Jack O'Connor Article

[SuperDooperCooper]

Taken from the Irish Times, 18th April

It's so funny how we don't seem to kick any more
Former Kerry manager Jack O'Connor joins The Irish Times GAA team in a hard-hitting weekly column every Wednesday
Two things struck me about the recent league. Too much handpassing. Lots of bad refereeing.
I checked the figures. There were well over 200 handpasses in several games - 235 when Kerry played Tyrone, nearly the same between Cork and Tyrone.
The Aussies came here last year and were better kickers with our ball. No wonder. We don't kick any more. It's too easy to coach handpassing rather than the natural skills of the game. You can get any bunch of athletes to develop into a handpassing team just running and handpassing.
One theory is that in winter teams train in grounds where the lights aren't great. And they do lots of training inside grids, handpassing and doing contact stuff. It gets ingrained.
I've said this in the past about Dublin, for example, they pick athletes and hope to make footballers out of them. Great teams get footballers and turn them into athletes.
Coaches take the easy option. Working on kicking or developing the skill isn't done at county level. Kicking is all about trying to get the balance right. You don't want fellas kicking the ball stupidly. The long ball has to land in the scoring zone and you need constructive diagonal footpassing out the field. One or two quick handpasses, a good diagonal ball for half forwards to come on to and then inside the 21 with the ball is the ideal.
We started out last year in Kerry one way and ended up moving back towards a kicking game. We worked hard on constructive diagonal kicking in each side of the field.
My cure is a change in rules. Two consecutive handpasses and then make a team kick it. That rule would transform football. Right now there are so many men behind the ball at any time there is often no point in kicking it, because there is nobody up the field.
The handpass epidemic brings us to referees. The handpass game is almost impossible to referee. Teams charge out with the ball, moving it quickly. We get too much contact in a confined space. Refs can't see. There are bodies and hits everywhere.
The Kildare and Donegal game last week was an example. Players were done one minute for overcarrying, the next minute for the foul. It's grey on the best days. A lottery on bad days. It is easier to referee two men going for a ball than six or seven in a fast moving huddle.
Not that referees are perfect anyway. A share of them don't look up to intercounty fitness. As usual this year they went like lunatics with the cards for the first few games, putting cur isteach on fellas. Frighteners till fellas cop on and it becomes a bit of a farce.
The GAA needs to draw in referees by making it attractive to former players. Too many men who referee big games know everything about refereeing and nothing about football. They can quote rules verbatim but they have no feel for the game.
There are things we have to learn or adopt. An advantage rule. Let the game flow. Come back and book a player when the play is dead.
And what about the amount of time it takes to book a player. A ref is miked up. Just let him say number 11, Kerry or number 11, Armagh down the wire to the fourth official and get on with it.
When referees stop play it takes at least 30 seconds to book fellas. Let the game flow. Let the fourth official keep track. Number 11 for Kerry booked. Recorded and announced.
And wire the umpires! A referee looks silly going from one to the other and then chasing around the field looking for a guy.
There were five minutes wasted in the Kerry-Tyrone game and they still couldn't find Tom O'Sullivan! For Crossmaglen John McEntee got booked twice but stayed on the field. If all information went through the fourth official things would move better and referees would have more authority.
Pat McEneaney has been our best referee for some time. Pat was playing a bit of junior in Monaghan until a year or so ago certainly. He knows his football. He talks to fellas. He understands the game. The GAA will have to seek these guys out.
Make it attractive, you'll get the best applying for it. We should take the time-keeping away too. I saw it work in Gaelic Park, New York, for the three years I played there. A big clock behind the goal. The referee signals to the clock man when play stops. And the clock stops. When time is out and the clock gets to the top a buzzer goes off and when play next goes dead the game is over.
Simple. Yet in my first game as Kerry manager (a league match with Longford) three minutes of injury-time were signalled and eight played. Against Tyrone in the All-Ireland final of 2005 four minutes of injury-time were signalled and only three played. You remember the ones you lose, of course, but such simple things need to be got right.

[Farrandeelin]

My cure is a change in rules. Two consecutive handpasses and then make a team kick it.

If I had my way with the trend, I would ban handpassing altogether. Could you imagine!

[ONeill]

I dunno, Jack. Only for Tyrone's pin-point long kick-passing, Canavan wouldn't have scored that goal in 2005!!!

I don't buy into this argument at all. I guarantee that if you compare the amount of completed passes now as compared to your All-Ireland Gold matches, it wouldn't be anywhere close. Teams are more economical now. Why on earth would teams want to go heavy on the kick passes when it lessens the accuracy probability and also gives defenders time to read passages of play? The top teams employ a healthy mix.

[darbyo]

IMO a good few teams over do the hand passing to the detriment of their own attacking play, using longer faster (intelligent)ball is a much more effective way of opening up defences but as Jack rightly points out a lot of the drills and conditioned games in training are based around the hand pass.Coaches should be more inventive, coming up with ways to incorporate foot passing into drills and games.
        More interesting is his suggestion of an advantage rule, it drives me mad when a player is fouled but is still able to play the ball to a collegue but rather than let the attacking team carry on he blows it up and ends up slowing the game up and allowing the defending team more time to regroup. The insistance on taking the free from the correct spot is futile aswell. If a player is fouled in his own half he should be allowed take the kick from anywhere within a 3/4 yard radius, he is gaining no real advantage by taking a free behind his own 45 a yard or 2 infront or to the side of the foul. Within scoring distance is obviously different but ironically  since the free from the hand came scoring frees are the only ones where refs don't force the taker to kick from the correct spot.

[Gnevin]

I agree about playing advantage  and the clock , i would like to see the rugby style time on time off in the time keeping where games last the 80 or 70 minutes they are meant to . I mean how often do you see a game with constant stops and maybe 20 minutes of actual football/hurling and the 3 minutes thrown on at the end because adding anything over seems taboo .

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Jack's article is accurate in the main I'd say, but this hang-up with hand-passing is over-egged.  Much the fastest way to move the ball is with the foot (as we're constantly reminded), therefore if a team employs the more laboured method of ball movement with hand-passing, it doesn't say too much about the opposition management if they can't counteract and exploit that, especially when they dispossess the attacking player with 'all' his teammates in (necessary) close support, leaving all that field behind where an accurate long kick-pass could wreak havoc.

[thejuice]

I agree with what he says a bout bookings. Theres no need to have a chat with the player just take his number and thats it, the ref should only speak to him to inform him he has to leave the pitch.

Also i think we need to keep the rules on contact simple, the amount of frees just kills games and it seems that even fair tackles are being penalised. How many times have we heard a commentator say, "oh he went in a bit too hard there". If a shoulder is to your opponents shoulder theres no such thing as "too hard".

For instance Dublin Vs Tyrone 2005, Jayo got a bouncing ball, and i think it was Sean cavanagh came out of defense and caught him with a good shoulder which sent Jayo spinning to the ground and the ref gave a free. Another being Tyrones penalty in the replay. I cant remember who tackled who but it was probably the best piece of defending ive seen in years, and it was penalised. Its ruining the game. The game needs to stay physical or i think ill stop watching  altogether.

[DUBSFORSAM1]

The Juice

It was Shaughnessy with a beautiful clean winning of the ball which was penalised....reminded me of Curran against Kildare in 01 I think when he got penalised for taking the ball off a guys toe while soloing...

Fear an Srath Ban...

The problem is that players are incapable of kicking a ball accurately over a distance and also a lot of players are incapable of winning contested ball in the air....this has to do with not learning as kids and while growing up...this is where a ban on handpassing should take place and would force people to learn to kickpass...

[timmykelleher]

Didn't they ridicule Jack O'Connor for this article in the Tribune this weekend.

They pointed out how Dublin kicked far more times than Kerry did during O'Connor's tenure.
Pointing out that it was a bit rich him pointing the finger.
Even holding up the great Seamus Moynihan to illustrate their point. For one of the finals he made one kick pass for every 15 handpasses.

[Gnevin]

I agree with what he says a bout bookings. Theres no need to have a chat with the player just take his number and thats it, the ref should only speak to him to inform him he has to leave the pitch.

Also i think we need to keep the rules on contact simple, the amount of frees just kills games and it seems that even fair tackles are being penalised. How many times have we heard a commentator say, "oh he went in a bit too hard there". If a shoulder is to your opponents shoulder theres no such thing as "too hard".

For instance Dublin Vs Tyrone 2005, Jayo got a bouncing ball, and i think it was Sean cavanagh came out of defense and caught him with a good shoulder which sent Jayo spinning to the ground and the ref gave a free. Another being Tyrones penalty in the replay. I cant remember who tackled who but it was probably the best piece of defending ive seen in years, and it was penalised. Its ruining the game. The game needs to stay physical or i think ill stop watching  altogether.

I think at the right time it can be very good for the ref to talk to the players like in the Rugby where during a stoppage due to injury etc the ref will say to a captain and a player if x happens again its a yellow . Or 13 was a bit late into the tackle next time he's off . I think this work very well in RU and most player respond to their warnings .

[tayto]

Agree with the lads about the handpassing, teams that over do it pay the price. didnt they try bring in a two hand pass and you have to kick rule at some stage way back when?

Agree about an advantage rule and i also think we messed up the sin bin. for every yellow was too much, but surely for those borderline red-yellow cards a sinbin could be introduced. It could also be used to punish constant fouling, you know when a team is fouling all the time, warn the captain and bin the next guy. Nothing wrong with taking the best elements from other sports and that works really well in rugby. nothing more likely to ruin a game of football then it degenerating into a series of fouls.

[thejuice]

Im not too keen on borrowing things form other sports, as they were designed for different sports that are played with different structures and at different tempo's and attitudes. For instance sin-binning didnt really work. red and yellow cards havent changed anything. We need to come up laws for Gaelic games that suit gaelic games, not because they worked in other sports and we should give it a try. It requires original and creative thinking not just plagarising other sports rules, it just doesnt work for me.

[neutral]

As far as i am concerned the lowest achievers in Gaelic Games are the referees.  They need massive retraining rules from top to bottom all thge rules redrawn and clarified to them and then they return to Gaelic Games acting like the referees in rugby.  Only the captains are then allowed to speak to the referees, the referees word is final. Anybody caught doing anything on camera they shouldnt be can bve rerospectively banned.  The referees implement the rules the players play by their implementation of them.  Any ills currently in the game are caused by differences in interpretation of the rules.   

[Gnevin]

Im not too keen on borrowing things form other sports, as they were designed for different sports that are played with different structures and at different tempo's and attitudes. For instance sin-binning didnt really work. red and yellow cards havent changed anything. We need to come up laws for Gaelic games that suit gaelic games, not because they worked in other sports and we should give it a try. It requires original and creative thinking not just plagarising other sports rules, it just doesnt work for me.

Red and Yellow have made it clear to player ,management and fans alike if a player was ticked , yellow carded or red carded .

The sin binning wasn't give a fair run it like 3 games? yellow card  replacement rule worked well imo .

Also i don't see how punishing repeat yellow card offender wouldnt improve the game.

Or match bans instead of time bans wouldn't worked .

[Gnevin]

As far as i am concerned the lowest achievers in Gaelic Games are the referees.  They need massive retraining rules from top to bottom all thge rules redrawn and clarified to them and then they return to Gaelic Games acting like the referees in rugby.  Only the captains are then allowed to speak to the referees, the referees word is final. Anybody caught doing anything on camera they shouldnt be can bve rerospectively banned.  The referees implement the rules the players play by their implementation of them.  Any ills currently in the game are caused by differences in interpretation of the rules.   

An interesting point is that rugby has one of the most complex set of rules in sport (which they are currently trying to change) but and the end of the day the referees word is final and thats its no complex appeal and constant bans which was removed nearly before they are issued