Game 24

Waterford 1-1 Dundalk

And so it was that a game we were all worried about ended in a 1-1 draw. It was a point against a team in very good form but it still leaves us in 2nd last place.

Could we have expected better? Should we have expected better? As much as they had been in good form, we have not been and the manager continues to have to piece together a team with the remnants of an injury ravaged squad.

The fan base has been at odds with each other over whether or not the manager has done enough to earn a new two year contract. Is he the right man to take this team forward?

There’s been a lot of ‘you obviously don’t know what you’re talking about if you don’t think he is the right man for the job’ and ‘you absolutely cannot consider yourself a true fan if you can’t see that he has inherited a squad which has been neglected by those above him’.

I wonder are Stephen Kenny and Vinny Perth talking to each other about how similar their situations are.

Eventually, when all is said and done, football management becomes a results business. Stephen Kenny knows this and knows that eventually results against the likes of Luxembourg and Azerbaijan will have to improve. Results aren’t what’s important right now but the odd win here and there would definitely help.

There is no other plan that makes sense given the state of Irish football. Let the man continue what he’s doing.

Vinny Perth also knows that results have to improve. We are on a terrible run of results mitigated slightly by the injury record we currently have. But a terrible run of results is still a terrible run of results. At this point I’m not sure any of us care about the performances as long as we string a couple of positive results together.

Having said all that, the point against Waterford should really have been three. A good first half performance and a golden chance in the 2nd half to kill the game off before our soft underbelly was exposed and we gave away an awful goal.

Talk of a new two year deal for Perth was rampant after the game and has been all week since and the reaction has been interesting.

A two year deal for anyone at this moment in time at Dundalk fc is good news. We have been crying out for stability and some sort of sign that there will be someone along with Andy Boyle in the building at the start of next season.

There have been dissenters and people asking if we need to see proper improvement before we sign the manager up but we need to consider a couple of things first.

The first thing is, if Vinny leaves at the end of the season, do you trust the board to make a proper, competent, sensible decision about who replaces him? Do you think they would have a manager in place early enough to properly plan next season’s campaign?

The second thing is it’s very difficult to judge a manager who has taken over a job mid season. If the team gets a bump after he takes over you start to think about the new manager bump. If he gets off to a slow start then you look at how he hasn’t had time to put his stamp on things yet.

Vinny has only had one full season and it was a very, very successful one. People can argue that the team that he inherited was an exceptional one and was built to win the league but he still managed to steer that squad to glory. We’ve seen other coaches come in and take over title winning teams and the wheels come off very very quickly.

Maybe he is the right man for the job, maybe he’s not but this season with everything that has gone on seems like a very difficult time to try to judge his credentials.

Giving the man in charge a two year contract makes sense. It seems like a sign that the powers that be plan on being around. Next is getting some players tied down and getting out of the playoff position.