McCarthy admits he does not have backing of Cork hurlers

[Reillers]

Bullish Gardiner stresses Rebels' resolve
by Brian Murphy , 14 December 2008

John Gardiner, the Cork captain, has denied that there are any fissures in the resolve of the Rebels' rowing hurlers, whom he says are adamant that they will never play under manager Gerald McCarthy.

Rumours emanating from Leeside suggested that some of the 30 panel members who are refusing to play under McCarthy had lost the stomach for the battle and were considering some form compromise to return to the Cork colours.

However, Gardiner, who was speaking at a players' work-out in Mallow on Saturday, says the panel is united in its determination to continue their dispute as long as McCarthy remains in charge.

The players were sporting a new set of training gear sponsored by Adidas in Mallow, where Gardiner delivered another rousing call to arms, denying any hint of disunity in the ranks. 

"Absolutely not, we are delighted to have secured this deal with Adidas who have recognised our input over the last number of years and we are doing so, going forward as a united front," said the Cork captain.

"There are 30 of us in this and we are all one and anything you hear to the contrary is just rumour and nothing else.

"All we want to do is play hurling and hopefully we will get to do it sooner rather than later.

"We are keeping ourselves in shape here in Mallow every Saturday and we hope to increase the sessions at the start of the New Year."

Gardiner again reiterated the players' long-standing refusal to play for McCarthy, who has assembled his own panel of young players for the season-opening Waterford Crystal competition.

"No, the situation is unchanged. We have outlined our stance and that remains, we won't play under his management," Gardiner added.

"We are standing by that decision and we are standing by that decision as one."


This was on the Echo Friday I think, it'd a picture of all the senior lads in THEIR NEW Adidas gear, that they are sponsered by. Almost didn't recognize them for a second.

There you again - the players will NEVER play for Mc Carthy - Now I believe that they they're right ! They're 100% right - cos they've now dug themselves into such a hge hole that they can NEVER get out of it.


And running around posing in a new set of Adidas kit ?? Who do they think they are ? Training every Saturday ?? What for



Their heads are so far up their holes now, it's no surprise really that they have and continue to make idiots of themselves.


Nobody is listening to them anymore - nobody is talking about them anymore. They've become a national embaraasment and I don't say that easily.


I don;t know who is driving the strike, whether it's Gardiner or whoever, but the more the players up the ante, the more Mc Carthy will dig his heels in. Human nature.


Both sides seem hell bent on wrecking any reasonable chance of success for Cork in the near future.


Personally I think the players are taking the wrong advice. Instead of offering an olive branch, they're shaking a blackthorn stick. And Mc Carthy who never shirked a challenge in his life, isn't about to begin to now.

You're so full of bs like, you really are. Just say it how it is for once, you go on and say how you love the players and crap like that. Just grow a pair and say how you actually feel, because clearly you can't stand them. At least have the balls to say it.
Every single point you've made their has been gone through on here 100s of times yet you come on here and sprout the same old crap over and over again. Just say it how it is for once. You hate them so it doesn't matter what we say or do or what the players/CB/Gerald do, you'll always hate them and you wont give them the time of day, at least give us the curtesy of admitting something that is so clearly obvious.

[theskull1]

No point in attacking one person for repeating themselves Reillers. Sure we're all at it are we not? You have a hair trigger

[Reillers]

Just dawned on me that these weekly sessions as well as keeping the media spotlight on the strike, it's also a great way for the main protagonists to maintain control of the group. Is there any chance that the younger lads are being used by others with much more to lose?

The players are training to keep fit, they are training with it in mind that they hope to be back.
This is the first time they've made contact to the media in weeks. That's hardly keeping the spotlight on them now is it. It's been deadly quiet for weeks and weeks from the PLAYERS camp.
I know the younger players are, unfortunatley as involved as the seniors, Shane O Neill made that clear. They have been, surprisingly, very vocal in this. More so then the senior lads on occasions.
There are a young group of players being manipulated and used but it's the wrong set of players.

[Reillers]

No point in attacking one person for repeating themselves Reillers. Sure we're all at it are we not? You have a hair trigger

Come on though, all he does is whinges, answers questions with questions, refuses to look at the players sides, and the makes the same points over and over again which leaves the rest of us repeating ourselves and he refuses to read some posts and wont answer others where he's been shown up in.

Every single part of his post there where he's whinging and bitching we've been over 100 times yet he still brings it up to have a bitch and whinge at the players and then he insults our intelligence by telling us that he loves the players. It's bull.

[Zulu]

In a load of counties, there was only one in for the job  - that's not unusual - let's face it - who the hell wants the Cork job ??

Again I'll have to ask you for some proof here OM, the only inter county jobs I can think of where there isn't at least two people going for the job is when a successful manager puts his name forward again (e.g Mickey Harte) so no point in anyone else going for it or when no one wants the job (e.g Mayo hurling or Waterford football) but the Cork hurling job is one of the most high profile, glamorous jobs in the GAA. Cork should have a number of quality candidates due to its size and number of clubs that might be interested, so I can't accept there wasn't at least one from either inside or outside the county that was interested inputting their name forward.

Just dawned on me that these weekly sessions as well as keeping the media spotlight on the strike, it's also a great way for the main protagonists to maintain control of the group. Is there any chance that the younger lads are being used by others with much more to lose?

Possibly Skull, I'm sure meeting up like that every week is partly about keeping everyone on the same page but it would be strange if in a group of 30 players there weren't some differences in opinion. But if I was a Cork hurler I wouldn't play for that CB so I'm not surprised that they are doing something to keep a unified front.

[theskull1]

Reillers some would say you are the same on the opposite side of the fence. I wouldn't dare though 

On your last post, it would be great if the strikers could tell us what form of democracy they hope to employ to enable them to get "back in business"  ? Thats irrelevant I suppose?

[Reillers]

Reillers some would say you are the same on the opposite side of the fence. I wouldn't dare though 

On your last post, it would be great if the strikers could tell us what form of democracy they hope to employ to enable them to get "back in business"  ? Thats irrelevant I suppose?

...."The claim that democracy has been honoured in Cork is also a contentious one, not for the first time. Power is centred on the executive, a small cabal, and most ordinary delegates are 'yes men' who tow the line. There are ways in which the system can be corrupted, as we saw recently in Meath, where a loophole was found to avoid giving the job to the man the majority of the selection panel wanted: Luke Dempsey.

Democracy is what it says on the tin; GAA democracy is another thing altogether. The more politicised players become, the more they're likely to revolt against the gombeenism that still thrives within much local administration. There's bound to be a lot more trouble ahead". -Dermot Crowe

From the Indo.

[theskull1]

Yes we know they have revolted because they feel hard done by, but surely they need to use some form of democratic process (corrupt or not) to enable them to get back to business? No?

[stevetharlear]

There you again - the players will NEVER play for Mc Carthy - Now I believe that they they're right ! They're 100% right - cos they've now dug themselves into such a hge hole that they can NEVER get out of it.


And running around posing in a new set of Adidas kit ?? Who do they think they are ? Training every Saturday ?? What for



Their heads are so far up their holes now, it's no surprise really that they have and continue to make idiots of themselves.


Nobody is listening to them anymore - nobody is talking about them anymore. They've become a national embaraasment and I don't say that easily.


I don;t know who is driving the strike, whether it's Gardiner or whoever, but the more the players up the ante, the more Mc Carthy will dig his heels in. Human nature.


Both sides seem hell bent on wrecking any reasonable chance of success for Cork in the near future.


Personally I think the players are taking the wrong advice. Instead of offering an olive branch, they're shaking a blackthorn stick. And Mc Carthy who never shirked a challenge in his life, isn't about to begin to now.

Sound orangeman, I'm sure the players care about what a Tyrone man thinks about them. the only people that should really be on the lads minds are the Cork supporters, and the fact that the whole lot of them are out training on a Sunday morning says a lot, they know they have support for their cause.

Again, and I can't stress this enough, if you're not a Corkman then it doesn't really matter how many posts you have on the subject, your opinion is useless to Cork folk. You may think it's all to do with Donal Og (the divil) but it ain't. You may think it's about player power, but it ain't. What it's about is an all-powerful county board trying to rid itself of a bunch of men who've had the balls to stand up and ask the awkward questions of the board.

You'll never understand this, and I'd normally be beating my head against a wall trying to explain it to your likes, but I come back to the point, it doesn't matter a jot what you think.

[theskull1]

Again, and I can't stress this enough, if you're not a Corkman then it doesn't really matter how many posts you have on the subject, your opinion is useless to Cork folk. You may think it's all to do with Donal Og (the divil) but it ain't. You may think it's about player power, but it ain't. What it's about is an all-powerful county board trying to rid itself of a bunch of men who've had the balls to stand up and ask the awkward questions of the board.

You'll never understand this, and I'd normally be beating my head against a wall trying to explain it to your likes, but I come back to the point, it doesn't matter a jot what you think.

The GAA needs administrators and mentors lads and they do not grow on trees. Mentors especially cannot be, by definition mentors to players with an overly arrogant militant attitude. The CCB have to show that they are still the alpha males under such circumstances. I do think that positive affects will come about if only the striking players would come out of the hole they've dug themselves into but they seem hell bent on war without any consideration for an exit strategy. Surely they must soften their position if they truely have more than their own interests in mind.

Sure I've said as much except I do support the CCB & GMcC in standing up to what I believe as pure player power (they're striking collectively for goodness sake). Who is going to want to facilitate players with such an arrogant attitude. I wouldn't. Apologies for repeating myself 

[Reillers]

Yes we know they have revolted because they feel hard done by, but surely they need to use some form of democratic process (corrupt or not) to enable them to get back to business? No?

Ya but what should happen and what will happen is another thing completley. The players feel how they feel, the CB act like they act. No "democratic process"  will get these lads back to business at the minute. I don't think anything is.

[stevetharlear]

Sure I've said as much except I do support the CCB & GMcC in standing up to what I believe as pure player power (they're striking collectively for goodness sake). Who is going to want to facilitate players with such an arrogant attitude. I wouldn't. Apologies for repeating myself 

But skull, and I'm reluctant to engage you in any arguement, me being a newbie and all...

do you think Gerald was reappointed with the best interests of the squad at heart?

Or do you think it was a power play from the CB?

Simple questions requiring an honest answer.

[Reillers]

Again, and I can't stress this enough, if you're not a Corkman then it doesn't really matter how many posts you have on the subject, your opinion is useless to Cork folk. You may think it's all to do with Donal Og (the divil) but it ain't. You may think it's about player power, but it ain't. What it's about is an all-powerful county board trying to rid itself of a bunch of men who've had the balls to stand up and ask the awkward questions of the board.

You'll never understand this, and I'd normally be beating my head against a wall trying to explain it to your likes, but I come back to the point, it doesn't matter a jot what you think.

The GAA needs administrators and mentors lads and they do not grow on trees. Mentors especially cannot be, by definition mentors to players with an overly arrogant militant attitude. The CCB have to show that they are still the alpha males under such circumstances. I do think that positive affects will come about if only the striking players would come out of the hole they've dug themselves into but they seem hell bent on war without any consideration for an exit strategy. Surely they must soften their position if they truely have more than their own interests in mind.

Sure I've said as much except I do support the CCB & GMcC in standing up to what I believe as pure player power (they're striking collectively for goodness sake). Who is going to want to facilitate players with such an arrogant attitude. I wouldn't. Apologies for repeating myself 

If the players go back now it'll be for nothing, nothing will be gained and we wont win anything. Look what happened the last time in 2002. 4 finals in a row.
No mangaer wants to come in because they know too well the position and strangle hold that the CB have, it's not about player power, that is not what this is and I honestly believe that no actual informed GAA fan are true fans if they support this ridiculous CB, that's MY opinion. The people who have been looked at for the job all no the score with the CB, a good manager has always had the backing of these players, yes man Gerald is the only manager to have a problem with them.

They want the best for Cork hurling but their calls are falling on deaf, biased ears.


It's clear, to me anyway, that the only people looking for power and control here are the board and I'm actually dumbfounded that ye can't see that, I really am.

[theskull1]

But skull, and I'm reluctant to engage you in any arguement, me being a newbie and all...

do you think Gerald was reappointed with the best interests of the squad at heart?

Or do you think it was a power play from the CB?

Simple questions requiring an honest answer.

Aww steve don't take that to heart. You weighed in from nowhere, an angry voice, abusively attacking the likes of GMcC. It doesn't go down well. You sounded like an angry young man which you are. I did not insult you

I don't understand the question? Best interests of the squad? If you asked me was gerards reappointment in the best interests of Cork hurling then my answer to you would be yes I do. The players have got so far ahead of themselves that no manager bar a complete yes man could look after them and not expect to be ridiculed if they were defeated. It is obvious to me that the CCB and GMcC are recliaming positions of power that have served the GAA accross the country and are showing that they will not put up with such overly opinionated arrogance. Its just not a GAA trait. I support them in doing so.

So yes it was a power play from the CB

[orangeman]

There you again - the players will NEVER play for Mc Carthy - Now I believe that they they're right ! They're 100% right - cos they've now dug themselves into such a hge hole that they can NEVER get out of it.


And running around posing in a new set of Adidas kit ?? Who do they think they are ? Training every Saturday ?? What for



Their heads are so far up their holes now, it's no surprise really that they have and continue to make idiots of themselves.


Nobody is listening to them anymore - nobody is talking about them anymore. They've become a national embaraasment and I don't say that easily.


I don;t know who is driving the strike, whether it's Gardiner or whoever, but the more the players up the ante, the more Mc Carthy will dig his heels in. Human nature.


Both sides seem hell bent on wrecking any reasonable chance of success for Cork in the near future.


Personally I think the players are taking the wrong advice. Instead of offering an olive branch, they're shaking a blackthorn stick. And Mc Carthy who never shirked a challenge in his life, isn't about to begin to now.

Sound orangeman, I'm sure the players care about what a Tyrone man thinks about them. the only people that should really be on the lads minds are the Cork supporters, and the fact that the whole lot of them are out training on a Sunday morning says a lot, they know they have support for their cause.

Again, and I can't stress this enough, if you're not a Corkman then it doesn't really matter how many posts you have on the subject, your opinion is useless to Cork folk. You may think it's all to do with Donal Og (the divil) but it ain't. You may think it's about player power, but it ain't. What it's about is an all-powerful county board trying to rid itself of a bunch of men who've had the balls to stand up and ask the awkward questions of the board.

You'll never understand this, and I'd normally be beating my head against a wall trying to explain it to your likes, but I come back to the point, it doesn't matter a jot what you think.

Steve - I think you've summed it up quite well -

It DOES matter what other folk think - it's not all about you - you might think it is but it's not and the sooner you realsie that the better - it's because of this blinkered pont of view that you have arrived at this point - i.e in a big hole which is geting deeper every time you go out and do coolective training, every time you don a new Adidas Kit ( who cares if it's Adidias, Umbro, Lidl or Dunnes ), everytime a spokeperson says "we'll never go back under Mc Carthy and our spirit will never be broken".

By the way, I never mentiooned Donal Og - you did - you denied your leader a bit like Peter did.

This group of players remind me of the Provos - when the Provos decided to talk to the Brits and to end the war, nobody else's point of view counted or indeed mattered. Those who didn't agree were castigated as being dissidents, whose opinion was suddenly a product of the dark ages.
It seems you're a bit likee them - you're 100% right and anybody who dares to disagree or try to articulate another opinion, is castigated for being out of step ( in my case I'm a Tyrone man and that doesn't count ) and whose opinion isn't appreciated.


So take a broader view of the world - it's a lot bigger than just Cork. You ought to take into account the views from outside Cork as they may just tell you something about how other people feel about what's going on down there.


Only then might you realise that whilst the players DO have a legitimate right to protest and to air their grievances, their conduct to date has been appaling and repugnant. A softer, less militant stance would have ensured that the public might have listened to them - as it is the players lost the fight for the sympathy of the public after a mere few days.

The public want to see Cork playing hurling and gearing up for next year. They certainly turn off when they see them running round Mallow, sporting a Third Force Beret and shorts, shouting "NEVER,NEVER,NEVER!".