Offaly Senior Football 2026

[Thomas mc]

We are working off a small amount of clubs and a small population playing both codes....the reality is probably life bobbing between div 2 and 3.....when Jim jam was playing in croke park where did u expect to see us in 2027???? Its like our talented group of hurlers it's not as simple as seeing them win an all ireland in 2029 .....you need team after team coming behind them to bulk up the numbers and in both codes we got two freaks of teams and then it was back to the norm ...counties like tipp Clare Galway limerick kk Kerry Dublin Tyrone are in 20s finals every other year so we can't expect to lift Sam or Liam off one generation of players .we have to be realistic as well folks ....

At least you have a bit of cop on and arent living in dream land like some lads here.
24th in the population list and split in 2 being a dual county.. we're overachieving by even being in division 2 and thats not a lack of ambition its just reality. We overachieved last year and it was great to beat kildare but they are a big team and are on the way back and finding their groove , we got them at the right time and now theyve moved on. We have our best young talent gone and countless injuries to our best and most influential players and the reality is we were always gonna struggle in them circumatances. You could put our lord in as manager wont make any difference.. it would have been tough with a full team.. the very best offaly can hope for is to yo yo between 2 and 3 and get an odd run in the all ireland series.. well have an odd dry patch with no players coming thru and then an odd good patch and well do well for a while.. anyone that thinks we can cement a place in division 2 and all ireland series on a regular basis is dreaming.. we simply do not have the players to do this and will have times where we have injuries.. on the dublin lads i do think it was ok to give them a proper run at it to see if they could find their feet , we cant turn our nose up at players when we have so few.. but theyve probably had their chance now.. if they werent given a proper chance lads would be complaining. Also this idea that there are a whole pile of lads that should be on the team and panel is nonsense, can someone name all these players for me? For me the best of whats there are in where available. I dont like the management team but the idea that a different manager would have kept us in division 2 is silly.. hopefully we have a clean slate with injuries next year and can have a craic at winning division 3 down and westmeath back up and probably louth to come down. In the mean time with a bit of luck and a few players back, we'll have a run in the tailteann cup

[Faithfully]

Snotser / Thomas Mc / Joey / however many burner accounts you want to create.

You'll defend the management team to the death. We get it.

Please stop making up fake strawman arguments that people haven't even put forward. Someone makes a valid criticism and you're on immediately with a flurry of juvenile, sarcastic posts saying how we'll win Leinster with a new management etc etc. Nobody said we'd definitely stay up with a different management team either, another strawman argument.

This is a forum for people to discuss Offaly and the team, the games etc. We don't need it being dragged into the gutter every time someone says something that you don't like.

[Thomas mc]

Snotser / Thomas Mc / Joey / however many burner accounts you want to create.

You'll defend the management team to the death. We get it.

Please stop making up fake strawman arguments that people haven't even put forward. Someone makes a valid criticism and you're on immediately with a flurry of juvenile, sarcastic posts saying how we'll win Leinster with a new management etc etc. Nobody said we'd definitely stay up with a different management team either, another strawman argument.

This is a forum for people to discuss Offaly and the team, the games etc. We don't need it being dragged into the gutter every time someone says something that you don't like.

Can admin please step in here and confirm snotser is not the same person as me?? Thanks.. im not makin any strawman arguements im calling it as it is.. what is it that lads are expecting playing at a higher level with 10 players short from lasy year?

[Thomas mc]

Snotser / Thomas Mc / Joey / however many burner accounts you want to create.

You'll defend the management team to the death. We get it.

Please stop making up fake strawman arguments that people haven't even put forward. Someone makes a valid criticism and you're on immediately with a flurry of juvenile, sarcastic posts saying how we'll win Leinster with a new management etc etc. Nobody said we'd definitely stay up with a different management team either, another strawman argument.

This is a forum for people to discuss Offaly and the team, the games etc. We don't need it being dragged into the gutter every time someone says something that you don't like.

I dont care what you say im sharing my opinion same as you.. if you dont like it scroll on instead of insulting me and picking a fight. Let me be very clear, i despise mickey harte as a man and a manager and i swore a few years back if he was ever to come near offaly id stop going to matches, he is not what offaly football is about.. do i think declan kelly should be in charge, not so sure but do i think we'll do much better with a different manager? Not with the amount of lads we are short.

[DurrowBoy17]

I'm fully convinced Snotser123 is a burner account for Declan Kelly at this stage.

[Thomas mc]

I'm fully convinced Snotser123 is a burner account for Declan Kelly at this stage.

I dont think he is but he's certainly not me.. but he is at least realstic about us as a county.. the notions some of the lads on here are mad.. what is it you are expecting this year considering the number of players we are short? Genuine question?

[DurrowBoy17]

Thomas, Why are so many lads injured? It's common knowledge around the county at this stage that the team was flogged against previous S&C and Physio advice. So much so that the footballers had to get another physio becasue Chris Combs wouldn't work under Deck & Mickey flogging lads and they wouldn't give him GPS data. Why is no one calling out management on this?

That's not even going into the glaring fact of how many intercounty standard players are sitting at home or still training with their clubs because for one reason or another they have a problem with Declan Kelly or vice versa. This isn't made up, this is fact.

We have the talent in this county to be competing for Leinsters, winning Tailteann Cups and staying up in Division 2. None of which we are even remotely close to doing this year but all of which are and should be realistic goals for us. So that is why we are, and have a given right, to question management at this time.

[Thomas mc]

Thomas, Why are so many lads injured? It's common knowledge around the county at this stage that the team was flogged against previous S&C and Physio advice. So much so that the footballers had to get another physio becasue Chris Combs wouldn't work under Deck & Mickey flogging lads and they wouldn't give him GPS data. Why is no one calling out management on this?

That's not even going into the glaring fact of how many intercounty standard players are sitting at home or still training with their clubs because for one reason or another they have a problem with Declan Kelly or vice versa. This isn't made up, this is fact.

We have the talent in this county to be competing for Leinsters, winning Tailteann Cups and staying up in Division 2. None of which we are even remotely close to doing this year but all of which are and should be realistic goals for us. So that is why we are, and have a given right, to question management at this time.

I dont agree that we have the pool of players or talent in the kind of numbers we need to compete as you say above.. like i said in terms of population we are 24th and we are also a dual county.. if you look at the leagues with the exception of maybe roscommon and monaghan (neither have hurling to contend with) there is a correlation between size and position in the football pyramid. Can you name these players that are sitting at home? And they certainly arent realistic goals when we are down 10 players from last year.. im not disagreeing about the management, frankly it disgusts me that we ever entertained a man like Harte. I also think Kelly i think has had his go but deserved to have a good crack at it, we had a poor first season with him but he bedded in a lot of players and laid the groundwork with those players to win last year, he did the right thing gettin players game time and that experience has stood to them a different manager would be stuck with the same old crew who werent going anywhere.. had we everyone this year, we would have had a good go at Cavan and Louth to stay up but barely either to be honest, we're simply not at that level and i dont think its a realistic expectation given our size and hurling and all that, i dearly wish it was otherwise.

[Thomas mc]

Thomas, Why are so many lads injured? It's common knowledge around the county at this stage that the team was flogged against previous S&C and Physio advice. So much so that the footballers had to get another physio becasue Chris Combs wouldn't work under Deck & Mickey flogging lads and they wouldn't give him GPS data. Why is no one calling out management on this?

That's not even going into the glaring fact of how many intercounty standard players are sitting at home or still training with their clubs because for one reason or another they have a problem with Declan Kelly or vice versa. This isn't made up, this is fact.

We have the talent in this county to be competing for Leinsters, winning Tailteann Cups and staying up in Division 2. None of which we are even remotely close to doing this year but all of which are and should be realistic goals for us. So that is why we are, and have a given right, to question management at this time.

Sorry on the injuries, i dont know, i see plenty of players injured around clubs and it certainly isnt from over training but maybe that is the case with DK and MH and if thats the case and they arent listening to s and c and physio etc then they need to go.

[DurrowBoy17]

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree so.

I've watched a lot of club, county, schools, college football up and down the country, and I can tell you as far as talent goes we're quite high. Yes we may not have the same level of talent depth of Kerry, Dublin etc. and may never have. But we certainly should have more than enough to compete in divsion 2, aim for Leinsters and Tailteann cups. More than enough.

[Bord na Mona man]

People seem surprised by the lowish attendance yesterday.
Weather and time of year are factors, but mainly Offaly people don't come out in numbers when they've doubts about the chances of winning or success.
The recent U20s group are a complete outlier...or simply confirmation that success has 25,000 siblings in Offaly. Lack of success about 500 orphans.

The game itself. Glass half full is that the team generally stuck to the task and even with the result beyond them.
There were some good individual displays, but Harry Plunkett has a firm grip of a championship jersey right now.
Cork are decent and I suspect closing the gap to the big guns. They've been underachieving for a while, though in the last couple of years they've been at Kerry's throats in Munster but fell short. Realistically, that feat alone is a level above what Offaly could do right now.

Glass half empty, relegation looms and it's disappointing that a D3 return is imminent after just 3 weeks, when we've spent most of the last 20 years trying to escape out of there. And there are plenty of issues that need remedying. Even those returning from injury will have little time to re-acclimatise with the compressed season.

[jimbob17]

Thomas, Why are so many lads injured? It's common knowledge around the county at this stage that the team was flogged against previous S&C and Physio advice. So much so that the footballers had to get another physio becasue Chris Combs wouldn't work under Deck & Mickey flogging lads and they wouldn't give him GPS data. Why is no one calling out management on this?

That's not even going into the glaring fact of how many intercounty standard players are sitting at home or still training with their clubs because for one reason or another they have a problem with Declan Kelly or vice versa. This isn't made up, this is fact.

We have the talent in this county to be competing for Leinsters, winning Tailteann Cups and staying up in Division 2. None of which we are even remotely close to doing this year but all of which are and should be realistic goals for us. So that is why we are, and have a given right, to question management at this time.

You seem to have your finger on pulse with what is going on in fairness to you DurrowBoy - and have more info than I have. If what you say is true, it is extremely damning. If a professional and experienced physio walks away under circumstances of high injury rates where they are not being listened to, then it certainly is a red flag. I do know there was an S&C coach who worked in previous year who walked away but had not heard of physio walking. The most damning part for me is that lots of these injuries are non contact overuse injuries that were completely avoidable.

The likes of Hyland and Tierney and the other lads who are on the way back should not be considered for next two games in my opinion. They need to be given every chance of making full recovery for championship availability, getting a bit of time across the last two games if possible.

On the talent front and knowing what I know of where we have been in last 10 - 15 years, I'd say our pipeline would be in the top 4 in Leinster easily, behind Kildare, Meath and Dublin and in that order. We have been ahead of and beaten some of these counties across this time too at various stages. I'd say across this time, that we have been well ahead of Westmeath, Longford, Louth, Carlow, Wexford and Laois in general, albeit some would have beaten some of our teams at different stages at minor and U20 level. At schools levels, lots of our players have been very competitive in colleges A football through CBS Tullamore, St Marys Edenderry and Moate CC also, and small few would have been in Rochfortbridge. Likes of Gallen CS, Ard Scoil Clara and Rathangan (who'd be full of St Broughans lads) all reached All Ireland finals in lower grades. More importantly, we have had plenty of lads that went on to make strong Sigerson Cup teams at University levels with some having winners medals and playing at business end of that competition - more so than we had in the previous 10-15 years.

[Snotser123]

I don't defend management to the death....iv openly said in my last few posts Id be critical of selection regarding dempsey , sawyer etc ...just my own opinion ...it's also my opinion that the players named being left at home by management wouldn't make much difference regarding staying up in division 2...just my opinion ....I asked for names of players being left at home and from the list I got they wouldn't make a current meath panel , so let's not act like their game changers ...again just my opinion ... I also said I know nothing on what's going on with s and c and player management relations so need need for people to get angry .....im sorry if offended anyone ....I just think it's unfair to run a management team decimated by injuries after winning division 3 last year ....sligo won two provincial u20s a few years ago ....they couldn't even beat laois on the weekend..

[Anon444]

I’d disagree Jimbob. Westmeath and Louth are definitely ahead of us the last couple of years. With a county like ours, we will always get a good underage team every now and again, such as last year’s minors. The problem is this year’s minors will be a good bit off that level, while Louth’s will probably get to a Leinster semi final and I say that with no knowledge of the draw or anything like that. Same with Westmeath. The real question is if we can close the difference in abilities so that when we have a really good group, the next group backing them up are still competitive. It’s probably a discussion more-so related to underage teams so won’t go too much further into it.

I still caveat all the above by saying we should be doing better. We need to develop more players, not waste time playing players who are clearly not athletically there and won’t ever be there such as 3/4 who played yesterday and ensure that everyone who sees action has the basic skills for this level, which I have to say I don’t see in a lot of our players.

[jimbob17]

I would agree that over last two or three years, Louth have been strong, and Westmeath too, but over the last 10-15 years (ie timeline that produced current seniors, i'd say we have been ahead of both on average.

Louth were a mess until Gavin Devlin went in 3 years ago approx and totally transformed what they are doing with underage. That has resulted in their recent improvements at underage - inspired by the success of their senior team. Soccer has had stronghold in Dundalk and Drogheda for years. Louth is the wee county but it is well populated and with better structures, they are seeing massive improvements in very short period of time.

Westmeath have bit of talent but are not helped by co board and lack of facility like Faithful Fields. I'd say if you took all underage games between Offaly and WH across last 15 years, we outperform them.

Fully agree with you on athleticism part. Offaly needs to target getting the very best footballers who are athletes into their system to make the best of those for future.