Looking forward to seeing how Brian McGuigan and Brian Dooher perform on Sunday week against Down for Tyrone.
It has to be good news for Tyrone that they're back because these men would give any team something special even if they are not firing on all cylinders.
Dooher is a great leader for Tyrone on the field and his work rate has been phenomenal. If he genuinely is going well there is no doubt with his commitment to fitness that he can get much better if the Ulster champions get a run.
McGuigan is sheer class and it was interesting that Sean Cavanagh said that he also matches this with tremendous fitness and that he is one of the men driving Tyrone in training.
McGuigan was the best centre three quarters in the country before the string of injuries which almost put him out of the game after a horrific eye injury followed a leg break.
The Ardboe man had brains, vision, pace and heart and his passing and shooting are a joy to watch.
It's hard to say where Tyrone are at the moment but there's no doubt that if the two Brians can put on any sort of a show against Down that people may quickly have to reassess their challenge.
Friday, 30 May 2008
Welcome for International Rules
Glad to see the return of the International Rules Series Down Under in the Autumn.
I think the GAA made the right decision to call a halt after the after the 2006 series which degenerated into thuggery.
However, I have always thought the hybrid game was a good idea, popular with the players who enjoyed the recognition of playing for their country and at one stage the Series had captured the imagination of the Irish and Aussie Rules public with 65,000 watching one of the Croke Park tests.
There is no place however, for some of the crude hits of previous series and I hope that firmer refereeing and penalties will make any player think twice before they carry out some of the acts of attempted murder which passed for tackling in recent years.
I know there are many in the Association who are opposed to the Rules Series but I think that the public voted with their feet in the early years of this decade going in ever-increasing numbers to what had become a great occasion.
Just wonder will the GAA grants scheme be extended to include the players travelling Down Under?
I think the GAA made the right decision to call a halt after the after the 2006 series which degenerated into thuggery.
However, I have always thought the hybrid game was a good idea, popular with the players who enjoyed the recognition of playing for their country and at one stage the Series had captured the imagination of the Irish and Aussie Rules public with 65,000 watching one of the Croke Park tests.
There is no place however, for some of the crude hits of previous series and I hope that firmer refereeing and penalties will make any player think twice before they carry out some of the acts of attempted murder which passed for tackling in recent years.
I know there are many in the Association who are opposed to the Rules Series but I think that the public voted with their feet in the early years of this decade going in ever-increasing numbers to what had become a great occasion.
Just wonder will the GAA grants scheme be extended to include the players travelling Down Under?
Thank God for Munster!
It's back and with it for me the beginning of championship hurling.
I am of course referring to the first game of the Munster hurling championship between Waterford and Clare this Sunday.
And yes I know that the Leinster and Ulster championships have already started but let's be honest we haven't seen any competitive hurling yet.
Leinster and Ulster are two dead certs, I doubt Paddy Power would give you a double of 1/100 of Kilkenny and Antrim which is about as good a punt as you'll get at the moment in these post Celtic Tiger times.
But the Munster hurling championship, that's another ball game altogether. Three out of five of the contenders have won the championship this decade while last year's All-Ireland runners-up Limerick lost to Waterford in the final last year, so despite the era of qualifiers and back doors no one seems to have told the Munster men that their local rivalry is any less important than it ever was.
To be honest the Munster Championship is the only fiercely competitive hurling we'll see before we get to the latter stages of the All-Ireland championship and without it the hurling championship would be a snore, unless the authorities had the courage to go for an Open Draw and if the provinces could set local pride and revenue to the side.
But I'm not holding my breath waiting for the change and in the meantime I simply can't wait to see Clare and Waterford go for it on Sunday.
When this draw was made I could only see one winner, the Decies, but things have changed a lot in the past couple of months.
Waterford had a poor league campaign, for God's sake even Wexford beat them and that was their only decent result in a campaign which saw them relegated.
There was a theory then that the Decies were keeping their powder dry, that Justin McCarthy was allowing his veterans to rest up in anticipation of an All-Ireland campaign which might see them finally lift the Liam McCarthy again.
Then the injuries came, Ken McGrath, Eoin Kelly, Paul Flynn all out and Dan the Man on the treatment table too.
Big Dan will be back but even he was not firing on all cylinders earlier in the year and I think that Clare can smell blood.
The Clare men have had their problems too with an injury to top scorer Niall Gilligan but apart from that the Banner will be at full strength.
Clare are not yet back in contention with the top sides but they improved last season and they will know that a big effort on Sunday could fell the Munster champions at the first hurdle.
Like most neutrals I have watched this Waterford team in hope more than expectation that they might break the monopoly of the Big Two on Liam but I fear that on Sunday we may be watching the beginning of the end.
I hope I'm wrong!
I am of course referring to the first game of the Munster hurling championship between Waterford and Clare this Sunday.
And yes I know that the Leinster and Ulster championships have already started but let's be honest we haven't seen any competitive hurling yet.
Leinster and Ulster are two dead certs, I doubt Paddy Power would give you a double of 1/100 of Kilkenny and Antrim which is about as good a punt as you'll get at the moment in these post Celtic Tiger times.
But the Munster hurling championship, that's another ball game altogether. Three out of five of the contenders have won the championship this decade while last year's All-Ireland runners-up Limerick lost to Waterford in the final last year, so despite the era of qualifiers and back doors no one seems to have told the Munster men that their local rivalry is any less important than it ever was.
To be honest the Munster Championship is the only fiercely competitive hurling we'll see before we get to the latter stages of the All-Ireland championship and without it the hurling championship would be a snore, unless the authorities had the courage to go for an Open Draw and if the provinces could set local pride and revenue to the side.
But I'm not holding my breath waiting for the change and in the meantime I simply can't wait to see Clare and Waterford go for it on Sunday.
When this draw was made I could only see one winner, the Decies, but things have changed a lot in the past couple of months.
Waterford had a poor league campaign, for God's sake even Wexford beat them and that was their only decent result in a campaign which saw them relegated.
There was a theory then that the Decies were keeping their powder dry, that Justin McCarthy was allowing his veterans to rest up in anticipation of an All-Ireland campaign which might see them finally lift the Liam McCarthy again.
Then the injuries came, Ken McGrath, Eoin Kelly, Paul Flynn all out and Dan the Man on the treatment table too.
Big Dan will be back but even he was not firing on all cylinders earlier in the year and I think that Clare can smell blood.
The Clare men have had their problems too with an injury to top scorer Niall Gilligan but apart from that the Banner will be at full strength.
Clare are not yet back in contention with the top sides but they improved last season and they will know that a big effort on Sunday could fell the Munster champions at the first hurdle.
Like most neutrals I have watched this Waterford team in hope more than expectation that they might break the monopoly of the Big Two on Liam but I fear that on Sunday we may be watching the beginning of the end.
I hope I'm wrong!
Hurling fixture a sick joke
You can't exactly accuse the Ulster hurling authorities of pulling out all the stops to promote the championship despite having nine counties plus London competing this season.
Is there anywhere else in the country that a championship hurling match would be played at eight pm on a Sunday night?
We will be able to play spot the crowd at what is after all an Ulster championship semi final between the province's top team Antrim and Derry.
Now I know the game was refixed because Derry are also playing in the football earlier that day in Ballybofey where their All-Ireland pretensions will be put to the test but in the day of computer generated fixtures I wonder how no one realised until this week that we were going to have a clash between the football and hurling championships.
Derry Donegal was always going to be on live television too and it beats me why no one seemed to notice.
The truth is that despite the fanfare surrounding the relaunch of the championship no one is that interested in it.
It is the only championship in the country more predictable than the Leinster hurling championship, ie Antrim will win it again unless we have a tragedy on the scale of the Munich air disaster, but the quality of hurling is second rate.
However, even players at the lower levels deserve a chance to play in front of a decent crowd and at a time of the day where they won't need radar to spot the sliotar.
I will in the meantime continue to long for Antrim to be allowed to play in the Leinster Championship where at least we might get a championship match worthy of the name.
Is there anywhere else in the country that a championship hurling match would be played at eight pm on a Sunday night?
We will be able to play spot the crowd at what is after all an Ulster championship semi final between the province's top team Antrim and Derry.
Now I know the game was refixed because Derry are also playing in the football earlier that day in Ballybofey where their All-Ireland pretensions will be put to the test but in the day of computer generated fixtures I wonder how no one realised until this week that we were going to have a clash between the football and hurling championships.
Derry Donegal was always going to be on live television too and it beats me why no one seemed to notice.
The truth is that despite the fanfare surrounding the relaunch of the championship no one is that interested in it.
It is the only championship in the country more predictable than the Leinster hurling championship, ie Antrim will win it again unless we have a tragedy on the scale of the Munich air disaster, but the quality of hurling is second rate.
However, even players at the lower levels deserve a chance to play in front of a decent crowd and at a time of the day where they won't need radar to spot the sliotar.
I will in the meantime continue to long for Antrim to be allowed to play in the Leinster Championship where at least we might get a championship match worthy of the name.
Monday, 26 May 2008
Will Tyrone ever have full squad again?
Just wonder will Tyrone ever play with a full side ever again after the weekend games.
Owen Mulligan looks very doubtful for their opener against Down while Sean Cavanagh and Tommy McGuigan are also nursing knocks after club matches.
Cavanagh is a very important player for the Red Hands and any injury to him would be a huge blow to Tyrone.
Mulligan on the other hand is a confidence player, when he's hot he's brilliant but there are other occasions when the Cookstown man is very ordinary.
He needs a foil, being at his best when he played alongside Peter Canavan and Stephen O'Neill although I would have fancied my own chances with that pair by my side.
However, Mulligan has frequently struggled when he has been the fulcrum of the attack.
I think it's a case of the opposition being able to put their best markers on him in the absence of his partners in crime from the 2005 season and also the fact that Brian McGuigan wasn't around to supply the ammo.
I still think that Tyrone will have too much in the locker for Down who while they are on the way back are a long way short of being the genuine article.
Owen Mulligan looks very doubtful for their opener against Down while Sean Cavanagh and Tommy McGuigan are also nursing knocks after club matches.
Cavanagh is a very important player for the Red Hands and any injury to him would be a huge blow to Tyrone.
Mulligan on the other hand is a confidence player, when he's hot he's brilliant but there are other occasions when the Cookstown man is very ordinary.
He needs a foil, being at his best when he played alongside Peter Canavan and Stephen O'Neill although I would have fancied my own chances with that pair by my side.
However, Mulligan has frequently struggled when he has been the fulcrum of the attack.
I think it's a case of the opposition being able to put their best markers on him in the absence of his partners in crime from the 2005 season and also the fact that Brian McGuigan wasn't around to supply the ammo.
I still think that Tyrone will have too much in the locker for Down who while they are on the way back are a long way short of being the genuine article.
Scrap the Munster football championship
The latest offerings from the Munster football championship only hardens the case to scrap it.
Yesterday the footballers of the four hurling counties Limerick, Tipp, Waterford and Clare served up two very poor games and showed once again that outside of Kerry and Cork there is no football championship worth talking about in our most southern province.
This gives the Rebels and the Kingdom a huge advantage in the All-Ireland championship.
No one else in the country has the luxury of preparing for one game in their provincial championship while happily getting on with the task of training for the All Ireland.
In Leinster, despite the poor standard of football on offer the championship remains competitive, and even in Connacht Galway and Mayo usually have to work a bit to beat Sligo or Roscommon.
In Ulster they knock forty bells out of each other over the three games and although Tyrone and Armagh have come out on top in recent seasons no one would bet against Derry or Donegal being real contenders.
All these sides have to come to two peaks in a season, one in their provincial championship and again for the All-Ireland series.
In the meantime Cork and Kerry can work on speed and conditioning and play challenge games aimed at peaking late July, early August.
This football championship is as distorted as the Munster hurling championship, which works against the south's finest.
It is long past time to scrap the provincial championships in football as they are now an anachronism, and the sooner we get to an Open Draw the better, fair play demands it.
Yesterday the footballers of the four hurling counties Limerick, Tipp, Waterford and Clare served up two very poor games and showed once again that outside of Kerry and Cork there is no football championship worth talking about in our most southern province.
This gives the Rebels and the Kingdom a huge advantage in the All-Ireland championship.
No one else in the country has the luxury of preparing for one game in their provincial championship while happily getting on with the task of training for the All Ireland.
In Leinster, despite the poor standard of football on offer the championship remains competitive, and even in Connacht Galway and Mayo usually have to work a bit to beat Sligo or Roscommon.
In Ulster they knock forty bells out of each other over the three games and although Tyrone and Armagh have come out on top in recent seasons no one would bet against Derry or Donegal being real contenders.
All these sides have to come to two peaks in a season, one in their provincial championship and again for the All-Ireland series.
In the meantime Cork and Kerry can work on speed and conditioning and play challenge games aimed at peaking late July, early August.
This football championship is as distorted as the Munster hurling championship, which works against the south's finest.
It is long past time to scrap the provincial championships in football as they are now an anachronism, and the sooner we get to an Open Draw the better, fair play demands it.
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Leinster crying out for a make-over
Offaly simply brushed Laois aside today in the first round clash in Leinster but the hurling fare on show was very poor.
Laois are just not up to the task, they have really slipped further behind in the province, and Brian Cody will not have been frightened by anything he saw today when his All-Ireland champions face the Faithful County in the Leinster semi final.
Joe Dooley on the other hand has a huge task on his hands to turn Offaly's fortunes round.
I think the two games in Leinster today just make the case for Antrim and Galway to compete in the Leinster competition undeniable.
Galway would be a real contender for the title and their inclusion and Antrim's would at least make the earlier rounds a bit more meaningful as the Saffrons on their day are capable of beating anyone else in the southern province outside of the Cats.
The Munster championship starts next week and I am really looking forward to what at least should be some competitive hurling played by two sides who have a lot to prove.
I can't wait as what has passed for championship hurling in Ulster and Leinster so far just doesn't cut it.
Laois are just not up to the task, they have really slipped further behind in the province, and Brian Cody will not have been frightened by anything he saw today when his All-Ireland champions face the Faithful County in the Leinster semi final.
Joe Dooley on the other hand has a huge task on his hands to turn Offaly's fortunes round.
I think the two games in Leinster today just make the case for Antrim and Galway to compete in the Leinster competition undeniable.
Galway would be a real contender for the title and their inclusion and Antrim's would at least make the earlier rounds a bit more meaningful as the Saffrons on their day are capable of beating anyone else in the southern province outside of the Cats.
The Munster championship starts next week and I am really looking forward to what at least should be some competitive hurling played by two sides who have a lot to prove.
I can't wait as what has passed for championship hurling in Ulster and Leinster so far just doesn't cut it.
Dubs fail to convince
The Dubs did the business in the Leinster hurling championship but despite their big win they will have to up their game dramatically against Wexford in the semi final.
In some ways Dublin couldn't win today, they had to win and they had to win convincingly if they were to be taken as serious contenders in the province.
They did the business but Westmeath made it tight for them for the first half before the city side put them to the sword.
Dublin need to improve and there is a lot of pressure on them to do the business against the Model County.
Wexford have always been capable of one big performance in the championship, they will throw the kitchen sink at the Dubs to retain their place in the province's pecking order so it will at least add a little interest to what remains a very weak championship.
In some ways Dublin couldn't win today, they had to win and they had to win convincingly if they were to be taken as serious contenders in the province.
They did the business but Westmeath made it tight for them for the first half before the city side put them to the sword.
Dublin need to improve and there is a lot of pressure on them to do the business against the Model County.
Wexford have always been capable of one big performance in the championship, they will throw the kitchen sink at the Dubs to retain their place in the province's pecking order so it will at least add a little interest to what remains a very weak championship.
No road back for Farneymen
Seamus McEnaney's Monaghan footballers will find it hard to recover from the body blow of losing to Fermanagh in the first round in Ulster.
The Farneymen looked low in confidence today and even when they closed the gap to just one point with a breeze at their back they allowed Fermanagh to steam ahead to a clear cut victory.
The element of surprise enjoyed by McEnaney's side last year is gone, like so many others before them they are finding that other sides can see them coming.
The over reliance of Tommy Freeman was cruelly exposed as Fermanagh simply denied the Monaghan full forward line any space to operate in.
And Monaghan also looked nervous, unable to deal with the expectation which has grown around this side after almost beating Kerry last year.
Players were arguing with the referee and they got involved in a lot of off the ball physical nonsense.
I was not impressed by one period where Ryan Keenan was being pulled, shouldered, squared up to all accompanied by a lot of verbal.
Five minutes later Keenan won the ball which led to the second goal and for all the silly provocation he endured five minutes earlier his marker was left for dead!
I thought that Monaghan's goose was finally cooked when even Paul Finlay got involved in the appeals to the referee over a fairly straightforward decision.
Gary McQuaid's actions which earned him a sending off were pathetic, there's no place for this in Gaelic football, it was as stupid as it was unwarranted.
He shouldn't kick a ball in county football for the rest of the season.
It will be tough for the Farneymen to come back from this.
Ulster is now gone and confidence is rock bottom, they looked mentally tired and unless they get a handy one in the first round of the qualifiers they will find it hard to get their season back on track.
The Farneymen looked low in confidence today and even when they closed the gap to just one point with a breeze at their back they allowed Fermanagh to steam ahead to a clear cut victory.
The element of surprise enjoyed by McEnaney's side last year is gone, like so many others before them they are finding that other sides can see them coming.
The over reliance of Tommy Freeman was cruelly exposed as Fermanagh simply denied the Monaghan full forward line any space to operate in.
And Monaghan also looked nervous, unable to deal with the expectation which has grown around this side after almost beating Kerry last year.
Players were arguing with the referee and they got involved in a lot of off the ball physical nonsense.
I was not impressed by one period where Ryan Keenan was being pulled, shouldered, squared up to all accompanied by a lot of verbal.
Five minutes later Keenan won the ball which led to the second goal and for all the silly provocation he endured five minutes earlier his marker was left for dead!
I thought that Monaghan's goose was finally cooked when even Paul Finlay got involved in the appeals to the referee over a fairly straightforward decision.
Gary McQuaid's actions which earned him a sending off were pathetic, there's no place for this in Gaelic football, it was as stupid as it was unwarranted.
He shouldn't kick a ball in county football for the rest of the season.
It will be tough for the Farneymen to come back from this.
Ulster is now gone and confidence is rock bottom, they looked mentally tired and unless they get a handy one in the first round of the qualifiers they will find it hard to get their season back on track.
Fermanagh a tough shower
The Ulster Football Championship did what it always does best today throwing up a surprise rather than a shock result with one of the sides many of us predicted would enjoy a run in this year's competition falling at the first hurdle.
Fermanagh simply mugged Monaghan today at Brewster Park and were good value for their four-point win.
Last year Monaghan surprised everyone with their swashbuckling brand of football reaching the Ulster final and almost taking Kerry out in last year's All-Ireland quarter final.
They carried that great form into the league but quietly Fermanagh boss Malachy O'Rourke was doing his homework and by employing a sweeper in front of the full back line he made sure that Monaghan's best forward Tommy Freeman hardly got a sniff of the action.
His midfield too of Marty McGrath and Mark Murphy won the crucial battle at centre field and while Fermanagh worked their socks off they eventually totally frustrated the Farneymen reducing them to a shadow of the team which lit up last year's Ulster Championship and which started its league campaign off in some style.
Mark Little and Ryan Keenan ran themselves into the ground at half forward while McBarron gave Fermanagh a good target on the edge of the square.
If there was one area I would be critical of the Fermanagh performance it was of their free taking.
They had no consistency in this crucial area all day and points win prizes. They squandered a lot of scoring chances which on another day will be the difference between winning and losing.
The winners of next week's game between Derry and Donegal will not look forward to playing the Erne men.
They are a bloody difficult shower to break down and if they can become a little more focussed in front of the posts they could take a bit of beating.
Fermanagh simply mugged Monaghan today at Brewster Park and were good value for their four-point win.
Last year Monaghan surprised everyone with their swashbuckling brand of football reaching the Ulster final and almost taking Kerry out in last year's All-Ireland quarter final.
They carried that great form into the league but quietly Fermanagh boss Malachy O'Rourke was doing his homework and by employing a sweeper in front of the full back line he made sure that Monaghan's best forward Tommy Freeman hardly got a sniff of the action.
His midfield too of Marty McGrath and Mark Murphy won the crucial battle at centre field and while Fermanagh worked their socks off they eventually totally frustrated the Farneymen reducing them to a shadow of the team which lit up last year's Ulster Championship and which started its league campaign off in some style.
Mark Little and Ryan Keenan ran themselves into the ground at half forward while McBarron gave Fermanagh a good target on the edge of the square.
If there was one area I would be critical of the Fermanagh performance it was of their free taking.
They had no consistency in this crucial area all day and points win prizes. They squandered a lot of scoring chances which on another day will be the difference between winning and losing.
The winners of next week's game between Derry and Donegal will not look forward to playing the Erne men.
They are a bloody difficult shower to break down and if they can become a little more focussed in front of the posts they could take a bit of beating.
Media black-outs a nonsense
Only the GAA could get away with doing the whole media black out thing.
Monaghan became the latest team to take the vow of silence and go all monastic on the media.
My view on all of this is that it's nonsense building up the so-called siege mentality and inculcating a belief among players that everyone's out to get them and as long as they hold firm together they will reach the Promised Land.
I don't think so!
Monaghan won't win the All-Ireland title this season not because there may be elements within the media who are hostile to them or that their players became a victim of the hype surrounding them before their league campaign crashed down to earth with a bump.
They won't win because they are not good enough and being silent about it ain't going to make any difference on the field of play.
Monaghan are a good side, they could go far in Ulster this year, and fifteen against 15 they are one of the best sides in the country.
But it's not a 15-man game any more and Monaghan just don't have the players on the bench to match Kerry and others on the big day.
The one thing I have noticed over the years about managers who have attacked the media is that none of them have written to them to complain when the same media are praising either them or their players for playing well.
There does need to be a balance in media coverage and over exposure will wear players out but we're either promoting our games or we're not and if we are serious we need as much media coverage as we can get.
Monaghan became the latest team to take the vow of silence and go all monastic on the media.
My view on all of this is that it's nonsense building up the so-called siege mentality and inculcating a belief among players that everyone's out to get them and as long as they hold firm together they will reach the Promised Land.
I don't think so!
Monaghan won't win the All-Ireland title this season not because there may be elements within the media who are hostile to them or that their players became a victim of the hype surrounding them before their league campaign crashed down to earth with a bump.
They won't win because they are not good enough and being silent about it ain't going to make any difference on the field of play.
Monaghan are a good side, they could go far in Ulster this year, and fifteen against 15 they are one of the best sides in the country.
But it's not a 15-man game any more and Monaghan just don't have the players on the bench to match Kerry and others on the big day.
The one thing I have noticed over the years about managers who have attacked the media is that none of them have written to them to complain when the same media are praising either them or their players for playing well.
There does need to be a balance in media coverage and over exposure will wear players out but we're either promoting our games or we're not and if we are serious we need as much media coverage as we can get.
Looking for hope in Leinster
Looking forward to the beginning of the Leinster Hurling championship today despite the fact that in spite of the credit crunch there are still some certainties in life and Kilkenny will retain their title.
However, I suppose we are looking to see if Joe Dooley can begin to turn Offaly around to give some hope that they may eventually return to being genuine contenders for All-Ireland honours.
I am also intrigued at the prospect that Dublin may at last be in the position to mount a serious challenge.
Westmeath is a potential banana skin today but you have to expect the Dubs to win.
However, this season I would believe if there is to be any prospect of a Dublin return to the top in hurling that they must also claim the scalp of a weak enough Wexford team in the championship.
Wexford for all their difficulties will go out and give it all they have against the Dubs provided they clear Westmeath as there is a lot of pride at stake.
Leinster has been very poor in recent seasons, hurling needs a better Leinster championship than we have had since 1998 and let's hope despite what will be another Kilkenny lap of honour this season that the first shoots of a resurgence in the other counties will begin to emerge.
However, I suppose we are looking to see if Joe Dooley can begin to turn Offaly around to give some hope that they may eventually return to being genuine contenders for All-Ireland honours.
I am also intrigued at the prospect that Dublin may at last be in the position to mount a serious challenge.
Westmeath is a potential banana skin today but you have to expect the Dubs to win.
However, this season I would believe if there is to be any prospect of a Dublin return to the top in hurling that they must also claim the scalp of a weak enough Wexford team in the championship.
Wexford for all their difficulties will go out and give it all they have against the Dubs provided they clear Westmeath as there is a lot of pride at stake.
Leinster has been very poor in recent seasons, hurling needs a better Leinster championship than we have had since 1998 and let's hope despite what will be another Kilkenny lap of honour this season that the first shoots of a resurgence in the other counties will begin to emerge.
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Questions on St Gall's pull-out
Like everyone else in the county I'm just wondering why the four St Gall's players have all opted out of the Antrim panel for the Tommy Murphy Cup.
Now I want to make it clear from the start I wouldn't get up out of bed to watch a Tommy Murphy Cup match.
I think it is meaningless in its current format.
After all it is the very worst teams in the country who we have just watched playing each other in the National League Division 4 earlier in the year and it doesn't really turn me on wondering who has improved on the poor league form.
Now if the second tier competition maybe included the bottom 16 sides where there is a chance for your team to improve there might be some merit, even then I don't really know if I could be bothered.
However, I'm just wondering is the St Gall's pull-out is connected with the club championship where St Gall's have shown a lot of ambition in recent seasons or have these players just been playing too much football?
Or are they headed to America for a summer's football?
There was some speculation after Sunday's game that some players were so confident of as championship exit that they booked their holidays in advance.
Bit surprised though at CJ and Terry O'Neill, the first because he is still learning his trade at inter-county level and the second because he is finding it difficult to break into the team and hold down a regular spot.
Suppose we would all like some answers about why the players have pulled out although it won't have me rushing out to buy tickets for the Tommy Murphy anyway.
Now I want to make it clear from the start I wouldn't get up out of bed to watch a Tommy Murphy Cup match.
I think it is meaningless in its current format.
After all it is the very worst teams in the country who we have just watched playing each other in the National League Division 4 earlier in the year and it doesn't really turn me on wondering who has improved on the poor league form.
Now if the second tier competition maybe included the bottom 16 sides where there is a chance for your team to improve there might be some merit, even then I don't really know if I could be bothered.
However, I'm just wondering is the St Gall's pull-out is connected with the club championship where St Gall's have shown a lot of ambition in recent seasons or have these players just been playing too much football?
Or are they headed to America for a summer's football?
There was some speculation after Sunday's game that some players were so confident of as championship exit that they booked their holidays in advance.
Bit surprised though at CJ and Terry O'Neill, the first because he is still learning his trade at inter-county level and the second because he is finding it difficult to break into the team and hold down a regular spot.
Suppose we would all like some answers about why the players have pulled out although it won't have me rushing out to buy tickets for the Tommy Murphy anyway.
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Meath send out a warning
Although today's defeat of Carlow by Meath ended up being a bit like one of the mismatches most associated with hurling, the Meath forwards sounded out a warning to the rest of the province with some sharp shooting.
Joe Sheridan, Stephen Bray and Cian Ward all showed that they will once again be worth the watching this season although they would be pushed for their places if Meath boss Colm Coyle had a full selection to pick from.
And as well as these three scoring for fun it was a veteran playing in his 16th championship season who once again caught the eye with his sheer intelligence.
Although the game was a breeze for the Royals Graham Geraghty gave us a couple of memorable moments where first time touches showed once again an awareness that would light up any game.
I still think that the suspensions will affect Meath's season but once again no one will enjoy a day out against them.
Joe Sheridan, Stephen Bray and Cian Ward all showed that they will once again be worth the watching this season although they would be pushed for their places if Meath boss Colm Coyle had a full selection to pick from.
And as well as these three scoring for fun it was a veteran playing in his 16th championship season who once again caught the eye with his sheer intelligence.
Although the game was a breeze for the Royals Graham Geraghty gave us a couple of memorable moments where first time touches showed once again an awareness that would light up any game.
I still think that the suspensions will affect Meath's season but once again no one will enjoy a day out against them.
Geezer punctured
Watched Kieran McGeeney tonight and heart went out to him.
He took it right on the chin for the performance today although I think his players owe him big time.
Several guys simply gave up today when it didn't go their way.
McGeeney looked lost for words to explain what happened but took the heat for what was one of the most inept displays I have seen from a championship side in a while.
I know from experience in club management that there are days when you feel like going home and reaching for the revolver and a bottle of vodka.
I could never understand after a particularly bad performance how some players never seemed to let it bother them.
We lost a game one night in Antrim town where we had never been beaten before after blowing a lead and I felt like slapping a player who asked me was I going back to the club for a drink!
He seemed shocked when I said 'I don't celebrate humiliations'.
I reckon McGeeney who puts his all into anything he takes on is feeling a lot worse than that.
He is a determined intelligent man and like big Arnie he'll be back!
He took it right on the chin for the performance today although I think his players owe him big time.
Several guys simply gave up today when it didn't go their way.
McGeeney looked lost for words to explain what happened but took the heat for what was one of the most inept displays I have seen from a championship side in a while.
I know from experience in club management that there are days when you feel like going home and reaching for the revolver and a bottle of vodka.
I could never understand after a particularly bad performance how some players never seemed to let it bother them.
We lost a game one night in Antrim town where we had never been beaten before after blowing a lead and I felt like slapping a player who asked me was I going back to the club for a drink!
He seemed shocked when I said 'I don't celebrate humiliations'.
I reckon McGeeney who puts his all into anything he takes on is feeling a lot worse than that.
He is a determined intelligent man and like big Arnie he'll be back!
Deja vu for the Saffrons
Feeling a huge sense of deja vu tonight after Antrim's defeat today at the hands of Cavan at Casement Park.
Like on so many occasions in the past 30 years, Antrim came up short when it was needed most.
After a poor start they played their way back into the game with some patches of good football only to concede a soft goal right before half time to let Cavan back in the lead.
The game was won and lost immediately after half time however when there was only two points between the sides.
Antrim missed a couple of chances and kickable frees and when the Breffnimen realised they were off the hook they opened up a six-point lead with Seanie Johnston torturing the Antrim defence.
We just don't have a forward of Johnston's class.
Young CJ McGourty for example flatters to deceive, wants the ball in space all the time while Johnston gets down and gets dirty to win ball when he shouldn't as well as reading where the crumbs are going to come from.
The game quickly turned into a damp squib and Antrim increasingly played like headless chickens, carrying the ball forward into poor positions, shooting when the easy pass was on and the forward movement was pretty poor.
Micheal Magill did make a difference in the second period giving Antrim at least a little physical power in the forward line.
Felt sorry for Antrim boss Jody Gormley today because he hasn't got a lot at his disposal to work with.
That's us condemned to the Tommy Murphy once again and all in all the season has already been a step backwards.
Our nerve went when promotion from the poorest league in football was there for the taking and that lack of confidence showed again today when some of our players realised the game was there for the taking.
So we have failed on all our pre-season targets, promotion from Division 4 and an opportunity to win a home championship game against another Ulster side who are struggling to keep up with the provincial pace setters.
Donal Keogan's team however, can now look forward to at least two more games in the championship.
Johnston's performance continues a run of great form and with McCabe as versatile as ever they will be a physical tough side to beat.
They won't win anything but no one will enjoy playing them.
There are no signs in the short term that our misery will end in Antrim, however I do believe that the current county board is attempting to address years of complacency and no one is under any illusion that an Antrim revival is anywhere close on the cards.
Wonder what Micko's doing next year?
Like on so many occasions in the past 30 years, Antrim came up short when it was needed most.
After a poor start they played their way back into the game with some patches of good football only to concede a soft goal right before half time to let Cavan back in the lead.
The game was won and lost immediately after half time however when there was only two points between the sides.
Antrim missed a couple of chances and kickable frees and when the Breffnimen realised they were off the hook they opened up a six-point lead with Seanie Johnston torturing the Antrim defence.
We just don't have a forward of Johnston's class.
Young CJ McGourty for example flatters to deceive, wants the ball in space all the time while Johnston gets down and gets dirty to win ball when he shouldn't as well as reading where the crumbs are going to come from.
The game quickly turned into a damp squib and Antrim increasingly played like headless chickens, carrying the ball forward into poor positions, shooting when the easy pass was on and the forward movement was pretty poor.
Micheal Magill did make a difference in the second period giving Antrim at least a little physical power in the forward line.
Felt sorry for Antrim boss Jody Gormley today because he hasn't got a lot at his disposal to work with.
That's us condemned to the Tommy Murphy once again and all in all the season has already been a step backwards.
Our nerve went when promotion from the poorest league in football was there for the taking and that lack of confidence showed again today when some of our players realised the game was there for the taking.
So we have failed on all our pre-season targets, promotion from Division 4 and an opportunity to win a home championship game against another Ulster side who are struggling to keep up with the provincial pace setters.
Donal Keogan's team however, can now look forward to at least two more games in the championship.
Johnston's performance continues a run of great form and with McCabe as versatile as ever they will be a physical tough side to beat.
They won't win anything but no one will enjoy playing them.
There are no signs in the short term that our misery will end in Antrim, however I do believe that the current county board is attempting to address years of complacency and no one is under any illusion that an Antrim revival is anywhere close on the cards.
Wonder what Micko's doing next year?
Bergin's absence casts shadow over Galway win
Earlier in the season I said that the loss of midfielder Joe Bergin could have a massive impact on Galway's chances in this season's All Ireland.
I am more convinced of that today after Galway's defeat of Roscommon.
While the Tribesman totally outplayed an inept Roscommon in the second half and tagged on an impressive score to run out winners by 16 points they struggled in the first half after Roscommon pulled Karol Mannion back to the middle and he provided a platform for the Rossies to fight back in the run-up to half time.
However, when Roscommon had a player set off early in the second half Galway used the space well and simply punched holes in the opposition defence.
Padraig Joyce's passing and movement in the second half was a treat to watch but at times Galway seemed to be playing almost a training game and they were not stretched other than in the second quarter of the game.
However, I feel that Bergin's absence will cost them dearly if they come up against the Kerry midfield or Derry's Fergal Doherty.
Roscommon have a mountain to climb to get off the floor after this one, I think the best they can hope for is to give some of their promising young players a run out in the qualifiers, they are as bad as they have been for long many a day.
We didn't learn too much about the Tribesmen, they are great to watch and it's how I like to see football played but I can't help but feeling that they will come up well short in a tough game which is a pity.
Padraig Joyce is one of the best footballers of the last 25 years but I think his move to centre half forward is a sign of weakness in the Tribesmen's game plan.
Ageing footballers are usually moved forward or further back late in their career, it's not usual to bring them out to positions where more not less movement is required and good a footballer as Padraig Joyce is I believe he will struggle against top centre backs as the season progresses.
The Tribesmen move on to face Leitrim but Liam Sammon will be hoping that Bergin may be around to play some part in the season cos when Sam's handed out there are no prizes for the nicest team to watch.
I am more convinced of that today after Galway's defeat of Roscommon.
While the Tribesman totally outplayed an inept Roscommon in the second half and tagged on an impressive score to run out winners by 16 points they struggled in the first half after Roscommon pulled Karol Mannion back to the middle and he provided a platform for the Rossies to fight back in the run-up to half time.
However, when Roscommon had a player set off early in the second half Galway used the space well and simply punched holes in the opposition defence.
Padraig Joyce's passing and movement in the second half was a treat to watch but at times Galway seemed to be playing almost a training game and they were not stretched other than in the second quarter of the game.
However, I feel that Bergin's absence will cost them dearly if they come up against the Kerry midfield or Derry's Fergal Doherty.
Roscommon have a mountain to climb to get off the floor after this one, I think the best they can hope for is to give some of their promising young players a run out in the qualifiers, they are as bad as they have been for long many a day.
We didn't learn too much about the Tribesmen, they are great to watch and it's how I like to see football played but I can't help but feeling that they will come up well short in a tough game which is a pity.
Padraig Joyce is one of the best footballers of the last 25 years but I think his move to centre half forward is a sign of weakness in the Tribesmen's game plan.
Ageing footballers are usually moved forward or further back late in their career, it's not usual to bring them out to positions where more not less movement is required and good a footballer as Padraig Joyce is I believe he will struggle against top centre backs as the season progresses.
The Tribesmen move on to face Leitrim but Liam Sammon will be hoping that Bergin may be around to play some part in the season cos when Sam's handed out there are no prizes for the nicest team to watch.
Micko still box office
You just have to take your hat to Micko following Wicklow's success today against Kildare.
And the win was well deserved, they played the Lilywhites off the park for large parts of the game, spurned an almost cerrtain goal chance early in the second half yet still went on to win in some style.
There have been critics of O'Dwyer's training methods over the years but his results are undeniable and one thing I will say about his teams they play good open football based around good movement, passing and the basic skills.
I was surprised by how poor Kildare were on the day.
They did miss chances which on another day might have lifted the team but Kildare looked like a team which had completely lost its way playing without confidence or any sort of self belief.
Their forwards are poor and it seemed that everyone was waiting on a moment's inspiration from John Doyle.
Wicklow on the other hand fought for everything.
They got back in numbers to defend when it was needed denying Kildare any space to operate in and when they moved forward there always seemed to be someone getting into space or making runs.
Kieran McGeeney has an uphill task to turn this round by the qualifiers.
Some of the Under 21s played well but he must be worried about the way Killian Brennan and Dermot Early looked pedestrian at times as they were completely out fought at mid field.
Kildare completely lacked the type of commitment and battle of their manager and I'm sure that McGeeney is hurting tonight at the ease with with his players seemed to collapse.
O'Dwyer now comes up against another side he managed in Leinster but Laois should be a different proposition to the poor Kildare he faced today but his presence will ensure an interest in a game which in another year wouldn't stir the heart.
He is still box office!
And the win was well deserved, they played the Lilywhites off the park for large parts of the game, spurned an almost cerrtain goal chance early in the second half yet still went on to win in some style.
There have been critics of O'Dwyer's training methods over the years but his results are undeniable and one thing I will say about his teams they play good open football based around good movement, passing and the basic skills.
I was surprised by how poor Kildare were on the day.
They did miss chances which on another day might have lifted the team but Kildare looked like a team which had completely lost its way playing without confidence or any sort of self belief.
Their forwards are poor and it seemed that everyone was waiting on a moment's inspiration from John Doyle.
Wicklow on the other hand fought for everything.
They got back in numbers to defend when it was needed denying Kildare any space to operate in and when they moved forward there always seemed to be someone getting into space or making runs.
Kieran McGeeney has an uphill task to turn this round by the qualifiers.
Some of the Under 21s played well but he must be worried about the way Killian Brennan and Dermot Early looked pedestrian at times as they were completely out fought at mid field.
Kildare completely lacked the type of commitment and battle of their manager and I'm sure that McGeeney is hurting tonight at the ease with with his players seemed to collapse.
O'Dwyer now comes up against another side he managed in Leinster but Laois should be a different proposition to the poor Kildare he faced today but his presence will ensure an interest in a game which in another year wouldn't stir the heart.
He is still box office!
Friday, 16 May 2008
Intensity and focus gone mad!
Sometimes you have to wonder do managers and players lose the plot in their pursuit of the All Ireland.
Kildare's Under 21s played in an All-Ireland final against Kerry recently the first time Kildare had been there for long many a day.
A great day out for the county and you'd have thought that the county seniors would have been there to roar on what should be the backbone of the county side for years to come.
Not so. Instead the senior watched the game on TV from their training camp in Cork where they were for a challenge game for the weekend.
Apparently the senior side had been warned about the 'risks' associated with a four-hour round trip by bus!
Is it just me or is this madness?
Surely to God the seniors would have got something out of watching the young players many of whom must come from their own home clubs?
It doesn't happen every day after all.
It's one thing to be focussed on the next big game, against the giants of Wicklow no less, but this sort of stuff smacks of madness.
It is sounds typical of the set-up in Armagh in the early part of the decade.
However, that was already a very good Armagh team which needed to believe they could win after blowing it in 1999 and 2000.
The type of focus and intensity encouraged by Joe Kernan helped get them into the winner's enclosure in 2002 but for all the focus and the intensity Armagh never made it back again.
I remember reading a piece Micky Harte wrote in his book Knocking on Heaven's Door contrasting his laid back approach to Armagh's intensity and he simply said he knew which set of players he would rather spend the night with.
I fully understand the pursuit of excellence but I reckon it needs to be pursued on the training ground and the bottom line should always be that a player's love of kicking the round white object remains the focus of all good things in training and that you can do the mental intensity thing until you're blue in the face but that nothing compares to a sheer enjoyment of the game.
Someday when their younger colleagues make the breakthrough the Kildare players will realise that a four hour bus trip might not have been the biggest difficulty they ever faced to see their county in an All-Ireland final.
Kildare's Under 21s played in an All-Ireland final against Kerry recently the first time Kildare had been there for long many a day.
A great day out for the county and you'd have thought that the county seniors would have been there to roar on what should be the backbone of the county side for years to come.
Not so. Instead the senior watched the game on TV from their training camp in Cork where they were for a challenge game for the weekend.
Apparently the senior side had been warned about the 'risks' associated with a four-hour round trip by bus!
Is it just me or is this madness?
Surely to God the seniors would have got something out of watching the young players many of whom must come from their own home clubs?
It doesn't happen every day after all.
It's one thing to be focussed on the next big game, against the giants of Wicklow no less, but this sort of stuff smacks of madness.
It is sounds typical of the set-up in Armagh in the early part of the decade.
However, that was already a very good Armagh team which needed to believe they could win after blowing it in 1999 and 2000.
The type of focus and intensity encouraged by Joe Kernan helped get them into the winner's enclosure in 2002 but for all the focus and the intensity Armagh never made it back again.
I remember reading a piece Micky Harte wrote in his book Knocking on Heaven's Door contrasting his laid back approach to Armagh's intensity and he simply said he knew which set of players he would rather spend the night with.
I fully understand the pursuit of excellence but I reckon it needs to be pursued on the training ground and the bottom line should always be that a player's love of kicking the round white object remains the focus of all good things in training and that you can do the mental intensity thing until you're blue in the face but that nothing compares to a sheer enjoyment of the game.
Someday when their younger colleagues make the breakthrough the Kildare players will realise that a four hour bus trip might not have been the biggest difficulty they ever faced to see their county in an All-Ireland final.
League does matter now
Love the way that people are saying this week that league form doesn't matter.
Of course it is losers in the league who are protesting that league form doesn't mean anything.
Players and mentors from Antrim, Wicklow and Roscommon have all said in the last 24 hours that the league is meaningless.
I beg to differ and so do the statistics in recent years.
There was indeed a time when the league was no guarantee of success at inter county championship level, back in the day when at least three rounds of the hurling and football championship started pre Christmas right after the All-Ireland series was over.
However, since the league has been played off in the same calendar year as the championship it has increasingly become a barometer of the form of the top sides when the championship starts.
The league semi finalists are increasingly to be found in the latter stages of the championship.
Already in this decade Kerry sides and Tyrone won league titles before going on to All-Ireland success and even this year can anyone deny that Kerry and Derry will be in the final shake up and can anyone even conceive that a winner of the Liam McCarthy won't come out of this year's hurling semi finalists of Kilkenny, Cork, Galway and Tipperary?
As for Antrim, they might just manage to beat Cavan but that's as good as it will get and even then I can't see them beat the Breffni men.
Roscommon? Forget it they are as bad as their relegation suggested.
Wicklow, only the Micko factor and the fact that Kildare are struggling suggests that they are in with a chance of even one victory.
These days if you can't cut it in the league then you are going nowhere.
Of course it is losers in the league who are protesting that league form doesn't mean anything.
Players and mentors from Antrim, Wicklow and Roscommon have all said in the last 24 hours that the league is meaningless.
I beg to differ and so do the statistics in recent years.
There was indeed a time when the league was no guarantee of success at inter county championship level, back in the day when at least three rounds of the hurling and football championship started pre Christmas right after the All-Ireland series was over.
However, since the league has been played off in the same calendar year as the championship it has increasingly become a barometer of the form of the top sides when the championship starts.
The league semi finalists are increasingly to be found in the latter stages of the championship.
Already in this decade Kerry sides and Tyrone won league titles before going on to All-Ireland success and even this year can anyone deny that Kerry and Derry will be in the final shake up and can anyone even conceive that a winner of the Liam McCarthy won't come out of this year's hurling semi finalists of Kilkenny, Cork, Galway and Tipperary?
As for Antrim, they might just manage to beat Cavan but that's as good as it will get and even then I can't see them beat the Breffni men.
Roscommon? Forget it they are as bad as their relegation suggested.
Wicklow, only the Micko factor and the fact that Kildare are struggling suggests that they are in with a chance of even one victory.
These days if you can't cut it in the league then you are going nowhere.
Kirby one of the greats
Watched Gary Kirby on Laochra Gael tonight and have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Great sympathy for the Limerick side of the '90s in particular for Kirby and Ciaran Carey who would have graced any era of hurling.
Kirby was an artist, I have to say he always looked typical of the hurler of a bygone era, he always looked slightly overweight, the type of bloke who would have preferred a Chinese to a training session but he must have worked hard to develop his natural ability for he was deadly accurate and his stick work would have been first class in any era.
There was at least one All-Ireland in that Limerick side of the '90s.
They came good just when the hurling revolution arrived and were probably its biggest casualty.
I'm sure Kirby was almost preparing the victory speech in '94 when the Offaly blitz of 2-5 turned a game round which Limerick had dominated.
It was cruel on a side which had waited so long for Munster success but I think we all thought at the time that their day would come.
It didn't although I believe they denied Clare three in a row when they beat them in Munster by a point in '96 in a great battle.
It did them no favours playing Antrim in the semi final as I remember they just blew us away with Frankie Carroll scoring for fun and almost performing circus tricks with the sliotar.
I think that Limerick went in to the All-Ireland final a little too over confident and struggled all day to find their form.
Wexford were by that stage battle hardened after years of fighting to displace Offaly and the Cats and they just fought like maniacs to hold out.
We didn't know it then but Limerick's best was gone, first Clare and then Cork were to dominate in Munster and it wasn't until last year that Limerick even got back among the contenders.
Gary Kirby is one of the greatest hurlers never to have won an All Ireland but I have to say that he had a great attitude to his career and he's definitely a man who sees the glass as half full.
Great sympathy for the Limerick side of the '90s in particular for Kirby and Ciaran Carey who would have graced any era of hurling.
Kirby was an artist, I have to say he always looked typical of the hurler of a bygone era, he always looked slightly overweight, the type of bloke who would have preferred a Chinese to a training session but he must have worked hard to develop his natural ability for he was deadly accurate and his stick work would have been first class in any era.
There was at least one All-Ireland in that Limerick side of the '90s.
They came good just when the hurling revolution arrived and were probably its biggest casualty.
I'm sure Kirby was almost preparing the victory speech in '94 when the Offaly blitz of 2-5 turned a game round which Limerick had dominated.
It was cruel on a side which had waited so long for Munster success but I think we all thought at the time that their day would come.
It didn't although I believe they denied Clare three in a row when they beat them in Munster by a point in '96 in a great battle.
It did them no favours playing Antrim in the semi final as I remember they just blew us away with Frankie Carroll scoring for fun and almost performing circus tricks with the sliotar.
I think that Limerick went in to the All-Ireland final a little too over confident and struggled all day to find their form.
Wexford were by that stage battle hardened after years of fighting to displace Offaly and the Cats and they just fought like maniacs to hold out.
We didn't know it then but Limerick's best was gone, first Clare and then Cork were to dominate in Munster and it wasn't until last year that Limerick even got back among the contenders.
Gary Kirby is one of the greatest hurlers never to have won an All Ireland but I have to say that he had a great attitude to his career and he's definitely a man who sees the glass as half full.
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Danger, danger Meath's about
Laughed at comments by Paul Bealin, the former Dublin player, now involved with Carlow when he said that Meath were "very dangerous opponents".
I thought at first Bealin was referring to the Parnell Park row between the Royals and Dublin or maybe it was the local championship game which led to six players being sent off.
Wondered had he been showing his players highlights of the 'action' and was on the point of offering him the services of our good friend and coach Darren Corbett, former European boxing champion who puts our club players through their paces.
Big Darren watched the scenes at Parnell Park and wasn't impressed and he told our players so.
He said the Royals had no jab, their body work was sloppy and their efforts to land the big one wouldn't have won a row at St Gemma's. Bring back the Lyons brothers and Martin O'Connell I say!
Now I was never much good at the noble art myself so I'll take the big man's word for it and I thought that maybe Paul Bealin was overacting.
However, realised soon enough it wasn't the 'dabbing' he was worried about at all but the Meath full forward line, or what's left of it anyway.
Yea, they're very dangerous too!
I thought at first Bealin was referring to the Parnell Park row between the Royals and Dublin or maybe it was the local championship game which led to six players being sent off.
Wondered had he been showing his players highlights of the 'action' and was on the point of offering him the services of our good friend and coach Darren Corbett, former European boxing champion who puts our club players through their paces.
Big Darren watched the scenes at Parnell Park and wasn't impressed and he told our players so.
He said the Royals had no jab, their body work was sloppy and their efforts to land the big one wouldn't have won a row at St Gemma's. Bring back the Lyons brothers and Martin O'Connell I say!
Now I was never much good at the noble art myself so I'll take the big man's word for it and I thought that maybe Paul Bealin was overacting.
However, realised soon enough it wasn't the 'dabbing' he was worried about at all but the Meath full forward line, or what's left of it anyway.
Yea, they're very dangerous too!
Roscommon game a stroll in the park
Have they opened a book yet on the score of the Galway Roscommon game this week.
I expect Roscommon to go out and play with a pride that had obviously deserted them under John Maughan and a lot of men should have a point to prove.
But I love the talk that Galway shouldn't take them for granted.
Of course they won't they'll just go out and run them into the ground and they will win without having to produce much other than the ability to do a job they're expected to do.
If they can't do that against Roscommon then they shouldn't be one of the favourites for the Connacht title or fancied to be in the shake-up at the end of the season.
Roscommon are cat, they are one of the worst sides the county has produced in living memory and they have had plenty of competition for that unwanted honour.
Sunday's game should be a stroll in the park for the Tribesmen.
I expect Roscommon to go out and play with a pride that had obviously deserted them under John Maughan and a lot of men should have a point to prove.
But I love the talk that Galway shouldn't take them for granted.
Of course they won't they'll just go out and run them into the ground and they will win without having to produce much other than the ability to do a job they're expected to do.
If they can't do that against Roscommon then they shouldn't be one of the favourites for the Connacht title or fancied to be in the shake-up at the end of the season.
Roscommon are cat, they are one of the worst sides the county has produced in living memory and they have had plenty of competition for that unwanted honour.
Sunday's game should be a stroll in the park for the Tribesmen.
Gormley, brutally honest but off the mark
You have to give it to Antrim boss Jody Gormley, only days before we face Cavan he has stated we should be playing in a properly run second tier competition.
Talk about brutal honesty, much as Gormley's message to the Antrim faithful is one of doom and gloom he's right.
We, like the Tyrone hurlers, are probably not serious about playing in the championship, after all we blew promotion from the division of no-hope, Division 4, by falling to the might of the Waterford footballers who wouldn't beat their hurlers at the big ball game.
I agree with the concept of an Open Draw for the All Ireland which Gormley supports but I have to take issue with his comments that we could win the Connacht championship if we were allowed to play it.
No we wouldn't.
We are nowhere good enough to beat Galway or Mayo in championship football and would find it hard to overcome Roscommon and Sligo even when they are not at the top table.
We would beat New York, even Leitrim did that.
But to claim that we could compete in Connnacht is nonsense.
Bring on the action as everyone seems to lose the run of themselves in the build-up.
Talk about brutal honesty, much as Gormley's message to the Antrim faithful is one of doom and gloom he's right.
We, like the Tyrone hurlers, are probably not serious about playing in the championship, after all we blew promotion from the division of no-hope, Division 4, by falling to the might of the Waterford footballers who wouldn't beat their hurlers at the big ball game.
I agree with the concept of an Open Draw for the All Ireland which Gormley supports but I have to take issue with his comments that we could win the Connacht championship if we were allowed to play it.
No we wouldn't.
We are nowhere good enough to beat Galway or Mayo in championship football and would find it hard to overcome Roscommon and Sligo even when they are not at the top table.
We would beat New York, even Leitrim did that.
But to claim that we could compete in Connnacht is nonsense.
Bring on the action as everyone seems to lose the run of themselves in the build-up.
Ulster championship building to an anti-climax
Did anyone watch the Ulster hurling championship games last weekend? I have to admit that I still don't get it.
Last week it was Tyrone against Fermanagh, this week it's London against the Red Hands.
Does it matter, does anyone care.
Let's face it the only benefit to Ulster might be that if London get knocked out early enough we won't have the farce of them playing in Ulster semi finals.
I don't see the much boosted Ulster championship as the way forward for hurling in the province.
I would love to think it will get better over seasons, but to be honest I don't. I believe it will still be between Antrim, North and South.
Down are gone, Derry are hanging on by their fingernails and given another revival in football hurling will slip further behind.
If we are serious about making the championship more competitive should we not create a couple of amalgamated teams, Down, Monaghan and Armagh say, and the rest of the province outside Antrim.
Amalgamated teams have worked in club leagues, the Sean Stinsons minor experiment between Portglenone and Ahoghill in the mid '90s have been the catalyst for the advance first of Portglenone and now Ahoghill in Antrim.
We are just simply building to an anti-climax when these Cinderella sides get slaughtered by Antrim, who in turn will get the guttie at the hands of Galway!
Last week it was Tyrone against Fermanagh, this week it's London against the Red Hands.
Does it matter, does anyone care.
Let's face it the only benefit to Ulster might be that if London get knocked out early enough we won't have the farce of them playing in Ulster semi finals.
I don't see the much boosted Ulster championship as the way forward for hurling in the province.
I would love to think it will get better over seasons, but to be honest I don't. I believe it will still be between Antrim, North and South.
Down are gone, Derry are hanging on by their fingernails and given another revival in football hurling will slip further behind.
If we are serious about making the championship more competitive should we not create a couple of amalgamated teams, Down, Monaghan and Armagh say, and the rest of the province outside Antrim.
Amalgamated teams have worked in club leagues, the Sean Stinsons minor experiment between Portglenone and Ahoghill in the mid '90s have been the catalyst for the advance first of Portglenone and now Ahoghill in Antrim.
We are just simply building to an anti-climax when these Cinderella sides get slaughtered by Antrim, who in turn will get the guttie at the hands of Galway!
Micko makes for a little magic
You have to give it to Mick O'Dwyer almost 72 years of age and taking Wicklow into another Leinster campaign.
Where does he get his energy and enthusiasm?
After reading his autobiography recently Blessed and Obsessed there is no doubt he is in love with the game of Gaelic football.
While he has had much sparser material to work with in Leinster, you can never write him off and he had some great days with Kildare and Laois bringing Leinster titles to counties which hadn't even seen one passing through on the bus for a very long time.
Wicklow are in Division 4 football and as I know only too well from experience you aren't down there with my home county unless you are genuinely bad.
But that's the thing with Micko, simply because he's managing a team you can't write them off completely and the Garden County men must have got something out of their Tommy Murphy success last season.
It's ironic in a way that Micko is also up against a manager who has no championship experience as a manager in Kieran McGeeney.
Geezer has 'enjoyed' a baptism of fire with his Lilywhites coming up short in Division 1 and being relegated at the end of his first league campaign in charge.
All the pressure has to be on the former Armagh man to get a run in Leinster while O'Dwyer has nothing to lose.
You would still have to take Kildare to win given the gulf between the sides but Kildare lack firepower and O'Dwyer has come up with the goods throughout his life.
Certainly makes for a bit of interest in what otherwise would be regarded as a shoe in for Kildare.
Where does he get his energy and enthusiasm?
After reading his autobiography recently Blessed and Obsessed there is no doubt he is in love with the game of Gaelic football.
While he has had much sparser material to work with in Leinster, you can never write him off and he had some great days with Kildare and Laois bringing Leinster titles to counties which hadn't even seen one passing through on the bus for a very long time.
Wicklow are in Division 4 football and as I know only too well from experience you aren't down there with my home county unless you are genuinely bad.
But that's the thing with Micko, simply because he's managing a team you can't write them off completely and the Garden County men must have got something out of their Tommy Murphy success last season.
It's ironic in a way that Micko is also up against a manager who has no championship experience as a manager in Kieran McGeeney.
Geezer has 'enjoyed' a baptism of fire with his Lilywhites coming up short in Division 1 and being relegated at the end of his first league campaign in charge.
All the pressure has to be on the former Armagh man to get a run in Leinster while O'Dwyer has nothing to lose.
You would still have to take Kildare to win given the gulf between the sides but Kildare lack firepower and O'Dwyer has come up with the goods throughout his life.
Certainly makes for a bit of interest in what otherwise would be regarded as a shoe in for Kildare.
Parnell row now comes home to roost
The impact of the Dublin Meath brawl at Parnell Park finally comes home to roost this Sunday when the Royals start their campaign with five men suspended and two other players Anthony Moyles and Shane O'Rourke injured.
Colm Coyle is already talking about four debutants and while you always believe that Meath will have too much in the tank for Carlow this is no way to build on what was a great All-Ireland campaign last season.
Coyle must have fancied his side to be taking another step up on the back of that performance but the indiscipline shown against the Dubs in what was a meaningless match now casts a huge shadow over the start of the season.
I hope that Meath do get past this inauspicious start given that their full forward line last season which also included the unlucky Brian Farrell brought a hint of past glories back to mind with their great fielding and score taking.
Great forwards make for memorable championships, great defensive displays don't make for a good yarn round the fire at the pub, and Meath's performances last season gave us plenty to rave about.
Coyle must hope to get thorough this week's game and that his key players will be back in time to make their mark on the year.
Colm Coyle is already talking about four debutants and while you always believe that Meath will have too much in the tank for Carlow this is no way to build on what was a great All-Ireland campaign last season.
Coyle must have fancied his side to be taking another step up on the back of that performance but the indiscipline shown against the Dubs in what was a meaningless match now casts a huge shadow over the start of the season.
I hope that Meath do get past this inauspicious start given that their full forward line last season which also included the unlucky Brian Farrell brought a hint of past glories back to mind with their great fielding and score taking.
Great forwards make for memorable championships, great defensive displays don't make for a good yarn round the fire at the pub, and Meath's performances last season gave us plenty to rave about.
Coyle must hope to get thorough this week's game and that his key players will be back in time to make their mark on the year.
Friday, 9 May 2008
McCarthy must be cursing his luck
The life of county manager must be nerve wracking whenever your players are in action for their clubs in a championship weekend.
I'm sure they sit in dread of the type of phonecall which tells them that one of their star players have been hurt over the weekend playing havoc with well-laid plans for the season which may have begun as far back as October last year.
Take Justin McCarthy as an example this season. A year ago he was enjoying a great season with the Waterford hurling side.
The National League title was under their belts and preparing to launch a strongly fancied bid for the All-Ireland title.
Waterford lit up the Munster championship with another great win but eventually floundered tired and mentally drained in the All-Ireland semi final against a fit and hungry Limerick.
This year Waterford have been slow out of the blocks, many felt McCarthy has been nursing his ageing warriors for the last big battle.
Instead slowly but surely the bottom is falling out of the Waterford challenge. Eoin Murphy, Eoin Kelly and Paul Flynn are all expected to miss the opening Munster championship game with Clare on June 1.
Now the goal scoring star of last season Dan Shanahan, who hadn't really got into his stride in this year's league, has ligament damage to his knee and looks set to miss the first game too.
Dan was playing in a senior hurling championship game for his club Lismore in a victory over Mount Sion. He will be out for three weeks although the injury was feared to be much worse initially but it will make it difficult for him to start against Clare.
The only good news for McCarthy is that Tony Browne got the all clear after being sent off in a club game.
However, I noticed that Browne only came in to the game as a sub and it was his second sending off in six months.
Just wonder is he beginning to suffer from grumply old man syndrome as your pace goes you get a little more aggressive in the absence of being able to stay with them.
Tony Browne's a wonderful hurler but he has struggled against blistering pace in the last year or two.
I can't see the Decies get out of the starting blocks against Clare in the absence of their casualties and McCarthy must be hoping that some of his missing players might just make it to the starting line.
I'm sure they sit in dread of the type of phonecall which tells them that one of their star players have been hurt over the weekend playing havoc with well-laid plans for the season which may have begun as far back as October last year.
Take Justin McCarthy as an example this season. A year ago he was enjoying a great season with the Waterford hurling side.
The National League title was under their belts and preparing to launch a strongly fancied bid for the All-Ireland title.
Waterford lit up the Munster championship with another great win but eventually floundered tired and mentally drained in the All-Ireland semi final against a fit and hungry Limerick.
This year Waterford have been slow out of the blocks, many felt McCarthy has been nursing his ageing warriors for the last big battle.
Instead slowly but surely the bottom is falling out of the Waterford challenge. Eoin Murphy, Eoin Kelly and Paul Flynn are all expected to miss the opening Munster championship game with Clare on June 1.
Now the goal scoring star of last season Dan Shanahan, who hadn't really got into his stride in this year's league, has ligament damage to his knee and looks set to miss the first game too.
Dan was playing in a senior hurling championship game for his club Lismore in a victory over Mount Sion. He will be out for three weeks although the injury was feared to be much worse initially but it will make it difficult for him to start against Clare.
The only good news for McCarthy is that Tony Browne got the all clear after being sent off in a club game.
However, I noticed that Browne only came in to the game as a sub and it was his second sending off in six months.
Just wonder is he beginning to suffer from grumply old man syndrome as your pace goes you get a little more aggressive in the absence of being able to stay with them.
Tony Browne's a wonderful hurler but he has struggled against blistering pace in the last year or two.
I can't see the Decies get out of the starting blocks against Clare in the absence of their casualties and McCarthy must be hoping that some of his missing players might just make it to the starting line.
Loyalty recognised in Longford
Surprisingly Longford won their battle to retain their existing advertising hoardings at the ground during their televised game with Westmeath in the championship on Sunday.
The Longford board objected to a ruling to cover up existing advertising as they felt that a bit of loyalty was due to the local business people who had stood by the county through thick and thin.
I had written as much this week as there have always been GAA people in business who have put a lot back into the Association and they should not be asked to hide whenever the TV and the big sponsors roll into town.
This is not a question of finance alone it is about a little loyalty to people who will still be around supporting clubs and smaller counties when some of the big sponsors have forgotten how to even spell GAA.
The Longford board objected to a ruling to cover up existing advertising as they felt that a bit of loyalty was due to the local business people who had stood by the county through thick and thin.
I had written as much this week as there have always been GAA people in business who have put a lot back into the Association and they should not be asked to hide whenever the TV and the big sponsors roll into town.
This is not a question of finance alone it is about a little loyalty to people who will still be around supporting clubs and smaller counties when some of the big sponsors have forgotten how to even spell GAA.
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Cavanagh is over optimistic
Sean Cavanagh is a great footballer and seemingly an eternal optimist.
The big midfielder has almost at times lifted his side almost single handedly in recent seasons as the Tyrone dressing room took on the look of an episode of Casualty.
Cavanagh was an integral part of the Tyrone side of 2005 which in my opinion is one of the best teams of the last 20 years.
They were a better side than the current Kerry team and only Galway '98 to 2001 and Down of '91 to '94 vintage have matched them for sheer flair.
They had a wonderful forward line of Canavan, O'Neill and Mulligan with the two Brians Dooher and McGuigan pulling the strings at half forward with Cavanagh bursting through at full pelt from midfield or left half forward.
Their flair and creativity was overlooked by some in their breakthrough season of 2003 because they matched their ability with relentless work rate and tackling which unfortunately Pat Spillane branded as Puke Football when they handed the Kingdom a lesson in an All-Ireland semi final.
However, the 'puke football' simply amounted to sheer hunger to get the ball back as soon as the opposition had possession, something you would teach any child to do.
But in 2005 even the begrudgers acknowledged their greatness when they beat Dublin, Armagh and Kerry on the way to Sam and they don't come any tougher than that.
However, Cavanagh thinks that at last they may be on the way back, Dooher and McGuigan are flying in training he says and he hasn't given up hope that Stephen O'Neill may also put his injury problems behind him and return to the side.
I think that Cavanagh is being a little bit over optimistic. I believe that the injuries to McGuigan and Dooher must have taken their toll and although I would much rather see these two excellent players back in action until they are tested in the white heat of championship the jury remains out.
As for O'Neill it's true that he now has a number of club games behind him with no further occurrences of the hamstring injuries which cost him his inter-county career but it's a huge step up to the fitness demanded for the championship.
I think Cavanagh's optimism is wishful thinking and I am still of the opinion that unless some of the young players who have come on to the panel since 2005 start to deliver the goods then Tyrone won't again reach those heights.
The big midfielder has almost at times lifted his side almost single handedly in recent seasons as the Tyrone dressing room took on the look of an episode of Casualty.
Cavanagh was an integral part of the Tyrone side of 2005 which in my opinion is one of the best teams of the last 20 years.
They were a better side than the current Kerry team and only Galway '98 to 2001 and Down of '91 to '94 vintage have matched them for sheer flair.
They had a wonderful forward line of Canavan, O'Neill and Mulligan with the two Brians Dooher and McGuigan pulling the strings at half forward with Cavanagh bursting through at full pelt from midfield or left half forward.
Their flair and creativity was overlooked by some in their breakthrough season of 2003 because they matched their ability with relentless work rate and tackling which unfortunately Pat Spillane branded as Puke Football when they handed the Kingdom a lesson in an All-Ireland semi final.
However, the 'puke football' simply amounted to sheer hunger to get the ball back as soon as the opposition had possession, something you would teach any child to do.
But in 2005 even the begrudgers acknowledged their greatness when they beat Dublin, Armagh and Kerry on the way to Sam and they don't come any tougher than that.
However, Cavanagh thinks that at last they may be on the way back, Dooher and McGuigan are flying in training he says and he hasn't given up hope that Stephen O'Neill may also put his injury problems behind him and return to the side.
I think that Cavanagh is being a little bit over optimistic. I believe that the injuries to McGuigan and Dooher must have taken their toll and although I would much rather see these two excellent players back in action until they are tested in the white heat of championship the jury remains out.
As for O'Neill it's true that he now has a number of club games behind him with no further occurrences of the hamstring injuries which cost him his inter-county career but it's a huge step up to the fitness demanded for the championship.
I think Cavanagh's optimism is wishful thinking and I am still of the opinion that unless some of the young players who have come on to the panel since 2005 start to deliver the goods then Tyrone won't again reach those heights.
Is it all about the euro?
So Longford are the first county to object to headquarters about covering up existing advertising hoardings at their ground to facilitate only the GAA's sponsors for the championship.
I am amazed at Nickey Brennan's surprise that this should be so.
His argument seems to be very straightforward, that all counties who host the televised matches will benefit more financially under the new deal than by displaying the existing advertising.
Longford have asked for compensation for revenue which will be lost with existing sponsors.
My view is that both Longford and the GAA have missed the mark on this one.
For a start the issue should not be around compensation. What about a little loyalty to local businesses who have supported county boards with sponsorship through thick and thin.
Let's face it no local sponsor has been getting a bang for their buck in counties like Longford and now they are being denied their one day in the sun when the county's game will be the first televised match of the championship.
Making big deals which bring in mega bucks is all well and good but if the GAA lose the small local businesses which have the backbone of the association in the process then you have to wonder can that be for the good of the association in the longer run?
Sponsorship of our games should be about encouraging local involvement and support as well as the corporate players whose only interest in our games is the euro.
I am amazed at Nickey Brennan's surprise that this should be so.
His argument seems to be very straightforward, that all counties who host the televised matches will benefit more financially under the new deal than by displaying the existing advertising.
Longford have asked for compensation for revenue which will be lost with existing sponsors.
My view is that both Longford and the GAA have missed the mark on this one.
For a start the issue should not be around compensation. What about a little loyalty to local businesses who have supported county boards with sponsorship through thick and thin.
Let's face it no local sponsor has been getting a bang for their buck in counties like Longford and now they are being denied their one day in the sun when the county's game will be the first televised match of the championship.
Making big deals which bring in mega bucks is all well and good but if the GAA lose the small local businesses which have the backbone of the association in the process then you have to wonder can that be for the good of the association in the longer run?
Sponsorship of our games should be about encouraging local involvement and support as well as the corporate players whose only interest in our games is the euro.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Meath not boxing clever
You have to wonder are they putting something in the water in Meath with six players including top full back Darren Fay sent off in a club championship match at the weekend.
Now the Royals have never been known to be faint hearted but following so hot on the heels of the Parnell Park brawl with Dublin you would have thought that players would have taken a few chill pills.
Not so it seems but at least there is the consolation of heading off to Portugal this week to do a spot of training for the All Ireland.
Have to admit that I am green with envy about the week's training in the sun, our management at home thought that training us in Ardoyne on the nearby Bone Heights was as good as it gets. At the time the Bone Heights were about as exotic as the Golan Heights and almost as heavily militarised.
But then we have never been as good at boxing as any Meath team despite being trained of late by former European boxing champion Darren Corbett.
I wonder if we get in to our next opponents in the league with as much abandon as the Royals would the club foot the bill for a trip overseas?
I'd even get into the row myself!
Now the Royals have never been known to be faint hearted but following so hot on the heels of the Parnell Park brawl with Dublin you would have thought that players would have taken a few chill pills.
Not so it seems but at least there is the consolation of heading off to Portugal this week to do a spot of training for the All Ireland.
Have to admit that I am green with envy about the week's training in the sun, our management at home thought that training us in Ardoyne on the nearby Bone Heights was as good as it gets. At the time the Bone Heights were about as exotic as the Golan Heights and almost as heavily militarised.
But then we have never been as good at boxing as any Meath team despite being trained of late by former European boxing champion Darren Corbett.
I wonder if we get in to our next opponents in the league with as much abandon as the Royals would the club foot the bill for a trip overseas?
I'd even get into the row myself!
New hurling format clear as mud!
Is it just me or do other GAA people find the new hurling format as clear as mud?
I'm delighted that an t-Uachtaran Nickey Brennan understands it well enough to say that the new qualifier format should make for a great year's hurling.
I confess to being absolutely baffled.
However, there are a couple of things I am clear about, one that the game's not straight under this system and secondly it does little or nothing to promote hurling in Connacht or Ulster.
Now if anyone reckons I have lost the plot on this one or simply don't understand the set-up then feel free to let me know as you're probably right.
Firstly I welcome the fact that the qualifiers are being played on a knockout basis.
The experiment with the round robin system for losers in the provinces was as interesting as watching paint dry with big sides trapped in them going through the motions to get the required results while all the games bar usually the final one of the three lacking bite and drama.
So I am a big fan of the knockout element.
But for me that's as good as it gets with the new format.
My first problem is that Antrim and Galway have to play in Qualifier 1, which means that one whole province will have no home interest in the championship early in the season, this year it will be Ulster.
Secondly the new system puts first round and semi final losers in Leinster and Munster on a par.
This may have been true in the '60s and maybe again in the'80s and '90s but let's be honest the Leinster Championship is now crap and it's a long time since it was genuinely competitive.
It is Kilkenny and the also rans and to be straight the other sides in Leinster are on a par with Antrim so why couldn't the Saffrons have been playing first round losers from Leinster in the first qualifying game?
And as the season progresses the Munster sides who lose in the semis and the final are far superior to anything which Leinster has to offer and this gives the Leinster sides a status their results simply don't deserve.
And if anyone believes that the Leinster sides will catch up in the next three years I'll send them all a crackerjack pencil if they're right.
If we are going down this route then teams should have been seeded on their performances instead of rewarded on the basis of an antiquated championship set-up which is stuck in an age when Leinster sides outside the Cats were still at the races.
I'm delighted that an t-Uachtaran Nickey Brennan understands it well enough to say that the new qualifier format should make for a great year's hurling.
I confess to being absolutely baffled.
However, there are a couple of things I am clear about, one that the game's not straight under this system and secondly it does little or nothing to promote hurling in Connacht or Ulster.
Now if anyone reckons I have lost the plot on this one or simply don't understand the set-up then feel free to let me know as you're probably right.
Firstly I welcome the fact that the qualifiers are being played on a knockout basis.
The experiment with the round robin system for losers in the provinces was as interesting as watching paint dry with big sides trapped in them going through the motions to get the required results while all the games bar usually the final one of the three lacking bite and drama.
So I am a big fan of the knockout element.
But for me that's as good as it gets with the new format.
My first problem is that Antrim and Galway have to play in Qualifier 1, which means that one whole province will have no home interest in the championship early in the season, this year it will be Ulster.
Secondly the new system puts first round and semi final losers in Leinster and Munster on a par.
This may have been true in the '60s and maybe again in the'80s and '90s but let's be honest the Leinster Championship is now crap and it's a long time since it was genuinely competitive.
It is Kilkenny and the also rans and to be straight the other sides in Leinster are on a par with Antrim so why couldn't the Saffrons have been playing first round losers from Leinster in the first qualifying game?
And as the season progresses the Munster sides who lose in the semis and the final are far superior to anything which Leinster has to offer and this gives the Leinster sides a status their results simply don't deserve.
And if anyone believes that the Leinster sides will catch up in the next three years I'll send them all a crackerjack pencil if they're right.
If we are going down this route then teams should have been seeded on their performances instead of rewarded on the basis of an antiquated championship set-up which is stuck in an age when Leinster sides outside the Cats were still at the races.
Mixed feelings on Ulster experiment
Have to say I have very mixed feelings about the decision to allow all the Ulster sides to take part in the Ulster Championship this year.
I know all good things have to start somewhere and while realistically the Ulster title comes down to Antrim at this point in time, I refuse to believe that even Derry or Down are at the races right now, the hope is obviously that if teams compete at this level they will eventually improve.
I don't think this is the case at all. Remember the short lived Connacht championship experiment of the '90s, the GAA had to stop it after a few short years because Galway were running up scores more in common with the Australian cricket team at their finest.
There is no doubt that the early rounds in Ulster will be keenly contested but when the minnows come up against Antrim, Derry or Down then we are going to need umpires and allow mentors to throw the towel in when their teams have soaked up enough punishment.
I think the answer lies not in opening up the Ulster championship but the continued development of the game in the traditional base in the North first and foremost to up standards and to build on work in the smaller counties.
I wish the Ulster Council well with the experiment but I feel it's doomed to fail and it will be a real chore for Antrim to play the couple of meaningless games to secure the title.
I know all good things have to start somewhere and while realistically the Ulster title comes down to Antrim at this point in time, I refuse to believe that even Derry or Down are at the races right now, the hope is obviously that if teams compete at this level they will eventually improve.
I don't think this is the case at all. Remember the short lived Connacht championship experiment of the '90s, the GAA had to stop it after a few short years because Galway were running up scores more in common with the Australian cricket team at their finest.
There is no doubt that the early rounds in Ulster will be keenly contested but when the minnows come up against Antrim, Derry or Down then we are going to need umpires and allow mentors to throw the towel in when their teams have soaked up enough punishment.
I think the answer lies not in opening up the Ulster championship but the continued development of the game in the traditional base in the North first and foremost to up standards and to build on work in the smaller counties.
I wish the Ulster Council well with the experiment but I feel it's doomed to fail and it will be a real chore for Antrim to play the couple of meaningless games to secure the title.
Shefflin return great for hurling
Good news for the hurling championship is that Henry Shefflin may return to club action by the end of this month after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in last year's All-Ireland final.
Shefflin is a truly great player. His skill and accuracy has been legendary.
He has a great knack of keeping the scoreboard ticking over with his brilliant free taking and often when the Cats have struggled Shefflin has kept them within striking distance until they hit form.
There is no weaknesses in his game, he is brave in the air, has great timing and catching and as well as being a prolific scorer his awareness of the runs of his team mates is second to none.
He was missed in the National League campaign and to be honest the Cats looked almost human without him.
The big test for Shefflin will be however, can he reach full match fitness between the end of this month and August when the Cats will begin to play meaningful games, Leinster will be the usual walk in the park so at least manager Brian Cody won't be rushed into risking him.
The hurling championship will be the real winner if Shefflin does come back into contention as he's worth the admission fee on his own when his genius is in full flight.
Shefflin is a truly great player. His skill and accuracy has been legendary.
He has a great knack of keeping the scoreboard ticking over with his brilliant free taking and often when the Cats have struggled Shefflin has kept them within striking distance until they hit form.
There is no weaknesses in his game, he is brave in the air, has great timing and catching and as well as being a prolific scorer his awareness of the runs of his team mates is second to none.
He was missed in the National League campaign and to be honest the Cats looked almost human without him.
The big test for Shefflin will be however, can he reach full match fitness between the end of this month and August when the Cats will begin to play meaningful games, Leinster will be the usual walk in the park so at least manager Brian Cody won't be rushed into risking him.
The hurling championship will be the real winner if Shefflin does come back into contention as he's worth the admission fee on his own when his genius is in full flight.
Monday, 5 May 2008
Grumpy Old Man on Women's game?
I watched bits and pieces of the Women's, Ladies just doesn't float my boat, National Football League final yesterday between Cork and Kerry and while I found it mildly entertaining I have to be honest and admit that women's football just won't do it for me unless one of my daughters ever pulls on the boots for Ardoyne.
I have always been a big supporter of women's and girls football even when it was regarded as sacrilege by our camogs and I want our association to be as inclusive as possible but the pace of the game at the top level just doesn't hold my interest.
Some of the football played is top class, the passing at times and score taking is as good as anything you see in the men's game but it always strikes me like training ground football, a bit like the Leinster championship I suppose where it's all very open but lacks the bite.
When the matches are live I find myself drifting in and out of the room but I don't think I have yet managed to watch a women's match from start to finish.
Am I just being a grumpy old man or does anyone else feel like this about the women's game?
I have always been a big supporter of women's and girls football even when it was regarded as sacrilege by our camogs and I want our association to be as inclusive as possible but the pace of the game at the top level just doesn't hold my interest.
Some of the football played is top class, the passing at times and score taking is as good as anything you see in the men's game but it always strikes me like training ground football, a bit like the Leinster championship I suppose where it's all very open but lacks the bite.
When the matches are live I find myself drifting in and out of the room but I don't think I have yet managed to watch a women's match from start to finish.
Am I just being a grumpy old man or does anyone else feel like this about the women's game?
No Kildare didn't deserve more
I know a lot of nonsense gets spoken at times after games but the type of comment by Kildare Under 21 boss Glenn Ryan that his team deserved more than a runners up spot in the final just puts years on me.
No they didn't deserve more for the effort they put in, Kerry were simply the better side, more clinical and they opened up the Kildare defence with some flowing football for the goals.
Kildare may well have worked hard to reach the final but is there any side which reaches the latter stages of any competition who haven't worked hard?
Hard work is all well and good but you have to match that hard work with ability.
I hope this season's campaign is a sign that the Lilywhites can become a power again in Leinster but hard work needs to be allied to ability and the Kingdom's lads had it in spades.
No they didn't deserve more for the effort they put in, Kerry were simply the better side, more clinical and they opened up the Kildare defence with some flowing football for the goals.
Kildare may well have worked hard to reach the final but is there any side which reaches the latter stages of any competition who haven't worked hard?
Hard work is all well and good but you have to match that hard work with ability.
I hope this season's campaign is a sign that the Lilywhites can become a power again in Leinster but hard work needs to be allied to ability and the Kingdom's lads had it in spades.
McCarthy retirement another blow to the Model
All-Ireland medal winner Rory McCarthy has confirmed that he won't be coming back to the Wexford side for the championship after sitting out the National League.
Two other stalwarts of the Model County's hurling side Declan Ruth and Mitch Jordan had already confirmed that they had retired from the inter-county scene but the loss of the experienced McCarthy will be another body blow to John Meyler's efforts to get relegated Wexford back into contention with the big powers.
Richie Kehoe also elected to head off to the US for the summer and with a host of young players also refusing to join the senior panel Wexford's chances in this year's Leinster championship look poorer than they have been for a long time and it's hard to see anyone in the province even give the Cats a good game.
A weakened Wexford, given also the state of play in Offaly, is not good for hurling in Leinster and despite the improvement in the fortunes of Dublin it has become way too predictable.
Two other stalwarts of the Model County's hurling side Declan Ruth and Mitch Jordan had already confirmed that they had retired from the inter-county scene but the loss of the experienced McCarthy will be another body blow to John Meyler's efforts to get relegated Wexford back into contention with the big powers.
Richie Kehoe also elected to head off to the US for the summer and with a host of young players also refusing to join the senior panel Wexford's chances in this year's Leinster championship look poorer than they have been for a long time and it's hard to see anyone in the province even give the Cats a good game.
A weakened Wexford, given also the state of play in Offaly, is not good for hurling in Leinster and despite the improvement in the fortunes of Dublin it has become way too predictable.
Five in row for Kerry?
Kerry for five in a row, that's what the man who was two minutes away from it in 1982 Mick O'Dwyer reckons about the current Kingdom squad.
Micko believes that the current squad has the talent to do what even his great side couldn't and there was no better side ever in Gaelic football than O'Dwyer's.
O'Dwyer believes that the current side is a great team but he also feels there is more to come from the All-Ireland winning Under 21s.
Five in a row is a mountain to climb but given that Kerry have already two under their belt without really having a fight for them apart from last year's Monaghan game they are clear favourites this year.
O'Dwyer doesn't see any real challengers from Ulster and Leinster and I have to agree much though it pains me to say it about my home province.
Tyrone and Armagh are past their best although I think they will come again and I think Tyrone could be a real threat again if even a couple of the young players Mickey Harte has nurtured finally deliver the goods.
Although he has lost some irreplaceable players since 2005, Canavan and O'Neill in particular but also Cavlan and Dooher for all intents and purposes, Tyrone are one of the counties which puts a lot of work into underage players.
Armagh are at this stage hard to beat but no more, they still have some wonderful players but not enough of them and they will struggle on the big day against a fast team.
Derry will of course take much from their National League win but I think they are predictable and anyone who does their homework on the supply to Paddy Bradley will see them off.
I don't see anything in Leinster capable of winning an All Ireland and I think that the Dubs and Meath made life a lot tougher for themselves with the silly suspensions.
I didn't believe they were good enough anyway but the Parnell Park 'brawl' for me was the final nail in their coffin. Even though they will have the players back for the key part of the championship preparations will be disrupted.
I think Kerry are streets ahead of Cork, no matter who manages them, and for me Galway and Mayo will be there or thereabouts but will come up short.
I can't see past the Kingdom because of their strength in depth and O'Dwyer's right in this sense, if they pull off a three in a row, the first since the last hurrah of O'Dwyer's 1984-'86 side, then there will be a huge momentum behind them for a four in a row and then anything's possible.
This prospect certainly puts it up to the rest of the country and I hope they will respond even if I can't see it happen this year.
Micko believes that the current squad has the talent to do what even his great side couldn't and there was no better side ever in Gaelic football than O'Dwyer's.
O'Dwyer believes that the current side is a great team but he also feels there is more to come from the All-Ireland winning Under 21s.
Five in a row is a mountain to climb but given that Kerry have already two under their belt without really having a fight for them apart from last year's Monaghan game they are clear favourites this year.
O'Dwyer doesn't see any real challengers from Ulster and Leinster and I have to agree much though it pains me to say it about my home province.
Tyrone and Armagh are past their best although I think they will come again and I think Tyrone could be a real threat again if even a couple of the young players Mickey Harte has nurtured finally deliver the goods.
Although he has lost some irreplaceable players since 2005, Canavan and O'Neill in particular but also Cavlan and Dooher for all intents and purposes, Tyrone are one of the counties which puts a lot of work into underage players.
Armagh are at this stage hard to beat but no more, they still have some wonderful players but not enough of them and they will struggle on the big day against a fast team.
Derry will of course take much from their National League win but I think they are predictable and anyone who does their homework on the supply to Paddy Bradley will see them off.
I don't see anything in Leinster capable of winning an All Ireland and I think that the Dubs and Meath made life a lot tougher for themselves with the silly suspensions.
I didn't believe they were good enough anyway but the Parnell Park 'brawl' for me was the final nail in their coffin. Even though they will have the players back for the key part of the championship preparations will be disrupted.
I think Kerry are streets ahead of Cork, no matter who manages them, and for me Galway and Mayo will be there or thereabouts but will come up short.
I can't see past the Kingdom because of their strength in depth and O'Dwyer's right in this sense, if they pull off a three in a row, the first since the last hurrah of O'Dwyer's 1984-'86 side, then there will be a huge momentum behind them for a four in a row and then anything's possible.
This prospect certainly puts it up to the rest of the country and I hope they will respond even if I can't see it happen this year.
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Kingdom on track after Under 21 success
Despite losing the National Football League final to Derry last week the people of the Kingdom will feel like everything remains on track for Sam after winning the Under 21 football championship.
Surprisingly Kerry are not renowned for their underage success and this was their first Under 21 in quite some time.
I don't know why Kerry don't do better at underage maybe Cork work harder at it because they need to as they don't have the same conveyor belt of talent coming through as their Munster neighbours.
Even going back to the early '70s Cork dominated minor competition in Munster for years yet only claimed one senior All-Ireland title as the Kingdom prospered under O'Dwyer.
However, Under 21 is usually a better barometer of success than minor but the fact that Kerry have taken that title at a time when their seniors are already ahead of the chasing pack is a bit ominous.
Tyrone are one side which has built good senior teams on the back of Under 21 success at the start of the '90s and again at the start of this decade.
If the only thing the current Kerry side get out of this Under 21 team is a strengthened bench then they will be very hard to beat.
Surprisingly Kerry are not renowned for their underage success and this was their first Under 21 in quite some time.
I don't know why Kerry don't do better at underage maybe Cork work harder at it because they need to as they don't have the same conveyor belt of talent coming through as their Munster neighbours.
Even going back to the early '70s Cork dominated minor competition in Munster for years yet only claimed one senior All-Ireland title as the Kingdom prospered under O'Dwyer.
However, Under 21 is usually a better barometer of success than minor but the fact that Kerry have taken that title at a time when their seniors are already ahead of the chasing pack is a bit ominous.
Tyrone are one side which has built good senior teams on the back of Under 21 success at the start of the '90s and again at the start of this decade.
If the only thing the current Kerry side get out of this Under 21 team is a strengthened bench then they will be very hard to beat.
Local twist on Cork strike
Just heard of another local twist on the rules about teams failing to field twice being put out of a competition.
Earlier this year of course Cork footballers and hurlers were allowed to play in the National Leagues despite failing to field in their first two games.
They should of course have been given the heave ho from the competitions but headquarters facilitated them after a resolution was found to the strike which claimed the head of football manager Teddy Holland.
At home our senior side Ardoyne Kickhams' game with St John's was called off today.
This was the third time that St John's had failed to field in the Division 3 competition.
Initially I thought this was because a lot of the Division One sides were finding it tough to field second teams in the lower divisions because of a ruling that the Division One and lower division games have to be played at the same time.
I think this is fair because our experience has been that you just don't know what you are going to face when you play a 'reserve' side.
In the past when there were two games on at the same time you played against what was genuinely the reserve team.
However, if there is no senior game that day then you can find yourself up against a side with ten Division One players getting a run out.
I had assumed that the Johnnies, who are one of the biggest clubs in our county, was surprisingly finding it tough to field two different sides on the day.
I have since heard and have no confirmation as yet that the troubles may actually be an internal problem in the club between the interests of football and hurling.
We have been told by sources in the county that the hurling manager has laid down restrictions on his players playing football in what is one of the biggest remaining dual clubs.
If that is the case then the county should have acted.
A club's internal affairs shouldn't be allowed to create mayhem with the fixture list which will require quite a bit of rejigging if the Johnnies are to return to the league.
Of course we want the games, there are not enough club games already but refixtures have not done us any favours in the past.
I wonder too what the powers that be's reaction would have been if the internal difficulties were in a smaller club like ours rather than in one of the top sides.
One cautionary note for the Johnnies about all this is to look at their near neighbours Rossa.
They too have been one of the dual giants of the game in Antrim, with a great history.
However after winning a county hurling title in 1988 and going on to reach an All-Ireland club final in 1989 the club almost totally neglected football in the quest for the hurling holy grail.
Unfortunately for Rossa the great Dunloy side, which despite falling at the last hurdle four times at Croke Park, arrived on the scene and it took Rossa another 15 years to win a hurling title in Antrim falling short by the minimum against Dunloy on several occasions.
Meanwhile the football team has fallen into Division 2 and is playing in the intermediate championship.
There are signs this year that at last they are on the way back but the Johnnies should have a good look at what happened just down the road when they have a look at their future development.
Earlier this year of course Cork footballers and hurlers were allowed to play in the National Leagues despite failing to field in their first two games.
They should of course have been given the heave ho from the competitions but headquarters facilitated them after a resolution was found to the strike which claimed the head of football manager Teddy Holland.
At home our senior side Ardoyne Kickhams' game with St John's was called off today.
This was the third time that St John's had failed to field in the Division 3 competition.
Initially I thought this was because a lot of the Division One sides were finding it tough to field second teams in the lower divisions because of a ruling that the Division One and lower division games have to be played at the same time.
I think this is fair because our experience has been that you just don't know what you are going to face when you play a 'reserve' side.
In the past when there were two games on at the same time you played against what was genuinely the reserve team.
However, if there is no senior game that day then you can find yourself up against a side with ten Division One players getting a run out.
I had assumed that the Johnnies, who are one of the biggest clubs in our county, was surprisingly finding it tough to field two different sides on the day.
I have since heard and have no confirmation as yet that the troubles may actually be an internal problem in the club between the interests of football and hurling.
We have been told by sources in the county that the hurling manager has laid down restrictions on his players playing football in what is one of the biggest remaining dual clubs.
If that is the case then the county should have acted.
A club's internal affairs shouldn't be allowed to create mayhem with the fixture list which will require quite a bit of rejigging if the Johnnies are to return to the league.
Of course we want the games, there are not enough club games already but refixtures have not done us any favours in the past.
I wonder too what the powers that be's reaction would have been if the internal difficulties were in a smaller club like ours rather than in one of the top sides.
One cautionary note for the Johnnies about all this is to look at their near neighbours Rossa.
They too have been one of the dual giants of the game in Antrim, with a great history.
However after winning a county hurling title in 1988 and going on to reach an All-Ireland club final in 1989 the club almost totally neglected football in the quest for the hurling holy grail.
Unfortunately for Rossa the great Dunloy side, which despite falling at the last hurdle four times at Croke Park, arrived on the scene and it took Rossa another 15 years to win a hurling title in Antrim falling short by the minimum against Dunloy on several occasions.
Meanwhile the football team has fallen into Division 2 and is playing in the intermediate championship.
There are signs this year that at last they are on the way back but the Johnnies should have a good look at what happened just down the road when they have a look at their future development.
Farrell injury another blow to Meath
Meath boss Colm Coyle must be feeling like it never rains but it pours with the news that Brian Farrell has a suspected fracture on his knee and won’t make the Royals’ opener in the Leinster championship against Carlow.
Coyle has already been hit by the suspensions sustained after the recent brawl with the Dubs and he now faces being without eight players for the Carlow game.
Farrell really produced the goods for his county last season, top scoring in the National League and forming part of a potent full forward line which took Meath to last season’s All-Ireland semis.
The big full forward was only making his way back from injury and will now struggle to get back into the county side.
It's not that I have any sympathy for Colm Coyle but I hate to see any top player being hurt at this part of the season as after all you want to see all the very best in the country at full pelt in the championship.
It’s still my feeling that both Meath and Dublin will pay dearly for the stupidity of the events at Parnell Park as their preparations will be all over the shop.
Coyle has already been hit by the suspensions sustained after the recent brawl with the Dubs and he now faces being without eight players for the Carlow game.
Farrell really produced the goods for his county last season, top scoring in the National League and forming part of a potent full forward line which took Meath to last season’s All-Ireland semis.
The big full forward was only making his way back from injury and will now struggle to get back into the county side.
It's not that I have any sympathy for Colm Coyle but I hate to see any top player being hurt at this part of the season as after all you want to see all the very best in the country at full pelt in the championship.
It’s still my feeling that both Meath and Dublin will pay dearly for the stupidity of the events at Parnell Park as their preparations will be all over the shop.
GAA chills out on ice baths
Found out last week on a break overseas that the world wide web, isn’t always as world wide as we think and I’m not just talking about trying to get broadband in parts of rural Ireland.
They say a week is a long time in politics but having surveyed the GAA scene on my return there’s been a lot happening here at home to whet the appetite for the impending championships.
But one item immediately caught my attention saying that the GAA could find no medical evidence to support the use of ice baths as a method of recovery.
Hurrah!
I was a fairly fit guy when I played Gaelic football at my peak but even then I resented the constant laps, sprints and all the other masochistic training methods, which were in vogue after Mick O’Dwyer trained his team for 27 nights in a row before winning the 1975 All Ireland.
I came from the school of thought which felt that while this was all fine and dandy that you still needed to catch the ball properly, kick with both feet and use your football brain to do some damage on the field.
The problem with training then however, was that you never saw a ball until the ref threw it in for the first game of the new season!
However, there was no shortage of sergeant major types whose mantra was fitness, fitness, fitness!
Often I was almost physically sick at some particularly masochistic session but my revenge was putting the ball in the back of the onion or splitting the defence with a pass the ‘race horses’ could only dream about.
I was delighted when finally coaching caught up in the 1990s and managers and mentors all over the country realised once again that fitness is only important if players have learned the basic skills and continued to practise them.
After all the reason we all played the game is we loved to kick the leather and if we could strike it longer or more accurately than some one else then it was even better!
So it was with a bit of shock and horror when I learned that county players all over the country were enduring ice baths in recent seasons directly after training ‘to aid their recovery’.
To be honest I wondered how any player needed an ice bath after training given how cold our climate is for eight months of the year in the first place.
Can’t you just picture our top footballers and hurlers on a winter’s night training in sub zero temperatures being told that there’s nothing like a good ice bath to aid your recovery!
There are some people who actually like that type of thing, after all every side has a sprinkling of sado masochists who wear hair shirts and a tank top in December.
But I was always convinced that the ice bath originated in the over active mind of a manager who was convinced that if the players had to endure them early in the championship that they would hate the opposition so much for their suffering that they would blow them away.
The good news is that the hated baths should now be gone but you have to wonder what they will come up with next!
They say a week is a long time in politics but having surveyed the GAA scene on my return there’s been a lot happening here at home to whet the appetite for the impending championships.
But one item immediately caught my attention saying that the GAA could find no medical evidence to support the use of ice baths as a method of recovery.
Hurrah!
I was a fairly fit guy when I played Gaelic football at my peak but even then I resented the constant laps, sprints and all the other masochistic training methods, which were in vogue after Mick O’Dwyer trained his team for 27 nights in a row before winning the 1975 All Ireland.
I came from the school of thought which felt that while this was all fine and dandy that you still needed to catch the ball properly, kick with both feet and use your football brain to do some damage on the field.
The problem with training then however, was that you never saw a ball until the ref threw it in for the first game of the new season!
However, there was no shortage of sergeant major types whose mantra was fitness, fitness, fitness!
Often I was almost physically sick at some particularly masochistic session but my revenge was putting the ball in the back of the onion or splitting the defence with a pass the ‘race horses’ could only dream about.
I was delighted when finally coaching caught up in the 1990s and managers and mentors all over the country realised once again that fitness is only important if players have learned the basic skills and continued to practise them.
After all the reason we all played the game is we loved to kick the leather and if we could strike it longer or more accurately than some one else then it was even better!
So it was with a bit of shock and horror when I learned that county players all over the country were enduring ice baths in recent seasons directly after training ‘to aid their recovery’.
To be honest I wondered how any player needed an ice bath after training given how cold our climate is for eight months of the year in the first place.
Can’t you just picture our top footballers and hurlers on a winter’s night training in sub zero temperatures being told that there’s nothing like a good ice bath to aid your recovery!
There are some people who actually like that type of thing, after all every side has a sprinkling of sado masochists who wear hair shirts and a tank top in December.
But I was always convinced that the ice bath originated in the over active mind of a manager who was convinced that if the players had to endure them early in the championship that they would hate the opposition so much for their suffering that they would blow them away.
The good news is that the hated baths should now be gone but you have to wonder what they will come up with next!
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