Wicklow game

[Muck Savage]

Lads, Seen nothing about the Wicklow game. I was looking at heading down there and getting nervous. Wicklow seem to be playing good ball now and after their U21 hammered Laois last week will be in good form. With the weekend that's in it Offaly look like they'll be without a few lads. Ryan anyway with Birr but Nevile Coughlan is injuried, correct? James Coughlan is out for sure and with Ken Casey playing with the U21 the nigh before the forwards could be thin enough on the ground. Is Karol Slattery back training yet?
This is a must win game and I'm starting to feel we could be in trouble. I'd be hopefull that Carlow could do us a favor against Wicklow in the later rounds but we should not be looking at other teams to pull us through. This is a must win game and in my mind and could determine what happens Offaly football for the next few years. A loss here, in Div 4 next year, lads start to loose interest and we could be stuck for a few years - scary. A win and at worst get in the back door this year and maybe a good run for once to get a bit of buzz around the county. I'm looking ahead and can see our northern neighbours playing well 2 divs above us and a strong probability that we'll meet them, now of all teams to loose to!
Sundays game will set the tone for the Summer.....

[Hyper]

Team for Sunday, PK,GR,SB,BD,PMC,JK,NG,AMC,CMC,NS,NC,JR,TD,PK,NMC

[DD]

Team for Sunday, PK,GR,SB,BD,PMC,JK,NG,AMC,CMC,NS,NC,JR,TD,PK,NMC

Is that Neville (NC) back in the team? Is he back to full fitness?

[Silken Thomas]

Team for Sunday, PK,GR,SB,BD,PMC,JK,NG,AMC,CMC,NS,NC,JR,TD,PK,NMC

Anything wrong with Fox?

In addition, does anyone else think the team could be physically dominated around the middle?
Keane, Grennan, McConway, Reynolds, Spain(To an extent) lovely footballers but they're not grizzly enough for me

Hyper you seem to have the inside line all the time...
Could this be a bit of a dummy team? Playing tricks on old man Micko
Paschal and Reynolds is surely an obvious swap with Neville then on the wing and Paschal in the centre.
I know Paschal is not exactly every ones cup of tea but he is a tough warrior who relishes the physical stuff.
Them fiery red heads

[OY13]

Yes that is neville coughlan back in the team at centre forward, great to see him back. Karol slattery is also back in training the last week or two.

[True Red]

What Spain is that?

[Silken Thomas]

What Spain is that?

Apologies. For some idiotic reason I always call Niall Smith; Niall Spain( Was there a Niall Spain from Gracefield aswell?). I shouldn't be confusing him though, for me he is the real deal and hope the County reap the rewards of his undoubted potential in the next few years.

Forgot to mention this game is so important. The likely future Dublin encounter pales in significance.

[Hyper]

Thats Neville alright. I can't imagine him being up to full pelt yet but sure he'll have the experience for what promises to be a dogfight. I hope the outcome is better than the last time we were down there. Niall Spain plays with Ballyfore and was playing for London this year.

[True Red]

Offaly need a a big game from the whole team down in Aughrim.I fancy them to win but only after an almighty struggle.

Need Nialler's to hit top form.

[Lone Shark]

I think this will be an excellent test of where we stand - on the one hand it's a bit harsh that if we lose this game we'll more than likely finish the league with a record of 6-1-1 and still not go up, but on the other hand this is the type of game that if we are truly a division 3 team even, never mind 2, we should win with a couple of points to spare. That's not meant to be disparaging to Wicklow, but for all his faults, and they are many, Micko turned around both Kildare and Laois on arrival, and the best he could do with these was a couple of O'Byrne cup wins, a series of draws with Louth and a Tommy Murphy Cup. The u-21's will be a bit of a boost for them, but even so if Antrim went to Aughrim and won by six, we should be able to manage something similar.

I'm not sure how close to full fitness Neville Coughlan is, but he'll certainly add some pace to a half forward line that was very lacking in that regard, and he should also contribute a little bit of purpose - maybe straighten things up when Reynolds and Deehan start running side to side.

It's harsh on Richie Fox to lose out also. It always annoys me how if you are a fringe player, it's so much easier to play your way off the team than if you are a settled team member. I'm thinking of the likes of Leonard Mooney a couple of years ago, or David Egan now as well as Fox. You can't just plug lads in and expect them to be up to the standard straight away, but even so sometimes it just takes one bad game (or maybe not even) for them to be off the team, while several others have been contributing very little for a while now and are still left on regardless. I have that fear with Smith too - he's a player that is gradually progressing, so knowing us we'll probably drop him when he's 80% of the way there to make way for another raw 20 year old to start from scratch with.

[Hyper]

Well lads any comments on the game? I wasn't able to attend - suffering withdrawel symtoms today?

[DD]

I couldn't make either, but a resounding win by all reports and mission accomplished as regards getting out the God forsaken Division 4.
What's the story at the end of League - is there a Divison 4 final or what is the format??

[azoffaly]

Yeah, there is a division 4 final. If it's ourselves and Antrim it'll probably be in Navan.

We still have to finish out the job, and while Waterford and Kilkenny in Tullamore should be no problems, the trip to Ennis is still a potential bananaskin, albeit a far less dangerous proposition than I would have feared in February. Still has to be taken care of though.

[DD]

Yeah, there is a division 4 final. If it's ourselves and Antrim it'll probably be in Navan.

We still have to finish out the job, and while Waterford and Kilkenny in Tullamore should be no problems, the trip to Ennis is still a potential bananaskin, albeit a far less dangerous proposition than I would have feared in February. Still has to be taken care of though.

But we'd have to lose 2 of the remaining 3 games to be caught now.. and I can't see that happening against the remaining opposition.
Another game against Antrim will at least be more decent preparation for the Championship.

[azoffaly]

Sorry, I don't mean we have to finish the job to get promoted, I think that's a done deal now. I think we need to finish the job to keep the momentum going into the summer. I'd hate to lose down in Ennis now in the last 'regular season' game.