Here is what is happening as far as I see it.

I might be a bit off the mark with the specifics, but generally speaking, Fitzmaurice took over the kerry job with close links to the players, having played with many of them while he was on the team of the 00s. That means that he cannot drop lads very easily, out of loyalty, friendship and services they have provided over the years, despite the possibility that there could be youth knocking on the door and there to be developed. Almost every manager faces this dilemma and it is not an easy one.. the choice of leaving a young player off the panel or on the bench instead of blooding him in.

I think that Kerry are thinking long term. They have absolutely terrific youth coming through in a year or 2. I can see Jack OConnor coming back, either as adviser or manager/assistant manager. He will know the players and they will respect him having won trophies with him. He has put enough daylight between himself and the kerry senior players in the meantime (since 2012), to be subject to the same restrictions of loyalty that Eamon Fitz is facing.

Eamon Fitz is a very good manager, he is unlucky to have been around when this dublin team were operating. I think that he will be gone in 2017. One all ireland every decade is not enough for kerry folk and this is the way it is starting to shape up.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 01/09/2016 15:53:51    1909199

Keep him ,good manager ,good tactics used in the semi, nothing more could be expected of him really than the odd AI with the way Dublin are at the minute. I would like to see what he does with the minors that will be coming of age in the next couple of years if he is around that long.

GameOfTyrones (Tyrone) - Posts: 469 - 01/09/2016 16:22:29    1909214

I like Fitzmaurice, but he's prone to the odd tactical meltdown. Marc O'Se for Geaney, Donaghy midfield and the continuous pumping in of high balls when it wasn't working.

I thought he was adding some tactical nous to the Kerry team, especially in that Donegal AI final when some players seemed to discover that passing the ball backwards was allowed. Since then we've gone backwards in that dept. One particularly annoying thing is this constant carrying the ball into tackles when there's no need for it. We've been giving away cheap turnovers since our first meeting with Tyrone because guys are soling into traffic and hoping that strength will take them through. 2 key moments from the semi final - Begley lost a ball in the midfield after he'd won it well. Dublin score a point. James O'D inside the 30 at the other end, mad solo, Dublin go down and score a point. I think they scored again from the kick out. Thats where a manager takes guys aside and says "no more", but it keeps happening. Yes, a lot is down to the players but the coach should be coaching the bad stuff out as well as the good stuff in.

diablodeKingdom (Kerry) - Posts: 210 - 01/09/2016 17:28:20    1909239

Dubh_linn (Dublin) - Posts: 2312 - 01/09/2016 18:19:37    1909254

Hard to know what to do, Kerry have awesome underage players coming through in the next few years and if he stays and gets these players in the senior panel in a few years then he will be manager for a good few years yet, if he goes now then a new manager has to rebuild a team and include the minor lads in time and he will be manager for years, Fitzmaurice has to decide does he want to remain as manager for the next 3-5 years or not, staying on for 1 more year won't be enough and probably won't be good for Kerry over time

riverboys (Mayo) - Posts: 1389 - 01/09/2016 18:35:17    1909266

Yeah the galvin thing stank of nepotism. As wonderful a player as he was, he had no business coming back at that stage, and bringing him in during the 2015 final was madness.

He has been very loyal to the older lads, but they've all performed usually and haven't let anybody down. The glut of underage talent that appears to be coming through is still a few years away so I don't blame him for sticking with the likes of Donaghy and AOM. The problem is that when you've 3-4 of those lads playing and you come up against Dublin you'll get overrun. The alternative was to throw in younger, less experienced, less gifted players. Would they have fared any better? Doubtful! He has done as well as any manager could with the hand he was dealt.

GeniusGerry (Kerry) - Posts: 2105 - 01/09/2016 18:46:29    1909268

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1746 - 01/09/2016 19:26:58    1909280

Just another outside perspective here. As was mentioned, I'm not entirely sure either if the relationship Fitzmaurice has with his side is entirely healthy? Is he too close to some old comrades? Bringing back Galvin was very indulgent in 2015 and it backfired as most people observed it would at the time. In desperate weather conditions, not bringing on Donaghy sooner in the 2015 final and showing far too much loyalty to Colm Cooper an old comrade also backfired.

In the semi-final versus Dublin the removable of Paul Geaney was foolish and that's not with hindsight, that's with 20/20 vision at the time. If anybody should have made way for Marc O'Se it should have been the aforementioned Colm Cooper who had ran his race at this stage and had dropped a ball short in a pivotal moment of play in the second half.

Not for nothing but I think Kerry could do a lot worse than go after Liam Kearns if Fitzmaurice should go. Kearns would clear the decks and be his own man while treating all the payers equally and I think this would be healthy for the Kerry team going forward.

JamesH (Mayo) - Posts: 465 - 02/09/2016 13:31:44    1909458

dingle2 (Kerry) - Posts: 278 - 02/09/2016 20:58:14    1909557

From a div 4 perspective and from the outside looking in so to speak, my view is that with or without Eamon Fitzmaurice Kerry will continue to contest and probably win senior all Ireland football titles. Fitzmaurice is not the sole reason Kerry lost last Sunday, he is only a small part, another part of the reason that Kerry lost is Jim Gavin, another part to blame for the Kerry loss is a couple of decisions at crucial times went against Kerry or should I say Fitzmaurice, I still can't get my head around why Paul Geaney was called ashore, however I'm not sure if it was Geaney's goal that took the game from Donegal, more so I would say it was Donaghy who took advantage of a poor Donegal kick out in the dying minute of the game.
There's 30 counties that would que over night to sign Fitzmaurice as their manager, and I'm quiet sure the same counties would sign any of the Kerry sub's.
The fact of the matter is Fitzmaurice has achieved more with Kerry since his appointment than most other counties would/will achieve in a life time.

In a couple of weeks from now a new thread may very well read, - - -

Gavin/Rochford - Stay or Go?

supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 2908 - 02/09/2016 22:56:51    1909570

plike (Kerry) - Posts: 569 - 02/09/2016 23:49:06    1909580

I would think that Kerry would be fools to part company with Fitzmaurice. He is an absolutely superb manager who took this Kerry team, which is widely regarded as being far from the best they've had over the years, to within a whisker of winning against one of the greatest teams the game has seen. Every manager makes mistakes but he gets so many big calls right I think which separates him from many others in the country. Just imagine what he can do when Kerry's current star youngsters start to come through. I believe that in time he can restore sustained success to Kerry but patience can be hard to come by among football fans, myself included.

RoscoMan (Roscommon) - Posts: 80 - 03/09/2016 00:51:03    1909587

RTE reporting that Fitzmaurice will be given a new 2 year contract at tonight's County Board meeting.

Have to say that I'm happy to hear that.

TheHermit (Kerry) - Posts: 6354 - 06/09/2016 11:10:24    1910585

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20600 - 06/09/2016 11:28:53    1910595

If reports are true, i think its a good appointment, Kerry have been competitive under his regeime. It does make me wonder were the Kerry underage players are in terms of their development ready they are ready for the step up or not, i would have though O'Connor was the man to manage that process.

I havnt seen a better tactical approach to a game Vs Dublin then he put in place on Sunday, for the prueists i think it was a masterclass and gave Dublin more to think about then any other side in the modern era, certainly since Donegal but Dublin arent as open as back then. He is really developing as a manager for my money.

He will be keen to knock Dublin of their perch which i suppose is the currency he will be judged on, which will eventually happen, time and tide waits for no man. But i look forward to at least another few years of rip roaring encounters between Dublin and Kerry like last Sunday before this Dublin team is put to bed.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4445 - 06/09/2016 15:56:43    1910789

If reports are true, i think its a good appointment, Kerry have been competitive under his regeime. It does make me wonder were the Kerry underage players are in terms of their development ready they are ready for the step up or not, i would have though O'Connor was the man to manage that process.

I havnt seen a better tactical approach to a game Vs Dublin then he put in place on Sunday, for the prueists i think it was a masterclass and gave Dublin more to think about then any other side in the modern era, certainly since Donegal but Dublin arent as open as back then. He is really developing as a manager for my money.

He will be keen to knock Dublin of their perch which i suppose is the currency he will be judged on, which will eventually happen, time and tide waits for no man. But i look forward to at least another few years of rip roaring encounters between Dublin and Kerry like last Sunday before this Dublin team is put to bed.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts:126 - 06/09/2016 15:56:43 1

I didn't think this was a classic match by any means, most people were more amazed that it remained competitive for the 70 minutes, when in reality Dublin would have run away with it had Kerry not nipped a couple of goals before HT. The second half scoring alone showed just how dominant Dublin are, they even cleaned out what is arguably the strongest midfield pairing in gaelic football.

Kerry will always be there or thereabouts, as they have a good underage setup and easy enough access to the All Ireland series. But they have repeatedly failed to beat Dublin year after year, and clearly Mayo and Donegal have proven themselves more capable of disposing of Dublin since the turn of the decade.

Was it really a masterclass by Fitzmaurice? I don't think it was, with the calibre of player Kerry have, I thought they could have done better.

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 06/09/2016 18:32:34    1910907

This is great news for Dublin as far as I'm concerned!

First of all, Fitzmaurice brought back his brother-in-law Paul Galvin to the Kerry panel in 2015, which was a sign of weakness and unnecessary sentiment. This moved backfired as nearly everybody looking in knew it would!

In the 2015 All Ireland final, played in monsoon conditions with the ball like bar of soap Kieran Donaghy was left sitting on the bench for way too long while the Gooch was having a stinker. Donaghy was brought on far too late and Gooch inexplicably was left on (blind loyalty to an old comrade?). In the few minutes Donaghy got on the pitch he almost gave Kerry the opportunity to snatch an unlikely draw. WHY was Donaghy not brought on far sooner? Why was the Kerry captain even dropped? This is not with the benefit of hindsight; these were obvious questions at the time! The Kerry management were very poor on the line.

In the 2016 semi-final versus Dublin, Fitzmaurice withdraws Kerry's best scoring forward in Paul Geaney with the match still up for grabs. Taking off Geaney was as stupid a decision as I've seen in a long time, if it happened in a junior club game you'd be talking about it. Explaining this bad decision as tactical is a poor excuse and it is just a meaningless excuse in this case, but there is no excuse for being that stupid. Fitzmaurice didn't have the balls to substitute Colm Cooper and he's the man that should have made way for Marc O'Se but Fitzmaurice was weak in his decision-making again. I'd be far more worried about Kerry if they something smart like appoint Liam Kearns but somehow I sense Kerry have just sabotaged themselves.

JamesH (Mayo) - Posts: 465 - 06/09/2016 20:04:30    1910942

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4445 - 06/09/2016 20:56:11    1910965

plike (Kerry) - Posts: 569 - 06/09/2016 21:07:35    1910971

I'd leave him there.Sure isn't he doing a grand job!

Dubh_linn (Dublin) - Posts: 2312 - 07/09/2016 07:06:11    1911045