Offaly Football Panel

[redser]

What should the county football panel be for 2006? What does the lone shark think?

[Hocker]

Padraig Kelly
Shane Sullivan Scott Brady Paul McConway
James Keane Cathal Daly Karol Slattery

Alan McNamee
Thomas Coughlan

Mark cole Ciaran Mcmanus Neville Coughlan
Thomas Deehan Paschal Kelleghan Niall McNamee

Subs.
James Coughlan
John Reynolds
Jason Kelly
Leonard Mooney
Mark Daly
Nigel Grennan

Am I missing anyone???
Any suggestions lads and why?

[True Red]

Daly is past it at corner back and is not strong enough to hold the middle at centre back.Tommy Coughlan is not ready yet.Mark Cole is not good enough.
As for your subs Jason Kelly is too slow,Leonard Mooney isnt county standard and Mark Dlay is probably gonna retire.

[Lone Shark]

I'll do a proper club by club review later, but I'd say as things stand - guys in bold are guaranteed their places in the squad, the others are who I'd pick at the moment.

Goalkeepers:

Padraig Kelly
David Lowry
Colin McNamara

Backs:

Shane Sullivan
Mark Cassidy
Barry Mooney
Scott Brady
Karol Slattery - though I'd be inclined to try him out as a half forward
Paul McConway
Fintan Ryan
Sean Casey


Midfielders:

Alan McNamee
James Keane
Mad Mac
James Carroll
Padraig Bracken - along way off it now, but worth including for the experience



Forwards:

Niall McNamee
Neville Coughlan
John Reynolds
Colm Quinn - if he stays on
Paschal Kelleghan
David Hope
Thomas Deehan
John O'Neill
James Coughlan
Damien Hunt
David Egan
Rory Guinan
Chop Grennan


There's a lot of lads that could be included yet, but to be honest I haven't seen enough of this year to judge - Ross Connor, Adrian Mahon - as a back, Ger Rafferty, but far from radical as the above panel is, I can't see it being way off.

[the Untouchable]

The reality is that this years panel will probably have 95% of the lads off last years panel on it....

But if Kilmurray gets the boot & the County board appoint me as manager then this would be my panel for 2006!!

Goalkeepers
Padraigh Kelly
Kevin Meehan

Defenders
Scott Brady
Sean Casey
Shane Guinan
Barry Mooney
Karol Slattery - Although like the LS i think he should be in the half forwards....but I've being saying that for nearly 4 years now!!!
Shane Sullivan
Barry Malone
John Hurst
Anthony Foy
James Keane
Paul Rosney - I'd to see him given a run at wing back

Midfielders
Alan McNamee
Adrian Mahon
Ciaran McManus - although I'd prefer to see mac played on the half forward line
Ronan Mooney
James Grennan

Forwards
Neville Coughlan,
John O'Neill
Thomas Coughlan
Derek Molloy
Niall McNamee
Pascal Kellaghan
David Egan
James Coughlan
Trevor Phelan - worth a look anyway even if his size is against him
Ciaran O'Reilly
John Reynolds
Thomas Deehan
Colm Quinn

I'd like to apologise to all those players who haven't made my panel, but I'd bring ye in anyway...get ye to do all the hard winter training then once the ground dry's out a bit, I'd drop ye & call in these boys!!!

I'm sorry too for not including any Kilclonfert boys on my team....I know LS was hoping for a 1 to 15 Kilclonfert team to be named by me, but having weighted up the pros & cons of it I realised that since the senior club football is rubbish, the intermediate & junior set up can't exactly be too hot either!!!

My prediction for next years team is for us to have a new full back & new center forward...but the rest of the team will be exactly the same as last years after that...because I think the Offaly team had 1 change on it from the side that lost to Wexford in 04 to the team that played Loais in 05 (Alan McNamee for James Grennan) which is a sad statistic (and I'm open to being corrected on this) if its true since we had a change of manager & a players strike....because it either means that the players that are being called in aren't good enough to challenge for a starting place or aren't being given the chance to because the management don't see beyond the players who have being there for the last few years!!!

[Lone Shark]

My prediction for next years team is for us to have a new full back & new center forward...but the rest of the team will be exactly the same as last years after that...because I think the Offaly team had 1 change on it from the side that lost to Wexford in 04 to the team that played Loais in 05 (Alan McNamee for James Grennan) which is a sad statistic (and I'm open to being corrected on this) if its true since we had a change of manager & a players strike....because it either means that the players that are being called in aren't good enough to challenge for a starting place or aren't being given the chance to because the management don't see beyond the players who have being there for the last few years!!!

I'd say it's that we have a small playing base, and the truth of it is that we basically have the best players long identified, and while managers try to put their individual stamp on things in the O'Byrne cup and early rounds of the league, essentially the cream keeps coming to the top as it were.

Regarding your actual panel, some are obvious call ups, others less so - of the contentious calls:

Meehan: Would need to do something about that woeful kickout, and under high balls. A fine shot stopper, but for long stretches that can go untested.

Shane Guinan: Played well in the group stages, but both Ballycumber and Rhode had joy up against him. Not good enough to make the jump I suspect.

John Hurst: Not quite tight enough for the corner, not powerful enough for the wing. Would probably get a run there if we were weak in that position, but we really aren't.

Anthony Foy: I had never marked him out as being anything but a good club player. Might prove me wrong, but again he would strike me as a panel filler rather than a potential starter, and as such wouldn't really add much. I might be very wrong there though - you never know.

Paul Rosney: You'd just love to see him stay fit for a while first. Certainly has the look of a player capable of stepping up.

Adrian Mahon: Not at midfield. Worth a shot at centre back maybe, although I'd still have McManus there.

Ronan Mooney: Not fit enough, and if he's going studying, that's that.

James Grennan: Out of selector's hands I'd say - won't come back again.

Thomas Coughlan: Fair enough, but I would see how the under 21 would go first.

Derek Molloy: Questions over his temperament due to the fall out with the minors, not considered worth a start by the Shamrocks selectors, and certainly not as good a scorer as Casey of the same vintage who you don't include? An odd call - he'll be very lucky to start for the under 21's this year, let alone the seniors.

Trevor: We'll see how he does at under 21 first. Huge ask for him though.

Ciaran O'Reilly: Couldn't argue with that really.

[Hocker]

Jaysus i'd go with that, mad mac at half back, wing back or even full back, keep him out of harms way!!!
I've been suggestin that for the last couple of years, was laughed at.
Good call LS.

[Bord na Mona man]

I'd definitely try McManus at wing back.
He could blaze forward from deep and his ability to cover ground would be a good asset for defending.
Very few wing forwards would be able to burn him for pace.
That's where he has been most effective at International Rules level also.

I don't think giving him a role in the forwards is an option as his game just doesn't suit.

[Mighty Pair O' Hands]

Surely Declan Kelly is worth a look ? I know temperament is suspect but was the best player in the weaker group by far this year. I'd have thought that Ken Casey could make the step up quite quickly as well. Rory Guinan is a brilliant talent also.

When will the first get together be ? Given that the majority of successful counties develop gym programs for each squad member for the winter, it would need to be soon.

Looking at the two squads above by LS and Untouchable, the majority of the potential new recruits lack a physical presence. Any good big 'uns out there who can mix it with the best of them ?

[Hocker]

Yes I definitely reckon Declan Kelly is worth taking a look at, he's fit, strong and i agree that he was the best player in the weak group in this years championship.
I do think jason Kelly is worth takin a look at for the half forward line, would like to see him getting a chance.
As for physical presence in the middle of the park, i'm not sure where to look, how bout yer man from Brigids, Alan Mcnamee will be a definite starter in the middle of the park.
Would love to see john Ryan get fully fit again and playin with the county footballers, he's never let them down, probably not much of a posibility now at this stage though.
Are there any decent intermediate footballers that could make the grade at inter-county level?

[the rat]

1.p.kelly.2.j.keane.3.b.malone.4.s.sullivan.5.b.mooney.6.c.mcmanus.7.t.coughlan.8.a.mcnamee.9.n.coughlan.10.k.slattery.11.s.brady.12.j.coughlan.13.t.deehan.14.n.mcnamee.15.j.reynolds.
subs.
16.d.bracken.17.m.cole.18.p.kelleghan.19.n.grennan.20.r.fox.21.p.mcconway.22.a.mahon.23.g.rafferty.24.c.quinn.25.s.casey.

[the Untouchable]

Now LS, I'm not going to point out the glaring faults with your selection....but lets just say that I hope you were messing with some of those players you selected because in fairness their not fit to play for their club let alone the county!!!

Anyway here's my reasons for picking the players that I did....

The reason I chose Kevin Meehan over David Lowry & Colin McNamara is simple....he's a better goalie than they are!!! Now of course I'd have picked myself if I could have but since we're taking this serious I couldn't do that, anyway Kevin seems to have made use of the Kicking tee because his kickouts were brilliant against Shamrocks over in Ballycumber in the drawn match, Lowry I'll be honest I've never seen play in goals & McNamara I just don't rate at all, he's got a poor kickout, isn't good under a high ball & wouldn't be a good shot stopper in my books. Meehan may have his faults but he'd still be a better option than the other 2!!!

John Hurst is 100 times a better defender than people probably give him credit for, he's also a good user of the ball & could be used in a few different positions in defence. So he's worth a place in my estimation.

Shane Guinan played the semi final & final while carrying a bad injury, they literally patched him up for the games, this bit of news probably comes too late for your Offaly Indo article so lets hope you didn't say anything too bad against the lad!!! Anyway he was brilliant all year & he's a certainty on my team!!

Rosney has being very unlucky with injuries in the last 2 years, but I still think he's worth a run!!!

Anthony Foy is a very tough player,something our backs aren't always, I think he'd be worth a look at, at least.

Adrian Mahon is a midfielder....always was...always will be!!! You might get away with playing him centerback in a club game but at county level your either a center back or your not & if your not.....& trust me Adrian Mahon is not (neither is Ciaran McManus for that matter & he's even less of a wing back)...you are going to be exposed. He is however a pretty good midfielder, I saw him quite a bit in 2002 when he played a few league for Offaly at midfield & he looked the part.

Ronan Mooney I'm not sure what he's doing....but to the best of my knowledge he's not a student. Anyway if he is a student then he'll be back in the summer so he'll be fit to be called in. I'm not sure why you say he's not quick though, cause as midfielders go, he's pretty fast & covers a huge amount of ground...which is actually what he's there for!!!

James Grennan is worth a place on the panel anyway, he's probably still our best fielder of a ball & isn't shy in putting himself about which is all part of the game too!!

I'm not sure how interested Trevor Phelan is in playing for Offaly since he never played for the Minors but I think he'd be a great addition to the team because he's almost impossible to stop once he's in full flight.

Derek Molloy has had something of a turbulent year but there's not too many young forwards with his size in Offaly & more importantly...with his ability. I've seen ken Casey play a few times & have never being over impressed with him....even for the minors, but Molloy looks a real gem.

As for Ciaran Reilly, well he's a solid free taker, he's an excellent footballer & he's a big tall young lad who if given encouragement could become one of the best players in Offaly.

Now I can't remember if you disagreed with anymore of my selection but I think its a pretty good group of players.

I'm also curious how you worked out that the reason the Offaly team changes so little over the years is because we've always gone out with the best 15 players in the county or as you put it....the cream rising to the top!!! Now I won't start naming names here cause god only knows who reads this website, but the reality is that the reason the Offaly team doesn't change over the year is because of player power!!!

I could tell you stories about incidents down through the years where managers were pressurised by more senior players to either play them or play some other lad....but I'm not here to tell stories, I'm only here to write an article now & again!!! But I'll ask a question, would Roy Malone have said what he said to Kevin Kilmurray after the defeat to Carlow if he was on the team?? I honestly don't think he would have!!!

Slan!!!

[Barracuda]

John Hurst is 100 times a better defender than people probably give him credit for, he's also a good user of the ball & could be used in a few different positions in defence. So he's worth a place in my estimation

Youre joking - right

[the Untouchable]

Usually I would be messing but not today, I appreciate Hurst wouldn't be everyone's first choice player to have on the panel....but I think he's worth his place on my panel!!!

[Bord na Mona man]

I think Hurst is a decent enough corner back, possibly worth his place on the panel, but I don't see him as being first choice. He wouldn't be an option for wing back though.

I don't think Ronan Mooney is a realistic prospect. He retired from the inter-county scene 5 years ago. He made his debut at 18 back in 1992, and you can't blame a player for feeling burned out.
Back at his peak he was a savage for covering ground, though he tended to be let down by his distribution and decision making. I think he was too simililar to McManus to partner him, as Offaly always struggled when playing against big fielders when these two were at midfield.

I would hope that Kilmurray is more adventurous this year and gives more players a run. Preserving Division one status is grand, but if we haven't blooded new players, we won't improve on recent championship performances.