Ryan’s Tipp well ahead of the posse
Decisive approach will pay off for the Premier County boss
‘CHANGING THE DYNAMIC OF THE TEAM ISN’T AN EASY THING TO DO’
SPRING is here and still the awards keep coming for the All-Ireland champions. This week, manager Michael Ryan was honoured as Tipperary Man of the Year for 2016. He certainly deserves it.
Where are Tipperary as the Allianz Hurling League begins next Saturday and they set out to face Dublin at Croke Park? A nice bit ahead of the posse, that’s where. And Ryan has much to do with that.
I’ve known him since 1988 when we worked together. We played together and I was immediately taken by the sheer toughness that he had as a competitor, that rawness. But also taken by the person. He’s very straight, very direct and easy to get on with as well – and if you didn’t think so, he wasn’t bothered. He’s someone who knows his own mind.
His latest honour (from the Tipperary Association in Dublin) just shows what a fine line there is between winning and losing. Take former Galway manager Anthony Cunningham, someone who was within a puck of a ball of also beating Kilkenny in an All-Ireland final but who ended up walking away after a hugely divisive episode.
Éamon O’Shea was a revered figure in terms of his coaching style, man management and one-on-one dealings with players. Players were so emotional when he finished up as Tipperary manager. They felt that they’d let him down. There was a sense that it was like a loss of a family member. And O’Shea preached that message, that the Tipp squad was like a family.
So everyone was wondering about Ryan being appointed as successor a year in advance. That brought its own pressures.
When he took over, there wasn’t a queue of people jumping to help him. He might have been O’Shea’s trusted lieutenant but he was never the main man.
Changing that dynamic is never easy. I saw it in Offaly where Éamonn Cregan kept his distance from the players while Derry O’Donovan, the trainer, was the one the players could talk to.
To change the style of play was a bold move by Ryan but one which really paid off. Forget about the winning or losing. To go in and say, ‘I’m the boss now’, especially when dealing with a fairly well established group, takes a bit of character to start with.
IN FAIRNESS, what Tipperary achieved was an accumulation of all the work done previously but Ryan had his own vision. And he wasn’t going to be swayed. Look at the way in which he brought Séamus Kennedy and Dan McCormack into the team — tough, hard-working players. What he did was quickly build the team in his own image.
Michael Cahill got his confidence back, taking the jersey Ryan used to wear himself. He recognised that James Barry needed to tone down the attacking side of his game, even if he was a more natural half-back than a number three.
With Cathal Barrett a tigerish presence, the full-back line gained an impregnable air. Which allowed the half-back line to flourish, Ronan Maher’s blossoming at centre-back allowed his brother Pádraic to star.
So the defensive work he did was crucial.
Tipperary always had lots of flair. And the structure of the team helped that to shine.
Michael Breen was outstanding as an attacking midfielder and had that freedom to go rampaging with Brendan Maher anchoring. He only had that freedom because of the way the team set up.
With Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher and the aforementioned McCormack working back, it allowed the inside line to do such damage.
Bringing in a few recognised senior footballers and rejigging the team took players out of their comfort zone.
Looking at a player like McCormack, if his shooting eye was in, he could really develop. I said this about Bonner Maher as well – a forward has to be able to put that two or three points on the board.
The situation with John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer also had to be managed – there was an ego that had to be handled and the All-Ireland final showed Ryan was able to get the best out of him. Tipperary’s use of the ball up front then was devastating, as they showed in the Munster final against Waterford as well.
To me, John McGrath was the main difference, the reason why they won the All-Ireland. He gave them that attacking alternative – the ball could go in high and low. Didn’t matter. A creator and finisher. That took pressure off Séamus Callanan.
Compare the Munster final to the previous year when Callanan was double-marked and failed to get a score from play. He ended up going around banging the ground with his hurley.
This time around they completely dismantled Waterford.
From an overall hurling point of view, they showed they could win with an orthodox style which is only good for the game. Cork and Clare also meet next Saturday night – the Rebels fresh from winning the Munster Hurling League. Granted it’s early season but you have to start somewhere in terms of winning. Liam Sheedy told me of the importance of making a statement every time his Tipperary side took on Kilkenny. Nicky English said the same during his time in charge. While most counties will be happy to retain their Division 1A status, a team like Galway should be looking to kick on because they were only a puck of a ball away from beating Tipperary themselves in the All-Ireland semi-final. I saw the Mannions – Pádraic and Cathal – playing for Ahascragh against Waterford’s Lismore in the All-Ireland Club IHC semi-final last weekend and their hurling in the muck was excellent. Today, they play Kilkenny in the Walsh Cup final. They have to be thinking of taking Brian Cody’s team down a notch, especially when the Leinster champions are rebuilding. The full-back line was dismantled last September and there are question marks there. If Galway are serious, they have to make a statement of intent.