JOE BROLLY HAS claimed that a Tyrone player told him privately that training with the county team is “depressing.”
Speaking to the RTÉ GAA podcast, Brolly also believes that “it’s time for change” and that “a psychology of fear” is gripping the Red Hands.
In a wide-ranging assessment of Mickey Harte’s charges, former Derry star and outspoken pundit Brolly insists that “any commitment to attack” has been “coached out” of the Tyrone players.
Brolly says that “Tyrone are deteriorating very quickly”, along with team morale.
He said: “Tyrone are deteriorating very quickly and morale is deteriorating very quickly.
“My reading of what was happening last year was that they were putting together a really strong defensive system, the first part of the formula, but would work on a really strong attacking plan, but they haven’t done that.
“They’re stagnant and you can see that the whole experiment’s coming off the rails now.”
Tyrone slumped to a third successive Allianz Division 1 football league defeat against Kerry last weekend, leaking 1-21 against the Kingdom in the process at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney.
Having opened the campaign with three victories from their opening four games – and a draw with Dublin – the team’s form has dipped alarmingly.
And Brolly said: “What you’re seeing with Tyrone is the dreadful boredom of it for the players, no release from the automated system.
“I spoke to a couple of the Tyrone players privately a few weeks ago. One of their better players, one of their really, really good players, and you should hear what he’s saying in private about how depressing the training is and how they’re playing, and you can see that now.
“I do believe it’s too late to change to a more expansive style. They have the players but what they don’t have is any commitment to attack. That’s been coached out of them.”
Brolly added: “They decided about 18 months, two years ago, to go completely defensive and play two sweepers on the edge of the square, to have a very automated, defensive system but it was overwhelmingly taken in favour of defence.
“What you see now is that psychology of fear has taken hold and they don’t really know how to win games any more. They know the system is malfunctioning and not working for them.
“At one stage (against Donegal), they were seven (points) behind and had two sweepers on the edge of the square pointing at each other – that tells you all you need to know.
“If Dublin are seven points behind, you’d better get ready because they’re coming for you.”
When asked if it’s time for a change in management in Tyrone, Brolly replied: “It’s none of my business but it’s time to change now. You can see that, for roughly what, eight years now, that they’ve gone increasingly defensive and there’s less and less to admire in their play.
“If you’re not playing with adventure, players don’t want to play, supporters don’t enjoy it, it’s not a shared journey. And it just becomes depressing – that’s what’s happened with Tyrone football.”
RTĖ Sport / SoundCloud
Good on you, Joe Brolly. The best pundit, bar none, on GAA.
@Kevin Hayes: Are you wise? This is the same man who brought us the Black Card and what an omnishambles that has been.
@Tír Eoghain Gael: The black card rule was to be instated before that Monaghan v Tyrone match anyway. I can remember the proposed rule being described in the match programme that day!
@Tír Eoghain Gael: He didn’t get it brought in. He famously mentioned it after that toe rag Sean Cavanagh dragged Conor McManus to the ground, but it was passed by congress previous to that.
@Kevin Hayes: and by the sounds of it Joe is now also taking Tyrone training sessions!
Spoke with one of their players privately….. So that player wasn’t expecting it to be headline news a few weeks later Then!!!!! Joe brolly a man you can trust
@Anthony: what player was it? Brolly has protected his identity so the player(s) in question can have no issue with what he has said. I’m sure Joe didn’t torture him to get him to say it.
@Eireann go brach: you’ll have to ask Micky harte what player it is as I’m sure he’s currently in the process of finding out. So you think this player said this to Joe in order to publicise this to the wider public or he said it privately most likely in passing thinking it will go no further.
@Anthony: ah come out of the fog, the dogs on the street know if Brolly was told this about any squad in the country he would announce it in a similar manner when he felt it warranted it! Mickey Harte has been Tyrones most successful manager and he should be forever lauded for what he has achieved for Tyrone, both on and off the field, but maybe it was the member of the panel that felt if he was protected by anonymity, as an individual, then this should be made public knowledge. There is a reason he wasn’t given the full extension he was asking for, will he get another extension? I have my doubts.
@Eireann go brach: he spoke with one of tyrones really good players so it’s safe to assume it’s not a disgruntled player on the panel. Agree with your assessment on Micky harte but irrelevant to our discussion. Heres how I see this ‘private’ conversation go down. Brolly and a Tp meet at a funeral, function whatever in passing. Tp :hi Joe. BROLLY : How’s Tp, how’s training? Tp: going sh!te, lost the last couple of games it’s depressing stuff, cya later.
My point is Joe has a history of over exaggeration and read any of his paper articles he’s full of tales of people he met in passing who seemed desperate to unburden themselves with information that could harm them.
Anyways we’ll see in the summer where Tyrone are, my bet is they won’t be very far away at all…
Joe Brolly also said kerry football was finished as underage were poor. How many all ireland minors and schools have kerry won since? All joe wants with his comments is a reaction
@Tomf: kerry minors are unbeaten since he wrote that! Hard to take Brolly and Pat too seriously but they donget people talking which is their job I suppose.
@niall daly: ^ do get!
@nialk daly donget sounded better in a southern deep texan drawl
What a total runt.
@Tom Collins: Harte has to go
@Tom Collins: Be worst if he told him to say chase me chase me to the ones on the other team???
Joe is a master at self-publicity. Paper never refuses ink and Joe will commit anything to writing to keep his name in the spotlight whether that is slagging off Dublin’s ‘arrogance’, Donegal’s ‘puke football’, Kerry’s ‘demise’ or Tyrone’s defensive strategy, Joe doesn’t care because it get’s people talking about….Joe. You simply can’t take him seriously as a pundit because he’ll say anything to court controversy.
Brolly is the GAA version of George Hook, Hook is the rugby version of Dunphy, Dunphy is like a farmers foreskin……
@Bryan Holmes: Don’t even know what that means Bryan but gave me a laugh anyway!!
@Bryan Holmes: holyshit can’t get that image out of my head ,
Man Joe.Way to stir the pot .
I’ve a lot of time for brolly but this obsession for Tyrone is getting annoying now
Love Joe. Cares about the game.
Has lots of conversations with players without naming anyone.. can see obvious reasons for that, just find it hard to believe half them have actually happened!
Not likely to be spoken to ‘privately’ again Joe.
Has he money on Tyrone for the All Ireland!
Joe shut up please
@Joe Kennedy: Smelly, wrinkled and full of bullshit.
It really has become hard to watch. Enjoyment sucked right outa it.