football championship 2014

[Goodsupporter11]

Edenderry v Gracefield /. Clara v Rhode semi final pairings for 2014 championship . An Edenderry v Rhode final for me still.

don't know there hasn't been much about Gracefield they have been the darkhorses all year be great
for offaly football if they won the county again 1984 the last time .

How on earth would Gracefield winning the county final be good for offaly football??????

[townman]

well first thing goodsupporter 11 when Gracefield were strong football was strong in offaly the 60's 70's 80's gracefield always had a few on all ieland winning sides and back to the 60's, and another point
Rhode, Edenderry,Clara, have won most titles over the last 20 years or more and they have done nothing for offaly county football, and by the way goodsupporter they are the only ones that have won the leinster club title that are left of the four

[Goodsupporter11]

well first thing goodsupporter 11 when Gracefield were strong football was strong in offaly the 60's 70's 80's gracefield always had a few on all ieland winning sides and back to the 60's, and another point
Rhode, Edenderry,Clara, have won most titles over the last 20 years or more and they have done nothing for offaly county football, and by the way goodsupporter they are the only ones that have won the leinster club title that are left of the four

So hold on now till I try understand this. So because Gracefield were doing well decades ago and offaly were competitive at the same time this means that if Gracefield won this year it would strengthen offaly football???? Lol everyone said when edenderry and Tullamore were in finals in recent years that if they won it would also be good for offaly football. Just because a championship gets more competitive doesn't mean the county team will get any stonger as has been shown in offaly. ... Offaly football cannot get any worse. If rhode Clara edenderry or Tullamore couldn't do anything worth talking about in the Leinster club champ in recent years how in gods name would Gracefield ???

[timber]

From what I have seen of Gracefield they are no way as strong as the teams they had through the early to mid 2000's. And they are not on their own. The standard of club football in the county has dropped hugely. Look at Tullamore, Clara and even Rhode. Shadows of the teams they had through the 2000's and they are still the pace setters.

There are a number of teams in the senior football championship no better than than the last 4 of the intermediate teams and maybe even a few more and the intermediate is quiet poor.

And the biggest concern is I genuinely think interest within the county is very low. Id say we all know plenty of people who would never miss a game that rarely attend one these days.

[Lone Shark]

From what I have seen of Gracefield they are no way as strong as the teams they had through the early to mid 2000's. And they are not on their own. The standard of club football in the county has dropped hugely. Look at Tullamore, Clara and even Rhode. Shadows of the teams they had through the 2000's and they are still the pace setters.

There are a number of teams in the senior football championship no better than than the last 4 of the intermediate teams and maybe even a few more and the intermediate is quiet poor.

And the biggest concern is I genuinely think interest within the county is very low. Id say we all know plenty of people who would never miss a game that rarely attend one these days.

If Gracefield win a county title this year, they'll have beaten Tullamore, Edenderry and one of Rhode or Clara en route to doing so. They've a long way to go, but they'll have earned it. Any club stepping up in class and delivering on that level deserves credit for doing so, even if I would agree that the general standard is not high at the moment.

In terms of interest however, that's a big factor - at the start of the year most people would have agreed that there were four title contenders, with Gracefield a potential dark horse. Ferbane would have been seen as the best of the rest by a whisker, and everything that's happened has borne that out. You could count on one hand the number of competitive games that were worth watching - Tullamore vs Edenderry, Tullamore vs Gracefield, Ferbane vs Ballycumber and maybe one or two others. In a championship where 32 games have been played already, that's disappointing - and it's only going to get worse when we go to a round robin of eight teams. It's no coincidence that most of the better games were the ones where there was something real at stake.

[kaiserchief]

You could count on one hand the number of competitive games that were worth watching - Tullamore vs Edenderry, Tullamore vs Gracefield, Ferbane vs Ballycumber and maybe one or two others.

I was at that Ferbane and Ballycumber game because I taught it would be a cracker and the only way it was competitive was because one team was as bad as the other. As said before in previous comments the standard has decreased a lot lately!

[Lone Shark]

You could count on one hand the number of competitive games that were worth watching - Tullamore vs Edenderry, Tullamore vs Gracefield, Ferbane vs Ballycumber and maybe one or two others.

I was at that Ferbane and Ballycumber game because I taught it would be a cracker and the only way it was competitive was because one team was as bad as the other. As said before in previous comments the standard has decreased a lot lately!

In fairness to that game, it was intense - possessions were contested and none of the scores came easy. Admittedly there weren't too many moments of brilliance, but it was still a lot better than most of the turkey shoots we were treated to in other games.

[honey badger]

what way will the semis go?

[Pat_Mustard]

And the biggest concern is I genuinely think interest within the county is very low. Id say we all know plenty of people who would never miss a game that rarely attend one these days.

Have to agree with this. The interest levels have really dropped. The format of the championship has not helped but the standard has been a huge factor


Anyone else think that a Rhode V Edenderry final could really drum up a bit of interest? Gracefield & Clara will have something to say about it but think a local derby between the two teams to have played the best football this year could be very beneficial for the interest levels, after all its 13 years since their last final meeting

[tmorelad]

Whats this i hear about the clonbullogue manager pulling a player out of the back of an ambulance and forcing him back onto the pitch only for the player to collapse momments later.i was told he gave the ambulance staff woefull abuse in the junior A semi final

[brownie]

yes, I heard this aswell. although this would be his form,its a new low for him.

[High School Musical]

Whats this i hear about the clonbullogue manager pulling a player out of the back of an ambulance and forcing him back onto the pitch only for the player to collapse momments later.i was told he gave the ambulance staff woefull abuse in the junior A semi final

Good man Lazarus Molloy!
Maybe he thought that his player was also called Lazarus?....

That said, its very poor form on that man's behalf.

[Lone Shark]

What in the namajaysus? Let me get this straight - a player was in an ambulance, and his manager got him to come back on the field, whereupon he collapsed?

If that's true, that's one of the most disgraceful things I've ever heard. I'd have more regard for a chess piece than that, never mind a human being.

[the Untouchable]

How does Laz continue to be let manage teams...sadly this type of incident is nothing new for Laz, I'm sure he felt that the ambulance taking 1 of his players away would give the physiological edge to the opposition that they were tougher men than the men from clonbollouge so by getting him out of the ambulance & back on the field your doing right by the player & the team!!

It's a sad that despite Laz been like this for the last 15 years or more he continues to get the opportunity to manager clubs around Offaly & has also been given the Offaly minors & was a senior selector for a year too!!

I hope the clonbollouge player involved is ok & that someone somewhere says enough is enough & stops this lunatic from being allowed to manage teams!!

[jimbob17]

If this is true, it is an absolute disgrace. He should be suspended for misconduct and I am serious. To put a players life in danger like that is just phenomenal! He was obviously in the ambulance in the first place for a reason. If a player put another players lefe in danger intentionally, wouldnt there be serious questions asked and wouldnt they be in line for suspension........This is very serious and sets a dangerous precedent and needs to be dealt with by GAA hierarchy in my opinion....a manager ca not and should never be able to over rule a medic......Rugby have recently addressed this issue and GAA now needs to do the same......

This man has a bad history of doing erratic and dangerous things with players and it is a concern that this was let happen. Were his selectors not there, a physio even.....and how did the medics allow it to happen...... serious questions must be asked of the whole management.....this could have ended very very badly!!!