Sammon latest victim of player power

LIAM SAMMON has opted to walk away before his third year in charge of the Galway footballers, informing the 2009 panel of his decision on Wednesday night.

Rumours of player discontent have swept through the west since Galway suffered two harrowing defeats to Mayo and Donegal last month. After the Donegal loss Sammon intimated that he would see out his term, but it is believed that several squad members wanted a change in manager.

Following much deliberation, Sammon notified Galway Football Board chairman John Joe Holleran that he wished to step down, and a gathering was arranged. Holleran paid tribute to Sammon’s dedication.

“Liam has decided not to continue, and won’t be availing of the third year in his term. Liam told me about his decision, and then he told the players at a meeting on Wednesday. He was very gracious towards everybody, and as anyone who knows him he is a passionate person about Galway football.

“Liam obviously thought about this for a while, and it wasn’t an easy decision for him. He has given the people of Galway so many fond memories in both his days as a player and coach right through from when he won an All-Ireland in 1966.

“Throughout his years involved in the game Liam has always been a players’ person, and some of the things he said at the meeting will stick with me for a long time. He said to the players that the game is about them, and that they must be happy to play for their county with pride.”

While Sammon won’t be the senior team’s inter-county manager anymore he will still occupy a key role in developing youngsters according to Holleran. “This won’t be the end of Liam Sammon and Galway football because he has so much to offer. It is not the end of the road for him, and the Galway Football Board intend to use his expertise. He must be involved to influence the players of the future, and it is our intention to keep Liam heavily involved in our coaching structures. There is no doubt that due to the current economic situation schools and clubs are finding it extremely tough at the moment with teams so the Galway Football Board have to make sure that we have the proper structures and expertise in place. ”

Holleran stressed how unfortunate Galway were under Sammon’s watch in the Championship. “If you take last year we had an unforgettable performance against Kerry. We went into that match without four players but still pushed Kerry to the brink.

“We were very unlucky not to win that one, and even this year, we were unlucky to be defeated narrowly by Mayo and Donegal. But that is sport, and while the defeats were tough I am sure that in years to come people will acknowledge what Liam tried to do with this team. I have known Liam nearly all my life, and he is one of the most passionate and honourable men I have met.

“There is nothing, but good in his heart, and while it was a pity we didn’t make the All-Ireland series, I feel he tried to do things the right way.”

Former Galway midfielder Kevin Walsh, could be in the frame to succeed Sammon, despite recently being ratifed as Sligo boss for next season. Other potential successors include 2007 Galway All-Ireland minor-winnign coach Alan Mulholland, Eoin O’Donnellan, currently with St Brigid’s in Roscommon, and Frank Doherty, who has recently stepped down as Clare manager. Mulholland, heavily influenced in his underage days by Sammon and Tony ‘Horse’ Regan at the Salthill-Knocknacarra nursery, is viewed as the early front runner, and would command significant respect in the county.