“If a guy is good enough, he’s old enough.”
Cian Johnson is good enough. That much we know.
The main doubt surrounding the great white hope of Offaly football, however, has come about from the scarce amount of years he’s spent on this earth.
The Faithful football manager Stephen Wallace has been keen to downplay the Ferbane flyer at every chance he gets. Why wouldn’t he? So often we’ve seen underage sensations fall by the wayside due to an inability to cope with the hype, to deal with the elevation, to shoulder the pressure.
Cian Johnson is only 18. He’s ripped it up for his school, his club, for his county at underage and at senior level on occasion.
The gaelic football world lies in his skinny limbs and his silky hands.
Kerryman Wallace has before warned Johnson away from the detrimental influences posed by women and pints.
He’s keen to keep his young stars’ feet planted, but he’s also keen to stress that despite his young age, he is good enough for this level of football.
Young players are regularly held in reserve based solely on age. But if they’re good enough, clever enough, mentally strong enough, shouldn’t we just let the fend for themselves and find their own feet.
“He can definitely play Colm,” said Wallace to Colm Parkinson on Thursday’s GAA Hour Show.
The Offaly management were initially planning on easing him into the action, but Johnson had other ideas and he made these clear to the selectors through his football.
“He was probably fast-tracked into the team. We hadn’t planned in getting him in this early, but look, if a guy is good enough, he’s old enough and he’s shown at training that he’s well able to mind himself and well able to look after himself.”
Nonetheless, Wallace stresses that his man has plenty of learning still to do.
“He’s a damn good footballer, but the reality is, he puts on a school uniform every morning to go to school. Look, I sound like Arsene Wenger now saying he’s only a kid, but he is only a kid.”
The retirement of Offaly legend and stalwart Niall McNamee came as a big blow to the county team at the beginning of the year. Let’s not forget, he’s still only 32 and undoubtedly had the ability to cut it at the highest level for another year or two.
Not only is his influence on the pitch have been a loss, but off it, too. The Rhode forward has light years of experience. He’s a leader, a legend of the game in Offaly. His experienced head in the dressing room would likely have come in valuable to the other players. As it would have for Johnson – who’s learning his trade as a corner forward.
Wallace, however, feels the youngster is doing just fine without him.
“He has a lot of developing to do, a lot of learning to do. Would he have benefited from a year playing with Niall McNamee? Maybe he wouldn’t because Niall wouldn’t give him the ball. He’s definitely a talent, he’s one to watch, but for the future. I wouldn’t be heaping pressure on the kid.
He won’t be getting too carried away under Wallaces’ influence, that’s for sure.
You can listen to this Wallace interview laced with witty one-liners and much more from Thursday’s GAA Hour Show.
