While looking at the motivational music thread this thought came into my head, has anyone any examples of events where players/managers etc look back on a year after winning an All Ireland/Provincial Title/Club All Ireland and say this incident was the turning point...this is when we knew we were going to do it..etc...like maybe Ger Loughnane in 95, telling his players after the League Final defeat that they would win a Munster Title!!
Just wondering to people buy into that stuff as you will only hear about it when teams win. The cases below i think are examples of incidents that would be blown out of proportion had the results at the end of the year been different.
Example: Had Mayo won the All Ireland this year, id imagine all the talk would have been about them taking up residence in the Hill before they overcame Dublin and this was the psychological turning point that helped them go on and win the All Ireland.
Or my own own personal favourite even Galway man....i didnt witness the incident but heard it from many with a better view, one of our hurlers Thurles this year(wont name him because I didnt see it myself) "laced" John Tennyson as he crossed him after the parade broke up. That didnt work to good as Tennyson had a stormer and the other player in question...well he had something of the opposite.
Any other such stories (mainly successful) of such incidents?
Surely Joe Kernan flaking his plaque against the dressing room wall will make an appearance.
Maybe Ger Loughnane being interviewed at half-time in the 95 All-Ireland.
"will ye win it Ger?"
"we will"
Granted the players might not have heard it but who knows what he said to them in the dressing-room.
Eion Mulligans goal against the Dubs, I feel it got them on the road in 2005
Not too sure what the match was, but I think I head one about Armagh in 2003 when they were down at half-time and Joe got Eamonn Mackle to bring the Sam Maguire into the changing rooms and say 'do you want to leave this here.' It worked to an extent as they got to the final but were beaten by Tyrone. (By the way that was not meant as carte blanche for another nauseating Armagh-Tyrone bashing session)
Agree with Spiritof98
Eoin Mulligans goal against Dublin.
It maybe isn't a season turning moment, but at an Munster semi final between Tipp and Clare down in Cork, there were a middle aged couple from tipp sitting beside me and they cheered like hell when Tipp came running out from below the stand and down to the Blackrock end. A few moments later Clare came running out and Ollie Baker accidentally ran into a small brick wall about 3 feet high, at the top of the tunnel and sent it flying. The woman turns to her husband and says ' I think we're in trouble today dear'.
Ger Loughnane was up to all sorts back then, pinning players down in the changing rooms, lifting gates off their hinges etc, etc, the man was mad.
Liam Griffin putting the team, player by player in the ring with Sean Collier the boxer. :o
Just noticed your link there Johnnycool. When did Ballygalget launch the web site? It always surprised me that none of the Ards clubs had sites. The Mitchel's must be the first.
Liam Griffin getting all the team off the bus when they were crossing the Wexford border on their way to the All-Ireland Final and citing what their fathers and fathers before them fought for on the side of the road. I think he even threw in a bit about 1798 but he told them when they were crossing it on the way home he wanted the McCarthy Cup with them or they would be letting down their county.
Loughnane also brought his team out training on a pitch right beside Shannon airport to train, so they would get used to the noise level in Croker.
Oh, I don't know, maybe Jack O'Connor's idea of putting Kieran Donaghy at full forward this year had a bit of an impact on Kerry, and Longford, and Armagh, and Cork and poor Mayo too.
Although I hate to say it, Donaghy catching the ball above Bellew and crashing it to the net, was for me the turning point this year-Kerry never looked back
Vaughans two inspired kicks which led the dubs to their first Leinster in 3 years
Jimmy Nallen bombing up the field in 96 to score a goal against kerry in the semi final. We did not win the all ireland, but it was a great moment
Meath's powerhouse display against Tyrone in 1996.
Up til that point we thought we could win an AI with nice attractive attacking football and small forwards.
Kerry in 2003 and the whole country were waiting for the best game of the year but instead Tyrone turned the screw on the Kerry style who have now changed their game plan to do the same.
Yeah Mugsy's performances changed after that wonder goal but maybe his goal in the 2nd match in front of the hill put the Dub's to the sword as they were storming back at the start of the second half.
How about Kernan pulling off Geezer in that semi in 2005. Was that a turning point for both teams?
Michael Bond taking over the Offaly hurlers from Babs in 98. Went from also rans to champions.
is it possible to keep it to more management speeches/actions or rather than individual scores although i suppose they probably have more of an effect in reality!
What about maurice fitzs point from the sideline against dublin with tommy carr trying to put him off! Unreal
Brian Mc Guigan returning from Australia in 05, without him Tyrone wouldn't have won the All Ireland
That goal Kevin Foley scored to beat dublin in 91
Leaving Gary Coleman on (whilst carrying an injury) v Down in 1994, if he had been replaced, 4Sams would be a regular Down poster!!
Niall Cahalane gubbing Enda Gormley. He did everyone in Derry a great Favour, Gormley played the game of his life after that. Niall we thank you.
During Armagh run to the Sam in 2002 Joe Kernan pulled plenty of tricks. At half time in the semi final he took out his 1977 AI final jersey and said to the players "Do you want an All Ireland Jersey" They went out and won by a point.
On the way to the final he played the infamous Peace With Inches Speech on the team bus and then at half time he took out his AI final losing plaque from 77. He said to the players "Do you want one of these" and then hopped it off the fours walls and smashed it in shite in the shower.
Armagh won...job done
The Donegal players, led by Martin McHugh, agreeing, in a post-match clear-the-air meeting, that McEniff and his staff had to seriously increase the intensity of Donegal's preparations in the aftermath of what was a fairly pedestrian Donegal performance against Fermanagh in the Ulster semi-final in 1992. They hammered Fermanagh off the pitch in the end, but only after a very poor Fermanagh side had stayed with them and been arguably the better team for 40 minutes. The nervous display, as favourites, in the first 50 minutes of the AI semi against Mayo notwithstanding, it was a far different team in the subsequent matches, particularly against Derry and Dublin.
The return of Manus Boyle was also vital that season, although it was hard on Tommy Ryan, who lost his place for the AI Final after being the best player in the Ulster Championship.
Babs Keating calling the Offaly lads a herd of sheep !
Donaghy's sending off against Cork. If he hadn't got sent off Kerry would have won the Munster Final and would have kept the team the same for the 1/4 final. They'd probably have beaten Donegal but would then have lost to Armagh.
Alot of nonsense IMO. All Irelands are won cumulatively over an 8 mth period. Winning teams can always LOOK BACK and point out a "Turning Point" in their season (usually in a post season book or dvd) Luck plays a big part as does circumstance.My point is that you never see a team or manager point out such an "Inspirational Turning Point" mid season.
How would you be able to identify a game or decision as a turning point without the benefit of hindsight? Lots of decisions and changes are made through the course of a season - the very influential ones only become clear once they've unleashed whatever chain of events follows on from them. Kerry's decision to move Donaghy in to full forward was certainly a huge turning point this season. If O'Connor had resisted the calls for the move, would they have won the All Ireland? Similarly, Donegal would not have won an All Ireland in 1992 if the players, with the experience of the three previous seasons to inform them, hadn't made the collective decision to go all out with the training in the run-up to and aftermath of the Ulster final. That decision did not guarantee anything, but without that change in attitude and preparation, they probably would not have beaten Derry and would not have been in a position to beat Mayo and Dublin. And no one is saying that luck or circumstance plays no part!
ross carrs penalty up in celtic park after ml had missed one a rocket straight down the middle.
Cormac mcAnallen's move to full-back in 2003?
2002 - The Sligo game in Croke Park. Dessie Sloyan clean through and bounces the ball. The very firm turf means the ball goes higher than anticipated when bounced. In that second an Armagh defender comes across to cover. What was a goal scoring opportunity results in a fisted point. If it was a goal, Armagh were dead and buried. It was a point. A draw and we win the replay and the all-Ireland. Milimetres.
Gormley block 2003 :o