I think there may be several areas that should be addressed, as they have been underlying for several years, both short term and long term:
Player Availability – Are we getting the best players available for the county team? There are players in the county I fell should be on the panel as they are a cut above, but are not for whatever reasons. Is the demands too much, too much personal time taken up? Is there no wriggle room for the modern IC player?
Player Management – To chime into the Murnin debate as an example, are players being managed correctly, as he has had a shocking bad run of injuries as has E Rafferty? They don’t seem serious but more consistent pulls and strains, soft tissue injuries, which is pointing towards over training of some players perhaps?
Fringe Players – For some of the up and coming players, breaking onto the team may be problematic, as bar friendly’s, the management seem to stick to as close to their starting team as possible. I know a few players from my club have stepped away because lack of opportunities. I can only imagine the in house matches will slightly suffer as a result of that also. You could argue the point, if they are good enough they will get on, but we know that is not always the case. Jack Grugan as a glaring example. We know he was on the panel but never really got a chance. Perhaps he never really fitted McGeeneys style of play, but not everyone will.
The Club Game – As has been pointed out on several forums, the Armagh club game maybe isn’t as competitive as it used to be, with negative tactics hampering players abilities. I read an article on how the up and coming club defender will lack the proper skill of tackling, as packed defences are leading them to having to do nothing more than stall a forward if he wins the ball.
I know these negative tactics have been prevalent for a few years now, and the counties well documented tackling issues may be a direct result of that finally bearing fruit.
Coaching – I think Big Jim makes a good point that a youth player can be involved in several teams, and there is no proper standardisation of coaching across the board. At the end of the day football is a game of opinion and how it should be played is that given coaches opinion.
The last two issues are more or less long term concerns. In my view, clubs should take a hard stance on underage coaches employing negative tactics, and 1v1 battles should be promoted as much as possible. And some sort of standardisation on skills should be employed across schools, clubs and development squads.
Player Availability – Are we getting the best players available for the county team? There are players in the county I fell should be on the panel as they are a cut above, but are not for whatever reasons. Is the demands too much, too much personal time taken up? Is there no wriggle room for the modern IC player?
Player Management – To chime into the Murnin debate as an example, are players being managed correctly, as he has had a shocking bad run of injuries as has E Rafferty? They don’t seem serious but more consistent pulls and strains, soft tissue injuries, which is pointing towards over training of some players perhaps?
Fringe Players – For some of the up and coming players, breaking onto the team may be problematic, as bar friendly’s, the management seem to stick to as close to their starting team as possible. I know a few players from my club have stepped away because lack of opportunities. I can only imagine the in house matches will slightly suffer as a result of that also. You could argue the point, if they are good enough they will get on, but we know that is not always the case. Jack Grugan as a glaring example. We know he was on the panel but never really got a chance. Perhaps he never really fitted McGeeneys style of play, but not everyone will.
The Club Game – As has been pointed out on several forums, the Armagh club game maybe isn’t as competitive as it used to be, with negative tactics hampering players abilities. I read an article on how the up and coming club defender will lack the proper skill of tackling, as packed defences are leading them to having to do nothing more than stall a forward if he wins the ball.
I know these negative tactics have been prevalent for a few years now, and the counties well documented tackling issues may be a direct result of that finally bearing fruit.
Coaching – I think Big Jim makes a good point that a youth player can be involved in several teams, and there is no proper standardisation of coaching across the board. At the end of the day football is a game of opinion and how it should be played is that given coaches opinion.
The last two issues are more or less long term concerns. In my view, clubs should take a hard stance on underage coaches employing negative tactics, and 1v1 battles should be promoted as much as possible. And some sort of standardisation on skills should be employed across schools, clubs and development squads.
