Stephen O'Neill retirement official

[tyronefan]

Harte has done a great job but a change of management may not be a bad thing.

[optimus euhregab]

shure i was talkin to stevey there th other day,says hes not even retired,jus takin the hand out of the media

says he was lyin in bored wan day n jus decided hed hav a laff with th media

[ONeill]

In 2002 I had a letter published in the Irish News in mid-summer saying that Art's days as an inter-county manager were numbered as his methods and game philosophy were outdated and that Harte should get the job (the dogs in the street and and minks in the ramparts could've written the same).

I think now, in 2008, it's time for considering whether we need change again. If there is more to get out of the 97/98 minor, 00/01 U21 and 03/05 seniors I think a fresh face will challenge them to prove themselves all over again.

However, if we've seen the best of the Gormley/Jordan/Ricey/Cavanagh/O'Neill/McGuigan/Mulligan era and it's time to blend some of the old with more of the new, maybe Mickey's the man still. Boylan dined out on the 87/88 wins and it worked out fine for Meath in 96/99.

On one hand, it'd be a great pity to lose some players in terms of presence or appetite simply because of the man in charge. However, on the other hand I'm sure there is still a sizeable majority of the old heads still 100% behind Mickey.

It's a tough one. The county board will not get rid of Mickey. Maybe we have to trust that Harte will know when he has run his course.

There's one thing though I'd like to see of Mickey in 2008 - a ruthless streak. Sometimes, when Tyrone are backed into a corner, Mickey calls on his class of '97 to bail him out. Against Meath, the game was crying out for fresh, eager Tyrone legs in Colm Cavanagh or Niall Gormley. He threw on O'Neill at 20%. I'd like to see an off-form Mugsy withdrawn after 25 mins (the Dublin turnaround was a one-off). I'd like to see an off-colour Ricey dropped if needs be.

[ONeill]

I still feel the 2003/05 players still playing are the best we have. However, some of them seem to avoid the drop even when they're having stinkers, most notably those with nicknames!

[tyrone86]

The difference between 2002 and 2008 is that Harte was ready to assume the mantle in 2003. Compare to now. I don't think out U21 management are ready. Last years under 21 team regressed from the All-Ireland minor winning side of 04 and Ulster U21 winning team of '06. The current minor management aren't ready to make the jump - Big things are expected of this current minor side already and it will be up to the management to deliver.

Are there any other contenders? The return of Eugene McKenna? The man of the moment Noel McGinn? Peter Canavan? Brian McIver?

[ONeill]

The cynics in Antrim will claim that Jody Gormley has his eye on that carrot. However, he'd need to take the Saffrons out of Division Four to be close.

[red knight]

mickey has 1 of the best managers record that there is about he has won all irelands at every level there is. The only all ireland he is yet to win as a manger is the all ireland club and lets be honest he was not a million miles away from winning that in 2002. Stevie is a massive loss that goes without saying but if i had to choose mickey wood be my pick

[Puckoon]

In 2002 I had a letter published in the Irish News in mid-summer saying that Art's days as an inter-county manager were numbered as his methods and game philosophy were outdated and that Harte should get the job (the dogs in the street and and minks in the ramparts could've written the same).

I think now, in 2008, it's time for considering whether we need change again. If there is more to get out of the 97/98 minor, 00/01 U21 and 03/05 seniors I think a fresh face will challenge them to prove themselves all over again.

However, if we've seen the best of the Gormley/Jordan/Ricey/Cavanagh/O'Neill/McGuigan/Mulligan era and it's time to blend some of the old with more of the new, maybe Mickey's the man still. Boylan dined out on the 87/88 wins and it worked out fine for Meath in 96/99.

On one hand, it'd be a great pity to lose some players in terms of presence or appetite simply because of the man in charge. However, on the other hand I'm sure there is still a sizeable majority of the old heads still 100% behind Mickey.

It's a tough one. The county board will not get rid of Mickey. Maybe we have to trust that Harte will know when he has run his course.

There's one thing though I'd like to see of Mickey in 2008 - a ruthless streak. Sometimes, when Tyrone are backed into a corner, Mickey calls on his class of '97 to bail him out. Against Meath, the game was crying out for fresh, eager Tyrone legs in Colm Cavanagh or Niall Gormley. He threw on O'Neill at 20%. I'd like to see an off-form Mugsy withdrawn after 25 mins (the Dublin turnaround was a one-off). I'd like to see an off-colour Ricey dropped if needs be.

Whatever is to blame, this scenario is totally unacceptable if any management or training factors are to blame. These boys are mostly my age, and should be at the prime stage of their careers.

[new devil]

Yea totally agree but these lads have played sum football from they were 16
Really cant see us challenging for silverware this year..hope i am wrong

[loughshore lad]

Another serious question here for the Tyrone posters.

Given, as it seems to increasingly clear, that there is an issue between O'Neill and Harte preventing the two of them working together, which of the two would you rather have involved?

This is a real conundrum but if O'Neill was fully fit and wanting to play county football I wold perhaps have to lean towards him. The main reason being within Tyrone there is simply no one else on a par (or any where near) with a fully fit O'Neill as a consistent scoring threat. Harte is without doubt the best manager in Tyrone at the moment and the only person who would be currently capable of providing a similar approach to the job is Brian McIver but its hard to know if he would want it after being turned down in 2003. Perhaps a suitable candidate to take over from Harte will emerge over the coming years but at the moment no one really stands out. The under 21 management would appear to be next in line but that would be a disaster from what I can gather. Too often there is far too much emphasis put on the role a manager plays in a winning or losing team, its the quality of the players who will determine how successful a team is. In my opinion an excellent manager is possibly replacable but outstanding players like Stevie O'Neill, Brian McGuigan etc are not - I think Tyrone have illustrated this point over the last few years.

[feetofflames]

First of all I believe its time for Harte to move aside, I think he has taken this group of players as far as he can.  However the Under 21 management team and even the minors are non runners.  For the good of Tyrone football Mickey Harte needs to move back into under 21 or even minor management as its quite obvious at this level some serious ommissions have been made and the chances to gather and bring through talent have been ignored (Mc Ginn) resulting in a loss of talent to other options.  I think we realise with the departure of O Neill and Canavan  how important bring ing through that top class forward is - your ai hopes depend on it.
Mickey Harte is the man who assembled the greatest group of players in Tyrones history.  Today I am asking him to do this again.  Tyrone need it from the bottom up.  Mickey needs to go hunting and bring another team through when the tinme is right.  Ilook at the example of Pete Mc Grath who won 2 and stayed on at the top too long, let someon else come in there and they might nick an unlikely ai but this team has had its era, and its time to start agfain at the bottom.  Mickey could be senior manager again in 4 - 6 years time - he is young enough and in the meantime he could be developing his armoury for another golden era in Tyrone football.  the under 21 management are a disaster and the minor management are struggling.  I would take Mc Ivor / Porter straight from Donegal - they might be capable of nicking one with that team.  Im afraid that Mickeys message isnt being heard in as lot of quarters at the moment. 

[irunthev]

I think one thing that must be noted about Harte is that he is a very different animal in 2008 than in 2003. Back then he was fulll of ambition and a self belief as well as belief in his players. No doubt he still has those things in abundance, but he also has 5 years of intense publicity behind him, he is considered by many throughout Ireland as some sort of football genius and he now has a serious value, both financial and in terms of credability. Whether that makes you a better or worse manager is all about opinion, but the one thing about Harte now is that he knows his value and he isn't going to be bothered by other people's opinions. He will do it his way...because he can. Now he might fall on that sword or he might be successful, we can't say just yet and few of us are really in  a position to genuinely criticise a man who has won two All Irelands, we might express an opnion but really most of us wouldn't have a clue of how to start to win the Junior Championship in our home county, let alone the Sam Maguire. I don't like the guy myself, never have done, far too squeaky clean for me, everyone has a few warts here and there and maybe the fall outs with PTG, SON and Tally are evidence of the warts. He may eventually be blinded by his own ambition or he may yet prove to be the greatest manager of his generation and win a couple more Sams. The thing with Harte though, is that he will never gain universal approval, he just doesn't have that X factor that appeals to the public, which is evident by so many postings on this board. No matter what he wins, some of us will always find a reason to detract from that achievement. He has studied many succesful people and he has the capacity to mould his methods around the pieces of their character that appeal to him. He has taught himself to be a manager.

[orangeman]

Harte has a long, long history of success and really as I have said before, the mamager's job is his for as long as he wants it.

[loughshore lad]

Harte has a long, long history of success and really as I have said before, the mamager's job is his for as long as he wants it.

He certainly has a long history of success although it has been with a particular "core" group of players from the minor teams of 97/98. Like I said in an earlier post he is definitely an excellent manager but it will be interesting to see what transpires when that outstanding bunch of players are no longer available. Any manager is only as good as the players he has to work with see Tyrone in 2004/6/7 for reference.

[bloody mary]

Did you notice Stevie did an interview with utv but not bbc. Logie said it was an 'exclusive' from Gortin.