McCarthy admits he does not have backing of Cork hurlers

[cornafean]

Shows those that leaked this confidential info in a poor light and answers the question a to whethe they have the good of cork hurling at heart

Ah yes, the old Fianna Fail trick whenever any embarrassing information would be leaked in relation to the Mahon Tribunal: condemn the leak and the breaches of "confidentiality" repeatedly and in such an unctious manner so that people would (1) forget about the embarrassing information itself; (2) get bored quickly.

I wonder who are Donal & Co's PR advisors 

[orangeman]

I think any future committees to pick managers should perhaps consist of a former player, captain, manager, board chairman, present board representative and be chaired by somebody with no ties to the GAA.


Look at the Donegal set up ! It's a good example.

[billy the kid]

The Cork Hurlers are making themselves a joke. If they dont want to play for the manager then dont. It happens in club and county teams all over the country all the time. The player decides they dont want to play for a manager and dont play for the rest of the year or until that manager moves on or call it a day altogether. But not in the world of these Cork Prima Donnas, oh no they expect the manager to leave and they expect the county board to let them pick the manager.

I always had loads of respect for Sean Og, the O Connors and Dean, but they are tarnishing their legacy to our great National sport by again behaving like spoilt brats and I like many others, want to see the back of them now.  It would be best for all concerned if they just walked away if they arent going to support the manager. Have they given no thought to whats good for Cork Hurling?

Of course not. Just like the Cork footballers last year they only care about themselves and what suits them best and are drunk on self importance and ego.

Bunch of W**KS.

[orangeman]

The Cork Hurlers are making themselves a joke. If they dont want to play for the manager then dont. It happens in club and county teams all over the country all the time. The player decides they dont want to play for a manager and dont play for the rest of the year or until that manager moves on or call it a day altogether. But not in the world of these Cork Prima Donnas, oh no they expect the manager to leave and they expect the county board to let them pick the manager.

I always had loads of respect for Sean Og, the O Connors and Dean, but they are tarnishing their legacy to our great National sport by again behaving like spoilt brats and I like many others, want to see the back of them now.  It would be best for all concerned if they just walked away if they arent going to support the manager. Have they given no thought to whats good for Cork Hurling?

Of course not. Just like the Cork footballers last year they only care about themselves and what suits them best and are drunk on self importance and ego.

Bunch of W**KS.

O U C H !!!

[The GAA]

The Cork Hurlers are making themselves a joke. If they dont want to play for the manager then dont. It happens in club and county teams all over the country all the time. The player decides they dont want to play for a manager and dont play for the rest of the year or until that manager moves on or call it a day altogether. But not in the world of these Cork Prima Donnas, oh no they expect the manager to leave and they expect the county board to let them pick the manager.

I always had loads of respect for Sean Og, the O Connors and Dean, but they are tarnishing their legacy to our great National sport by again behaving like spoilt brats and I like many others, want to see the back of them now.  It would be best for all concerned if they just walked away if they arent going to support the manager. Have they given no thought to whats good for Cork Hurling?

Of course not. Just like the Cork footballers last year they only care about themselves and what suits them best and are drunk on self importance and ego.

Bunch of W**KS.

that's probably the most ignorant, ill informed post i've ever read. you've just read (actually you proabably didn't) two articles. one from the most respected sports journalists in the country and one from a highly respected cork hurling man, who is in an eminently better position than any of us to comment on this saga. both articulated their belief that wherever your support lies, it shouldn't be in question that these men are acting for the long term good of cork hurling and certanly not their own personal gain. i really despair that contributors to this forum cannot take the time to understand issues in important situations like this and measure their contributions rather than embarrassing themselves and devaluing the forum for those who wish to accurately debate, disagree and agree on football & hurling topics.

[cornafean]

one from a highly respected cork hurling man, who is in an eminently better position than any of us to comment on this saga.

Really? My own perception that John Allen is too close to the players to be considered independent in the context of this discussion.

[The GAA]

You'd consider yourself to be in a better position to comment on the subject matter and the protagonists than allen?

[bottlethrower7]

You'd consider yourself to be in a better position to comment on the subject matter and the protagonists than allen?

Allen is a players man. He'd never say a bad word against them. Thus hes not the right person to be looking for an 'objective' view from.

[orangeman]

one from a highly respected cork hurling man, who is in an eminently better position than any of us to comment on this saga.

Really? My own perception that John Allen is too close to the players to be considered independent in the context of this discussion.

Anyone else hear that Allen might have a role in a changed management team ?

[billy the kid]

The Cork Hurlers are making themselves a joke. If they dont want to play for the manager then dont. It happens in club and county teams all over the country all the time. The player decides they dont want to play for a manager and dont play for the rest of the year or until that manager moves on or call it a day altogether. But not in the world of these Cork Prima Donnas, oh no they expect the manager to leave and they expect the county board to let them pick the manager.

I always had loads of respect for Sean Og, the O Connors and Dean, but they are tarnishing their legacy to our great National sport by again behaving like spoilt brats and I like many others, want to see the back of them now.  It would be best for all concerned if they just walked away if they arent going to support the manager. Have they given no thought to whats good for Cork Hurling?

Of course not. Just like the Cork footballers last year they only care about themselves and what suits them best and are drunk on self importance and ego.

Bunch of W**KS.

that's probably the most ignorant, ill informed post i've ever read. you've just read (actually you proabably didn't) two articles. one from the most respected sports journalists in the country and one from a highly respected cork hurling man, who is in an eminently better position than any of us to comment on this saga. both articulated their belief that wherever your support lies, it shouldn't be in question that these men are acting for the long term good of cork hurling and certanly not their own personal gain. i really despair that contributors to this forum cannot take the time to understand issues in important situations like this and measure their contributions rather than embarrassing themselves and devaluing the forum for those who wish to accurately debate, disagree and agree on football & hurling topics.

Look Here Donal Og, why is it that opinions devalue this forum when they are different to yours? You harp on about debate, agree and disagree, yet because I disagree with you and your GPA chums My opinion doesnt count? Thats the sort of GPA elitism that has distanced yous from grassroots GAA members all over the country. It would be great to know how much (or little) support your strike actions (again) have from supporters in your own county.

And for the record, the big embarrassment is the Cork players going on strike again, it embarrasses the hell out of GAA people all over the country and the players themselves.  The current Cork senior hurling panel contains players who could have been remembered long after they retire for the great players they have been, Sean Og, the O Connors, The Rock, Gardiner and Dean are all living legends but they are in danger of tarnishing that by listening to You Donal Og and your Lime light junkie chum Farrel and trying to run the team and play on it.  

[cornafean]

You'd consider yourself to be in a better position to comment on the subject matter and the protagonists than allen?

Well maybe that will become relevant if or when the Irish Times commission me to write a 1,000-word commentary on the subject  What's next, Bertie Ahern's verdict on whether he prefers Brian Cowen or Enda Kenny for the job of Taoiseach?

[theskull1]

GAA I could absorb your arguments better if you practiced what you preach, but I haven't seen you agreeing to anything which doesn't suit your perspective.

[Zulu]

Clearly John Allen might naturally favour the players, however I don't think he would publicly come out against the CB unless he truely believed they shared plenty of the blame. So to dismiss his article on the basis that it would be biased is ridiculous, the problem here is the same as it was last year, some lads lose the ability to reasonably debate an issue if 'player power' is involved. I remember having this debate last year and the anti-player brigade styled themselves as representitive of the grassroots GAA man (whoever the f**k he is), they also accussed the players of doing this for money, limelight or power without a shred of evidence. They abused the players on a public forum without one solid fact to support their foul mouthed abuse and anyone who defended the players had to have some kind of agenda. Well lo and behold 12 months on and many of the same lads are spouting the same factless shit in the same arrogant way. Ye accuse the players of being arrogant for presuming to speak for Cork hurling while ye presume to speak for the whole GAA community. There is certainly blame on all sides but a lot of posters around here need to engage their brains before they post on this topic, because quite simply ye clearly don't know what ye are talking about.

[Reillers]

The Cork Hurlers are making themselves a joke. If they dont want to play for the manager then dont. It happens in club and county teams all over the country all the time. The player decides they dont want to play for a manager and dont play for the rest of the year or until that manager moves on or call it a day altogether. But not in the world of these Cork Prima Donnas, oh no they expect the manager to leave and they expect the county board to let them pick the manager.

I always had loads of respect for Sean Og, the O Connors and Dean, but they are tarnishing their legacy to our great National sport by again behaving like spoilt brats and I like many others, want to see the back of them now.  It would be best for all concerned if they just walked away if they arent going to support the manager. Have they given no thought to whats good for Cork Hurling?

Of course not. Just like the Cork footballers last year they only care about themselves and what suits them best and are drunk on self importance and ego.

Bunch of W**KS.

that's probably the most ignorant, ill informed post i've ever read. you've just read (actually you proabably didn't) two articles. one from the most respected sports journalists in the country and one from a highly respected cork hurling man, who is in an eminently better position than any of us to comment on this saga. both articulated their belief that wherever your support lies, it shouldn't be in question that these men are acting for the long term good of cork hurling and certanly not their own personal gain. i really despair that contributors to this forum cannot take the time to understand issues in important situations like this and measure their contributions rather than embarrassing themselves and devaluing the forum for those who wish to accurately debate, disagree and agree on football & hurling topics.

Look Here Donal Og, why is it that opinions devalue this forum when they are different to yours? You harp on about debate, agree and disagree, yet because I disagree with you and your GPA chums My opinion doesnt count? Thats the sort of GPA elitism that has distanced yous from grassroots GAA members all over the country. It would be great to know how much (or little) support your strike actions (again) have from supporters in your own county.

And for the record, the big embarrassment is the Cork players going on strike again, it embarrasses the hell out of GAA people all over the country and the players themselves.  The current Cork senior hurling panel contains players who could have been remembered long after they retire for the great players they have been, Sean Og, the O Connors, The Rock, Gardiner and Dean are all living legends but they are in danger of tarnishing that by listening to You Donal Og and your Lime light junkie chum Farrel and trying to run the team and play on it.  

Oh good God. You don't disagree you degrade the players, you insult them, refuse to listen and accept what's going on, because God forbid that the players (and McCarthy) could be the innocent one in all of this. It's not a debate, it's you taking what you want from this to just whinge at the players. If you read any article that has been published lately, they'll all say the same thing, that the board is the biggest problem. But you disregaurd that aswell, you're too busy to think up insulting words and posts.

First of all, I thought like what the GAA said, that Allen and one of the best, level headed journalists in the country have to say, would have more respect and a group of players who've done so much for the game, who changed it, who took a stand in 2002 for the good of the game would have more respect. They fight and they fight this ongoing battle with the board, like Humphries said..

"Fighting the Cork County Board is like being a sea beating against a coastline. You might cause slight erosion but the coastline is always there. It is like fighting one of those Hollywood beasts which refuses to die. As the end credits roll the camera sneakily picks out a faint pulse of a twitching muscle in the body of the apparently slain animal. There will always be a sequel."

They, clearly you're not aware or maybe you don't understand or maybe you don't want to, but this, what the players are doing is for the good of Cork hurlings future, the way they'redoing it is questionable but justified.

And you call them, Donal Og, lime light junkie, bunch of w**ks, Prima Donnas, spoiled brats..maybe before you comment next time, read the articles, the pages and pages of jouranlists all saying the same thing. You don't give them the time of day.
The board is the problem, not the players or McCarthy. They want the best for the future of Cork, the board just want their power back, and you'd know that if you read or listened to even half informed people who know about the situation, because clearly you're lacking in information.

I've no problem with people having oppinions, but people who come on and bitch and whinge about

[Reillers]

O'Grady calls for action
Former Cork boss urges secretary Murphy to get ball rolling in resolving Rebel dispute

By Colm Keys

Tuesday November 04 2008

The man who helped heal the wounds after the first Cork strike six years ago has urged long-serving county secretary Frank Murphy to "gets thing moving" sooner rather than later.

Donal O'Grady, who took over as manager after the 2002 stand-off and managed the team to 2004 All-Ireland success, believes Murphy has to be the man to get the process of finding a way out of the current impasse under way.

Murphy, who is understood to be currently on holidays, was one of the seven-man committee that re-appointed McCarthy two weeks ago and has faced repeated calls from players past and present to stand down over the last 12 months.

But O'Grady said yesterday that, whether people like it or not, Murphy is the only one to convene talks.

"The county secretary Frank Murphy has to be the one to get things moving here because, ultimately, it is his responsibility to get things sorted. He is the leader of Cork GAA. Whether we like it or not, he is the main man.

"He has to get some group together. I know he is involved in it itself because he is leader of the executive but somebody has to come in and mediate. Get people talking and see what comes out of it."

O'Grady feels mediation is again the only way but this time he called for a lower-profile third party to get involved.

"I think the only way of going forward is to send in a mediation team that will talk to the three sides.

Problems

"For once and for all they can sort out all the issues. There are issues that have been sidetracked last year or the year before and little mistrusts there, little problems that keep cropping up and if anything good was to come of it, if all issues were put to bed, then Cork could take to the field for the National League with the desks cleared. That would be the best way to go forward," he said.

O'Grady would like to see figures like Dr Con Murphy, the long-serving team doctor who has respect on all sides; Christy Cooney, the next GAA president and Jim Forbes, chairman of the Cork County Board when the first deal in 2002 was brokered and current PRO of the Munster Council, becoming involved. He also feels Jimmy Barry-Murphy could have a role.

"I don't think it needs to be as high-powered as that but I am not sure. Really (it should be) at local level and probably the quieter the better.

"Last year, there was a lot of publicity around Kieran Mulvey. What happened last year was that it went to arbitration and he came down with a formula, which was a guillotine as such," said O'Grady who was speaking at the Opel GPA team of the year announcement.

O'Grady feels there should be urgency on behalf of the board this time to sort out the dispute.

"Time slips by. Last year, what happened was that the executive allowed things drag on and drag on.

"In the end, they went to January and it was March before the teams got back onto the field of play. I can see it being drawn out but the sooner people start talking to each other the better.

"It will be more difficult because, if you remember last year, there was no media campaign really waged by any sides. It was done quietly. Kieran Mulvey was brought in because they had no chance to sort anything out that time.

"Because of things being said, it is going to be more difficult because there is going to be a lot of mistrust around. The only way you will build up trust again is to sit down and sort out the issues and see can they make any progress."

Whether a relationship can ever be struck up between McCarthy and the players again remains to be seen but O'Grady, who is closely aligned to many of the players who still respect him greatly, was non-committal on that subject.

"All good teams are built on trust. Trust within themselves first of all and then trust with their leaders off the field. That is the main thing that has suffered in all this, the trust that they have built up with each other.

"It always takes time to get that right. Whether it be right enough next year so that Cork can challenge or whether it will fall apart ... the problem when you have a few little cracks is that, at the first point of pressure, the cracks open and there are splits in the camp."

O'Grady believes McCarthy's series of interviews and statement last week may now make things "difficult to claw back" and feels the players are too often left out of the loop by the county board.

"The way it is gone at the moment, there is a triangle involved in this. I think you have the county board executive, the manager Gerald McCarthy, and the players. I am always surprised by the board in that they always seem to exclude the players.

"To me, Cork as a county is a sort of a family and it should be made up of the county board, the manager and players, all existing as the one organisation.

"If you look at the way the board has spoken it is like the manager is there but the players are outside the loop and that shouldn't happen."

The Cork players are not expected to issue any statement responding to McCarthy's words last week until later this week.

Meanwhile, clubs in Cork are set to discuss the latest stand-off this week with no board meeting scheduled until the end of the month.

- Colm Keys