Shane Sullivan dropped from the Offaly panel?

[True Red]

taken from the Midland Tribune

Offaly Aim To End NFL Campaign On Winning Note
Thursday, 8 April 2010


Shane Sullivan has been dropped from the Offaly panel.
SHANE Sullivan has been dropped from the Offaly senior football panel but the door has been left open for him to rejoin it later in the year.
Sullivan was removed from the panel following discussions with team management after an alleged incident on the day after Offaly's defeat by Cavan in the National Football League last Saturday week.
Sullivan played at full back in Offaly's defeat in Cavan and had been in excellent form in the last couple of games but will definitely not be on the panel in the coming weeks.
Manager, Tom Cribbin, however, told the Tribune this week that the door is still open for Sullivan to return. "It was a management decision but the door is not closed for anyone who wants to be on the panel. It is up to anyone who wants to play for Offaly to show that they want to play for Offaly and deal with whatever issues they may have," he said.
Sullivan's departure will cast a cloud over Offaly's preparations for their final league game against Louth in Tullamore on Sunday next - a game that is meaningless in some respects as Offaly cannot be promoted or relegated.
Offaly's defeat by Cavan ended their promotion hopes and interestingly Tom Cribbin held his hands up this week and accepted management's responsibility for this defeat.
Offaly removed midfielders, John Coughlan and Richie Dalton at a stage when they were winning the midfield battle and Cribbin accepted that they got it wrong.
Stating that it was important to defeat Louth both from a player's and management point of view, he confessed: "The last day we made decisions that were not good for the team. We didn't make great decisions. We also played in stages and we need to get consistency into our game."
Asked was he referring to the decision to replace Coughlan and Dalton, Cribbin replied: "Yes. We were a bit frustrated with the pace of our game and thought we were capable of playing better football but in hindsight, there is no way that midfield was the problem. I am not pointing the finger anywhere but there were bigger issues in defence and some lads up front were not working hard enough. I am not blaming anyone but we didn't make good decisions on the line. All games in division 3 are tight and we have to make the right decisions. We didn't make the right decisions that day."
Cribbin also confirmed that Anton Sullivan will not play in Sunday's game against Louth - Sullivan went off with a ligament injury against Cavan and missed St Michael's U-21 football final defeat by Tullamore Og last Sunday. His injury should be cleared up by Sunday but Cribbin stated that they know what Sullivan is capable of and will not play him.
Instead, he is more interested in getting competitive games for three injured players that are now ready to return to action: Forwards, Ken Casey, Niall Darby and P.J. Ward who will all play against Louth.
It has been a very mixed league campaign for Offaly but a closing win would send them into their championship count down in good fettle. While Offaly have been very mediocre at times, their home form has been good and they will be expecting to beat Louth in Tullamore.

[Bord na Mona man]

Well that's never a good sign. The Offaly defence has been the weak link all year and defections won't help matters.

We know what to expect from Meath next month. 70 minutes of balls being lumped in agricultural style at cavemen-like forwards. I'd fear for the light and inexperienced back line Offaly will most likely have out there.

I think Offaly will now have to look at picking a side to cope with the opposition. Like perhaps putting Richie Dalton and Scott Brady into the backline to counter the aerial threat.