The 28 stages of a GAA player revolt

Et tu, Brute?

Player revolts are never a pleasant thing and sometimes it never feels like the team gets any further forward because of them. On other occasions though, they're perfectly justified and they can bond a team together. It's just up to the captain to go deliver the bad news to the boss though. When you're in a club team, you leave it all down to the captain. 1. The manager gets appointed Great decision. There's fresh optimism around the place. Every player will be looked at and given a chance; current squad members have a clean slate; this is a new era. 2. Someone gets dropped That's bold. A statement of intent. He's not going to take any shit anyway. It could come back to haunt him though. He needs to win now. 3. Bad league campaign These boys need to buck up their ideas. The manager reinforces the notion that "this is a process". They were never focusing on the league. There are no championships won in April. 4. Poor championship performance Now he's really walking a tightrope. There are mumblings of discontent from the sidelines. Players hear it. 5. Injury list Sure, Jesus, if they had no bad luck, they would have no luck at all. The injury list will take over 95 per cent of all interview content from here on out. 6. Convenient injuries The revolt is daring to start. Some experienced players are taking a step back ever so slightly. The squad are pondering the notion of washing their hands of the mess as big names are picking and choosing training sessions and missing games - just in case it's bad again. 7. Training ground fight Jimmy broke Barry's nose in training. The dressing room is divided. This might never have happened but it is out there now. Discontent amongst the players is in the public's knowledge - false or not. 8. Someone leaves training early And he was spotted by Johnny in the bar. 9. GAAboard.com is a hive activity The training ground spat, the player leaving training early, it's all being dissected and anonymously clarified. Apparently one club said that their players will not play for the county again as long as he's in charge. Apparently the county board have already spent a fortune on the new manager and the team expenses. Apparently the training is ridiculous - it's too much. The rumours are in overdrive. 10. Players are caught on a night out They might have been drinking water, they might've even left before midnight but this is obviously a direct two fingers up to the current regime. 11. Someone leaves the panel And so it begins. 12. Senior players are spied in a hotel lounge Is the coup starting? We can't be sure, but apparently they were involved in intense talks with a piece of paper in front of them. So GAAboard.com says anyway. 13. Joe Brolly says he was talking to four or five of them And the verdict isn't good. 14. Team meeting The manager calls a meeting. Frank discussions are had. Clear the air talks are underway. People are getting things off their chest and they are definitely going to draw a line under this now. It was healthy. 15. Ex player slams current regime He speaks out on a local radio station and seems to know more than he should. Is someone on the inside feeding back to him? This is unhealthy. 16. County board member praises current regime The dreaded vote of confidence. 17. Team rules get leaked And they're ridiculous. 18. Young lads are being treated unfairly They're being picked on in training. Senior players are getting away with more. The forfeits are bang out of order. And 'a source' in the newspaper isn't holding back. 19. Championship exit Players are more visible in their annoyance. This is their chance to absolve themselves of responsibility. 20. Someone sends a cryptic tweet They're unhappy but they can't say why. 21. A player gives a dodgy interview He talks about how they did things before and maybe drifting too far from what was working. "I don't want to point blame at anyone but..." "For whatever reason..." "Everyone has their own way of doing things." He's coy but he's deceitful. The knife is being turned. 22. Players hold a meeting The managers aren't involved. There are "a lot of home truths" delivered. They take a vote. It isn't good. 23. County board ratify manager's second year Of course they do. 24. Players hold a press conference They're not happy. They've been treated wrong. They now have a list of demands. 25. Players strike Who cares about the demands anymore? This has to stop. 26. The county plays on with a crowd of young lads It's about the future. These lads care about the county. It's a process. 27. The young boys gets hammered The championship is over before it even starts. 28. The manager gets sacked And all that's really happened is that everyone has lost a season. But the new manager gets appointed and there's fresh optimism around the place. Every player in the county will be looked at, current squad members have a clean slate, this is a new era.