Seamus ‘Banty’ McEnaney loves his football and, particularly it would seem, managing football teams. I heard it said that a number of years ago when Banty was managing a local club side in Monaghan, he would often leave his bar in the early hours of the morning, and rather than go home and risk a sleep in, he would drive to the training ground, have a few hours’ kip in the car, before taking an early morning session with his charges. There can be no doubting his commitment to the cause.
I spoke to ‘Banty’ a number of weeks ago about the prospect of him managing Meath and knew immediately by his reaction that it was a role that tickled his fancy. After the shenanigans of the Meath County Board and delegates over the past eight or nine weeks in selecting and ratifying his position, I am surprised, despite his desire to manage a big team like Meath, that he didn’t walk away from the situation. Undoubtedly, there were pockets of resistance to his appointment for a number of reasons. Meath are going ‘outside’ for a manager for the first time, something that clearly doesn’t sit well with the old die hards in Meath. Then there are a number of clubs and delegates who would be concerned with the associated costs of having such a high profile back room team involved. Paul Grimley, the former Armagh, Cavan, Kildare and, more recently, Monaghan, number two comes with a big reputation. Marty McElkennon worked, until recently, in a full time capacity as a strength conditioning coach with Monaghan. He apparently has returned to his teaching profession, but nonetheless comes highly regarded. It will be fascinating to see what type of progress is made over the next year. Obviously Banty was desperate to stay involved in inter-county management, but if I were him, I would mindful of the possibility of trouble ahead if things don’t get off to a positive start.
Ballintubber blow a big opportunity
Ballintubber blew a wonderful opportunity to make it to a Connacht final last Sunday. Those that take a punt on Bet Fair would have fancied the Mayo side to advance, particularly when they headed to the dressing rooms at the interval leading by a point, having played into the breeze. It wasn’t a sufficient lead to sit tight and protect and perhaps, in hindsight, Ballintubber might have been wiser to throw caution to the wind, revert to a more orthodox style and have a right cut at winning the match. This would have meant an abandonment of the tried and trusted sweeper system that served them so well in progressing to this stage. Killererin were just that little bit cuter on the day and with a few wise old heads (Tommy Joyce in particular ) among their ranks, they had the wherewithal to carry the ball close to goal before finding an inside forward. This meant the extra Ballintubber ‘defender’ was not in a position to do much sweeping. The Galway champions haven’t won a Connacht title since 1978, but once they get their hands on the DVD from the other semi- final, they just might fancy their chances of winning this year’s overall title. St Brigid’s from Roscommon leaked three goals in their match against the Leitrim champions, something that won’t have gone unnoticed by the Killererin player manager, Tommy Joyce. I am sure there have been a few inquisitions in Clogher in the past few days on what might have been. That is inevitable after a close defeat when every mistake is discussed and analysed. But there is no need to apportion blame on anyone after the great year they had.
Three or four good men is enough
I noticed an article in one of the midweek papers saying that Kieran McGeeney, the Kildare manager, had a backroom team of 17, yes, 17, involved in the preparation of his team this year. I was astounded. The whole scene has moved on to a different level since I departed senior inter-county management just a few years ago. But it appears to be the accepted norm now, as the Tipperary, Cork, and Kilkenny hurlers, the Dublin and Kerry footballers, to name but a few, are all spending enormous amounts of money in their pursuit of success. In fairness, the Mayo County Board has always been reasonable when it came to funding, but with the current finances under severe strain, I know things will be pretty tight over the next few years. During my time involved at inter-county level, I felt if you had three or four good guys with you, it was more than sufficient to manage a county team. I remember counting 14 Dublin gurus lined up under the Hogan Stand before the commencement of the All-Ireland semi-final of 2006. There wasn’t much the sports psychologist or the goal keeping coach could do when Ciaran McDonald was bending the ball over the bar from 50 metres to put Mayo into the All- Ireland final that year.
Parke keep the home fires burning
Parke as expected embellished their growing reputation with a fully merited victory in the Connacht final. Last Sunday was all about being smart and not taking the Leitrim champions for granted. They didn’t and as they have shown all year they have buckets of talented players who just might do a Kiltimagh on it and entertain their fans to a day out in Croke Park early next year. It all depends on how they winter. Congratulations to Carnacon on reaching yet another All Ireland final. They are an amazing club.
