In the build up to the All-Ireland football final on 17 September, we’re taking a look at local GAA from the sponsor’s point of view and how it’s much more personal than a logo on a jersey.
IT’S DIFFICULT TO imagine now, but prior to the 2014 decider, Kerry were facing a 19-year wait for an All-Ireland minor football title.
For a county with 23 finals appearances to their name up to that point — including nine wins — it represented a footballing famine.
However, the Kingdom go into Sunday’s All-Ireland minor decider with Derry on the back of a three-year, 23-match unbeaten streak and have the chance to create even more history in Croke Park.
While Kerry, Cork and Dublin have all won three minor football titles in a row, no county has ever managed to lift the Tom Markham Cup four seasons in succession.
But the man at the helm of the all-conquering Kingdom this weekend had already tasted All-Ireland success in Croke Park before taking charge of the Kerry minors.
As a player, Peter Keane, who together with his wife Siobhan manages and owns SuperValu Killorglin, won an All-Ireland vocational schools medal with Coláiste Iosagáin, won four county U21 championships with South Kerry and played for the Kingdom at minor, U21 and junior level.
However, it was his success with St. Mary’s Cahirciveen that elevated him to national attention.
While one of the most successful clubs in Kerry — winning the South Kerry senior football title 32 times — and despite boasting greats of the game such as Jack O’Shea and Maurice Fitzgerald, it wasn’t until Keane took charge that St. Mary’s won an All-Ireland title.
That success arrived in 2011 when they came from four points down to beat Swanlinbar of Cavan to lift the All-Ireland junior club championship. It was a performance that marked Keane out for bigger and better things.
The following season he was appointed as a selector for the Kerry minors under Mickey Ned O’Sullivan and, after Jack O’Connor took over the U21s in 2016, Keane was seen by many as his natural successor.
Since then, Kerry have not looked back, winning his 11 championship games at the helm and scoring an average of 24 points per game in the process.
However, as he’s proven again and again in his time in charge, Keane is not one to rest on his laurels and, in the aftermath of Kerry’s 12-point semi-final win over Cavan, was quick to dismiss talk of another All-Ireland title, instead focusing on where his side needed to improve when speaking to the assembled media.
But with Keane manning the line, and superstar forward David Clifford keeping the scoreboard operators on their toes, few would back against there being green and gold ribbons on the Tom Markham Cup again come Sunday evening.
SuperValu is a proud sponsor of the GAA All-Ireland senior football championship and local GAA clubs around the country and are set to donate 55,000 footballs to clubs across Ireland and deliver volunteer camps throughout the summer.
The delusion continues
You stay as long as you want Brendan. Another 26 years would be great.
“I will do my best with what I am working”. because what youre working with had nothing to do with you? jog on.
I cringe every time I hear or read anything out of Rodgers’ mouth now. He has lost his way as a coach. The fans that he didn’t lose after Stoke are now beginning to turn on him.The media smells blood, and will keep putting the boot in.
Even if he wins the Derby, and the games after that, he is now only ever one or two defeats from “crisis”.
Sooner or later, Rodgers’ had to go – and it is probably sooner.
The big question in the media is “who replaces Rodgers?”. A bigger, more relevant question is: who in the LFC hierarchy is qualified to make the decision on who replaces Rodgers? The answer, fatally for Liverpool fans’ ambitions, is no-one. That’s a much bigger problem, and a harder one to resolve.
big sam is the man or Tony Mowbray
so much money spent and they are rebuilding again? id be pretty pissed and start with sacking this bluffer.
Only reason he is still in a job is because the Board haven’t agreed a deal yet with anyone else to manage the club. Dead man walking is Rodgers.
Totally agree that he is a dead man walking – everyone knows it.
Here’s the thing, though: who on the board knows anything about football? Henry and Werner don’t. Ayre is a commercial guy, really, with limited clout. Mike Gordon seems to be FSG’s “LFC guy” – he is a hedge fund manager. That leaves Dalgleish, if he is even involved.
I’m sure they have a few former players on the other end of a phone if they need advice, there intelligent people the yanks, the thing about them is, if they don’t understand something they will always seek out information off people to find out. It’s a business for them. I’d let Rodgers go and bring in Kenny and Carra for the interim and write off this season, if it’s not possible to get a Klopp or Ancelotti now.
Look at recent history of managers. Rodgers Hodgson Kenny. Ancelotti is to expensive maybe 6 or 7 mill a year. I just don’t see fsg spending the dough on a manager.
The big problem is a lack of vision. FSG bought LFC because it was going cheap, but they never had – and still don’t seem to have – a strategy for the club, apart from “sell it at a profit”.
Klopp, Ancelotti – even Guardiola! – won’t win anything at LFC until the vision and institutional leadership is sorted out. That, and increasing the wage bill, are necessary if LFC is to compete for anything ever again.
Should of gone last season but offered his backroom instead
Rumour is he’s gone by the end of October.
Have.
I think he should be worried… This Liverpool looks worst the last year and this time he cannot blame Balotelli…
Loads of stories coming out over twitter Yesterday evening, can’t see him being there come the end of the month.
Lose tomorrow, and he’ll be gone Monday
gone next week anyway if the rumours are true