Offaly Senior Footballers 2024

[del]

This is defo a done deal .nothing official yet but new back room team with Kelly still at the helm expect it to be rubber stamped in September

[Anonymous1]

This is defo a done deal .nothing official yet but new back room team with Kelly still at the helm expect it to be rubber stamped in September

Yeah I've also heard he's back with at least one of his selectors given the old heave-ho.

[ruletheroost]

Seemingly threw strength and conditioning man under the bus.

[ruletheroost]

Was at the Ballinagar game on Sunday. DK was there having a look. 5 of the Ballinagar team had trained with the Offaly seniors at some stage last year. St Brigids won by 9 points. The two best players on the field were from Croghan in Thomas Mooney and Cian Donoghue. Maybe DK just doesn't have an eye for footballing talent

[Offalyblueboy]

I find it very difficult to understand how firstly the county board want him to continue. And secondly how he hasn’t the common decency to understand it was Offalys worst ever year of Gaelic football. We have an environment that is toxic and players are up in arms yet we want him to continue. I am fearful year two will be as bad and he will be gone by Patrick’s day.

[One Time]

Was at the Ballinagar game on Sunday. DK was there having a look. 5 of the Ballinagar team had trained with the Offaly seniors at some stage last year. St Brigids won by 9 points. The two best players on the field were from Croghan in Thomas Mooney and Cian Donoghue. Maybe DK just doesn't have an eye for footballing talent

Saw both players mentioned above in couple of championship games last year and neither had any real impact on the games (in one game both marking 2 very poor 18 year old debutantes who have never played county and couldn't make their school team) maybe DK was watching those matches lol.. if Thomas mooney is playing well this year and is progressing at his age then he is worth a chance but cian donohue, who was never outstanding for Offaly and is now 32 years old is not the kind of player we need to be bringing in at the expense of blooding and developing new players and isnt the type of player that will get Offaly back competingover the nexr few years. . I'd like to see DK be for2ard thinking regardless of what people's think, weed out some of the whingers that are trying to control the dressing room and creating a toxic environment, blood the new talent early on and build on what we had in the league last year with new players now settled in, I know we haven't got massive amounts of talent coming through but there is enough there and expect to see some more new players this year who want to put the work in and play for Offaly. If he does that we can actually achieve something in the next 2 years, there's a perception out there that we are miles off because we didn't bother with the tailteann cup but results before that seem to be forgotten about. We need a bit of positivity around the senior footballers and hopefully the championship at all levels will dig up some new talent

[Anonymous1]

Was at the Ballinagar game on Sunday. DK was there having a look. 5 of the Ballinagar team had trained with the Offaly seniors at some stage last year. St Brigids won by 9 points. The two best players on the field were from Croghan in Thomas Mooney and Cian Donoghue. Maybe DK just doesn't have an eye for footballing talent

Saw both players mentioned above in couple of championship games last year and neither had any real impact on the games (in one game both marking 2 very poor 18 year old debutantes who have never played county and couldn't make their school team) maybe DK was watching those matches lol.. if Thomas mooney is playing well this year and is progressing at his age then he is worth a chance but cian donohue, who was never outstanding for Offaly and is now 32 years old is not the kind of player we need to be bringing in at the expense of blooding and developing new players and isnt the type of player that will get Offaly back competingover the nexr few years. . I'd like to see DK be for2ard thinking regardless of what people's think, weed out some of the whingers that are trying to control the dressing room and creating a toxic environment, blood the new talent early on and build on what we had in the league last year with new players now settled in, I know we haven't got massive amounts of talent coming through but there is enough there and expect to see some more new players this year who want to put the work in and play for Offaly. If he does that we can actually achieve something in the next 2 years, there's a perception out there that we are miles off because we didn't bother with the tailteann cup but results before that seem to be forgotten about. We need a bit of positivity around the senior footballers and hopefully the championship at all levels will dig up some new talent

What exactly is it you want us to build on?

Losing to Dublin's 4th string in the O'Byrne Cup? No.

Scraping over a decimated Limerick on the final day to stay in division 3? Nope.

Being pummelled by London for their first championship win in 11 years? Certainly not.


What results before the Tailteann have been forgotten about?

Beating the worst two teams in the division?

Rotten performances against Westmeath and Antrim?

Throwing wins away against Clare and Sligo?

[jimbob17]

Was at the Ballinagar game on Sunday. DK was there having a look. 5 of the Ballinagar team had trained with the Offaly seniors at some stage last year. St Brigids won by 9 points. The two best players on the field were from Croghan in Thomas Mooney and Cian Donoghue. Maybe DK just doesn't have an eye for footballing talent

Saw both players mentioned above in couple of championship games last year and neither had any real impact on the games (in one game both marking 2 very poor 18 year old debutantes who have never played county and couldn't make their school team) maybe DK was watching those matches lol.. if Thomas mooney is playing well this year and is progressing at his age then he is worth a chance but cian donohue, who was never outstanding for Offaly and is now 32 years old is not the kind of player we need to be bringing in at the expense of blooding and developing new players and isnt the type of player that will get Offaly back competingover the nexr few years. . I'd like to see DK be for2ard thinking regardless of what people's think, weed out some of the whingers that are trying to control the dressing room and creating a toxic environment, blood the new talent early on and build on what we had in the league last year with new players now settled in, I know we haven't got massive amounts of talent coming through but there is enough there and expect to see some more new players this year who want to put the work in and play for Offaly. If he does that we can actually achieve something in the next 2 years, there's a perception out there that we are miles off because we didn't bother with the tailteann cup but results before that seem to be forgotten about. We need a bit of positivity around the senior footballers and hopefully the championship at all levels will dig up some new talent

What exactly is it you want us to build on?

Losing to Dublin's 4th string in the O'Byrne Cup? No.

Scraping over a decimated Limerick on the final day to stay in division 3? Nope.

Being pummelled by London for their first championship win in 11 years? Certainly not.


What results before the Tailteann have been forgotten about?

Beating the worst two teams in the division?

Rotten performances against Westmeath and Antrim?

Throwing wins away against Clare and Sligo?

Have to agree with Anonymous1 here to certain extent. To be fair One Time, I dont think for a second that Rule The Roost was looking to bring Cian Donoghue back at all - or Thomas Mooney for that matter. He was just saying that for Ballinagar to have had 5 lads in or around a co panel and be beaten by Croghan by 9 pts says a lot. Is he not correct? Donoghue either walked or was dropped last year and I am fairly sure if he was asked, he would not go back in. Mooney was involved some years ago - cant say exactly when but is probably in same age bracket as Donoghue. I too saw both of them play last year and both were instrumental in Brigids getting to the Intermediate final and are very decent club players so no need to come on here and run them down. They are club players now and it is quite tasteless and grossly unfair and unwarranted in my opinion.

I think some people just talk dung here for the sake of dismissing the notion that Declan Kelly will not save Offaly football. Kelly is no doubt a good football man who has given a lot to Offaly and we would all like to see him succeed. Last year though threw up so many questions and included Offaly's worst performance ever in the history of Offaly GAA against London at home, who had not won a championship game in 11 years. If anyone else was in charge, that would have been the end of the manager, full stop - so in fairness, supporters are more than entitled to ask questions. I heard an interview with both Kelly and one of players before Tailteann Cup where they plainly said they were really looking to make an impact on it so dont kid yourself saying we didnt bother with it. The problem was we did bother and threw up absolutely shocking performances.

To say we dont have talent coming through is more nonsense. We won an All Ireland U20 3 years ago. Some of those played in Leinster minor final. Lads above them were on very competitive minor and U20 / U21 teams over last 10 years so there has been talent there and coming through before Kelly ever took the senior or U20 jobs. It is now his role to harness whatever talent is available, gel them as a group and turn them into a team that will play together for the jersey. That is the challenge he sought and has taken on. Has he the managerial acumen to do that? Last years results suggest he hasn't but some will say he has and others will disagree. Perhaps he has learned a few things from the experience in 2024 and will do things different for 2025.

There has been lots of polarising debate here and elsewhere and not all in the best spirit. I for one think Donoghue is as good or better than a good chunk of last years panel. Kelly reserved the right to pick and choose who he wanted and went with younger cohort and Ive no issue with that - provided they are as good or will be as good as the older lads he let go. My fear is that some younger players are not, nor ever will be good enough (and that may include some of those 5 from Ballinagar). In fact, I know some of the younger lads never will be to it but that is just my opinion and it counts for very little, maybe DK just wanted to give them a try.

Senior management is a tough job, there is no doubt and you need good people around you. The best managers surround themselves with expertise generally, ie people that know more than the manager does. I dont think Kelly did that and that was the first failing. There was a tough league campaign where in some games, they played adequately for long spells and lost, more so, later in league when he went away from throwing in the young lads and used the experienced players more or at least had a better blend. The start of league though was not good with all the young lads thrown in and I'd fear more of same this year if senior players decide not to go back in as some have suggested. I thought the WH league game last year was the worst Offaly performance I'd seen in a very long time. The manager reverted back to more senior blend of lads after the few early losses in league and performances did improve to be fair for a spell.

You'd have been content too with end of league and championship performance v Laois which was very good. After that, I dont know what happened and something clearly did, but the team performances were inexplicable. London beating Offaly by 14 points is simply not good enough and Kelly will have been gutted by that, as will the players who were involved. The games against LK and second string Down team were not much better to be honest. Does that make it OK for the status quo to continue? It certainly wouldnt in other years with other managers. By all accounts, there is some changes to backroom team (or maybe its just new selectors) for next year - anyone know what they are? Will that change enough of what we had this year? We dont really know and it'll fall between the management (in terms of getting right players in), and players in terms of buy in to regime to see if things improve for next year. My hope is that it'll improve drastically as it can't get any worse than 2024.

[ruletheroost]

Have been at quite a few games so far and there is no doubt there is talent out there. It's about whether they are asked in or even want to go in if asked. If you are looking to profile players and base lads on what most county teams look for at the moment which is size, athletisism and of course footballing ability then a few lads that have stood out in that regard so far are - Aaron Leavy, Bill Carroll, Jamie Evans, Cormac Delaney, Jack Fogarty, to mention a few.

Then in the younger bracket with lads 21 and under - Killian Bourke(Still very raw but huge potential) Harry Plunkett, Ross Kellegahan, Christopher and Ryan Kenny, Darragh Bates, Brian Carroll, Sean Conway, I'm sure there are more. Not saying any of these have really stood out but they are all playing senior A football, all 6ft or over and atheltic and all good footballers. Size has been a problem for us in recent years.

Not saying these are the answer either but profiling players at games is the only way. Do Offaly Gaa have guys attending games profiling players or is it just the manager going to games and picking out players he thinks are suitable? His idea of a good player has been extremely questionable based on this year.

[Anonymous1]

Have been at quite a few games so far and there is no doubt there is talent out there. It's about whether they are asked in or even want to go in if asked. If you are looking to profile players and base lads on what most county teams look for at the moment which is size, athletisism and of course footballing ability then a few lads that have stood out in that regard so far are - Aaron Leavy, Bill Carroll, Jamie Evans, Cormac Delaney, Jack Fogarty, to mention a few.

4/5 of those players have been on panels over the past few years and never set the world on fire. Some of them deserve another chance for sure but let's not kid ourselves, none of these are going to lead a massive reversal in our fortunes.

Then in the younger bracket with lads 21 and under - Killian Bourke(Still very raw but huge potential) Harry Plunkett, Ross Kellegahan, Christopher and Ryan Kenny, Darragh Bates, Brian Carroll, Sean Conway, I'm sure there are more. Not saying any of these have really stood out but they are all playing senior A football, all 6ft or over and atheltic and all good footballers. Size has been a problem for us in recent years.

Have any of those players stood out for Offaly underage? One or two probably worth a call up but again I'm not sure there's any bolters there.

Not saying these are the answer either but profiling players at games is the only way. Do Offaly Gaa have guys attending games profiling players or is it just the manager going to games and picking out players he thinks are suitable? His idea of a good player has been extremely questionable based on this year.

AFAIK the manager and his selectors attend games and pick out players.

[ruletheroost]

Have been at quite a few games so far and there is no doubt there is talent out there. It's about whether they are asked in or even want to go in if asked. If you are looking to profile players and base lads on what most county teams look for at the moment which is size, athletisism and of course footballing ability then a few lads that have stood out in that regard so far are - Aaron Leavy, Bill Carroll, Jamie Evans, Cormac Delaney, Jack Fogarty, to mention a few.

4/5 of those players have been on panels over the past few years and never set the world on fire. Some of them deserve another chance for sure but let's not kid ourselves, none of these are going to lead a massive reversal in our fortunes.

Then in the younger bracket with lads 21 and under - Killian Bourke(Still very raw but huge potential) Harry Plunkett, Ross Kellegahan, Christopher and Ryan Kenny, Darragh Bates, Brian Carroll, Sean Conway, I'm sure there are more. Not saying any of these have really stood out but they are all playing senior A football, all 6ft or over and atheltic and all good footballers. Size has been a problem for us in recent years.

Have any of those players stood out for Offaly underage? One or two probably worth a call up but again I'm not sure there's any bolters there.

Not saying these are the answer either but profiling players at games is the only way. Do Offaly Gaa have guys attending games profiling players or is it just the manager going to games and picking out players he thinks are suitable? His idea of a good player has been extremely questionable based on this year.

AFAIK the manager and his selectors attend games and pick out players.

Manys a player never played underage and went on to be great senior Intercounty players. In the same way that many outstanding underage players never made it at senior level.

[Anonymous1]

Have been at quite a few games so far and there is no doubt there is talent out there. It's about whether they are asked in or even want to go in if asked. If you are looking to profile players and base lads on what most county teams look for at the moment which is size, athletisism and of course footballing ability then a few lads that have stood out in that regard so far are - Aaron Leavy, Bill Carroll, Jamie Evans, Cormac Delaney, Jack Fogarty, to mention a few.

4/5 of those players have been on panels over the past few years and never set the world on fire. Some of them deserve another chance for sure but let's not kid ourselves, none of these are going to lead a massive reversal in our fortunes.

Then in the younger bracket with lads 21 and under - Killian Bourke(Still very raw but huge potential) Harry Plunkett, Ross Kellegahan, Christopher and Ryan Kenny, Darragh Bates, Brian Carroll, Sean Conway, I'm sure there are more. Not saying any of these have really stood out but they are all playing senior A football, all 6ft or over and atheltic and all good footballers. Size has been a problem for us in recent years.

Have any of those players stood out for Offaly underage? One or two probably worth a call up but again I'm not sure there's any bolters there.

Not saying these are the answer either but profiling players at games is the only way. Do Offaly Gaa have guys attending games profiling players or is it just the manager going to games and picking out players he thinks are suitable? His idea of a good player has been extremely questionable based on this year.

AFAIK the manager and his selectors attend games and pick out players.

Manys a player never played underage and went on to be great senior Intercounty players. In the same way that many outstanding underage players never made it at senior level.

Yes but in the case of the former those players go on to standout at club level which you already admitted they haven't yet done.

[ruletheroost]

Manys a player never played underage and went on to be great senior Intercounty players. In the same way that many outstanding underage players never made it at senior level.

Yes but in the case of the former those players go on to standout at club level which you already admitted they haven't yet done.

We are 2 games into the championship. A lot of the above players have stood out for their club at some stage in the last few years.

[Anonymous1]

Yes but in the case of the former those players go on to standout at club level which you already admitted they haven't yet done.

We are 2 games into the championship. A lot of the above players have stood out for their club at some stage in the last few years.

At Senior level? Which?

[ruletheroost]

Yes but in the case of the former those players go on to standout at club level which you already admitted they haven't yet done.

We are 2 games into the championship. A lot of the above players have stood out for their club at some stage in the last few years.

At Senior level? Which?

I said with their clubs.. all playing senior A now.
Killian Burke outstanding minor last year for club and County. A huge prospect.
Harry Plunkett.. extremely underrated outside of Tullamore. Tullamore know his worth.
Ross Kellaghan - flashes for the county u20s this year. Has done extremely well in both rounds this year.
Christopher Kenny - scored over 20 points in senior B championship last year
Ryan Kenny - scored over 20 points in senior B championship last year. Motm in final
Dara Bates - has come out of the blue to play midfield for Shamrocks this year in both games against Ferbane and Edenderry
Brian Carroll - outstanding club minor last year and did very well with county minors
Sean Conway - long term injury but scored a goal in both finals last year of senior B

Just saying that these types of players need to be looked sooner rather than later. All tall, all athletic and all good footballers. And all 21 or under.