Re: Cork Footballers to follow Cork Hurlers

**RMDrive** Sat Feb 07, 2009 6:00 pm

Interesting view from Martin Breheny ...

Independent.ie
Footballers could regret strike threat
By Martin Breheny
Saturday February 07 2009

VIEWED through a narrow lens in the perspective-free environment which hangs on Leeside, Cork footballers may believe that their post-dated strike threat will portray them as brave, loyal souls who are willing to sacrifice All-Ireland ambitions in the fight against County Board tyranny.

Observed in a wider dimension, where reality exists, it comes across as weak, craven and unimaginative. Their announcement that they won't play in the championship "unless a resolution is found to the satisfaction of the 2008 hurling and football panels" is designed to increase heat in the row which led to the hurlers' strike.

They are hoping that combined stoking by both squads will raise the temperature to such a degree that it will melt down the County Board's resolve to retain Gerald McCarthy as hurling manager. If that is the tactic, it raises the question as to why the footballers didn't call a strike for the league.

That would certainly have intensified the pressure on the Board to find a solution while also proving that the footballers were clear and unambiguous in their strategy. By delaying their intervention, they come across as feeble and uncertain. They also risk being accused of allowing the hurlers to manipulate their response.

The footballers may feel duty-bound to support the hurlers who stood by them in their war last year. The hurlers had their own personal motives for becoming involved, but even if they didn't, the footballers owe them nothing this time around.

The circumstances surrounding the appointment of Teddy Holland as football manager last year and the re-appointment of Gerald McCarthy as hurling boss were completely different.

The Holland affair changed the ground rules for the appointment of managers and the dispute now between the hurlers and the County Board centres on how those regulations were applied.

Meanwhile, the footballers have a manager they respect and trust, which is as it should be, because Conor Counihan was an excellent choice. They continue to make progress and are now in the top four All-Ireland contenders.

Yet, because of a dispute over the interpretation of a deal they are prepared to become martyrs to a cause decided by the hurlers. If, indeed, they do lay down their championship lives this summer, it is something they will deeply regret in years to come.

None of the footballers have senior All-Ireland medals but the majority of the hurlers have won the big prize -- in some cases three times. It is far easier for the hurlers to make the grand gesture with the sound of medals jangling in their pockets.

If the footballers wanted to support the hurlers they should have come up with something more imaginative than another stab at the strike button which now seems to be the sole weapon in sorting out grievances.

And lest the County Board feel that the latest threat will strengthen their side of the story, on the basis that they're dealing with unmanageable militants, they should ask themselves this -- why is Cork the only county with such dreadful player-Board relations? Surely, folks, it's not all the players' fault.

It may come as a surprise to the Cork hurlers, footballers and Board to learn that the rest of the country has grown thoroughly weary of their childish games. Just as the games are bigger than the players and officials in Cork, the GAA itself is bigger than Cork.

So while Cork tears itself apart, the rest of the country will proceed as normal. And if that means that Cork footballers don't field a team in the championship, Waterford will advance to a semi-final clash against Kerry. And guess what? In an Ireland that has far more worries than who manages Cork hurlers, nobody outside the county will give a damn.

- Martin Breheny