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Unlucky? They never looked like winning this game.

Observations:

1. Laois played with 11 players behind the ball.
2. Zero work had been done on transitional play. They carried the ball forward aimlessly with support players offering neither width nor depth.
3. Aside from aimlessly carrying the ball up the middle of the field, Laois often restored to kicking hopeless ball into an isolated and very well 1/2 man FF line.
4. Laois wing forwards were instructed to drop off their men. Meath's no 7 Ciaran Caulfield was directly involved in 6 scores.
5. No attempt at addressing these issues during the three breaks during this game.
6. Laois's record under current management. Loss v Offaly in the League. Win v a poor Carlow team. Well beaten by Meath.
7. 14 of the 15 players that started today's game are up to the age.
8. Where were all the Ballyroan lads???

Well done Mike Henchy. This team could have had Noel Coss or Cillian Fitz over them. Men who have coaching qualifications one and are both hugely successful.
Henchy spoke about not being able to get coaches from Laois in with them.... I wonder why?

You are correct Green and Gold. Bates could not get the minor job in his own club.

Bates was a part of an u14 Thomas Davis team that he stayed with until they got to minor 2016- 2018. This was his first venture into coaching.

Johnny Jackson was the manager and coach of that team. Bates, like he currently does with the Davis Senior team, was in charge of the water bottles.

Thomas Davis have more sense than let him near coaching a team.

Laois GAA on the other hand were stuck for mentors for Development squads and that's how he got in with Laois in the first place.

This buffer has now by passed two very experienced and successful coaches in Noel Coss and Cillian  Fitzpatrick.

Mike Henhcy and Laurence Phelan have a lot to answer for.

The corrupt nature of this shambolic appointment will surly put Laois based coaches off working with Laois GAA going forward.


As I said previously i really feel that the players have been let down with this appointment.

No false statements made there I am afraid Newbie04.

Facts.

1. Bates was told he had the job before interview
2. Laurence Phelan and Mike Hency were asking every coach in the county to join Bates Minor set up before it was ratified. One of the many coaches asked was in for the job in the first place.
3. Complaints were made about Bates.
4. Successful u15 team- big wins included wins over Galway and Cork divisional teams and then went on to lose to a Kerry divisional team!!
5. Noel Coss - won Minor and 21 with Port and trained their senior team. LaoisToday were struggling with what to write about Bates in the article about minor appointment.
6.Outgoing minor management team included Sean O Shea, Donie Brennan and Doonacha Phelan all brilliant coaches. What is coming in in place it that?? Pj Dempsey the only one with any notable coaching experience from what I can gather.


I feel sorry for the young lads in this. This farcical appointment is the talk of the county.

Strangest interview process I have ever heard of.... someone knowing he has the job well in advance of doing an interview.
Then the boys that interviewed him looking for coaches for him!l?!

I have it on relatively good authority that complaints were made to both Peter Hally and Donie Brennan about how clueless Bates is..... and these complaints were apparently made by the lads that were in with him!!

Lads this appointment is a farce. As a parent of a u16 Dev panel member, I am outraged that Noel Coss did not get this job.
This U15 team has some v good players but lets be realistic here- they scrapped over a Cork divisional team and were beaten by 10 points by a Kerry Divisional team.
From what i gather training sessions were made up of a game of tag followed by a 15 aside match. Mark Bates is far from Jim Gavin.

The CB are well aware that Mark Bates can not coach and have approached a number of people to join the minor set up as they knew Bates isnt up to it. This is a fact.

I can not reason as to why we are giving such an important role to someone who we know nothing about....
He is involved with Thomas Davis alright- the pro. Think he fills water bottles for the senior team. This man is not County Minor management material.

Well done Laois CB on this complete joke. Two semi finals in the last two years under Donnacha Phelan and now we are preparing to take 10 steps backwards.

I can confirm there will be atlesst 3 Thomas Davis lads involved. No faith in the coaches in Laois.

My son was looking forward to going in with Donnacha or atlesst a decent coach- his friends are telling him that the u15 lads laugh at Bates. They actually listen to the Laois lads involved.