2015 Laois Senior Hurling

[Teo Lurley]

Let's just have a little look at a few results before Cheddar took over.

2012: Dublin 3–23 – 1–7 Laois-------Limerick 6–21 – 1–11 Laois
2011: Laois 1-13 - 10-20 Cork
2010: Carlow 1-19 - 3-12 Laois

That's all that needs to be said to prove that Finbar is talking rubbish bit I will add that the plan at the moment is to make us competitive and once we get more of the new crop of players coming through we can push on. You can't change a team that's losing by huge margins into a winning team overnight.

[Don Draper]

Let's just have a little look at a few results before Cheddar took over.

2012: Dublin 3–23 – 1–7 Laois-------Limerick 6–21 – 1–11 Laois
2011: Laois 1-13 - 10-20 Cork
2010: Carlow 1-19 - 3-12 Laois

That's all that needs to be said to prove that Finbar is talking rubbish bit I will add that the plan at the moment is to make us competitive and once we get more of the new crop of players coming through we can push on. You can't change a team that's losing by huge margins into a winning team overnight.

But did you not read Finbars post, we're going to get Anthony Daly to manage us, or maybe even Cody, perhaps he could bring Michael Dempsey with him and they could double job the football and the hurling? Lets get rid of Cheddar QUICK, just in case they don't realise we want them.

God help us in this county.

[finbar o tool]

improving the back room team, the set up, the fitness, the commitment, was always going to improve our hurling.

like i said, we have improved....
what shit are you talking Don?! the point i made was im sure there will be more people inclined to take over now, than 2011!! you're too busy trying to be funny than actually reading the post properly! oh, and how did we pay for previous managers?
also, how have i moved the goal posts, if hes not willing to change the system then yes he has brought them as far as he can!

2015:
laois 29pts - 21pts offaly. worst offaly team for about 50 years.
laois 1.14 - 3.28 galway. dont know exact figures but im guessing about 15 wides for galway
laois 19pts - dublin 4-17. 21 wides from dublin
lost to antrim and struggled to beat westmeath.
and everyone is delighted with this progress!!

the galway set up was a disgrace. we were dead and buried before we went out on the field. management threw in the towel before the game began.

can no one see that we could have competed much better in these games if we didnt use a sweeper? if we went 15 on 15, used the ball properly, good delivery, players in correct positions, moving off the ball, support play etc etc if we are beaten by a better team on the day then so be it!

we are a better team than what we have shown this year. we have good players who have all improved individually and as a team.  but we are not seeing the best of them due to the sweeper system.
thats my main point here.
plain and f**king simple.
my opinion.

[Don Draper]

like i said, we have improved....
what shit are you talking Don?! the point i made was im sure there will be more people inclined to take over now, than 2011!! you're too busy trying to be funny than actually reading the post properly! oh, and how did we pay for previous managers?
also, how have i moved the goal posts, if hes not willing to change the system then yes he has brought them as far as he can!

No, you said

Cheddar has brought this team as far as he can, A big thank you to him for all he has done but time for change.

Your point could have been god f**king knows, but its not what you said. What you said was horseshit, as we've already agreed.

So who are these managers we're going to get to replace Cheddar when you fire him out of the job. Stop avoiding the question. And how are they going to be paid for.

[finbar o tool]

not sure if you understand how it works Don but its the county board who decide who the next manager would be and how they are paid for, not me!! stop asking stupid questions and ill stop avoiding them!

why dont reply about my actual point? or dont!

[/quote]


we are a better team than what we have shown this year. we have good players who have all improved individually and as a team.  but we are not seeing the best of them due to the sweeper system.
thats my main point here.
plain and f**king simple.
my opinion.
[/quote]

[Jimmy P]

A bit of tedious tangent ye are gone off on lads 

Fantastic progress has been made yet still there would be no one out there willing to commit t as much as Plunkett has to the cause and no one else more importantly who would get anything else out of these players. A mangers tenure generally runs its course like Critchley with the minors but i don't think this is the case with Cheddar. I believe his has more in him its just up to him personally to state that. There is only so much physically one man can invest in a job and has has done more than any manager ever across the country in the modern game. To get us out of the doldrums where we were to a point we are whining about a defeat to Dublin is a testament to the progress and to the man.

In relation to your continuous bashing of a sweeper system Finbar I will again say we simply do not have the quality of hurlers to compete 15 on 15. Physical size was a huge issue pardon the pun against Dublin. Imagine we did go man for man. Would you be confident every man picked was going to win their battle and thus not allow overlaps to happen? I wouldn't be in anyway confident of that. I am the first to admit it is horribly frustrating to watch when it breaks down but we are hurling in a way that gives us some chance of being competitive against better teams.

To be completely honest we simply do not have enough quality hurlers available. The All Ireland contenders ie those left in the All Ireland series how many of those are represented by 8-9 clubs? Not many if you look through the team sheet and panels. Kilkenny for example in yesterdays Leinster final had 18 clubs represented in their match day panel and team. Ballyhale had 5 members on the panel and they are All Ireland champions yet Borris Kilcotton have 7 or 8 on a panel and have never won a county championship in Laois. I have nothing against BK personally i am using them as an example. We simply cannot compete as we do not have enough hurlers hurling at a quality level. How many lads are on the panel outside of the 8 senior teams in 2015. A couple of Portlaoise lads and a Sliabh Bloom lad.

You can only work with what you have so in that regard we aint doing too badly. I suppose some of our posters on here and our fans need to be realistic with the future direction of our team. Not to be just happy with our lot but be a little more realistic with regard to the cards we are playing with

[finbar o tool]

a good post Jimmy and well put. i agree with a lot of what you are saying. i am realistic in the sense that we have small numbers to pick from and there are many other teams out there better than us.
but i still can not see the value of the sweeper system. as you say it is terribly frustrating to watch. but what does it actually add to the team? butch stapleton was a classic example of what i mean Saturday evening. he was sweeper, in front of the full back line, and added absolutely nothing to defense. dont mean to pick on butch, he was only doing as he was asked.

i still believe we would compete better if we worked and developed our 15 on 15. if things were really going to shit during a match i would have a sweeper as plan B, but not sitting in front of the full back, have him closer to the middle trying to win breaks from the puck outs etc. we just cant rely on a sweeper and nothing else.
any way, im done. ive even sickened myself talking about sweepers!!
i just feel we would get more from the players in a traditional system.

i want the best for the players just as anyone else and there will always be different opinions. there is SOME commitment required to hurl at the top level these days, hats off to them all.

[redsetanta]

[Don Draper]

If you're not going to answer my question Finbar, I'll leave it there, there's only so many times you can kick a dog.


Moving on




"This is nothing to do with me," Plunkett says, killing the obvious line of questioning stone dead. "Anything we do has to be about Laois hurling and only about that . . . It's not about people, it's about systems and structures and about the quality of work that people put in.
Cheddar is surrounded by recording devices as dozens of kids happily puck about despite the ancient tannoy voice demanding they remove themselves and their odd-looking sticks.
"I can't say this more clearly to people who have influence here," Plunkett continued, reiterating his everlasting lament. "There is an opportunity in Laois at the moment to do something absolutely brilliant. There are a lot of businesses out there trying to flog products and they don't have the natural customers that you see in this field at the minute."
Sliotars whizz over and under head. Most are killed stone dead by decent first touches. It's only 30 kilometres to the Kilkenny border.
"I've presented it to enough people at GAA headquarters but for some reason they just close their eyes to this and that is just incredibly disappointing.
"I'm not just saying that after this defeat, I've been saying it for three years. It's time for somebody here to wake up and decide how this thing is going to be done better. Because certainly what is being done in the last 30 years is not working.
"We need somebody to look at this differently and take advantage of the opportunities that are arising. And I'd be saying exactly the same thing about Westmeath and Carlow and other counties. They are giving everything they can to improve themselves. And that's not easy. We're a small county. We just don't have the revenues generating that other counties have.
"Will people continue to sit on their hands while all these people do all this work and an opportunity is here? I can't keep asking that question often enough.
"It's about a complete vision for hurling. How we're going to promote the game. What is the objective here? Is the objective for the next 40 years to have an All-Ireland championship where only three counties can win it? Because we've had that for the last 40 years.
"If that's what they want, let them stand up and be honest and say it.
"And we'll all go away and do something else. But if the vision is to support people like us in what we're doing, let them stand back and say what has worked before isn't working and let's do something different."

[Don Draper]

Cheddar Plunkett Post Dublin

https://soundcloud.com/midlandssport/cheddar-plunkett-post-dublin

[Don Draper]

And after all that, you have c***ts like this come out churning out the same shite

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaa-rejects-plunkett-criticisms-on-hurling-development-1.2275554

A couple of grand a year, thats their development plan for us. I fully believe we have to help ourselves, but at this point, we have done that, and we can do no more or go no further at development level without another serious boost of finance. We have 2 development officers in the county, what hope have we when you look at the resources other counties have? We are a small county with small resources, we have little industry or major companies operating here, we even had to go outside for our main sponsors for the County. We can only generate so much money, Cheddar can only give so much of his own, its a situation that can't continue. If the GAA don't give us something soon, this entire thing is going to grind to halt, because what we're running on now, simply CANNOT continue long term.

And despite all this, you have lads calling for Cheddar to move on. It f**king infuriates me.  There's a line in this paragraph that sums up where we are on this thread I think



And what of Laois? Hurling needs them and men like Plunkett to thrive, not merely survive; some of his men may retire now but one hopes that he doesn't walk away.
As he clutched the distraught Stapleton after the final whistle, one sensed that Laois hurling - and the sport in general - needs him. But do they know how much?
"Those decisions are never made after a match like this," he said of his own future, before delivering a passionate and hopefully not valedictory call to arms about that of the game.
"What is the objective here? Is the objective for the next 40 years to have an All-Ireland championship where only three counties can win it? Because we've had that for the last 40 years.
"If that's what they want, let them stand up and be honest and say it. And we'll all go away and do something else".

I think we can see some don't realise this.

[TheGreatGame]

A very honest effort from our hurlers last Saturday.  There were a few times they could have thrown in the towel as the goals were real sucker punches.  I really felt for Brian Stapleton as he drew the short straw in marking Mark Schutte.  I would have tried Campion on him and leave Butch or Palmer in the free role, but these things are easy to say in hindsight.  I will say though that I thought leaving James Walsh and John A off for this game was a big mistake.  We needed our most physical team out and they both made a big difference when introduced.  Cheddar is a Laois legend of that there is no doubt, but I do think he has a leaning towards the younger players he would have been over as minor manager.  I dearly hope he stays on of course, but I do wonder how much any one man can give.  It must be exhausting on him physically and mentally.  I hope now that he is given time to make up his own decision.

On the Dub support, yeah they have their fair share of right p***ks.  The three behind me felt the need to put down Laois players at every opportunity.  That's all grand until things escalate and get physical which nobody wants to see.  I'll find it hard to shout for them in the future.

I think next year will be a real challenge.  We could be in for a significant turnover of players....but that's a topic for another day.

For now a huge thank you to all involved with the set up.

[Don Draper]

There's pricks in every county, Dublin's population means it has more of them than most. The fella behind me giving out to Joe Fitz for his balls inexplicably assaulting Danny Sutcliffe's hurl was the funniest I've heard in a long time however.

[Don Draper]

We're very very luck to have men like Cheddar involved in Laois hurling.



A message on behalf of the Laois Senior Hurling Team and Management that has been distributed to our Clubs from Cheddar


July 7th 2015
Dear Chairman / Secretary
On behalf of Laois Senior Hurling team management, and also on behalf of the players themselves, I would like to thank you for your support for the county senior hurling team in 2015 and I would be pleased if you would pass on thanks to your executive and also to all of your Club members.
I would also like to express my gratitude to your club for encouraging Laois supporters to get in behind the team, especially in the Championships games. The support for the team in the Round Robin and in the Offaly, Galway and Dublin games was special and the players really appreciated it and regularly commented on it.
A number of clubs also made their facilities available to the county team for training during the year, sometimes at short notice. Your accommodation of the team and your courtesy and enthusiasm to make alternative arrangements in your club so that the county team could train on those days/nights was very welcome.
On a separate but related matter, if any county player from your club is carrying any injury from his county commitments and needs further treatment please revert to me as I would want all players to be well treated and go back to their respective clubs in the right form to play club games. I will also be advising the players of this.
In conclusion I would again like to thank you for your assistance and support in striving to drive Laois hurling forward in 2015 and I would like to wish your club all the best in all of the Laois Championships in 2015.
Yours sincerely
Seamas Plunkett

[redsetanta]

We are very lucky to have such a dedicated, passionate and determined Laois man at the helm. I would hope he will stay on as manager but if not at least remain in some capacity as Laois hurling needs him.
He is a strong character however he would benefit from a tactical thinking assistant or selector along side him.

It is clear to everyone that the players respect him and will play for him and he has shown his class with that memo to all the clubs who are also in on his thinking. Clubs will benefit from their players being involved in the county set up.

Resources need to be found for hurling in the county and Cheddar should not have to be paying for anything. Between the GAA Top brass, The county board, Business's in Laois, Friends of Laois hurling and supporters this has to continue. Cheddar is cute enough to also see the marketing opportunity there at the moment. Hundreds of kids out on the field at half time. It was brilliant to see.

The next couple of months may be as important as what's gone before us. Onwards and upwards.