Managers playing their own game
But to call him a straight-talker, as he would prefer you do, is to pay him far too much credit when some of what he says, like most inter-county managers these days, has to be challenged.
Thirteen days out of an Ulster quarter-final against a much-anticipated dustup with Donegal this Sunday, he attempted to divert attention to other counties’ use of brawn.
“Dublin and Kerry are way above them (Donegal) in terms of physical contact. The physicality, I think, is seen more in Ulster than in other provinces, but from a playing point of view, I can categorically state they are not even in the same ball park.”
His comments, as merited they as they are on the surface, can’t be accepted at face value.
His calculated comments are two-fold: put more emphasis on the favourites for the All-Ireland SFC whose whites, let’s be honest, aren’t as white as many make them out to be, and turn down the spotlight on the meeting of two counties who last year served up a game where at one stage a lengthy row broke out and another when a player was punched in the jaw by an opponent at the final whistle.
What complements the theory is McGeeney’s obvious appetite for a more liberally officiated game. He cited last year’s Kerry-Mayo All-Ireland semi-final replay where there were melees, “bibs turn up, fellas thrown over signs”.
He added: “I think football should be played like that.” Don’t think for one second McGeeney, by mentioning Dublin and Kerry, was doing anything more than making an attempt to assist his own county.
Four years ago, his Kildare management did the same albeit not as obliquely the day prior to their All-Ireland quarter-final against Donegal when a syndicated piece featured in newspapers quoting his selector Niall Carew about the Donegal forwards’ “professional fouls”.
McGuinness in his time wasn’t too adverse to the art of manager-speak. It’s not cynicism to call bull when you see it; it’s just realism especially when so many vested interests are involved and so much of what is said is uttered for the benefit of the referee.
Like the following...
“If you analyse the stats of the game, you’d know why we lost the game.”
“Man alive, we were rode!”
“I don’t know if any of ye have been at the end of a Michael Murphy tackle recently, but there’s serious, serious physicality in that team.”
“Donegal’s most important player takes liberties. Referees take note.”
“Michael Murphy is a big guy and he goes into a lot of contact and sometimes things look a little worse than they are.”
“Would you ever lay off poor Michael? He’s my main man.”
“I would be loathe to think anyone would say Dublin are cynical. I would take a step back if that was the case. We promote them to play good football.”
“Believe our stereotype — we are squeaky clean. Honest, guv’nor!”
“I think the referee’s going to be very important in this game. I wouldn’t want to paint our fellas as naive young fellas but certainly they’re up against a team (Mayo) that’s extremely streetwise — every manager wants their team to be like that.”
“Whatever happens we’re the innocents, okay?”
“You have a duty of care to your players and I would be fearful that my lads are going to end up on the receiving end of something that is going to cause everybody a lot of pain.”
“We’re more sinned against than sinners.”
“There has been a concerted effort made by I don’t know who to take the whole physicality out of the game. If they don’t stop messing with it, they will destroy it.”
“We’re doing pretty well with the rules as they are, thank you very much.”
“An interesting thing to watch out for is the ballboys: (in Croke Park) if Dublin are behind, there is one fella rolls (the ball back to the keeper) from one side and another from the other.
"Let’s say a Kerry back kicks it back to him to slow the game down, another ball comes straight in from the other side. Magic! If Dublin are ahead, you won’t see any ball, you have to go looking for it.”
“Sort it out, GAA.”
“There are a lot of inconsistencies there. If it had been some of the lesser counties playing that game they would have been down to 13 men. Some of the stuff that went on in that game wouldn’t compare to what I’ve seen our lads put off for. ”
“There are a lot of inconsistencies there. If it had been some of the lesser counties playing that game they would have been down to 13 men.
We’ve heard of trial by TV but could there now be trial by social media after Conal Keaney found himself at the centre of an alleged incident in Saturday’s Leinster quarter-final replay against Galway?
A sequence of photographs, not camera footage it must be stated, show Keaney getting involved in Joe Canning’s tussle on the ground with Alan Nolan.
The Dublin defender was subjected to heavy criticism on Twitter and Facebook but unless there is unedited video proving the Dublin defender was in the wrong he has no case to answer.
However, there was video footage of Canning, he with a bandaged left hand, grabbing the helmet of Nolan as the pair held one another on the ground.
As per rule, that is a sending off offence yet the Galway forward as well as Nolan received yellow cards.
If Sunday was the afternoon that Cork hurlers realised performance alone won’t win them matches then it might just be a red letter day with a positive for the management and team.
That might mean the ban on the word “sweeper” in the camp is lifted.
Apart from varying their puck-out, the closest Cork have come to revolutionary tactics in the championship these last few years has been moving Damien Cahalane from full-back to wing-back against Clare last year and cutting their inside line from three to two.
Unless they are blessed with an exceptional draw, more creative thinking will be required if Cork are to run the gauntlet of the qualifiers and reach the All-Ireland series. Right now nobody fears them because they allow teams to play hurling. Their conventional wisdom is outdated. For Cork to be creative, they will have to be destructive.
Meanwhile, the best of wishes to Michael Lyster as he recuperates from his health scare last Friday. His return to our screens will be much anticipated.
