O’Neill shouldn’t dwell on thriller in Belfast

Ferguson’s strike was the highlight of the night for Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland drew 3-3 with Finland in a thriller last night at Windsor Park despite being two goals to the good in the first 20 minutes.

The game was Michael O’Neill‘s first result as manager following two defeats to Norway and Holland in his first games in charge.

O’Neill will be disappointed at drawing a game his team were well ahead in, but it wasn’t all doom in gloom in Belfast last night as there were as many good points as there were bad.

Shane Ferguson popped up with his first international goal for the senior team, this coming just over a year after his Northern Ireland career looked dead in the water following controversial spats with former manager Nigel Worthington.

Ferguson looked a threat all night although he did fade slightly in the second half, but O’Neill will be delighted at the Derry man’s efforts on the left wing.

The Newcastle United player’s goal was a sight to behold, as a ball across the box from Dean Shiels fell to Ferguson who let the ball get away from him slightly before unleashing a left-footed half volley into the top corner of Niki Maenpaa’s goal.

Martin Paterson had a double delight as the Burnley player’s equaliser in the 84th minute was also his first in the green and white of Northern Ireland.

Paterson had played 13 international games before last night but he finally got off the mark with a well taken penalty after he had been fouled in the box.

O’Neill will also take comfort from the fact his team scored a trio of goals last night, but as Stephen Craigan said during the post-match analysis they could have scored more than three.

Other plus points for O’Neill were the assured fulcrum role played by Steven Davis, who kept the ball ticking over in the Northern Ireland engine room, and the team’s insatiable appetite to attack the Finnish rearguard.

O’Neill will be happy with Davis’ display as the captain will play a major role in the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign and the manager will take solace from the first ‘point’ of his reign.

A 3-3 draw is always going to have it’s bad points however and there were plenty last night also, but we can perhaps put many of them down to this friendly taking place during ‘pre-season’ for many of the players.

Only a few including Dean Shiels and Andrew Little have played competitive football yet this season and Shiels was a livewire all night, walking away with the man of the match award.

Dean Shiels impressed last night.

But Northern Ireland were also sloppy at times, especially in midfield, as a stray Chris Brunt backpass for Finland’s second epitomised that.

Shipping three goals will also have irked boss O’Neill as he knows if his team are to have any chance of causing an upset or two in the upcoming campaign they have to be miserly at the back.

Too many times last night players were caught out of position and stray balls were frustrating O’Neill but at least he knows he has plenty he can work on before September’s double header.

As with any international friendly, the substitutions served to dilute the ferocity of the opening 20 minutes but Northern Ireland battled to the end and were just about worth their draw, although it could have been 10-10.

Windsor Park saw plenty of empty seats last night but the friendly was more for O’Neill and his players and not quite the fans, but having said that those who did turned up gave the team plenty of support.

Last night’s game was an entertaining friendly and Michael O’Neill will leave it behind now as he looks forward and on to September, when his Northern Ireland team begin their journey on the road to Rio.

Related articles

• National Sport: N.Ireland draw in Finland thriller (coventrytelegraph.net)
• O’Neill willing to stick with Rangers duo (fifa.com)
• Michael O’Neill happy with Northern Ireland’s 3-3 draw against Finland (guardian.co.uk)
• O’Neill happy to see goals go in (standard.co.uk)

Martin O’Neill For England?

O'Neill is a Sunderland fan. Would he really leave for one of the toughest managerial jobs in the game?

Martin O’Neill is a name now revered in the North East, just like it was in the East End of Glasgow and the city of Leicester thanks to flowing football, great results and affable charisma.

The Irishman has a knack of being successful wherever he goes; Celtic fans will vouch for that, but could a man who is relatively new to the Sunderland hotseat be ready to move on so quickly?

That is the question on every Sunderland fan’s lips recently, following the premature exit of Fabio Capello as manager of the England national team just months before they head to Poland and Ukraine in search of European glory.

We decided to pose the question to the people at Sunderland’s press office although the statement given to us was not surprising at all.

“Martin O’Neill has a duty and job to do with Sunderland Football Club. We will not be commenting on any such speculation on our manager or players’ transfer rumours.”

Sunderland AFC Press Office

The English FA has said they want an Englishman, or Britishman at least, to take charge of the national team following the impressive but ultimately unsuccessful tenure of Fabio Capello. Could the mention of ‘Britishman’ mean O’Neill is in the frame?

O’Neill is ‘British’ in the loosest sense of the word as he grew up playing gaelic games and comes from a nationalist Irish family from County Derry in Northern Ireland. His ‘Britishness’ may be in the fact that where he was born, Northern Ireland, is part of the United Kingdom.

However all this is merely background info and the matter at hand is the question of will he take the job if the FA offered it? He has expressed his interest before as Belfast Telegraph journalist Chris Holt told us, although Holt see’s the job as Harry Redknapp’s to lose.

O'Neill(middle) alongside Brian Clough (2nd from right) during his Nottingham Forest days playing under Old Big 'Ead.

It would have to be a short-term fix as far as O’Neill is concerned as out of sheer loyalty to Sunderland and the fact he has been there only a short time, he would not leave them now, though I know that he was interested in the England job before. My own feeling is that England won’t look for a short-term fix and whoever they choose now, will be there for the ‘long haul’. Harry Redknapp will get the job, I’m certain of that.

Chris Holt, football writer for the Belfast Telegraph

O’Neill has been a rock of consistency since his appointment in September and it is thought he will be on the FA’s shortlist for England boss along with Harry Redknapp and a few unnamed others.

It is unlikely O’Neill will get the chance as Redknapp seems to be in pole position for the post, although if the Spurs boss were to stick by his guns and stay at White Hart Lane then O’Neill’s name could pop up again.

Former Newcastle United winger Keith Gillespie knows what’s expected of managers in the North East and he believes that O’Neill has shown he is a top manager by adapting to one of the hardest areas to succeed in English football.

Martin has a great track record and his work at Sunderland has continued that. There’s no reason the FA wouldn’t look at him as an option. However, I can’t see him leaving Sunderland. Unfortunately for England he is doing a great job there and it would be hard to leave so soon.

Keith Gillespie

Derry man O’Neill has played at the highest level and managed there too, even playing under the greatest manager England never had – Brian Clough.

Perhaps such a thought is racing through the brains at Soho Square, as they look for a man to take them somewhere they’ve never been before. To bring home the Henri Delaunay trophy to an expectant English public this summer.

O’Neill would be an excellent choice for players and fans alike as he is an admirable character on the touchlines, the kind of manager the fans like to see. Whilst for the players he has been known throughout his career as a great man-manager, just like Clough.

Footballers appreciate being man-managed well and if O’Neill was offered the job he might have to think twice. Sure he is managing his boyhood club, but in 2006 he said that the England job was one of the greatest jobs in world football and that he’d be foolish to turn it down. Would he pass up the opportunity so easily?

Sunderland would be looking for hefty compensation considering they haven’t seen anywhere near the best of O’Neill just yet and it would be hard to see the Wearside club let him go without a fight. However if a manager wants to leave he will leave.

England players walking off the pitch following the 4-1 defeat to Germany at the last World Cup. Could O'Neill turn such familiar heartache into biennial joy?

We wondered would Sunderland fans rather have O’Neill at the helm of their local club, or their national team and it is a question we posed to 24 year old Aaron Dugan from Sunderland.

He believes that O’Neill would be a terrific England manager, but as a Sunderland fan he wants the Irishman nowhere near it.

I think he would be a good international manager. He is a good cup manager, so I think that would translate well to international competitions. Apparently he is a good motivator, so I could see him doing really well in charge of a national side. But I would prefer to keep him at Sunderland, England are drab. I don’t think I could take him leaving us for THAT! However I don’t think he will. He doesn’t seem the fickle type.

Such an opinion is one that would be in the hearts and minds of many Sunderland fans as for the average fan, club comes before country every time.

So with the FA currently drawing up their shortlist and hoping to have a man in place before the Euro preparations begin in May, who do you think the suits at Soho Square will opt for? Is it Harry Redknapp’s to lose? Or will the FA opt for the more energetic O’Neill? Or perhaps someone off the scale completely.

Let us know by leaving a comment and taking part in the poll below.

Related articles

• Martin O’Neill continues row with Alan Pardew (thesun.co.uk)
• Sunderland’s new manager Martin O’Neill has all the qualities to manage a top-six club (telegraph.co.uk)