Journalist Write-Off

[FermGael]

Taken from the Fermanagh Herald. 

Forget Stapleton, Moffat was the man!
By Colm Bradley

How does that Christy Moore song start? 'Twas in the year of 88 in the lovely month of June.......'

That's right, good old Joxer went to Stuttgart. Yes, that was the year, twenty years ago, but the last thing on my mind was a Scotch man scoring for Ireland against England. No, it was the Fermanagh minors all the way for me and St Molaise Park was the real ampitheratre of action.

That year the big brother who was playing for the county minors and used to let me tag along to training; I was only about 8. I used to stand behind the goals when the team was doing shooting practice and size five's would rain down like bombs from a B-52. Off I would scamper after the bouncing ball and with all my might hoof it back out the field. Getting it past the 21 was a major achievement.

While the rest of the country was going mad for Jack's army my footballing world revolved around Fermanagh minors. Forget Frank Stapelton and Ronnie Whelan, Raymond Moffat was my hero! The flame haired Lisnaskea Emmett's attacker was in the corner for Fermanagh minors that year and he was my favourite player.

Even at that age I knew I was destined for a life at top of the left so it was always corner forwards who I favoured. Some might say that it was Raymie's economy of movement which caught my eye and that perhaps I have modelled my game on his but that would be doing a huge disservice to the 91 Senior Championship winner. Before his knees gave up he was a sprightly figure in the Lisnaskea attack.

No, it was more to do with the fact that Raymie didn't seem to miss much when in front of the posts.

Although it also helped that he gave me his steak after a league game when the kitchen had ran out of sirloins. 'Can't have the cub going hungry,' he said. I still think he was holding out for a fillet myself, it never came though and he had to make do with a plate of spuds and veg instead. He polished it off mind you!

All that was then though and how times have changed. Back then players trained 'just' twice a week. Shooting practice involved twenty boys swinging shots from all angles with not a cone in sight. A physiologist was something that you might see on an American TV show but certainly not in the dressing room after training. A tracksuit or bag was received with joyous wonder and thanks.


Back then players trained 'just' twice a week. Shooting practice involved twenty boys swinging shots from all angles with not a cone in sight. A physiologist was something that you might see on an American TV show but certainly not in the dressing room after training.

Back then the weekend bonding trip had not been heard up. It was still known as a piss up! Things were very different for a Fermanagh footballer in 88. They and we were more innocent then, and the whipping boys of Ulster into the bargain. Now, over much of Ulster, we hold the whip.

Fermanagh, both supporters and players, are expectant.

This expectancy was evident as I watched the Fermanagh minors arrive on Sunday to Brewster Park. I was struck by the confidence which oozed from every pore. It wasn't arrogance but rather a quiet assurance. They walked like men comfortable in the skin of a Fermanagh footballer. There was no nervousness, no edginess, no fear.

But they lost I hear you cry! I know, but that does not take away from the fact that the attitude towards what constitutes success and failure has changed completely in the last two decades.

Twenty yeas ago Moffat and co caused a huge upset when they defeated Armagh in the Minor Championship. Contrast that with Sunday where a defeat and poor performance was a shock to the system. Twenty years ago it was a shock to win, now it is a shock to lose. Kieran Donnelly was a shattered man after the game, the players too. It was inexplicable. 'How did we lose?' was the expression written all over their faces.

Yes, make no mistake about it Fermanagh football has changed beyond all recognition. Any semblance of an inferiority complex has been well and truly shaken off and there is no longer a fear when coming up against Ulster's best. There were plenty of Fermanagh senior teams post 82 who were a lot better than their first round exits indicate but with no second chance to redeem themselves it became harder and harder each year to earn that elusive victory in Ulster. Circumstances conspired to work against them.

But then came the back door and confidence was breathed into Fermanagh football - although to be fair Pat King had masterminded three Ulster Championship victories between 1999 and 2000 in the pre back door era. But it was the qualifiers that really made Fermanagh people believe. Westmeath, Cavan, Meath, Wexford, Clare, Mayo have all been put to the sword and as victories were earned the realisation seeped in that we were as good as the next man, as good as the next team.

Fermanagh have a chance to build for the future. The steady progress of our senior team since the mid nineties needs to harnessed. We may be small in terms of population but that is no hurdle. We can continue to compete with the best that the country has to offer if we put the development of our youth at the forefront of our plans. Yes things have changed since Fermanagh minors beat Armagh in 1988. They were a rose in the desert back then. Now the county is in full bloom.

[feetofflames]

ORIGINALITY - 9 This is original
ENTERTAINMENT - 7 -a sweet story well told
INFORMATIVE - 7 - more a ditty than an informative piece.  Conveys nostalgia not detail.
QUALITY -  4 - I like this GAA writer  - he writes like a GAA man feels

[ONeill]

Have to agree with AFS's analysis although he's a bit sore on McStay.

For the Fermanagh article:

ORIGINALITY - 5 - Has been covered so many times since 2003/2004 and is being resurrected again
ENTERTAINMENT - 5 - Interesting though tries to be too clever at times
INFORMATIVE - 4 - No, nothing really, apart from personal experiences.
QUALITY - 5 - so-so.

[KIDDO 4]

Defeat makes for painful viewing

I didn't get to Salthill last Sunday for the Galway game. Work circumstances dictated that I had to watch the game live on the Sunday Game. Apart from the 15 minutes before half time, it made for painful viewing.

I didn't honestly expect that we would beat Galway. I did, however, expect that we would give them a good game. I even expected that, with a bit of luck on the day, we might even have come away with a draw. I didn't expect a 16-point hammering.


The last time Galway beat Roscommon by 16 points was in 1933 in Tuam Stadium. That day Roscommon failed to score in the entire game as Galway won by 2-10 to 0-0. The biggest defeat ever at the hands of Galway in the Connacht Championship was in 1932 when Galway won by 4-7 to 0-2.


Roscommon started very shakily on Sunday last. The defence was under extreme pressure in the first quarter. Silly mistakes gave Galway easy possession on a few occasions. The heavy show-ers made the surface greasy and both teams found control of the ball difficult.


By the 19th minute Galway had 0-5 on the scoreboard. Roscommon had yet to score. Then Karol Mannion was moved out to midfield and it made a huge difference. The St. Brigid's man and Seamus O'Neill began to win primary possession with some superb fetches and suddenly the Tribesmen were under pressure. Cracks began to appear in the Galway defence. In the first attack Roscommon could have scored a goal. A great pass from Senan Kilbride found Jonathan Dunning in the clear but his left-foot shot screamed across the front of Paul Doherty's goal and wide.


Only one of Galway's five points had come from play, Pádraig Joyce's 11th minute effort. The other four came from placed balls, a free and '45 from Michael Meehan and two frees from Paul Conroy. Then Senan Kil-bride hit three superb points from play and suddenly Galway's lead was cut to two.


Matthew Clancy pulled one back for Galway from play before Karol Mannion closed the scoring with a point from play in injury time leaving it 0-6 to 0-4 in Galway's favour at the break. Cathal Cregg had a chance of a goal but Paul Doherty brought off a great save from point blank range. I honestly thought that Cregg was fouled as he was going through but Roscommon didn't seem to get frees as easily as Galway did.


Things didn't look too bad at half-time. Joe Brolly and Colm O'Rourke were positive about Roscommon. Both gave them a chance in the second half.


Galway needed to establish their superiority in the first ten minutes of the second half. That is exactly what happened. Joyce, Clancy and Meehan with points stretched the Galway lead. Then, eight minutes into the second half, disaster struck for Roscommon. Gary Cox broke up a Galway move but lost control of the ball as he was coming away. Foolishly, he followed up and pushed Barry Cullinane in the face.


It wasn't as bad as it looked. Gary was already on a yellow card and referee Joe McQuillan produced the second yellow. A keen observer who was at the game told me that he questioned the first yellow card that Cox got after a tangle with Pádraig Joyce.


It appears that Cox was more sinned against than sinning in that instance. Earlier, Barry Cullinane had been on a yellow card himself and he foot tripped Cathal Cregg off the ball but he was only shown the black book. So where is the consistency? He can have few complaints. Even the panelists on the Sunday Game on Sunday night felt that the Galway midfielder should have been shown a second yellow card as well. In fairness though, Gary Cox had also been shown the black book after his first yellow card so he can have few complaints.


After the dismissal of Cox, Roscommon were fighting an uphill battle. The margin of Galway's victory was all that was in doubt as they went on the rampage. Acres of space opened up in the Roscommon defence. The backs hadn't the pace to keep with the flying Galway forwards.


A Matthew Clancy goal in the 50th minute put the nail in Roscommon's coffin. The heads dropped after that and Roscommon's challenge evaporated. The last 20 minutes looked like a challenge game as Galway went from strength to strength. I longed for the final whistle. The winners hit 2-10 in the second half. Roscommon could only reply with two pointed frees from Ger Heneghen. That sad statistic tells its own story.



Joe Brolly and Colm O'Rourke weren't too hard on Roscommon in their post match analysis. O'Rourke acknowledged that Meath had been in that position before and so had Derry. He felt that there would be a lot of sympathy for Roscommon throughout the country.


What Now?


There is no point in being too critical after this heavy defeat. We have to pick up the pieces and move on. One has to feel sympathy for Michael Ryan. He was a brave man to take on the job in the first place.


Despite the heavy defeat, there were a few encouraging displays. Three goal chances were created. If one had gone in before half time, the heads might not have dropped so early in the second half. Geoffrey Claffey brought off a few great saves and cannot be blamed for the two goals. Paddy O'Connor and Seánie McDermott both played well in the full-back line.


A noticeable fact from the television statistics was that all three Galway full-backs were well over 6' 0". None of the three Roscommon full-backs reached that height. John Rogers and David Hoey had their moments in the half-back line. Seamus O'Neill brought off a few marvellous catches. Marty Morrissey described him as "one of the finest fielders of a high ball in the game." Karol Mannion also played very well when he moved out to midfield. He faded in the second half and was replaced before the end of the game.


Sunday's game under-lined the importance of the midfield sector. When O'Neill and Mannion were dominant near the end of the first half Roscommon were playing very well and were taking the game to Galway. The Tribesmen only scored one point from the 16th minute of the first half to the half-time whistle. Matthew Clancy made a big difference around the mid-field area. He was employed as a third midfielder and hoovered up a huge amount of breaks.


Senan Kilbride was Roscommon's best forward. He hit three marvellous points from play in the first half but he was starved of possession in the second half. Cathal Cregg and Conor Devaney also played well.


Roscommon now have about nine weeks before the qualifiers in July. That will give Mike Ryan and his backroom team a bit more time to work with the team. A few injured players like David Casey, John Whyte, Stuart Daly and Enda Kenny should come back into the reckoning by then. The team will be playing for pride in the jersey from now on. If we get a favourable draw it might give us an opportunity to restore some pride.


This has been a bad year for Roscommon football.


When it is over we should put it behind us and look to the future. We have been down before and we came back. Things were very bad in 1933 and we were All-Ireland champions ten years later. We will come back again as a football force.


Defeats like last Sunday's hurt. We will have to ensure that it doesn't happen too often in the future. We must concentrate on consistently producing good underage teams. We cannot hope that the 2006 minor team will cure all our ills. Whatever resources we have should be pumped into coaching at primary school level. The basic skills will have to be conquered at an early age. It may take time but it must be done. Our day will come!


Meanwhile, Galway can look forward to a long run in the championship. There is a great wealth of young talent in the county. They have a big team with talented players in every sector. They are unlikely to get it as easy against Leitrim in the semi-final or Mayo or Sligo if they get to the final. I expect that Galway could go all the way to the All-Ireland semi-finals this year.


Junior champions


Our junior team rescued what otherwise was a bleak weekend for our county teams. The minors lost to Mayo by 0-12 to 0-8 in Castlebar on Saturday night. They now meet Galway in the Connacht semi-final while Mayo take on Sligo.


The junior team beat Leitrim by two points after extra time in Salthill. I listened to John Lynch's commentary on Shannonside. Roscommon seemed to make heavy weather of it against a dogged Leitrim team. Leitrim had earlier beaten Sligo also in extra-time. It took a late Kevin Higgins goal to ensure victory for Roscommon by 2-10 to 0-13.


At least we have one Connacht title in what has been a dreadful year for the county.


 





 









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[ONeill]

Semi-finals will read:
Kenny Archer (Irish News) v Week 4 winner (this week)
Keith Duggan v Liam Hayes

As with recent TV formats, there will be a wild card thrown into the mix for the first semi-final, making it a three-way stand-off. The wild card will involve a vote between two journalists who were caught on the hop on a bad week - Heaney v Humphries.

[KIDDO 4]

Hughes' Views

GIVE REFS A BREAK!



« By Kevin Hughes
As you might imagine, the reactions to some of the items in last week's paper were plentiful and varied, some people accusing us of being too hard on our referees and others commending us for having the courage to highlight the many problems with them and, maybe more to the point, their decisions.
The general concensus about the back page story - even from some referees - was that the assertion that there is a clique within the whistling fraternity is absolutely spot on and that the facts are there to prove that only a small number of officials get to take charge of the top games in the county. The main gripe is that some referees overlooked for plum ties are actually better at their job than some entrusted with these ties.
On the other hand, one or two
people did say that such negative publicity is a deterrent to aspiring referees and tars all the hardworking officials with the same brush, causing great hurt and anguish to those who do a good honest job and try their best in what are always very testing circumstances.
I'd be the first to admit the innocent can sometimes suffer because of the misgivings of others, what you might call guilty by association. That is unfortunate, but I have
constantly said in this column it is a thankless task and I wouldn't do it, whatever the material reward.
One thing that did emerge was that the main barrier to the cultivation of an attitude of respect for referees from supporters, players and
officials was a lack of credibility that has been gained by the men in the middle themselves - and also what is often their failure to make a stand when their decisions are not backed by the people in power.
For example, if a player is guilty of an offence - regardless of who he is or what the consequences may trigger - then he definitely should be punished accordingly. A minor physical offence merits reporting as such and not be downgraded to verbal abuse, while a serious assault should not go into his report as a less serious misdemeanour, and a straight red card never be reduced to two yellows. But these things happen!
It is totally wrong if a referee is perceived to have been knobbled - or at best chickened out of doing his duty.
Watching the Champions League Final last Wednesday night, the definitive moment for me was when Drogba was sent off for what in GAA would almost inevitably pass off as a teasing touch on the cheek. As someone said, that fussy referee would brandish more red cards than Donal Dorman if he took charge of any match at any level you care to name in Tyrone next weekend.
The referees are not helped at all by powers-that-be who should be totally transparent when punishments are handed out but, more especially, when appeals are successful.
Details via press releases should be mandatory. Until it happens accusations of cover-ups will always be prevalent, rightly or wrongly. Referees deserve better protection.





The full article contains 514 words and appears in Tyrone Times newspaper.Page 1 of 1

[RedandGreenSniper]

Sean Moran
ORIGINALITY - 7. A topical issue but one rarely examined by the Gah
ENTERTAINMENT - 5 - Articles like this aren't here for entertainment value
INFORMATIVE - 8 - Extremely informative of problems facing the association
QUALITY - 8. Very tough reading but I don't think there's any way around that with the issue. Covers the topic as well as he can

Colm Bradley
ORIGINALITY: 8 - I love a honest, personal look at the GAA by someone involved as a break from opinion columns
ENTERTAINMENT - 8  Very enjoyable, nice few anecdotes to get his point across
INFORMATIVE - 6 - Not really, we know Fermanagh are more confident, just a nice way to tell it
QUALITY - 8 - Well written, a nice easy to read style and glad I read it

[ONeill]

So with the semi-final line ups reading,

Kenny Archer v Yossarian
Keith Duggan v Liam Hayes,

there is a back-door chance for Heaney or Humphries to progress and compete in the first semi.

This week, their piece is a match report from the weekend. (Not the minute-by-minute report but a retrospective account)

First up - Humphries:

Clare blow hot and set Munster alight

TOM HUMPHRIES at the Gaelic Grounds

FIESTA! SO AFTER some weekends of banal and fumbling preliminaries none of which set the pulse jogging let alone racing, the championship season has begun and they are off in a helter-skelter of shocks, surprises and good, old-fashioned upsets.

Clare made the short journey up the Ennis Road to the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick yesterday to play the Munster champions, Waterford. Clare knew well it was a somewhat longer journey back in time, five years to be precise, to the last occasion on which they won a game in Munster.

Waterford, on the other hand, have customer-loyalty cards for the Last Chance Saloon. They have been written off almost every year since they broke through, and the absence of a few key players and the sight of them having surrendered their National League crown with relative equanimity in the spring did little to alter the odds.

Clare exploded though. They are under the tutelage this year of Mike McNamara, the Scarriff man who oversaw a lot of the more draining aspects of the legendary preparations Clare teams underwent back in the 1990s. McNamara's personality seems suited to the task of getting some of the fire back into the cold furnace Clare's collective gut had become. Yesterday Clare arrived as a team who looked capable of giving it a rattle and left as a side who could make the Munster final if they prevail over their neighbours Limerick in a few weeks.

They watched without panic as Waterford scored the first three points of the afternoon, and then they put down their cocktails and went to work themselves. A string of five unanswered points drew a riposte at last from John Mullane, before the Waterford defence was caught flatfooted by a long ball from Pat Donnellan which dropped to the championship debutant Mark Flaherty.
A quick, blurry shuffle of feet and Flaherty was free. He drove it to the net as if practising in his back garden.

It was tempting to sit back at that stage and scribble that Clare were emphatically back. That might indeed be what Clare did. Having helped themselves to the tonic of a goal, they dozed off as Waterford reeled in six points without reply. Waterford will be a little dazed and confused about what happened next. They did pretty much everything they would have set out to do. Mullane had one of those days (he was Man of the Match on television) and scored eight points from play. Every single free Waterford earned Dave Bennett converted, nine in all. And they scored 23 points.

Clare, though, were unimpressed and spoke afterwards about always finding Waterford a very open side to play against. Their contention was underlined by their total of 2-26 in this game. More surprising perhaps was Waterford's failure for the first time in several seasons to find a route to goal during a championship game. Almost emblematic of that failure was the circumstance of Dan Shanahan, the happy rainmaker of last summer, the man whose inability to stop scoring goals earned him the player-of-the-season award. Yesterday he was a peripheral figure who was made by the snappishness of the Clare defence to look ponderous in his striking.

He was hauled ashore with 10 minutes left, and though the move was reasonable given the predicament his side was in, Big Dan effected a neat body swerve when Justin McCarthy reached to pat him on the back as he came off. That disappointing flash of petulance was the quickest burst Dan had all afternoon. For Clare the sight of Shanahan being hauled in was surely encouraging. They knew, and were at pains to point out several times in the aftermath, that Waterford were missing a handful of All Stars and that Stephen Molumphy - who was at least on the field - had not, following a nine-month stint with the Army in Germany, quite as much hurling under his belt as was required.

On the other hand, when things go well they go really well. Tony Griffin, who returned to Ireland from college in Canada only at the end of April, scored five points from play. The debutant Flaherty scored 1-7 (1-2 from play), and Diarmuid McMahon stepped up to the plate showing the sort of ability he has been exhibiting in flashes for several years.

And at midfield the old warhorse Colin Lynch had a splendid afternoon, bossing the sector and scoring two points into the bargain. His withdrawal soon after that of Shanahan was one of those designed to allow a veteran warrior the luxury of his own round of applause. That garland was duly accorded.

Clare had led by the width of a goal at half-time but drove their authority home early in the second half with a series of fine scores, the best from Flaherty, who caught a nice short-stick pass from McMahon and drove it skimming over the bar. Waterford never got back to closer than three points, and the game effectively ended when McMahon made another fine pass inside, this time to the veteran Niall Gilligan, who put it away with ease.

So Clare, a side who even in their halcyon days of the 1990s seemed to suffer for want of decent forward support for Jamesie O'Connor, romped away with it and set the Munster championship alight. Waterford, whose task that has been for a decade now, must wait five weeks to play the losers of the Galway versus Antrim game and hope that once again they can survive that last chance at their traditional watering hole.

[ONeill]

And in the red corner, Paddy Heaney. No marks needed - either Humphries or Heaney.

Derry cast doubts aside Paddy Heaney

The fear that Derry would struggle under the adulation and praise that followed their victory over Kerry in the National League final was firmly put to rest in MacCumhaill Park yesterday. Make no mistake, Derry's football was far from impressive. But the character and spirit they showed to overcome their poor form and claim a victory was quite remarkable.

In the past few seasons, this is precisely the type of game the Oak Leafers have specialised in losing. The favourites tag has hung heavily from their shoulders and great displays were often followed by wretched defeats. However, there seems to be more substance and backbone to this particular Derry outfit. The defiance that was present when they fought back against Kerry was also to the fore in baking hot Ballybofey.

Derry's win came against the odds because Donegal could simply do no wrong in the first half. They scored from virtually every attack. Colm McFadden was in the mood to play ball and Kevin McCloy couldn't stop him. By the end of the half, Donegal had scored 1-7 and kicked just two wides. Donegal's economy in front of the post was in total contrast to Derry's squandermania.

Derry kicked a staggering 11 wides in the first half. Their sharpest shooters were the biggest culprits. Enda Muldoon and Eoin Bradley had three apiece while Paddy Bradley also missed two. Donegal's clever kick-out strategy was allowing them to win possession at midfield. The Derry half-back line was in disarray and the full-back line wasn't much better.

When Donegal look back on this game they will look at two incidents when Rory Kavanagh and Colm McFadden burst through on Derry's goal. A green flag beckoned. On both occasions, the Donegal forwards opted for points. Derry were grateful that they opted to shoot over the bar. Following Eoin Bradley's cleverly taken goal in the 12th minute, Donegal kicked 1-4 without reply.
Their three-pointer came courtesy of an expertly-taken penalty by Michael Murphy. His precise finish belied his teenage years.

Trailing by four points, Derry were in dire trouble and their play had become increasingly error ridden. A sloppy free-kick from Muldoon was easily intercepted by David Walsh, who set up Rory Kavanagh. At this crucial juncture, a couple of bursting runs from Mark Lynch kept Derry within touching distance. As Lynch bore down on goals, he was fouled by Karl Lacey and the free-kick ensured that Derry were just three points in arrears at half-time.

Realising that he needed to reshuffle his pack, Derry manager Paddy Crozier took action at half-time. Paul Cartin was brought into the half-back line, Gerard O'Kane took over at number six, and this allowed Niall McCusker to stay put on Colm McFadden. The switches worked but they didn't take immediate effect. Derry's comeback was slow and arduous. Donegal made them fight for every inch.
A delightful effort from Enda Muldoon was followed by two frees from Colm McFadden which put Donegal four in front.
Derry responded with three successive scores. But just as they came within a point, Donegal countered with two excellent points.

Michael Murphy's score bore the stamp of a special talent. Barry Monaghan's point was borne out of experience and guile. Spotting that his marker Paul Murphy was on the ground, Monaghan sprinted clear to receive a pass and take a clever point. With 25 minutes left on the clock, the score stood at 1-11 to 1-8 in Donegal's favour. The home team were in control of the scoreboard, but it was Derry who took charge of the game.

Two frees brought them to within a point. Referee Martin Duffy caused controversy when he penalised Donegal for taking a short sideline ball. While the crowd howled for a throw-in, the rule book calls for a free-kick. Conleith Gilligan converted from a tight angle on the right wing. Fortune did smile on Derry when the match official failed to see Fergal Doherty connecting with Rory Kavanagh.

Doherty stayed on the pitch and the notion that it was to be Derry's day gained further momentum when Colm McFadden missed a free-kick shortly afterwards. Nevertheless, Derry still trailed by one-point. But they were the more foreful team. By this stage, Niall McCusker was in command at full-back, while Joe Diver was an unstoppable force at midfield.

A foul on Diver enabled Paddy Bradley to equalise. The Derry full-forward then bridged the 37-minute gap since his team last held the lead with a point that owed more to his battling qualities than his precise finishing. In this game, possession was crucial because the referee gave the benefit of the doubt to the player with the ball.

When Donegal were on top they won the frees, and the same applied to Derry when they took charge in the last quarter.
A foul on Diver, and a foul on Paddy Bradley led to free-kicks that gave Derry a three-point lead in the 69th minute.

Rory Kavanagh reduced the gap to two and Donegal's fans yearned for a repeat of last year's Hail Mary goal against Armagh. Their hopes seemed to be on the cusp of being realised Colm McFadden floated a 45 high into the square. The ball begged to be punched to the net by a Donegal fist. Instead, it floated into Enda Muldoon's big, safe hands. When Muldoon landed the final whistle blew.

Next up for Donegal is a long wait before the first round of the Qualifiers. For Derry, it's a semi-final berth where Fermanagh have been waiting for them.

[RedandGreenSniper]

Humphries - superb colour piece

[Billys Boots]

Humphries, easing up!

[ONeill]

Yes, a bit of a mismatch. Poor season from Heaney. You're fired!

This week is the first semi-final - Duggan v Hayes

[ONeill]

First up for a place in the final is Liam Hayes

Nobody would deserve an All Ireland more than Paul Caffrey but I don't think he'll get it

PAUL CAFFREY is a lucky man.

He may not feel quite so incredibly fortunate this morning, as he stands at the foot of another mountain of championship football but, whatever fate awaits him this summer, he must consider himself as someone who was specially chosen in life. There is no greater honour in Gaelic football than being asked to rule and guide Dublin.

Me? I've always held mixed views of the man they call Pillar (right). For starters, I've always thought that Pillar is a nickname which is not of much help to begin with. That aside, he's been one of the truly meticulous of managers these last four years, and if we include his amazing efficiencies as side-kick during the hurly-burly reign of Tommy Lyons, it has to be agreed that Caffrey has offered an excellent service to Dublin, entirely for free, since the turn of the Millennium.

There should not be too much debate as to whether Paul Caffrey gets a silver tray or a golden pen, when it finally comes to an end for him. He deserves both. By that time, it is unlikely that Dublin will be All-Ireland champs. If they are, however - and it's still a long-range possibility - then no man this summer, in either championship, will have deserved it more.

I like Caffrey's studious face during matches. I like his general demeanour, in fact, from head to toe. I'm delighted he's broken free from his own disciplined chains from time to time - shoulder-charging Mayo's clever clogs John Morrisson during one game and having a go at a red-carded Ryan McMenamin during another. Good for him! There's no point letting all that pressure build up forever. It's bad for the heart. And this Pillar already has a couple of stone bags attached around the middle.

No man can be a complete saint on the side-line for seven and a half years. You'd go mad. Completely bonkers! On a sensitive and more personal note, I've never agreed with Paul Caffrey's private arrangement of taking his young son onto the sideline in Croker with him for the final minutes of championship games.

That's crossing the line, literally. That is no way to back-up the stresses and strains of being a team boss. That is not the right time or place for family.

What if everyone on the Dublin sideline wished to have a member of their own family with them for the final agonising seconds of each game?

We'd have sons and daughters, and some grandparents most likely, all over the place. No, not a good idea, and not very professional either, Paul.

However. Here we are this morning.

Caffrey has three Leinster titles to his name as Dublin senior football manager. He's not blameless for the All-Irelands which have been lost.

He's far from faultless as a reader of the game. But, in the hours ahead, as he awaits the one last chance offered him to win an All-Ireland title, he might have a couple of minutes to weigh up all the good, bad and indifferent decisions which have brought him to this fairly crucial point in his GAA life.

This is, in fact, a razoredged, brass-band moment for a deserving man. He might have a smile on his face as he thinks of Meath's rushed disappearance from the Leinster championship last Sunday.

That was one lucky break.

Meath were looking good, and they were only going to get much, much better. By the afternoon of the Leinster final, Meath, in my opinion, might have been unstoppable in the country's most mediocre of provinces.

Looking at the room for improvement in this Dublin team between now and July 20, and estimating how Meath might have looked, once fully rehabilitated, I can't help thinking that Dublin would have been in big-ish trouble.

And they will still meet trouble, if they ever do come face-toface with Colm Coyle's lads over the next few months.

Paul Caffrey can only look at his own team, however, and as he does so he must wonder. Is this the best he could possibly have done over the last three and a half years?

I wonder. Especially about Bryan Cullen and the Dublin defence. And - albeit less so individually - about the two new boys Caffrey has introduced for today's game with Louth. Eamonn Fennell is something of a horse who'll get stuck into things and won't let the game pass him by. Paddy Andrews is a good, clever sort of player and he'll work well around the middle - and deeper too if he has to - so there are no great worries there either.

The modern game of Gaelic football actually makes midfield one of the easier places in which to do an afternoon's good work. You don't need to be able to field the ball like a king anymore, and you don't need to worry your head too much about using the ball very cleverly or creating magical opportunities with long-range passing or surging runs. It's all gone quite simple in the middle of the field, in this day and age.

At the end of last year, I thought it was standing out clear as day that Ross McConnell was ready to step into a number eight or nine jersey and build a great career for himself and for Dublin from there. It also seemed fairly obvious that Barry Cahill was the right man at exactly the right point in his career to stake out a few years at number three or six. No?

And, as for Bryan Cullen back in the centre-back position? I thought we'd been here before. Cullen is a fantastically talented footballer but, to date, it seems to me he has been handed a free ticket in his career. I've never seen him earn his place as one of the game's big names, but I do see him being paid to turn up with the likes of Kieran Donaghy and Sean Og every time there's a new pair of boots to be polished up or performanceenhancing drink to be knocked back.

He looks great on the field. He's powerful on the ball. But, we're talking four or five years here, and as he admitted last week - when reflecting on the fiercely talented Dublin under-21 team of 2003 - time is flying past. Cullen is now fast arriving at a time when he will be as good as he can ever be as a Gaelic footballer, and there are still too many questions floating around the place as to where he can be best placed to help Dublin with the All-Ireland title. It should not be like this, and Caffrey has to take greater blame than anybody else for this lack of knowledge. Of course, it would have helped if Cullen had put in enough big, gripping - magnificent or ugly, it would not have mattered - winning performances for his county.

Time is running out alright, and Cullen needs to be smarter and tougher than ever before.

For Dublin's sake, if he is going to be played at centre-back, then he definitely needs to present himself as a bit of a gurrier. Full stop. This may be alien to his character, and we may shake the Cullen family tree for generations past and fail to find such a person as I have just mentioned.

However, if that is the case, then Cullen and some of the other younger lads in the Dublin defence should have been handed some DVDs of Dublin teams of the 70s and 80s especially to see what has to be done on the football field on a regular basis.

My apologies for having to state the bleedin' obvious here for the Dublin team and its management but these are desperate times for Dublin GAA fans. Actually, we all need Dublin to win a fourth Leinster title and the AllIreland. The game needs this shot in the arm. And while there is really nobody out there who truly believes Dublin will do it - outside of the Dublin camp itself, naturally - it could happen. The Dubs have the most naturally talented forward division there is. That's a good starting point, for any team, but. . .

For Sam to come to pass, Caffrey will have to be at his very best in the weeks and months to come. He's got to be cutthroat with his own defence, and he's got to demand this same characteristic from whoever is chosen in that defence. This defence has basic ability, and David Henry and Stephen O'Shaughnessy are superbly talented in each corner. With Cahill at full-back, Dublin would be perfectly secure on this line. Paul Casey, who, it needs to be noted, is one man who does not need to see old Dublin video clips - he should be barred from watching them - would be much better suited to a central role on the half-back line. He does not quite have the speed of legs or mind for some of the trickier customers who are found at wing forward, but would fill the centre of the defence as perfectly as a small, surly truck. It is indeed hard to figure out the thought process behind, and final selection of, this Dublin defence.

This is where Caffrey has struggled over the last three summers, and this is where he is still in some difficulty.

And this means that Dublin will always be vulnerable, even against a team as off-the-boil as Louth have been because Louth have forwards with talent, panache and cheekiness to burn. Mark Stanfield, Aaron Hoey and Shane Lennon can do as much damage as any three Kerry or Meath forwards. Losing Colin Goss is as close to a mortal blow to Louth as they could have received. He is an incredible presence at full-back and with Paddy Keenan has brought Louth to a new level of respect under Eamonn McEneaney. This respect, however, will not grow this afternoon.

[IolarCoisCuain]

I've read better shopping lists than that rubbish out of Hayes.

I'm delighted he's broken free from his own disciplined chains from time to time - shoulder-charging Mayo's clever clogs John Morrisson during one game and having a go at a red-carded Ryan McMenamin during another. Good for him!

Shoulder charge? Caffrey hit an old man in the back when the old man wasn't looking. And this from the same Hayes that reckoned the current Kerry team are cat? Is someone having a laugh here?

[the Deel Rover]

I've read better shopping lists than that rubbish out of Hayes.

I'm delighted he's broken free from his own disciplined chains from time to time - shoulder-charging Mayo's clever clogs John Morrisson during one game and having a go at a red-carded Ryan McMenamin during another. Good for him!

Shoulder charge? Caffrey hit an old man in the back when the old man wasn't looking. And this from the same Hayes that reckoned the current Kerry team are cat? Is someone having a laugh here?

I second that ICC . Didn't realise John Morrison was a mayoman