Quiet Tyrone simply have nothing to talk about
WHEN we were young, and in a bid to keep the peace in a house that was not soundproofed, we were always told that ‘empty vessels make the loudest noise’.
As we grew up, in a bid to accentuate the positive while still staying on message, we were told to always beware of the quiet man.
And why? Because when others speak, he listens, when others act, he plans and when others rest, he strikes.
This might seem an odd thing to suggest, especially given that in his prime Ricey McMenamin reddened many an ear with his mischievous chatter, but I always thought of Tyrone being football’s equivalent of the quiet man.
That was because when they were out of ear-shot they were at their most dangerous.
In 2005 and 2008, as highly rated as they were, when they were sent hurtling through the back door, the last thing we were expecting was to see them coming back charging through the front one to knock us clean off our feet.
In 2021, hammered by Kerry in Killarney, they did not feature in any serious conversation about the contenders for the Sam Maguire and look at where they ended up.
Look at them now, and they are pretty much where they were three years ago, signing off on an unimpressive league campaign with a five-goal trimming from Dublin, while listening to the presummer chatter and you could be forgiven for thinking they will not be togging out in this summer’s championship.
But they will today in Breffni Park against Cavan, their entrance so quiet it could almost go unnoticed, which should mean that by the end of the summer we will be deafened by them.
Thing is, I am struggling to feel that fear.
It is rare that an All-Ireland-winning team just drops off a cliff edge, but they are doing quite the impression of having done just that.
It is hard to figure out what has happened to them. True, their underwhelming league can be explained by the absence of a raft of key players for a lot of it, such as Cathal McShane, Mattie Donnelly and Conor Meyler and they will be a lot closer to full strength come the summer.
And they did blood some genuine talent in the likes of Ciarán Daly and Seán Donnelly in particular, while that final-round mauling demanded to be seen in the context of Brian Dooher sending out a weakened team in the knowledge that they were already safe.
But the doubts about Tyrone are not because of the last few months but rather as a result of the last few years.
This is going to sound like green and gold-tinted begrudgery, but they were fortunate to win that All-Ireland three years ago.
Outside of being at the centre of a Covid controversy that left Kerry parked up for an extra couple of weeks, had David Moran and David Clifford been on the pitch at the end rather than on padded seats, Tyrone would not have reached the final.
But that is sport. There is no point getting a break if you can’t catch it and Tyrone did that.
However, rather than that being the start of something, it quickly began to feel more like the end.
The slew of retirements from their panel in the close season after their final win over Mayo not only indicated that several players had got what they wanted, but begged the question – how many others who stayed on had their appetites sated?
Given what has happened in the interim, the answer to that question is unlikely to be a positive one.
I am not talking about the likes of Peter Harte and Mattie Donnelly, two great and driven footballers, but how much longer can they be expected to lift the load?
There are others who have found it hard to find that form of three years ago. Kieran McGeary was footballer of the year, yet the following season he was struggling to make the team.
Cathal McShane was their gamechanging super sub right through that summer, but he has been continually dogged by fitness issues in the interim.
At that time, I thought Brian Kennedy and Conn Kilpatrick were set to become the dominant midfield partnership in the game, but now they would struggle to make the podium behind Conor Glass/Brendan Rogers and whoever Dublin settle on to partner Brian Fenton.
It is not that they don’t have quality; on current form Niall Morgan is the best goalkeeper in the game, Michael McKernan is among the most lethal line-breakers, while the twin strike force of Darragh Canavan and Darren McCurry are among the most lethal in the game.
All of that should be more than enough to see off Cavan today, but that is not where the bar is set for Tyrone. Like all the big hitters, the All-Ireland quarter-finals qualifies as base camp for a county of Tyrone’s status.
But that is where they will stay. There will be no assault on the summit, no matter how quiet they stay.