Déise determined to change minds
This is not a county such as Kilkenny, where football is openly reviled. It isn’t akin to Offaly, where hurling is kept alive by a small pocket of clubs.
Waterford has a sizeable, thriving football community, particularly in the west. There is a very strong base of clubs from senior down to junior, with most of the senior outfits having two teams. Participation levels are considerable.
So why have they failed — with the very odd exception — to make any inroads? Hurling is king and nobody is arguing with that, particularly in light of the Munster championship successes and general competitiveness of the past 20 years.
Prior to that though, Waterford hurling was in the doldrums. As it is, the last senior All-Ireland — the county’s second — was won 54 years ago. Since then, the U21 championship in 1992 is the sole journey to the summit.
In the intervening period, Waterford have won the All-Ireland junior football title twice (1999, 2004). Of course that’s a story in itself, as the juniors would probably have beaten the seniors in those seasons.
For the perception of the county football scene as a joke was as prevalent internally as externally and that was probably the biggest problem. Even now, people aren’t exactly queuing up to get involved.
The senior management had to take on the U21s at the last second, because no manager could be found. The intention is that they will do so in a much more organised fashion next year. With the juniors also in tow, a pathway will hopefully be established through to the senior squad.
It’s a start.
Waterford is known as An Déise because of the Déisi tribe of people that settled in the region after being driven out of the south Meath/north Kildare area.
Niall Carew makes a similar journey at least three times a week, but the fact the St Kevin’s man does it by choice, having elected to end his five years with his native Kildare, has prompted many to question his sanity.
He saw how competitive Stradbally and The Nire were in the Munster championship, though. He felt there was potential for improvement. Perception perpetuates itself, though. It becomes reality and that’s a cycle that’s hard to break.
There was some progress under John Kiely, while John Owens improved the professionalism. But Carew has raised the levels significantly, to the extent that one senior player has been heard to lament the fact he hadn’t been around 10 years previously.
Carew’s demands were a bit of a shock initially, even for the willing. And it isn’t because the players were lazy. They had an appetite to work but they already thought they were giving it everything. They were only scratching the surface.
Carew was a key part of McGeeney’s managerial team and regards the Armagh man as the most professional football mentor he has seen. He wanted to transport that to Waterford, although it didn’t take long to recognise that while the players were dedicated, they were a long way off in terms of fitness and strength.
Tony Corcoran is what Carew was when McGeeney took over. The vital local link. A former player as well as mentor at U21 and minor level, the St Saviour’s man says the “100% commitment” demand he received from the new manager when they first spoke is a new challenge for everyone involved, but one that is being embraced.
“You knew straight away you were going into something organised” said Corcoran. “I have enjoyed it immensely.
“Niall is trying to instil it into players. You’re representing the county. You can’t take your foot off the pedal. You’ve got to see the bigger picture. You’ve got to do something when you’ve got the chance.
“A lot of the players have bought into it. Niall says we’re 75% there. That’s not just players, that’s everything. Guys are starting to believe... It’s just a huge step-up.
“You have to make the decision that you’re willing to sacrifice to train. If something comes up, I have to push it aside and say ‘I’m training with the county team tonight’. That nothing gets in the way. Niall doesn’t accept stupid excuses. He rules with an iron fist like that. It’s zero tolerance. He’s trying to get fellas thinking that way. It’s an eye-opener for us.”
All this is within a budget that would be vastly inferior to the top tier teams. Most of the resources go to the hurlers and the footballers accept the fact they’re “the poor relation”. That is a reflection of their standing and the public’s interest.
“But that shouldn’t stop you trying to do the right thing, no matter what division you’re in” insists Corcoran. “You should be as good as you can be.”
No matter how professional it becomes at the top and even if Waterford make it back up to Division 3 as they managed for one season under Owens, or even higher, it won’t last if what’s coming after the current group isn’t prepared for the demands.
What it will do is encourage the next generation of players and managers, who aren’t stepping up to the plate right now.
“We have some great young footballers in the county and some of them will come through anyway because they’re so good,” says county chairman Tom Cunningham, himself a former Waterford footballer. “But it helps when you have a professional set-up like what’s there now.
“John Kiely improved things, John Owens brought it on another level and Niall has picked it up a couple of steps again. He takes no prisoners but that’s what you want and there is great commitment from the players now.
“We would feel that we should be on a par with Tipperary, Limerick or Clare. And even the likes of Cavan and Wexford.
“But hurling is more attractive, it is the priority because it is the most realistic chance of success. But if the football team can improve, and be competitive on Saturday against Kerry, it will show that Waterford football is not a joke and that it is something that players who are not on the hurling team can be proud to be involved with.
“We have development squad structures in place, the same as we do for hurling, but what we are struggling to do is find people to act as selectors with them. It’s a bit disappointing that even some of the big football clubs in the county can’t put someone forward.”
The decision to allow the county’s minor hurlers to play with their football counterparts was a significant breakthrough and helped Waterford beat Limerick in the first round, before falling just six points short of Kerry in the Munster semi-final.
The talent is there. Waterford’s senior hurling captain Kevin Moran, is a former county young footballer of the year, but he doesn’t play at any level now. Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh, Shane Walsh and Seamus Prendergast are outstanding club footballers.
But the hurlers only make up so many. Gary Hurney, Liam Ó Lonáin (held in reserve tonight due to a quad injury) and the O’Gorman twins have all played for Munster in recent years. They are elite operators, while the Ahearne brothers, Shane and Robert, have come through this year and at 6ft 7ins and 6ft 6ins respectively, provide plenty of power, not to mention aerial ability.
The footballers have always been there. So it is time to change the perception. The only way to do that is to get better results. Application, preparation and dedication within the correct structures should ultimately bring that about.
Promotion in the league next year will be a very real target in Carew’s second season, when the players will know exactly what’s required of them and should be starting from a higher base at the beginning of pre-season. But first thing’s first.
“If the team got a good run, eyes would open and people would say, ‘hang on, there’s something going on here’,” declares Corcoran. “So it’s up to us to do that. We’ll go down to Killarney and there won’t be many apart from family there.
“We’ll be hoping to put up a very strong performance, to make it hard for Kerry. We won’t lie down. We’ll have our game plan, we’ll be fit.
“We’ll be hoping that our performance will provide us with belief and encouragement for whatever comes down the line. Be it the qualifiers, or a Munster final.”
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