2015 Laois Senior Hurling

[finbar o tool]

I simply can't believe people like finbar are 1) serious and 2) in any way knowledgable.

Only time will tell Don, we shall see.

By the way this is how you spell "knowledgeable" 

[clubjoe14]

If we are to get to the next level we need someone that has managed and won titles at the level, daly, liam sheedy etc and follow up on the good work done so far

[merman]

If we are to get to the next level we need someone that has managed and won titles at the level, daly, liam sheedy etc and follow up on the good work done so far

You're not asking for much are you?
Someone who has won titles 'at the level'?
I presume by that you mean Division 1 National League, Provincial Title or All-Ireland?

What a load of bollox....

[clubjoe14]

I understand that its currently work in progress but if we  could get someone on board that could give the team a little more edge we begin to move on the next level of reaching leinster finals.

[Giovanni]

I have to admit I'm finding it very hard to understand the clamour for a new manager to take us to "the next level".

The only manager that I would take over Cheddar would be Brian Cody. All the rest have had as much failure as success with players that are far superior to the ones that we have at present. But the quality of our players is improving and I would expect results to slowly improve with them if we have some patience. The level we are at now (ahead of Offaly, Antrim, Carlow, Westmeath) is a job well done and a testament to the work of Cheddar and the players. I wouldn't be going for big names in any way, shape or form. I don't expect Cheddar's approach to be static - he himself is talking about the need to continually try new things and different approaches.

[Cruella De Vil]

Hi all, lurking for a while, but decided to join,.........

Great credit has to go to cheddar and his team, but if it he does call it a day, i think we should avoid the journeymen types tried before him. If we did go for an outside manager, we should try someone yong trying to make their name, Cloonan of Galway perhaps, he's involved with them the last couple of years and has a good tutor in Cunningham.

[clubjoe14]

cloonan is a assistant manager  learning his trade at the moment like cheddar and has potential to become a decent manager not sure if hes the right man for us yet

[finbar o tool]

look lads, (myself included) there is probably no point in discussing any new manager unless Cheddar decides to step down. and i think he wont. for him to do that at this stage would be like raring a child to the age of 3 or 4 and handing it off for someone else to look after!! this is his baby after all.

"the next level" that a few have mentioned, would be to get more competitive and more attack minded rather than sitting back and inviting other teams onto us, resulting in us shooting from distance and not much more, like we did this year.

who do we think is going to hang up the inter county boots next year? Tommy Fitz i suppose would nearly be top of the list. i reckon there wouldn't be too many more though, i reckon we'll get another good year or 2 out of the rest? not trying to run Tommy or anything by the way, hes just the obvious choice i suppose!

[redsetanta]

All this talk about a new manager is BS if you ask me. We're barely a week after our championship exit and maybe my hearing is going but I don't recall Cheddar mentioning or hinting that he would be leaving.

All this talk of next levels, we are out our level.

Look at our record this year. Even though we have improved we still only won one game in the league. We didn't set the world on fire in the round robin but we beat Offaly and we gave the Dubs a right game of it. Dublin, a team that was a score away from an All Ireland final 2 years ago.
This is a journey that the players, management and supporters are on and lads are looking to get rid of the train driver.

[finbar o tool]

redsetanta we have all agreed the lads have improved, but there is plenty more room for improvement.
thats what the next level is!!

a lot of people watched that Dublin game with Laois tinted glasses, for lack of a better description.
Dublin scored 4-17 and if they had their shooting boots on it could have been way worse, they had 21 wides and a goal disallowed.
we didn't really give them "a right game". we sat back and let them take us on and run at us all day. we got back level in the first half because we had a strong wind and a few lads well able to take a score from distance. we needed a couple of goals to give Dublin a game but they were never ever going to come because of the defensive manner the team were set up!

all this talk of of "we don't have the players" blah blah blah, is the likes of Conal Keaney THAT much better than the likes of Willie Hyland?? i certainly don't think so. and Keaney made team off the week last week!! if we put Willie on the edge of the square and played good ball into him, and the corners, just like Dublin did, we would compete much better! instead of having him out on the wing forced into shooting from distance. bringing back an extra defender automatically puts our backs under pressure, the backs are clearing ball and its coming back too quick because we are down a forward and possibly against an extra defender their end! the more pressure we are under the more we will concede and the less we score. are you all telling me that's the best plan we can use due to our players?! if the lads were told/coached to deliver good ball in a 15 on 15 situation, coached on their movement off the ball etc that they wouldn't have the ability or brains to do it? that's bullshit. they are well able!!
That's how we get to "the next level", that's how we progress!

you can all tell me i know nothing, and that i am not "in any way knowledgeable" all you like, i wont be changing my mind on this!

[clubjoe14]

very well summarized Finbar i agree with you that team play within in themselves and dont play direct and quick enough ball into our forwards and really test opposition  defences. This is reflected in our lack of goals we scored this year. Clapping eachother on the back for decent performances for patches in a game will not bring this team to the next level. redsetanta reckons we are at our level and that is after conceding 4-17 and 3-28 in our last 2 championship games!! we need more ambition than that if we want to be respected in the hurling world!

[Giovanni]

I don't think there's a single poster here who would say that improvement isn't possible. The question is who is best placed to deliver that kind of improvement. The answer to that question depends on how much you respect Cheddar's achievements. If you don't rate those achievements, it's natural that you would be looking for someone else. If, like me, you think he's done a better job than anyone else we've had at the helm since the early 80s (when, by the way, we had much better players), then you wouldn't be so quick to look for a change.

I agree that we should be trying to develop a strategy to score more goals. However, it should be pointed out that you don't need 6 forwards to score a goal. I've only ever seen one being needed. The issue is how to get players into position with the right kind of ball and at the right times to be effective. Again, I would certainly prefer to entrust Cheddar with figuring out that than Anthony Daly.

We played 15v15 against Offaly in the league and we were well beaten. Obviously, it was a different story in the championship when we played with a sweeper. This is not "proof" one way or another but the fact that even the very best teams funnel lots of players back suggests that we're not way of the mark here.

There certainly is a next level to be reached. This will require better players in the first place (despite what you seem to think). It may also need an improved tactical system that gives us a few more goal chances -  I think that will come.
.

[finbar o tool]

I've only ever seen one being needed.


It may also need an improved tactical system that gives us a few more goal chances -  I think that will come.
.

that first line above is ridicules!!

the last line, is spot on. this is what im getting at essentially! it needs to come and come quick.

i think we've moved on from talking about a new manager!...

the other point im getting at is, we don't need better players to improve, an improved tactical system is what we need!
OBVIOUSLY, if we had better players we would improve!! and there is plenty of talent coming through, as mentioned previously we will have to be patient, but we can compete better with the players we have with an improved system.
if we compete better, confidence grows and the players will realize the system used this year has been restrictive.

we're going in the right direction and most importantly what Cheddar has done is get the players mentality right. commitment, heart, drive, fitness etc has been the main things that have come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of years, along with a good back room team. now we drive on with the right system/tactics and a few young confident players coming through.

[Giovanni]

Could you maybe let us in on your ideas for the new tactical system that will bring us on so much?? Is it 15 v 15 or am I misunderstanding?

[Cruella De Vil]

15 v 15 isn't really the answer, unless you've savage backs. If we even just kept back only one sweeper, just something that'd help you score more than 2 points in 35mins, you'll win little with that.