EIRE OG ON THE DRY.

[black and red exile]

Talking to a guy very close to the Eire Og camp today, he informed me that the players made a pact after the game yesterday to hold off celebrating their win until after next Sunday's game with Tullamore.

[redser]

Without Cathal Daly Tullamore have very little. O'Grady did nothing and it proves the final woz a lucky day for him. Egan is a good footballer.

Hogans miss was terrible and it resulted in a 6 point turnaround.

[del]

you must not have been at the match o grady destroyed them in the first twenty minutes and set up plenty of scores the county final was not a once off.your right cathal was sorely missed it took rhode a acouple of years to get a sustained run in the leinster hopefully those young lads will have learnt a lesson and come back as hungry next year

[black and red exile]

I was at the game myself on Sunday and quite honestly Tullamore were awful. After a whirlwind start in which we all thought this game would be wrapped up at half time, the Blues just seemed to stop doing the simple things and especially in the second half they lost their shape and started to panic. Del is right in saying that O'Grady did actually play well but he was well marshalled and every time he got the ball there was one and sometimes 2 Eire Og lads on him like a dog on a rabbit.
In fairness guys, our new County champions last Sunday confirmed that club football in Offaly is crap at the moment and God help Pat Roe in picking the bones out of the whole sorry mess.

[Lone Shark]

At the risk of bringing down all sorts of wrath upon myself, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Tullamore were not head and shoulders above everyone else in Offaly this year, and that on a bad day (which it appears they had) they wouldn't beat a Ballycumber or a Ferbane, never mind a county championship winning Éire Óg side.

They deserved to win Offaly in that they beat all that was put in front of them when it mattered, but they stumbled over the line and this was a bridge too far - I wouldn't go extrapolating from this too much. If Ger O'Grady goes playing rugby next year and Cathal Daly stays retired well then their two best players aren't even selection options for Pat Roe - I wouldn't worry about Offaly football based on this. I worry based on a lot of other things, but not this.

[redser]

Yeah lone shark is bang on. Id rank them behind Rhode, Shamrocks and maybe even Clara.

They were drinking non stop since the final and had no interest in the competition so i wouldnt see it as a reflection on Offaly football. Daly won them the final and he wasnt playing.

[The Magpie]

I'm in full agreement with LS here. I don't think Tullamore were the best team in the County this year. There is a handfull of teams in the County that could beat them and none of us would be in shock. Next year will tell us a lot about this group of players, but I doubt that they'll be indulging in a Leinster Club campaign.

However, they certainly have a great habit of winning championships with teams that are far from outstanding. The class of 2002 wasn't a great team by any means, but again they won a championship that no other team could. You have to take your hat off to them in that respect.

I don't think it's any indication of the strength of Offaly football that Tullamore were well beaten by Eire Og - since I don't believe that Tullamore were the best team in the County. Remember, last year Rhode were very close to winning a Leinster.

Perhaps the fact that an average (or slightly above), well-drilled, fit bunch of players can win a championship says more about the state of Offaly football than anything else does.

[del]

lads get a grip will ye how can ye say shamrocks and clara are better than tullamore . the town bet clara and shamrocks on route to claiming the dowling cup. all this talk about tullamore been a one man team is in indicative of most club teams take niall mcnamee from rhode and nearly every senior club would fancy there chances of beating them pj ward from shamrocks deehan from clara mcmanus from tubber etc etc. tullamore are the best club team from offaly this year as they won the dowling cup full stop. now what will happen next year is anybodys guess. and they were not drinking none stop since the county final thats bull they gave it a good lash and rightly so but were back training the following fri night and put in a few very hard sessions (training sessions). come on the super blues

[Lone Shark]

tullamore are the best club team from offaly this year as they won the dowling cup full stop.

No - Tullamore won the Dowling Cup because they played to the hilt of their moderate ability on the days when it counted, while Shamrocks bottled a final and Rhode struggled to deal with all sorts of internal turmoil. Whether they phoned it in against Éire Óg or not is another issue, but they certainly showed that they aren't a Leinster championship standard team, not by a long chalk. The fact that Éire Óg will lose to Tyrellspass who in turn will lose to Vincents/Navan who in turn will lose to Moorefield/Portlaoise says it all really.

The best team does not always win, by any stretch of the imagination. The record books will show that Tullamore won this title, just like the record books will show that Sligo won Connacht, St. Brigid's won Dublin, Killererin won Galway and Glenullin won Derry. Now if those five teams were in their respective finals next year against Rhode, Mayo, Kilmacud, Salthill Knocknacarra and Ballinderry every one of them would be underdogs.

Tullamore ain't a one man team either - they don't even have that one man. Keane, McConway and a few others will all be in or around the county panel next year, but right now they'll do well to have even one championship starter if the team was picked tomorrow. The fact that a certain member of their committee was quite shamelessly touting John Kenny as player of the year to any media personnel lying around said it all really.

[black and red exile]

I was talking to a couple of Carlow GAA nuts on Monday morning who were amazed that in their opinion the worst Eire Og team in 20 years actually won so convincingly totally stunned them. They found it incredible that a proud football County like ours could produce such poor County champions, especially with Rhode coming so close to taking Leinster last year. Lads I swear to God If Tullamore win the championship again next year I promise I will run naked across O Connor Pk, surely to jaysus a rejuvinated Rhode, a mentally stronger and starving Shamrocks or a confident Clara will be ahead of the Blues to collect the holy Grail next September.

[DD]

surely to jaysus a rejuvinated Rhode, a mentally stronger and starving Shamrocks or a confident Clara will be ahead of the Blues to collect the holy Grail next September.

Don't forget the reds

[redser]

Yes the reds would be well capable of beaten them on their day. So would Ferbane and maybe Gracefield. Tullamores midfield lost them the game against eire og and won it in the 2nd half against shamrocks along with an inspired Cathal Daly performance. Says it all.

[black and red exile]

My apologies to DD and Redser. Of course the Reds would be well capable of taking Tullamore on any given day and I think I speak for the vast majority on this site when I say that its great to have ye back in the senior ranks again, the championship just was not the same without ye.

[TheManFromFerbane]

Here Here, I'm already looking forward to the battle!

[Bogman]

I wasn't at the game between Tullamore and Eire Og but I can well believe that one reason for Tullamore's fade was that Eire Og dominated the Midfield battle. The lack of a strong Midfield is a real problem for Offaly teams and leads to long spells of opposition dominance. It was the reason that Rhode didn't win Leinster in the last few years.