Interesting Reading From the Tullamore Tribune

[townman]

no its nothing to be proud of but they done the same to waterford in a final and beat Galway bye 21 points in thurles around
that time as well .they were a great side like we were in the 90's when we were beating kilkenny 4-17 to 0-7 in 1990 leinster semil
but carlow they would beat no one and never did, my point is there is no point in putting dates on when offaly hurlers had bad days
when the footballers haven't seen a football final since 1982 its cheap talking about offalys bad day again kilkenny in 2005 when the
footballers have been as bad if not worse in the last 12 years or so hurlers in div 1 footballers div 3 might tell you what you need to know.

[Bord na Mona man]

I know I probably should know better, but Jaysus...

no its nothing to be proud of but they done the same to waterford in a final and beat Galway bye 21 points in thurles around
that time as well .they were a great side like we were in the 90's when we were beating kilkenny 4-17 to 0-7 in 1990 leinster semil

We're making progress now. So 2005 vs. Kilkenny wasn't a performance to hold their heads high about after all.

but carlow they would beat no one and never did, my point is there is no point in putting dates on when offaly hurlers had bad days when the footballers haven't seen a football final since 1982 its cheap talking about offalys bad day again kilkenny in 2005 when the footballers have been as bad if not worse in the last 12 years or so

That sort of logic makes no sense. Kilkenny people shouldn't criticise their hurlers because their footballers are bad. Ditto Kerry people and their footballers because their hurlers are bad!

hurlers in div 1 footballers div 3 might tell you what you need to know.

What does it tell us?
Offaly hurlers are in Division 1 because of Limerick being on strike this year for starters. Not to mention 15 or 20 counties being dung at hurling and having varyingly low interest in promoting it.
Offaly footballers are in Division 3 because, no more than the hurlers, there isn't a huge pool of talent there. However since more counties take football seriously it pushes them down the pecking order.

No more than a very poor Irish rugby team would probably still stay in the top 10 in the world rankings. A very good Irish soccer team might find it hard to break into the top 10.

None of the above alters the original assessment. Which is that both Offaly hurling and football teams have in recent years put in performances which were less 100%.
Any takers on disagreeing with this one?

[Plain of the Herbs]

I’ve seen the full printed version which makes for very interesting reading. One nugget which caught my eye was where Ger said Mike McNamara was the best manager he played under:-

Personally I thought Mike McNamara was the best I played under. He came in and absolutely held the room with his presence among all the players which is a rarity for a manager. He was fierce passionate and honest . . . A few personnel in the County Board didn’t want him but the players would have liked him there for another year. Don’t get me wrong, you would question if you were able for it or not. The training was fierce hard, probably the hardest training any of us ever did. The players would have accepted him back with open arms.

He went on to state that he “loved” hurling at full-back, points out that he hurled there for two years in 2003 & ’04, then McIntyre came in, played him outfield during the 2005 league then threw him back in to full-back for the championship.

Another little gem

One huge regret was when we played Wexford last year and I picked up a nasty blow in the first few minutes. Your man only got a yellow card for it and absolutely not one Offaly man came within ten foot of him. The game was lost in that moment in time. It is only a little thing to have regret or disappointment over but Offaly teams of old would have greeted him with a shoulder or the butt of a hurl. They would have let him know he was there but not one Offaly man went near him. I know it is only a little thing but you are picking aspects of the game and what is right and wrong. Little things like that make for a nasty big picture. It was just a clatter but it was an invitation for people to get to know him so that was disappointing.

Just a few caveats though. Kevin Corrigan writes that Ger had the game of his life when Offaly lost to Cork in 1999. In fact Ger didn’t play in that match though he started midfield against Wexford and came on in the Leinster final against Kilkenny that year. He could probably also have broached the subject of Ger’s disappointment at being taken off early the second day against Clare in 1998 and how he didn’t travel to Thurles with the team for the third match.

For those of you who are away from home, it amounts to three broadsheet pages (including photos) and it is a thoroughly enjoyable read which lifts the lid on a number of issues.

[townman]

The thing i would like to know why is he coming out with all this now about players and mangers
ger gave 100 per cent when he played but he wouldn't get into the top 30 hurlers who played for offaly
since 1980.

[Long John]

Lads anybody who knows Ger would have to say hes a very sound fella, always took younger players under his wing, a very welcoming player to new recruits to the county panel. I can understand alot of his frustration over the way the county has progressed. Ger wasnt a skillful hurler, he lacked alot of composure and striking ability but I have to say he was the strongest most physical player Offaly had in years. To me he always looked sluggish enough running around a field but fitness tests in mid 2000's showed him as one of the fittest GAA players in the country.

I hear what Magpie referred to about Shane Dooley. I dont get all this thing about Shane having developed as an athlete. He always had tremendous skill as a youngster but was terribly cowardly. My opinion is he has got a little bit more guttsy now and he has filled out naturally to a build similar to his Dad. Its not down to any massive gym training. Ive seen him in the gym and he's not doing anything different than any other player or average person that goes there. He has got a little bit less cowardly now and his skills were always there, thats the difference now.

I think people have this crazy view that gym training will improve Offaly massively, thats complete fiction. Offaly players have been training very hard in gyms as hard as all other counties. The footballers had a conditioning specialist for aa few years called Dave Fagan who was involved with Leinsters rugby squad. They had individual programs developed for each one of them. Now year in year out at this time I read this rubbish about gym training. Its been done, more than enough of it, too much if you ask me. These lads can grow out but it wont make them grow up, the county doesnt have enough players over 6 foot that can play, thats the bottom line. Games are won on what you can produce on the field under pressure. Endurance, skill, speed and agility are the main components. Offaly teams should be working on that and forget using gym training as an excuse for underperforming and not competing with the best. Padraig Maher, Lar Corbett, Shane McGrath, Tommy Walsh, Henry Shefflin, none of these lads are monster men physically but they can hurl hard and fast. Why because they hurl, hurl, hurl, always practising with the stick.

[Bord na Mona man]

I read the full version and its an interesting read.

Reading the quote: "They did back then as well but they took the knocks and gave the knocks. That is probably lacking a bit from our game today."

I wonder does some of his dismay at his teammates stem from the Wexford championship game last year?
Oakley was taken out of it and injured with a dangerous frontal charge, that would be a red card offence had it occurred outside the first 5 minute exemption period. There was a shortage of Offaly players either able or willing to throw down a similar marker towards Wexford. No doubt it handed a psychological advantage to the yellow bellies.

A decade earlier in the All Ireland final, Philly Larkin of Kilkenny took Brendan Murphy out of it with a similar foul. The Offaly player who avenged this a few minutes later was Oakley himself by ploughing into Larkin after he had cleared a ball.

[Bord na Mona man]

I think people have this crazy view that gym training will improve Offaly massively, thats complete fiction. Offaly players have been training very hard in gyms as hard as all other counties. The footballers had a conditioning specialist for aa few years called Dave Fagan who was involved with Leinsters rugby squad. They had individual programs developed for each one of them. Now year in year out at this time I read this rubbish about gym training. Its been done, more than enough of it, too much if you ask me. These lads can grow out but it wont make them grow up, the county doesnt have enough players over 6 foot that can play, thats the bottom line. Games are won on what you can produce on the field under pressure. Endurance, skill, speed and agility are the main components. Offaly teams should be working on that and forget using gym training as an excuse for underperforming and not competing with the best. Padraig Maher, Lar Corbett, Shane McGrath, Tommy Walsh, Henry Shefflin, none of these lads are monster men physically but they can hurl hard and fast. Why because they hurl, hurl, hurl, always practising with the stick.

Gym work alone may or may not be the solution, but an issue in Offaly hurling is that we haven't been able to match other sides in terms of strength or aggression.

Nowadays players need to keep their composure under serious physical pressure and successfully play the ball. Players in possession may even need to seek out the collisions to create space for a team mate. Many Offaly players still need to go to great lengths to avoid physical contact and their skills don't hold up sufficiently when under pressure.

Which reminds me of another of Oakley's better games, 2008 vs. Kilkenny. Where at centre back, he hurled on the front foot, broke through tackles and got Offaly going forward. By contrast a lot of his team mates, were in full-on evasion mode and hopefully hitting the ball under pressure.

And that is the difference between us and the Kilkennys and Tipperarys. Their players can stay strong enough under pressure to pick out a team mate. It can be played it 3 or 4 times consecutively to players who are equally capable of the same, before finally creating the best opportunity to shoot at the posts, or deliver the blockbuster clearance.

Offaly just don't get that sort of platform to work from. Against the best teams we'll still have to hit rushed clearances and take hopeful pot shots at the posts.