From All-Ireland glory to also-rans
Defeats to Kerry (twice), Donegal (twice), Tyrone, Meath, Cork and even Westmeath in Salthill have cast a dark cloud on Galway football.
So how has the county gone from being the best team in the country, contesting three All-Ireland finals in four years, winning two, to being a team that none of the top counties fear?
1. Players not being developed after making their senior breakthroughs
JOE BERGIN and Kieran Fitzgerald both won Celtic crosses in 2001 and Bergin was captain when Galway defeated Dublin in the All-Ireland U21 final in 2002. Has Bergin developed into a top quality midfielder or wing-forward in the Sean Cavanagh or Enda McGinley mode? Has Fitzgerald come close to adding a second All Star to the one he collected in 2001?
No, is the answer in both cases. In Galway when a player makes his senior breakthrough at a young age, not enough is done to develop and enhance his skills and improve him. There is very little joined up thinking and new managers come in with a new team of personnel and start with a new plan, rather than taking a more strategic approach.
Underage successes and the talent on those winning teams have not been harvested to the maximum or even close.
Galway won U21 titles in 2002 and 2005 and an All-Ireland minor in 2007. Apart from Michael Meehan, very few from those sides have delivered on a consistent basis. Players like Diarmuid Blake, Michael Comer, Matthew Clancy, Nicholas Joyce, Kieran Comer and Cormac Bane (all 2002) and Alan Burke, Finian Hanley, Niall Coyne, Gary Sice, Barry Cullinane, Sean Armstrong, Fiachra Breathnach, Damien Dunleavy and Niall Coleman (all 2005) have all played senior in the past few years, but the progression of the majority of those has not been of the required level.
That is a key factor in why Galway are not in the top five in the country, ranked behind the likes of Tyrone, Kerry, Dublin, Mayo and Cork.
2. John O’Mahony stayed too long as Galway manager
JOHN O’MAHONY was a key reason why Galway won All-Ireland finals in 1998 and 2001. He is without question one of the great managers in Gaelic football and he may go on to land the “Holy Grail” for Mayo too.
Notwithstanding, he should have vacated the Galway manager’s chair prior to 2004.
Things got very stale for the team in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and they suffered a heavy defeat (0-18 to 1-09) to Mayo in the 2004 Connacht semi-final, before being well beaten by Tyrone in the qualifiers (O’Mahony moved on in the wake of that loss after seven years in charge). A fresh voice was needed before then and perhaps there might have been another kick in a combination of fresh players and a few from the senior successes of 1998 and 2001 with a new manager. Michael Donnellan, Páraic Joyce, Declan Meehan and Derek Savage were still young men and perhaps with a few new players from the 2002 U21 success a credible challenge for All-Ireland senior glory could have been mounted. That never happened and neither Peter Forde nor Liam Sammon have been able to turn things around.
3. Galway’s midfield diamond zone has been a disaster
SINCE Kevin Walsh retired five years ago, the Galway midfield has been a massive problem. Many have been tried, but unfortunately nobody has made the required impact. Galway have always been outplayed there by the likes of Darragh O Sé, Seán Cavanagh, Ronan McGarrity, Kevin Hughes and Nigel Crawford. Likewise centre-back has been a major problem and players like Diarmuid Blake, Niall Coyne, Paul Clancy, Michael Donnellan, Declan Meehan and Richie Fahy have all worn the number six shirt with varying degrees of success. However nobody has really dominated as Tomás Mannion did in the All-Ireland series of 2001. No matter what tactics or strategies are employed a team needs to at least break even around midfield.
When the ball is kicked out, more often than not the opposition get possession and it means the likes of Michael Meehan and Seán Armstrong are trying to survive on a limited supply and even it does arrive, it is often of a very poor quality.
Even Meehan who is probably the best gunslinger in the province is useless without bullets.
