More pressure on new Kerry boss than on Gilroy
By
Daire Walsh
There used to be a time when GAA writers found it difficult to find anything worthy to write about in the close season. It used to be that, with the notable exception of the All-Stars and the Inter-Provincial Championships, there would be very little to comment on once the dust had settled after All-Ireland final day. Yet in these modern times, despite the glare of non-publicity surrounding the Inter-Provincials at present, not a day goes by where there isn’t something to comment on in GAA circles. If there isn’t the issue of player power, there is the relevance of the International Rules or, more crucially, the managerial merry-go-round that is affecting both hurling and football more and more these days.
Being an inter-county manager has become a huge commitment, and each appointment is met with much scrutiny both by the media and by those in the public. In hurling, the departures of John Meyler and Ger Loughnane, the victims of player power and county board division respectively, from Wexford and Galway have made the headlines recently, with a great deal of hearsay and speculation evolving around both men’s dismissals.
Of course, this is not to say that there isn’t the same level of attention given to the comings and goings of football Bainisteoirí. Far from it. There has been a stack full of managers who have departed their positions this year, a few them, like Liam Kearns (Laois) and Colm Coyle (Meath), being major surprises.
However, the biggest attention has, understandably, been given to the recent managerial news in Dublin and Kerry. Between them, they have 57 All-Irelands, so they can safely be regarded as two of the biggest counties in Ireland, even if Dublin have failed to show it in the last quarter of a century. Dublin have recently appointed the inexperienced Pat Gilroy to replace Paul Caffrey, who resigned after four years in charge, during which he guided them to four provincial titles and an O’Byrne Cup.
In the kingdom, Dr. Crokes man Pat O’ Shea stepped down after a mere two years at the helm. In his first year in charge, O’ Shea guided his charges to an All-Ireland victory against Munster rivals Cork. In his second year, he narrowly missed out on bringing Kerry to a three-in-a-row (Jack O’ Connor won the first in 2006) against Tyrone, as well as losing the League and Munster finals to Derry and Cork respectively.
It is often said that the Dublin job is the most pressurized job in the country, as the man in charge is subject to much media scrutiny, and people are always prepared to kick you when you’re down. Certainly in the cases of Mickey Whelan and Tommy Lyons, they were made to feel the pressure when the results didn’t go their way.
Yet, in my eyes anyway, the Kerry job is in many ways a lot more demanding. In a county with such a proud tradition as Kerry, it is expected that they win the All-Ireland every year, and win it with style. When they do this, you are accepted, but when they don’t, questions are inevitably asked.
In the aftermath of Tyrone’s triumph against them on September 21st this year, there were many reservations held about O’ Shea and his management team over why they failed to win on the day. First off, there is his use of Paul Galvin. Many people said that he probably should have started the game, and if he wasn’t fit to start, then he shouldn’t have been brought on ahead of fitter players like David Moran and Mike Frank Russell.
Another criticism was that he had his clubman Eoin Brosnan on, and also that he left the ineffective Bryan Sheehan on for too long. Probably the biggest criticism of him, though, has been the fact that he failed to revert from their long-ball game, which they used to utilize the height of the ‘Twin Towers’, Tommy Walsh and Kieran Donaghy. This was dealt with admirably by the two McMahons, Justin and Joe, yet there was very little variation from this game plan. Taking off Walsh in favour of Galvin has also been knocked. This is only scratching surface of the negatives that people in Kerry found, and there are a lot more negatives that haven’t been included here.
Of course, very little would be made of O’ Shea’s choices on the day if Declan O’ Sullivan’s shot towards the end had not been stopped by Pascal McConnell, so you could argue that he didn’t get the breaks that you need to win matches as well.
The official line on O’ Shea’s departure has been that he stepped aside for personal and family reasons. This would be understandable as he has a young family, and his commitments with the Munster Council would also have a possible effect on his decision. Yet, he must surely have been aware of the criticism being leveled at him, and perhaps felt it was right to depart leave with his reputation relatively intact.
Whether or not this was the reason he quit, it is clear that there huge pressure on Kerry managers to succeed. Take the case of Paidi O’ Se for instance. During his eight year tenure in charge of Kerry, he won 6 Munster titles, and 2 All-Irelands. Yet, after a few years where they flattered to deceive, this was all forgotten, and he was eventually given a ‘resign or be sacked’ ultimatum in 2003.
Contrast this with Paul Caffrey, who received much praise at county board level for guiding Dublin to four Leinster titles, despite never even reaching an All-Ireland, never mind winning it. He made many of the same mistakes as O’ Shea did, yet it is the players who are receiving as much flak, if not more, than their former manager,
When there was recent speculation about who would win the race to succeed Caffrey, the name of Jack O’ Connor was bandied about. Many people felt that, if Dublin went for an ‘outsider’ he would be an excellent choice, but that it wouldn’t matter as the hammering Tyrone gave them this year showed that they are not good enough. Yet, when O’ Connor took over for the 2004 season, the county was still suffering from their drubbing by the very same county, with the 2001 annihilation by Meath also fresh in their minds. He was under much pressure, as he wasn’t a legendary Kerry player like Paidi O’ Se, or Denis ‘Ogie’ Moran, or Mickey Ned O’ Sullivan, but he strolled to an All-Ireland in 2004, before winning his second in 2006.
While Dublin may not have a perfect outfit, it should be remembered that only Brian Dooher and Sean Cavanagh really stood out in the Tyrone attack in their All-Ireland victory, so it is possible to achieve success without every player firing to their full potential
Failure to win the All-Ireland is treated with contempt in Kerry, and as long as this is the case, the same rule should apply to Dublin. It is a tall ask for Gilroy to achieve in his first year in charge, but he is fully aware of it and knows that the faithful supporters on Hill 16 will expect nothing less.
Yet, if he was to reach a final and lose gallantly, it would probably be met with a certain degree of acceptance in the capital. The same will hardly be the case in Kerry, as a two year barren spell is almost akin to the current drought in Dublin.
Currently, O’ Connor’s name has been mentioned for a potential return to the Kingdom, though it is thought that some of the material that he featured in his book ‘Keys To The Kingdom’ may rule this out. The likes of Ger O’ Keefe and Eoin ‘Bomber’ Liston have ruled themselves out of attention. Outside of these three, it seems that Sean Geaney has the best chance of succeeding Pat O’ Shea, having guided a Killian Young and Tommy Walsh-inspired Kerry Under-21 team to All-Ireland success this year against Kildare.
Other possible contenders may be Liam Kearns or John Kennedy, but whoever gets the job, he will need to have a strong voice to try and get the best out of the players and make sure that he lets people know he is the boss. It is also important that the new man is not weighed down by the expectations that come with the post, as it can get to you if you’re not fully prepared for it.
It remains to be seen whether Gilroy or O’ Shea’s successor can get the better of Mickey Harte’s Tyrone next year, but they certainly have a major task on their hands, and they should be prepared for the inevitable backlash if they don’t succeed.