Offaly team for NUIG walsh cup - 15/01/2011

[Bord na Mona man]

I heard that David Kenny picked up a serious injury in extra time against Carlow today and the game was abandoned.

[black and red exile]

Yeah it was very worrying alright, he got a knee in the back of the head going up for a ball, nothing malicious I might add and then from where I was in the stand he looked like he fell on his head, immediatly he was motionless, never moved a muscle, players from both sides were concerned and after a few minutes the ref called a halt, there was a Doctor with him as well as mentors from both sides, the Ambulance arrived after about 15 mins and took him away, speaking to people afterwards they reckoned he should be ok thank god. As for the game itself, Carlow will wonder how they didn't finish this in normal time, their striking and support play was far better, they looked hungrier and looked like they wanted it more, Offaly did do well in the last 10 mins to fight back after being 3 points behind when they looked doomed to force extra time. I would be very concerned about a dreadful hiding in Cork next week

[old yellar]

Well as a Carlow man, I ve to agree we were the better team! I agree that we looked far sharper than ye in our hurling. I was sitting beside a lad who wouldn't know your lads as I would, and virtually everytime I could predict what side a lad would try strike off of. I thought it wasn't good to see how many lads were poor in this area.. Also some of the decisions on your line were baffling. The left verney on Craig Doyle for 60 mons and he destroyed him. They then switched him and morkham and morkham got taken off! Also Rory hanniffy needed to be changed back to the half back line as he was rudderless in the middle. Also I thought Stephen wynne was harshly treated in the fact yet he had created the goal in the first half and looked v lively. I wouldn't be overly confident in Joe Dooley.. But putting my Carlow hat aside, I think div 1 will be a struggle for Offaly this year... As for David kenny, well, he's on way home, as he text me ! Great commitment from him to fly home at weekends to play with county.

[kingscounty]

so is kenny alright then yellar?just goes to show how far offaly hurling has fallen if we have to play our best players against carlow no disrespect to carlow.but surely a second string offaly team should be beaten carlow.well done to carlow to tho,be great to see more teams coming through in leinster.

[old yellar]

Yeah he's fine. He was knocked out for a few seconds and came too.. As for the Offaly second string thing, well Carlow have been offalys match at underage in the last few years so our younger lads know the can beat ye now or compete well. We ve beaten ye at senior a few year back- ye beat us well in league final the same year, we beat Wexford last year and should have beaten clare. We re a competitive div 2 side now. Offaly hurling isn't maybe where peole think it is, that and other counties are catching up. Maybe people in Offaly have to be realistic if the talent that's currently there too. Again I don't like flagging managers but I think maybe our county board has made a shrewder choice in who we have. A proven hurling manager, who's not finding his feet at county level.. Anyhow, up Offaly!

[bracknaghboy]

The left verney on Craig Doyle for 60 mons and he destroyed him.

In fairness Doyle has proved himself in the last few years to one of the best forwards in Leinster, a goal machine at times.

I wouldn't be overly confident in Joe Dooley.. But putting my Carlow hat aside, I think div 1 will be a struggle for Offaly this year...

You and me both Yellar. I wouldn't have given Dooley a 4th year in charge.....it took him a age to make up his mind if he wanted a 4th year or not. He has no real ambition and will just go through the motions this year as he knows its his last. Carlow do seem to have got the right hurling people in from underage upwards and are seeing the benefits. It takes time but the structures are in place. I'd be fearful of Offaly in D1 this year. A defeat to Cork looks inevitable next week.

[old yellar]

He didn't seem a good choice at the time alright. He had v little experience before this. Great players don't always make greAt managers.. Yeah our structures are decent. We ve Bern luckyin the fact we ve had a few v good outside men involved in both senior and underage in the county.. As for Offaly, well I hope it changes. Like I said maybe some realism is needed on where things are.. Was that the full panel today? I know a few lads were injured and changes made, but when looking at the subs it was hard to see a game changer in it. Is Cathal horan away? Smashing hurler. I m surprised that others aren't on it too.

[Plain of the Herbs]

There lies the rub - fellas can't be standing around, gasping for oxygen when their teammates are in possession. Hurlers should be thinking, and working, as hard when their own side are in possession. Until that message is instilled then there's no hope.

. . . their striking and support play was far better . . .

Sounds disrespectful to Carlow if you ask me. Maybe Carlow are better versed in the nuances of modern hurling, like catching in the air, support play and the likes. Lobbing clearances off the back foot to a half-forward line who can't control a dropping ball isn't going to get results - grand hurlers and all as they might be.

just goes to show how far offaly hurling has fallen if we have to play our best players against carlow no disrespect to carlow.

[townman]

good news that david kenny is ok, lads i think we are going a bit overboard on this game did you see the weather that they
hurl in plus going back to the 90's i remember in the league when we were missing a few players the likes of meath and Down 2 beat us
right we are way behind tipp and the cats a this present time.

and well done to carlow they are doing great work in carlow with their under age, but its like this if offaly were to play carlow in
croke park with there full team and a dry day and hurl like they did for spells like they did again Galway last year they would be
way ahead of carlow in every aspect of the game, lads here going on about how far we are behind everyone because of a walsh cup
game in pissing rain in febuary with lads missing would want to cop on.

As people saying we will get a bad beating in cork well you wouldn't have to be a genius to know that better offaly teams than the one we
have now were well beaten down there in the park, as all ireland winners tipp will tell you after there bad beating in munster there last year
get behind the lads and hopefully we will win a few home games to keep us up in division 1 and yes it will be hard to take anything from cork
nowlan park and thurles.

[kingscounty]

no one should cop on,we1 are aloud have our say.so townman offaly hurlers are only what a little bit behind tipp,cats,cork,galway,waterford,dublin.offaly have to play dublin in parnell park in first round of championship,see how that goes and come back on here and tell me how far we are behind the rest then.im saying this because its sicken going to the games and the team plays for first half and dies in the second.that was never the offaly way,we always fought back,82,94 to name a few.

[townman]

no one should cop on,we1 are aloud have our say.so townman offaly hurlers are only what a little bit behind tipp,cats,cork,galway,waterford,dublin.offaly have to play dublin in parnell park in first round of championship,see how that goes and come back on here and tell me how far we are behind the rest then.im saying this because its sicken going to the games and the team plays for first half and dies in the second.that was never the offaly way,we always fought back,82,94 to name a few.

the same bull was said here last year before we played Dublin in the league and we won well after where are Dublin so great kilkenny beat them bye 20 odd points
and Antrim beat them in croker as well, as i said we don't have the hurlers of the 80's or 90's anymore

[kingscounty]

wish it was bs.dublin have better manager than us its that simple,maybe we dont have the players of years gone by but when we dont have a good manager to start with what hope have we got?/?/

[townman]

wish it was bs.dublin have better manager than us its that simple,maybe we dont have the players of years gone by but when we dont have a good manager to start with what hope have we got?/?/

well Anthony Daly would be on a lot more than Joe i'd say, but what has he done there was a lot of Dubs out for his head after Antrim beat
them last year in croke park, as for offaly even if cody was over them the talent is not there all you have to do is look at our club champions
winners the last two year's not going back on the Coolderry Rahaney game again in mullingar but joe was standing beside me that day
theres wasn't much to look at for the county that day for him to improve the county team was there, then you have players that won't play
not named names but you know who's who's there you can only play with the hand your given.

[old yellar]

Townman, you criticise one man for making assumptions about forthcoming matches based on 1 walsh cup game, yet you make the assumption that ye d be streets ahead of us given your performance v galway last year! Double standards! And what do you base these on anyhow? Ye won 2 league games last year, v dublin - who as it turns out werent wonderful (antrim bt them by a pt, we lost to antrim by a pt in champ), and a 3rd string limerick. Because lads wear a certain jersey it doesnt give them a right to be successful and that it will come naturally. I m not enetering a carlow /offaly thing by the way, i love carlow hurling first and then offaly, so i hope that people see that things need to be stirred up up there if things are to improve.

[townman]

Yeah he's fine. He was knocked out for a few seconds and came too.. As for the Offaly second string thing, well Carlow have been offalys match at underage in the last few years so our younger lads know the can beat ye now or compete well. We ve beaten ye at senior a few year back- ye beat us well in league final the same year, we beat Wexford last year and should have beaten clare. We re a competitive div 2 side now. Offaly hurling isn't maybe where peole think it is, that and other counties are catching up. Maybe people in Offaly have to be realistic if the talent that's currently there too. Again I don't like flagging managers but I think maybe our county board has made a shrewder choice in who we have. A proven hurling manager, who's not finding his feet at county level.. Anyhow, up Offaly!

i think you are the one making it a carlow offaly thing i didn't say anything about carlow, as for underage the last time we played was under 21 in carlow a few years
ago and offaly won that well, what i am saying is people running them down because of a walsh cup game in febuary and are in heavy training at the moment
sure didn't laois beat kilkenny in last years walsh cup