Happy or not with progress this year ??

[Mighty Pair O' Hands]

Okay the fog of the defeat to Dublin is now gradually lifting and a thought struck me - If we lose To Laois, overall have we had a good year or not ?

ie am I happy that Offaly won 3 leinster games, got to a Leinster final, got to the last 12 in football and were still playing ball at the end of July ?

Or, we lost to Laois, only got as far as Wastemeath, beat three average teams and have been relegated to Division Two?

[Tom]

I'll be happy with the progress considerin it's further in leinster than we've gotten in 9 years. however, the fact that we'll be playin division 2 football next year is worrying for the championship next year. I only hope we can raise our game to play top sides if we're playin average/poor teams all winter.

[Lone Shark]

If we lose to Laois - I would say that it's been a step forward, but not a huge one. With the players we have, beating Westmeath should have been straightforward - likewise beating Wexford and Kildare and losing to Dublin is roughly what you'd expect, without exceeding or falling short of that. However I don't want to appear like I'm taking that for granted - after all we had a long stretch of years there where we fell way short of what you'd expect. We didn't throw away games we should have won, but we didn't win the one where we were outsiders either. All in all progress.

However.

The league is by far the secondary competition, but in marked contrast to the way the hurling is going, it's getting more and more intense, and is a lot closer to championship pace every year. Our league campaign was abysmal - nothing short of it. Relegation will cost us in terms of competitiveness next year, and what happened in Parnell Park was a humiliation that was unparallelled in Offaly football, at least since the Tommy Lyons turnaround. These things damage our standing as a top tier football county, and trying to pretend we put on a great fightback doesn;t help.

In off the field matters, we didn't do ourselves any favourites either. Going crying to the papers about refereeing decisions is hardly the way great Offaly legends like Ryan, Fitzgerald and McCormack would have wanted it. We've done a lot of that this year.

All in all, if we lose to Laois - D plus. If we beat Laois, C plus, and then up to a B grade if we come get within a point or two of Mayo. So a D then, in all likelihood.

[Hocker]

Yeah I'd pretty much go along with that alright.. would you not be optimistic about our chances against Laois Mr Shark?

Overall assesment in general this year : C2

Without Mcnamee & Deehan we'd be a bare D...

On another topic, how close would Niall Mc come to an All-star this year? I'd imagine if we beat Laois he'll be a definite, even now he'd be there or thereabouts!!

[True Red]

Could it be possible that Kilmurray was whinging to the papers about Goggins "play-acting" in an effort to deflect attention away from some of the negative aspects of Offaly's performance in the Leinster final?

Much like the same way Woodward (on the advice of spin merchant Alistair Campbell) focussed on the spear tackle on Brian O'Driscoll perpetrated by Mealamu and Umaga on last years Ill fated Lions tour...?

[DD]

On another topic, how close would Niall Mc come to an All-star this year? I'd imagine if we beat Laois he'll be a definite, even now he'd be there or thereabouts!!

Best forward in the championship to date but the way the allstars are handed out we will need to beat Laois for him to be in the running.

[Lone Shark]

I would say he'll at really struggle to be honest. Even if they were to be picked now, he'd still be behind Masters and possibly Meehan in the queue. When you factor in that one big performance in a final or semi will go so far, I'd say Niall will need two more good games. Due to the lack of obvious contenders in that role, Slattery might actually be a little more likely right now.

I don't think blaming Goggins was a spin exercise really - I think he just likes talking to the media, and gets carried away. When you think about it, how many times has Kevin Kilmurray been the lead story this year - now compare that with Luke Dempsey, Tomás O'Flaithearta, Paul Caffrey, Charlie Mulgrew, Jack O'Connor, Mickey Moran, Peter Forde ......

Kilmurray is getting as much coverage as O'Dwyer or Morgan, and that other media whore, Brian McIver. Makes no sense at all.

[the bare biffo]

LS, we all know fairly well, you'r views on Kilmurray, and many I would agree with.
But.........
KK took the job when to be honest, no one would touch it with a barge pole. If the job was open tomorrow, I think it would attract some strong candidates, KK must take some credit for that. In recent years, not in KK's reign, Offaly have lost to WH, KE and WX in the championship. This year we have beaten all three in succession. And no I don't believe the team improved dramatically because KK was sitting in the stands.
I don't blieve Laois are anywhere near as physically strong from 5 to 12, as Dublin, so theres a good chance to advance if heads are right.
Accusing KK of being a media whore is a bit over the top also. Maybe he's not too media savvy, as with every other aspect of intercounty management the man is a novice. He has never been in the heat of a Leinster final with the Dubs and all the media circus that entails.

In contrast John McIntyre is a media pro, and was held in high regard by yourself, but in my view has been an abject failure in his efforts to progress the hurlers. Maybe not his fault, but he and KK are the men in the hot seat. When things don't work they get it in the neck but when something goes right they equally deserve a share of the credit.

KK may never be a J OMahoney or M Harte, but I think his heart is in the right place.

[Tom]

couldn't agree more bare biffo