Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th June

A forum to air your views on Offaly GAA matters and beyond.
sam88885a
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by sam88885a »

[quote="allstar2010"]In fairness to sharp eye I think he was just pointing out that we don't have our best players on the panel for one reason or another. I don't think Danny Owens would be the answer to our managerial problems either.

I remember hearing a few years back that Francis Forde was well thought of by the players when he was involved under Baker. Why isn't he given a chance maybe and let him build a management team around him, someone with modern ideas on how the game is played is what's needed and hopefully the players will row in behind him. I suppose the county final collapse last year with rynaghs could be the one blotch on his cv that would go against him.

Would we be able to tempt the two guys that looked after the Clare u21's for the last few years, probably not. But it would be worth trying.

It would be viewed as a terrible career move by any outside manager to take over offaly right now .
U may be right that Danny Owens may not solve offalys management problems on his own but surely he should be considered as part of a management team of Francis Forde and J dunne .
D Owens and J Dunne masterminded ST Rynaghs collapse in last years county final.
D Owens has proven to be able to create a huge team spirit and to get a group of lads to work really hard as a team , that is some thing that Offaly really lack at the moment .
i honestly think there are a couple of our top players that D Owens would retire because of their inability to play for the team . I am not going to name them but untill every player gives 100% for the team offaly will struggle .

I rember watching offaly training in early 2000s and seeing d hayden been floored with a perfect shoulder by c cassidy and then watching sid attack cassidy . cassidy said to sid its a mans game and kilkenny wont ask him to step out of their way .
The last 18 months have proven that Sid didnt listen as HIS OFFALY team just stand back from any physical stuff and they allowed laois to bully them in every position .
we dont need an outside manager to get the basic things right but we need to start on the basics such as team spirit and work rate without B Whelahan

jimbob17
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by jimbob17 »

Going back to the school issue, all of them Kilkenny lads pick up scholarships through the colleges when they go there.......What would be wrong with Offaly looking after their own - even if it is only a 1000 euro per year....... Their are as many jobs in Offaly per head of capital as their are in any county! Great idea! About 15 years ago, county minor players from Tyrone who went on to study sports science or sports management courses or something similar were offered bursaries on the proviso that they were committed to coming back to work for the county board as development officers for 2 years after their degree. This was and is still the driving force of their underage success as they now have huge numbers of very qualified coaches in the county, raising the grade of footballer. Smart money well spent! Something similar could be looked at here given the low number of good quality coaches - especially in hurling!

Speaking of good quality coaches, I read today that Damien Fox has left the senior management! Interesting how its reported - that he wasnt happy with his role - revealed thro a "players meeting" according to the article i read! Damien is a well regarded coach and I know would be well respected by the players and would have a lot more to offer than most of the rest of the management. Be interesting to see if any players follow suit as a result of his withdrawal! They have been a shambles for a long time now. Whelehans watch has been proved to be an unmitigated disaster!

Next year id be looking for someone like Ken Hogan. Good hurling brain, knows Offaly scene very well, experienced and would be well respected and well got generally. Equip him with good qualified support personnel and the best lads will hurl again for the county! It could turn around quick enough if all the best players played. They would if they knew there was a well organised management team in place! Results can be got from there but only with a huge amount of committment from a lot of angles, most importantly the county board, secondly the players and lastly the new management - ill take it this will be inevitable!
jimbob

kingscounty
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by kingscounty »

bracknaghboy wrote:
allstar2010 wrote: Edenderry, big population and can't field a fecking junior team.
I only heard myself last week that Edenderry had pulled out of the JHC. Big deal you might think......but this is actually significant. That team was the last outpost for lads from the east end of the county who wanted to hurl. Players from Daingean, Ballyfore, Rhode etc were on it and now that option for them is gone, not forgetting the players from the town itself. That's hurling finally dead that end of the county. Can True Red or Kingscounty shed any light on the situation there? They were in the county final in 2013 and now appear to gone. It all adds to the growing bleak hurling situation in the county.
I can indeed shed a bit of light from what I have heard . The management over Edenderry hurlers this year asked the club to request a re- fixture of the second championship game as it fell on a bank holiday and 6-7 players were away , it was turned down, now they already played a game two weeks previous on another bank holiday and were missing 8 players and the team got a big enough beaten , heads dropped and the club were happy to let it go as they didn't want it in the first place , as the whole club is run by people only interested in football . 4 years ago a hurling sub committee was put forward and shot down straight away . So lack of underage development for the past 20 years has cost many a young lad a chance of playing hurling , they are told on the club Facebook page anyone under 12-14 who wants to hurl can go to Killeigh . Of course they will say we have under 8-10 ,but they are just covering themselves . It a shame indeed that a town that produced good hurlers and not just the two Farrells as seems to be always mentioned cannot field a team after been one of the better junior sides for 15 years , and shameful that they were in the 2013 final and 2010 Leinster final and now it's gone . Years of hurling in the town is now gone and I can't in my life time see it coming back anytime soon and if it does it will be an extremely poor set up unless the good Lord himself steps in and comes up with a miracle .

Killeighman
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by Killeighman »

Na Fianna got a number of good young hurlers from Edenderry this year at u16 level and they would be up there with challenging for the county title now

Toxicity234
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by Toxicity234 »

Sad to hear that Edenderry Hurling club are gone.
But Na Fianna is become a very strong club. The question is where the football coach and manager in Edenderry will try to make players commit solely to the football.
Maybe it's time for a Hurling Committee to be raise again kingcounty.

Damien Fox Leaving the Offaly set up is an interesting one. Unhappy with his job within the management.

http://www.midlandsradio.fm/news/damien ... ement-team

Is there anyone within the Current Offaly set up that happy???


I been trying not to get involved in the who will next manager over the last few day cause we still have at least one more game this year and i'm worried that lads will go fuck it let just get this game over and Rid of Whelehan and start again next year and this could lead to real hammering worst than anyone has been seen before.

But time for me to face facts Whelehan Management Ended on Sunday after 7 June and Thank god for that (really it should have finished after the Tipp last year). I don't think i will go to the next match. I want to support the players that give up so much but i don't think i can watch these lads be so miss managed by this management team. The respect i have for these lads. These lads run around mountains at night time, Only for the management team to pick a team that doesn't give them a chance.

So the search for the next manager has start on this site. But it will be 4 months before the county start there search. The county Final will be over. There be a committee appointed and depending on who on the committee they will interview who they want or who flashes there All ireland medals. They will ignore lads doing good jobs at club.
When a Committee has it own agenda and when individual within that committee put there own personal baggage with people ahead of doing what best for the county. the county going to suffer just look at the last 18 months.

I love to see Anthony Daly , liam Sheedy. or other who have been name on this site that would cost Offaly a small mountain of money. ( and that just the manager, They would want the best Coaches, etc which cost another Lotto win)
But we don't have that money. So name them and hoping that we win the Lotto is pointless.

What we do have is lads that are putting long hours and hard work at club level with a recorded of improving team, building team work and build a structure to there teams.
VS Lads that were legend of the field. won All star and All ireland medal and have do some Club management or some county management. or someone former inter county hurler for outside of Offaly that thinks he can manange.

So were going to we up in November with a position were we appoint someone like Ollie Baker. who knows fecking nothing about Offaly hurling.
Or a All Star that done some management that isn't ready for a inter county job. Think Billy Dooley(a good manager but still learning), Kevin Martin(belmont have gone backwards), D. Regan(didn't improve shinrone,) johnny Pilkington,(Made big mistake with Birr and Kilcormac killoughey but overall has improved as a manager but not ready yet) Johnny Dooley (didn't do a good job in westmeath but i hear he a good coach) or Michael Duigan (did a good job in Meath but that 10 years ago and left us high and dry 18 months ago). We can add another 5 or 6 to this list where there Medals talk.
Or someone who has take a club and improved them. Like Wexford did with Liam Dunne when he took Oulart the Ballagh to 3 in row (and got outclass tactical by Hogan and Owens in leinster). I remember a Wexford man tell me that Dunne wasn't anything but a club manager and he gone after 6 months. I talk to him last week he said that Dunne is excellent.

Ken Hogan. Has done a good job with Coolderry and Tipperary u21. But as tipp fan will tell you he slow to make tactical changes when thing are going away for his team.
Danny Owens. Has done an unbelievable job with Kilcormac Killoughey. Has made mistakes when he was in charge of the minors. but learn for his mistakes and has great back room team with Jimmy Dunne.
Francis Forde. Has done great work with Rynagh but its miles to early for him to be given such a big job. he has only been managing for one year.
These are the only 3 Manager that would be intrested and what should be comsidered.

Honestly. I pick Owens cause he bring Dunne with him. Which is a huge plus. If he could get Forde on board as well. That would be heaven. Hogan is still involved with tipp and i don't think he will leave. If he did come to us again i love to see Forde come in with him and Dunne if we could get them.

We're Fucking Blessed to have Hogan and Owens in the county. Whoever get the job Hogan or Owens. Forde should be brought on Board with the understanding that after the manager steps down Forde will be the next manager like they did in Tipperary this year. So we can have a long term plan over the next 5 to 6 years and not just one for 2.

What i love to see is a manager appoint by the 1st week in august. so they can get to see some Club hurling.
I love to see a reward for lads that have done so much work with club in Offaly.

What i don't want to see is former County hurlers that have said nothing over the last 18 months coming out trying to influence the selection of our new manager. i have enough of these former great hurlers putting down lads managing club when they have fail so badly when they been managing club. If it was so easy to manage a club surely they would have been successfully at it.
“Common sense is not so common.”

greenairfield
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by greenairfield »

I don't think Owens is up to that level. He is similar to Padjoe Whelehan when he was with Birr he has the strongest group of hurlers in the county at the minute and thats why they are winning it's not because of his matermind tactics on the line.
We need a manager who has been there and done it and to be honest there is nobody in the county with that profile.
Possibly forde and Hogan as they have been involved with other county teams in recent times and we need that as our setup seems to be a bit behind. Suprised to see Whelehan still in the postion he isn't a great manager and now Fox gone too I really thinks it's been a disaster of a few years for Offaly hurling. As I have said before the CB put him and Baker in place they should take all the slack..but there is guys here who will stick up for them no matter what they do as usual.

theinsider
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by theinsider »

Have been a fan of this site for a long time and there are some great contributors on. I just want to weigh in on the Edenderry hurling debate.

I am a player with Edenderry hurlers. Well I was a player up until we ''pulled'' out of the Championship. I am not from Edenderry as I play my football with a different club, but Edenderry gave me an opportunity to play club hurling the last few years of which I will be always be thankful for.

When I got word after the first round of the championship that the team was ''pulled'' out - I couldn't believe it. There is some potential in the town for future hurlers & current hurlers, but the problem as stated by Kingscounty was that the Edenderry ''board'' was the factor in all this. We got hammered in the first round by Tullamore but it was our first game of the year and as stated before, we were missing 7/8 players. The club couldn't field a team in the next round but our request to re-fixture the game wasn't passed on to the county board or the opposition team. Then word got out that we were no longer fulfilling a team. Scandalous.

The players are there in the town and surrounding clubs. Do people really think that there isn't 20 hurlers in Edenderry, Rhode, Croghan, Clonmore, Daingean, Ballyfore & Clonbullogue? If there was proper structure and the club was run by people who wanted hurling, then we would be getting ready for the next round of the Junior Hurling Championship! What would of happened if we won the Junior Championship in 2013?

Dave Ryan, an ex player, came in an helped us out this year when we had no manager. He trained us when no one wanted to train us. He's a hurling man through and through who took on the role out of his own pocket. Feel sorry for him and the rest of us who WANT to play hurling but cannot now - not for this year anyway.

My opinion is the following needs to happen going forward:
(1) Edenderry need to create a Separate Hurling Board. These will have the full running of the Hurling in the town and surrounding areas and will not have anything to do with the Football committee. Its not a sly on any Edenderry Board member but for Hurling to prosper in the town we need hurling people who are 100% committed and want to see a team in the town.

(2) If not an Edenderry Hurling Board, then form a new club that will combine Edenderry, Ballyfore, Rhode, Clonmore, Croghan, Daingean & Clonbullogue. A bit like Brosna Gaels. They did it so why cant we? It will take time but look how far Brosna Gaels have come. You just need the right people involved and help maybe from the County Board. The population from all 7 clubs should be enough to field 2 hurling teams, never mind 1! Anything can be achievable once the effort and time is put in.

(3) Secondary Schools hurling team. I remember years ago the two Schools in Town, St Marys & Oaklands, playing a North Leinster Hurling championship match against each other. Now neither have a team of any sorts. Why cant they combine as Edenderry Schools? No point in developing hurlers up to u12 then letting them off and not having a Secondary School team. I know Edenderry Primary School are doing a good job with hurling there but theres only so much they can do. Players need to develop from 13 onwards. No point in having them no play Schools or U14, 16, Minor and then just tog out at mens level when there 17/18. This needs to happen NOW - not next year, not in 5 or 10 years. NOW!

These will probably go unnoticed and people will complain that there are no hurlers around Edenderry etc. but action needs to happen now.

Signed
Frustrated Hurler

Toxicity234
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by Toxicity234 »

greenairfield wrote:I don't think Owens is up to that level. He is similar to Padjoe Whelehan when he was with Birr he has the strongest group of hurlers in the county at the minute and thats why they are winning it's not because of his matermind tactics on the line.
We need a manager who has been there and done it and to be honest there is nobody in the county with that profile.
Possibly forde and Hogan as they have been involved with other county teams in recent times and we need that as our setup seems to be a bit behind. Suprised to see Whelehan still in the postion he isn't a great manager and now Fox gone too I really thinks it's been a disaster of a few years for Offaly hurling. As I have said before the CB put him and Baker in place they should take all the slack..but there is guys here who will stick up for them no matter what they do as usual.

Ok Ok. Explain to me what make Forde is a better manager than Owens. If you said that he was a better coach than Owens i would agree but management is a different story.
AND by the way Owens made these players the best in the county. They were a bunch of individual that were on the road to winning nothing before he took them over.?

I mean Jesus. They were a bunch of indisciplined, poorly structured team in the country. He Took them and over a season change the mind set, changed the structured, change the focus of Kilcormac Killoughey. Now they one of the best team in the country. If hogan is a good manager (which he is) then explain to me what has he done to make him a better manager than Owens.
The Team he managers and created. AND YES HE CREATED THAT TEAM. if you look at the team that lost to Tullamore the year before it total different.
His Team hasn't been beating for more than 3 year.
PadJoe Whelehan has a team full of All star, All ireland winner. Owens didn't.

You know what. All i want is for someone to come in and back up a statement like this???????

Please...
“Common sense is not so common.”

manfromdelmonte
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by manfromdelmonte »

Just a point or two on Edenderry hurling.

They have one or two lads who were happier to go off training other clubs' adult teams for the few schillings rather than put the shoulder to the wheel in their own club.

As a club they have been blacklisted by a lot of other hurling clubs (including outside the county) from getting an invite to Under 10 or Under 12 blitzes/tournaments.
This stems from them arriving to U10 blitzes with a few 11 year olds and U12 tournaments with 13 year olds.
you reap what you sow.
only the best...

greenairfield
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by greenairfield »

Tox you get so offended when somebody has a negative point on kk or Owens for that matter. Forde has coached at the top level as has Hogan, Owens hasnt. Look I am not saying he isnt the right man for the job but I do think who ever our next manager is it shouldnt be a gamble I think Owens would be a gamble. Club hurling is noting like county. We need someone who has a good profile and has been there and done it and try get the best hurlers in the county hurling again.

allstar2010
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by allstar2010 »

Tox, Owens has done a good job with kk no one can deny that but kk were always going to make it to the top team in the county sooner or later. They've been winning minors for years and this group is at an age where they now have the experience and maturity to win matches. It's not as if Owens took a struggling side to win 3 titles in a row he's won it with a team knocking on the door for ages. He's not a tactical genius. He's been slow to make the right changes in tight matches also.

What I'm saying is he's not the answer and I doubt he'd be interested anyway.

sam88885a
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by sam88885a »

greenairfield ,. I dont think one man could rebuild offaly hurling .
U missing TOXs point D Owens strength as a manager is his ability to create a bond in the dressing room, create a team spirit , get guys to dream and belive in in the possibilities whereas J Dunne is more the tactics and fitness man with kk.
Rember pat joe and johnny piltington both failed miserably with the same bunch of players .
DannyOwens and J DUNNE could bring something to the job as F Foard does to coaching.
I honestly dont think any of those 3 men would be intrested in the offaly job now.
One last point people keep talking about the modern manager i dont think B Cody would qualify as a modern manager but look at his record 10 all irelands in 16 seasons .

old yellar
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by old yellar »

I m going to make a suggestion for a manager -
Tom mullally. Trained Mlr to All ireland club intermediate title, then to the senior final. Utterly professional and thorough. worked with both shelmaliers and clara in kk as a coach while managing mlr - both won county championships. Worked with kk intermediates. Proven everywhere he goes and great with the players and brings a v good backroom team into all set ups. Currently with glenmore - his own club. Relatively young man too and would stay for the long haul.
just a thought..

theinsider
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by theinsider »

manfromdelmonte wrote:Just a point or two on Edenderry hurling.

They have one or two lads who were happier to go off training other clubs' adult teams for the few schillings rather than put the shoulder to the wheel in their own club.

As a club they have been blacklisted by a lot of other hurling clubs (including outside the county) from getting an invite to Under 10 or Under 12 blitzes/tournaments.
This stems from them arriving to U10 blitzes with a few 11 year olds and U12 tournaments with 13 year olds.
you reap what you sow.
Typical of the attitude that has Offaly the way it is. So because Edenderry fielded a few overage players then us senior players who had nothing to do with it have to suffer and have no hurling? Makes no sense at all. Nothing cares about ''hurling'' in North Offaly despite there been 4 clubs in recent times along with various All Ireland Medalists at Minor & Senior - now there are no clubs!

Offaly as a county needs a huge over haul at club & county level. If everyone isn't pulling on the rope then everyone is going to suffer.

Fargo Boyle
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Re: Laois v Offaly – Leinster Hurling Quarter Final 7th Ju

Post by Fargo Boyle »

Bord na Mona man wrote:
Pat Mustard wrote:Hit the nail on the head in order to be successful you need your big towns chipping in both hurling and football
Aye, but the problem with towns is that they are full of townies.
Trying to convert the sort of scaldy yokes you'd see in Tellamore into hurlers would require a magician!

Townies - are you out of your mind. That crowd wouldn't be hurling people

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