Westerners must be getting BOARD of one fallout after another with bosses

READ OUR MAN NOLAN’S VERDICT

THERE have been accusations aplenty in Mayo this week, but lacking originality in how they effectively jettison their managers wouldn’t be one of them. Stephen Rochford certainly isn’t the first Mayo manager to depart under a cloud. Indeed, most, if not all, of those who have guided the county to All-ireland finals since their last victory in 1951 have. In 1991, John O’mahony’s stock was still reasonably high having led Mayo to their first final in 38 years in 1989. He sought to appoint his own selectors for the 1992 campaign but resigned when the county board wouldn’t allow him to, later describing it as “constructive dismissal”.

O’mahony went on to guide Leitrim and Galway to success at Mayo’s expense later that decade. His successor in Mayo, Brian Mcdonald, only lasted one year having been on the receiving end of what is widely acknowledged as the first player heave in county football or hurling. It’s become increasingly fashionable since.

After a heavy defeat to Kerry in the 2004 All-ireland final, John Maughan’s relationship with the county board deteriorated through 2005 and he stepped down following that campaign ahead of a review of his tenure.

Mickey Moran replaced him and despite steering Mayo back to the final with an epic win over Dublin, he and his assistant John Morrison were excoriated at a county board meeting after another comprehensive loss to Kerry and soon resigned. James Horan, himself appointed after a shoddy process in 2010 during which it ap-

Rochford’s position was clearly weakened..

peared Tommy Lyons was on the brink of getting the job, left on his own terms in 2014 but not without some parting shots at the board, which may hamper his prospects of a return to the job now.

Again, the appointment of his successor was a farce, with Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes eventually landing the role jointly after the shoddy handling of Kevin Mcstay’s candidacy. A year later Connelly and Holmes were the victims of another player putsch.

Next was Rochford, who got them close to that elusive All-ireland and on the back of last year’s agonising defeat to Dublin was snapped up for a further three years. That wasn’t rubberstamped until October 25 last.

So county chairman Mike Connelly setting a deadline of August 31 last week for Rochford to have new selectors in place after the departures of Donie Buckley, Tony Mcentee and Peter Burke seemed unnecessary at best and hostile at worst.

After Peter Ford and Shane Conway emerged as Rochford’s choices last weekend, a post on the county board’s Twitter account stating “the officers of the board were authorized to meet” with Rochford appeared confrontational and betrayed an unhappiness on the board’s part.

When Rochford resigned the next day in response, it amounted to him being squeezed out by a cheap social media campaign.

Without the insulation of a gallant All-ireland bid this year, Rochford’s position was clearly weakened and then ever more so by the departures of Buckley, Mcentee and Burke.

Replacing that level of expertise adequately was always going to be difficult, if not impossible, and, perhaps, all things considered, his time had come to its natural conclusion.

The lack of player outcry this week suggests that much of the squad may well feel that way. But resorting to a cryptic tweet as a means of forcing an honourable man out is yet another unbecoming episode in the series of Mayo’s managerial comings and goings.