That was my point re all in together though. The jury is out as to whether or not McDonnell did the right thing here - most people are now saying he didn't, though with hindsight, it's easy to say that.clubman wrote:would also agree with lone shark,offaly were brutal except two or three players.bringing in the hurlers and an a few others might not have been the best idea.if u were a sub and trained since last november and see someone that only trained two weeks and get on instead of u then next november u probably wont turn up.
However when Babs Keating came out after the 1998 Leinster final and blamed the players, he was rightly rounded upon. When you go in to manage a team, it's all in together. There's no "I", "he", "they" or anything like that - there is only "we". Everything is collective. You win together, you lose together, players and management as one. That's why I made the point that if another player made a mistake on a team I was playing for, I'd like to think I wouldn't round on him, I'd dig in and try and secure a turnover or something to undo the mistake, just as I'd expect him to do for me. It should be the same approach with the manager. If he picks what a player perceives to be the wrong team, or the wrong 26, then the player has to still be strong enough to muck in and do his best for the cause. Not be selfish and throw the toys out of the pram.
I'm hearing a lot this week that suggests that the players didn't do that and this upsets me, to compound the upset of watching the game. Any players who did this put themselves first and Offaly second.