It’ll take more than a new manager to shape football’s future

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IMPROVING upon Clare football’s lowly status isn’t just about deciding upon the identity of the new manager. It’s a management team and not a mere a manager that the Clare County Board must target. One man won’t click his fingers and instantly change the fortunes of the Clare senior footballers.

One of the first things a new management team must do is establish a connection with clubs who will hopefully, in turn, slowly help to rebuild the link between clubs and the county team.
Let’s be honest about it, the majority of clubs are just not bothered about the fate of the senior county team.
While players may not be actively discouraged from playing underage or adult football for the county, neither is anybody from their club beating their door to a pulp begging them to throw in their lot with whatever county team is looking for them.
So, in practical terms, how could a new management team go about deepening the link between the counties clubs and the Clare set-up?
One way would be to train in two-week blocks at various club grounds, which ideally have floodlights. Maybe coaches from surrounding clubs could be invited to these sessions to at least view what is going on and possibly pick up a few ideas?
Currently most Clare football teams do most of their work in Ryan’s Field, Clarecastle, Clareabbey and early in the year at the UL facilities, which have to be paid for. They prepare in isolation with no real club type support network behind them.
A two-week spell using a club’s pitch surely shouldn’t be impossible to organise? It might also help create some goodwill between the club and the county teams before they move on to another location for a further fortnight stint.
There are plenty of club grounds around Clare which are floodlit and, with a bit of forward planning, could be utilised, but not over-used, so that the club ends up thinking that they are being exploited just because they have floodlights and a decent pitch.
Another simple statement from the incoming management team will be to decide upon a style of play and stick with it throughout the league. There is no point in having a particular system which suits Division 4 football and then realising two weeks before Clare play Munster championship that they have to radically alter their style of play for the championship.
Clare should concentrate on two primary game plans and stick with them for at least one season. At least, come the Munster championship, they would be well schooled in what is expected of them and might be more competitive against the top teams.
As regards settling on the new management team, what will be pivotal is who makes that decision. Hopefully, the people on that selection committee will have some recent experience of either inter-county management or have played at that level. Recently, not 20 years ago.
The manager needs to be a superb organiser and someone who can communicate fluently with his players.
A candidate need not, however, be a great coach or physical trainer. If he can plan, project forward and relate to his players, that would be enough.
Hopefully, Micheál Cahill will be retained as physical trainer so as to keep some continuity and build on the work he carried out in 2012.
What is also required is a specialist defensive and attacking coach. Clare must work on how to defend as a unit and on how to create space in attack, without always receiving the ball. Very few forwards, anywhere in Ireland, make runs with the intention of not getting the ball. They all want it but to the detriment of creating space for their attacking colleagues. That’s an area of play that Clare have to develop. It will be time-consuming and arduous but worth it in the long term.
As for who should be considered to be part of the incoming management, not necessarily as manager, the following Clare-based people have plenty to offer in terms of player knowledge, team building capability, on field achievement and management experience at several levels: Michael Neylon (Miltown), Colin Lynch (Lissycasey), Ger Keane (Kilkee), Colm Collins (Cratloe), Declan O’Keeffe (St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield) and former Clare and Kerry coach Donie Buckley.
That’s not a definitive list and there are others equally capable in the county. However, if the calibre of the above were available and confident that the county board matched their ambition and vision, Clare football would benefit hugely.
Next Wednesday’s forum at 9pm in the West County Hotel, Ennis, will be of no use if the same people do all of the talking.
Speakers like Noel Walsh, Michael Neenan and Gabriel Keating have made plenty of valid contributions to recent football debates but the discourse needs to be broadened and include more people.
Of course that will only happen if more people put their heads above the parapet and have something concise and constructive to say. Restricting the chat and increasing the action might help things to move along.