Paddy O'Rourke Out!

[naka]

Looks like someone in an influential position has been briefing Heaney.
Jesus, these guys have no clue.

methinks Paddy is getting his info solely from this message board
/quote]
as i said i think paddy is making it up, he is trying to cobble together the snippets he is getting from here
my understanding is that paddy gets another year--no dir of football crap and has been told to stengthen his backroom team, guys have been approached but no committments have been made to date

[mackers]

Is it not obvious that someone within the county executive who is privy to whatever informal discussions have gone on has leaked this to Heaney?

No I wouldn't assume that at all.....the Irish News sports department have previous form for printing spurious rubbish when it comes down to this.

[Onion Bag]

If that is the case then Irish News journalists shouldn't be allowed to darken the door of the Athletic Grounds. They were responsible for a serious amount of crap rumours before POR got the job (Plunkett Donaghy FFS). We look down our noses at some of the tabloid journalism in England....they're now at that level.

In fariness mackers, its hardly at the same level or seriousness as what goes on in the English tabloids, after all we are talking here about an amatuer sport and a new coach, its hardly phone hacking and rumours that will destroy peoples lives

[mackers]

If that is the case then Irish News journalists shouldn't be allowed to darken the door of the Athletic Grounds. They were responsible for a serious amount of crap rumours before POR got the job (Plunkett Donaghy FFS). We look down our noses at some of the tabloid journalism in England....they're now at that level.

In fariness mackers, its hardly at the same level or seriousness as what goes on in the English tabloids, after all we are talking here about an amatuer sport and a new coach, its hardly phone hacking and rumours that will destroy peoples lives

Sorry I should have made it clear I was talking about the tabloids' coverage of sports.

[lawnseed]

i think we should picket next cb meeting. enough is enough

[Agent Orange]

i think we should picket next cb meeting. enough is enough

You organise it and Im sure youll get a big crowd.

[Armaghgael]

why what level of 'expenses' is Geezer on?

I had heard from a journalist mate that Geezer was on 120k per year and his assist manager and coach (O'Rourke) were both on 60k (euro). They are by far the highest paid management team in Ireland.

Donnelly's Hollow, you imply that the figure is laughable. I work in Dublin and expenses in and around that level have been quoted to me by many people. Is everyone way off the mark? Have you heard alternative opinions in Kildare?

The sheep on the Curragh know that McGeeney receives no monetary payment. Sure Syl Merrins lured him to the Shortgrass on the promise that he would receive benefits in kind instead. All the prominent Kildare supporters chipped in - Charlie McCreevy managed to get him his own hospitality tent in the reserved enclosure at the Punchestown Festival, Michael Smurfit made him a life member in the K-Club, Christy Moore offered to pen a new song in his honour, Dermot Weld promised to split his Galway winnings with him, Trevor Brennan gave him a holiday chalet in the south of France, Sheikh Mohammed offered shares in his top stallions at Kildangan Stud likewise the Aga Khan at Giltown, Ronnie Wood donated 50% of all his royalties, Tegral offered to reslate his roof and Sos Dowling fitted his house with new carpets while the good people of Allenwood promised to supply him with 5 tonnes of turf per annum.

[BerfArmagh]

"The remit of the 'super coach' will include devising a system of play, tactics and coaching. Former Down All-Ireland winning captain O'Rourke, who has many critics within the county after another disappointing season but who has strong support at the top level, will retain the power to make positional changes and substitutions."

wtf are thes guys serious.... what the hell is these clowns playing at? How can someone devise a system of play & tactics and then allow someone else (manager) to make changes/sibstitutuins... surely this would feck uo the former...

[CountyGK]

"The remit of the 'super coach' will include devising a system of play, tactics and coaching. Former Down All-Ireland winning captain O'Rourke, who has many critics within the county after another disappointing season but who has strong support at the top level, will retain the power to make positional changes and substitutions."

wtf are thes guys serious.... what the hell is these clowns playing at? How can someone devise a system of play & tactics and then allow someone else (manager) to make changes/sibstitutuins... surely this would feck uo the former...

it's a load of nonsense. heaney made it up seemingly

[Applesisapples]

"The remit of the 'super coach' will include devising a system of play, tactics and coaching. Former Down All-Ireland winning captain O'Rourke, who has many critics within the county after another disappointing season but who has strong support at the top level, will retain the power to make positional changes and substitutions."

wtf are thes guys serious.... what the hell is these clowns playing at? How can someone devise a system of play & tactics and then allow someone else (manager) to make changes/sibstitutuins... surely this would feck uo the former...

it's a load of nonsense. heaney made it up seemingly

I'm not so sure someone inside the CB is playing games here. It seems unlikely that even Paddy Heaney would make all of this up.

[ck]

"The remit of the 'super coach' will include devising a system of play, tactics and coaching. Former Down All-Ireland winning captain O'Rourke, who has many critics within the county after another disappointing season but who has strong support at the top level, will retain the power to make positional changes and substitutions."

wtf are thes guys serious.... what the hell is these clowns playing at? How can someone devise a system of play & tactics and then allow someone else (manager) to make changes/sibstitutuins... surely this would feck uo the former...

it's a load of nonsense. heaney made it up seemingly

Seemingly? What does that mean? He told you that he made it up?
Heaney will not have "made it up" ! Ludicrous to suggest that he did. He will have been tipped off by county board officials who like many of the clubs want Paddy out and are simply exposing the craziness that the Armagh board are willing to stoop to in order to keep him. It's a bit like Steve Staunton as irish soccer manager. The dogs on the street knew he wasnt up to the job so the FAI appointed Bobby Robson as his advisor. Crazy stuff. Armagh are now looking for a "Super coach" to try and cover up Paddys incompetance - they are determined to not have another manager issue so they are trying to cover it up by this madness instead!

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

I make this post with the proviso that I did not attend the Tyrone match due to holidays, but to my mind Paddy O'Rourke's tenure can only be described as a disappointment. There has been no progress and the performances this season have generally been hugely uninspiring. Consider how few matches have produced positive displays which left you leaving the ground in good spirits and full of hope.

In the McKenna Cup - a promising performance away to Down was followed by two dire efforts against the might of Antrim and St Mary's. In the League, we won 2 matches out of 7, weren't particularly unlucky in any of the 5 that we lost but were certainly most fortunate to beat Monaghan. In the championship, one exceptionally good performance was followed by 4 mediocre efforts in which we were deservedly defeated by two Division 2 sides and struggled past a Division 4 team.

So where does that leave us? Some may say that the players aren't good enough to meet the expectations of the supporters and while they may not be ready to win an All Ireland next year, even the most measured of Armagh supporters should not accept that failing to reach the last 16 2 years in succession is a true estimation of our side's abilities. The players in the squad are the players we are stuck with as I can't envisage too many changes, other than some minor tinkering, for 2012. By and large, these are the best players in Armagh.

And so to the management, the crucial matter to consider is whether the current management team have the side performing at about the level to be expected, whether the management team are providing "added value" i.e. getting the overall performance to equate to more than the sum of the parts (see Jim McGuinness & Donegal) or whether the management team is hindering the progress of the side.

My own inescapable belief is that the latter is true. I take no pleasure in saying it. I was vehement in my objection to Paddy O'Rourke's appointment but was willing to give him a chance. Nobody doubts that he is a decent man trying to his best. Indeed I was very irritated earlier in the season when Donal Murtagh responded to criticism of O'Rourke by stating that the supporters don't realise the work he puts in. Nobody doubts that he makes every effort to be successful, what we call into question is his ability to make those efforts fruitful. Unfortunately all our fears expressed at the appointment of a man with a failed track record have been realised.

We can quibble about the tactics all we what. There have been mistakes made in this regard and what has been particularly noticeable is the wild variation in styles, ultra-defensive against Derry in 2010 in Celtic Park, lamentably open against the same opposition in Clones this year. But to my mind, the fundamental issue is that the players simply do not respect the management team. They have no faith in their ability to prepare a team at the top level and simply don't buy into Paddy O'Rourke's ethos, whatever that may be. Once a manager fails to command the respect and admiration of his charges, all hope is lost.

To me, all of the above is fairly obvious, even to a supporter like myself with little in-depth knowledge of the game. With the present management team in charge, I foresee nothing but stagnation yet if the rumours are to believed, and I do stress if, those in charge of football in our county consider that he is doing a sufficiently meritorious job to deserve another year in charge. I simply can't see the justification for that view and it troubles me deeply that such a scenario might come to pass.

[Applesisapples]

TAD, I'm not sure we even have the best available players on the panel, having seen the performance of Stephen Kernan for Cross against Clann Eireann and in previous matches in the Ulster and All Ireland I would question the ability of any manager who prefers Johnny Murtagh.

[Orior]

TAD, I'm not sure we even have the best available players on the panel, having seen the performance of Stephen Kernan for Cross against Clann Eireann and in previous matches in the Ulster and All Ireland I would question the ability of any manager who prefers Johnny Murtagh.

+100

[ck]

At a time when most Armagh people want rid of POR but the county board try to avoid another crisis and want to appoint a "super coach" ...and with Aidan O'Rourke stepping down in Kildare. Is it not all pretty obvious what SHOULD happen here?
Let Aidan come in and stop the rot and steer things back in the right direction.

Also, just a thought, but has Cathal O'Rourke (Aidans brother) ever been mentioned for the Armagh job? He's a vastly experienced coach and manager. I heard him mentioned recently by an ex county board member. Maybe he is the new "super coach"?