Alan Mulholland has been appointed as the new Galway football manager.

[myball22]

Alan Mulholland has been appointed as the new Galway football manager.

The Salthill/Knocknacarra club man led the Tribesmen to the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship title in 2007 and the under-21 crown last season.

Mulholland becomes Galway's fourth manager in as many years. He has been given a three-year contract to initially prove himself in the role.

If Mulholland lasts that three-year term, he will be breaking with the recent norm for Galway managers. The last two Galway supremos, Joe Kernan and Tomas O Flatharta, were both let go after one term. While Liam Sammon managed two seasons in charge of the Tribesmen before being shown the door.

Tuam Stars manager Alan Flynn and Donal Ó Flatharta from Spiddal will assist Mulholland. Both were assistants to Mulholland on the Galway U21 selecting panel last season.

Best candidate for the job, hope he gets the time to build a team.

[muppet]

Was he on the AI minor winning team of 1986?

[GalwayBayBoy]

Was he on the AI minor winning team of 1986?

He was centre-back on that team I believe.

Best of luck to him. I think he'll do well if given time which I hope he will be given. Looks like we'll see a very young Galway team in the next couple of years. Don't think there will be a mass clear-out but some of the older faces might be phased out. Even though he probably felt he couldn't turn the job down it's stil a big decision for him to take it on as he's very busy already with the family business.

[macdanger2]

Good appointment. Considering how low Galway football is, it's an ideal situation for him coming in.

[Barney]

The Galway fans really haven't shut up about this whole management process the last few months have they. This thread is out of control

[ross4life]

Good appointment by Galway nobody knows the young players coming through better than Mulholland but he needed two years to show his best with the U21s & Minors will he be given that time with the seniors?

[GalwayBayBoy]

The Galway fans really haven't shut up about this whole management process the last few months have they. This thread is out of control

Think it just seemed like Mulholland was going to get it from a long way out.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Good appointment by Galway nobody knows the young players coming through better than Mulholland but he needed two years to show his best with the U21s & Minors will he be given that time with the seniors?

Don't think there is much appetite for changing managers again. So unless things go very badly for him I think he'll get the full 3 years and after that who knows?

[sans pessimism]

Best of luck to Alan-looking forward to Galway challenging next year(but not too strongly!)

[seafoid]

Good appointment. Considering how low Galway football is, it's an ideal situation for him coming in.

It could be a lot worse than being reigning  allireland under 21 champions. Ask anyone from Cavan where they'd like to be in the fuball.

[GalwayBayBoy]

The odds on Galway's 2012 All-Ireland football title prospects didn't budge an inch overnight in the city, remaining steadfast with Mulholland bookmakers at 33/1.

Should it be taken as a sign that one of the firm's directors doesn't believe he can advance those prospects in any significant way next year?

As an oddsmaker, Alan Mulholland believes 33/1 is the correct price for Galway 2012. As the new Galway football manager, officially appointed on Monday night, he doesn't think there is any reason to price those odds downwards on the back of his appointment.

"My brother runs the company with me and he suggested to me yesterday that we should actually push them out to 40/1," he laughed.

At 33/1, the third most successful football county, in terms of All-Ireland senior titles, are no longer perceived as the potential threat they have always traditionally been considered.

"It's a reflection of where Galway football probably is," accepted Mulholland, who has been appointed for three years with a review after two. By the way he is talking, he'll need every one of those years.

"I think the Galway footballers need space and they need the people of Galway to be patient," said the All-Ireland-winning minor and U-21 manager. "Honestly, I think we have to remove any thoughts of silverware next year. Maybe that's not what people want to hear but it's what the players need.

"My aim is to build a solid foundation, manage the transition because that is what is happening in Galway football."

Mulholland believes his appointment is an indication itself of the direction Galway are heading in.

"Galway have appointed an underage coach and that says something about the direction it's felt we should be travelling in. We have to blood more players but, having said that, I'm not going to discard anyone that is already there."

That will leave Padraic Joyce with the choice of continuing on as an inter-county player for a 15th season in his own hands. Joyce has deferred a decision on his future until the new year.

adamant

Mulholland accepts results have not been good for Galway over the last few seasons but is adamant that Galway have worked just as hard as any other county to fix that.

"I was U-21 manager for the last two seasons and I've had visibility into what Joe Kernan and Tomas O Flatharta were doing. They ran very professional set ups.

"Dublin win an All-Ireland title and everyone talks about how hard they are working but I think most inter-county teams are working that hard now."

Mulholland is also confident that the 2007 minor team that he managed to All-Ireland success can yield more in the next three years for the Galway seniors than it has done over the last three.

"There's a perception there that the players on that minor team haven't followed on but, again, time and patience are required," he said. "In other counties there are players who don't make it until their mid 20s -- Kerry and Cork for example.

"I won an All-Ireland minor title as a player in 1986 but the county didn't win an All-Ireland title for 12 years after that. Kevin Walsh and Tomas Mannion, who were on that team, were at their best in their late 20s, early 30s. Sometimes the expectation is too much too soon. There are a lot of developmental factors to consider."

Mulholland will have his U-21 selectors Donal O Flatharta and Alan Flynn on board for the next three years but has no plans to introduce anyone else to his back-room team.

As for indicators as to the mood and rate of progress Galway could make under Mulholland, the odds he offers in his day job may be the most transparent source.

At a time when some inter-county managers are reported to be making hay on expenses, Mulholland is in the unique position of potentially paying for any success he enjoys in the future.

[RedandGreenSniper]

Between Mulholland and PJ, there'll be some amount of fun about Galway prices this year!

[Farrandeelin]

Rest of Connacht, be on high alert for Galway next year. Just saying like. I certainly wouldn't want to face them in the first round, and we probably will end up getting them in the draw.

[spuds]

Rest of Connacht, be on high alert for Galway next year. Just saying like. I certainly wouldn't want to face them in the first round, and we probably will end up getting them in the draw.

[moysider]

I don t think Galway are ever taken lightly. They have too much tradition and resources for that.

But how much immediate improvement is there in Galway? Surely Big Joe and O Fl. ran a tight ship. Unlike Mayo after 06-10, where any new appointment could only improve things, and where Horan got as much as anybody could reasonably expect.

We ll have to see what Mulholland brings though. I wouldn t be reading much into his minor or U21 success though.
I m still trying to get my head around the poor response that Kernan and O Flahartha got in successive years. The only thing that we can say for certain is that when Galway gets to the business end of the championship again it will not be in the style of the team 98-01.
In other words is Mulholland prepared to go down the Jim McGuinness road to be a top team and will the board and public stand for it. In neighbouring Mayo James Horan is getting plenty of grassroots criticism for being too negative, when it is patently obvious that he isn t nearly negative enough if Mayo are to go to another level.
I expect Mayo to play more like Kildare/Dublin/Donegal next year. Are Galway going to do the same? We ll have to wait and see.