McGeeney to succeed Grimley as Armagh boss
A statement released by the county board yesterday thanked Grimley for his work, which ended with a heartbreaking 1-12 to 1-11 defeat.
“Paul Grimley, Armagh senior football manager, has tendered his resignation to The Management Committee of Armagh County Board. Paul strenuously argued that it was the right thing to do as he had stressed on his appointment two years ago that he would embark on a development process and that he thought the process was ready to progress to another level,” the statement read.
“The Management Committee of Armagh County Board wish to acknowledge the contribution of Paul, in terms of his energy, commitment, loyalty, vision and selflessness, to Armagh. Paul joined Paddy O’Rourke as assistant manager before accepting the manager’s position the following year. Paul served Armagh as a player, assistant manager for two terms and eventually, as manager.
“Paul Grimley is big in stature and gargantuan in his commitment to Armagh. On behalf of everyone involved in Armagh we extend a hearty thank you to Paul and wish him well.
“Paul has asked for a period of rest and has expressed a desire to be able to relax with his family over the next few weeks.”
Speculation about Grimley’s head coach taking over comes as the former Kildare manager’s assistant, Niall Carew, quit as Waterford boss.
Carew leaves after two years, citing the county board’s inability to support funding towards the footballers’ preparations next season.
The county’s 2002 All-Ireland winning captain, McGeeney, had been expected to succeed Grimley from earlier this season when the latter anointed him as an ideal candidate to take over.
During the league, the outgoing manager had also indicated that he would not be seeking an extension to his two-year term, which concluded at the weekend.
Carew, meanwhile, has called for a new fundraising committee independent of Club Déise to be formed specifically for football, claiming he was told that no money from the supporters’ club would be made available to him.
Carew contacted all the players on the panel individually yesterday and many of them have responded angrily, contacting members of the county executive in an attempt to get them to persuade Carew to remain.
Carew issued a statement to Waterford clubs and the county board, in which he refrained from any criticism of the board, but firmly stated that better structures are required if the county football team are to flourish.
The St Kevin’s clubman said that Waterford football was “swimming against the tide” largely because the preparation at underage level wasn’t good enough and “a severe handicap when they become senior players”.
He acknowledged the financial issues faced by the Waterford county board and felt that a proposal could be made to the GAA for aid to give the football teams equivalent standards of training to the hurlers.
“If Waterford expose their county minors and U21s to the same preparation as the hurlers get, you are guaranteed that players will be playing at a higher skill level which will only benefit football in the county. So the transition to inter-county senior football will not be a massive jump as it is now. If you look at Waterford’s hurling 21s, the amount of preparation that was put in by management and players might seem a waste of time because results didn’t work out for them. But that is a very short-term view. The fact is, Waterford senior hurlers will benefit because of this work in the near future.”
Carew continued: “In relation to finance I feel football people in Waterford have to create their own Club Football Déise, because Waterford football has gotten no assistance from Club Déise. In fact when I enquired, I was told we would not get any assistance. So why call it Club Déise? This organisation should be called Club Déise Hurling… there are plenty genuine football people in the county contributing to this fund thinking some of this money is going to the football teams. It isn’t and that’s not right.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
