PEOPLE who write into or phone Off the Fence used to be plain old disgruntled. But over time, being merely disgruntled is no longer sufficient.
Take, for instance, our Down contributor this week. He describes himself as not only ‘disgruntled’ but ‘massively disgruntled’. So no better place to start than with him and why he feels ‘massively disgruntled’...
‘MASSIVELY disgruntled fan’ penned a letter to Off the Fence to heap all the problems of Down football on James McCartan. Yep, the man who somehow managed to guide the county to an unlikely All-Ireland final in 2010, only to lose by a point to Cork.
In typical disgruntled fashion, our Down fan writes: “Down’s current demise is certainly not a reflection on Eamonn Burns or Jim McCorry but, rather, is firmly rooted in the James McCartan era. How could the McCartan tenure be mistakenly seen as some kind of success when not even an Ulster Championship was delivered in his five years in charge?
“Unfortunately, a very fortuitous ‘back door’ run to an All-Ireland final (when Kerry turned up for an All-Ireland quarter-final with a reserve team) helped to mask the inherent problems in his selection policies. But Ulster Championship glory was never close. McCartan failed miserably to capitalise on the talent available from the back-to-back Ulster Championship U21 winning teams of 2008/09…
“It should be remembered that, in James McCartan’s final year in charge in 2014, a last-gasp goal from Mark Poland on a wet Friday night in Armagh staved off relegation to Division Three. Maybe that is Down’s true position.”
What a brilliant letter. To describe Down’s run to the All-Ireland final in 2010 as “fortuitous” is probably the most begrudging statement ever uttered in these pages.
Donegal’s incredible rise under Jim McGuinness was the sole reason why Down couldn’t annex the Anglo-Celt Cup during McCartan’s reign. You cite McCartan’s non-selection of the county’s successful U21 teams in 2008/09. That’s simply not true. Conor Garvey, Timmy Hanna, Kevin Duffin, Conor Maginn, Kevin McKernan, Paul McComiskey and James Colgan all stepped up from the U21 class. In any case, not every U21 player will make the successful step up to the senior ranks.
Rather than blaming James McCartan for all of Down’s ills, you should be tipping your cap to the Burren man because he was responsible for arresting the county’s decline. There are structural problems in Down. That’s why the county board has recruited DCU lecturer David Passmore to carry out a root-and-branch review of the underage structures in the county.
‘SEAN from Castledawson’ believes it’s time GAA omerta was reappraised following the fall-out from last month’s Dr McKenna Cup final.
“I see that no action is going to be taken against Tiernan McCann for - to use Damian Barton’s words - the 'horrific' challenge on Brendan Rogers in the McKenna Cup final,” says ‘Sean’.
“This is a disgrace, but not a surprise as this is a blind eye being turned. Damian Barton and Brendan Rogers have kept quiet about it. The time is long passed for players and managers keeping quiet… There needs to be more speaking out about these things. Fair play to Emmett McGuckin for speaking out about what Cathal McCarron did [in the group game between Derry and Tyrone].”
While Damian Barton was reluctant to elaborate on the Tiernan McCann challenge on Brendan Rogers, the Derry manager actually said plenty on it after last Sunday’s win over Fermanagh by using the word 'horrific'.
A ‘DERRY Caller’ rang to respond to ‘Ciaran from Ardboe’, who goaded the Oak Leafers by reminding them Tyrone beat them in the McKenna Cup final with 13 men.
“I’d like to respond to ‘Ciaran from Ardboe’, who was giving Derry a hard time,” says ‘Derry Caller’.
“I’d like to remind him that Tyrone haven’t done too well against Donegal in recent times. I don’t remember reading any comments from Donegal people reminding Ciaran of this. I’d like to remind Ciaran that Tyrone is three times the size of Derry. That does have an effect on things, doesn’t it?
“And another thing, he talked about Tyrone winning with 13 players - they should have finished with 12 players. Tiernan McCann should have walked after the first minute.”
Roll on March 5 and May 22 when the greatest rivalry in Ulster football resumes.
TYRONE may be under attack, but ‘Lurgan Caller’ envies the stability the Red Hands have had under veteran boss Mickey Harte compared to the raft of managerial changes in the Orchard county.
“Mickey Harte took over Tyrone in 2003 when Joe Kernan was in charge of Armagh,” ‘Lurgan Caller’ says.
“Armagh are on their fifth manager since then. Is it any wonder the team is struggling for consistency? No way am I a Tyrone supporter, but I have the highest regard for their manager that, when he retires, he will leave a good team.”
‘FOOTBALLING Connoisseur from Armagh’ - a slightly pretentious pen-name, if you don’t mind me saying - emailed in some good points on the mooted changes to football that will be debated at congress later this month.
“Gaelic football needs a ‘tap and go’ rule like the proverbial hole in the head,” writes ‘Footballing Connoisseur from Armagh’.
“In many matches, the only kick-passing we see is from free-kicks. All too often, these are short taps a few metres sideways and even backwards. At a time when longer kicking needs to be encouraged to improve the aesthetic appeal of the game, it is beyond me how anyone could have come up with the idea to let a player tap it half-a-metre to himself, thereby encouraging the ball-carrying, short-passing, passive possession game that so many of us are sick looking at.
“If anything, the polar opposite of ‘tap and go’ is required: a lengthier minimum distance for a free-kick to travel.”
I’m not a fan of the ‘tap and go’ or the ‘mark’, but congress will have the final say.
‘PAUL from Tyrone’ was miffed as to why director-general Paraic Duffy didn’t raise his annoyance earlier over the controversial challenge game between Armagh and Dublin that left a Dublin player, Davy Byrne, with bad injuries.
“If Paraic Duffy is concerned about the damage an incident did to the GAA’s reputation, why did he raise it with the national press months after everyone else had moved on?”
‘RASHARKIN Gael’ texted to wish his club-mate Michael Hasson the best of luck as the Ulster Council’s new president.
“Could I please, through your Off the Fence column, wish Michael Hasson all the best in his new role as Ulster president. This means much more than a text or an email from me direct to him. Thanks.”
Done.
AND finally, ‘Celtic supporter from Aghagallon’ had some advice for the club’s board following their League Cup semi-final defeat to Ross County.
“If any good can come out of this defeat, it’s to get rid of the manager. He must be one of the worst managers Celtic have ever had. Whoever appointed should be fired as well! And yer man Efe Ambrose, there’s always a mistake around the corner. He should be gone too.”
