Next Laois football manager

[High Fielder]

Bit of a shock to see Sugrue step down that sure came out of the blue very surprising at this time when he had the team moving along nicely and making progress, i was wondering and this is just my own opinion but after two successful seasons is it possible he could see his third year in charge as been more challenging as we may find it tough going in Div 2 and who knows maybe a few retirements as well i know there are younger lads coming through but all the same, and he may have thought he won't be able to keep this upward trend and progress going and just wanted to go out when things were very positive and at a high you could say.

Anyway just speculation as seen he did not give a valid reason for leaving yet anyway all we can do now is speculate.

How about Mick Dempsey as a replacement, i am sure he could be available after Kilkenny are beaten in the hurling final the man knows what it takes to achieve success with a team anyway.

At this stage, I've put every conceivable possibility through my mind, and I'd be amazed if he walked away from an improving team. I accept that some people bow out when they're ahead, but it would be a right slap in the face to lads who have soldiered for him this last two years. It would be a complete vote of no confidence and a contradiction of everything he said about the players. He's an honourable man and I don't think that would happen.

The optics of this are terrible in my opinion. For everybody. I only hope the players know the full story, because I'm not sure how they would feel otherwise. It's hard to be optimistic when you see how easily that optimism can be snuffed out

[Tony]

I think you might be over thinking it a tad, High Fielder. Maybe he did just go for personal reasons. He has a family and a business. Maybe the 100% he was putting into Laois football was taking away from the more important things in his life.

I agree though, it would be good to get some kind of statement to have closure and to stop people like us idly coming up with theories that might have no basis in truth.

[High Fielder]

Fair enough Tony. I can accept that.

[Junior Ex Laoistalk]

The Search Begins.....

Three-man committee set up as search for new Laois football manager begins in earnest
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/08/02/three-man-committee-set-up-as-search-for-new-laois-football-manager-begins-in-earnest

[Jd]

Family and work I heard   I'm sure he'd like to be able to head off for a weekend with the wife and kids who are fairly young and possibly miss their dad not being home in the evenings. Most on here are involved with clubs and if you wanted you could be gone every evening and weekend. He took that on and had no option but to fully immerse himself in the process of improving Laois football which he did. I hav had underage teams and you'd be burned out at the end of the year So maybe John was getting that way and decided to go. I also know that co board did their level best to talk him around and also organized players to talk to him but he was not for turning. It might work out that he takes a less time consuming job with the coaching/underage setups and hopefully we'll have him for more time in the long run.

[Don Draper]

Family and work I heard   I'm sure he'd like to be able to head off for a weekend with the wife and kids who are fairly young and possibly miss their dad not being home in the evenings. Most on here are involved with clubs and if you wanted you could be gone every evening and weekend. He took that on and had no option but to fully immerse himself in the process of improving Laois football which he did. I hav had underage teams and you'd be burned out at the end of the year So maybe John was getting that way and decided to go. I also know that co board did their level best to talk him around and also organized players to talk to him but he was not for turning. It might work out that he takes a less time consuming job with the coaching/underage setups and hopefully we'll have him for more time in the long run.

Nail on the head

[steven seagal]

One thing that struck me over the last couple of years was the amount of awards nights and presentations he was going to, for someone self-employed that's a tough thing to do. Between time spent coaching Laois and time going to these events, it all eats away at time spent on his business. It's not like he can delegate, if he's not there himself he's not making money. Add in the family side of things and it's easy to see why he would feel the need to step away. I think the key now is not to leave him gone long-term like we did with Cheddar, I think he has a genuine interest in the county, hopefully he can be kept involved in some capacity, even if it's helping out with a development squad when things have settled back down for him.

[High Fielder]

Family and work I heard   I'm sure he'd like to be able to head off for a weekend with the wife and kids who are fairly young and possibly miss their dad not being home in the evenings. Most on here are involved with clubs and if you wanted you could be gone every evening and weekend. He took that on and had no option but to fully immerse himself in the process of improving Laois football which he did. I hav had underage teams and you'd be burned out at the end of the year So maybe John was getting that way and decided to go. I also know that co board did their level best to talk him around and also organized players to talk to him but he was not for turning. It might work out that he takes a less time consuming job with the coaching/underage setups and hopefully we'll have him for more time in the long run.

Thanks for the clarification. Everyone missed an opportunity by not saying that in the first place. It ends the speculation and it humanises the whole thing which at this point, at county level and even in some clubs, is way out of control. The top teams in the country have nearly as many on the line and in the stands than in the matchday panel. It's getting increasingly hard to compete

[Don Draper]

Family and work I heard   I'm sure he'd like to be able to head off for a weekend with the wife and kids who are fairly young and possibly miss their dad not being home in the evenings. Most on here are involved with clubs and if you wanted you could be gone every evening and weekend. He took that on and had no option but to fully immerse himself in the process of improving Laois football which he did. I hav had underage teams and you'd be burned out at the end of the year So maybe John was getting that way and decided to go. I also know that co board did their level best to talk him around and also organized players to talk to him but he was not for turning. It might work out that he takes a less time consuming job with the coaching/underage setups and hopefully we'll have him for more time in the long run.

Thanks for the clarification. Everyone missed an opportunity by not saying that in the first place. It ends the speculation and it humanises the whole thing which at this point, at county level and even in some clubs, is way out of control. The top teams in the country have nearly as many on the line and in the stands than in the matchday panel. It's getting increasingly hard to compete

It was said from the start. Work and family.

[High Fielder]

Who said it?

[Don Draper]

This doesn't look good for us. If a man walks away from a job after being successful and is highly regarded, does that man feel he can't do any more? I'm hoping we hear from him and I'm hoping he talks about the huge commitment required and/or wanting to spend more time with the family. Anything else will make this an impossible sell and God knows what Bozo we'll end up with

I'd say unfortunately that may be the case.

It's a cert it's because of family and work.

Most right thinking people

[High Fielder]

Speculation. We can all do that. I didn't see anyone saying wrong about John, so it's fair to say nobody is wrong thinking.

[Don Draper]

Speculation. We can all do that. I didn't see anyone saying wrong about John, so it's fair to say nobody is wrong thinking.

You had just thanked him for his clarification 

[High Fielder]

He said he had heard and I assumed he meant from someone in the know. I have no reason to distrust the poster

[Jd]

Yeah was a person who would have connections with co board. I'm not prepared to say any more though but trust me it's true