Fallon: Where to start with Galway...

FORMER Galway great and selector Ja Fallon has admitted the county’s senior footballers are in crisis — but insists all is not lost for the Tribesmen if they lose their Allianz Division One status.

Galway are anchored to the bottom of the table after suffering a third consecutive defeat on Sunday, a dispiriting eight-point defeat to Mayo in Tuam.

With a trip to Kerry up next and Cork and undefeated Dublin yet to visit them, relegation looms large and Tomás Ó Flatharta’s position as manager has been called into question.

All the talk in the county is not about who is playing but rather who isn’t as supporters wait impatiently for Pádraic Joyce and Michael Meehan to return from injury.

Fallon is eager to see the pair back in the maroon and white but recognises the dependency on them is unhealthy.

“It’s not great but you will always have those years when you have to rebuild,” said the Tuam Stars man.

“It’s disappointing but what can you do? We’re waiting for Pádraic and Michael to come back.”

“The hard question is where do you start? You can ask is there a crisis and there is but I don’t have the answers for it at the moment.

“The players aren’t there and you just have to go with what you have. Right now, Galway are still relying on the older lads. They’re going to have to take small steps to get away from that.”

Fallon, a selector under Peter Ford, is certain Ó Flatharta is not to blame for Galway’s dreadful start to their Division One campaign.

The 1997 Footballer of the Year knows the hard times only too well. In 2006, such was Galway’s injury list that he had to step down from Ford’s management team to come out of retirement and tog out.

The following year, Ford came under pressure after Galway lost their first two league games. They ended up topping the table with five straight wins thereafter but like now the right personnel weren’t there.

“You’re only as good as the players,” he remarked. “There’s nothing Tomás Ó Flatharta or Ja Fallon or anyone can do. Johno (O’Mahony) succeeded when we’d a great mix of players.”

And Fallon maintains a drop to Division Two is not as bad as is feared.

“You need to build the confidence but look at it, Tyrone went down last year. It’s not the end of the world.

“You’ve a realistic chance of winning a few games. In that sense, it’s an easier ground for lads to improve because they’re not under constant pressure from the likes of Dublin and Kerry and all the big guns. But come the Connacht championship and it’s Galway and Mayo, there won’t be a kick of a ball in it. When you get certain key players back they won’t be that far away.”

However, Fallon is fully aware that while Galway may be a top-flight team their championship record outside Connacht leaves a lot to be desired.

“No win in Croke Park in 10 years is disappointing,” he agreed.

Former Galway player and ex-Dublin selector Brian Talty is fearful the county could act rashly if the results continue to go against the team.

“There are a lot of footballers in Galway after the under-age success they’ve been having in recent years but it’s going to take a bit of time for them to mature and that will require patience. There’s fierce panic in a county when you start to lose games but there are periods in games when they’re playing well and all of a sudden they just deteriorate.

“When you look at the team list, it has fresh faces so bedding them in will be tough.”

While questions persist about the availability of Nicky Joyce and Damien Burke to Ó Flatharta this year, Fallon believes the Kerry native should invite Barry Cullinane back into the panel to help solve his midfield issues.

“I would bring back Cullinane, just for stability in the middle of the park. You might have to work on him for games in Croke Park but he’d be tough opposition for anyone in Connacht. He’ll need to get into shape but he’d be a force.

“He’s probably the one who’s trying to get what should be in there. There are a few U21s and a few minors from last year that are promising but we need some sort of stability at 6, 8, 9 and 11. It’s easier said than done, though.”

Talty is also of the mind Galway can’t afford the luxury of losing their more experienced players. For one, he’d like to see Niall Coleman convinced back into the panel.

“You’d be hoping Pádraic Joyce and Michael Meehan come back in soon as well as the likes of Niall Coleman.

“It’s good that the likes of the young players are getting games but you wonder where the likes of Fiachna Breathnach are because they’re good footballers. A lot of people are panicking but let’s hope the young players start shaping up.”