Fear-induced control freakery will help no-one
In his recently published autobiography, Without A Shadow of a Doubt, Joe revealed that he “drank three pints of Guinness, went home, slept well and woke up feeling great”.
The trouble for Joe was that Armagh lost by six points. And when word filtered out that Joe had been in a bar, his three liquid sleeping pills quickly morphed into “a feed of pints”.
According to the wilder accounts Joe “got blind drunk and had been dancing on tables”.
Thirty two years later, Joe has no remorse about drinking the pints. He is adamant his beverage intake didn’t impact on his performance. He noted that himself and Colm McKinstry dominated midfield in the first half.
Joe does, however, regret the back-lash that was directed towards him following the defeat.
It was the hostile response which ensured that Joe never went ‘rambling’ again during the remaining seven years of his playing career.
As for the actual act of downing three pints, Joe stated: “Okay, so it’s not something I would advocate as a manager, but we’re talking 1980 when the approach to things was a whole lot different.”
By the time Joe was manager of Armagh, the landscape had changed beyond recognition.
When Joe proposed the idea of going to La Manga to team captain Kieran McGeeney, it was ‘Geezer’ who sought guarantees that “it’s a training week and nothing else”.
Nowadays, it seems some players can’t get enough hardship. They expect and willingly accept all types of restrictions. And woe betide the manager who provides a bit of latitude.
When Mark Little helped Lisnaskea win the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship, he decided to forego the celebrations with his clubmates so that he could join the Fermanagh squad playing Carlow the following day.
After arriving at the team hotel, boss John O’Neill (also a Lisnaskea man) and Little had a couple of celebratory pints.
The next day O’Neill introduced Little as a substitute, partly because he wanted to acknowledge the sacrifice the player made when he abandoned the party with his friends and family. Fermanagh won the game. No harm done. Or so you would imagine.
In the review that was commissioned by the Fermanagh County Board, two players who walked off the panel criticised O’Neill for sharing those couple of drinks with a fellow clubman. The report states that they believed it “sent out the wrong signals”.
It should be stressed this was just one of several criticisms made about O’Neill. Ultimately, the players stated that their refusal to play under O’Neill was motivated by the fear “that they would end their careers without winning anything”.
And in their pursuit of victory, it appears that players will subscribe to all sorts of strictures.
Donegal are the most obvious example. Thanks to Kevin Cassidy, we know they were asked to hand over their mobile phones before the team for the All-Ireland semi-final was announced. During the year, each player was required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Because the Donegal players believe in Jim McGuinness, they are happy to accept his methods.
But we need to analyse what happened in Donegal outside the sphere of football. What would a person do if their employer asked them to sign a confidentiality agreement? They’d probably seek legal advice through a trade union. As for handing over a mobile phone? Like they say in some parts, sure a policeman wouldn’t ask you to do that.
In Jim McGuinness’ defence, he walks the walk with his players. Jim’s phone also went into the bag.
It’s the individuals who demand silence from their players, while they exploit their profile as inter-county managers to make money through columns, books, punditry and personal appearances, who really take the biscuit.
One former county manager banned his players from talking to the press while he extolled on a variety of subjects in his weekly newspaper column.
Because his players wanted to win, and were fearful of falling foul of the regime, they tolerated the double standards.
During the International Rules tour in Australia, I was talking to a player who is currently unemployed. I advised him to speak to any journalist that came within arm’s reach of him.
His response surprised me: “I know,” he said. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
An intelligent, likeable, hard-working university graduate who has represented his country, he could walk into a variety of jobs. But the job offers will not come if employers don’t know he’s available. Let’s hope his county manager doesn’t put a muzzle on him.
Naturally, managers need to establish certain standards of conduct. An indisciplined team will win nothing. But recent trends are a cause for concern. There is a difference between good practice and fear-induced control freakery.
The desire for victory is leading to a loss of perspective by players and managers. And the sinister and hypocritical manner in which power is being abused, and players are being manipulated, is a cause for concern. If allowed to continue unchecked, it stands to cause a lot more damage than the occasional interview and a couple of pints.
* p.heaney@irishnews.com
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