biffinbanner wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 6:31 pm
duignan not a fan of sweepers. and id imagine neither is most of the offaly hurling folk..and i doubt shane is stupid with money either.
Correct. It would represent an epiphany for Michael Duignan if he appointed Davy, whose style of hurling definitely isn't fast and direct.
All through the years, right back to when the Cork hurlers under Donal O'Grady pioneered short puck outs and working the ball through the lines, Duignan wasn't a fan.
Think if you look at the recent history of the teams that Davy Fitz has taken over, you can probably see why he’s being muted. Both those wexford and clare teams had good underage teams coming up by the time fitz came in and he’s probably looking at whats coming down the line in offaly and thinking similiar.
On a similar topic, can see similarities between the offaly fitz links and ronaldo returning to utd. Individuals entering organisations where with the best will in the world their standards cannot be met. If davy watched much offaly club hurling he’d be soon learning that he’ll do more harm than good to his reputation in offaly. He’ll also absolutely rinse any funds that we have. He’s the cherry on top of the cake, not the foundation on which you build your house.
There are arguments for Davy Fitz. He makes an early impact, he creates a bit of buzz and interest. Players who have opted out may come back and commit for a couple of years.
If the current group have the untapped ability to make it back to Liam MacCarthy, then he could shake it out of them.
Perhaps the Carlow performance sowed seeds that Offaly were being bullied by seasoned timber merchants and needed to get more robust.
On the other hand, if the quality isn't there and it turns out Fennelly was getting what was possible out of the squad, then it's a wasted splurge.
Also, a bit like Jose Mourinho, Davy doesn't necessarily leave a job with everything smelling of roses.
private joker wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 7:51 pm
Wonder is there a ground hurling coach /manager out there that would be acceptable?
I'd say even the most hardened of flat earthers in Offaly has given up on ground hurling making a comeback.
There are other things that get frowned on.
A clever Offaly manager will have the traditionalists think they're playing draughts, but be coaching the players to play chess.
pigeon house biffo wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 8:52 pm
Think if you look at the recent history of the teams that Davy Fitz has taken over, you can probably see why he’s being muted. Both those wexford and clare teams had good underage teams coming up by the time fitz came in and he’s probably looking at whats coming down the line in offaly and thinking similiar.
Big difference between winning successive Leinster/ Munster U21’s and winning 1 Leinster U17 when it comes to analysis on what players may be at your disposal.
If lads think that one u17 team is going to make a dent in what offaly have to do, then yer in for a rude awakening. Offaly need multiple teams coming through and unfortunately they are not, at the moment they are not even competing.
private joker wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 9:48 pm
If lads think that one u17 team is going to make a dent in what offaly have to do, then yer in for a rude awakening. Offaly need multiple teams coming through and unfortunately they are not, at the moment they are not even competing.
I've no doubt that Fitzgerald would get an immediate bounce out of players, his track record on hitting the ground running is incredible. However that then has to be balanced by the fact that his best year is usually year one, and if not, then year two. He will make the best of young players that are just about ready to make a contribution at senior now - he is emphatically not the appointment you would make with a view to looking to bring the likes of the 2022 minors along slowly, giving them exposure to high level training while protecting their physical development etc.
And there is no doubt that he burns resources at an unparalleled rate, in every sense. The rumour mill with regard to the expenses paid to cover his 'costs' would suggest that his particular mode of transport burns more diesel than any other manager in the history of the GAA, by some margin. He insists on an astronomically big backroom team. His co-operation with football is famously poor, and while that might not be an issue in Offaly where the two sports have parity of esteem, it can crop up in the strangest of ways. For example there are suggestions that in Wexford, he picked players for the hurling, not because he planned to use them, but in order to take them away from football, because in his mind, Wexford going well under Paul Galvin would mean that senior hurling wouldn't be the only show in town, and that wouldn't do. Would he try to do the same with a Cormac Egan, or a Dylan Hyland, just for example?
Above all, there are suggestions - and his track record would back it up - that when he leaves a county, the players are utterly spent, and there is an immediate dip. Waterford 2012, Clare 2017, Wexford this year - he's certainly not a manager guided by the "leave the county in a better place than you found it" principle.
Now a lot of it depends on how he's handled, and how much leeway the Offaly county board give him, or even how much he's allowed to spend. Again, these things are all rumours, but I've heard from a few sources the numbers involved in Wexford, and if it was even 60% of that, then Offaly should run a mile, regardless of whether or not there is a private benefactor there willing to underwrite it.
On the other hand, you look at the likes of the Shane Lowry deal, and how it is all very much driven towards long term improvement, sustainability, and building from the bottom up. The Glenisk deal was fantastic business, and it's a wonderful tie-up with a company that is hugely popular and respected locally anyway. So far, and in stark contrast to a lot of what happened before, there is a sense now that we have grownups in the room when we are negotiating our financial deals. You'd like to think that this trend will continue, if Fitzgerald is in fact the man that they want to put in place.
And then there's the possibility that the media likes writing about David Fitzgerald, and that they're adding two plus two and getting 22. Can't rule that out either.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves expecting any quick follow through from the U17s.
A few examples of where senior success traces to underage success.
Westmeath footballers won a minor All Ireland in 1995 and an U21 in 1999, won a Leinster senior in 2004. A 9 year lag.
Laoighis won minor AIs in 1996 and 1997 and Leinster senior in 2003. An 8 year lag.
Offaly hurlers won minor AIs, 1986, '87 and '89 and then a senior in 1994. An 8 year lag.
That was when minor was under 18. The 1 or 2 outrageously talented players will take to senior level immediately but many of the rest only find their stride in their mid-20s.
If the plan is to keep Davy in place to bed in these players, then Lowry should join LIV tour!
I always liked Davy Fitz, I like the sheer passion and wearing his heart on his sleeve. Is he for Offaly? I dont know, would he really take a county down the tiers? A lot here slating him big time, remember when he went to Wexford our county board was asked that time if he was approached and it was "well it wasnt my job to ask him" and "no one said to ask him" so no one basically took the bull by the horns that time, maybe they have now and we are still not happy. Getting players who opted out back in would be a massive boost, and he might knock the dust off of some who are there already, the summary of the Carlow game above by someone else and us being bullied out of it certainly rings through, we didnt have the fight in us when it really mattered, one thing Davy Fitz will do is he will instill that into them, if its in them. Long term, I hear the aruguments, he wont be with Offaly in 5 years time or so, we are certainly developing under age, do we stay going along in second gear for another few years and see (or hope) where that brings us?...possibly but the good existing players we have now wont be around forever, particularly at the level we are at, they wont stay committed if no progress is made..so its a tough one, I would go with it probably, sure why not, but if this is rumour I want to see him in place, too many other counties out there a bit further on than us that he wouldnt have half the work with possibly...interesting times ahead if he takes it...
I'm surprised that someone like Michael Donoghue's name hasn't been mentioned, as no county seems to have made a move for him since he quit Galway a few years back.
