Difficult not to be negative about football
“If I have one wish for us all it is that we be positive about our Association and its future because there is nothing to be gained from engaging in the death-by-a-thousand-cuts negative analysis, which some favour.” Horan’s stance is understandable but also aspirational.
To be negative, particularly about Gaelic football as much as it has been producing ample scores of late, is to be realistic. Some of the weekend developments demonstrated that:
Galway have joined the big time in more ways than one. Along with Dublin, they sit on top of Division 1 with the full complement of points having played some fine football, a backbone that would have been lacking in previous years, and, yes, no shortage of cynicism.
Such is, sadly, the rite of passage for those hoping to break into the game’s elite. After his team had earned three black cards, goalkeeper Ruairi Lavelle, in the third minute of additional time, chose to “wrap tackle” Matthew Flaherty upon losing control of the ball 30m from his goal, thus avoiding another automatic substitution.
Is it any wonder more players don’t do it when it’s at worst a yellow card offence irrespective of it being wholly cynical? Kerry fans cried foul understanding it to be cynical although it was not a black card infringement as he didn’t bring Flaherty to ground.
Football review committee chair Eugene McGee, who helped introduce the black card, said its success would largely be determined by the decreasing number of cards. There’s no indication of that.
On Saturday morning, the Dublin GAA Twitter handle advertised that the team to face Mayo would be revealed on the website at midday.
Sure enough, a team was produced, showing no changes from the side that beat Donegal — only there were four changes. The team named had to be sent to Mayo for match programme purposes so Dublin — and they aren’t the only ones — could be forgiven for wanting to give as little as possible away to the opposition.
But for Dublin to release that team, which previously would have been issued to media, is the type of fake news the GAA can do without. The organisation has only itself to blame when it continues to insist on traditional team line-ups and not squad numbers.
However, the recent practice by the likes of Dublin, Kerry, and others, of filling jerseys with players other than those ascribed to them in the match programme — Paddy Small instead of Bernard Brogan v Donegal and Seán Ó Sé instead of Jack Barry v Monaghan — hardly promotes the game.
Saturday’s decision at Congress to bring hurling into line with football and make the U21 All-Ireland championship U20 makes sense in a way because of the gap from U17, the new minor level.
What is also logical is that U20 hurlers can play both U20 and senior, but that is different to football.
There was a motion passed allowing those U20 footballers named but not used on senior championship inter-county panels to play U20, but underage footballers are still not treated to the same rights.
The argument that has been made is there are more football counties than hurling ones and U20 football is more disruptive, but players shouldn’t be deprived of either. For the second column in a week, the cry is “let them play”.
Maybe it was not surprising Colm O’Rourke on RTÉ’s League Sunday would come to the support of his fellow Meath man and referee David Gough after he sent off Kildare’s Eoin Doyle for receiving a ball having been directed by Gough towards the sideline to obtain a gumshield.
Indeed, Gough was following the rulebook to a tee — if a player continues to play without a gumshield, having been instructed to wear one, he is in breach of the rule.
Common sense didn’t come into it and it will be strongly argued it shouldn’t. Scan Sportsfile and Inpho photographs of the game in Ballyshannon and there are others clearly not wearing mouthguards — even one of Donegal’s Leo McLoone chewing on his outside his mouth as he is possession.
Peruse their snaps of other matches and there are several others without a gumshield. What’s that word again? Consistency.
Sticking with match officials. Waterford manager Tom McGlinchey’s complaint about the game’s leading referees not being appointed to lower division games was one worth making. He isn’t the first manager to do so and his concerns lay specifically with how Brendan Cawley supervised their dramatic loss to Carlow. Developing referees do have to cut their teeth somewhere at inter-county level and major Division 1 games aren’t the right environment, but then is it right to deprive Division 4 counties the experience of a top referee who will take charge of their championship outings?
- Email: john.fogarty@examiner.ie
Congress not without drama
An expectedly quiet Congress turned out to be anything but. It’s not often Cork secretary Frank Murphy is challenged at the event like he was by the outgoing Britain chairman Seán Hackett regarding clubs outside Ireland making their property available for rent. While the vote to ban gambling firms from GAA sponsorship might have been expected, the signal it sends out is a mighty one.
The harsh words exchanged during the debate about the Club Players’ Association’s motion on voting transparency, mostly from the opposition side, seemed a little contrived.
They obviously felt delegates’ integrity was being questioned, but then we know of proposals where county delegates have clearly contradicted the mandate from their clubs. At the same time, such a motion would have killed off debate and that isn’t exactly healthy.
Perhaps the most interesting developments came from new GAA president John Horan in his speech and his post-Congress interview.
His plans for a national club committee and club forum could be seen as either an acknowledgement of some of the concerns raised by the CPA or a riposte to them, but his determination to help clubs out in terms of increased, and at times, crippling administration responsibilities bodes well.
Horan is also correct when he says it will require cultural more than legislative change to address the floating of the amateur ethos.
It was quite the admission on his behalf to say he knew of two clubs that have been paying managers, one of them who came to him looking for help during his time as Leinster chairman. He raised the extremely valid point that the GAA’s hands would likely have been tied in such a matter but Revenue might think otherwise.
Is Páirc Uí Rinn a better call for now?
The disappointment came in a triple dose for Cork on Sunday with the deserved criticism of the South Stand side of Páirc Uí Chaoimh following the senior footballers and hurlers’ defeats.
Undoubtedly, it’s something that can be fixed but if the new stadium is to be awarded more high-profile games, the turf is something it needs to get right and regularly.
What was slightly unusual was the lack of repair work done on the pitch afterwards. Remedial treatment did take place yesterday but for the amount of damage done to the sod and Cork, because they have played just two round games there, possibly returning to the venue on Saturday or Sunday week, it might have commenced swifter
It’s anticipated by most that Cork, without Seamus Harnedy and possibly Conor Lehane, will find Tipperary too tough in Thurles next Sunday and face Waterford in a relegation play-off at home. As John Meyler said, both teams had to contend with the poor pitch on Sunday but then the Déise have won two matches from two there since the venue reopened and don’t seem to mind it at all.
Páirc Uí Rinn mightn’t have been in the best condition for last November’s Munster Club SFC final but it has been a pristine field for so many occasions in recent times and looked in fine condition for Cork’s recent Division 2 football clash against Louth.
Obviously, Páirc Uí Chaoimh has to start washing its face financially but Cork might save their own by moving the fixture up the road.
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