LAOIS SENIOR FOOTBALL 2016

[Stad]

Get this man out. Sounds like he doesn't want to be there. Terrible defeatist attitude and he hasn't a clue.

https://soundcloud.com/midlandssport/mick-lillis-post-cavan

That's an embarrassing interview and it's not the first one. He doesn't have to first idea as to why we never had a chance of winning the game never mind trying to fix it. He said there's not a lot between the two teams (us and Cavan), I think player wise he's right but apart from that he's way off. Cavan had an easy win because they were set up properly. I still can't believe he hasn't got a training pitch sorted out. Embarrassing.

[BallyroanAbu]

Jack Nolan has to be the most optimistic man in Ireland.  In fairness to Lillis he is fairly down beat.  To be honest I thought going in this was going to be tough job for anyone.  Lillis has come in and tried and to the best of my knowledge is a volunteer.  So I am not going to knock him.   However it is clear he is out of depth and maybe we have to gamble a bit and go with a untried coach with good ideas similar to Big Jim.  To be honest Sugrue seems to be an outstanding candidate within the county.  But I am not against anyone provided they have a plan and a way of playing.  This comes with a health warning as if Lillis gets the bullet do the Portlaoise boys walk. 

[Tony]

The way he has them set up is laughable. It's what an u-12 coach would set them up like. "Go out an fight for every ball and and try your best." That's 100% what he's saying - why else is our defence so shambolic? That DOES NOT cut it in 2016.

We've scored almost as much as Tyrone have, but our defence is so, so easy to crack. GET A PROPER BACKS TACTICAL COACH IN THERE, before 2016 is another waste of time for all. We'll have to keep Lillis for this year but will the man admit he needs some help in the tactical department.

[OTF]

Jack Nolan has to be the most optimistic man in Ireland.  In fairness to Lillis he is fairly down beat.  To be honest I thought going in this was going to be tough job for anyone.  Lillis has come in and tried and to the best of my knowledge is a volunteer.  So I am not going to knock him.   However it is clear he is out of depth and maybe we have to gamble a bit and go with a untried coach with good ideas similar to Big Jim.  To be honest Sugrue seems to be an outstanding candidate within the county.  But I am not against anyone provided they have a plan and a way of playing.  This comes with a health warning as if Lillis gets the bullet do the Portlaoise boys walk.

Jack played his part in getting rid of both Kearns and McNulty 2 managers who tried to put some sort of defensive plan in place during their time.
Amazing how many porters are now calling for defensive systems  maybe it's a watershed .

[OTF]

The way he has them set up is laughable. It's what an u-12 coach would set them up like. "Go out an fight for every ball and and try your best." That's 100% what he's saying - why else is our defence so shambolic? That DOES NOT cut it in 2016.

We've scored almost as much as Tyrone have, but our defence is so, so easy to crack. GET A PROPER BACKS TACTICAL COACH IN THERE, before 2016 is another waste of time for all. We'll have to keep Lillis for this year but will the man admit he needs some help in the tactical department.

Absolutely go out there and get someone, there's no reason in the wide earthly world why the 6 backs that started yesterday can't defend properly .....if hard as it to believe coached in the basics.

[maccer]

Sometimes I think we've an over inflated opinion of our players. We haven't had a set of backs that could defend properly in years. Even in mickos time they weren't great but compensated in other ways. Laois players seem to either lunge in and get exposed or throw a flailing arm at an attacker. People might point to mc nultys time but when did we really come close to winning an important game. It's one thing keeping the score down but you're supposed to try and win games. Not saying you couldn't improve the current set up but I am saying we simply don't coach the arts of defending, tackling, kicking, decision making like other counties. Until we do that routinely with kids county wide we'll keep having the same arguments about senior managers for decades to come

[BallyroanAbu]

I don't whats wrong with us do we preach mediocre.  We always have an excuse.   Offaly have won All Ireland same as us even when we had good young teams in the 90's size was the excuse why we never kicked on.  This team on paper maybe not all available positions is capable of Div 1 football and at least a last 8 spot in the All Ireland Series.  Evan O Carroll, Donie Kingston have talent comparable to anyone in the country for whatever reason we are not getting the max out of them.  Begley, Quigley were recruited to AFL.  John O Loughlin one of the best players in Dublin Club Championship.

[blueandwhite1]

Do we really believe Cavan and Fermanagh have better players than us? They do in their holes. We have plenty of footballers in all positions but we play like a team from the 80s. Top class game plans used to be what 3 or 4 teams excelled at, now everyone does it except us. Plenty of division 3 teams have adapted too. The most worrying statement from Lillis yesterday was 'there was nothing between the teams'. There was a proverbial mile between them in terms of preparation and game planning. I agree also with those who say that Jack Nolan has played a part in this idiotic idea that open, attacking football suits Laois. Let's see how it suits us in Division 4. Either Lillis becomes a fast learner and starts putting some serious structure around that team, or we need to find someone who can.

[OTF]

I'm not saying we are neglecting our underage coaching, but we are light years away from competing for a provincial title, if Saturday is anything to go by. We give our players what you could call a 'general' coaching education. They have the skills of the game, but we struggle with anything specific. We don't defend well, we don't track runs, we don't have a clear plan in attack, we don't pressurize the ball until it's too late, we don't have a plan for kickouts. We have been left behind. It was disheartening to see. When we were successful all those years ago games were a bit more off the cuff, so you could get away with it, but the game has changed a lot in the last ten years and we haven't caught up, and don't appear likely to do so any time soon either.

Above is part of a post by Steven Segal re our recent u21 game v Dublin I think it sums up exactly our current position.

[Ballyroan Abbey]

Apart from underage coaching another thing that needs to change is championship structure, a leaf needs to be borrowed from the hurling and the senior needs to go down to 8 with the other 8 being inter, it will make it far more competitive in all grades from senior to junior and improve  performances in leinster for the winners, with the gales thing brought in this year it could finally make senior an actual championship instead of waiting to see who will play portlaoise in the final, if you improve the standard of club championships you improve the county team after a period of time also

[High Fielder]

Sometimes I think we've an over inflated opinion of our players. We haven't had a set of backs that could defend properly in years. Even in mickos time they weren't great but compensated in other ways. Laois players seem to either lunge in and get exposed or throw a flailing arm at an attacker. People might point to mc nultys time but when did we really come close to winning an important game. It's one thing keeping the score down but you're supposed to try and win games. Not saying you couldn't improve the current set up but I am saying we simply don't coach the arts of defending, tackling, kicking, decision making like other counties. Until we do that routinely with kids county wide we'll keep having the same arguments about senior managers for decades to come

Spot on. Reaction is way over the top and in some cases completely unrealistic. We're in a vicious circle too with regards to Lillis. He's all we can afford because funding is at an all time low in the county. Crowds are pitiful and interest in general is seriously on the wane. Club football is pathetic in terms of standard and our set up is out of the dark ages. Young lads are dropping by the wayside left, right and centre because they have no interest in propping up clubs who have no chance of winning anything. Division 3 is what we are. If there's anything in us at all, we'll take the hit and come back stronger, but I'm not holding my breath. Chances are we are going down the same road as Offaly

[Faugheen]

The way he has them set up is laughable. It's what an u-12 coach would set them up like. "Go out an fight for every ball and and try your best." That's 100% what he's saying - why else is our defence so shambolic? That DOES NOT cut it in 2016.

We've scored almost as much as Tyrone have, but our defence is so, so easy to crack. GET A PROPER BACKS TACTICAL COACH IN THERE, before 2016 is another waste of time for all. We'll have to keep Lillis for this year but will the man admit he needs some help in the tactical department.

Absolutely go out there and get someone, there's no reason in the wide earthly world why the 6 backs that started yesterday can't defend properly .....if hard as it to believe coached in the basics.

It's not the 6 backs OTF it's the runners coming from out the field that are not tracked.. you could have the best 6 backs in the country but they can only mark one man. 2.4 of Derry's total came from their half back line. If you do the stats you would be surprised how few scores come from the oppositions 6 forwards.

[oneflewoverthecuckoonest]

high fielder you are correct in much of what you say.


however I remember an even bleaker outlook back 15 or so years ago. at that time the laois county board were over 200k in the red, o moore park was a shambles and the county teams were merely ticking over.

a new look county executive emerged with dick miller at the helm(not everyones cup of tea). in the space of 3/4 years the county grounds was transformed with the new stand, the debt was wiped out via the clubs/county draw being established and the micko era emerged on top of the minor success.

so a bad situation can be addressed quickly if the right foundations are in place. the key driving force is an astute, committed, non selfish and open minded county executive.

alas as of now we have one of the worst county executives nationwide. of the personnel aboard you would certainly baulk at the idea of employing more than 4 of them in any capacity.
it is this executive which is driving the narrative that we must shop locally(and cheapest) on the managerial fronts, and the upshot is that our premium team(the county footballers) are now in free fall, with rock bottom of division 4 looming after next season.

there are individuals within this county who if the landscape was cleared would join the county executive and be prepared to raise the funding to unearth the best possible management teams for our county teams(as opposed to the cheapest as of now). getting a clear out of the executive is no easy task. the individuals who bring zero to the executive table are the ones who refuse to leave, as you frequently see that once their 5 year term is up, they simply switch into another executive position.

the current chairman will go down as a rather forgettable incumbent. if you think he has been poor, I would have to close my eyes and wince at the prospect of the current deputy moving up one position.

from my knowledge there are clubs in Dublin with excellent club committees and many of those sitting on the laois executive would not be entertained in such clubs.

have a look at the current county executive and ask the following question. what expertise does each member bring to the table? I know out treasurer is an accountant, apart from that I see zero expertise.

concluding with high fielders points.......yes the club senior football c/ship is a joke, crowds are dwindling, interest is at an all time low, not one underage team is standing out in its grade and the overall level of proper coaching is not on a par with other counties.............our current county executive is asleep at the wheel and none of our troubles will start to be tackled until an inevitable backlash arises and there is a big clearout and an avenue is paved for new blood with brighter ideas to take up the challenges.

[Tony]

All I'm saying is : We have a good squad. We have potential this year, believe it or not. All we need is a man with a good brain at the helm. We don't need world class facilities. It's frustrating seeing these kinds of pityful displays when we can do so much better. A decent manager would have us challenging for promotion, I'm convinced of that. Wolly was right, Lillis is a waste of time. I'm saying that out of frustration at his managerial ability, not a personal attack - I'm sure he's a nice guy. I'd kill for a good manager with this squad.

[BallyroanAbu]

There would be some outstanding issues from Dick Millers reign.  When Micko went I think we all said we would regret it but the team was not happy, so bye bye to the one man who brought us any success.  But as said at the time anyone would win with these players.  I detest listening to that me feiner on the radio about Laois Football  but he has some valid points.  I think rather than change everything we change what we can.  Two appointments need to be made now, a defensive addition to the Senior Football Management.  A Strength and Conditioning Coach who oversees all under-age teams so at least players in shape.  We should then insist that all clubs coaches are passing yearly tests on coaching badges.  Writing this down I think people would respond to a more professional set up.