So you don't agree and so you can't have proper debate. Throw out the schoolboy line again when there is no valid argument.Snotser123 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 10:05 pm Let's get rid of two all Ireland winning managers literally two all Ireland winning managers ...one who knows the players inside out and has blooded most of them into senior county football through making tough decisions by dropping senior players who if ye had yer way would be still playing which would have meant o neill Bryant etc walking away ...the other one of the greatest managers ever in gaa history ....let's run them both .. for some waffling spoofer of a coach ......quick let's do it lads ....no one has still named me a player that was getting game time but has left the panel because of DK......again I'm not defending dk ....defenders playing 20 yards behind their men the last two games was indefensible..lack of a kick out strategy the last day etc etc.but all this toxicity comes down to results which all comes from the playing pool left after the injuries being nowhere near div 2 standard ..
O'Neill and Bryant were always going to get a chance and rightly so. O'Neill has shown himself really well, Bryant yet to live up to promise but he still has time. Why would they have walked away if having to earn their stripes. As for DK bringing all these lads through? Not so sure about that. The pick of the u20s were u18 minors in 2021 that played in delayed u17 Leinster final. They got brought into 20s at Leinster q or semi final stage when minors were out and were put straight in to U20 team. They were John Furlong, Cormac Egan and O'Neill. Harry Plunkett featured also as sub for spell. Other people had strong influence on those players development and they were always going to make Co senior in all likelihood. Kearns and Maughan gave plenty of the their inter county starts. But credit to DK for winning that u20. It was epic at the time but let's keep perspective here. Club senior football is a higher standard than county u20.
I think DK put too much weight on those u20s too soon when he got started. Too many were still not fully ready in 2024. Remember likes of Panda and Anton were outstanding underage players too, as were Hyland and Tierney and plenty more with them. Peter Cunningham and Hogan were brilliant minors and U20s too.
Yea there was a challenge for Kelly coming in with older lads. Did he manage them right when catapulting all those young lads in ahead of experienced players at the time. Did he get the blend right? The London and Limerick results suggested not! There was acrimony in camp and if Harte had not been brought in, by all accounts there'd have been a revolt. Again, as other poster said we will never know what'd have happened but there was big upturn on Hartes arrival. Some of the players who reportedly were not going back did a U turn.
Harte is an experienced man. Done it all. He is respected by all. You mention two All Ireland winning managers..... seriously? You cannot put them in the same boat. There is major difference in winning a senior All Ireland and winning any other All Ireland. Jody Gunning, with respect, won an U21 All Ireland with Offaly as manager. Didn't cut it at senior level. Stephen Wallace won junior All Ireland with Kerry as manager. Didn't cut it at senior level. Emmet McDonnell won colleges All Ireland with St Mary's (a somewhat similar level to co U20). Inter county with Offaly that followed was patchy at best. Its no great shame to say that with DK at helm, it didn't go as well as hoped. That's all we can measure him on as manager as Harte has been there since as another poster said. It happened, that's life. We all wanted him to succeed. This is his 3rd yr. Maybe if DK had it over again, he'd have surrounded himself with more experienced lads that had been around inter county set ups in year 1, and there would've been less acrimony. He brought his own people, most of whom had not been involved at highest level of management before. That was an ill-informed mistake I think and it went South fairly fast. Players were not happy and there was lots of hard talking done.
Harte came in with new team and steadied ship. DK was only one kept from his stint. With Harte at reins, it went well last year with small pool of talent using minimal subs. Some guys who DK had ignored year previously came into the fold and added to it. Others steered clear. Along the way over last couple of years, relationships got soured for various reasons. When the injuries arrived, the acrimony that was there before resulted in squad being too weak to sustain the level required. That's where we are at now. Offaly cannot afford to haemorrhage players like that.
Supporters don't want that. We want Offaly to succeed. We want to see the best of ourselves competing at highest level we can and without the negativity. I'm sure there are players frozen out who'd prefer things to be different too. I know there are....... it's kind of sad really....... but that's life. Where do you go with that? Continue on and hopefully it improves somewhat when injured lads return. Thats what'll happen until end of year. I do hope it turns, but im losing faith. Beyond that there will be a decision to stick or twist. Who knows what that'll bring.
Was always going to be difficult going up to Div 2. But we really haven't helped ourselves with the level of absent players.
