www.uibhfhaili.com

Okay, I'm obviously not good at explaining what I was going for.

(1) Roscommon won Connacht after preparing for the championship in division three. I never said relegation is the big issue, I said playing in the lower division is. That's the difference - it you play football in Divisions one, two or three, you get good competitive games throughout the campaign. If you play hurling in any division other than the top flight, when you are Offaly's standard, you don't get that. The effect of the poorer league is, I would have thought obviously, felt after playing in it as opposed to before.

(2) Joe Brady was mainly played at centre forward last year. if he did go into full forward, it never worked and it's just further sign of our clueless management.

(3) I never said that hurling in division two affects your underage - it doesn't at all. Offaly has a huge problem at underage level, but it's an unrelated problem. My point here is that underage hurling determines the quality of your senior squad in due course, but once that senior squad is picked, the standard you hurl at in the league determines how much they improve.

(4) I never said that you ran down the standard of games in Div 2 - indeed you argued the opposite. However I believe that SOME games in division two are competitive, but for a team like Offaly, (or Clare/Limerick this year) SOME games aren't competitive at all. It's those games that hurt you, plus the absence of those games where you are really up against it.

Hello Neighbours!!
Dont want to hijack yer page or create a new topic, just looking for a few opinions. Padraig Horan has been appointed by a Laois Senior Club for the coming year as Manager/Trainer, looking for a few opinions on his capabilities, much appreciated

Hello Neighbours,
Not intending to hijack your site or topic, i dont want to create a new topic on the subject, just looking for a few opinions, Padraig Horan has been appointed as Manager/Trainer of a Laois Senior Club Team, looking for a few opinions on his capabilities, methods etc? all opinions welcome please,
Thanks again

All good points loneshark.. To answer !
1 and 4: What exactly is offalys standard? And you mentioned previous to this about having facile wins in div 2 in other campaigns, but some good games. So is this how galway feel after leaving tullamore last Sunday after a facile 14 point win minus what a lot would consider more starters than the fielded?
2. I bow to your superior knowledge here and trust you!
3. This I can't fathom. Underage is the cornerstone to the senior squad. Now I know success at underage doesn't garuntee senior success but it can help! So if we get 30 average hurlers 6/7 games in div 1 will make them better? Sounds like the underdogs from a few years back! You can't expect to rectify problems at senior level that are there with lads all the way up along. You will continue to yo yo between the divisions unless you get the foundations right. That is my key point. If it ain't broke don't mend it but it doesn't seem to be the case here. If you don't look after the youth the seniors won't prosper. It takes lads too long to get unto the pace of things. And I don't mean in a game, but to the whole training regime, the mental prep etc.

Just one question on things. Where do Offaly currently train during the week and is there full match lights on it? Just curious.

Lone Shark wrote:You forget we've been down in division four in football as well and we saw when we came out of it that we simply weren't ready. I refer you to 2-11 to 1-8 to Westmeath in O'Connor Park - possibly our worst Leinster championship result in twenty years, possibly more.

We were in division four in 1997 and we didnt do too badly then.

Just to clarify 2 points. I am nt referring to the current panel as 30 average hurlers. Also imprinted out the Galway defeat to show that now the shoe is on the other foot, do are ye or them learning anything from that game?

leixman wrote:Hello Neighbours,
Not intending to hijack your site or topic, i dont want to create a new topic on the subject, just looking for a few opinions, Padraig Horan has been appointed as Manager/Trainer of a Laois Senior Club Team, looking for a few opinions on his capabilities, methods etc? all opinions welcome please,
Thanks again

His past record is decent enough. Won a league with Offaly in 1991 and when he managed Leix they should have beaten Kilkenny in 1998.
He was a teak tough player and his teams tended to be similar.
Someone who has played under him might better fill you in, but I doubt his training methods involve team wristbands, group hugs or any new age sissy stuff.