In Defence of Jim McGuinness – And why I admire him more now than ever

By Ciaran Deely

A strange thing happened to me today. After returning from work last night in London, for some reason, I thought about Jim and that I must check in on his progress and how he’s doing as Head Coach of the Charlotte Independence professional soccer team in the USL Eastern Conference in America. It went past midnight and sleep took over for another night.

Sitting in a Starbucks on a rare day off just off Regent Street today, I was taking a break from reading my book ‘The State of Africa’ by Martin Meredith (being lucky enough to be travelling to Kenya and Tanzania on safari this coming August so wanted to read up on African political, historical and cultural history over the last 50 years, and believe me, no better book than this to do that!). So, I said I’ll google Jim and see how his team is doing. And lo and behold, only 1 hour earlier it was announced that he was sacked by Charlotte Independence!

Now I’m sure in the twisted world we live in, fans, journalists, analysts will jump all over this news to reaffirm their own personal views that Jim was a lucky manager who came along at the right time; only did well because he had Michael Murphy and a plethora of excellent players; and how his tactical innovations are now behind the curve in the modern, fast moving innovative era.

While it can be said that there are aspects of truth to all the above- yes you must be lucky; yes, you must have top players to be successful; and yes, modern tactical innovations move very quickly, and you can get left behind very quickly in this game. I propose, however, that this is certainly not the time to hammer the man. In ways I admire him even more now.

Why? Because he has shown that he is human. That he, also, is fallible. That his talent, like the rest of us, depends on good players, good timing and a whole lot of luck when looking to achieve success in the game!

And talented he sure is!

The Man Who Changed Gaelic Football

Whether you agree with his tactical approach or abhor it, it is unarguable that he changed the game of Gaelic football in 2011/2012…perhaps forever! Former QPR FC U18 Manager Steve Gallen (older brother of Kevin Gallen who had an illustrious career with QPR scoring goals and forming a devastating partnership up front with Les Ferdinand) when to the 2014 All Ireland Final that Donegal narrowly lost to Kerry in a cagey, tactical affair. Steve’s parents originally hail from Mayo and Donegal, so he had a particular interest in the game. Where some GAA fans thought it a dull and boring affair, Steve came back highly impressed and raving about how he saw both teams utilising a range of tactical set ups- counter-attacking, low pressing, possession based, high press, dropping off etc. He said- ‘It’s just like football’…which meant he was impressed!! There is no denying Jim changed Gaelic Football and there are not many people who can say they changed the course of a national sport.

I admire Jim not only for his undoubted talent in forming a team and getting the best out of a group of people, but also because of the career path he has taken. He bridged the divide between professional football and the GAA world. What resonates with me most, however, is his willingness to step out of his comfort zone and challenge himself. It was very impressive when he chose to travel abroad to work in China, and later, to the States.

To leave a professional club in the UK, I’m sure he was faced with people telling him it is mad and is career suicide. In some ways those people are right- it does lead to a non-linear, more challenging career path. But it is countered in other glorious ways! The chance to travel and work abroad; to be faced with challenging cultural situations in your job and in your personal life, is at one moment frustrating, but the next, satisfying beyond your normal experiences and expectations.

A Beer in Bejiing

I was lucky enough to meet Jim and spend an evening with him in Bejiing when he was coaching Bejiing Guoan in the Chinese Super League in the autumn of 2017. I was travelling by train from the Ukraine through Eastern Europe, Russia, Siberia and then down on into Mongolia and China, before finishing off in South East Asia, and a stop off and a chat with Jim was the perfect antidote to weeks on end on a bustling train and chatting to inquisitive locals and hippy Europeans!

We had a few beers and dinner and spent the evening chatting about Gaelic football, football, Donegal, Wexford, London, Dublin and our shared experiences of working in professional football both in the UK and abroad. I was glad to have someone to chat through similar experiences of working abroad and living alone in a hotel while aborad.

The abiding memory I had from our meeting was, however, how inadequate I felt tactically in comparison to him! And I have met many of the top coaches and managers in the GAA now at this stage. I since sought to rectify that situation and hope that this meeting with Jim was a turning point in my own coaching journey, as I never again wanted to feel inadequate again in the presence of another manager or coach. I hope I managed to hide it in his presence, at the very least. That’s the level he is at- to make all others feel inadequate.

He then provided tickets to the Bejiing Guoan game a few days later at the stadium for myself and 4 German travellers I had met over dodgy Russian vodka the week before on the train from Ulaanbaatar. I appreciated that as he went out of his way to be accommodating to us and was particularly interested in what I thought of the team’s performance- who incidentally lost 1-0 to Shanghai with Brazilians Oscar and Hulk on the opposition team. I didn’t think they sought to hold possession of the ball and keep passing it on the floor enough. But obviously this was down more to the Manager’s playing and coaching philosophy, rather than Jim’s input. From his time working with Glasgow Celtic FC, obviously his coaching and philosophy is based on playing ball.

You Learn when you Fail

Regarding his current situation now- it is a difficult one. This was his big break, his first move into a head coach role in professional football. It clearly didn’t work out. But he is in good company there. Remember, every single manager or coach ever in the history of professional football gets sacked at some point. Even the greats! Guardiola is perhaps the exception…so far!

I would think Jim will learn more from this experience than any other- even Donegal winning the All Ireland in 2012. Or Glasgow Celtic winning the Scottish League. You learn more when you stumble and fail, we all know that. It will give him, I’m sure, renewed motivation and determination to succeed. And crucially, he will have seen first-hand what worked for him, what didn’t work. And perhaps his own professional philosophy will be clearer now than ever. And that can only be a good thing.

Now is the time, I’m sure, for him to reassess and spend time with his family. Perhaps go on holidays. But don’t expect to see him patrolling the side-lines of a GAA pitch near you anytime soon. The Sky Sports punditry work is always there, but I would think it is in the world of professional football that his future lies, not in the GAA world. Today will hurt him, but it’ll probably only make him better. A scary thought!