Tyrone County Football and Hurling

[longballin]

Family, faith and football – the Mickey Harte interview
Long-serving manager talks about the good and bad times and shaping his mark III Tyrone team
Sat, Jan 27, 2018, 06:00
Keith Duggan
Harte on Tyrone 2018: "Maybe it's a question of judging this generation on what they have achieved and not what they have failed to achieved."
Harte on Tyrone 2018: "Maybe it's a question of judging this generation on what they have achieved and not what they have failed to achieved."



There are traces of ice and stubborn snowmen in the driveways and gardens of Fintona and Ballygawley and among the late breakfast crowd in Kelly's Inn, Mickey Harte talks about the goal around which Tyrone's year revolved. A full six months have passed and the Tyrone man couldn't relive it any more vividly if he was running through it on pause-play. But he summons all this while he butters toast.

"People think you make excuses but it is those little things that happen in a game that don't seem particularly significant. But they are huge. It wasn't even the goal itself. It was the lead up to the goal: this is a run-of-the-mill play in a game of football. People are going forward. They [Tyrone] are on the front foot. They make a little handling error and are turned over. And often a team will pay to some extent. But sometimes, you pay a high price. And we paid a high price that day. If you look at it – and this is not to make excuses but if you look at it you'll see – the referee got a little bit in the way.

"Niall Sludden passes to Paudie Hampsey and the referee is kind of in his peripheral vision as he runs and Paudie just didn't handle it perfectly. Ciarán Kilkenny comes in and challenges for it. The ball breaks perfectly for Dublin rather than us. Into the hands of Philly McMahon who kicks it to the man [Con O'Callaghan] who is supposed to be marking Paudie Hampsey. Because he is number 11.

"And if the number six goes forward and the 11 watches him go, well, I don't think that's good practice. So he should have been after Hampsey! Now, he gets the ball 45 metres out. We aren't totally blame-free here because our philosophy is that if the centre-half goes, somebody should take his place. Nobody did. We didn't observe our own rule.


"But his [O'Callaghan] not following Hampsey left him in this place where he was free. After that, you have to give him full credit for his ability and his ambition to go for goal. He didn't really have any business to go for a goal. A young fella like him just into the team... I know he is a quality player and all the rest. He could have been happy to take a nice point but he decided to go for the jugular. Obviously he would believe in his own ability to go past a static defender. But then he went on and said: 'I am going to bury this.' So I'd have to give him full credit for that.


"Now, he got it in a way I wouldn't like – by not being an honest broker and going after the man he should have done! That's neither here nor there. But that changed the entire tenor of that game. We felt we could contain them for 45 minutes. The goal cut a hole in the team – not just on the scoreboard but psychologically. Conceding a goal like that was not something we did very often – particularly so early in the game and through the heart of our defence."

He takes a sip of coffee and thinks about those few seconds. Kenny Rogers is singing about love gone awry in the background. The new football season is just days away.

Not sure if anyone picked up on this article last month but recently read it.

Whats peoples opinion on this?

Are we really getting down to the point where we are blaming Con O'Callaghan for the way he played the All Ireland semi final - seems like madness to me!

embarrassing from Harte

[omagh_gael]

Not one of Mickey's finest moments, ridiculous view on that goal.

[Fuzzman]

What annoys me about posting on this thread these days is that it's hard to make any reasonable arguments or discuss matters without people jumping to the conclusion is he anti Harte or pro Harte.

There does seem to be a consensus so far this year that we're slow to get off the ground and seem to be unfit or not sharp as other teams. Galway look like they are the opposite and so you would imagine they could follow a path of Roscommon a few years ago.
There also seems to be a feeling that we are playing a more direct ball into the forward game at least the odd time and are not sooooo predictable. For me in most sports if the other team know what you're going to do then its easy to prepare for that. Look at that Dublin game last year where we just kept doing the same thing time and time again and they just sat back and stripped us off the ball time and time again. It was painful to watch.

I'm looking forward to seeing more off Bradley, Mulgrew and Lee Brennan this year. The three of them whilst not big men have a lot of talent between them and we need to find a way to play to bring out the best in them. Brennan already has shown he has an eye for goal as well as an excellent point taker and he looks as if he could finally become our No 1 free taker which will be a huge shot in the arm right away.

I think we're seeing Mickey's vision as similar to the Mayo plan of just doing enough to stay in Div 1 and struggle through early summer and then turn up the heat when or IF we make it to the last 8.
Monaghan and Donegal will be itching to get at us again in Ulster and I for one wouldn't be surprised to see us lose to either after our 2 in a row years.

On another note, its good to see McShane playing a much more positive and pivotal role. He could be a big player for us this year if he continues to play like he has been. I think a lot of people have written him off already as being raw and shoots on sight. A third midfielder role like Enda McGinley used to play could suit him well.

[Fuzzman]

Re Harte's views on the Dublin match and why we failed so miserably yes I fear he was better to say nothing than what he said. There seems to be a feeling that the old fox has been outwitted quite a bit now by younger managers and for me Jim Gavin had planned meticulously for that game as the media had it well set up as the ONE team that might trouble the Dubs.
Gavin knew Tyrone only played one way and so if you can move the ball at speed from man to man then it wont matter how many men Tyrone have behind the ball they wont be able to lay a hand on anyone before the ball is moved on again.

My biggest concern now is not whether we will win the AI any time soon but the question is are our structures in place at underage and club level to allow our best players to flourish properly and play with no fear and freedom to express themselves. To me there is too much coaching and control and emphasis on stopping the other team rather than focusing on your own game. For a county who produced amazing players like Frank McGuigan and sons, Canavan, S.O'Neill and Sean Cavanagh are we now regressing into producing wing half backs and half forwards who are like clones and will run all day but can't see a pass or take a risk and shoot from an acute angle rather than recycle recycle recycle.

[driveherin]

Any word of adult fixtures coming out? Has the Beard dropped anyone from squad following McKenna Cup?

[southtyronegael]

Any word of adult fixtures coming out? Has the Beard dropped anyone from squad following McKenna Cup?

mark sidebottom definitely dropped.

[southtyronegael]

i see the bookies have tyrone and monaghan both at evens for sat nights game. conor mc carthy and possibly kieran hughes back for monaghan. colly cavanagh should be back for tyrone? if cavanagh plays tyrone have a chance, if not, no chance.

[Dire Ear]

Tyrone need 2 points from Monaghan or Donegal;  not sure they're gonna get them--more chance of getting suspensions and injuries I would be afraid

[GetOverTheBar]

Tyrone need 2 points from Monaghan or Donegal;  not sure they're gonna get them--more chance of getting suspensions and injuries I would be afraid

Best chance is this Saturday night. Win or bust I reckon.

[longballin]

Enda McGinley writes that Harte will keep faith in his system... expression loyal to a fault comes to mind. At least Sean spoke out and said they were slaves to a system last year, Enda was lucky he didn't have to endure that so-called system

[LeoMc]

Enda McGinley writes that Harte will keep faith in his system... expression loyal to a fault comes to mind. At least Sean spoke out and said they were slaves to a system last year, Enda was lucky he didn't have to endure that so-called system

Ah now, he is only saying Mickey will keep faith with it, not that he believed in it. He has previously criticised, it.

[longballin]

Enda McGinley writes that Harte will keep faith in his system... expression loyal to a fault comes to mind. At least Sean spoke out and said they were slaves to a system last year, Enda was lucky he didn't have to endure that so-called system

Ah now, he is only saying Mickey will keep faith with it, not that he believed in it. He has previously criticised, it.

not how I read it but having said that not easy read

[southtyronegael]

Tyrone team named. Plenty of changes from Kildare game. Mc Shane not in squad, he injured?

[bigtogs]

Tyrone team named. Plenty of changes from Kildare game. Mc Shane not in squad, he injured?

I heard he missed Mass last Sunday!! McClure injured

[omagh_gael]

Wonder will Ritchie actually spend any time in the FF position? Would be interesting to see how that would go. Conan McCann getting plenty of time, Mickey must be seeing something good in training. Has yet to really impress in game time this year.