The IFA Board finally came to that conclusion too.Įarlier this month when asked about Baraclough’s position an IFA spokesperson told Sunday Life Sport: “Ian retains the support of the Irish FA.” One of those was during a 2-1 victory at Windsor over Kosovo and the other a 3-1 defeat in Greece leaving Northern Ireland on an embarrassing five points from 18 and close to relegation to the lowest tier of the Nation League competition.Īlmost rock bottom! The group of players at Baraclough’s disposal was much better than that. In this newspaper I called for the IFA to step in, ditch Baraclough and end the pain feeling enough was enough but he would last until this week after two more matches in September when the fans once again roared ‘We want Bara out’. The performance against the Cypriots, a poor international side, was dire. The Irish FA Board felt Ian Baraclough's time as Northern Ireland manager was up
This was the beginning of the end for the 51-year-old even though his side fought back to draw 2-2. It got worse a few days later back in Belfast when with Northern Ireland losing to Cyprus, a section of the Kop started singing ‘We want Bara out’. Jeers followed the Windsor Park defeat to Greece and a desperate scoreless draw in Cyprus, when the visitors were fortunate to escape with a point, then came chants of ‘Cheerio, cheerio’ in the manager’s direction following a 3-2 loss away to Kosovo.
If the players were alarmed at what was going on, the Green and White Army were angry. The boys wanted consistency and instead got change. Questions continued during a nightmare quadruple header in June when two points from 12 were won in four Nations League games with some selections and formations mystifying the dressing room.Īnother factor that concerned players was the constant new arrivals in Baraclough’s backroom staff. Everyone good enough to play needs to be on the same page…or plane travelling to represent the country not sitting at home during an international window.Įven before players started pulling out, decisions by the boss were being challenged by key figures in the squad. That can’t happen to Northern Ireland who have a limited number of players to choose from in the first place in comparison to other countries. What told a tale in Baraclough’s tenure, which began in June 2020, was that several senior stars made themselves unavailable at different times despite being fit to play.
There was a feel good vibe then that went missing far too quickly after he left for Stoke City. That one still hurts the fans who had enjoyed so many highs and the euphoria of Euro 2016 when O’Neill was in charge. Ian Baraclough lost the support of his players during his time as Northern Ireland manager
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