Allianz Hurling League 2016

[TheGreatGame]

From Hoganstand:

Enda Rowland; Joe Phelan, Darren Maher, Cahir Healy; Leigh Bergin, Neil Foyle, Ryan Mullaney; Matthew Whelan, Ciaran Collier; Charles Dwyer, William Hyland, Patrick Purcell; Stephen Maher, Zane Keenan, Ross King.

Still one or two switches I'd make, but I applaud Cheddar for trying things out and bedding in some of the younger lads and I do think the team is getting stronger as the year goes on.  Limerick away is always a tough game but they may have one eye on their winner takes all clash with Clare the following Sunday.

[blueandwhite1]

God almighty. Despair. 6-29 to 1-12. How can we be so far behind the curve?

[Ogie]

Kerry was a brutal performance, this was worse
We are back in big trouble, the attitude, energy everything was so bad this evening, heads down everywhere
It's gone stale again & Cheddar has overstayed, not freshened up the back room team enough,

Excuses about Croke Park not giving us enough money or new players being too young doesn't wash at this level, and I fear for the future too,
Things are not good,
abysmal today

[merman]

The simple fact of the matter is that we don't have the players to compete at this level. Limerick are a decent team, probably in that second tier behind the really top counties. Last nights match was a disaster from start to finish; the gulf between those two performances was monumental but regardless, even had we played at our best, Limerick were always going to be too strong.

Now, my first line might seem harsh on the players but I'm going to qualify it. I still maintain that our current panel deserve absolute credit; they are utterly selfless. In my opinion, we are still an absolute minimum of 8-10 years away from seeing any tangible progress at national level. With very few exceptions, the best players in the county are on the panel. One or two lads haven't committed and in hindsight, a couple of lads stepped away too young but that happens in a lot of counties at, around and even above our level. This panel is as good as any Laois manager could have at present but we still don't have the raw ingredients to compete with Limerick etc.

I remember saying last year that there was still going to be some dark days ahead. Last night was bitterly disappointing; not because I never saw it coming but because it is a chilling reminder that this can and will happen again.
There is never going to be an obvious 'win' for this panel. Beating Offly last year was an achievement but outside of Laois and Offaly, it had a negligible impact nationally. And I think a lot involved with Laois know this. To have any chance of progression, we cannot regress to the Teddy McCarthy days. Things have stagnated badly this year but I still remember the sense of absolute dread that was emenating from every member of the Laois hurling fraternity back in those darkest days. Remember we had 7 players training in early June. SEVEN!

There is a growing minority who have turned against Cheddar and performances like yesterday's will surely undermine his standing in many eyes.
Moving forward is crucial. I would be of the opinion that Cheddar has brought through too many of our recent minors too soon but then I know that we have to reenergise the panel from somewhere. I still believe the standard of club hurler in Laois is rising but unlike other counties we don't have a body of good, strong 'club hurlers' in their mid-twenties who might be worth a look. I think nearly every player who came through the minor/U21 setups of recent years has been looked at in one way or another. We're obviously a million miles away from Kilkenny but it's almost the opposite there. Very few players come straight through at 19-22 because they have this core standard of club hurler there and players must earn that right to make a county panel. We have been almost forced to promote players with only miniminal adult hurling experience because our options are so thin on the ground.
That's why I'm saying 8-10 years. Our underage standards are definitely on the rise. Our primary school games are of a higher standard, our U12 championship (and Kilkenny League exploits) last year was brilliant. Abbeyleix will likely go to Feile this year and give the A competition a right rattle. We have a plethora of good, talented young hurling teams coming through. We may not be pulling up trees and winning A competitions at Development Level but we have turned a corner, not THE corner, but A corner. We have a situation where 50 fourteen-year olds turned up for training this year. If they all keep hurling and the same come through next year, we'll be picking a Minor panel from a hypothetical pool of 100 players in a few years. Obviously I'm not saying that every one of these players will go on to be top-class juvenile/senior hurlers but they will hopefully feed into and drive up the standard of club hurler at least.

And these young hurlers need to progress, with time and patience, into a proper setup. Cheddar has provided that at the very least. It now must be maintained. I expect this to be Cheddar's last year and I have nothing but respect for what he has done for the sport I love in Laois. His legacy could well be that the next manager won't have to reinvent the wheel and start from scratch. I expect and hope the next manager is again a Laois man (perhaps a young motivated coach from Camross) and he can keep us moving slowly along the right tracks.

In the immediate, however, there are obvious concerns. I don't think trainings have been brilliant and there are some murmurs of discontent. Could the players benefit from a couple of nights back with their clubs? It's something that we haven't done too often in recent years but it might just help. Release the players for a round of league games; get around and watch these matches, maybe we'd even identify a potential panellist from somewhere.
Much has been written about our style of hurling and to me, it's somewhat of a red herring. I would love to see us going out toe-to-toe with the Limerick/Wexford/Clares of this world but I fear we would get picked off by these teams. I do, however, agree that teams have figured us out and something needs to change. Good teams tend to start with solid half-back lines and this is the area of gravest concern. I like Foyle and I was in favour of the experiment but it hasn't worked out, so what-these things happen. I have some concerns about Matthew at 6 but similarly, it hasn't worked for him further forward and needs changing.
Tom Delaney should be handed the number 7 jersey for the year; Matthew the number 6. Right-half back spot is anybody's to seize right now. The full-back line was cruelly exposed last night but I still don't see obvious alternatives.
Moving forward, Paddy Purcell is the best midfielder in Laois and needs to hurl there. I'd then put Keenan beside him. They have played together before and though Keenan is an out-and-out forward he has the ability to hurl midfield and his delivery and long-range point threat would be a valuable asset.
Hyland starts, Cha starts, Foyle starts. Probably at 10, 11 and 14. I'd start Dunphy and Picky as well, 13 and 12. We then need a corner forward and the contenders for me are King, Scully, Reddin.
That leaves us with:
Reilly/Rowland
Phelan/Palmer-Maher-Healy
Healy/Bergin/Mullaney-Whelan-Delaney
Purcell-Keenan
Hyland-Cha-Picky
Dunphy-Foyle-King

We'd need a lot from that half-forward line. They'd need to cover a lot of ground as I'd want Purcell and Keenan sitting in deep. I'd also withdraw King in between the lines as I think Foyle and Dunphy offer a serious goal threat if 1v1 with any kind of quick high/low ball in. The players must be hurting now. We need a response against Wexford and then again against Kerry/Offaly/Antrim; whomever it may be. That above team can take the game to Wexford. If we drop our midfielders a little deeper on their puck-outs and try contract the space in our defence then we have the players to cause Wexford trouble. And make no mistake, they will smell blood. They will be coming to absolutely bury us.

This year looks like it's going to be a tough one but it can still be retrieved. A good performance against Wexford, staying up in the league and then all preparation for a Leinster quarter-final.
Keeping the faith....

[Keyser Söze]

Excellent, thoughtful and sensible.

I have not turned on Cheddar but do think there has been too much tinkering and experimentation. We were starting out minus several of last years crew as it stood. He has added some unnecessary tinkering to that.

On Merman's team, I cannot see Joe Phelan stepping up to this level at this stage. Cannot see him making it.
I have concerns about Maher at full back. Only alternative is Healy. Perhaps Tom Delaney? Has all of the attributes for it, but it's probably too late for this year?

Agree 100% with midfield.
Forward personnel cannot really be argued with. Again can you be guaranteed a high enough workrate from Picky on the wing if our midfielders are deep? He's capable of it, but it doesn't always happen.

It's a crushing defeat. In the past this type of defeat during a campaign like the current one would have led to a series of withdrawals and defections. Hopefully that can be avoided as a minimum.

[TheGreatGame]

Excellent post merman.  I couldn't make the game on Saturday, but I was quite shocked to be honest at the end score line.  I know Limerick are a better team than us, but missing Lynch, Hannon, Dowling etc I expected us to be competitive.  To concede that amount of scores indicates that something is amiss...every team has bad days, but 6-29 (3 points shy of the Cork massacre and that was a team with a laughable set up) is not an acceptable score to concede.  That Limerick team is no better than the Clare team we played the week previously either.  Serious questions have to be asked, and I think merman could be on the ball with the idea of releasing lads back to the clubs for a few weeks after the Wexford game.

[burdizzo]

Was Keenan not in Limerick?

[Joeythelips]

People complain about Cheddar's negative tactics but there is a reason for it and the performances this year have shown it, the standard of players in our county is just not up to what is required. A scoreline like that is hard to take for all involved especially as they work so hard but Laois have a small pool to pick from, and the panel lost plenty of good hurlers this year and the youngsters coming through are just not good enough yet I am afraid. Hopefully it wont have too negative an impact on them as we desperately need a flow of good underage talent to invigorate the panel and drive the thing on. When Cork wiped the floor with us it was more frustrating as we all knew the players were better than that, but at the minute we have to be honest and say the current standard is not good enough. They have a huge game next against a wounded wexford side, so better to judge on that one but 6-29 is hard to stomach.

[redsetanta]

https://soundcloud.com/midlandssport/cheddar-plunkett-post-limerick-1


Cheddar post match interview. Seems like Keenan was injured.

[les Antiques]

Any team announced for today lads ? Really hoping for some sort of reaction after last weeks debacle.

[burdizzo]

Oh dear, oh dear. They really, really should have won that. A bucket load of chances at the end came to nought, most of them wide from Cha's stick. However, am I right in saying that if Laoise had won they'd be playing Wexford in the relegation match? As it is, they have a buoyant Kerry - presumably in Kerry.
Anyway, a great response to last week's drubbing. I liked Ryan Mulllaney at full-back, in what was generally a good full-back line, and Matthew W. returned to the centre back position, to good effect. Better form Willie Hyland, and Stephen Maher, too. Scully had a few good points, but also a couple of fumbles. I think Enda Rowland has firmly cemented his position after today's display, too.
So, hopefully they'll be encouraged and not deflated by that result. When's the play-off? A fortnight?
No sign of Neil Foyle?

[les Antiques]

Feel sorry for Cha at the end . Had 3 good opportunities to extend the lead but alas !! Convinced it was a Laois free in injury time after the Hyland catch from the puck out but Ref seemed to change his mind . Liked the look of Mullaney at full-back .
Wonder where the relegation play-off will be held and how long is Zane out for ?

[les Antiques]

Looks like Sunday April 3rd in Tralee , potentially a double header with Kerry and Cork in the Football league !

[Buffalobull]

Much better today! Mullaney at fullback is fairly decent and I like the look of Podge Lalor too he's fairly solid! I thought Colm Stapleton worked well but is lacking in aggression for what we need. A lot better from Picky Maher hopefully he drives on from there now.

[blueandwhite1]

Some good stuff today with loads to work on. Positives were how we never gave up on a ball and how we actually dominated possession for long periods of the second half. Cheddar made plenty of changes to shift the balance of power around the middle and we seemed to get sharper as the game wore on. The more conventional we were, the better we competed. Lost a lot of ball in the first half by being too clever with the short puck outs and passing, and by leaving nobody around the Wexford half back line. Healy, Maher, Mullaney were prominent throughout with Matthew improving in the second half. Oh to have Joe Fitz in that half back line. Purcell and Picky grew into the game although neither are still as good as they can be. I thought Scully, Cha and both Willies really showed great leadership all through. Strong, won their own ball and took on the shots. All 3 of Chas wides were inches and I hope he doesn't stop doing what he is doing, he shoots with no space and it usually works. I think if Laois can train at the same pace and intensity that they played today they will sharpen up some more and be truly competitive. Starting to get a bit of shape and experience. We lost most of the possession tussles in the last 3 minutes. In rugby parlance, we still don't win enough at the breakdown. Big game coming up against Kerry.