Rhode V Kilmacud

[Bord na Mona man]

Unpleasant as it may be, you have to expect and deal with this sort of gamesmanship - Time wasting, disruption, goading and working the referee. Offaly teams are probably lack that little bit of cuteness in these arts.

As regards Anton Sullivan, he has already built himself a reputation by his style of play. He is not too dissimilar to Paul Galvin, all action and abrasive. If I was managing a team to play Rhode or Offaly, I'd be singling him out above all others for special attention.

[townblue]

rhodes first 20 mins were class and played sensible football... but then gave away handy frees and scores .. the amount of time there backs coughed up ball and gave away ball with stupid handpassing game broke them ....... thought dunne and keeleghan wer excellent in 1st half but they faded out in 2nd half .. the sullivans were a driving force as usual ..... facts are dubs (longford ) took there scores and good luck to them but i still think cross will win the all ireland

[townman]

just a quick word on this Rhode lack the two B's Bottle and Belly and they won't win a leinster till they have that in them.

[Bazil Brush]

A bit harsh there townman, That rhode team has numerous county titles won and you been from birr should know that takes lots of bottle and belly. Reguardless of what people think of the club standard in the county they still have to be won, Rhode beat lots of good teams on the way to those 3 leinster finals UCD in parnell park and Portlaoise in 08 spring to mind, Top quality opposition at the time.

[The Magpie]

They will lose players in the coming years certainly, but right now their most important footballers are in their prime. Of the three mentioned yesterday, Roy Malone only played a bit part, Alan McNamee had an absolute nightmare of a game and while Paschal was good in the first half and remains effective, that kind of playmaker role is one that can be done even as the legs slow up a little bit. I certainly don't expect them to drop off the scene anytime soon.

Just to clarify, I agree - they won't be going anywhere soon, particularly when you consider the relative strength of other Senior Clubs in Offaly. What I am alluding to, is that the Rhode team of the last 7-8 years may well have missed their best chance to win a Leinster Title.

I think it's fair to say that Rhode's most important footballer is in his prime, but not their most important footballers. Alan McNamee has not had a good year (or even couple of years), but he made a huge contribution to that Rhode team in his prime. Ditto Roy Malone who, before Niall came along, was the man to watch and mark in the Rhode forward line. And then to Paschal... If I were to pick one footballer out over the period, outside of the obvious, who has contributed enormously to this team, it would be him - very much the driving force behind this team. These three are big characters - they were pretty much certain starters for the County too.

That one was on the line, another out of the game in the middle of the field and the third fading as the game wore on, had a lot to do with the direction the game took for Rhode.

Of course, it's easy to say that Rhode don't seem to have replacements lined-up for these guys, but then, who would?

[Long John]

Lads Rhode will be just fine. They wont win a Leinster with the depth of the squad they have at the minute but they will continue to dominate Offaly football.

Roy is gone more or less, Pascal still has a huge amount to offer where he does it best causing mayhem around the square not out picking up loose ball around the middle. And as for Alan McNamee, he was brutal bad at the weekend yes, but he's 29 years of age, hardly finished. He has another 4 or 5 years senior club football left. Outside that everybody else is around their mid 20's or slightly above.

Lets not forget that Kilmacud punished every mistake Rhode made the other day, any misplaced pass resulted in a kilmacud score. That deflates a team and it did that to Rhode on Sunday. I think tactically they were too negative for the second half, they hadnt an impact player to spring, and they didnt get an ounce of luck on the day either.

I am certain themselves and Clara will be going ding dong at it come October.

[theoffalytruth]

There is a major point which has been picked up by nobody on this post and that relates to the Rhode management. Tom Coffey and his selection team must stand up and take alot of the blame for not being able to get Rhode over the line when it comes to the biggest matches. People may think this may be a harsh criticism but if you look closely it has been a constant occurance in the games that count. Coffey has proven three times that an inability to make the right decision has cost Rhode dearly. In all major games where Rhode were pipped (Last leinster final against K Crokes, The following years county final against Clara and this years leinster final) Coffey has made rhode predictable and makes decisions that have reduced their chances on many occasions. In all matches when Rhode were going well he used this defensive drop back role for one of his key forwards to win possession , it usually involved pascal dropping back which eventually sees more of the Rhode forwards ending up further away from goal than necessary. This has ALWAYS cost them dearly as Rhode with the nature of the forwards are at their most dangerous when played square. Instead when the games got tough and scores were getting hard to come by, Rhode would often end up with only one inside and maybe two or three at the half forward/midfield line. You cannot win against the big teams like this, no matter how well you retain the ball. You just invite their half back line on top of you which puts massive pressure on the defense. In all of Rhode's key defeats in the last three years this has happened. (Kilmacud, Clara, Kilmacud) Its too predictable and makes it easier for the stronger teams with clever management to counter act.


Secondly in all three games Tom Coffey has failed to use his bench. (He had Roy on for ten mins when things were nearly past retrievable) Ok maybe there
wasnt a bench to match Kilmacud Stars Backup team but for god sake , they couldnt of done any worse than what was on the field - there were a few who looked completely out of it after fifteen mins. (The introduction of fresh legs at least could have been a boost to the rapidly weaning Rhode team) Roy has been a great servant to club and county but is probably two years past this level with injuries , fitness level and miles on the clock.

Kilmacud on the other hand got guys in with twenty mins to go etc to help them with their final push.
Now it doesnt take a huge amount of common sense to see that a team that is already on the back foot is going to be under even more pressure with some fresh bodies to content with also. Rhode also required some physicality to break up something , anything at midfield and half forward line and there seemed to be a few guys on the bench big enough to make that impact at the very least.

Tom Coffey seems to make one sub and thats it, his cards are on the table, his loyalty to some of the guys who are clearly underperforming has cost him dearly. There is nobody going to break through as they arent given the opportunity it seems. Rhode are never going to get to their holy grail in my opinion until Tom decides to do whats best for the team and move on. He has done reasonably well within the county and brought them to a certain level but has
consistently shown that his decision making in crunch times has prevented this group from attaining the accolades they truly deserve.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks as the League resumes, If left in charge his extended panel must be at breaking point facing another year of the same.

Finally I would be very surprised if Kilmacud didnt go on a win the All Ireland, the won it comfortably enough the year they bet Rhode after.

[jimbob17]

seem to have some issues there theoffalytruth, thought rhode did well the last day and were always going to be up against it. they were up against a panel of 25 serious athletes all as big as rhodes biggest. as pat spillane says, when a dumper truck hits a morris minor, guess who comes out on top. that crokes team would beat a lot of county teams and have at least four county players imported to add to their 5/6 dublin players. no shame at all and tom coffee has done well to get so far. 9 counties with at least ten senior teams in each county and rhode make the final. you or your relation must be a sub not good enough to get a run!!

[theoffalytruth]

Im just a broken hearted fan Jim Bob, Still devestated for the lads and their supporters. We have never thrown the bench on when games are in need of a rattle - and i don't know why - a battering ram team like kilmacud as you rightly said can roll over a team on the backfoot as not only do they have the athletic and football talent but they use up every ounce of work from 19-20 guys - one additional pair of rhode "fresh" legs will never be enough against this type of team , I know quite a few of the lads on the Rhode team and panel and i know that they feel the same. It saddens me to think that the potential is there to get Rhode over the line but it know may never happen for them because of this. It would be such a boost for young players around Offaly also to see a team taking this title and maybe the dream of paddys day. But alas another chance wasted and maybe no more to come. Thats why id rest alot of blame on management.

[brian fantana]

Im just a broken hearted fan Jim Bob, Still devestated for the lads and their supporters. We have never thrown the bench on when games are in need of a rattle - and i don't know why - a battering ram team like kilmacud as you rightly said can roll over a team on the backfoot as not only do they have the athletic and football talent but they use up every ounce of work from 19-20 guys - one additional pair of rhode "fresh" legs will never be enough against this type of team , I know quite a few of the lads on the Rhode team and panel and i know that they feel the same. It saddens me to think that the potential is there to get Rhode over the line but it know may never happen for them because of this. It would be such a boost for young players around Offaly also to see a team taking this title and maybe the dream of paddys day. But alas another chance wasted and maybe no more to come. Thats why id rest alot of blame on management.

As far as i know and i think im right, everyone of the rhode subs got plenty of chance to impress against nemo, offaly and gmit, and they just didnt do anything to justify being brought on, rhode were beaten on the day by a stonger, better team, and thats hard for me to say, as im as broken hearted as any of them.

[offalyman18]

rhode lost another leinster final...bottlers...always were and always will be

[Lone Shark]

I think Brian Fantana has hit the nail on the head here, and it shouldn't be forgotten - Rhode came up a club that are favourites for the All Ireland, and that's with Crossmaglen and Nemo, the two most successful football clubs in Ireland, still in the running. This is an excellent Kilmacud team and there is no shame whatsoever in losing to them. Rhode represented Offaly very well this year and while I sympathise with a club that genuinely deserves to have a Leinster title on their roll of honour, I don't think there was anything different anyone could have done, either a player, sub or manager, that would have resulted in a Rhode win in O'Moore Park.

[Square Cab]

Those who say there’s nothing anyone could have done to win that game are probably correct but I just can’t agree. Kilmacud were the stronger team but make no mistake, Rhode could easily have won that game. I have looked at it twice since and by God how things could have been so much different. Look at the scoreable frees conceded by Rhode (some of which weren’t even frees but that’s another argument!), the missed penalty, the crossbar miss and the silly uncharacteristic errors and tell me Rhode couldn’t have won that game. And the argument that their management did all they could is also flawed. At least three of the Rhode players had a day to forget and you can’t tell me that running in a couple of subs wouldn’t have been worth a try. I presume most of the guys on the bench played in the semi final of the Inter champ last year so some of them must be able to play a bit of ball. We are constantly told by managers that football is a twenty man game now but Rhode wanted to try and win it with 16…..just not going to happen. Anyhow, well done Rhode, you did Offaly proud!

[TRUEGAEL]

Look it lads kilmacud are manchester united in soccer they buy the best players.they have 5000 members there is 1500 in rhode parish all of rhodes team bar two eddie mcdonnell edenderry and mark dunne the rock the rest all come from this small pool.great achivement to play the way they do but heart will only get you so far.rhode played well in the 1st half but kilmacud just changed it at half time and blew them away in the 1st 15mins of 2nd half.serious team serious club and my bet to win the all ireland.

[brian fantana]

rhode lost another leinster final...bottlers...always were and always will be

ahhh, thats a lovely quote,. i wonder how many county or leinster medals you have. ???/ actually who cares