THE LAST POINT: Managerial mayhem in overdrive

Trying to come up with original topics for this column can sometimes feel like a re-telling of the myth of Sisyphus, the lad doomed by the Gods to roll a boulder up a mountain for eternity - only every time he reached the top, the self-same boulder careered back down the mountain and poor old Sisyphus having to start once more.

It can be hard to come up with a new take, particularly with media, old and new, discussing the same stories on a myriad of platforms, so much that it is almost an information overload but you'd have thought after last weekend's All-Ireland Senior Quarter-Finals, that I'd have no shortage of topics to base this week's musing on.

Top of the list has to be Kerry's ruthless dismantling of champions Armagh in Croke Park on Sunday, a stunning display and the most complete 15 minutes of football since the Dubs demolished Mayo in the 2019 All-Ireland Semi-Final as they hunted immortality and the fabled  five in a row, albeit against a waning Mayo. 

Truth is, Kerry were much more impressive - Armagh, unlike Mayo, started the second half brilliantly, going five points clear and well on track to deliver on their favourites status and retain Sam for another year. What followed was so unexpected in it's brutality and decisiveness that you could write a thesis on what occurred.

The Kingdom reeled off 14 - yes 14 - unanswered points, to take the champions apart in a manner nobody envisaged yet it was probably the most expected ‘unexpected’ occurrence for this writer as memories of the Dubs walking into a similar whirlwind back in 2009 came flooding back.

THE LAST POINT: THE POWER OF THE CROWD

Back then, Kerry were in disarray with players' ill discipline an open secret and turmoil in the camp. All the soundings coming out of the Kingdom spoke of the end of an era and pessimism hung like a big black cloud over the county - sounds familiar as a legion of Kerry pundits and fans dismissed their chances with a vehemence that leaves you wondering if it is all a ruse.

That's not surprising because Kerry have form in that regard - the words 'cute Kerryman' need no explanation and there is nothing more dangerous than a Kingdom team feeling as if they've been disrespected and they were certainly disrespected, Joe Brolly's column in Sunday Independent must have been like manna from heaven for Jack O'Connor.

The Kerry boss lit into the critics and pundits after the game, excoriating those he felt had betrayed their own county by not offering unqualified support for the Green & Gold. But, deep down, I reckon O'Connor was probably delighted for the disrespect as it caused what almost seemed to be a feral explosion of anger from a team laden with quality.

It is not exactly a new story - I've lost count of the amount of managers who've told me after matches that they've been written off and disrespected by the media and public. This after they've spent weeks telling everyone just how good the opposition are and how their chances resemble that of a snowball in hell. It is why, as stunning as the demolition of Armagh was, Kerry's performance was nothing new, certainly not with the quality in their ranks.

Instead my thoughts turned to the managerial mayhem that could be about to tip-off in the coming weeks - Dessie Farrell has already walked the plank while questions are being asked of Padraic Joyce and even Kieran McGeeney, two men who have transformed their counties in recent years but who are not immune to the question.

The brutal axing of Kevin McStay  sums up this phenomenon, the terse wording of Mayo GAA’s statement grating for quite a few of their faithful and not in keeping with a Board who were complaining a few weeks earlier of the abuse they were subjected to in the course of their duties. Antrim's heartfelt thanks to Andy McEntee when he stepped down from the Saffrons the same night was a salutary lesson on  how to do it right, at complete odds of the tone of Mayo's statement.   

It is an element of the job I'm not fond of but it has to be done - asking PJ Carroll and John O'Mahony about their futures was tough given all they did for Leitrim but the toughest was chatting with Joe Reynolds back in 2001 in the bowels of Casement Park, a man who gave so much as a player, selector and manager for the Green & Gold only to see his team implode due to indiscipline just a year on from reaching the Connacht Final.

But seeing Mickey Graham on the sideline behind Padraic Joyce got me thinking about the managerial merry-go-round that breaks out this time of the year - this time last year, Graham was safely ensconced as Leitrim boss but last Sunday, he was in Croke Park with Galway, the perfect illustration of how quickly things change in the GAA world.

Robbie Brennan was a dead-man walking earlier this year when two of his selectors jumped ship but now he had led Meath to an All-Ireland Semi-Final date with Donegal and, such has been their transformation, who knows how far the Royals might go!

Speculation always arises about managers at the end of their campaigns but McGeeney & Joyce are curious cases - legends with their counties, both have been at the helm for quite a few years, Joyce with the Tribe since 2019 and McGeeney picking apples for the Orchard County since 2015, an increasing rarity in modern day gaelic games.

McGeeney's 11 years and Joyce's seven are almost unheard of - most managers get two years at most before the question is asked about their future and while neither owe their counties anything, you can't help but hear the whispers growing louder.  McGeeney survived a vote at the end of 2023 to keep him in the job but imagine what might have happened had the vote gone the other way?

Dessie Farrell's departure from the Dubs' hotseat was not unexpected and he certainly owes nothing to his county, given 40 years service as player, mentor and manager. The Na Fianna clubman did it the hard way too, cutting  his teeth on the county's underage development squads before moving up through the ranks, eventually taking on what must have seemed like a poisoned chalice when he succeeded Jim Gavin very late in 2019.

THE LAST POINT: WORN DOWN ON THE ROCKY ROAD TO DUBLIN

Two All-Irelands, a national league title and five Leinsters make him Dublin's third most successful manager behind Gavin and Kevin Heffernan, a record that would be unparalleled everywhere else bar Kerry. But Dessie had the shadow of Jim Gavin's immortals hanging over him and he was never winning that popularity contest.

Farrell informed his County Board before the season began that this would be his last year so the Dubs have a head-start in finding a replacement with the names of Declan Darcy and Ger Brennan being bandied about in recent days. Finding the right man for the job, often a lottery, is paramount.

Colm O'Rourke looked a great choice for Meath but left under a cloud yet many of the players he blooded for the Royals are now contemplating a date with Donegal in an All-Ireland Semi-Final. That means a meeting with Jim McGuinness, a man who can seemingly lift an entire county up on his shoulders and inspire them so interesting days ahead I think.

Getting the right man in the job has never been more evident - the impact McGuinness, Brennan, Tyrone's Malachy O'Rourke and even the old stager Jack O'Connor have had on their counties shows just how important the man on the sideline truly is so let the mayhem well and truly begin.