OFFALY Hurling 2014

[Sharp Eye]

Looking Forward to Sunday. I have not seen Offaly play this year. Peter Geraghty & Sean Gardiner must be playing very well if they are considered by team management to be better forwards than Dan Currams.

[Sharp Eye]

Looking Forward to Sunday. I have not seen Offaly play this year. Peter Geraghty & Sean Gardiner must be playing very well if they are considered by team management to be better forwards than Dan Currams.

It was clearly evident from the start of yesterday's game that Team Management got their team selection seriously wrong. Team Management have a chance to redeem themselves next Sunday by picking our best team and defeating Wexford. Defeat on Sunday will result in a relegation match which could result in Division 2 Hurling next year. If we are in Division 2 there will be no need of a debate between O'Connor Park and St Brendans Park.
It is also past time that the County Board provided our hurlers with the back up support counties like Clare provide their players. I noticed the Laois Team were dressed in proper gear etc. and looked professional. Laois also proved that they were much fitter than us and have been training much longer.

[jimbob17]

Looking Forward to Sunday. I have not seen Offaly play this year. Peter Geraghty & Sean Gardiner must be playing very well if they are considered by team management to be better forwards than Dan Currams.

It was clearly evident from the start of yesterday's game that Team Management got their team selection seriously wrong. Team Management have a chance to redeem themselves next Sunday by picking our best team and defeating Wexford. Defeat on Sunday will result in a relegation match which could result in Division 2 Hurling next year. If we are in Division 2 there will be no need of a debate between O'Connor Park and St Brendans Park.
It is also past time that the County Board provided our hurlers with the back up support counties like Clare provide their players. I noticed the Laois Team were dressed in proper gear etc. and looked professional. Laois also proved that they were much fitter than us and have been training much longer.

Fully agree with all of this..... treating players with respect is a must and this is just typical of how our county board operate. I heard recently that last year players never got the gear for the league till the league was over..... and the lad that told me reckoned they were waiting till the KK lads came back so the lads on the tail end of the panel would be dropped and money wouldnt be wasted giving them gear. I wouldnt be surprised.

However, our problem is deeper than this and you can blame the new management all you like but in my opinion they are only the pawns in the whole thing. They are doing their best with the resources they are given, even if we disagree with team selection.... Maybe there are reasons for certain lads not playing that we dont know.....either way, yesterday was very disappointing but should we be surprised.... I for one could see it coming.....

The problem i have is that there is no system in place to bring lads through like they have been developed in other counties similar to us ie Limerick, Clare and Wexford...... even Laois have passed us out and probably westmeath at underage aswell.... The county board need to review their coaching executive positions and either change the whole thing or turf them all out and start from scratch. For years now our development squads are being neglected and often mismanaged. It is full of nepotism with many lads from the north of the county fully disengaged by the time they get to 16. We cannot afford this as asmall county. They are being hammered by all decent hurling counties and being beaten regularly by laois and westmeath in underage. The coaching is often poor with often dinosaurs involved over teams. There is little or no back up with physio, strength and conditioning etc and we are light years behind in terms of game plans where lads are tould to hurl the Offaly way...... what the hell is this.

Id be thinking that they need to shape up or ship out. Who overseas the hurling development squads? Who chooses the managements and who are they choosing? Is their nepotism involved? What have their results been for the last few years? How are we doing in Tony Forrestal and Nenagh Co op tounaments? what kind of support are they getting in relation to strength and conditioning nutrition etc? These are questions that all other competitive counties can answer without being embarassed.... Can we if we are honest do the same?

Some questions...why do we always appoint a rookie manager.... Joe Dooley had little experience when he got the job.....ditto Ollie Baker and Brian Whelehan even less so. I though the radio interview yesterday was poor too and you could hear the difference in experience between him and Cheddar Plunkett in how they spoke.... NOt Brian's fault....Id say he is just after realising what he is after letting himself in for...... He went for the minor job and got the senior...... Like McDonnell in the football..... sure what sense does this make?....Why is there no U21 manager yet? is it for financial savings on the county board part? and if so is this right? and will we give out if the 21's are hammered by kilkenny or dublin.... and who will be blame only the manager who didnt pick the right team......it is a continuous cycle of blame in the wrong direction..... Why dont we have an intermediate team when all competitive hurling counties do. I know Kilkenny and Galway have, Limerick, cork, Clare and Tipp have them as do Waterford and use them as a step up from 21 to Senior....

We are asking all the wrong questions guys. Forget about blaming Brian Whelahan and his management, Ollie Baker or Joe Dooley or anyone for that matter. The reason lies solely at the feet of the county board executive for not having the cop to realise that their gross mismanagement of the underage structures has done irreparable harm to the proud brand that is Offaly hurling; so much so that lads arent even bothered about hurling for their county anymore by the age of 16. If you dont believe me, ask the young lads how the development squads are run and find out their results. Sorry for the rant but enough is enough......Heads must roll!!! Unfortunately when they do, itll be the wrong ones!! Rant over....

[durra1]

Best post in years.... what more can one say?

Should be presented at the next OCB meeting ..

[True Red]

why do we always appoint a rookie manager

Money....plain and simple.

An experienced manager costs money, and lots of it.

[merman]

Lads,

This will probably be my one and only post.

I'm from enemy territory in Laois and am not here to gloat, not for one second. I grew up admiring the Offaly side of the '90s and I'd often keep an eye on these forums, as I would with most of the Hurling counties around the country.

I'd just like to echo the admiration for Jimbob17's post. I thought it offered an incredible insight into the difficulties surrounding the Offaly hurling teams. It was doubly interesting as I can recall the exact same malaise in Laois only a couple of years ago.

I hope ye as a county can find answers to some of the questions Jimbob posed.

There might be a difficult road ahead but it's a journey worth sticking to!

All the best for the rest of the league.

[Bord na Mona man]

Lads,

This will probably be my one and only post.

I'm from enemy territory in Laois and am not here to gloat, not for one second. I grew up admiring the Offaly side of the '90s and I'd often keep an eye on these forums, as I would with most of the Hurling counties around the country.

I'd just like to echo the admiration for Jimbob17's post. I thought it offered an incredible insight into the difficulties surrounding the Offaly hurling teams. It was doubly interesting as I can recall the exact same malaise in Laois only a couple of years ago.

I hope ye as a county can find answers to some of the questions Jimbob posed.

There might be a difficult road ahead but it's a journey worth sticking to!

All the best for the rest of the league.

Get off the site!
Fair play to you and I think Offaly people certainly won't begrudge and improvement or success that comes Leix's way.

Also the hard work and improvement in Leix also defies the myth that you need big money and a big population to make progress. If people believe that, then it becomes a convenient excuse for low achievement...or not bothering your arse in the first place.

[old yellar]

Offaly 6 13
Mlr 1 21

Great 80 mins of hurling in fenagh tonight. High enough tempo and plenty of timber. The 6 goals would suggest a rampant offaly attach but 3 were poor from a defensive point of view for rangers. Offaly had a starting line up of - i might be wrong here and there as subs came in with same numbers
1 j dempsey
2 d egan
3 kelleher
4
5 s gardiner
6 j rigney
7 mooney
8 s ryan
9 d kilmartin
10 c mahon
11 j bergin
12
13 b carroll
14 d currans
15 s dooley

Subs m egan, d shortt, s wynne, t geraghty, g connelly, coughlan, s dolan? Cleary

Mlr missing 2 starters for whole game in denis murphy and diarmuid byrne. 2 others only on as subs.

I thought your full forward line was useful! Dooley and currams are big strong ball winners with power too. Carroll picked off a few good scores but hit a few bad wides. The half forwards were in and out of it. Midfield did well against a decent mlr pairing. Ryan was his busy self and kilmartin worked hard. Gardiner was far more at ease in the hbackline. Rigney did well enough but you d imagine v an intercounty c forward he might be a little light for there. Fullback line were ok. D egan impressed me as i hadnt seen him hurl in a longtime.
Note to management - ground hurling dont work!

[old yellar]

Watkins was 4.

[Killeighman]

Who is this D Egan fella? I dont recognise the name. Any idea who got the goals?

[old yellar]

Damien egan f/b
Goals? Jayus! Missed the first parking the car! I think currams and dooley got a few between them. Mahon also. Another was a long ball into the square that got a flick to it. Mlr wouldnt have been over happen with some of the defending.

[Killeighman]

Where was that game played actually?Its good to see dooley back getting game time. Hopefully with some of these new introductions results can improve

[Plain of the Herbs]

Venue is given in OY's account of the match.

Clue - Richie Kavanagh.

Where was that game played actually?Its good to see dooley back getting game time. Hopefully with some of these new introductions results can improve

[old yellar]

Yes indeed, you could indeed "face her for mount Leinster" easily from where we were.. In the centre of excellence in fenagh. 3 floodlight pitches on the go last night which is a great sight.

[Killeighman]

I see a Diarmuid Horan playing for DIT college in the fitzgibbon cup hurling. Just wondering is he our horan. He scored 2 points from wing forward