Offaly v Longford National League 5th February 2012

[Long John]

I can see why Currams is getting a bit of stick here. I have crossed paths with him more in hurling than football over the years and theres no question he has good skill. He is seen as a bit timid and soft however. I know when Clareen hurl KK he is targetted as one of the players that wont like it physical. He is a big man but like alot of the bigger men in the county they dont use it. Look at Gary Hanniffy when he was with Offaly. Massive man with huge hurling potential. Never used his size though.

Currams was a decent schools and underage footballer. He has the basics but I cant see him making a huge difference. But then again he is no worse than alot of lads that got plenty of games in recent years.

I think of the new additions, Keenaghan has the most potential in the modern day game where skill is not as important as athleticism. He got a few league games a couple of years ago and I think injury is the only thing that has hampered him in nailing down a spot in the last couple of years.

[townman]

I can see why Currams is getting a bit of stick here. I have crossed paths with him more in hurling than football over the years and theres no question he has good skill. He is seen as a bit timid and soft however. I know when Clareen hurl KK he is targetted as one of the players that wont like it physical. He is a big man but like alot of the bigger men in the county they dont use it. Look at Gary Hanniffy when he was with Offaly. Massive man with huge hurling potential. Never used his size though.

Currams was a decent schools and underage footballer. He has the basics but I cant see him making a huge difference. But then again he is no worse than alot of lads that got plenty of games in recent years.

I think of the new additions, Keenaghan has the most potential in the modern day game where skill is not as important as athleticism. He got a few league games a couple of years ago and I think injury is the only thing that has hampered him in nailing down a spot in the last couple of years.

Have to take you up on the Hanniffy call there long john i think if you were to asked Brian Corcoran,or alot of the big club sides over the years Hanniffy was far from soft
his display on Corcoran or his display again Clare in thurles was far from been soft side.

he wasn't a dirty or a man to pull hard but down the years he broke his hand and fingers for the offaly and Birr cause, i also remember a big hit on Andy Comerford in
carlow in the club championship a few years ago where he put Comerford into the stand with a shot and Comerford wasn't simple.

i don't like lads calling lads soft or windy as i have seen Currams over the last few year's and he is a talent young man and have to say i seen him hurling again
seir kierans also and he hurl well to, didn't see him walking away from anybody.

i also recall when Joe Bergin broke onto the scene like currams he was young and didn't like the hard stuff either, under 21 final agin kilkenny in tullamore comes to mind
where kilkennys fullback Kieran Joyce had his number that day.

but Bergin is older now and better as he didn't take any sh.t off the westmeath player two weeks ago in kinnegad as he put him on his arse near the end of the game.
so i think Currams will fill out as he gets older and i would love to see him back in with the hurlers as i think he has the hurling in him maybe a break for a year
or two might be no harm for him as Sean Ryan and Horan have came back fresh this year.

Dan Curram's is young i remember Joe Dooley bring him on again galway in tullamore and he was just out of minor, the same year he played in the leinster under 21 football
final again leix in portlaoise. lets give our lads a boost not run them down god knows we need every player .

[Plain of the Herbs]

You've posted some ráimeas on this site in your time, but this takes the absolute biscuit.

People hurl bad betimes. You'll realise that as you grow up. Underperforming doesn't mean they don't "like the hard stuff", as you put it.

i also recall when Joe Bergin broke onto the scene like currams he was young and didn't like the hard stuff either, under 21 final agin kilkenny in tullamore comes to mind where kilkennys fullback Kieran Joyce had his number that day.

[townman]

You've posted some ráimeas on this site in your time, but this takes the absolute biscuit.

People hurl bad betimes. You'll realise that as you grow up. Underperforming doesn't mean they don't "like the hard stuff", as you put it.

i also recall when Joe Bergin broke onto the scene like currams he was young and didn't like the hard stuff either, under 21 final agin kilkenny in tullamore comes to mind where kilkennys fullback Kieran Joyce had his number that day.

so its alright to call currams windy

[gearbag]

Certainly the team is stronger without Dalton and Brady.

thats a good one. Richie Dalton was man of the match in the county final and player of the year in Offaly for 2011. And his last two performances for Offaly in 2011 championship were more than adequate(excellent against Monaghan and good against Limerick)

If he cant make the Offaly team stronger after the year he has had well i dunno what the chap has to do.

the only time dalton played well was semi final and final last year but i think richie would be better at full back for offaly than midfield seen him against kildare and he played very well.

[Jack The Lad]

I know we're gone off the topic here but anyway. I wouldn't see currams as windy but I think his head can drop to easily in some matches. He's certainly not slow far from it as someone suggested. I don't know where Long John came up with the theory that when kk play clareen he's seen as a soft touch physically. Clareen definitely artnt a physical team.I haven't seen currams receive and special attention when the sides meet. I think Dan is a big loss to the hurlers this year. He had a good year in 2011 and scored 5 points from midfield against cork in the qualifiers all from play. I hope he goes well with the footballers this year.

[timber]

I have to go along with some of the things mentioned about Dan Currams. I know he is a skillful player but I have been at alot of games also where he did not want to know about it when the going got tough. Its easy to say he is young townman, but I think he has been around long enough now to be showing a bit more. I think what long john pointed out was that Currams is seen by alot of people as a little soft. I dont think he called him windy, he just called a spade a spade. Similarly you got a bit defensive that Gary Hanniffy was mentioned. I agree with the comments. He praised Hanniffy's ability but for a man of his size he did'nt use it enough and many the person has said that to me coming out of a game.

My own views on Currams are that he is worth a go with the football. I dont think he was making it with the hurlers. He was a bit behind most of the forwards that are available. I think he is named a centre forward. That will suit him as he wont be marked too tightly and will get an opportunity to get on alot of ball. Its a key position. I was at the Westmeath game and thought Ennis outplayed Dunne far too easily. We need to find a good candidate for the role.

[Truth as i see it]

Since the title of the thread is on the Longford game i thought i'd throw in my two scents

As far as the overall picture of the season goes progress for me would be promotion to division two this year even if we went out at the first round of the championship

The fact the we have stayed so long in the basement leagues has meant the players over the years have gotten used to a slower pace and intensity in games which has been to their detriment

As has been covered before player attitude and behaviour has been a factor as well but if you look back at the Kildare game it was as if the team had been thrown into the furnace and the end result was the team could not stand the pace at which Kildare were operating

This of course was due to the superior fitness of the Kildare side but also their intensity level as well, an intensity level you only develop by playing the top teams in the top divisions on a regular basis which brings me back to Longford this weekend

Its is Crucial that we get off to a good start but Longford will be tricky for the simple fact that they have been building this team for quite a while (stating the obvious i know but it is a fact)

They have been making good strides at under age level with the Under-21s making the Leinster final last year and of course they beat our minors in the final two years ago so they will be ready to go.

But i am encouraged by the team picked for this weekend.

The back line stood up well against Kildare a few weeks ago and despite the score line the goal was not breached due to a mixture of good tackleing and excellent goalkeeping by Kevin Meehan

The midfield looks competitive with Hanemy offering some much needed height, how physical he will be i don't know but if he can hold his own we should be Ok

The attack will be sharpened up considerably with the return of Anton and Bernard and i think its good that the team will not have Niall Mcnemee this weekend as we need to learn to not rely on one or two players, its not a good habit to get into as pilling too much pressure on one player can be counter productive so hopefully the forwards can start to gel as a unit this weekend

I'm also delighted to hear that the management have the team playing challenge matches against the likes of Kerry lately

This is excellent because as i said earlier the more we play these types of teams the more used to them the team will get and the less fear they will have in championship situations.

Overall as far as this weekend is concerned i am cautious but hopefull

[Lone Shark]

At the risk of sounding pessimistic, I'm looking around at this division and thinking to myself that if we finish anywhere in the top six, that'll be a decent job of work.

That's not because I have any huge time for teams like Roscommon, Cavan, Tipperary etc., but while I'd like to think we have at least as good a selection of footballers as any of these, we are working with new management, blooding a lot of new footballers, getting used to new systems and for now at least, without our one proven top class player. Even more so, is there any one of the players selected at 3, 6, 8, 9, 11 or 14 tomorrow that you could say with 70% confidence that they are our likely championship starters in that position? I'm not trying to be critical of any of them, all of which have different attributes to recommend them, but it's just the whole aspect of how unsure we are of what our best team is.

Compare that with Longford under Glenn Ryan, Tipperary under John Evans, Cavan under Val Andrews, Wexford under Jason Ryan, Sligo under Kevin Walsh, or Antrim under Liam Bradley - six of our opponents. They all know their panels very well and are looking to tweak rather than re-engineer.

Championship will be another story, but right now, if you offered me sixth place and having a reasonable idea of our best team by the summer, I'd take it.

[Real Rob]

Lone Shark Shane Sullivan is a starter and so is Niall Smith in both positions

[Kevin]

Longford 2-15
Offaly 0-8

Yikes!

[Lone Shark]

Oh Lord. Where do you begin?


I travelled to Longford expecting to lose, worried that we might lose by a couple of goals or more, but never expecting anything like this. Now Longford are a good team, moving well under Glen Ryan and I remain of the view that a good Offaly team could have gone there and lost, so in that sense it's not like any huge harm is done. However it did give some indication of the scale of the challenge facing the management team in the coming weeks to avoid relegation, for which we must now be long odds on. It's hard to find too many positive aspects, but if I was to look for some, I though the full back line generally was okay, and questions have to be asked of a system that left so many of them in one on one situations. James Gallagher had a ropey start and got burned twice but he was sticky and aggressive throughout, while Pender was polished and assured, definitely our best player. Brian Darby tried his guts out at half back and always seemed to be working hard to support the man in possession and use the ball as well as he could, but after that it was all a bit of a horror show.

(1) Firstly, midfield. I made the point in the paper this week that just as the rest of the country starts moving away from high fielding midfielders, we pick not one but two of them. I know that Richie Dalton's injury forced the hand of management to a certain degree, but it made no sense. Smith made a couple of good catches and Hanamy in fairness worked really hard, but neither of the two of them are good at tackling and they both got caught out trying to tackle and missing badly on a couple of occasions, leading to overlaps. Neither did either of them get forward at any stage - so you'd have to ask, is fielding 2/3 balls a game worth that much when you give up so much?

(2) We played a target man full forward, got our opening score from hitting a long ball into him, and then spent the rest of the game putting high ball in on top of Bernard Allen. I'm not convinced by the tactic, but if you're going to put Alan Mulhall up there, you have to use what he brings, which is a good presence under a high ball and a great football brain. He's not going to jink out past guys and beat a full back for pace.

(3) For obvious reasons I am biased towards the selection of Aidan Keenaghan, however I will accept that while I wouldn't necessarily have taken him off at half time, his yellow card did leave him in the firing line. However once he left, the absence of outlet ball was very noticeable, while I also felt that Longford backs found it a lot easier to come out of their defence. Graham Guilfoyle's ability to run with the ball is unquestioned, but running from your own 45m line to the opposite 45m line is not necessarily an effective tactic and today I thought he did a lot of his running around that sector. Equally, the withdrawal of Shane Sullivan left huge holes in the middle of the field as well. Longford appeared to run through the middle a lot easier after he went off, again in a substitution where I would have called others over first.


That's just some aspects to the game - also:

Lone Shark Shane Sullivan is a starter and so is Niall Smith in both positions

I'm not trying to criticise the two lads, but my point is that while they are both options, I don't think either are anything like guaranteed to start. I like Shane at centre back in a big way and he'd be my preferred choice for that jersey, marginally over John Moloney, but if you asked me what would I like to bet on - 1/2 Sullivan to start at 6 or 2/1 any other player - I'd be taking the 2/1.

Similarly Smith at midfield, while he is the best fielder in the county, is far from a 1/2 shot either.

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

Loneshark, who do you propose at midfield then? In fairness to Smith, he is a great fielder and breaker of the ball, and is also a fela that needs games to improve. Dalton is similar, someone proposed him as a full back option, but he would be eaten alive for pace in championship in that position.
I have not seen Hanamy in action yet but reports are very sceptical as to what he can offer, big guy with no mobility or ability to give the ball quick enough when he gets it.
I would wholeheartedly agree that we are in a position where avoiding relegation would be a success and solving positional issues being the priority. I would like to see Moloney getting a run at either 3 or 6, as when it comes down to it, McConway will be unlikely to make it at full back. Sullivan is experienced but as has been said before his pace and discipline in the tackle are big faults of his.


Again, I am looking forward to the u21's performance this year and hopefully a couple of them will be able to step up to this level during the Spring.
We are out again next week in another crucial game against Roscommon. We will again be up against it but we need to persevere and get out and support these lads, and the management team. A decent performance, and (I think, a 3 week break to the next game?) will give a chance to work hard and build more of a game plan into the side and look at a few more options.
It will take time to get this right, and we have to be patient, but Roscommon will be another good test for the team and management.
Best of luck lads!

[icafuture]

Indo got it right this am first half was a tight affair and Offaly quickly cut the deficit and in reality missed two chances to level the match but totaly exploded then. Dont agree with markings giving 6 to 12 out of the fifteen. For what its worth this is how i saw the performances.
1. Meehan- Could do nothing with goals has a solid kick out.
2. Gallagher- started a little of his man but grew into the game a typical dogged corner back who played well.
3. Conway- Has football in him but not a full back and maybe better used in the half backs. BUt where do we find a full back
4. Pender- Again let his man out in front at the start but nevertheless gave a solid performance. Between himself and gallagher for our best player.
5 Darby- Not his best day and is capable of more.
6 Sullivan.- Has the class but lacked fitness yesterday when he gets fully fit he will be a different player.
7 Hiney- why does he slow up the pace evreytime he gets the ball he turns backwards first before attempting to go forward. Lucky to stay on for full game.
8. Hanamy- Worked hard and can distribute with both hands quickly though will always need wing half backs to support him to give him an out.
9 Smith- caught one great clean catch and is capable but dissappears for minutes has to be more involved.
10- Kenaghan- well capable of geting ball but runs blindly across the field rather than forward same can be said for his repaclement guilfoyle.
11-Currams- what the posts said prior to match came true dropped two passes when looking for his marker rather than taking hit. Jury is still out.
12- Sullivan- Most skillfull player on the park but only showed it once in the whole 60 mins. needs to get more involved.
13- allen- small but game. tried hard missed a free first half after scoring a more difficult one from same angle but longer due to lack of concentration
14- Mulhall-used him sparingly first score came off him breaking possession down and will always do that took frees well and score from play.
15- Dunne- Again was game enough tried hard .

some Substitutes notably kelly probably earned himself a starting place next week but Management will have some job to lift them for Sunday.
Went to Longford with an open mind and was plaeasntly surprised at half time although it was really dissapointing in the end i still have hope that when the injured players and Niall return that we will be competitive this season.

[summerindublin]

Lads what I need to ask is 'what were we doing over the winter, f'~~in nothing, we must be the most unfit team ever to leave the county, i would honestly say that the only team we might beat at present is Kilkenny, shocking stuff, we have not improved since the Kildare match, there are lads on the Offaly panel that would not make a decent club team, unless things change dramatically over the next couple of months Kildare will beat us by at least a point a man in the championship. Jesus what the f~~k is going on with our county team, you'd be ashamed at present to say that you were at an Offaly match!!!!!!!!.