You want answers, okay.
The divil is in the detail lad. You have been lambasting POTH for his match previews, saying that because they don't contain an accurate rundown of what will happen, they essentially contain no useful information. I and several others consider them to be thoroughly engaging pieces that break down a game into the several little things that make up the overall context, but taste is taste. I will agree that the tend to lack the soothsaying, and for some people that might be a missing ingredient.
However here and now I'm going to flip that logic and put it back to you. You have covered a lot of the symptoms of Offaly's current ills in your pieces. However, and correct me if I'm mistaken here, but your actual solutions rarely go beyond a cull of management at every level of hurling in Offaly - nothing to do with where we would go from there. So right now I'm going to give you a chance - a 65m free, and we'll see if you can slot it over the bar yourself. Rather than repeating your mantras about management, field this lot for me and see where we are then.
(1) You say that management is inadequate, and that John McIntyre is inadequate at this level. Let's say for a minute that you get your wish - name three guys that you would call to interview that fulfil your criteria. Bear in mind here that this is Offaly - spending €100k on somebody like Donal O'Grady is not an option, while neither is naming guys like Nicky English who is not a runner in real life. If he wouldn't manage Tipp again, why would he manage an Offaly team that he has no connection with and who offers no immediate prospect of glory?
Firstly in the last 5 years Offaly County Board spend a reasonable sum of money on a football manager for a year. This i know for a fact.
But how can you even say that Donal O Grady charges that? Is that what he received in Cork, i dont think so.
Secondly - if Tiperary had lost last weekend, babs keating was going tobe sacked and Nicky English was going to take over.
But he wouldnt step in now because he wouldnt have anything to do with Babs been sacked. Another true statement.
Here is just three managers that i think should be interviewed for the Offaly Hurling position:
Donal O Grady
Regarded by many as the most astute manager in the game at present. He completely changed Corks style of hurling play and after the strike he led to two All-irelands finals which he won one.
He completely changed the mindset of many of the Cork hurling squad, rceived their full respect which he still does now.
The thing that impressed me most about O Grady was that he made household names out of hurlers like Timmy McCarthy and Niall McCarthy.
And he improved hurlers that had the right attitute and discipline.
Man Management Skills and Attention To Detail = Excellent Manager = Success
Ger Cunningham
Currently training Thurles Sarsfield.
Coached Newtownshandrum to the All-Ireland Club title in 2004.
Turn that club into the best club team in the country with his now famous pass and move style of hurling.
His attention to detail is unreal and his man management skills are second to none.
The day before each championship game he rings each panel menber and talks to him regarding the game - Man Management.
Coached Thurles Sarsfield to county success in 2005.
Just have a look at the following link
http://www.ul.ie/~hurling/sponsors.html#freshertraining
This is freshers college hurling.
Now you will say he was ran out of Limerick, he wasnt manager he was coach, and what have Limerick won since?
And i can assure you Limerick didnt pay him and Thurles Sarsfield arent paying him €100k for the year.
Man Management Skills and Attention To Detail = Excellent Manager = Success
3. Davy Fitzgerald
Whether he will return to intercounty hurling well that remains to be seen.
But as a manager goes there isnt many out there like him.
Attention to detail is phenominal.
For an example before each game that the players played for L.I.T a college team all their gear was layed out in dressingroom an hour before throw in. now you will say that doesnt make him a good manager, but not one thing does its all these little things.
Little things like this get the respect of the players, they then realise that it means something to be playing for this team.
He had hurlers from all different counties and you go and ask them how much respect they have for their manager.
Man Management Skills and Attention To Detail = Excellent Manager = Success
Oh Yes Limerick I.T arent paying him €100k for the year either.
Now am sure you will have a problem with the above three, or you will make a remark regarding Brian Cody that he doesnt go into this much detail with his players, but Brian Cody has what no other manager in the country has he has twenty exceptional hurlers.
(2) You blame management for the lack of a gameplan for the start of the second half to revive the ailing forward division. Specifically - what would you have done?
Again you dont go into a dressing room at half time of a game and start mouthing off a game plan, that is what the last seven months should have been preparing for so each hurler would know exactly what they had to do.
For instance, imagine trying to organise a puckout for Gary Haniffy to be isolated with his marker so he could win the puckot - again preparation which was never done.
I think you saw from my previous posts what i would have done.
(3) Do you honestly believe that at age 21 a hurler can develop knacky skills that he hasn't had up to now? I would contend that a senior manager is mainly responsible for devising a system, integrating his players into that system, preparing them in terms of sharpness and fitenss and reacting to the unfolding play on the field. he cannot turn a silk purse into a sow's ear. You say it's down to the manager to "coach" players into new skills. To give an example - do you believe that Derek Molloy would now be able to put a ball over the bar off either side from 70m under pressure if Brian Cody was coaching him? I don't. I think Cody gets players who can do this and then does the stuff I mentioned above.
In 2002 Niall McCarthy played his first league game for Cork and looked completely out of place hurling wing forward.
He was coached in 2003 and 2004 by donal o grady and he was give a specific job. Donal O Grady got the best out of McCarthy and he is and has been the 2nd best centre forward in the country for the last 3 years.
So yes coaching does work.
(4) You bemoan the coaching setup in the county. How many full time coaches do you think we need, and how would you pay for them? The second part of this question is something you've been avoiding touching on for some time now.
I never once said that we needed more full time coaches.
What i said was that we need to have the people that are training our county underage teams to be fully qualified coaches. Something that doesnt happen now.
To do these courses cost €200 and you have to do 4.
Thats €800, if each club had one fully qualified coach at the minimum. Which the county board should be paying for these courses.
Jesus in all fairness its 2007 each club should have a fully qualified coach
That would be money very well spent.
You talk about money, John Foley has gave very generously to the Academys which are a complete joke, in Offaly now you have guys training u-12, u-14, u-16, minor and u-21 teams and none of them are fully qualified coaches.
Now what the hell is John Foley putting his money into?
Does he know whats going on because i am sure he wouldnt be too impressed.
Like i have said previous the games development officer in the county isnt involved in the academys, it is his job to develop underage hurling in the county yet he is not involved in the academys for the best hurlers in the county.
No hurlers from Birr, Banager or Shinrone attended the easter academys for hurling in tullamore.
And another thing, there is 12 senior hurling teams in Offaly, 11 of those teams are been coached by guys that are not fully qualified coaches.
So therefore whatever work is been done at underage in the clubs this is been ruined when these players get to senior level and been told something completely different.
If this all comes apart as being aggressive, my apologies, that's not how it's intended. I merely see some gaping holes in your arguments, the same holes that I suspect several others see as well, and I'm giving you the chance to fill them in.
I hope the above has answered some of your questions and opened your eyes to whats really going on in regards to hurling setup in the county.
Whether i come across as completely negative or not that doesnt bother me, there would be no need for me to say anything if everything was perfect in the county which it is far from.[/url]