Offaly Senior Hurling Management 2012

[jimbob17]

excellent post GDFTP, enjoyed reading it and spot on. the reason the underage is so far back is because the co board continuously put the wrong people over teams consistently. they have zero knowledge of what is required at co level these days and put legend medalists in because they are able to shout loudly and get lads psyched up for battle. they dont realise that other teams have addressed the real important issues of fitness, strength, skills, effective and relevant coaching, game plans etc while we just sit pretty operating the way teams did in the seventies. To do this qualified individuals who know how to coach and work with young players need to be involved, but the co board cant see beyond their nose and the heroes of the 80s and nineties. Mickey Harte never played co senior football as far as i know, nor did Jack O Connor. Alex Ferguson got the utd job on his coaching merits, ditto Arsene Wenger, David Moyes Harry redknapp etc. Liam Sheedy didnt get the tipp job cos he was a hero of yesteryear, he got it because he was a damn good coach, and because he surrounded himself with other top people ie Eamonn O Shea, Cian O Neill, sport psychologists, nutritionists, qualified physiotherapists etc... What was Joe Dooleys track record as a coach before he got the OY gig, 2 years with tullamore?? and how well did he do in the two years. Fair enough he would know a lot about the game but you need a track record to get these gigs in any county that is anyway close to winning anything...

[Plain of the Herbs]

That sums it all up nicely. The next few weeks will tell us if the whole raison d'etre is the betterment of the current crop of Offaly hurlers or a pension scheme for former hurlers.

While the squad is shallow and there isn't a conveyor belt of talent coming through, Offaly have the potential to make it to the All Ireland semis with the players that are there.

The biggest weaknesses are collective rather than individual ones. - Tactics, playing style, gameplans, physical preparation and failing to either embrace (or counteract) the vagaries of the modern game

It is crucial that the next manager has the smarts to address these issues. The evidence so far suggests that this sort of individual won't come from the 80s generation. Great men to hurl - but not many managerial success stories to report though.

[corner back]

People are quick enough to attack the county board in advance of decision without suggesting a suitable candidate. I can't think of a realistic choice, ie not the likes of Donal O'Grady or Liam Sheedy, who won't be roundly criticised here. Many won't agree but I think they could do worse than Kevin Marton, with Dinny Cahill or Ken hogan as reasonable alternatives. All have their faults but have shown good pedigree.

[old yellar]

greatdayforparish, 4 of the last tipp managers have been former players and all ireland winners- babs, sheedy, english, ryan.. but the difference is the have been proven through club and u18/21 county teams. Offaly look to a name first and then see what the bring! Madness.. Also the lad who was doing the odds and had our manager kevin ryan at 50/1, well he was in dr cullen tonight to meet county board so i d say hes out! i hope ye get a good coach and manager. plenty on the go..

[puzzled]

What would people think of giving the job to Dinny Cahill,a very experienced inter-county manager,for a one year term and bringing Kevin Martin and Francis Forde as his selectors(coaches)with the view to giving the job to Kevin in twelve months time.
Unlike other managers around the country Dinny Cahill isnt in the job for his own benefit,from what I can find out about him he wouldnt break the bank to get hold of and surely he would be interested in taking on Offaly even if was only for a year and it would bring Kevin Martin to another level which would be great for Offaly.
Cahill is managing Rynaghs this year as well so he would be familiar with a lot of Offaly's players add in Martin and Forde and you have three guys that know as much if not more than any of the other potential candidates!
Would love to see this happening but then everyone has their preferences and they would be mine.

[kingscounty]

i see cork are moving quick to replace denis walsh, it looks like it will be jimmy barry murphy.they have the right idea get it done quick and let new manager bed in early.offaly should do the same!

[kinnittyman]

Anyone got a spare €100,000 for Donal O'Grady....I see he's packed in the Limerick gig!!

[Bord na Mona man]

Anyone got a spare €100,000 for Donal O'Grady....I see he's packed in the Limerick gig!!

I have a root around the back of sofa.

[kinnittyman]

And Davy gone from Waterford tonight aswell!! So there's vacancies in Clare, Limerick, Offaly and Wexford.

Although rumour has it that our Joe is the leading candidate for the Wexford post.

[townman]

Donal o'Grady has also left limerick he said he would only do one year love to see him with offaly but you will fine he could end up with Galway.

[GreatDayForTheParish]

I wonder would he be interested in my Bank of Ireland shares?


Seriously though, could you imagine the enthusiasm/interest/excitement he would bring back to the game in Offaly, among both players and supporters.
We can only dream.

[GreatDayForTheParish]

And Davy gone from Waterford tonight aswell!! So there's vacancies in Clare, Limerick, Offaly and Wexford.

Although rumour has it that our Joe is the leading candidate for the Wexford post.

Or Limerick...

[Over The Black Spot]

Dear Selection Committee,

Please ring Donal O'Grady and offer him whatever he wants.

Regards,
Offaly Hurling Supporters


Seriously lads, if he was anyway interested in taking the job, I think we should do everything we can to get him. I can't imagine he's in it purely for the money either or he would have stayed in Limerick and picked up JP's handy money, so maybe he wouldn't cost as much as you'd think.

There's loads of things that could be done to cut down the cost aswell. Some car dealer would surely like the publicity of sponsoring him a car for the year, speak to a fuel company about helping out, approach the likes of the county arms or bridge house about putting him up and have training on Fridays and Saturdays. We don't have a JP type sugar daddy but I can think of a couple of companies who would throw a decent few quid in the pot if such a good manager could be secured. I know I'm getting a millions ahead if myself, and it's possible O'Grady will step back into retirement for a while, but it would be great to get him.

Having Jim Troy on the committee will be help as they probably know each other or at least will have crossed paths. I'd dispatch Jim for Cork in the morning to sound him out and see how it goes.

[kingscounty]

Dear Selection Committee,

Please ring Donal O'Grady and offer him whatever he wants.

Regards,
Offaly Hurling Supporters


Seriously lads, if he was anyway interested in taking the job, I think we should do everything we can to get him. I can't imagine he's in it purely for the money either or he would have stayed in Limerick and picked up JP's handy money, so maybe he wouldn't cost as much as you'd think.

There's loads of things that could be done to cut down the cost aswell. Some car dealer would surely like the publicity of sponsoring him a car for the year, speak to a fuel company about helping out, approach the likes of the county arms or bridge house about putting him up and have training on Fridays and Saturdays. We don't have a JP type sugar daddy but I can think of a couple of companies who would throw a decent few quid in the pot if such a good manager could be secured. I know I'm getting a millions ahead if myself, and it's possible O'Grady will step back into retirement for a while, but it would be great to get him.

Having Jim Troy on the committee will be help as they probably know each other or at least will have crossed paths. I'd dispatch Jim for Cork in the morning to sound him out and see how it goes.

i agree,the county board should do their very best to get D.O.G. might cost few euros to get him in but if we got him on 3 year deal it would do wonders for offaly hurling.he is a hurling man and a winner,as said before it would create some buzz in the county to get someone of his calibre in.it would get the supporters back going to games and give us a right crack at winning something,its high time we won a leinster and that should be the first target.

[Bord na Mona man]

O'Grady would be the right man for Offaly.

He understands the modern game - as he is one of its chief architects. His teams use space and possession cleverly and have well developed game plans.

Imagine if he taken over Offaly instead of Cork almost a decade ago?
Cork and Offaly both suffered with forward lines who couldn't win high or dirty ball.
O'Grady's Cork got around this by carrying the ball through the middle and playing more measured ball to their forwards from closer in. Offaly stuck with lashing it away and hoping for the best.

Imagine what he could have done with a midfield of Rory Hanniffy and Brendan Murphy at their peak. We had speedsters who could have burned all comers and created space for others (like Kenny and O'Connor)...Anyway, no use in looking back at the what-ifs!

Sunday's All Ireland again demonstrated how far the modern game has evolved. It is high-intensity, high-attritional stuff and we need to be certain that any new manager understands the way the game has gone.