Offaly Senior Football 2026

[Barnes]

With yesterday's result almost certainly putting us down do you think would now be a good time to replace our management and let a new one try fix things before championship starts? With 2 league games to go it would give them time to put there own ideas in place before the laois game? It might also bring a bit of a lift back in the panel, laois had a big win yesterday so there confidence may be up if they continue like that..

[jimbob17]

While there was certainly an improved performance from Derry game, context needs to be taken before we pretend it was anything other than reasonable effort. The context is Louth beat Tyrone last week, and that Tyrone are not going well, but still peat us 28 scores to 15. They scored 16 scores in 2nd half against the wind to our 7 scores with us getting a consolation goal at the death when game was over to bring it back to a 9 point defeat. While it was a lot more positive than the 23 point beating in Derry, it still wasn't great.

Hopefully there are some green shoots with lads returning from injury that may help us. Bracken, Hyland and Tierney would all make improvements and hopefully some may see some action the next day, even if only for few mins as a sub.

Re management, I think it'd be the wrong thing to do to replace all now. That would be a knee jerk reaction to a precarious scenario that might cause more hurt than it is worth. A new manager would certainly be in a tight bind and may change personnel somewhat that could include players from outside current panel re-joining panel. Even though I have been advocating for re-introduction of these players, I think the timing would be wrong unless done by current management and could cause even more unrest. This was done by the senior hurlers some years ago and it didn't end well.

The current scenario is one of the challenges the current management have, which is partially of their making and it is for them to solve to best of their ability in my opinion. I think we would be better served by leaving the status quo as is in charge until year end and then the county board should make a judgement call on how the year went on a whole at the end of year as part of a review before making any decision. Besides, if Harte or Kelly or both decide to pull the pin at end of year, then there is no decision to make.

[Superhans75]

I have just been to the London Waterford game today
Great win for London who have improved a lot
I questioned myself would we beat London in our present situation
I don't think so .
Management change wise will have to happen.
But when and how much it will cost or getting someone better in is a bigger issue
I don't think the county board will be in a hurry.
Have a good week

[Fairplayalways]

There are posters on here who think we would beat almost any team below us, where that confidence comes from Ime still waiting to be told, "if we get back x,y&z we will be ok" apparently, one assumes these other teams are not missing any players...look it is as it is..if, and it may well happen Cavan beat us, we will still be deemed better than them probably...not much point changing things at the top now ide say..it would probably deflate the last of our four wheels at this stage...too many gone/ not on panel that should have got another year at least..but thats the joys of it..

[Lone Shark]

Regardless of how results are going, jettisoning a management team midseason is for extreme circumstances, where there is player upheaval, lads leaving the panel, dissent in the ranks etc.

Now I'm not in the dressing room so I can't say that players are happy or not, presumably they're not having a great time because no athlete likes losing games, but it's not like there have been half a dozen lads walk off the panel, so the question of changing management now, in March, is just not on the table. And that's before you look at the basic statement of fact that is that our joint managers are an Offaly man who guided the county to an underage All-Ireland, and one of the most successful managers in the history of gaelic football.

We're not in a Babs Keating/Stephen Wallace/Richie Connor type situation, so let's take that off the table for a start.

Now that's not the same as saying that everything is perfect. We've lost five matches and got well-beaten in pretty much all of them, so clearly it's not.

When you have an injury list this long, questions have to be asked, and the fact that there has been a considerable amount of turnover in the medical and physio backroom team is absolutely a red flag. I haven't been able to verify the stories on here about player load and GPS data being withheld from the current medical team, all I can say for certain is that there have been clashes with one particular coach and some others who are also involved, clashes that centre on this general topic. But again, unless someone from the inside comes out - not necessarily in public, but to those administering Offaly GAA - and highlights actual issues, then we can't go making decisions based on speculation and rumour.

Are either or both MH and/or DK the right men to lead Offaly into 2027? That's a different question. The county board would need to have long and heavy conversations with players and management alike, and there are a lot of concerns to be addressed before you could start to think that way. For one thing, you'd imagine the county board would have to take a firmer approach when it comes to the sheer number of players that this management is unwilling to consider for selection; they would have to investigate the significant cohort of players who are unwilling to play for Offaly while this management is in place, and above all, they need some sort of inquiry as to why we are so spectacularly buckled with injuries, far more than any other county right now.

(And I accept the point that the answer may be "nothing to see here", since it could just be bad luck - even if every county did everything right, somebody is going to have the worst injury record and it's as likely to be Offaly as anyone else).

But can we take the idea that there will be putsch off the table, and move on? Maduro and Khomeini were in Trump's crosshairs, but I don't think that deposing Harte and Kelly would do anything to make the Epstein issue go away for him, so they're staying.

[Anon11]

There were heavy conversations last year with the players and with the special committee that was set up, yet neither the players’ views nor the committee’s recommendations appear to have been taken on board. The manager seems to have been given a free pass, and from the outside, it looks like that will continue for as long as he wants.

That U20 success was five years ago now. It is time to move on and put a proper management team in place before it is too late.

I was watching Louth at the weekend, and the pass Mulroy played in for the goal was pure class. Offaly have one player capable of producing that kind of quality, and he is sitting at home — Roo Mac.

It is a waste of talent, plain and simple. A player of that calibre should be on the field, not left out while Offaly struggle. We are in no position to be leaving that kind of quality at home.

[SearingDrive]

There were heavy conversations last year with the players and with the special committee that was set up, yet neither the players’ views nor the committee’s recommendations appear to have been taken on board. The manager seems to have been given a free pass, and from the outside, it looks like that will continue for as long as he wants.

That U20 success was five years ago now. It is time to move on and put a proper management team in place before it is too late.

I was watching Louth at the weekend, and the pass Mulroy played in for the goal was pure class. Offaly have one player capable of producing that kind of quality, and he is sitting at home — Roo Mac.

It is a waste of talent, plain and simple. A player of that calibre should be on the field, not left out while Offaly struggle. We are in no position to be leaving that kind of quality at home.

I don’t think a change of management at this stage will change things. Who would be a proper management for you Anon?

[Anon11]

There were heavy conversations last year with the players and with the special committee that was set up, yet neither the players’ views nor the committee’s recommendations appear to have been taken on board. The manager seems to have been given a free pass, and from the outside, it looks like that will continue for as long as he wants.

That U20 success was five years ago now. It is time to move on and put a proper management team in place before it is too late.

I was watching Louth at the weekend, and the pass Mulroy played in for the goal was pure class. Offaly have one player capable of producing that kind of quality, and he is sitting at home — Roo Mac.

It is a waste of talent, plain and simple. A player of that calibre should be on the field, not left out while Offaly struggle. We are in no position to be leaving that kind of quality at home.

I don’t think a change of management at this stage will change things. Who would be a proper management for you Anon?

I don’t mean mid-season either. I wouldn’t be in favour of removing anyone at this stage. The year could still turn around.

But when the time comes, we need someone who can come in with a clean slate, reset the tone, and get everyone fully on board. Right now, for whatever reason, that isn’t happening. And we simply can’t afford to leave the talent we have sitting at home.

[ah lethimoutwithit]

May continue as is at this point but for me they have written themselves off with the choices they have made, even within the existing personnel that they have. Some lads being carried and Ciaran murphy introduced again.
Failure to use full compliment of subs at a time when a number were flagging is beyond words. We have a couple of home games that we can have a good crack at and with the sequence of results we might have a chance.

Someone mentioned here think it was Anon, " sure we had nothing on the bench", what was on the bench are lads who have commtted themselves for the last 20 odd years to being the best they can be at the game and whilst they may not be John Furlongs or Keith O'Neills, well they are not that far off a number that played over the last 3 years if not ahead of many and bench should always be emptied given these new rules.
Comments like that are a disgrace really if any thought was put into it.
Yes there are some that would not make the 26 when the injured lads are right, but there are a good few starting that would not be entertained with a new management also.
All I feel is disappointed at the way its worked out, injuries aside, there is something amiss with the picking and use of the panel this season.

[Anon11]

Something to think about: we play Laois in five weeks.

They have not been setting the world alight, but that win over Westmeath at the weekend was a serious result.

They beat us in Newbridge in last year’s Tailteann Cup, and that day we had Paddy Dunican, John Furlong, Cillian Bourke, Cathal Flynn, Kyle Higgins, Shane Tierney, plus Dylan Hyland off the bench.

So the question is: can we beat them now without most of those players? And if we do, what does that tell us?

[Superhans75]

To. Be honest let's get over the 2 league games before worrying about the men
Across the border .
But basically within 80 days the 2026
County season could be over .
The tailteann cup has no neutral venues so I presume the higher placed team gets an extra home game
How that is worked out does go by league positions this year ?
Like the Sam Maguire?
Let's enjoy the sun
And return to the therapy of cutting the grass .
Have a good week

[SearingDrive]

There will be a review of the past year for team management in both codes.
I wonder if there will be a change then. The footballers look like returning to Div 3, even with two home games to play.

An interesting point in last weekend’s paper, Carlow manager Sean Murphy ? has Carlow footballers in the promotion race from Div 4, that was before theLongford match on Sunday. Murphy had an all Carlow management team interestingly.

Would an Offaly Mgt team work for Offaly?

[Anon444]

I would always advocate for mgmt teams from your own county, we are no different even though we have heavily relied on outside managers in the past. The problem is, you need everyone in your mgmt team to bring value or something to the table so that they are respected and listened to. There are some really good coaches and figures in Offaly, without question. But are there really good available ones? Hard to know. Having a local selector in who offers nothing might work in a club, but the county players see right through that and only want what they perceive to be a high standard of professionalism.

[Snotser123]

Roo mc was first sub in last year......he wasn't in better form than what was playing last year and I didn't see one comment about it at the time .....it's also ok to have one decent sub to change a game or help see out a game....he absolutely should have been called in this year but I read on the paper it was his decision not to come in ....as for the pass you speak of in the louth game ....cathal Flynn who played in roos position can absolutely play that pass and he made his name with the 20s making those passes

[Anon11]

I’d have to disagree. Cathal is an exceptional passer of the ball too. But his outside of the boot pass is a drilled one into space. No one plays that outside of the boot pass with that slight hang time like Roo. No one.