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This election is like asking the clubs of Laois if they would rather drown or be burnt alive

And assistant treasurer, he's the only one nominated for that.

Surely Shaggy will pull out though to pursue his dream of forcing all juvenile gaa players in the country to give up the other sports they play

I think the big difference between Moorefield and every other team Portlaoise met this year was that Moorefield were excellent defensively. Moorefield did a great job of slowing Portlaoise down, and they weren't at their best with the slower pace.

They also tied up Bruno, which rarely happens in Laois. It was almost comical how much freedom Rhode gave him. Rhode looked like they had no homework done on Portlaoise at all, but Moorefield looked far better prepared.

I thought Sunday was the first game this year where they really missed Healy as well, they could have done with him on Eanna O'Connor. In spite of all that, they should still have won it. That late lapse probably cost them another Leinster, because they would have been the best team left in it. A tough one to take for them but they'll probably win another three or four in a row in Laois, at least, so they'll have plenty more chances.

I think the Fitzpatrick chap was with the Leinster rugby academy, or some way involved with their youth set up, so he was tied up with that.

It's always bitterly disappointing when someone misses a fairly clear cut Shawshank Redemption reference

No, if Portlaoise intermediates win then they will remain in the IFC. They can't be promoted because the club already have a team at the higher grade, it's the same in the league, you can't have two teams from the same club competing in the same competition.

Ah lads, is their no one in London that knows of a way out of this? 

To be honest I am happy to see Arles beat Mountmellick. Mountmellick first option to improve is to become a gaels team and to bring players in from others club. Arles try there best to improve there own players. Mountmellick are Laois football in a nut shell. Instead of working to improve what you have they take the easy option of joining up with someone else.

To be fair to Mountmellick, the link with Castletown started with Ger and Brendan Reddin, because their father is from Mountmellick, and the two of them have been kicking football with Mountmellick for years. Ger has since emigrated but Brendan is still kicking with them. James Mullaney played a bit with them this year too, but not to any great degree, I wouldn't say he even started a game for them.

Reilly is working out in Abu Dhabi now, so I doubt he'll be involved. Of the lads not currently there, Gearoid Burke would be the biggest addition, but he doesn't seem to have the interest. Saw Rathdowney-Errill a couple of times and thought James Ryan did alright, might be worth a call up.

4: He has the respect of the players (and any player who doesn't show up just because Billy is named manager doesn't deserve to have the honour of putting on the jersey anyway)

That's an important point, he was players rep when he was on the panel, if you talk to anyone that played with him, they always speak very highly of him. Not all Laois fans took to him, but the players loved Billy. Building up a good relationship with the players will be important for the new manager, especially if we bring in a load of young lads who'll need a bit of confidence.

Steven seagull that team u have assembled three will not get near out of division 4.

First things first, it's Steven Seagal, I've been in films, I'm actually very famous. Secondly, did you even read the post, or did you just pick out the names of lads you don't like and decide to tell us all how sh*te you think they are? I said it could take us a year or two to get out of Division 4 with that team. You might not like the lads coming through, but they are the players we have to work with. The only thing we can do is try to make them better, give them time to play together and support them as best we can.

What's the alternative?

Cahir Healy, Mark Timmons, Stephen Attride,
Padraig McMahon, Colm Begley, Buggie / Lillis.

While I agree with you Tony that the backs listed there are potentially very good, I think it would be pointless to put them on the field, in the long run.

Healy, Timmons, McMahon and Begley are all 30+ at this stage, so there is no long term plan in place for them. We would just have to scrap them and start again the year after. I'd imagine McMahon will probably call it a day this summer anyway, and I'd personally like to see Healy stick with the hurlers.

The more I think about it, the less I am in favour of cobbling a team together just to get us out of Division 4. It's not a nice place to be I know, but we have to completely rebuild the team. Timmons, Begley, Quigley, Strong, McMahon, Munnelly, Donoher and Meaney are not our future. I'd keep a handful of them involved for their influence, maybe Munnelly, Begley and Timmons, but I'd let the rest of them go. I don't think there's any point in putting out a team of the older lads as a last hurrah for them to get us out of Division 4, if we have to blood a litany of young lads the year after and get relegated again. I think next year is the time to bring in the younger players, and if it takes us a year or two to get out of Division 4, so be it, this has to be long-term plan anyway. We need to build a team that can play together for the next 3-4 years, in my opinion.

We need to identify lads from 18 to 22 that can be solid players in two to three years time, and work year-round with them from now on. I'd like to see something like this next year, with a few of the promising U-17s from this year on the fringes of the panel, so they have some idea of what an intercounty set up entails, and to keep them interested.

Brody

Kelly, Timmons, Attride
O'Sullivan, Buggie, Begley

JOL, Luttrell

Daly, O'Carroll, Farrell
P Kingston, D Kingston, Moore

I'd have lads like Davy Conway and James Finn from this year still there, and then younger lads like Diarmuid Whelan, Robert Tyrell, Shane Nerney, Trevor Collins, Mick Keogh, Colm Murphy involved, as well as the few minors, and I'm probably missing a few more too.

The bulk of that team should still be playing in three years time. We need to identify someone to replace Timmons, maybe Shane Nerney, and have him work hand in hand with him for the year to learn as much as he can, and then work him into the team from there.

Who manages them is a different matter entirely though. I think Clancy has the type of personality we need, but he hasn't the experience to take it on his own. I'd love to see him involved though, I think he'd work well with the younger lads.

This thread is gone absolutely mental. I think a few lads here need to sit down with a cup of tea and kit kat for a few minutes and get a grip of themselves.

The players should not be named on here, in my opinion, but just because they're not named doesn't mean it didn't happen. The drinking is a minor issue really at this stage, I'd have a bigger problem with our chairman breaking all known convention to allow the senior manager talk at a meeting he had no business attending. Clearly they are going to try everything they can to get him another year despite all evidence this year pointing to his unsuitability for the job, because they don't want to admit they f**ked things up by appointing him in the first place.

Had he been training with Joseph's, or been involved with them in any way before the final?

A positive step, and I like the look of the committee. No one from the county board on it, which is a start. I'd like to see some current club players and/or managers added, I think their input would be important. Be interesting to see what the review comes up with.