I don't claim to know much about football, but as an expat from the late 1980s on I got caught up in the whole social phenomenon of the Charlton era. And I do believe that the successes of that era did contribute something to that nebulous pheonomenon, national confidence;

I came across the following in an interview dated 19 May on the Guardian unlimited site referred to above:

Aside from the old codgers at the front and back of the team, the most obvious unifying factor, according to Quinn, is powerful camaraderie: 'Mick changed the way we played but never changed that great feeling of team spirit and togetherness. It has probably been the ingredient that has helped most in getting the Irish people behind the team. They can see that regardless of whether it's Roy Keane at Manchester United or Mattie Holland at Ipswich nobody is bigger than anyone else in this squad'.

Quinner did go on to refer to Keane as 'colossal to the cause at all times', so there's no begrudgery there. But it does strike me that the team spirit and the close relationship with the fans were essential elements in the success story, and that these seem to be lacking in Keane, so far as one can judge from press reports.