Club Football 2026

[Tmacmahon]

I would argue jealously has slipped into the minds of people since Dunne has rightly been added to offaly role and its quite amusing to see people who feel their pals should be in jobs talk sh1te, now onto the real stuff I would argue that Shamrocks Significantly improved, actually — and improved in practically every area.

League semi-final — a clear sign of progress.

Rhode: Drew with them in Rhode, having not genuinely competed with Rhode in the championship for over a decade. Rhode are unbeatan, so to go up there and get something is very impressive

Tullamore: Beaten by 14 points last year; that gap was reduced to 5 points this year.

Edenderry: Hammered them by 29 points in a must-win game at the time — more than any other team managed against them, albeit Edenderry were poor this year.

Ferbane: Yes, were batterd in the first half, but instead of completely capitulating, the team produced an excellent second half, never threw in the towel and showed a real desire to fight for the manager, the club and each other. On a side note ourselves in ferbane know that we are in a far better place this year and , ferbane are the best team in offaly

The reality is that Shamrocks have improved in every metric.
And can you remember the Ferbane game last year? Shamrocks were so close that day largely because Nigel Dunne himself gave an exhibition of scoring and directly created scores throughout the game.
Did Shamrocks not loose a 8 pt lead in that game..
Actually Shamrocks only beat clonbulogue and bracknah now thst I think of it

Now look at the circumstances this year.
Eight players who could all potentially be in Shamrocks' best 15 missed most, or all, of the championship campaign:
Alan Heffernan
David O’Toole Greene
Patrick Dunican
Dara Bates
Conor Egan
Donal or darren Dooley, not sure on his name but started v tullamore before getting an injury
The Watkins chap wf last year v ferbane
Nigel Dunne
Jack Bryant ( didn't play last round)
Some only returned for limited minutes in the final game after lengthy layoffs.
That context matters.

Anonymous is not so Anonymous is you look clearly

Shamrocks were 5th favourite in group 1 to advance before a ball was kicked? Correct.
They qualified. They are not as good as the other teams on ability but are competitive because they are really well set up.

Ferbane, we look irresistible at times. All players are playing for the team, there are no scars of defeat , our squad depth is frightening, and in truth, we are going to be extremely difficult to beat . The worry is that it's the group stages. David Nally is a rock star, composed and excellent all in one. Brian Carroll continues to improve and impress. Eoghan Grennan has developed, and our older, more experienced guys are playing their part to perfection. We play sublime football and are well set up.
Semi final now is exactly what the doctor ordered with the hurling in full swing, no Dowling since 2019, not a famine but with the group a small drought. Is it over, hopefully

[Anonymous1]

The above post is A-grade waffle that doesn't even warrant a response.

It's hard to take a poster seriously who once created an entire topic dedicated to campaigning for the return of a certain player under Maughan.

Why people feel the need to cosplay as supporters of one club while spending all their time promoting a player from another club is beyond me.

Shamrocks will beat Clara by a good 20 points if the above post is to be believed.

[Tar Man]

I would argue jealously has slipped into the minds of people since Dunne has rightly been added to offaly role and its quite amusing to see people who feel their pals should be in jobs talk sh1te

Hitting the nail on the head here - where was all this hate before Nigel was picked as a selector with Offaly. Up to that point - nothing. Now - Shamrocks have gone backwards, player manager doesn't work blah blah blah

[Lone Shark]

Jaysus there's some nonsense on here.

(1) If you can't see that Shamrocks have improved this year, you don't understand football. They had a dire first half against Ferbane (with, as described, half of last year's team unavailable) but one 30 minute spell does not negate the rest of the season. Moreover, they did the thing that historically, Shamrocks teams have not been good at doing - they dug their heels in, fought for a lost cause and came away with a small bit of momentum in advance of a tricky quarter final.

Of course Clara have a chance of beating them, Clara are an improving team with plenty of talented footballers and a relatively deep panel, certainly far more so than any group two team, and you have the local derby aspect for good measure. But even if Clara win that game, Shamrocks are clearly in decent nick overall.

(2) Player manager is not ideal, and I'd say Nigel would be the first to say that. But it's as simple as this - would Shamrocks be a better team with Nigel only playing, and with a different manager? I'm quite confident in saying they wouldn't be. Now, would Shamrocks be a better team with Nigel only managing, and unavailable for selection? I'm also quite confident when I say, no, they wouldn't be. Give it another few years as Nigel gets closer to 40, and the arithmetic might change, and it'll make more sense for him to manage the seniors and just play junior, if it is that he wants to keep playing. But for now, he's still a very decent footballer, and if he comes onto the field against Clara, you can be damn sure John Rouse will have a plan for him, because he'll respect the threat he poses as a player, even if some people on here don't.

(3) Paul McConway and Niall McNamee make their own choices, based on their own self-awareness and understanding of how they want to perform their respective roles. Nigel does the same, and it's ridiculous that now, in their year of Our Lord 2026, it has to be spelled out that people are different, situations are different, so different choices are made.

[Payperview1]

Think the jury is still out on whether Shamrocks have improved and making a league semi final in Offaly definitely wudn't be used as an indicator of progress!
Win against Clara and even having a right go in semi would indicate progress.
Lose to Clara or perform like they did in 1st half against Ferbane again in semi, would indicate they have made no step forward and even went backwards. Shamrocks should have beaten Ferbane last year and made semi year before.
Cudn't believe how poor they were defending in 1st half at the weekend and a repeat against Clara would put them in huge trouble.

[FlyOnTheWall]

I would argue jealously has slipped into the minds of people since Dunne has rightly been added to offaly role and its quite amusing to see people who feel their pals should be in jobs talk sh1te

Hitting the nail on the head here - where was all this hate before Nigel was picked as a selector with Offaly. Up to that point - nothing. Now - Shamrocks have gone backwards, player manager doesn't work blah blah blah

Is it not in response to their dreadful display last weekend?

Do you think the player-manager arrangement is working?

[FlyOnTheWall]

Jaysus there's some nonsense on here.

(1) If you can't see that Shamrocks have improved this year, you don't understand football. They had a dire first half against Ferbane (with, as described, half of last year's team unavailable) but one 30 minute spell does not negate the rest of the season. Moreover, they did the thing that historically, Shamrocks teams have not been good at doing - they dug their heels in, fought for a lost cause and came away with a small bit of momentum in advance of a tricky quarter final.

Of course Clara have a chance of beating them, Clara are an improving team with plenty of talented footballers and a relatively deep panel, certainly far more so than any group two team, and you have the local derby aspect for good measure. But even if Clara win that game, Shamrocks are clearly in decent nick overall.

(2) Player manager is not ideal, and I'd say Nigel would be the first to say that. But it's as simple as this - would Shamrocks be a better team with Nigel only playing, and with a different manager? I'm quite confident in saying they wouldn't be. Now, would Shamrocks be a better team with Nigel only managing, and unavailable for selection? I'm also quite confident when I say, no, they wouldn't be. Give it another few years as Nigel gets closer to 40, and the arithmetic might change, and it'll make more sense for him to manage the seniors and just play junior, if it is that he wants to keep playing. But for now, he's still a very decent footballer, and if he comes onto the field against Clara, you can be damn sure John Rouse will have a plan for him, because he'll respect the threat he poses as a player, even if some people on here don't.

(3) Paul McConway and Niall McNamee make their own choices, based on their own self-awareness and understanding of how they want to perform their respective roles. Nigel does the same, and it's ridiculous that now, in their year of Our Lord 2026, it has to be spelled out that people are different, situations are different, so different choices are made.

Genuine question LS - By what metric have Shamrocks improved this year?

They've been in semis in recent years and bar a refereeing error should have been a finalist last year.

For me, they would have to beat Clara and put in a very strong showing in a semi to show signs of progress. A loss against Clara would be a clear sign of a step backwards - and, at least to me, a sign that they would've been a better team with a different manager.

[jimbob17]

"He has probably forgotten more about football than the lads knocking him ever knew"

"I'd fancy Clara to have right chance of taking their scalp in the quarter final."

That's the definition of bi-polar right there. Is he the messiah who knows more than anybody else or is he overseeing a team that has 1 win in 4 (against an Edenderry in disarray) and who may be dumped out by a team from the weak group?

And, clearly the manager doesn't agree with you that he's well worth his starting place.

Where is the bi-polar A!? It is a perfectly legitimate statement. You can know a lot about football and still lose a match as a manager. Just because you know a lot about football doesn't mean your team will win. By your definition, a Mick O'Dwyer trained Wicklow should have won the Leinster or All-Ireland. Football and management doesn't work like that. Shamrocks are a decent senior team who have not achieved much in recent years. They've shown some form against Edenderry and Rhode - less so in their other games this year. They have a new manager who has been a brilliant player for them over the years. He did well coaching minors and now finds himself in as a selector with senior team. His Shamrocks team are playing a well organised Clara team that won Senior B and are coming with some momentum. What is wrong with saying that I'd fancy Clara to take a scalp v Shamrocks while also acknowledging Nigel would have a good football brain. Clara have a right good chance of making a semi-final. Plenty of people who know their football would agree with that. That is not any reflection on Nigel as a manager or his knowledge of football...... Lads are very quick to come on and run lads down for whatever reason.

Knowing a lot about football doesn't guarantee you'll win any individual game. The least that can be expected however is that you improve the fortunes of any team you manage like MOD did.

Nobody here has suggested Shamrocks should be winning the county title, even if some in Shamrocks expect that of themselves.

Shamrocks had Ferbane beaten last year and at the very least deserved extra time due to the phantom 2-pointer awarded.

A 13 point deficit at halftime is embarrassingly poor for any senior team, especially against a team you were on equal terms with the previous year.

Any objective analysis would suggest Shamrocks have disimproved this year and the blame always lies at the feet of the manager, rightly or wrongly.

With all due respect, showing form against Edenderry this year is like shooting fish in a barrell.

In their other three games, they've drawn one and lost two by 7 and 5 points respectively. A -12 points scoring difference in games against the big three.

I also give Clara a good chance. Not because Clara are outstanding, but because of how poor Shamrocks have been. You nor I would give Clara any chance of beating Tullamore, Rhode nor Ferbane. I think that says it all.

It's a results business. You were regularly in here slating the senior football management because they weren't producing results. Apply the same standards to people you personally like.

I among many were slating senior football management for good reason. They were falling out with everyone including themselves. There were huge volumes of walkouts and refusals to go in. Most would agree that was very well merited.

There were lots of people on here suggesting Nigel should be on new management team. If you read back my posts, you'll realise I was not one of those - not that I was against it either. He is a selector, that's all. Lots of lads who know less about football have been county selectors. I think it's fair to say he'd have a degree of football intelligence, a good read on players within county and is up to speed on modern game. Why go knocking the chap?

On Shamrocks, I think it's fair to say they had game of two halves. I also think it's fair to say that if they had Jack Bryant, Alan Heffernan, David O Toole Greene and Nigel on field for full game they'd have done better v Ferbane - without even mentioning the younger chaps mentioned above. That is closing in a 7 point loss - again no shame in that.

They beat a bad Edenderry but hockeyed them, something they've not been doing. They drew with Rhode, something they've not been doing also. Tullamore beat them 5pts. That's no disgrace and they were short couple that day. They beat Ferbane by 6 in 2nd half. Theres lots of ways to look at things. While you'd argue one thing, you could also argue differently. It's not an exact science. Clara next day is a tricky one for them. That'll give indication but does it give full picture? Only those in Shamrocks and involved will really know.

I for one think he has done reasonable job, even allowing for 1st half performance v a Ferbane team who everyone says will win the championship. Just not getting why so many have turned on Nigel here all of sudden. A few weeks ago, fellas were lauding his football knowledge - and for all that he has just been asked in as a selector to my knowledge - not manager or coach. Doesn't sit right with me and smacks of element of jealousy or something. Think lads need to relax a small bit and just for clarity sake, I don't come on here to slate anybody or promote anyone I supposedly 'like' - I just give objective view on GAA. It's a hobby lads for God sake - a sport we all love and have opinions on. I know Nigel as a footballer and to salute I came across him but wouldnt know him personally. Its a GAA view, that is all. Club management to certain extent is results business but it is totally dependent on the talent within your club and at your disposal. You have what you have in terms of player personnel and have to make the best of what you have. Put Jim Gavin with Ballycumber and they'd still struggle in Senior B. One thing I've learned from watching on here is that it should never be or get personal.

Clara would trouble most teams in county I think and are well organised under Rouse and with momentum. They'll be no walkover either if they were to make a semi final either against Rhode or Ferbane.

[Anonymous1]

Where is the bi-polar A!? It is a perfectly legitimate statement. You can know a lot about football and still lose a match as a manager. Just because you know a lot about football doesn't mean your team will win. By your definition, a Mick O'Dwyer trained Wicklow should have won the Leinster or All-Ireland. Football and management doesn't work like that. Shamrocks are a decent senior team who have not achieved much in recent years. They've shown some form against Edenderry and Rhode - less so in their other games this year. They have a new manager who has been a brilliant player for them over the years. He did well coaching minors and now finds himself in as a selector with senior team. His Shamrocks team are playing a well organised Clara team that won Senior B and are coming with some momentum. What is wrong with saying that I'd fancy Clara to take a scalp v Shamrocks while also acknowledging Nigel would have a good football brain. Clara have a right good chance of making a semi-final. Plenty of people who know their football would agree with that. That is not any reflection on Nigel as a manager or his knowledge of football...... Lads are very quick to come on and run lads down for whatever reason.

Knowing a lot about football doesn't guarantee you'll win any individual game. The least that can be expected however is that you improve the fortunes of any team you manage like MOD did.

Nobody here has suggested Shamrocks should be winning the county title, even if some in Shamrocks expect that of themselves.

Shamrocks had Ferbane beaten last year and at the very least deserved extra time due to the phantom 2-pointer awarded.

A 13 point deficit at halftime is embarrassingly poor for any senior team, especially against a team you were on equal terms with the previous year.

Any objective analysis would suggest Shamrocks have disimproved this year and the blame always lies at the feet of the manager, rightly or wrongly.

With all due respect, showing form against Edenderry this year is like shooting fish in a barrell.

In their other three games, they've drawn one and lost two by 7 and 5 points respectively. A -12 points scoring difference in games against the big three.

I also give Clara a good chance. Not because Clara are outstanding, but because of how poor Shamrocks have been. You nor I would give Clara any chance of beating Tullamore, Rhode nor Ferbane. I think that says it all.

It's a results business. You were regularly in here slating the senior football management because they weren't producing results. Apply the same standards to people you personally like.

I among many were slating senior football management for good reason. They were falling out with everyone including themselves. There were huge volumes of walkouts and refusals to go in. Most would agree that was very well merited.

There were lots of people on here suggesting Nigel should be on new management team. If you read back my posts, you'll realise I was not one of those - not that I was against it either. He is a selector, that's all. Lots of lads who know less about football have been county selectors. I think it's fair to say he'd have a degree of football intelligence, a good read on players within county and is up to speed on modern game. Why go knocking the chap?

On Shamrocks, I think it's fair to say they had game of two halves. I also think it's fair to say that if they had Jack Bryant, Alan Heffernan, David O Toole Greene and Nigel on field for full game they'd have done better v Ferbane - without even mentioning the younger chaps mentioned above. That is closing in a 7 point loss - again no shame in that.

They beat a bad Edenderry but hockeyed them, something they've not been doing. They drew with Rhode, something they've not been doing also. Tullamore beat them 5pts. That's no disgrace and they were short couple that day. They beat Ferbane by 6 in 2nd half. Theres lots of ways to look at things. While you'd argue one thing, you could also argue differently. It's not an exact science. Clara next day is a tricky one for them. That'll give indication but does it give full picture? Only those in Shamrocks and involved will really know.

I for one think he has done reasonable job, even allowing for 1st half performance v a Ferbane team who everyone says will win the championship. Just not getting why so many have turned on Nigel here all of sudden. A few weeks ago, fellas were lauding his football knowledge - and for all that he has just been asked in as a selector to my knowledge - not manager or coach. Doesn't sit right with me and smacks of element of jealousy or something. Think lads need to relax a small bit and just for clarity sake, I don't come on here to slate anybody or promote anyone I supposedly 'like' - I just give objective view on GAA. It's a hobby lads for God sake - a sport we all love and have opinions on. I know Nigel as a footballer and to salute I came across him but wouldnt know him personally. Its a GAA view, that is all. Club management to certain extent is results business but it is totally dependent on the talent within your club and at your disposal. You have what you have in terms of player personnel and have to make the best of what you have. Put Jim Gavin with Ballycumber and they'd still struggle in Senior B. One thing I've learned from watching on here is that it should never be or get personal.

Clara would trouble most teams in county I think and are well organised under Rouse and with momentum. They'll be no walkover either if they were to make a semi final either against Rhode or Ferbane.

I also wasn't a fan of the senior management for the record. I judged them on their results, as we should judge any management.

If you read back my posts, you'll note I didn't name any individual at any stage. There's an incredible amount of pearl clutching going on from people who obviously have connections to Shamrocks.

This argument that Shamrocks were missing a handful of players is meaningless in the context of Tullamore having Furlong, Bracken, Leavy, Brazil, Bourke, OKM etc not starting or Ferbane having Flynn, Kelly, Dunican etc not starting.

None of the teams bar maybe Rhode have had their best 15 on the pitch yet. Shamrocks have no greater talent to come back in than any of the rest.

The margin against Edenderry is also pretty meaningless. They offered no resistance and the other teams could've easily ran up bigger margins on them if they so wished.

Equally, had Ferbane needed to beat Shamrocks by more than 7 on Saturday, I have no doubt they could have.

Of course you have to deal with the talent at your disposal but the only fair metric to judge a team by this year is how they performed in previous years and that has been getting to semis and as I've said, should've beaten Ferbane last year.

If Shamrocks had an outside manager who had 1 win in 4 games and were facing into a knockout game against opposition from a weaker group - I think most reasonable observers would expect it to be a must win game for the manager or them to be moved on next year.

[Anonymous1]

Jaysus there's some nonsense on here.

(1) If you can't see that Shamrocks have improved this year, you don't understand football. They had a dire first half against Ferbane (with, as described, half of last year's team unavailable) but one 30 minute spell does not negate the rest of the season. Moreover, they did the thing that historically, Shamrocks teams have not been good at doing - they dug their heels in, fought for a lost cause and came away with a small bit of momentum in advance of a tricky quarter final.

Of course Clara have a chance of beating them, Clara are an improving team with plenty of talented footballers and a relatively deep panel, certainly far more so than any group two team, and you have the local derby aspect for good measure. But even if Clara win that game, Shamrocks are clearly in decent nick overall.

(2) Player manager is not ideal, and I'd say Nigel would be the first to say that. But it's as simple as this - would Shamrocks be a better team with Nigel only playing, and with a different manager? I'm quite confident in saying they wouldn't be. Now, would Shamrocks be a better team with Nigel only managing, and unavailable for selection? I'm also quite confident when I say, no, they wouldn't be. Give it another few years as Nigel gets closer to 40, and the arithmetic might change, and it'll make more sense for him to manage the seniors and just play junior, if it is that he wants to keep playing. But for now, he's still a very decent footballer, and if he comes onto the field against Clara, you can be damn sure John Rouse will have a plan for him, because he'll respect the threat he poses as a player, even if some people on here don't.

(3) Paul McConway and Niall McNamee make their own choices, based on their own self-awareness and understanding of how they want to perform their respective roles. Nigel does the same, and it's ridiculous that now, in their year of Our Lord 2026, it has to be spelled out that people are different, situations are different, so different choices are made.

1. I can't see that Shamrocks have improved at all. Could you point out how exactly they've improved? It's certainly not showing in terms of results.

Saying that Shamrocks would be in decent nick if they're beaten in a QF by a team from a weaker group is an absolutely ridiculous statement, LS.

A win is an absolute must, or the year will have been a massive step backwards.

2. What makes you so confident a different manager wouldn't be better?

3. Exactly my point. Every year there are hundreds of club managers appointed around the country, almost none of them decide to play while also managing. They can't all be wrong, or can they?

[Anon444]

I really do think it’s only fair to judge at the end of their campaign. If Ferbane go and lose their semi, it’ll be a complete failure of a year, same with Rhode. All their good work in the group undone. If Shamrocks win against Clara, who also would not fear Tullamore had they drawn them, then it’s surely a good season. If they get over Clara, they play a team in a semi final who they should have really beat in the group stage in Rhode. Maybe then everyone will want player managers.

I’d be fascinated if someone could offer insight into how player managers train teams. Do they take part, do they do certain parts of training and stand out for others? Might be no harm for a reporter to ask for permission and see what they can find.

[ah lethimoutwithit]

I would argue jealously has slipped into the minds of people since Dunne has rightly been added to offaly role and its quite amusing to see people who feel their pals should be in jobs talk sh1te

Hitting the nail on the head here - where was all this hate before Nigel was picked as a selector with Offaly. Up to that point - nothing. Now - Shamrocks have gone backwards, player manager doesn't work blah blah blah

Is it not in response to their dreadful display last weekend?

Do you think the player-manager arrangement is working?

No, complete over reaction. Ferbane are a team that can cut loose from time to time and one defeat like that without a number of starters is no indication of the managers ability.

Clara have improved from last year, and have shown good form with a solid set up. They are not going to be a push over.

[ah lethimoutwithit]

I'd be fairly sure there is another coach in working with Nigel. Also, I guess at his age he may be managing how much he does to be right for games and no harm in that. So he may not be part of all the sessions.

I don't know the chap that well, but from the response here, its no wonder lads would be reluctant to put themselves forward as selectors with Offaly.

[Lone Shark]

For those asking, my assessment that Shamrocks look better this year is not somethat that I would want to have to go into a TV debate to justify, it's just purely that I think that they look pretty good, when you consider the players that are missing, and I think that draw in Rhode is not to be sniffed at. Moreover, they did the right thing electing to go into the strong group, and I think they'll be better for it.

No, I'm not getting hung up on the league in the slightest, but I think that they're generally moving well, showing a bit more dog in them, and I'd consider them realistic championship contenders in a way that I probably didn't for the last couple of seasons.

But it's only seat of the pants stuff, because so much of Offaly football is shadow boxing, it's only the knockout stuff that matters, so in that sense there's nothing to go on, really.

[Payperview1]

Bit of a turnaround in a few days, from anyone who couldn't see the improvement in Shamrocks this year doesn't understand football to having nothing to go on really and it's only shadow boxing so far.
Think your last post is more accurate, in that how Shamrocks get on from here, will be the real indication if they have improved at all.
Not a fan of the player/ manager set up myself but clearly Shamrocks knew what they were doing when appointing Nigel and felt it could work.