Journalist Write-Off 2009

[RedandGreenSniper]

I actually enjoy Hayes and there is a serious mind on the  game there, he just descends into controversy for the sake of it far too often.

Regardless, Duggan is different class. Some great lines in there and there is something about Meath alright that is different. Not better, but different.

Duggan for me.

[ONeill]

Ok, so that's the holder Duggan through to the quarters. A steady start to his defence.

This week it's Heaney v Harte. Mickey'll need to pull out all the stops this Friday.

Here's Heaney's effort:

Derry and Tyrone may well serve up a game of football

By Paddy Heaney


Killers from the egg: the malevolent aged grin. They dance on the surface among the flies.

From the poem 'Pike' by Ted Hughes

Education was wasted on me. The intense imagery contained in the above lines should summon pictures of dark pools filled with the lurking menace of predatory pike.

Not for me. The first time I read that opening verse I immediately thought of 'ill-set' corner-backs from around Ardboe.

Those with the necessary experience will understand. Lough Neagh. The midges. And those Loughshore men, smirking at the thoughts of their intended misdemeanours. And yes, I hear the howls of complaint. And I accept the charge. I am biased. I am prejudiced. I stand before you as a guilty Derry man. But I'm merely a product of the propaganda on which I was raised.

Outsiders don't really understand the nuances of the relationship that exists between Derry and Tyrone. It's quite complex. Derry is the much smaller county. Tyrone is a giant, the Cork of the North, with sprawling acreage, a vast population, and 47 clubs, nearly all of which are devoted exclusively to football. Normally in such circumstances, the smaller county adopts the attitude of the baby brother, forever puffing out his chest and trying to impress his elder sibling. This is the way Fermanagh get on.

Derry men have never felt this sense of inferiority to Tyrone. Truth to be told, we were told on our daddy's knee that we were a much superior tribe. It's about quality, not quantity. Tyrone were uncouth and uncultured. Derry were suave and sophisticated. Our grannies told us that these differences manifested themselves on the football field. Tyrone were agricultural. We were artists. If they were plough horses, then we were thoroughbreds.

I am not saying it's true. I'm just saying that's what the nuns taught us in school. Then came the National League final of 1992, and the All-Ireland title in 1993. These victories only served to reinforce the feelings of supremacy that had been bred into us since the cot. Of course, while it pains Derry men to admit it, they've always been jealous of Tyrone to some degree. It's a subject that's rarely mentioned, but the political situation was always awkward in Derry, and we were envious of the climate that pertained across the Sperrins. Even Derry men rarely talk about it themselves, but my brother was at a party once where the topic of the political divide among our people raised its head. The debate was threatening to turn violent when Ronan McKenna stood up and addressed the room.

"I can see a time when it's all going to be different," said Ronan.

The crowd hushed, anticipating the Martin Luther King moment that was about to come.

Ronan continued: "I can see a time when there will be no North," he said, "And no South. It will just be 'Derry'."

The partygoers groaned at the sheer impossibility of the idea. They say a voice from the corner of the room muttered: "America will elect a black president with Irish ancestors before that happens."

And so it came to pass. America elected Barack Obama and Tyrone won three All-Ireland titles. Derry men still struggle to work out which event represents the greatest blip on history's cardiograph. Tyrone's All-Ireland triumvirate has caused untold damage to the Derry psyche. An entire race of people has been forced to question and re-evaluate the beliefs that were once held as fundamental truths. But the denial couldn't continue. In the past few years, Derry schoolchildren have been given access to video footage of Frank McGuigan and Peter Canavan. The propaganda had to stop.

So, too, has the long-held belief that our footballers were inherently more skilled and gifted. The Championship victories over the auld enemy in 2001 and 2006 were enjoyed, but they didn't provide any memories of sumptuous football. Rather, the performances on those days were a tacit admission that Derry had forsaken any vestiges of pre-eminence over their arch-rivals. Gone was the idea that we could flourish by the grace of North Derry steel and South Derry sorcery. Any form of pretence completely vanished in 2006 when Derry smothered Tyrone into submission.

It was an exercise in containment. Liam Hinphey, who spent a month studying DVDs of Sean Cavanagh, was able to second guess the Tyrone man's every move. Tyrone, who had fresh memories of the space and freedom granted to them by Kerry in the previous year's All-Ireland final, just couldn't cope with Derry's suffocating headlock. Derry may have won, but it was a victory for vandalism over Tyrone's well-oiled machine. Derry knifed their tyres and smashed their windscreens.

And this is why Sunday's game between the two counties holds so much promise. Ridiculous as it may sound, but we could actually be served up a game of football in Casement Park. And no, I haven't lost my tiny mind. On Derry's part, there is unlikely to be any recurrence of the mean-spirited, nastiness which was so prevalent when they played Monaghan. Monaghan bullied Derry out of Casement Park in 2007, but the Farneymen were naive to think that they could repeat the trick in Celtic Park. That was never going to happen. Cue the misconduct.

Sunday promises to be different. Damian Cassidy has made little secret of the fact that he has modelled Derry on Tyrone. He has tried to develop a team of footballers that has scoring potential in every quarter of the field. Furthermore, Cassidy's teams don't have a history of skulduggery and the meeting between Derry and Tyrone in the League was fast, furious and nearly always fair.

Naturally, it would be daft (and damned disappointing) if Sunday's game passed off without some unsavoury incidents. As both teams are more than capable of playing by the written and unwritten rules, it's impossible to predict a game totally devoid of unpleasantness. But there still remains the very distinct possibility that we're going to get the rarest treat of all – an actual game of football between Derry and Tyrone. Two teams leaving the changing room with the shared aim of outscoring each other.

The meagre sum of 1-8 allowed Derry to win that last Championship encounter in Healy Park. That total will never suffice at the weekend. Armagh scored a respectable 1-10 against the Red Hands and still lost. The winning team in Casement Park will probably need to chalk up at least 15 or 16 points.

The race to that winning tally should provide some lasting memories of classy football.

If Tyrone win, the status quo remains. If the Oak Leafers prevail by winning a great game of football against the reigning All-Ireland champions, then some of the old faith will be restored.

And who knows after that. Maybe, one day, a united Derry.

[muppet]

Heaney gets my vote.

[ONeill]

Oh dear, omen for the weekend. I think Heaney has annihilated Harte here.

More imaginative steps needed in recruiting refs Mickey Harte
By Mickey Harte
19/06/09



REFEREEING is a task that all followers of Gaelic games have very definite views on. Generally those opinions are not very endearing towards 'the men in black'. However, we might do well to take a step back, detach ourselves from the emotion of the game and give due credit to those who carry out this quite thankless task, Sunday after Sunday (and many other days too).

The facts of the matter are that if we were to look at the performance of our whistlers in an objective way, the scales come down heavily in favour of the number of correct decisions they make as opposed to their errors of judgement. Can you imagine the chaos and total breakdown of the system that would occur if, on any given
Sunday, the referees decided to withdraw their services?

In Tyrone alone, upwards of 1000 players would be unable to compete. If this figure was extrapolated throughout the province, we are looking at numbers in the region of 10,000 who would feel the pinch. So the next time we, as players, managers or spectators, feel aggrieved at some unfavourable decision, perhaps we would do well to reflect on the above scenario.

I feel it's time for a radical review of the situation with regard to match officials. Many of our referees, particularly at club level, are thrown in at the deep end in order to fulfil the minimum requirement of having two representatives per club. The pressure that is brought to bear on clubs to produce referees  – if you don't have two referees then your reserves might not get a game – I think is unfair and, in the long term, potentially detrimental. The net result of this threat is that clubs force, coerce, cajole often reluctant individuals to allow their name to go forward as a club referee. The situation that prevails at present mitigates against current players volunteering for this task and this necessarily limits the range of personnel who can possibly embrace this challenge.

Realistically, we are left with young men who aren't particularly attracted to playing or men who have finished their playing careers. The young man who doesn't want to play is highly unlikely to have the confidence and knowledge of the game (including the rules) to be effective in this demanding environment. The recently retired player would know too well the level of abuse and criticism that goes with the territory and consequently there would be no queue of applicants from this category. (Indeed his wife and family would be highly unlikely to buy into this form of extended career).

While many current players would be reluctant to step boldly into the referee's kit, I believe there would be huge benefits over time of facilitating this innovation. Firstly, the players concerned would have to acquire a greater knowledge of the rules, which would help them become better players and be more sympathetic and have a greater sense of empathy with their fellow officials. These men would have a greater feel for the game and should be more able to appreciate the range of emotions experienced by the players during the heat of the contest. Physically they would be better equipped to keep up with the pace of the game, a feat that is no mean task in the modern game, and thus be in closer proximity to the action when difficult calls have to be made.

Recent observations of the role of a referee when he attempts to keep as close to the play as possible suggests that he covers as much ground as the most mobile players on the team. Indeed, his range and variety of movement is also on a par with the players. This being so, it seems logical that the current generation of whistlers would be hard pressed to meet these physical demands.

Of course, the current system of all games taking place simultaneously would have to be addressed and adjusted. Players would have to referee outside their own divisions and the transition would have to take place through youth football. There will, of course, always be a place for competent, non-playing referees, but they would now be subject to more rigorous fitness requirements than is currently the case. Ultimately the people who currently carry out this difficult task should be both respected and properly remunerated. I don't know the exact extent of their current expenses but I feel a robust expense structure would attract more candidates to this difficult, yet essential role.

Undoubtedly this departure would be viewed as seriously problematic by the administrators in terms of practicality, however, with careful planning, I have no doubt these difficulties could be overcome and the opportunities for improvement could far outweigh the perceived obstacles.

[omagh_gael]

Heaney for me...overall Harte's column has been quite disappointing, was never expecting any earth shattering controversies but the majority of time it's been dull and uninteresting, probably keeping all the juicy bits for the book later in the year!

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Oh dear, omen for the weekend. I think Heaney has annihilated Harte here.

More imaginative steps needed in recruiting refs Mickey Harte
By Mickey Harte
19/06/09

...The situation that prevails at present mitigates against current players volunteering for this task and this necessarily limits the range of personnel who can possibly embrace this challenge.

...

Oh dear, wrong verb: should have been militates! (Where's the editor?)

[Tony Baloney]

Heaney v Harte was over before it started. Heaney for me.

[Carmen Stateside]

Heaney.

[muppet]

Oh dear, omen for the weekend. I think Heaney has annihilated Harte here.

More imaginative steps needed in recruiting refs Mickey Harte
By Mickey Harte
19/06/09



REFEREEING is a task that all followers of Gaelic games have very definite views on. Generally those opinions are not very endearing towards 'the men in black'. However, we might do well to take a step back, detach ourselves from the emotion of the game and give due credit to those who carry out this quite thankless task, Sunday after Sunday (and many other days too).

The facts of the matter are that if we were to look at the performance of our whistlers in an objective way, the scales come down heavily in favour of the number of correct decisions they make as opposed to their errors of judgement. Can you imagine the chaos and total breakdown of the system that would occur if, on any given
Sunday, the referees decided to withdraw their services?

In Tyrone alone, upwards of 1000 players would be unable to compete. If this figure was extrapolated throughout the province, we are looking at numbers in the region of 10,000 who would feel the pinch. So the next time we, as players, managers or spectators, feel aggrieved at some unfavourable decision, perhaps we would do well to reflect on the above scenario.

I feel it's time for a radical review of the situation with regard to match officials. Many of our referees, particularly at club level, are thrown in at the deep end in order to fulfil the minimum requirement of having two representatives per club. The pressure that is brought to bear on clubs to produce referees  – if you don't have two referees then your reserves might not get a game – I think is unfair and, in the long term, potentially detrimental. The net result of this threat is that clubs force, coerce, cajole often reluctant individuals to allow their name to go forward as a club referee. The situation that prevails at present mitigates against current players volunteering for this task and this necessarily limits the range of personnel who can possibly embrace this challenge.

Realistically, we are left with young men who aren't particularly attracted to playing or men who have finished their playing careers. The young man who doesn't want to play is highly unlikely to have the confidence and knowledge of the game (including the rules) to be effective in this demanding environment. The recently retired player would know too well the level of abuse and criticism that goes with the territory and consequently there would be no queue of applicants from this category. (Indeed his wife and family would be highly unlikely to buy into this form of extended career).

While many current players would be reluctant to step boldly into the referee's kit, I believe there would be huge benefits over time of facilitating this innovation. Firstly, the players concerned would have to acquire a greater knowledge of the rules, which would help them become better players and be more sympathetic and have a greater sense of empathy with their fellow officials. These men would have a greater feel for the game and should be more able to appreciate the range of emotions experienced by the players during the heat of the contest. Physically they would be better equipped to keep up with the pace of the game, a feat that is no mean task in the modern game, and thus be in closer proximity to the action when difficult calls have to be made.

Recent observations of the role of a referee when he attempts to keep as close to the play as possible suggests that he covers as much ground as the most mobile players on the team. Indeed, his range and variety of movement is also on a par with the players. This being so, it seems logical that the current generation of whistlers would be hard pressed to meet these physical demands.

Of course, the current system of all games taking place simultaneously would have to be addressed and adjusted. Players would have to referee outside their own divisions and the transition would have to take place through youth football. There will, of course, always be a place for competent, non-playing referees, but they would now be subject to more rigorous fitness requirements than is currently the case. Ultimately the people who currently carry out this difficult task should be both respected and properly remunerated. I don't know the exact extent of their current expenses but I feel a robust expense structure would attract more candidates to this difficult, yet essential role.

Undoubtedly this departure would be viewed as seriously problematic by the administrators in terms of practicality, however, with careful planning, I have no doubt these difficulties could be overcome and the opportunities for improvement could far outweigh the perceived obstacles.

I demand an investigation by the jockey club. He has to at least try. Where was the whip?

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Derry knifed their tyres and smashed their windscreens.

Did Brolly lift this quote from Heaney for his pre-match comments today?

[ONeill]

That's Duggan and Heaney through.

Now Humphries v Brolly. Could be a tight one. Have to use Brolly's article from 2 weeks back.

Calmly planning a bright blue future

TOM HUMPHRIES

A SUNNY AFTERNOON in St Claire's on the balmy northside. The open French doors permit a breeze to waft over the table laden with teas, coffee, and comestibles and to circulate around the room filled with us, the coxcombs and jackanapes of the media, who are sitting in rows with questions loaded.

Pat Gilroy sits in a tan suit facing everybody with Paul Griffin on one side of him and Conal Keaney on the other. He waits for everybody to be ready and then begins patiently answering the questions. It could be a scene at any club in the Premier League.

He is good at engaging with the questioner and answering in a disciplined way. In his brief few months in charge, Gilroy has done lots of these sessions and not left any hostages to fortune.

You can see how Croke Park were sufficiently impressed to make him the surprise package on the shortlist for director generall when Liam Mulvihill retired. His answers don't stray into hubris or unguarded malice. His excursions into humour are brief and well received, but everybody returns to the business at hand quite quickly.

Sometimes he is asked a question that invites either no answer of a bullshit answer and he grimaces slightly, as if pained to be asked to provide the latter. The media session is warm, cordial, respectful and well-organised. What information is necessary is given out. Nobody runs off at the mouth.

The whole business, from the venue to the tone, represents Gilroy's approach to management and the challenge of doing what has to be done. When he got the Dublin job, a surprise appointment but a thoughtful one from the county board, he set about organising a few commercial sponsors, firms untapped by the churn of regular GAA fundraising.

And they built this low-slung discreet building in a gladed corner of DCU's sports grounds, a secure place and a permanent base for Dublin senior football, a facility offering a serious county side just about everything it needs. The wooden gates out the back of the building open onto a finely-manicured pitch. This is where Dublin workshop themselves. In a quid pro quo with the college, the building and pitch serve as Sigerson campaign headquarters during the off-season for intercounty football.

"And if the economy ever picks up again there is the option of putting a second floor onto it," he says, concluding the brief tour of a facility which has cost the county board nothing.

The venue and the press conference hold the key to understanding Gilroy's quiet , common-sense style of management.

Problem: The media have to be accommodated.

Solution: Accommodate them in the shortest time span possible with the maximum efficiency, everybody receives a sheet with the team for Sunday and a comprehensive list of injury updates. There is a short question and answer session, some one-on- ones and it is all done within an hour.

"There are still people who will ring me but they know by now that I just don't return the call. Nothing personal, I give this hour or so and most of the media are happy with that. We try to be as helpful as possible. At the end of the day I am not paid to do this so I'm not available 24 hours a day. It is important to do the media. You have to. It's necessary and there's no point moaning. So we do it the best way we can."

No part of Pat Gilroy's life leaves him available 24-seven. Family has first call and with four children under the age of eight there is no room at home for sitting around being maudlin' about the state of a football team.

"It's about a bit of compartmentalising. We're so busy at home we don't have time to be sitting moaning or talking about football."

His work brings him regularly to Paris.

"I just have to time it so that I get back for training. Work is good and it's busy. That's a good thing. It takes concentration so you're not spending the day talking about football."

When it is time for football his brain turns to the game.

For the old hands in the Dublin circus the change of ringmaster has brought a change of working habits. For the core of the squad the culture of Dublin football had been set in the overlapping administrations of Tommy Lyons and Paul Caffrey.

Gilroy wanted change without revolution.

"Firstly the previous management were hugely supportive to us. They helped us in loads of ways in terms of understanding how they approached things and did things. The players had huge respect for the previous management and the way they did things and approached things, so to have come in and started dismantling things would have been counter- productive.

"They had a hugely professional approach. So the bar was set high and we had to at least get up to that level in terms of organisation and structure."

Change has been visible everywhere, from the names on the teamsheets to the style of play and the methods of training. Even Gilroy has had to accommodate change, a radical shift in the nature of his relationship with Mickey Whelan.

"Listen, Mickey makes it very easy. He goes with it completely. His enthusiasm is incredible. I know the man so long and I get on so well with him that it's a very easy relationship. His coaching is exceptional. His input is invaluable. The other three guys the same. Great relationship."

Change is all around though. Quietly and thoughtfully implemented.

"We wanted to do things differently in terms of training, to try different things. These guys have been totally open to that. They are very good people to work with, there are no difficulties there.

"We are doing more things with the ball more often I imagine, making the guys play against each other more often. Introducing a bit more competition in the squad, making changes and putting guys under more pressure. All the guys are taking that well and trying to play better instead of sulking about it. What goes on in training here is you know, competitive. "

The results of the new approach were visible when the team was named for the Meath game a few weeks ago. The teamsheet robustly challenged the assumption that the experiments carried out during the league would give way to damage limitation requirements come the summer and that when the time came the first 15 would be stocked as usual with tried and generally trusted faces. It didn't unfold that way and the substitutions made on the day matched.

"Some players have gone," he says, "others have been brought back when they pick up their club form. It's important that players see that. We have a panel now where a lot of players are competing for starting positions. That's healthy and the fellas have gone with that. Lads are responding by picking it up and challenging each other harder."

The style of play too was different and if it was obvious that Dublin were attempting fluency in a new language their grammatical limitations brought criticism aplenty. The usual famine or feast atmosphere surrounding the capital's side.

Gilroy was unmoved.

"I'm not so sure how extreme the reaction was. We were disappointed with the finishing side of things. There were things that went well but the finishing was poor. I don't know what the reactions were out there. I literally don't get a chance to sit down and sift through the papers or whatever.

"And even if I did, sure guys are entitled to their opinions. Everyone is free to do that. You'll get bamboozled if you try to understand what every criticism means.

"We do so much analysis here that's enough to have to deal with. We have to answer to ourselves and the standards we set and that have been set before us. We are very critical of ourselves here. All the analysis is video-based. It is searching stuff. That is what matters."

At the end of the day, Pat Gilroy will do the Dublin job according to his own standards and personality. He learned early on that not a lot else mattered or was possible.

"There's a learning curve here. If you aren't learning you aren't developing but I'm just trying to be myself and trying to deal with things head on and make sure there is a fair process there behind every decision we make. If you do that, people will go with you. I am going with my own style. The only policy is to be yourself.

"If you try to go about it any other way you won't carry it off and you will be exposed. When that happens you are in trouble."

So the footballing part of his regular day is communication oriented. Talking to players as much as is possible.

"Communication with the players on such a regular basis is difficult. If you have a panel of 30 lads, communicating with them is time-consuming. If a fella isn't going well you can't just send him a text saying, listen, you need to improve. If a guy dips or if a guy improves you need to talk to him and let him know that it's happening. So a lot of time is just spent talking to lads and listening to them. Not rocket science!"

And tomorrow brings the challenge of Westmeath, a team Dublin beat by 27 points last time out. Another huge house in Croker. More instant verdicts on Dublin's viability come September. Gilroy will navigate the day as he has everything else in the job so far with his own compass and his eye on events later in the summer.

"The way we have gone about our business is to say that this team needs to get to an All-Ireland final. That would be progress because we haven't been that far in a long time. In January when we faced in to the year we had to have a look at the options for progressing. In Leinster and then beyond.

"We have always said we want to get this squad to an All-Ireland final. That would be progress. We have a panel here that will give us options later in the year and that's what we will need. We put the panel together with that in mind but in the meantime it has to be match by match."

Outside the summer sun is high in the sky and the last of the press conference attendees has drifted off. Pat Gilroy has to wait for a while to take a meeting here, the guy was due 10 minutes ago.

He looks at his watch and considers the lateness and the knock-on effect it will have on his day. No fuss, no panic though.

That's not how things are done around St Claire's as a new era unfolds.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0627/1224249653423.html



Looks who's talking now!

Joe Brolly
Gaelic Life

I MADE my debut for the Derry Masters on Saturday against the Dubs. It was like going back in a time machine. Opening the changing room door, I was hit by a wall of wintergreen, enough to burn my eyes.

I hadn't smelt wintergreen for twenty years. Is it still legal? I assumed that John O'Leary, Paul Curran, Joe McNally and a host of legendary Dubs, against Henry Downey and his team would surely be a good natured affair. Until the first fight broke out after about five minutes.

I had forgotten the tackle, which involved bracing yourself for the punch to the body as you burst through. The first ball I got I weaved through and was duly busted. My man greeted me with "You RTE b**tard." The Dublin right half back spent the whole game trying to get at me. There were three fist fights.

By half time, it was a battle to the death. We pushed through and won by twelve points to six. Afterwards, hands were shook in the time honoured fashion, and both teams went to the Glen club for pints and dinner. It felt good. It summed up the tribal spirit that makes the GAA great.

Moaning

Which is why all the hand-wringing and moaning after last Sunday's game is so ridiculous. The RTE panellists obviously played a different game than me. Or did they?

Let's start with Pat. The ferocious Jimmy Deenihan clung to Jimmy Barry Murphy's privates for years, eventually forcing JB to abandon the big ball (pardon the pun). In a Munster final, the legendary Paidi O'Se was beating the ribs off Dinny Allen with both fists as Dinny took a pass. When the Cork man swung back with the elbow and hit him in the face, Paidi gave him, in his words 'a right good belt', i.e. knocked him senseless with a massive punch in the face. (Go to Youtube and enter in Paidi O'Se Dinny Allen.) The punch was later glorified in Paidi's 'Laochra Gael'. The ref was so shocked that he fell to the ground and struggled to get up.

On the subject of kicking (and I mean real kicking, not a flick) Paidi famously kicked Joe McNally so hard up the arse before the throw in for the 1984 final that he sent the big man two foot into the air. Watch Mickey Ned's solo run through the Dublin defence in 1975 (Go to 'Mickey Ned O'Sullivan Knock Out Youtube'.) I defy you not to shield your eyes at the grim finale.

Dishonesty

Fast forwarding two decades, look back no further than Kerry's campaign of dishonour in 2008, when they disputed every decision, threw the ball away, jostled with opponents off the ball and worse.

Colm Cooper's sending off in the league final was positive? Paul Galvin slapping the notebook out of the referee's hand, then wrestling with his team mate Tomas O'Se wasn't negative. Everything to do with Paul Galvin, from feigning injuries to sneaky punches is positive? Or what about Aidan O'Mahoney trash talking into Donnacha O'Connor's face, then holding his face to get the Cork man sent off, an incident which summed up the bitterness of that game (go to 'Youtube Cheating in Gaelic football').

Or what about the league this year against Tyrone, when Jack O'Connor was straining to get at Ryan McMenamin after the final whistle. Was that a good example for the kiddies Jack?

Then there was Tony Davis, moaning sadly and wringing his hands in despair about the Ulster championship. But Niall Cahalane punched Enda Gormley in the face off the ball during the All-Ireland final in 1993, a deliberate knockout from behind, with the aim of doing as much damage as possible. We didn't complain Tony, because these things sometimes happen.

What about the current Cork team's bad tempered and poisonous battles with Kerry – mouthing, late tackling, jostling, dragging, and pulling. Or Noel O'Leary's off the ball fist fight with Graham Geraghty in the All-Ireland semi final in 2007 (Youtube 'Noel O'Leary Geraghty.')

Big Joe

Worst of all was Joe Kernan's positively nauseating contribution. He once laughed at me, with the words, 'sure you never fought on the field in your life'. What about the time Mickey Linden's Mayobridge team mates were bending down to retrieve Mickey's teeth from the Casement Park sod?

For Joe was instrumental in creating the legend of Francie Bellew, and still speaks of him as though he were some mythical heroic figure. I agree, even if he wasn't much of a footballer. I think Francie was terrific, possessed of the Corinthian spirit, he just went over the line at times. The point is he wasn't playing bowls.

Joe's Armagh team systematically fouled their opponents to prevent them building attacks, body checking, swamping the defensive area, and trade-marking the new trick of dropping onto fallen opponents with their knees.

What of the poisonous rivalry between Armagh v Tyrone, so vividly written about by Oisin McConville? The hitting off the ball, the trash talking, the attempts to injure? (see Youtube 'The Crying Game Armagh Tyrone') Or Armagh v Kerry in 2006, when John Toal, the Armagh water carrier, came onto the field and threw a flurry of punches at Paul Galvin, with Big Joe in the middle of it pushing, shouting and roaring at the official to take action against Galvin (See it at 'Paul Galvin v Armagh' youtube)

Or the incessant bad mouthing of the Armagh goalie at Kieran Donaghy in the same game. Big Kieran later apologised for his reaction. Or Armagh v Fermanagh in 2004, and Armagh's reaction to the Fermanagh challenge, including Enda McNulty's red card for attempted decapitation, and Stephen McDonnell lashing out with his elbow, striking Ryan McCluskey?

Take Tyrone v Dublin in the league in 2007 (see Youtube 'Wot a match'). Watch Dublin's Alan Brogan (I assume he's not from the North) threatening the Tyrone water carrier, and throwing punches. Or Ciaran 'Red Card' Whelan (Northern mother don't you know) dragging a Tyrone player to his feet, setting the ball rolling on a mass brawl.

O'Rourke

Then there's Colm O'Rourke. I remember the All-Ireland final in 1990, when Mick Lyons targeted Colm O'Neill from the off, punching him again and again in the back of the head. Eventually, Colm could take no more and lashed back with his elbow, only to be red carded.

Or Mickey Linden getting taken out early on in the 1991 final, blood running out of his mouth (though teeth ok). Against us in a league game in 1991, Liam Harnan and Kevin Foley deliberately set me up for serious injury, I ducked at the last minute, and Liam knocked out his own man with an elbow. Kevin was stretchered from the field. Did I complain?

Watch Meath in the replayed final against Mayo in 1996 (Youtube 'Meath Mayo replay'). After the throw in, there was a mass brawl involving everyone, which went on for a full three minutes. Or watch the Dubs v Meath fighting in the league last year. Jarlath Burns was apparantly even worse than Joe on the BBC, but that's not important since no one watches it anyway. The hypocrisy is astounding.

My point

The point is that all of the above were, and are, very fine teams and players. Eamonn Coleman used to say - rightly - that 'nice boys wins nothing'. Winners in hard, competitive sport, must be tough and ruthless.

Mick Lyons, Kevin Foley, Liam Harnan, Colm O'Rourke were indispensable members of a great side. The same goes for Ryan McMenamin, Conor Gormley, Paul Galvin, Aidan O'Mahoney et al.

Monaghan have built their success on good organisation and massive team spirit. They have set out to reduce the gap between themselves and the top teams. What should they be doing? Accept they can never beat the Kerrys and go out as lambs to the slaughter?

In our games, from time to time these flare ups are going to happen. Massive intensity is required. Players must stand up to whatever challenge is presented. If the officials will not (when they see it) or cannot (when they don't see it) then you must look after yourself.

For what it's worth, I watched last Sunday's game again just now, and the antics have been hyped out of all proportion. In a way it is no one else's business, but Derry and Monaghan. Our tribe against theirs.

An even greater analyst than Colm O'Rourke said once, and I quote, "Let he that is without sin cast the first stone." You know, when I think of it, if anyone fits that bill, it's me. But I don't complain. These things happen from time to time when young men gather to chase a ball around the pitch. If they didn't have the passion for it, then we wouldn't have a game at all.

Like life, football is about the rough and the smooth. I had my nose broken twice off the ball. I was fouled and nipped, and on one occasion spat on. I would say that very few players took the abuse that I did. But I also played on great days with great lads, and the truth is I wouldn't change any of it for the world. Even the fractures...

Doire abu! Down with the Free-Staters, political correctness and hypocrites! And bring back the wintergreen!

http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/GL/free/294615303407744.php

[Sandy Hill]

I think this one has to go to a replay!

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Humphries by a few lengths. Too many exagerations and half-truths in Brolly's article.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Brolly shades it for me, you know a lot of it is bollix, but it's entertaining bollix.

[Carmen Stateside]

Yeah Brolly for me. It was the tightest match up yet.