faithfulfanatic wrote: ↑Sun Dec 28, 2025 2:22 pm Barry Whelahan staying with Birr.
Laffan kept on in KK, Hughie Hannon in as coach.
Paul Cuddy from Castletown over Coolderry.
Rynaghs sticking with Arien Delaney.
Paul Murphy from Birr is out in Belmont, David Kenny leading an internal management.
Treacy from Portumna in Ballinamere.
Breeder Mullins in Lusmagh.
Shane Hand in Tullamore.
Haven’t heard on Kinnitty or Shinrone.
In Senior B, Brian Troy training Seir Kieran.
Former Connacht rugby player Shane Delahunt involved with his native Carrig-Riverstown.
Ned Casey over Clodiagh Gaels with Stephen Corcoran from Coolderry as coach.
With ref to comment in previous post, i'd be slow about going down this route without knowing things as facts. KK are a big club with plenty of money i'd imagine. Money isnt always the solution though. You have to get the right people. Hannon is a decent coach and is an outsider and would be offered a few quid to train teams. Laffan as manager will need strong people with him and Hannon will likely carry the training while Laffan is with Tipperary for most of the year. KK is not an easy job in my opinion. Huge expectation but also huge competition for places that creates its own problems for management. Being honest, I dont think they are too far ahead of chasing pack. Their best young players are great stickmen and skillful on a dry day but they are still heavily reliant on Mahon, Kilmartin, Kiely, Gorman, Grogan to win dirty ball also Slevin in goals - and some of these are closer to 40 that 30. I'd say only Charlie Mitchell of the young lads are big game changers that have big physical presence from the younger group. They also have a lot of hurling done at a very young age and will they stick at it with same intensity as they hit 23-24-25 when life and work circumstances change somewhat and travel/ life experiences beyond hurling etc may become an opportunity for them. That cohort of 6 big leaders have been carrying a heavy load over last 3 years or so and they wont keep going forever, but the strong expectation of success in KK will remain which will make it difficult for these young players if they don't win. Yea they'll have lads coming through but I dont see anyone of the influence of Conor Mahon or Cillian Kiely as 17 year olds coming to replace them very soon. They won with a fairly strong U14 team this year and they might have to wait for some of these to come through to replace those big leaders.
Interesting to see the various names on management tickets for coming year. Some clubs obviously throwing money at it big time. I think the best clubs are the ones that have a good knowledgeable local manager that knows the scene and then buy in the bits of expertise in terms of S&C and coaching where needed. Some of these clubs are throwing anywhere between 10k-25k and possibly upwards on competing in an Offaly senior championship with little chance of winning. Are they getting best value for money? Not sure they are and some of that dosh (maybe not all) is probably best spent in a different way in my opinion. Some managers have decent track records of winning but may have been result of just striking lucky with a group that was primed to win before they took over.
The best measure of a coach is what they can do with an average team or can they get a perceived weak team to be competitive. For me, it is how much a team improves is the measure of a good coach, not what they win or whether they reach a final or not. If you look across that list, you'd have to select Shane Hand as one of the better ones given he won 2 championships with very young KK team, before player power possibly became a factor in removing him. He won Intermediate with Ballinamere and possibly a Senior B also and has got Tullamore very competitive in 2025. Don't know the man from Adam, but they'd be the kinds of things I'd be looking at if bringing someone into a club. Treacy is a big name in hurling terms of years gone by and Ballinamere will expect big things. Did well with a stacked Portumna team many years ago and very strong Kildangan group but questions out there if he can improve Ballinamere to mount serious challenge. He was involved with Brian Lohan in Clare for a year too I believe in one of his first years in charge. Ballinamere were certainly way off mark in 2025 for whatever reason. Whelahan is a steady hand in Birr and has done very well in improving them and they were fierce close this year. Others like younger lads in D Kenny and S Corcoran starting out on journey come from good playing background but they will learn a lot as they cut their teeth in managing and coaching, even if they have experience lads helping them. Delaney has been around Offaly a good while now and will be buzzing for more after Camross camogie success but will he be able to get a final kick from ageing Rynaghs. They should have been in co final in 2024 but fell away badly in 2025. Shinrone appointment will be interesting if they opt for change as they are a team that are capable of winning championship.
Lusmagh had great 2025 but senior is a big jump and they will do well to keep status. Kinnity will be contenders to drop too and both will see likes of Tullamore and possibly Rynaghs within their sights for a scalp. I think C&R could make another hop to senior in 2026 which would be huge for them and they have some good quality young lads coming to add in to help keep them up and be competitive at senior if they can get up there in next year or two.
Long time since I heard any news on football manager front. With many positions unfilled up to recently, has anyone got any new developments on big ball management roles?
