I remember questioning Kilmurrays training methods back in March and wheter he was priming the guys just for the Louth game.
It was vary apparant against Laois that Offaly ran out of steam in the last 15-20 minutes. I'd say this had happened by half time against Carlow.
The lads just looked "stuck to the ground". Super appeared to be cramping during the second half. The forwards apart from Shaper had no movement. Even Karol had no real penetrating runs -the one time he did the ref pulled play back - If a team is fit and motivated you will have movement and alertness etc etc but on Saturday this was obviously lacking and the management must shoulder the majority of the blame for this.
Fitness Levels
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TheManFromFerbane
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I think its wrong to say that fitness was the problem, referring to a point made by LS, I think Offaly have a distinct lack of interest in the qualifiers and I don't think Alan Mcs cramp was anything more that a disinterested player giving up on a run, in my opinion the players just wanted to get back with their clubs.
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Lone Shark
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Clubs
To a certain degree that is unavoidable.
How many of us as supporters were crushed after the Laois game because that was the prize we could have won was gone? I'm all for winning every game, but the truth is that talk of "a good run" while admirable, is the kind of thing that I used to associate with the Westmeaths of this world. You enter a competition to win, not to "do well". The players clearly decided that winning wasn't going to happen, so they weren't hugely interested in a good run either.
Obviously for some lads like McManus 100% effort and commitment is the only setting they have, and hence others who aren't operating at the same level can get shown up.
There's two problems with this though. Everything you do in the qualifiers has a lasting legacy in the years to come. As has been mentioned several times, we have thrown away our reputation as a difficult to beat team. This year Louth barely even tried, Laois played badly and beat us, and Carlow beat us. Mayo and Dublin both came to our home town in the league and beat us. Last year it was Wexford and Westmeath. The truth is we are a very soft touch right now, and if you were managing a Wicklow or Longford next year you'd be hoping for a draw against Offaly.
The second problem is why do we feel like the All Ireland is unwinnable? When Galway/Kerry/Meath were sharing the All Irelands for six years, you could see why it was felt like it was out of reach. These guys had great players on board, lads that not every county had, like Murphy, Geraghty, Giles, Joyce, Donnellan, Walsh, Moynihan, O'Se and Russell. But look at Tyrone in 2003 - if you were picking an All Ireland XV, there is not a single Tyrone person I'd have on the team - though McMenamin and Cavanagh wouldn't be too far off the mark. But neither would McManus or Slattery. That All Ireland should have galvanised about 12 counties, including ourselves, into believing that the ultimate was possible. Instead it's farther away than ever.
These two problems are among the many responsibilities of management, to make the players believe. If a psychologist is needed, then so be it - demand it and the support will stand by you. But don't ever disgrace the county like Saturday night again. That was a collective failure, and one that will come back to haunt the county for a long time to come.
How many of us as supporters were crushed after the Laois game because that was the prize we could have won was gone? I'm all for winning every game, but the truth is that talk of "a good run" while admirable, is the kind of thing that I used to associate with the Westmeaths of this world. You enter a competition to win, not to "do well". The players clearly decided that winning wasn't going to happen, so they weren't hugely interested in a good run either.
Obviously for some lads like McManus 100% effort and commitment is the only setting they have, and hence others who aren't operating at the same level can get shown up.
There's two problems with this though. Everything you do in the qualifiers has a lasting legacy in the years to come. As has been mentioned several times, we have thrown away our reputation as a difficult to beat team. This year Louth barely even tried, Laois played badly and beat us, and Carlow beat us. Mayo and Dublin both came to our home town in the league and beat us. Last year it was Wexford and Westmeath. The truth is we are a very soft touch right now, and if you were managing a Wicklow or Longford next year you'd be hoping for a draw against Offaly.
The second problem is why do we feel like the All Ireland is unwinnable? When Galway/Kerry/Meath were sharing the All Irelands for six years, you could see why it was felt like it was out of reach. These guys had great players on board, lads that not every county had, like Murphy, Geraghty, Giles, Joyce, Donnellan, Walsh, Moynihan, O'Se and Russell. But look at Tyrone in 2003 - if you were picking an All Ireland XV, there is not a single Tyrone person I'd have on the team - though McMenamin and Cavanagh wouldn't be too far off the mark. But neither would McManus or Slattery. That All Ireland should have galvanised about 12 counties, including ourselves, into believing that the ultimate was possible. Instead it's farther away than ever.
These two problems are among the many responsibilities of management, to make the players believe. If a psychologist is needed, then so be it - demand it and the support will stand by you. But don't ever disgrace the county like Saturday night again. That was a collective failure, and one that will come back to haunt the county for a long time to come.