The Power of Player Unity - Thankfully the Cork players versus the County Board confrontation has finally reached a compromise. Kieran Mulvey's arbitration decision has been accepted by both parties and the three main recommendations arising from this have been implemented. Two of the recommendations, firstly that the management selection committee comprises five county board representatives and two player representatives and, secondly that Cork players are not allowed to go on strike ever again, were probably relatively painless for both parties to accept. The third recommendation that Teddy Holland and his backroom team had to step down was possibly more difficult given the personal nature of the situation. It was clearly obvious from the early exchanges in this contest that this decision would inevitably come. Although he was "democratically" elected and was obviously sincere in desire to bring Cork forward, Teddy Holland should probably have listened to the players and awaited further discussion before taking his managerial seat. He was obviously happy with the selection team appointed to him by the Cork executive but clearly did not comprehend the players opposition to the procedure that got him there. Once the players had made their position obvious he should have vacated his post immediately and left the two sides to battle it out on their own. While it is vitally important for managers to have a good relationship with their county committee it is paramount that he holds the respect of the players and must demonstrate his readiness to defend them. The Cork county board does not emerge from this unfortunate incident with any honours. A lot of county boards throughout the country would have a fair sprinkling of ex-players among their administrators and if this were so in Cork then surely some of them would realise the importance of a modern manager having the authority to select his own backroom team. Any manager embarking on an inter-county career will have in mind his own men/women who he feels are best suited to achieve his goals and would trust them to fill a certain role. Any other procedure would only undermine his authority in the eyes of his players and would not promote a feeling of unity within the squad. I know for a fact that Mickey Harte would not accept a position where he was told with whom he would have to work and where he hadn't the freedom to select his own aides. I am not sure of the management selection procedures within too many counties but I can only imagine that the vast majority of managers bring their own team, though this would obviously be vetted by the county committee. The players themselves were perhaps a little premature in calling the strike despite the sound reasoning behind the move. The word "strike" itself is a very abrasive word and can irritate, and in turn alienate, some of the grassroots support which the players would have depended on. However, once the players, football and hurling, had decided on what action they should take the solidarity they displayed was commendable. They showed a great sense of purpose, were well organised, courted the media successfully and never wavered from the goal they had set themselves. They had shown that some of them were even willing to sacrifice their careers for their cause. This show of unity was obviously instrumental in the favourable outcome of Kieran Mulvey's arbitration. If Cork can repeat this solidarity on the field of play (which their supporters will now expect of them) then we had all better watch out! The GAA themselves were in an awkward position never having faced a situation like this before so they had no previous experience from which to formulate a solution. They did not rush into the situation and were right to give Cork a bit of time to try and sort things out before making any rash decisions about suspensions or sanctions. The decision to award Meath and Dublin, and Kilkenny and Waterford, the league points in their respective codes may well come back to haunt them. Re-fixing the games would have seemed the fairer option and could surely have been squeezed into the fixtures list somewhere. I know it may have inconvenienced the teams involved but the games may well have helped everyone, not least the supporters. So, all said and done, no one has come out of this situation with flying colours but surely lessons have been learned and similar incidents can be prevented from arising in future. While we have seen player unrest manifest itself in many forms over the years we have never witnessed a revolt as powerful, or indeed as successful, as this one. Fortunately for Tyrone a threatened revolt by Derry players back in '93 unhappy with the treatment of their All-Ireland manager, Eamon Coleman, never materialised. Of course the situations were different, but the Derry players failed to show the same conviction as the Cork rebels and subsequently lost arguably the best manager Derry ever had. Whether or not he would have guided them to another All-Ireland title we will never know but he would surely have made Ulster titles harder to come by for other teams. AFL Scouts The suggestion that the AFL is preparing to plant scouts in every county of Ireland in the hopes of unearthing more talented footballers is causing great concern among many GAA people. If this were to take place it could certainly hurt many clubs and counties but there are not many deterrents we can put in place to scare these scouts away. Putting a stop to the compromise rules series is hardly much of a deterrent since they know about the quality of player we have and will keep coming to recruit them. While we certainly have no right to stop these young lads, like Kyle Coney (Tyrone) or Paul McComiskey (Down), from heading out and trying to secure a lucrative career for playing a sport they enjoy, we surely should not be promoting the move nor assisting the scouts in their recruitment program. It has been confirmed that some GAA members are actually doing this at present. Whether or not the AFL clubs are providing a financial reward for this assistance is, as yet, unclear. The fact that it is happening is worrying and the powers that be should perhaps take a closer look at this development and put in place some type of suspension or penalty that may deter others from making a quick dollar on the back of our young stars. Sunday 24th February was a disappointing day for Ulster supporters when our interest in the All-Ireland senior club finals came to an end in Navan and Clones. Crossmaglen, manys favourite to retain the Andy Merrigan trophy, relinquished their title in Navan to the vibrant St Vincents of Dublin. Two magnificent goals proved to be their downfall and despite a gallant fight back in the second half, holding the lively St Vincent's forwards to just a single point, they could not get the crucial scores on this occasion. I was very disappointed to see Dunloy hurlers put to the sword at the hands of their old nemesis Birr. Although well in the game in the first half they were unable to maintain the high standards set by the talented and physically strong Whelehan led outfit from Offaly. Having visited the North Antrim side's facilities a couple of nights previous it would have been fitting for these great Gaels to get another day out in Croke Park. Unfortunately the heroes of 2007/8 could not emulate those of 1994/5 when they reached two consecutive All-Ireland finals. While another trip to Dublin would have been a nice boost it will not stop the Cuchullains pressing ahead with their ambitious plans to provide a centre of excellence which they hope to have started this year to coincide with their centenary celebrations. Though renowned for their hurling exploits they are actively engaged in the promotion of all GAA activities and have made great progress on the football front. on 028 8556 8673. Tweet

Most Read Stories