Offaly u20 2021

[frankthetank]

My club got 10 tickets for the Cork match. Only 10 people applied to the club secretary so they were all given one. No draw needed.

Just an example of what happened with one club.

[JimBwobb]

[SearingDrive]

It’s Roscommon next Sunday. They beat Down by 2-13 to 1-10 tonight in Cavan.

[Doon Exile]

It’s Roscommon next Sunday. They beat Down by 2-13 to 1-10 tonight in Cavan.

Nothing majorly standing out for the rossies. Offaly have great chance

[JimBwobb]

It's coming home

[frankthetank]

We could end up having 20,000 tickets if we need them. Tyrone in serious bother with Coronavirus and postponement of their game vs Kerry is a possibility.

[Anonymous1]

We could end up having 20,000 tickets if we need them. Tyrone in serious bother with Coronavirus and postponement of their game vs Kerry is a possibility.

More like if the Tyrone game gets postponed which seems likely now, our game will be moved from Croker...

[frankthetank]

We could end up having 20,000 tickets if we need them. Tyrone in serious bother with Coronavirus and postponement of their game vs Kerry is a possibility.

More like if the Tyrone game gets postponed which seems likely now, our game will be moved from Croker...

Off to Thurles we go so. That’ll suit the South Offaly football militia!!!

[Anonymous1]

We could end up having 20,000 tickets if we need them. Tyrone in serious bother with Coronavirus and postponement of their game vs Kerry is a possibility.

More like if the Tyrone game gets postponed which seems likely now, our game will be moved from Croker...

Off to Thurles we go so. That’ll suit the South Offaly football militia!!!

Or Portlaoise could be calling us again! In all seriousness, I think they would move our game if the Tyrone game is postponed.

[frankthetank]

Portlaoise is too small for what they’ll allow in. 1/3 of Thurles is 15,000.

[Lone Shark]

I'm struggling to see what reason they would have to take it out of Croke Park, even in the event that Tyrone vs Kerry is postponed. The capacity right now would be around 24,000 - I'd fully expect that to be filled, notwithstanding the awkwardness of pods etc. This is the biggest game that either county has had for more than a decade - probably the best part of two decades for Offaly, though you could make a case for the 2004 Leinster SHC final.

Thurles is no closer to either, much trickier for traffic, and no trains etc. Portlaoise is likely too small, and I'd actually imagine that if the game does get moved, Pearse Stadium in Galway would be in the mix, given that the larger capacity there would probably mean you could put the guts of 10,000 people in under current rules. Now that's a desperate place to get in and out of, but if it goes anywhere other than CP, I'm struggling to think of anywhere that would be ahead of it in the queue.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Serious ceist. What are the current rules? Is it not 500 (unless there is HSE supervision as in the case of the recent Senior championship matches held in Croke Park, Thurles and Cork)?

Should we ask the Attorney General?

Because based on the above, the Galway traffic sounds like the least worst option.

[Lone Shark]

It's genuinely hard to know. Why certain games are singled out for larger attendances and others aren't, has not at all been properly explained. I'd say, like most decisions these days, it's political. If there's huge demand and a fuss will be kicked up if that demand isn't met, then the 1/3 guideline seems to be in play. If it's a humble club game, such as next Saturday's finals in Birr and Tullamore, the absence of political pressure seems to mean that lower limits apply.

[Turnover]

I'm struggling to see what reason they would have to take it out of Croke Park, even in the event that Tyrone vs Kerry is postponed. The capacity right now would be around 24,000 - I'd fully expect that to be filled, notwithstanding the awkwardness of pods etc. This is the biggest game that either county has had for more than a decade - probably the best part of two decades for Offaly, though you could make a case for the 2004 Leinster SHC final.

The Rossies have been in a couple of u20 All-Irleand finals in the last decade and have won the Connacht at senior, they're no slouches. Not to be taken lightly

[Lone Shark]

It's nothing to do with underestimating Roscommon at all. I've been at all their games, I know the team well, I know what they can do. This is purely about the mood in the county(s), nothing to do with the ability of the players on the field.

The difference between this and 2012 and 2014 is that the Rossies will travel believing that they are, at worst, a 50/50 shot to win the game. I'm well aware Offaly will feel the same, as both counties will sense that the absence of a traditional power in the other corner opens up a window of opportunity.

Whatever about 2012, 2014 wouldn't have been seen as anything like as big a game as this in Roscommon. Yes, it was the same stage of the same competition, but that was a Con O'Callaghan powered Dublin side that very few people thought would be troubled by Roscommon, even within the county. They expected to be well-beaten, and they were.

There was more optimism about 2012 absolutely, even though the outcome turned out broadly the same, but I'd still wager that there will be a sense of excitement about this game that will even trump that one.