Offaly football team for next day

[Bord na Mona man]

Thomas Deehan to start. No arguments there.
Barry Mooney is injured so I'd throw in both Ger and James Rafferty on the full and half back line respectively.
We need McManus back at midfield because he always sweeps back to protect the half back line. I don't think Jayo would have danced all over us on Saturday if Mac was operating deeper.

Maybe put John Reynolds in the full forward line. Restore Neville to the half forwards.
Colm Quinn's play-making ability was sorely missing. Starting him now becomes a necessity given how badly we used possession on Saturday.

I'd also consider bringing in Sean Ryan.
His fast running is great for impact in a 2nd half. Problem is, we simply don't have near enough players who can actually take the ball past their man. That's why he becomes more useful to us.

Ross Connor might be back in the frame. It's hard to know if he could fit in at midfield or full forward though. From what I've seen of him, he uses the boot well. We could have done with a player who would have kicked the ball early to the inside forwards last Saturday. Instead we took turns to charge at the Dublin lines until we gave it away. It resembled rugby props to trying to break the gain line.


I'd try this:

Padraig Kelly

Ger Rafferty
Sean Casey
Chop Grennan

James Rafferty
Scott Brady
Karol Slattery

Ciaran McManus
Alan McNamee

Colm Quinn
Neville Coughlan
Sean Ryan

Niall McNamee
Shaper Reynolds
Thomas Deehan

[Lone Shark]

There's no way that Colm Quinn will be a starter in the summer - I really don't believe he has the legs any more, so I'd still keep him as an impact sub. I agree that we need to use the ball better, but to be honest it's not like we needed incisive passing the last day - we just needed earlier delivery. If anything Quinn's tendency to take a touch mightn't be exactly what the doctor ordered at all.

I also think that we have to be a little bit more experimental now - now is the time when something fresh has to be tried. Hence a couple of the calls I've made below ..... (I'm assuming Keane, Sullivan, Mooney, Hunt all unavailable)

Kelly,

Ger Raff, Casey, Grennan
Kiely, Brady, Slattery

McNamee, Mac, Connor (14)

Ryan, N Coughlan, Rory Guinan
Niall, Deehan


I gave serious though to saying David Lowry wouldn't be far off, but it's probably a step too far yet. He would provide a little bit of the power and strength around the middle third that we lacked - and the only way he knows to play a ball is first time. Himself, Quinn, Phelan all as the impact subs up front.

[True Red]

Lets be honest here lone shark.in no way shape or form is Rory guinan county standard.Neither is Kiely or Nigel Grennan(your irritating use of nicknames sometimes leaves it hard to know who you are on about)who plays most of his club football as a forward?.while these lads are good club players they are nowhere near county standard.Ross connor does not have the legs to play in midfield and is too easily overrun by a rangy midfielder.He is probably suited closer to the goals where he can use his strength to at least break up play for Niall Mc and whoever else is in there with him.

Unfortunately i dont think there are any other footballers out there in the club scene in offaly who ARE county standard and the panel Kilmurray has in there at the moment is probably the best there is.

[far from croghan hill]

i would have to concur with true red there who said that there arent any better players out there in the county that havent as of yet got the nod. similarly i feel that rory guinan isnt good enough, to lazy and tends to drift off in matches after he scores a pint. Nigel "CHOP" ?? Grennan also if anywhere would be worth a look at in the forwards as this is his only position(true red will remember his performance aginst edenderry last year, he nearly beat them on his own).lowry might be of some use to throw in for ten or fifteen minutes but just doesnt fit the bill for this year......who should take the frees? well tommo deehan aint the answer, rite he kicked a few against meath and laois and cork, but most were relatively straight forward and in front of the posts..we need soeone to kick pressure kicks like mossy quinn did last year for the dubs.what impact will james keane make when hes back?has never really produced huge performances to merit his inclusion straight away or that we should be waiting in hope that he is our saviour...and in kielys place, i satnd corrected but this is his 3rd year on the panel and he has yet to play a national league game even

[Bogman]

I'm away out of the country at the moment but I'm told that there is an item on Pg 74 of the Indo today citing rumours of a players' meeting before training tonight - what's up? Anybody got any information.


I agree with Bord Na Mona Man that we should be making changes and I like some of the ideas in his team and Lone Sharks'.

I'd definitely throw in Sean Ryan. The Under 21s are gone and we might as well give him some more experience - he's well worth his place and it's refreshing to see an Offaly half forward beat his man and shoot accurately from distance.

James Rafferty is worth a shot too - I don't know where though - I'd say that he could end up as an understudy to Scott Brady at centre half back for 2006.

Nigel Grennan has a lot of ability but I don't think he is a corner back. I'd have him in the forwards or nowhere. Ger Rafferty is more of a defender.

Ross Connor is a good impact sub at full forward. He should have been on earlier on Saturday night.

Trevor Phelan is worth another look as a substitute. I think Rory Guinan is a good footballer also .

[Bord na Mona man]

I'm away out of the country at the moment but I'm told that there is an item on Pg 74 of the Indo today citing rumours of a players' meeting before training tonight - what's up? Anybody got any information.

What does the article say?
I don't see it on unison.ie

[Bord na Mona man]

I don't think Rory Guinan or Kiely would improve the team.
I think we need to address the specific problems from Saturday night rather than try new players for the sake of it. Also we are playing Tyrone, so we can make a certain amount of changes, but not too many.

1. Our use of possession was awful. Hand passing sideways to static players and bull running into trouble when we needed delivery to the forwards.
2. The lack of cover in front of the half back line was a huge problem.
3. The inability to get past the man or break a tackle.
4. No off the ball running, no overlapping or quality support play.

We need players who can footpass (forward) more than 20 yards.
Really Quinn is about the only player on the panel who can pick a long distance pass.
Pascal when he's in the mood can do it too. Mark Daly is no longer an option, so we have to make use of who we have.

While McManus's delivery from midfield has sometimes been criticised, for me it is a far more desirable option than someone who holds onto the ball and risks playing into trouble.
At least the forwards could start moving in anticipation of a delivery.
Also Mac's engine would be very good for tracking incoming attacks. On Saturday we were left exposed, so I think restoring him to midfield is the only option.

We don't have many big strong players, so we need to start looking at more pace. That's why Sean Ryan will have to come into consideration.
The loss of Roy Malone is now being felt.
Karol Slattery was short of match fitness the other night and leaked some scores, I would expect him to improve and he should be able to overlap and support the attack.
Nigel "Chop" Grennan at corner is a stop gap, but we are very short of options here.

[Lone Shark]

Lets be honest here lone shark.in no way shape or form is Rory guinan county standard.Neither is Kiely or Nigel Grennan(your irritating use of nicknames sometimes leaves it hard to know who you are on about)who plays most of his club football as a forward?.while these lads are good club players they are nowhere near county standard.Ross connor does not have the legs to play in midfield and is too easily overrun by a rangy midfielder.He is probably suited closer to the goals where he can use his strength to at least break up play for Niall Mc and whoever else is in there with him.

Unfortunately i dont think there are any other footballers out there in the club scene in offaly who ARE county standard and the panel Kilmurray has in there at the moment is probably the best there is.

I see what you're trying to say, but yet you contradict yourself at the same time. My gut feeling is that Kiely is not county standard either, but he was one of the few guys who played well in the under 21 game, and he has football in him - getting a start could be just the confidence boost he needs. Guinan does disappear for long stretches, but he can take points, has a turn of foot about him and has been playing well both for Ballycumber last year and for AIT over the winter. And Grennan is not a corner back - but his pace means that he can plug the gap better than any of the alternatives. I thought it was an odd choice too, but it has worked, to a partial degree at least.

Above all - I agree with you - none of these would make a strong county team - but who's better? It's not like we're going to field 12 players because we don't have 15 that are clearly county standard?

The Connor thing is 50/50 - if he was played as part of a three man midfield he could just try to catch high ball and hoof it on, and Alan McNamee and McManus could do the tracking. His breaking ball in the forwards could be useful too, but on the other hand it could just crowd the two lads - given space they might be more of a threat than if there was 30 stone of full forward and full back standing on the 21 blocking the route to goal. There's advantages to both sides here.

[Hyper]

There is a meeting before training tonight in Walsh Island. Maybe it might lead to a breakdown in the obvious lack of communication that seems to exist between management and players. Both seem to have their own agenda.
On reflection of last Saturday's game it was glaringly obvious that the lads are lacking ball work and they don't perform as a cohesive whole - this can only be addressed on the training ground.
Shane Sullivan should be available for Sunday, his presence having been sorely missed. !'d go back to an earlier thread and agree with BNM that Roy Malone is a player who has at least another year to offer. He has been man of the match in all Rhode's league games this year and surely deserves a recall by KK judging by the passion that was on show at the weekend.
Where has Sean Ryan disappeared to?@ Is it the same hole that Damien Hunt travelled into!!!

PS: The figure quoted earlier was not plucked from the sky or concocted in a bar conversation!

[Bord na Mona man]

From Hoganstand, so I presume it's what in the Indo.
http://www.hoganstand.com/Offaly/Articl ... x?ID=57782

--

Pressure mounts on Kilmurray

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Offaly football manager Kevin Kilmurray is coming under increased pressure following the team’s poor performances against Mayo and Dublin the National League.

Such is the level of dissatisfaction among the Offaly players that it is believed they are planning to meet to discuss the situation prior to training at the St. Brigid’s grounds in Croghan on Wednesday evening, March 8. Offaly supporters have been venting their frustration on GAA message boards in recent days and many seem to be in favour of a change of management before the big Leinster championship clash with Westmeath on May 14.

Daingean native Kilmurray took up the managerial reins after the infamous players’ strike, which was sparked by the resignation of Gerry Fahey after the county board showed a lack of support for him two years ago. Kilmurray’s position didn’t come up for review last year because of a written agreement between the county board and players that a manager should be given at least a two-year term arising out of the players’ strike.

[Mighty Pair O' Hands]

Before we go calling for KK's head are we sure that it is the right move for Offaly football ? Consider the following:

1. Tom Humphries in the Times suggested that Offaly's poor first half was the result of heavy legs from strong physical training - is this true ?

2. We have lost Cathal Daly, Conor Evans, James Keane, Scott Brady, Karol Slattery for all/most of this campaign so far - that's practically our first choice backline if you include Barry Mooney - now also injured.

3. Who do we get to replace him at short notice ? We are not flush with funds considering the O'Connor park funding needs.

4. The County Board created this mess when they pulled the sly move on Fahey 2 years ago . They appointed KK and must if he fails take a large portion of the blame.

We are in a dire predicament and the lack of development of underage teams is now biting. I agree that KK's game plan seems very poor but the lack of a game plan does not explain why we get overrun in midfield every game or why we cannot kick a 21 yard free over !!

[Kevin]

Its easy enough to be objective from afar while watching the soap opera that is the Offaly GAA Fortunes unfolds. The hurling is rebuilding and I have not heard any calls for McIntyre's head, which is a very good thing as he could use a little time in this his second installment.

The football situation is a real worry though. Year after year of wilting finishes. The seemingly needless manager merry go round leading to what has been described as a leaderless situation with no tactical clue. The whole thing seems like a joke. Endless finger pointing, managerial dismissals without suitable alternatives lined up. Its like the endless revolution that leads to...another revolution and so on.

Oh yes, the positives. Offaly is feeling the pain and embarrassment of losing consistently and allot of people are investing time into figuring out how to change this today and for the future. We are finished when people just don't give a damn and that time seems to be a long way off. I am hopeful that Offaly learns from its 'mistakes' and finds the best way forward. Finding someone who will actually take the reigns should Kilmurray step down could be a task (although from what I read, I can't imagine Kilmurray walking away). Tonight will be interesting, that is for sure.

Funny thing - my 11 year old is involved in every sport there is and is currently playing basketball. His team went 2-8 through the regular season winning their last 2 games surprisingly (they are crap and would admit it themselves). They went into the playoffs seeded 13th out of 16 teams. They somehow managed to win their first game against a 7-3 team which helped the confidence, then were drawn against another 'decent team' seeded 5th I believe. Outclassed all the way they went behind by 10 points early in the second half, but kept fighting back and chipping away. Totally against the 'run of play' they managed to win in a heart stopper in the final 10 seconds. Why do I bore you with this? Well what does the young one say to me as we're walking away after the excitement calms down? 'Dad, how did you like the Offaly finish?'

Looking forward to the days when nobody relishes the thought of playing us again. Hang in there gang, better days will return (not without allot of hard work, of course), but I am certain we will again be feared in the future.

Semper Fi

[Lone Shark]

Before we go calling for KK's head are we sure that it is the right move for Offaly football ? Consider the following:

1. Tom Humphries in the Times suggested that Offaly's poor first half was the result of heavy legs from strong physical training - is this true ?

Perhaps it is - if so, then I would say fair enough, though it would be odd if this wasn't an excuse in the weeks preceding this. HOWEVER - if that is our state of fitness, then playing a contact intensive running game is foolish - cut your cloth and all that. That is a management issue.

2. We have lost Cathal Daly, Conor Evans, James Keane, Scott Brady, Karol Slattery for all/most of this campaign so far - that's practically our first choice backline if you include Barry Mooney - now also injured.

And if the problem was that we were conceding 1-15 every game, then that wouldn't be the issue. While I understand that it's a 15 man game, defending starts from the front and attacking starts from the back and all that, The problem has not been players being individually outclassed - it has been a clear tactical deficiency. Our full back line is a little bit patchwork, but it's not like any corner forward has gone to town and scored seven or eight points. The Dub forwards still only scored 1-10, despite getting a great supply of ball in all day. Our midfield has been fully available all year however.

3. Who do we get to replace him at short notice ? We are not flush with funds considering the O'Connor park funding needs.

At the risk of sounding trite and facetious, I don't think we're going to land a messiah - but a safe pair of hands that can read the game and adjust to things as they are going on would be good enough. I'd say a young and bright manager who has possibly done some good work at club level would jump at the chance to prove themselves with a team where to be honest, you could only improve matters. (Like Tommy Lyons before - things were so bad that they could only get better)

4. The County Board created this mess when they pulled the sly move on Fahey 2 years ago . They appointed KK and must if he fails take a large portion of the blame.

Nobody is absolving the County Board here. Everyone goes back to firing Fahy, (or voting to keep him by 27-26 if you want to be pedantic) but personally I would go further back and blame it on when we lost Paul O'Kelly - that was truly unfair on a guy that I think could have gone a long way given a little bit of patience.

However we are where we are. No-one can change the past, so as things stand we have a manager that is failing spectacularly. They have to deal with that first. However I have stressed that I don't actually think he should be fired - he should walk. If he refuses to do so, then the CB should just write off 2006 and leave him. After the last two years, we will have completely restored our reputation as an honourer of contracts, under immense strain.

We are in a dire predicament and the lack of development of underage teams is now biting. I agree that KK's game plan seems very poor but the lack of a game plan does not explain why we get overrun in midfield every game or why we cannot kick a 21 yard free over !!

We are in a dire predicament, but the underage thing is being addressed, and once again we can't change the past. However his game plan has nothing to do with 21 yard frees, but his choice of free takers does. If Rhode got those two frees Niall missed in Parnell, he wouldn't have been near them, David Hope would have looked after them. Likewise we need to decide what are our freetaking options from every area of the pitch, and make sure that any player who shares in that responsibility is spending time practising on them. Just for the love of God, not Niall.

As for being over-run in midfield, we may not have a high fielder, but would you honestly take any midfielder from Laois/Westmeath over Alan McNamee or Mad Mac? I certainly wouldn't. They mightn't be the best high fielders in the world but they are damn good footballers - which again goes back to being used wrongly.

[Lone Shark]

Where has Sean Ryan disappeared to?@ Is it the same hole that Damien Hunt travelled into!!!

Ryan is still on the panel, just wasn't used the last day. Damien Hunt is injured, has been since he was taken off against Dublin back in January, and will be for another few weeks at least as well.

[Screw-Leveller]

Any word on that meeting last night?