Antrim v Offaly NFL 03/03/2012

[llkj]

While I'm on the topic of media coverage of the Offaly game, did you see Sunday Sport on RTE last night? In the 20 seconds that they dedicated to Division 3 and 4, they all agreed that it is terrible to see Offaly at the foot of D3. Kevin Mc Stay's solution (I paraphrase): 'well the last time they had success was in 97 when Tommy Lyons was in there. Therefore, they should look outside the county again for a manager'

The stuff of genius! I wonder could he even name the current Offaly manager.

Also, their report on the Fitzgibbon cup competition was pathetic - a Marty Morrissey special. More time went into making the graphics for the report than into the actual report itself.
I would have much rathered if they had shown some highlights of the actual action over the weekend, than the tripe they served up as serious analysis.

[Lone Shark]

While I'm on the topic of media coverage of the Offaly game, did you see Sunday Sport on RTE last night? In the 20 seconds that they dedicated to Division 3 and 4, they all agreed that it is terrible to see Offaly at the foot of D3. Kevin Mc Stay's solution (I paraphrase): 'well the last time they had success was in 97 when Tommy Lyons was in there. Therefore, they should look outside the county again for a manager'

The stuff of genius! I wonder could he even name the current Offaly manager.

Also, their report on the Fitzgibbon cup competition was pathetic - a Marty Morrissey special. More time went into making the graphics for the report than into the actual report itself.
I would have much rathered if they had shown some highlights of the actual action over the weekend, than the tripe they served up as serious analysis.

The problem is that capturing action costs money, while talking muck is relatively cheap. As for McStay, there may have been some self interest in his attempt to paint outside managers as the panacea, but equally it could have been as simple as having ten seconds to give a quick solution, when in actual fact the truth is rather nuanced and requires investigation and knowledge. Two commodities that are equally rare on RTE.

[kinnittyman]

While I'm on the topic of media coverage of the Offaly game, did you see Sunday Sport on RTE last night? In the 20 seconds that they dedicated to Division 3 and 4, they all agreed that it is terrible to see Offaly at the foot of D3. Kevin Mc Stay's solution (I paraphrase): 'well the last time they had success was in 97 when Tommy Lyons was in there. Therefore, they should look outside the county again for a manager'

The stuff of genius! I wonder could he even name the current Offaly manager.

Also, their report on the Fitzgibbon cup competition was pathetic - a Marty Morrissey special. More time went into making the graphics for the report than into the actual report itself.
I would have much rathered if they had shown some highlights of the actual action over the weekend, than the tripe they served up as serious analysis.

It was Martin McHugh not Kevin McStay who said that. Kevin McStay wasn't even on the panel last night.

[llkj]

It was Martin McHugh not Kevin McStay who said that. Kevin McStay wasn't even on the panel last night.

Damn Autocorrect function Try it out on your phone - weird.

I stand corrected, but the point stands - if he had nothing to contribute they would have been better saying nothing and just reading the results out.

[Bord na Mona man]

McHugh would be more bluffer than expert.

I remember the bit of analysis he did on the 2005 All Ireland minor football semi-final that Offaly lost to Down.

After an epic battle, Down finally sealed the win with a great team goal at the end of the game. After the highlights reel McHugh said "that Offaly team wouldn't tackle a fish supper". The reality was that Offaly had relied on sheer guts to manage to stay anywhere near a vastly more talented Down team and had put in exhibition of tackling, blocking and harassing.

I remember he came out with a total cracker a decade ago. He claimed Westmeath were one of the top 5 football teams in Ireland.

We'd better get Pat Roe to come back so we can reap the benefits of an outside manager.

[GreatDayForTheParish]

National interest and knowledge of Offaly GAA, its players and its teams is abysmal across all broadcast media.

I guarantee you, one could ask any of the senior hurling analysts of 'The Sunday Game' to name 50% of the Offaly Hurling Team, the positions they play and their clubs and 90%, if not all, wouldn't have a clue. All bias asides, Michael Duignan at least appears to be the best read in this fundamental knowledge of players and counties. And these guys being paid a small fortune for their supposedly 'informed' opinion. Infinitely better stuff is written, for free, by posters online.

Without the firm details that are prerequisite for even moderate analysis, analysis of Offaly teams and their players is thus restricted to useless cliches that mean absolutely nothing.

The explosion of forums such as this over the last few years, although not without problems, have provided GAA anoraks such as me with valuable sources of decent information and opinion. I'd place much more value on some posters opinion here than anything else available. Any journalist worth his salt would do well to scour these sites and keep himself/herself up to date.

[Lone Shark]

Just to follow the piece about national GAA analysis, I think that there are a couple of factors that feed into the drivel that we get fed from so many national writers.

(1) Biting the hand that feeds - the GAA community is still very small, and we're all part of it in one way or another. Those that we read/hear/see on the national airwaves and in print are largely dependent on remaining on the inside in order to generate income, and as we all know, the club and county manager or players is only too eager to seize on anything as an insult or a slight, if it goes even the slightest bit outside the "it'll be a fierce close game, a real tough battle" sort of breakdown.
(2) Empathy for those involved. Because (theoretically!) no-one's drawing a wage, people are a lot slower to criticise when they feel that someone is doing their best. Myself, when I was younger and hadn't got to know as many people on the "inside" so to speak, I would have put things in print and indeed on to this website that I wouldn't do now. I would still never be dishonest but there are times when I would bite my tongue, simply because when you get to know people, it's harder to step back from that side of it. The ideal line to walk is where criticising someone's play in a given match is fair game, but stopping short of saying that it happened because they were living the high life for the month beforehand. The other side of that is that I had a county player suggest that he was entitled to have a go at me because of who I was and things he thought I said, but that's another story.
(3) Long memories. (Tullamore Hurling!) If you go outside the "puck of a ball in it" verdict, people are waiting to hang you for it, and even though shock results hang you all the time, people will decide that you don't know your behind from your elbow based on one prediction that doesn't work out. When you're in the gambling game as I am you learn to live with that, but it's still a serious disincentive to get off the fence and say what you really think.


The beauty of an online community like this as well is that either people are known for who they are, or else they start to take pride in their persona. You'd be amazed how many posters on here started by putting up some fierce drivel altogether before realising that this was a good community with a decent standard of debate, and so they started to up their own standard of contribution. Equally, when the standard is good, it encourages those who have something good to say to come out and do so. There is a hunger out there for something a little bit more substantial than analysing a club game on the basis of which team has the most county players and which side won when they last met in a county semi final in 1993.

I have no interest in what passes for "analysis" in the national or indeed the local media, but I do sympathise because a medium like this is much more conducive to good, in depth discussion.

[llkj]

Out of curiosity, on the topic of putting your neck on the block, if you had 10euro a week for the last year and split it evenly across your predictions in the Offaly Independent (i.e. if you gave predictions on 4 matches, then it went 2.50 on each game, or 5 each on 2 games) what would you say the overall result would be now? (worst case scenario you are -520, best case you are reading this from some beach in the Indian Ocean)

not asking for any reason, other than a mild curiosity. rarely bet, so i'm not looking for any money back from you (or to give you a share of the winnings).

[Lone Shark]

As it happens, my tips in the Offaly have gone okay, I haven't got the exact numbers to hand but as of the first of January it was showing around a 10% profit.

For those following me in Westmeath, the story is a little bit more grim unfortunately, down around 20% in that paper - and it's not personal, I assure all Westmeath readers.....

[Long John]

I see Antrim manager Liam Bradley thought Offaly were a very poor team and that Antrim should have won the game by 29 points instead of 9.
It is sickening when you hear this coming from a team that have feck all talent themselves.

I hope Offaly can get their act together and start restoring some pride in Offaly football.

[summerindublin]

I see Antrim manager Liam Bradley thought Offaly were a very poor team and that Antrim should have won the game by 29 points instead of 9.

Don't mind that Bradley fellow, he's a prize pr**ck.

[kingscounty]

i cant understand why cooney used some of the under 21s , quarter final against kildare tomorrow night and some of these guys will have played 3 games in the space of a week . our league hopes were doomed before we played antrim so to risk getting these boys injured was just stupid. kildare will be hard enough to beat and we need all players ready and fit. offaly are heading to division 4 unless a miracle happens, so i think the players need to get their heads right for the championship and will have to train harder and play as a team and not to expect one or two players to win the games for them. offaly are never that impressive in the league so we may just get on with it and get this group ready for first round of championship. we need the under 21s to get as far as they can to generate interest in football again and only when they are finished then the manager should pick who he wants to play for seniors , he shouldnt be picking players to play 3 or 4 days before a lenister quarter final.

[Lone Shark]

The Antrim game was a league match worth winning in it's own right, nobody is giving out to Pat Flanagan for using three under-21s since it made the difference and WH beat Galway. It boosted the whole county as it turned out.

The problem is that they played and we were still very poor. That's what would worry me.

[kingscounty]

The Antrim game was a league match worth winning in it's own right, nobody is giving out to Pat Flanagan for using three under-21s since it made the difference and WH beat Galway. It boosted the whole county as it turned out.

The problem is that they played and we were still very poor. That's what would worry me.

nobody could give out to pat as the 3 under 21s you mention didnt have to play on the 29th feb as westmeath had a bye and were awaiting the winners of wicklow and carlow! you say they played and we were still poor but to me thats harsh on young lads who played meath 3 days before in a championship game .