Jim is worried....

[BennyHarp]

Jimmy is under pressure for the first time as a manager and he is struggling to cope. He was clueless to stop the rot against Monaghan and he's realised now that he has team of lads who are struggling to cope with the demand that HE has put on them over the last few years. He has no real strength in depth and an injury to one of his key players causes havoc to his game plan and as he doesn't have a plan B, he has started to panic. Paul Grimley was given some abuse for not having a plan B....... The irony of Jimmy,of all people, giving out about targeting players is not lost on anyone with an ounce of intelligence and he has mastered the art of fouling off the ball, so when you set a successful template, you shouldn't be surprised that it is copied and modified, (I.e. taken a step further in order to beat it). Jimmy has worked wonders with that Donegal team and rightly has recieved the plaudits for their success but I can't help but feel that the wheels are coming off and he doesn't really know how to get them back on again. I could be wrong but it will be intriguing to see how this plays out.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Jimmy v James, I can see only winner in the keeping their cool stakes.

[Walter Cronc]

Jimmy v James, I can see only winner in the keeping their cool stakes.

What sort of character is Horan anyway? Dont know much about him!

[screenexile]

Jimmy v James, I can see only winner in the keeping their cool stakes.

We'll see next week but there was one clear winner the last time they met head to head!!

[BluestackBoy]

Jimmy v James, I can see only winner in the keeping their cool stakes.

This wouldn't be the same James who blamed the medial and worse of all named & shamed the Mayo players he thought were at fault for last year's final defeat while at the same time maintaining that his tactics & matchups were fine?  Classy fella.

[Lar Naparka]

http://player.todayfm.com/player/podcasts/Championship_Sunday/Championship_Sunday/2204/0/jim_mcguinness

Does Jim have a point here or is it just a bit of crying?

I think it is a bit ironic as Donegal can hit as hard as anyone...

Jimmy has a point without doubt but he's doing a bit of crying as well.
I would grant him a bit of leeway here as he was speaking in the immediate aftermath of the Ulster final and was understandably worked up. However, it is a bit ironic that he should be the first manager to mention the dangers of "physicality."
There's too much physicality creeping into the game and it's not all of the healthy man to man variety either.
Sooner or later unless remedial action is taken, someone will get seriously injured and it won't necessarily be a Donegal player.

[squire_in_navy_slacks]

The rot started as soon as they won the all ireland..........................................too much porter and broken beds

Bite-gate against the Dubs and now opposition players are hitting too hard.............................Mayo will take these buckos on Sunday

[brokencrossbar1]

http://player.todayfm.com/player/podcasts/Championship_Sunday/Championship_Sunday/2204/0/jim_mcguinness

Does Jim have a point here or is it just a bit of crying?

I think it is a bit ironic as Donegal can hit as hard as anyone...

Jimmy has a point without doubt but he's doing a bit of crying as well.
I would grant him a bit of leeway here as he was speaking in the immediate aftermath of the Ulster final and was understandably worked up. However, it is a bit ironic that he should be the first manager to mention the dangers of "physicality."
There's too much physicality creeping into the game and it's not all of the healthy man to man variety either.
Sooner or later unless remedial action is taken, someone will get seriously injured and it won't necessarily be a Donegal player.

Lar I could be wrong but he is talking in the aftermath of the Laois game as he says that McHugh has missed a weeks work.  He is having a f**king laugh in terms of the 'physicality'.  The game has evolved and the irony is that McHugh was actually hit by the smallest player on the Monaghan team in Jinxy who also had to be taken off with a badly busted eye and whatever other injuries and pains as a result.  This physicality has been in the game for as long as I remember, the only difference now is that the players are better 'conditioned' than ever previously and as a result can take the hits and give the hits with greater ferocity.  I must say that in terms of 'dirty' play I actually feel the game has become 'cleaner' over the last number of years but there is a different approach in regards to the general circumstances around each game.  I think my old mate has summed it up best

'Football is not a math problem to be solved. It is not about who the fastest, fittest player is'
Have managers lost the essence of their role?

By Tony McEntee

One of the great misjudgements of modern management is that everything that matters must be measured and that if something cannot be measured, it does not matter. Strength, speed, endurance are the original must-have tools of the trade. Everything has a number, a target, a goal.
Every session must be improved upon. Your every movement is tracked by GPS, your every collision rated. Then there is the mental aspect. Temper, discipline, reaction, lack of reaction — everything matters.

Have we lost what is the true point of management? Is management not about bringing out the best from a bunch of individuals? To get them to work as a unit which stereotypically is stronger than the sum of its parts? In Gaelic football this means producing a performance on the field of play, the ability to replicate what you have been trained to do under intense competitive pressure. By extension, then it is our duty as management to ensure that, when under this intense pressure, individuals do not revert to a default mode which is contrary to the one the team has been conditioned for. The difficulty is doing all this while allowing enough room for individual brilliance to thrive.

Donegal and Laois both resemble teams which have bought into the 'everything must be measured' mind-set. The net result is a game devoid of creativity, freedom of expression, individual flair and risk-taking. The opening passage of play was exactly this. Strength, pace and passion aplenty but what both teams needed was someone with creativity, the vision and composure to look up and tread a ball into an inside forward or draw a scoreable free.

For the opening 11 minutes this madness continued before Marty Duffy awarded Colm McFadden a scoreable opportunity. It is not that either team were incapable. Laois, with the opening move of second half, illustrated this point when Conor Meredith finished a lovely passage of play with a well-taken score. Indeed Donegal worked a number of opportunities for Patrick McBrearty throughout the match, some which resulted in scores.

Spectators and the pre-match atmosphere can have a strange bearing on games. I've played in many matches where the anger was palpable but this is the first match I attended as a spectator where there was anger everywhere. It was initially a nervous apprehension emanating from the Donegal supporters but when the game started Laois played on this and heightened the on-the-field physical and verbal stakes. Soon it had spilled over to the sideline and onto Jim McGuinness and Justin McNulty, over an off-the-ball incident. Then beside me a band of five Donegal supporters entered the stand looking for their pre-bought seats which had been occupied. They were 15 minutes late for a game which had been deferred by 30 minutes. The signs were ominous. By the end of the half Donegal supporters were jeering at Laois's shooting inaccuracies. Need I remind you that after 22 minutes of play the score was one point each?

The second-half was as confusing as it was frustrating. The standard of play from both teams left a lot to be desired. Misdirected fist passing, slow play and indecision were key aspects.

In fact the Donegal supporters in the stand were shouting at the players to make more forward progress while attacking and for Jim McGuinness to substitute their captain Michael Murphy.

Another aspect was the decision-making going forward. There is no doubt that skilled scoring forwards should be the ones teams try to give the final pass to. This is true whether it be in Kerry with Colm Cooper or Donegal with Colm McFadden but the player in possession behaved like he wasn't allowed to shoot on Saturday. If this is true then we have succumbed to a level of player control beyond what I believe is necessary.

There is a principle, christened Einstein's razor, which states that "everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler". Now isn't that a novel idea. The issue as I see it is that changing a traditional outcome-centred ethos into a purpose-driven ethos requires a shift in perspective that is challenging but not impossible. The great advantage in such a shift is that the direction feels natural and meaningful to people, once they get past their engrained cynicism about change. That purpose-driven ethos takes account of the enjoyment of playing and the enrichment we get when playing to potential. Even if the result is less than favourable.

Do you think Galway or Donegal are happiest today? I would suggest Galway as they had success this year which is not rated by medals or trophies but by personal achievement and performance.

Football is not a math problem to be solved. It is not about who the fastest, strongest, fittest player is. It is not about who hits hardest or about who can spout the most verbal insults. Maximising any one thing is at the expense of many other important things. This deficit can be fatal. Gaelic football is a complex, evolving living entity and we need to have the requisite skill set, mind-set and heart-set to do so. As managers we must never knowingly allow the concepts of 'enjoyment' and 'performance' to be harmed just to benefit one of the outcome-centred stakeholders in the short term.

Laois have come as far as they are capable of this year. Many adjustments are required if they wish to progress to the quarter-finals next year. Donegal may have one last performance in them and now is the time for it.

Irish Examiner
Monday 29 July 2013

[Syferus]

Ye Cross boys can fair write anyways. Great article.

[rodney trotter]

In Fairness it doesn't matter what size Gallogly is - McHugh is not exactly a giant either. It was a poor tackle.

[Farrandeelin]

Jeez Bluestack...dunno whether to put Bollix or boy after your initial thing. Your own post count has fairly risen last night. It was only around 160 or so, now it's over 200. You must be exhausted.

[orangeman]

Ye Cross boys can fair write anyways. Great article.

Great article. Quality.

[BluestackBoy]

Good article by Tony McEntee. I would agree with a lot of what he says but he must have been in a different part of the ground to us as the atmosphere was great where we were.
Teams have figured out a way of slowing Donegal down its true. Laois put not one but two sweepers back & I don't care who you are that is going to be hard to break down. The fact that Donegal managed 0-14 points was remarkable to tell you the truth.
They also have a problem in that they don't have a scoring half forward line. The Donegal half forward line is there to create openings for others & in a congested area that is going to be very difficult. I fully expect Mayo to employ the same tactics & with their superior players will probably win.

[Dont Matter]

Jimmy should be worried about the safety of some of his players. With the amount of mouthing Neil McGee does, it wont be long till someone gives him a trip to the dentist!

[Crete Boom]

Jimmy v James, I can see only winner in the keeping their cool stakes.

What sort of character is Horan anyway? Dont know much about him!

He is a very focused composed fella which definitely has someting to do with his Kiwi up bringing. Lads who I talked said that in 96 and 97 he was the calmest man in the dressingroom going out for the All Ireland and all he wanted was to get the first ball so he could knock it  over the bar. It seemed like it could be a club league game or the All Ireland but Horan maintained the same calm and focus.

When he played Rugby for Ballina James and his brother John were very calm on the ball but very aggressive in a deliberate way (not losing the head) and like most Kiwi's didn't bother with a sidestep if the could run over you. Being flash didn't come into it it was all about winning the game first or as he now says the performance is first.

Jimmy v James, I can see only winner in the keeping their cool stakes.

This wouldn't be the same James who blamed the medial and worse of all named & shamed the Mayo players he thought were at fault for last year's final defeat while at the same time maintaining that his tactics & matchups were fine?  Classy fella.

   Ah come on Bluestack Boy I know there are a lot of posters throwing a good few cheap digs about JMcG on this thread and the other one but there is no need to start doing the same. Just to set the balance Horan complained about Joe Brolly's ridiculous attempt to influence the Ref with his article and preview on RTE radio about how we were the devil's of Football with our cynical tactics that we had just invented.I think most Mayo football fans know this had nothing to do with Donegal or McGuiness and more to do with Brolly looking for his headline and looking out for his best mate from his Trinity college days Pat Gilroy. It didn't influence the ref apart from maybe a couple of early yellow cards but Horan felt he had to challenge Brolly's idiotic behaviour and that's fair enough to me.
 
Saying he hung Kevin Keane out to dry is sorry is just petty or stupid or both. I can understand the urge to peddle this view with some of "genius" assessments of JMcG interview after the Laois game but still it doesn't make it any better (two wrongs and all that craic). All Horan said was he felt that he got the match ups right as in he trusted Kevin Keane to follow Murphy out the field but obviously it didn't come off. He didn't blame Keane at all but didn't absolve the players from the responsibility that when they cross over the white line the onus is on them to carry out what the have prepared for in training.