I think the best testament to Jim is the amount if counties who have copied the system his team executed so well. A great character and a loss to the GAA. I have a feeling he could return at some point in the future.

supermon (Monaghan) - Posts: 1073 - 04/10/2014 13:03:37    1660039

Have to disagree with the OP in one regard, I suspect Donegal will fall back into the pack in the next few seasons. Some vital players have a lot of miles on the clock and others will leave, I think think this same panel will make another push. They will have a few poor seasons, after that? Who knows.

Steve (Fermanagh) - Posts: 293 - 04/10/2014 13:37:22    1660050

Were the tactics not an evolution of Tyrone's? Challengers have to bring something new to the table. Jimmy brought tactical battles to a new level.

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 8858 - 04/10/2014 13:39:36    1660051

Outstanding manager ticked every box there was. Brought Donegal football on no end and brought the professionalism and preparation of his team to new levels, that only other counties could strive for. Analysed every opposition as if it was his last game in charge and his motivation levels were second to none. By winning 3 ulsters and an All-Ireland it is testament to the manager Jim McGuinness was. He will be sorely missed by Donegal football and I wish him every success in the future. No better man deserves it.

lifebuoy (Cavan) - Posts: 628 - 04/10/2014 13:49:23    1660054

Thanks Jim for all you've done for Donegal,this feels like a death in the family,good luck at Celtic and all the best in the future,hope the messiah returns some day.
Tir Chonnaill Abu.

TirChonaillabu2 (Donegal) - Posts: 344 - 04/10/2014 15:03:17    1660077

Excellent manager, got majority of his tactics and gameplans right, he'll be missed in Donegal, best of luck to him and his family in the future. On a side issue rumours are circulating here in the northwest region all day that Sligo are looking at Jim to be the next Sligo manager, if that happens then Connacht would be hard to call over the next few years. As a Mayo man i would love to see Jim McGuinness as Sligo manager

riverboys (Mayo) - Posts: 1389 - 04/10/2014 15:21:24    1660082

All the best to Jim, he'll go down as one of the great managers having masterminded numerous huge wins and taking Donegal from a low ebb to top of the pile.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 04/10/2014 16:23:24    1660102

Any county would be lucky to have him, but id say hell be concentrating on the Celtic thing.

joncarter (Galway) - Posts: 2692 - 04/10/2014 16:37:54    1660109

Best of luck to Jim mcguinness , to be honest I don't like blanket defences I much prefer a shoot out but the blanket worked for Jim and Donegal so fair play to them , you have to play to your strengths , but I tell you I'd hate to be the next manager, he will have some act to follow.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 04/10/2014 20:07:08    1660178

Thanks Jim! You gave us a fantastic five years. You made everyone immensely proud of our county. You inherited a county team at a very low ebb and brought them to the very pinnacle of gaelic football. You deserve every allocade you received and you will achieve much more in the future. A fantastic role model and an example to any young person of what can be achieved with hard work, belief and dedication. I hope that this is only a temporary sabbatical from the Donegal job as it was always clear that your heart and soul was in Donegal football. Best of luck for the future. Absolute Legend.

TrueDonegal (Donegal) - Posts: 3 - 04/10/2014 21:22:41    1660212

@Kingdomboy, the blanket worked for Kerry too,the highest compliment is imitation,I'd like to see us open up the play a bit though,we have the players to do it,
the championship draw will be interesting,wouldn't fancy meeting Armagh too early.

TirChonaillabu2 (Donegal) - Posts: 344 - 04/10/2014 21:26:33    1660216

Best compliment can pay him is am relieved he is gone. Every county outside the games traditional powers waits for a once in a generation manager who can rise a county to unprecedented levels Donegal had that in Mcguinness like Micky Harte in Tyrone. Impossible act to follow. Don't think any other manager could have got Donegal back up again this year like he did after last year. A county that always produced good players they had a master tactician in Jimmy allied with incredible leadership ability. Ulster football will miss him as he definitely raised the bar in the province.

seanie08 (Monaghan) - Posts: 1892 - 04/10/2014 21:30:56    1660217

He owes Donegal nothing. Best wishes to him.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 05/10/2014 08:08:42    1660236

@ TirChonaillabu2 - it was matching fire with fire with only 3 weeks of preparation.

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 8858 - 05/10/2014 12:32:30    1660298

Whoever replaces him has serious shoes to fill, good luck to them!

Master tactician and not afraid to make the hard calls when needed

turkeyplucker (UK) - Posts: 137 - 06/10/2014 09:21:32    1660572

legendzxix
County: Kerry
Posts: 3885

1660298
@ TirChonaillabu2 - it was matching fire with fire with only 3 weeks of preparation.

I'm not sure I totally buy into this "only 3 weeks preparation" talk. Granted Fitzmaurice privately might have been thinking of Dublin being the more likely final opponents. But I would hazard a guess that Fitzmaurice, shrewd man as he is, wasn't leaving anything to chance either and would have had preparations in place for a Donegal match-up also.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9783 - 06/10/2014 11:16:14    1660627

Kerry did not implement this game plan in 3 weeks. Anyone that thinks Eamon Fitzmaurice went into the final without some sort of long term work done on how they played on the day re their tactics and formation is stretching things a good bit.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3847 - 06/10/2014 11:34:58    1660644

All this talk of Fitzmaurice out "Jim-ing" Jim is nonsense.

Lets talk real likelihood. Everybody and their mother knows the way Donegal play! Fitzmaurice looked at the Dublin game and said lets match the system Donegal play, don't concede space in behind our midfield and make them play through us. He then relied on something that we all KNOW is true. Kerry just have better footballers than Donegal. The Donegal system is set up to counter and the reality is if everybody plays their part you'll win or at worse, not be beat by a cricket score.

McGuinness got lucky against Dublin, Gavin set up naively and Donegal rode their luck early on. If Dublin had of scored either goal chance early on we would all be talking about a different All Ireland Final and quite possibly a different All Ireland winner.

Fitzmaurice would have been delighted Donegal won.

After the final McGuinness started by saying his players just didn't get their level of performance right. Well, Dublin clearly didn't do that in the semi final. But Jim was lauded as this truly heroic figure who stopped the Dublin machine, a tactical genius. After the final he looked more Steve McClaren under the Umbrella than Jose Mourinho.

My point is....... the winners will always gain plaudits. Fitzmaurice is now a hero of epic proportions, bringing Kerry to Sam without the Gooch. The reality is but for some poor Mayo play, Fitzmaurice wouldn't have got the chance to joust with McGuinness "Yoda" like tactical awareness.

Or in Donegal's case, a poor miss by Diarmuid Connolly gave Donegal a chance in a game, up that point, they had looked like they had no chance of winning.

McGuinness can hold his head high leaving Donegal, he owes them nothing. But he wasn't a tactical genius. Was he a tactical Maestro against Monaghan in last years Ulster Final? How was his zen-Master management in the quarter final last year against Mayo? Why couldn't he reverse the fortunes of his team in the final this year, when they were clearly getting outplayed?

McGuinness was great for his county, No doubt.

But so was Heffo, Micko, Mickey Harte, Joe Kiernan, Paudi, Gilroy, Sean Boylan etc.....

It would be interesting to see if he the likes of McGuinness could do a job with a county other than his own.

JayP (Dublin) - Posts: 1772 - 06/10/2014 18:35:50    1660814

well doing well with such a group of ordinary players shows he truly was something special..the fact that you refer to donegal being lucky againt the dubs says it all about your own personal bias..the dubs were well beaten..stop going on and on about a missed goal chance..if they were so lucky dublin would have created numerous other chances and they didnt

fabio8 (USA) - Posts: 2182 - 06/10/2014 19:44:43    1660842

Jim Mc Guinness done some fine work with Donegal and is going to be a hard act to follow. I'd be a little worried that Donegal could slip back into the pack now he's gone.Pity for him that he didn't get to go out with another Sam. Could easily have been different if not for the error that proved the difference.

911 (USA) - Posts: 41 - 06/10/2014 19:54:47    1660850