Sport

The End Line: Mickey Harte and Jim Gavin must decide whether to stick or twist

THIS weekend’s clash between Tyrone and Dublin is probably the least important mid-summer Championship match between two heavyweights in the history of the game.

However, the game of ‘stick or twist’ that surrounds has driven up the interest in what is essentially a dead rubber.

A lot of the time managers are given a lot more attention in both the pre- and post-match discussion than the players.

This is rarely an accurate reflection on their direct impact on matches – but not so on Sunday.

While the clash at Healy Park is likely to be a slightly surreal affair where two teams play a competitive game with the handbrake on, the real intrigue surrounds the approach of the two bosses.

Mickey Harte, like all good managers, plays things close to his chest but there is one footballing philosophy he has never made a secret of, and that is his desire to win every game.

For those that know Harte best, this is very easy to believe. He has a burning desire to win.

Stories abound about him joining in five-aside games with his PE classes back in his teaching days, only for the games to end in arguments as he refused to be beaten.

It has often been said that if there was a game of tiddlywinks in the back-yard, Mickey would be determined to win it. It is for that reason I find it difficult to envisage Harte not going out to try and win Sunday’s clash.

That said, can the Red Hand manager seriously risk Peter Harte incurring a suspension if he gets another black card, or an injury being picked up by one of his key men – ‘Petey’, Mattie Donnelly, Cathal McShane, Niall Sludden, Colm Cavanagh, Ronan McNamee or Kieran McGeary?

Even without those additional headaches, the effort required to truly take on Dublin is an all or nothing one.

Trying to recover from that effort – and either the elation of a win over the All-Ireland champions or the disappointment of a defeat – and then find an even sharper edge and hunger for the following week is exceptionally difficult.

Tyrone simply can’t afford to go into next week’s semi-final at anything other than their absolute best.

Can that be achieved if they throw absolutely everything at Dublin?

Possibly, but it hardly gives them their best chance of reaching the All-Ireland final so there is a decision to be made. Jim Gavin, meanwhile, has played the dour ‘we respect every team’ card to the point of ridiculousness.

Interviewer: “Jim, you won today by 25 points, were you just too good?”

JG: “Not at all, it was a very tough game and all credit to the rest of the country, they give us a really good game today.”

Interviewer: “Jim, having beaten the rest of the country, are you confident heading into next week’s game against the Headless Chicken Reserves?”

JG: “Not at all, I think it’ll be a big challenge for us. Their work-rate is excellent, and their non-stop running will be a huge challenge. We will give them full respect and prepare thoroughly to hopefully get the win.”

Good man Jim.

Somewhere behind this public face, however, there must be a serious competitor.

I don’t see how you win as much as he did as player and then create the ruthless footballing machine that he has without having a raw competitive spirit we never see in his interviews.

That fighting spirit would not have taken kindly to Tyrone’s win in the League, especially the way the Red Hands physically bossed Dublin.

Gavin will also be bristling at the narrative that a big part of Dublin’s success is their almost continuous use of Croke Park and if they had to play more around the country they would not have been as dominant.

Gavin will want to beat Tyrone in Omagh on Sunday. He could well decide to change things up and rest some key players but if Mickey Harte then decides to go all out for victory, a Dublin loss could be on the cards.

That wouldn’t stop their five in-a-row bid but I can’t imagine the competitive perfectionist Jim Gavin would accept any such blip in his team’s Championship record.

Therefore, I have no doubt he will put out a team that is closer to first-choice, with no more than one or two changes if there are boys carrying knocks.

At what stage he chooses to rest key men like Ciaran Kilkenny, Paul Mannion, Brian Fenton, Jonny Cooper, Philly McMahon and Jack McCaffrey – if indeed they are given a breather at all – is perhaps the bigger question, along with the ‘will he, won’t he’ debate surrounding Diarmuid Connolly.

The amount of rest Gavin gives to those key players will be an insight into how he views the challenge ahead in the All-Ireland semi-final.

f he sincerely thinks that Kerry, Mayo or Donegal are capable of derailing the historic ‘drive for five’, surely he will take steps to save his team for the battle ahead.

I don’t see either manager making a straight ‘black and white’ decision of going all out for the win or not.

They will trust in the professional level of their players to manage the game and themselves with next week’s appointment in mind.

I believe Tyrone will go out to be very competitive, but I would hope Peter Harte is rested to avoid any black card threat, and I also hope Cathal McShane is not deployed at full-forward, if he plays any part at all.

Why would Tyrone afford Dublin the opportunity of having a dry run at curtailing McShane when they failed to cope with him in the League meeting?

Why give quality players and an astute management team another chance to see what strategies and match-ups work best?

It is also an ideal chance for Tyrone to test their defensive system against the best decision-makers in the game and find out if it can yet work where it has continually failed in the past.

Alternatively, if Mickey is still thinking of reverting more to a man-to-man strategy to counter the Dublin challenge, this game offers them an opportunity to do just that and know that they still have something different to bring to the table should they meet again.

The bottom line is that the draw has handed both sides an advantage over their semi-final opponents and it would be crazy to overlook that for the sake of going at each other full tilt.

Like two army generals preparing for a major battle, deciding to throw their troops into a training drill with live ammunition would be indefensible should things go wrong.

Whatever way it pans out, we will all be wiser after the event. Well a little bit.

The wisdom of the calls made this weekend may only truly be revealed when Sam Maguire has found his resting place for the winter. Hindsight can wait.

Being tested this weekend is the foresight of Harte and Gavin, and that somehow holds all the intrigue this game needs.