PAULD123, I would'nt get too carried away with positions. Kevin Cassidy's recent column in Gaelic life gives a good summary of how positions have changed in recent years.
An obvious thing which I'm happy about is that McCorry seems to be trying out lots of players in lots of positions. At least he's not afraid to have a look at his options. Hopefully he will know get all his experimenting done and dusted and learn from it in time for the championship.
As for Marty Clarke that was a great interview. It looks like its going to be a long road back for him to wear the red and black. I wish him well, he's such a talent and having a fit and well Marty Clarke would obviously increase our chances of success greatly.
Below is the Kevin Cassidy piece by the way:
THERE has been a lot of talk and discussion recently about the current state of our game. Players, ex players and pundits have all had their say and the general consensus is that our game is in decline.
Some players have refuted the fact that our game has taken a step backwards recently but in reality it probably has. Players feel that the game was at its best when they played it themselves.
I remember times when I was playing for Donegal and ex players, turned pundits, might have made a comment and you would say to yourself "what does he know sure the game has moved on so much since he played".
True but we all see the game through our rose-tinted glasses!!
The fact is that the game continues to evolve. I am only out of it a few years and I would say that there have been significant changes in relation to training methods since I last donned the Green and Gold.
That's the nature of our sport like it or lump it. GAA teams have now adopted a win-at-all-cost mentality. Forget about if we're making it attractive, forget about what kind of game we are leaving behind for the next generation, forget about the long-term health of our players. It's now all about win percentages at the end of the season.
Last weekend we had two fantastic Club semi-finals with Gaels taking to social media to boast about the quality on show.
Current players used it as an example to counter the arguments of pundits who spoke about the standard of play in recent weeks.
My advice to those players would be to look closely at those four teams involved, study the coaches and philosophies of each team and you will quickly realise that they are a dying breed in our sport.
Mickey Moran wouldn't entertain negative defensive football nor would starlets like Diarmuid Connolly or Micheal Lundy play it.
Whether we like it or not, our game has changed. The criteria for selecting an inter county player has changed so much over the past decade.
I am currently on a family holiday and while walking home last Sunday I bumped into Down and Warrenpoint legend and All-Ireland winner Peter Rooney.
We stopped for a while and while shooting the breeze along the promenade (it amazes me as to how quickly you can become comfortable around someone with similar interests, especially GAA) when the conversation swung towards how the game is played nowadays. We both agreed on one thing, that our game has become hard to watch.
Peter said that "managers are now looking for greyhounds not footballers". I couldn't have agreed more.
We parted by saying that hopefully In the next few years managers and coaches will return to something that resembles the game we both love.
After I left Peter my mind began to wander and I tried to put myself in the shoes of an inter-county manager and tried to envisage what type of players he would be looking for in this day in age.
Goalkeeper
Mobile, quick and accurate with short kickouts and who can convert 45s
Full back line
Strong, fast and extremely fit. No need to be a seriously tight marker as they will be protected by the 10 bodies in front of them. Must be able to run the length of the field to create the over lap for the running game.
Half Back line
As they now generally have no one to mark as the oppositions 10 and 12 now retreat they have become the play makers of the modern game. Half backs now see more ball than any other player on the pitch. They need to be able to pick a pass and kick scores.
Midfield
No need for high fetchers as opposition will just bypass midfield with short kick outs. Must be big strong and extremely athletic. Need to be able to go from their own 20 yard line to the oppositions 20 for 70 minutes attacking and defending.
Half Forward line
You are looking for a players who can run all day and is about 12 stone in weight. Unselfish players who do not want to shine or to score but are happy covering in front of the full back line hoovering up loose ball.
Full forward line
First and foremost they must be ferocious tacklers and have a phenomenal work-rate. They must be willing to leave behind what makes forwards so special in that they play off they cuff, they must now be willing to play the percentages and to stick to the plan even though it may go against every natural instinct they have.
So there you have it to make it nowadays in any of those positions that is what most managers are looking for. I wonder would legends such as Maurice Fitzgerald, The Bomber Liston and Trevor Giles even make the bench nowadays, probably not. That alone is enough to back up Peter's argument that we are now looking for greyhounds not footballers!!
Twitter KCASS7
- See more at: http://gaeliclife.com/2015/02/kevin-cassidy-a-game-for-greyhounds/#sthash.NIUtf00o.dpuf
An obvious thing which I'm happy about is that McCorry seems to be trying out lots of players in lots of positions. At least he's not afraid to have a look at his options. Hopefully he will know get all his experimenting done and dusted and learn from it in time for the championship.
As for Marty Clarke that was a great interview. It looks like its going to be a long road back for him to wear the red and black. I wish him well, he's such a talent and having a fit and well Marty Clarke would obviously increase our chances of success greatly.
Below is the Kevin Cassidy piece by the way:
THERE has been a lot of talk and discussion recently about the current state of our game. Players, ex players and pundits have all had their say and the general consensus is that our game is in decline.
Some players have refuted the fact that our game has taken a step backwards recently but in reality it probably has. Players feel that the game was at its best when they played it themselves.
I remember times when I was playing for Donegal and ex players, turned pundits, might have made a comment and you would say to yourself "what does he know sure the game has moved on so much since he played".
True but we all see the game through our rose-tinted glasses!!
The fact is that the game continues to evolve. I am only out of it a few years and I would say that there have been significant changes in relation to training methods since I last donned the Green and Gold.
That's the nature of our sport like it or lump it. GAA teams have now adopted a win-at-all-cost mentality. Forget about if we're making it attractive, forget about what kind of game we are leaving behind for the next generation, forget about the long-term health of our players. It's now all about win percentages at the end of the season.
Last weekend we had two fantastic Club semi-finals with Gaels taking to social media to boast about the quality on show.
Current players used it as an example to counter the arguments of pundits who spoke about the standard of play in recent weeks.
My advice to those players would be to look closely at those four teams involved, study the coaches and philosophies of each team and you will quickly realise that they are a dying breed in our sport.
Mickey Moran wouldn't entertain negative defensive football nor would starlets like Diarmuid Connolly or Micheal Lundy play it.
Whether we like it or not, our game has changed. The criteria for selecting an inter county player has changed so much over the past decade.
I am currently on a family holiday and while walking home last Sunday I bumped into Down and Warrenpoint legend and All-Ireland winner Peter Rooney.
We stopped for a while and while shooting the breeze along the promenade (it amazes me as to how quickly you can become comfortable around someone with similar interests, especially GAA) when the conversation swung towards how the game is played nowadays. We both agreed on one thing, that our game has become hard to watch.
Peter said that "managers are now looking for greyhounds not footballers". I couldn't have agreed more.
We parted by saying that hopefully In the next few years managers and coaches will return to something that resembles the game we both love.
After I left Peter my mind began to wander and I tried to put myself in the shoes of an inter-county manager and tried to envisage what type of players he would be looking for in this day in age.
Goalkeeper
Mobile, quick and accurate with short kickouts and who can convert 45s
Full back line
Strong, fast and extremely fit. No need to be a seriously tight marker as they will be protected by the 10 bodies in front of them. Must be able to run the length of the field to create the over lap for the running game.
Half Back line
As they now generally have no one to mark as the oppositions 10 and 12 now retreat they have become the play makers of the modern game. Half backs now see more ball than any other player on the pitch. They need to be able to pick a pass and kick scores.
Midfield
No need for high fetchers as opposition will just bypass midfield with short kick outs. Must be big strong and extremely athletic. Need to be able to go from their own 20 yard line to the oppositions 20 for 70 minutes attacking and defending.
Half Forward line
You are looking for a players who can run all day and is about 12 stone in weight. Unselfish players who do not want to shine or to score but are happy covering in front of the full back line hoovering up loose ball.
Full forward line
First and foremost they must be ferocious tacklers and have a phenomenal work-rate. They must be willing to leave behind what makes forwards so special in that they play off they cuff, they must now be willing to play the percentages and to stick to the plan even though it may go against every natural instinct they have.
So there you have it to make it nowadays in any of those positions that is what most managers are looking for. I wonder would legends such as Maurice Fitzgerald, The Bomber Liston and Trevor Giles even make the bench nowadays, probably not. That alone is enough to back up Peter's argument that we are now looking for greyhounds not footballers!!
Twitter KCASS7
- See more at: http://gaeliclife.com/2015/02/kevin-cassidy-a-game-for-greyhounds/#sthash.NIUtf00o.dpuf