Finally...... he's gone!

[Lone Shark]

This years Offaly team at least played with purpose and a not inconsiderable degree of style. They were well worth watching, and they played with a directness and tenacity that is traditionally associated with the county. As i said above, KK was a woeful manager to adjust things once the ball was thrown in, but you have to applaud him for preparing the team the way he did.

I do not want Micko. He would cost us a bomb, money we don't have after the O'Connor Park development, and he would inflict his basketball/thespian style on a county that has a rich tradition completely contrary to that. He tends to thrive in counties where the best footballers are either floundering or declining to play, and he can then let his name do all the work for him. I think he'd be a disaster.

As for O'Rourke, I'm not sure the CV backs up the likely cost there too. At least if we did get someone like O'Mahony the achievement would be there to match the price tag. O'Rourke has created this impression of being the next big thing without actually winning a whole lot - a Meath intermediate title and a test series against Australia being the lot. (I'm pretty sure Simonstown never won a senior title when he was in charge??)

Cooney struck me as very much a no. 2 kind of guy when I met him, but I'd expect that right now he has to be the front runner all the same.

[azoffaly]

Adieu Kevin, but please not 'Au Revoir'. I am not going to be hypocritical and rue his departure when I've been looking for him to leave since he took over. I thought he was a panic appointment when the County Board realised no reputable manager would touch their grubby job with a barge pole after the treatment meted out to O'Kelly and Fahy. 2 years later I still believe that to be the case. In the immortal words of one of our senior players who left the scene in frustration 'Kevin, you might as well be looking into a field of thistles'.

Having said all that, I acknowledge that he did try his best, and it's not his fault the County Board offered the job to him. If they offered it to me I'd take it as well, but I'd not be able for it (at the moment ) either. For that I thank him for his efforts, and he'll always have my respect as a great player.

I know lads have talked about how he brought the team forward, but I'm not so sure. Our performance against Westmeath this year was as bad as in 2004, but Westmeath were even worse. In 2003, Offaly were a better team than Laois, and lost out in a replay after a dodgy last minute goal the first day. Similar to 2005, except that the late goal won it for Laois then. If either Offaly teams of 2003, or 2004 had gotten over Westmeath/Laois, I'd have expected a similar run to this year, so I'm not too sure about the progress made.

After Paul O'Kelly left, because he blooded so many U-21s and the likes of Niall McNamee, Offaly were a very young team, who were on the cusp of winning a Leinster title with a bit of luck/belief. After Fahy left, Offaly were still a very young team, on the cusp of winning a Leinster with a bit of luck/belief. Now that Kilmurray is left, Offaly are slightly more experienced, but still a fairly young team ... you get my drift. The best I can say about him is that we are no worse off than we were in terms of the team itself, although I think the relegation from Division 1 is a big blow for next year.

Anyway, onto the future. Assuming that some of the bigger names are interested, I'd splurge this once. Gerry Cooney would not inspire me, and would be same old/same old for the players. Richie Connor might have some respect from the players, but most of them are too young to have seen or remember him as a player. Stephen Darby is too inexperienced yet.

I think this is THE most crucial appointment this County Board will make. If they get the wrong man now, it will be another 2 years down the tubes, and this current bunch will have their, and our, hopes of a Leinster slip away. Bite the bullet. Move heaven and earth to get a man like John O'Mahoney and ask John to appoint as one of his selectors someone like a Stephen Darby. In 3 years when O'Mahoney leaves us after winning 2 Leinsters and an All Ireland ( ) Stephen Darby would then have enough experience to take the reins as a cheaper option.

All the above is just my opinion, but I think the first sentence of the previous paragraph is a certainty.

[Muck Savage]

How much does a good manager go for these days? Seriously, if we were to get O'Mahoney how much would it cost, I'd be interested to know. Maybe we could even have a wip around
How much did Laois spend on the Kerryman? Was it worth it, still no AI? I'd agree that going for a big name is badly needed, we've won a Leinster every decade for a long time and this one is slipping away.

One things for sure, has to be an outside man.

[black and red exile]

John O' Mahony is concentrating on Fine Gael politics for the forseeable future and O' Dywer has has as much chance of becoming our manager as Alex Ferguson has. My personal choice would be Liam kerins the former Limerick manager.

[ballymanabroad]

I wouldn't get too excited about outside managers as in recent years as apart from John O Mahoney, it is only home town boys who have won All Irelands. In the last 11 years;

1995 - Dublin = Dr Pat O Neill
1996 - Meath = Sean Boylan
1997 - Kerry = Paudie O Se
1998 - Galway = John O Mahoney
1999 - Meath = Sean Boylan
2000 - Kerry = Paudie O Se
2001 - Galway = John O Mahoney
2002 - Armagh = Joe Kirwan
2003 - Tyrone = Mickey Harte
2004 - Kerry = Jack O Connor
2005 - Tyrone = Mickey Harte
2006 ???

[Lone Shark]

I take the point on home grown lads winning all Irelands, but invariably those managers (with the exception of Sean Boylan back in 1982) all took over teams that were competitive at the top level. They may have provided the final push, but to make a real breakthrough an outsider can make all the difference. particularly in a small county, where club bias is often either real or perceived.

Look at the counties that overachieved in 2006 - Mayo, Westmeath, Longford, Cork, Fermanagh - only Cork with a home grown manager, and they're too big for a club manager to be seen as divisive.

Likewise in recent years we've seen Kerrymen galvanise our neighbours, Sligo and Fermanagh reach quarter finals, and Louth and Monaghan both revived, all by outside influence. It can work, and certainly for Offaly for whom a provincial win or a QF appearance would represent the best we've done in ten years, it definitely seems like the way to go.

In saying that the county board probably doesn't have the money to pay for any of the real big hitters, who generally charge €60k upwards.

[Tom]

In saying that the county board probably doesn't have the money to pay for any of the real big hitters, who generally charge €60k upwards.

Why is this?? I know the o'connor park redevelopment was a huge blow to funds, but O'moore park isn't exactly ancient and they can afford high profile managers, as can others around the country. is it that offaly can't spend money, or is it that offaly won't spend money.

I'm a big fan of the new stand in O'connor park, and it was badly needed, however, i'd rather be sittin on the concrete slabs in the old stand with a newspaper underneath me keeping my arse from freezing over, as all ireland champions, than sittin in the lovely new stand watchin us get knocked out of the qualifiers.

I think its time we splashed out on a biog name outside manager, if just to get the attention of the players. I don't thinki it's much good when a manager comes in to the job, and tries to assert his authority when half the panel might have been having pints with him the weekend before.

[del]

is john o mahony not a mayo man

[Bord na Mona man]

is john o mahony not a mayo man

He could even be classified as a Roscommon man.

[Bord na Mona man]

Why is this?? I know the o'connor park redevelopment was a huge blow to funds, but O'moore park isn't exactly ancient and they can afford high profile managers, as can others around the country. is it that offaly can't spend money, or is it that offaly won't spend money.

Your man behind the Heritage in Leix is a very generous sponsor. A few years ago hey hadn't a bean to their name in Leix, now they're rolling in it and could even afford Micko Dwyer's legendary "expenses".

Also they're are selling apartments beside the pitch in Portleix.

[arbarg]

We cant afford anyone because its well known that the Offaly County Board are a bunch of scabs and scroungers. Theyalways take the cheapest option on everything. Including cutting corners on the O connor Park development.
And please donty give Phil Reilly the job, his head is big enough as it is.

[the bare biffo]

Best wishes to KK, as an Offalyman he could not turn down the job when it was offered and he has done his best, whatever your oppinion on that is.
He has also probably taken the right course of action for Offaly football now, in giving this team the opportunity to take a step further than he could take them. Again it is all in the hands of the county board. As the ads say, past performance may be no guarantee of future returns, but in this case they certainly don't inspire any confidence.

[Lone Shark]

Again it is all in the hands of the county board. As the ads say, past performance may be no guarantee of future returns, but in this case they certainly don't inspire any confidence.

I dunno. Traditionally I would have said that our county board was reasonably good at identifying managerial talent, they just weren't good at handling it. O'Kelly and Fahy were two good appointments to my mind, they just weren't given enough time. Certainly I'd have had no complaints with Lyons or Nolan before that either - both managers who were far from a sure thing when they took over.

Even in hurling, you could see the logic behind every appointment, and this year's Tipp under 21 team just proves that even the most forgettable of them all has something about him.

They've done well before, so I would say that they're entitled to be trusted, one rushed decision notwithstanding.

[Rynaghs Biffo]

I do not want Micko. He would cost us a bomb, money we don't have after the O'Connor Park development, and he would inflict his basketball/thespian style on a county that has a rich tradition completely contrary to that. He tends to thrive in counties where the best footballers are either floundering or declining to play, and he can then let his name do all the work for him. I think he'd be a disaster

And would Wicklow have the money to pay him??

[Bord na Mona man]

I do not want Micko. He would cost us a bomb, money we don't have after the O'Connor Park development, and he would inflict his basketball/thespian style on a county that has a rich tradition completely contrary to that. He tends to thrive in counties where the best footballers are either floundering or declining to play, and he can then let his name do all the work for him. I think he'd be a disaster

And would Wicklow have the money to pay him??

Their sponsors, Ballymore Properties certainly would have.