The ‘Captain’ Rule – more trouble than it’s worth
There has been much talk in recent times about the value that a Captain has in sport. Graeme Souness recently commented about the recently disposed Arsenal Captain William Gallas and how they fact that he is one of the older players in the squad was irrelevant. He feels that the Captain of a team should be someone with leadership qualities who can inspire those around him and drive his side forward
While picking somebody because of their age and career longevity isn’t always the wisest option for a manager to explore, it is however a lot more sensible than the way some GAA inter-county captains are appointed.
It has long been a tradition for the Captain of a county team to be member of the club champions and while this is a very noble tradition, it has led to some farcical situations. It seems when it couldn’t get any more ridiculous, it has done just that following the appointment of the captain’s of the Kerry footballers and the Kilkenny hurlers.
Both counties currently find themselves at the top of the rankings in terms of All-Irelands won, so the Captain of the side will always have a major part to play in helping to continue their winning ways. In Kerry, Mid-Kerry are the county champions, having defeated Kerin’s O’Rahilly in a replay, and have three possible candidates for the position. They are Darren O’Sullivan, Sean O’Sullivan and Donncha Walsh. Problem is, none of these men were regulars under Pat O’Shea, so there is little guarantee that they will even be on the team.
The same goes in Kilkenny, where Michael Fennelly was recently named captain. The Ballyhale Shamrocks clubman takes the pivotal role despite not getting back on the side for the Championship this year following an early season injury. Ballyhale had a chance to avoid this problem as they have natural-born leaders in their side in Henry Shefflin and James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick, the two previous Kilkenny Captains. Instead, they went for a different player once again and are confident that Fennelly can force his way back into the fold.
He may very well do this as he is a quality player, but that is not the point. A Captain should be someone who doesn’t have to rely on a lucky break in order to get back onto a team. A captain should have the characteristics that Graeme Souness has outlined.
In fairness, other counties, such as the Dublin & Armagh footballers and the Galway hurlers have done away with this tradition and have left it up to the manager. Yet, Kerry have persisted with it in spite of the problems it has created in the past.
In 2001, previous Captain Seamus Moynihan retained his role as the only member of the county champions, Dr. Crokes, on the panel was Eoin Brosnan. He made his first Championship start instead of the legendary Maurice Fitzgerald in the drawn Kerry/Dublin All-Ireland Quarter-Final, but Moynihan still stayed as Captain.
In the replay, Brosnan started again, but Fitzgerald made a significant impact coming off the bench and there was speculation about who would start the semi-final against Meath, Brosnan or Fitzgerald. As it turned out, Brosnan was selected and he was also made Captain as it was felt he had now established himself on the starting line-up. It was a crazy decision to give Brosnan his debut as Captain in an All-Ireland semi-final, and he understandably struggled as Kerry were annihilated by the Royals.
2006 also brought some captaincy trouble as Declan O’Sullivan was made Captain but was dropped by Jack O’Connor because of a loss of form and was replaced by Colm Cooper. Cooper was Captain when Kerry defeated Cork in the semi-final, but come All-Ireland day, O’Sullivan was back as Skipper. In fairness, it worked out well that time because O’Sullivan had a good game that day and also captained them to victory the following year.
Yet, as seemed inevitable, it reared its ugly head again this year with Paul Galvin’s controversial suspension following an altercation with referee Paddy Russell against Clare in the Munster Championship. This was his big-time debut as Kerry Captain following an injury plagued League campaign. He was replaced as designated team leader by Tomas O’Se.
No one can be in doubt that Galvin is an important player for the Kingdom and can exert a big influence on the game, but there has to be serious reservations about his selection as Captain from the off. Galvin has had a bit of reputation for getting involved in needless incidents on the pitch and this is the sort of thing you would want to see a Captain staying away from.
Had Pat O’Shea been given the responsibility of choosing the Captain, it is possible he may have chosen Tomas O’Se or indeed stuck with Declan O’Sullivan, but I guess we’ll never know as it was the club who decided that Galvin was the right man to lead them in their three-in-a-row bid.
In the case of Kilkenny, it has also caused problems, most notably in 2003. The selection for Captain that year was Charlie Carter, but he opted out of the panel and decided to retire because he couldn’t force his way back into the first 15. His place was taken D.J. Carey who lifted the Liam McCarthy Cup that September.
It is obvious that this is not the way that a Captain should be selected, and it seems that there is now some support for doing away with this old tradition. Michael ‘Babs’ Keating has been one of the more colourful characters in GAA history, and during his two spells as Tipperary manager, he has dropped no less than 3 Captains from his team so it should be no surprise that he is against the idea.
However, chances are that the tradition will stay in many counties, as they will see no need to change it. Many county officials may feel that it will prevent the manager of a county from choosing his own clubman. This may very well be the case, but it can be open for debate whether or not a manager would choose to do this, whereas most clubs will nominate their own man regardless of whether he will be a regular or not. Kieran Comer’s selection as Galway Captain in 2001 was another example of where this system is flawed. Comer was only 20 at the time, and the role was less than ideal for him. He ended up losing his place and had to be content with a place on the bench for the final four games of the Tribesmen’s march to All-Ireland glory. Thankfully, his club Corofin opted to make Gary Fahy vice-captain rather than current club Captain Kieran Fitzgerald, who was also 20 at the time.
Of course, it can also be argued that who is made Captain doesn’t make a whole lot of difference as you need leaders all over the pitch and one man cannot exert total influence over the way that a team plays. Certainly, Kerry and Kilkenny have a number of leaders in their team so they may be able to overcome it. It is a near certainty that both will be in the hunt come August or September next year, but the person who leads them in the parade around Croke Park may be very different indeed.