Jimmy McGuinness

[JoG2]

I always thought they ran Kerry into the ground in 2012 J70. The rest not though so I would agree there.

I think Jimmy has got a bit carried away with himself and I thought it interesting how he compared himself to Alex Ferguson. I think in his head that is the kind of figure he is. I don't think Kevin Cassidy did much and it was part of a much greater plan for togetherness etc etc and to be fair it worked.

Not sure where all the Dublin stuff came from. It's not a fair comparison. All the above said he still made some turnaround in Donegal's fortunes. That same batch of players had many failures behind them and he really turned them round.

I don't think Donegal would have even been close to winning an AI without him. Dublin would still have won multiple with or without Gavin. Completely different challenge so very hard to compare them.

I'd agree, and Dublin ran Kerry into the ground this year, but Dublin being Dublin, they are training 'smarter', and their 49 sport / conditioning scientists will back this up

[sensethetone]

I always thought they ran Kerry into the ground in 2012 J70. The rest not though so I would agree there.

I think Jimmy has got a bit carried away with himself and I thought it interesting how he compared himself to Alex Ferguson. I think in his head that is the kind of figure he is. I don't think Kevin Cassidy did much and it was part of a much greater plan for togetherness etc etc and to be fair it worked.

Not sure where all the Dublin stuff came from. It's not a fair comparison. All the above said he still made some turnaround in Donegal's fortunes. That same batch of players had many failures behind them and he really turned them round.

I don't think Donegal would have even been close to winning an AI without him. Dublin would still have won multiple with or without Gavin. Completely different challenge so very hard to compare them.

Would Gavin win an AI with Donegal 2011-2014? Would Mickey Harte? Would McGuinness have made that slight difference to get Mayo across the line?

Who knows?

I think Mickey Harte could have got an AI out that Donegal squad, it was a good squad.

[imtommygunn]

I always thought they ran Kerry into the ground in 2012 J70. The rest not though so I would agree there.

I think Jimmy has got a bit carried away with himself and I thought it interesting how he compared himself to Alex Ferguson. I think in his head that is the kind of figure he is. I don't think Kevin Cassidy did much and it was part of a much greater plan for togetherness etc etc and to be fair it worked.

Not sure where all the Dublin stuff came from. It's not a fair comparison. All the above said he still made some turnaround in Donegal's fortunes. That same batch of players had many failures behind them and he really turned them round.

I don't think Donegal would have even been close to winning an AI without him. Dublin would still have won multiple with or without Gavin. Completely different challenge so very hard to compare them.

Would Gavin win an AI with Donegal 2011-2014? Would Mickey Harte? Would McGuinness have made that slight difference to get Mayo across the line?

Who knows?

No one will ever know. I think he would have had the ability to get Mayo over the line and Gavin wouldn't have got an AI out of Donegal. Harte maybe but not so sure there either.

I do think what he does has a shorter lifespan than either though...

All hypothetical!

[yellowcard]

To my mind McGuinness' achievement in winning an AI title with Donegal ranks as the best managerial feat in recent memory. It has to be remembered what he inherited which was a 2nd/3rd tier county in disarray and a bunch of players who had become accustomed to losing. He turned them into a team in his own image, intense, driven, serious and completely focussed on what they wanted to achieve. That was a big culture change for those players and the whole mindset of Donegal as a footballing county has changed largely because of McGuinness. Comparing Gavin's achievements to McGuinness is crazy considering the resources and player talent available to both men. That's not to belittle Gavin's achievement in any way which has been a fine one, but Gilroy done much of the spade work for Gavin in helping change Dublin from perennial losers into AI winners in a few seasons.   

[seafoid]

To my mind McGuinness' achievement in winning an AI title with Donegal ranks as the best managerial feat in recent memory. It has to be remembered what he inherited which was a 2nd/3rd tier county in disarray and a bunch of players who had become accustomed to losing. He turned them into a team in his own image, intense, driven, serious and completely focussed on what they wanted to achieve. That was a big culture change for those players and the whole mindset of Donegal as a footballing county has changed largely because of McGuinness. Comparing Gavin's achievements to McGuinness is crazy considering the resources and player talent available to both men. That's not to belittle Gavin's achievement in any way which has been a fine one, but Gilroy done much of the spade work for Gavin in helping change Dublin from perennial losers into AI winners in a few seasons.   

I would tend to agree. Up there with Mickey H . Otherwise not since the early 90s has a manager done as much with a non trad county.
It was encapsulated by Donegal beating Mayo. That confidence that Donegal had came out of McGuinness and poor Mayo had to submit to it.

[From the Bunker]

To my mind McGuinness' achievement in winning an AI title with Donegal ranks as the best managerial feat in recent memory. It has to be remembered what he inherited which was a 2nd/3rd tier county in disarray and a bunch of players who had become accustomed to losing. He turned them into a team in his own image, intense, driven, serious and completely focussed on what they wanted to achieve. That was a big culture change for those players and the whole mindset of Donegal as a footballing county has changed largely because of McGuinness. Comparing Gavin's achievements to McGuinness is crazy considering the resources and player talent available to both men. That's not to belittle Gavin's achievement in any way which has been a fine one, but Gilroy done much of the spade work for Gavin in helping change Dublin from perennial losers into AI winners in a few seasons.   

I would tend to agree. Up there with Mickey H . Otherwise not since the early 90s has a manager done as much with a non trad county.
It was encapsulated by Donegal beating Mayo. That confidence that Donegal had came out of McGuinness and poor Mayo had to submit to it.

You must be hurting down in Galway! 

[seafoid]

To my mind McGuinness' achievement in winning an AI title with Donegal ranks as the best managerial feat in recent memory. It has to be remembered what he inherited which was a 2nd/3rd tier county in disarray and a bunch of players who had become accustomed to losing. He turned them into a team in his own image, intense, driven, serious and completely focussed on what they wanted to achieve. That was a big culture change for those players and the whole mindset of Donegal as a footballing county has changed largely because of McGuinness. Comparing Gavin's achievements to McGuinness is crazy considering the resources and player talent available to both men. That's not to belittle Gavin's achievement in any way which has been a fine one, but Gilroy done much of the spade work for Gavin in helping change Dublin from perennial losers into AI winners in a few seasons.   

I would tend to agree. Up there with Mickey H . Otherwise not since the early 90s has a manager done as much with a non trad county.
It was encapsulated by Donegal beating Mayo. That confidence that Donegal had came out of McGuinness and poor Mayo had to submit to it.

You must be hurting down in Galway! 

it's mid cycle here so no need to panic. They'll be usheless for a few more years and then something will happen

[From the Bunker]

To my mind McGuinness' achievement in winning an AI title with Donegal ranks as the best managerial feat in recent memory. It has to be remembered what he inherited which was a 2nd/3rd tier county in disarray and a bunch of players who had become accustomed to losing. He turned them into a team in his own image, intense, driven, serious and completely focussed on what they wanted to achieve. That was a big culture change for those players and the whole mindset of Donegal as a footballing county has changed largely because of McGuinness. Comparing Gavin's achievements to McGuinness is crazy considering the resources and player talent available to both men. That's not to belittle Gavin's achievement in any way which has been a fine one, but Gilroy done much of the spade work for Gavin in helping change Dublin from perennial losers into AI winners in a few seasons.   

I would tend to agree. Up there with Mickey H . Otherwise not since the early 90s has a manager done as much with a non trad county.
It was encapsulated by Donegal beating Mayo. That confidence that Donegal had came out of McGuinness and poor Mayo had to submit to it.

You must be hurting down in Galway! 

it's mid cycle here so no need to panic. They'll be usheless for a few more years and then something will happen

I suppose the last famine lasted from '87 to '95 and see what happened after that! Enjoy the wait!

[INDIANA]

Jim's Donegal really spanked Dublin that joyful day.

That's fantastic - won nothing.

This thread is about Jim McGuinness and his experience with Donegal GAA, isn't it?
After a bad 2013 , they won Ulster that year and reached the AI final beating Dublin well in the SF.
Not too shabby a year for Jim.

In Dublin we just tend to look at the number of All irelands. I appreciate it's hard to put that in context to someone from Monaghan

Who's we? are you permanently deluded? Speak for yourself Indiana, it may be hard for you to credit  but the drone like monotonous mantra of 'donegal won nothing in 2014' ' won nothing' in the context of reviewing McGuinness' input as county manager for that period, has a unique Squealer (the pig) standard of persuasion about it.
The debate level of a couple of old deranged, no-nothing inebriated wasters with wart riddled noses, incapable of further words on the matter.
I might be mistake though.

Your last paragraph is rubbish . I'm exceptionally handsome still .

[seafoid]

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/jim-mcguinness-named-head-coach-of-north-carolina-soccer-team-1.3723552

Jim McGuinness named head coach of North Carolina soccer team

Former Donegal GAA manager signs three-year deal with second-tier Charlotte Independence

Keith Duggan



The former Donegal senior football team manager Jim McGuinness has been appointed as head coach of the Charlotte Independence of the United Soccer League on a three-year contract.

He will take over the North Carolina club with immediate effect, ahead of the 2019 USL season. The appointment completes a unique conversion from coaching Gaelic football to soccer which began during McGuinness's startling 2012 achievement when he coached his native county to its second ever All-Ireland title.

Six weeks after that success, he was offered a position as performance consultant at Glasgow Celtic when Neil Lennon was in charge at the club and he subsequently coached Celtic's U-16, U-19 and U-20 sides. He stepped down from his position as Donegal manager after the All-Ireland final of 2014 and moved to Glasgow on a permanent basis.

In 2017, he joined the coaching staff of Roger Schmidt at Beijing Guoan in the Chinese Super league, gaining further experience there. This role, however, will be McGuinness's first time taking charge of a professional soccer team and represents uncharted territory for a Gaelic games coach.

"That's the challenge that's in front of me," he said on Thursday evening.

"I think I've learned a huge amount and tried to be studious in my application from the very first day I walked into Celtic from my experiences of all the managers I worked under.

"At the same time I was trying to build a picture in my own mind of how I saw the game and of how I would like the game to be whenever I became a manager. The other side of that coin is that if you leave the philosophical side of things out of it: football is about people and life is about people."
Charlotte Independence supporters during a US Open Cup match away to the New England Revolution at Harvard's Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium in 2015. Photograph: Fred Kfoury III/Getty Charlotte Independence supporters during a US Open Cup match away to the New England Revolution at Harvard's Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium in 2015. Photograph: Fred Kfoury III/Getty   
The board at the Charlotte Independence were swayed by McGuinness's track record as a coach and his exceptional win-ratio while with Donegal and are convinced he has acquired sufficient knowledge in the world of soccer to help their club progress. McGuinness says he is "proud of and grateful to" the club for placing its faith in him. One of the initial challenges will involved piecing together a back room staff and squad for 2019 season.
You've got to have a clear vision and know what you want to achieve. But it is about getting the best people and that's what I'm going to be focusing on: getting the right people and building the roster, as they say in inverted commas. In terms of the type of player and people you want. And I'm looking forward to that because it's a luxury you don't have in Gaelic football. You have the people in your community and they represent the county. So to be able to target players... I am looking forward to that."

The Charlotte Independence joined the USL as an expansion team in 2014 and play in the Eastern Conference, which constitutes a 34 -game season. The club has announced plans to move into a new purpose-built stadium in the city ahead of the 2022 season. McGuinness will attend a press conference in Charlotte on Tuesday. His first game in charge will be on March 8th of next year."

[GetOverTheBar]

Fair play to Jimmy, he's got his head screwed on where the cash is!

In all seriousness - always been a massive fan of McGuinness  - coming from a Tyrone man. Bringing Donegal to that All Ireland glory (probably should have been 2 to be honest) was unthinkable when he first took the job. Not only that he managed to completely dominate Tyrone, who at the time were the one's swinging the hammer in that particular rivalry.

Look around your own county at the clubs, he essentially took a Junior Club to Senior Champions. Donegal were horrid - he managed to get everyone to buy into what he demanded, eeked absolutely everything he could and got them over the line. Of course these guys were already good players - but they were a shambles for large parts prior as they've mostly acknowledged.

His book was a bit....petty. It wasn't for me, but I mean most sporting books are self serving I suppose.

Gaelic Football needs more people like McGuinness - people will jump on the style of play but I mean they did what they had, with what they had.

It's only now with the dominance of Dublin do people surely realise what he brought to the table. If every county could unearth a gem like that with a clear vision and style of play wouldn't that be better with some of the eejits in charge now pulling men behind the ball for the sake of it without actually knowing what to do when they get it.

[From the Bunker]

Hope he gets on well. It's hard to eek a living out of Soccer Management even when you've played the game at the highest level. Most be a nightmare to be coming in where Jim is at to get credibility?

[Fuzzman]

It's one hell of a story of Jim's life. I know him and his wife and kids and I remember how bleak things looked for him before he got the Donegal job. He had all these qualifications after spending ages in college and loads of self belief but no solid experience. He was sitting beside me at a wedding and he told me all his plans of what he was gonna do with Donegal and how he admired Mickey Harte and what he achieved with Tyrone.

i'd say that's why he is going to the US as his first soccer fits team coach job to get experience of being a head coach for the first time away from all the hype of Europe. Small fish in a big pond where he will learn his trade whilst earning huge money for his family.

I was amazed when he left Donegal first to go to Celtic as I knew how much living at home meant for him and his family but then even more shocked when he went to China but the man is ambitious and like Harte very single minded as Kevin Cassidy found out.
I will not be surprised if he becomes a top coach in the premier league some day. As he says himself above, its just people and life and managing them to get what ye need out of them.

However, unlike Getoverthebar, I think he went too far though with how he changed our GAA game and how we have went through a period of paralysis by analysis. Some can argue Kerry had wing forwards tracking back in the 70s and short kick outs and then many would say Armagh and Tyrone brought in a lot more tactics during the early 00's but I think Jim with his total defensive blanket changed our game forever. It has become much more soccer or basketball like I feel with it no longer a man on man scenario. Possession is king and so the joy of watching a player take on crazy passes or shots or try to beat his man is gone as there will be too many players back sweeping to catch him should he beat his man. Yes sensible and good defending but as a spectacle our game has gone backwards big time and I definitely lay a lot of that blame at Jim's door.
Even in his article in the Irish Times a few weeks before this years final about how he thinks Tyrone's best chance is to go ultra defensive, almost like that terrible low scoring game in 2011 was it? It almost sounded as if he wanted to still justify he was right to play that way.
Anyway fair play to him in the States and I hope he make a fist of it.

[oakleaflad]

It's one hell of a story of Jim's life. I know him and his wife and kids and I remember how bleak things looked for him before he got the Donegal job. He had all these qualifications after spending ages in college and loads of self belief but no solid experience. He was sitting beside me at a wedding and he told me all his plans of what he was gonna do with Donegal and how he admired Mickey Harte and what he achieved with Tyrone.

i'd say that's why he is going to the US as his first soccer fits team coach job to get experience of being a head coach for the first time away from all the hype of Europe. Small fish in a big pond where he will learn his trade whilst earning huge money for his family.

I was amazed when he left Donegal first to go to Celtic as I knew how much living at home meant for him and his family but then even more shocked when he went to China but the man is ambitious and like Harte very single minded as Kevin Cassidy found out.
I will not be surprised if he becomes a top coach in the premier league some day. As he says himself above, its just people and life and managing them to get what ye need out of them.

However, unlike Getoverthebar, I think he went too far though with how he changed our GAA game and how we have went through a period of paralysis by analysis. Some can argue Kerry had wing forwards tracking back in the 70s and short kick outs and then many would say Armagh and Tyrone brought in a lot more tactics during the early 00's but I think Jim with his total defensive blanket changed our game forever. It has become much more soccer or basketball like I feel with it no longer a man on man scenario. Possession is king and so the joy of watching a player take on crazy passes or shots or try to beat his man is gone as there will be too many players back sweeping to catch him should he beat his man. Yes sensible and good defending but as a spectacle our game has gone backwards big time and I definitely lay a lot of that blame at Jim's door.
Even in his article in the Irish Times a few weeks before this years final about how he thinks Tyrone's best chance is to go ultra defensive, almost like that terrible low scoring game in 2011 was it? It almost sounded as if he wanted to still justify he was right to play that way.
Anyway fair play to him in the States and I hope he make a fist of it.

I'd say it's because he couldn't get a head coach role in Europe

[Main Street]

No flies on Jim, he's fast on the uptake.

"I'm going to be focusing on: getting the right people and building the roster"