Tipperary’s U21 defeat fallout adds edge to qualifier

As one of the few visible inter-county managers on Twitter (plenty, we know, skulk in the shadows), there is opportunity to gain a little more insight into Peter Creedon’s thinking.

He may only have 23 tweets to his name but the Tipperary senior football boss’ thoughts following May’s controversial All-Ireland U21 defeat to Tyrone provide interesting reading ahead of this Saturday’s qualifier against Mickey Harte’s senior side.

Creedon, who reversed roles with his senior selector Tommy Toomey with the U21s, tweeted following the Parnell Park game: “A big thank you to all the Tipp supporters tonight no cup but great to be a group if (sic) players who play in a manly way.” As well as a number of his senior players, Creedon also retweeted Jamie Wall’s photograph of the front page of the Irish Examiner sports section where U21 selector Peter Canavan denied cynicism was preached by the management to players. Wall had written: “Utmost respect for Peter The Great, but he’s having a laugh if he thinks anyone who’s experienced Tyrone buys this..” Senior and U21 selector Michael O’Loughlin, who also endorsed Wall’s assessment, wasn’t as opaque as Creedon in his criticism of Tyrone’s behaviour that evening.