peig
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Post by peig on Jun 23, 2007 16:27:04 GMT
I've just finished reading extracts from Jack O'Connor's book in today's 'Irish Times'. One aspect stands out above everything else: the manner in which O'Connor was treated by O'Dwyer and the lads from the Golden age is absolutely appalling. Anyone who has read it will know what I'm alluding to when I mention the Sports Star Awards in the Gleneagle in '96. Jesus Christ! I'm apoplectic!! (By the way, if anyone is a subscriber to ireland.com would they awfully mind posting the articles?)
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Post by sullyschoice on Jun 23, 2007 21:32:41 GMT
Just watched Jack on Miriam O callaghans programme. He mentioned Jimmy Deenihan in an interview with Michael O Muirchaertaigh, saying at the next table to him that wouldnt it be great if Micko took over the Kerry job (and Jack still in the job). He mentioned that there was a lack of former players who called him to wish him well after he got the job and he felt like an outsider...some outsider. Jack was an excellent manager, hope Pat develops into the same.
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peig
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Post by peig on Jun 25, 2007 9:55:21 GMT
Also, the way Páidí 'screwed' him in '99 two weeks before the U/21 final - Páidí stole 5 players to go training with the senior panel. When they were returned to Jack, Aodán was injured and the whole five of them were unfocused. They ultimately lost the final (to Roscommon I think). That was more messing on Páidí's part methinks...Oh, the politics of GAA...
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Post by buck02 on Jun 25, 2007 10:04:52 GMT
Westmeath beat us in that u'21 final in Limerick. The u'21 team were the "dream team" - they had beaten the seniors in challenge a few weeks before the final and were unbeatable. But of course it had to be somebody else's fault that they lost. Oh and I also remember Gooch being withdrawn for the Munster U'21 final in 04 when we lost to Cork by a point. Mmmmm - double standards?
One thing that struck me reading the bit in the times over the w'end was that jack seems to need to feel "an outsider" and that the world is against him to motivate himself. Now I might be wrong but thats the way he comes across.
And again I must profess my disappointment with the timing of this book. I'm sure it'd have sold as many copies if it came out for the Xmas market, now it'll give lazy journalists a chance to make trouble for the current panel over the coming weeks.
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Post by MrRasherstoyou on Jun 25, 2007 10:29:55 GMT
All sounds to me like just another part of the grand Kerry conspiracy to make everyone think they are always on the verge of some "great crisis", whilst convincing themselves that the rest of the country is against them so they can all make up at the last minute & get motivated and see themselves as underdogs. Doing a good job of it too
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Joxer
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Post by Joxer on Jun 25, 2007 11:26:25 GMT
Ah buck'02, that U21 team were the dream team as you say but Paidi ***ked with them like it or not. The reason for Gooch not being available for the 2004 Munster U21 final had absolutely nothing to do with Jack and to suggest otherwise is simply wrong.
I'm really looking forward to getting this book. Jack was our best manager since Micko by a country mile. Three All-Ireland finals in 3 years, 2 All-Ireland titles, 2 Nat. league titles and 2 munster championships in the same period. His record compares favourably with the best. From the extract I read in the Times on Saturday, its going to be a great read.
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Post by buck02 on Jun 25, 2007 11:40:52 GMT
Joxer - the Munster U'21 final was 10 days before the semi final v Derry. Gooch was not injured - he was pulled out of the squad.
I'm looking forward to reading it too but I still maintain the timing of the release is bad (well good for Jack & the publishers in a € sense). Extracts appearing in papers about players who will be turning out against Cork next week aint helping things.
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Joxer
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Post by Joxer on Jun 25, 2007 11:54:29 GMT
Gooch being unable to play had nothing to do with Jack. Jack did not pull him out of the squad. We may have to agree to differ here but I think its unfair on Jack as it had nothing to do with him.
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Post by kingdomkerry on Jun 25, 2007 12:35:24 GMT
Could someone post the extract from the sunday times (24/06/07)
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Post by Owenabue on Jun 25, 2007 12:48:00 GMT
Like Astaire we learned to dance ... to our own tune
Book/Jack O'Connor: In this extract from his new book, Keys to the Kingdom, Jack O'Connor relives the drama, pressure and excitement of last summer - from the depressing lows of Páirc Uí Chaoimh to the extraordinary highs of Croke Park
The sweetest day. Armagh had us on the run in the first half. Standing on the sideline, it struck me early on that the football Armagh were playing was like something out of a coaching manual. McGeeney going back, cutting out the ball to Donaghy and coming out, delivering good ball. O'Rourke doing damage in the half forwards. Some of the best football I've ever seen.
The long diagonal ball works so well for them. I wandered the perimeter of the pitch, went behind the goal and looked upfield at one stage. Scary. Clarke and McDonnell were just flicking it. They have such telepathy. I came back to the bench and said to the lads that we had to tighten everything up back there. There's six or seven years of playing relationship going on in there with McDonnell and Clarke and it's frightening.
On sideline I consulted with the selectors. That's one tough spot in there. We have to do something. We moved Marc out off McDonnell. Put Tom O'Sullivan back. Tom is such a laid-back bastard that nothing will faze him and we wanted Marc more in the game.
We tried to get Moynihan back to give cover. He dropped off McEntee, and what happened? McEntee lamped a point. Tommy Griffin was supposed to come back on McEntee. When McEntee scored his point, Moynihan cut his losses and went back out. So we had to let a half forward come back to midfield in order to allow Tommy Griffin to drop on to McEntee. In the second half we got it right. It worked.
We spoke at half-time about getting Moynihan back. Other fellas were to get a hand on McEntee. It's a case of tinkering with it all the time, tweaking it as we go. Only as the year has gone on have we got the system going where we can play Moynihan to his strengths. Once Séamus committed to the sweeping job, naturally he became brilliant at it. Joe Brolly picked it up in the analysis on the telly.
Marc had a brilliant second half in which he kicked two of the best points any back has ever kicked in Croke Park. Between those two points Tomás kicked one as well. Extraordinary men.
Darragh got a huge foothold in the middle. Galvin was tackling like a lunatic. He'd just turned them over for a point when another one of his turnovers led to Donaghy's goal, the score that swung the whole match.
Donaghy had been doing well on the legendary Bellew, but not thriving. They were letting McGeeney come back to double-team him, but McGeeney was tiring. Donaghy wasn't getting any decisions and he was bellyaching a bit to the umpire. Paul Hearty, the Armagh goalie, was giving Donaghy a hard time, too. A big lank from basketball suddenly all over the papers? What else would you expect.
Late in the first half Gooch had a goal chance saved by Hearty. It led to a point by Franny. It took a bit of the sting out of Armagh. We got level, and then Donaghy's goal . . .
When Galvin turned it over, the ball came across to Seán O'Sullivan, who hit the perfect diagonal ball in to Donaghy. The trick with Donaghy has been getting the ball to him in basketball situations. On the hardwood he receives the ball with his back to the hoop and makes his move, driving in hard. He does just that now.
There's a memory, the story of the whole season. Francie Bellew on the ground behind Donaghy, the ball flying to the Armagh net past poor Hearty. Donaghy in Hearty's face with the immortal words, "who's crying now, baby"!
Donaghy's goal was a statement. Sticking the head into the cúl báire's face. Most of the time I'd try to keep myself calm on the sideline, but I let an old yahoo when I saw Donaghy. It felt like being set free.
Towards the end, when Paul Galvin lost his head and got sent off, I could see it slipping away from us. At the time the linesman on our side of the field seemed able to point the flag in only one direction. We were getting a bit wired up. There was an incident where John Toal, Armagh's maor uisce, appeared to provoke Galvin. The red mist descended and Galvin got stuck in by way of reply.
We were three points up. Three points up, with 12 minutes to go. Armagh came back and kicked another point quickly. Ten minutes to go and Armagh are a man up and it's their kind of scenario. We'll know now if all that we've been through has made a team of us again. This is what a season comes down to for any serious team. A time when the big question is asked.
The answer explodes out of us. All the * and frustration is blown out in those last 10 minutes. It's all working now. Fellas coming back, covering, busting their guts. I look at Eoin Brosnan shadowing Paddy McKeever out to the end line, and when they get to the border of the pitch he *s McKeever out over the end line. Men back working hard and fellas up front winning the ball. Aidan O'Mahony thundering into things.
It's all unfolding in front of the eyes. Declan is on as a sub in the full-forward line and we can all see he's back on track. Bryan Sheehan kicks a great free to put us three up. Then, near the end, Darren O'Sullivan takes off. We knew that someday he was going to do this with his pace, and the day is now. He just burns through and scores a brilliant goal.
Altogether we score 1-3 without reply and end up winning the game by eight points. That maybe flatters us, but who cares? When it's over I should go to Joe Kernan and shake his gentleman's hand, but in the emotion of it all I take off for Darragh Ó Sé. All the raméis about us having an "altercation" in Tatlers has made me feel close to him, and he was brilliant today, outplaying the other great midfielder of the decade, Paul McGrane. First thing he says to me is, "Get the boys ready for Cork".
Funny thing is, Cork are only just coming out on to the pitch to play Donegal. But Darragh knows it's going to be Cork.
Back home again. We have a great and giddy week of training after Armagh. When you are winning games, your studs leave no marks in the ground. You just glide over everything. I watch the video of the game at least 10 times, and it gets better each time. Our first taste of Croke Park this year and we put a lot of ghosts behind us.
There was a lot of emotion on the pitch and in the dressingroom afterwards. I did an interview with Marty Morrissey. He was asking about trouble in camp. I was going to go into the angry old spiel, denying it all, but I just asked Marty what was wrong with fellas drawing a few clips on each other. Sure, that's what we're looking for!
We have Cork in our sights now - they did beat Donegal - and that's exactly the sort of game that we are looking for. If Donegal had beaten Cork I can't imagine the anticlimax it would have been for us. We want to give them a dose of our new system, let them get the backlash from our new sense of purpose. Nothing that happened in the previous two games will matter if we give them a decent beating in Croke Park.
You can see the confidence that winning brings to a team, especially to forwards. Gooch is a new man. Mike Frank is flying. On the Friday after Armagh we have a game in Fitzgerald Stadium among ourselves. The forwards move better than at any time in three years. They are awesome. They've suddenly realised it's all there for them.
I spoke to Ger Loughnane during the week. We met a year or so ago at a coaching conference in Tullamore. It was Ger who first introduced me to the idea of controlled aggression. He's an interesting man and I like to keep in contact and touch base with him. He'd had an article in the paper, talking about the hurling semi-final and how Clare would get hyped up to prove their critics wrong. Bad energy, he said. There's a bit of something in what Loughnane says.
Of course, it's vital to concentrate on your own game, to play with steely focus and ruthlessness. That's what we're trying to do now. But shoving it to a few people along the way will be nice.
We have plenty of enemies still. We'll be well motivated for a while, using our good energy and our bad energy. Paul Galvin, for instance, has another name to add to his black book. He has been vilified. Joe Brolly had a cut at him on the television after the Armagh game, called him a corner boy and mentioned that he was a teacher. Brolly enjoys a good line, but this crossed a different sort of line.
Paul Byrne, the producer of The Sunday Game, was in touch. I think he was afraid we would withdraw our cooperation from RTÉ. We could easily have done. That was the feeling. Brolly was out of order. Galvin is playing a game; bringing his profession into any criticism was wrong. At this stage my old sparring partner Pat Spillane rang me. We talked, and Spillane gave Paul Galvin a bit of a break on the telly. We let it rest.
Meanwhile, Darragh wants to make a statement against Cork's Nicholas Murphy. So far this season Murphy has caused us as much trouble as any other single player. Darragh didn't actually spend too many minutes playing directly on Murphy in either of the games because Murphy was playing on the 40, coming out to midfield when needed, and that was bothering us because the match-ups weren't right. After those first two games against Cork, there was an inaccurate perception out there that Murphy had outplayed Darragh twice. Every bone in Darragh's body wants Murphy now.
And personally I want to put one over on that other old buddy of mine, Billy Morgan, who's been bellyaching since the depths of winter about the sort of team we are. I think in his heart Billy will know now that the game is up. We've turned a corner. A third game is one too far for Cork. I hope so.
Things aren't good between us. I respect Morgan, but I think he sees me as a young manager that he can turn the heat up on. I didn't go into their dressingroom in Páirc Uí Chaoimh after they beat us in the replay. I didn't see Billy in our dressingroom either (but then again, I didn't see the Ó Sés vanish out the door). I shook his hand at the end of the game. There's a famous picture. He's grinning. I look like I'm shaking hands, but not feeling too good about the idea.
Play it as it lies! It's as if the whole thing has been scripted. Cork pulled their blatant stroke when they should have taken their beating on the Anthony Lynch issue in the drawn game. I remember looking at the mark on Donaghy's face when he came to training the following Tuesday and asking him if he was sure it wasn't the girlfriend, Hilary, that had hit him a poke the previous night. It must have been because, through some miracle of camerawork, Cork managed to "prove" that it was only an attempted strike on Donaghy.
We felt very aggrieved. Anthony Lynch off playing in the replay, with Donaghy sitting in the stands. Now when we get Cork back to Croke Park we will be running out saying that by Jesus, Billy, if you're going to brand us for being cynical we might as well be hung for sheep as for lambs.
Karma. Donaghy getting sent off in the drawn match in Cork was a blessing for us. We got Tommy Griffin going. Donaghy might never have escaped from midfield but for that. Cork have had no luck since. Canty twisted his knee and is gone for the season. He's a huge loss to them.
For Sunday we've discussed our approach as a team. Morgan is still putting that fierce heat on referees, talking about us being cynical, etc. Refs will be reading this and saying, "these guys are absolute lunatics".
We've decided in the end that, instead of going into our shell, as Morgan is hoping, we'll play right to the line. Our style will be - go to the point of fighting without actually fighting. There's a big difference.
Controlled fury is what we will hit Cork with. Some of our players can't play effectively any other way. That's Paul Galvin at his best. Darragh Ó Sé is the same. Right to the wire. Right to the borderline. In the Cork game they'll set the tone. Beating Cork in Croke Park in another big game (13 points in 2005, 15 in '02) will send them home with a huge amount of self-doubt in their heads. That'd be a decent season's work in itself.
Our objective is to get the lads playing with the relentless aggression we had after Donaghy's goal. John Corcoran has a piece in The Kerryman about what Cork will do to us. Thank you, John! Is binn béal ina thost!
The enthusiasm is everywhere. One evening, Franny and Gooch, Seán O'Sullivan and Donaghy come in to train on their own. Two of them kicking frees at one end of the stadium; Seán kicking long balls to Donaghy at the other end.
And Declan is working hard, too. After what happened in Páirc Uí Chaoimh he stepped back and decided he was going to work this out. I asked him, did he want sessions with Declan Coyle, but he has decided that there is only one way to move forward. He is going to prove it to himself and to the team. It would have cracked another young fella, what he went through, but Declan is meeting it head-on.
He's actually given up his job. He was working for Powerade on the road, and the job was taking him to Tipp and Limerick and other far-flung places during the day. He felt it was taking a lot out of him that he could be putting into his football. He packed it all in, shortly after the second Cork game, and just vowed he'd do whatever it took. He's been phenomenal to watch. He's applied himself inside in training. We can see he has found his form.
Meanwhile, the lad is just living on what money he had saved. He has gone at football with a vengeance, looking to prove himself all over again to everybody. I've asked him a couple of times, did he need anything, but he has been determined to work it out on his own. Darragh in particular has been very supportive to Declan. He'd say quietly to him after matches or training to keep working away, that it was going all right. I know this meant a lot to Declan. The opinions of the other players are what matter most in a situation like this, and Darragh is a huge figure to have encouraging you.
I don't know if earlier in the season there were any words between players about Declan's form. Declan would see himself as a 40-yard man, and the players would have known that. He was playing too deep when he was full forward, not offering a target. I wasn't blind to that. I could see the ball wasn't sticking in there, and it was frustrating.
To compensate, Declan was doing what a player who grows up as a star in a small club will sometimes do. He was overcarrying the ball, taking too much out of it.
Declan got a harder kick than most players will ever receive in their lives. I know the booing was meant for me when he was taken off in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, but that didn't make it any easier for a young man captaining his county. He came back, though, he gave up his work, he trained hard, he never looked for favours from me or from anywhere else. He never bellyached to newspapers or chat rooms. There were no rumours about him.
He played his football on the B team in training games and he regained the faith of his team-mates. When you've been through the toxic summer that these fellas have been through, all that matters is the group who are inside the dressingroom when the door is shut.
The people who booed in Páirc Uí Chaoimh only get to see what happens on the pitch. If it doesn't go as we had all hoped, it's my fault. If they could see what they did to a young player and if they could see the dignity and courage he has brought into fighting back, they'd be ashamed of themselves now.
Declan won't start against Cork, but he'll come on and play a part and have his chance to audition for the final. He deserves that. For character and for his play. And for all that we've been through together. Jer O'Shea can expect a call from his old friends.
For the game with Cork we have a new mantra. We're setting targets. Especially for the defence. We have to concede no more than five points a half. If the defence comes anywhere near those targets, I'm confident that the forwards will be cutting up down the far end.
Declan Coyle told me once that I should always speak to the soul of the team. He said that most of what managers say to players doesn't register with them. Only the passion and the demeanour seep through to the soul. In my first year, Kerry's soul was shrivelled from three years of beatings and criticism. We found a way through that because my voice was a novelty.
Last year we were on different pages. It was like trying to speak to somebody in a coma. They wanted to get better. I wanted them better. But there was no way of knowing if my words were even getting into their heads. As a team we tried to force things. We wanted it badly, but not badly enough to burn the boats, not as badly as Tyrone did.
Now, though, we have been in the heat all summer. We've taken the worst in terms of the pressure cooker. We haven't cracked. At last again, when I speak to the team, I feel that every ear in the room is absorbing a little bit of what I say. There's stuff getting through to the soul. We enjoy being together. I feel that we've grown.
Take Darragh. Darragh has been happy this year. I don't know if it's the fact that he's getting married or that he has a new business, but he's happy in himself. I happened to be lucky in the Hayfield Manor that I was walking behind him on the way in and could ask him to carry the meeting. He'd played well. He was the king. He's a competitive hoor and the team love him and respect him for it.
By now I've learned that no team and no manager marches through the season to Croke Park. You tap-dance all the way. Not treading on this. Not splashing that. I read a book this year called End the Struggle and Dance with Life. In three years I've learned to dance like Astaire.
Kerry 0-16, Cork 0-10.
There was a moment early in the second half when Cork were three points down. They still had a chance to catch us and draw us into a dog-fight. They looked odds-on to score a goal. Conor McCarthy had the ball on the edge of the square and he looked up for the hand-pass to Kevin McMahon, who was wide open and screaming for the ball.
I was wondering where the cover was. We'd worked so hard on this over two weeks, and a goal for Cork at this stage would mean that our targets would be shot. Psychologically, I didn't know what damage that would do.
The ball never got to McMahon's fingers, though. Séamus Moynihan exploded out of nowhere, clutching the ball to his gut, looking no different than he did when he was 22 or 23. And a great roar went up from the green and gold in the stands. Maybe we're convincing them at last.
Getting through to a third All-Ireland final in three years would be enough convincing for any other county. I'd say Billy Morgan has gone home convinced. Billy was banished to the stand today for disciplinary reasons, and at one stage when a picture of his face came up on the big screen he looked so worried that there was a cheer from the Kerry fans.
Going into the game, I knew we'd do a good job setting the tone. We had let Cork set the tone for us before. We'd just walked out on to the pitch and waited to see what they had to offer. Darragh set the mood this time. He horsed into Nicholas Murphy from the start. And Galvin! Galvin was awesome. His best display ever of winning breaking ball. He was wired to the moon with passion. At one stage Galvin won four or five breaking balls in a row, driving in like a demented man. I don't know what page Joe Brolly occupies in the black book, but thanks, Joe.
Galvin and Darragh are at the centre of everything. Darragh would have seen what was written all summer about his clashes with Nicholas Murphy as a big motivation and challenge for the third game. He tore into it like a man possessed. He physically dominated Nicholas Murphy and wore him down in the end.
One incident before half-time almost scared me. There was a loose ball out on the sideline, Darragh burst to it, won it and turned. Pierce O'Neill was in front of him, screening him, basketball-style. O'Neill was on his toes, ready to block Darragh's way in the event of a dummy or a sidestep or a swerve. Instead, Darragh ploughed into him, keeled him over.
The referee gave a free against Darragh. A harmless free.
I was a couple of yards away and there was wildness in Darragh's eyes. I let a roar at him to calm down a bit. He was so fired up. I turned away and grinned to myself.
The backs conceded exactly five points in each half. Bang on the target. Donaghy was magnificent. With Graham Canty gone, they sent the midfielder Derek Kavanagh in to the full-back position. Donaghy ran riot. He only got a point himself, but between being fouled and laying the ball off he must have accounted for seven or eight more points. He's the story of the summer by now.
Morgan was *ing before and after the game about the way we played. No grace. It's over, Billy. Grow up and take your beating.
On Tuesday night in Killarney we're coming back, training for an All-Ireland final. I'm going to enjoy every second of the next month.
© 2007 The Irish Times
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Johnnyb
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Post by Johnnyb on Jun 25, 2007 14:16:08 GMT
Great manager, but chips on both shoulders. So what if the golden circle wouldnt accept him? What benefit could he garner from there approving gaze? None. 3 years, 2 leagues, 2 All Irelands. Enough said. this book will only do two things for the man. Make him slightly better off and completely discredit him.
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peig
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Post by peig on Jun 25, 2007 14:29:44 GMT
[...and completely discredit him.[/quote]
It depends on how you look at it, methinks. Taking what happened at the Sports Star Awards at the Gleneagle as an example, it just proves that Micko and some of the boys from the Golden Era are not without their flaws. Things between JO'C and Micko clearly run deeper and I suspect some South Kerry members on the board know a lot more than the rest of us do regarding this matter. I agree with the poster who stated that JO'C comes across as having chips on both shoulders. But I have to commend the man for sticking his neck out and showing the GAA world that things are not what they seem a lot of the time...
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Johnnyb
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Post by Johnnyb on Jun 25, 2007 14:40:25 GMT
Very true. the GAA holds these men up as demi Gods and Jacko wasnt afraid to shatter/taint the myth. Ultimately though, like spillane before him, he has probably ostacised himself from the footballing fraternity within the Kingdom, a fraternity he craved to be a part of.
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Post by Walter Mitty on Jun 25, 2007 14:59:11 GMT
I remember the day of the Munster final replay when I nearly came to blows with 2 kerry fans behind me when they started jeering when Declan came off. 2 big fine ignorant men.
I was ashamed of every kerry supporter who jeered that day.
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Johnnyb
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Post by Johnnyb on Jun 25, 2007 15:07:35 GMT
Shameful indeed. Belly's full of porter and brains empty of sense no doubt. However, such incidents are the side effects of success. Kerry standards are the highest in the country. Its All Ireland or bust.
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Post by Owenabue on Jun 25, 2007 15:08:21 GMT
I'll say nothing until I read the book. If this piece is anything to go by, I'll have it read in a night and put safely into the back of the fire after that.
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Joxer
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Post by Joxer on Jun 25, 2007 15:12:23 GMT
Owenabue, so you mean it'll keep you enthralled to the extent that you won't be able to put it down and then once finished, in the wee hours of the morning, you'll be so overcome with bitterness etc that you'll feel that you have to burn it in case anyone else should read it and be converted to the one through way!....just checking, like!
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diehard
Senior Member
"Have you ever seen a man eat his own head?"
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Post by diehard on Jun 25, 2007 15:15:23 GMT
O'Connor certainly was a class act and carried himself with dignity throught. He seems to have a written a frenk and honest account of how he sees it. What is this bad blood he refered to between him and Pat O'Shea.. anbody know
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Post by buck02 on Jun 25, 2007 15:17:03 GMT
I remember the day of the Munster final replay when I nearly came to blows with 2 kerry fans behind me when they started jeering when Declan came off. 2 big fine ignorant men. I was ashamed of every kerry supporter who jeered that day. I dont want to go over old ground here but sure I might as well! Firstly I didnt jeer or cheer or whatever when the substitution was made. But I'd say for the last 15 mins of the first half and first 10 of the 2nd I was roaring for changes to be made. We were being destroyed and from memory Cork made two subs before us. Then we made 2 or 3 subs in one foul swoop - it smacked of desperation. As he said in the article, those who jeered were aiming it at him (not thats it an excuse for those who did jeer). But I'll always feel sorry for Declan who obviously felt it was aimed and him and have great respect for him the way he handled himself after it with everything that went on.
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Post by buck02 on Jun 25, 2007 15:19:51 GMT
O'Connor certainly was a class act and carried himself with dignity throught. He seems to have a written a frenk and honest account of how he sees it. What is this bad blood he refered to between him and Pat O'Shea.. anbody know In yesterdays Indo it says that Pat O Shea requested that Brosnan be allowed play in the county league the day before the league final last year. Jack felt it was an insult. And that Pat O Shea was quoted in the Sunday Indo the day of the all ireland final last year when the same paper desperately wanted to say there was as bigblow up in the camp over Declan getting his place back.
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Post by Owenabue on Jun 25, 2007 15:20:42 GMT
Joxer, no, I'm in the habit of reading those types of books quickly. The true way... I don't need Jack O' Connor or Billy Morgan to make up my mind for me.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2007 19:54:48 GMT
Sounds like the book could be a good read.
Jack is a very strong character, you need to be to do this job.
Whilst I have misgivings about a few things, it is good to see someone speak so passionately on behalf of Kerry football and the players.
His comments re Galvin were spot on.
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Post by Mickmack on Jun 25, 2007 20:16:42 GMT
Why the feck didnt he keep it for the xmas market. Not now!
He is a marvellous writer......... cant take that away from him.
He wont ever return as manager after this book.......... pity
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Post by tyroneperson on Jun 25, 2007 20:19:57 GMT
One thing I have to say having read that extract...you guys really don't like Cork.
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Post by kerryeye on Jun 25, 2007 20:31:34 GMT
Yeah but cork dislike us even more than we do them.
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Post by Owenabue on Jun 25, 2007 20:50:18 GMT
Kerryeye, that's not true. Some people in Cork may, but I don't think it's fair to assume all Cork people feel like that. I didn't think bitter and dislike/hate would be an accurate way to discribe how I feel about Kerry.
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Post by kerryeye on Jun 25, 2007 21:33:26 GMT
Yeah i know its not true of all Cork people Owen but i was looking at rebelgaa and there seems to be a lot of people on it who constantly give out about kerrys "cynical" play and seem to be of the same opinion as Billy morgan about us,they dont seem to have any respect of anything for us as a footballing team.Would u agree with me on that?
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Post by Owenabue on Jun 25, 2007 21:51:15 GMT
Kerryeye, what do you expect a few days before a Munster final? Did you think we'd all be talking about how wonderful Kerry are? If we didn't feel passionate about wanting to beat ye, there wouldn't be any point in going to Killarney. Jack O' Connor said in his bit from his book about players being right on the edge... you have you accept sometimes they step over that mark. Both Cork and Kerry and every other team in Ireland, players are guilty of that. But it will upset people when it is there own player getting injured because of the opposition 'being right on the edge'.
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Post by Mickmack on Jun 25, 2007 22:13:29 GMT
Like Astaire we learned to dance ... to our Declan got a harder kick than most players will ever receive in their lives. I know the booing was meant for me when he was taken off in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, but that didn't make it any easier for a young man captaining his county. He came back, though, he gave up his work, he trained hard, he never looked for favours from me or from anywhere else. He never bellyached to newspapers or chat rooms. There were no rumours about him. © 2007 The Irish Times I wonder what chat room is Jack referring to?
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Post by Owenabue on Jun 25, 2007 23:14:24 GMT
Was that when this place went into maintenance mode? I can make the assumption that nothing bad was said about Declan on Rebelgaa cos we were all so over the moon that day!Not that I blame the admin for shutting down the forum. I sometimes think that all forums should close for 24 hours after a big match so everyone has had time to sleep on the result! You know yourself when you get back from games you sometimes feel like giving out about every lad on the pitch.
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