Football league 3 2017

A forum to air your views on Offaly GAA matters and beyond.
Kevin
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by Kevin »

greenairfield wrote:Poor county board leads to poor teams.

Hurling and Football is at its lowest it ever was in Offaly, while the footballers usually compete at some sort of level last week's result highlights the real problems we are facing.

The question has to be asked was the right man appointment two years ago... Pat Flanagan has a scary pattern with inter county teams he has trained, he does well for the first two years and then the third year the ship starts going in the wrong direction!!
Now it's happening with his Offaly team....Some top top managers went for the job two years ago and we choose to go with him because of cost and probably some talking outside of meetings and interviews....typical shit from Offaly!

Boland and Byrne comedy show runs on!!! "You pay pea-nuts you get monkeys" in this case there is no pay!!
There were many in Westmeath that were sorry to see Flanagan cast away after leading them to Division 1 in the league. Sligo wanted him back before he took the Offaly job. Has he trained more teams prior to Offaly than Westmeath and Sligo? I would be in no position to say whether he was the best man for the job, but he would certainly have been a very credible and strong candidate at the time.

The comments/accusations in this article are shocking (to me anyway): http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic- ... 17792.html

'At war w the clubs half the time'.

'Doesn't know what he is doing'.

Were these people waiting for a heavy defeat to come out and blast away? Was this all inevitable? Am far away from the scene, but am astounded by this recent chain of events. Hoping the best for Offaly football in these trying times (naturally).
Kevin Clancey. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

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bracknaghboy
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by bracknaghboy »

Totally agree Kevin. Have a look at who wrote the article. This same "journalist" is running the county down every opportunity he gets.
No doubt he's hoping for a big Wexford win this Sunday and he'll be straight onto one of the legends from the 90's for 3 or 4 lines of shite about bad things are fresh for Monday mornings edition.

jimbob17
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by jimbob17 »

Lads, i get it that people are a bit funny about players not travelling on bus but, that can be sometimes regular thing with different county teams depending on venue etc. Its about 1 hr 15 mins from Dublin to Armagh by car and another hour or less down to Tullamore - approx a 2 hr 15min journey. Same journey would be about 3 hrs by bus between coming and going. They'd have to come back to Tullamore where cars are parked and have to travel on wherever from there adding even more time. Players WANTED to travel by car when bus was an option. It shortened a journey with some lads Dublin based, it would have made sense. The key here is that they left on time and had appropriate rest etc before game! Plenty of other counties would do that for some long journeys. To be on here suggesting this was unprofessional or reason for performance pure and utter bulsh#t!

I am neither pro or anti Pat Flanagan but would like to see some balance and perspective here. Where were we 3 years ago when he took over? We were in total disarray! As bad as we were the last day, we are a lot better now in general than we were before he took charge. There is a bit of consistency around selection, players are way fitter and we have been competitive for most part for last 2 years! We have 3 games left - 2 of them very winnable and the other a tougher ask but also winnable. Win 2 and we are safe, win 3 and we are on 8 - same as last year!

They have professional enough set up around the team, most players would vouch for that and players are improving re strength and conditioning, and are coming from very low base for most part after previous managements!

There are also some mitigating circumstances with some retirements and injuries to key players. Johnny Moloney, Alan Mulhall, Niall McNamee Brian Darby and Niall Smyth are not there from last years team, all for different reasons. There is a lack of leadership there and lads you'd want have failed to fill that void. That is a big reason for some of losses outside of the Armagh game.

I'd also commend Flanagan on his decision to go and meet the clubs - its a brave decision. He is on a hiding to nothing here and leaving himself wide open to ridicule by some who will attend who are from the dark ages and have no clue about what is involved in inter county football!

For some of the clowns who attended and commented at the county board meeting, they'd be better off steering clear of anything to do with any serious type of football. To even suggest Pat Flanagan is not interested in winning is SO IDIOTIC that I cannot comprehend. He has given his life to it for last 2 and half years and is then accused of this rubbish.

Another suggestion he was training guys from certain clubs is absolute horse manure. He has best lads at his disposal bar one or two who decided not to take up invitation. One also suggests he has brought no players through! Eoin Carroll, James Lalor, Jason Gethings, Cian O Donoghue, Nigel Bracken, Shane Nally & Joey O COnnor are all new since he took over! He got more from Johnny Maloney, Ml Brazil, Eoin Rigney, Niall Darby, Peter Cunningham, Bernard Allen and Nigel Dunne than anyone previously did while a few younger lads such as Jack Walsh and Shane Tierney have also seen action recently.

In my opinion, he has improved it way beyond where it was and but is now short a little quality he had last year. For some reason, the players grossly under-performed v Armagh and they must take some responsibility. Management is responsible to oversee that they do get it right the next day but to suggest that its all Flanagan's fault is both naive, unfair and a little bit of a cop out when the players clearly never turned up.
jimbob

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Bord na Mona man
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by Bord na Mona man »

A lot of sense in jimbob's post above. Though I'd still reckon going together by bus is the mark of a team travelling with intent.

The point about Flanagan walking into a storm meeting the clubs is well made. He's on a hiding to nothing here. I don't doubt there are a lot of good dedicated club people in the grouping, but a lot of them would have warped opinions on how the game should be played and wouldn't have a great handle on preparing county teams.
There are plenty of folks there who think hurling should be played like hockey and football like kick tennis.
This won't be a debate, it'll be like Vietcong soldiers popping out to ambush and scarpering before fire can be returned.

If we go back to the times when Paul O'Kelly and Gerry Fahey were shafted, there were club delegates having too much of a say on something they weren't qualified to pass judgement on.
Some of them judge the county teams solely by how they benefit their own club.

Square Cab
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by Square Cab »

Excellent post Jimbo. Sums up the current situation brilliantly.

kaiserchief
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by kaiserchief »

Full agree with all your points Jimbob.
The scutter Flanagan will have to listen to on Tuesday night.

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Lone Shark
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by Lone Shark »

In the main I'd be in agreement with Jimbob here. I do take the point that travelling together is better, but as somebody who is often a little inclined towards travel sickness on buses, I can see why going Dublin-Tullamore-Armagh and in reverse would seem like lunacy - from a physical point of view as well. You'd need to know the locations of all the players before casting judgement but certainly in the case of a lot of counties on the Western seaboard, it's not uncommon for two smaller buses to be laid on, one from the home county and one from Dublin, or for small numbers of players to make their own way. In summer that changes all right, but the numbers often change then as well - all the students/teachers tend to be home for the summer, and that's over half the panel in most cases nowadays.

I'm very disappointed in the county board agreeing to this nonsense of a meeting as well - there's nothing to be gained from it. What happens in situations like this is that clubs men will use the opportunity to bring up all the old chestnuts, none of which have any relevance to the Armagh result. Why can they not have their players for all the league games, why do we not play more long ball, yada, yada, yada.

The club delegates elect a management committee, and the management committee in turn oversee the appointment and workings of managers. If the county board have an issue with Pat Flanagan, they are fully entitled to sit down with him and raise any issues they see fit. If they don't, they should tell the delegates that. Flanagan is ultimately answerable to Tommy Byrne, and Tommy Byrne is ultimately answerable to the clubs of Offaly. But there's a reason you don't see all 160 TD's on the Public Accounts Committee and the like - because it would turn into populist, unworkable nonsense.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

kaiserchief
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by kaiserchief »

its a pure nonese task for Flanagan who should be more concerned about preping the team for Sundays must win game.

I would love for this meeting to be broadcast live on national level, to show the ridiculous questions that will be asked of Flanagan. Would love to see would half the people throwing the shit stand up and ask the questions then.

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Bord na Mona man
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by Bord na Mona man »

kaiserchief wrote: I would love for this meeting to be broadcast live on national level, to show the ridiculous questions that will be asked of Flanagan. Would love to see would half the people throwing the shit stand up and ask the questions then.
I'd go for the Jerry Springer show format. Flanagan sits in the guest chair, the microphone is passed around to various club delegates (off their heads on crack cocaine) to abuse him.

The next guest is Tommy Byrne who comes out and tell Flanagan he has taken a vote from the clubs and has the result in an envelope. After a commercial break he opens the envelope and tells Flanagan he's been sacked.
The two of them start wrestling on the floor while the bouncers try and prise them apart.

Kevin
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by Kevin »

Hope this Tuesday Night Shit Show does not cost us a manager.
Kevin Clancey. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

kaiserchief
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by kaiserchief »

We are going down that route.

I am not a fan of this and all these 'why cant we be back in the 80's' delegates need a good wake up call.

Truth as i see it
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by Truth as i see it »

kaiserchief wrote:We are going down that route.

I am not a fan of this and all these 'why cant we be back in the 80's' delegates need a good wake up call.
Yes, Yes and good god Yes to this

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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by Doon Exile »

Was away at the weekend so not at the game yesterday.

anyone able to give a short report. on paper, it seems a good performance from Offaly - could we have won it?
Doon exile....

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Bord na Mona man
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by Bord na Mona man »

Offaly boss admits to being in dark over McNamee intentions
Brian Lowry

Offaly football manager Pat Flanagan has admitted that he is unsure whether star forward Niall McNamee will be returning to the panel this year.
In the wake of Sunday's four-point defeat to Tipperary, which keeps them at the bottom of Division 3, Flanagan admitted that he was in the dark about the Rhode forward's inter-county future.
"I can't answer that. I was in touch with him a while back but I have no update from when I last said that he told me he had a stomach muscle problem," he explained. "That's the last that I was talking to Niall on it."

Sunday's defeat to Tipperary came two weeks after Offaly were hammered by 30 points by Armagh, for which Flanagan and his panel took a lot of criticism for within the county.

At the March meeting of the Offaly County Board, delegates asked that Flanagan meet with club chairmen, secretaries and senior club managers to discuss things. That meeting happened last Thursday.
Concentrate

"It was a bad experience (Armagh game). For the next two or three nights there was no sleep and there were no thoughts of anything other than the defeat. We met on the Wednesday night and we said we would draw a line through it. We said we would concentrate on the next three matches and see what we could do.
"I've never any problem meeting anyone that wants to meet to progress Offaly football. I was very disappointed with some of the comments that were made (at the March meeting of Offaly County Board) and I asked the gentleman to retract them because there was absolutely no substance in those comments. Hopefully, that will happen in the near future.

"In the medium that they used to put it out there, my backroom team or players don't deserve that and I don't deserve it either. There is no place for it in Offaly football. It went out to the national media and all it is going to do is bring Offaly football down. Nobody will ever hurt me from the outside more than I will hurt from the inside after a defeat like that."

It has been a difficult few weeks for them but they have been buoyed by the U-21s reaching a Leinster final, while they have two games - against Sligo and Laois - to save their skin in Division 3.
"You have to give credit to the players," Flanagan added. "They took an awful lot of stick over the last two weeks but they really performed exceptionally well (against Tipp). Had we got the rub of the green in a few places, I think we could have came out on top."

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic- ... 49975.html

SearingDrive
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Re: Football league 3 2017

Post by SearingDrive »

Who will be out first, Pat Flanagan or Katy from Fair City?

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