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I havent posted in a while but I have to post in response to this.

Kevin Martin had to go, it was obvious from the league campaign which was disasterous but such is the disinterest it dragged on until we are mired in our current predicament.

A few points to make on his tenure:

I dont want this to reflect on Kevin, but it was ridiculous he got the job in the first place - a good player and Kevin was a good player doesnt always translate into a good manager. His managerial record at club level was patchy at best, he is just one in a long line of former players from a by gone era with patchy managerial records to be given a term with Offaly. Weve had Joe Dooley, Brian Whelan, Ollie Baker, Kevin Martin, Michael Duignan had to refuse the job. How many times do we have to keep trotting down the same line before we realise hurling in the 90s and even the naughties is gone its a totally different game now and a big name at the top job will achieve nothing.

When 7 or 8 of your starting 15 are not even competing at senior level in your county how can you expect to achieve anything.

Man management by all accounts was a problem and a big one, there was an attitude of writing off players above 25 as past it. Its a theme that has ran in offaly for about 20 years - the worst 20 years offaly have had hurling wise for a long time. Firstly there is a real problem with recognizing talent until a players gets to mid - late 20s, secondly there is a dismissal of them that is disrespectful and wrong. A player of 27 or 28 could have 3 or 4 good seasons in them at least at intercounty level. There is far too much emphassis on getting players at 20 to try and keep them for a decade...that day in hurling is gone, the intensity and preparation levels required for intercounty level mean you will lose a lot more than you will keep. Having players between 25 - 30 is a sweet spot, after college and travel and before family life takes over. We are doing the opposite.

I see a lot on here again praising the county board and I know it is a tough job and sometimes a thankless job, but that doesnt mean you will get thanks for doing a bad one.

The hurling recommendations need to be implemented immediately if we are ever to get anywhere....its been what 4 / 5 years?????

Kerry beat westmeath. Throws the cat among the pigeons.

"Thank these people for their time and efforts over the years, but it really is time things changed on the board. If you want to act in the best interest of Offaly GAA, then step down honourably and give the opportunity for real efforts to be made to get the best people leading us out of the mess"

timber while it seems a great idea when put down and read about the county board stepping down em masse etc and were destined for a dream county board to replace them. but i dont see too many anxious to take any of the jobs(unpaid,except for the secretary and long hours). clubs ultimately pick whos best in their opinion for the jobs from the list of people who go for them. if its anything to go by club wise getting people to go for jobs is the hardest job.

Does anyone know the fixtures for the first round of christy ring next year ?

mathematically now, are Offaly back in with "a chance" of reaching the final of this competition after Westmeaths defeat to Kerry on Saturday, that's hoping somehow Offaly can beat both Antrim and Kerry and Kerry/Westmeath loose to Laois if they (Kerry/Westmeath) have yet to play Laois...wouldn't it be some turnaround if Offaly did make the final!!!

biffinbanner wrote:"Thank these people for their time and efforts over the years, but it really is time things changed on the board. If you want to act in the best interest of Offaly GAA, then step down honourably and give the opportunity for real efforts to be made to get the best people leading us out of the mess"

timber while it seems a great idea when put down and read about the county board stepping down em masse etc and were destined for a dream county board to replace them. but i dont see too many anxious to take any of the jobs(unpaid,except for the secretary and long hours). clubs ultimately pick whos best in their opinion for the jobs from the list of people who go for them. if its anything to go by club wise getting people to go for jobs is the hardest job.

Very true Biffinbanner. no doubting that. To be clear also, I don't think a total clear out is necessary. Lets start with the person who has been leading the board and calling the shots. Bottom line, the person in that role should be accountable. maybe its the kick in the arse to really get efforts in place to get a really good chairperson in place. At the moment everybody has no faith in certain people there, but no effort to replace them. Maybe if the role became vacate there might be a stir.

There is a perception either rightly or wrongly that it is not worthwhile putting names forward as votes are fairly well secured in advance.

Fairplayalways wrote:mathematically now, are Offaly back in with "a chance" of reaching the final of this competition after Westmeaths defeat to Kerry on Saturday, that's hoping somehow Offaly can beat both Antrim and Kerry and Kerry/Westmeath loose to Laois if they (Kerry/Westmeath) have yet to play Laois...wouldn't it be some turnaround if Offaly did make the final!!!

Dunno for sure but if other teams keep beating each other and westmeath lose again and we win our two games theres a chance, twould indeed be some turnaround.

timber wrote:There is a perception either rightly or wrongly that it is not worthwhile putting names forward as votes are fairly well secured in advance.

Wrongly.

The perception is that the board are set in stone, in place since Moses was a boy and all that, but a look at the present board on official website is interesting in that light. Long term - Treasurer Jimmy Hogan, there since the 1990s, Tommy Byrne there since 2002 (may have been a break since then?), Mary Dunne since 2005 (with a one year break), Joe Higgins since 2010.

Next longest are Dolores Slevin & Pauric Pierce (2014), James Murphy (2015), but the remainder haven't really been there that long at all, which flies in the face of the perceptions we all seem to have - Martin Cashin (2016), John Moloney, Nora Kavanagh, Ger Maher (all 2017) and Niall Gleeson, Pat Horan, Brian Flynn, Paddy Scales (all 2018, though Paddy was there at some point previously).

Anyway, the point is, there is at movement there and it's really up to us to get people to go forward.

As for someone's suggestion that there should be a maximum term, there is a maximum of five years.

Just looking at the table of the JMCD Cup, we are bottom, potentially, we could make the final (STILL) Laois have Westmeath for their last game on 15th June, same day as we have Kerry, if Westmeath lose to Laois, and we score well, we can still make it by my reckoning, wouldn't it be great if we could turn it around...

Fairplayalways wrote:Just looking at the table of the JMCD Cup, we are bottom, potentially, we could make the final (STILL) Laois have Westmeath for their last game on 15th June, same day as we have Kerry, if Westmeath lose to Laois, and we score well, we can still make it by my reckoning, wouldn't it be great if we could turn it around...

Would be something.

Will need a real transformation. Kerry and Antrim will both be up for a swipe at 'once mighty' Offaly. CAn't see anything coming easily on this uphill climb.

Kevin wrote:

Fairplayalways wrote:Just looking at the table of the JMCD Cup, we are bottom, potentially, we could make the final (STILL) Laois have Westmeath for their last game on 15th June, same day as we have Kerry, if Westmeath lose to Laois, and we score well, we can still make it by my reckoning, wouldn't it be great if we could turn it around...

Would be something.

Will need a real transformation. Kerry and Antrim will both be up for a swipe at 'once mighty' Offaly. CAn't see anything coming easily on this uphill climb.

For us to qualify for the final, we'd need to win both our games and end up on 4 points. We'd also need some other results to go our way. From what I can make out, and this is 'back of a napkin' work here, I think we'd like Laois to win all games to end up on 8 points, which would mean Kerry lose both remaining games and end up on 2 points. Then in the clash of Antrim and Westmeath, if Antrim win, they end up on 4 points and Westmeath on 2.

Laois - 8
Offaly - 4 ahead on head to head
Antrim - 4
Kerry - 2 - ahead on head to head.
Westmeath - 2

Wishful thinking, but where there is life there is hope.

Also, I have a strong feeling that the other counties in this competition don't look on Offaly as 'once Mighty' and see it as any more of a scalp than than beating any of the other 4 teams. The reality is that it is knockout for everyone from now on (apart from Laois who can afford to slip once), so every team is going to be up for every game.

If Westmeath loose one more game, I think it is all to play for (again)...they have Antrim and Laois away, so it is possible, and of course that's provided Offaly win their two games also..

with the scoring difference possibly in play, OY has zero chance of getting to a final, the name of the game for OY is to avoid relegation.

from a LS perspective, I think we will lose to Kerry, we have an awful record down there and I also think Kerry will give ye a trimming. So by my calculations the LS/WM game will decide the other final spot, along with Kerry in the final.

I think OY will beat Antirm and that will be your only two points, the possible trouble for OY, is that Antrim could topple Westmeath in the Glens and that would be relegation sealed for ye. If Westmeath defeat Antrim and ye rack up a big win over Antrim, the two of ye(OY and Antrim) will finish on 2 points and I don't know whether the relegation is determined on head to head or on scoring difference.

suckindiesel wrote:with the scoring difference possibly in play, OY has zero chance of getting to a final, the name of the game for OY is to avoid relegation.

from a LS perspective, I think we will lose to Kerry, we have an awful record down there and I also think Kerry will give ye a trimming. So by my calculations the LS/WM game will decide the other final spot, along with Kerry in the final.

I think OY will beat Antirm and that will be your only two points, the possible trouble for OY, is that Antrim could topple Westmeath in the Glens and that would be relegation sealed for ye. If Westmeath defeat Antrim and ye rack up a big win over Antrim, the two of ye(OY and Antrim) will finish on 2 points and I don't know whether the relegation is determined on head to head or on scoring difference.

If two teams finish on the same amount of points, then it goes on head to head record against each other. If more than 2 teams finish on equal points, then it goes on scoring difference overall.