Where now for Tyrone?

[Lamh Dhearg Alba]

Mixed feelings over this. Mickey is a legend of Tyrone GAA and a pretty inspirational man who has handled himself with dignity in terrible times, and helped others in their time of need. My preference over the years was that Mickey would chose - within reason - when he wanted to walk away from the job.

However, I have long been uneasy with the style of football Mickey has used to build this new team. It isn't good to watch, I doubt it's fun to play in, and the only reason you would play this way would be if it beat better teams. But in Tyrone's case it never has. This Tyrone team hasn't beaten anybody that they wouldn't have beaten anyway playing a more expansive style. And playing a more expansive style would give them at least a puncher's chance against the likes of Dublin.

I was bemused by how hopeful some Tyrone fans were before the Dublin game. That wasn't total faith, it was blind faith, for there was no evidence at all that Tyrone could win that match. In the end they were even worse than I expected. For all the talk of being the best prepared team ever from Ulster, they actually had no idea what to do after the 5th minute. Given the resources put into that team it was a shambolic performance and a damning indictment on the management team. The last few years of Sean Cavanagh were squandered with a system that certainly didn't get the best out of him. If we persist with this style then the same will happen with Peter Harte and Mattie Donnelly. Really, the truth is that Mickey made a major error of judgment when he started out building this new team and he should have walked away now. Given he is staying we just have to hope that he accepts that he backed the wrong horse with this style and that he makes more of the natural talent that he has at his disposal. Nobody is suggesting going man to man, but please put a bit more trust in your defenders to defend and your attackers to attack.

[Owenmoresider]

A very sad day for real football.

I understand Mickey has been through a lot but I absolutely detest the style of football that he uses.  Tyrone have plenty of good footballers and they are turned into robots, all run back, all run forward, don't think, don't react...

It may be effective against some teams but its desperate to watch and I would imagine not a lot of enjoyment to play with or against it.

I would comment on the state of your counties football but you never really make it to TV and from what I hear a good club side in tyrone would beat you!

We have been in televised live matches each of the last four years for what it's worth, and while we are more than aware of our limitations we do think we can do better than we are under the spoofer we currently have, not third Sunday in September better but being more competitive nonetheless. It's different to Tyrone, they are one of the closest challengers to the present Dublin hegemony and personally I thought they were capable of turning them over if they got everything right. A lot of us are worried that the championship is slowly becoming a one-horse race with 2/3 desperately giving chase so to have one of that pack arguably not getting the maximum out of themselves is unhelpful.

Harte has a great record and what he has given to Tyrone is undeniable but as Boylan and O'Dwyer found out, the hardest thing is knowing when the time is right to go. Whether there are better options in the county I don't know but sometimes a new voice or thinking to push the thing on can make the difference, as it did with himself in 2003.

[Walter Cronc]

A very sad day for real football.

I understand Mickey has been through a lot but I absolutely detest the style of football that he uses.  Tyrone have plenty of good footballers and they are turned into robots, all run back, all run forward, don't think, don't react...

It may be effective against some teams but its desperate to watch and I would imagine not a lot of enjoyment to play with or against it.

I would comment on the state of your counties football but you never really make it to TV and from what I hear a good club side in tyrone would beat you!

Right man for the job. a lot of "outside experts" haven't a clue and would love to see harte gone.

There is no replacement putting his hand up, the best players int he county are playing on the team, majority now from tyrone under 21 winning team, they are good players capable of going far, we lost to Dublin for a lot of reasons, logan and dooher play the exact same way and logan doesn't want it anyway!

Such hysteria

Such arrogance. Since when have Tyrone produced a good club side! Bar Errigal in the 90's

[magpie seanie]

A very sad day for real football.

I understand Mickey has been through a lot but I absolutely detest the style of football that he uses.  Tyrone have plenty of good footballers and they are turned into robots, all run back, all run forward, don't think, don't react...

It may be effective against some teams but its desperate to watch and I would imagine not a lot of enjoyment to play with or against it.

I would comment on the state of your counties football but you never really make it to TV and from what I hear a good club side in tyrone would beat you!

We have been in televised live matches each of the last four years for what it's worth, and while we are more than aware of our limitations we do think we can do better than we are under the spoofer we currently have, not third Sunday in September better but being more competitive nonetheless. It's different to Tyrone, they are one of the closest challengers to the present Dublin hegemony and personally I thought they were capable of turning them over if they got everything right. A lot of us are worried that the championship is slowly becoming a one-horse race with 2/3 desperately giving chase so to have one of that pack arguably not getting the maximum out of themselves is unhelpful.

Harte has a great record and what he has given to Tyrone is undeniable but as Boylan and O'Dwyer found out, the hardest thing is knowing when the time is right to go. Whether there are better options in the county I don't know but sometimes a new voice or thinking to push the thing on can make the difference, as it did with himself in 2003.

Good post OMS. The very least Mickey Harte deserves is a little respect and no more than Micko or Boylan if that means letting him stay longer than he should then that's the side to err on. He has earned it.

Criticisms of the style of play are a little over the top for me. Look at the scores they put up all season. They got humbled (but not disgraced) by a superb team (who had 3 footballers of the year on the bench) who played brilliantly and got a crucial early goal. Most people gave them a chance of winning that game beforehand. It's quite possible they were the second best team in the country this year.

I'm not sure who else in Tyrone wants it and certainly no one wants to take Harte out and rightly so. 3 years is perhaps a little long.

Sligoman2 - I'm not sure I remember you being as angry and upset at the reappointment of a "manager" who is infinitely worse in every way to our own county. Remember the performance and "tactics" against a very poor Mayo (at the time) this year? 14 men back but no plan to actually get forward and score - do you remember? Hoofing it in to a relatively immobile single forward.

[seafoid]

They should make Mickey director of Football or Something. He needs to be involved with the team. But he shouldn't be the only one with ideas

[sligoman2]

A very sad day for real football.

I understand Mickey has been through a lot but I absolutely detest the style of football that he uses.  Tyrone have plenty of good footballers and they are turned into robots, all run back, all run forward, don't think, don't react...

It may be effective against some teams but its desperate to watch and I would imagine not a lot of enjoyment to play with or against it.

I would comment on the state of your counties football but you never really make it to TV and from what I hear a good club side in tyrone would beat you!

Right man for the job. a lot of "outside experts" haven't a clue and would love to see harte gone.

There is no replacement putting his hand up, the best players int he county are playing on the team, majority now from tyrone under 21 winning team, they are good players capable of going far, we lost to Dublin for a lot of reasons, logan and dooher play the exact same way and logan doesn't want it anyway!

Such hysteria

Red hand my boy the topic of the thread is where now for Tyrone, not where now for Sligo.  I think I speak for a lot of supporters from inside and outside Tyrone when I say the type of football that Tyrone play is hard to watch.  I go to games and watch games on TV for enjoyment and I don't enjoy watching Tyrone because it's boring robotic stuff.  Unfortunately it's effective against average teams and so Mickey has continued with it. 
Mickey himself said his team in not there to entertain the fans and he certainly delivered on that promise.
I get your point on Carew Seanie, I'm not a huge fan either but I am happy with the number of young players he has introduced and I think the future is brighter than it has been in a long time.  Tactically he got it very wrong against Mayo, but apart from the 2 goals Mayo got that should not have been allowed, we were very close on the scoreboard and look where they are now.

[mrhardyannual]

Amazing anyone could think this Tyrone side could be any better with anyone else.

Whatever Harte's faults no one will do better for Tyrone than him. Bet there'll be no player revolt there. Who do dissatisfied Tyrone supporters think should manage in his place?

They want Logan and Dooher and who can blame them? Ulster's and McKenna cups mean very little anymore and they need some fresh thinking to get over the line. Many Tyrone men will tell you that the best players aren't playing for the county because they don't fit into the "system" Logan and Dooher could at least wipe the slate clean in that regard.

Probably cheaper too!!

You could say  the same for every county in Ireland excepting Dublin. Look back on the posts by Mayo contributors earlier in the year and you will find that Rochford & Co know nothing about Mayo football and were deliberately ignoring the finest talent in the county.

[magpie seanie]

A very sad day for real football.

I understand Mickey has been through a lot but I absolutely detest the style of football that he uses.  Tyrone have plenty of good footballers and they are turned into robots, all run back, all run forward, don't think, don't react...

It may be effective against some teams but its desperate to watch and I would imagine not a lot of enjoyment to play with or against it.

I would comment on the state of your counties football but you never really make it to TV and from what I hear a good club side in tyrone would beat you!

Right man for the job. a lot of "outside experts" haven't a clue and would love to see harte gone.

There is no replacement putting his hand up, the best players int he county are playing on the team, majority now from tyrone under 21 winning team, they are good players capable of going far, we lost to Dublin for a lot of reasons, logan and dooher play the exact same way and logan doesn't want it anyway!

Such hysteria

Red hand my boy the topic of the thread is where now for Tyrone, not where now for Sligo.  I think I speak for a lot of supporters from inside and outside Tyrone when I say the type of football that Tyrone play is hard to watch.  I go to games and watch games on TV for enjoyment and I don't enjoy watching Tyrone because it's boring robotic stuff.  Unfortunately it's effective against average teams and so Mickey has continued with it. 
Mickey himself said his team in not there to entertain the fans and he certainly delivered on that promise.
I get your point on Carew Seanie, I'm not a huge fan either but I am happy with the number of young players he has introduced and I think the future is brighter than it has been in a long time.  Tactically he got it very wrong against Mayo, but apart from the 2 goals Mayo got that should not have been allowed, we were very close on the scoreboard and look where they are now.

Tyrone are infinitely more enjoyable to watch than Sligo and if Mickey Harte was managing us instead of that clown we would have won that game, no question. Defending is a skill but as Dublin showed, really good players making smart decisions and executing the skills of the game precisely will come out on top against any defensive system. You should reserve your annoyance for the poorly prepared teams (despite huge preparation time, effort and expenditure) who cannot play football.

The Mayo that played us that day were useless. They're a totally different team now. I'm unsure if it's by accident or design but they're a totally different side since the Roscommon draw.

[sligoman2]

I can be annoyed at both Sligo and others who play poor boring football. Completely disagree with your comment about Tyrone being more enjoyable to watch, we might not be successful but we have provided lots of entertainment over the years...

Is Vinny back this year???

[punt kick]

In fairness most counties would kill for the McKenna cup - what are they going for 7 in a row  - up there with the best!

[trueblue1234]

In fairness most counties would kill for the McKenna cup - what are they going for 7 in a row  - up there with the best!

There's 8 other counties would be dying to get 2 in a row ulsters tho.

[trueblue1234]

Amazing anyone could think this Tyrone side could be any better with anyone else.

Whatever Harte's faults no one will do better for Tyrone than him. Bet there'll be no player revolt there. Who do dissatisfied Tyrone supporters think should manage in his place?

They want Logan and Dooher and who can blame them? Ulster's and McKenna cups mean very little anymore and they need some fresh thinking to get over the line. Many Tyrone men will tell you that the best players aren't playing for the county because they don't fit into the "system" Logan and Dooher could at least wipe the slate clean in that regard.

Probably cheaper too!!

You could say  the same for every county in Ireland excepting Dublin. Look back on the posts by Mayo contributors earlier in the year and you will find that Rochford & Co know nothing about Mayo football and were deliberately ignoring the finest talent in the county.

It's simply not true that there are better players being overlooked around the county. The best players are playing or have been given opportunities to play.

[redhandefender]

I can be annoyed at both Sligo and others who play poor boring football. Completely disagree with your comment about Tyrone being more enjoyable to watch, we might not be successful but we have provided lots of entertainment over the years...

Is Vinny back this year???

I have found tyrone enjoyable to watch apart from Kerry in the league and Dublin the last day. To each their own. But you know what, you know now you can tune out for the next 3 years and watch Glen Roe instead. I don't really care.

Hopefully we get a crack at you next year to make your experience even more enjoyable.

"Whats now for tyrone" simple they go back at it trying to formulate a plan to stay in div 1, win ulster and try crack one of the big 3! Enjoyable year ahead, hows your plans looking?

[bennydorano]

Is it impossible for Tyronies to respond on topic to a post without reference to how shite the other poster's own county is? Childish & tiresome whataboutery.

[magpie seanie]

I can be annoyed at both Sligo and others who play poor boring football. Completely disagree with your comment about Tyrone being more enjoyable to watch, we might not be successful but we have provided lots of entertainment over the years...

Is Vinny back this year

I haven't heard and he's still in NY afaik. I'd seriously doubt he'll go back in with that management which is a terrible pity. I understand where he's coming from, he was treated terribly. going back out to NY this summer was nuts though, only people he hurt was his club (and himself).