CHAMPIONSHIP 2002/Offaly v Kilkenny: Seán Moran
reports on why the modern game places unfair demands on players and
the knock-on effect it has on small counties like Offaly
In the flushed aftermath of Birr's All-Ireland club victory in
Thurles on St Patrick's Day, Brian Whelahan was naturally in bullish
humour. He was particularly pleased with the performances of some of
the younger players and said that the future of hurling in Offaly
was bright.
Some of those emerging players return to Thurles tomorrow
afternoon for the Guinness Leinster hurling semi-finals - exiled for
this year because of the new pitch installation in Croke Park. Good
displays from the likes of John Paul O'Meara and Stephen Browne will
cheer up Offaly supporters but whatever about the long-term merits
of Whelahan's optimism, the immediate future looks difficult for the
county.
After two decades of splitting Leinster fairly evenly with
Kilkenny, Offaly go into tomorrow's match against the provincial
champions facing a fifth successive walloping at the hands of a
county, which until recently used to inspire them to
ultra-competitive hurling. As the baton is passed between the
generations, Kilkenny with their 10 successive Leinster minor titles
in the 1990s would appear to have the future well in hand. The truly
exceptional cohort that earned Offaly two All-Ireland titles is
steadily drifting away.
Having to replace a successful team is always hard but Offaly
with their small hurling population, have always relied on a limited
number of players. The process of rejuvenation is consequently
harder, according to Michael Bond who managed the All-Ireland
winning team in 1998 and returned for a season last summer.
There is for instance only five of the side left that won the
1994 title (four if you omit Johnny Dooley who is injured tomorrow)
and seven of the team that won '98. Within the last year alone, All
Stars Johnny Pilkington, John Troy and Kevin Kinahan have
departed.
"No team could cover up for that immediately," says Bond. "You
can bring in fringe players up to a point but having to cover for
exceptional players is different. And Offaly have produced fabulous
hurlers who have been very consistent."
He is critical of the demands on modern players and believes that
Offaly is particularly affected because of their reliance on a small
pool of talent. As a result burnout creates even greater
difficulties for counties that can ill-afford to lose players
prematurely.
"Where have all the hurlers gone?" asks Bond. "Niall Quinn played
a major role for Ireland this week. In 1983 he hurled in the minor
All-Ireland final - against Joe Cooney and other hurlers who went on
to play senior.
Why are they not playing any more and Niall Quinn is? Or Teddy
Sheringham for England? "Modern players can't do a job and train for
a manager five nights a week. It's insane. There are mortgages to be
paid, families to be looked after. These considerations have taken
over.
"The GAA has to look after the players. Why should they be
playing in matches that generate millions of pounds and find it hard
to get a drink afterwards? As manager I had to say: 'I need you five
times a week'. Someone like John Troy who's an electrician was
working 20 miles away. He has to leave to get to training for seven
o'clock. Overtime is generally available between five and 10 o'clock
so he loses out. Then he pays �50 to get into an All-Ireland
final."
The loss of players in their early 30s is one side-effect of
relentless training regimes but the other is that players who
persevere become prey to chronic injury. Combining club and county
activity places great strain on players and even the greatest
struggle to stay on the treadmill.
"Brian Whelahan has hurled around the clock for the past few
years," says Bond. "What he does is unreal. Why has Brian Whelahan
so many injuries? That's why. Simon Whelahan had to play on God
knows what injury for Birr in the club final. That's not right. By
the time players get to my age they will suffer from arthritis. It's
really about time we supported them."
New county manager Tom Fogarty spoke during the week of the
importance of Birr's success for Offaly. The club has been a
remarkable success story over the past 10 years, winning three
All-Irelands and bringing in a steady stream of new players for each
success. Their win over Clarinbridge in March was further kudos for
the club and Offaly hurling in general. That's reflected in the
presence of nine players from the club in tomorrow's selection.
The trouble with this unsurprising policy is that it exerts
further pressure on players who have already had one exhausting
campaign over the past 12 months. "Nine Birr players," says Bond.
"These guys have been hurling from January to December last year and
again this year. They've no chance of keeping their appetite. There
has to be at least two and a half months of a close season."
There are other problems with placing too heavy a reliance on a
single club side. It's obviously no reflection on Birr but it is on
the rest of the county - an indication that the talent pool is
seeping away, according to former Offaly hurler Michael Duignan, now
in his first season as a manager, with Meath.
"Nine from Birr - or from any club - is probably too many. Birr
always had five or six but this many is a bad sign for hurling in
the county. My own club St Ryanagh's used to be as big as Birr; now
only Hubert Rigney is on the team. Clareen is the same, used to
provide the Coughlans and the Dooleys. This weekend there's none
(Johnny Dooley is injured).
"But Birr is the centre of the population. People are moving in
from the smaller communities. I remember Ger Coughlan saying one
year that there were only two or three boys starting school in
Kinnity. This is a problem that's developing."
The central question in the minds of onlookers is to what extent
Offaly hurling has been a flash phenomenon, brought about by the
coincident emergence of so many talented players at once. In other
words can the county hope to be a constant presence on the main
stage or could the wait for another All-Ireland be a long one?
"Offaly should be too small," says Duignan. "It's always
struggling against the odds and there's been a huge turnover
recently. Statistically it should be too small. At the moment you've
a certain standard coming through but it's the exceptional players
that are in short supply. Offaly need one or two of these, like
Brian Whelahan, in the same way Tipperary have discovered Eoin
Kelly. Offaly have to find those one or two extra as well as a
couple of leaders. Last year was a big year for a few of the players
and asked big questions from them. This year those questions will be
asked again."
There have been signs that some good prospects are in the
pipeline but that won't give any comfort to Tom Fogarty tomorrow
when the requirement is for a competitive team here and now. Offaly
have to be able to keep the show on the road until significant fresh
talent emerges.
"What I believe is that there is a good batch coming through in
the 14-16 age group," says Duignan. "The fear is for this period and
can the county keep things going for the next few years." Offaly's
opponents tomorrow have grasped the nettle as Michael Duignan
admiringly points out. "Look at what Brian Cody's done in Kilkenny.
He's reinvented a team and deserves a lot of credit for that. He
brought in young players without a load of retirements forcing it on
him. While the likes of John Power and Charlie Carter are still
around, he's blooded new players. I was conscious of that when I
retired. I felt it was time to move on rather than hang around. Let
others come through." The problem for Offaly has been that so many
players have aged at the same time and that extensive renovations
are needed just to keep pace with retirements. It'smake or break
time.
"If you don't give young players a chance," says Duignan, "you're
storing up trouble. Offaly people might be giving out about some of
the players on Sunday. But what else can you
do?"