Who wins when two teams park the bus?
The genesis for St Gall’s winning the All-Ireland title in 2010 came when Rory Gallagher sat down with Lenny Harbinson in the club’s carpark and laid out the tactical blueprint for how they should play.
Lenny had the good wit to recognise that the man in his passenger seat knew a lot more about tactics than he did.
That’s no sleight against Lenny Harbinson. Rory Gallagher knows more about football than most people.
It is absolutely no coincidence that the rope-a-dope, counter-attacking game pioneered by St Gall’s was then replicated by the Donegal team which Gallagher coached.
Like Lenny Harbinson, it seems that Jim McGuinness was smart enough to realise that in terms of tactics, Rory Gallagher was well ahead of the curve.
The combination of McGuinness and Gallagher was a management nirvana. McGuinness, the supreme motivator. Gallagher, the tactical wizard.
It delivered an All-Ireland title for Donegal.
Since returning to the Donegal fold, McGuinness has been showered with praise for his innovative coaching.
But the evidence doesn’t back this up.
In their two Championship displays against Derry and Tyrone, Donegal have done absolutely nothing new.
Donegal park the bus, soak up the pressure, and hit on the counter-attack.
It is 2012 revisited. There has been no real innovation.
Photo by cathalmcoscarphotography.com
The credit and acclaim that have followed Donegal’s wins has papered over some gaping cracks.
While Derry were flat, heavy-legged and a bit daft, they still managed to reel off 34 shots!
On their worst day, Derry still managed to rack up 0-17.
Tyrone looked at Derry’s horror-show and learned accordingly.
Despite the fact that the Red Hands are all over the shop, they just battened down the hatches and played Donegal at their own game.
And just by playing copy-cat, a patchwork Tyrone team nearly won.
Lacking any discernible tactical advantages this Donegal side will be pushed to the limit by Armagh.
That said, Donegal should still win though former captain Michael Murphy will not thank anyone who wants to position his county as the clear favourites.
In his role as BBC pundit and unofficial spokesperson for the county senior team, Murphy delivered a sound-bite that was more rehearsed than anything you’ll hear in the upcoming American election.
Speaking after Donegal’s win over Tyrone, Murphy said:
“Armagh are 10 years into their project while Donegal are just 10 months into theirs, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.”
While it’s understandable that Murphy is going to bat for his county, his attempts to present Donegal as the new kids on the blocks doesn’t stack up.
On Sunday, Donegal will be making their 11th appearance in an Ulster final since 2011. That’s 11 out of 14 finals.
Most of the players on the current squad collected winners’ medals in 2019.
Remove the propaganda, study the facts and you will see that Donegal are a seriously seasoned outfit.
In terms of morale, team-spirit and rock-solid belief, you’d imagine things are pretty buoyant in Donegal.
But what of Armagh?
Hmmmmm.
Earlier this year Kieran McGeeney raised a few eyebrows when he told journalists that expectations are always ludicrously high in his native county.
McGeeney said that every year Armagh’s fans expected to win the All-Ireland title.
Really? By this stage, after a decade under McGeeney, I’d say most Armagh fans would probably settle for a McKenna Cup.
This is not to say that McGeeney has done a terrible job. That would be untrue.
Armagh have some very good footballers and some good footballers - but they don’t have any exceptional footballers.
Given that talent at his disposal, McGeeney has produced a solid, committed and competent team.
However, they’ve had so many near misses, you would have to question just how much confidence Armagh will possess if Sunday’s final goes to the wire.
The Orchard men have become the Mayo of the North. They are constantly finding new ways to lose - and it takes something special to change that rut.
But there has been little to suggest that change is afoot.
In their recent Division Two final against Donegal, the Orchard County led from the gate, put themselves into a strong position to win, then duly lost the match in the closing minutes.
It’s a pattern that is now all too familiar to the Orchard faithful.
Neither of these teams is going to win this year’s All-Ireland title so Sunday’s final will be as good as it gets.
It promises to be a close contest.
McGeeney and McGuinness will have their men primed and ready. That’s their forte.
Neither manager is a tactical innovator so don’t expect anything new.
Donegal will park the bus and Armagh will park the bus.
McGuinness will have a plan to curb Rian O’Neill.
McGeeney will deploy extra resources to limit Ryan McHugh and Paedar Mogan, Donegal’s two most influential players.
The focus will be on containment and sticking to the script.
Jim McGuinness believes that the best system wins.
In a conversation with McGuinness, I once asked him what happens if two teams use the same system?
‘Then the team with the best players will win,” he said.
That’s where Donegal should have the edge over Armagh.
PH
Follow Us
Sponsored Ad
Interested in advertising with us? Get in touch today.
