For a man who contributed so much in the green jersey, the end to Aiden McGeady’s Ireland career was sadly timid.
McGeady won 93 caps across a 13-year international career, playing at both Euro 2012 and Euro 2016 – the latter of which brings much better memories.
The 93rd and final of those caps was won against Denmark in the calamitous 2018 World Cup playoff defeat. A 5-1 home defeat to miss out on the World Cup was not befitting of the international career McGeady had had.
McGeady never officially retired from international duty, and was called up for Mick McCarthy’s first camp – but he never saw game time under McCarthy or his successor Stephen Kenny.
The lows of the Kenny era, epitomised by the calamitous defeats to Luxembourg and Armenia, were a far cry from the highs enjoyed by McGeady with Ireland at Euro 2016.
In an interview with the Independent this week, McGeady gave a brutal assessment of what he saw as the root cause of Kenny’s ultimately doomed tenure in charge of Ireland.
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Aiden McGeady gives brutal assessment of Stephen Kenny’s shortcomings as Ireland boss
13 October 2023; Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny reacts after his side concede the first goal during the UEFA EURO 2024 Championship qualifying group B match between Republic of Ireland and Greece at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Aiden McGeady revealed in his interview with the Independent that Stephen Kenny had tried to call him up for the international friendly against Andorra in June 2021. However, McGeady said he would only consider returning for a competitive game – and he never got the call again from Kenny.
The former Celtic winger suggested that Kenny’s persistence with possession football, and his insistence on playing as many young players as possible, were the causes of his downfall with the Ireland team.
I don’t know what the remit was from the FAI, but it seemed to me like ‘get as many of the U-21s in as we can.’ And they were not ready…attractive football has to have an end product…it didn’t work.
It was possession for possession’s sake, with no intent to go forward. I listened to his interviews, and even in his chat with me he said something like, ‘I have given 36 players their international debuts.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but what have you qualified for? Do you think that stat will blow my mind here?’
At the end of the day, you are not qualifying for things.
The possession-based style of play favoured by Stephen Kenny was a hot topic of debate, with another Ireland veteran James McClean publicly voicing his issues with it shortly after his retirement.
However, McGeady’s suggestion that the dependence on youth was a central issue is an intriguing perspective on something often heralded as a positive of Kenny’s reign.
Ultimately, Kenny would last three years in the Ireland job before departing at the end of last year. His successor Heimir Hallgrímsson has somewhat revitalised the team, though question marks remain about their ability to reach major tournaments in the immediate future.
McGeady recently announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 38. He had most recently lined out for Ayr United, and can look back with pride on a career that saw stints in Glasgow, Liverpool, Moscow, and – most memorably for fans on this island – in an Ireland jersey.
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