It was a year that promised much and delivered little if anything. It was also a season that in effect turned out to be almost a microcosm of the game itself in Monaghan. By JP Graham. The 2007 season should have been one where Monaghan was building on their successes at underage level over the previous five years but those successes at under 16, minor and under 21 are now stand alone signposts in a hurling landscape that is peppered with sporadic individual achievements and yet littered with the crushed hopes and un-realised aspirations of the whole hurling fraternity. It is only a mere short ten years ago since Monaghan won the All Ireland Junior hurling championship and the signs were there approaching the end of the last century and into the new millennium that work on the ground would produce similar if not even greater achievements in the decade ahead. The early signs were promising with success at underage level and the hurling gospel being spread through the schools and at club level by a very enthusiastic and committed few. That too was to change dramatically as the emphasis on coaching changed and hurling began to take an increasingly lesser role. That however was when the real commitment and the real heart of the hurling fraternity should have been seen. There should have been people willing to come out and fill the gaps that now existed to keep the hurling development programme on track but that, like Monaghan's form this season failed to materialise and the game at underage level is now further back than ever. The appointment of Gerry Murphy as manager of the senior and under 21 county teams looked to be a decision that would prove fruitful in that the players that would make up the bulk of the senior team and the entire under 21 team were players that he had coached and brought successfully through the underage grades. Gerry however had reckoned without that unknown quantity in Monaghan hurling that has seen the demise of a series of managers over the last 10 years as the game stumbled from crisis to crisis. Monaghan again found themselves managerless with his resignation at a time of the season back in March when they should have been building for the latter stages of the league and the Nicky Rackard Cup. There followed a period of bloodletting with accusations and recriminations all of which did little to enhance the image of the game but the end result was that Monaghan were to struggle through their remaining competitive matches in what was at times an embarrassing situation. The theory has been put forward by those who would purport to know that the malaise affecting hurling in counties like Monaghan lies squarely at the door of the powers that be at national level but that would not entirely explain the problems that beset Monaghan in 2007. The powers that be did not prevent players turning out for the county, the powers that be did not prevent players turning up for training regularly and the powers that be did not cause the resignation of a man who was seen previous to that as the great white hope for the ancient game. Gerry Murphy had achieved much in his time coaching the game in Monaghan at club and county level and it was to the detriment of the game itself that his plans did not bear fruit. Things looked promising at the start of the season with Monaghan's opening game in the National hurling league away to Sligo where they were pipped by the minimum margin in a game that they probably should have won. Their next assignment was an away match against Leitrim and the seeds of future unrest were planted that day in Ballinamore as Monaghan slipped to an ignominious three points defeat at the hands of a team that in previous years had been regarded as cannon fodder. If Monaghan realised there was a problem following that game then the problems multiplied following a meeting with Donegal when a penchant for leaking goals saw them ship a heavy 14 points defeat despite playing at home. Monaghan's league aspirations were in now tatters but when they travelled to Dundalk to play Louth it what was regarded as a mere academic fixture fulfilling exercise they shocked everyone with their level of performance. It turned out to be a game that illustrated the Jekyll an Hyde nature of Monaghan hurling as they came within seconds of pulling off a dramatic win only in the end to be held to a draw after a real cliff hanger. The score that robbed Monaghan of a dramatic win came in injury time at the end of a game that saw both teams produce a great effort in excellenet conditions. A draw would have been a fair enough result although the performance from Monaghan posed the question as to what had been going on in their opening three games against Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal. Against Louth Monaghan had stars in every area and they settled to the task right from the start playing the kind of hurling that everyone knew they could but had so far failed to produce. The upshot was that, that one point was all Monaghan had garnered from four National hurling league outings and a series of games that saw them score a mere two goals and forty two points (2-42) in four matches while conceding six goals and forty eight points (6-48). Despite finishing in the basement the structure of the competition still saw Monaghan qualify for the division 3 Shield semi-final against Fermanagh where it was felt Monaghan could build on their performance against Louth in preparation for the Rackard Cup. That however was to turn into another embarrassing outing that saw hurling in the county hit another all-time low. It was a vastly depleted side that travelled to Sligo for that game and Monaghan made a somewhat ignominious exit from the Division 3 Shield semi final. Monaghan found themselves with just fifteen players who turned up with a number who had played in an Ulster club league game the previous evening absenting themselves. The situation saw a couple of players turning out for the county for the first time while a couple of veterans stepped in to save the county further embarrassment. Monaghan started with the bare fifteen but were later grateful to Ciaran Connolly who arrived just before half time as by then Monaghan had lost the services of Michael McHugh through injury. His injury had left Monaghan playing with 14 men for almost twenty minutes during which time Fermanagh established quite a foothold and had opened a seven points lead, going on from there to win by eleven. By now Monaghan were managerless with the resignation of Gerry Murphy and at best it was now a damage limitation exercise. Hurling Officer, Noel Mullaney, agreed to act as co-ordinator for training and team arrangements with county chairman John Connolly acting as cathaoirleach of an Coiste Iomana. Next up was the Rackard Cup with Monaghan paired in Group 3C along with Fermanagh and Roscommon, the latter it must be said making for a very lob sided section. Monaghan's prospects though had received something of a boost with the return of Pat O'Connell and they started brightly against Fermanagh in their opening game with O'Connell putting on a virtuoso performance that saw him finish with the impressive tally of a goal and eleven points and a contribution that went a long way to securing a much needed victory for Monaghan and a measure of revenge for their earlier league defeat. O'Connell had represented Monaghan previously back in the '90s and had also represented his native Kerry but his return gave a much needed impetus to Monaghan where not only his accuracy but his leadership qualities on the field proved crucial. The game as a contest never rose to any great heights but it did produce some periods of good hurling although it was not until the latter stages that Monaghan imposed themselves effectively on the match and when Pat O'Connell hammered home a penalty in the 14th minute of the second-half Monaghan began to pull away. "The result meant that Monaghan now qualified for the second stage of the Nicky Rackard Cup irrespective of their result against Roscommon but therein lay another problem" was how the situation was summed up. Monaghan's next outing was against Roscommon who were to go on and win the competition outright but the vagaries of the structure of the Rackard Cup meant that their meeting in Clones was the first of two successive meetings and heavy morale sapping defeats. That game in Athleague was a one sided affair with the home side having twenty one points to spare at the end and Monaghan left feeling very sore at the end of what had been such a difficult season. In eight outings in league and championship Monaghan had just one victory and one draw. They scored a total of 5-78 and conceded 14-99, statistics that tell their own story. So what is the remedy. There are those who point to the powers that be as not doing enough for hurling in the weaker counties, but that is only a very small part of the overall solution. Chairman, John Connolly has laid down a very definite marker in that he sees, as others before him have done, that the solution to Monaghan's hurling problems lies within the hurling fraternity in the county. "They must be willing to accept responsibility, they must want to improve and they must want to put in the effort and commitment, the pain and the disappointment if they are going to succeed. The structures will be put in place and indeed the structures are in place. We treat our hurling teams exactly as we treat our football teams. It is not a matter of the poor relation syndrome as some would have us believe but it is in the response that comes from the hurling fraternity as opposed to the response that comes from the football side of things that marks the great divide." There will be various scenarios laid out such as the new idea that all nine counties will participate in the Ulster senior hurling championship in 2008, thereby helping the development of the game. It is mere window dressing and a cosmetic exercise at best but it allows for the spin that Ulster has a nine team senior hurling championship. Ultimately though, it will do little to improve the standard of the game in five of the nine counties. If there is a need for an imput from national level it is to provide adequate funding for the appointment of hurling coaches, not as add-ons to a football coaching scheme but a fully fledged integrated hurling coaching scheme for the entire county that will encompass all age groups from primary school right through development squads and up to the county senior team. "That will not happen overnight but when the foundations of that scheme were in place and working for a few short years the benefits on the ground, in the results and Monaghan's levels of performance could be seen. The passion for hurling is alive and well in Monaghan but it needs more than just passion, passion needs fuelling and it needs feeding ìf it is to translate itself into performance and achievement and in bridging that gap is the secret to Monaghan's future success. The Results: Allianz Hurling League. Sligo 0-12, Monaghan 0-11 Leitrim 0-10 Monaghan 0-7 Monaghan 0-9 Donegal 5-8 Louth 1-18, Monaghan 2-15. Fermanagh 1-13, Monaghan 0-5 (Shield semi final). Rackard Cup: Fermanagh 2-10, Monaghan 2-14 Monaghan 0-4, Roscommon 2-21 Roscommon 4-20 Monaghan 1-8. Tweet

Most Read Stories