Richie Steps Down

A forum to air your views on Offaly GAA matters and beyond.
biffo_king
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Richie Steps Down

Post by biffo_king »

Richie Connor has tendered his resignation with immediate effect. A meeting will take place tomorrow night to discuss a successor to Richie.

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Bord na Mona man
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by Bord na Mona man »

Another sorrowful mystery added to the contemporary history Offaly football.
The alternative to resigning was to really drag it out Cork style, which thankfully Richie decided against.

You'd have to feel a bit sorry for him. Granted the signs were that he wasn't going top have a successful tenure and he has alienated a few people in Offaly football, but it is tough justice all the same.

The problems in Offaly football didn't start and won't end with him. Now it is up to the players and county board to step up to the plate. If the players get the sort of management they want and the sort of organisation at board level they want are we going to see a marked improvement?

There are some really committed players on the panel, but there are others who will seem to shirk responsibility and look for excuses. When you have performances like Down last year, it can't all be pinned on management and county board.
At least when the dust settles on this particular mess, we might have a clearer picture of where the problems lie.

Let the lady speak!
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by Let the lady speak! »

Bye bye Richie ... let's seat back and see what brutal manager the county board come up with next ... when will they ever learn ... maybe a few of them should take a leaf out of Richie's book!

kick it long
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by kick it long »

Richies statement is in full on the Offaly Express website. Without naming names he has a good old swipe at some of the players.

""Two of the more influential players of this group had a history of leaving county panels in the past."

Wonder who these players are...??????

Now that he's gone, and I don't think he was given a fair crack of the whip, no matter who gets appointed as manager now its up to the players to get off their arses and show that dragging the county's name through the dirt one more time was worth it.

By the way I wonder who will touch the job now with a barge pole..... Stephen Darby is over Carbury and by all accounts is getting a huge turn out for training.

Pat Flanagan is already double jobbing.....

Is it time for a blast from the past .... Paul Kelly, Gerry Fahy or maybe even Kevin Kilmurray......

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joe bloggs
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by joe bloggs »

If the next manager looses badly in the weeks ahead will he too face the chop. Remember with the closed season richie actuall only got 5 weeks. It must be a record. Its hardly as if the results were any worse than those at the end of last year so he should have been given some more time.
'if your not part of the solution, your part of the problem' J. McClean

keephercountry
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by keephercountry »

have to agree with joe blogs.
I feel a bit sorry for richie .offaly people wanted to see some new faces to the team.richie tried to experiment okay it didnt work but if you dont try you dont learn.I also feel the players should of shown a bit more respect to the former offaly all ireland winning captain.just wondering who ye think will earn respect of the players and will have us ready for championship match v killdare :?:

black and red exile
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by black and red exile »

This mess has being going on since Gerry Fahey departed. The County board has an awful lot to answer for as do management and players, it's very much a collective thing and it would be unfair to blame just one party for this whole sorry soap opera that is Offaly football. Richie's legendary status will always be guaranteed after being a fantastic leader for both Offaly and Walsh Island and I take my hat off to him for not doing a ''Gerald McCarthy'' and stepping down almost immediatly when it was obvious that the players had no confidence in him.
Now whoever gets the job has a task on his hands in trying to get these players right for a very tough year ahead. We want no more excuses and whingeing about X Y or Z not being up to standard or whatever else they have a bee in their bonnet about. There are players on this football panel who just go through the motions in wearing the tri-colour jersey and im pretty sure most of us know who they are, it's up to the new management to weed them out and get rid of them fast and let guys who will sweat blood for Offaly get their chance and show what they can do.
One final point, how is it that there is never a word out of the hurlers, year after year no matter how bad things are going they turn up, give their best for the jersey and just get on with representing the County with great pride no matter who is in charge.

Phoenix Arms
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by Phoenix Arms »

black and red exile wrote: One final point, how is it that there is never a word out of the hurlers, year after year no matter how bad things are going they turn up, give their best for the jersey and just get on with representing the County with great pride no matter who is in charge.
I seem to remember the hurlers getting rid of the manager in 1998 after the "disgrace" of losing to Kilkenny by 5 points in a Leinster final.

Granted they did back it up by winning the All-Ireland that September.

ice man
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by ice man »

richie connor was the wrong appointment , everyone knew that . but there are about 10 or 12 wrong ones on this panel and a few more wrong ones stirring it from outside the panel . what to do now , i dont know , stephen darby wont want it . theres no one else inside strong enough. i wasnt tommy lyons biggest fan but i think it might suit him now. my dark horse is john maughan , he would take no shit from lads who think they are better footballers than they are.

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Lone Shark
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by Lone Shark »

I think one thing that we all have to bear in mind here is that very few on this board are fully in touch with everything that went on the past few weeks. I'd say every footballer has gone through a spell whereby he's been played in a position that he doesn't like, or when he hasn't got on with his manager, however it usually doesn't lead to this. There is more to this than meets the eye, but I cannot stress this enough, this is not my way of encouraging people to tell tales on this board - it is anything but.

However bad and all as Pat Roe was, and he drove several players from the panel himself, he never caused this level of dis-satisfaction - but equally, odd though Richie's team selections were, they were far from the only factor in that horror show in Kiltoom. Personally I'd be lying if I said that Richie Connor would have been my choice in the first place, however every Offaly person will acknowledge his place in our county's history, and a significant place it is too. I think his decision to step down when there clearly was no future in staying on is a testament to that also. I personally just happen to believe that his playing career and his managerial career bear little or no relation to each other, in any regard.

It's only in the fullness of time that the appropriateness of the players' actions will be come clear. If they now turn around this season and save relegation before making a decent stab at the Leinster championship and then the qualifiers, then they'll have proved their point. If they don't then they simply will have nowhere left to look except into the mirror.

The focus now turns to the county board. As I have reiterated several times, Offaly football is at a crossroads in many respects. Positive steps must be taken now to ensure that we return to an upward trajectory immediately. Progress does not have to be immediate, but it must be planned, administrated, encouraged and enforced. Whatever else we are in Offaly as a community of GAA people, we are not unreasonable. In recent years we have reached several underage provincial finals, and rather than blaming managers or players for failing to bring home silverware, those achievements have been recognised as worthy and commendable by everyone. Nobody is lambasted for failing to touch the sky. A reasonable stab at making the best of ourselves and people will be content and will weigh in with their support. Those not willing to do that, or those with other agendas, should now step aside.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

mrbinman
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by mrbinman »

so richie has gone and what has changed. fair play to richie for not doin a cork on it but some of these players need to have a right look at themselves and see where they stand in the whole scheme of things.

they have been in the way of getting rid of the past four managers finding fault with everyone except themselves. can all these managers be wrong. it is more than managerial and co board inefficiencies that has offaly where it is.

kilmurray was shoved out despite offalys most successful period since 98 after being more than competitive in div 1. pat roe was always up against it after the previous year and struggled to get a grip on lads where he had only 1 selector and none from inside the co for a long time. fahey only got the support of the players after he got shafted by the co board. richie has come and gone without bein given a chance.

players meanwhile complain about this that and the other, often about training facilities which is more than legitimate but have they bein doin there part in the whole thing?

for some time many of these players have not been conducting themselves as any co player should and still find fault for their failings with various managers and co board.

some of the main players in this recent coo have their own history of unprofessionalism in their approach and it is a bit rich to be striking on richie coming from them.

some consider themselves too good to train with their clubs even when offaly are beaten in the championship.

some (starters) were caught knacker drinking like 14 yr olds in a wood outside an offaly village on the wed before we played dublin in leinster 1st round in 2007.

some are known to be regulars on the pub scene in mullingar after every league game.

some were on an all night bender till the thurs morning before the qualifier v laois on a sat evenin in 2006 where victory would have left us in all ireland q final.

some have been known to bury cars and other vehicles in ditches around the county drunk as lords and under the influence. rumours about substance abuse is rife.

some have missed training and matches in recent times whileclaiming to be sick while on benders in european cities.

some are known to gardai for their late night behaviour acting like toe rags as recently as the past few weeks, far from the behaviour of a club footballer, let alone inter county.

some of these are the lads that are striking again on offaly football. what has gone on is a disgrace coming from a bunch of fellas who cant conduct themselves off the field. some really need to look at their part in the demise of offaly football.

while richie may have had flaws and has stepped aside, his heart was surely in the right place. as for the players, some use offaly football to parade on the social scene as something special. these lads need to grow up fast as they are as much the reason why offaly is on its knees as the co board or managements or anyone. they need to stand up and earn the respect of the offaly people again because fans are sick to the teeth of their carry on. sometimes the truth hurts... just calling a spade a spade

uibhfhaili
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by uibhfhaili »

fair play to Richie. We all see what Gerald McCarthy, after two yrs of failure, is doing to Cork Gaa. It talks courage to put the good of your own county before your own ego.

Mr Faithful
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by Mr Faithful »

Fair play to Richie stepping down, he will always be held in high esteem for the heroics of 82. Maybe some of the players can have a laugh back at him when they have won an all ireland themselves. But the next question is who do we get as manager. Would Luke Dempsey be an option, all the players seem to want Stephen Darby but at the end of the day, the players need to step up to the mark, when will pride come into play in wearing the faithful jersey. Come on lads if not for yourselves then do it for us fans who travel the country to follow you. Last week in Roscommon was brutal. Surely we can take some pride in where we are from, granted we wont win the all ireland but a good run would lift the spirits during the dour times we are in.

So lads who will be the bainsteoir!!!

Mr Faithful

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azoffaly
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by azoffaly »

The seeds for all this malarky were sown, I believe, back in 2003. Paul O'Kelly was given a remit to blood youngsters and set in train a plan to get to the top of Leinster again. He believed what he was told, and believed in Offaly. He was optimistic, bordering on crazily so, but he had a plan, and he had the players on his side.

Offaly that year were unlucky to only get a draw in Portlaoise, after Ian Fitzgerald's Ronan O'Gara pass to Mick Lawlor, and were undone in extra time in the qualifiers in Mullingar by Frankie Dolan's Roscommon, and a ref's decisions.

The O'Kelly was asked to justify his position to a group of people, under the pretenses of a 'review'. These people then recommended he be fired. I won't mention names, but Karma's a bitch.

Anyhow, after that Fahy came and was shafted, then Kilmurray's inauspicious tactical reign, which has been the highpoint so low have we fallen, followed by 2 poor years of Pat Roe and 5 sad weeks under Richie.

I don't know who would take that job in their right mind. Stephen Darby will surely be in the running again, but I hope whoever gets it will be given time and more importantly support to put whatever plan they have in motion.
Shane Gavin. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

biffo_king
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Re: Richie Steps Down

Post by biffo_king »

Whos The 2 Players That Richie Was Talking About?

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