McDonnell in running for Offaly football job

[clubman]

o god not john ryan as selector he ruined a good minor team this year ,paschal would be a good selector and would get good experience if he was to take over in a few years time.good luck to mcdonnell ,he must get a few years to build a team.

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

Any update on his backroom team?
Heard Michael McNamee from Rhode is in the running, his 2 sons would have been on the St Marys team, would be wary if this is the case that he is not moving too far outside his network. Dont know if Michael either has much experience of senior teams, but I dont know the man too well, so the best of luck to him.

[offaly2012]

Michael Mcnamee was rhode minor chairman uptill last year and is currently offaly minor secretary.
Trained u,14 and 16 in rhode for couple of years.
Pat lowry of clara is also supposed to be a selector

[True Red]

McDonnell Hopes To Send Offaly Football In New Direction
Thursday, 23 August 2012

from www.tullamoretribune.ie

ASPIRING Offaly footballers could be in for a shock to their system when new Offaly manager, Emmet McDonnell outlines his plans and the type of commitment that he will require to bring them onto a higher level.
The 33 year old Kinnegad man was a surprise choice when he was announced as the new Offaly senior football manager recently. He may be very much a novice at this level but he has a surprising wealth of experience for such a young man and most importantly, he is deeply ambitious.
Fully aware of Offaly's current standing and the fact that they are as close to rock bottom as they have been in a good few decades, McDonnell is under no illusions about the task ahead of them. He is setting no specific goals, other than to improve Offaly football and help each player reach his potential, but he has a clear plan for what is needed and what he has to do.
Understandably, he noes not want to publicly disclose the specific details of his plans but suffice to say the squad will be put through a training schedule that has never been experienced in Offaly before: Both in terms of its scientific approach and its intensity.
It will require a mindset change for many players to buy into it but McDonnell will be going with the players who fully commit to it and if that means that there are high profile casualties along the way, so be it.
‘If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got,' he said last week as he outlined his hopes for the future to the Tribune. He didn't say it but the undertone is obvious: Only dramatic change to approach and all aspects of preparation will raise Offaly off the floor. He also stressed that he wasn't condemning any other Offaly manager but was pointing out that change has to be implemented. 'We have to change things and do it differently in terms of how we prepare.'
Emmet McDonnell is a new name to the wider Offaly public, though his achievements with St Mary's Secondary School in Edenderry have earned him deserved respect and admiration.
He has guided the school to unprecedented success in colleges 'A' football - Under his leadership, they won the Leinster and All-Ireland senior 'B' title in 2007, the Leinster senior A title in 2009 and 2012 and a historic All-Ireland senior A title this year: The first school from Offaly to achieve this while they were pipped by Colaiste na Sceilge of Cahirciveen in a heartbreaking All-Ireland final in '09.
He had the school playing fantastic football but apart from this, he has earned his spurs in his native Westmeath, coaching his club at all underage levels and managing Westmeath at U-14, 15, 16 and minor level.
He is currently managing Ballinabrackey in the Meath Intermediate Football Championship and they have easily won their opening two games.
Amazingly he has been coaching teams since he was just sixteen years of age, while he played senior football with Kinnegad for ten years, including in the 1998 county final where they were beaten by Athlone. He has studied the methods of all managers he played under, including well known names such as Stephen Darby, Colm Coyle and Luke Dempsey.
From an early stage, he began compiling a dossier on various drills and training methods and he has continued that throughout his life, regularly traveling throughout Ireland and the UK to observe and study the best practices in all sporting codes.
Appointed as a maths teacher in St Mary's at 20 years of age in 2000, he waited a few years before taking over teams. In 2003, he took over an U-14 side and they went unbeaten in all competitions up to the 2007 All-Ireland senior B title.
Along with people such as Tom Reehill, his brother Gordon McDonnell and former Kildare footballer, Paddy Donoghue, he helped implement the structures that have led to such stunning success at A level and it was his achievements here that brought him to the attention of the Offaly GAA County Board.
A number of very good intercounty footballers have progressed through his hands - Ten former St Mary's students featured in the Offaly v Kildare game this year (9 on the Offaly squad and one on the Kildare panel) while there was one former student on the Meath panel this year.
Anton Sullivan, Sean Pender and Derek Kelly are among the current Offaly players who went through his hands at the school.
In 2007, he knew that they had a squad capable of going well at senior A level.
‘I knew we had the talent to do well when we won the All-Ireland B title. We played a lot of A schools that year and won all our games so I knew we could go well. I think we could have went well in A football in 2007,' he said.
The approach for St Mary's was at a different level than that experienced by most school teams as information about diet, nutrition, conditioning etc were dispersed among the players. Training regularly took place at 7.45 in the morning and occasionally at 6.00am but crucially, each player bought into this.
‘To be successful we had to do things that other teams weren't prepared to do and to operate at a different level of preparation,' he commented.
Early morning training may take place for Offaly but McDonnell said this will depend on factors such as players' lifestyles, location and employment and his plans will be adapted to suit these.
McDonnell was surprised when Offaly's call came but had ambitions of managing at senior intercounty level. He was actually first interviewed for the Offaly minor football manager's job and was going to be offered that - He was particularly honoured to meet the legendary Matt Connor on that selection committee.
However, the goal posts moved after Tom Coffey's shock decision to withdraw as Offaly senior manager and McDonnell was approached and interviewed by the senior selection committee before being offered and accepting the job. He was surprised at the speed of events but absolutely delighted at the opportunity.
He knows where Offaly are and will come up with detailed plans for every aspect of team preparation. His brother Gordon is on board as the strength and conditioning coach and another teacher at St Mary's, Pat Costello, a qualified sports scientist, will be looking after analysis and statistics. He hopes to finalise the rest of his back room team, including selectors, in the coming days but will not be making any rushed decisions as he bids to surround himself with the best men.
Himself and his back room team will be attending as many club games at possible at all levels in the coming months. 'We want to get the best 30 players available in Offaly. It will be open to everyone, including those who were not on the panel last year. We want to identify the best thirty footballers who will commit to the cause. We will look at players who have played minor and U-21 and fallen away. Our key objective is to get the best thirty players who want to represent Offaly.'
‘Want' is the key word in that statement and McDonnell is aware of the impression that not every player has been as committed as he could be in recent years. 'There will not be a closed door for anyone and we will be constantly monitoring the panel. They will be there on merit only and they will be judged at every single training session. Lads will be judged on everything they do.'
The commitment must be absolute. 'You have to want to represent Offaly. It is impossible to turn up and play in Croke Park on a Sunday if you haven't done the work over the previous weeks and months. They are the type of players that we will be going forward with. Players that are into the type of training we are doing, listening to what is said, they are ultimately the players who want to play for Offaly and we will be going in that direction,' he said.
He is aware of Offaly's low standing. 'I understand there is a huge tradition in Offaly and people have been disappointed at results and performances. It is not going to change overnight. I hope the structures we put in place will enable everyone to be more successful. It is not about a five year plan. '
McDonnell will also be taking charge of Offaly U-21s and hopes to bring all strands of Offaly football in the one direction. He also hopes to have some input into the minor team, taking the occasional session and he said: 'We need everyone singing from the one hymn sheet from a preparation and style of football point of view.'
He revealed that he would like to organise a training day for seniors, U-21s and minors where they will train and bond together. 'We need to build up a community spirit,' he said.
He is also aware that time is needed and that it will take twelve months to get Offaly up to the conditioning level of other counties. 'At the end of the second year, we should see the benefits,' said McDonnell who will be operating on a season to season basis.
He will also be constantly evaluating their performance as a management team and won't need to be told by the County Board or media if things are not good enough.
Offaly are currently rooted in Division 4 of the National Football League and while he acknowledged that getting out of this is important, his philosophy will be 'One half at a time, one game at a time'.
He had St Mary's playing a fantastic style of open expansive football but stressed the need to be able to adapt to different styles in different games.
He is aware of the local belief in an 'Offaly brand' of football. 'People have said that the football St Mary's played reminded them of Offaly at their peak but we will need different approaches for different games, depending on who we play. We will have our own style but we will also have to look at the approach of who we are playing and adapt to this if necessary. We have to be flexible and able to adapt to changes within games if needed. You can't have just one game plan and every player will be aware of what is expected of him at different times in a game.'
He doesn't believe in setting specific targets. 'I hope to put structures in place that will allow players to become significantly better. The players have huge passion for Offaly and a real desire to do well. We want to facilitate that. Then we can push on.'
Already McDonnell is putting his plans in place. Offaly can start collective training on November 15th and trial games for players who weren't on the panel last year will be held before that.'
McDonnell's enthusiasm and passion is infectious and if he gets the backing from players and County Board, exciting times could be about to commence.

[Bord na Mona man]

He's talking the right talk so far.
Lets hope he gets the right response from the players!

[Abercrombie Fitch]

Well he's setting his stall out early at least, saying the things we want to hear.

Only time will tell if he can follow through with this ambitious plan but best of luck to him.

[Bord na Mona man]

Well he's setting his stall out early at least, saying the things we want to hear.

I heard that McDonnell has a secret list of the most important groups to win over in order to succeed.
Ranked in this order:

1. The uibhfhaili.com hardcore
2. The players
3. The County Board
4. The local media
5. The Offaly public
..
..
666. Pat Spillane

[jimbob17]

Some big plans and enthusiasm there. Talks a lot of common sense. overdoing the whole edenderry thing i think though. while they obviously achieved a lot, it was still only a schools competition and way off what would be demanded at inter county senior level. He will need time to grow into the role. It is encouraging however if only the county board show the support and give him the back up expertise in terms of sport science etc that he demands. Not sure if the county sec will be his biggest fan!!!

[club125]

Well he's setting his stall out early at least, saying the things we want to hear.

Only time will tell if he can follow through with this ambitious plan but best of luck to him.

Paul O'Kelly was taking a very similar apporach in 2003 - I wonder where we'd be now if we'd showed faith in him.

Patience is required with the new set up, I think they have the organisational capacity to acheive - best of luck with it

[Daleamar]

overdoing the whole edenderry thing i think though. while they obviously achieved a lot, it was still only a schools competition and way off what would be demanded at inter county senior level.

I would look at that differently. If he was going the extra mile for a school team, and could get young lads to get up at that hour, nevermind train. Then surely he knows what the county scene requires and he will go the extra miles with them.... It can only mean good things. I think hes exactly what Offaly need. Root out the guys that just want to coast, replace them with guys that will work hard (even if they are not as skillful as the 'lazy' ones). It will get Offaly moving in the right direction and maybe motivate some of the 'lazy' ones, and young starlets to put in the effort in the following years.

[jimbob17]

overdoing the whole edenderry thing i think though. while they obviously achieved a lot, it was still only a schools competition and way off what would be demanded at inter county senior level.

I would look at that differently. If he was going the extra mile for a school team, and could get young lads to get up at that hour, nevermind train. Then surely he knows what the county scene requires and he will go the extra miles with them.... It can only mean good things. I think hes exactly what Offaly need. Root out the guys that just want to coast, replace them with guys that will work hard (even if they are not as skillful as the 'lazy' ones). It will get Offaly moving in the right direction and maybe motivate some of the 'lazy' ones, and young starlets to put in the effort in the following years.

You are probably right Daleamar, maybe im a bit cynical from knowing some of the players and some of their lifestyle habits. Hopefully fellas buy in to what is looking to be achieved, though it may be hard work for McDonnell and his team. Didnt Gerry Cooney try to do something similar last year and Brian Connor, Smyth and Pender and a few more who you would want didnt buy in fully as they couldnt hack it and made their excuses. When Offaly started to lose games, these fellas were called back in along with Alan McNamee and a few more as they knew the players they had were simply not up to it.

The pool of players in offaly that are good enough is very small so all the better players are needed to put in the effort. The problem is that when lesser lads do and better lads dont put in effort, we have lost anyway as the better players are left off for lesser players. While, ideally you would want your best lads training hard, if they are unwilling to make the committment and effort ie Thomas Deehan, it is very difficult for management to replace these type of players. it is a very difficult balance at the moment. One which in my opinion has been created through mismanagement at minor and under 21 level in the last few years as players have no clue what it takes to make it to the top. The groundwork and expertise required at 21 level to match other counties needs to be improved drastically so that players have a decent platform of work done before they make county senior.

I wish that the players you would want would make the required committment but if they dont and the lads that are making effort and progress are still losing, then itll be tough going as the local media and fans get on your back.

[Daleamar]

I see what your saying Jimbob,

The players that were called back in, alright they are good footballers, they are not irreplaceable, even in Offaly. They like many others blow hot and cold. Iv seen Smith for a while now, hes a gifted fielder of the ball, score the odd point but the man has no fight in him. He is not a winner, he goes missing when you really need him, same can be said for him in a Gracefield and I.T. Carlow jersey. We could do without the likes of him to be honest, he has to get special treatment every year. Hes the type of player McDonnell need to weed out if we are being honest.

Realistically, pushing for promotion in division 4 and going down fighting in the championship is all teh public are asking for. It doesnt take top quality players to do that, just commitment. So I dont agree with your point that we need these players. Thats exactly whats gone wrong in Offaly. Players arent committing or performing for the jersey and they are not being replaced.

Who would you rather have? A guy thats not fully commited or a lesser player thats fully in for the cause. I can guarantee any manager or selector out there will say the latter 100% of the time.

[Lone Shark]

http://experiencemore.ie/experience-spe ... dual-worth

Could that be done in Offaly? More importantly, is there a McGuinness-like figure who could do it, and is McDonnell the man?

[jimbob17]

McGuiness has turned Donegal certainly but to compare the donegal job to the one mcdonnell has taken on is not really on for a few reasons.

1 Donegal had some underage success with McGuiness at 21 level and lost an All Ireland final to a good Dublin side, many of whom have all ireland senior medals now.
2 Donegal would have had the players (moreso than Offaly given their larger population)
3 Donegal had for the most part competed in div 1 or 2 of the league for the last 8 years or so and so would have remained competitive with the top tier.
4 McGuiness had been supported by his board in providing a top class backroom team which may not be afforded to McDonnell
5The managers prior to McGuiness would have had good qualified backroom teams that would have had them in reasonable shape compared to what McDonnell has to start with.
6 McGuiness knew Donegal football inside out, which you could say McDonnell doesnt and much will depend on who his selectors are.
7 McGuiness had way more experience and was way more qualified for the role than McDonnell currently is, had played for ten years at county senior level and won numerous sigersons, had managed the 21s to success and had a sport psychology qualification. He would also have had the profile that the players would respect him enough at the start!

That is not to say that McDonnell will not be a success. I for one think that he can be if given the ammo that he will need. I would have loved to see him get the minor or 21 gig first or have done well in a senior club role so he could prove himself and have that little bit of extra experience going in to the senior job. Its a bold move by the selection comittee and hopefully will prove to be an inspired choice. Some questions lie over his reign as yet though

1 Will he have his ambition matched by the county board with money to put the correct structures in place when he looks to get things going.
2 Will they let him start in september when he needs to given the poor levels of fitness among the squad? On this one i think not as an early start means more money in expenses.
3 What is the real reason that Coffey walked away? He was more than interested when doing an interview in the tribune a few months ago after they were beaten in qualifiers.

McDonnell will do his damndest to get what he perceives to be the best team out and will prepare them well im sure. However, we are so far behind at the moment that its a long way back to even being competitive with the top eight to ten teams. There are a lot of problems with a lot of the players too with regard negative attitude and bad habits (both football and lifestyle) that will need addressing. If he can get them in contention for promotion, keep a panel together without any walkouts and have a reasonably competitive championship performance, that will be success for me. The key is to build on the 21 momentum from last year. 2 good years of 21 in a row and putting proper structures in place will do more for Offaly football in the long run than winning a championship game at senior level imo!!