Waterford GAA Discussion Thread 2011-2012

Ballyvoile Boy

Well done to Dungarvan CBS, they ran away with the Corn Phadraig Senior B Final after extra time in Golden. Winning by 7 points with a big wind behind them.

Dungarvan CBS 1-22 St. Joseph's Tulla 1 15

mccarthy37

Great result for Dungarvan best of luck to the combined colleges next week.

PTH2009

IanVW wrote: »

Waterford 2-17 wexford 0-17

So a good or a bad result. ??

Sould this team be winning by bigger margins seeing as it could be our championship team. ??

Maybe it mite be a good thing if we do get relagated to 1B of the league for 2014 it will give us a few competitve games at our level against the Offalys and Wexfords (not get beat out the gate like we will be this year)

robopaddy

PTH2009 wrote: »

So a good or a bad result. ??

Sould this team be winning by bigger margins seeing as it could be our championship team. ??

Maybe it mite be a good thing if we do get relagated to 1B of the league for 2014 it will give us a few competitve games at our level against the Offalys and Wexfords (not get beat out the gate like we will be this year)

your enthusiasm knows no bounds

larry_o

Wexford are coming on a bit under Liam Dunne. He's been mixing things up for the Walsh cup, trying to find his best team. Waterford are ahead of Wexford alright, but need new blood in your squad too. Anyone know what the starting team for Wexford was? Any match details? Sorry to ask here on Waterford thread, nothing on the game anywhere else.

suitcasepink

Scorers and subs robbed from the Club Deise fb page

Waterford SH beat Wexford at a challenge match in Enniscorthy
Wat 2.17 Wexford 0.17 S O Keefe, S FIves
L Lawlor N Connors. J Nagle M Walsh K Moran (0.2). S O Sull (0.1) R Foley . B O Halloran (0.2) S Prendergast (0.2) R Barry. J Dillon (0.1) M O Neill (0.4). B O Sull (0.1) Subs P Mahony (1.1) G O Brien (0.2) D Fives P Prendergast Cormac Heffernan(1.0) S Daniels D Twomey

Mountainlad

larry_o wrote: »

Wexford are coming on a bit under Liam Dunne. He's been mixing things up for the Walsh cup, trying to find his best team. Waterford are ahead of Wexford alright, but need new blood in your squad too. Anyone know what the starting team for Wexford was? Any match details? Sorry to ask here on Waterford thread, nothing on the game anywhere else.

There was 8 players under 24 that started in the team today, and 5 u21s came on

Giveitfong

Good to see Cormac Heffernan figuring here. I think he could be the long term solution at centre forward when Seamus Prendergast retires.

Giveitfong

Dungarvan CBS 1-22 St. Joseph’s, Tulla 1-15



A late flurry of scores gave Dungarvan CDS a hard-earned but well-deserved victory over St. Joseph’s, Tulla in the Munster Colleges Senior Hurling B Final in Golden today. Played on a cold but dry day on a good pitch for the time of year, this was a rip-roaring game which kept the crowd on tenterhooks right up to the closing moments.


The final score gives no idea of the tightness of the exchanges, and indeed well into the second period of extra time only a single point separated the teams, until Dungarvan finally broke the Tulla resistance and pulled away to victory.


The strong wind blowing straight down the pitch had a major bearing on how the game developed. Tulla had first use of it and made it tell, landing a series of superb points from out the field in the first half, at the end of which they led 0-9 to 0-4. However, Dungarvan made enough chances to have kept the scores much closer, but racked up eight first half wides to just three for Tulla. They also had a penalty saved and missed a couple of other good goal chances. It took them 15 minutes to get on the scoreboard, but given the strength of the wind, the five-point half-time gap was not too daunting.


An early second half surge saw the deficit reduced to two points, but they found it difficult to make further inroads until a wonderful goal by Patrick Curran finally put them into the lead in the 49th minute. Brilliantly fielding a great long ball in from Colin Dunford, he got around his marker to fire a bullet to the net.



However, Dungarvan failed to press home the advantage, shooting nine more second-half wides to just two for Tulla. The dogged Claremen kept in touch, and at the death had their reward when a close-in free was stopped on the line but then finished to the net by a scrum of inrushing forwards. This was the first time in the game that Tulla had threatened the Dungarvan goal, and it left the score 1-12 each at the long whistle.


With the wind again at their back, Tulla made an ominously good start to the first period of extra time, shooting two quick points. However, Dungarvan then struck a purple patch, and four points in a row saw them go into the second period of extra time two points to the good, 1-16 to 1-14. Tulla showed they were not about to throw in the towel by scoring the next point, and had another close free stopped on the line, but eventually Dungarvan gained total dominance, with six consecutive points giving them Corn Pádraig for the second time in four years.


In truth, despite Tulla’s fighting qualities, good skills and work rate, Dungarvan should have had a more comfortable win here, given their final tally of 21 wides to just seven for the Clare men. Their star was corner forward Patrick Curran, who accounted for no less than 1-15 of this side’s tally, including 1-6 from play. But it was a game in which everyone put their shoulder to the wheel in what was a fine team effort. Hopefully, their exertions will not negatively affect the members of the team who will be playing the Harty Cup final next Sunday.


Dungarvan: Gavin Power, Cian Culloo, Kevin Daly, Michael Cronin, Jack O’Donnell, Kealan Looby, Kieran Barron, Colin Dunford (0-2), Cormac Curran, Jack Morrissey, Michael Harney, Críostóir Breathnach, Darragh Lyons (0-1), Ryan Donnelly (0-2), Patrick Curran (1-15, 0-9 frees). Substitute Aaron Donnelly (0-1).

Cake Man

Giveitfong wrote: »

An early second half surge saw the deficit reduced to two points, but they found it difficult to make further inroads until a wonderful goal by Patrick Curran finally put them into the lead in the 49th minute. Brilliantly fielding a great long ball in from Colin Dunford, he got around his marker to fire a bullet to the net.
Their star was corner forward Patrick Curran, who accounted for no less than 1-15 of this side’s tally, including 1-6 from play.

That Paddy Curran is an animal when it comes to scoring, a serious player in the making. Love watching him play, as he knows where the posts are and has some skill/first touch.

Good report GIF, cheers. Also well done to the seniors on that win, any victory is good to build confidence and good to see plenty of younger lads starting. The tough work will start next weekend though!

KevIRL

PTH2009 wrote: »

So a good or a bad result. ??

Sould this team be winning by bigger margins seeing as it could be our championship team. ??

Maybe it mite be a good thing if we do get relagated to 1B of the league for 2014 it will give us a few competitve games at our level against the Offalys and Wexfords (not get beat out the gate like we will be this year)

lol WTF.

Now I should be clarifying this comment by saying I dont expect us to be world beaters this year...But since when does any right minded person have to question a 6 point win as a good result or bad result?

Your excessive pessimistic outlook has now descended into farce, and if (when) Waterford do end up having a bad result or 2, and you come on here saying 'told ya so', I for one will be telling you to go get fukked PTH....Even a stopped clock is right twice a day afterall

Well done to the team on the win today, nice positive interview in the Indo today from Michael Ryan also. Next weekend is such an important match for our league season, would be nice to get a win in it

boodiebhoy

mccarthy37 wrote: »

Great result for Dungarvan best of luck to the combined colleges next week.

Does this win for the CBS mean there will be no combined team in the harty next year?

larry_o

Mountainlad wrote: »

There was 8 players under 24 that started in the team today, and 5 u21s came on

Well, I never said ye weren't actually doing it. Good to see anyway, hope it works well for ye this year.

abbeysideFB4L

boodiebhoy wrote: »

Does this win for the CBS mean there will be no combined team in the harty next year?

Im pretty sure it was forced on them to compete seperately next year before the B final

robopaddy

abbeysideFB4L wrote: »

Im pretty sure it was forced on them to compete seperately next year before the B final

Didnt they get to the Dean Ryan Final last year which is effectively the under 16 equivalent of the harty? That would suggest they should be well up to competing on their own in it next year and other schools would see it as unfair advantage that they be assisted by another school.

KevIRL

Anyone heading to Clare on Sunday for the hurling league opener? I have 2 season tickets but we cant make it on Sunday, would be willing to give them to regular from this thread if someone wants to save the admission price.

HillFarmer

KevIRL wrote: »

Anyone heading to Clare on Sunday for the hurling league opener? I have 2 season tickets but we cant make it on Sunday, would be willing to give them to regular from this thread if someone wants to save the admission price.

Not going, I'm sure they'll be some die hard fans here glad of them, fair play.

What do you think of our chances Sunday? Looks like failry young well drilled team and had a good win over Tip in the Crystal.
That being said Ryan has been starting near his strongest team in the recent challenges so I'd say we should have a near championship team starting.

Any news on Maurice Shanahan, is he injured?

Hon the deise!

IanVW

KevIRL wrote: »

Anyone heading to Clare on Sunday for the hurling league opener? I have 2 season tickets but we cant make it on Sunday, would be willing to give them to regular from this thread if someone wants to save the admission price.

I might be heading kev

tomkelly99

Meself and Mrs.Kelly are very excited. The Deise bandwagon is getting going again. I'm very giddy about the coming year. I think it could be our best year yet. There is talk that perhaps we could do the treble - Allianz Hurling League, FA Cup and Heineken Cup. That'd be amazing if we did do that. I think we'd be the first team to ever do that if we did manage to win all three. It'll be very tough though. There's good teams in all three competitions.

It's very sad that John Mullane is gone. I used to think he was marvellous. He was like a cross between the Karate Kid and Blackie Connors from Glenroe. He used to be able to play hurling like a genius. He was terrific to watch. I saw him get 2-06 from play in an FA Cup 5th round tie versus Huddersfield and I remember saying to myself 'Remember this day forever Tom.' Actually it mightn't have been the FA Cup. While I think of it I think he was actually held scoreless the same day. And now that you mention it,twasn't against Huddersfield at all, it was actually against Offaly at a pitch opening in Gurteen,County Tipperary. But he was very good, the Tipp crowd were amazed that a man could be so good at hurling.

Dan Shanahan and Shane Ahearne are huge losses for the coming year. Shane Ahearne in particular will be very hard to replace. I bought his book for Christmas, it was excellent. Full of anecdotes and lessons on how to be a really good bald hurler. The book is called 'Shiner On You Crazy Diamond Hurler - The Shane Ahearne Story' The sub heading on the front reads 'Inside the Bald Head of a Brilliant Hurler Who Risked It All In Pursuit Of A Dream Of Winning A Munster Title With The Waterford Team Primarily In The Eighties' . It's by Shane Ahearne. I think it's on Amazon or Kindling or whatever that book store is called. It was a great read. He was a marvellous hurler, big tall and strong with very good wrists. He reminded me a lot of Nadia Comanech, the first female gymnast to ever score a perfect 10 in the Olympics.

Stephen Frampton was telling me down in the Three Shippes there over the weekend that he's not sure if he'll be back at all. He'll be a big loss if he doesn’t come back. He definitely deserves his place in the pantheon of great hurlers that happen to be bald, along with Sambo McNaughton, Cormac Bonner, Mullane,Hartley and Shiner. Maybe they should open a GAA 'Bald of Fame'. It'd be like a Hall of Fame but for bald fellas.I'd build it somewhere around Ballyduff Lower, they'd appreciate that kind of stuff there.

Michael Skully Ryan is back in business I think. He kinda lost the run of himself last year after he appeared on Strictly and started dating Chantelle Houghton from Big Brother. Fellas were saying he used to be skipping training sessions and everything to go to Modest Mouse concerts with herself in Dublin. There was a noticeable drop in performance last year when Skully wasn't as close to the camp as he normally is. But I met him at yoga in the community hall in Ballymac there last week and he looks great. He was doing the Downward Facing Dog and the Extended Puppy Pose like the Michael Ryan of old. Even the instructor noticed it. At the end of the class, Mr.Miyagi (the instructor) looked at Michael, bowed in front of him and said in that ridiculous Japanese accent of his 'Welcome back, master'. He paused between 'welcome back' and 'master' for dramatic effect, and by golly it worked.

So all in all, with everything considered, I think we'll win the league very easily but after a tough championship we will narrowly edge out Kilkenny in the final by 24 points, all from play.

Ballyvoile Boy

And there I was worrying, sure things were never better!!

KevIRL

IanVW wrote: »

I might be heading kev

Sound Ian, if you are going and can collect them from me (i'm in the city), i'll keep you the option of a first refusal. Let me know.

If Ian cant take them then I'll put em back out there.

KevIRL

Good to have ya back tomKelly:D

IanVW

ill know nearer the weekend 80 % sure ill be there ha

Black Suir

Where are people going on Sunday, to Ennis to watch the senior hurlers or to Tipperary Town for the Harty Cup?

A crazy call to have both games on at the same time. It should what say we in Waterford have around the fixture table at provincial and national level. Maybe it is a case of what the county board did a few years ago starting to come back to haunt us. Waterford telling the Munster Council where they would and would not play a Munster Final was madness. Has anyone noticed that at Munster Council level, right now we are the only county not to have a person sitting around the table as an officer.

lanarty94

I reckon waterford could be relegated they will really struggle without mullane he carried that team on his own for the last three years

Mountainlad

Black Suir wrote: »

Where are people going on Sunday, to Ennis to watch the senior hurlers or to Tipperary Town for the Harty Cup?

A crazy call to have both games on at the same time. It should what say we in Waterford have around the fixture table at provincial and national level. Maybe it is a case of what the county board did a few years ago starting to come back to haunt us. Waterford telling the Munster Council where they would and would not play a Munster Final was madness. Has anyone noticed that at Munster Council level, right now we are the only county not to have a person sitting around the table as an officer.

If I'm going to either, it's the Waterford game. County first, not to mind the fact that I didn't go to school in Dungarvan. Wish them well and all but there's no contest for me, although I agree that it's sheer stupidity that they're on the same time.

dzilla

lanarty94 wrote: »

I reckon waterford could be relegated they will really struggle without mullane he carried that team on his own for the last three years

Would never have thought of that

solarith

lanarty94 wrote: »

I reckon waterford could be relegated they will really struggle without mullane he carried that team on his own for the last three years

How much did he play in the National League in the last 3 years?

mccarthy37

lanarty94 wrote: »

I reckon waterford could be relegated they will really struggle without mullane he carried that team on his own for the last three years

The reception on your Tele must have been very bad these last three years, go see the games live it might surprise you to see there are a few more players on the team than you think who are quite capable.

premierstone

mccarthy37 wrote: »

The reception on your Tele must have been very bad these last three years, go see the games live it might surprise you to see there are a few more players on the team than you think who are quite capable.

tbf to lanarty John Mullane was head and shoulders above he's team mates and he's loss will be massive. The division is incredibly competitive and I would agree with he's assesment at this point in time Waterford would have to be favourites for the drop.

carter10

premierstone wrote: »

tbf to lanarty John Mullane was head and shoulders above he's team mates and he's loss will be massive. The division is incredibly competitive and I would agree with he's assesment at this point in time Waterford would have to be favourites for the drop.

The usual negativity about waterford from people outside the county who could probably only name about 4 players on the team. Its not the first time ive heard this since Mullane retired. Yes he was our best player, yes he was consistently good but to say he was 'carrying the team' for the last few years is ridiculous.

We will find it difficult in the top division this year but only because we have a young and relatively inexperienced team. I for one am looking forward to the next few years as we see a new young team with plenty of skill develop. As long a Mullane et al were there we would be labelled as an ageing team as we have ben for the last few years. This feels like a fresh start and a break from the past.
The perception is out there ( as evidenced by the above posts) that Waterford will be the soft touch in Div 1, I think more that one team will be surprised by what they really face.
Tipp were seen as a shoe in for promotion from Div 4 in the football and look at them now still looking for a win.
Another Harty final to look forward to, one in the bag last weekend. As Mr Adams famously said' They haven't gone away you know'

Deise Abu

mccarthy37

premierstone wrote: »

tbf to lanarty John Mullane was head and shoulders above he's team mates and he's loss will be massive. The division is incredibly competitive and I would agree with he's assesment at this point in time Waterford would have to be favourites for the drop.

It doesn't look good but we have to have some hope. The division is very tough alright. Next Sunday will tell an awful lot I hope we don't get hammered as we traditionally struggle in Ennis. The view outside the county wouldn't inspire confidence but I would love to prove everyone wrong. Of course John is a massive loss and we are going to miss him. For now I will live in hope. Only having a joke off of the last post have to keep the spirits up.

premierstone

carter10 wrote: »

The usual negativity about waterford from people outside the county who could probably only name about 4 players on the team. Its not the first time ive heard this since Mullane retired. Yes he was our best player, yes he was consistently good but to say he was 'carrying the team' for the last few years is ridiculous.

We will find it difficult in the top division this year but only because we have a young and relatively inexperienced team. I for one am looking forward to the next few years as we see a new young team with plenty of skill develop. As long a Mullane et al were there we would be labelled as an ageing team as we have ben for the last few years. This feels like a fresh start and a break from the past.
The perception is out there ( as evidenced by the above posts) that Waterford will be the soft touch in Div 1, I think more that one team will be surprised by what they really face.
Tipp were seen as a shoe in for promotion from Div 4 in the football and look at them now still looking for a win.
Another Harty final to look forward to, one in the bag last weekend. As Mr Adams famously said' They haven't gone away you know'

Deise Abu

I can name you the entire Waterford panel if you like, but Id prefer to keep the debate someway adult like.

Mullane may not have been carrying the team but he was certainly shouldering more than he's fair share and was the only real quality scoring threat, the opposition knew if they kept Mullane quiet they were as good as winners.

What Tipp football and Division 4 has to do with this is beyond me??

KevIRL

Gotta be realistic and say that this year is most likely gonna be a struggle for us. A lot of inexperience in the squad and the huge concern will be where are the scores gonna come from. With just 6 teams div 1A is going to be so competitive and most likely the relegation play teams will be 2 from Clare, Cork and ourselves. With that in mind the first 2 games are crucial - away to Clare and home to Cork. Remember though even if we did lose all the league games then all is not lost, the relegated team is still decided by a play off between 5th and 6th place teams.

Funnily enough I would have preferred if we had gotten KK or Cork first up as I think they may very well get off to poor starts this season but then recover.

Mountainlad

KevIRL wrote: »

Gotta be realistic and say that this year is most likely gonna be a struggle for us. A lot of inexperience in the squad and the huge concern will be where are the scores gonna come from. With just 6 teams div 1A is going to be so competitive and most likely the relegation play teams will be 2 from Clare, Cork and ourselves. With that in mind the first 2 games are crucial - away to Clare and home to Cork. Remember though even if we did lose all the league games then all is not lost, the relegated team is still decided by a play off between 5th and 6th place teams.

Funnily enough I would have preferred if we had gotten KK or Cork first up as I think they may very well get off to poor starts this season but then recover.

Great assesment of the situation.

We still have Cork early, and at home so that certainly is a game we've a good chance in. Clare in Ennis will be very tough though, and we'll be doing exceptionally well to get a result from there. If we do I think we'll stay up. If we don't, we're under an awful lot of pressure and while I wouldn't write off all the games against Kilkenny, Galway and Tipp it will certainly be a big task to beat them.

As you say, pity we didn't get Kilkenny early. They have 7 probable startes missing including Reid, Shefflin (nothing unusual there), Larkin and Rice, and the rest being Walter Walsh, Buckley and Doyle who all impressed last year. You wouldn't know though, they may still be weakened when we meet them.

It's clear that the management realize how important the two games are and that's why we've almost the championship team out in the last few games. There will be very little room for experimentation this year.

KevIRL

Dont get me wrong, I dont think that KK early would be easy, but perhaps a bit of a better chance than later in the season. Most likely we'll need 2 wins to stay out of the bottom 2 so naturally the first 2 games are the target there.

Major worry though is losing all the league games and then the playoff and therefore going into the Munster Championship game with Clare on a real downswing. Lets be positive though, there is still plenty of talent within this team, we really need the forwards to step up to the mark.

The league badly needs restructuring though, 5 games per team is crazy and 1 poor team will only get the 5 (it was us last year). But thats a discussion for another day.

seananigans

Hey all,

sorry to be a combo breaker.But does anyone know of agood source for good desktop backgrounds related to Waterford? a google search for good images proved fruitless.

I work in Dublin ,so I feel the need to remind people what it's all about :-)

P.S. any that do dual monitors a bonus

robopaddy

team for sunday

1. s o'keeffe
2. n.connors
3. l.lawlor
4. s. daniels
5. d.fives
6. m.walsh
7. r.foley
8. ph.mahony
9. k.moran
10. p.mahony
11. s o'sullivan
12. s.molumphy
13. j.mullane
14. s.walsh
15. j.dillon

alllcounty

robopaddy wrote: »

team for sunday

1. s o'keeffe
2. n.connors
3. l.lawlor
4. s. daniels
5. d.fives
6. m.walsh
7. r.foley
8. ph.mahony
9. k.moran
10. p.mahony
11. s o'sullivan
12. s.molumphy
13. j.mullane
14. s.walsh
15. j.dillon

Strong team if only it was true. Sunday is a must win game for Clare at home. I dont fancy our chances as we have a good few lads in the forwards that are not proven winners yet but you never know on the day.

Davy Fitzgerald will make a return to waterford tomorrow when he brings the LIT team to take on WIT in the quarter final of the fitzgibbon at 2.30pm. The winners play Mary I of limerick in the semi after their win over DIT today. That means UCC, UL and UCD are at the other side of the draw which should be extra motivation for either team to win tomorrow in Carriganore.

Straight Talker

Some people say that John Mullane wasn't carrying Waterford but like it or lump it he was by far Waterfords best forward over the last few years.Both Waterford and ourselves are in a transition period.There is promising young players coming through in Waterford but in the here and now the loss of John Mullane is a huge blow to Waterford to say otherwise is delusional.I would always have no fear of Waterford likewise Waterford supporters would have no fear of Cork we would both see our league game with each other as winnable.Munster is very open so who knows if the younger lad's step up to the plate Waterford could land a munster title.btw Seeing that i grew up a few yards from the Waterford border and have Waterford relatives i know plenty about the GAA scene in Waterford.:D

Straight Talker

KevIRL wrote: »

Gotta be realistic and say that this year is most likely gonna be a struggle for us. A lot of inexperience in the squad and the huge concern will be where are the scores gonna come from. With just 6 teams div 1A is going to be so competitive and most likely the relegation play teams will be 2 from Clare, Cork and ourselves. With that in mind the first 2 games are crucial - away to Clare and home to Cork. Remember though even if we did lose all the league games then all is not lost, the relegated team is still decided by a play off between 5th and 6th place teams.

Funnily enough I would have preferred if we had gotten KK or Cork first up as I think they may very well get off to poor starts this season but then recover.

To be honest i wouldn't be surprised if ye beat Clare in the championship.In fact i think ourselves and Waterford could be a good outside bet for a munster title.

robopaddy

Black Suir wrote: »

Where are people going on Sunday, to Ennis to watch the senior hurlers or to Tipperary Town for the Harty Cup?

A crazy call to have both games on at the same time. It should what say we in Waterford have around the fixture table at provincial and national level. Maybe it is a case of what the county board did a few years ago starting to come back to haunt us. Waterford telling the Munster Council where they would and would not play a Munster Final was madness. Has anyone noticed that at Munster Council level, right now we are the only county not to have a person sitting around the table as an officer.

im going to ennis for the waterford game then stop off in tipptown on the way home for the colleges game. hopefully it will be over in ennis as a contest at half time, make a bust for it at half time get the hang-sangidges in on the way back and get the last 15 mins of the colleges game.

Mountainlad

robopaddy wrote: »

team for sunday

1. s o'keeffe
2. n.connors
3. l.lawlor
4. s. daniels
5. d.fives
6. m.walsh
7. r.foley
8. ph.mahony
9. k.moran
10. p.mahony
11. s o'sullivan
12. s.molumphy
13. j.mullane
14. s.walsh
15. j.dillon

Ehhhhhh?

Did Davy Fitz reveal our team or something?

Actually had to do a double take to spot the others.

PTH2009

davy saying Mullane will be back for Waterford

http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/hurling/2013/0220/368675-mullane-may-return-claims-fitzgerald/

Ballyvoile Boy

That's unlike Davy to be seeking attention the week of a match.......

Straight Talker

PTH2009 wrote: »

davy saying Mullane will be back for Waterford

http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/hurling/2013/0220/368675-mullane-may-return-claims-fitzgerald/

Im speaking as a neutral observer here albeit a neutral who's second favourite gaa county is Waterford.It looks to me that Davey is stirring the **** and trying to put pressure on Michael Ryan.John might be back come the championship but the man made a decision and it needs to be respected.Daveys comments a while ago attacking Michael Ryan for saying that Waterford were in a period of transition were also disgraceful.Davey Fitzgerald is no longer involved with the Waterford hurling team he should keep his nose out of Waterfords affairs and concentrate on his Clare team and his LIT team.That's enough to keep him busy.To be honest i have no time for Davey i see him as a man with a serious ego.In fact i'd love to see Waterford put him and Clare back in their boxes in the championship to setup another clash with Cork.:)

alllcounty

Straight Talker wrote: »

Im speaking as a neutral observer here albeit a neutral who's second favourite gaa county is Waterford.It looks to me that Davey is stirring the **** and trying to put pressure on Michael Ryan.John might be back come the championship but the man made a decision and it needs to be respected.Daveys comments a while ago attacking Michael Ryan for saying that Waterford were in a period of transition were also disgraceful.Davey Fitzgerald is no longer involved with the Waterford hurling team he should keep his nose out of Waterfords affairs and concentrate on his Clare team and his LIT team.That's enough to keep him busy.To be honest i have no time for Davey i see him as a man with a serious ego.In fact i'd love to see Waterford put him and Clare back in their boxes in the championship to setup another clash with Cork.:)

I agree he shouldn't have made the comment Michael Ryan needs to stop hiding behind the excuse the team is in transition as he himself had allready blooded a good few players while he was there and so on. I also think the decision made by mullane needs to be accepted and he shouldn't be saying he think's he will be back for the championship as that uncertainity leads to rummers and what not.

Anyway congrats to WIT on their 4 point win over LIT today. UCD also beat UL so looks like Eamon Creegan's Mary I is the last limerick college left in the competition. It would be a boost to the county if WIT were to go all the way with so many waterford players on the team. I remember a time not all that long ago when WIT never had a waterford player on the starting 15 back in the early noughties when they were wining fitzgibbons and now they have 9 or 10 on the starting team so it bodes well for the future.

seananigans

In fairness the team has been in transition for 5 years. I think that should be completed by now.

Davy love him or loathe him did a clean sweep in Clare but last year and is level pegging with ourselves in terms of bookies odds.

The team is very recognisable and also young, what most people are calling a crisis, is really an opportunity, with Cork out of contention for 2-3 years, and Killkenny suffering injuries due to the age of their panel (not to mention shefflin on his last legs,and Cody likely to finish soon),as well as Tipp having issues,I think the next 3 years will be a great time to break fromthe pack and have our own spell of dominance.

Sadly anytime we had a good season in the past ,so did everyone else, I think right now there is a window, but league form will let us know a bit better.

Straight Talker

seananigans wrote: »

In fairness the team has been in transition for 5 years. I think that should be completed by now.

Davy love him or loathe him did a clean sweep in Clare but last year and is level pegging with ourselves in terms of bookies odds.

The team is very recognisable and also young, what most people are calling a crisis, is really an opportunity, with Cork out of contention for 2-3 years, and Killkenny suffering injuries due to the age of their panel (not to mention shefflin on his last legs,and Cody likely to finish soon),as well as Tipp having issues,I think the next 3 years will be a great time to break fromthe pack and have our own spell of dominance.

Sadly anytime we had a good season in the past ,so did everyone else, I think right now there is a window, but league form will let us know a bit better.

Right i'll pass that on to JBM so he won't be wasting his time.He may as well not bother we haven't a hope.We haven't got a prayer.We all may as well pack it in Waterford are going to be the new Kilkenny for the next decade.:D Seriously though i do think Cork won't be winning senior all irelands until the underage teams start winning again but munster is very open.Right now i see Cork and Waterford as being at similar stages of development.Both counties are in a transition period after being serious all ireland contenders during the past decade.Oh and Kilkenny won't be going away anytime soon the conveyor belt there is still churning out the players.However i think they might come closer to the rest of the pack when Henry retires.As for Tipp i think they'll be back to their best under Eamon O'Shea.

Mountainlad

seananigans wrote: »

In fairness the team has been in transition for 5 years. I think that should be completed by now.

Davy love him or loathe him did a clean sweep in Clare but last year and is level pegging with ourselves in terms of bookies odds.

The team is very recognisable and also young, what most people are calling a crisis, is really an opportunity, with Cork out of contention for 2-3 years, and Killkenny suffering injuries due to the age of their panel (not to mention shefflin on his last legs,and Cody likely to finish soon),as well as Tipp having issues,I think the next 3 years will be a great time to break fromthe pack and have our own spell of dominance.

Sadly anytime we had a good season in the past ,so did everyone else, I think right now there is a window, but league form will let us know a bit better.

Should the transition be over? Given we've just lost our best player, another who was man of the match twice last year in 3 games and another who was considered to be one of the best prospects in the County after the 2009 minor win that statement is in doubt.

Imagine Kilkenny losing Shefflin, Walsh and Buckley, Tipp losing Paudie Maher, Bonner Maher and Brian O Meara. It would have a significant impact on them. Now, imagine teams more our level like Galway losing Joe Canning, Johnny Coen and Niall Burke, Limerick losing Donal O Grady, Hannon and Dowling and Clare losing Conlon, McGrath and Tony Kelly. Where would they be?

I'd question that Davy did a 'clean sweep' as well. 9 players that started the 2011 Munster semi (against Tipp) started in the 2012 Munster semi (against us), Honan would have started last year but was injured. Fergal Lynch came on, and Colin Ryan who started last year came on in 2011 and has been on the team since 2009. They have also won 2 all-ireland u21 titles since 2009, and won two minor Munsters in that time as well. So any manager with any credibility would automatically be looking to those players, especially in Clare where there is a serious lack of established Senior player. Bookies odds mean nothing, and cannot be taken as a sign that a team is progressing well.

I'd be very cautious about any assessment of the team right now.