I’m baffled by the constant begrudgery towards Brennan. That match you are referring to against Westmeath, was where Brennan reserved the first team and gave new players a chance. As regards the championship in 2020, which took place during the height of the pandemic, resulted in a 1-point loss to Clare, which we honestly should have won.
By no means was Eddie’s time with Laois perfect. He had injuries to contend with and he had plenty of players who opted out of the panel. However, with the panel he had, he brought Laois its first bit of success in a long time. He brought intensity. Trainings were dogged and the players bought into that and there was a competitive ethos instilled in the players and more importantly competition for spaces. He gave the players confidence and for the first time in a long while, Laois played as a team and not just a group of individuals.
Going back to the Joe McDonagh seems like a fitting punishment after a dismal 2 years. I can see where people are coming from in saying that it would be a more suitable level for us and would allow us to rebuild. However, look at Carlow, they’ve been stuck in the Joe McDonagh for a few years and it hasn’t done them any favors at all, they wanted to rebuild like us and now they are stagnating.
I know we have decent players. However, the current team has had their confidence decimated and it truly showed in the match against Westmeath. Our first touch, our basic passes, and our ability to read the game and play as a cohesive team have just evaporated. Imagine what it feels like going out to be annihilated every week. Imagine having to face a dressing room at halftime where your manager is breaking tables and has clearly lost the confidence and respect of his players. Facing into lackluster training, where more time is spent on meetings than actual hurling. Imagine that in this day and age the Laois set-up has no basic video analysis available after each match. In Brennan’s time, the players used an app to watch video analysis prior to training and this hasn’t been used at all with the current management. GPS monitoring and statistics haven’t been used at all under the current management. We have one of the smallest backroom teams in the country and it has created a vacuum of silence, where no one is held accountable and no one is encouraged to actively improve their performance by using basic stats or video analysis feedback.
Definitely think it is worthwhile to get outside management and build a backroom team that incorporates modern thinking and uses the basic video analysis and stats available to the team. Would also like to see an opportunity for the players to air their grievances to the county board independent of management.
As I’ve said before, Cheddar has been a massive servant to Laois hurling and we all recognize the time and effort he has given to the county. The last 2 years have been a sorry end to a lifetime of dedication to hurling.
