They Said It ....

November 2005

“Last year I thought we had finally turned the corner but it degenerated this year and there is no point in saying otherwise. On reflection, the disciplinary requirements of tournament overseas must watch the standards that we have back home and that was not the case - now we must put down parameters for the physicalities involved. Foul play must be met with penalties and at the moment, that is not the case so it’s something we have to look at with the AFL."
GAA President Sean Kelly warns that the rough play witnessed in the second test of the International Rules Series will not be allowed to continue

“In your own local papers and there’s the likes of The Sunday Game where you have these so-called experts who weren’t very good in their own day and they’re going around slating players."
Roscommon’s Frankie Dolan can kiss goodbye to any man of the match awards in the future after lambasting pundits who he feels are not up to much

“You don’t know how disappointed I am in myself at what happened. To Philip Jordan and Mattie Forde, I apologise sincerely to you guys I d like to say to them that I can’t believe it was me doing those things - it’s not the way that I play the game."
Australian co-captain Chris Johnson apologises for his actions during the second IRS test which saw him sent off for laying out two Irish players

"It hasn’t been easy being inactive for so long but the worst appears to be behind me. I will adopt a safe approach I think but I am looking forward to getting back in action."
Kilkenny full back Noel Hickey will not take any chances by rushing back too quick after being told he can resume playing following a serious viral infection he suffered during the summer

"I had four or five offers from county teams since leaving Down in 2002 but when I managed Down it was about a sense of place, a sense of identity and it would be hard to take up another county post which is meant as no disrespect to the people of county Louth who are hugely enthusiastic and proud of their county."
Peter McGrath explains his reasons for turning down the Louth manager’s job

"I haven’t made any decision in terms of which I’ll play yet next year, but I definitely won’t be playing the two."
Redmond Barry keeps us guessing as to whether he will drop either football or hurling in 2006 after confirming that he has no intention of continuing as a dual player for Wexford

“Let’s be brutally frank about this - extensive use of the hand pass is ruining Gaelic football as a spectacle. It’s getting worse, not better and unless something is done about it, kicking the ball will be virtually redundant in a few years except in the scoring area. Hand passing is a cheap way of retaining possession. It’s time we did something to curb it.”
Martin Carney believes it is time for more kicking and on expansive game to be brought to our football fields

“Wexford are hungry for success and they have lots of potential so they were a team which really appealed to me straight away. Counties such as Westmeath have had a bit of success in the last few years but Wexford are still hungry and determined to make that next step forward.”
New Wexford football boss Paul Bealin explains what attracted him to the job