Offaly v Kilkenny

[allstar2010]

So disappointed like everyone else with last nights performance. Is it finally a wake up call? Probably not, 2005 was the lowest I thought we could go. 9 years on and we have done nothing, competed in one Leinster u21 final I think! That's just terrible.

Like so many and rightly so the county board have to take a lot of the blame but not all the blame. What have our clubs been doing? Edenderry seem to be leading the way on the underage scene with the football but is any hurling clubs doing anything. Killeigh (a huge parish) have been wasting away in junior for too long, showing no progress. Their underage parish won the u16 A last year but these lads will learn nothing playing junior/inter with respective clubs mainly due to stubbornness to join together and form a senior club.

We hear of the good work that Alan mulhall and co are doing at coaching youngsters at football, but what is john leahy doing on the hurling scene?
Our schools are doing nothing, birr getting hammered in colleges and Tullamore schools floating around in B competitions.
Tullamore our county town and have done nothing at underage level worth talking about, let's be honest about they were outrageously lucky to win senior in 2009, fair play to them they took their chance but I had to laugh when I heard them say it was a result of their underage work. They struggle at times to field u21 teams.

Hurling is at the lowest ebb it's been at ever in the county. There's so many questions to be asked right now. Everyone needs to row in to get out of this mess. Please start with proper underage structure and this involves the clubs.
Coaches need to come in, proper coaches with s&c experience to start with u14 up and build up these lads.

[the Untouchable]

I don't think that we should be starting back at under 13 or even back at minor & trying to build from a good hurling team from there...what we need to do is put the right structure in place for the players we have today...be it senior, u21 & minor & all the way down through the development squads!!

How many of those u13's are even going to be in the country in 10 years time never mind have a burning desire to hurl for Offaly...I can think of about 50 lads I knew at under 12 that I thought were going to go on to be great county players & by the time they were 21 they weren't even playing football or hurling!!

Hurling & football are both exceptionally straight forward games to be honest...because if you have a team with superb levels of fitness & work rate then you will be incredibly hard to beat...this comes from 2 things, players belief that they can compete & win something & also the right coaches & management to do the training to get players to the peek of fitness!'

If & it's a massive if, we could get the panel we have today & put the right training structure in place for them & if the players were willing to give their full commitment to following the training schedule & diet then there is no reason why we can't be a force again...the problem we have is that everything in Offaly GAA at the min is half arsed, players know that they aren't winning anything any time soon & with poor managers & coaches over them there is no chance of us making any progress!!

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

"I don't think that we should be starting back at under 13 or even back at minor & trying to build from a good hurling team from there...what we need to do is put the right structure in place for the players we have today...be it senior, u21 & minor & all the way down through the development squads!!"

What do you mean, dont do anything with U13??

Look, there needs to be a joined up approach, development squads need to bring a change in approach. Underage clubs need to start buying into training courses and in effect roling out development programmes for S&C, diet, games based training sessions for all players in order to increase the standard going into Development squads.

Well done to Don Hurley on his comments, exactly what needs to be done.

One person pointed out playing Kevin Brady as a sweeper, (poor tackler, ltd pace, and continuously hits aimless balls), please explain how this at any level fits the definition of a sweeper role????????

Sad evening for the players and management, but lets now focus on what needs to be done. I met a high level club chairman who had left the match at half time, he needs to call a spade a spade now along with his colleagues , and ensure that we sit down and begin drawing up a plan.

[sam88885a]

we need to look at other counties see what they do from u 12 up and start now to develope them properly.

we still are in the quallifiers so we need to scrap current game plan and look at all players maybe there are 5 or 6 club hurlers that can do a job.
felt a bit sorry for b whelahan on tv last night he didnt know what to say
we dont need another hammering and whelahan needs help .

[townman]

most papers players and ex players say theres no future for offaly hurling

[mountainman]

It's all well and good for you to be saying that a complete overhaul is needed at county board level and I agree with you but will any of you let your name go forward for chairman or any committee member for that fact? Complaining that not enough is being done at underage which is completely true, but its due to a lack of interest from many people to be voluntarily involved! This lack of interest from both the county board and previous management ultimately leads to things like 6 players attending county u16 hurling training! Its all well and good for you to give out behind your screen and point fingers but how many of you will be at the next training session of a development eager to become actively involved?!

[Observant 7]

My opinion is that first All Clubs in Offaly should be given an opportunity to cast a vote on wheither we should keep the present County Board Officials etc or not and this should be done this week. An emergency meeting should be called this week and acted on this immediately. This vote should also include thoses in charge on the County Board of the under development training etc. The question to be answered is if those in jobs paid to look after under development in the County and the County Board themselves are doing the job they are paid to do.

If the result of the voting is that All Offaly GAA Clubs think that the jobs are not done (as this site suggests nothing is done for the underage development) then those in charge are not doing their job - they should be replaced and replaced immediately. Really those Officials should step down themselves if this is the result of the voting and if they don't step down then All Offaly GAA Clubs can presume that the Officials who don't step down are only there for their own interests and not for the good of Offaly GAA.

This is my opinion only.

[backofthenet]

"I don't think that we should be starting back at under 13 or even back at minor & trying to build from a good hurling team from there...what we need to do is put the right structure in place for the players we have today...be it senior, u21 & minor & all the way down through the development squads!!"

What do you mean, dont do anything with U13??

Look, there needs to be a joined up approach, development squads need to bring a change in approach. Underage clubs need to start buying into training courses and in effect roling out development programmes for S&C, diet, games based training sessions for all players in order to increase the standard going into Development squads.

Well done to Don Hurley on his comments, exactly what needs to be done.

One person pointed out playing Kevin Brady as a sweeper, (poor tackler, ltd pace, and continuously hits aimless balls), please explain how this at any level fits the definition of a sweeper role????????

Sad evening for the players and management, but lets now focus on what needs to be done. I met a high level club chairman who had left the match at half time, he needs to call a spade a spade now along with his colleagues , and ensure that we sit down and begin drawing up a plan.

It was me that mentioned Kevin Brady among others who I felt would be far more suitable to the role than Kevin Connolly.

My reasoning is very simple, he is one of the most experienced players in the squad, particularly at playing both on the half back line and at midfield for offaly - the 2 most likely positions a sweeper will sit.

Another major point is positioning in itself, a sweeper isn't necessarily about having bundles of pace it's about anticipating where the ball will be landing, could break to and getting there to stop danger, pace would clearly be welcomed but not the no 1 requirement.

He is very strong in the air which would be a major advantage both at our own puck outs and theirs and this could have given us a good platform of possession with which to work from

I will agree that he is liable to hit aimless ball and it is something that the vast majority of both half backs and midfielders in the county can suffer from.

BUT I do feel if this tactic was worked on in training this could easily be corrected by using a running game to get into time and space to pick out a 20-30 yard pass to the forward line.

The one downside to this entire game plan is the actual forward line - I think we have it more right this year than we have had in a while and at least Dooley & Carroll are close enough to goal to be dangerous and as it's a 2 man full forward line they should have the space also. What we really need is pace, strength & good score taking ability from our half forward line to be willing runners for both players. Carroll & Dooley are intelligent hurlers and can
Easily pick out another forward in space...if we can get them there. I'm not sure if Currams & Bergin would suit this gameplan but I don't know rightly what alternative plan / players I could propose either

[Plain of the Herbs]

Oh sweet devine!.

He thinks the Board officers are being paid.

One AGM per year is nearly enough, I think.

Do you seriously think that by taking charge yourself that all the difficulties such as - fundraising and sponsorships, the club v county debate, club hurler playing county football and vice versa will solve themselves, and that someone will come in and buy O'Connor Park and we can spend the money on coaching and buy two plots of land to build centres of excellence (one for hurlers, one for footballers) and we can have a knockout county championship where everyone plays five knockout matches and the county final is played in August and can be played again in October. And we can have an AGM once a month where al the officers are challenged for the positions, yet at the same time we can have a five year plan and a ten year plan too.

Only my opinion too, of course!

My opinion is that first All Clubs in Offaly should be given an opportunity to cast a vote on wheither we should keep the present County Board Officials etc or not and this should be done this week. An emergency meeting should be called this week and acted on this immediately. This vote should also include thoses in charge on the County Board of the under development training etc. The question to be answered is if those in jobs paid to look after under development in the County and the County Board themselves are doing the job they are paid to do.

If the result of the voting is that All Offaly GAA Clubs think that the jobs are not done (as this site suggests nothing is done for the underage development) then those in charge are not doing their job - they should be replaced and replaced immediately. Really those Officials should step down themselves if this is the result of the voting and if they don't step down then All Offaly GAA Clubs can presume that the Officials who don't step down are only there for their own interests and not for the good of Offaly GAA.

This is my opinion only.

[Observant 7]

POTH

READ THIS
http://www.wiredwithwhelan.com/?p=155


INTERESTING TO READ ON THE ARTICLE ABOVE THE BIT ABOUT EVERYONE BUT THE PLAYERS ARE GETTING PAID

[Kid]

Officers don't even claim for out of pocket expenses, never mind get paid!

As for wiping out the board - are the wrong people there? Quite possibly. Is it hard to move them? Absolutely not. People say they are sick and tired of the same old faces year in, year out, well guess what - get out there and DO something about it then. Like any team, competition for places is a healthy thing - so make it happen. Put yourself up for a position, or find someone who is willing and able. It doesn't even have to go that far - some clubs could make a start by actually attending county board meetings! (And for the record, those who call for wiping out the "board" don't seem to realise that the board includes all the club delegates as well).

How many clubs put any thought into who they elect as county delegate? It's the direct link to affairs in the county, yet many clubs are more than happy to let the same old Johnny Fortycoats continue going to the meetings, as he has done for the last god knows how many years. Minutes of management meetings etc are circulated to clubs before the monthly county board meeting - how many clubs take them seriously enough to schedule a meeting to discuss them? How many delegates walk into the monthly meeting without even seeing the minutes beforehand, never mind get any direction from the club committee.

The clubs have the power, but until we start using it, we are just as much to blame as the guys at the so-called top table, we're just fortunate enough not to be in the sitting duck position.

[Plain of the Herbs]

That link you posted relates to club and intercounty team managers being paid 'expenses' which are way in excess of recommended player mileage. Shur everyone knows that goes on. I don't agree with the practice myself, I find it abhorrent.

Then, every so often, someone here will look for a former All-Ireland winning manager from Cork or Kerry or somewhere to manage the Offaly Senior team and that the bank be broken to fund this mercenary.

Now maybe you deduced from that piece that the Offaly Board Officers are drawing a salary for their efforts, and you do claim to be 'observant' and all that. My information is that that is not the case, that Offaly Board Officers do not draw a salary nor do they claim mileage or subsistence expenses. Nor is there any category within the Board's Income and Expenditure Account for Board mileage. This is not the case elsewhere, but I think we are discussing Offaly here and not another county.

If this is not the case someone might enlighten me. Truesupporter?

POTH

READ THIS
http://www.wiredwithwhelan.com/?p=155


INTERESTING TO READ ON THE ARTICLE ABOVE THE BIT ABOUT EVERYONE BUT THE PLAYERS ARE GETTING PAID

[Toxicity234]

Ger loughaine is having a real go at us last night and this morning.
Picking on two players Bergin and Dooley. I not going to re write it as i don't agree with it but he has a point about our overall fitness not being great.
Lads and lassies lets not get too down.

We've seen since the Laois game this year that we have problem with the structure of the team.
Every line has been malfunction but this is down to the way were setting up our teams,
Whelehan and his management team are at the centre of Offaly problem at senior level.
Don’t get me wrong we have huge problem at lots of levels.

But at club level, any team that come out of Offaly is excellent, That is always a good sign and something that we can build on.
Last year we were very competitive at U21 and Senior level. From last year team only Demspey started in the same position this year at senior level.
We do have good hurlers but they being mis-used.
Loughaire for the respect I have for him, I would be surprise if he ever seen an Offaly club match but sometimes this year I have been wondering the same thing about Whelehan.
The step up from Club to county is a big step. But they are no reason why players, Coach and manager can’t make that step. Everybody has to start somewhere.

As for the County Boards. We really need to look at the appointment of managers and their team differently. Clubs need to push for change.

[uibhfhaili]

Fair fcuks to Ger Lough. Maybe those ex Offaly hurlers with big media profiles would take heed of the truth in his piece rather than shooting the messenger.

Ger Loughnane has taken another swipe at Offaly's fitness levels in the wake of their Nowlan Park humiliation.

The former Clare manager caused a storm with his infamous 'fat arses' remark about the Faithful hurlers in February, and he stands over those comments in his Irish Daily Star column today, suggesting that they should be made play in the Leinster SHC round-robin series next year.

"To survive and thrive in modern hurling, a huge emphasis is needed on strength and conditioning," he wrote.

"But the bodies of the Offaly players look so weak. They aren't able to tackle properly because of this, or to contest ball in the air.

"Any decent club team now has a high level of strength and conditioning, but Offaly don't even have that. They are feeble. Even their big men are feeble.

"Look at Joe Bergin. He's way bigger than Cillian Buckley. Look at Shane Dooley. Way bigger than JJ Delaney. But they couldn't win a ball. They're not able to use their size because their conditioning isn't up to scratch.

"At the start of the year, I wrote here that Offaly are living in the Dark Ages. I take that back. They're back in the Stone Age.

"Until the reality sinks home, and is driven home by those with the power to change things, Offaly will become more and more irrelevant.

"They're being given a grant to develop hurling. They should only get that on the condition that they go into the round-robin group in Leinster and get serious about doing what's needed to progress.

"There should be no team in the race for the Liam MacCarthy Cup as bad as Offaly are."

[KillougheyGoBragh]

Our county board would chew you, or anybody else, up with this approach Obversant. There are protocols to adhere to least of all that these people are human beings that deserve some respect for coming forwar to represent all of us at this level. The GAA beyond County level would not and rightly so like to see anybody who volunteers their time and effort mistreated by anybody who is not of an eqaul standing. We need change but the County Board knows this. Let us help change things with them. One man stands out as having his thoughts gathered and that is Brian Carroll would he be an asset to Offaly CB?