Weaker counties need full-time commitment
Speculation is followed by denials, then comes confirmations and interviews before the big announcement of the Messiah that is going to lead the county to the Promised Land.
Everything settles down then as the county go about winter planning for a summer title tilt. But for most counties the dream remains just that – a dream. That hasn’t stopped the process though.
In fact it seems to grow every year with the first question now on every journalist’s lips when a county exits the championship is to ask the county manager about his future.
Some bosses do so immediately while others want to take stock of the situation and mutter something that “now, is not the time for such decisions”. Then the county chairman chimes in that the manager deserves a few weeks to reflect on the situation before reaching a decision.
Usually during those few weeks a consensus emerges amongst players, supporters and the board. If the vibes are negative, then the manager is handed is P45 and the recruitment of his successor starts immediately.
The sooner this can happen the better as it is vital to get supporters to forget about the past and focus on the future. The appointment of a new manager does this almost instantaneously. It’s like a wonder drug that eradicates the pain of defeat and restores equilibrium and hope of success.
This growing art was brought to a higher platform this year by Donegal. Their quick exit from the Ulster and All-Ireland Championships could have led to a summer of discontent among the Gaels in Tir Conaill and it would too if their outgoing manager (John Joe Doherty) hadn’t resigned so quickly.
The county board, with all the adroitness of a seasoned politician, moved immediately to appoint his successor – Jimmy McGuinness.
So ended all recriminations about this season as thoughts of glory in 2011 and beyond filled the column inches of newspapers and the minds of Donegal fans.
A smart move by the board but does it guarantee success? Time will tell but unlikely.
Disappointment is replaced by hope but little else changes.
I am not a fan of chopping and changing managers. Neither do I see the replacement of one manager by another as the way to success. It takes a lot more than that and it is here that the GAA and county boards must take stock.
We expect too much from managers while at the same time limiting their influence. County managers can’t be appointed as full-time coaches and full-time coaches can’t be appointed managers.
When Jack O’Connor retired as Kerry boss in 2006, the unanimous choice of players and officials was that Pat O’Shea should replace him. Pat has a full-time coaching position with the Munster council and it was only the generous intervention of then Munster chairman, Sean Fogarty, that allowed O’Shea to take the reins with the Kingdom.
His two-year stint was very successful, winning one All-Ireland and being beaten in another final.
But if Kerry or any other county wanted to appoint Pat as manager now, they couldn’t do so.
No full-time coach is allowed manage a county team. Would it not be money well spent if someone of O’Shea’s undoubted coaching expertise and successful record were to manage a weaker county, for example? He would certainly bring them to their full potential and, most importantly, leave a legacy. Leaving a legacy should be a very important consideration in the management of any team. What’s the point in paying 37 full-time coaches in Munster (and over 200 nationally) if they are precluded from involvement with county teams? One of the most important things in developing the games within a county is to have unity of approach where coaching and style of play is concerned. Ned Quinn, Paul Kinsella, and Brian Cody have developed that uniform approach over the years in Kilkenny. It’s not rocket science.
You just can’t have a situation where every young fellow growing up is expected to adapt to different styles of play depending on who happens to be managing the team.
The approach which Noel Morris and the Tipperary football board wanted to take with John Evans was the right one. They wanted to appoint Evans full-time as Director of Football, overseeing all inter-county teams, including development squads. That would ensure uniformity of approach and a legacy whenever Evans would move on.
But the proposal was knocked on the head by Croke Park. So Evans, like all inter-county managers, can continue his successful way with the county seniors and U21s but if appointed full-time could make a far greater contribution for the future development of the game in the county. In the meantime, John will be dreaming of success in 2011. So will all other inter-county managers.
We all know how many of them will be successful but the real question is how many of them will leave a legacy?
As things stand, very few.
I HAD a date on Sunday morning – with a nun. She picked me up at 7am and we went straight to the pub – The Field and sat at the bar counter on two high stools.
Now, before any tongues start wagging we were there at that unearthly hour to watch the All-Ireland SHC semi-final between Waterford and Tipperary. I was in California for a special celebration and made the visit to the friendly Irish pub run by Tyrone man Daniel Drayne to keep tabs on things at Croke Park.
It was a disappointing day for Waterford. Waterford’s team selection and tactics occupied the thoughts of the RTÉ analysts. Certainly, the form shown by Ken McGrath when introduced made one wonder why such a great player could not find a starting spot. But all that’s speculation now. What Waterford need do now is plan for the future. They should be planning towards winning an All-Ireland within five years. The last 10 years has seen Waterford at the top table of hurling’s elite. It is essential that they move to the head of that table in the near future. They have the clubs, the schools, the minors, and U21s to make that transition. What’s more, notwithstanding Sunday’s disappointing result, they have a confidence and winning tradition that seemed beyond them a decade ago.
WAY back in May as we left Páirc Uí Chaoimh after Cork had whipped the Premier County, few would have wagered that Tipperary would be back in the All-Ireland final by September. But thanks to another fine team performance, that’s exactly where they are. Memories of 2009 come flooding back and now they stand between Kilkenny and the five in a row. Tipperary have a team that they are justifiably proud of – a goalkeeper that stops and blocks, backs that are mean and clean, a midfield that catches and dispatches and forwards that can score and more.
Is there a Seamus Darby-like player in Tipperary that can deny Kilkenny the five in a row, as Darby did to Kerry in 1982? Darby now runs a very welcoming hostelry, not in Offaly but in Toomevara, Tipperary. Is there a sign there?
There were 49,000 at the game on Sunday. Twice that number and many more will want to be at the All-Ireland final – the likes of which we may never see again. History made or history denied. Can a good week for Tipp in August become a brilliant year for the Premier County in September?
LAST week I wrote about the exploits of John Coghlan, who this year starred for the Tipperary U21 hurlers and footballers winning Munster medals in both codes, as did Sean Carey and Brian O’Meara.
Tipperary had never before won a Munster U21 football title so this is quite an achievement. However it’s not unique at underage level, not even in Tipp. I’m grateful to Oliver Coffey of Ballykisteen, Sologhead in Tipperary for mailing a question that he put to ‘memory man’ Jimmy Magee: “Name the only player in GAA history to play in the same position in both football and hurling in the provincial finals and All-Ireland finals in the same year?”
Not even the great Magee could answer that. Well, the answer is Jimmy Ryan of Sologhead, Tipperary. He played in all four Minor finals in 1955. With Jimmy Ryan in goals, Tipperary beat Waterford in the Munster MHC final and Kerry in the football equivalent. They went onto beat Kilkenny in the All-Ireland hurling decider and lost to Dublin in the football. A nice question for your next pub quiz.
