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" Mullins to return?

Brian Mullins as Derry manager
29 April 2007


Speculation is mounting in Offaly hurling circles that Birr goalkeeper Brian Mullins is about to rejoin the Faithful County panel.

Mullins was let go from the panel last year after missing a challenge game and his place in the team went to Shane O’Connor.

However the concession of six goals against Limerick, it is understood that Mullins could be invited to return to the fold over the next couple of weeks. "

Hardly going to be invited back 3 weeks before championship?!

That strikes me as a nothing story. That's some lazy journalist putting two and two together and making twenty two. Shane O'Connor may not have covered himself in glory so far this spring, but it's not like Breeder is the equivalent of Damien Fitzhenry waiting in the wings - Breeder himself has caused us a few problems due to rushes of blood to the head down the years, and you'll find that it won't have been without cause that he wasn't on the panel so far.

I might not be in agreement with the two Coolderry keepers being the keepers for the county, but having said that it would send out all the wrong signals in the run up to the championship and I can't see it happening.

i agree that he shouldnt be asked back in.
how can he be after not training the last four months.


Mullins is a very good keeper on form but without been involved for the last 4 months he shouldnt be let near a county panel.

Believe it or not but the county management will be inviting players in after the first rounds of the club championship. And Mullins will be one of those invited back in, whether he will go in or not that will we see in two weeks.

Just shows what faith the management have in their players.

While I don't think Mullins should be brought back, it wouldn't surprise me if he was.

This will almost definitely be McIntyre's last year, so he can make such patchwork moves more easily. Mullins wouldn't be a long term prospect by any means, as he is hitting 30.

Offalys Future wrote:" Mullins to return?

Brian Mullins as Derry manager
29 April 2007

Right. So what has an ex Dublin football midfielder got to with this?

Offalys Future wrote:Believe it or not but the county management will be inviting players in after the first rounds of the club championship. And Mullins will be one of those invited back in, whether he will go in or not that will we see in two weeks.


Just shows what faith the management have in their players.

I'm actually delighted to see this happening and is one of my major issues with the football management over the years.

My point is this: Despite what people say there are some very good county footballers in this county and a lot of good ones. By that I mean the very good players would be pushing for their place in any of the county squads in Ireland and a lot of the county teams in Ireland.

However this statement comes with the following important qualifier "when they are on form".

For example in my opinion the likes of Karl Slattery, Ciaran Mc, Thomas Deehan, Pascal Keelaghan etc... would, when playing to their potential, be pushing for a place on nearly every county team in the country.

(I would say that Niall Mc is our only player that is worth his place on every county team at the moment.)

However when these players are not on form they probably aren't worth their place on our team!

Why then, when the club championship is being played would you not invite in a player who is going well? It makes no sense to say that even though a player is playing great stuff in the championship and the league, that he shouldnt get a look in at the county just because he wasn't there from the start!?

I understand that you would want to keep a continuity of squad so therefore I would set 5 floating places in the panel, where players can move in and out depending on their form.

That way you have a panel of 25 lads that are always there and 5 places up for grabs that the rest of the club players could be aiming for in the championship.

Now I know some people will say that the fitness levels wouldn't be high enough but I can guarantee that when a player is in his purple patch he can be the fattest, slowest player in the county and he will still play well. And a player can be the fittest, fastest player in the county but if the ball isn't breaking for him he isn't going to have a good game.

I think this is something a lot of our supporters don’t realise, a player doesn’t turn bad over night. Players have good patches and bad patches, and dropping a player from the team or squad when he isn’t going well isn’t a disaster for either parties, if the player takes it the right way and works hard to get his form back and the team replaces him with a player that is going well.

This is one of the luxuries that county managers have that club managers don’t have and I think they should use it.

I agree to a certain degree, however this is a slightly different case in that it's not necessarily form that led to him being dropped off the panel in the first place. If we were talking about drafting in a fresh guy after he had a great game at the weekend that's one thing, but part of the Breeder debate is that he was part of the problem in terms of the county's indiscipline and belief that we could survive without putting in the hard work.

If he makes a rake of saves against Kinnitty though it will certainly advance the case for his recall in a big way.

Fair point, I kinda took the conversation off topic due to the:

"Just shows what faith the management have in their players."

comment.