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*Limerick GAA news/discussion thread*
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Meant to post here after the county final but I have to say I'm quite surprised at how so many took Kilmallock a bit lightly as Na Piarsaigh were almost universally expected to win that final, I always felt it was a 50/50 toss up myself, some serious talent in both clubs, both squads packed with young players with 2 or 3 senior, minor and under 21 medals each, and both teams could nearly put out an XV that has played for the county at some level.
Two outstanding clubs, an absolute credit to the county. Maybe I just misread people and it wasn't a case of writing Kilmallock off, because on paper I'd have to admit that Na Piarsaigh do look that little bit stronger and have that little extra bit of depth, but Kilmallock look pretty good on paper too. One player I have enjoyed watching in the last few years for them is Eoin Ryan, and Kevin O'Donnell has caught my eye this year, and the O'Loughlin brother who played for the minors this year is one to watch in the future as well.
Was at the drawn Junior A final, an absolute disgrace that the scoreboard operator had yet another off day (you may recall me complaining about the senior quarter finals a few months back), and I generally avoid criticising referees but was the referee keeping score in his notebook at all because for him to confirm the incorrect score on the scoreboard suggests he was following the scoreboard. Very unfair on both teams, not good enough, this was a county final, they deserved better.
Congrats to Feohanagh for making the Intermediate ranks, strange to see Killeedy going the opposite direction, good to see that our clubs are performing well in the Munster Senior, Intermediate and Junior championships. Winning all 3 is achievable but we'll see, best of luck to them all.0 -
is it 1994 since kilmallock won munster, i remember going to see themselfs and offalys Birr hurl in the semil final was a good game with the likes of Brian Whelehan and the pilkingtons winning it for a very good Birr side. there was some battle with Johnny pilkington and Mike Houilhan that day as they clashed a few months earlier in the never to be forgotten all ireland final
Paddy Kelly also hurl well that day, i think Daithi Regan got two goals to win it near the end that day.0 -
homeofhurling wrote: »is it 1994 since kilmallock won munster, i remember going to see themselfs and offalys Birr hurl in the semil final was a good game with the likes of Brian Whelehan and the pilkingtons winning it for a very good Birr side. there was some battle with Johnny pilkington and Mike Houilhan that day as they clashed a few months earlier in the never to be forgotten all ireland final
Paddy Kelly also hurl well that day, i think Daithi Regan got two goals to win it near the end that day.
Just looked it up, that's mad, almost identical to what happened in the AI final 5 months earlier, Birr trailing for most the match and in the closing minutes they outscored Kilmallock 2-3 to 0-1 (to win by a scoreline of 2-8 to 0-9)0 -
[QUOTE=homeofhurling;92989521]is it 1994 since kilmallock won munster, i remember going to see themselfs and offalys Birr hurl in the semil final was a good game with the likes of Brian Whelehan and the pilkingtons winning it for a very good Birr side. there was some battle with Johnny pilkington and Mike Houilhan that day as they clashed a few months earlier in the never to be forgotten all ireland final
Paddy Kelly also hurl well that day, i think Daithi Regan got two goals to win it near the end that day.[/QUOTE]
It was indeed.
Limerick club hurling is probably the strongest in Munster at the moment, that's why I expect Kilmallock to do a number on Cratloe. However, the problems arise when Munster teams get out of Munster, it's been quite a while since one won the title. Na Piarsaigh threw one away last year.0 -
zombieHanalei wrote: »Just looked it up, that's mad, almost identical to what happened in the AI final 5 months earlier, Birr trailing for most the match and in the closing minutes they outscored Kilmallock 2-3 to 0-1 (to win by a scoreline of 2-8 to 0-9)[/QUOTE
in fairness offaly and Birr had hurlers them days and the likes will never be seen again they were so skillful and could just turn it on for 10 minutes and win a match.0 -
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zombieHanalei wrote: »Just looked it up, that's mad, almost identical to what happened in the AI final 5 months earlier, Birr trailing for most the match and in the closing minutes they outscored Kilmallock 2-3 to 0-1 (to win by a scoreline of 2-8 to 0-9)
Not really it was a closer game and tom hennessey made about the only mistake of his career to drop a ball into the net, kilmallock were on top alright but it could have gone either way. Always felt houlihan spent too much of that game on the physical side and forgot to hurl and that also cost kilmallock. All thats a long time ago I could have it completely wrong.0 -
mickmackey1 wrote: »He didn't seem too surprised anyway :pac:
It was a terrible decision to send him off, similar to Pat Horgans red in the 2013 munster final, purely accidental and no malice or intent in it at all. It happened straight after the throw in where Denis Maher got possession & went to push off Liam Markham who was tackling him, in doing so his hurley swung back and hit him in the head by accident. Game was over after 10 seconds. Virtually impossible to play against a team as good as Cratloe with 14 men, Denis would have been probably Sars most influential forward so was a huge loss.0 -
National League fixtures
Hurling:
Round 1 Limerick v Waterford
Round 2 Antrim V Limerick
Round 3 Wexford V Limerick (double header with football)
Round 4 Limerick v Offaly
Round 5 Limerick v Laois (fixed for Kilmallock)
Football:
Round 1 Limerick v Sligo
Round 2 Tipperary v Limerick
Round 3 Limerick v Armagh
Round 4 Wexford v Limerick
Round 5 Fermanagh v Limerick
Round 6 Limerick v Clare
Round 7 Louth v Limerick
Vital we get promotion from hurling and we have three home games. Lack of experience against big teams was a hindrance when games were there to be won. Waterford, Wexford and Ourselves could all take points off each other but I expect us to get promotion.
In football, survival in division 3 is the best we can realistically hope for. Good to see the games are fixed for Newcastle. Vital we beat Sligo day one. I expect Tipp and Clare to improve this year again. We have definitely fallen behind them in the Munster pecking order.0 -
Desperately need to win 1B in the hurling. I'd rather get promoted and get destroyed in the league quarter final than not get promoted and end up winning the bloody thing out :P
In all seriousness though, look at how 2014 panned out; not topping that group would represent a step backward. Do we want them to continue being nearly men who nearly get promoted and who nearly make All-Ireland finals? Of course not. Start next year as we mean to go on.
The footballers? You just never know with that feckin' Division 3, sometimes 6 points will get you relegated and other years 5 points will be enough to stay up. Not to be a downer but I'd take 6th right now if it was offered.0 -
League is a joke, should be scrapped and have only 1 competition - CL style.0
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I don't see any major advantages to teams competing in 1A to 1B.
The year Clare won the All-Ireland, they won a relegation final in 1A. Limerick and Dublin contested the 1B final and both teams made it to the All Ireland semi's. Last year, Limerick got to semi final after competing in 1B and came within a whisker of beating Kilkenny. Cork also got to the semi's after competing in 1B.
Don't get me wrong, I'd like to be in 1A as I'm sure the players would as would the CB. Better opposition equals better games equals better attendance. Win win for all.
BUT I feel there are alot of benefits in competing in 1B - pressure isn't as high and you can afford to play more panel members and experiment with the team. Also, players get into the habit of winning as they are winning more than they are losing. Limerick are not far away and just need to unearth a couple of forwards and they have every chance.
Forwards that should be looked at closely for next year - Eoin Ryan (can't understand why he hasn't been given a chance in the last few years), Adrian Breen, Ronan Lynch(if not too young), Cian Lynch (if not too young), Brian O' Sullivan, Mike Fitzgerald (if is fit). If two out of that 5 could compete for a starting place, then they would have every chance0 -
Volvic I can't agree. 1b is fine when you have a strong panel. We don't and that's a fact. No point testing newbies against Laois, Antrim etc they need to be tested against the big boys in the league. That's the only way you will unearth new players. Also, financially we need to be in 1a also.0
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I don't see any major advantages to teams competing in 1A to 1B.
The year Clare won the All-Ireland, they won a relegation final in 1A. Limerick and Dublin contested the 1B final and both teams made it to the All Ireland semi's. Last year, Limerick got to semi final after competing in 1B and came within a whisker of beating Kilkenny. Cork also got to the semi's after competing in 1B.
Don't get me wrong, I'd like to be in 1A as I'm sure the players would as would the CB. Better opposition equals better games equals better attendance. Win win for all.
BUT I feel there are alot of benefits in competing in 1B - pressure isn't as high and you can afford to play more panel members and experiment with the team. Also, players get into the habit of winning as they are winning more than they are losing. Limerick are not far away and just need to unearth a couple of forwards and they have every chance.
14 seasons, 10 All Irelands on the back of 9 league titles and you cannot see the benefits of competing in IA. They are intrinsically linked.0 -
Volvic I can't agree. 1b is fine when you have a strong panel. We don't and that's a fact. No point testing newbies against Laois, Antrim etc they need to be tested against the big boys in the league. That's the only way you will unearth new players. Also, financially we need to be in 1a also.
But teams don't experiment in 1A. They can't afford to if they want to stay up. Waterford, Dublin etc. end up putting out close to their championship team every week. This year, we will get good tests Waterford and to a lesser extent Wexford (had a good year bar v.poor performance against us). Then, we will be in a quarter final against a team from 1A with potential of 3 more games!0 -
You don't test a completely new team. You throw in 3 or 4 and see how they get on. That's how all the top teams do it at the start. Its in years to come you'd see the benefit of it.0
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savannahkat wrote: »14 seasons, 10 All Irelands on the back of 9 league titles and you cannot see the benefits of competing in IA. They are intrinsically linked.
Of course I see benefits of 1A but I just think they are over emphasised. I would like to see Limerick in 1A. I don't agree at all they that closely intrinsically linked. Killkenny have just been machines these last 10 years and account for many of them All Irelands. They have had a serious strength and depth to their panels.0 -
Of course I see benefits of 1A but I just think they are over emphasised. I would like to see Limerick in 1A. I don't agree at all they that closely intrinsically linked. Killkenny have just been machines these last 10 years and account for many of them All Irelands. They have had a serious strength and depth to their panels.
And the reason they have strength and depth in their panel is because they are at the top table every year and bring in 1 or 2 new faces each year.0 -
We are about to have a lot of young players coming through into the senior team in the next two years or so. I would think it would be very beneficial for them to be playing in 1A. I see no reason you can't experiment to some extent in 1A either. Last year we seemed to play the "strongest" available team every game. In fairness we missed a few to injury and club commitments. We did consolidate and improve but I think this year there needs to be more focus on competition for places and identifying a few new starters.
I see no reason why you couldn't make a few changes each game. Changing up to one player in each line shouldn't upset a team that much and the added competition should raise performance levels overall.I don't see any major advantages to teams competing in 1A to 1B.
The year Clare won the All-Ireland, they won a relegation final in 1A. Limerick and Dublin contested the 1B final and both teams made it to the All Ireland semi's. Last year, Limerick got to semi final after competing in 1B and came within a whisker of beating Kilkenny. Cork also got to the semi's after competing in 1B.
Don't get me wrong, I'd like to be in 1A as I'm sure the players would as would the CB. Better opposition equals better games equals better attendance. Win win for all.
BUT I feel there are alot of benefits in competing in 1B - pressure isn't as high and you can afford to play more panel members and experiment with the team. Also, players get into the habit of winning as they are winning more than they are losing. Limerick are not far away and just need to unearth a couple of forwards and they have every chance.
Forwards that should be looked at closely for next year - Eoin Ryan (can't understand why he hasn't been given a chance in the last few years), Adrian Breen, Ronan Lynch(if not too young), Cian Lynch (if not too young), Brian O' Sullivan, Mike Fitzgerald (if is fit). If two out of that 5 could compete for a starting place, then they would have every chance
Unfortunately I think that most of the players you've mentioned there are either too old or too young. There are a good few players coming through now. In the long run I have my doubts as to the benefits of trying to bring older ex panellists back in when they are likely to be overtaken by younger players in a year or two anyway. It would be good to see a bit of effort put into player development in the intermediate panel to bring up players that didn't make the jump from 21s straight to senior.
I think we need to add a corner forward and corner back. Possibly a half back. In the backs I'd like to see Dempsey added and Hickey shift to half back. Maybe Morrissey also added. In the forwards, Kevin O'Brien, Cian Lynch, and Barry Nash could be corner forward options.0 -
I don't see any major advantages to teams competing in 1A to 1B.
The year Clare won the All-Ireland, they won a relegation final in 1A. Limerick and Dublin contested the 1B final and both teams made it to the All Ireland semi's. Last year, Limerick got to semi final after competing in 1B and came within a whisker of beating Kilkenny. Cork also got to the semi's after competing in 1B.
Don't get me wrong, I'd like to be in 1A as I'm sure the players would as would the CB. Better opposition equals better games equals better attendance. Win win for all.
BUT I feel there are alot of benefits in competing in 1B - pressure isn't as high and you can afford to play more panel members and experiment with the team. Also, players get into the habit of winning as they are winning more than they are losing. Limerick are not far away and just need to unearth a couple of forwards and they have every chance.
Forwards that should be looked at closely for next year - Eoin Ryan (can't understand why he hasn't been given a chance in the last few years), Adrian Breen, Ronan Lynch(if not too young), Cian Lynch (if not too young), Brian O' Sullivan, Mike Fitzgerald (if is fit). If two out of that 5 could compete for a starting place, then they would have every chance
Spot on. Too much noise made about the league, only KK give a sh*t about it.savannahkat wrote: »14 seasons, 10 All Irelands on the back of 9 league titles and you cannot see the benefits of competing in IA. They are intrinsically linked.
So how many AIs have Galway won with all their 1A experience? :rolleyes:0 -
It's easier to compete with the best when you actually are regularly competing with the best. Even if we spent every year in 1A scrapping to just survive relegation it would still serve us better than finishing second in 1B every year.
Kilkenny aren't where they are because they turn their noses up at the League or Leinster Championship or even the Walsh Cup, just because the league isn't as important does not mean that it is not important.
There is an All-Ireland in this team, but that can also be said for another 5 or so counties, and we don't have the same depth as some of those counties. To win the All-Ireland so many little things need to go right, in the end it all boils down to marrying the players at a panel's exposure with the right preparation, and it's far more about preparation because Kilkenny haven't been winning All-Irelands just because they have the best players. They do have the best players but that's not enough, they do so many things right off the pitch in order to get it right on the pitch.
We are not benefiting from the same standard of game time preparation as the 1A teams, we can only play those teams in challenge matches before the championship, not the same at all. At least there is something at stake in a league game, a challenge match is nothing more than a glorified training session.
We've had three bites at winning 1B now and although we have come close on each occasion, we have ultimately failed. With respect to Wexford, Waterford, Antrim, Laois and Offaly; if we can't be the best team in 1B, then I can't see how we can expect to win a championship containing Clare, Kilkenny, Galway, Cork, Dublin and Galway on top of those 5 teams.
We can't be happy with languishing in 1B, we can't pretend that it is not hurting the team when it comes to championship. Even if it's costing us just 1%, a margin that small can ultimately make the difference if we're level with a 1A team 60 minutes into an All-Ireland semi final. Either the team is happy with where they are now or they are going to do everything they can to improve. Leave no stone unturned as they say, time to turn over that 1A stone!!0 -
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zombieHanalei wrote: »It's easier to compete with the best when you actually are regularly competing with the best. Even if we spent every year in 1A scrapping to just survive relegation it would still serve us better than finishing second in 1B every year.
Kilkenny aren't where they are because they turn their noses up at the League or Leinster Championship or even the Walsh Cup, just because the league isn't as important does not mean that it is not important.
There is an All-Ireland in this team, but that can also be said for another 5 or so counties, and we don't have the same depth as some of those counties. To win the All-Ireland so many little things need to go right, in the end it all boils down to marrying the players at a panel's exposure with the right preparation, and it's far more about preparation because Kilkenny haven't been winning All-Irelands just because they have the best players. They do have the best players but that's not enough, they do so many things right off the pitch in order to get it right on the pitch.
We are not benefiting from the same standard of game time preparation as the 1A teams, we can only play those teams in challenge matches before the championship, not the same at all. At least there is something at stake in a league game, a challenge match is nothing more than a glorified training session.
We've had three bites at winning 1B now and although we have come close on each occasion, we have ultimately failed. With respect to Wexford, Waterford, Antrim, Laois and Offaly; if we can't be the best team in 1B, then I can't see how we can expect to win a championship containing Clare, Kilkenny, Galway, Cork, Dublin and Galway on top of those 5 teams.
We can't be happy with languishing in 1B, we can't pretend that it is not hurting the team when it comes to championship. Even if it's costing us just 1%, a margin that small can ultimately make the difference if we're level with a 1A team 60 minutes into an All-Ireland semi final. Either the team is happy with where they are now or they are going to do everything they can to improve. Leave no stone unturned as they say, time to turn over that 1A stone!!
I agree with that, but who can take the league seriously when LK win promotion and the GAA then decide to change the rules? Let's just say I've attended my last league game which was a few years ago now.0 -
I think it would be great if Kilmallock won Munster, not only would it be great for the town and the young hurlers but I think this may force TJ's hand in the league as Paudi O Brien and GOM will most likely be unavailable. Be good to try a few lads in these positions.0
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I think it would be great if Kilmallock won Munster, not only would it be great for the town and the young hurlers but I think this may force TJ's hand in the league as Paudi O Brien and GOM will most likely be unavailable. Be good to try a few lads in these positions.
I don't think anyone would disagree with that. I've no connection with kilmallock but would love to see them go all the way.Good for LK hurling on a number of levels0 -
That's a whole other issue, and it was (and still is) a thundering disgrace that they moved the goalposts after the 2011 league had concluded.I agree with that, but who can take the league seriously when LK win promotion and the GAA then decide to change the rules? Let's just say I've attended my last league game which was a few years ago now.
But, annoying and all as that is, no point in crying over spilled milk that has been spilled for four years now, we just have to get on with it!0 -
Spot on. Too much noise made about the league, only KK give a sh*t about it.
So how many AIs have Galway won with all their 1A experience? :rolleyes:
You dont think it would be more relevant to look at All Ireland winners, No? KK, Tipp, Cork. Clare won Ib and the All ireland same year IIRC.0 -
paddy no 11 wrote: »You dont think it would be more relevant to look at All Ireland winners, No? KK, Tipp, Cork. Clare won Ib and the All ireland same year IIRC.
Not really, if Tipp were in 1B, I'd give every much chance as winning the AI as in 1A. Probably even more so if anything.0 -
We should definitely be targeting promotion this year. Last season's league campaign was a complete and utter disaster... obviously it didn't affect our Championship, as it didn't the year before but it will improve our standard.
Last year, we not only didn't try many players for Championship, we somehow managed to fcuk up a golden opportunity for promotion and then collapsed in awful fashion against Galway. That was as bad as I've seen Limerick in a good few years really.
Waterford & Wexford are our two main contenders and realistically, we are better than both. I'm hoping we can have a good crack off the league title this year as well as promotion.
Apparently our minor hurlers are going through some extremely intensive training at the moment, couple of local lads on the panel, and it's a massive, massive step-up from U-16, U-17 panels; they're being pushed right to the limit physically. Hopefully it pays off come Championship.0 -
Aside from an excellent second half fightback by 14 men against Cork this year's league was basically a shambles, much of that was down to Donal O'Grady and his approach. All I'll say is he's lucky certain players chose to let it go and move on and opted not to speak publicly about some of the carry on, I haven't heard anything outrageously bad but he was far more abrasive than he needed to be and from what I can gather had a tendency to forget the age old rule that respect is a two way street. TJ is no tactical genius, but he does know how to deal with his players, an excellent man manager from what I gather.
O'Grady's departure kick started our 2014 campaign. Overall I'm not overly impressed with his achievements while with Limerick. He won a division 2 where the only real danger to us was a Clare team that were absolutely nowhere at the time. There aren't many managers who wouldn't have won the division with Limerick in 2011. The championship was basically a spirited performance against Waterford that ultimately ended in defeat, a couple of facile victories in the qualifiers against Antrim and a relatively poor Wexford team, and then his awful full back selections were ruthlessly exposed by Dublin in the quarter final.
The style of play imposed by O'Grady was divisive, but I'd forgive that. His biggest mistake was overlooking Richie McCarthy for full back. He tried Gavin O'Mahony before eventually settling on Seamus Hickey; neither of whom should ever have been given the number 3 jersey. Dublin took advantage of what was plainly obvious to everyone but O'Grady; Brian Geary and Seamus Hickey will do fine in division 2 and up until the end of June, but once we hit the business end of the season from July onwards; Geary no longer had the pace for this level and Hickey was not a full back, Dublin tore us apart with ease in the first half of that game; it was the last time Geary ever played at 6 and Hickey played at 3 for Limerick.
We didn't really have a stand out replacement for Geary at the time but Richie McCarthy was seen by many as a good candidate for full back at the time, he had been performing well there for Emmets, and made a strong case in 2010 as Emmets made it as far as the county final before losing to Kilmallock. But O'Grady just didn't rate him as a full back, insisted that his place was in the forwards. 2012 onwards would prove just how wrong O'Grady was on McCarthy; I'm not suggesting 2011 would definitely have been better had McCarthy and not Hickey been selected at full back, but I do think that it is beyond question that O'Grady got that call wrong.
There was a personality clash in 2011, O'Grady just didn't ever take to McCarthy, and that carried into 2014 when O'Grady returned. Fill in the gaps for yourself but as the league went on Richie McCarthy was eventually dropped for O'Loughlin. Thou shalt not question the style of play I impose on you...
All I'll say is McCarthy's championship performances in 2014 prove he was not a disruptive influence, there were no issues with his weight, there were no issues with his fitness, and he didn't become lazy and big headed after his All-Star....
I've heard all sorts about the carry on in the first third of this year, a lot of it is probably bull****, but I know some of it was true.
What about TJ? Well we have a man who wants the job, who doesn't want it for a year or two at most, we don't have to do this dance of convincing an outsider who can't make his mind up to stay on, we don't have to go through the process of courting and hiring a new manager. We have a happy and settled squad, a strong first XV and a handful of young players from the 2013-14 minor squads almost ready to be integrated into the squad. We are in a good place but we need to improve. Is TJ the man to do that? Who knows, but he has earned a fair crack of the whip. It's great to see that he pretty much has the supporters on his side now because to say there was skepticism in tho county about his ability to do this job would be putting it mildly!!0 -
zombieHanalei wrote: »Aside from an excellent second half fightback by 14 men against Cork this year's league was basically a shambles, much of that was down to Donal O'Grady and his approach. All I'll say is he's lucky certain players chose to let it go and move on and opted not to speak publicly about some of the carry on, I haven't heard anything outrageously bad but he was far more abrasive than he needed to be and from what I can gather had a tendency to forget the age old rule that respect is a two way street. TJ is no tactical genius, but he does know how to deal with his players, an excellent man manager from what I gather.
O'Grady's departure kick started our 2014 campaign. Overall I'm not overly impressed with his achievements while with Limerick. He won a division 2 where the only real danger to us was a Clare team that were absolutely nowhere at the time. There aren't many managers who wouldn't have won the division with Limerick in 2011. The championship was basically a spirited performance against Waterford that ultimately ended in defeat, a couple of facile victories in the qualifiers against Antrim and a relatively poor Wexford team, and then his awful full back selections were ruthlessly exposed by Dublin in the quarter final.
The style of play imposed by O'Grady was divisive, but I'd forgive that. His biggest mistake was overlooking Richie McCarthy for full back. He tried Gavin O'Mahony before eventually settling on Seamus Hickey; neither of whom should ever have been given the number 3 jersey. Dublin took advantage of what was plainly obvious to everyone but O'Grady; Brian Geary and Seamus Hickey will do fine in division 2 and up until the end of June, but once we hit the business end of the season from July onwards; Geary no longer had the pace for this level and Hickey was not a full back, Dublin tore us apart with ease in the first half of that game; it was the last time Geary ever played at 6 and Hickey played at 3 for Limerick.
We didn't really have a stand out replacement for Geary at the time but Richie McCarthy was seen by many as a good candidate for full back at the time, he had been performing well there for Emmets, and made a srtong case in 2010 as Emmets made it as far as the county final before losing to Kilmallock. But O'Grady just didn't rate him as a full back, insisted that his place was in the forwards. 2012 onwards would prove just how wrong O'Grady was on McCarthy; I'm not suggesting 2011 would definitely have been better had McCarthy and not Hickey been selected at full back, but I do think that it is beyond question that O'Grady got that call wrong.
There was a personality clash in 2011, O'Grady just didn't ever take to McCarthy, and that carried into 2014 when O'Grady returned. Fill in the gaps for yourself but as the league went on Richie McCarthy was eventually dropped for O'Loughlin. Thou shalt not question the style of play I impose on you...
All I'll say is McCarthy's championship performances in 2014 prove he was not a disruptive influence, there were no issues with his weight, there were no issues with his fitness, and he didn't become lazy and big headed after his All-Star....
I've heard all sorts about the carry on in the first third of this year, a lot of it is probably bull****, but I know some of it was true.
What about TJ? Well we have a man who wants the job, who doesn't want it for a year or two at most, we don't have to do this dance of convincing an outsider who can't make his mind up to stay on, we don't have to go through the process of courting and hiring a new manager. We have a happy and settled squad, a strong first XV and a handful of young players from the 2013-14 minor squads almost ready to be integrated into the squad. We are in a good place but we need to improve. Is TJ the man to do that? Who knows, but he has earned a fair crack of the whip. It's great to see that he pretty much has the supporters on his side now because to say there was skepticism in tho county about his ability to do this job would be putting it mildly!!
O Grady was an also ran. Yesterday's man, no one else only limerick would have gone for the 1 trick pony.
My worry about TJ is that he isn't tactically aware.0 -
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Most of the negative comments about TJ came from the U-21 match against Tipperary which was, in fairness, an absolute shambles. A very talented Limerick team looked clueless and had a lack of direction. But I suppose it was just one game, and beating Tipp & Wexford was good. But we lost to Cork and KK. We need to aim for better.
I don't know it TJ is the right man, but he does pick players in their right positions, it's a good style of hurling.... I would say we just didn't have the squad last year. That's part of a manager's job too, but I'm willing to give him a chance for sure.0
This discussion has been closed.
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