It all got very messy in the end didn’t it?

Pete McGrath about to enter his fifth year in charge of Fermanagh was suddenly gone. Player power ruling the day and forcing the Down man into the only realistic choice left open to him. They might not admit it but I would imagine there was a collective sigh of relief among officers in the County Board when McGrath chose to fall on his own sword. Had he chose to remain things would have got very ugly.

It is just the latest example of player power in the GAA. But, let’s dispense with where we stand on that particular issue for a moment and look at the timeline of events here. 1: Fermanagh lose to Armagh. 2: Pete McGrath says he will consider his future. 3: A player phones Pete before he is ratified and says that a number of senior players have said they will not play on if the same management is in place. 4: Pete believes these issues can be overcome and accepts another year in charge and is ratified. 5: A meeting is held between County Board, players and management where it becomes clear that the majority of the players will not play under Pete and his management. 6: Pete resigns.

Those appear to be the facts as we know them. Now let’s return to the issue of player power. To be blunt it sticks in many people’s craw. Many within the GAA simply don’t think players should be involved in the selection process or reappointment process of any manager.

But here is the thing. That is a unrealistic position to adopt. Idealism is all fine and well but sometimes when reality looms idealism crumbles. This is one such time where it turned to dust. In the modern day GAA, the players hold the future of any manager in their hand. That is the reality. If they down tools the manager’s position is untenable. Simple.

Personally I am uncomfortable with the level of control players have but that doesn’t mean that their beliefs and actions are not rooted in the best interest of their county, in the vast majority of cases they are. There are times when they will be right in their actions and there are times when they will be wrong and ill judged but what we have to come to terms with and accept, is that they need to feel part of the conversation.

It is clear that the players felt they were not being listened to when the County Board reappointed Pete for another year and perhaps a difficult to swallow lesson needs to be learned by the County Board. I understand the instinct among officers to keep the players outside the decision making process but that instinct is ill advised at this point. I admit I am very concerned about where it could lead and reluctant to accept its necessity but the players should be involved in some capacity.

Pete explained this week that the players and management always had a root and branch review at the end of the year. This should have taken place before any ratification occurred. Perhaps the issues between management and players could have been ironed out had that happened. If not then it would have been evident that the relationship had run its course.

Unfortunately what has transpired has served no one and Pete has left under a cloud and he deserved more than that after the four years effort that he put in. For what it is worth, I think he is a much better manager leaving Fermanagh than he was when he arrived. From my first dealing with Pete I thought he was a gentleman and a GAA man to the core but tactically I thought he was a relic of a different era. Watching Barry Owens and Ryan McCluskey line up as two man markers in the Ulster Championship against Antrim in 2014 had the BP racing. I think Barry and Ryan were as surprised as me. Fermanagh’s two best players in my memory but at that stage neither were the best man markers in their clubs let alone the county.

Antrim beat us in a game that would give Jim McGuinness nightmares such was the openness and frivolity of the play. To Pete’s credit though, he changed. He listened to what the players had to say and he adapted to the modern game. He became a much better manager and I think he could do seriously well with another county. If he goes to Derry, for instance, I think he will have a lot of success.

Ultimately, I think the players have made a mistake. I think if they had bought into Pete for another year we would have enjoyed a much better 2018 because such were the injuries and circumstances of 2017 that it was a near impossible task. But another year of buy in was never going to be likely given that no tangible success had been achieved. Four years is a long time to manage a group of players and it is simply human nature on the players part for a change to be desired. We will see if that change is for the better.

There is pressure is on the players now. I have no doubting the sincerity of their motives and indeed they may be proved correct in their yearning for change but as a group and, perhaps more importantly as individuals, they now must search themselves. Pete revealed that some players felt that other players were getting away with things under his management that were unacceptable. There was no further detail given. None is needed in truth. If players are questioning each other, and their commitment, then there are problems. We need those problems resolved and the players themselves need to lead the way on that, no matter who is the manager.