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Post by Mickmack on Oct 12, 2021 7:30:53 GMT
Kieran Shannon: Why isn’t David Clifford up for Player of the Year? Fossa Freak is real MVP
TUE, 12 OCT, 2021 - 07:00 Kieran Shannon Kieran Shannon
Sometimes in football as in life people can try too hard to be clever, or at least to be perceived as clever. We want to be viewed as more discerning than the crowd. We, I, see things that you don’t. And so in wanting to look beyond the obvious, we can overlook it.
Which leaves us with a situation whereby David Clifford won’t be the Footballer of the Year for 2021.
It may be patently clear to everyone in the country that the Kerryman is the best footballer in Ireland right now and that he underlined that fact with his performance levels throughout 2021. But he won’t be this year’s winner. He isn’t even one of the three nominees.
At a meeting in Dublin last week the All-Star selectors decided to shortlist Lee Keegan from Mayo and a couple of fine footballers from Tyrone called Conor Meyler and Kieran McGeary.
Now, to be fair to everyone involved, we can see why those same selectors nominated that trio for All-Stars and almost certainly will include all of them on their best XV when it’s chosen in early December.
Keegan is not only the best footballer Mayo has produced and the best footballer in history to go without winning an All-Ireland (to date); he probably is, to borrow a term of the late great John Morrison’s, the best 360° footballer to ever play in any backline. No other player with a number less than eight on his back has scored more during their championship career as Keegan has, while if you’re of the old school that a defender’s primary job is to defend, well then he’s your man on that count too. Over the years he’s shut down everyone from Seán Cavanagh to Diarmuid Connolly and Michael Murphy and this year he added Shane Walsh and Con O’Callaghan to his scalp list.
Meyler and McGeary, meanwhile, were vital cogs in the Tyrone machine that churned out an unlikely though deserving All-Ireland.
But with respect to them, while they may have played and won on the final day of the football year, neither of them are a David Clifford and neither adorned the footballing year like David Clifford did.
Seeing as a season is supposed to be as much a journey as it is a destination, we’ll take you back to the start of it.
It all tipped off back on May 15, its opening game being a Division 1 South clash between Kerry and Galway. Within a minute of the first water break Clifford had already scored two goals. By the end of the game he had racked up 3-6 of which only a point came from a free. Before most teams — including a punch-drunk Galway — had barely kicked a ball, both Clifford and his team had set the tone and the key narrative for the year which held true for all but the last fortnight of it: it was going to take a force of nature to deny him and them in 2021.
Eight days later in the most attractive game of that weekend, he kicked five points from play as well as slotting away a penalty to inspire a seven-point comeback against the Dubs in Thurles.
His scorched-earth policy continued right through June and into July. Against Roscommon he tomahawked a goal to finish on 1-4. The next day out he went for 1-6 as Kerry pummelled Tyrone in Killarney. At the same venue a fortnight later he took Clare for 1-6 in the opening round of the Munster championship. Kerry weren’t quite as rampant the next day out against Tipperary as David Power’s side escaped with ‘only’ an 11-point beating, but even that evening provided an abiding memory with Clifford rifling a ball to the top corner of the Tipp net.
It was the sixth consecutive competitive match in which he’d scored at least a goal, the kind of run we suspect — but with the GAA’s lack of a proper statistical database, can’t confirm — is unprecedented in the history of the sport.
True, after that, the goals dried up. Against Cork in the Munster final he didn’t even register a point from play, his one solitary score coming from a free. But there’s hardly any shame in being held scoreless by Seán Meehan who could finish the decade as the best all-round back in the game south of the Dublin-Mayo axis. And it wasn’t as if it mattered. Kerry won easily.
Besides, he atoned for it. Because the next game he and Kerry played definitively proved who the best footballer of 2021 was.
While it was the one day in the year Kerry malfunctioned, Clifford didn’t. He was imperious, keeping them in the game to bring it into extra time by virtue of eight points he kicked, only three of which were from frees.
Except he was unable to play in extra-time. Injury ruled him, and Kerry subsequently — consequently — lost. By a point.
That was the All-Ireland right there. That day, that game, that period of extra time ultimately decided the destination of Sam Maguire in 2021. And as it turns out, very likely the Footballer of the Year shortlist as well.
In America, they have a different title for such an award. They call it the Most Valuable Player. And synonymous with those three letters is the word ‘race’. As in just 15 games into a marathon 82-game regular-season, NBA fans and pundits will be ranking and speculating about who is where in the MVP race.
The nature of a GAA season means its eventual winner may be a bolter rather than a frontrunner and not even a household name. Ja Fallon wasn’t really known outside Connacht at the outset of 1998. But going with a McGeary or a Meyler in a year when Clifford played the football he did is a stretch.
Sure, there is more to football than scoring. Throughout the summer Meyler, nominally a wing forward, hammered the hammer, curbing some of the best attacking backs in the game: Ryan McHugh, Ryan McAnespie, Paudie Clifford, Paddy Durcan. McGeary is one of the best middle-eight players in the game, something his semi-final display against Kerry perfectly illustrated. A brilliant stat-attack by journalist Maurice Brosnan showed that McGeary had a remarkable 40 possessions that day, committed no turnover, caused the opposition to commit six, and either assisted on or was fouled for five of Tyrone’s scores that day.
But that same day he also kicked three wides and not a single score (although to be fair, he finished the year with 0-11 from eight games). Meyler didn’t score that day either. In fact over the championship Meyler scored just a single point, and over the year just 0-4.
During this year’s league alone Clifford put up 6-22, averaging 1-4 from play alone. You might say it was ‘only the league’, but all those games were against Division One teams, Tyrone included, while it had even greater credence for its proximity to the championship in a condensed season, a point Tyrone themselves have acknowledged in their explanation of their vaccine ‘conundrum’.
Combine that with his championship output and he racked up 8-39, an average of 1-5 per game, or 4.87 from play.
So, yeah, he was held against Cork — but that’s a bit like saying Bernard Brogan shouldn’t have been the 2010 footballer of the year because he went scoreless from play in a last-12 game against Louth.
And yeah, he didn’t play in the final game of the year. But that didn’t stop Brogan rightly winning in 2010. And probably the biggest reason why Clifford didn’t get to play into September this year was because he was unavailable to play in extra-time in the semi-final. His absence for that last 20 minutes underlined, not diminished, his MVP case.
In doing so, it diminishes the honour itself which already is the poorer for Colm Cooper not being among its past winners (it was the Texaco award, a scheme now extinct, that Gooch won in 2004). People pay to watch David Clifford. Like Cooper, he’ll be a player we’ll tell our grandchildren that we saw, including in 2021. Outside of Tyrone, who will say the same about McGeary and Meyler for all their virtues?
If it wasn’t for Jrue Holiday, Team USA would not be Olympic champions, just as the Milwaukee Bucks would not be current NBA champions. His defence, and assists, and decent scoring power (17.7 ppg) were key to those wins. But even the most nerdish of analytics would claim that he was either team’s or competition’s MVP when that was evidently superstars Kevin Durant and the Athens-reared Giannis Antetokounmpo, widely known as the Greek Freak.
So it is with football. Don’t overcomplicate it or exaggerate matters. McGeary and Meyler are deserving All Ireland winners and All Stars but the real MVP is the Fossa Freak.
MORE IN THIS SECTION
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Post by thehermit on Oct 12, 2021 8:29:50 GMT
Patrick O’Sullivan confirms he will seek second term as Kerry GAA chair MON, 11 OCT, 2021 - 20:05 JOHN FOGARTY Patrick ‘The Bag’ O’Sullivan has confirmed his intention to run for the chairmanship of the Kerry County Board for a second time. Currently the Central Council delegate for the county, the Dr Crokes man was chair from 2012 to ’16 in which time he was synonymous with the fundraising for the GAA centre of excellence at Currans. During his term, Kerry also won their last All-Ireland senior title and the minors claimed three consecutive All-Ireland crowns. Son of former All-Ireland winning selector Eddie ‘The Tatler’, O’Sullivan recommended Éamonn Fitzmaurice as Jack O’Connor’s successor at the end of 2012. Two years later, an unlikely Sam Maguire Cup was annexed against Donegal. He also appointed Jack O’Connor and Peter Keane as minor managers who between them guided the Kingdom to the five in a row. The 54-year-old served as development officer from 1998 before becoming vice chairman in 2008 prior to defeating Johnny Mulvihill for the chairmanship 10 years ago. Since being succeeded by Tim Murphy, he has also been chairman of his club for three years and is now organising the “Win A House In Killarney”, Kerry GAA’s main fundraiser. “I’ve the energy for it and I think I have something to offer otherwise I wouldn’t be putting my name forward,” explained O’Sullivan, the proprietor of the popular Tatler Jacks pub in Killarney. “There are a couple of things that I started and didn’t get finished the last time and I’m hoping to achieve that this time around if I am successful. Whoever gets in, the house draw has to be a success for Kerry. “I was always actively involved in the GAA and it’s something my father instilled in us when we were living in America. It was a big thing of his and our lives when we lived there and it became a big thing for us when we moved home. “When you enter a race like this, some people mightn’t want you and some might feel you had your turn and now it’s somebody else’s turn. That’s a fair enough opinion but I wouldn’t be going again if I didn’t think I had something to bring to the table.” O’Sullivan revealed he had consulted widely before making the decision. “I’ve spoken to a lot of past officers and their first reaction was ‘do you need to do it again?’ But when I’ve explained why I want to get involved again they have said that I should put my name forward. “Usually people don’t come back to these positions because they will be judged on what they did before. That’s why I canvassed opinion because if there wasn’t support there I wouldn’t be putting my name forward.” O’Sullivan envisages more being done with Currans and the development structures in the county. “Kerry are not in a bad spot. The infrastructure in Kerry still has to be developed. Even though we have Currans built physically, there are still things that need to be built there. A lot has been done but there is more that can be done and you need finances and the will for that.” MORE GAELIC FOOTBALL ARTICLES
I had a couple of minor dealings with Tim Murphy and he was always a gentleman, very decent and willing to help anyway he could. I also really appreciated how he set up the special taskforce under Fitzmaurice last year to try and address the situation in North Kerry as regards the declining standard of club football.
I feel bad that his tenure ended without any senior All Ireland being won and the bit of the bad taste left in some people's mouths by the selection committee issue.
But O'Sullivan has a brilliant track record in terms of money raising and getting key projects completed and Kerry GAA will need all the money it can get going forward given the Covid hit and the monetary monster Dublin represent.
Best of luck to him if he gets the gig again.
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Post by buck02 on Oct 13, 2021 7:03:07 GMT
I see in Meath that Andy McEntee got voted in by club delegates after the county committee voted 8-7 to remove him last week.
Nice to see Meath County Board displaying a bit of openness and democracy.
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Post by Annascaultilidie on Oct 13, 2021 8:12:19 GMT
I see in Meath that Andy McEntee got voted in by club delegates after the county committee voted 8-7 to remove him last week. Nice to see Meath County Board displaying a bit of openness and democracy. Is there no vote for club delegates in Kerry?
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Post by thehermit on Oct 13, 2021 10:30:59 GMT
Don't really understand the heave against McEntee surely they've progressed a decent bit under him considering the no-man's land Meath senior football existed in for most of the past decade. Then again the Meath CB has long been synonymous with ineptness.
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Post by allrounder on Oct 13, 2021 11:00:16 GMT
I see in Meath that Andy McEntee got voted in by club delegates after the county committee voted 8-7 to remove him last week. Nice to see Meath County Board displaying a bit of openness and democracy. Sure no delegate seconded listry's proposal so there was no vote to be had
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 13, 2021 12:53:36 GMT
I see in Meath that Andy McEntee got voted in by club delegates after the county committee voted 8-7 to remove him last week. Nice to see Meath County Board displaying a bit of openness and democracy. Sure no delegate seconded listry's proposal so there was no vote to be had Its a bit surprising that St Mary's didn't second the motion.
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Post by Ballyfireside on Oct 13, 2021 13:14:46 GMT
Maybe Whelan should be given Chairmanship as he was party to appointing JOC, so accountability. While young Tatler may have more to offer maybe he should leave a bigger gap with his previous stint.
As for Tim Murphy not presiding over a Sam, I'd say he did his best and things aren't always as the appear on the surface.
Still the above needs to be taken with a grain of salt as I am way behind double closed doors and as most of us probably are? I suppose the story could be worse - we could be too close, in too near the fence, under it!
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Post by buck02 on Oct 13, 2021 14:01:00 GMT
I see in Meath that Andy McEntee got voted in by club delegates after the county committee voted 8-7 to remove him last week. Nice to see Meath County Board displaying a bit of openness and democracy. Sure no delegate seconded listry's proposal so there was no vote to be had Cos no delegate would have been mandated. Seems odd that Listry didn't canvass the support of a number of other clubs, seemed like a solo run to me. What could have been done is a week before the meeting, the committee came out and told us what the vote was to support JOC. Then ask the clubs to mandate their delegate to support either of the 3 options on the table. Then we would see what support there was for the various candidates and it would have helped ease the suspicions that abounded.
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Post by john4 on Oct 13, 2021 15:55:52 GMT
Cork Gaa Senior Football appointment
The County Executive will be proposing Keith Ricken (St. Vincent’s) as incoming Senior Football manager on a two year term at our next County Committee meeting. Selectors will be as follows: Micheál Ó Cróinín (Naomh Abán), Ray Keane (MTU / St. Finbarr’s), James Loughrey (St. Brigid’s / Mallow), Barry Corkery (Éire Óg) and Des Cullinane (St. Nicholas). Coach to be announced in the near future.
A really captivating personality has Keith Ricken. Personally I think that Cork football world benefit more if he continued with underage players, he seems to have a real gra and appreciation for developing players as opposed to the cut throat business of senior management.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 14, 2021 8:02:28 GMT
I am around long enough to know that an executive can control meetings and get what they want etc.
However, was there not at least a week there between the time that JOC was announced as choice of the sub-committee and the date of the meeting? Was there an opportunity to put motions forward for decision?
Alternatively, was it possible for a club to put forward an amendment to the county boards motion?
I know that the whole standing orders area is very complicated but it does seem odd that if there was a ground swell of opinion against JOC that none of this led to any kind of motion at the meeting or even an amendment to the motion to appoint him.
In Meath, it was the county board that brought the motion to remove McEntee for example.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 14, 2021 8:10:53 GMT
Simple practicalities outweigh desire for change as McEntee survives heave Conor McKeon
October 13 2021 02:30 AM
Ultimately, it came as little surprise last night that an insufficient number of Meath club delegates saw the wisdom where a narrow majority of the county’s executive had: in change for change’s sake.
Or that the prospect of Meath being manager-less on October 12 without a natural successor or contingency plan to revert to, wasn’t appealing enough to garner the required two-thirds support.
In the end, despite initial reports to the contrary, it didn’t even come close. The proposal to remove McEntee needed 50 votes to pass. It only got 27.
And so the upshot is that he will remain as Meath manager into a sixth season. The long knives remained sheathed.
Admittedly, the county has a chequered history in these matters and, as such, McEntee could take little for granted.
In 2010, the clubs of Meath removed Eamonn O’Brien as manager despite him having overseen a Leinster title that year.
O’Brien had taken Meath to an All-Ireland semi-final appearance in his first season, then a long-overdue, if highly contentious, Leinster title in his second term in charge.
Yet he found himself on the wrong end of a 32-29 vote by county board delegates.
In the spring of 2012, the same delegates went against the executive, when they sought to remove Séamus McEnaney as manager and install Seán Boylan for the remainder of the year.
Given the relative standings of both men within the county, that was widely interpreted as a protest vote against the executive.
By contrast, the result of last night’s ballot had much more to do with the simple practicalities of the situation.
Defeated management proposals are rare. However, there was a general feeling of surprise around Meath last week when they sided against McEntee, particularly given the timeframe involved.
It was revealed last night that a three-person committee carried out a review of the last two seasons of McEntee’s reign.
No recommendations were made but the executive based their decision on this review.
Meath exited the championship on July 12 after a spirited but futile comeback against Dublin in the Leinster semi-final.
The executive’s review, which culminated in an 8-7 vote against McEntee continuing, took place almost 12 weeks later.
Currently, six football counties have yet to make their managerial appointments for 2022.
Laois will ratify Billy Sheehan next week. The other five are all at advanced stages of their respective searches.
A vote against McEntee last night would have cast Meath back at the very start of that same process at an unnecessarily late and disadvantageous stage of the year.
In this, the absence of a natural, stand-out candidate to take over from McEntee made the executive’s case even less compelling.
In July 2016, when Meath last entered the appointment process after Mick O’Dowd’s tenure ended, they hadn’t far to look. The choice was simple.
McEntee had just won an All-Ireland club title with Ballyboden’s St. Enda’s. Before that, he had steered the 2012 Meath minor team to an All-Ireland final, many of whom were sprouting on to the seniors and were expected to form its backbone over the subsequent seasons of his tenure.
It helped also that McEntee was available, qualified and eager.
There is no such manager-in-waiting now.
For that reason, the executive vote against McEntee can only be interpreted as dissatisfaction with his work, rather than any specific preference for another manager.
Last night’s comprehensive ballot puts them at odds with their own clubs on the matter.
Preparations had already begun for 2022. McEntee has, despite a couple of recent defections, a backroom team, a squad and all the architecture to begin a vital season for Meath on the front foot.
He has brought in structure to the team, even if progress has been slow and results mixed over the past five years.
Under McEntee, Meath await their big win over top-tier opposition. Against that, there has been a huge turnover in players.
Last night, it was more than enough evidence of progress to secure a mandate for at least one more season, with the Meath executive’s proposal proving badly misguided.
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Post by jackiel on Oct 14, 2021 8:28:51 GMT
I get the feeling that the U20's debacle didn't help Andy's cause with the Committee. Their failure to offer an alternative left only one possible outcome. Unfortunately for Andy progress is not going to be easy as the standard of football in Meath is way below that of many counties.
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Post by hurlingman on Oct 14, 2021 8:50:42 GMT
Billy Sheehan getting the Laois job is an odd one to me. Then again there's very little the Laois CB seem to do that's not odd. It's very like Stephen Molumphy getting the Kerry hurling job. You'd wonder on what it's based?
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Post by thehermit on Oct 14, 2021 9:05:57 GMT
Billy Sheehan getting the Laois job is an odd one to me. Then again there's very little the Laois CB seem to do that's not odd. It's very like Stephen Molumphy getting the Kerry hurling job. You'd wonder on what it's based? I actually think Molumphy was a good apportionment - young, recent inter-county player, a lot of experience built up as a coach in setups across various levels of the college and inter-county scene. At some stage fellas like that have to be given a chance to see what they can do in a head role and the Kerry gig has a lot of potential for any ambition coach looking to make a bit of a name for himself.
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Post by buck02 on Oct 14, 2021 9:40:16 GMT
Cork Gaa Senior Football appointment The County Executive will be proposing Keith Ricken (St. Vincent’s) as incoming Senior Football manager on a two year term at our next County Committee meeting. Selectors will be as follows: Micheál Ó Cróinín (Naomh Abán), Ray Keane (MTU / St. Finbarr’s), James Loughrey (St. Brigid’s / Mallow), Barry Corkery (Éire Óg) and Des Cullinane (St. Nicholas). Coach to be announced in the near future. A really captivating personality has Keith Ricken. Personally I think that Cork football world benefit more if he continued with underage players, he seems to have a real gra and appreciation for developing players as opposed to the cut throat business of senior management. Ray Keane - I assume that is Peters brother who used play for Mary's? Think I recall him being over St Finbarrs when they won a championship a few years back.
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horsebox77
Fanatical Member
Our trees & mountains are silent ghosts, they hold wisdom and knowledge mankind has long forgotten.
Posts: 2,051
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Post by horsebox77 on Oct 14, 2021 12:52:37 GMT
Of greater significance to me is the addition of John Cleary to the Cork ticket- he has been passed over so many times for the senior rebel gig if he was involved we would def not have dominated over the last decade.
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Post by veteran on Oct 14, 2021 13:48:29 GMT
Billy Sheehan getting the Laois job is an odd one to me. Then again there's very little the Laois CB seem to do that's not odd. It's very like Stephen Molumphy getting the Kerry hurling job. You'd wonder on what it's based? Hurlingman, , Billy spend a year or two with Cork. He has played with Laois and is living in Laois. He has Chris Conway and Beano McDonald with him. In that sense it is an internal appointment which I feel is generally best for counties. Overall it is a sensible appointment , in so far as anybody can help Laois. I wish him the best of look anyway.
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Post by veteran on Oct 14, 2021 18:37:17 GMT
Is the championship restructuring proposal the only issue down for discussion at the upcoming gathering? For example , is there any hope we could see a rescinding of two of the most obnoxious rules ever to be passed, for which there was no clamour for their introduction. I speak about the offensive mark and the water break.
I suppose not . They undoubtedly have enhanced the game.
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horsebox77
Fanatical Member
Our trees & mountains are silent ghosts, they hold wisdom and knowledge mankind has long forgotten.
Posts: 2,051
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Post by horsebox77 on Oct 14, 2021 18:51:51 GMT
Veteran , I’d love to see the umpires given more power, everything is lumped on the poor referee. Gaa is the only game I can think of where we have seven on field officials and one additional off field. Both lines men are qualified referees, why can’t we borrow the power of rugby or soccer and give the ref a dig out,
Even allowing one linesman take control of the clock would be beneficial.
I haven’t seen any proposals bar the two obvious and well publicized ones.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 14, 2021 18:59:21 GMT
Is the championship restructuring proposal the only issue down for discussion at the upcoming gathering? For example , is there any hope we could see a rescinding of two of the most obnoxious rules ever to be passed, for which there was no clamour for their introduction. I speak about the offensive mark and the water break. I suppose not . They undoubtedly have enhanced the game. I agree with you on the offensive mark abomination. The problem with getting rid of the water break is that the maor uisce will return.... no coincidence that fracas have virtually disappeared when the maor uisce disappeared.
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Post by john4 on Oct 14, 2021 19:00:16 GMT
There are 10 motions which were deferred from congress 2021 up for discussion during the upcoming special congress
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Post by veteran on Oct 14, 2021 20:15:42 GMT
Veteran , I’d love to see the umpires given more power, everything is lumped on the poor referee. Gaa is the only game I can think of where we have seven on field officials and one additional off field. Both lines men are qualified referees, why can’t we borrow the power of rugby or soccer and give the ref a dig out, Even allowing one linesman take control of the clock would be beneficial. I haven’t seen any proposals bar the two obvious and well publicized ones. Agreed .
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Post by veteran on Oct 14, 2021 20:31:29 GMT
Is the championship restructuring proposal the only issue down for discussion at the upcoming gathering? For example , is there any hope we could see a rescinding of two of the most obnoxious rules ever to be passed, for which there was no clamour for their introduction. I speak about the offensive mark and the water break. I suppose not . They undoubtedly have enhanced the game. I agree with you on the offensive mark abomination. The problem with getting rid of the water break is that the maor uisce will return.... no coincidence that fracas have virtually disappeared when the maor uisce disappeared. Mandate that the Maor Uisce does not encroach on the playing area, If he does , banish him to the stand. I suspect his players would not thank him for that. If the player needs water let him wander over to the sideline and guzzle to his heart’s content. Most games are littered with stoppages and we do not need this one which, as everybody knows , is being abused. My fervent hope is that sometime we will start introducing rules which truly are for the betterment of the game, There are times when I wonder if our legislators are interested in enhancing our game. I have alluded to this before. When foot ball rule changes are being discussed only football people should in the room . The reverse should obtain when hurling rules are being discussed.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 15, 2021 8:35:27 GMT
Premium Mickey Harte: ‘People were moving against me behind the scenes before I left Tyrone’
Niamh Campbell October 15 2021 08:32 AM Mickey Harte has revealed fresh details of his departure as Tyrone boss, a role he held for almost two decades.
“How it finished was not the way I would have chosen,” he writes in Devotion: a Memoir, which has been released nearly five weeks after Tyrone won their fourth All-Ireland under Harte’s successors, Brain Dooher and Feargal Logan.
The Errigal Ciaran clubman quotes a diary extract from November 10, 2020: “I knew the end was close. I just never imagined my time with Tyrone would finish on a winter’s night in the car above Garvaghey, waiting on a call.”
Then team captain Mattie Donnelly was with him, and the week before, Harte talked with Donnelly to “check the mood among the players”.
“If he told me the squad were set on change then I would have said goodnight,” Harte writes.
“Had the season run as normal, there would have been no need for that conversation with Mattie.”
The 67-year-old tells of how “30 years of unbroken service seemed a good time” to bow out, but he wanted a “genuine shot” at his final year, “an opportunity denied by the coronavirus”.
ADVERTISEMENT Despite saying Tyrone chairman Michael Kerr supported him, the veteran manager believes that “some officers” on the county board were “set against” him for a long time.
“Others were moving against me behind the scenes,” writes Harte. “Playing politics never interested me and I had no inclination to start now.”
Unbeknownst to Harte, the committee was taking a vote which was split in his favour 6-5, but he needed one more ballot to get his wish of one more year at the helm of the squad. “I headed off. Destinations never defined me; it was always about the journey. But home was the only place for me then,” he says.
Earlier in the memoir, he describes his position with Tyrone changing after their three All-Ireland wins.
“My position came under increasing scrutiny because I was being judged on the standards that were set in the Noughties. But the football world had moved on. And our greatest ever team was breaking up,” he notes. “That period was probably more difficult for me than I realised at the time. These great players, warriors for Tyrone, were reaching the end and I had to make a lot of hard calls. I made mistakes.”
“Of course, I still want Tyrone to succeed; I always will,” adds Harte, who now has a new position managing the Louth inter-county team. “I am old enough and wise enough to know that bitterness serves you no good. Life goes on.”
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Post by Ballyfireside on Oct 15, 2021 9:56:46 GMT
Premium Mickey Harte: ‘People were moving against me behind the scenes before I left Tyrone’ Niamh Campbell October 15 2021 08:32 AM Mickey Harte has revealed fresh details of his departure as Tyrone boss, a role he held for almost two decades. “How it finished was not the way I would have chosen,” he writes in Devotion: a Memoir, which has been released nearly five weeks after Tyrone won their fourth All-Ireland under Harte’s successors, Brain Dooher and Feargal Logan. The Errigal Ciaran clubman quotes a diary extract from November 10, 2020: “I knew the end was close. I just never imagined my time with Tyrone would finish on a winter’s night in the car above Garvaghey, waiting on a call.” Then team captain Mattie Donnelly was with him, and the week before, Harte talked with Donnelly to “check the mood among the players”. “If he told me the squad were set on change then I would have said goodnight,” Harte writes. “Had the season run as normal, there would have been no need for that conversation with Mattie.” The 67-year-old tells of how “30 years of unbroken service seemed a good time” to bow out, but he wanted a “genuine shot” at his final year, “an opportunity denied by the coronavirus”. ADVERTISEMENT Despite saying Tyrone chairman Michael Kerr supported him, the veteran manager believes that “some officers” on the county board were “set against” him for a long time. “Others were moving against me behind the scenes,” writes Harte. “Playing politics never interested me and I had no inclination to start now.” Unbeknownst to Harte, the committee was taking a vote which was split in his favour 6-5, but he needed one more ballot to get his wish of one more year at the helm of the squad. “I headed off. Destinations never defined me; it was always about the journey. But home was the only place for me then,” he says. Earlier in the memoir, he describes his position with Tyrone changing after their three All-Ireland wins. “My position came under increasing scrutiny because I was being judged on the standards that were set in the Noughties. But the football world had moved on. And our greatest ever team was breaking up,” he notes. “That period was probably more difficult for me than I realised at the time. These great players, warriors for Tyrone, were reaching the end and I had to make a lot of hard calls. I made mistakes.” “Of course, I still want Tyrone to succeed; I always will,” adds Harte, who now has a new position managing the Louth inter-county team. “I am old enough and wise enough to know that bitterness serves you no good. Life goes on.” Tyrone wanted rid of St Mickey 5, maybe 10 years ago but he had just accumulated too much respect among older laddos - cruel but I suppose that's the way it goes and there are no exceptions, think Dwyer, PO6, etc. Doorhoor would be one of the few that could tip the scales though it was tight, won by 1 vote, so only a few elders believed Brian could do as manager what he did as player - gosh that's harsh. Wan of 'em told me Mickey would stay until he wanted to go. If those things happened in Kerry there would be riots on the streets so PK can count himself lucky. Management is getting it rougher though there is a bit to go to catch up with soccer and where they demand a head on a plate if a game is lost. Still JOC was attracted to it but then again he was able to move Newbridge and St Finian's Bay apart, though it took a few days. Maybe he could bring Cork closer to Killarney and Limerick and so there is no need for the Macroom Bypass or the new M20, and give the €3b saving to the weaker GAA clubs.
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Post by tyroneperson on Oct 15, 2021 11:02:17 GMT
Premium Mickey Harte: ‘People were moving against me behind the scenes before I left Tyrone’ Niamh Campbell October 15 2021 08:32 AM Mickey Harte has revealed fresh details of his departure as Tyrone boss, a role he held for almost two decades. “How it finished was not the way I would have chosen,” he writes in Devotion: a Memoir, which has been released nearly five weeks after Tyrone won their fourth All-Ireland under Harte’s successors, Brain Dooher and Feargal Logan. The Errigal Ciaran clubman quotes a diary extract from November 10, 2020: “I knew the end was close. I just never imagined my time with Tyrone would finish on a winter’s night in the car above Garvaghey, waiting on a call.” Then team captain Mattie Donnelly was with him, and the week before, Harte talked with Donnelly to “check the mood among the players”. “If he told me the squad were set on change then I would have said goodnight,” Harte writes. “Had the season run as normal, there would have been no need for that conversation with Mattie.” The 67-year-old tells of how “30 years of unbroken service seemed a good time” to bow out, but he wanted a “genuine shot” at his final year, “an opportunity denied by the coronavirus”. ADVERTISEMENT Despite saying Tyrone chairman Michael Kerr supported him, the veteran manager believes that “some officers” on the county board were “set against” him for a long time. “Others were moving against me behind the scenes,” writes Harte. “Playing politics never interested me and I had no inclination to start now.” Unbeknownst to Harte, the committee was taking a vote which was split in his favour 6-5, but he needed one more ballot to get his wish of one more year at the helm of the squad. “I headed off. Destinations never defined me; it was always about the journey. But home was the only place for me then,” he says. Earlier in the memoir, he describes his position with Tyrone changing after their three All-Ireland wins. “My position came under increasing scrutiny because I was being judged on the standards that were set in the Noughties. But the football world had moved on. And our greatest ever team was breaking up,” he notes. “That period was probably more difficult for me than I realised at the time. These great players, warriors for Tyrone, were reaching the end and I had to make a lot of hard calls. I made mistakes.” “Of course, I still want Tyrone to succeed; I always will,” adds Harte, who now has a new position managing the Louth inter-county team. “I am old enough and wise enough to know that bitterness serves you no good. Life goes on.” Tyrone wanted rid of St Mickey 5, maybe 10 years ago but he had just accumulated too much respect among older laddos - cruel but I suppose that's the way it goes and there are no exceptions, think Dwyer, PO6, etc. Doorhoor would be one of the few that could tip the scales though it was tight, won by 1 vote, so only a few elders believed Brian could do as manager what he did as player - gosh that's harsh. Wan of 'em told me Mickey would stay until he wanted to go. If those things happened in Kerry there would be riots on the streets so PK can count himself lucky. Management is getting it rougher though there is a bit to go to catch up with soccer and where they demand a head on a plate if a game is lost. Still JOC was attracted to it but then again he was able to move Newbridge and St Finian's Bay apart, though it took a few days. Maybe he could bring Cork closer to Killarney and Limerick and so there is no need for the Macroom Bypass or the new M20, and give the €3b saving to the weaker GAA clubs. I wouldn't say that's an entirely accurate take on things. At that point it looked like Feargal Logan would succeed Harte. Dooher was expected to be part of the backroom, not joint-manager. Logan was the main man when they won the All-Ireland title in 2015. I think they went for the whole joint-management thing for two reasons: A. because Logan's a big man for the 'collective' and B. because both Logan and Dooher have exceptionally busy jobs. Maybe it alleviated a bit of the pressure as well. It was a reasonably smooth transition in the circumstances. Harte didn't get his wish for a one-year contract extension, and announced a couple of days later that he was leaving (rather than going for the job again, which would've caused friction). We generally only do three-year contracts in Tyrone for some reason so Harte would've had to put himself up for interview. So he saw the writing on the wall and left, which gave Logan an open run at it basically. Tyrone people generally seemed very happy with the change.
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Post by Ballyfireside on Oct 15, 2021 18:35:43 GMT
Tyrone wanted rid of St Mickey 5, maybe 10 years ago but he had just accumulated too much respect among older laddos - cruel but I suppose that's the way it goes and there are no exceptions, think Dwyer, PO6, etc. Doorhoor would be one of the few that could tip the scales though it was tight, won by 1 vote, so only a few elders believed Brian could do as manager what he did as player - gosh that's harsh. Wan of 'em told me Mickey would stay until he wanted to go. If those things happened in Kerry there would be riots on the streets so PK can count himself lucky. Management is getting it rougher though there is a bit to go to catch up with soccer and where they demand a head on a plate if a game is lost. Still JOC was attracted to it but then again he was able to move Newbridge and St Finian's Bay apart, though it took a few days. Maybe he could bring Cork closer to Killarney and Limerick and so there is no need for the Macroom Bypass or the new M20, and give the €3b saving to the weaker GAA clubs. I wouldn't say that's an entirely accurate take on things. At that point it looked like Feargal Logan would succeed Harte. Dooher was expected to be part of the backroom, not joint-manager. Logan was the main man when they won the All-Ireland title in 2015. I think they went for the whole joint-management thing for two reasons: A. because Logan's a big man for the 'collective' and B. because both Logan and Dooher have exceptionally busy jobs. Maybe it alleviated a bit of the pressure as well. It was a reasonably smooth transition in the circumstances. Harte didn't get his wish for a one-year contract extension, and announced a couple of days later that he was leaving (rather than going for the job again, which would've caused friction). We generally only do three-year contracts in Tyrone for some reason so Harte would've had to put himself up for interview. So he saw the writing on the wall and left, which gave Logan an open run at it basically. Tyrone people generally seemed very happy with the change. That's better and sounds more like it - my take wasn't statistically reliable and what wasn't porter talk/ears might be Tyrone laddos letting off steam or letting a Kerryman know who's boss! Still there was dissent over Mickey's style and a bit more than the normal level in counties, well apart from ourselves. Hard on him after all he gave - people have short memories though it was probably the right decision when you consider it is a county wide interest at stake as opposed to an that of an individual. Next year will probably close the loop on this one if Red Hands have a good year.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2021 9:52:53 GMT
Has anyone read Aidan O Mahonys book? Any good? It is hard to imagine it could be given the number of books in recent years.
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horsebox77
Fanatical Member
Our trees & mountains are silent ghosts, they hold wisdom and knowledge mankind has long forgotten.
Posts: 2,051
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Post by horsebox77 on Oct 16, 2021 11:04:38 GMT
No but another book out is David Byrne's "Game of my life" a Kerry edition, going by his other county publications this could be a good read and spans the golden years to current games - what I like about his books is, it isn't just about the victories but games that could have been won but games that were lost for whatever reason.
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