"People were complaining and now the GAA have come up with it"
October 26, 2019
Armagh manager Joe Kernan lifts the Sam Maguire Cup after his side's All-Ireland SFC final victory over Kerry in 2002.
©INPHO/Morgan Treacy.
Armagh legend Joe Kernan is in the ‘undecided’ category when it comes to the debate over the introduction of the tier 2 competition.
The 2002 All-Ireland winning manager was inducted into the 'Hall of Fame at the Gaelic Writers' Association annual awards (sponsored by Sky Sports) last night and revealed he is adopting a wait-and-see approach in relation to the new competition.
“I’m undecided, but in fairness to the GAA people were complaining and now they have to come up with it,” he stated.
“I think we have to give it a go for one, two or three years and see how it goes. Too many teams were getting big hammerings, and too many teams were finished in the first week in June and they had nothing then for the rest of the year while clubs were still missing players.
"I used to love the Railway club because could win that who were not going to win a provincial or a national title or an All-Ireland. In one of my last few years with Armagh we played Munster and their full-forward line had a Clare player, a Limerick player and a Waterford player and they totally destroyed us on the day. They had great footballers, but they wouldn’t have been seen.
“Now with the second tier, you are going to see these players playing at a level where they have a chance of winning something, and if they win a prize that’s great. There’s national leagues and provincial titles, but very few teams go beyond that and very few teams can get to an Ulster final or whatever.
“So to have something now where teams can come in and have a chance of winning a trophy, it won’t do them any harm. If teams work hard and progress and get more games under their belt, it will only stand them in good stead for moving up to the next tier then, and you’ll have teams coming up that are winning and want to go forward.”
As things stand, Armagh will avoid the Tier 2 competition if they can preserve their Division 2 status next Spring. Kernan is optimistic about the county team’s prospects in the year ahead.
“I think we are in a good place. There is a lot of hope for next year with the new players coming in. The likes of the O’Neill’s and Jarlath Óg coming in certainly helped and there’s a better balance in the team.
“We have youth and scoring forwards that a lot of teams would love to have. But it’s a learning process, and this year in particular I think we moved on and played better football, which I think helped the thing. We were more direct and our kicking game was very good, and we have men that can win it. So look, we were very unlucky this year and there are positives.
“The league next year will be a big test of where we are.”
It’s 2008 since an Armagh captain last got his hands on the Anglo Celt Cup…
“Well it goes in stages and no team dominates forever.
“In my time, between the two Brians and me and Peter we won seven Ulster titles in 10 years, which is an unbelievable return.
“Hopefully next year we can get to an Ulster final, and if you get there you never know what can happen on the day. Teams will improve the further they go, and that’s what you’d be hoping for.
“The league will be good preparation, staying in Division 2 will be very important and if they get promotion it’s a bonus. They have an awkward one against Derry, so to get over that you are up and running and one step away from an Ulster final so who knows then? Teams grow in confidence the further they go, and you seen that against Mayo in how well we played. You knew there was more in us if it kept going, so let’s be upbeat, let’s be positive.
“First we’ve got to stay in Division 2 and it’s up to the players to rise to the occasion.”
The former Armagh, Ulster and Ireland manager is happy that Kieran McGeeney decided to hang around for another year.
“Listen, there have been improvements and it would have been poor to let him go after this year after the improvement. At the start of the year everybody wasn’t sure, but there was an improvement and things are far more positive now. Let’s hope that carries on and grows next year.”
Last weekend’s Special Congress also passed three new gaelic football rules and Kernan isn’t a fan of the sin-bin.
“The sin-bin I don’t like, because I just think we can handle things better with men on the field.
“I think the mark is good, the kick-out is good and we will be kicking the ball more into the forward line and teams will leave players up front instead of always running behind the ball.
“That includes the Dublins and the Kerrys, because they would out 15 men behind the ball and now you have a chance with two kicks to get it into the full-forward line as quickly as possible, which would be great. I think the mark inside will give every team a lift, because it means you’ll have fielders in there and more chances of scoring, and hopefully not as many behind the ball.”
