Cha Fitz retires

ceegee

From rte.ie:


Kilkenny's James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick has announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.
A statement released to RTÉ Sport by the 26-year-old reads: "2011 was a fantastic year for Kilkenny, but personally I wasn't rewarded for my efforts.
"It's been a wonderful eight years to be involved with Kilkenny hurling and I achieved every hurling goal and more.

"I'll continue to enjoy my club hurling with Ballyhale Shamrocks and I will take this opportunity to achieve new goals that I set out for myself."
Fitzpatrick retires as the holder of five All-Ireland medals, three National League titles, three All-Stars and a Young Hurler of the Year Award.



Hadnt been in starting for the last year or two but still a bit of a surprise. A great player on his day and leaves the intercounty scene with a sackful of medals and awards

Kmc123

Was so surprised to hear this considering a few others are a few years his senior, would have thought he had a few more years i him!! great player all the same, he will be missed

kmart6

Kmc123 wrote: »

Was so surprised to hear this considering a few others are a few years his senior, would have thought he had a few more years i him!! great player all the same, he will be missed

Think he makes it clear there that he feels he has a few years left in him too but why commit to it if he feels he wasn't rewarded for his efforts? Sounds like a man who is sick of sitting on the bench!

Kojak

It seems a bit rash of Fitzpatrick to pack it in, despite him not getting a staring place in the team. Would have thought that he would be the ideal partner for his club mate Michael Fennelly in the middle of the field, with Rice moving into the half forward line as a more long term option than Eddie Brennan.

It does sound like he was getting fúcked up with the bench, but given the competitive nature of the KK set-up, surely he had to realise that he wasn't going to get a starting place everyday. Maybe Cody was testing him to work harder with the ultimate aim of getting more from him?

ShamoBuc

Great hurler, but things like that can happen when you have a conveyor belt of hurlers coming through, if you fall off it's very hard to get back in.

Kerrydude1981

Great player,surprised to hear this news,must be hard for some players to adapt to life as a sub after been a regular starter,still young enough to wear the jersey again and as we have seen with my county in the football players that retire do comeback sometimes.

Pride Fighter

He'd walk onto any other county teams starting line up bar Kilkenny and Tipp. He's still a great player and young, another 6-10 years good hurling left. Such a shame.

nkay1985

Surprising news alright. I'd say he's sickened that Cody has said he'll stay on for another while. Might have been hoping for a chance under new management. A very fine hurler but seemingly not willing to spend time on the bench in the hope of getting his place back.

kmart6

nkay1985 wrote: »

Surprising news alright. I'd say he's sickened that Cody has said he'll stay on for another while. Might have been hoping for a chance under new management. A very fine hurler but seemingly not willing to spend time on the bench in the hope of getting his place back.

Has he not spent 2 years on the bench already?!

nkay1985

kmart6 wrote: »

Has he not spent 2 years on the bench already?!

Yeah I should have said not willing to spend more time on the bench.

corny

"personally I wasn't rewarded for my efforts." Obviously coming at it from the 'i should be starting' standpoint. Tbh Cody picks the team and if Cha doesn't want to fight for a place then good riddance.

Syferus

corny wrote: »

"personally I wasn't rewarded for my efforts." Obviously coming at it from the 'i should be starting' standpoint. Tbh Cody picks the team and if Cha doesn't want to fight for a place then good riddance.

I'm pretty sure he did just that for the past two years and I can imagine training two or three times a week from January to September and hardly even featuring at all will wear on any player.

Another county would be smart to make him a real offer because he's clearly more than your standard county player and the only real reason he wasn't starting was because Kilkenny have an embarrassment of riches at the moment.

hardybuck

Not massively surprising following reports I've been hearing coming out of Ballyhale in recent months.

I wouldn't be massively surprised either if I saw him line out for Dublin in 2013 following a year out.

mickmcl09

hardybuck wrote: »

Not massively surprising following reports I've been hearing coming out of Ballyhale in recent months.

I wouldn't be massively surprised either if I saw him line out for Dublin in 2013 following a year out.

This rumour has been doing the rounds since August ie that he'd move to Dublin if he didn't get a start or even a run in the All-Ireland.

Can't say I'm surprised either.

STIG83

26 is young to retire, says on the GAA website rumours are going he wants to travel in the New Year.
Cody should have started him more in games though.

Speak Now

STIG83 wrote: »

26 is young to retire, says on the GAA website rumours are going he wants to travel in the New Year.
Cody should have started him more in games though.

Dunno Codys done alright with his choices
Think Cha's last start was 2010 final when was taken off.
Writing was on the wall for him under Cody when Reid was put in midfield ahead of him early last year.

Drummerboy2

Rumours of him throwing in his lot with Dublin.

Benny Cake

Drummerboy2 wrote: »

Rumours of him throwing in his lot with Dublin.

Would he have to move club or would the fact that he's working in Dublin be enough to qualify him?

STIG83

Was thinking there, he was on panel this year with KK to win AI, would he get a medal too even though he didnt play?
Sorry to ask a stupid question

robbiezero

Jerry Seinfeld wrote: »

Dunno Codys done alright with his choices
Think Cha's last start was 2010 final when was taken off.
Writing was on the wall for him under Cody when Reid was put in midfield ahead of him early last year.

Was destroyed in 2010 All Ireland final. Was pretty clear after that, Cody would need a new midfield partner for Fennelly.

STIG83

robbiezero wrote: »

Was destroyed in 2010 All Ireland final. Was pretty clear after that, Cody would need a new midfield partner for Fennelly.

Alot of KK players were destroyed that day not just Cha.

Cody is a ruthless manager, it good to be like that especially with the success they had.

They say when players retire off a team it would effect form, a few KK players have retired this year, Lyng, Ryall, Comerford and now Cha,
it made no difference to KK as they still won the big one this year.

robbiezero

Realistically the day of the classy, wristy pure hurler midfielder is probably gone. Tipp and Kilkenny have brought the intensity of hurling to a new level, and a midfielder in the current game has to have the stamina and work rate of a grand national horse.

phkk

STIG83 wrote: »

Was thinking there, he was on panel this year with KK to win AI, would he get a medal too even though he didnt play?
Sorry to ask a stupid question

Yes, will get his well deserved medal for all his endeavours

Kojak

STIG83 wrote: »

They say when players retire off a team it would effect form, a few KK players have retired this year, Lyng, Ryall, Comerford and now Cha,
it made no difference to KK as they still won the big one this year.

It will only make a difference when they start getting injuries before crucial mathces, like last year's AI final.

If Cha throws his lot in with Dublin, I think he would have to change clubs as AFAIK he has no blood relatives that are in Dublin. I thought there was some sort of rule where players from stronger counties could play with weaker ones. No before the dubs guys come on here sayiny that Dublin is not a weaker county, I was only using the terminology from the rule.

When Dennis Byrne transfered from KK to Tipp a number of years ago, he also had to change club.

Speak Now

Kojak wrote: »

It will only make a difference when they start getting injuries before crucial mathces, like last year's AI final.

If Cha throws his lot in with Dublin, I think he would have to change clubs as AFAIK he has no blood relatives that are in Dublin. I thought there was some sort of rule where players from stronger counties could play with weaker ones. No before the dubs guys come on here sayiny that Dublin is not a weaker county, I was only using the terminology from the rule.

When Dennis Byrne transfered from KK to Tipp a number of years ago, he also had to change club.

Cha teaches in Dublin, in theory wouldn't living there and joining a local club be enough to make him eligible for Dublin?

Kojak

Jerry Seinfeld wrote: »

Cha teaches in Dublin, in theory wouldn't living there and joining a local club be enough to make him eligible for Dublin?

I never said that situation wouldn't work. What I meant to say was that he may not be allowed to continue playing for Ballyhale in KK, yet lining out for the Dubs.

Speak Now

Kojak wrote: »

I never said that situation wouldn't work. What I meant to say was that he may not be allowed to continue playing for Ballyhale in KK, yet lining out for the Dubs.

Yeah i know i agree he'd have to join a club in Dublin.
Not that he would be sure of a place in the Dublin team anyway

Peace

Worth reading:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/five-reasons-why-cha-walked-away-from-kilkenny-2941160.html
By Cliona Foley

Tuesday November 22 2011

FIVE years ago he was a prodigy, the unanimous 'Young Hurler of the Year', and just two years later, he captained Kilkenny to an All-Ireland senior title.

That is why James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick's decision to quit the inter-county game yesterday came as such a shock.

Fitzpatrick's swift transition from the county minors in 2004 to start in the All-Ireland final that summer was so meteoric that few could have imagined he would call time on his inter-county career so quickly.

A winner of the 'Player of the Tournament' at Feile na nGael (the national U-14 competition) in 1997, he was back without his young clubmates a year later to win the 'individual skills' title.

At 26, he has already won five senior All-Irelands, three National Leagues and three All Star awards and captained Kilkenny to both U-21 and senior titles.

So why does such a talented player, who has amassed so many honours with club Ballyhale and county with Kilkenny, and is not suffering from significant injury, suddenly decide to quit?

1. Frustration

Fitzpatrick couldn't wrestle back a regular starting place in the Kilkenny midfield this year and admitted that this particularly frustrated him.

No hurler on the Kilkenny senior team ever takes a starting place for granted because manager Brian Cody selects players strictly on form.

For a player who started in midfield in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 All-Ireland finals and again in the 2010 decider, finding himself on the outside grappling to get back in was particularly frustrating.

"No matter what I did in training last year, no matter how well I played, it didn't seem like I'd get a go at all," he said.

"If I was to go back next year I'd find the motivation very hard because, deep down inside, I felt that no matter what I did in training it didn't seem like I was going to be picked."

2. Illness and injury

In 2008, Fitzpatrick lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup for Kilkenny when he was just 23, but the following season he contracted a particularly virulent strain of mumps.

Less than two months later, his club contested the All-Ireland club semi-final against Portumna and Fitzpatrick unselfishly rushed back from illness to make it.

It was largely accepted that he came back far too quickly and that added months to his full recovery.

He also broke a bone in the palm of his hand subsequently, which proved tricky to heal and the combination of illness and injury meant he never refound his form in 2009.

3. Competition for places

Cha's illness and injury in 2009 left the door open for others to stake a claim for one of Kilkenny's midfield spots and through 2009-2010 Carrickshock's Michael Rice made the best of that chance. At 6ft, and alongside Michael Fennelly (6ft3ins), Rice has given Kilkenny a power-playing midfield duo that has proven hard to displace.

Rice won an All Star this year and Fennelly not only won his second All Star in a row but won national 'Player of the Year'. Fitzpatrick couldn't break back into midfield ahead of this dominant duo.

4. pace of the modern game

Fitzpatrick's greatest talent was his first touch and ability to read and pick up breaking ball, but knew he had lost some pace and feeling it, even in training.

"One of the things against me was the lack of speed," he acknowledged. "I remember during the year, doing drills against Michael Fennelly and Michael Rice, and they're powerhouses.

"For every step they took I'd take three, I'd find it hard to keep up with them. They'd run up and down the field from 21-yard line to 21-yard line effortlessly. I had great hurling, great vision but the way the game has gone, there are just huge fitness levels and speed and everything and I suppose that is one area that has gone against me."

5. The game plan changed

Fitzpatrick got back in to start the 2010 All-Ireland final, but was hauled off as Kilkenny failed to contain Tipperary's rampaging blue wave. The way that Tipperary outmuscled Kilkenny that day surprised many and the Cats have concentrated particularly since then on having big athletic men in midfield.

They now feature big rangey midfielders who are capable of dominating aerially, running all day and driving forward powerfully to break up teams who were beginning to match their physicality. That is not Cha's natural game. Even when Micheal Fennelly was injured for the league final this year TJ Reid was preferred in midfield and Fitzpatrick was started at wing-forward.

... And what next?

It would not only be a loss to Kilkenny, but to hurling in general if such a talent as Cha would be lost to the game at 26.

He has cited travel as one of the reasons for hanging up his inter-county hurley, but surely, the Dublin-based teacher would be a viable option for Dubs boss Anthony Daly to turn to?

Daly has successfuly integrated Tipp native Ryan O'Dwyer into his squad of league winners -- why not ask a man with senior All-Irelands to come on board?

- Cliona Foley

Peace

Also there were a few mentions about him potentially ransferring to Dublin and being eligable to play for Dublin County team. i personally hope this doesn't happen. We already have enough 'foreign' talent in the team and should be looking to develop homegrown players.

Syferus

Peace wrote: »

Also there were a few mentions about him potentially ransferring to Dublin and being eligable to play for Dublin County team. i personally hope this doesn't happen. We already have enough 'foreign' talent in the team and should be looking to develop homegrown players.

I don't think you dare look a gift horse like a YPOY, three-time All-star and perennial All-Ireland winner in the mouth, especially when he's coming directly from Dublin's biggest rivals.

If he's willing to do it then Dublin should run with it as even with him it's going to be a very hard job maintaining the current level of success.

STIG83

Say if he goes playing for Dublin and they end up playing KK, would he be subjected to abuse for joining another inter county team?
Does this happen in GAA like it does in soccer? Look at Wayne Rooney when United play Everton, he gets heap of abuse from supporters, same way when Torres went from Liverpool to Chelsea.

hardybuck

Aren't there plenty of lads playing for Dublin clubs and representing their home counties? Should be the same principle, I expect there are a dozen clauses around this topic though.

Syferus

STIG83 wrote: »

Say if he goes playing for Dublin and they end up playing KK, would he be subjected to abuse for joining another inter county team?
Does this happen in GAA like it does in soccer? Look at Wayne Rooney when United play Everton, he gets heap of abuse from supporters, same way when Torres went from Liverpool to Chelsea.

He'll get some stick from the usual yob brigade but the GAA tends to be far more inclusive and friendly than soccer. Most real Kilkenny fans would realise he didn't just abandon Kilkenny for Dublin without reason.

hardybuck

hardybuck wrote: »

Not massively surprising following reports I've been hearing coming out of Ballyhale in recent months.

I wouldn't be massively surprised either if I saw him line out for Dublin in 2013 following a year out.

Definately wouldnt be surprised by that exact outcome and if i was a betting man i would throw a few bob on that happening.

I would like to wish Cha the best of luck in the future as he is a quality hurler and i dont think weve seen the last of him at intercounty level somehow.

mickmcl09

Peace wrote: »

Worth reading:

4. pace of the modern game

Fitzpatrick's greatest talent was his first touch and ability to read and pick up breaking ball, but knew he had lost some pace and feeling it, even in training.

"One of the things against me was the lack of speed," he acknowledged. "I remember during the year, doing drills against Michael Fennelly and Michael Rice, and they're powerhouses.

"For every step they took I'd take three, I'd find it hard to keep up with them. They'd run up and down the field from 21-yard line to 21-yard line effortlessly. I had great hurling, great vision but the way the game has gone, there are just huge fitness levels and speed and everything and I suppose that is one area that has gone against me."

Cha could correct this part of his game very easily with the correct Athletics coach. He actually has a very short stride, baby steps in fact, tiny, I saw him at one of the open Kilkenny sessions and it was the first thing I noticed about him and they seem to get even shorter when he has the ball in the hand. Approx. 9 months to correct IMO.

As he says himself, it's the one area that has gone against him. He probably has never looked at his running style and nobody has probably thought to point it out to him either. The correction would also complement his core strength which would bring him much closer or even equal to Rice in terms of physicality, with superior skill, distribution and general contribution to team play, for me Cha would shade it as a midfielder.

I'd much rather have Cha on my side combined with a 'Powerhouse' to break things up. Especially when you'd have forwards of Kilkennys calibre to distribute the ball to.

zinx

Deleted User wrote: »

Definately wouldnt be surprised by that exact outcome and if i was a betting man i would throw a few bob on that happening.

I would like to wish Cha the best of luck in the future as he is a quality hurler and i dont think weve seen the last of him at intercounty level somehow.

Fairplay TG.He will be back

Jerry Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld wrote: »

Yeah i know i agree he'd have to join a club in Dublin.
Not that he would be sure of a place in the Dublin team anyway

A few such as Paddy O'Brien and Eoin Brislane have lined out for different counties whilst still playing for the club although does the county have to be a level below Liam McCarthy standard before that is allowed?

Regarding Denis Byrne, he originally changed his club at first and then decided to opt for the Tipp county team.