Brian McGuigan and Phillip Jordan announce their retirement

[rrhf]

On a retirement thread it should be a case of wishing the lads well instead of picking off cheap shots at their career.  That maddens me.  Leave the lads alone. 

[muppet]

On a retirement thread it should be a case of wishing the lads well instead of picking off cheap shots at their career.  That maddens me.  Leave the lads alone.

Most people are doing exactly that. Ignore the loons.

2 great careers that most of the rest of us would have died for. Fcuk the begrudgers.

[haveaharp]

McGuigan was a good player, but he was nowhere near the player Greg Blaney was.

So what did that make McMenamin given what he did to John McEntee that day?

McMenamin should have been sent off for that and what he did a couple of mins after.

[ONeill]

What? I haven't moved on from 1996. Royal Bastards.

[BennyCake]

What? I haven't moved on from 1996. Royal b**tards.

Whats that you were saying Fionntamhnach? 

[EC Unique]

McGuigan didn't want to retire
25 November 2011


Brian McGuigan has revealed how he was left with no option but to retire from inter-county football after holding recent talks with Tyrone manager Mickey Harte.

Due to family commitments, the Ardboe clubman would not have been in a position to return to the county fold until March, but eager to start training early, Harte wasn't agreeable to this.

"I wasn't actually going to say I was retiring, " McGuigan said in the Irish News.

"My wife is due to give birth again in March - that will be our second child - and I couldn't commit before that.

"I told Mickey that I wasn't happy about going back before March. When March comes I said if I felt fit enough to go back I would, but Mickey was saying we'll be training hard in the wintertime and he didn't want me to miss that.

"He said if I came back in March time, well, obviously they'd be doing something wrong if I was fit enough to come back in again at that stage. I suppose that made up my mind."

http://www.hoganstand.com/Tyrone/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=158421

Think Micky got this one right. With the levels of fittness that other counties are getting to now it is essiential to train from day one.

[orangeman]

What date does day one start from ?

[OverThePostsAWide]

Seems like a bit of management (or newspaper) doublespeak going on then. MH is quoted in today's Irish News :
"The big "R" word doesn't rest well with a lot of people and I don't think it rests well with Brian McGuigan either. It's out there at the minute and sure we'll see what happens as the year goes on."

[OverThePostsAWide]

What date does day one start from ?

22 September 2003?

[EC Unique]

What date does day one start from ?

first training session of 2012.

[orangeman]

What date does day one start from ?

first training session of 2012.

Being serious for a minute, what constitutes day one and should lads of 31 years of age, be expected to do the exact same sort of training as 19/20 year olds ?.

Could Brian Mc Guigan ( and others potentially ) function better with more rest ?. Food for thought. Had he ( or others ) been injured in the closed season, then he ( they ) wouldn't have had to do the winter training - would he have been less effective ?

[OverThePostsAWide]

Makes good sense Orangeman, but that plan is not coming from Mickey but the player. Management has to manage, players have to do what they're told. Mickey is no different than Jim McGuiness in that regard. And I don't mean either in a bad way. If Stephen O'Neill had gone to Mickey in 2008 and said he was going to take a break and give it a go in September I don't think that would have worked. Stephen retired but come that September...

I expect to see Brian and Kevin wearing their respective county jerseys around May time 

[twenty one yard free]

What date does day one start from ?

first training session of 2012.

don t think wee peter was at the first training session in 05 or at that many all that year

[EC Unique]

What date does day one start from ?

first training session of 2012.

don t think wee peter was at the first training session in 05 or at that many all that year

He was at plenty

Fitness levels have moved on since then, see Dublin and Donegal for example. Tyrone got wiped off the pitch last year and a lot of it was due to speed, intensity and fitness. Micky has obviously identified this and has decided the way to prepare is as a unit from day one. I agree with him, bar injury all should be present at first training session. Just my opinion.

[Redhand Santa]

The role McGuigan plays for Tyrone involves a high level of fitness. And its probably more important now than when he was when he was 19/20 that he gets the training in.

Harte knows from last year that Tyrone simply weren't fit enough to compete at the top level. Part of the problem was he never had the players available all year and they couldn't get momentum built up. He obviously is hoping to get a settled fit team in place as early as possible this year.

Can't blame him for wanting that. Lets hope injuries don't work against this and the likes of the McMahons get a clear run at it. Will be a great way to start the league for the players back in Croke Park in February.