Suppose a new thread needed for this.
Off to Ardee on Sunday. An away win is always difficult at this time of year so trying not to get my expectations up too much after a decent O'Byrne Cup campaign.
Tough start Sunday . Louth will be well up for this I'd imagine . If we continue and improve the intensity we showed the past couple of weeks we will be very competitive Sunday .
Interesting to see will Dillon, P Kingston and P OSullivan be involved at the weekend. I think one of the biggest questions is who will cement the goalkeeper position. Up for grabs i think .
v Louth Jan 30 at 2pm in Ardee
v Westmeath Feb 6 at 2pm in Portlaoise
v Fermanagh Feb 19 at 6pm in Enniskillen
v Antrim Feb 26 at 6pm in Portlaoise
v Wicklow Mar 13 at 2pm in Aughrim
v Limerick Mar 19 at 7pm in Portlaoise
v Longford Mar 27 at 2pm in Portlaoise
Quote from: Ballybrittas Boy on January 26, 2022, 02:11:00 PM
v Louth Jan 30 at 2pm in Ardee
v Westmeath Feb 6 at 2pm in Portlaoise
v Fermanagh Feb 19 at 6pm in Enniskillen
v Antrim Feb 26 at 6pm in Portlaoise
v Wicklow Mar 13 at 2pm in Aughrim
v Limerick Mar 19 at 7pm in Portlaoise
v Longford Mar 27 at 2pm in Portlaoise
All winnable. All losable. Nice few Portlaoise outings.
Quote from: Ballybrittas Boy on January 26, 2022, 02:11:00 PM
v Louth Jan 30 at 2pm in Ardee
v Westmeath Feb 6 at 2pm in Portlaoise
v Fermanagh Feb 19 at 6pm in Enniskillen
v Antrim Feb 26 at 6pm in Portlaoise
v Wicklow Mar 13 at 2pm in Aughrim
v Limerick Mar 19 at 7pm in Portlaoise
v Longford Mar 27 at 2pm in Portlaoise
I like the way we are motoring as per the O'Byrne cup, if we keep the work rate up I reckon we will get 10 points from those games.
Looking forward to the league campaign ahead. Should be a very competitive league where results could go either way. Best of luck to the lads.
Great brand of football played v Dublin. Great to see Billy Sheehan actively encouraging the players from the touchline. Full back line very solid and mobile. Bolger in goals was composed and kicked a 45. Finn did very well in midfield. Forwards worked hard at causing problems and overall great hunger in the team.
Louth away under Mickey Harte will be a tough nut to crack. Promoted from division 4, they will be eager to get points on the table. We don't have a great recent record against them. League defeats in both 2019 and 2017, a heavy championship defeat to them in 2013 and also a draw that year in the league. Our last league or championship victory against Louth was in the Leinster championship in 2009.
Expect a tight tussle on Sunday. Prediction! A draw.
Mickey Harte will have a few tricks up the sleeve no doubt .
I expect a tough game with little in it .
I hope a few players like Finn ,O Carroll and O Flynn have all recovered from their heavy knocks as they have been excellent in the games so far .
I'd expect Johnno to have a tough day as Harte loves a tactic of a different style number 11 ,I hope Laois dont fall for it and match up accordingly while holding position
Quote from: Unlaoised on January 28, 2022, 08:11:16 AM
I'd expect Johnno to have a tough day as Harte loves a tactic of a different style number 11 ,I hope Laois dont fall for it and match up accordingly while holding position
If Sam Mulroy is fit, I'd expect him to start at 11. Quite a handful. He's as good as Donie Kingston and a younger version too.
I'd say I'm one of very few if any posters here who've been in the grounds in Ardee previously. We played a Leinster intermediate club game there in 2018 (and won too, so a good omen). It's a nice ground with a decent stand, maybe a bit smaller than the one in Portarlington.
Be brilliant if we could start off on a winning note on Sunday after a very useful O'Byrne Cup. But it's always tough to win away in the league. Hopefully, a few of the injuries we had last week are clearing up. Dillon is such an important player for one.
Agree Heshs about Dillon especially when's he's playing on the half back line . Very dynamic in everything he does . I fancy that half back of himself , Jol and O'Flynn . Lots of tenacity to there game .
Is there terrace in this place Heshs or a grass bank ?
Quote from: Spiritof86 on January 28, 2022, 07:08:29 PM
Agree Heshs about Dillon especially when's he's playing on the half back line . Very dynamic in everything he does . I fancy that half back of himself , Jol and O'Flynn . Lots of tenacity to there game .
Is there terrace in this place Heshs or a grass bank ?
No terrace on far side from stand. Just grass standing area. Can't remember if it was a bank or more level ground.
It's not good news about Paul Kingston. Needs an operation and will miss the whole league. :(
Heard that Timmons was in at training the other night. Not sure if he trained but is back in anyway
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2022/01/29/laois-senior-football-team-named-for-league-opener-with-louth-in-ardee/
(https://www.laoistoday.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Laois-senior-footballers-new-640x398.jpeg)
Team named for tomorrow:
Danny Bolger (Graiguecullen)
James Kelly (St Joseph's)
Trevor Collins (Graiguecullen)
Alex Mohan (Portarlington)
Sean O'Flynn (Courtwood)
John O'Loughlin (Rosenallis)
Gareth Dillon (Portlaoise)
Kieran Lillis (Portlaoise)
James Finn (Ballyfin)
Brian Byrne (Graiguecullen)
Eoin Lowry (Killeshin)
Paddy O'Sullivan (Portarlington)
Mark Barry (O'Dempsey's)
Evan O'Carroll (Crettyard)
Sean Moore (Ballyfin)
Word on the street is Moore injured, Foster might start.
Didn't think Foster was on the panel 🤔
Quote from: Spiritof86 on January 30, 2022, 10:57:09 AM
Didn't think Foster was on the panel 🤔
Didn't think so myself, presumed my source was well informed but never got to quiz him on that.
Quote from: Smellyball on January 30, 2022, 10:28:26 AM
Word on the street is Moore injured, Foster might start.
Illness .. Walsh certainly took his chance .
Great win
Great win in very difficult conditions, still a lot of mistakes being made but everyone working so hard and it's great to see.
A few brilliant saves by Bolger in the goals and James Kelly played a stormer.
Very good 2 points in not the easiest environment. Exactly what we needed to kick start the league . They clearly had there homework done Evan O'Carroll who was kept relatively quite . Bolger in fairness looks like he will nail down the No1 jersey . Thought Lowry got through a Trojan amount of work and Walsh certainly has added work rate to his game . Kelly was excellent at the back .
By no means a top notch performance far from it but it's encouraging to see a plan and strategy in place .
Good to see Jake Foster on the extended panel there today .
I agree with the above .
Finn and Lillis were good in patches .
I know there was quite a few carrying knocks so hopefully a week will do them good .
Great win in horrible conditions on a poor pitch .
Bolger was great .
James Kelly man of the match
Let's all agree the players are playing for there manager no matttervwhat happens ,,billy well done and Young bolger well done in my opinion mom his a good one and bestvlaois have
Quote from: Unlaoised on January 30, 2022, 07:31:31 PM
I agree with the above .
Finn and Lillis were good in patches .
I know there was quite a few carrying knocks so hopefully a week will do them good .
Great win in horrible conditions on a poor pitch .
Bolger was great .
James Kelly man of the match
Bolger has been one of the most consistent goalkeepers in Senior club championship for years. Great to see he's getting a run in with Laois. Good to have that depth in goalkeeper position in Byron and Corbett nonetheless. Off the mark anyways and Louth being a bogey team last few years since first win since 2014 I think I saw.
Laois will need a fast start against Westmeath next week to get a result. Hopefully Gary Walsh will still have goal scoring boots on next week. Will be a very open division over next few weeks.
Great result but we probably were a bit lucky in patches. Louth butchered a couple of great goal chances (with the intervention of Bolger) whereas we were more clinical.
That said, they would pretty poor without Mulroy and to a lesser extent Byrne, who only came on.
We will probably need to find another gear against Wesmeath next weekend as they are a much more seasoned team than Louth.
Great display from James Kelly. My MOTM. Bolger, O'Flynn (what the f**k was Quirke thinking with this lad?), Dillon, Finn, Lowry and Walsh all did well.
James Kelly is an exceptional footballer delighted for him, What is the story of the goalkeeper situation? I wonder now that you we have Bolger and Byron in the goalkeeping positions does that leave the option for Corbett outfield surely worth a shot no?
Don't think Corbett is inter-county standard out the field . Have to agree with an above poster about O'Flynn . A definite starter now . Looks to have filled out more too . Well able to give it and take it .
It was great to get a winning start to the league which keeps the momentum from the O'Byrne cup going. As already said it's never easy to win away from home and Louth have always been tough opponents.
It sets up the game with Westmeath nicely and if Laois could win that then you'd have to say that they will be in the mix for promotion. Something I didn't think i'd be saying 6 months ago.
it was a tough slog up there but its a good start considering that they had so much possession, but they seemed to be obsessed with constantly recycling it. they had probably there best forward inside who was policed well by Collins bar one very harsh challenge and could have done a bit of damage if they kicked it in but they seemed slaves to their system much to the moans of the crowd.
they will be kicking themselves with the amount of goal chances they missed, four or five of them should have been goals which was worrying considering how many defenders we played back. in fairness the keeper is a good shot stopper. I thought we had awful problems on our kickouts, the strong wind didn't help along with the press they employed which meant everything went long. Anything we did kick long was very high and hung in the air and suited them to break. we did combat it at times by crowding the area for breaking ball and got a few clean catches but we still struggled at times even in the second half when we tried a few very direct ones down the middle. Fermanagh and Antrim are probably going to employ much the same tactics so at least we know what we are facing. The Westmeath game is already starting to look like a real big game and hopefully a decent crowd will be there.
Was looking around on twitter Saturday and saw Gooch saying Laois were his pick to win Division 3.
Off to a good start anyway, you'd hope momentum will keep going I to the Westmeath game
It is a weak Division 3 this year. Laois rode their luck in the first half-whereas Wexford capitalised on their goal chances a few weeks back, Louth will be kicking themselves that they could not even convert one of theirs. It kept us nicely in the game at half time and with the wind in our favour in the second half you expected us to kick on and win it from there-which we did.
The Westmeath game isn't make or break but it will give us a true reflection of where we are at. After seeing the hammerings Dublin and Meath took at the weekend it has made me re-evaluate our O'Byrne Cup performances a little. While we did well in those games, it is clear that Dublin and Meath were a long way off where you would normally expect them to be. There should be an edge to the weekend's game as the prize for the winner is a firm footing in the promotion placings. It would be nice to see Laois winning home league games again- our record in O'Moore Park the last couple of years has been truly abysmal.
Great to get the two points in Ardee in what were horrendous conditions for football. Decent crowd showed up.
Bolger was outstanding in goals, James Kelly was amazing, great defence work and also set up attacks, was all over the field. Sean O'Flynn very lively at wing back. Eoin Lowry had a fine game, great work ethic, kicked a couple of scores and was involved in Gary Walshes 2nd goal. Gary Walsh took his 2 goals brilliantly. One of the top goal poachers for Laois in the last 30 years, no doubt about it.
So Westmeath up next in Portlaoise. Hopefully a decent support for it. Should be a right battle.
Great to get off to a winning start, Westmeath will be an ideal test of where we are, I see them as a team on the up and slightly ahead of us over the last year or so and my favs to get promoted to Div 2. Billy has obviously got to grips with Laois and has really got them playing so I expect a right battle at the weekend and he will learn an awful lot about his players in terms of his team for championship will be like. Nice to be excited about the county footballers for a change.
Hoping that a sizeable Laois crowd show out for the game at the weekend. Billy and co. have earned as much thus far and are playing a lovely style of football. I was vet impressed with them in that game against the Dubs who had a strong side out in the O'Byrne Cup.
Collins will have another big task on his hands in trying to mark one of the best forwards in the country in Heslin. I like Collins but worry about his size and I think he's better suited to a corner-back/wing-back role in the future.
Westmeath have a strong panel just by looking at the talent they could afford to leave on the bench last weekend. If we're to get a result here I think the bench will need to provide some contribution off the bench. Alan Farrell, Cormac Murphy, Daniel O'Reilly, Jake Foster all have pace that can hurt teams off the bench in the final quarter of games when legs get tired.
Bit of a reality check for us there today. I'd imagine Westmeath will be the team to beat in this division.
Thought we got destroyed in the middle and half forward line for most of the game, with the exception of Lowry's first half display. Backs battled hard but we never really clicked in attack.
With the few missing players, our bench is looking a bit light.
Massive reality check am I mad looking at a warm up that has small balls I'm all for billy but being that controlling isn't good.??I do think there playing for him but today best team won today please god we stay div 3
Westmeath are a couple of years further down the road than this Laois team. After their debacle when Kingston scored a hat trick of goals to defeat them in championship football a few years ago, they brought Cooney in as manager and has he has done an excellent job rebuilding Westmeath. Our midfield has been a problem area for a long time now. It is a real pity Sean Byrne isn't available this year. He is the sort of player that we badly need around the middle third to partner James Finn.
A worry for me is our lack of pace around midfield which will be a concern when the pitches harden up. Westmeath are a good team and are 4 years with Cooney so will ahead of Laois in terms of style and S&C. Hopefully the 2 week break allows lads to come back from injuries as Fermanagh away will be a tough test
The lads playing rugby should reconsider and commit if they can. It can only benefit Port too. Irrespective of the level we're playing at, or whatever, you won't improve as a player not being involved at inter county
Quote from: High Fielder on February 07, 2022, 01:03:37 PM
The lads playing rugby should reconsider and commit if they can. It can only benefit Port too. Irrespective of the level we're playing at, or whatever, you won't improve as a player not being involved at inter county
There are 5 or 6 guys who have not committed, who could improve this team a lot.
Quote from: Chrimtain on February 07, 2022, 01:37:46 PM
Quote from: High Fielder on February 07, 2022, 01:03:37 PM
The lads playing rugby should reconsider and commit if they can. It can only benefit Port too. Irrespective of the level we're playing at, or whatever, you won't improve as a player not being involved at inter county
There are 5 or 6 guys who have not committed, who could improve this team a lot.
To be fair to the lads, it's only incidental that they are playing a bit of rugby. Their intention, as I understand it, is to spend some time travelling this year.
It's a pity because I really think Piggott, Murphy and Byrne would be a huge upgrade on some of the current first 20 or 21 players.
If they weren't involved with Port I'd give them a bye. But they are and Port have potential. If they come back next year and Port fail narrowly again, they'll regret it. Playing with Laois is mutually beneficial to club and county.
Might not be a popular thing to say but I would rather we tried some of the faster players on the panel from the start rather than persist with the slower more experienced players. Not going to name players out of respect for the contributions and undoubted abilities of the more experienced guys. We might get bigger beatings to begin with but I would rather see us lose by 10 points and gain invaluable experience than lose by 6 points and gain nothing.
No arguments with the result yesterday. Westmeath are in their 4th year with Cooney and deserved their win. I'm sure they will be be promoted from here with 2nd spot very much up for grabs.
For us its early doors under Billy Sheehan. We were competitive all the way. Some great defensive work in the first half and the only blight was a freak goal for Westmeath with the ball held up in the wind when it looked destined to go harmlessly wide. Bolger kicked 2 great frees and Eoin Lowry continued his fine start to the season with 3 points from play.
Dylan Kavanagh looked lively when he came on as a sub. Also compliments to Ross Munnelly who has now scored in 20 consecutive seasons.
Still 5 rounds of league action ahead so plenty of points to fight for. Onwards and upwards.
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on February 07, 2022, 04:50:21 PM
Might not be a popular thing to say but I would rather we tried some of the faster players on the panel from the start rather than persist with the slower more experienced players. Not going to name players out of respect for the contributions and undoubted abilities of the more experienced guys. We might get bigger beatings to begin with but I would rather see us lose by 10 points and gain invaluable experience than lose by 6 points and gain nothing.
I agree with this and I am hopeful that this will gradually happen. The positioning and substitutions suggest the management is aware of this.
Anyone know where Laois are playing Kildare tonight?
Behind closed doors in Athy I think . Kildare won comfortably I heard .
Was in Hawkfield and Kildare won by 6pts 👍
It was in Hawkfield. Good performance from our second string, I'm told. A certain young(ish) forward from Arles kicked 2-4! Kildare seemed to use a few more from their starting 15 than us.
Quote from: SCFC on February 10, 2022, 09:06:51 AM
It was in Hawkfield. Good performance from our second string, I'm told. A certain young(ish) forward from Arles kicked 2-4! Kildare seemed to use a few more from their starting 15 than us.
Ross or Donie?
Quote from: Chrimtain on February 10, 2022, 10:08:04 AM
Quote from: SCFC on February 10, 2022, 09:06:51 AM
It was in Hawkfield. Good performance from our second string, I'm told. A certain young(ish) forward from Arles kicked 2-4! Kildare seemed to use a few more from their starting 15 than us.
Ross or Donie?
Ross. Donie is injured. He's also not "from Arles" technically!
So ross scored 2-4 ??
Fermanagh are in around our current level at the moment maybe even a little below . We need the 2 points Saturday to have any aspirations to be competing for promotion .
Any truth to the rumours about 1 possibly 2 lads returning ?
Good covering of snow this morning in Enniskillen.
Keep an eye on Fermanagh Gaa Twitter.
Under 20 game involving Fermanagh has been called off all ready
Two changes to the starting team for tonight. Byron for Bolger in goals and Cormac Murphy for Brian Byrne on the half forward line. I like Murphy. He has a nice bit of skill about him.
Big game. Win this and we have 4 games left, 3 at home. We'd be in a decent position.
Interestingly the 2 changes are both sons of 2003 team players.
Quote from: FermGael on February 19, 2022, 10:11:42 AM
Good covering of snow this morning in Enniskillen.
Keep an eye on Fermanagh Gaa Twitter.
Under 20 game involving Fermanagh has been called off all ready
Fair play lad. Thanks for that. Hoping to catch our under 20 game and then head up so will definitely keep an eye on that twitter account.
Quote from: Spiritof86 on February 15, 2022, 10:15:32 AM
Fermanagh are in around our current level at the moment maybe even a little below . We need the 2 points Saturday to have any aspirations to be competing for promotion .
Any truth to the rumours about 1 possibly 2 lads returning ?
Who are the returning players?
Quote from: SCFC on February 19, 2022, 10:14:19 AM
Two changes to the starting team for tonight. Byron for Bolger in goals and Cormac Murphy for Brian Byrne on the half forward line. I like Murphy. He has a nice bit of skill about him.
Big game. Win this and we have 4 games left, 3 at home. We'd be in a decent position.
Interestingly the 2 changes are both sons of 2003 team players.
What's the Murphy Link from 2003 again SCFC ?
Match off . Waterlogged pitch
Match off
Laois team v Antrim
Matthew Byron (Courtwood)
James Kelly (St Joseph's)
Trevor Collins (Graiguecullen)
Alex Mohan (Portarlington)
Sean O'Flynn (Courtwood)
John O'Loughlin (Rosenallis)
Gareth Dillon (Portlaoise)
James Finn (Ballyfin)
Kieran Lillis (Portlaoise)
Cormac Murphy (Crettyard)
Eoin Lowry (Killeshin)
Paddy O'Sullivan (Portarlington)
Mark Barry (O'Dempsey's)
Evan O'Carroll (Crettyard)
Gary Walsh (Ballylinan)
(https://www.laoistoday.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Matthew-Byron-640x426.jpg)
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2022/02/25/laois-football-team-named-for-division-3-clash-with-antrim/
Does anyone know the full panel yet?
Quote from: Tintin84 on February 25, 2022, 03:55:54 PM
Does anyone know the full panel yet?
It's pretty much all the lads who played in the O'Byrne Cup along with Timmons and the two Port lads Bennett and Foster less a couple of lads who've left the panel.
Who left the panel ?
The 'green' football championship proposal has been approved . From 60 games (pre super eights) to 99 in 2023.A 65 pc increase which is huge .
So basically only teams in Division 1 and 2 can compete for All-Ireland . Reality check for teams like Meath who are fighting to stay in Division 2 .
Bloody hell that was frustrating tonight. The most annoying part being that Antrim were very average. Once again, Evan was being subject of plenty of hardship without getting too many frees.
Hard night to play football to be fair to both teams. Must win next week now.
Frustrating alright against a poor enough Antrim outfit . This is the level we are at though and this is something we are going to see more of . Can't fault the effort but we definitely falling into the category of division 3 side . Hope I'm proved wrong . The lack of depth off the line is worrying too .
Have Collins O , Dunne and Foster all left the panel or just not in the matchday panel ?
Any news on the rescheduled Fermanagh game? I assumed it would be next weekend.
Fermanagh match next Saturday @ 3:30
Quote from: beano on February 25, 2022, 09:03:41 PM
Who left the panel ?
I've heard Jake Foster, Adam Campion and Collins Ugochukwu have all left panel of their own volition. I'd imagine Billy will have to let go a couple more to bring the number to around 34.
Pity about Foster . We are not exactly overloaded with forwards coming off the bench.
We are just in a bad place, can't beat the first one on one physically. We must of coughed the ball up 70% of the time in a tight tackle. Bringing Ross on is not the solution to this, I heard about the Kildare practice game but he is a shadow of the player he was. To be honest his inclusion is an open joke at this stage, there is only so long this can be defended. Shoot me
Quote from: BallyroanAbu on February 28, 2022, 11:04:12 AM
We are just in a bad place, can't beat the first one on one physically. We must of coughed the ball up 70% of the time in a tight tackle. Bringing Ross on is not the solution to this, I heard about the Kildare practice game but he is a shadow of the player he was. To be honest his inclusion is an open joke at this stage, there is only so long this can be defended. Shoot me
I think you are right. Billy was supposed to be introducing young players into the team.
Billy has pretty much stuck with the same starting team since the O'Byrne Cup semi-final. I do think he should shake things up a little and make 4-5 changes the next day and keep things competitive within the squad. The fact he made no change until the 60th minute and with that made only 3 changes (one of them was to bring in Ross) would send a message to the rest of the squad outside of the 15 that he doesn't have huge faith in their abilities. Antrim had four or five subs in well before Laois made their first change. If he continues to operate the way he is doing, expect more lads to walk away and lads within the squad to lose interest and motivation.
Can see why Foster walked after the challenge match against Kildare .
Quote from: Spiritof86 on February 28, 2022, 08:06:03 PM
Can see why Foster walked after the challenge match against Kildare .
why what happened?
im judging billy on his loyalty to Ross which is shocking for any panel member to see him coming on at nearly 40 years of age i do know alot already cant wait for it to be over ,,is beano gone ??
regarding the football the scores the last two days have being very low now we are conceeding very little also which is great so he has to try find that balance and look we nearly won the game im just shocked at how management still are picking a guy thtas nearly 40 and we all can see his time in the blue and white and let me say im a massive fan down through the years but jays hand the batton over
Is there a particular age that you think should be the cut-off point for a player's involvement with the county team? A mandatory retirement age?
Ross has spent 20 years looking after his health and fitness at elite levels, just in order to represent Laois (and with very little gain).
I don't think anyone could deny that he is still in the top 10 best forwards in the county.
I would normally try to ignore these nonsensical posts but Ross deserves a little more respect for what he has given to Laois and what he is continuing to give.
Quote from: Giovanni on March 01, 2022, 11:56:12 AM
Is there a particular age that you think should be the cut-off point for a player's involvement with the county team? A mandatory retirement age?
Ross has spent 20 years looking after his health and fitness at elite levels, just in order to represent Laois (and with very little gain).
I don't think anyone could deny that he is still in the top 10 best forwards in the county.
I would normally try to ignore these nonsensical posts but Ross deserves a little more respect for what he has given to Laois and what he is continuing to give.
Absolute BS but you keep telling yourself this, his been about 50% the player he was for about 5-6 years maybe longer. Pace is gone that's life, not big enough to throw himself about. Sick of stupid argument he was great for years thus he can't be criticised and should remain on the panel. His not up to it, nor is there anything to be gained by his continual involvement as a player. I have no issue with him being part of the management as he has a lot to offer that way.
You can think Ross is a legend but also think it's over. I don't see any conflict with this thinking.
what are you on about im one of the lads bigest fans the best forward EVER laois has produced ,,so dont go down that route please and good lord open your eyes a bit the man is just 40 and well past it for intercounty the dog on the street knows that the panel players are bemused by it its totally not his fault if he has the desire to train but for gods sake Billy and Chris should know this,,not for one second am i giving out about Ross but there is clueless people like yourself who want the young lads to step up too and when they see him comming on it does effect there confidence and ability and there confidence in there manager to trust the younger lads ,,,im a fan of Billy by the way i just dont agree on this point thats all
Quote from: BallyroanAbu on March 01, 2022, 12:46:05 PM
Quote from: Giovanni on March 01, 2022, 11:56:12 AM
Is there a particular age that you think should be the cut-off point for a player's involvement with the county team? A mandatory retirement age?
Ross has spent 20 years looking after his health and fitness at elite levels, just in order to represent Laois (and with very little gain).
I don't think anyone could deny that he is still in the top 10 best forwards in the county.
I would normally try to ignore these nonsensical posts but Ross deserves a little more respect for what he has given to Laois and what he is continuing to give.
Absolute BS but you keep telling yourself this, his been about 50% the player he was for about 5-6 years maybe longer. Pace is gone that's life, not big enough to throw himself about. Sick of stupid argument he was great for years thus he can't be criticised and should remain on the panel. His not up to it, nor is there anything to be gained by his continual involvement as a player. I have no issue with him being part of the management as he has a lot to offer that way.
You can think Ross is a legend but also think it's over. I don't see any conflict with this thinking.
The issue isn't whether he is still the player he was. The issue is whether there are 10 forwards in the county that are better than him. I would be interested in your opinion about that.
What is BS is people coming on here with statements that particular players are too old (or, God forbid, too small) without any reference to the fact that we don't have other players who are willing or able to take the place of the older guys.
Quote from: town1980 on March 01, 2022, 12:53:49 PM
what are you on about im one of the lads bigest fans the best forward EVER laois has produced ,,so dont go down that route please and good lord open your eyes a bit the man is just 40 and well past it for intercounty the dog on the street knows that the panel players are bemused by it its totally not his fault if he has the desire to train but for gods sake Billy and Chris should know this,,not for one second am i giving out about Ross but there is clueless people like yourself who want the young lads to step up too and when they see him comming on it does effect there confidence and ability and there confidence in there manager to trust the younger lads ,,,im a fan of Billy by the way i just dont agree on this point thats all
I would imagine that Billy and Ross could probably do without "fans" like you.
Laois football will go on and on when you and I are are gone so that is a silly statement and your silly comment ok ask a number of younger lads are they happy they didn't get on for them few mins ,, I'll say no more and again Ross was the best forward I seen for Laois and I like the way billy is going about his business bar just one hiccup that's all
I've seen every game Laois played this year bar the Louth one and I'm 100% sure that most of the other forwards who are competing with Ross for a place in the squad or match day panel are simply not putting their hand up and taking Ross's spot. It's that simple.
Personally, I'm surprised Ross went back for another year but you cannot underestimate his importance around a dressing room. He's always a positive influence.
Also the two Kingstons and Sean Moore are injured. We have plenty of other good young forwards in the county who can't or won't commit to the county panel. So, we need the Ross Munnellys and Mark Timmons of this world.
Quote from: The PRO on March 02, 2022, 01:33:20 PM
I've seen every game Laois played this year bar the Louth one and I'm 100% sure that most of the other forwards who are competing with Ross for a place in the squad or match day panel are simply not putting their hand up and taking Ross's spot. It's that simple.
Personally, I'm surprised Ross went back for another year but you cannot underestimate his importance around a dressing room. He's always a positive influence.
Also the two Kingstons and Sean Moore are injured. We have plenty of other good young forwards in the county who can't or won't commit to the county panel. So, we need the Ross Munnellys and Mark Timmons of this world.
Who are all the other good young fowards that won't commit ? We don't exactly have an embarrassment of riches to pick from . The only fowards I can think of that might be worth a place on the panel are Colm Murphy, Diarmuid Whelan and Benny Carroll and even at that they are no better than what's already there when push comes to shove against semi decent inter county sides .
The likes of Michael Keogh , Jack Owens and Evan Lowry have showed flashes of what they can do at club level but inter county Is a completely different animal .
Currently we are dependent on Evan OCarroll to do a lot of the donkey work up front for our Laois senior team and when he's held some of the other fowards around him are just not stepping up and doing enough for my liking .
Ross Munnelly would be a fantastic addition to the Laois management set-up absolutely no doubt .
He's nothing to prove but as player on the field his best days are gone .
So Yes to answer a previous poster there are 10 or more better forwards in the county but it's hard to justify a 39 year starting a meaningless challenge match while potential forwards itching to prove a point are sitting in a dugout . How are these guys going to progress otherwise.
Billy stated at the start of his tenure that it was all about giving everyone an opportunity. There's a reason why there's a lack of Representation from Port believe it or not .
Our three main forwards from the Laois U20 teams that made it to consecutive Leinster finals were Ronan Coffey, Mark Barry and Diarmuid Whelan. You would like to think that those three would be starting to establish themselves on the senior team now that they are hitting 22/23 years of age. Unfortunately, so far only Barry has had any real involvement with the senior set up. Throw in Jake Foster, Colm Murphy and Jack Owens if he could add consistency to his game- all players of huge potential-we are definitely not getting the most out of the young attacking talent that is there within the county. Look at Mayo and how Horan has brought in plenty of youth the last couple of years. Those players through game time, training and sustained S&C and are now in a position where they have developed and can physically compete against the top players and sides.
I would agree that there is some potential in all the lads you mention. But the problem is, as far as I understand it, that most of these lads are not available for selection for whatever reason (travelling, other priorities, etc.).
Ross is available and is obviously doing enough to convince the manager that he can still do the job.
It's up to the likes of the lads you mention to come in and push him out (which, if it happened, would be a positive sign for Laois football). However, the fact is that at this moment in time Ross is still more likely to nick a point or two than at least 3 or 4 of the other forwards that are regularly selected.
Laois team v Fermanagh on Sat 3.30pm
Matthew Byron
James Kelly, Trevor Collins, Alex Mohan
Sean O'Flynn, John O'Loughlin, Gareth Dillon
James Finn, Kieran Lillis
Brian Byrne, Eoin Lowry, Paddy O'Sullivan
Mark Barry, Evan O'Carroll, Gary Walsh.
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2022/03/04/one-change-as-laois-team-named-for-fermanagh-clash/ (https://www.laoistoday.ie/2022/03/04/one-change-as-laois-team-named-for-fermanagh-clash/)
Perfect conditions in Enniskillen today . A win today and we are well in contention in the promotion race . Anything else and we are in a relegation battle . Hearing Timmons will involved today at some stage in a more advanced role .
Fermanagh GAA have a radio stream on YouTube of the match for anyone trying to access. 1:2 to 4 up. Gary Walsh with the goal.
*As I edit post Fermanagh in for 2 goals. 2:5 to 1:2
Brutal stuff fermanagh haven't scored 3-15 in a game I would dare to say ever
The only criticism I have with this management team is how Ross is getting on ahead of a younger panel member give the younger member his chance not an older guy who has all his football kicked it's not Ross 's fault but billy and Chris what is to be gained from it nothing only panel members walking away and players refusing to go in maybe ,, the result well we can still stay up I still think they need time to develop there team
I agree on Ross, but his not the reason we're not going well. Just another signpost to mediocrity ( could be hopeful on that)
Ross isn't the issue and it's wrong to keep signaling him out. I'm sure if everyone was available (2 Kingstons and Moore) he wouldn't be getting as much game time. We lack a ball winner around the middle and badly lack pace. Unfortunately we lack powerful athletes and can't see too many that could come in and make a difference. We should beat Wicklow but need another draw/win to ensure we stay in division 3
Very poor in Enniskillen today. Fermanagh gifted Laois two goals too so it could have been even worse.
I don't know whether they are just following management orders or if some players just don't have a football brain but what is the point in driving in long balls if there is one Laois player against 2-3 Fermanagh defenders in the full forward line? Lillis must think he is playing rugby, he tried to drop kick a long ball in once if not twice! The Fermanagh supporters around me were actually laughing at him and saying he should be in Lansdowne road. I don't know where Evan O'Carroll was supposed to be playing but he was too far out the field to be effective and was a shadow of himself. He is normally one of our best forwards. Dicey Reilly was the only positive from today. He came off the bench and moved the ball quickly and ran at Fermanagh.
The funny thing is Division 3 is still wide open and Laois could go still go up or down at this stage. I would not rule out Billy O'Loughlin's Longford sending us down in the last league game.
My only issue is the panel members seeing him come on you can say what you want from the outside but on the inside I know deep down the players are wondering why there in there whether there good enough or not is not the issue because of the little impact he has comming on that's all any player would have similar impact so just use the young lads ,,,we all know these next few years are painful
I suppose the reality of where we are at is starting to emerge. It's a young panel in most parts buts it's weak, the options off the bench are very weak at present, taking into consideration injuries etc. the loss of the three port players is huge as potentially that could have been the spine of the team. To off set this the management have relocated Collins to full back and JOL to centre back, though he appears to be playing more a shield/ sweeper role. So far this has had varying degrees of success until yesterday. A very mobile sweeper is essential for the system we are playing but also one that can move the ball quickly to the 4 forwards we are playing up when turnovers occur. This is not happening at the moment. Paddy o Sullivan at wing forward makes no sense where he is completely lost and his excellent kick pass ability especially coming out of defense with a ball is lost. While there are plenty of players that might do a job in certain areas the lack of a ball winning but especially mobile midfielder is one of our biggest problems. We have had problems in this area for a while and there is no real solution with Sean Byrnes non involvement, potential candidates on the u-20's teams in the last few few haven't progressed from what I have seen at club level.
With three vital games going up the management will be under pressure to at least win one to stop relegation and possibly a second one in such a competitive division. We will probably stick with the four forwards up the field and two wing forwards deep protecting our backs, even more so after yesterday's game. It's asking a lot for the wing backs/ forwards to help with scores with the amount of running they have been doing. In a perfect world we would have a midfield chipping in with a couple of scores in every game. Hopefully our very poor scoring rate improves, at present we are stuck at around 12 scores a game, the three goals in two games ( mistakes from opposite kickouts in both games) give a better look to our average. In fairness there was good presses on for some of them but we won't win to many games with those totals. A lot of work to do but we have home games to give us some advantage
Ultimately the good O'Byrne Cup campaign and away win in Louth seem to have given us false hope.
I doubt if any other county has as many players who've turned down the call up to the county team. We simply can't absorb that.
Sean O'Flynn starting midfield Sunday beside Lillis . Kavanagh, Bennett and Alan Farrell all starting in defence too . Absolute must win . In hindsight this is probably a more important match than the championship meeting next month .
in reality look at the teams we are faced and are facing not one super power of the gaa,,if we dont beat a scutter wicklow team i duno where were going as a county ,,i expect top win by 6/7 points pulling up,,feking hell limerick are top of the table whipping boys of munster ,,antrim the whipping boys of ulster and wicklow the wipping boys of leinster ,,lets take our heads out of the sand here we should be winning handy sunday
Quote from: town1980 on March 11, 2022, 02:03:42 PM
in reality look at the teams we are faced and are facing not one super power of the gaa,,if we dont beat a scutter wicklow team i duno where were going as a county ,,i expect top win by 6/7 points pulling up,,feking hell limerick are top of the table whipping boys of munster ,,antrim the whipping boys of ulster and wicklow the wipping boys of leinster ,,lets take our heads out of the sand here we should be winning handy sunday
It says a lot about you when you describe our opposition as 'scutter'.
Quote from: town1980 on March 11, 2022, 02:03:42 PM
in reality look at the teams we are faced and are facing not one super power of the gaa,,if we dont beat a scutter wicklow team i duno where were going as a county ,,i expect top win by 6/7 points pulling up,,feking hell limerick are top of the table whipping boys of munster ,,antrim the whipping boys of ulster and wicklow the wipping boys of leinster ,,lets take our heads out of the sand here we should be winning handy sunday
This is the kind of ignorance that I can't understand. Nothing we have done so far would suggest we will win handy Sunday . That Laois team that was named will do very well to beat Wicklow . That's the level we are at I'm afraid . If Wicklow are scutter ( which they are ) well then we are scutter too . Fermanagh who made a laugh of us last week only drew with that Wicklow team .
I disagree saying The O'Byrne was a false dawn, with all due respect it's nothing more than a pre season competition and it shouldn't have been an indicator (results wise) in terms of how our league campaign was going to pan out.
Staying in Division 3 should always have been our number 1 priority and it should remain that way too. I'd actually rather see Laois stay in Division 3 and build slowly than get promoted upto Division 2 with the likelihood of us being relegated.
Before we all get carried away and start calling Limerick, Antrim, Fermanagh etc the second coming of the Kerry team of the 80s or the Dublin team of the 10s they're not. There is very little between Laois and the above, but what's the shame in saying maybe that they're a little ahead of us at this moment?
As I said on here a number of months, let's not focus on short-termism or worry about anyone else. Laois football has been at a very low-ebb now for a while, success doesn't come overnight and I firmly believe the only way is up, but it will take a number of years to get to where we want to be.
Predicting a 2 point win on Sunday against Wicklow.
Chrimtin am I wrong ..?? Wicklow are scutter or do you think there good ;D
Can you elaborate on your scutter analogy ?
they are no good never were never will be= Wicklow are scutter and if we loose to them then we are seriously in trouble
I disagree with people who say staying in Division 3 should always have been our number 1 priority. Being in the mix for promotion should be the minimum target from the very start. If you have no ambition to improve and get to division 2 then it will never happen. Getting to division 2 and staying there like Clare have done should be a realistic target for any Laois manager at the start of any season. If you stay in division 3 or 4 too long then the rot sets in and it can be very hard to break out of it.
I hope some of the stupidity and poor tactics from the Fermanagh game have opened Sheehan's eyes. Tactically we need to be much cuter if we want to improve and not stagnate in division 3 or 4.
Wicklow are at a low ebb at present but let's not forget that they consigned Cavan to Division 4 last year and their Under-20s beat Laois in Leinster Championship.
With proper leadership Wicklow could and should be at the level of Westmeath, Laois & Offaly. It's not too long ago that they beat Kildare in LSFC. When Micko was in charge down there they raised their game to the level they should be playing at. They have been a Division 4 most years but the derogatory comments by one poster are out of order.
Quote from: The Boy Wonder on March 12, 2022, 03:53:08 PM
the derogatory comments by one poster are out of order.
Lad's an idiot.
If anyone gets to Aughrim early today there is a POP UP GAELTACHT taking place with some great music taking place . Fantastic initiative by Wicklow CB .
This could be tricky . Conditions will not be easy and Wicklow under new management will have a bounce in them . Take any sort of win here today .
Quote from: The Boy Wonder on March 12, 2022, 03:53:08 PM
Wicklow are at a low ebb at present but let's not forget that they consigned Cavan to Division 4 last year and their Under-20s beat Laois in Leinster Championship.
With proper leadership Wicklow could and should be at the level of Westmeath, Laois & Offaly. It's not too long ago that they beat Kildare in LSFC. When Micko was in charge down there they raised their game to the level they should be playing at. They have been a Division 4 most years but the derogatory comments by one poster are out of order.
Wicklow never got out of Div 4 under Micko
Very good win today under tricky conditions. Next week's game v Limerick is now a very important one..
Good win against poor opposition it has to be said . Wicklow had a game plan against us in the O'Byrne cup in Cretty . Today they had nothing other than putting men behind the ball.
Dylan Kavanagh was impressive at half back and Evan is beginning to show signs of form again in terms of scoring .
We have don't have much or anything coming in from the line from a forwards perspective. That's worrying.
Limerick next week will be more of a test but this should kickstart momentum again . Sad to see no Beano not involved anymore on the line but that's for another day .
What happened with Beano?
So 5 rounds into division 3 and we have 5 points, are in 6th place in the group but only 2 points off Antrim, who are on top with 7 points. What a topsy turvy league!
We now have 2 home games left and the players deserve support. The home support v Antrim a few weeks ago was nothing short of pathetic. Lets make home advantage count!
Good to be back to winning ways yesterday and the score difference could come into the mix yet after round 7. Dylan Kavanagh was flying yesterday, great to have extra pace in the team.
Do the County Board/Laois Gaels do any initiatives around tickets like giving every club juvenile teams from minor down free tickets? Surely generate more of a crowd and increase interest
Now that the new GPOs are coming on board there is certainly more opportunity to promote Laois GAA. Obviously, not enough time this year to do it but perhaps next year. On the Sunday of the final home league game (when weather/pitches are hopefully decent) run a fun U13 blitz for the clubs in the county in the centre of excellence that morning starting at 9am and finishing at 1pm. Then hand out participation certs/medals and some snacks to children. Bring each of the participating teams and mentors into O'Moore Park for the league match (hopefully division 2 game where a win promotes us to division 1-we can dream!!). I would also provide each participating juvenile with free adult ticket for the game. In that way you are giving the children a fun day out, connecting them with the county team and ensuring a very positive, feel good atmosphere around the ground with a decent support to boot.
Big game for the footballers today, win and we are in the mix but a draw/loss could drag us into a relegation scrape. Limerick will be motivated and coming for the win to push them on. Westmeath got on top of them the last day and they only scored 1-6 , our scoring rate has been poor and will have to improve to get out the live tonight
As OTH has already stated this is a big game for a Laois this evening and will give us a good indication of the progress Billy has made with this bunch of players . Simply a must win game . The lack of depth of forward depth on the bench again is worrying . Badly need the two Kingstons and Moore fit and ready next month for the championship but doesn't look likely .
Going for a 2/3 point win later all going well but this will be tough .
Not singling out the lad himself as he's only doing what he's told, but why on earth do we persist with the goalkeeper taking frees and he continued to miss them? It's bloody frustrating.
really disappointing performance last night, more to the fact that they were very beatable like antrim. three home games and only a point to show for it is such a poor return. it confirms though that we are division three team and possibly a division four team depending on the longford game and any early notions after the louth game that we could be promoted were quickly dispelled. that louth game now was a classic hit and run and we were lucky not to get them further into the league when they hit their stride. we would be murdered in division 2 in our present state. Billy hasn't been a lucky general which he needed to be, the withdrawals and refusals to join the panel, along with injuries have really weakened his hand. the panel has had been said before is one of the weakest that ever represented the county. two more injuries last night along with Paddy o sullivan won't help the situation.
the game itself was much like the others, and the management and players have to take the blame for what was going on. we defended in mass, ultra conservative against a team that got 1-6 the last day, with the whole team in our own half many times. this didn't work as on two distinct occasions when they went the length of the field from a short kickout to a point. on one occasion 14 passes in a row without a hand laid on them, no pressure on the ball carrier and players just shadowing their player, once a player didn't make the required effort to get close they could work it in to a shooting position. some players haven't the pace to stay with players, others are too lazy to do it and the system fails. what's the point in having JOL as a sweeper if the opposition are shooting points from outside his zone. the wing forward got four points from play and three of them were from just outside this area.
with no one up the field in the cases we got turnovers we were back to the slow play and lateral handpassing, it was quicker than previous games but it reminded me of basketball where we had to wait for players to travel up the field to get into a position to receive a ball to shoot. why was Mark Barry not told to stay forward than float around, only near the end when he scored was he really involved in the paly. on the times we got it in , some of the ball was terrible. gary walsh will not win contested high balls lashed in at him with two markers near him. At the same time Evan was out the field contesting kickouts and then kicking the ball into the space where he should have been. the kickouts again were a huge problem as they have been all the league. in contrast to Limericks short kickouts which they won, we lamped nearly everything out the field. to see the players actually go out to the side in a pod and call the kickout to that area made many of them contested. While the pod of three or four players did well on breaking ball the contrast to the short handy kickouts limerick worked all night gave them control of the ball to work it up the field. in the end the referee was even giving us a chance of a draw and we lashed a few efforts at the goals, some by experienced players which could have been worked better, but it summed up the night.
i know its a bit of a rant, but its worrying that we are in the position again that like a few years ago we could be sliding down the divisions again into four. really big game against longford now.
Wicklow have just done us a big favour, they've beaten Longford by 1 point, 0-20 to 2-13.
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on March 20, 2022, 03:42:58 PM
Wicklow have just done us a big favour, they've beaten Longford by 1 point, 0-20 to 2-13.
I stand up to correction but will it come down to head to head if Longford Beat us they'll avoid relegation?
Yes, you are correct, I assumed it was score difference first but unfortunately not...
As per the Official GAA Guide - Part 1 - Section 6.21[4] -
If two teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of the league phase, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:
Where two teams only are involved - the outcome of the meeting of the two teams in the previous game in the Competition.
If three or more teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of the league phase, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:
(1) Scoring Difference (subtracting the total scores against from total scores for);
(2) Highest Total Score For;
(3) A Play-Off.
havent seen the table, but if wicklow and longford win next week are all three of us on the same points?
Quote from: smcder on March 20, 2022, 05:06:52 PM
havent seen the table, but if wicklow and longford win next week are all three of us on the same points?
if 3 teams finish on the same points then in goes to points difference and lowest 2 get the drop
Quote from: smcder on March 20, 2022, 05:06:52 PM
havent seen the table, but if wicklow and longford win next week are all three of us on the same points?
Wicklow are home to Louth. Stranger things have happened but you would expect Louth to win.
Anyway, if we lose, we deserve the drop.
Saturday,,, no plan no system billy was shouting at Jol and some of it was not nice explicit rather,, tactics are done before the game v v v disappointed being beaten by Limerick like lads wher are we at I did think we would go in the right direction but a shambles we are
Quote from: Tier2 on March 20, 2022, 06:33:46 PM
Quote from: smcder on March 20, 2022, 05:06:52 PM
havent seen the table, but if wicklow and longford win next week are all three of us on the same points?
if 3 teams finish on the same points then in goes to points difference and lowest 2 get the drop
This is from the RTE website, it explains what might happen.
One thing is for sure, at least one Leinster county is dropping down to the bottom division for 2023.
First and foremost, if Laois avoid defeat against Longford, they're safe. If they're beaten then they will be safe if Wicklow fail to beat Louth.
If Laois lose to Longford, and Wicklow beat Louth, then all three counties will end up on five points. The O'Moore men have a big advantage when it comes to scoring difference; don't be surprised if that saves them come Sunday evening.
It won't matter if we don't get relegated this year, it will be next.
I don't agree, this is basically a new team, lots of young lads on it and it will take time to buy into what the selectors want. We are very impatient as supporters which is understandable but let's give them time.
Frustrating display on Saturday. I personally cannot see how it can be so difficult to press the kick-out if that's what you want to do. There must surely have been 20 kickouts from Limerick on Saturday and not only did we not win any of them but we didn't put any meaningful pressure on the defenders even though it looked like that's what we were trying to do. Surely to God, we have the mental discipline to be able to stay touch tight to defenders, particularly when you know that that's what they're doing?
As someone else said, there does seem to be a mix of problems - from lads playing in wrong positions to lads who just couldn't be bothered when we don't have the ball.
On the positive side, there seemed to be more success under the breaking ball and the midfield seems a bit better now that it's more mobile. Some of Lillis' foot passing was incredibly good on the night and Mark Timmons was just head and shoulders above everyone when he came on (so much for getting rid of the older lads). Lowry put in a huge shift and played very well, as did Evan O Carroll. Dylan Kavanagh looked good before the injury.
Overall though, it didn't look like a very coherent team performance. You'd like to see evidence that some of the basic things like pressing and kick-out strategy was developing but it didn't really look that way on Saturday.
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on March 21, 2022, 10:09:13 AM
I don't agree, this is basically a new team, lots of young lads on it and it will take time to buy into what the selectors want. We are very impatient as supporters which is understandable but let's give them time.
How impatient ? We have been waiting for a young team for the last 10 years.
As it stands division 3 next year will be Cork , Down , Westmeath, Fermanagh, Antrim , Cavan , Laois, Tipperary .
Maybe it's just me but division 3 next year seems significantly stronger than it was this year . I'd agree with Ballyroanabu that there is a possibility that we could be relegated next year if we avoid the drop next Sunday .
I expect us to beat Longford next week because Longford are just so poor and a number of their key players and a lot of the Mullinalaghta contingent are not on the panel .
I know it's a bit repetitive at this stage but you could argue they we have not even hit rock bottom yet with the likes of Lillis , J Finn ,G Walsh , Dillon , Munnelly , Timmons , OLoughlin all the wrong side of 30 and still some of our most important players . Donie Kingston ( who is the best player in the county on his day ) is also moving on in years .
We are in transition but we may still be in transition for the foreseeable future . It's hard to get excited about the senior footballers at the moment but a win against Longford next week and a first round championship win against Wicklow is very achievable. After that I would be happy to be competitive against a Meath team who are slowly improving in Division 2 as the league has progressed.
LAOIS: Danny Bolger; Mark Timmons, Trevor Collins, Alex Mohan; James Finn, John O'Loughlin, Gareth Dillon; Kieran Lillis, Sean O'Flynn; Brian Byrne, Ross Munnelly, Danny O'Reilly; Mark Barry, Evan O'Carroll, Gary Walsh.
Patient for new team? Above is the 15 that finished the match on Saturday. Other than the 2 bolded, looks like the same team we have been putting out for a few years now. Yes, there are a few new players that came off (Bennett and Kavanagh) and one or two missing but I think we have possibly the worst situation here - heading for division 4 with very little new blood on board.
It should realistically have been the start of new beginning under Sheehan . Instead we are back at square one with basically the same players.
If we are getting relegated with 9/10 new lads involved for the first time I could understand that . Unfortunately this is bleak and whether or not we stay up doesn't matter a whole lot at this stage .
I don't understand this at all.
So the advice we're giving the management team is to pick younger lads (even if they're not as good as the older ones). We understand that this would increase the likelihood of relegation but that would be OK by us because our approach would give young lads plenty of experience of being hammered by Division 3 teams? Is that essentially it?
Personally, I think they've brought in as many new lads as could reasonably be expected. The goalkeeper and full back line are essentially new. The average age of the six starting forwards can't be more than 25 or 26 at most. The only older lads from the team that was listed to start were JOL and Kieran Lillis. Surely we need a couple of experienced lads too?
Obviously it was disappointing to lose on Saturday night but we need to acknowledge a few things:
Limerick have greatly improved in the last few years. They have a settled management team, have some really good footballers, have a bit of pace and a good system. They kicked some really good scores from play and their full forward was the biggest man on the field. They look set for promotion to division 2 next week. Last year in the division 3 promotion playoff, they ran Derry to 4 points and look how well Derry are doing this year! In 2020, they took Tipperary to extra time in Munster semi final and Tipperary became Munster champions after.
For us, I thought we were playing some really good stuff in the first 20 minutes going 5-3 up. Then 2 of our defenders got injured, Kavanagh and Bennett. I thought Dylan Kavanagh was sublime in the early stages before picking up the hamstring injury. Sean O'Flynn is settling well into the midfield role and kicked a good score. Limerick got a run on us before half time, the injuries disrupted us.
We settled again in the 2nd half and kicked the first 5 scores. We kicked some good diagonal balls into the full forward line which reaped dividends . Evan O'Carroll and Gary Walsh worked hard. Timmons was excellent on his return.
We were unlucky not to get the draw with 3 late chances dropping wide. We are a work in progress, it is year 1 of a 3 year plan for Billy Sheehan. I believe we have potential to improve in the coming years. This year we have Dylan Kavanagh in, James Kelly back in, Bennett in, Sean O'Flynn and Mark Barry are young (kicked a brilliant score late on in the match). Evan O'Carroll and Dicey are still only mid twenties. Alex Mohan is a lively corner back. Mixed with the experienced lads there is a good blend. The Kingstons will add more after their return from injuries along with Moore.
The key now is to get the result next week v Longford and stay in division 3 and build next year. As for Leinster, lets try to see off Wicklow in Aughrim and give Meath a rattle, I believe that would be in O'Moore park on May 1st.
Quote from: County Man on March 21, 2022, 04:32:08 PM
Obviously it was disappointing to lose on Saturday night but we need to acknowledge a few things:
Limerick have greatly improved in the last few years. They have a settled management team, have some really good footballers, have a bit of pace and a good system. They kicked some really good scores from play and their full forward was the biggest man on the field. They look set for promotion to division 2 next week. Last year in the division 3 promotion playoff, they ran Derry to 4 points and look how well Derry are doing this year! In 2020, they took Tipperary to extra time in Munster semi final and Tipperary became Munster champions after.
For us, I thought we were playing some really good stuff in the first 20 minutes going 5-3 up. Then 2 of our defenders got injured, Kavanagh and Bennett. I thought Dylan Kavanagh was sublime in the early stages before picking up the hamstring injury. Sean O'Flynn is settling well into the midfield role and kicked a good score. Limerick got a run on us before half time, the injuries disrupted us.
We settled again in the 2nd half and kicked the first 5 scores. We kicked some good diagonal balls into the full forward line which reaped dividends . Evan O'Carroll and Gary Walsh worked hard. Timmons was excellent on his return.
We were unlucky not to get the draw with 3 late chances dropping wide. We are a work in progress, it is year 1 of a 3 year plan for Billy Sheehan. I believe we have potential to improve in the coming years. This year we have Dylan Kavanagh in, James Kelly back in, Bennett in, Sean O'Flynn and Mark Barry are young (kicked a brilliant score late on in the match). Evan O'Carroll and Dicey are still only mid twenties. Alex Mohan is a lively corner back. Mixed with the experienced lads there is a good blend. The Kingstons will add more after their return from injuries along with Moore.
The key now is to get the result next week v Longford and stay in division 3 and build next year. As for Leinster, lets try to see off Wicklow in Aughrim and give Meath a rattle, I believe that would be in O'Moore park on May 1st.
Well said, Laois next games are Longford, Wicklow and then (if they win) Meath and we can properly judge Sheehan then. They will be underdogs for that but Meath are no world beaters so Laois should not fear them.
Quote from: County Man on March 21, 2022, 04:32:08 PM
Obviously it was disappointing to lose on Saturday night but we need to acknowledge a few things:
Limerick have greatly improved in the last few years. They have a settled management team, have some really good footballers, have a bit of pace and a good system. They kicked some really good scores from play and their full forward was the biggest man on the field. They look set for promotion to division 2 next week. Last year in the division 3 promotion playoff, they ran Derry to 4 points and look how well Derry are doing this year! In 2020, they took Tipperary to extra time in Munster semi final and Tipperary became Munster champions after.
For us, I thought we were playing some really good stuff in the first 20 minutes going 5-3 up. Then 2 of our defenders got injured, Kavanagh and Bennett. I thought Dylan Kavanagh was sublime in the early stages before picking up the hamstring injury. Sean O'Flynn is settling well into the midfield role and kicked a good score. Limerick got a run on us before half time, the injuries disrupted us.
We settled again in the 2nd half and kicked the first 5 scores. We kicked some good diagonal balls into the full forward line which reaped dividends . Evan O'Carroll and Gary Walsh worked hard. Timmons was excellent on his return.
We were unlucky not to get the draw with 3 late chances dropping wide. We are a work in progress, it is year 1 of a 3 year plan for Billy Sheehan. I believe we have potential to improve in the coming years. This year we have Dylan Kavanagh in, James Kelly back in, Bennett in, Sean O'Flynn and Mark Barry are young (kicked a brilliant score late on in the match). Evan O'Carroll and Dicey are still only mid twenties. Alex Mohan is a lively corner back. Mixed with the experienced lads there is a good blend. The Kingstons will add more after their return from injuries along with Moore.
The key now is to get the result next week v Longford and stay in division 3 and build next year. As for Leinster, lets try to see off Wicklow in Aughrim and give Meath a rattle, I believe that would be in O'Moore park on May 1st.
Good post
It's the optimism that kills, sort out our underage and our Seniors will in time be decent. Our minors Kilcavan have has many as Portlaoise. Nice for Kilcavan but there is something seriously wrong when your major population base is not your main source of players .
Neither is ignoring it and thinking it's no big deal
Quote from: BallyroanAbu on March 22, 2022, 07:12:37 PM
It's the optimism that kills, sort out our underage and our Seniors will in time be decent. Our minors Kilcavan have has many as Portlaoise. Nice for Kilcavan but there is something seriously wrong when your major population base is not your main source of players .
In fact Kilcavan have 4 on the panel while Portlaoise have just 3 . I agree that Portlaoise needs be bringing through more quality players at underage if Laois as a county are to progress . The only 2 Portlaoise players on the Laois senior panel are the ageing Lillis and Dillon which is not enough representation for a town of that size . It's a sign of the times . Back in 2003 Aidan Fennelly , Colm Byrne , Kevin Fitzpatrick, Ian Fitzgerald and Colm Parkinson of Portlaoise were all key starters for Laois .
Quote from: georgedoylesrightleg on March 22, 2022, 08:30:08 PM
Quote from: High Fielder on March 22, 2022, 08:03:10 PM
Neither is ignoring it and thinking it's no big deal
It's a very big deal to Kilcavan and they should be commended for it
[/quote
I agree that Kilcavan should be commended. The likes of Ballyroan Abbey , Timahoe , Spink , The Heath , Park Ratheniska, Barrowhouse , Crettyard , Arles Killeen , Mountmellick , The Rock , ODempseys , Rosenallis, Clonaslee, Ballyfin have no players on the panel . Kilcavan have more representation than all them clubs put together.
Kilcavan well done, but if you think this augurs well for Laois Football you must be joking. It's being going on a few years, hopefully the GDA arrests the slide in Portlaoise.
Is anyone seriously suggesting Kilcavan shouldn't be commended? No.
There was no stick at all. It was a comparison and a legitimate one. Quit trying to score points where there are none. The current state of the Portlaoise club should be a major concern for every Laois and Portlaoise supporter, and unless this newly appointed officer can pull rabbits from hats, that won't change overnight.
Portlaoise have the population to have up to 70 kids at each under age group. I think the GPO will improve things in time. What will be needed then is another juvenile club in the town.
I hope you are right for the good of plaois and Laois Gaa who need plaois to be strong. But at the moment it's hard to keep one juvenile club going never mind 2.like a lot of people might not remember but plaois were a serious hurling and football club in the 80s and 90s and were the top club at juvenile aswell. And the plus side of that was laois were strong enough then with a lot of town players involved.
The subject of portlaoise have two teams will always be debated and rightly so but the debate should be at country board level.the fastest growing town in the midlands.I can see one problem is that if this ever was going to happen and portlaoise number 2 team was to be a senior team that will take the place of another and is that the fear of some clubs I don't know. We have too few underage teams playing A football.when a town as big as mouthmellick needs all its neighbours to compete and there a few more with them I see that as the biggest problem.
Very wary of today . Longford are very much our level and have a guy in charge with a huge point to prove . Interest in the county football team is very low judging attendances . Division 4 football will be disastrous. Take any sort of win today .
This is as bad as it gets. We are rock bottom.
Quote from: Chrimtain on March 27, 2022, 03:42:59 PM
This is as bad as it gets. We are rock bottom.
In all honesty, it's probably not the worst thing to go down to Division 4. There's a chance to build a young squad from the bottom up next season and hopefully the management commits to the youth. The last time it seemed to work for Sugrue anyway as he managed back to back promotions and a Leinster final appearance.
If Wicklow have anything about them, they should knock us off in the first round of the Leinster championship. They'll never get a better opportunity considering how poor we are at the minute.
Relegation could be accepted had we used Div. 3 to introduce
more youth, but it was disheartening to see management going back to the older guys time and time again. Bleak future awaits us.
Quote from: Chrimtain on March 27, 2022, 04:59:57 PM
Relegation could be accepted had we used Div. 3 to introduce
more youth, but it was disheartening to see management going back to the older guys time and time again. Bleak future awaits us.
Not defending Billy.or anything but the pick of the best young lads in the county turned down the invitation to be part of the panel so very hard to introduce young blood then.
To the best of my knowledge and it might not be a complete list either, these lads all weren't interested. Diarmuid Whelan, Ronan Coffey, Robert Tyrrell, Jack Owens, Niall Dunne, Gary Saunders. They were the pick of the last two good under 20 teams.
Yeah no fault of Billy's. He has what he has and we're not good enough. It's time to accept that. We have a million problems and nobody to fix them. I genuinely feel this county has no chance with the current County Board in place. We wouldn't do any worse if they stepped aside en masse
Being not good enough is one thing but being badly prepared is another. A manager can't control mist of what happens on a football pitch but he can surely work on kick outs (both from an attacking and defensive point of view). When you look at what we've been trying to do on this over the last few games, you would have to say that we are badly prepared. Very disappointing.
Omg where do I start? Giovanni well said no clue the last few games billy and Chris what is the plan here it looks from the outside the worst prepared team we have ever seen,, both danial and Brian b were poor the energy levels were poor we lookeD like a div 4 team let's not disguise this look at the team and panel will them players dominate Laois club championship not a hope simple as ,, one port guy on it the billy effect hasn't worked dressing room maybe lost I don't know but jays are we that bad ?
Quote from: High Fielder on March 27, 2022, 05:19:20 PM
Yeah no fault of Billy's. He has what he has and we're not good enough. It's time to accept that. We have a million problems and nobody to fix them. I genuinely feel this county has no chance with the current County Board in place. We wouldn't do any worse if they stepped aside en masse
The County Board is the easy target here. However its composition reflects our clubs so we all have take a share of the responsibility. The clubs are the real culprits as evidenced by the resolute opposition to reducing the senior Championship from 16 as practically every club is terrified of relegation. In a county the size of Laois, 8 senior clubs is more than enough as 16 team senior championship is at the heart of our troubles as it contributes to poor standards and bad practices. Considering we are in Division 4 I imagine some young lads will return as there might be a medal in it.
No fault of Billy's or Chris's you must be joking they took the job made an absolute balls of it, stuck Ross in at every chance they could.
Complete disaster
Division 4 next year will be Sligo, Wexford, Laois , Leitrim , Waterford, Wicklow , Carlow , London . That's a very very poor group of teams to be down with and we deserve to be there too.
You'd think when we got relegated to division 4 back 4 or 5 years ago that it would of been a serious wake up call to the county to get ourselves in order but obviously not and now we have made the same mistakes and gone and done it again . Will we learn from our mistakes and get our house in order this time ? No of course we won't . Even if we come up from division 4 we will be found out in division 3 and go straight back down again .
If we don't sort ourselves out this cycle will continue. There is not near enough being done in this county at club or underage level to prepare our players for the demands of senior inter county football and the same problems are showing up over and over again year in year out .
The county board needs a COMPLETE overhaul , the structures in Laois football need a COMPLETE overhaul from top to bottom starting at underage club level all the way up to senior inter county level . It actually BAFFLES me that players are brought into underage development squads in Laois at a young age and by the time they get to senior they are still no closer to being physically, athletically, tactically or technically ready for senior inter county football than when they first came through the door at the centre of excellence as 14 or 15 year olds with raw potential.
You yield what you sow and there is not near enough being done at a developmental level in Laois to bridge the gap . The results of our failure to address these issues are blueprinted all over our Laois senior football team since 2003 and the more the game has moved towards professionalism in Ireland the further down the pecking order Laois have become.
Something serious needs to happen soon and I would start with replacing that out of date county board of dinosaurs and replace them with people who are proactive and are willing to do whatever it takes to put Laois football back on the map and give young aspiring Laois footballers the platform to become the best version of themselves
Quote from: thegreeenandgold on March 27, 2022, 11:48:36 PM
No fault of Billy's or Chris's you must be joking they took the job made an absolute balls of it, stuck Ross in at every chance they could.
Complete disaster
Nobody better unfortunately. If there was, they'd be in there. We seem to have no problem getting lads to play up to 21, but then a good percentage of them drift away. Some of them go in and out through the revolving door, but that's no good for continuity or development of themselves or the team.
Quote from: Laoiseabu on March 28, 2022, 12:02:57 AM
Division 4 next year will be Sligo, Wexford, Laois , Leitrim , Waterford, Wicklow , Carlow , London . That's a very very poor group of teams to be down with and we deserve to be there too.
You'd think when we got relegated to division 4 back 4 or 5 years ago that it would of been a serious wake up call to the county to get ourselves in order but obviously not and now we have made the same mistakes and gone and done it again . Will we learn from our mistakes and get our house in order this time ? No of course we won't . Even if we come up from division 4 we will be found out in division 3 and go straight back down again .
If we don't sort ourselves out this cycle will continue. There is not near enough being done in this county at club or underage level to prepare our players for the demands of senior inter county football and the same problems are showing up over and over again year in year out .
The county board needs a COMPLETE overhaul , the structures in Laois football need a COMPLETE overhaul from top to bottom starting at underage club level all the way up to senior inter county level . It actually BAFFLES me that players are brought into underage development squads in Laois at a young age and by the time they get to senior they are still no closer to being physically, athletically, tactically or technically ready for senior inter county football than when they first came through the door at the centre of excellence as 14 or 15 year olds with raw potential.
You yield what you sow and there is not near enough being done at a developmental level in Laois to bridge the gap . The results of our failure to address these issues are blueprinted all over our Laois senior football team since 2003 and the more the game has moved towards professionalism in Ireland the further down the pecking order Laois have become.
Something serious needs to happen soon and I would start with replacing that out of date county board of dinosaurs and replace them with people who are proactive and are willing to do whatever it takes to put Laois football back on the map and give young aspiring Laois footballers the platform to become the best version of themselves
Good post.
Are you putting your name forward for County Chairman?
Quote from: Laoiseabu on March 28, 2022, 12:02:57 AM
Division 4 next year will be Sligo, Wexford, Laois , Leitrim , Waterford, Wicklow , Carlow , London . That's a very very poor group of teams to be down with and we deserve to be there too.
You'd think when we got relegated to division 4 back 4 or 5 years ago that it would of been a serious wake up call to the county to get ourselves in order but obviously not and now we have made the same mistakes and gone and done it again . Will we learn from our mistakes and get our house in order this time ? No of course we won't . Even if we come up from division 4 we will be found out in division 3 and go straight back down again .
If we don't sort ourselves out this cycle will continue. There is not near enough being done in this county at club or underage level to prepare our players for the demands of senior inter county football and the same problems are showing up over and over again year in year out .
The county board needs a COMPLETE overhaul , the structures in Laois football need a COMPLETE overhaul from top to bottom starting at underage club level all the way up to senior inter county level . It actually BAFFLES me that players are brought into underage development squads in Laois at a young age and by the time they get to senior they are still no closer to being physically, athletically, tactically or technically ready for senior inter county football than when they first came through the door at the centre of excellence as 14 or 15 year olds with raw potential.
You yield what you sow and there is not near enough being done at a developmental level in Laois to bridge the gap . The results of our failure to address these issues are blueprinted all over our Laois senior football team since 2003 and the more the game has moved towards professionalism in Ireland the further down the pecking order Laois have become.
Something serious needs to happen soon and I would start with replacing that out of date county board of dinosaurs and replace them with people who are proactive and are willing to do whatever it takes to put Laois football back on the map and give young aspiring Laois footballers the platform to become the best version of themselves
While its easy to blame the County Board and I do on a regular basis
The blame can also be levelled at the clubs
I spoke to an individual recently from outside the county who has been involved with underage development squads the past 2/3 years at u14/15 level in Laois.
He described the skill set of a majority of players at even the most basic level as "abysmal",
that there are 4/5 clubs in the county at most that are coaching their juvenile players to the required level to their age grade,
that the rest seemed to be getting little or no coaching in the basics.
He named the 4/5 clubs who are doing their business right but he said there are a lot of other clubs who are sending in their players who have to be shown the basic skills in a development squad setting which isn't the place for that.
He wasn't blaming the young players themselves, the opposite was the case
he was annoyed that they weren't been given the tools by their own clubs to make the best of the themselves
For anyone who seen the underage gradings/bed hopping it won't get much better in years to come. I see many wanting the county board gone. Who's gonna replace them? They couldn't get a PRO let alone looking for replacing a full executive.
I listened to the game on the radio as I was driving yesterday but it seems the kickout situation was criminal.
Quote from: Batman!!! on March 28, 2022, 09:12:11 AM
For anyone who seen the underage gradings/bed hopping it won't get much better in years to come. I see many wanting the county board gone. Who's gonna replace them? They couldn't get a PRO let alone looking for replacing a full executive.
I listened to the game on the radio as I was driving yesterday but it seems the kickout situation was criminal.
the football gradings/bed hopping are over on the future of Laois football thread.
What goes on here at juvenile is both codes is shambolic and wouldnt be tolerated in any serious GAA county
Quote from: Laois man on March 28, 2022, 09:00:44 AM
Are you putting your name forward for County Chairman?
No point. Everyone knows it's a closed shop. They should resign en masse. They have failed. In the same way that they have passed judgement on many coaches, the Laois public have voted with their feet and won't attend. I repeat. They should resign en masse. They have failed.
By the way, that is not a criticism. It's just a fact. It may be the case that we are incapable of being any better than we are, but we owe it to ourselves to find out. Nobody in their right mind could believe that continuing as we are will yield positive results. We need structural change, not throwing out coaches after a failed stint every 2 years. We/they are not doing things right. That has to change, and up to now, they haven't been able to do so.
Quote from: BallyroanAbu on October 10, 2021, 02:47:59 AM
Quote from: Smellyball on October 09, 2021, 07:44:30 PM
If only the world knew that all the oracle's of football reside in the Laois GAA forum, there would never be a mistake made.
For people to post in here that Sheehans appointment is doomed to failure is ridiculous.
He probably wouldn't have been my first choice but I don't claim to to foresee the future and know it won't end well.
Perhaps part of the problem in Laois is all the whingeing and moaning that goes on in the background. An appointment has been made, if the county got behind the team the chances of success may improve.
For those claiming this is an awful appointment - out of interest, who was the last manager you were happy with when they were announced?
Happy to oracle it, complete shit show but the definition of madness is to repeat the same thing and expect different results. We can do better, Jesus they have dragged us to a point where we think we deserve it.
I said it last October, I know it annoys alot of lads on here but Ross, and older players need to go. The results may not be pretty but we have to rebuild. It sends the right message, our manager needs to be from within the County's Coaching structure and our future managers need to come from there. Hiring lads who need to win, leads to short-term thinking which is now unfortunately having long term consequences. We need a clear strategy of how we are getting out of this mess and to tweak that plan as needs be.
Quote from: High Fielder on March 28, 2022, 09:54:04 AM
Quote from: Laois man on March 28, 2022, 09:00:44 AM
Are you putting your name forward for County Chairman?
No point. Everyone knows it's a closed shop. They should resign en masse. They have failed. In the same way that they have passed judgement on many coaches, the Laois public have voted with their feet and won't attend. I repeat. They should resign en masse. They have failed.
By the way, that is not a criticism. It's just a fact. It may be the case that we are incapable of being any better than we are, but we owe it to ourselves to find out. Nobody in their right mind could believe that continuing as we are will yield positive results. We need structural change, not throwing out coaches after a failed stint every 2 years. We/they are not doing things right. That has to change, and up to now, they haven't been able to do so.
Ah no... It is.
I wanted to give Billy Sheehan some pass as he has a number of players who didn't commit or were injured throughout league. However, as a good Longford GAA friend of mine told me during the game as I brought this defence out at half time, Billy O'L is working without the following mainstay players in Longford who were not available to him:
Gary Rogers (centre-back), Donal McElligot (wing/corner back), John Keegan (midfield), Rian Brady (centre forward),Daniel Mimnagh (corner forward), Liam Connerton (full forward).
Pretty much the spine of the Longford team for the last few years and best club players within county. It's probably the same for most smaller counties the levels of non-commitment. It's about getting the best tune out of the players you have. Billy certainly isn't doing that at the moment. In the modern game when kick outs and kick out strategies are of huge importance to the winning and losing of the game we were shambolic in this department against Limerick, Fermanagh and again yesterday. I know Chris and Billy want to play a traditional kicking game but they need to address this deficiency before start of Leinster championship and Tailteann Cup.
Quote from: BallyroanAbu on March 28, 2022, 10:57:24 AM
Quote from: BallyroanAbu on October 10, 2021, 02:47:59 AM
Quote from: Smellyball on October 09, 2021, 07:44:30 PM
If only the world knew that all the oracle's of football reside in the Laois GAA forum, there would never be a mistake made.
For people to post in here that Sheehans appointment is doomed to failure is ridiculous.
He probably wouldn't have been my first choice but I don't claim to to foresee the future and know it won't end well.
Perhaps part of the problem in Laois is all the whingeing and moaning that goes on in the background. An appointment has been made, if the county got behind the team the chances of success may improve.
For those claiming this is an awful appointment - out of interest, who was the last manager you were happy with when they were announced?
Happy to oracle it, complete shit show but the definition of madness is to repeat the same thing and expect different results. We can do better, Jesus they have dragged us to a point where we think we deserve it.
I said it last October, I know it annoys alot of lads on here but Ross, and older players need to go. The results may not be pretty but we have to rebuild. It sends the right message, our manager needs to be from within the County's Coaching structure and our future managers need to come from there. Hiring lads who need to win, leads to short-term thinking which is now unfortunately having long term consequences. We need a clear strategy of how we are getting out of this mess and to tweak that plan as needs be.
I agree, Ross has been one of Laois' all time greats and a modal player in the way he prepares and conducts himself on and off the pitch, but to have a 39 year old coming off the bench at this level tells its own story. Again I know most people will say he is there on merit but Laois need to bring in and blood younger players, build a side that can compete. Thats a 3 year plan (minimum) realistically and would most likely ship some beatings early on but you would understand if you could see thats what they were doing. This looks like we are going no where. Do the current management have a plan?
Quote from: Joeythelips on March 28, 2022, 01:34:34 PM
Quote from: BallyroanAbu on March 28, 2022, 10:57:24 AM
Quote from: BallyroanAbu on October 10, 2021, 02:47:59 AM
Quote from: Smellyball on October 09, 2021, 07:44:30 PM
If only the world knew that all the oracle's of football reside in the Laois GAA forum, there would never be a mistake made.
For people to post in here that Sheehans appointment is doomed to failure is ridiculous.
He probably wouldn't have been my first choice but I don't claim to to foresee the future and know it won't end well.
Perhaps part of the problem in Laois is all the whingeing and moaning that goes on in the background. An appointment has been made, if the county got behind the team the chances of success may improve.
For those claiming this is an awful appointment - out of interest, who was the last manager you were happy with when they were announced?
Happy to oracle it, complete shit show but the definition of madness is to repeat the same thing and expect different results. We can do better, Jesus they have dragged us to a point where we think we deserve it.
I said it last October, I know it annoys alot of lads on here but Ross, and older players need to go. The results may not be pretty but we have to rebuild. It sends the right message, our manager needs to be from within the County's Coaching structure and our future managers need to come from there. Hiring lads who need to win, leads to short-term thinking which is now unfortunately having long term consequences. We need a clear strategy of how we are getting out of this mess and to tweak that plan as needs be.
I agree, Ross has been one of Laois' all time greats and a modal player in the way he prepares and conducts himself on and off the pitch, but to have a 39 year old coming off the bench at this level tells its own story. Again I know most people will say he is there on merit but Laois need to bring in and blood younger players, build a side that can compete. Thats a 3 year plan (minimum) realistically and would most likely ship some beatings early on but you would understand if you could see thats what they were doing. This looks like we are going no where. Do the current management have a plan?
I have absolutely no objection to giving youth a chance (and this would be a sign of the health of the county set up if we could) but this doesn't make any sense as a strategy in the current circumstances. Ross came on for the last 7 or 8 minutes of the match when the team was 6 or 7 points down. Do you really think it would help the development of a 19 or 20 year old if he came on instead of Ross in those circumstances.
Would you clear out Mark Timmons along with Ross? And presumably Lillis would have to go too, despite being by far the best of the various midfielders that we tried during the league. JOL would also be for the chop (and, to be fair, it hasn't been his best season). But if those 3 were missing yesterday, we would have been beaten by a point a man ...... by Longford. I don't see how this helps young lads.
The problem yesterday was not the age of the players. The problem was that the tactical preparations were so poor and the motivation of the team also seemed pretty poor given the importance of the game. Certainly, it looked to me like Longford wanted it more. The management has to be responsible for that. I would understand arguments about the age of the players or the county board or the youth structures if we saw a team that was well prepared and motivated but just wasn't good enough in the end. But in this particular case, I'm afraid the basics of team management seem to be missing.
Yes they would be is the uncomfortable truth, that might not be what everyone wants but that's what needed in my opinion. In Div 4 if we continue with Timmons and O Louglin, we may win but where are we in two years bar an older JOL and Mark Timmons because of Mike Quirkes and Billy Sheehan's refusal to cull we are having to face being more brutal than already was the case.
Yesterday the team had given up on the manager.
A volunteer. A supporter. A fundraiser. A stakeholder in club and county. An individual prepared to call out a shit show for what it is
I'm sure like me you were there yesterday. Another pitiful crowd. People have walked away. There is no faith in Laois GAA. People are tired of the cronyism and lack of progression. I have no issue with people who feel differently but I've made my mind up. In my opinion, the buck stops with our CB
Quote from: Laois Rising on March 28, 2022, 12:57:48 PM
I wanted to give Billy Sheehan some pass as he has a number of players who didn't commit or were injured throughout league. However, as a good Longford GAA friend of mine told me during the game as I brought this defence out at half time, Billy O'L is working without the following mainstay players in Longford who were not available to him:
Gary Rogers (centre-back), Donal McElligot (wing/corner back), John Keegan (midfield), Rian Brady (centre forward),Daniel Mimnagh (corner forward), Liam Connerton (full forward).
Pretty much the spine of the Longford team for the last few years and best club players within county. It's probably the same for most smaller counties the levels of non-commitment. It's about getting the best tune out of the players you have. Billy certainly isn't doing that at the moment. In the modern game when kick outs and kick out strategies are of huge importance to the winning and losing of the game we were shambolic in this department against Limerick, Fermanagh and again yesterday. I know Chris and Billy want to play a traditional kicking game but they need to address this deficiency before start of Leinster championship and Tailteann Cup.
Donal McElligott, Patrick Fox, John Keegan, Gary Rogers, Rian Brady, Daniel Mimnagh, Liam Connerton, Barry McKeon ,Colm P Smyth , Robbie Smyth , James McGivney, David McGivney , Larry Moran , Ross McNerney, Liam Hughes , Peter Lynn. They are Some of the best players In Longford unavailable this year .
The Longford man beside me at the match named out 15 players they have at home that would beat the 15 they had on the pitch yesterday .
I know we have some players injured and unavailable but we just can't use they as an excuse . Mind you Longford have less than half the population of Laois .
I think the general consensus when Billy took over was that we try and stay in Div 3 but it wouldn't be easy. The O'Byrne cup and earlier rounds of the league gave us a greater expectation of how things might play out.
I didn't think we'd survive Div 3 however the initial results were good.
The last time we were in Div 4 we had a better group of players imo and a good manager came in and took us up at the first attempt. This will be different I think with no guarantee of an early return.
Unless we produce a good crop of players over successive years with some emerging talent we will labour.
We had direction and guile under John Sugrue .He had a plan in for the development of Laois football that was seemingly not recognised by the County Board .
There and then was an opportunity to capitalise . It's been a disaster ever since .
Division 4 football is on the horizon for the next few years .
Correct me if I'm wrong but was billy o loughlin a candidate for Laois manager and had an ok record with under 20s ? But we went for no experience billy Sheehan probably because o loughlin is a bit of a loud mouth , too ambitious and rubs some people up the wrong way , the no hire of o loughlin to me signals a lot of problems in Laois football, bitter ,local petty squabbles , no vision , no pride in the county . We have always ran ofc any managers who were doing some good in football and hurling
time for a major culture change
It was a relegation 6 pointer I wouldn't run away with Billy O Loughlin doing that good of a job either.
Quote from: redsetanta on March 29, 2022, 11:36:02 AM
I think the general consensus when Billy took over was that we try and stay in Div 3 but it wouldn't be easy. The O'Byrne cup and earlier rounds of the league gave us a greater expectation of how things might play out.
I didn't think we'd survive Div 3 however the initial results were good.
The last time we were in Div 4 we had a better group of players imo and a good manager came in and took us up at the first attempt. This will be different I think with no guarantee of an early return.
Unless we produce a good crop of players over successive years with some emerging talent we will labour.
The team that got relegated to division 4:
LAOIS: Graham Brody; Darren Strong, Denis Booth, James Kelly; Eoin Buggie, Pádraig McMahon, Damien O'Connor; Kevin Meaney, John O'Loughlin; Alan Farrell, David Conway, Ambrose Doran; Donie Kingston, Evan O'Carroll, Paul Kingston. Subs: Gary Walsh for Doran (30mins), Niall Donoher for Kingston (46mins), Danny Luttrell for Walsh (48mins), Seán Moore for Conway (55mins), Gareth Dillon for Farrell (66mins), Danny O'Reilly for O'Carroll
As you say, much stronger than current crop - 100% great footballers and still ended up in division 4. The consensus at the time was that we had a lot of big players with very little pace and mobility on the team. A team of athletes who are ok footballers are likely to do better than a team of footballers with no pace in the modern game.
Quote from: BallyroanAbu on March 29, 2022, 02:33:08 PM
It was a relegation 6 pointer I wouldn't run away with Billy O Loughlin doing that good of a job either.
not all based on last game , we find it hard to back our people.
Quote from: Gmac on March 29, 2022, 03:43:21 PM
Quote from: BallyroanAbu on March 29, 2022, 02:33:08 PM
It was a relegation 6 pointer I wouldn't run away with Billy O Loughlin doing that good of a job either.
not all based on last game , we find it hard to back our people.
We did - Billy Sheehan.
Were people not saying they wanted Conway at the helm? We do have some of our 'own' involved.
Is Beano involved?
For me the biggest problems are
1) clubs - standard at senior has been poor for the last few years. 16 teams is too many and clubs are happy to just remain senior. 12 would be more than enough.
2) lads not committing - to get to the levels of division 1 and 2 we really need everyone to commit. It's hard when the realistic ambitions are to get promoted to division 2 and maybe have a crack for the Tailteann cup. I for one hope Laois do give this a rattle. Maybe they could get an away game to NY in the first round.
Throw in Covid and young lads couldn't travel the last few years so can understand why they would now and believe that's why some of the Port lads aren't involved.
If Billy did have everyone available and had better luck with injuries I believe they would have got promoted or at least challenged.
3) underage - this is a big issue. The introduction of 10-11 new GPOs should help in time. When was the last time Stradbally Parish Gaels or St Joes won a minor A title? I'm not having a pop at them but remember a great SPG team that had Quigley/Begley/Colm Kelly at one time and they were great. We badly need the football strongholds producing quality underage teams that feed into the county setup.
4) Pace and power. Our senior team badly lacks this. Is this an issue that comes from clubs/development squads? Ideally we would have an S&C specialist overseeing all county teams.
Beano was selector until the Kildare challenge game .
Was there a particular reason that Beano left?
yes
Ah good man Town - an intelligible post at last ;D
😂😂😂
Quote from: redsetanta on March 31, 2022, 10:57:42 AM
Was there a particular reason that Beano left?
Few issues by all accounts . No coincidence Jake Foster walking around the same time.
Billy has lost the dressing room not good times ahead