Antrim v Offaly NFL 03/03/2012

[Plain of the Herbs]

No, if it was for a pair of yellows (unless he got 2 yellows playing for Offaly at any time in the last 48 weeks;
Yes, if it was a straight red.

Ahl above says it was for a pair of yellows and today's Sindo backs this up.

Is there any reason Anton would would not be permitted to play in the U21 game this week due to this sending off?

[Kevin]

Good, thx for that POTH!

[Superted]

The current management must go. Simple as that.

[faithfullad]

i actually think the situation has become a bit of a joke at this stage. i think its absolutely ridiculous how the management team are still in place, there quite clearly are not doing the business. yes it is taxpayers who go out on the pitch but its up to the management to get them in the right frame of mind to play. the under 21s went out and won during the week and that should have spurred on the players.
gerry cooney doesn't seem to have a clue, like he came in and Im sure the aim was to get promoted, now we are going to be facing relegation and will be playing the kilkenny footballers next.
its about time the management took a look at themselves and realised that offaly football is the priority here, not them. they axed players off the team without giving them a chance. if you go back to last year in the back door match against monaghan you saw a great display of football from offaly, players like mcmanus, deehan, reynolds etc. now cooney doesn't have them there and he could well do with them. it took mcmanus to come out and say that what players needed to be brought into the panel. that just shows how cooney is really lacking. i personally don't think he has a clue.

For God's sake, Neither Deehan nor Reynolds played a single minute of that Monaghan game, and McManus has retired. I hate when lads on here pine for the likes of Reynolds and Deehan, they were there last year and it was no help.

[bracknaghboy]

Anton got 2 yellows, think Shane got a straight red.

Whats wrong with these pair of clowns? How the hell do you get a straight red for abusing an official? This sort of carry on can only be very demoralising for the camp as if things were not hard enough. The countys disilpine level must be at an all time low.....the hurlers in recent years have had some sort of phobia when it came to finishing with 15 players. Lads need to take responsibility for their own actions and realise the wider consequences of them (namely losing games).

So while our 13/14 players were chasing a lost cause in Belfast our 1st Round Leinster opponents where involved in a championship like intensity encounter in Navan. What sort of shape are we going to in in come the 16th of June? The short term (relegation), medium term (the Kildare game) and long term future is looking bleak.

[Offaly Proud]

Went up to Belfast mode in hope than expectation. To be fair we were well in the game and playing well until the sending off which was unforgivable even I can't remember the last time a player got more than a yellow card for language. We had a definite penalty turned down when Ken was taken out of it by the keeper and generally we seem to get nothing from the referee. Anyone reading the reports of the game will think we were poor again but we just can't get any momentum at the momentum. Niall Smith, Brian Connor and Nigel Dunne were our best players on the night

[jimbob17]

agree offaly proud, there is absolutely no momentum there at the moment and it is a very hard thing to change or get going in a very competitive division 3 with everyone seriously expecting to beat us and playing us without fear. I thought there would have been an improved performance at the weekend given the 21 s win and the two challenge wins v wicklow and laoise recently. However, indiscipline let us down badly and we could ill afford this at this time.

I dont think it is time at all to be calling for Cooneys head right now and simple pub talk like this unsettles players and makes them question mamagement, further impairing confidence in what they are doing. Players and management need to look inside themselves now and look at what they can do better, what can be done to improve morale, what can be done to improve fitness levels, performance team play, and unity of purpose. If all of these areas are addressed in the short term, then performance can only improve the next day. we still have tipperary cavan and sligo to play, and by my reckoning, 4 points could save us which is quite possible, though our present score difference is not helping. Wexford are a step ahead, so id write that one off as a no hoper at present. Longford to me are the team to beat in the campaign and they have run up big scores in all their games. They have a very good backroom team there at the moment with a good manager with a few years together and signs on with the level of their performances. Antrim too have made great strides in the last few years.

Cooney i think went in to the job with his views on Offaly football of where they stood when he was involved previously in 06 as a selector (Leinster finalists). Unfortunately things have deteriorated drastically since in the past 5 years under Roe and others and what Cooney came into was actually far away a lesser squad than he anticipated. That allied with his short preparation period didnt help. Nor did his much publicised trip abroad or Niall McNamees absence help in the first few weeks of his tenure.

Personally, I would have looked to hold on to Scott Brady, Karol Slattery and macmanus as they would have offered some leadership that is badly missing at the moment, however 2 of the 3 retired though i think that some may have been persuaded. He has gone after Connor and Alan Mc and both started v Antrim despite only rejoining the squad.

While some are argueing and will argue for him to go, I do think however that he is trying to do things correctly by cleaning out the squad even if there are immediate repercussions. THere is talent coming through but there are fellas in the squad now that need to stand up and take on leadership roles and drive offaly football out of the mess that it is currently in. Supporters need to realise also that this wont happen over night and it could get worse before it gets better i am afraid, though i am hopeful that this will happen sooner rather than later as it aint good at present. The panel need to stick together, work together, be disciplined in their play and start believing in themselves as footballers as they are well capable of gettin out of the mess if they do. Westmeath were in a bad place till this weekend and then they go and beat Galway so who knows what lies around the corner!!!

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

Agree 100% with JimBob, some of the other nonsense posted here about getting rid of management is scandalous. Look, the sending off af a so called experienced player is scandalous in a game we were well in and at the very least could have remained in it up to the end. The lads need to keep working and we might pull out of this yet, but even if they are relegated they need to get a team and structure in place to build on

[Lone Shark]

I don't think there are any serious commentators out there blaming either the current management or the current squad of players for this. For the last decade at least, Offaly have had plenty of young talented players in the squad at the start of the year - but as soon as they start misfiring, we keep coming back for the same players to relieve them of their duties. In some cases, those senior players that were recalled had dietary/drinking habits, lung capacities and body fat percentages that while not bad for club football, would be laughed out of the gym in more serious counties.

I still think we need to find a way to avoid the drop to division four, but I can't see how it's going to happen. There is no way four points will be enough to stay up, so we need three positive results at least. I know Wexford are going well, but we have to find a way to get something out of this game this Sunday. Nonetheless, I'd prefer to see us making the drop and doing so with the players currently in there than going after guys that weren't deemed good enough at the start of the year and sending a clear signal that the current squad aren't up to it.

[Bord na Mona man]

jimbob17 is correct. Gerry Cooney should be given time as he is looking at the long term. You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.

The Babs Keating-Michael Bond effect of 1998 has given too many Offaly people the notion that managers can be switched like corner forwards.

[jimbob17]

there is a very good minor team there this year, probably one of the best in a long while. they are winning with their schools in Moate, Gallen and Edenderry and this confidence will help if brought to the county team. This group were unplayable at underage development, and while there are still a few felas out there that should be in the squad and arent, there is a good side there. Offaly need a good run to dismiss the doom and gloom, and with a back door here now at minor level, we have a good chance of progressing.

Interesting that Westmeath were so easily beaten as they should also be one of the pick of the teams in leinster this year at minor. Tommy Carr took them on very controversially there before christmas making headlines, and things appear to be going down hill for him given this result which eally was a pasting. Heard him on ridiculing the KK footballers at the weekend on the radio. Maybe he should get his own house in order before he starts throwing stones as this loss would go down particularly bad in Westmeath given the talent that they perceive themselves to have at minor this year.....

[Lone Shark]

there is a very good minor team there this year, probably one of the best in a long while. they are winning with their schools in Moate, Gallen and Edenderry and this confidence will help if brought to the county team. This group were unplayable at underage development, and while there are still a few felas out there that should be in the squad and arent, there is a good side there. Offaly need a good run to dismiss the doom and gloom, and with a back door here now at minor level, we have a good chance of progressing.

Interesting that Westmeath were so easily beaten as they should also be one of the pick of the teams in leinster this year at minor. Tommy Carr took them on very controversially there before christmas making headlines, and things appear to be going down hill for him given this result which eally was a pasting. Heard him on ridiculing the KK footballers at the weekend on the radio. Maybe he should get his own house in order before he starts throwing stones as this loss would go down particularly bad in Westmeath given the talent that they perceive themselves to have at minor this year.....

Not to go off the main topic of the thread, sadly the back door doesn't suit Offaly at all this year. The first round draw is against Kilkenny, meaning that Offaly will be the only team in the quarter final draw without a meaningful game behind them - it's actually a huge handicap. If I'm not mistaken the team that drew Kilkenny in the first round went on to lose eight out of ten quarter finals since this system came in. Something like that anyway, I remember looking it up for another reason last year.

Just out of curiosity, who are the guys you think should be in the squad but aren't?

[llkj]

Reading the report online of the match, I wouldn't be overly pleased with the nature of Gerry Cooney's comments:

"We had five yellow cards and no cards for the opposition and there wasn't a bad foul in the game. It's hard to take," said Cooney.

"I spoke to the referee. He said it (the sending-off) was for abusive language -- if that's a red card, I think we'd see an awful lot more."

He is pretty much condoning abuse of the officials, which is a wrong signal to be sending out and it is petty to be focusing on the number of yellow cards each team got. now, maybe this is a part of a longer interview and the quotes are out of context, but still, if that is where his attention is focused, then it is completely wrong.

Also, there Anton getting a 2nd yellow in 20 mins he is on the field is not positive either. There is no doubting his ability, but there is also no denying that he does have a petulant streak in his game that needs to be removed. The higher the level he wants to get to the more this will become an issue for him.

[Lone Shark]

Excellent point. Hadn't had a chance to scour the match reports yet.

That is a rather spectacular and hugely disappointing missing of the point, if of course that is a fair reflection of what he said and meant.

[llkj]

The Examiner printed more of the quote, so read into that as you will:
We don’t like making excuses but we’re not happy with a number of things that went on out there," he said.

"Generally you’ll hold your hands up if you’re beaten fair and square but we had five yellow cards and no cards for the opposition and there wasn’t a bad blow in the game as far as I’m concerned. It’s strange and hard to take.

"I spoke to the referee afterwards asked him if he was happy with his performance.He said he was, and that’s all I can say on that. He said it [Shane Sullivan’s red card] was for abusive language which, if that’s red card, I think we’d see an awful lot more. It was to the umpire over a ball that was clearly wide. I’m not justifying what was said but I’m surprised it would be a red."

I wonder did the ref ask Gerry if he was happy with Offaly's performance? If he said he was too, then everyone goes home happy... including Antrim, who won the match.