving him an 18-month contract in the first place was hardly a substantial vote of confidence, even if the people primarily responsible for his hiring, Marc Canham and Jonathan Hill, have now left the association.
Portugal needing an 86th-minute winner to beat Hungary last night suggests this group may not pan out in as straightforward a fashion as some initially assumed, and equally, Armenia’s dominant win over Ireland indicates Marco Rossi’s side’s trip to Yerevan is no foregone conclusion.
And parting ways with Hallgrímsson won’t fix the fundamental problems and limitations that exist — Ireland’s regular inability to control games at international level and break down teams who are well organised.
People tend to look for individual scapegoats in the aftermath of dire results.
The truth is that Irish football’s problems are far too messy, extensive and complicated for one man to eradicate.
Sacking Hallgrímsson is unlikely to create any meaningful change at this juncture.
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Why sacking the Ireland manager now wouldn't sit right
ANY REASONABLE person involved in football, whether it be a player, pundit or fan, will take no pleasure in seeing a coach lose their job.
The sport at the highest level is unusual because managers who depart tend to get the type of compensation that ordinary people dismissed in most industries can only dream of.
Any high-profile coach who gets sacked is unlikely to be in a position where they are struggling to put food on the table, and in many cases, they can find another job relatively quickly.
But all those factors do not necessarily make such setbacks any less painful compared to ‘normal’ job losses.
So perhaps people who are tempted to speak vitriolically about Heimir Hallgrímsson over the next few days should take a moment to consider that they are talking about a fellow human being, and one who has routinely conducted himself admirably in a pressurised environment.
Like every Irish manager before him, Hallgrímsson will inevitably be on the receiving end of some pretty scathing abuse in the wake of last night’s demoralising loss to Armenia.
But every coach who signs up at this level knows what an unforgiving, cutthroat place the sport can be, and how you are normally only a few bad moments away from thousands of armchair experts proclaiming you to be a fraud or worse.
Yet in a sense, the Icelandic coach got out ahead of his detractors.
Hallgrímsson was frank in his post-match assessment, telling reporters: “When you have a performance like this, the coach’s job is under question.”
So let’s start with the result.
There is a case to be made that it is Ireland’s worst ever, seeing as it came against a team ranked 105th in the world.
Yes, they were also beaten 1-0 by Armenia at the same venue in 2022, but it was a Nations League match, not a World Cup qualifier, so the stakes were lower.
Was it more appalling than the result the then-manager Steve Staunton never really recovered from — the 5-2 loss against Cyprus?
That 2006 setback, which, before the game in Yerevan, was the most recent time Ireland lost a qualifier to a side outside the top 100 of the Fifa rankings, was arguably more dismal because the Boys in Green had a far superior squad of players to choose from.
But while that result felt somewhat freakish, defeats such as the one suffered against Armenia have become normalised during the 2020s.
You could argue Stephen Kenny’s nadir, the 1-0 loss to Luxembourg, was worse because it happened on home turf — a result that effectively killed off Ireland’s World Cup 2022 qualifying hopes before they really began, just as last night seemed to do for 2026.
Was it any more pathetic than the 6-1 2012 defeat at the Aviva against soon-to-be world champions Germany? More humiliating than the embarrassing 1995 0-0 draw against a team of part-timers representing Liechtenstein, although the latter didn’t end up having a meaningful effect on the group as Ireland still made it to a playoff anyway and would have finished second regardless?
Whatever you think, there is no doubt that both the Irish players and coaching staff significantly underperformed on Tuesday night.
The manager made some gambles that didn’t really pay off.
Starting Chiedozie Ogbene, who hasn’t looked right since coming back from his long-term injury. Introducing the ineffectual Jack Taylor into the starting XI. Beginning the second half with just two recognised central midfielders in an area of the pitch where Ireland were already looking second best.
But is there another coach out there who would be both willing and capable of masterminding Ireland’s World Cup qualification?
It has been well-documented that the sport in this country has been badly mismanaged.
FAI/League of Ireland Academy Development Manager Will Clarke tweeted after the game: “The harsh reality is that our #LOIAcademy system currently ranks between 92-96 in the top 100 ranked countries in the world and the impact of Brexit has yet to reach the MNT yet.”
That issue was undeniably a factor last night, irrespective of the Brexit caveat.
There are five Irish players likely to get regular Premier League football this season.
Three are defenders — Matt Doherty, Nathan Collins and Jake O’Brien. One is a goalkeeper, Caoimhín Kelleher. And one is a midfielder, Josh Cullen.
Cullen, who qualifies for Ireland through his Leitrim-born grandparents, was born in Essex and so came through the English academy system.
It’s perhaps telling that the other four operate at the defensive end of the pitch.
Ireland simply are not producing enough technically accomplished, creative footballers at the top end of the pitch because resources are so limited.
Nevertheless, you could still make the case that the Irish squad has enough talent to beat a country at Armenia’s level.
What they don’t have, though, is a midfielder who is capable of controlling the game and playing defence-splitting passes that Eduard Spertsyan exhibited last night.
Before the Armenia debacle, you could argue Hallgrímsson has performed to par as Ireland manager.
They have beaten the teams you would expect them to defeat (Bulgaria, Finland) and lost to the plainly superior sides they have come up against (England, Greece).
Drawing against a Hungary outfit 22 places above them in the Fifa rankings was, if anything, a slight overachievement and less likely to have occurred had the visitors kept 11 men on the pitch for the duration of the game.
Armenia is the first disastrous result the team have experienced under Hallgrímsson’s watch.
Consequently, it would surely be harsh to dismiss the under-fire coach on that basis.
There is very little evidence over the last 72 hours to suggest that Ireland are capable of qualifying for the upcoming tournament in North America, but at the same time, it is still only 72 hours’ worth of evidence.
Kenny was given two full campaigns (along with a standalone playoff) to try to prove himself as Ireland’s manager. Will Hallgrímsson get more than two qualifiers?
The argument for making this drastic move would effectively mean accepting that Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign is already over and giving Hallgrímsson’s successor as much time as possible to prepare for the Euros.
If the FAI had an outstanding candidate waiting in the wings, the case would grow more compelling — a Stephen Bradley or Damien Duff, perhaps, though both might be reluctant to accept such an offer, given their respective and still relatively recent criticisms of the association.
But there are also financial considerations — ending Hallgrímsson’s deal prematurely and promptly appointing a successor would be costly and a tough sell for a cash-strapped organisation in the process of implementing voluntary redundancy programmes.
Therefore, it seems fair to at least allow Hallgrímsson a full crack at a qualification campaign, especially as only giving him an 18-month contract in the first place was hardly a substantial vote of confidence, even if the people primarily responsible for his hiring, Marc Canham and Jonathan Hill, have now left the association.
Portugal needing an 86th-minute winner to beat Hungary last night suggests this group may not pan out in as straightforward a fashion as some initially assumed, and equally, Armenia’s dominant win over Ireland indicates Marco Rossi’s side’s trip to Yerevan is no foregone conclusion.
And parting ways with Hallgrímsson won’t fix the fundamental problems and limitations that exist — Ireland’s regular inability to control games at international level and break down teams who are well organised.
People tend to look for individual scapegoats in the aftermath of dire results.
The truth is that Irish football’s problems are far too messy, extensive and complicated for one man to eradicate.
Sacking Hallgrímsson is unlikely to create any meaningful change at this juncture.
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