GAA followers are a peculiar animal. We spend countless hours attending underage, club, and challenge or league matches where our main concern is not the result of the match at hand, but how it will affect the county senior side at some time in the future. Yesterday was a perfect example - thousands of people were in Portlaoise, for the first round of a competition where neither Offaly nor Laois supporters would take one iota of joy out of winning. It was all about build up for the championship, like everything else.

So sheep that we are, we're going to do the same!! From now until May Lone Shark is going to analyse the Offaly football panel, update after each game, to see where everyone stands in the race for a starting jersey against Louth. It goes without saying that Kevin Kilmurray's views are obviously going to vary widely, as are those of every reader (contributions always welcome!!), but in the true spirit of pub talk, we'll begin….

Goalkeepers In Possession: Colin McNamara Still looks the most dependable on the roster. Shouldn't get dropped without reason, and Lone Shark doesn't expect him to provide any. Waiting in the wings: Padraig Kelly Very high profile, and his kickouts constitute a great weapon. Some would say the new tee could see him putting them in on the full forward line. Too many high ball goals conceded though. Dark Horse: Kevin Meehan Youth on his side, and a fine shot stopper, but his kickouts are a real liability. Rank Outsiders: Mark Kavanagh Was the next big thing until a disastrous day against Portlaoise didn't do wonders for confidence in his ability to perform under pressure. Long way off the pace. David Lowry Made his way on to the county bench for the winter, but you would have to assume it's more with the Under 21's in mind than as a potential netminder for the Summer. Very much a long term prospect.

Defenders In Possession: Shane Sullivan Fast, tenacious, but a little prone to attacking for a corner back. A good year with Rhode should bring him on a bit. Conor Evans Some good displays last year leave him as the incumbent. Again, very solid defensively, although will find speedy roaming full forwards difficult to handle. Sean Casey Getting perhaps a little bit ahead of things giving him the four shirt on the strength of one display, and in the O'Byrne cup at that, but was genuinely impressive and should hold his own - which is all that should be asked of anyone in the full back line. Barry Mooney Dependable, intelligent, and good going forward. Won't pull up any trees, and needs to get tighter defensively, but should hold for the summer, and rarely lets the county down. Scott Brady This position is absolutely crucial if Offaly are to make any impact in 2005. The Clara man's aggressive tackling could be a huge asset, as would be his tendency not to do too much attacking with the wingbacks he's likely to have beside him. His tendency to get dismissed has to be curbed though. Has a very tenuous grip on any shirt for the county to be honest. Karol Slattery Nailed on starter at 7 for the championship. Continues to improve. Waiting in the wings: Ger Rafferty Good to see the Rynagh's man back after a year's absence. Suffered for having too much responsibility too young, but now looks more like the type of player who could play a big part in 2005. Barry Malone Improved as the club campaign went on at centre back for Rhode. Very experienced, though perhaps not as quick as he once was. An obvious rival for Brady at number 6. James Keane Had a fantastic season with Tullamore last year, and was very much their shining light in a dark year. Possibly too young, but could find himself brought on to curb a young counterpart, e.g. the likes of Donie Brennan, Mark Vaughan or Denis Glennon. Cathal Daly One of the finest corner backs ever to wear the jersey - but not a good centre back and a shadow of his former self. At the moment more likely to drop further in the pecking order than jump up. Dark Horses: Diarmuid O'Donoghue Had a good year with Ballycumber and is beginning to feature with the county. Still a few big steps up to make but is one to keep an eye out for over the coming months. Ciarán Kiely Not yet in the first tier of reserves - very talented, but still unproven against top class opponents, even at club level. Martin Gorman Hard to see him as anything other than panel material for the moment. Big and powerful, but too slow bearing in mind the nature of most modern inside forwards. Rank Outsiders: John Hurst Currently out of favour and probably needs a revival in the fortunes of Edenderry to reignite his hopes of featuring on the county stage. Nigel Grennan A truly odd choice at corner back against Laois. Did nothing wrong, but it would still constitute an amazing change if a club centre forward became a county corner back.

Midfielders In Possession: Ciarán McManus Hasn't played well in some time, but is still our talisman and the drive behind most of Offaly's good displays over the last few years. Inclined to take on too much, so needs others to wrench some of the responsibility from him. His role in the team is yet to be confirmed - wing forward left him too peripheral, so could end up either centre forward or more interestingly, centre back. For that to happen another midfielder needs to present himself as an alternative. Alan McNamee Often maligned for not bursting on to the county scene the same we he did with the club - but age is still very much on his side, and hopefully will mature for having led Rhode to the Dowling Cup this year. Needs to compensate for his lack of fielding with high workrate. Far from a certainty to be picked. Waiting in the wings: James Grennan Battling the continued passage of time and fragility of his shoulders - but remains one of the best fielders in the national game. So far ahead of the next best in terms of primary possession that it's hard to see his return fully fit as anything but crucial. Dark Horses: Joe Quinn Anyone in Ballyshannon in February 2004 will vouch for the influence he can have on a game. An all round good player who is suffering from a lack of form. Needs to find that form if he's to feature this year. James Carroll Not a young raw recruit by any definition, but still a good club player who on the form of 2004 deserves the chance to try and step up. It's not like alternatives are queuing up - worth a run at some stage. Rank Outsider: James Rafferty A highly unorthodox choice to sit on the bench yesterday in Portlaoise. The Cloghan teenager is definitely playing some good stuff for Gallen CS, but that's a whole different world to intercounty midfield play. Will be doing well to make the county Under 21 midfield this year, even for all our difficulty in that area and is really only a potentially good long term prospect. Playing senior county football in 2005 will do him no good at all.

Forwards In Possession: Neville Coughlan Supremely athletic and competitive, and an excellent competitor. Where he'll play this year is questionable - whether he will or not is not. Paschal Kelleghan Infuriating, and potentially a liability as his next red card never seems far away, but he did make the centre forward position his own in 2004, and in the absence of an obvious replacement, continues to hold. Needs a change of attitude though. David Egan The star of the St. Brigid's show last year, and one of the better players on display in Portlaoise. A decent range of shots combined with the ability to beat markers makes him a leading candidate to defy his small stature and line out on the 50 in May. Niall McNamee His performances for Rhode exposed the lunacy of playing him anywhere but in the inside forwards. Suffered from a combination of underconfidence and being out of position in 2004, needs to play like he can this year. Worryingly is being played on the 50 for UCD, but hopefully Kilmurray will appreciate his talent and give Offaly's sharpest scorer the role he relishes. James Coughlan Second season syndrome is clearly now the big danger - talent not being an issue for the Paw. Much like Claffey, his clubman before him, his style of freetaking would give supporters palpitations as the ball goes off into the clouds only to re-enter the earth's atmosphere minutes later. If he keeps playing like he does for Doon he'll go far. Thomas Deehan Aside from the obvious risk in playing three similar inside forwards, having three players all with the potential to score freely allows some cover for the day when one or more has an off day. Deehan also has scoring ability to burn, and while is currently probably not in possession of a starting place, Lone Shark is confident he will be come May, fitness permitting. Waiting in the wings: Rory Guinan Injury led to a curtailed 2004 for the Ballycumber player, but remains a natural scorer with a very dangerous turn of foot. If he got a run in the team and found a patch of form he could prove very hard to dislodge. John O'Neill When a team reaches the county final with only one scoring forward of note, that forward has to be worth a look for the county. Still very small, and hard to see him fitting in with McNamee or Coughlan, but equally hard to ignore. It has to be hoped that the days of him being brought on in midfield are past us as well. John Reynolds Has fallen out of favour a little even though if anything the pressure of carrying Clara's scoring workload in the absence of Deehan should have brought him on some. Equally will find himself expected to contribute a lot to AIT's Sigerson cup challenge. Initial signs aren't good, but a good performance there should see him featuring once again. Colm Quinn Still our best option for a playmaker in the half forward line. Badly needs to find full fitness and get games behind him, but his cultured left foot is too much of a weapon not to try and utilise in some fashion. Dark Horses: Roy Malone Has gone from taking ridiculous shots outside of his range to being way too goal shy. Still a great ball carrier, a tireless runner and good ball winner. His style won't win beauty contests, but could probe holes that the young lads inside could exploit. Far from finished his county career. Alan Mulhall Highly unusually for a modern inside forward, is not very mobile and likes nothing more than battling full backs for old style high ball. Very accurate and can score off both feet, but you'd have to worry for his ability to win ball. Likely to feature as an impact sub. Matt Mitchell With several AN Others currently filling in Offaly's 2005 half forward line, you couldn't dismiss him. Will however have to concentrate on the basics and realise that there's only one Ciaran MacDonald, and he doesn't play for Clara. Cillian Farrell A fine player with the intelligence to do a good linking job in the half forward line for the county. Needs to stay injury free and get a run of games behind him. John Kenny At this stage of his career doesn't really bring anything to the table that we don't have with younger legs elsewhere - other than experience. The ease with which Tom Kelly sprinted away from him in Portlaoise would suggest that experience just won't do by itself. Would be a rank outsider but for the niggling worry that the management might be keen to reward his "robustness" at the expense of a more natural scorer. Rank Outsiders: Richard Fox Hard to see on what basis he has been picked to play county football. His club underachieved, he was unable to secure a place on the under 21 team last year, and doesn't look to offer anything we don't already have. Sean Ryan Lone Shark is careful to be too critical on the strength of very little evidence, but it's hard to see the Birr man troubling selectors in May. Would have to play a big part in a Birr team that threatens the Intermediate championship at the very least before he could be seen as a live contender. Basil Malone A hard working honest club player who's just not an intercounty standard player. With the forwards available to Offaly, Lone Shark honestly would struggle to find a place for him on our third XV. Gearóid O'Grady Should just about make the U-21 side this year - just about. You have to imagine that size might get him in ahead of the likes of Trevor Phelan and Aidan Keenaghan - whatever logic there is to that at U-21, senior county football seems a bridge too far.