Stephen O'Neill retirement official

[rrhf]

This is sad news for Tyrone football.  Stevie you were an absolute legend, Tyrones loss is undoubtedly Clann na Gaels gain.  Who could begrudge them one of their prize assets back.    I would suggest that wild speculation over this is not in anyones interests.  Good luck Tyrone 2008!   

[Rois]

A great who was unfortunately plagued by injury which was sadly reflected in his inconsistency, but we all saw what Stevie in top form could do in 2005.

He was always committed to the club by all accounts, think he managed one of the underage teams last year.

He called round to our house at university for his tea the odd Wednesday evening, dessert in hand.  Would have been in Dukes on a Tues night (not drinking), in the days before Mickey Harte took the senior team.  A very nice guy.

Guess the Club Tyrone website will have to be redesigned...

[Zapatista]

Fair play. I'm glad to know Clann na Gael can finally count on their best player to field.

[Will Hunting]

'Tyrone's NFL disciplinary record might be a bit better this year.
Didn't he get 3 red cards in one campaign?'

Well, as someone who was at all the games he was sent off in, I don't think the problem with Stevie was that he was a dirty player ... far from it.  The problem with Stevie was that he just wasn't a very good tackler ...

What he got sent off for was on the clumsy side rather than the dirty side ... I've seen far worse on a football pitch go unpunished than what Stevie got red-carded for, particularly from your heroes in the championship game at Omagh in 2006

Well firstly, i never said O'Neill was a dirty player.

Your second point there smacks of pettiness. From what i remember it was one of your Tyrone 'heroes' who saw red that day.

[Main Street]

Mickey Harte appeared to speak very sincerly about SON on the radio.

The bit I don't get is if SON is fit enough to play for Clann na Gael would he not be fit enough for the county team, even if it was for just 20 mins?

[Quarterback]

This is sad news for Tyrone football.  Stevie you were an absolute legend, Tyrones loss is undoubtedly Clann na Gaels gain.  Who could begrudge them one of their prize assets back.    I would suggest that wild speculation over this is not in anyones interests.  Good luck Tyrone 2008!   

Wild speculation...i doubt not....As a tyrone football fan im getting increasingly impaitent with Harte.  His achievements to date cannot be questioned...and never would i criticise the man that brought sam to tyrone for the first time....But think about it....He faces his toughest year to date....having to work without the mecurial canavan, mcguigan and now oneill.... it will be very intresting to see what harte can get out of tyrones new breed...Harte seems to have fallen out with crucial men at different stages....Tally wasnt a yes man so bang....he got rid off him....Its believed O Neill was under serious preassure to return last year, so much so that it is reported...(now im not completely for certain on this) harte forecd him into taking Pin Killing Injections to come back and play.....Of which only a few your allowed in a lifetime....Stevie then had the dilema of not playing any football whether it be with club or county....Subsequently the men fell out hence they dont work together anymore...

I ask the question, if wat i have just mentioned were true.....should it be ignored.... ??

[orangeman]

I can't see this being the real truth  - maybe more a perosonality thing with SON ??

[parttimeexile]

Stephen O'Neill tackled him and he got badly injured. I am not taking away from that. What I am saying is that he meant to tackle him but not injure him. There is a major difference.

[nrico2006]

The bit I don't get is if SON is fit enough to play for Clann na Gael would he not be fit enough for the county team, even if it was for just 20 mins?

Obvious difference between playing club and county as you know.  But when you look at it from his perspective, it must have been difficult for him being around the team the last 2 seasons and playing very little due to injury.  It could not have done his morale any good, and there is also the load of expectation and progress out of the spot light.  He will want to just play regularly again, and hopefully this will happen and his injuries will clear up.  I don't think it can be a co-incidence with all the injuries Tyrone have had, as mentioned before training methods etc must be looked at.

As for the Toal thing, SON hit him late but Im sure he did not mean to end his career.  The red card was rescinded also!

[Fuzzman]

Living away from home for some time now I'm not as familiar with Stephen as most of my Fellow Clann clubmates.
However I can testify that he is and always was one of the most HUMBLE, softly spoken gentlemen you could ever meet.

Unfortunately he like PTG took some amount of abuse over the years and unlike Peter he was as strong as a horse and so often Refs would offer him little to no protection whilst he was being dragged and fouled as we say more and more post 2003. I suppose teams started double marking him and using blanket defense to smother his influence.

I'm no expert in the matter but iMHO he has totally Overdosed on football ever since he went to St Marys with him playing for u-21 club, U-21 county, club senior, county senior and also for Ballymena soccer club all at the one time.
The man eats drinks and breathes football even more so than Dooher and I think it was inevitable that he would get loads of inuries and suffer burnout.

Like my brother, Stevie and Dooher are ball carriers and if you run with the ball you tend to get a lot of bad tackles and get targeted for special attention.
I think Stevie has realised now that there is more to live than football and he's now thinking about marriage and having kids.
He's probably been told time and time again if he continues to play thru the pain barrier then he could end up with long term problems

Maybe he's realised this and has decided that his old friend Harte is maybe too driven to win another AI at any cost and that his longterm well being is not on Mickey's agenda. I heard 3rd hand earlier this year that they had a disagreement about his injuries but of course I don't know how accurate this was.

I am beginning to question whether Mickey is as goodie good shoes as he likes to protray. I've heard he's a very driven man and so his ultimate success depends on this Tyrone team winnng a third all-Ireland. He know's with McGuigan and 11 and SON at 14 he had some chance of that. So naturally he'll bust a gut to get Stevie to play no matter how bad it might be for his long term health.

This is only my own opinion and I've no inside info so don't quote me as this being TRUE
I know Stevie is a much more private person than Harte and would not like all this speculation going on around him

Finally, can I say how pathetic it is of ye sad Armagh lads to try to drag a player and a fine upstanding man like Stephen into the mud with thugs like we have in lots of teams in our game, including Tyrone. I believe Stevie rang up Joan Toal the night it happened in hospital and expressed his regret of the incident. Can you imagine someone like Ricey, Francie (gentle as he is), Casey from Dublin or Galvin from Kerry having the decency to ring someone up. I think NOT!

As a few posters said. IGNORE such sad Pathetic posts as that's all they deserve.

[Star Spangler]

It's possible that Stephen felt unduly pressurised to play a part in the Meath game last year when he was far from physically up to the challenge.  It's also possible, that as a result of being forced to do this, he came to the realisation that the "setup" was of the belief that no matter the damage to the long-term physical well-being of individual players it would be a price worth paying for the Tyrone cause.  Therefore, it's also possible that he felt disillusioned with the "setup" and decided enough was enough - especially when he could see a repeat prospect looming on the horizon.

[Northside Dub]

Very sad day for the GAA a truly great sportsman! Some of the scores he put over in 2005 left and right from some outrageous angles were a joy to watch! I wish him all the best

[Zapatista]

...(now im not completely for certain on this) harte forecd him into taking Pin Killing Injections to come back and play

Not completely certian How much is not completely? Is it not at all? This would be barbaric. Are you sure you meant to say forced?

[loughshore lad]

Totally understand where a few posters are coming from with respect to the scepticism over how some of Tyrones injured players have been managed over the past few years. I have posted on the board before about how it appears as if in some cases the race to get them back into action has often taken precendence over their long term health.

[Puckoon]

A fantastic player who was virtually unmarkable on his day. he possessed power and pace in abundance and combined with his accuracy off both feet he was arguable the most potet forward in the country in the last 5 years.

However,  i'm unable to credit his virtues without mention of the dirty streak which lurked below his undoubted talent. I'm sure John toal has a little less pain in every step this morning.

Uladh,
Like O'Neill (the poster, not the player) I watch the DVD of that game regularly. Having played with Stephen, and knowing his personality It always vexes the shite out me to hear this drivel about John Toals very serious injury being brought up. Anyone with half an eye in their head can see that it was a late tackle. Unfortunately it was one of those ones that was so close to being on time, there was no way to avoid the contact. Stephen is a terrible tackler, but without a malicious bone in his body. This dirty streak you refer to simply doesnt exist. Sometimes frustrated yes - dirty no. If John Toal is sitting around waiting for SON to retire in order to feel better about what happened him - Id be shocked.