2014 O'Byrne Cup

[KillougheyGoBragh]

Listened to the game on MR3 and as mentioned above the spirit shown by Offaly to came back when 5 points down is the positive point that any coach would take out of the game.
The difference in my humble opinion is how quickly Laois player of the year, Martin Scully, was taken off and replaced once it was apparent he wasn't having a good 'day at the office'. His replacement scored two quick points and missed a goal opportunity.
Laois have depth in numbers and a management team who care little for reputation it seems.

[Mountain man]

The current Offaly set up seems to deteriorating rapidly on a weekly basis. The first problem which I can see is the caliber of player for which Emmett mc donnell is favouring. It seems that once you are 6 foot plus and can lift weights then you don't need to have an basic skill requirements. Offaly would be better advised to focus on actually trying to play football instead of entering Mr Universe!! The second problem which is evident is the training techniques and those carrying out the training which may need to be examined. For example during last season it was well known that the u21 team was badly neglected and placed in the shadows of a bunch of failed seniors. The outcome resulted in a first round defeat to Laois. The third question which must be asked is just who exactly is the manager of the Offaly senior football team? Some of the decisions seems truly baffling to be honest. The GAA continues to prove that ability is only half the battle while the other half depends on your relatives. On a final note I'd just like to wonder in how many other counties would the u21 player of the year and a member of the senior panel for the previous year be dropped from the county senior panel?? Paul Mc Padden was dropped for being "not big enough". Now we can all see that the Mc Padden brothers were not blessed with towering height, but the real reason they were dropped was due to their lack of bulk!! I'm pretty sure it's only a matter of time before Eamonn Fitzmaurice drops Colm Cooper for his lack of bulk!! Figure that one out for me lads.

[townman]

its early in the year yet, but i tell you and most in laois will tell you they have f..k all,

[Truth as i see it]

its early in the year yet, but i tell you and most in laois will tell you they have f..k all,

To get back up challenging at the top level you first of all have to take baby steps and that starts with beating the teams that are immediately around us, in our case the teams in division 3 and i see these matches as excellent preparation for the league campaign and a good performance against division 2 standard teams regardless of of what the opposition does and doesn't have is beneficial to the side in my opinion, its like Mcdonnell said after the match, he doesn't want Niall Mcnamee playing well in the O' Byrne cup, he wants him playing well in the league so maybe you're reading too much into early season results so far or maybe you just want something to whinge about, old timers love a whinge you know

[townman]

Whinge about what, whos whinging laois beating offaly during the week was no shock i sure most who follow the football weren't shocked to see laois win, Vinny Claffey said as most after last sundays win.

i think if we get out of division 3 this season will be great, i think what we have really have to do is make sure we stay in division 3 this year and dont go back down to division 4 .

as my post about laois having f,,k all i was just quoting a laois gael who i know who is a big follower of laois football said as much.

[Truth as i see it]

Whinge about what, whos whinging laois beating offaly during the week was no shock i sure most who follow the football weren't shocked to see laois win, Vinny Claffey said as most after last sundays win.

i think if we get out of division 3 this season will be great, i think what we have really have to do is make sure we stay in division 3 this year and dont go back down to division 4 .

as my post about laois having f,,k all i was just quoting a laois gael who i know who is a big follower of laois football said as much.

Ok fair point but i would suspect his opinion on having F,A is more to do with having a similar pessimistic outlook on his county side as you do on ours in other word, minds thinking a like so i wouldn't go put too much stock in what he says after all Laois were challenging for division 1 status last year

[turfcutter]

Ill agree with Town man there, what we need to do this season is consolidate our position in Division 3,
but looking at the fixtures, we have some very tough games, Wexford and Longford were relegated from division 2, limerick promoted from Division 4, and the other teams in it have at least one season in Division 3 behind them.

The step up may be alittle too much for us. Ill probably get slated for saying that.

Looking at it, i cant see where we will pick up points, fermanagh, roscommon, sligo and cavan away + longford, limerick and wexford at home. Wet spring days in the muck, rain and dirt, wont suit us, we are physically too small, with the exception of a few players. I above anyone else, would love to see us get points in the bag and either get promoted or hold our position, which would tell us that there is improvment in the team and that things are going in the right direction. And thenthis would give us something to look forward to in the championship.

Anyhow, i am not here to offend anyone, just saying what i think.

Regards

[Mountain man]

Offaly football at present needs to be systematically changed from top to bottom. Offaly in terms of footballing had a period of success between the 70s and 80s,with a revival during the late 90s. However,since that past revival in 1997 and 1998 Offaly has been in a constant state of decline. The reason for this decline in my opinion has been due to a number of factors. The first problem is the lack of a clear and concise under age programme where by the best talent from across the county can be developed at under 12 through to under 21. The programme should begin by outlining what style of play Offaly are seeking to develop,outline what is required in terms of attitude on and off the pitch,proper training techniques,conditioning,concentration on the skills of the game,and development of a team ethos. This system is similar to what is carried out at most successful international, and club soccer teams. The second reason why Offaly has been in decline is an over reliance upon the belief that great players make great managers. The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of great players dont make great coaches. Eugene Mc Gee for example was never a world beater in terms of footballing ability but in terms in managerial skill he was second to none for his time. The club system is another area which is in dire need of a serious revamp. Any spectator who has been to senior hurling and senior football matches within the county will tell you of the vast difference between the atmosphere,attendance, and the standard of competitive matches. The senior football championship at present for 2014 I can tell you will be decided between Rhode,Clara,Edenderry,and Tullamore. The outcome then depends upon how enthusiastic Clara,Edenderry and Tullamore are, and whether or not they can curtail the Rhode axis of Niall Mc Namee and Paul Mc Padden. Tullamore managed to curtail both in this years championship,so they won. Rhode will again be favourites and understandably so. Edenderry seem stale at present and may need a change in management in order to further progress what is a talented bunch. Tullamore have proven themselves to be a good team this year by winning the championship,but great teams win doubles,so they will have everything to prove again in 2014. Clara will be hoping for a strong 2014 for what appeared to be a team in transition in 2013,they will hope to build on the league win of 2013 for the coming year. For Offaly to be competitive at senior inter county level then it needs to have more than the big four challenging for top honours. One reason for hope has been the progression of Ferbane at underage level over the past few years and Shamrocks winning their first ever minor title in 2013. Both will need to begin making an impact upon senior level. Offaly's main problem is that the county board only seems to focus upon the senior management and the senior team while neglecting the under age players and the future for Offaly footballers. You can't develop a successful senior team without having a successful under age team. Clare have proven this,and so have Dublin in football and hurling. Football has become professional,the days of gathering a team and hoping that pure talent alone will win out has gone. Offaly is limited in resources and numbers,so in order to have any hope to develop at senior level they must first concentrate upon the under age structures and the calibre of officials which are responsible for coaching the future of Offaly football. These are just my opinions on where I believe Offaly need to make vast strides in order to gain on lost ground.

[DAF]

Terrible performance.No shape or strcuture to the team.We play with our two wings forwards in the half back line and full forward as an extra man in midfield yet Wexford scored 16 points, surely if you play so many men in defence we should be limiting a team like Wexford to less than 16 points.Every move forward we had was through the middle of the field and the support running was poor and nobody seemed to think moving the ball into space on the wing would be a good idea.Yesterday we seemed to get scores by luck as much as design.If John Maloney is going to play he should be either a full back centre back or as a target man in the full forwrd line (as a last resort) not as an extra midfielder.

I know its only the O'Byrne Cup and I shouldnt be so quick to judge but the same issues we had last year are back again and I just don't know what kind of football we are trying to play and there just doesnt seem to be much sense in the way we play.

[jimbob17]

Offaly football at present needs to be systematically changed from top to bottom. Offaly in terms of footballing had a period of success between the 70s and 80s,with a revival during the late 90s. However,since that past revival in 1997 and 1998 Offaly has been in a constant state of decline. The reason for this decline in my opinion has been due to a number of factors. The first problem is the lack of a clear and concise under age programme where by the best talent from across the county can be developed at under 12 through to under 21. The programme should begin by outlining what style of play Offaly are seeking to develop,outline what is required in terms of attitude on and off the pitch,proper training techniques,conditioning,concentration on the skills of the game,and development of a team ethos. This system is similar to what is carried out at most successful international, and club soccer teams. The second reason why Offaly has been in decline is an over reliance upon the belief that great players make great managers. The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of great players dont make great coaches. Eugene Mc Gee for example was never a world beater in terms of footballing ability but in terms in managerial skill he was second to none for his time. The club system is another area which is in dire need of a serious revamp. Any spectator who has been to senior hurling and senior football matches within the county will tell you of the vast difference between the atmosphere,attendance, and the standard of competitive matches. The senior football championship at present for 2014 I can tell you will be decided between Rhode,Clara,Edenderry,and Tullamore. The outcome then depends upon how enthusiastic Clara,Edenderry and Tullamore are, and whether or not they can curtail the Rhode axis of Niall Mc Namee and Paul Mc Padden. Tullamore managed to curtail both in this years championship,so they won. Rhode will again be favourites and understandably so. Edenderry seem stale at present and may need a change in management in order to further progress what is a talented bunch. Tullamore have proven themselves to be a good team this year by winning the championship,but great teams win doubles,so they will have everything to prove again in 2014. Clara will be hoping for a strong 2014 for what appeared to be a team in transition in 2013,they will hope to build on the league win of 2013 for the coming year. For Offaly to be competitive at senior inter county level then it needs to have more than the big four challenging for top honours. One reason for hope has been the progression of Ferbane at underage level over the past few years and Shamrocks winning their first ever minor title in 2013. Both will need to begin making an impact upon senior level. Offaly's main problem is that the county board only seems to focus upon the senior management and the senior team while neglecting the under age players and the future for Offaly footballers. You can't develop a successful senior team without having a successful under age team. Clare have proven this,and so have Dublin in football and hurling. Football has become professional,the days of gathering a team and hoping that pure talent alone will win out has gone. Offaly is limited in resources and numbers,so in order to have any hope to develop at senior level they must first concentrate upon the under age structures and the calibre of officials which are responsible for coaching the future of Offaly football. These are just my opinions on where I believe Offaly need to make vast strides in order to gain on lost ground.

To be fair to the county board, the underage has improved drastically in the last couple of years and the signs are showing that we are going to be quite competitive if managed correctly going forward. Offaly would be one of the favourites to win a minor in the next 2 years and Paschal Kellaghan has a good track record in management to date. Last years U16 team would be in the top 3 in Leinster on a par with Dublin and Kildare and beat those teams through the underage ranks putting us in the top 6 or 8 in the country. In fact, at a medals ceremony for the Fr Manning Cup (U16) recently (which Offaly won) it was stated that only Laois and Dublin from Leinster have beaten Offaly in competititve games over the last few years at this age group. Generally, the Fr Manning would be considered the most prestigious u16 competition in the country similar to the Nenagh Co-op in hurling. Westmeath lost to Roscommon 2 years ago in the same competition in 2011 and they made All Ireland minor quarter and semi finals respectively in 2013. At that same medals presentation, there were 3 trophies there that were won by Offaly underage football teams. There are conditioning programmes in place already in the development squads and these are being pushed through the secondary schools with players from first year. if this type of work continues then we are sure to see some light at the end of what has become a fairly dark tunnell.... In fairness to McDonnell, he seems to be steering them in the right direction coming from where they have, at least we are competitive now again. It wasnt that long ago that Wexford hockeyed us in the first round in Tullamore which was the lowest point for me in years in terms of Offaly football...

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

I cant believe that anyone can come on here and talk about Niall Mc blogging having anything to do with football!!
For Gods sake, anything that helps him or anyone of us to cope with addictions or tough times needs to be takin onboard. Are some lads still living in the dark ages regarding mental health, addiction or depression?

He can take his time getting to full fitness, as he is our main man for the last 7 or 8 years. If he could blog on how I might lose a stone.......

[Daleamar]

To be fair to the county board, the underage has improved drastically in the last couple of years and the signs are showing that we are going to be quite competitive if managed correctly going forward. Offaly would be one of the favourites to win a minor in the next 2 years and Paschal Kellaghan has a good track record in management to date. Last years U16 team would be in the top 3 in Leinster on a par with Dublin and Kildare and beat those teams through the underage ranks putting us in the top 6 or 8 in the country. In fact, at a medals ceremony for the Fr Manning Cup (U16) recently (which Offaly won) it was stated that only Laois and Dublin from Leinster have beaten Offaly in competititve games over the last few years at this age group. Generally, the Fr Manning would be considered the most prestigious u16 competition in the country similar to the Nenagh Co-op in hurling. Westmeath lost to Roscommon 2 years ago in the same competition in 2011 and they made All Ireland minor quarter and semi finals respectively in 2013. At that same medals presentation, there were 3 trophies there that were won by Offaly underage football teams. There are conditioning programmes in place already in the development squads and these are being pushed through the secondary schools with players from first year. if this type of work continues then we are sure to see some light at the end of what has become a fairly dark tunnell.... In fairness to McDonnell, he seems to be steering them in the right direction coming from where they have, at least we are competitive now again. It wasnt that long ago that Wexford hockeyed us in the first round in Tullamore which was the lowest point for me in years in terms of Offaly football...

Having been at the Kildare and Offaly match in the Fr Manning Cup, I would agree that Offaly have a very talented bunch of players.

Although Offaly beat Kildare, there was a distinct difference between the two set-ups. Kildare looked a much better team and had it not been for heroic defensive work and goalkeeping Offaly would have been hammered. Offaly hoofed the ball forward. Kildare had a distinct game-plan which worked (except for the typical Kildare flaw of not being able to finish chances), making goal chance after goal chance.

Offaly relied on 1 forward for almost all of the scoring (a young Daingean man I believe). When he didnt score and win his own ball, Offaly didnt score. Offaly went a long period in the second half without scoring and changed nothing, nor were instructed to.

Also, the sheer size of the Kildare lads compared to Offaly was very very obvious.

As Mountain Man eluded to in his 'rant', football is no longer about putting out the most talented players and letting them at it. Its a combination of skill, tactics and physicality.

Therefore I would conclude that although they have won trophies, its too early to pronounce it underage success. By your view then Offaly should have a minor title in the next two years, or indeed an u21 in the next 5. I would gauge it a success if they can challenge/win at minor and u21, therefore providing a good number of players to the Senior squad, which would assumably be at least winning some championship games.... I will reserve my judgement before declaring that the underage set-up has greatly improved.

Until we stop gauging underage success on winning underage trophies, rather than developing players and gameplans, we are going nowhere.

[townman]

i think kildare have the their own problems to there underage teams are in the gym day and night they are build like tank's but don't have the skill level to win all irelands, last years under 21 all ireland semil final in tullamore Galway were way smaller than kildare but gave them a lesson in the skills of the game.

we beat kildare in the under 21 two years ago in gracefield with a brand of football pascal kelleghan had us playing why he didn't get another year was a disgrace, but fair play to him he has came back and threw his lot in with the minors. the brand of football that all counties should be looking at is the Dubs, they are a great team to watch and are not like kildare that just go in for size, and play attacking football if we can get the skills back into the underage game and the work is put in i am sure we will have a good skillful senior side in a few years time.

[SearingDrive]

Ill agree with Town man there, what we need to do this season is consolidate our position in Division 3,
but looking at the fixtures, we have some very tough games, Wexford and Longford were relegated from division 2, limerick promoted from Division 4, and the other teams in it have at least one season in Division 3 behind them.

The step up may be alittle too much for us. Ill probably get slated for saying that.

Looking at it, i cant see where we will pick up points, fermanagh, roscommon, sligo and cavan away + longford, limerick and wexford at home. Wet spring days in the muck, rain and dirt, wont suit us, we are physically too small, with the exception of a few players. I above anyone else, would love to see us get points in the bag and either get promoted or hold our position, which would tell us that there is improvment in the team and that things are going in the right direction. And thenthis would give us something to look forward to in the championship.

Anyhow, i am not here to offend anyone, just saying what i think.

Regards

I think your analysis is correct Turfcutter, Offaly have a tough campaign in Division 3, staying in the division will be an achievement.

[jimbob17]

To be fair to the county board, the underage has improved drastically in the last couple of years and the signs are showing that we are going to be quite competitive if managed correctly going forward. Offaly would be one of the favourites to win a minor in the next 2 years and Paschal Kellaghan has a good track record in management to date. Last years U16 team would be in the top 3 in Leinster on a par with Dublin and Kildare and beat those teams through the underage ranks putting us in the top 6 or 8 in the country. In fact, at a medals ceremony for the Fr Manning Cup (U16) recently (which Offaly won) it was stated that only Laois and Dublin from Leinster have beaten Offaly in competititve games over the last few years at this age group. Generally, the Fr Manning would be considered the most prestigious u16 competition in the country similar to the Nenagh Co-op in hurling. Westmeath lost to Roscommon 2 years ago in the same competition in 2011 and they made All Ireland minor quarter and semi finals respectively in 2013. At that same medals presentation, there were 3 trophies there that were won by Offaly underage football teams. There are conditioning programmes in place already in the development squads and these are being pushed through the secondary schools with players from first year. if this type of work continues then we are sure to see some light at the end of what has become a fairly dark tunnell.... In fairness to McDonnell, he seems to be steering them in the right direction coming from where they have, at least we are competitive now again. It wasnt that long ago that Wexford hockeyed us in the first round in Tullamore which was the lowest point for me in years in terms of Offaly football...

Having been at the Kildare and Offaly match in the Fr Manning Cup, I would agree that Offaly have a very talented bunch of players.

Although Offaly beat Kildare, there was a distinct difference between the two set-ups. Kildare looked a much better team and had it not been for heroic defensive work and goalkeeping Offaly would have been hammered. Offaly hoofed the ball forward. Kildare had a distinct game-plan which worked (except for the typical Kildare flaw of not being able to finish chances), making goal chance after goal chance.

Offaly relied on 1 forward for almost all of the scoring (a young Daingean man I believe). When he didnt score and win his own ball, Offaly didnt score. Offaly went a long period in the second half without scoring and changed nothing, nor were instructed to.

Also, the sheer size of the Kildare lads compared to Offaly was very very obvious.

As Mountain Man eluded to in his 'rant', football is no longer about putting out the most talented players and letting them at it. Its a combination of skill, tactics and physicality.

Therefore I would conclude that although they have won trophies, its too early to pronounce it underage success. By your view then Offaly should have a minor title in the next two years, or indeed an u21 in the next 5. I would gauge it a success if they can challenge/win at minor and u21, therefore providing a good number of players to the Senior squad, which would assumably be at least winning some championship games.... I will reserve my judgement before declaring that the underage set-up has greatly improved.

Until we stop gauging underage success on winning underage trophies, rather than developing players and gameplans, we are going nowhere.

Agree with Town man on this one. Kildare were beaten in 21 and minor by Galway and Roscommon this year by what would be considered much smaller teams. Likewise with that Offaly U16 in the Fr Manning which i also attended as you did. From what i saw that day, Offaly were smaller but had better footballers and they worked hard in defending to beat what i saw as a team of huge guys for their age. Is this not what we are trying to achieve.... I am sure that If there were better physical and more able specimens at this age who wanted to be involved, they certainly would have been. I know of 2 from a particularly strong club who werent involved due to interest in other sports.

How can you say Kildare looked a much better team and could have hammered Offaly. They were doing their level best to beat us and couldnt. Is that not commendable to the Offaly lads who stuck to their task and won the game as a result. Surely Offaly were doing something right to win outside of hoofing the ball forward and hoping on one lad. Ive seen that team a good few times in last few years as ive a family member involved and its only on rare occasions that they were beaten, having hockeyed a lot of teams they met in the process. Kildare Meath Westmeath Louth or Wexford and plenty of other teams have never beaten that Offaly team in competitive action over 3 years and they play at least 10 competitive games a year in blitz format. Is this happening by chance? or is it a case of the structures having improved.

Ive seen these lads working on a variety of gym programmes from under 14 level so if we were smaller than a huge Kildare team (something out of control) we were still able to match and beat them based on skill and good play, the same as Galway at U21 and Roscommon at minor level. If i remember correctly, we outpointed kildare and neither team scored a goal that day which to me suggests it was no fluke.

Until we stop gauging underage success on winning underage trophies, rather than developing players and gameplans, we are going nowhere.

No offence, but I think this is rubbish! We havent won trophies like this for years and now that we are, you tell me we'd be better off focusing on something else? Is winning games and trophies not developing players? By extension, would we be winning games if we werent developing players if the teams that are losing to us are developing players. Obviously these lads have been developed and coached to a reasonable level and have been given gym programmes to work on. Is this not development? They have won the majority of the games they have played and as a result, have won the trophies they have won. Would you rather we lost the games and tell ourselves that we are developing? and if we were doing that, how would we know we were developing? I have met at least 2 people through work involved in Dublin GAA underage who were very impressed when seeing this Offaly team play and they would see this Offaly team as a serious threat. If we were not developing, would this be the case?

By my view, i am not saying we should win minor in next two years but we have a good chance, will be competitive and should be there with the likes of Kildare and Dublin in the shakeup. Is this not progress and what we should be aiming at? and then look to push these standards towards U21 and on to senior. What i am saying is there are green shoots, and the negativity of some is not doing any good. These lads need to be encouraged. Winning the Fr Manning cup, an 8 team competitive tournament is a huge starting point as it includes the likes of Roscommon and Cavan who'd generally be very strong in their provinces at underage with serious work being done. I agree that nothing is won in terms of Leinster championships but we have to start somewhere.

Paschal Kellaghan has a great opportunity to bring some silverware back to Offaly with these lads. We are very quick to knock the Co board, but there are signs there that a rising tide is on the move with success also at U14 level last year. This is how Tyrone started, how Dublin hurling and football started their resurgence and how Clare hurling and Roscommon & Cavan football started their resurgence.... If we can follow their lead, and maintain this type of quality underage system, we will be back in the picture soon enough......