Offaly Football Team Versus Wexford
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:29 pm
Make no bones about it-this is not just a qualifier- it is the most important game Offaly is involved in since they lost to Dublin in the Leinster semi-final in 2007, by the score of 1-12 to 0-10. The Offaly team had arrived at the stage of the Championship in a mindset that, as in the previous decade, they could turn up, turn it on and win!! Whereas, the reality was that Dublin and teams who genuinely wanted to ACHIEVE were at a different level of mental and physical preparation. The outcome of the game was that the Dublin players went on to win Leinster medals and the Offaly players went out on the "piss" foolishly consoling themselves with the mantra that they had "put it up to Dublin" and completely missing the point that- THEY HAD LOST!! A couple of weeks later, they dutifully "turned up" for the qualifiers and were beaten out of sight! 2008 was a similar scene...only worse... firstly losing to Westmeath in Tullamore and then annihilated by Down.
2009.... has anything changed?? I believe that we are at last seeing "Green Shoots" in the fortunes of Offaly football. Players showed loyalty to one another in their united stance on the removal of Richie Connor, and respect when they made no comment on the matter bourne out of regard for the contribution the Connor family has made to Offaly football. Then under the knowledgeable duo of Tom Coffey and Phil O' Reilly, they then got their first point in the league and bearing in mind the awful start to the year and the negative press they received, Offaly finished a creditable second in the group under the competent stewardship of new manager Tom Cribben.
Now that the championship was imminent, the management was fully aware that the players would not reach the mental or physical level required in time, and they had no option but to try and find a balance in training between putting up a respectable performance against Kildare and building for the future. I believe they have achieved this balance, visibly borne out by the physical transformation of Alan Mc Namee and Shane Sullivan in particular and to a lesser extent, the "nearly there" Neville Coughlan over the last seven weeks. In addition, the leadership qualities shown by the "newcomers", Brian Darby, Stephen Lonergan, Niall Smith and Sean Ryan, combined with the freshness of Ken Casey and Niall Darby (unfortunately now injured) and the return to form of the incredibly talented Niall Mc Namee .....the trip to Wexford is one to be relished.
Tom Cribben has a couple of tough calls to make, namely in goals, full back and wing forward positions....but for what it's worth, here is my guess at the starting lineup.
1. P. Kelly/ A. Mullhall
2. S. Lonergan
3. G. Rafferty/ C. Evans
4. B. Darby
5. N. Coughlan
6. S. Sullivan
7. K. Slattery
8. A. Mc Namee
9. C. Mc Manus (in the absence of Niall Smith)
10. P.J. Ward/ J. Renolds
11. S. Ryan
12. K. Casey
13. T. Deehan
14. J. Reynolds/ P.J Ward
15. Niall Mc Namee
N.B. Tom Cribben has set an example of "giving rather then getting" and I hope that the "giver gets"next Saturday in Wexford Park, GOOD LUCK to all involved.
2009.... has anything changed?? I believe that we are at last seeing "Green Shoots" in the fortunes of Offaly football. Players showed loyalty to one another in their united stance on the removal of Richie Connor, and respect when they made no comment on the matter bourne out of regard for the contribution the Connor family has made to Offaly football. Then under the knowledgeable duo of Tom Coffey and Phil O' Reilly, they then got their first point in the league and bearing in mind the awful start to the year and the negative press they received, Offaly finished a creditable second in the group under the competent stewardship of new manager Tom Cribben.
Now that the championship was imminent, the management was fully aware that the players would not reach the mental or physical level required in time, and they had no option but to try and find a balance in training between putting up a respectable performance against Kildare and building for the future. I believe they have achieved this balance, visibly borne out by the physical transformation of Alan Mc Namee and Shane Sullivan in particular and to a lesser extent, the "nearly there" Neville Coughlan over the last seven weeks. In addition, the leadership qualities shown by the "newcomers", Brian Darby, Stephen Lonergan, Niall Smith and Sean Ryan, combined with the freshness of Ken Casey and Niall Darby (unfortunately now injured) and the return to form of the incredibly talented Niall Mc Namee .....the trip to Wexford is one to be relished.
Tom Cribben has a couple of tough calls to make, namely in goals, full back and wing forward positions....but for what it's worth, here is my guess at the starting lineup.
1. P. Kelly/ A. Mullhall
2. S. Lonergan
3. G. Rafferty/ C. Evans
4. B. Darby
5. N. Coughlan
6. S. Sullivan
7. K. Slattery
8. A. Mc Namee
9. C. Mc Manus (in the absence of Niall Smith)
10. P.J. Ward/ J. Renolds
11. S. Ryan
12. K. Casey
13. T. Deehan
14. J. Reynolds/ P.J Ward
15. Niall Mc Namee
N.B. Tom Cribben has set an example of "giving rather then getting" and I hope that the "giver gets"next Saturday in Wexford Park, GOOD LUCK to all involved.