Allianz FL Division 4 2013

[Kevin]

Congratulations to the team on this achievement.

It didn't look likely after the loss to Clare, but here we are.

When did Offaly football last go on a 4 game winning streak?

Roll on the final!!

[Phoenix]

Congrats to Offaly.

A day out in Croker in a few weeks and already something achieved for 2013.

[DAF]

Great to get the win and promotion and the players looked delighted afterwards however that was a shocking performance and a shocking game of football.The type of football Offaly played today was diabolical, why do our half forward line have to play so deep, it is the main reason we continually hand pass the ball around in circles as the players coming out of defence have nobody to pass the ball ahead of them, we have the best ball winning full forward in Leinster and yet don't play long ball into him and what is more frustrating is when we are direct it pays dividends.Brian Connor was outstanding today and Michael Brazil done well also they were the only 2 players who really took the game to Tipperary and drove forward with purpose.It would be nice to win against Limerick in the final i just want us to play some proper football with more positivity and hopefully look like we can trouble Kildare of we play like we did today against Kildare it will be embarassing. Our full forward line at times today were about 70 yards away from the nearest Offaly men.When we actually went at Tipp we played some nice football but there needs to be more positivity in our football from now on, I'm not saying we should go gung ho but play our half forward line 15 yards further forward to give more shape to the team.

[blue biffo]

Well here is my bit after today's game i taught we played some of our best football today, Niall's goal just before halftime was very important we had played into a strong wind and went in ahead at halftime,Tipps heads were down going in couldn't see us not winning at that stage.We played well in the second half Tipp got caught on the break a few times and Brian Connor and Graham Guilfoyle ran straight through them. I think this is the kind of game the management is looking for hitting teams on the break.Also again today Emmet was not afraid to make the chances, we all will not agree with them but is brave to make them, called Ruairi Allen off in the second after bring him on after about 20 mins.I have being at all home games so far and i am sorry lads but "as it says on the can" it was Divison 4 and the football was hard to look at a lot of the time, always playing one or two forwards in the back line but we are not alone in this every county is doing it in all divisions(Jamie has a lot to answer for).We are delighted to be out off that division but if we play like that next year we will be back in it again but this is the managements first year and would like to thing it is the start of something and will have improved enough to stay in division 3.Lads lets not get carried away if we can stay there a few years before looking at division 2.And finally i was a little disappointed with the crowd today only 1700 we had that for an O Byrne game at the start of the year and this was our most important game so far this year we need to get out to support them.

[ryot]

On the attendance: The O'Byrne Cup was well promoted and Club Faithful was really getting goingthen. This thing of managers talking down the League (mostly those in Div 1 & 2 ) does not help attendance but at least I was happy to be there for a promotion win.

As for the game: Great to win and goof performances from all 3 half-backs, Anton, Graham & Ken.

Niall took the goals well but seems not yet back to full power. If he is for the Champ it will be grand !!!

What dissapointed me most was we stopped competing for the kick-outs in the last 20 minutes and allowed Tipp loads of possession. Their refusal to shoot even from good positions let us off the hook on many occasions. Having said that our full back line got in some great blocks and did not give away manty frees. Mouthing cost us a few times so that is something to be fixed.

Happy to have a team in a Final & one more decent game before the Championship.

[blue74]

A good win today. The play was scrappy at times and the 15 man behind the ball wasnt nice to see but it served its purpose. some promising signs too and hopefully it will spring us on a bit further.

[DAF]

On the attendance: The O'Byrne Cup was well promoted and Club Faithful was really getting goingthen. This thing of managers talking down the League (mostly those in Div 1 & 2 ) does not help attendance but at least I was happy to be there for a promotion win.

.

Very easy solution to this issue.A manager is informed before he takes the job that if he asked any questions about the league he says his team are taking it very seriously and he emphasises at all pre match interviews how seriously his team are taking the league.If he strays from this at all, funding for his team is cut with the fairly sensible reason being provided by the county board that unfortunately attendances and thus income is not as good as expected due to the team manager saying the league wast important

[Plain of the Herbs]

Ah Jaysus will you stop. That's ridiculous.

Very easy solution to this issue.A manager is informed before he takes the job that if he asked any questions about the league he says his team are taking it very seriously and he emphasises at all pre match interviews how seriously his team are taking the league.If he strays from this at all, funding for his team is cut with the fairly sensible reason being provided by the county board that unfortunately attendances and thus income is not as good as expected due to the team manager saying the league wast important

[Abercrombie Fitch]

Minimum requirement for McDonnell had to be promotion considering the draw for the Championship. That has been achieved and credit has to go to him, his backroom team and the players. It looked dead and buried after the Clare game. It'll be great to get into Croker contesting a trophy again. Div 4 Champs? 1997 again? Maybe not, but it cant do the lads any harm to get a run out in HQ before Kildare.

Onwards and upwards lads!

[DAF]

A lot of high profile managers have dismissed the league in interviews and Jim Gavin who's team have a league semi final has said his team have gotten all the wanted out of the league and aren't overly concerned with the semi finals.I don't think it is good for the country's most high profile GAA managers to continually dismiss the league If I was a casual fan and wasnt too sure whether I was going to go to a league match the manager saying beforehand that his team werent taking it too seriously might make me decide to stay at home and not fork out any money.Why should the supporters bother if the team arent really bothered. It can't be too difficult for managers to tell a little lie when asked questions by the media and it would create a more favourable impression of the league which might convince some undecided supporters that going to a league match is worthwhile.The media and managers who contribute to the media impression of the league doesn't help attendances.

Ah Jaysus will you stop. That's ridiculous.

Very easy solution to this issue.A manager is informed before he takes the job that if he asked any questions about the league he says his team are taking it very seriously and he emphasises at all pre match interviews how seriously his team are taking the league.If he strays from this at all, funding for his team is cut with the fairly sensible reason being provided by the county board that unfortunately attendances and thus income is not as good as expected due to the team manager saying the league wast important

[Lone Shark]

Perhaps in Dublin, where the vast majority of the supporters are unconnected to the team in the sense that they don't end up in conversation with a member of the panel every few weeks, there might be some logic to that sort of thinking. However down the country it's different - everybody knows people that are involved, they know that in most cases, the league is a series of individual challenge games, worth winning each time but not of huge interest as a collective entity. Oddly enough, the fear of going into division 4 is usually enough to ensure that the most competitive games you'll get are those where promotion out of or relegation into the basement division is on the table.

No amount of talking up the league in public would cod a genuine supporter into thinking the league is the real deal this year, as long as what he/she sees on the field doesn't tally with what's being said. When players like Colm Cooper, Bernard Brogan, Jamie Clarke and the like all skip league games or get rested for them, that's a much clearer signal.

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

Bottom line today os that the attendance was a disgrace. Says more about the so called fans than anything else. Sure it was a cold day but we all have coats.
We will have a final in Croker in 2 weeks, I would like to see all clubs run buses for their underage players and make a big deal about this. Lets face it, its the clubs job now to promote this team and Offaly football to the kids. Its an opportunity to talk up football. There are enough issues with kids leaving the sport to play rugby and soccer.
Its the start of clubs underage seasons also, so no better time to bring kids to Croker and get the interest for the summer. Club Faithful, fine, but what is it only a text to ask you to go to the game? Surely people are above that?

[brownie]

puke,puke,and more puke football.terrible stuff.the manangement are taking the trapatonni approach.if your players are not good enough,dont let the other team score.was happy with 1st half tactics.couldnt believe the 2nd half tactics.playing 4 in the full back line and 12 inside our half playing with the wind and needing a win for promotion.lucky enough that Tipp missed 2 goals and a few points aswell as a man sent off.we only pulled away after that.enjoy the day out in Dublin.its not going to be good after that .p.s i noticed Anton in the 2nd half asking could he go forward and was told to sit back.we were only 1pt up at this stage.if we were afraid of half a tipp team,god help us v kildare.im sure some one will agrue a wins a win.fair enough if your happy with that.

[the veteran]

peformance best ive seen under this management .all teams piay this group defence now that is the football has gone the only way to beat it is wit excellent footballers. b darby my player of the year so far .eoin carrol was excellent justifying management faith in him .

[Bord na Mona man]

Job well done by Offaly.
First half the tactics were spot on, get men behind the ball, use a sweeper to deter the long ball, hold onto possession, run down the clock.

Tipperary never got a run of scores at all despite the gale behind them. In a 35 minute half against the wind, you could defend brilliantly for 30 minutes and get destroyed in just 5 minutes. Only once did Offaly give away a blatant turnover score, despite playing a lot of 'keep ball'.

What was pleasing to see is that now fellas are working much harder with supporting runs.
Take McConway and Pender in the full back line for example. There were several occasions when they broke out of defence, gave the pass and kept running in support to receive the ball again and carried it into the other half of the field.
This wasn't happening last year and Offaly were always running out of options when trying to work the ball out of defence.

The half back line did well also. Eoin Carroll looks a real find here, though he tire with about 10 minutes to go.
Of the 5 players who started in attack Guilfoyle and Connor carried the ball at times and broke tackles. McNamee, Casey and Anton are all coming back from lay offs, so aren't 100%, but will be happy enough with their outings.

The negatives. Offaly didn't immediately look to put Tipp to sword with the wind and lost their shape around the time of the conceded goal. It was only later in the 2nd half that Offaly started really going direct at Tipp. Also, the ref moved up far too many frees for dissent. Two of them turned difficult frees into very scorable ones.

This time last year, there were jibes coming from all angles about how if there was Division 5, Offaly would be in it etc.
3 games in to this campaign, promotion didn't look likely either. Credit must be given for the turnaround. The management should be applauded for steering things back on course after the Clare defeat.

Finally, some of the complaints on this topic throughout the league are bemusing. Do lads really pay into matches and expect to see laser guided 40 metre kickpasses hitting the "O" on the Carroll's logo. Yesterday was trench warfare in difficult conditions and escaping Division 4 was all that mattered. I'd have settled for 0-1 to 0-0 if that was what was needed.