Donât be trolling the lad. Your average Tyrone man isnât even aware that he has a club. Iâm not joking
Flynn is a nice writer and has the insight of a multi All Ireland winner
Tyrone were written off three weeks ago, why is the same thing happening after their All-Ireland victory?
Good managers deliver on the first impression rather than leaving it at empty words. Thatâs what Jim Gavin did and itâs how Tyroneâs Brian Dooher and Fergal Logan operate too.
On November 25, 2020, Brian Dooher and Fergal Logan were announced as the new joint managers of the Tyrone Senior Football team.
I donât know how their first talk to the team when they would have outlined their vision for Tyrone football went but having seen how theyâve performed in 2021, you can have some idea.
On that first day, the players might have listened with rising excitement. Some might have been concerned about their own places or they might have been sceptical of Dooher and Logan. Maybe the management team spoke about a player centred approach which is the kind of thing everybody says on day one. The trick is delivering it on day 101 and beyond.
Any manager can use a term like player centred. Whatâs important is ensuring it doesnât sound like jargon and the way to do that is to walk the talk. Dooher and Logan clearly have done this, as Jim Gavin did.
Jimâs first address to us was mesmerising and painted an exciting picture but more importantly he delivered on what he said he would. His management was player centred, not as a nice line on a press release, but in reality.
The Holy Trinity
Jim had a holy trinity and the player was at the centre of everything. There were three aspects of a playerâs life â personal, professional and playing â he said. All three would be treated equally.
This is an idea common among the good managers and the bad, but with the bad ones, he says it one day and the next the player is making a five-hour round trip for a gym session on a Wednesday night and wondering about that equilibrium when in reality the only thing they are at the centre of is a long commute. Jim was different.
One example immediately comes to mind. Cian OâSullivan had his tax exams at the beginning of one summer and he was told to go away and focus on them. Jim thought medium term. He knew having Cian back in August with the exams taken care of and no danger of a resit was good for Cian and good for the team . He could go away and there would be no consequences.
What it did was inspire loyalty. You felt Jim had your back as a person as well as a player. Other players were looked after if they were vulnerable or going through tough times and it all went to build trust. Suddenly âplayer-centredâ wasnât a phrase on a whiteboard, it had meaning.
As a result, youâd do anything for the team and for management whoâd look out for you. I hear other managers talking about putting their players first but more often than not, it seems to be their own interest theyâre serving rather than the teamâs.
Dooher and Logan succeeded Mickey Harte, who had led the county for 18 years and stacked up three All Ireland wins throughout his term.
Tyrone joint-manager Brian Dooher speaks to his players after the Ulster final against Monaghan held this year at Croke Park. Photo: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Mickey was a phenomenal leader and one who many people outside of the county felt an emotional connection with. He led them to their first All-Ireland in 2003, his first year in charge, and in 2005 and 2008 to cap off a successful decade. However, 14 years passed since their last victory and aside from a showdown in 2018 versus Dublin, they have failed to experience the glory that Tyrone people had come accustomed to enjoying throughout the noughties. The writing was on the wall for several years, and the feeling in the county was there was a need for change.
Wanting change is the easy bit, making change effective is hard and that is what Tyrone have done.
Change in leadership, in sport or any walk of life, can be a risk and, in some instances, cause disruption and chaos. For a player within a team sport, there is a fear of what this change will mean for the group, but initially that fear is centred around your own status within the group.
I can remember clearly driving through Clontarf in 2009 when my phone rang. I had made one start the year before and come off at half time so I wasnât sure what the new man Pat Gilroy would make of me, maybe my intercounty career was already over.
Gilroy was a from a big club too, a St Vincentâs man and as a Fingallian club man, I wasnât sure what he would think of me, or if heâd even thought of me.
âPaul, itâs Pat Gilroy here, love your style of play, love your intensity, I want you to be a central player in the squad.â
This was all I needed to provide some reassurance about where I stood.
Every player, bar none, experiences that uncomfortable feeling throughout this transitionary period whereby they believe they may be surplus to requirements or donât fit the new strategy. That fear of deselection can bring out the best and the worst of individuals. When executed correctly, it can take individuals and the collective out of their comfort zone and bring them to places where they can grow and develop.
Saturday nightâs All Ireland victory was an example of how a change of leadership, when executed effectively, can result in a positive impact within a group.
Understanding how to nurture the squad is something Tyrone have clearly done well. Dooher and Logan inherited a very talented group of players with solid foundations from a psychological, physical, technical and tactical point of view. Sometimes, what is needed are new voices and a new vision, which this new leadership team has brought. Some managers can overreact and make change for changeâs sake. The best know what to keep and what to throw out.
In the case of Dooher and Loganâs transition into the joint leadership role with Tyrone, it has clearly been executed with precision, and the outcome has been remarkable. Since they took over, I have been so impressed with every facet of this management teamâs leadership of this group of talented players. They have managed several adverse episodes to date. A disrupted pre-season and off-season due to Covid- 19 restrictions. A shortened league structure culminated in a devastating defeat by Kerry. A breakout of Covid within the camp that led to a myriad of issues, including some brinksmanship with the GAA administration, nationwide media attention and external ânoiseâ that can derail a teamâs preparations. However, they took it all within their stride and seemed to learn from each of these experiences.
It is clear they have cultivated a culture within the group centred around the collective. It reminds me of the culture we developed under Jimâs leadership. We were a collective, and no individual was more important than the group â the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack, as we would remind ourselves. This Tyrone team has similar qualities of work rate, selflessness, doing your job for the team, learning from each game, playing in the present and above all else, enjoying the journey.
One of the ways Jim did this was through opposition analysis. We had the analysts as part of the backroom team but the onus was on players to know the opposition. I might be told to look at the opposition kickout and then as part of a group of six, we would look into it before making a presentation to the squad.
If we missed anything, that would be brought up at the meeting so our analysis was interrogated but it also had many benefits.
Buy in
The players felt they were being listened to and that their opinions mattered. This, it became clear, was how a player centred approach worked in practice. As a result, the players had more buy in because they were helping to shape the strategy; most crucially, it helped you to think on your feet.
Having done that analysis, I found that when things went wrong on the field, it was invaluable. Suddenly you werenât a passenger waiting for direction but actively looking for solutions.
It is abundantly clear against Mayo that Tyrone players knew their role, and they know how it is one chink in the armour of an overall collective performance. They all looked in perfect sync throughout the championship, and I know from experience this is not an easy task, particularly considering they had ten months to ensure there was clarity.
Last week I mentioned what Tyrone needed to improve on, their kick-out strategy, highlighting that if they didnât focus their intention on this, Mayo would capitalise on it. Morganâs kick-outs on Saturday was one of the main pillars for their performance. This says so much about this group and their leadership.
They identified this area for development and turned it into a cornerstone of their performance in the biggest game of their lives. The origin of their second goal was direct from one of these long kick-outs. This takes evaluation, analysis and honest conversations amongst a group and directly to individuals that can only be successfully had when there is a trust that individuals are only being singled out for the betterment of the collective. Another sign that this management team are layering onto their capabilities and performances, game by game.
The Tyrone management team have empowered players to play a leading role, and they responded. They have leaders right through the team; Morgan, Hampsey, McNamee, Harte, Meyler, Mc Geary, McShane, etc. These players who were good players last year looked like great players and leaders this year. That is not a coincidence.
I am sure this group will be celebrating this success this week and over the weeks ahead, but I am also sure that this shrewd management team will soon evaluate the year and begin building for what is to come. This group of players are not going anywhere. They are young, hungry, ambitious and highly talented, and they will see there is an opportunity to do what no other Tyrone team has done before and win back-to-back All Irelands.
When the dust settles, they will need to honestly appraise what went well, what changes are required and what innovations are needed. What they did this year will not be good enough next year; it never is. This mindset is imperative to achieve back-to-back successes. They need to raise their internal standards and expectations to ensure they maintain their marginal advantage. As the adage goes, it is best to fix the roof while the sun is shining, and I have no doubt these impressive leaders will do just that.
In the aftermath of the game, a lot of the media focus has been on Mayo. Thatâs understandable but also tells you something of how the media works. The Mayo team are well known, the performance of big name individuals can be analysed and counter-analysed and none of it sheds much light on Gaelic football as it is played today.
Tyrone were written off this year and, in victory, it seems as if something similar is happening.
As Mayo are dissected, something else is being missed, perhaps because, even now, Tyrone are a mystery.
They are the story of the year: an ultra modern team, well conditioned, tactically astute and selfless. They are on the cusp of greatness and one day, we may be asking what we can learn from them rather than wondering how they did it.
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Who has written them off? Any commentary Iâve seen is that they are in position to win a few more
I think the talk is pretty much of Dublin and Kerry coming back next year. Thereâs a narrative out there that this was an All Ireland there for the taking with both gone. Theyâre 4th favs with the bookies for instance and I wouldnât say too many pundits would tip them for next year as of now.
Itâs a strange season, not many would have tipped Tyrone from the outset, more the nature of the season for me and the unknown in whether Dooher/Logan were up to the job. Theyâve shown themselves to be. Given that there was a 3 game league and Div 1 is very important for development, very few new players got a chance this year. Things could have gone very different in a few game, that bit of luck swung our way this year and certain players just hit their grove.
Thereâs a lull in quality there. I think Tyrone are being underrated in many ways, people expect Dublin to bounce back but are they in terminal decline or was it a lack of hunger. I look at their defence and half back line in particular which was their biggest asset and itâs way off what it used to be. Kerry have a serious forward unit but thereâs questions about the balance of their side and thereâs probably a few of their lot overhyped.
For me thereâs lots for Tyrone to build on - McKenna had a poor year I felt, still has to find a defined role in the team, he just needs more football. McShane and Canavan will hopefully be pushing for full roles next year rather than they bit part roles they played this year. It was basically Mickey Harteâs squad from last year, Dooher and Logan have effectively not really had the chance to try out anyone new bar Paul Donaghy and Cormac Munroe this year.
Guys like R Brennan, R Donnelly and J Munroe were injured and werenât able to really contribute come Championship and will be options to come into the defence and midfield. Lee Brennan and Mark Bradley never got a look in with the form of McCurry and theyâre all the kind of lads who have experience at senior level who can force themselves into the reckoning. Cassidy and Rafferty are there for defensive positions too.
But there are also players who were on the squad last year or called up this year who donât have that experience and who need a few run outs in McKenna Cup and League games to see how they do who could come in and improve the team.
Weâve won a couple of U20 Ulsters in 2019 and 2020 and Canavan is the only real on who has made the breakthrough yet so thereâs lots of talent to trial out next year and add to the team so I think Tyrone are very well set.
Weâre All Ireland Champions and I think we have lots of room to improve, the squad has a good age profile and Iâd say thereâs plenty of hunger to go on and win more and probably a culture of it now in Tyrone from the Harte years. The quality of the top teams (ie Dublin & Mayo) has dropped a few levels from the past 5/6 years so thereâs All Irelands from here on that are there to be won.
He was excellent on Second Captains too after the game. Potentially a future Dublin manager.
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I like Oisin McConville but Flynner well and truly put him in his place on the Second Captains podcast after the Dublin-Mayo match.
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I thought he came across as completely biased and a bit of a simpleton. Criticism of Small was anti Dublin bias apparently. Cartoonish levels of one sidedness.
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The wagons are circling I see.
Honestly though, youâd think Dublin pundits or supporters wouldnât be so thin skinned to any bit of criticism, given the level of success theyâve had. Most Limerick supporters acknowledge Gillane should have been sent off for a strike with the hurl this season for example, but any criticism of Small for an outrageous tackle (which he followed up with more dirt) is anti Dublin bias? Thatâs bizarre stuff in fairness. Flynn could and should have acknowledged that Small should have seen the line and Dublin lost their discipline. Itâs fair comment.
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He said the tackle merited a red card, as did I. What he and I also rightly said was it was difficult to see exactly what happened on the live viewing and that it required replays to see it. Which the referee Conor Lane didnât have, especially given that he was infield from the players, which essentially hid what happened as far as his view was concerned.
These are the sorts of things that people who have actually played the game and go to games and know the game understand.
Flynner also rightly called out the faceless keyboard warriors who abused Small.
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Overwhelming reaction on here was immediately to see it was a red, before any replay. Lane made a fuck of the game and completely lost control.
Lol. Youâre one to be on about faceless keyboard warriors abusing a player. Small is a dirty player, his record shows that. Get over it.
âOverwhelming reaction on hereâ
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Again, Kevin McStay is one of the very best analysts in the game, was in the perfect position to see it, and thought it was a fair tackle on the live viewing.
There were three Mayo men, serious football men, who I spoke to quite a lot during the game, sitting in the row behind me, which was only a few rows behind the press area in the Upper Hogan, quite central, and they thought similar.
Lane was in the perfect position for a referee, exactly where you would expect him to be situated on the pitch.
Small is a hard player. He can go over the line stupidly at times but every team in the game needs a player like him and thereâs a reason why players like him are loved by supporters.
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I think the problem Dublin have with the treatment of Small, Cooper, Philly, McCarthy etc. is that when they throw a few jabs, they are deemed âscumbagsâ but when the Limerick lads go around swinging hurleys endangering opponents, they are merely âplaying on the edgeâ.
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Itâs the double standards alright. Everybody knows, or should know, the games are hard and accidents can happen. The same people vilifying players for mistimed tackles which were made in a genuine tackling attempt, then turn around defend striking with the hurley and headbutting.
Thereâs very few players in either code with a record as bad as Small.
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So you maintain. I spoke to a mayo man who said blah blah blah isnât very convincing. Of course there are always some different takes, but the overwhelming weight of opinion was that it was a red card offence, in real time and more so subsequently. Flynnâs objections to highlighting this were bizarre.
What are you basing this on?
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The red cards in 2017 and 2018 were harsh enough in the grand scheme of things.
The likes of Donie Vaughan, Cillian OâConnor and now Matthew Ruane have all done much worse in recent years but youâd never hear about the Mayo team being regarded as scumbags.
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Youâve a nawful Small horn.