Laois were the better team by a country mile, they used the ball better, they held the ball better, and overall even allowing for woeful shooting on both sides, they probably deserved to win by 8 points.
However that doesn't excuse what went on on our side of the ball. Plan A was not working, so we tried plan A again. And again. And again. Where was the alternative strategy? Fennelly and Higgins are two of the best corner backs in Ireland - surely we must have considered the possibility that they might be on top for long spells? Conditions did not suit long ball football, why did we not try something else?
Above all, when we were being eaten alive in the second half, why was the game basically over before we made any unenforced substitution? Quinn went off injured, fair enough - by the time Phelan came on, our goose was cooked. It's not like there weren't candidates. I don't remember one of Mark Daly's long balls hitting the target, and he certainly never caught a single ball. What they thought he was contributing I don't know. Deehan is a good player with a bright future, but he never looked like scoring. James Coughlan was not doing anything hugely wrong, but he never looked like making any real impact at what was essentially centre forward.
As for the fitness issue ......
Chances are we wouldn't have won anyway - however that was a lot worse than it needed to be.
Sadly, another one of those flat qualifier performances. Barring a brief few moments in the 2nd half, we never got stuck into Leix. It was stale stuff from Offaly.
The 3 man inside line didn't work. We need to hit space with 2 inside men, rather than pick out the man the man, as we were trying to do with 3. The full forwards had defenders glued to them as the deliveries came in. Though our usually livewire poachers had an off day, as did several other players.
We could only try to break kickouts at midfield and hope for the best.
Leix were more alert, worked the overlaps and support play much better and used the width of the field, Whereas as we bottled ourselves up and carried the ball into trouble.
We were unlucky in some aspects of the game - things that nearly worked, but didn't.
But more lucky that Leix didn't stitch in a few more goals and take their chances.
I think we would have lost to most teams in the country had we played them today!
First of all, i want to say i am embarrassed with the performance today. Ciaran McManus aside, none of the Offaly lads showed any heart or any pride in the jersey.
Now, how many passes did we kick over the sideline. Kelly had is usual 2 or 3, Neville coughlan kicked about 3, james coughlan kicked at least 2 over the sideline, Cathal daly had a horrible one where he ran towards the sideline until he was tackled and then just booted the ball down the field but straight over the line. There were probably more. How can we claim to be a force in leinster if we can't even keep the ball in play, never mind find a man.
Also, one of the main reasons we had a "successful" year was becuse our inside forwards played well in lots of space. Now the laois corner backs were always going to be good, but why leave James coughlan in there to, essentially get in the way. I'm not really critisising Coughlan here. Why did Kilmurray feel the need to spoil our biggest asset? Our full forward line! It just didn't make sense.
Midfield, again we were atrocious. Super was obviously a big loss. We did pick up a few breaks. Daly broke a few balls, but neither him or Neville really looked like catchin any ball.
With Division 2 football to look forward to next winter, i'm not all that optimistic about our prospects in leinster next year.
I know that Niall McNamee and Tommo Deehan didn't look good today but why was James Coughlan in there clogging up the space?
On a tight pitch like Portlaoise I would have thought it was even more important to give the 2 lads space to run into.
No disrespect to Jimmy but I assumed he was going to be playing in a withdrawn role behind the front two. In the first half Niall McNamee was deeper than him and even waved Jimmy in closer to goals once. I'm seriously confused.
Even Joe Higgins looked bemused as he accepted his Man of the Match award and talked about us normally playing with the two lads on their own inside.
Was it just a happy accident that we happened on the 2 man full forward line because Pascal Kelleghan likes to wander? Even if it was the case initially a blind man could see that we'd hit on a good combination. Why change it after a successful summer?!! McNamee-Deehan were being spoken of in the same terms as Clarke-McDonnell for Armagh or Geraghty-Murphy a few years ago for Meath.
Was Jimmy told to stay in there? I'd be interested to know.
There wasn't much else to be positive about. Ciaran McManus played very well and Fair Dues to him. Centre Forward is his position for sure.
A freakin' disaster. As a player, how could you be anything but embarrassed by that performance?
Just think - if McManus had an off day (and let's be honest, he was only slightly above average today) I believe we'd have only scored a single point. For crying out loud lads, what is going on at all?
I voted in last weeks poll that it had been a successful season to have reached a Leinster final but after an effort like that today it is difficult to see how there is any platform to launch from next year with this set up.
Management must take some blame also; the game was long lost before changes were made.
The players should be nothing short of ashamed of themselves, 4 points in a championship game (at any level) is a pitiful return. I'm not sure if fitness, heart or (most likely) both were lacking.
Bad game and all that but I hate when people rip the team after a loss like this. When people say they're embarased by them, that get's me going when I think of all they work they did this year. Tell me that seeing them in front of a full house in Croke Park didn't rais the hair on the back of your neck, all the pints ya had after the wins didn't taste sweet etc. etc. These lads bust a gut night in night out during the winter and not for people to rip them. How many of ye have played at that level, put in that much work and given up as much as they have? If ye have then you have a right to say some of this but nobody owns them, ye don't paly their way like pro footballers. End of my rant
They were bad, right but they've played good all year and I really think it's been a step forward this year. We need to get behind them for next year. With Conor Evans back, a few injuried lads and maybe a couple of the minors coming through I'm looking forward to next year. It's sicking to see Westmeath in the 1/4 ffinals as we're way better than them but fair play to them for picking themselves up. Offaly are the 3rd best team in Leinster righ now and a Leinster final is a good showing for the year, we all know we are hopeless in the backdoor.
There are a few things they need, probably better management being one (better plan B and C needed). They haven't looked the fittest all summer so a bit more there. They are getting there.
To me, it has to be one of the poorest Offaly performances I have seen since 1997! Anything that could go wrong, id go wrong. We weren't functioning right, passes were going astray, we werent holding the ball, not winning kick outs, talking shots from difficult angles. All these are simple things that can be easily by picking the easier option!!
Offaly were going well in the championship with the set up that they had with the two man inside forward line, why wasnt this employed yesterday?
Another thing, correct me if im wrong, but i dont recall the Offaly management making one positional switch before John Reynolds coming on, NOT ONE! What was the story, "if Plan A doesnt work, revert to Plan A??"
Very few positives can be taken from it, Mac and Sully played well, thats it.
Twas a shame to see our boys leaving the championship like this, but we must look at it as a whole, and look forward to next year. Hopefully with a new management.
Muck Savage wrote: we all know we are hopeless in the backdoor.
First of all, this kind of mentality can't help. Unfortunaltly we're gonna be using the back door at some stage most years. yes, there is a Leinster championship in this team, but we're not gonna win it every year, so we're gonna have to become better at these qualifiers if anyone is ever going to take us seriously.
Secondly, a qualifier draw against Laois, should have been a mouth watering prospect. It shouldn't have been about the back door. It should have been about setteling the score, for the throw in Portlaoise that set up a goal, and set up a replay and set Laois on their way to a leinster crown. It should have been about settling the score for ross munnelly robbing us last year with a last minute goal. On both occasions we were the better team. This should have been the draw to get us going in the qualifiers. If the team couldn't get motivated for this game, then we've made no progress. All this talk about progress, yes we've had a few wins this year, but we should have beaten Laois last year, and we were anniahlated by them this year.
I think we were always going to lose, but some of the tactics were wrong.
It was clear after 10-15 minutes that the 3 man ff line was unlikely to work.
We were also getting cleaned at midfield.
Perhaps that was the time to try and cut our losses and bring off Jimmy Coughlan and throw on James Keane, or maybe Padraig Bracken, or even Scott Brady at midfield?
The team did line out as selected, so that left us with a new full back, centre back, midfield pair, centre forward and full forward. I think that's a lot of fundamental changes to make in the middle of championship. To expect everyone to play well in these pivotal positions the first time out is ambitious!
Offaly yesterday forgot the basic rules of football like: pick out your man before you pass the ball...the ball was kicked straight to a laois man at least 10 times..they kept bunching in the centre, marking seemed to be non-existent..laois men were loose all over the field..the ball was kicked straight out over the sideline on at least 5 occasions..they did not play for the conditions... passing was over-complicated ...we did not win 90% of our kickouts, midfield was non-existent...I could go on but it's too depressing. If u-14's had played like that you'd go mad...
I'm not sure what can be done to remedy the situation...maybe more training with basic ball skills and passing manouvres...I think at lot of teams have forgotten how to play simple proper football...to me it looks a lot like basketball lately...
Even though yesterday's performance was abysmal I think we have a good enough team to win a Leinster and maybe a sam too, if we put a lot more training and thought into our football... back to basics might go a long way!
Bad game and all that but I hate when people rip the team after a loss like this
To be fair to most people, I don't think people are ripping the team as it were. It was a poor display, but at the risk of bleating the same old tune, a lot can be sent back to management. Tactics weren't working, fitness wasn't up to scratch, adjustments weren't made, new strategies weren't ready for in case of emergency ......
None of these things might have been enough to win us the game, but they might have been enough to avoid the hiding.
I do think there were a lot more positives than just the two lads, Mac and Sullivan, playing well. Billy Sheehan has had a great year, and Chop Grennan really looked after him well all day. Rafferty was solid enough at full back, as I always expected he would as he got a bit older. Assuming Evans comes back and finds his form, we actually now have the makings of a real full back line, which is a world apart from the fielding of three AN Others that we were at not so long ago.
I think the performance of McManus has taught us something else too - sheer guts can go a long way. That might be something to bear in mind when picking future teams, and when guys are contemplating whether or not to pick lads who have great potential but a questionable work rate. I would hope that the county board would on the QT now go about employing a respected individual to prepare notes on all the club sides in the coming weeks and months, so that we don't revert to a manager not knowing anything about the players within the county when (one hopes and assumes!!) KK is shown the door. I expect next season will see a revamped forward line, building on the basis of a solid enough defence, soon to be bolstered by returning players.
Just think - if McManus had an off day (and let's be honest, he was only slightly above average today)
I have to take issue with that - I thought he was excellent. You must rate his "average" very highly if you thought that was only slightly above average.
dolaide wrote:Offaly yesterday forgot the basic rules of football like: pick out your man before you pass the ball...the ball was kicked straight to a laois man at least 10 times..they kept bunching in the centre, marking seemed to be non-existent..laois men were loose all over the field..the ball was kicked straight out over the sideline on at least 5 occasions..they did not play for the conditions... passing was over-complicated ...we did not win 90% of our kickouts, midfield was non-existent..
To be fair to the team, we had played all year playing long diagonal balls into space and it suited us. Yesterday management got rid of the space and didn't come up with an alternative plan for the conditions. To blame basic skills on that is harsh on the players.
Marking was only non-existent because Laois were clearly 25% fitter than we were. How much of that was down to the quality of our training and how much was down to the fact that we had two lads on board who missed six months of training remains to be seen.
As for the midfield being non-existent, we just don't have midfielders in the county. I'm not sure what we can do about that, but they just don't seem to exist. Get the genetic engineers onto it maybe.
McManus was excellant- doesnt wash at all.....if you watch the video you will see that one of laois best players was tom kelly...mc manus kicked 3 points end of story.didnt do what he was meant to do though
I'm too sick to post a new message, so I'll regurgitate what I posted on GAAboard.com.
) Well done to Laois. There is a good rivalry between ourselves and the O'Moore men and it's good to see the amount of 'mixed' relationships with the man and the woman wearing either the Laois or Offaly jersey. Same thing happens in the Kildare and Westmeath games, and it is nice to see. Best of luck to them from here, and I'm almost embarrassed at the 'challenge' we put up to them.
2) Notwithstanding the aforementioned embarrassment, the overall emotion I have this morning is sadness. Sad that Offaly's psyche may be set back a couple of months again, following on from a good, steady championship right up to the second half of the Dublin game. Yesterday was a day to come out roaring, to get stuck into Laois as we always do, and to at least be involved in a titanic derby tussle which would leave a good taste in the mouth, and would re-inforce the progress made this year. Instead yesterday represented a step backwards and we can only hope it is a temporary blip in the progression towards a Leinster title, and not something more long term.
3) I think we can now say with some confidence that the 3 wins in the championship this year were despite Kevin Kilmurray's influence, and not due to it. All year, despite a dodgy start v Westmeath, and a poor last 25 minutes v Dublin, Offaly have had a real, clear sense of purpose and a definitive plan. 2 lads inside, with good movement from them, and a quick, intelligent delivery in in front of their runs. Yesterday we reverted to a 3 man line inside, in which none of them were comfortable with the movement of the others. Laois' full back line is very good, but to play this way is peanuts to an elephant I'm afraid. Niall McNamee and Thommo Deehan have a great understanding when the two of them are in there, but add in a third lad who likes to make the same runs, and where there was purpose, dynamism and danger, you now have uncertaintly, confusion and bluntness. That Offaly reverted to the high hopeful punt is an indictment of that and Kilmurray must take the blame for seeing that the experiment was not working.
The substitutions then were baffling. It was obvious that James Coughlan was not going to add threat, no fault to him really, so he should either have been moved out to try him as an extra half forward. If that didn't work then he should have been replaced by a half forward type. A Damien Hunt or Trevor Phelan or someone like that. John Reynold's is NOT a half forward, and that has been proven over time. He is another good option for the iside line, so rather than throwing him in again for Colm Quinn, who IS a half forward, he should have been sent on for Thommo Deehan who simply had one of those days.
The amount of ball Offaly kicked away, lost, over handpassed or chose the wrong option with was staggering, and is directly attributable to the ineffective full forward line. As I said, our plan all year was simple, effective and clinical. Messing with the most important aspect (the ability of the inside lads to find space) had a filtered on effect through the team, and led to the shambolic second half.
Allied to this was another, although lesser in extent, demolition job in Midfield. I don't think there is a quick fix in this area, and there's going to have to be serious fitness and body work done to make us more competitive in midfield and between the 40s, in a physical sense.
4) I know I said I wasn't going to write an essay, but I'm on a roll now. Talking is the best therapy . Micko is a wonderful, tactically adept manager, with a flair for the innate cuteness that seperates him from many other managers. All of that is admirable and a real asset to Laois. On the other side of the coin however, and I have said this before so this is not sour grapes, is that part of the legacy he will leave to the game he loves is the introduction, or at least the encouragement, of Diving, both for frees and to draw cards, and the feigning of injury. At least twice yesterday Laois players fell to the ground holding their faces when there was no need to, as well as countless falls when soloing to draw frees. I do not begrudge Laois at all, we were so abject that there was only one winner from a long way out, but this stuff annoys me. Laois have never, ever, ever been like that. A Laois man will stand toe to toe with you all day, but since Micko moved in there, this has crept into their game. He did the same thing with Kildare, and I know that there are many people who I've spoken to about this, players and non-players who have the same impression. The next interview Micko does should contain a question about this, just to see him try to explain himself.
5) I don't want to finish on a sour note, so I'll try and accentuate the positives. From Offaly, I thought Shane Sullivan bedded in well to the centre back position, and Ger Rafferty likewise in at fullback, and I would leave them both there. If Cathal Daly wants to come back, he should be let as long as he is at least around for the last few league games. He did a good job on Beano yesterday. Nigel Grennan, Paul McConway and Slatts can also look back with a fair amount of pride on their own seasons, and look to build on that. Midfield is a problem area, but if a partner can be found for Alan McNamee then I would leave Ciaran McManus at centre forward, and as I've said work hard on the physical training over the winter to bulk up the lads between the 40s, we need to win ball there. The two inside lads had good years as well, yesterday notwithstanding, and yesterday will fade from their minds. A good corner forward needs to forget days like that quickly, and the two lads are good. James Coughlan and John Reynolds are decent deputies so we are well served in that department. All in all for Offaly, this has been a season of progress, and a good foundation has been laid for an assault on Leinster next year again.
For Laois, they deserved to win by about 15 points yesterday, and but for amazing misses in the first half they would have done so. Joe Higgins and Aidan Fennelly were brilliant, as was the new Midfielder, Quigley. Some of his fetching was classic, and the point where he caught the ball in the ,midfield, broke through and took his point was excellent.
I'll finish up now, and again best of luck to Laois, Dublin and Westmeath from now on, and we'll see ye in Leinster next year.
far from croghan hill wrote:McManus was excellant- doesnt wash at all.....if you watch the video you will see that one of laois best players was tom kelly...mc manus kicked 3 points end of story.didnt do what he was meant to do though
He kicked three points, got on the ball regularly, won hard 50/50 stuff, covered a lot of ground and generally kept fighting like a dog long after heads dropped all round him. He never lost the head and tried to win it by himself, instead kept giving ball in as he was instructed to do. Kelly got on the ball a fair bit, but he is a good player, and certainly McManus got the better of that battle. However he was the only forward that could claim that.
