Mickey Harte joins the Irish News

[mountainboii]

That was a particularly strange subject choice for a column. I'm struggling to see how anyone could justify its presence amongst the sports pages.

I reckon the column the entering it's twilight now anyway. It has not been a success.

[SidelineKick]

That was a particularly strange subject choice for a column. I'm struggling to see how anyone could justify its presence amongst the sports pages.
I reckon the column the entering it's twilight now anyway. It has not been a success.

How dare you!!

[Minder]

I found that article very peculiar today, I know he is keeping the "juicy" bits for his autobiography but he could give us something other than a road safety lesson.

[mountainboii]

That was a particularly strange subject choice for a column. I'm struggling to see how anyone could justify its presence amongst the sports pages.
I reckon the column the entering it's twilight now anyway. It has not been a success.

How dare you!!

Yeah, I went there! I'm sure the cavalry will be along soon enough to smite me with accusations of anti-Tyronery or similar shite.

[Mike Sheehy]

he steered Tymoan into a ditch last Sunday, why should anyone listen to his preaching about road safety 

[gerry]

he steered Tymoan into a ditch last Sunday, why should anyone listen to his preaching about road safety 

good man mike, still going strong a week later

[Mike Sheehy]

he steered Tymoan into a ditch last Sunday, why should anyone listen to his preaching about road safety 

good man mike, still going strong a week later

whats wrong Gerry ? shouldn't you be having some cheap dig about head-to-heads or something like that....its not like you personally have indulged in such shite (shock , horror !)

Its lads like you that would, as the chairman said to the priest,  sicken a mans hole. pretending to be all reasonable and sporting but underneath you're the worst of the lot. We havent forgotten lads like you down Kingdom way.

[gerry]

he steered Tymoan into a ditch last Sunday, why should anyone listen to his preaching about road safety 

good man mike, still going strong a week later

whats wrong Gerry ? shouldn't you be having some cheap dig about head-to-heads or something like that....its not like you personally have indulged in such shite (shock , horror !)

Its lads like you that would, as the chairman said to the priest,  sicken a mans hole. pretending to be all reasonable and sporting but underneath you're the worst of the lot. We havent forgotten lads like you down Kingdom way.

not my style, there is enough trash being posted up here without me adding to it

[Main Street]

Looks like the article is part of a continuum, of what I would call, Mickey's postmortem survivalist psychology.

In general, the Irish survivalist attempts to minimise a bad situation  'ah sure, it could be worse'.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

he steered Tymoan into a ditch last Sunday, why should anyone listen to his preaching about road safety 

And you haven't even thanked me for posting it Sheehy, after saying how you "couldn't wait to read it". Your ungratefulness has been noted.

[longrunsthefox]

I would think the Irish News were very disapointed to get that column five days after losing an All Ireland semi-final. He mentioned Armagh minors and not Tyrone    Road safety is obviously very worthy of adressing but could have done for a quiet week in November. 

[Mike Sheehy]

he steered Tymoan into a ditch last Sunday, why should anyone listen to his preaching about road safety 

And you haven't even thanked me for posting it Sheehy, after saying how you "couldn't wait to read it". Your ungratefulness has been noted.

Thank you for posting the article...happy ?

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Thank you for posting the article...happy ?

Over the moon.


Note to self: disregard previous note not to post aforementioned article in future.

Response to self: OK

[pintsofguinness]

Where's the thread on mcguigan slamming spillane?

[JohnDenver]

Referees and review panels need to earn some respect Mickey Harte
By Mickey Harte
04/09/09

In last Saturday's Irish Independent, Martin Breheny made an impassioned plea in support of John Bannon, who he deemed had been placed in 'a disgracefully unfair position' by the GAA He was obviously referring to the fact that Bannon had been asked to revisit the incident when Cork's John Miskella was given a yellow card in the All-Ireland semi-final against Tyrone.

He supported his interpretation of this request by the GAA by inferring that this was effectively asking Bannon to decide whether or not Miskella would play in the All-Ireland final.

According to Martin, because the incident was drawn to the referee's attention by his umpire, and a yellow card was issued, that should have been the end of the matter as far as Bannon was concerned.

If this was an unprecedented move by the GAA to ask for this review, then the article would have held some credence, but that is far from the case.

One would have to wonder why no such vehement argument was put forward when the referee in the Derry v Monaghan Ulster Championship game was similarly requested to revisit his live-time decisions.

Indeed, as I have already highlighted in this column and in various other media outlets, two Tyrone players, Ryan McMenamin and Tommy McGuigan, were the only people to fall victim of this type of investigation in this year's entire National Football League campaign.

Breheny has suddenly discovered this to be a 'flawed' system and suggests that the focus given to the incident by The Sunday Game was instrumental in the issue being revisited.

Again, what's new Martin? And why the furore now?

It has been clear for a long time that television

coverage and programme directors/editors, along with studio pundits, have been setting the agenda on these matters.

The print media personnel, who invariably revel in such controversies, are hardly well placed to point the finger at The Sunday Game.

Perhaps it is time for the CCCC to become more transparent and tell us exactly how the process works. 

Currently, the 'facts' seem to suggest that, if an

incident is repeatedly highlighted, by the media, then those involved are taken to task.

If this is the case – and it's difficult to accept otherwise – I agree with Martin Breheny (even if for differing reasons) that the system is flawed.

Even the language used by commentators and pundits appears to have an impact on possible outcomes, in terms of whether or not incidents are revisited or deemed unsavoury.

We often hear of a player being involved in an

incident and, depending on who he is, the action is described in a sanitised fashion as being 'totally out of character', while other players are never given the benefit of the doubt.

While it is an indisputable fact that, on occasion,

players go to ground too easily, the lazy description, by some observers, that this always constitutes a dive is equally unfair and

inaccurate.

Players and teams then often get labelled as cheats and this undoubtedly influences decision-makers in live-time situations in the future.

This can often lead to frustration on the part of those who are illegally taken out, and yet are not afforded the protection they deserve.

A couple of examples from our game with Cork serves to highlight this point.

The sending off of Alan O'Connor received a lot of attention and he, in turn, is generally deemed to have been hard done by.

While this may be the case, the decision for that action lay squarely with one man, and that was not Owen Mulligan.

In the modern game, players are coached to roll tackles and avoid head-on collisions if possible.

That the physical contact wasn't as severe as it might have been may well have been due to Owen's skill in getting out of the way and

preserving his own well-being as far as possible.

Because he achieved this, and the Cork player picked up a second yellow, it is almost as if no responsibility lay with the player himself.

Ironically, between the sending off in the 30th minute and half-time at 37 minutes, when John Bannon stopped the game with Ryan McMenamin in an advanced attacking position, Cork were awarded seven frees to Tyrone's none.

Even more ironically, in the 49th minute, Kevin Hughes received a full-frontal shoulder charge from a player already on a yellow card and ended up severely winded and in need of medical assistance, an act which solicited no attention from the referee.

Not only was there no further action taken by the ref against the perpetrator, but RTE commentator Martin Carney saw fit to describe it as part and parcel of the game.

He also told us, inaccurately, that both men went for the ball – there was nothing malicious, it was accidental.

With the advantage of replays, that description of the incident is definite evidence of a case for an appointment with a good optician.

Nor did I hear, or read, anything from those who have a particularly acute eye for theatrics and dives giving any credit to Kevin for his controlled reaction to what was an off-the-ball full-frontal shoulder charge.

Ultimately, this reflection is not about pointing the finger of blame at any individual player or team, but rather it is about highlighting the lack of consistency in the application of the playing rules and their interpretation by a wide range of practitioners and observers.

It's widely believed amongst the GAA community that Brian Crowe from Cavan has fallen heavily down the refereeing pecking order for big games since he stood by his decision over an incident involving Noel O'Leary in the 2007 All-Ireland semi-final.

Since that view has become apparent, virtually every incident that has been revisited since has been upgraded to a more serious offence.

The fact that John Bannon has announced his

retirement, and consequently won't incur a similar dearth of future opportunities, is probably the key indicator as to why he stuck by his original (wrong) decision.

Another observer who invariably asks for the views of known rules experts seems to have let sentiment get in the way of the truth when he concurred with Bannon's view that a yellow card was the correct call.

Rule 146(b)0.G.

unequivocally describes 'striking or attempting to strike with arm, elbow, hand or knee' as a category II offence which carries a minimum four-week suspension.

The days of 'giving games' to certain referees should be a thing of the past.

Teams are not 'given' provincial finals, but rather have to earn their right to be there.

It's time referees became more of a respected species – respect earned by them – and less of a protected species.

If television coverage and punditry was confined to the quality of football, and the CCCC transparently and consistently went about the business of dealing with indiscretions, then the ultimate goal for us all, equitable accountability, is more likely to occur.

Would have to agree with Mickey on this one, the rules aren't clear and don't seem to be impartial.  This would apply at club level too IMO.