Do Tyrone still have the fire for battles ahead?

WHILE I have often wondered how the man who repairs my bike has survived in business, I have no doubt about how he succeeded as a cyclist.

It’s fair to say Brian Kinning’s selling methods will never be promoted in business schools. In my own dealings with Brian, he has: 1) complained bitterly about the cost of his own bicycles; 2) advised me to buy a product from one of his competitors because he didn’t feel his stock was suitable; and 3) showed me a website which sold his products at the same cost or cheaper. I could go on.

Brian’s passion has got nothing to do with profits. Instead, his obsession is with bicycles and racing. At 64, he still has the lean, slender frame of a cyclist. And until recently, he was regularly doing 300 miles a week. On a week’s holiday to Majorca, this would increase to 450. Meet someone like Brian and you realise that age is no barrier so long as a man remains deeply wedded to his chosen sport.

If there’s passion, there’s energy, and anything is possible. But the reverse is also true. Because once a sportsman falls out of love with his game, then the affair is over, and his career is doomed.

Following Tyrone’s lacklustre display against Donegal on Saturday night, questions must be asked about the enthusiasm levels of Mickey Harte’s footballers.

Because let’s be honest about Tyrone’s performance. They were a pale shadow of their former selves. Few of the qualities associated with the Red Hands were visible. Rather, it was Donegal who produced the massive work-rate, tigerish tackling, and constant support play that was once synonymous with their opponents.

Critics of the current Tyrone team will insist that Mickey Harte has stayed faithful with the one group of players for too long. This is a moot point. For starters, the argument that a footballer is on the wane at 30 years of age is total nonsense. Last weekend provided ample evidence to dispute this theory as Conleith Gilligan, John Doyle, Jerry O’Connor, Steven McDonnell and Tomás Ó Sé all performed to a significantly higher standard than many of the younger men on the same pitch. And while no Tyrone player has suffered more serious injuries than Brian McGuigan, the 31-year-old was easily their best player against Derry.

The notion that Tyrone have a platoon of new footballers fit and ready to replace the old guard is also flawed.

In last year’s league campaign, injuries and suspensions forced Mickey Harte to experiment. If Tyrone had all these ready-made replacements, then how did they end up getting relegated? Furthermore, few Red Hand supporters were moaning about the age profile of their team when they won last year’s Ulster final with one of the most consummate displays of the season.

The age of the older Tyrone players is not the problem. The concern is whether they still possess the drive required to succeed.

Having won an All-Ireland minor medal, two at U21 level, and three at senior, it could be argued that Tyrone will struggle to get motivated for a league game taking place on a wet Saturday night in February.

Yet Kilkenny manager Brian Cody certainly wouldn’t accept that rationale. He wants his players to fight tooth and nail in every game and woe betide the Kilkenny hurler who isn’t prepared to put his body on the line.

As a team that set new standards in football, Tyrone’s rivals will always raise their game for a contest against the three-time All-Ireland champions.

But the really ambitious teams aren’t just lifting themselves for 70 minutes. They have transformed their entire lifestyles in order to emulate the type of exhibitions that Tyrone have produced since 2003.

That incredible support play, non-stop tackling, and telepathic understanding requires huge levels of fitness and hours of practice on the training pitch.

Cork are the All-Ireland champions. Kerry are Kerry. Last year Dublin beat Tyrone and should have beaten Cork. On the evidence presented so far, the Dubs are continuing to improve. Down, Kildare, and Armagh are at the front of the chasing pack. To compete against any of these teams, Tyrone will first have to match their sheer intensity of effort. To beat them, they will have to mine the superior talent that lies within their ranks.

On Saturday night, Stephen O’Neill rushed out of Healy Park without taking a shower. O’Neill bore the expression of a man at war himself. O’Neill and Sean Cavanagh, two former Footballers of the Year, have amassed the joint tally of one point from play during the past two games. Meanwhile, for the second game on the trot, a rival manager has put a speed merchant on Conor Gormley and for the second game on the trot Gormley has been kept on that same player. While Gormley was tailor-made for Michael Murphy or Colm McFadden, he chased Mark McHugh’s shadow for most of the game. When Tyrone were at their fluid best, they made football look easy. On Saturday, they made it look incredibly difficult. Right now, Tyrone’s flame appears to be flickering. As long as there is some glow, then there’s reason to hope. But if the spark has gone, then it’s no good. Because the day the fire goes out is the day you’re well and truly finished.

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