jimbob17 wrote: Great stuff Tox.....makes for interesting reading....
Ger Healion at centre back.....could be on to something there, had excellent year with KK and excellent in club final, massive physical presence and does simple things well. Frees Hannify up to go to midfield.....
I was surprised at how well Ger Healion play and more surprised at how well he used the ball. He got block down a few time but recovered and regained the ball and cleared it. Again like any hurler he has weakness but brady and himself work well together and Camon did well on the otherside. But only when Healion got dragged to midfield did Camon and Brady look under pressure. He a Big Powerful Stopper. Antrim spend there time trying to get around him because they could go through him.
jimbob17 wrote: Also with Kenny, Cleary and Morkham in backs we can only get stronger. Id rather see Brady at midfield for his tenacity with Brian Carroll further up but Brady is tenacious and will break even no matter where he is.....
I'm still disappointed that Kilmartin isn't on the panel. He 23 year old and look like the long term future of the offaly midield. But Brady/Hanniffy would be a good midfield. But with the Kilkenny game in mind it would be nice to have the opition to have Ryan/Kilmartin for the last 15 mins if we can keep it close.
jimbob17 wrote: With the likes of Bergin to come back to partner Dooley in inside line and Slevin adding value to half forward line, we can be a lot more positive than we have been to date. Colin Egan, the 2 Carrolls, Conor Mahon and Derek Molloy as options with Mulrooney available for inside line, we can get a lot stronger overall. 6 pts from 10 in the div is not great but also not bad and finishing ahead of wexford after the drubbing we took down there in the Walshe cup in January is acceptable given the absence of the KK lads.
Yeah, its look like we have an ok squad considering what has left the squad over the last 2 year(Kelly, Horan, Murphy, Coughlan, Franks, Brady, Herron and Rigney) and the players that we haven't call up.
The Two losses to Dublin and Limerick were both our own fault. the game aginst Dublin we were overrun for a lot of the game. We didn't make the changes required early enough.
as for the Game aginist Limerick we started and played the wrong line-up for most of the game.
We were lucky to get wins aginist Carlow and to a lesser extent Antrim.
We have had a poor league. Our final position may look respectable but if we had learn from out mistake aginist Wexford in the walsh cup or Dublin the frist day we could have top 1B without the Kilcormac-Killoughey lads.
jimbob17 wrote: Id have concerns about the fitness of Dooley as we need him in top shape v KK and he seemed to have wintered well from the little bit i did see of him v WX and Dublin. We are really up against it V KK but if everyone gives their all in the next few weeks and management organise them well, there is no reason why we cant give KK a good game in the first rnd and hope then to get a run in the back door. There is no reason why this group cant reach a 1/4 final this year and that would be significant progress were it to happen.....
I think Dooley look ok. we over-rely on Dooley in Offaly and every other county knows this. They set out to stop him. I though at the start of the league that Stephen Quarke would be on the panel to take some of the pressure away from Dooley.
but this didn't happen. Its 10 weeks to Kilkenny load of time for Dooley,the rest of the panel and the management team to get thing sorted.
durra1 wrote:
"The lads have given up the last five months of their lives. The amount of sacrifice and commitment is huge.
"They are doing their best and trying their hardest and are doing it in an air of negativity that is being promoted by a lot of commentators," said Baker.
"They don't choose to look at the positive side of what's happening. The hurlers are there, the hurling is there (in Offaly).
"To speak with that air of negativity is disingenuous to what is going on in every club. It is putting undue pressure on players.
"It seems to be something in Offaly. The truth is that the harder you work, the better chance you have of succeeding, and we are working very hard.
Looking at these comments from the manger annoys me. Most of the Negativity has being around the Management team, the style of play and the use of players.
Any negative comment about a player has normal be answer by the player improving in the next game. The players have always looked like they have pride in themselves and in the county.
The hard work of the player look to be making them better players as individual but our game plan look to be letting the players down and that where any negative talk has be aimed at.
Baker is right to come out and defend his players if the player were being the one criticise.
But for the most part in this, he and his management team are the one being criticise not the players.
He is just dragging the player into it.
