Even €1m wouldn’t help Wicklow in the short term – Magee
JOHNNY MAGEE raises the question of what a million euros would do for Wicklow football.
Involved for the guts of a decade with Dublin, he understands what it’s like to be part of a set-up where every modern need is met. Through his club Kilmacud Crokes, he has also seen what the investment in a network of coaches on the ground has done, via lottery funding and a financial leg-up from Croke Park.
When it comes to the financial arms race that is the presentday All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, he has been outspoken on how a Division 4 county like Wicklow has struggled to keep pace.
It’s the long-term effect of such investment that he is sure would reap dividends.
‘I was asked a question, “If I was given one million euros today, would it make Wicklow any different?” No, but it might help with a couple of other things like GPS or sports psychology.
‘It’s the bigger picture though. I’d put full-time GPOs (Games Promotion Officers) into Arklow, Bray, Baltinglass, Blessington. Look at those towns – big soccer and rugby towns. Full-time for the next 10 years – in you go. It would have an impact.’
So while a blank cheque to cover all aspects of mental preparation would be nice, it’s all about putting down solid foundations. He points to the practical example of his brother Darren who has firsthand experience of working in Wicklow as a GPO.
‘Darren was down in Arklow for five years. It’s no surprise Arklow won back-to-back minor titles and won the intermediate title last year. Six or seven of those lads are lads Darren coached from when they were kids. And they’ve come through. There is a template there that does work.’
It’s not just the financial divide that he has called out but the structural divide. He was part of the online backlash to the vote at GAA Congress in February to green light the Super 8 format in football.
His call for an all-out strike, club and county, drew headlines all on its own, even if Wicklow went on to fulfil the rest of their League fixtures with minimum fuss. ‘If the players wanted to do it, I would have backed them,’ he says.
He can honestly see the new format turning players away from the game.
‘It will be interesting to see next year the loss of players, not just in Wicklow but throughout the country with the Super 8. Particularly the socalled weaker counties. It will be interesting to see if there will be a major drop-off of fellas committing to county squads. ‘I’ve huge admiration for my guys because it seems like it has been setback after setback after setback with the Super 8 and various proposals. They still come to training knowing they’re not getting a fair crack of the whip as far as I’m concerned.
‘It’s very easy to motivate yourself to get up, go to the gym, eat the right foods, when you know you have a chance of winning a Leinster, or an AllIreland or a National League. When you don’t have that guarantee, it’s a different type of character needed, a different type of determination. Those lads are selfless, what they’re giving.’ Wicklow face Louth on May 21 at Parnell Park and Magee points to how the Wee County, promoted from Division 3, have lost a key player like Derek Maguire to the States for the summer. ‘They’re Division Two and he’s still gone. Lads who are young want to explore the world as well. Because they see people going over and enjoying their football in Boston or New York, having a great time, going travelling as well – they might get money as well. And you can’t blame them.
‘If they had come with the Super 8, but also with a solution for everyone else, that would have been something. To come with nothing was the bone of contention for me.’
What he’d do is reverse the schedule with a couple of knock-out rounds in spring and a league-based competition in summer.
‘The League is the best competition. To me, it should be flipped around.’
In the meantime, without a blank cheque to draw on, he knows a first-round win in the Leinster Championship would represent ‘a massive boost to the county’.
He’d happily settle for that.