Are Intercounty players under too much pressure?

markie29

Hi guys,after Aaron Kiernan said on The Sunday Game he doesn't enjoy intercounty football anymore...tonight he tweeted me saying he hasn't enjoyed playing a full season for 5 years.

So my question is,for an amateur sport are the players put under too much pressure these days?

K-9

It's very surprising to hear it from Kernan, I'm sure he enjoys playing for Cross so I'd say a lot of it is do with management and success. I remember Brendan Devenney saying he preferred playing outside Ulster because you didn't get the same intensity or sledging type tactics. I'd say he'd put up with it now if he was on the Donegal team!

Burn out would be the big worry. If players are having up to 12 different training sessions a week in January/February as reported, playing McKenna/O'Byrne etc. Cup matches, maybe Sigerson on top with club league games, the demands are huge, very near professional standards.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I'd agree, certain counties expect success every year and supporters can be very demanding of players.

I know in Tipperary the hurlers are put under tremendous pressure to succeed every year. There's a certain element of supporter here who are absolutely fanatical, and its open season on the players if they don't win. I think its the reason why Tipp have endured long gaps between AI victories in recent decades, too much pressure and expectation on a group of lads who at the end of the day are only amateurs.

keane2097

When you see the likes of Joe Brolly questioning the self-respect of a team that won half the All Irelands on offer in the last decade you'd have to say we've come to demand far too much from amateur guys.

That's to say nothing about the abuse players get from window licker "fans" on twitter and such - there seems to be a breed of Irishman for whom the fashion choices and hairstyles of other men is a source of immense loathing and fear.

Would be funny if it didn't make me feel so queasy most of the time.

Roger Sterling

Agree with the poster above, we seem to hold these amateur sportsmen to the same standards that we hold professional atheletes such as soccer players who earn lottery money every week. The sacrifices that these guys make in terms of social life, giving up opportunities to work abroad in their 20's, the chance to see the world when they're young, finding it hard to meet a girlfriend who'll undertsnd they'll be training or playing games most nights is phenmoenal really.

It doesn't surprise me to hear Kernan say what he says to be honest. I think you'll see more and more younger guys quitting the intercounty scene at a younger age, what you have to give up just isn't worth it anymore IMO and especially when you have to put up with the sh*te talk you'd hear from a lot of the slack jawed morons who think they have the first clue about what inter county GAA is all about.

aidan24326

Don't agree lads. It's not the average supporters like you or I that are driving this. We have no control over what players do in terms of training and preparation, and back in the day when players were cut a bit more slack just as many people went to the games and no-one complained.

This is largely being driven by a new breed of obsessive, over-ambitious managers who in many cases are being paid, and in some cases due to the nature of their work can almost go at it full time during championship season.

The demands they're placing on players are gone completely over the top in my opinion. Lads aren't allowed have any sort of a social life at all and are trained to within an inch of their lives. Bringing them in training at 6 in the morning and all this crack.

That's fine if you're a full time sportsman and getting paid. Like if Sir Alex dragged the United players' asses into the training ground at the crack of dawn, and banned them from drinking etc, I'd say fair enough considering the amounts of money they're paid.

But they're excessive demands to be making on amateur sports players when you're forcing them to train almost constantly and live the life of a pro athlete. Some managers won't even allow lads have a couple of drinks after a game. What you'll see is an increasing number of players retiring before they're 30 as they simply won't be able to juggle an intercounty career with job, wife, kids etc

Syferus

It kind of schews your perspective of inter-county football when you play for probably the best club in history as Kiernan does. Armagh have huge tension between Cross and county and I'm sure that only adds to the pre-existing pressure.

If they was less pressure it'd mean people cared less, which would be a far more terrible situation. People need to respect the sheer effort and time players give for their counties - mostly with no reward - but beyond that the level of expectation won't be coming down anytime soon.

StephenHendry

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

I'd agree, certain counties expect success every year and supporters can be very demanding of players.

I know in Tipperary the hurlers are put under tremendous pressure to succeed every year. There's a certain element of supporter here who are absolutely fanatical, and its open season on the players if they don't win. I think its the reason why Tipp have endured long gaps between AI victories in recent decades, too much pressure and expectation on a group of lads who at the end of the day are only amateurs.

yeah i agree with you, that was partly the reason lar took a sabbitical this year after he got a lot of stick from other clubs supporters while playing for sarsfields last year after the AI

Roger Sterling

aidan24326 wrote: »

Don't agree lads. It's not the average supporters like you or I that are driving this. We have no control over what players do in terms of training and preparation, and back in the day when players were cut a bit more slack just as many people went to the games and no-one complained.

This is largely being driven by a new breed of obsessive, over-ambitious managers who in many cases are being paid, and in some cases due to the nature of their work can almost go at it full time during championship season.

The demands they're placing on players are gone completely over the top in my opinion. Lads aren't allowed have any sort of a social life at all and are trained to within an inch of their lives. Bringing them in training at 6 in the morning and all this crack.

That's fine if you're a full time sportsman and getting paid. Like if Sir Alex dragged the United players' asses into the training ground at the crack of dawn, and banned them from drinking etc, I'd say fair enough considering the amounts of money they're paid.

But they're excessive demands to be making on amateur sports players when you're forcing them to train almost constantly and live the life of a pro athlete. Some managers won't even allow lads have a couple of drinks after a game. What you'll see is an increasing number of players retiring before they're 30 as they simply won't be able to juggle an intercounty career with job, wife, kids etc

Don't disagree with this at all. I think there's pressure on players both from managers expecting too much from amateur players (as well as the various different managers a player might have at club, county, school/Sigerson level all wanting their piece) and braindead supporters who've never made 1% of the sacrifices these lads do, yet feel entitled to say what they like about (and often to) them.

LeoB

aidan24326 wrote: »

Don't agree lads. It's not the average supporters like you or I that are driving this. We have no control over what players do in terms of training and preparation, and back in the day when players were cut a bit more slack just as many people went to the games and no-one complained.

This is largely being driven by a new breed of obsessive, over-ambitious managers who in many cases are being paid, and in some cases due to the nature of their work can almost go at it full time during championship season.

Have to agree with a lot of this. It is quite common knowledge some managers are recieving fairly decent money by way of "expences" I would add in the media here also. Players are under the scope way too much. Some of the pundits are over the top in their analysis of players and games.

aidan24326 wrote: »

The demands they're placing on players are gone completely over the top in my opinion. Lads aren't allowed have any sort of a social life at all and are trained to within an inch of their lives. Bringing them in training at 6 in the morning and all this crack.

Again I agree but on the other hand players are buying into this. I know quite a few lads in different clubs in Dublin, Meath and Kildare and the commitment they give is beyond belief imo. Weight training, diets, gym work and this is before they are called into a county squad or Sigerson cup squad.

aidan24326 wrote: »

But they're excessive demands to be making on amateur sports players when you're forcing them to train almost constantly and live the life of a pro athlete. Some managers won't even allow lads have a couple of drinks after a game. What you'll see is an increasing number of players retiring before they're 30 as they simply won't be able to juggle an intercounty career with job, wife, kids etc

I think fewer player will play into their 30s going forward and more worrying is what state will they be in when they do stop playing? The amount of knee hip and back injuries.

Manager tho are also being put under pressure to deliver big results and get to latter stages of championships to increase the take the county gets from central funds. We have seen and heard heaves already this year. I remember I used to meet a Dublin player for a pint some Friday evenings. But he would vanish from Mid January annd not be seen until Dublin were out of championship, mind you he would have a pint after the match. I iften met Meath lads in the Cat and Cage after games in Croke Park back in the 90s. What we should be seeing more of is documenting and showing the sacrafices these lads make to entertain us, every day.

What a lot of "New" people attending games need to realise is these lads in a lot of cases are just ordinary lads from next door and getting fck all for it.

68Murph68

LeoB wrote: »

Have to agree with a lot of this. It is quite common knowledge some managers are recieving fairly decent money by way of "expences" I would add in the media here also. Players are under the scope way too much. Some of the pundits are over the top in their analysis of players and games.

Again I agree but on the other hand players are buying into this. I know quite a few lads in different clubs in Dublin, Meath and Kildare and the commitment they give is beyond belief imo. Weight training, diets, gym work and this is before they are called into a county squad or Sigerson cup squad.

I think fewer player will play into their 30s going forward and more worrying is what state will they be in when they do stop playing? The amount of knee hip and back injuries.

Yup - this is part of the problem of payment of managers.

I would agree about the level of commitment. Knowing some of those involved at various levels, especially at the highest levels, the dedication involved is jaw-dropping.

An excellent point regarding the state of the players when they retire. Given the focus on strength conditioning I think long-term there are going to be a lot of players who have health issues as a result of playing inter-county football at the highest level. A lot of the top intercounty players end up being physically forced out of the game - they basically pack it in because the body isnt up to it. There are exceptions but the amount who exit the top level because of injury problems is way too high.

Its one of the reasons I think it would be wiser to adjust the game in favour of more skilful players as opposed to the emphasis on strength.
People going on about its a physical game is one of my bugbears. I think a less physical game would improve things significantly.