offaly team

[the rat]

this would be my personal 15 for the championship.

1.kelly.2.mooney.3.malone.4.brady.5.sullivan.6.evans.7.slattery.8.mcnamee.9.mcmanus.10.coughlan.11.daly.12.reynolds.13.quinn.14.coughlan.15.mcnamee.

i would play colm quinn as a third midfeilder.

[Lone Shark]

I'd say realistically there are very few positions really up for grabs, barring injury. Froggy was very good the last couple of weeks, and he has certainly played himself back in. (Fair play to him, I thought he was not capable of reliving former glory, but the signs are good)

Brady has been very good at centre back, which has been a problem position. To me the only drawback is his propensity to get sent off. But Kilmurray being Kilmurray, I can't see that being an issue.

Evans is good around the square, even if he's not the best when drawn out. Thats why to me he's fullback or nothing. But not having been roasted by anyone, except arguably Glennon, he's there to stay. I'd say as it stands the team is:

1 Kelly
2 Froggy
3 Evans
4
5 Mooney
6 Brady
7 Slatts
8 Mad Mac
9
10 Neville
11
12
13 Quinn
14 Niall
15 Jimmy

Of the remaining vacancies, I'd like Barry Malone to play 4. Shane Sullivan has looked dodgy in recent weeks, and probably belongs further up the field - he won't break into that half forward line though. Sean Casey might feature as the year goes on (best backsman in a team that kept Gracefield to 0-7). 9 and 11 will both be midfielders, any two from Jimmy Grennan, Mark Daly and the Super. McNamee will play anyway, his form warrants it, and the other slot is down to whether you want all out fielding and power and the occasional point from range or more mobility and distribution. Ultimately if Grennan is fit you have to have him over Daly - big if though. Daly was in front until his awful display against Dublin. Now you couldn't be sure.

12 will probably be Shaper, but the scores have dried up in recent weeks, and his tendency to go further out the field in search of the ball doesn't suit him. With a withdrawn corner man we need a scorer here. I expect Shaper to start, but someone like Deehan or maybe even David Egan to make this slot his own come the championship. Although if Kilmurray was watching the first round of the county Championship, the one forward who made you sit up and take notice (of those not already mentioned - Jimmy Paw and Niall were both fantastic) was Ciaran Grennan of Ballycumber. He's the one coming with a late run in my eyes. If he gets a run in a challenge match or two, he might be hard dislodge.

[gaahead]

you are basing this on a performance against a pullough back line ?? - it's a bit more of a step up matey!!

[Lone Shark]

Fair enough - but the fact remains that Rory Guinan ran at the same backline and scored one point. Chop got something similar - and these lads are on the intercounty panel. Pullough's backline wouldn't be any worse than Doon's (some difference in the forwards, but I'd say an amalgamated backline would be 50/50 between those two) and yet Shaper scored 0-1 if memory serves. Roy scored just one point on a very limited Ferbane defence. Paschal is still waiting for someone to hand him back his rattle so he can throw it out of the pram again. Ciaran Kiely was anonymous. Deehan scored well all right, but the truth is that Freddie kicked a lot of scores from range, which would be handy for a 12.

I'm just saying that he possibly has something to offer, and there's a lot to be said for form. Not knowing the guy personally, I've no idea what his attitude or discipline would be like, but unless there's a reason not to, he strikes me as maybe worth a shot.

[gaahead]

he got a shot with the county before - a couple of years ago - he is an good club player when on form but is very inconsistent and is nowhere near county standard

[Lone Shark]

A lot of guys don't necessarily make a huge impact on their first run in the team, or evolve into a different player as time goes on. Mark Daly got a run in the late nineties, and disappeared again only to feature a lot more in recent years. Roy Malone burst on to the scene as a flamboyant goalscoring full forward, and had a quiet period before evolving into a hard working and ball winning half forward for whom scoring is now a secondary part of his game.

Then you have players like Conor Evans and Scott Brady who develop into county footballers later in their careers.

I don't want this to sound like a crusade to get Grennan into the team to play Louth, truth be told I do think he's too inconsistent as well. But the fact is he's talented, and in a team with not a lot of greedy scoring forwards on the roster, he could be worth having on board.

[the rat]

ciaran grennan was a key player in the offaly junior team that won the leinster team a few years back. i dont think he would be good enough for the starting senior team, but he is as good as whats on the bench at the moment for the seniors.

[Muck Savage]

Lads
Grennan is not up for it, there are beter lads on the bench that would do better than him. Take Damian Hunt for example, he hasn't been given much of a shot yet but he'd do a fine job. I'd say Grennan is well back and to be honest there are a good few good club players out there that would do as good a job as him.

[Lone Shark]

I've an awful lot of time for Damien Hunt as a footballer, and certainly would be more than happy to see him play a significant role in the year ahead - but he'd be the first to say that he's not a heavy scorer. He can tale opportunities when they crop up, but most of what he brings is competitiveness, awareness and great distribution. In a team with a withdrawn corner forward, and undoubtedly a midfielder at 11, we need no.12 to be a scorer. Shaper is still the front runner, but I'd like to have more options there. And certainly, as things stand, we're very short of cover for the two young lads in the FF line. David Egan is really the only other possible.

Anyway, I can tell I'm fighting the tide on this one, so probably best I leave it go...

[the rat]

i dont know why you think david egan is good enough for the senior team. he is a very average player and didnt stand out playing for the u21's. offaly need pascal kelleghan back. apart from hunt and deehan there is no fowards that you could bring in if mcnamee and coughlan are struggling.

[Lone Shark]

I wouldn't say I think he's good enough - but I think that he has proven that he can take scores, and he stepped up and performed well when given a lot of responsibility by his club, and I think there's a lot to be said for that too. For me he's worth a place on the panel for that alone, and I'd certainly have him earmarked as someone who could be a very good footballer in the future if his development keeps going as it has done.

In complete contrast, I've no wish to see Paschal back unless he himself makes the first move and acknowledges he was way out of order. Let's not forget he walked off the panel for not being picked - and I've no idea how he felt he should be. He clearly wasn't fit enough to play a half forward role, and that left only two slots on the inside line. I don't know whether it was Jimmy or Niall he thought he was better than, but it was delusion anyway. He had already racked up a fair number of yellow cards, which was costing us dearly, and none for good honest trying to win the ball fouls either. All for petty corner forward drags out of a guy who had won a ball in front of him. For the last two years he has had a lazy attitude to inside play, continuing with his trick of trying to unbalance the defender by leaning into him rather than getting out in front and squaring up and using the ball. He got a run in Kerry and again in Omagh and did nothing to justify his inclusion, and certainly nothing he did for Rhode against Ferbane stood out as the play of a county man.

Nothing is worth sacrificing team harmony for in Gaelic football, where unity of purpose invariably outdoes superior individual talent. Deehan, Egan, Roy Malone, Hunt etc. were all willing to bide their time and wait for their chance, and when they get it they'll deserve it. Paschal needs to get himself fit and sharp, play as part of an overall forward unit rather than as the superstar, and cut out the cheap fouling and then make public that he's available for selection again.

He's too good not to play a role for the county in the years to come, but he's also too disruptive to bring back in now.

[the rat]

i agree what your saying about kelleghans bad attitude and lack of discipline, but thiss county is too small too be without someone as talanted as him. if he could only get his head in check, hed be a great asset.

[Hyper]

I believe that Paschal and his wife had a new born baby boy recently and that he should be coming back to the squad in the near future.......