When inter-county manager is just too powerful
Driving the highways and byways of the country these past few weeks, it was fascinating to record just how many great inter-county managers’ houses are built on higher ground.
We can think of at least half a dozen All-Ireland or provincial winning managers whose abodes overlook roads, rivers, farmland or bays.
It shouldn’t be any surprise, should it? The ability to survey their surroundings, to rule the roost, to obtain a commanding vista would appeal to them.
Except, the GAA now view them with some of the envy Bono claimed enveloped Irish people when they looked up towards the mansions of those who have done well for themselves. It all comes down to power and Croke Park feel the modern day inter-county manager wields too much of it.
They are most certainly right on that count. Some of them postpone club fixtures and, even when they can’t, prohibit players from lining out in them.
There are those who control the lives of the men under their stewardship to such an extent that they can hardly think for themselves.
When you think about it, the practice of handing so much authority to somebody who’s only going to be in the role for an average of two to three years is frightening.
It’s exercised the mind of GAA president Liam O’Neill, who wants to do something about it. Speaking last February, he bemoaned the cult of the manager in the organisation: “It’s more of this thing that the manager of the county team is somehow divorced from the county and from the organisation, that they have a right and that they’re an entity in themselves. That’s because we’ve built up the cult of the manager and we’ve allowed the cult of the manager to build.
“Even in the media, it’s now Mick O’Dwyer’s Clare. Clare were there for a long time putting out teams. Now suddenly it’s Mick O’Dwyer’s Clare, it’s Kieran McGeeney’s Kildare. It’s Jim Gavin’s Dublin.”
O’Neill would like to see the GAA adopt a rugby-style approach with a coach alongside a manager to dilute his influence.
We were reminded of his argument last week with Liam Dunne’s “I’m managing the team, I’ll do whatever I like” line, an utterance that did not go down well in GAA HQ.
At least he was referring only to his team. There are others who are so consumed by influence that they desire controlling more than the controllables.
Last year, one manager took exception to a question I asked him following a league game. In turn, I took exception to his derogatory response of “cop yourself on” by stating I didn’t need to do such a thing as it was a valid query.
At the conclusion of the group interview he asked me to stay back, which I did out of interest more than courtesy. He informed me if I “eyeballed” him again I need only name the time and place. I argued that I only held his stare as I deemed his reply to my on-the-record query as wholly inappropriate.
After a few minutes with a couple of insults thrown my way, we eventually parted ways but the exchange illustrated just how ridiculous some managers can get.
It goes without saying they hold high profile and pressurised positions but some are just drunk on power and when that intoxication is threatened they resort to intimidation.
Not all managers are as spiky or sensitive as the aforementioned individual, but then being a megalomaniac fits in with the mystique that has been created about them.
Joe Brolly was bang on the money last month when, in response to criticism from Jarlath Burns about his Paul Grimley comments, he tweeted: “Being a good GAA man and a bad manager are not incompatible.”
A good manager these days is a cut-throat individual with no consideration for anyone other than himself and what he believes is in the best interests of his team.
What O’Neill wants to do is laudable but is too aspirational to come in before his term of office finishes in 2015.
Still, his concerns raise a salient issue that the vice-like grip some managers hold on their respective counties is anything but healthy.
* Contact: john.fogarty@examiner.ie Twitter: @johnfogartyirl
The national hurling referees meet this evening where a couple of match officials are likely to get an earful from chief Pat McEnaney.
Alan Kelly should have dismissed Cathal Parlon in Tullamore last Sunday week while Brian Gavin, as much as he did send off one Wexford player, should’ve issued a red card to another, Gareth Sinnott, instead of a yellow for a reckless high foul on Peter Kelly.
What went on in Parnell Park on Saturday night was unsavoury to say the least and highlights the concerns aired by McEnaney about the game.
Last year, the footballers of Monaghan and Kildare not to mention the county boards were reprimanded for scenes that, while serious, paled in comparison to the antics in Donnycarney.
It’s not that a message has to be sent out, rather an affirmation that such behaviour won’t be tolerated.
Cavan’s first set of back-to-back Ulster SFC wins in 12 years. Limerick’s first Munster SHC final since 2007 where they will face either Cork, who they last met at such a stage in 1999, or Clare, a team they haven’t encountered in a final since 1994. After next weekend, either Leitrim’s first provincial final in 13 years or London’s first ever appearance in the decider after their first Connacht win since 1977 should be confirmed.
For all the criticism of the provincial structures, as long as they keep throwing up such novelty there will always be strong arguments in support of their retention.
