Ireland's Heimir Hallgrimsson will not attend games in the League of Ireland this weekend, and fans on social media have reacted to the news.
The Irish Independent reports that instead of watching players in Ireland's domestic league this weekend, the Icelander will instead study players from a data-driven website known as Wyscout.
The new Ireland manager came under fire during the last international window for not being front and centre when it came to selecting the Ireland squad for the Greece and England ties in Dublin. Hallgrimsson delegated that task to John O'Shea because of his familiarity with the players and his limited time with the squad since joining in July.
The likes of Brian Kerr and Eamon Dunphy have shared their opinions on the new Ireland boss, and both were unhappy with his conduct during the last week.
Fans of the Ireland team discovered today via the Independent that Hallgrimsson will not be attending any of the League of Ireland games this weekend, and they have reacted in a similar fashion.
One user on X said, "Surely, at €700,000 per year plus expenses, people do not expect him to work weekly at football. Wake up. He will show up in Dublin a few times per year if a match is on. The FAI gave him a brand new Samsung to keep up to date like the rest of us.”
Heimir Hallgrimsson not planning to attend weekend games in person https://t.co/GPifaR695R
— Irish Independent (@Independent_ie) September 13, 2024
Another said, “You have got to be joking. You can’t judge a player fully from TV. What they are doing when they don’t have the ball is vital for the Irish team. Rapidly going off Hallgrimsson. He needs to stamp his authority on the setup now or he’s doomed.”
Although the Icelander is coming under increasing pressure already in the job, some have called for patience and do not see the point in him attending games.
“Ya know, there are literally Premier League games on every weekend leading up to the international break. Just because he isn’t going straight over to watch this weekend’s game means nothing. I’m sure he knows the majority of the Premier League players will be in his next squad anyway,” said one X user.
Another offered a similar take: “What’s he going to unearth by going to games? We don’t have the firepower; a lot of the guys he wants to see don’t start for their clubs. We brought in someone not capable, but honestly, who would be? The talent pool is shallow at the moment, but he is employed to do his job, so he should go do it.”
Either way, let’s hope that results pick up sooner rather than later.
