Next Manager

[Oceans 15]

offaly has a junior team to cater for those players . and i think it would be fairly easy for an above average player to stand out at that level, but to bypass senior club level and into a senior county panel would have to be a unique talent. i am afraid it shud be senior county for senior players only in order to compete with the top teams in the country

Your WRONG, Shows how much you know about football in the County. Offaly hasn't had a Junior team for the past 3 years...

[theman]

Your WRONG, Shows how much you know about football in the County. Offaly hasn't had a Junior team for the past 3 years...

Thats a good point oceans15. So red exile what are the intermediate and junior players in the county meant to do now. No play for any offaly team unless there club gets senior?

[Jolly Roger]

Ahoy Mateys!!

Next offaly manager....
Easy.....
The Pope.

This team needs a miracle!!!

Aaarrrrrhhhh!!!!

[red exile]

i stand corrected. but what if the parish system we now have was outlawed and the junior clubs amalgamated with the nearest senior or intermediate club ( as many do underage) creating more competition for places, better teams and more intensity,surely this would help the county produce a better standard of football. (bearing in mind, my only thoughts are the fortunes of the faithful)

[Lone Shark]

i stand corrected. but what if the parish system we now have was outlawed and the junior clubs amalgamated with the nearest senior or intermediate club ( as many do underage) creating more competition for places, better teams and more intensity,surely this would help the county produce a better standard of football. (bearing in mind, my only thoughts are the fortunes of the faithful)

It would also create less teams, less people playing football, less pride in small town communities and more large soul-less entities that people don't have any vested interest in. As has been mentioned here before, I'm a firm believer in divisional teams to allow players from junior and intermediate clubs play senior championship football, but only if the junior clubs continue to exist concurrently. Ballycumber parish fields seven adult football teams, while Daingean fields six and Clonbullogue parish fields six - if they were amalgamated into one team each, how many GAA members would suddenly have no team to play for?


Does anyone know what was the logic behind shedding the junior team? I know there wasn't much time being spent on it, but as a system it had a lot of potential, particularly if it was left to players who really wanted to play in it. Was it a cost issue?

[theman]

i stand corrected. but what if the parish system we now have was outlawed and the junior clubs amalgamated with the nearest senior or intermediate club ( as many do underage) creating more competition for places, better teams and more intensity,surely this would help the county produce a better standard of football. (bearing in mind, my only thoughts are the fortunes of the faithful)

It would also create less teams, less people playing football, less pride in small town communities and more large soul-less entities that people don't have any vested interest in. As has been mentioned here before, I'm a firm believer in divisional teams to allow players from junior and intermediate clubs play senior championship football, but only if the junior clubs continue to exist concurrently. Ballycumber parish fields seven adult football teams, while Daingean fields six and Clonbullogue parish fields six - if they were amalgamated into one team each, how many GAA members would suddenly have no team to play for?


Does anyone know what was the logic behind shedding the junior team? I know there wasn't much time being spent on it, but as a system it had a lot of potential, particularly if it was left to players who really wanted to play in it. Was it a cost issue?

Have to agree with lone shark. Ask any player playing junior or intermediate would they rather win a county championship with their club or play senior football with a players from 3/4 other clubs. They would def. pick winning a county championship. That said about the daingean parish,if im not mistaken,i think it was a year after kilclonfert won the junior A championship back in 2004. Ballycommon,Cappincur,Daingean and Kilclonfert sent in a request to field a senior team with these combined clubs and also have a junior team also. But there request was turned down by the co. Board. Im not to sure if im 100% correct?

The club championship at senior down to junior is quite competitive even if its nt at a high standard. The only way to get a county team worthy of contesting anything is to 1st get a DECENT manager and also selectors who are fair and dont pick players on reputation. Then send scouts to all championship games senior to junior and pick the best players and get them all in together early.

As regards the junior county team,why did this stop. Back in the late 90's early 00's offaly had a very decent team at this level and got to an all-ireland in 99 i think,and won another leinster in 2001. This was a great opportunity for fringe players to show thier talent. The junior team should be reinstated.

[TheManFromFerbane]

Cost I believe but to be honest it was a bit of a joke anyway. The last year they entered I think they had one training session and 13 lads turned up. I don't think they won a game in a good few years before that too.

Not saying it was the right decision, but I'm pretty sure that's why they did it.

[the bare biffo]

Des Dolan Snr resigned in Leitrim. What odds.

[Bord na Mona man]

Des Dolan Snr resigned in Leitrim. What odds.

If he managed to get a county title out of a lazy, indisciplined rabble like Shannonbridge, Offaly should be a doddle for him!

[Archangel]

Just noticed Liam Kearns stepped down in Laois,.. Soo the Queens are now managerless too.
They can have Roe back.

Will make it a bit more difficult for Offaly, as Laois would be perceived as a 'better option' for any manager.
Actually, there's lot of vacant seats out there!!

[Muck Savage]

How many jobs are available now? I think about 8, which is 25% of the teams. Does everyone think they can win the AI? With the back door the number of team that can win it has been reduced as the likes of Kerry can get back in after a loss. Is it fair to say that there's a pool of about 35-40 inter-county managers and all they are doing is playing musical chairs?

[Lone Shark]

How many jobs are available now? I think about 8, which is 25% of the teams. Does everyone think they can win the AI? With the back door the number of team that can win it has been reduced as the likes of Kerry can get back in after a loss. Is it fair to say that there's a pool of about 35-40 inter-county managers and all they are doing is playing musical chairs?

Possibly after this weekend with the whole country marvelling at what Jason Ryan has achieved in Wexford, there might be a little bit more open minded thinking in terms of who to consider for the management position. Hopefully we might see a bit less blind following of journeymen managers in future.

[Bord na Mona man]

Possibly after this weekend with the whole country marvelling at what Jason Ryan has achieved in Wexford, there might be a little bit more open minded thinking in terms of who to consider for the management position. Hopefully we might see a bit less blind following of journeymen managers in future.

I was thinking that myself.
Even McGeeney, who I don't like very much, showed signs that he could become a good manager.
He made 4 substitutions very early yesterday which helped turn the game around.
How many old school managers would have brought off a corner forward at half time as their first tactical move?

To be fair, Offaly have rolled the dice with some managers and succeeded. Eugene McGee and Tommy Lyons were unknowns, but both were ambitious young men with a drive to succeed.
The first time we ever went for a manager with previous inter county experience was Pat Roe.

The danger is that we hire a jaded manager doing a circuit of the counties.

[ballymanabroad]

Ah here, Eugene McGee was hardly unknown. He cut his teeth in UCD taking on the strongest club side in the land in St. Vincents. He found a way to beat Heffo and used that when he took on him again with Dublin and O'Dwyer with Kerry. When you consider that he did this to two men who are considered the best two managers of arguably the best two teams we have seen he should rank up there as one of the best managers the GAA has ever known. Similarly Tommy Lyons won an AI with Kilmacud Crokes before he came near the Offaly job. But will winning an AI club title guarantee you a tilt at a county job?

Looking at the provincial winners for the past 8 years gives;

Year Leinster Munster Ulster Connacht
1999-2000 Na Fianna (Dublin) U.C.C. (Cork) Crossmaglen Rangers (Armagh) Crossmolina (Mayo)
2000-01 O'Hanrahans (Carlow) Nemo Rangers (Cork) Bellaghy (Derry) Crossmolina (Mayo)
2001-02 Rathnew (Wicklow) Nemo Rangers (Cork) Ballinderry (Derry) Charlestown (Mayo)
2002-03 Dunshaughlin (Meath) Nemo Rangers (Cork) Errigal Ciaran (Tyrone) Crossmolina (Mayo)
2003-04 St. Brigid's (Dublin) An Gaeltacht (Kerry) An Lúb (Derry) Caltra (Galway)
2004-05 Portlaoise (Laois) Kilmurry-Ibrickane (Clare) Crossmaglen Rangers (Armagh) Ballina Stephenites (Mayo)
2005-06 Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) Nemo Rangers (Cork) St. Gall's (Antrim) Salthill-Knocknacarra (Galway)
2006-07 Moorefield (Kildare) Dr. Crokes (Kerry) Crossmaglen Rangers (Armagh) St. Brigid's (Roscommon)
2007-08 St Vincents (Dublin) Nemo Rangers (Cork) Crossmaglen Rangers (Armagh) Ballina Stephenites (Mayo)

It would be interesting to fill in who managed these teams and see how many went on to manage a county team. Even more interesting would how many of them went on to win a provincial or AI with the county team.

So to the AI club scene should we go? No. Look inside the county boundaries. One man and one man only should get the job. Paul O'Kelly it's yours to turn down.

[Bord na Mona man]

Ah here, Eugene McGee was hardly unknown. He cut his teeth in UCD taking on the strongest club side in the land in St. Vincents. He found a way to beat Heffo and used that when he took on him again with Dublin and O'Dwyer with Kerry. When you consider that he did this to two men who are considered the best two managers of arguably the best two teams we have seen he should rank up there as one of the best managers the GAA has ever known. Similarly Tommy Lyons won an AI with Kilmacud Crokes before he came near the Offaly job. But will winning an AI club title guarantee you a tilt at a county job?

Looking at the provincial winners for the past 8 years gives;

Unknowns was overstating it, but neither of them would have been widely heard of or sought after.

Back in the 70s and 80s the club All Ireland was very much a fringe competition, with not much emphasis on it.
McGee facilitated a squad armed with intercounty talent from all over Ireland to beat conventional club sides.
Reading about it, it seems like he fell into the role of organising the gaelic football in the college.
I wouldn't consider it a huge achievement, no more than Val Andrews winning the Sigerson with Tralee with a goldmine of talent. Andrews was subsequently shown to be a poor manager.
McGee had a lot to learn and prove taking over a county with 2 All Irelands won earlier in the same decade.

Lyons' achievement at Kilmacud was probably higher, but again they benefitted from bringing in players from other counties and other Dublin clubs, long before it became common practice.

If you were to compare the success and failure of managers, I would guess that managers who moved from inter county playing to managing have had about equal success than ones who graduated from managing club sides.