Managing the management

Looks like we are all set for a bit more Dublin back room staff controversy following the weekend's Parnell Park set to between Dublin and Monaghan.

Everybody knows that the craziest people involved in GAA are the back room teams. Some of them are so deranged they actually believe their team can win the All Ireland!

I am generalising here but they tend to be at the more extreme end of the GAA family. Most sane people play the game for a few years, maybe help out in the local club and that's it.

The lads who go on to be managers, mentors, coaches, particularly at inter county level, have to have a bit of madness in them. The commitment is enormous, the rewards minimal and the weather awful.

But without these mad bastards we would have no inter-county game so we should all be grateful for the failings of the mental health legislation.

It seems a member of the Dublin support staff did strike an opposition player so this is a serious new development. Pillar was involved in a harmless, if rather stupid incident, before the Kerry game last year and the last thing Dublin need is more pressure on them.

Dublin county board has now admitted an incident occurred and are disciplining the person internally.

In this era of massive back room teams, with everything from hypnotherapists to hydro therapists on the sidelines, the potential for someone losing the head and attacking an opponent is greater than ever.

The GAA continues to portray itself as a professional slick machine and in many ways it is. But when on field violence spreads from a schmozzle of players to a melee of management then serious action must be taken against both the individual and the county board.