Over his career he has got
some cracking goals and points on the run and by God he was some sight in full
flight, 6 foot 4 and speed to go, virtually imposible for any defender to stop
him. I had the pleasure of playing with him on two trips down in Australia and in
that game as well he got some awe inspiring goals on the run.
Whealo a leader on the field, great pity did never made an All Ireland
It is hard
to believe that this man has never played in an All Ireland fiinal or will never
get the chance of pocketing a celtic cross. Some great players do indeed slip
threw the net as Whealo is one of them. 2002 and 2006 were the years he should
have graced Croker on All Ireland day but lady luck did not shine on the Dubs on
both occasions.
Both Whealo & Darragh Se are very similar players
on the field - both powerful men, both leaders on the field, both aggressors and
physical if required who skated on thin ice with the man in black - but, without
doubt both are born winners.
However Darragh is preparing for his 6th All
Ireland in a row, a huge achievement by any standard. What Whealo would not give
to get one chance to prepare for final day in Croker? I said it earlier in my
blogs that Gillers was making a mistake by leaving his main leaders sit on the
bench - Whelan, Ryan and Cullen.
They breezed threw the Leinster campaign and I forcasted that when the shit hit the fan they would look to their elder statesmen to bail them out. and that is what exactly they did. they started Cullen as
Brennan ruled himself out of the equation.
Cullen with 40 mins championship
football was given the task of calming the storm that is Paul Galvin - harsh ask
with such little time play. Dublin management after 16 mins into the game with
the game over as a contest then looked to Whelan to bail them out and like
Cullen did not have the hard minutes earned in championship, was then asked to
nullify a rampant Kerry Midfield and atttacking wing back line, crazy stuff.
Whelan has been treated badly Whelan was treated badly for a man who has given so much to the Dublin
cause. His ommission from the starting line is even more suprprising when you
consider he enrolled with Gillers from the very start, the bleak months of
November and December slogging it out with new, innocent Dub lads brought in to
freshen the panel.
So Ciaran enjoy your retirement and your extra time that you
can spend now spend with your 2 kids and wife.
Now on to Kerry v Cork All Ireland final So the Kerry and Cork can
now prepare for the biggest day of their lives. As a player I oved training the
last 3 weeks in September. To get the chance to prepare for an All Ireland final
is a beautiful thing. This is what it is all about, this is what your whole
football career has been preparing you for.
To get the chance to sharpen every
aspect of your game, from simple skills of the game, to mental preparation, to
dealing with the press, to dealing with the public, to dealing with your
neighbours, to dealing with work, to dealing with your family and even your wife
or girlfriend.
Money offers a distraction on way to Croker There are so many pitfalls players can fall into. Some players
fall into to the monetary trap doing ads for companies or opening shops or new
business ventures.
All this is fine to a point, the key though is to controlling
the outside distractions because on the build up to an all ireland final there
are huge distractions and pitfalls in every corner.
Once the hurling final will
finish on Sunday, the media torch will swiftly turn down south and either team
can do absolutlely nothing about it.
The media are a hungry bunch and will
require their pound of flesh. Thus there is no point turning your backside to
them, you have to give them something to write about. Pio Se used always say
that you can talk to the media for an hour and tell them absolutely
nothing!!
Players - a word of advice, switch off all distractions To win an All Ireland you have to able to completely switch
off from all the external happenings - work is managable but ideally away from
any dealings with the public.
Avoid general public, avoid 21sts, weddings etcAvoid the general public to your best ability
because you can only answer "Are you going to win?" politely so many times. Any
social gathering like a wedding, funeral, 21sts, 30ths are major no no's- here
you are sitting duck for the brave heart with a few pints who will chew the ear
off you if given ten minutes.
Then there's the family looking for tickets Family also must be kept on a leash,
tickets will always be a torn in players preparation, Aunts and Uncles you
didn't know about in America are looking to sit beside the president and worse
of all they expect you to sort them out.
So many pitfalls for players
without ever breaking a sweat on the training field. Believe me the easiest part
of the build up to the all ireland is the training, dealing with the crap above
is what wears you down.
Then the media - avoid them too A player must make sure he does not chase the
cash cow before any ball is kicked doing ads as his head is no doubt in the
wrong zone for winning celtic crosses, he should control the media by doing 1 or
2 solid interviews.
Don't let the media control you. a player should give himself
every opportunity to prepare to be the best by eating well, getting loads of
rest and surrounding yourself with people you can trust and relax with. How many
players have fallen for so many silly traps and 20 minutes into the game they
find themselve sitting up in the stand on the subs bench.
And all this
before the all ireland day itself, a day which has more tricks up its sleeve to
catch the non focussed mind.
all the best
the Pony