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109 players called up, are they gone mad. I must check to see if i'm named.

I may get myself a new pair of boots so!!

Can someone please explain to me the reason behind this move? At best theres 35 players in the county capable of playing or at least have the potential to play inter county football at a reasonably high standard. Any regular attendee at club matches in offaly will testify to this. It seems like a waste of time to me calling up 109 players. Why not concentrate on working with 50 players and try and get the best out of them. I would struggle to name 50 guys who would be up to or anywhere near inter county standard. I think most of us would. Some chance of naming 109 of them! Com'on Pat........

Full panel, from OffalyToday.ie

The full list sent out is as follows:
Birr: Stephan Lonergan, Brian Lonergan, Sean Ryan, Michael Verney
Ballyfore: Conor Evans
Ballycommon: Mathew Brazill
Clonbullogue: Willie Crampton, Greg Quinn
Clara: John O'Hara, John Reynolds, Thomas Deehan, Kevin Meehan, Joe Quinn, Scott Brady
Ballycumber: Colm Quinn, Nigel Grennan, Rory Guinan
Doon: Fintan Ryan, Donie Ryan, Trevor Phelan, James Coughlan, David Larkin, Neil Kelly
Daingean: John Greene, Stephen Burns
Cappincur: Ger Tracey, Peter Daly
Durrow: Paul Kinnarney, Stephan Weir, Ronan Lally, Emmett Molloy
Erin Rovers: Kevin Lynam, Dean Bracken, Richard Fox
Edenderry: Ross Brady, Sean Pender, Richie Dalton, Brian Quinlan, John Hurst
Ferbane: Ronan Daly, David Lowry, David Kenny, Colin Egan, Gerry Grehan, James Grennan, Aidan Kennaghan
Gracefield: Karl Slattery, John Knight, John O'Neill, Niall Smith, Ciaran Kiely, Tommy Fitzpatrick, Bobby Fitzpatrick
Shannonbridge: Jason Kelly, Kierin Flannery
Shamrocks: Derek Molloy, Stephen Delaney, Pauric Kelly, Shane Cunningham, Michael Stanbrook, Neville Coughlan, PJ Ward, Nigel Dunne,Tomas Coughlan
St Brigid's: Sean Casey, Ken Casey, David Egan, Anthony Foy
St Rynagh's: Ger Raffety, James Rafferty, Gary O'Connor, Dermot Horan
Raheen: Pauric Bracken, Conor Carroll, Shane Carroll, Danny McEvoy
Kilclonfert: Jefrey Scally, Paul Lamb
K/K: Connor Mahon, James Gorman, Daniel Currums
Rhode: Eoghan Byrne, Niall McNamee, Alan McNamee, Mark Cassidy, Shane Sullivan, Pauric Sullivan, Pascal Kelleghan, Mark Cole, Brian Darby
Tullamore: Paul McConway, James Keane, Kieran Hogan, Cathal Daly, John O Donoghue, Geroid O Grady, Gary Heffernan, Stephan Egan, Shane Dooley, Sean Martin
Tubber: Ciaran McManus, David Kavanagh, Eddie Kavanagh, Keith Higgins
Walsh Island: Ross Connor, Rory Connor, Willie Mullhall, Alan Mullhall, Gary Comerford

Anyone know how old Tommy Fitzpatrick of Gracefield is?

Also from the Offaly Express / Offaly Today site:

"There are some notable absentees despite the vastness of the list including Declan Kelly of Erin Rovers, Karl Mollin of Shamrocks and Adrian Murphy, arguably Edenderry's best player in their run to winning the Intermediate Championship."


I'd add Niall Darby to that list.

Pauric Duffy of Gracefield? Brian Kelly from Tubber?

Where does one begin, except to express absolute horror at the madness of it all? I don't know what kind of trials they plan on having, but this is quite simply a farce, and no player could do himself justice in that environment.

And even still they've made a hames of it. Taking a few extreme examples....

(1) Brian Lonergan is a 2007 minor and is out with a serious injury - is he realistically going to be left in the panel into the spring?
(2) Colin Egan is a great pospect but he's barely ready for U-21 in 2008, never mind senior.
(3) Michael Verney will always be hurling first - no chance of him being on a football panel.
(4) Niall Kelly could barely get on the Doon team.
(5) Ditto Kevin Lynam in Erin Rovers - wasn't even a regular for them.
(6) Donie Ryan, James Grennan, Colm Quinn, John Greene - great players in their day, but hardly great future prospects????
(7) Since when was Cathal Daly interested again?
(8) David Kenny???? Again, never saw a Ferbane senior shirt all year. Why would he be wasting his time here when he's clearly going to be hurling only this year?

I could go on. And the sad part of it is that a load of guys with genuine county potential still aren't there. Just for argument's sake, here's my list of footballers that I thought this year showed a little potential and all had the prospects of filling a niche in the county team - unlike several of those named above:

Declan Hennessy
Saran Butler
Colm Gavin
Declan Kelly
Adrian Murphy
Damien Hunt
Leonard Mooney

Obviously it's all opinion, but any one of those would have between a 10% and a 30% chance of starting a Leinster Quarter Final this summer if they were on the panel in January - unlike a good 30 or so no-hopers in that list above.

Well there goes any thought that we'd have a hope this year. 109 players and still no room for some real prospects. I've watched a few games this year and in all fairness some of these lads make it hard to get on their club teams. How can a team like Ferbane have 7 players on the list. No disrespect to Ferbane or the lads here but if you take it that there are two other lads that should be on it (well a list of 109 anyway), Gavin and Butler, add in Nugent who I think is one of the better keepers out there, how come there not in a county Semi-final at least? On top of that Ferbane they have John Mollen (granted away for the next 6 months) who was their best forward, I'm lost. LS - What would you give me on Ferbane for the County final next year and there's 11 players listed here.... Again no disrespect to Ferbane, I actually think they have been falling short of their potential the last few years and with proper management could be in a Semi-final but to read this list Brendan Clarke (I think he was over them) should be sacked tomorrow.....
Now take Doon - Beat in the Inter. final. A list of 6 players (more than 6 of the Senior teams) and on that list no Hunt or Paul Heavin who I believe is as good a corner back as there is in the county. He at least deserves a shot while Hunt may have said that he's focused on the Rubgy this winter. Again Logic here dosen't make sense as to why their not Senior with a base of 8 (including the two not on) Senior county candidates. I'd put them 3rd in the runnig for the Inter next year behind St Brigid's and WI right now and close to Raheen.

I can keep going on but it just stuns me to see some of the lads left of a list of 109. The only good thing that I see here is that the small clubs have been looked at and that they are taking a bigger net of players, don't think it needs to be this big.

I'm not trying to have a go at any of the players on the list, they all put in the best they can, it's just there are a few names that would be on a list of 50 and are not on the list of 109 that I can't get over. Because of this I'm afraid of the Mgt team that is in place and that we're stuck in the gutter for another few years, is this an indication of our management capabilities?????

I see nothing wrong with looking at as many players, but not in one fell swoop.

All you will do is miss a good one, and probably mess up some others! Get your core panel and every so often invite 10 players extra, then cut the panel back, add 10 more and cut back. There's nothing wrong with spreading the net, just don't drag the whole feckin' sea in at once.

How Declan Hennessy isnt on that panel is beyond me..... probably the best club goalkeeper in the championship this year.

I am a gracefield man, so i have a bias, but still.......

Tommy Fitz is probably 24 (im not sure).....

By my reckoning that 109 player panel is a complete red herring. Its only an attempt to appease smaller clubs, while they will still lean towards the bigger clubs in the final panel. Its also damning that some of the best footballers in this years championship are HURLERS...

I can only see 68 players?

Tis fairly easy explain why Ferbane have all those representatives but still got nowhere this year - the only player who is genuinely intercounty standad (as in unequivocally good enough to hold a spot in a key position for years to come) is Aidan Keenaghan, and due to the brittlest knees in Ireland we didn't have him this year for the Tubber match where it all went wrong. Big difference in our form with and without him - if he was there and then we still didn't make a semi, I'd be inclined to blame Clarke too. As it is it was just two decent performances followed by a too-bad-to-be-true effort against Tubber. That's not to say some others don't have potential, but they'd be maybe efforts - he's the only blue chip case in the club.

As for this list though, don't forget that against Clara this year, (our best game) three of those named seven didn't start. We just have some of the more ridiculous inclusions is all.

I had heard about the six Doon inclusions, but I thought at first it was Kieran Rigney using his role as selector to get a rake of lads involved. I challenge anyone to come up with a more bizarre inclusion than Niall Kelly.

Overall I suppose it's only realistic that when you make a wide swoop like that several unlikely lads will make the cut, but to miss so many potentials as well is fairly poor form.

I'd be in complete agreement with Hennessy - he'd certainly have been on my list.

TheManFromFerbane wrote:I can only see 68 players?

There is a 109 on the list all right. Is there a glitch in the new settings or something maybe?

Apologies. I thought I read on the Offalytoday.ie site that it was 68. Super.