Media targetting of amateur players

[DJGaliv]

One fundamental point for all reasonable people out there.

Why in the gaa is having a media profile and performing to the maximum of your ability seen as mutually exclusive? When was this proven?

What about everything else going on in a lads life like their job, their wife, the kids, the mortgage - these would surely be far bigger factors in impacting a players performance than a few hours with aib talking rubbish.

There's just something here I feel that lads are missing and want to pin on someone they feel who's profile is higher than their accomplishments at this point in their career. Don't let him get too big for his boots brigade.

[AZOffaly]

There's nothing that says you can't have a media profile and play to the best of your ability, unless said media engagements are causing to be tired, miss training, eat poorly etc. But it can be managed.

However, in the event that a media prominent player is NOT perceived as playing to his potential, all those factors will be questioned, plus there's the natural 'He'd be better off training than shooting his mouth off'.

In Aidan O'Shea's case, he does have a big media profile, and has never really delivered for Mayo when they needed him most, so it's going to be harder for him.

[Dinny Breen]

Taking a selfie is #4 on the list of 'The top 10 least manly things you can do'.

I don't know never did the Kildare panel any harm

[Itchy]

It's going to be difficult for Aidan to pick the team for Sunday with all this media intrusion.

Thats a good one Itchy. Did you come up with that one all by yourself?

No I had a team working on it, Aidan picked that team too.

[mayoaremagic]

 Ciaran Whelan article only underlines that his credibility as a serious and unbiased pundit has been overstated. Look at the difference in tone and attitude between the Mayo section and even the very first line of the Dublin section. Factor in, both teams lost the game in question by one point, or 'the width of a post' as he says, and it is actually cringe worthy.
For the sake of his own career as a pundit, he should leave spinning Gavin's propaganda to the likes of curran, because he is doing his career a serious disservice. Once you go down that route, it is very hard to come back, because people just wont take you seriously. He had potential, but now he has become a David Brady, a Brendan Devanney, a Charlie Redmond, and pundits like that are ten a penny.

[tonto1888]

Where's the whelan artocle

[mayoaremagic]

Where's the whelan artocle

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/ciaran-whelan-there-is-a-huge-wave-of-fear-coming-from-mayo-and-kerry-need-a-lot-of-things-to-fall-their-way-35731256.html

[DJGaliv]

There's nothing that says you can't have a media profile and play to the best of your ability, unless said media engagements are causing to be tired, miss training, eat poorly etc. But it can be managed.

However, in the event that a media prominent player is NOT perceived as playing to his potential, all those factors will be questioned, plus there's the natural 'He'd be better off training than shooting his mouth off'.

In Aidan O'Shea's case, he does have a big media profile, and has never really delivered for Mayo when they needed him most, so it's going to be harder for him.

I hear what you're saying but it's all just perception. You can't be seen to have a media profile and not win all irelands even though it has no direct consequence on performance - in fact some lads thrive in it. These media duties are perceived to be taking time away from AOS playing better football. It's total rubbish.

There's lads out there playing inter county who aren't half as committed to improving their games as AOS has been through the years yet because he has a media profile he's the one crucified.
Listen I'm a Galway man and would like nothing more than to stick the knife into a mayo man but this is just rubbish.

Surely people realise there are other inter county players out there who like a pint, or miss training for no reason. Don't mind what the commitment to improving yourself as a footballer was like in the pundits time. All this guy does is a few interviews or product launches and he's made an example out of by the real rent a quotes.

It all comes down to this perception out there that he's making a direct binary choice between getting a bag of footballs and practicing with his right foot versus doing a product launch. Which is nonsense when you think about it.
The commitment of the current bunch of IC players at the high level is like nothing we have seen before and these lads like Bernard Flynn or whoever should wise up.

[AZOffaly]

I agree with you I'm just saying Media profile makes you an easy target for stuff like this, and so if you want a profile, you have to accept it. Goes with the territory.

And if you have a profile and haven't delivered the big one, then you're double exposed.

[ballinaman]

We all remember the Dublin 'campaign' against Lee Keegan last September.

Now the media seems to have decided Aidan O'Shea deserves a kicking. This is just in the past couple of weeks:

https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2017/0518/876179-aidan-oshea/

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/toms-s-aidan-oshea-not-in-same-league-as-michael-murphy-and-its-high-time-the-mayo-man-delivered-35710139.html

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/martin-breheny-aidan-oshea-has-made-unsubstantiated-allegations-against-the-irish-independent-35678782.html


Is it really acceptable for the media to seemingly target an amateur sportsman in such a way?
Leaving aside the fact that it's a Mayo player (again), I think it's very unfair to have all this negative stuff written about a young guy who has to live and work like the rest of us and have all his family and colleagues reading this and know they're all talking about it, not to mention the rest of the country.

Correct me if I'm wrong but Aidan O'Shea drives around in a sponsored 50k car due to his profile as a county player. He cheated Fermanagh out of the Championship last year and then to rub salt into the wound patently denied it when it was as obvious as the day was long, he got a free pass from the media on that count. He looks to have played an instrumental part in ousting two good servants of Mayo football in their role of manager which was done  appallingly. That's not taking into account him failing to produce the goods when it matters.

I think he is fair game to this kind of commentary.

Aye, get ripped into the hoors. They train or play every night of the week in preparation to entertain the masses, can't eat crisps apparently , have zero social life, and some get a loan of a motor, the loan of a bastardin motor! Never heard the like of it. Give them both barrels I say

Does the average inter county player get a free motor? Not a chance.

O'Shea gets one as he has a big media profile due to his activity in the GAA, he promotes and engages in this profile whenever he can. I think he can have little complaints when some blowback comes when he is acting out of line. I think it's a fair line that people should be asking him to focus more on his game and less on his profile when he's one of their main men and has failed to produce the goods when it really matters.

I agree with bomber. Never thought I'd be typing that sentence

I think everyone will eventually have that Damascus moment with me and see that I was right all along.

If Saint Paul was a Tyrone man, he would have been booked for diving.

Clear contact between St Paul and thon centurion.

Photoshop fake arm there...

[Fuzzman]

And if you have a profile and haven't delivered the big one, then you're double exposed.

I think this is particular true as it can always be thrown up to you time after time what have you won?
Having watched Mugsy this week on Laochra Gael, any time Tyrone won the AI some of their big players performed on the big occasion. Of course there is a lot of pressure on O'Shea since he was a minor but he needs to put in a few big performances and look at how hard Michael Murphy works for his team perhaps.
It's a lot harder nowadays though with the amount of players back in defences.

[Syferus]

There's nothing that says you can't have a media profile and play to the best of your ability, unless said media engagements are causing to be tired, miss training, eat poorly etc. But it can be managed.

However, in the event that a media prominent player is NOT perceived as playing to his potential, all those factors will be questioned, plus there's the natural 'He'd be better off training than shooting his mouth off'.

In Aidan O'Shea's case, he does have a big media profile, and has never really delivered for Mayo when they needed him most, so it's going to be harder for him.

I hear what you're saying but it's all just perception. You can't be seen to have a media profile and not win all irelands even though it has no direct consequence on performance - in fact some lads thrive in it. These media duties are perceived to be taking time away from AOS playing better football. It's total rubbish.

There's lads out there playing inter county who aren't half as committed to improving their games as AOS has been through the years yet because he has a media profile he's the one crucified.
Listen I'm a Galway man and would like nothing more than to stick the knife into a mayo man but this is just rubbish.

Surely people realise there are other inter county players out there who like a pint, or miss training for no reason. Don't mind what the commitment to improving yourself as a footballer was like in the pundits time. All this guy does is a few interviews or product launches and he's made an example out of by the real rent a quotes.

It all comes down to this perception out there that he's making a direct binary choice between getting a bag of footballs and practicing with his right foot versus doing a product launch. Which is nonsense when you think about it.
The commitment of the current bunch of IC players at the high level is like nothing we have seen before and these lads like Bernard Flynn or whoever should wise up.

I agree with some of what you say but that's a strange comment. AOS had problems with his weight in the early years that he improved, but that's fluctuated back the other way too so it's a bit of wash taken overall.

Football-wise, what areas of his game have actually improved since he first hit the 'big' time? Certainly not his tackling or point-scoring? Distribution? He seems as prone to the head-down bullock runs now as when he was first playing for Mayo. It may sound like a joke but the standout improvement might be his new-found willingness to bend his back and dive to the floor to win more frees.

I think he has room to grow but I don't see the overwhelming evidence that it's happened that you do.

[Farrandeelin]

He distributed the ball to COC for the equaliser in the replay...

[Jinxy]

Taking a selfie is #4 on the list of 'The top 10 least manly things you can do'.

I don't know never did the Kildare panel any harm

Hang on, that's clearly Conor Mortimer on the right.
Has he moved to Straffan?

[Syferus]

http://hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=270489

Oh fûck.