Laois Under 21 football team 2016

[INDIANA]

The mystery was how there was only 3 points between them 10 minutes into the second half.
The Dubs had at least 20 players with massive power and pace Laois had maybe 5.
No fault Laois we can't compete with their resources.

It's nothing to do with resources. Your player development programme is shite.

Monaghan have blown all theories on resources out the window with one of the smallest populations in Ireland.

[Andy06]

The mystery was how there was only 3 points between them 10 minutes into the second half.
The Dubs had at least 20 players with massive power and pace Laois had maybe 5.
No fault Laois we can't compete with their resources.

It's nothing to do with resources. Your player development programme is shite.

Monaghan have blown all theories on resources out the window with one of the smallest populations in Ireland.

Complete wind up merchant. If the player development programme is as shite as you say (which is again something you know absolute squat about), then it is obviously to do with resources as we wouldn't have the staff that Dublin have from schools level up.

[INDIANA]

The mystery was how there was only 3 points between them 10 minutes into the second half.
The Dubs had at least 20 players with massive power and pace Laois had maybe 5.
No fault Laois we can't compete with their resources.

It's nothing to do with resources. Your player development programme is shite.

Monaghan have blown all theories on resources out the window with one of the smallest populations in Ireland.

Complete wind up merchant. If the player development programme is as shite as you say (which is again something you know absolute squat about), then it is obviously to do with resources as we wouldn't have the staff that Dublin have from schools level up.

It's shite because you're badly organised, the coaching isn't all that good and you haven't hired any S&C expertise and like most things with Laois GAA blaming everybody else is always easiest. Even counties like Longford, Cavan , Westmeath all have good underage programmes.

But by all means blame everybody else - it's always easier. You're still stuck in 1996-1999 at underage

[Tony]

The guy says pumping huge money vs hardly any money into underage doesn't make a difference. That can only be for one reason : he's a fool.

Course it makes a difference. So does population. Laois did well this year though, and the setup wasn't bad, considering all. There are some really talented forwards coming through. O 'Carroll will be massive for the seniors this year.

Bye bye Indiana, time to go back to your own forum. no credibility after saying the huge investment dublin are getting vs most other counties doesn't matter.

[BallyroanAbu]

I won't lie I was hugely disappointed with yesterday.  I went up with a lot of hope to the game but if that is the best we can offer.  I was maybe naive in thinking we had some of the best forwards in a long time in this team but I doubt any would make the Dublin team the way they currently play.  I have watched Evan O Carroll quite a bit and there is no doubting his ability.   But he is constantly taking too much out of the ball sure he scores, but the toll it takes means he blows up way too early, he also has a habit of continually going  down which I personally find infuriating.  Also he is quite easy to bully out of the game.  For all my criticisms, if he does what he can do namely get the ball in space he is a joy to watch but sometimes a lay off is easier than continually trying to beat 3 players.  Derek Conroy is my biggest disappointment, I really thought that he was a young manager on the up but yesterday there was no defensive plan and quite simply till players in Laois learn to defend we have no chance of any major progress.  A couple of years ago I watched Laois play a 60-70 percent fit Kerry team in the National League and I was stunned at the amount of times Kerry could break the tackle which then allowed overlaps which just causes all sorts of mayhem.  Yesterday was a better version of this.  Its quite obvious we have to start a strength and conditioning program for all our development teams as well as some overall strategy of the way we play and develop players.  There is little wrong with the talent in Laois but there is with the way we are coaching and progressing players and teams.

[INDIANA]

The guy says pumping huge money vs hardly any money into underage doesn't make a difference. That can only be for one reason : he's a fool.

Course it makes a difference. So does population. Laois did well this year though, and the setup wasn't bad, considering all. There are some really talented forwards coming through. O 'Carroll will be massive for the seniors this year.

Bye bye Indiana, time to go back to your own forum. no credibility after saying the huge investment dublin are getting vs most other counties doesn't matter.

No worries see you in a Leinster senior final in 40 years maybe. You're in a dire state and it's nothing to do with resources.

[Hospital Pass]

I'm not going to waste my breath on your nonsense talk Indiana.
Some good points Ballyroanabu. I don't think that Dublin team will win an all Ireland. Our lads for the majority, played as bad as I have seen and we flattered them. Our 3 scoring weapons would be O Carroll, Moore and Lowry. Moore only played 20 minutes after receiving a ridiculously harsh black card, O Carroll looked like he played the game on one leg and Lowry will hardly be that poor again. I thought the best of our lads were Knowles, O Sullivan and Keogh.
Id agree about Derek Conroy. His substitutions were complete head scratchers.

[steven seagal]

Coming out of Parnell Park yesterday, I felt like Dublin were playing a different game to the rest of us. They are so far ahead in terms of strength, conditioning, tactical work, fitness, skills, tackling, work rate etc, that it was a sobering drive home. Both the minor and U-21 teams played basically the same. As the players progress it's easy to move between grades or be promoted up, you already know what to do. 'Player Pathway' is something of buzz phrase at the moment and Dublin have the theory down to a tee. The players are geared towards a specific brand of football, with a strong emphasis on physical conditioning. Either you do the work or get out of the way, because there'll be someone to take your place. There is obviously success along the way which helps to keep players focused and motivated. Having the playing numbers and finances to do that is crucial as well, obviously.

I'm not saying we are neglecting our underage coaching, but we are light years away from competing for a provincial title, if Saturday is anything to go by. We give our players what you could call a 'general' coaching education. They have the skills of the game, but we struggle with anything specific. We don't defend well, we don't track runs, we don't have a clear plan in attack, we don't pressurize the ball until it's too late, we don't have a plan for kickouts. We have been left behind. It was disheartening to see. When we were successful all those years ago games were a bit more off the cuff, so you could get away with it, but the game has changed a lot in the last ten years and we haven't caught up, and don't appear likely to do so any time soon either.

One thing we have to seriously look at is hiring a full-time S&C coach. Plenty of money gets spent in hiring lads to work with different panels in both codes, and at the different grades. Surely instead of paying a variety of coaches, this money could be funneled into hiring someone on a full-time basis that could then be charged with overseeing a programme for the development squads as well as the county teams, and there is a clear vision for the progress of our county players. There are plenty of S&C courses out there as well which will have students looking for work experience, and they could be brought in at various times of the year to work under your main S&C coach to implement the plan. I'm sure there would be more to it that this to get it off the ground, but we'd be naive not to be looking at it.

We spent about around €650k on county teams last year, and with most managers not getting a penny, that is €650k on hired-in coaches, meals, buses, gear, mileage etc. Surely there is scope in that figure to hire someone full-time?

I fully agree with everyone that we struggle because of our lack of resources. We undoubtedly do. Look at the sponsorship deals other county's get compared to us. But limited resources should also mean you make a concerted effort to make the most of what you have. I don't think we are doing that.

[blueandwhite1]

The Dublin thing is a huge worry. Yes, we need to catch up in terms of our coaching setups and player development but we need to look at this in context. Dublin were barren between 1995 and 2011 which created a response from the Dublin clubs, Dublin GAA and central GAA which has completely overcompensated for any deficiencies. Some of the clubs in Dublin are richer than many county boards and have the facilities and set ups to match professional teams. They have won 3 of the last 5 All Irelands and only been beaten once in 10 years inside Leinster. Not to mention their minor, U21 and club dominance. Our minor and U21 teams both were very competitive this year with everyone except Dublin. With a population of 1.2 million people and the setup they have now, they are likely to be the dominant force in football for the foreseeable future. The best of the rest are even struggling to come to terms, with much larger footballing populations and resources. Laois won't solve this - we would need to be churning out 20 near professional atheletes a year with a huge professional coaching staff looking at playing systems. A Dublin senior player is essentially a full time professional at this point with an army of lads who can step in and take his place - how do we catch up with that?

[Unlaoised]

The Dublin thing is a huge worry. Yes, we need to catch up in terms of our coaching setups and player development but we need to look at this in context. Dublin were barren between 1995 and 2011 which created a response from the Dublin clubs, Dublin GAA and central GAA which has completely overcompensated for any deficiencies. Some of the clubs in Dublin are richer than many county boards and have the facilities and set ups to match professional teams. They have won 3 of the last 5 All Irelands and only been beaten once in 10 years inside Leinster. Not to mention their minor, U21 and club dominance. Our minor and U21 teams both were very competitive this year with everyone except Dublin. With a population of 1.2 million people and the setup they have now, they are likely to be the dominant force in football for the foreseeable future. The best of the rest are even struggling to come to terms, with much larger footballing populations and resources. Laois won't solve this - we would need to be churning out 20 near professional atheletes a year with a huge professional coaching staff looking at playing systems. A Dublin senior player is essentially a full time professional at this point with an army of lads who can step in and take his place - how do we catch up with that?

We don't catch up its as simple as that.....

Donegal pumped millions into their senior team over the past 5 years and it has got them some success but just some...Dublin have been pumping that money in for the guts of 10 years now and not just in the senior set up at every age and other counties cannot compete with it ..The gap will only widen.

[ILikeStrawberryJam]

I agree Unlaoised, the days of the smaller counties like Laois being able to compete with Dublin the odd time is finished.
To be fair to us, population wise we've always punched above our weight but Dublin are now on a different stratosphere.
They are incredibly organised now where as in the past they were a bit hap hazzard.
They have endless money. Endless different sponsors, one alone giving them a million a year.
Ballyboden St Endas have 22 U12 teams ..
We couldnt even get the money hunger powers that be to give us a home match against them.
I see them winning 8 out of the next 10 all irelands.
Mayo and Donegal are on the wane so it will be up to Tyrone and Kerry to try and stop them.

[OTF]

Coming out of Parnell Park yesterday, I felt like Dublin were playing a different game to the rest of us. They are so far ahead in terms of strength, conditioning, tactical work, fitness, skills, tackling, work rate etc, that it was a sobering drive home. Both the minor and U-21 teams played basically the same. As the players progress it's easy to move between grades or be promoted up, you already know what to do. 'Player Pathway' is something of buzz phrase at the moment and Dublin have the theory down to a tee. The players are geared towards a specific brand of football, with a strong emphasis on physical conditioning. Either you do the work or get out of the way, because there'll be someone to take your place. There is obviously success along the way which helps to keep players focused and motivated. Having the playing numbers and finances to do that is crucial as well, obviously.

I'm not saying we are neglecting our underage coaching, but we are light years away from competing for a provincial title, if Saturday is anything to go by. We give our players what you could call a 'general' coaching education. They have the skills of the game, but we struggle with anything specific. We don't defend well, we don't track runs, we don't have a clear plan in attack, we don't pressurize the ball until it's too late, we don't have a plan for kickouts. We have been left behind. It was disheartening to see. When we were successful all those years ago games were a bit more off the cuff, so you could get away with it, but the game has changed a lot in the last ten years and we haven't caught up, and don't appear likely to do so any time soon either.

One thing we have to seriously look at is hiring a full-time S&C coach. Plenty of money gets spent in hiring lads to work with different panels in both codes, and at the different grades. Surely instead of paying a variety of coaches, this money could be funneled into hiring someone on a full-time basis that could then be charged with overseeing a programme for the development squads as well as the county teams, and there is a clear vision for the progress of our county players. There are plenty of S&C courses out there as well which will have students looking for work experience, and they could be brought in at various times of the year to work under your main S&C coach to implement the plan. I'm sure there would be more to it that this to get it off the ground, but we'd be naive not to be looking at it.

We spent about around €650k on county teams last year, and with most managers not getting a penny, that is €650k on hired-in coaches, meals, buses, gear, mileage etc. Surely there is scope in that figure to hire someone full-time?

I fully agree with everyone that we struggle because of our lack of resources. We undoubtedly do. Look at the sponsorship deals other county's get compared to us. But limited resources should also mean you make a concerted effort to make the most of what you have. I don't think we are doing that.

Excellent post as indeed were a number of others.