2010 O'Byrne Cup - Offaly 1-23 Kilkenny 0-6 17/01/2010

[Patsy]

Lads in fairness where is he pulling these boys out of.

Williamson has not even secured a spot on the Tullamore line up. It makes a complete mockery of the selection system in this county.

I am very dissapointed with the squad that has been selected.

Ive watched alot of club games and would never have picked some of the players named yesterday as intercounty footballers.

[Lone Shark]

Welcome aboard Patsy - always good to have new voices, though I can't say I agree with you on this one. Kevin Williamson played for Tullamore all last year and after Ronan Monaghan, was their best forward. He was unavailable before on account of soccer. As for some of the lads picked not being the best available in some people's eyes, well you have to remember that he wasn't picking any under 21 players and that there are some fairly intensive training demands being made of players this year. Some guys might have said no to that - I certainly know of a couple who did, and there could have been a few more - and that's as it should be. The demands of intercounty football are intensive, and only players who want to be part of it should take part. Offaly will only improve if the players there are ones who are willing to work hard and to put football first, and it's equally fair to say that several players aren't in a position to do that.

I always used to worry about the opposite - in every other county there were a few players pulling out, citing that they weren't in a position to give the time or the commitment. In Offaly, that was a very rare occurrence, which always led me to worry that the commitment required here was of a lesser order.

[Phoenix]

It was interesting to hear Tom Cribbin''s interview on Midlands Radio 3. As BnM Man said - he praised the Gracefield boys, said that you couldn't tell much from the game, suggested that Kilkenny play in another competition for counties in the same boat as themselves etc. So far so normal for a manager's interview, maybe a little more direct and straight than usual.

Anyways, while Cribbin was praising Ciaran Kiely it was particularly interesting to hear him say that Offaly has as good forwards as any county and that we have to get the defence sorted out. He said that there are 4 or 5 good Under 21 players coming up and that he was confident that the backs and midfield could be improved.

These comments, coupled with his suggestion in the national press for a later start to the National League, give me the distinct impression that we have a manager who has good ideas and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. John Reynolds, in an interview about the Athlone IT game, volunteered that Tom Cribbin is doing a great job with Offaly although he added that we have a long way to go.

I'm certainly impressed by Tom Cribbin over this winter and, although I can see why Patsy might be wondering about some of these new guys wearing the Offaly jersey, I'm glad that we had a manager actually watching club games last summer and I'm intrigued that he has spread the net so wide. Kevin Williamson has pace and that's a big advantage in the modern game. I'm not saying that we'll suddenly be world beaters but the manager seems to be his own man and is doing things the right way.

[black and red exile]

Why are some people on this site ready and willing to jump on the back of Kevin Williamson? At least he is determined to give it a go with the panel and instead of giving the guy a chance there are experts here writing him off already. As LS has stated with so many lads unavailable on Sunday the likes of Williamson, James Gallagher and Niall Spain were given a chance and none of them put a foot wrong despite the opposition being on the same level as a bad junior team, now if these guys get a run next Sunday then we will have a better idea if they will cut it at a decent level. What bugs me is that experts who were not even at the match on Sunday and would have seen or known very little of Kevin Williamson are still giving the guy a hard time for no reason whatsoever. LET'S GIVE THESE FELLAS A CHANCE BEFORE WE HANG THEM OUT TO DRY.

[Bord na Mona man]

One thing an Offaly forward line shouldn't lack is pace. We have Sean Ryan and Ken Casey who have plenty of it.
If Kevin Williamson stays in the frame he could potentially be an impact sub, or more.

The problem is that Offaly's forward play of recent years is usually too ponderous to suit pacy players.
The default attacking option seems to be to kick diagonal balls deep into the corners, outside where the corner forwards are positioned.

The corner forward goes out to collects it, and usually being well collared by his marker (and the angle) has to pass it back out the field. The ball ends up being worked outfield and then across the '45 and allowing the opposition to funnel back.
By the time all this has played out, you have about 20 of the 30 players on the pitch compressed behind the '45. The attacks either ends with a wild shot from distance by one of the lesser renowned shooters, or possession being turned over and the opposition being able to counter attack into an empty field.

Our best bet would to try and open up opposition defences down the middle and hit them with our runners.
Instead of our inside forwards bunching and then moving outwards, they should be dragging their men out of position early to create space through the middle.
If nothing else, you win a lot of frees by running at a defender who is facing you and in a standing position.

[Oceans 15]

Why are some people on this site ready and willing to jump on the back of Kevin Williamson? At least he is determined to give it a go with the panel and instead of giving the guy a chance there are experts here writing him off already. As LS has stated with so many lads unavailable on Sunday the likes of Williamson, James Gallagher and Niall Spain were given a chance and none of them put a foot wrong despite the opposition being on the same level as a bad junior team, now if these guys get a run next Sunday then we will have a better idea if they will cut it at a decent level. What bugs me is that experts who were not even at the match on Sunday and would have seen or known very little of Kevin Williamson are still giving the guy a hard time for no reason whatsoever. LET'S GIVE THESE FELLAS A CHANCE BEFORE WE HANG THEM OUT TO DRY.

Hear Hear...Would I be right in saying Niall Spain has been in the states for the past few years?? I don't think he played for Ballyfore last year..

[True Red]

Niall Spain was in London for a couple of years and actually played a league match against Offaly in O'connor park if i remember correctly.

[Bord na Mona man]

There is no harm in taking a risk on a player.
If he is good enough, a player doesn't need to to have served an apprenticeship at club level, or with Offaly underage teams.

Didn't Micko Dwyer drag The Bomber Liston from playing beach soccer to lining out for Kerry.
Kieran Donaghy was off the radar in Kerry that he got onto the TG4 Underdogs team.
Niall Gilligan got his place on the Clare team in 1997 and was probably the winning of the All Ireland that years, before he broke into the Sixmilebridge team.

Maybe conservative and conventional thinking is the undoing of us in Offaly.

[Phoenix]

I agree with Bord na Mona man on our attacking patterns. We are so easy to stop - two good corner backs or a sweeper will cut off the ball to our corner forwards or at least stop them turning in for goal. Then what do we do - 20 backward hand passes until we have lost the advantage. It is painful to watch Offaly trying to hit forwards in the corners from 70 metres away playing against a strong breeze or a crowded defence. It is spectacular when it works, like when we had Deehan and McNamee in full flow in the 2006 Leinster campaign, but what do we do when it isn't working?

Cahir Healy, in the 2nd game between Portlaoise and Clara, showed how a top-notch defender can change a game entirely. His move from centre-half back to mark Tommo Deehan changed the whole dynamic of the game. Granted he was lucky when Tommo slipped him, rounded the goalie and was taken out for a missed penalty. The rest of the game, though, you could see the pressure on Clara getting worse and worse because they were losing possession hitting it long to Deehan.

A good Plan B would be a big help to Offaly teams, club and county.

[Phoenix]

Just to add to the Plan B idea - Clara showed the value of variation in the County Final by putting Ross Brady up front and targetting a big full forward instead of hitting the small corner forwards all the time.

Playing Portlaoise they didn't have the option because Ross was suspended.