Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Things might be about to get tricky for Tyrone
PRESSED: Armagh and Tyrone players jostle for position from Armagh goalkeeper Shea Magill's restart in the McKenna Cup game at Healy Park in Omagh. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
At this stage the value and quality of the Allianz National League is universally acknowledged. This year its stock will jump further in value because of the July All-Ireland final date.
Back when league games were before Christmas, Páidí Ó Sé, and Mick O’Dwyer before him, had a great expression which highlighted the insignificance of the league and the importance of timing your run for the summer assault. They aligned their ambitions with nature, by outlining the importance of coming into form with the arrival of the cuckoo.
When the league moved to the calendar year, this advice became less relevant; now the league is the most important competition for many
counties and vital preparation for those with ambitions of championship silverware.
This year, there is a mere three and a half months from the end of the League to the All-Ireland climax. Pecking orders will be well established within panels and the scope for a championship pre-season is much smaller. By the time the cuckoo arrives, the league finals will be played with narratives well established. All of this means we can expect keen competition across all four divisions from this weekend.
One of the first things I always did when the fixture list dropped was to check if we were on the three home and four away rotation or vice versa. In my first year in charge of Kerry, three of our first four games were on the road and the home game was against Dublin. We lost all four, a fair baptism of fire but thankfully we rallied to hang onto our Division 1 status.
A start like that nowadays will probably sink most teams, underlining the importance of hitting the ground running. While it was always enjoyable playing in front of our own crowd in Kerry, funnily enough, I nearly preferred the away games as a manager. I felt come throw-in time on Sunday, every angle was covered. The fact that an away trip invariably meant an overnight stay for us ensured we had a lot of pre-match time together.
We had an opportunity to have a kick around the day before, do some analysis work the night before and/or the morning of the game. The players’ nutrition for the 24 hours before the match was on point but most of all we were together, enjoying each other’s company, and building spirit. Often on a Saturday night, we would have a bit of fun or watch whatever game was on TV as a group. We had some memorable away wins over the years and I always felt those road wins were huge for the development of a team and were worth far more than just the league points. Keep an eye out for teams across all the divisions that are winning those invaluable away games.
As All-Ireland champions, Tyrone are probably the only team in Division 1 that won’t have a desire to prove a point straight away. Kieran McGeary, speaking after being honoured as the player of the year, outlined how the hunger is still very much there for himself and the squad. He doesn’t know that yet. They won’t find out until they are under the pump in a pressure knockout game next summer and have to dig deep. Tyrone have never managed a back-to-back All-Ireland and I’m sure this will be a big aim for them in 2022.
They are hard-won though.
I was interested to note their return from a team holiday this month. That seems late in a modern context particularly with the earlier championship this year. They have also lost some decent players over the winter, in particular Mark Bradley and Tiernan McCann. This will affect their strength in depth and the quality of their training sessions. To win the first one, be that with club, school, or county, there is huge buy-in from everyone and the common good supersedes any personal ego. A squad are moving through the phase of what renowned NBA coach Pat Riley referred to as the ‘Innocent Climb’.
However, with success comes the questions. Why am I not starting? Why is he getting game time ahead of me? I’m working harder than everyone else here. They don’t rate me at all. As Riley points out the ‘Disease of Me’ becomes a factor after a squad experiences success. Dealing with one or two in this headspace is ok but any more than that is a problem and can spread like a virus through a squad.
It cannot be tolerated, has to be managed and will be a challenge for Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher. On the flip side, the belief and experience garnered from 2021 can enable and empower them to move to another level.
Time will tell but I think Tyrone could be in for a tricky league.
For the rest of Division 1, there is much to play for. Both Kerry and Dublin will be anxious to get going and to begin the journey they hope will end on the steps of the Hogan Stand in July. Both are capable of achieving just that but both have issues they will look to address. Kerry now have a serious squad with a good age profile. They will be aiming to build steel and confidence to deal with the challenge of closing out matches on the big days. This has become an issue that can only be addressed by experiencing and navigating successfully through it.
Jack O’Connor will hope this league will provide those challenges to condition his troops for a summer campaign. He would also like to get to the League final to reduce their six-week break between league and championship by seven days. Dublin will be looking to address the previously unrecognisable inconsistency that emerged during 2021. Already, it is obvious that lessons have been learned. The first day out in the O’Byrne Cup, Dessie Farrell made it clear that there was going to be no Stephen Cluxton this year. None of the messing and distractions from last year would be tolerated this time round. Men on a mission with everything managed and controlled on and off the pitch is a Dublin we are more familiar with.
Elsewhere in Division 1, Mayo will look to recover from an All-Ireland defeat, by probably staying up on the last day. Oisín Mullin staying at home with the return of Jason Doherty and Cillian O’Connor will be major boosts. The fact they have no game in MacHale Park might actually help them as they had developed an unwelcome habit of losing there. They could be in the conversation at either end of the division come the end of March.
Donegal have been stuck in gear for the last couple of seasons. They always look like they are about to mount a serious challenge. Both Declan Bonner and Stephen Rochford will feel it is now or never for them. Michael Murphy isn’t getting any younger and while there are plenty of emerging players, he is still their fulcrum and driving force.
Monaghan will once more be awkward and able opposition and will feel they were close last year. Their sophomores such as Aaron Mulligan and Killian Lavelle need to develop further but they have a lot of the tools to challenge for silverware. Armagh survived in Division 1 last year without getting to test themselves against Kerry and Dublin. This evening they start out in Croke Park. When they got promoted in 2020 these are the type of games Kieran McGeeney would have been looking towards, to test his players and measure their true worth. I like the brand of football they play and am curious to see if they can be more ruthless at the back to allow them to start to fulfill their potential.
Kildare have as tough a start to the league as anyone in all four divisions. Home to Kerry, away to Donegal, away to Tyrone, and home to Dublin. If they pick up points from that series of games, they will be in Division 1 on merit for 2023. That is a big ‘if’ though.
From the other divisions, I am looking forward to seeing if Derry can maintain their upward trajectory from last year. I like the look of them. They have a lot of good players, are well organised and have huge potential. The graduates from last year’s All-Ireland winning team will also add to the squad over time. In particular, It will be interesting to see how quickly Matthew Downey adapts to this level. I hope that Rory Gallagher continues with his volte face and doesn’t revert to overly defensive football as the stakes get higher.
As always I will be also keeping a keen eye on Cork. Keith Ricken is an intriguing character that speaks his mind and the media will love him for the soundbites. He has plenty of talent at his disposal but can he build spirit and confidence to consistently win? With four away games I think Cork will do well to stay in Division 2, bearing in mind the level of experimentation they are undertaking, the inexperience of their management team at this level and the quality of opposition in the division. Surely Cork in the Tailteann Cup is unimaginable though?
Division 3 is another evenly matched minefield. Laois have shown early season promise and may well be joined by Limerick in Division 2. Westmeath will also expect to bounce straight back up. I expect Tipperary and Cavan to emerge from Division 4.
There is a renewed appreciation of what sport in general and Gaelic games in particular mean to us. Let’s enjoy the feast of football that awaits us for the next six months.
Derry.
Lee Gannon (Dublin), Jimmy Hyland (Kildare) Michael Langan (Donegal).
