Seanie Johnston Switch and outside managers

[Dinny Breen]

Anyone feel Kildare are being a bit too proactive in trying to recruit Johnstone here. McGeeney seems to be welcoming him with open arms more or less while mouthing a few platitudes like "he'll have to earn his spot", etc. It seems fairly obvious that there has been "transfer talks" for lack of a better word between McGeeney, Kildare officials and Johnstone. Maybe if they said well we'll consider him after he's been here for a while and played some football for his new club but the whole thing seems a fairly transparent attempt to get Johnstone straight into the Kildare squad asap. Just doesn't seem right really. A county with the population of Kildare shouldn't really have to entertain blow-ins no matter how tempting it is.

I think the fact that he didn't he have an established address tells me that Kildare officials weren't that heavily involved, it sounds like a conversation was had between SJ and KmcG. It then grew legs, I don't think they were proactive at all they are just been reactive to a player looking to join up with them and obviously from reading the Cavan thread their current county set-up is not ideal whereas everyone knows KmcG runs a super ship on a par with Dublin and Kerry.  I just think KMcG has handled this all wrong and doesn't know the Kildare mind set at all. Haven't meet anyone bar a few internet warriors who think this is a good thing.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Anyone feel Kildare are being a bit too proactive in trying to recruit Johnstone here. McGeeney seems to be welcoming him with open arms more or less while mouthing a few platitudes like "he'll have to earn his spot", etc. It seems fairly obvious that there has been "transfer talks" for lack of a better word between McGeeney, Kildare officials and Johnstone. Maybe if they said well we'll consider him after he's been here for a while and played some football for his new club but the whole thing seems a fairly transparent attempt to get Johnstone straight into the Kildare squad asap. Just doesn't seem right really. A county with the population of Kildare shouldn't really have to entertain blow-ins no matter how tempting it is.

I think the fact that he didn't he have an established address tells me that Kildare officials weren't that heavily involved, it sounds like a conversation was had between SJ and KmcG. It then grew legs, I don't think they were proactive at all they are just been reactive to a player looking to join up with them and obviously from reading the Cavan thread their current county set-up is not ideal whereas everyone knows KmcG runs a super ship on a par with Dublin and Kerry.  I just think KMcG has handled this all wrong and doesn't know the Kildare mind set at all. Haven't meet anyone bar a few internet warriors who think this is a good thing.

Maybe but somebody set him up with an address and somebody is setting him up with a club and I doubt McGeeney organised those personally so you have to think he was onto somebody in officialdom to get those things done. Or has anybody said to McGeeney that fasttracking Johnstone into the Kildare setup might not look so good. Maybe they are just giving McGeeney a lot of free reign?

[Dinny Breen]

Anyone feel Kildare are being a bit too proactive in trying to recruit Johnstone here. McGeeney seems to be welcoming him with open arms more or less while mouthing a few platitudes like "he'll have to earn his spot", etc. It seems fairly obvious that there has been "transfer talks" for lack of a better word between McGeeney, Kildare officials and Johnstone. Maybe if they said well we'll consider him after he's been here for a while and played some football for his new club but the whole thing seems a fairly transparent attempt to get Johnstone straight into the Kildare squad asap. Just doesn't seem right really. A county with the population of Kildare shouldn't really have to entertain blow-ins no matter how tempting it is.

I think the fact that he didn't he have an established address tells me that Kildare officials weren't that heavily involved, it sounds like a conversation was had between SJ and KmcG. It then grew legs, I don't think they were proactive at all they are just been reactive to a player looking to join up with them and obviously from reading the Cavan thread their current county set-up is not ideal whereas everyone knows KmcG runs a super ship on a par with Dublin and Kerry.  I just think KMcG has handled this all wrong and doesn't know the Kildare mind set at all. Haven't meet anyone bar a few internet warriors who think this is a good thing.

Maybe but somebody set him up with an address and somebody is setting him up with a club and I doubt McGeeney organised those personally so you have to think he was onto somebody in officialdom to get those things done. Or has anybody said to McGeeney that fasttracking Johnstone into the Kildare setup might not look so good. Maybe they are just giving McGeeney a lot of free reign?

DH put it together earlier on, Niall Carew is McGeeney's right hand man, he's a St Kevins man too. He's not a Kildare official.

Seemingly SJ will be involved with the Kildare Juniors first of all...

[lynchbhoy]

Anyone feel Kildare are being a bit too proactive in trying to recruit Johnstone here. McGeeney seems to be welcoming him with open arms more or less while mouthing a few platitudes like "he'll have to earn his spot", etc. It seems fairly obvious that there has been "transfer talks" for lack of a better word between McGeeney, Kildare officials and Johnstone. Maybe if they said well we'll consider him after he's been here for a while and played some football for his new club but the whole thing seems a fairly transparent attempt to get Johnstone straight into the Kildare squad asap. Just doesn't seem right really. A county with the population of Kildare shouldn't really have to entertain blow-ins no matter how tempting it is.

I think the fact that he didn't he have an established address tells me that Kildare officials weren't that heavily involved, it sounds like a conversation was had between SJ and KmcG. It then grew legs, I don't think they were proactive at all they are just been reactive to a player looking to join up with them and obviously from reading the Cavan thread their current county set-up is not ideal whereas everyone knows KmcG runs a super ship on a par with Dublin and Kerry.  I just think KMcG has handled this all wrong and doesn't know the Kildare mind set at all. Haven't meet anyone bar a few internet warriors who think this is a good thing.

McGeeney will take any player that he thinks could help win games and possibly Leinster and AI championship. IMO Kildare possibly already have the players but again imo mcgeeney reckons that a high profile proven scoring forward like johnston might be the final piece - even though it could be more reputation that wins him handy frees or makes competition for places even keener.
most managers wouldnt turn that down.
Kildare might not have as many 'star' players as some of theother squads but they play a great team oriented brand of football.  I dont think this will upset the balance - esp as its so early in the season.
St Kevins is some spot alright  - a massive parish that houses donadea forrest, the bog,  and the infamous coill dubh - that used to be somewhere between beruit and granard on the rough/bleak town scale!!Its quietened down these days, the locals are actually decent but nuts.

[Dinny Breen]

LB, you might as well extend that to Clogherinkoe and Johnstown Bridge - all lula's in that part of the world...

[Onlooker]

Anyone feel Kildare are being a bit too proactive in trying to recruit Johnstone here. McGeeney seems to be welcoming him with open arms more or less while mouthing a few platitudes like "he'll have to earn his spot", etc. It seems fairly obvious that there has been "transfer talks" for lack of a better word between McGeeney, Kildare officials and Johnstone. Maybe if they said well we'll consider him after he's been here for a while and played some football for his new club but the whole thing seems a fairly transparent attempt to get Johnstone straight into the Kildare squad asap. Just doesn't seem right really. A county with the population of Kildare shouldn't really have to entertain blow-ins no matter how tempting it is.

I think the fact that he didn't he have an established address tells me that Kildare officials weren't that heavily involved, it sounds like a conversation was had between SJ and KmcG. It then grew legs, I don't think they were proactive at all they are just been reactive to a player looking to join up with them and obviously from reading the Cavan thread their current county set-up is not ideal whereas everyone knows KmcG runs a super ship on a par with Dublin and Kerry.  I just think KMcG has handled this all wrong and doesn't know the Kildare mind set at all. Haven't meet anyone bar a few internet warriors who think this is a good thing.

Maybe but somebody set him up with an address and somebody is setting him up with a club and I doubt McGeeney organised those personally so you have to think he was onto somebody in officialdom to get those things done. Or has anybody said to McGeeney that fasttracking Johnstone into the Kildare setup might not look so good. Maybe they are just giving McGeeney a lot of free reign?

DH put it together earlier on, Niall Carew is McGeeney's right hand man, he's a St Kevins man too. He's not a Kildare official.

Seemingly SJ will be involved with the Kildare Juniors first of all...

How can Seanie Johnston play for Kildare Juniors if he played Senior Football for Cavan or Cavan Gaels last year.

[haranguerer]

He wasn't forced to walk out on his club - bullshit of the highest order. He had a choice and he made it and now he can live with the consequences.

He wanted to stay with his club, did he not? Yet he also wanted to play intercounty football; naturally, hes good enough so of course he wants to play his sport at the highest level.

However, he couldnt both stay with his club and play intercounty football, that was made pretty clear too, so the rules did force him out of his club. His choice was to play at the highest level or not, he made the right one, imo its just a pity it meant he had to leave his club.

[Dinny Breen]

Anyone feel Kildare are being a bit too proactive in trying to recruit Johnstone here. McGeeney seems to be welcoming him with open arms more or less while mouthing a few platitudes like "he'll have to earn his spot", etc. It seems fairly obvious that there has been "transfer talks" for lack of a better word between McGeeney, Kildare officials and Johnstone. Maybe if they said well we'll consider him after he's been here for a while and played some football for his new club but the whole thing seems a fairly transparent attempt to get Johnstone straight into the Kildare squad asap. Just doesn't seem right really. A county with the population of Kildare shouldn't really have to entertain blow-ins no matter how tempting it is.

I think the fact that he didn't he have an established address tells me that Kildare officials weren't that heavily involved, it sounds like a conversation was had between SJ and KmcG. It then grew legs, I don't think they were proactive at all they are just been reactive to a player looking to join up with them and obviously from reading the Cavan thread their current county set-up is not ideal whereas everyone knows KmcG runs a super ship on a par with Dublin and Kerry.  I just think KMcG has handled this all wrong and doesn't know the Kildare mind set at all. Haven't meet anyone bar a few internet warriors who think this is a good thing.

Maybe but somebody set him up with an address and somebody is setting him up with a club and I doubt McGeeney organised those personally so you have to think he was onto somebody in officialdom to get those things done. Or has anybody said to McGeeney that fasttracking Johnstone into the Kildare setup might not look so good. Maybe they are just giving McGeeney a lot of free reign?

DH put it together earlier on, Niall Carew is McGeeney's right hand man, he's a St Kevins man too. He's not a Kildare official.

Seemingly SJ will be involved with the Kildare Juniors first of all...

How can Seanie Johnston play for Kildare Juniors if he played Senior Football for Cavan or Cavan Gaels last year.

Kildare Juniors like many County Juniors allow senior players.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Anyone feel Kildare are being a bit too proactive in trying to recruit Johnstone here. McGeeney seems to be welcoming him with open arms more or less while mouthing a few platitudes like "he'll have to earn his spot", etc. It seems fairly obvious that there has been "transfer talks" for lack of a better word between McGeeney, Kildare officials and Johnstone. Maybe if they said well we'll consider him after he's been here for a while and played some football for his new club but the whole thing seems a fairly transparent attempt to get Johnstone straight into the Kildare squad asap. Just doesn't seem right really. A county with the population of Kildare shouldn't really have to entertain blow-ins no matter how tempting it is.

I think the fact that he didn't he have an established address tells me that Kildare officials weren't that heavily involved, it sounds like a conversation was had between SJ and KmcG. It then grew legs, I don't think they were proactive at all they are just been reactive to a player looking to join up with them and obviously from reading the Cavan thread their current county set-up is not ideal whereas everyone knows KmcG runs a super ship on a par with Dublin and Kerry.  I just think KMcG has handled this all wrong and doesn't know the Kildare mind set at all. Haven't meet anyone bar a few internet warriors who think this is a good thing.

Maybe but somebody set him up with an address and somebody is setting him up with a club and I doubt McGeeney organised those personally so you have to think he was onto somebody in officialdom to get those things done. Or has anybody said to McGeeney that fasttracking Johnstone into the Kildare setup might not look so good. Maybe they are just giving McGeeney a lot of free reign?

DH put it together earlier on, Niall Carew is McGeeney's right hand man, he's a St Kevins man too. He's not a Kildare official.

Seemingly SJ will be involved with the Kildare Juniors first of all...

If the whole thing was being done properly then he'd be playing for Straffan what with him living there and all.........

Reflects very badly on the senior management. I can think of a number of individuals who will not be best pleased with all this.

[mylestheslasher]

He wasn't forced to walk out on his club - bullshit of the highest order. He had a choice and he made it and now he can live with the consequences.

He wanted to stay with his club, did he not? Yet he also wanted to play intercounty football; naturally, hes good enough so of course he wants to play his sport at the highest level.

However, he couldnt both stay with his club and play intercounty football, that was made pretty clear too, so the rules did force him out of his club. His choice was to play at the highest level or not, he made the right one, imo its just a pity it meant he had to leave his club.

The rules forced him to make a decision. They did not force him to decide one way or the other - he did that for himself. If you, or anyone else, don't like the rules then put forward a motion at your club that a player from anywhere in Ireland should be allowed play for any county they feel like. If it is popular it will get to congress for a vote. Such a ridiculous motion of course wouldn't even get support at your club most likely.

[mylestheslasher]

Does the Gaels twitter mean that Seanie didn't even bother to tell them what he was doing?

[lynchbhoy]

How can Seanie Johnston play for Kildare Juniors if he played Senior Football for Cavan or Cavan Gaels last year.

Kildare Juniors like many County Juniors allow senior players.
[/quote]
good question.
Maybe the rules have changed since , but it used to be that if you played club senior championship (irrespective of county) you couldnt play junior or intermediate if you switched clubs to another county - you had to play for the senior championship team.

The rule also was that you couldnt play for a county junior squad either if you had played senior club football.
maybe that changed.

Btw Dinny - i'll see your cloughs and Jtb and raise you ellistown,nurney ,grange and the two aces... Rathangan and monesterevin !!!!

[Donnellys Hollow]

My understading is that he'll be training and playing challenge matches with the juniors at first. Johnny Doyle and Mick Foley lined out for the Kildare juniors in a challenge match against the Cavan seniors at the weekend but neither would be eligible to play for the juniors come their championship.

Some quotes from today's edition of the Leinster Leader:

• "The club will not stand in his way. Val Andrews has a lot to answer for. He should be man enough to meet (Johnston) face to face and thrash out any problems there were between the two."
  Cavan Gaels' Secretary
• "Seánie Johnston has chosen to transfer to St Kevins and we are delighted to have him. He will be a huge addition and will bring invaluable experience to the team."
  St Kevin's PRO

[LilySavage]

Makes no odds to me where Johnston comes from. He wasnt wanted by his own county and now he wants to play with Kildare so lets have him, we need as many forwards as we can get. And for those who are against the move, you must remember that our manager is not from Kildare either, so whats the difference?

[Donnellys Hollow]

Makes no odds to me where Johnston comes from. He wasnt wanted by his own county and now he wants to play with Kildare so lets have him, we need as many forwards as we can get. And for those who are against the move, you must remember that our manager is not from Kildare either, so whats the difference?

That's the English Premiership mentality that sadly seems to be evident here. "Our own lads aren't good enough, lets get someone else from outside in so."

Have we no pride?

Kerry were a moderate enough team during the 1990s but you didn't see them turning to Vinnie Murphy who was available to them at the time. Likewise Dublin with the Gallaghers during the last decade (granted their hurlers seem to be governed by different rules). Recent results suggest that Meath are a bit behind Kildare and Dublin in Leinster but you don't see them turning to outside players in an effort to bridge the gap and more power to them. Showing faith in our own young players now will be far more beneficial in the long term.

Johnston is a quality player as anyone who saw him give Andrew McLoughlin a good roasting in 2008 in Newbridge wil testify. Is he that much better than Kavanagh, Smith, O'Flaherty, Conway or Callaghan though? You'd swear those lads couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo going on some of the nonsense you'd read. I certainly don't think he is half the forward that Johnny Doyle is. Is he willing to burst a gut for Kildare? The comments of Cavan posters suggest not.

As a Kildare supporter I hope this works out and is a success. I can't help but feel though that it really is showing the two fingers to a lot of the fringe players who have worked their way through the Kildare system. The younger lads might not be good enough, but how will we ever know if they're sitting on the bench when Johnston is out on the pitch? Johnston could be off playing for another club or county this time next year and maybe some of our own lads will have walked away from it by then.