Why I think Tipp would be right to boycott today’s game
IHAVE great respect for what Davy Fitzgerald has achieved in the game over the last 30 years with Clare, Waterford and now with Wexford, but if he took a step back, he’d have to admit that what he did on the field at Nowlan Park last weekend is simply not acceptable.
It’s Tipperary player Jason Forde who deserves to feel rightly aggrieved. If he ends up with a twomatch ban for challenging Fitzgerald after he ran onto the field during the League semi-final, it will be the biggest joke of all time. Squaring up to a rival manager who had no right to be anywhere on the field of play is perfectly understandable – if it was back in my playing days, I’ve no doubt Fitzgerald would have been given a belt.
What Forde did wouldn’t merit even a card if it involved another player. Throwing a suspension at him is political correctness gone mad.
If I was Tipperary, I would boycott the Allianz League final, put it up to the GAA for such an unfair approach to enforcing discipline.
Imagine if Fitzgerald’s antics lead to a very disciplined player, who has been fighting so hard to try and get his place on an All-Ireland winning team, losing that place. It’s beyond ridiculous. Just wrong.
The sacrifices he has made in training and all over the winter to establish himself this spring – and then to find his summer in ruin because Fitzgerald decides to run on to the field and get involved in an altercation with his team-mate Niall O’Meara?
Look at the competition Forde has for a starting place. Michael Breen came off the bench against Wexford and hit four points. A twomatch ban would mean Forde misses the Munster quarter-final against Cork, and semi-final if the champions progress. If he did lose out it would be absolutely crazy.
Tipperary have every right to challenge this all the way.
It’s bizarre that Wexford are trying to paint their manager as the victim. There was clearly an infringement. Yet you had the former chairman of the Wexford County Board coming out and having a go at pundits. Maybe Daithí Regan was one of his targets, but there is a difference between saying behaviour is imbecilic and calling someone an imbecile.
The Fitzgerald defence mechanism has been used before. When I talk about discipline, I’ve had some already bringing up the same old incident with Clare in 1998. Now I was sent off once in 27 years of adult hurling. I wasn’t sent off in that game but if I had, it would have been deserved. You have to be responsible for your actions.
I’ve been saying for some time that a fiery character like Fitzgerald, might be better off up in the stand. Inter-county players are well prepared; they know their role going out on the field. At club level, at underage level, you need to be on the sideline, but at inter-county level, the likes of Davy would be better off away from the action. Just like in rugby.
This is a man who had heart surgery last summer. In terms of motivating a team at that level, his players should know their job at this stage.
Once I crossed the white line, I often found a vocal manager very distracting. If you were left halfforward in front of the dug-out, it could be very off-putting.
All the furore means that the League final between Galway and Tipperary has almost been forgotten about. In its own right, it’s a very big match for both counties.
It was the same immediately after Tipp’s semi-final when we were talking about Fitzgerald rather than a great match. It’s sad that this controversy has overshadowed a national final.
Galway haven’t won a title since 2010, which is a long time given the talent they’ve had. It’s very true as well for Tipperary, considering it’s been 2008 since they last won.
In that time, they’ve lost three League finals, all to Kilkenny. So this matters. Only a handful of players on each side have medals. In that context, this is a big deal. Fine if you’re a Kilkenny player with a host of League and All-Ireland successes, but it’s different for the Galway and Tipperary players.
The All-Ireland champions have a very settled team while Galway have been addressing some age-old problems: filling three and six plus an over-dependence on Joe Canning. Daithí Burke did well at six, then was needed at three when Séamus Callanan scored a hat-trick in the All-Ireland semifinal a couple of years ago. Gearóid McInerney has filled in of late and looks like he can hold his own. If he proves he is the answer at the Gaelic Grounds this afternoon, then that’s a massive plus. He certainly looks to have all the physical attributes.
Up front then, Cathal Mannion and Conor Cooney have really stepped up. If they can front up against one of the top full-back lines around, then it will be significant.
Canning looks to have a settled role as a playmaker at 11, making scores and being more provider than finisher. That all means that a number of major questions have been answered going into the Championship.
Callanan misses the match through injury and he would represent an insurmountable loss to any other county. Only Tipp have the depth to cover without it having a major bearing.
You saw Michael Breen coming on the last day and hitting four points, John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer made an impact and showed the ruthlessness to pick out Noel McGrath for a goal when he could so easily have gone for a point.
They are so physical, so strong; they eventually wear teams down, then their hurling skill takes over.
A battle then between the two best teams in the country right now. It’s hard to see a serious chink in Tipperary’s armour and they have been so focused all spring. Tipp to win.
Hopefully we’ll be talking about the actual hurling after the final whistle.