Wicklow v Offaly, July 7th, Aughrim @ 3.00pm

Hocker · Post by **Hocker** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:53 am

Hardly the one we've all been waiting for.. but it's fixed now anyway.
Quarter final of the Tommy Murphy cup.
What kind of a team do we put out here??? Do we draft in a few new lads & try them out?
Sat down & watched the Dublin match again on Setanta sports last nite, definitely one of the worst matches anyone could ever watch, the standard all-round from both teams was shocking!!

peter · Post by **peter** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:01 pm

Put out same team as sunday and let them try and restore a bit of dignity.
From that performance they deserve to be in the Tommy Murphy and don't think wicklow will be thinking they are no hopers in Aughrim.

Lone Shark · Post by **Lone Shark** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:28 pm

You put out the team of lads that actually wants to play. I personally think something should be done to make a point - either let a club use it as a challenge fixture or whatever, but the idea of putting pressure on fellas to play in that thing is ridiculous.

OffalyManAway · Post by **OffalyManAway** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 2:16 pm

This is still a Senior inter-county tournament. Why the hell wouldn't every single footballer in Offaly want to put on the Jersey and represent their county?. If there are players in Offaly who don't want to put on the Jersey and play to the very best of their ability for thier county when they have a chance, then they should not be involved in the county set up at all. Am I missing something ?.

the bare biffo · Post by **the bare biffo** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 2:45 pm

This is still a Senior inter-county tournament....... Am I missing something ?.

I think so. Effectively it is a Junior/Intermediate intercounty tournament.
That said it is the players and management who have put themselves in it.
Not last Sunday but through a diabolical league campaign.
Live horse you get grass.

Archangel · Post by **Archangel** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 12:36 pm

Micko won't be involved with Wicklow, he's had minor surgery and won't be back until 2008.
So, Offaly has a chance.....

...

The Magpie · Post by **The Magpie** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 1:51 pm

Sorry guys, but I've read something along these lines one time too many. What's now going on with some of the postings in this forum is an insult to the memory of Tommy Murphy. I don't have to list examples here of what's been going on.

Offaly are participating in this competition because that's what their performance over an entire league and championship campaign merits. Does anybody want to argue this point? I'm all ears.

Like many of you, I don't want to acknowledge that we're currently competing at the bottom tier in terms of County football - but we are.

In another post somebody mentioned the O'Byrne cup success achieved by Tommy Lyons. I remember Offaly winning the first of these cups - it wasn't considered a small achievement. Why is the O'Byrne cup considered any more important than the Tommy Murphy cup? Is it because Meath and Dublin compete in it - with largely experimental teams?

You might all feel aggrieved. You might all feel annoyed with Pat Roe, the Offaly footballers, the County board, Nicky Brennan (!), but keep in mind that this competition was named in memory of a man that was named on the Millennium football team.

Calling it the Tommy Cooper cup is disrespectful to that man.
Suggesting that we should use it as a training exercise is also disrespectful. What’s more, it suggests that we're too good for this tournament. Are we not big enough to admit we're not good enough?

I'm with OffalyManAway on this one.

The Magpie · Post by **The Magpie** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 1:53 pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Murp ... tballer%29

Lone Shark · Post by **Lone Shark** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:02 pm

Magpie, you're saying it as if people are disregarding the competition out of spite. People are denigrating the event, not because of who it's named after, but because of what it is - a tin pot tournament which does not fit into the overall structure.

The O'Byrne cup back then was a big thing for Offaly because while it wasn't the best players those teams could field, the players that did play were competing hard to try and secure their place in their county team. Following on such a dry spell it was a big deal for Offaly to prove that they were able to compete again.

Nobody is debating that this is where we deserve to be - however, if the GAA mean teams to take the competition seriously, they have to put in place a meaningful reward to winning the thing. If the criteria was set that this year's winners were guaranteed entry to next season's qualifiers, then of course they should take it seriously. If the GAA went the whole hog and let the winners back in at round three of the qualifiers, then so much the better again. However the GAA doesn't want to do that.

I hate to use such a base comparison, but if you want to honour Tommy Murphy, you attach his name to something that commands respect. If I decide to christen my leftover pizza from two nights ago "fillet steak", it doesn't make it taste any better. All it would do is make people suspicious the next time I offer them fillet steak. If you want to honour Tommy Murphy, you call the LAois senior championship Cup after him, not a joke of a competition like this which is long odds on to be abandoned in the next five years unless they integrate it into the championship as a whole.

Offalys Future · Post by **Offalys Future** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:05 pm

I agree with Magpie on this.
And you know what the thing is that if Offaly put out the best team they wont win the Tommy Murphy Cup anyway.
People are afraid to face facts that we are a division 4 football team.

Lone Shark · Post by **Lone Shark** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:10 pm

Nobody's afraid to face that fact at all - we are a division 4 team, and we will be until we win all our games next year and get promotion.

Therein lies the rub - whether we win Tommy Murphy or not, we are still a division four team, and we are still not in the running for the All Ireland, this year or next - so why does it matter whether we win it or not?

the bare biffo · Post by **the bare biffo** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:11 pm

It is the GAA that are responsible for any disrespect to the memory of Tommy Murphy by naming a meaningless competition after him and forcing counties to participate by thretening financial sanctions if they dont. This is not just Offaly, Leitrim in the past tried to opt out of this competition and were told that money would be witheld if they failed to compete.

I am not sure who ever considered the O'Byrne cup any more than a warm up competition for the league or championship. Playing a meaningless tournament after you have already been eliminated from the championship is just that, meaningless. It detracts from competition and imposes unnecessary additional costs on counties who can least afford it.

Tommy Murphy is not responsible for any of this, if the mandarins wanted to honour the man they should have thought it through properly.

OffalyManAway · Post by **OffalyManAway** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:45 pm

We are where we are so deal with it.
"Tin pot" or otherwise, the tournament is in place, we're in it, deal with it.
Offaly should honour Tommy Murphy, go out an play the best team we can and win the damn tournament.

Then go out and win every game in Div 4.

Set realistic goals for next years Championship.

Start generating a positive atmosphere about Offaly Football. Winning generates positive attitude and confidence in players and supporters alike.

Putting out a weak team, or no team at all, draws attention to ourselves for all the wrong reasons. Creates totally the wrong vibe.

I'm surprised with some of the opinions being expressed here.

Lone Shark · Post by **Lone Shark** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 4:28 pm

OffalyManAway wrote:We are where we are so deal with it.
"Tin pot" or otherwise, the tournament is in place, we're in it, deal with it.
Offaly should honour Tommy Murphy, go out an play the best team we can and win the damn tournament.

Then go out and win every game in Div 4.

Set realistic goals for next years Championship.

Start generating a positive atmosphere about Offaly Football. Winning generates positive attitude and confidence in players and supporters alike.

Putting out a weak team, or no team at all, draws attention to ourselves for all the wrong reasons. Creates totally the wrong vibe.

I'm surprised with some of the opinions being expressed here.

Again, what is the point of winning this thing? Any momentum from this will be long gone by next Spring, and in the meantime the clubs, which is where any revival in Offaly's fortunes will have to stem from, have to wait even longer to get their county players back.

Confidence in players and supporters alike? Would you honestly think any higher of this bunch of players because they beat Wicklow, Carlow again and Tipperary to win this bloody thing? I know they could if they tried, and I can assure you as a bookie that the Tommy Murphy cup will not affect my pricing for next years provincial championships one iota, whether a teams wins or loses by ten in the first round. Wouldn't I have done well if I looked at last year's form, and saw Louth cantering home, Carlow winning two games and Roscommon losing in the first round?

It's a farce, and the disrespect to Tommy Murphy was done the day they attached his name to this.

OffalyManAway · Post by **OffalyManAway** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:03 pm

For me, winning TM Cup and seven wins in the league would indeed be something to get excited about. Certainly positive, confidence building and more inspiring than what seems to be proposed here which is to jump up and down and complain and moan that we are in a tournament that means nothing.
In my opinion the best way to get ourselves out of this hole is to start winning games, regardless of who they be against and what the competition is. We have to show that we are better that where we find ourselves, and moaning wont do that. Winning TM Cup and Div 4 undefeated would.
If we did that, it might still prove to be a false dawn but surely we would go into next years championship with a more positive outlook than anything else that is being proposed here (fielding a Junior team, a Uibhfhaili.com team, boycott the tournament !).
I dont believe sending the players back to their clubs will improve them one iota v. playing against another county team.