NFL Div. 4

[AZOffaly]

How's John Evans doing there Onlooker? He's a top manager in my opinion.

[saffron sam2]

Of course they should AZ. 

Ah now, in fairness. Wicklow hockeyed Offaly in the Tommy Murphy Cup last year, and we were unimpressive against Tipperary. In contrast Antrim destroyed Clare down in Ennis, and beat Wicklow fairly well in Aughrim.

Based on form lines, you'd have to make Antrim 10/11 and Offaly 11/10.

I'm afraid I can't agree with that opinion. Wicklow may well have hockeyed you in the Tommy Murphy Cup, but that was Micko trying to justify his expenses. Wicklow were one of only three counties who took the TM cup seriously. I'm told only eight men turned up to play for Offaly that day and the fifteen was made up with the physio, four boyos pulled from the pub, one spectator (the entire Offaly crowd) and a bale of peat briquettes. Whilst the man who told me that story may have exaggerated things slightly, it is certain that the team against Wicklow bore no resemblance (in personel or attitude) to that which scared the shite out of the Dubs in the Leinster semi-final a couple of weeks earlier. The Offaly squad should surely be embarrassed playing against this current level of Div. 4 dross each week and this embarrassment, coupled with a proud history will see an unbeaten run back to Div. 3.

Games against Clare and Wicklow are no real form guide, given that both counties are still struggling to come to terms with the excesses of recent managers. In addition, this is an Antrim squad in disarray - our most important player exiled from the squad, our two most dangerous forwards nowhere near full fitness. Antrim are just happy to be playing against the likes of Offaly who in players like Matt Connor, Martin Furlong, Brian Whelehan etc. gave us some of the all-time greats.

Your odds would only be realistic if you had included Antrim (+7) and Offaly (-7)

If Lone Shark is serious about his odds, I'll have a nibble at the Faithful.

[Onlooker]

How's John Evans doing there Onlooker? He's a top manager in my opinion.

I would say that John Evans has had a very positive impact on the Tipp footballers.   5 Under 21 players started for Tipp last Saturday and if the second penalty had resulted in a goal iinstead of a point anything could have happened in the last 10 minutes.  It is early days yet, but I like what I have seen from our footballers this year.  There are still a few players to come back into the side after injuries and club commitments and I am confident that John Evans is building a fine team.  It will take a bit of time, but I think it will happen.

[Lone Shark]

Of course they should AZ. 

Ah now, in fairness. Wicklow hockeyed Offaly in the Tommy Murphy Cup last year, and we were unimpressive against Tipperary. In contrast Antrim destroyed Clare down in Ennis, and beat Wicklow fairly well in Aughrim.

Based on form lines, you'd have to make Antrim 10/11 and Offaly 11/10.

I'm afraid I can't agree with that opinion. Wicklow may well have hockeyed you in the Tommy Murphy Cup, but that was Micko trying to justify his expenses. Wicklow were one of only three counties who took the TM cup seriously. I'm told only eight men turned up to play for Offaly that day and the fifteen was made up with the physio, four boyos pulled from the pub, one spectator (the entire Offaly crowd) and a bale of peat briquettes. Whilst the man who told me that story may have exaggerated things slightly, it is certain that the team against Wicklow bore no resemblance (in personel or attitude) to that which scared the shite out of the Dubs in the Leinster semi-final a couple of weeks earlier. The Offaly squad should surely be embarrassed playing against this current level of Div. 4 dross each week and this embarrassment, coupled with a proud history will see an unbeaten run back to Div. 3.

Games against Clare and Wicklow are no real form guide, given that both counties are still struggling to come to terms with the excesses of recent managers. In addition, this is an Antrim squad in disarray - our most important player exiled from the squad, our two most dangerous forwards nowhere near full fitness. Antrim are just happy to be playing against the likes of Offaly who in players like Matt Connor, Martin Furlong, Brian Whelehan etc. gave us some of the all-time greats.

Your odds would only be realistic if you had included Antrim (+7) and Offaly (-7)

If Lone Shark is serious about his odds, I'll have a nibble at the Faithful.

I would presume that AZ was slightly tongue in cheek when referring to last year's Tommy Murphy cup performance, and rightly so. I wouldn't be using that as a formguide at all. However while we have certainly had some wonderful players and all time greats playing in our colours down the years, you won't be seeing Matt, Martin or Sid lining out in Belfast and the current vintage are not in division 4 for no reason. Our only wins last year were over London, Clare, and Carlow twice. We have a few top quality players, one of which (Karol Slattery) has been out injured all year and if he does make it to Casement will be playing his first game in months, another (Niall McNamee) is being destroyed by once again having to take fees, something he can't do, and thus his confidence takes a hammering in every game as he misses shots that he would kick in his sleep if he was running at full pace with two defenders hanging out of him. Our best player of last year (Sean Ryan) is a dual player and thus the poster child for burnout, and unsurprisingly is also still injured. Only Ciarán McManus and Ger Rafferty of the current lineup are playing at a standard higher than the division in which we now reside.

On reflection, our reputation means that we might just start favourites up there, but rest assured if the likely Antrim lineup was playing the likely Offaly lineup with no "historical" or "tradition" considerations, then the Northern boys would start favourite, and so it should be now. On a neutral venue it would be Offaly 4/6 or 8/13 maybe, but with a couple of points for home advantage it becomes a very close game and one which I would not back Offaly for unless we were at least 6/4 - which we won't be.

[saffron sam2]

Kieran Shannon is very good at stating (and backing up with statistics) that whilst eight of the nine teams in Div. 4 are there on merit, Offaly are unlucky to be lumbered with that rabble. I can't remember the stats off the top of my head, but they are quite compelling.

Home advantage (for Antrim) isn't what it was ten years ago, when free staters were genuinely feared to come into west Belfast. Not any more, sure even Clare footballers have won in Casement.

Any of you biffos coming up?

[saffron sam2]

They tell me same individual may not even make the Arsenal match. A female with the same surname recently attended A & E where she was diagnosed with a fractured elbow, having slipped on their driveway in a Belfast satellite town. Looks like someone will be changing a lot of nappies on their own for the foreseeable future.

Get well soon Bronagh, from all at gaaboard.com

[AZOffaly]

having to take fees,

I hope this is a typo, and not a Freudian slip

[Lone Shark]

Two points is not a massive home advantage, only about average. I'd allow for a bit more for teams like Armagh, Wicklow, Leitrim and Longford, all of whom have a track record of overachieving at home by a small amount.

Maybe a point less for games where the teams are local rivals and used to playing each other. Feck all difference between Offaly vs Laois in Tullamore and/or Portlaoise for example. 

Historically we may be badly treated, but the fact remains that everyone entered 2007 with a blank slate, we all knew what we had to do and Offaly spooned it. If the deducted point from the Longford game was the difference (even though I said then and say now that it was a fair punishment) you could maybe make a case for it, but it wasn't. Even if we had been credited with the draw that day we still would have faced the drop. The one point loss to Monaghan in Clones wasn't that bad a result in hindsight, but other than that we lost in Carrick and we conceded four goals at home to Roscommon when it mattered.


By the by, I think a good chunk of the online Biffo contingent is on the way up. If you see a large Offaly flag with a shark on it, feel free to wave....

[AZOffaly]

Well lads, all set for this weekend.

The closer the game gets, the more worried I become. Antrim's formline is much more impressive than ours, even if on paper we would have the advantage. Home venue, untested Offaly versus a hungry, firing Antrim squad. I can only see one outcome.


Offaly by 6

[Lone Shark]

Only once in my life have I ever bet against Offaly, and that in a dead rubber game, and in one sense I'm delighted to say I did not collect, so I will never again do that.

That said it's taking all my resolve not to do so here. I cannot understand how Antrim are not favourites for this match - form, home advantage, the deeply worrying mismatches in the middle of the field.....

I don't think we'll take a hiding but I'm travelling in hope much more than expectation.

[AZOffaly]

Ye were without the McGourty's in Ennis and Aughrim as well were ye not?

[Hurler on the Bitch]

The 'trouble' with the Offaly fans arose from the fact that about two of them, and two Antrim fans ... pissed of course .... thought it was great to call each - sheep shaggers... for a Ballymena man I found that offensive as no matter what the issue, there is no-where in Ireland that can give sheep a seeing to like us!!! I thought that the Antrim fans were taking a liberty by calling the Offaly ones 'Sheep Shaggers'... we are the best in Ireland... That said .. great game and we would have lost if if it was 15 a side.... but good match and almost championship pace and noise ... more Saturday nights please.

[FermGael]

Going to post this here too. Because these mods could ban you for sticking it in the wrong place.

Sorry, the board was acting the ballix and asking me to log in all the time.

First point: If anyone from Fermanagh ever sees Martin Higgins, could you please telll him to give up. I have never seen a worse referee in my life. I must say that he was shite for both teams throughout the match but the two frees that he gave to Offaly at the end, were f**king brutal. An absolute clown. Martin, if you are reading this, please stop refereeing games. He was rightly booed off the field.

I can but apoligize.  I have no idea how he got to this level.
But to put it into perspective.  He is by no means the worst referee in Fermanagh.   Not by a long way

[Lone Shark]

Just back now, a thoroughly enjoyable trip, even if it did confirm once more how much we belong in this division. A few random points, rather than a big spiel....

(1) On the balance of play Antrim probably marginally deserved the win. They were probably a point or two better than us on balance of play, but we got the draw because we managed to engineer one goal chance and took it - I don't think Antrim looked like scoring a goal if the game went on for five hours.

(2) The referee was atrocious, but he was simply a non-contact referee - and while we got our handy scores at the end, it suited Antrim a lot more over the full 70 minutes. Both sets of forwards got handy frees all night, but we have no freetaker, as ye saw at the end when Ken Casey (a 19 year old sub) even took one. The sending off of McManus was for nothing at all either - barely a free, never mind a second yellow card. Certainly he shouldn't be let near an intercounty match at all - every defender on the pitch was scared to tackle by the end.

(3) Worst game Niall McNamee has played for years - we should probably be glad that we got any kind of result without him, because without him, Slattery (injury) and McManus (Red Card) we have no blue chip players left.

(4) There was no trouble in the crowd at all. I was part of that Offaly bunch, and it was just some shouting over and back about which team was worse than the other, before the Antrim guy started bleating  about the sheepshagging stuff. To be honest I didn't even know what he was saying until I read it on this board. At the risk of brown-nosing, as I expected the Antrim crowd were generally a great bunch. Was chatting to a good few during the game, and most were both knowledgeable and great gas altogether - as good as it gets.

(5) Both sets of management could do with a little bit of insightful reading of the game. For some reason we left Scott Brady on at full back for the whole match despite the fact that he couldn't move. He broke down as he was going out for the ball for Magill's first point, and after that Magill, who wouldn't be the quickest player around, was beating him to the ball by five yards over a 15 yard run. But while Offaly management was taking a risk leaving him on, Antim were even more sleepy by not seeing it, and both playing more early ball into that area and by leaving Magill on him instead of a faster guy who could have got an awful lot of ball and possibly created a goal chance or two.


All in all Antim will be the happier team, because ye now have promotion in the bag while we basically have a winner takes second place clash in Aughrim to look forward to. It is a little bit galling that of the three teams going for promotion, Wicklow get two home games in the mini series, Antrim get one and we get none, but such is the luck of the draw.

[ExiledGael]

Higgins is hardly fit to handle a club game in Fermanagh. He's quite young, fit and keen, and that's about it.
Really don't know who makes these decisions. They seem miles out of touch with the game and the circumstances sometimes.