Seanie Johnston Switch and outside managers

[Jinxy]

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the mods on HoganStand.
Not sure what their policy is but plenty of harmless posts of mine never saw the light of day over there for one reason or the other.
It makes you wonder when you see some of the ridiculous posts they actually do let through.

[muppet]

I'm not sure at all about both sides of this debate but I do know one thing - to use a hoganstand poll as a basis of understand an entire county's mindset is not credible

I don't have the means to get red sea to do a poll so Hoganstand will have to go.

We'd save a fortune if we used them for every referendum.

[Hardy]

We'd save even more if we used Hoganstand.

[mylestheslasher]

I'm not sure at all about both sides of this debate but I do know one thing - to use a hoganstand poll as a basis of understand an entire county's mindset is not credible

I don't have the means to get red sea to do a poll so Hoganstand will have to go.

Very reasonable comment there Duffleking, Myles is more than happy to slate the posters and administrators on HS when it suits him. By the way Myles, as the one poster I've ever seen actually get gate publicly from the Mods on Hoganstand (quite an achievement) did that exclude you from voting on polls on that site?

It's got to the stage that I don't know the purpose of your pointless ramblings. Maybe you feel foolish that my pointing out Johnstons questionable attitude in the past is now proven correct and your ill-informed defence of him shown for bluster. You've admitted as much over on the Cavan thread. As for my "getting the gate" from Hoganstand, that's more bullshit. In my last post there I told the mod he was working to an agenda and said I'd no longer be posting. Unless, of course you are a mod over there and know better - I was never informed of being banned. Speaking of mods, did mods on this board not recently intervene with you and richie over on the Cavan thread? Something about Hoganstand again? The mods comment is still there but alas yours deleted. Maybe you could remind me on the jist of it. I voted "certainly not" on the Hoganstand poll this morning when I copied the link, as did the majority of voters.

[haranguerer]

A few questions on the above post:
- How do you know he works hard? Undoubtedly he has talent but whether he works hard or not I don't know.
- Was the door completely closed on him for the whole season? If not then he could have worked hard to get back.

If a player isn't getting on and just moves it's a dangerous precedent to set. We're no playing soccer her and that is one of the great things about our game. Who we play for is part of our identity. What part of this guy's identity stems from Kildare?

No-one gets to the top of their sport without working hard these days, it may all be relative, but just to take a base example, Seanie has trained with cavan for the last number of years. Are you suggesting their training may not be hard, or that he was excused from the tough off season slog? He has undoubtedly worked hard, as has every other inter co  footballer, including those who may seem not to be owing to their girth or whatever.

Again, as I've stated on the thread many times, there are some issues getting confused. Johnson wasnt left off the panel becuase of a lack of hard work, or not showing well in games, or anything else. Even Myles (used as the most vehement detractor) I think would have to agree that its a personal issue between himself and andrews, and andrews decision to drop him was made based on these issues. If Andrews thinks his decision was for the good of cavan football, then hes perfectly entitiled to make those calls - I have no real interest in whether he was right or wrong. Having made that call, it would appear reasonable for johnson to assume, even without being explicitly told, that he wasnt going to play for cavan this year, unless perhaps he gets a personality transplant. So, his choice is to waste the best years of his footballing life, or seek to play at the top level in any way he can. He chose the latter, and I think hes perfectly entitled to do so.

I too would love to see everyone represent the place they're from, but its an amateur sport, and I think its more important that we dont cast aside players like johnson, but let them play if they want to play. I'd just like to point out too that its a pretty damning indictment of our sport if as you say, one of the great things about it, is that its not another sport 

[mylestheslasher]

A few questions on the above post:
- How do you know he works hard? Undoubtedly he has talent but whether he works hard or not I don't know.
- Was the door completely closed on him for the whole season? If not then he could have worked hard to get back.

If a player isn't getting on and just moves it's a dangerous precedent to set. We're no playing soccer her and that is one of the great things about our game. Who we play for is part of our identity. What part of this guy's identity stems from Kildare?

No-one gets to the top of their sport without working hard these days, it may all be relative, but just to take a base example, Seanie has trained with cavan for the last number of years. Are you suggesting their training may not be hard, or that he was excused from the tough off season slog? He has undoubtedly worked hard, as has every other inter co  footballer, including those who may seem not to be owing to their girth or whatever.

Again, as I've stated on the thread many times, there are some issues getting confused. Johnson wasnt left off the panel becuase of a lack of hard work, or not showing well in games, or anything else. Even Myles (used as the most vehement detractor) I think would have to agree that its a personal issue between himself and andrews, and andrews decision to drop him was made based on these issues. If Andrews thinks his decision was for the good of cavan football, then hes perfectly entitiled to make those calls - I have no real interest in whether he was right or wrong. Having made that call, it would appear reasonable for johnson to assume, even without being explicitly told, that he wasnt going to play for cavan this year, unless perhaps he gets a personality transplant. So, his choice is to waste the best years of his footballing life, or seek to play at the top level in any way he can. He chose the latter, and I think hes perfectly entitled to do so.

I too would love to see everyone represent the place they're from, but its an amateur sport, and I think its more important that we dont cast aside players like johnson, but let them play if they want to play. I'd just like to point out too that its a pretty damning indictment of our sport if as you say, one of the great things about it, is that its not another sport 

No, I actually don't agree. He was dropped as he was a bad influence in the dressing room. There were also issues with his work ethic, anyone who watches him play would see that too. Whether it snowballed into a personal thing I don't know. However, its quiet clear Johnston is bending the truth to suit another agenda - ie to play for a team he thinks he can win an AI with - by talking about 10s phone calls and being removed of the cavan team for the whole season. Neither true as I outlined earlier.

[haranguerer]

No, I actually don't agree. He was dropped as he was a bad influence in the dressing room.

Sounds a lot like a personal issue to me.

In terms of not been off it for the year (at least), I dont see how putting the head down and playing great stuff for cavan gaels was going to allow him not to be deemed a potential bad influence in the future so that he could be called back up

[shezam]

Seanie Johnston has told Cavan officials to call up to his home in Straffan for tea!

The exiled Cavan footballer is currently trying to seal his inter county transfer to Kildare, but despite his club Cavan Gaels signing his transfer request, the Cavan County Board will not as they believe that he is still living in the Ulster county.

This is an allegation that Johnston strenuously denies and he has even begun training with his new club St Kevin's in Staplestown, but is unable to link up with the Kildare squad until his inter-county transfer is sorted.

Johnston was now attending a hearing at Croke Park to discuss the matter and he feels that he has no question to answer at this stage.

"I don't think there should be any problem, the fact I'm living down here and moved clubs," Johnston told the Anglo-Celt. "I was told that I had to move clubs, I've done that, so there should be no issue.

"I've said all along, all I want to do is play at club and county level. Hopefully, over the next few weeks I'll be able to do that. I wanted to be with Cavan but unfortunately I don't have that choice anymore. All I want to do is play.

"If I'm playing with Kildare and training six days a week, it's impossible to be living in Cavan. I'm living in Straffan. If anyone wants to come down for tea they're more than welcome."

He better have the custard creams ready!!!!

[Sidney]

I too would love to see everyone represent the place they're from, but its an amateur sport, and I think its more important that we dont cast aside players like johnson,

You think what happens to Seanie Johnston is more important than the rules of the GAA.

Eh...whatever.

[Donnellys Hollow]

05-02-2012 Former Cavan footballer Seanie Johnston (wearing hat) training Sunday morning with Kildare club St Kevins while he awaits approval of an intercounty move to Kildare.

Ewan MacKenna blog: Kildare have gone too far

At the time it went largely unnoticed, if only because it was largely irrelevant. It was well over a decade ago when the footballers of Kilkenny placed a small advertisement that was buried deep within the Kildare Nationalist newspaper, offering club players the chance to call themselves intercounty. It was a plea from a side that didn't have the support of their own but drew little reaction from the few in the target market that noticed it. But who would have guessed all these years later that a county with such a rich footballing history as well as an impressive current-day panel would go to similar lengths to strengthen their own squad? However, if Kilkenny's ploy drew a blank face, and even a smile, Kildare's should draw concern and even ire.

We'll never know how much truth was behind the off-season rumours that hinted at Niall McNamee and Brendan Murphy leaving Offaly and Carlow respectively for their nearest of neighbours. But if that was mere smoke, since then there has been plenty fire. Most of the talk has been about Seánie Johnston but more troubling in recent days were the words of Shane Supple, the former third-choice Dublin goalkeeper. Speaking to John Fogarty in the Irish Examiner he said it was a year ago when he got a phone call and a question from Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney.

"No was the short answer," recalled Supple. "The call was about playing for them but there's only one county I'd be playing for. I shot it down quick enough."

Of all the people in the Gaelic games world, there is no reason to doubt Supple's words. He showed an honesty rarely seen in sport when leaving Ipswich Town to pursue a much less lucrative career back home and to hear of the Kildare manager's contact is at the very least disturbing on various levels. McGeeney may have been one of the most dedicated to ever play Gaelic football and is proving himself as a seriously talented manager, but none of that puts him above the moral codes which govern the sport. Legally, he and Kildare may not have broken any rules, but he's won neither himself nor his adopted county any friends, sympathy or good will with his actions. Indeed, the current management team may well be damaging the reputation of Kildare to such an extent that it will still be bruised and the county will still be open to ridicule long after those in charge have moved on.

Supple said no, but it seems that Kildare will at least have one import this season. Johnston has trained with the St Kevin's club in Staplestown and it seems likely he'll be lining out for the county side before long. But when it comes to this saga, too much talk has been about how his attitude and attributes will fit in with the team. That James Kavanagh and Alan Smith have regressed over the past two seasons and Kildare now need a skilful willow-the-wisp style player to do damage and profit off the brute strength and excellent hands of Tomás O'Connor is completely missing the issue. Right now Kildare just don't have that player, and just like everyone else, they should suck it up.

Of course, there is still a certain bitterness in Kildare going back a generation. Had Shay Fahy and Larry Tompkins not transferred to Cork it's likely they would have won an All Ireland. But leaving aside who was to blame back in the 1980s, Kildare people should therefore know better and know exactly what it's like to lose talent a county has harvested to a stronger side with far greater resources. They should know the bitterness it causes and they should know that in this case, they should not do unto others what was once done unto them.

The counterargument in all this is that a player of Johnston's quality is entitled to play football at the highest level and if his own county don't want him, he is well within his rights to look elsewhere. But given Supple's comments, it appears that is not what happened here. If McGeeney called Supple, it's not impossible to imagine that he was proactive in recruiting Johnston too. In fact the player here is too easy a target for criticism. But if, as it seems, players are being tapped up, where does all of this end?

Lots of good players fail to make their county teams and more are dropped off panels throughout the year. On top of that there's not a county in the country right now that doesn't need a quality player in at least two positions. But just as Kerry will have to get on without a full-back to release Marc Ó Sé, just as Cork could do with another forward to cover for injury, just as Dublin could do with a centre-back, and just as Down could do with Marty Clarke back, Kildare could do with a quality forward amongst others. But while the rest of those counties make the most of what is at their disposal, what Kildare are sadly doing is eroding the very foundations the intercounty game is built on. And if Kildare are allowed to set a precedent - that not only impedes on the development of other counties, but also impedes on the development, attitude and belief of their own players - then the championship we love will be no more.

Back in the mid-1990s when Kilkenny were looking for players, they didn't have a chance of winning and didn't have even the hope of a victory to taint. That's not the case with Kildare, who need to realise sometimes it's better to fall short than win at all costs.

Ewan MacKenna was a sports writer for the defunct Sunday Tribune and now contributes to the Irish Examiner. A former sports journalist of the year runner-up, he was ghost writer of 'The Gambler: Oisín McConville's Story,' 'Darragh: My Story' and has recently launched 'Kenny Egan: My Story'.
If you have any opinions, feel free to contact Ewan at Twitter.com/EwanMacKenna or ewanmackenna@hotmail.com

http://eircomsports.eircom.net/News/Ewan-MacKenna-blog-Kildare-have-gone-too-far.aspx

Sums up the prevailing opinion of a lot of Kildare folk fairly well.

[trileacman]

05-02-2012 Former Cavan footballer Seanie Johnston (wearing hat) training Sunday morning with Kildare club St Kevins while he awaits approval of an intercounty move to Kildare.

Ewan MacKenna blog: Kildare have gone too far

At the time it went largely unnoticed, if only because it was largely irrelevant. It was well over a decade ago when the footballers of Kilkenny placed a small advertisement that was buried deep within the Kildare Nationalist newspaper, offering club players the chance to call themselves intercounty. It was a plea from a side that didn't have the support of their own but drew little reaction from the few in the target market that noticed it. But who would have guessed all these years later that a county with such a rich footballing history as well as an impressive current-day panel would go to similar lengths to strengthen their own squad? However, if Kilkenny's ploy drew a blank face, and even a smile, Kildare's should draw concern and even ire.

We'll never know how much truth was behind the off-season rumours that hinted at Niall McNamee and Brendan Murphy leaving Offaly and Carlow respectively for their nearest of neighbours. But if that was mere smoke, since then there has been plenty fire. Most of the talk has been about Seánie Johnston but more troubling in recent days were the words of Shane Supple, the former third-choice Dublin goalkeeper. Speaking to John Fogarty in the Irish Examiner he said it was a year ago when he got a phone call and a question from Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney.

"No was the short answer," recalled Supple. "The call was about playing for them but there's only one county I'd be playing for. I shot it down quick enough."

Of all the people in the Gaelic games world, there is no reason to doubt Supple's words. He showed an honesty rarely seen in sport when leaving Ipswich Town to pursue a much less lucrative career back home and to hear of the Kildare manager's contact is at the very least disturbing on various levels. McGeeney may have been one of the most dedicated to ever play Gaelic football and is proving himself as a seriously talented manager, but none of that puts him above the moral codes which govern the sport. Legally, he and Kildare may not have broken any rules, but he's won neither himself nor his adopted county any friends, sympathy or good will with his actions. Indeed, the current management team may well be damaging the reputation of Kildare to such an extent that it will still be bruised and the county will still be open to ridicule long after those in charge have moved on.

Supple said no, but it seems that Kildare will at least have one import this season. Johnston has trained with the St Kevin's club in Staplestown and it seems likely he'll be lining out for the county side before long. But when it comes to this saga, too much talk has been about how his attitude and attributes will fit in with the team. That James Kavanagh and Alan Smith have regressed over the past two seasons and Kildare now need a skilful willow-the-wisp style player to do damage and profit off the brute strength and excellent hands of Tomás O'Connor is completely missing the issue. Right now Kildare just don't have that player, and just like everyone else, they should suck it up.

Of course, there is still a certain bitterness in Kildare going back a generation. Had Shay Fahy and Larry Tompkins not transferred to Cork it's likely they would have won an All Ireland. But leaving aside who was to blame back in the 1980s, Kildare people should therefore know better and know exactly what it's like to lose talent a county has harvested to a stronger side with far greater resources. They should know the bitterness it causes and they should know that in this case, they should not do unto others what was once done unto them.

The counterargument in all this is that a player of Johnston's quality is entitled to play football at the highest level and if his own county don't want him, he is well within his rights to look elsewhere. But given Supple's comments, it appears that is not what happened here. If McGeeney called Supple, it's not impossible to imagine that he was proactive in recruiting Johnston too. In fact the player here is too easy a target for criticism. But if, as it seems, players are being tapped up, where does all of this end?

Lots of good players fail to make their county teams and more are dropped off panels throughout the year. On top of that there's not a county in the country right now that doesn't need a quality player in at least two positions. But just as Kerry will have to get on without a full-back to release Marc Ó Sé, just as Cork could do with another forward to cover for injury, just as Dublin could do with a centre-back, and just as Down could do with Marty Clarke back, Kildare could do with a quality forward amongst others. But while the rest of those counties make the most of what is at their disposal, what Kildare are sadly doing is eroding the very foundations the intercounty game is built on. And if Kildare are allowed to set a precedent - that not only impedes on the development of other counties, but also impedes on the development, attitude and belief of their own players - then the championship we love will be no more.

Back in the mid-1990s when Kilkenny were looking for players, they didn't have a chance of winning and didn't have even the hope of a victory to taint. That's not the case with Kildare, who need to realise sometimes it's better to fall short than win at all costs.

Ewan MacKenna was a sports writer for the defunct Sunday Tribune and now contributes to the Irish Examiner. A former sports journalist of the year runner-up, he was ghost writer of 'The Gambler: Oisín McConville's Story,' 'Darragh: My Story' and has recently launched 'Kenny Egan: My Story'.
If you have any opinions, feel free to contact Ewan at Twitter.com/EwanMacKenna or ewanmackenna@hotmail.com

http://eircomsports.eircom.net/News/Ewan-MacKenna-blog-Kildare-have-gone-too-far.aspx

Sums up the prevailing opinion of a lot of Kildare folk fairly well.

"Kildare people should therefore know better and know exactly what it's like to lose talent a county has harvested to a stronger side with far greater resources."

That's not strictly true, Cavan have already dumped Johnston so he isn't being "harvested". Also whilst that article is strongly critical of the Kildare management (who have been relatively successful) no-one seems to be decrying the Cavan management who have had little success but yet are fit to deem a widely recognised talent to the scrapheap. If Johnston wasn't an exile from the Cavan squad this wouldn't be an issue.

[haranguerer]

I too would love to see everyone represent the place they're from, but its an amateur sport, and I think its more important that we dont cast aside players like johnson,

You think what happens to Seanie Johnston is more important than the rules of the GAA.

Eh...whatever.

What are you, a ten year old girl??!

For one thing, those rules dont matter a fcuk to the GAA and anyone on here when it matters, see the post re Kilkenny advertising for footballers, or consider the hurling lads actually encouraged to play for weaker counties.

For another, yes, I do think its important the GAA look after their players when considering the rules. Not much of an organisation if no-one takes part in its games.

Lastly, what rule is he currently breaking?  He invited you for tea, didnt he??

[Sidney]

I too would love to see everyone represent the place they're from, but its an amateur sport, and I think its more important that we dont cast aside players like johnson,

You think what happens to Seanie Johnston is more important than the rules of the GAA.

Eh...whatever.

What are you, a ten year old girl??!

For one thing, those rules dont matter a fcuk to the GAA and anyone on here when it matters, see the post re Kilkenny advertising for footballers, or consider the hurling lads actually encouraged to play for weaker counties.

For another, yes, I do think its important the GAA look after their players when considering the rules. Not much of an organisation if no-one takes part in its games.

Lastly, what rule is he currently breaking?  He invited you for tea, didnt he??

There seems to only be one ten year old girl on this thread and judging by your arguments it isn't too hard to guess who it is.

[haranguerer]

You've still never answered them...

[mrdeeds]

Now he's providing tea. Not only is he trying to steal a Kildare player's place, but also wee Daniel's gig.