Football: Don't bank on David as future Irish boss

EVERYBODY knows football is a cut-throat business but my heart goes out to David O'Leary this weekend. I reckon he's feeling pretty fed up right now.

More than anyone I've met in football, Dave is a perfectionist. He hates losing and to be given the sack must be like a kick in the stomach for him.

I know he believed passionately in what he was doing at Leeds. He had a vision and he thought he was just on the verge of big success. Now that's been taken away from him.

From what I've heard his dismissal came as a complete surprise to him. But for me, there were ominous signs as far back as the beginning of this year.

Clearly there was a problem at the club in terms of controlling players. Danny Mills, Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate were all liabilities and Dave didn't seem to know quite how to handle them.

And there were other little niggling things that demonstrated that O'Leary didn't have quite the hold over himself that a Premiership manager should.

He lost his rag completely when Leeds went out of the FA Cup to Cardiff at Ninian Park.

It's good to see a bit of passion in football management and God knows Dave has plenty, but the really successful guys know when to cool it. That's something he's going to have to learn in the future.

But I reckon his real downfall - the point of no return - was when he published the book, Leeds on Trial. You can say what you like to your players in the dressing room, on the park, whatever.

But when you start criticising them in print, I reckon you've had it. Dave lost the trust of his squad at that point and I don't believe he ever got it back.

I don't know why he agreed to write that book - he hardly needs the money - but I think when he looks back at this whole episode, he'll realise it was misjudged.

As to where he'll got from here, I've always said that he'd be a brilliant Ireland manager. But even if Mick McCarthy decided to jack it in - perhaps to take the Leeds job - there would be big obstacles to Dave taking up the post.

The bottom line is that the FAI are going to have a problem attracting any kind of top-class talent on the money McCarthy is currently getting.

David was one of the highest-paid managers in England and earned at least 10 times what the Ireland boss currently gets.

Would he take the pay drop for the prestige of managing a national team on the up? At the end of the day, he's got to consider his family's future and Dave's a pretty shrewd guy when it comes to money.

On that basis I would say no, he won't be coming to Merrion Square in a hurry.

I reckon he'll stay in club management and I don't think he'll have too hard a time finding another club. Despite the shortcomings I've mentioned, he still built a marvellous team at Leeds who were always there or thereabouts.

Dave loves to talk about his 'naivete' and he probably overplayed that point a little. But the fact is he was a rookie when he went to Leeds, and he's come out the other end a top-class manager.

He still has things he can work on, but no one can dispute he has a great footballing brain. And that's not going to go to waste.

We're going to be hearing a lot more of this man. Some time in the future I think this whole episode will be regarded as just a blip in his career.

Dodgy refereeing aside, there were lots of reasons to be cheerful about these World Cup finals.

For Ireland fans, Damien Duff's emergence on the world stage was a joy to watch while the triumph of the so- called "little nations" like Senegal and South Korea was exhilarating.

And if anyone was in any doubt, the flashes of Brazilian brilliance we saw at every stage of the tournament showed that the beautiful game is still safe.

But there was another big bonus which hasn't been spoken about much on this side of the water.

And that was the fantastic behaviour of the England fans in Japan and Korea. For too long, English supporters have had the reputation of being thugs and hooligans.

Is this finally the end to that nasty chapter in their history?

As a fan of world football, I fervently hope so, not least because it might finally allow the Ireland-England rematch that so many of us crave.

Ever since that awful night in February 1995 when English thugs laid waste to Lansdowne Road, the police in Dublin have been understandably reluctant to have our neighbours back.

But if the attitude of Beckham's army in the Far East was anything to go by, they might have cause to revise their thinking.

I spoke with a few of our lads about this subject towards the end of last season. Most of them have never played against England and are dying for the chance.

Having taken part in three or four of these "derbies", I can tell you that for sheer intensity nothing beats them. And that includes playing Brazil!

We've pulled off some good results against England in the past. But with the team that Mick has built, I reckon we could really embarrass them now.

The FAI will be shortly putting together a friendly programme to assist our Euro 2004 qualification campaign. I believe Ireland fans should start a campaign to make sure England are included in our list of opponents.

Like most people my score predictions have been way off over the past month, but today I'm going for a 3-1 win for Brazil over Germany.

I reckon the German team are very lucky to find themselves in a World Cup final having relied almost entirely on their goalkeeper.

We are still waiting to see what the South Americans can do. Perhaps today is the day.

INTERVIEW: Hugh O'Reilly

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