Peter Ford-Should he stay or should he go?

[Duine Eile]

So what do ye think? Personally I think he should go, even if Galway do the unthinkable and beat Kerry or Tyrone. (highly doubtful really!) Backwards we've gone since he came in as manager, the forwards are still a shambles as a unit, midfield is a mess, the backs, fair enough have gotten tighter but the wheels are starting to come off the cart here too, O'Hara was through like a hot knife through butter for that goal on Sunday. Pat Egan can say what he likes about there being no pressure on Ford but the dogs in the street know his jobs on the line if something spectacular isn't produced before the seasons over. Also does anyone else think it peculiar that we have a full round of club championship games just 6 days before a make or break championship game, in previous years at least two weekends before county matches were kept free in case anyone picked up knocks, are the county board resigned to the fact that this year's championship is effectively over?

[Barney]

I think Forde has brought a toughness to the Galway defence and tightened them up alot from the unit he inherited. However this is at the expense of forward play and Galway now rarely average more than 1-10, 1-11 which is quite alarming considering the quality of the players.

His only real achievements at senior level with Galway have been against Mayo, and he knows what our lads don't like and has had the upper-hand over Moran, Maughan and O'Mahony.

[GaillimhIarthair]

So what do ye think? Personally I think he should go, even if Galway do the unthinkable and beat Kerry or Tyrone. (highly doubtful really!) Backwards we've gone since he came in as manager, the forwards are still a shambles as a unit, midfield is a mess, the backs, fair enough have gotten tighter but the wheels are starting to come off the cart here too, O'Hara was through like a hot knife through butter for that goal on Sunday. Pat Egan can say what he likes about there being no pressure on Ford but the dogs in the street know his jobs on the line if something spectacular isn't produced before the seasons over. Also does anyone else think it peculiar that we have a full round of club championship games just 6 days before a make or break championship game, in previous years at least two weekends before county matches were kept free in case anyone picked up knocks, are the county board resigned to the fact that this year's championship is effectively over?

Have to agree with most of what your saying here.  I have no doubt that he will be gone after our next defeat and there is no way that we will still be in contention for honours on the 3rd Sun in Sept.  Can't understand myself why the club champ games are on this weekend    If Kerry, Tyrone, Dublin were in the same boat would it be happening ? It definitely would not.  We will know on Sun evening who's up next and i have a sneaky feeling it could be Meath, as I reckon they should be good enough to beat Fermanagh in Navan and we will draw them !!

[GalwaySham]

All this doom & gloom,

Should Ford go? Hmm Im not sure.

After all, Would you pick a team much different than the one picked against Sligo?

The hunger just isnt there is the older players like Joyce, Savage & Fallon anymore.

Would a new manager actually improve this team much?

[dodo]

Surely if the hunger isin't there you would pick a different team !

Forde should have got the Mayo job a few years ago. Some flutering about by the county board saw to this. I was disappointed that he went to Galway afterwards as I saw this as a good catch by the Tribesmen. Allowing for the fact that in the 3 years since taking over that they have beat Mayo twice, he has under-achieved. Not saying that there were All Irelands there for the taking but to have gone out to Westmeath tamely last year and to loose to Cork in his first year after being in a winning position by half time.
Is he after losing it or is his management style just not suited to Galway ? Either way he is surely finished in Galway.

[MaroonAndWhite]

He should have gone last year. Changing the selectors and leaving Ford was a cop out by the County Board last autumn and now they are paying for it. He got Galway to the league final only by way of having played three half-middling games during Spring 06. Kerry pulled away from them at their will in the second half of that game. The championship was a shambles. Dire against Mayo in Castlebar and the less said about Westmeath the better.

This year has followed a similar trend again.

Im not saying the players are blameless.......alot of hunger and motivation must come from within the players themselves but anyone who has seen Ford on the sideline or being interviewed might agree that hes hardly motivational speaker quality. You'd not be inclined to go through walls for a lad that sounds like he couldnt give a toss himself would you? The quality of player is there to be doing alot better than we are. As i said in previous posts, he has given defence a steeliness that was not there before and stole the attacking fluency from a team that when it played well and to potential (a long time ago....cant actually remember when it last happened), only Kerry could touch.

Hes our version of Stan Staunton.......that in itself says alot.

[Rossfan]

Hopefully he'll go and then ye'll take Maughan 

[Pietas]

I think Forde has brought a toughness to the Galway defence and tightened them up alot from the unit he inherited. However this is at the expense of forward play and Galway now rarely average more than 1-10, 1-11 which is quite alarming considering the quality of the players.

His only real achievements at senior level with Galway have been against Mayo, and he knows what our lads don't like and has had the upper-hand over Moran, Maughan and O'Mahony.

Considering the result of last year's match in Castlebar, I don't know how you can say he had the upper hand on Moran.

[magpie seanie]

Hes our version of Stan Staunton.......that in itself says alot.

That's harsh.

[Barney]

We got the rub of the green in the Connacht Final last year. The FBD Final and league semi-final defeats were embarassing.

[dodo]

We got the rub of the green in the Connacht Final last year. The FBD Final and league semi-final defeats were embarassing.

We had Galway well beat in Connacht final last year but had to rely on Conor Mortimer's late pointed free at the death to win it where it counts. Therefore giving Mickey Moran his due he had the better of it in the Galway Mayo battle during his one year reign. FBD and league don't even come close !

[Galway15]

When i was racing out of the hyde the last day the galway followers all around me were openly scathing of forde...Putting the championship games on 6 days before the qualifiers says it all really...no confidence in forde now..i said on another thread earlier that forde was the wrong man for galway after o mahony...he's not the enthusiastic, energetic type that players would die for...Galway are at a huge crossroads now...we need a Jack o connor type manager who will inspire the troops...forde is too laid back and quiet for my likening...Players had no hunger the last day and thats alarming....we WONT do a thing in the qualifiers....as a proud galwayman im rightly pissed off...incidently what players in the county would the galway posters give a chance to? and any home grown managers for that matter?

[the Deel Rover]

When i was racing out of the hyde the last day the galway followers all around me were openly scathing of forde...Putting the championship games on 6 days before the qualifiers says it all really...no confidence in forde now..i said on another thread earlier that forde was the wrong man for galway after o mahony...he's not the enthusiastic, energetic type that players would die for...Galway are at a huge crossroads now...we need a Jack o connor type manager who will inspire the troops...forde is too laid back and quiet for my likening...Players had no hunger the last day and thats alarming....we WONT do a thing in the qualifiers....as a proud galwayman im rightly pissed off...incidently what players in the county would the galway posters give a chance to? and any home grown managers for that matter?

But the players had the hunger against mayo? maybe galway thought they just had to turn up and beat sligo.
After the Mayo match a lot of Galway people were talking about the quarterfinals

[GalwaySham]

Surely if the hunger isin't there you would pick a different team !

You miss my point, Joyce is probably still the best FF in Galway, but his hunger is gone. Just like it is in a lot of lads.

But it is difficult to drop these lads because they are so good.

[Pietas]

We got the rub of the green in the Connacht Final last year. The FBD Final and league semi-final defeats were embarassing.

Yeah, but when push came to shove, Moran put one over on Ford in the Championship.

Fair's far.