Joe Brolly

[DuffleKing]

He's really not.

[Declan]

Niall Carew has hit out at Joe Brolly for continuing a "vendetta" against Kieran McGeeney.

Brolly was critical of McGeeney in a "hideous column" in the Sunday Independent following the relegation of his Armagh side to Division 3, arguing that his intensity and demand for the highest standards held his players back.

Carew worked as a selector and coach with McGeeney in Kildare from 2008-12 before moving on to become Waterford manager. Now in charge at Sligo, he insists Brolly has it wrong.

"Joe embarked on another verbal assault on Kieran and he has copied and pasted this article on more than one occasion" says Carew in the Sligo Champion. "So if you want, get onto Google and you will discover one man's personal vendetta against another.
 
"I think I'm way more qualified than Joe Brolly or Pat Spillane or any of the other pundits and journalists that like to get personal and sometimes dirty, to really tell people who the real Kieran McGeeney is.

"Geezer ticks all the boxes, believe me. First and foremost he is the one we all want to go to war with. He is the most genuine man I have ever met and is the one I turn to on and off the field. I trust him with my life.
 
"Brolly likes to twist things. So for him, the players were too afraid to make a mistake. We could have been more clinical but officials' mistakes were the defining moments.

"Joe Brolly has always picked on Geezer (off the field and behind his laptop) and while Geezer doesn't care, I can't let it go any longer. He has never had a clue what goes on. But when you want to be sensational, you don't need to worry about the truth or the facts. Or ask the people who worked with him.
 
"Johnny Doyle played under Geezer for six years. He wasted no time in making his thoughts on Brolly's attack public. What he says about the man carries much more relevance than what a self-serving self-promoter thinks.

"Kieran was an excellent coach and mentor. He changed the way I thought about my game. He pushed me to a level of training and preparation that I never knew existed.
 
"It was a great time to be involved in football in Kildare. People say Kieran failed with Kildare but I think we failed Kieran.

"When it comes to Johnny Doyle or Joe Brolly, I know who I'd believe."

[longballin]

If a GAA manager is getting paid I think he's fair game for a pundits criticism... not sure if McGeeney got paid or not 

[Throw ball]

If a GAA manager is getting paid I think he's fair game for a pundits criticism... not sure if McGeeney got paid or not 

If a pundit criticises someone he is fair game for others to suggest he is talking rubbish.

[AZOffaly]

Part of the problem with the perception of Geezer is epitomised in that phrase "you'd go to war with/for him". We are not going to war. We are playing a game of football.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Part of the problem with the perception of Geezer is epitomised in that phrase "you'd go to war with/for him". We are not going to war. We are playing a game of football.

http://www.sportsjoe.ie/gaa/is-anyone-else-starting-to-get-worried-about-joe-brollys-continuous-use-of-war-analogies/32031

[Dinny Breen]

There is actually a campaign within the IRFU to get coaches in post game interviews to remove analogies like "a battlefield" or "hospital wards" or talking up "big hits" or "smashing players".

[StGallsGAA]

Why are analogies like "smashing players" being discouraged?  Surely every manager getting results would consider his players smashing lads?  Particularly Tony Pulis!

[longballin]

If a GAA manager is getting paid I think he's fair game for a pundits criticism... not sure if McGeeney got paid or not 

If a pundit criticises someone he is fair game for others to suggest he is talking rubbish.

absolutely...

[smelmoth]

Excellent article by Brolly in today's Indo about the savagery of MMA.

Have to agree. Great piece. Not only MMA but he highlighted the brutality that happens in boxing as well. "Savagery" describes it perfectly.

Wise up

Can't argue with that. Great argument - really dissects the issue

[smelmoth]

Brolly figuratively chasing ambulances now. Pity. He has more to offer than this.

Boxing is one of the best and purest forms of sports in existence.

There is no link between professional boxing and purity

Aside from the promotional bullshit the old issue of having punches to the head as a key aim of the game makes the whole thing hard to stomach

[smelmoth]

Very little of substance in the Carew article. Could sumarise it as "I like my friend"

[Beffs]

Part of the problem with the perception of Geezer is epitomised in that phrase "you'd go to war with/for him". We are not going to war. We are playing a game of football.

Or that his players would "run through walls for him".

If I was from Armagh or Kildare, I'd much prefer that his players would stick the ball in the back of the net, put in a few blocks and bang over a few long range points....than any of that run through walls shite. 

[Ohtoohtobe]

When McGeeney took over Kildare, we'd lost in the first round of Leinster for three of the previous four seasons.
He took us to five All-Ireland quarter-finals in a row in his first five seasons. He doesn't get enough credit for that.
The turning point of his reign was the Johnston decision, a colossal error of judgement that derailed the whole thing.
But that doesn't change the fact that he had done a very good job up to that.

[imtommygunn]

A big factor in his fortunes in armagh, i suspect, is the fact that so few cross players have commited. Clearly they have the best players in the county but barely a one there. Whether that is his fault or not i do not know.