Harte and the Tyrone public

[irunthev]

From IW Productions

As an outsider looking in, the relationship between Mickey Harte and the Tyrone public has always fascinated me.
Right from the word go, when he first got the job, there was a huge element within the county who resented him for being appointed, and there were many who would have preferred to see Eugene McKenna continue on without Art McRory.
However, Harte had the right to stand for interview, and in the end, the Board made what proved to be a very astute decision by appointing him to the job.
Less than ten months later, Harte had helped Tyrone to their first All Ireland senior title ever.
However, that success did not make him universally popular and many started to pick holes in his conduct and behaviour after the victory.
Not for Harte were there any drunken sessions and prolonged celebrations, but there was the book, there was the over-promotion of both himself and his family, in particular Michella, and there was the perceived nepotism towards his son Mark on the panel.
Some people in Tyrone chose to focus on those aspects of his character rather than the fact that as a football manager he had achieved exactly what he had been appointed to achieve. In football management terms, he was the closest thing you could get to a tin of Ronseal wood stain.
From what I have been told in the past, dislike from within is not something new to Harte, and I have heard it said that when he was running his shop in Ballygawley, there were as many local people who wouldn't go into the shop because Harte was in charge, as there were would go in.
That is all local gossip and probably does not stand up to any scrutiny, but it is fair to say that, as is the case with any successful person, in any line of business, you are going to make a few enemies along the way, and the secret is not to let it bother you.
Outwardly at least, Harte is very good at not showing his emotions to his detractors.
He is politically very astute, has been well advised in the PR department, after a few faux pas in his first year, and if he should ever chose, would probably make a very good politician. He says plenty, and says nothing at all at the same time. He is media friendly, but media savvy too.
His relationship with Peter Canavan is a fascinating one. Obviously, both being from Glencull, there is a link there and when PC collected the Sam he made a point of personally thanking MH for his help.
However, the feeling was that Harte needed to prove that Tyrone 's success wasn't just about  the genius of Canavan, and there were rumours of a less than happy relationship between them. Harte's ego was starting to show its face.
There was the well choreographed "retirement" announcement by Canavan and Harte on UTV, that was orchestrated by Tyrone's biggest fan Logie, and there was the feeling that Canavan was being ushered out a side door. Either that or it was a cunning plan between them to try and throw the rest of the country off the Canavan scent. Either way, no one really bought into the charade.
Come the day, come the man, and PC was instrumental once more in helping Tyrone to their second Sam in 2005.
Winning one without Canavan was never going to be an easy task and to date has proved impossible, but then again Canavan is a once in a life time sort of player, and even his biggest detractors would have to admit to that.
While all of us "experts" shout from the roof tops about who should be playing and who shouldn't, ultimately Harte knows these players and his system better than anyone and being a seriously ambitious man, I can not see him showing excess loyalty to any one player if it is to the long term detriment of the team.
Harte, like all managers, has a massive ego. It's a fundamental requirement for anyone who chooses to manage a football team.
In fact that ambition and ego has been Harte's Achilles heel in recent times and his insistence on trying to win every game has limited the opportunity for many young players to come through.
The over-use of players like Ricey, Dooher, Conor Gormley and Sean Cavanagh has been questionable, as they have at vital times of the season in the past few years, looked a long way off the required standard.
That's not to say they are past it or that they are bad players, more to say that they looked tired players.
The bad luck that has followed Tyrone since 2003 is almost unimaginable. The loss of Cormac, the long term injuries to the like of Gourley, Holmes, McGuigan, Dooher, O'Neill, the issues with Ger Cavlan and Shane Sweeney and the decision of Hub to go away for a year, have all been detrimental to the development of the team on an on-going basis. However, on their day, Tyrone still remain one of the most dynamic teams in the country.
And within that last statement is the problem. On their day Tyrone are good, indeed sometimes very good, but those days appear to be getting harder and harder for Harte to manufacture.
The job at hand for him now is a rebuilding job. As someone quite rightly pointed out yesterday, it's not a one year project, and if Harte is to do that job, then he and the Board need to think about an extended deal for him, whatever that deal is.
If Harte or the Board don't want that, then there is a real fear that for Tyrone fans next year, it could be a real make do and mend season, and that Harte will go out as manager in a whimper rather than a roar.
There is no doubt whatsoever that MH has been exceptional for football in the past five years.
His tactics have brought to life game analysis. Previously there were two sets of tactics. There was long ball or short ball, and then there was two men inside and a third midfielder, or the conventional six forwards; and that was pretty much that.
Suddenly Harte brought in a fluidity and intensity to football that had the experts scratching their heads and wondering what on earth was going on, to the point that Joe Brolly couldn't sit down for his breakfast without drawing all over the Rice Krispies box.
From the success of Harte's tactics, coaching has developed enormously, and a cottage industry of match analysis has developed. No longer is the team with the best fifteen players destined to win any game. Now, the team with the best tactics and the best executed game plan will be the winners. For most observers, the tactics have become far too complex to start to understand and instead we rely on media interpretation to form our opinions.
Hard work and application are the key to Harte's game plan and also two of his favoured phrases.
However, for those two facets to be of benefit, players need to be seriously hungry and crave success.
Maybe it is that both Harte and Tyrone have lost their appetite? There are plenty who would love to think that to be the case, but I am sure that Harte will feed his players on a very strict diet of the criticism they have received in the past week or so, to make sure they are ravenous for next year.
Two All Irelands puts Harte on a level with the likes of Peter McGrath, Billy Morgan and John O'Mahony of the modern day era.
Rarefied company indeed, but something about Harte's focus would lead you to think that he would rather go to the next level.
Whether he does it with Tyrone remains to be seen, but should he fail, then the rush to try and persuade him on board with another major force will be considerable.
If Harte leaves Tyrone next year with just 2 All Irelands he will probably be disappointed, but don't put money on him retiring with just two.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Yes, the supporters are a fickle bunch, but that's a label that can't be reserved just for ourselves.

Regarding Mickey, he has more than earned the right to go at a time solely of his own choosing, and has also earned  a passage until such a time devoid of inane calls for him to step down. Ideally, I'd like to see him on a rolling annual contract after the current contract expires at the end of '08, if such were mutually desirable.

He's a shrewd and intelligent enough man to know what's broken and what needs fixing, and that will include any flaws in the approach adopted in preparation this year, in addition to personnel changes both on the pitch and in the backroom.

[ziggysego]

I agree with Fear above. Mickey should be allowed a rolling contract and to stay as long as he wants/needs to. This is a Tyrone team, which is being rebuilt. That won't take one or two years, it will take at least three. He didn't inherit the 2003, he had the majority from Minors upwards.

Give MH time, Tyrone will be a force to be reckoned with again.

[mannix]

tyrone are lucky to have won 2 allirelands and have a good man in charge, left in place he may do it again.One thing though,when mulligan was having a bad day why was he left in there, are forwards that hard to find?
Winning breeds winning and Harte has tyrone off to a good start, he should be kept in my opinion.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Good point Mannix, but in 2005 Mulligan was having an even quieter game in the first one against the Dubs... then Bang! It's in the back of the net, we're back in it big time, and Mulligan's on fire for the rest of the Championship.  He was hoping in vain for a similarly explosive transformation, but not to be, though had he pointed directly after his goal...

[bennydorano]

Are Tyronies actually buying into the fact that they think this team is done   If so, catch a grip.  HArte does need to lighten up on the importance of the McKenna Cup and League, which do have knock on effects come the summer, but the talent is undoubtedly still there and the age profile is excellent.  Maybe a backroom shake up wouldn't do any harm; an injury free year will undoubtedly have you back at the top table.

[nrico2006]

Interesting piece, and the fundamental point of it all is that before 2003 if Harte or any manager won us Sam then we would have beatified him.  I believe that Harte has earned the right to manage this team for as long as he sees fit.  Every county has the same post-mortem after defeat, but I believe that we are not in as terrible a situation as we seem to think.  Obviously things need to be freshened up a little, but all in all we have a good group of young players, with the exception of Dooher and Cavlan (And there is a lot older than them running about).  People mention Harte's insistence to keep Mulligan on the pitch, but I remember him having a similarly lacklustre performance in the All Ireland Semi V Dublin two years ago and look what he did.  But he is a player who can turn games, and that's why he stayed on.  One point that does strike me is that where it's mentioned that Harte has a fondness of playing a lot of his more important players in all competitions.  There is pro's and con's of doing or not doing this, but in Tyrone's case I believe the like of O'Neill in particular and a lot of the others should be nowhere near the McKenna cup or early stages of the NFL.  We have had terrible luck with the injuries, and people question or strength in depth.  There are certain players that you can't replace, and unfortunately in Tyrone's case we have lost 3 of those in Dooher, McGuigan and O'Neill.  I would like to see how Kerry would fare without Darragh O'Se, Cooper and Donaghy, or how the Dub's would go without Cullen, Whelan and Brogan.  No other teams have had the bad luck that we have, and hopefully Harte can lead us through it and who knows maybe this time next year you'll have the Tyrone bandwagon full again full of Mickey Harte lovers.  We are a fickle bunch, but also an extremely lucky bunch to have Mickey Harte at the helm.

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Legend.

[orangeman]

There's no doubt that Harte is a legend in Tyrone football - that's guaranteed - next year will be his 6th year in charge - will the players still be able to listen attentively or will they be tired hearing the same voice ? Should Tyrone change the backroom team ( even slightly ) ?

Can Mickey stay too long ?

Was he too loyal on Saturday ?

Personally I'd like him to give it another go - but what happens next year if we don't win the AI or Ulster ?

[amigo]

Go on say it orangeman, you want Brian McIver to get the job 

[Hardy]

I'm completely bemused by the singling out of Mulligan and the incredulity of Tyrone supporters that Mickey didn't replace him. I suppose it proves you're better off to hide than to show for the ball and do your best. It seems to have escaped notice that he was Tyrone's top scorer in the game, scoring twice as much as the next nearest scorer. It must be the high profile wides that attracted attention. At least he was getting and creating the chances, unlike most of the rest of the forwards. And for this they want him subbed.

[Lamh Dhearg Alba]

I dont understand why certain people are having a go at Mickey Harte in the wake of Saturday's defeat. In reality it was a decent achievement in winning Ulster and being very close to the AI semi in a year when Tyrone had dreadful injury problems.  Fate hasnt been kind to Mickey Harte and Tyrone during his reign but rather than cave in like Tyrone teams of the past this squad has kept going and had great success. A lot of that is down to a group of exceptional players but equally Mickey Harte's management of that squad has been crucial, he is and will always be a legend in Tyrone GAA.
The end of an era talk is premature as well. Some of these players have a lot of mileage on the clock but similarly they are fairly young and there are more excellent young lads waiting to break through as well. If the key men on the spine of the team are fit again next season (and that may be a big ask) Tyrone will again be amongst the contenders for Sam.

[Maguire01]

There's no doubt that Harte is a legend in Tyrone football - that's guaranteed - next year will be his 6th year in charge - will the players still be able to listen attentively or will they be tired hearing the same voice ? Should Tyrone change the backroom team ( even slightly ) ?

Can Mickey stay too long ?

Was he too loyal on Saturday ?

Personally I'd like him to give it another go - but what happens next year if we don't win the AI or Ulster ?

Mickey is a legend and whatever about inside Tyrone, he has widespread admiration all over the country.

On the above points regarding consistency or change, look at Monaghan. Now before you say anything, there's obviously huge differences in where the teams are coming from in terms of their stage in development, but i think Monaghan has worked so well this year due to the fact that we had consistency in our manager and change in the background team. It leaves the manager able to develop a team strategically, over a reasonable number of years, yet keeps things fresh at the next level down and brings in new ideas.

[Rossfan]

We'll do a manager swap with ye lads.

[ONeill]

There's a lot more to this article than meets the eye of a few on here, but I'm reluctant to discuss it fully on this board. I'll just say that there is a sizable group of Tyroneites who'll never recognise Mickey's legend no matter what he achieves. And I'm talking about well-educated football men, mostly of a generation similar to his. It seems to be a long-running issue, maybe dating back a couple of decades. I know a Tyrone fanatic and world-renowned scientist whose venom towards Harte shocks me. Some of their reasons don't add up - i.e. He has touched lucky, the players are winning despite him, the Tally and Canavan fall-outs speak volumes.....i think this is what the article above is loosely addressing. Outside of the county, I'm sure it beggars believe. Mickey's single-mindedness rubs some up the wrong way.

Just to make it clear, I'm a Harte fan and he's been our greatest manager at all levels. I'll question some of his decisions OK but sure that's what it's all about.