MY MOTHER is like most Irish mothers from her particular era in that she still holds a serious amount of sway in my general decision-making in life - even though I am nearing 50-years-of-age.
She is not afraid to vent her anger when needed and it will probably come as no shock that she is a former schoolteacher too, just to add to the fear factor. Underneath the hard facade is a stereotypical mother from Ireland in that she may spend a considerable amount of her time berating her children and their choices... but God forbid anyone else with the temerity to do the same or she would launch a verbal assault in total defence of her offspring.
Myself and ‘wee Nora’ may fight the bit out about everything and anything under the sun. Yet I know, like everyone else in our house, that her unwavering and unquestionable loyalty is there for all time. I suppose I needed it plenty of times over my county career, even if I never knew about it.
She was once asked after the All-Ireland final what it was like to watch her son playing in probably the biggest game imaginable. Her reply was that the result was not the most important issue, but the fact that I got through the game without making a mistake that could have repercussions for myself and, of course, the team.
Her point was that she knew I could get over a loss eventually, but a mistake could have bigger ramifications and would be tougher to navigate mentally - even though God knows I made countless errors in my time, albeit rarely in front of 80,000 people and millions of viewers.
There speaks the mother of a goalkeeper. A player who, unlike the rest of the team, has less capacity to be a hero, but an increased likelihood of making a mistake that might have a decisive impact on the result, especially now that every game is scrutinised to death and sometimes with little empathy for the people who are playing.
Much has been made out of Mayo’s choice to start Rob Hennelly ahead of David Clarke in last week’s All-Ireland final replay. Regarding whether it was a mistake or not, I feel that I have more of an insight into this than most, being a founder member of the goalkeepers union.
There are many saying that it was brave decision that just went wrong, however, I believe that it was a mistake to change the goalkeeper for a final. I’ve tried to see both sides of the argument and still can’t get my head around it.
Yes, you can get away with it early on in the Championship, but I have always felt that this is a position that can’t be treated like any other on the field as it the only specialised brief on the whole team and should not be tampered with - especially prior to the biggest match of all.
The other reason for not dropping David Clarke, which is probably the most simple reason of all, is that he is in the running for an Allstar award, such has been the quality of his performances to date in the Championship.
His performance in the semi-final where he kept Mayo in the game with three great saves was excellent and his kick-out winning ratio was very good as well. Both Mayo goalkeepers are of a very high standard, but giving the nod to Hennelly would have put added pressure on him. He was picked for his ability to do something extra on his kick-out which would have made him think that he too had to produce something special instead of keeping it simple.
Take a look at what happened with Joe Hart who was the blue-eyed boy of English Premier League outfit Manchester City and England until the European Championship. Hart is now with an ordinary club in Italy after City boss Pep Guardiola decided he was surplus to requirements.
It was no surprise after this confidence-sapping move that he made a howler in his first appearance for Torino, but it was also no surprise that his high-profile replacement Claudio Bravo made a horrendous error in his first match too, such was the pressure he was under.
I suppose the only difference is that Bravo and Hart can console themselves after making a mistake when they climb into their sports cars and drive home to their multi-million pound mansions and console themselves for a few days. County goalkeepers, however, have no hiding place or refuge – only their ability to get over things should they be fortunate enough to possess that.
The goalkeeping position is based on lot of characteristics such as bravery and agility and one might say lunacy. Yet the biggest attribute is confidence. If it is undermined then so is the goalkeeper’s ability to perform at his best.
Only someone who understands the position knows that you cannot tinker with it in the same way you would with the forward and a defensive lines. Ultimately, that is why it was the mistake of the management to change the goalkeeper and not the goalkeeper’s mistake that effectively may have cost Mayo the game and a ground-breaking success.
On a lighter note regarding the goalkeeper’s position, I remember playing a certain club team over and over again and they kept calling their goalkeeper ‘Major’ throughout the game. When I asked why he was called ‘Major’ their full-forward replied with some vehemence that he was guaranteed to make one ‘major’ cock-up in every game.
Thankfully, I was never called ‘Major’ during my career. For some reason I was just called one name - ‘Whoops’ - which I still don’t fully understand. Who would be a goalkeeper, eh?
