Cumann Chat: Superbowl lessons, Concussion sub and raging with rule breakers

FERMANAGH manager Ryan McMenamin told the Irish News earlier this week that he would be happy to have a female coach in his management team – if she was the right person for the role. It mightn’t sound like much, but it’s important that high-profile people start saying this on a more regular basis so that female coaches can see a pathway into the men’s game. A few years ago I did a feature looking at female managers and coaches in the men’s game and, in truth, it was hard to find many options to talk to. That highlighted the issue, and hopefully barriers can continue to be hurdled. No professional men’s team in England has been managed by a woman before, so it’s certainly not just a GAA issue.

NIALL MCCOY

A COUPLE of takeaways from the Superbowl that was played last weekend. Tom Brady was the winning quarter-back at 43 years of age. So if he can win this title at that age, it looks to me that Fergal Doherty retired much too early. Though my analysis is that perhaps Brady only had a small part to play, and rather it was the defensive coordinator who won the game for the Tampa Buccaneers as he put a plan in place to stop a lad called Padraig Mahomes from playing. Padraig seemingly has a contract worth half a billion dollars. For that kind of bread, I’d have expected him to make it a little closer than it was. I’d argue that the lad with the clipboard probably deserves a few extra bills in his envelope. From a GAA point of view, the lesson we can take is that coaching plans, and styles of play should become more important. Just read Niall Morgan’s interview in this week’s publication and he’ll explain how NFL styles are adopted by goalkeepers.

RONAN SCOTT

I WAS somewhat reassured with the comments made by GAA President John Horan in a recent interview with the Irish Independent. Rather than whinging about the situation-at-hand, he adopted an understanding tone. Horan says the GAA will easily absorb the financial shock of Covid-19 and he also said that the Association wouldn’t push for a hasty return to packed stadiums. He may have no say in the matter anyway – a renowned scientist said recently that it could be years before sporting events can get back to normal, which would be an awful shame. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but if it does, it sounds like the GAA’s decisions will be made primarily on a health and safety, rather than a financial basis. What that means for county boards, however, is another matter entirely.

NIALL GARTLAND

CAVAN GAA chairman Kieran Callaghan has launched a new scheme aimed at developing links between business and local players (not just elite intercounty stars, but club players as well), so that, in an ideal world, as many players as possible won’t have to travel up and down from Dublin a couple of nights a week. It’s a great idea on paper anyway, and it’ll undoubtedly be picked up by other counties if it’s a success. What I’m interested in is how it’ll work in practice – jobs don’t grow on trees, so everyone won’t be catered for, and it may cause issues if GAA players are seen to get preferential treatment. However, I think the Cavan County Board deserves credit for showing a bit of initiative and coming up with what seems like quite a novel idea.

NIALL GARTLAND

THIS week I tried to empathise with teams who break the training bans. Here’s what I came up with. Their argument might be that Dublin have so much money and resources so that they need to redress the balance. Maybe they wouldn’t use Dublin as an example. Maybe it’s the county they are pitted against in the league that they want to even up the odds with. There’s a similar argument used by club teams to rationalise their decision to pay club managers. I’ve heard a few stories about clubs who, at the behest of players, take on a paid manager because they are desperate to win, and they believe that because other clubs have did so this is only the way. Those who disagree with this might get angry and take to social media to get their outrage on. Alternatively they could consider changing the hearts and minds of those players who adopt moral relativism that could cause long-term damage.

RONAN SCOTT

I SPOKE to Dick Clerkin for a big interview that’ll appear in GL soon and we chatted about a concussion rule that he hopes Congress passes in a couple of weeks. This is all part of his work as chair of the GAA’s Medical, Scientific and Welfare Committee – and if they get this through, the committee can be proud of their efforts. No rule is perfect and there are a few holes to be picked, most notably teams using concussion subs to benefit the team, but I am of the belief that would be something that would happen once in a blue moon. Anything to help the concussion issue has to be welcomed with open arms, and this is a major step in our games. Congress can surprise you at times, but surely this will be voted in overwhelmingly.

NIALL MCCOY