Waterford GAA Thread - Mod note post #1

I think 2 years with the option of a 3rd

The second coming of Derek

Wouldn't be too bothered about the league in general, but trying to play a short handpassing game based on running through the middle in those sorts of conditions sounds mental.

trust me he wont change , it dosnt matter who the opposition is either , dont get me wrong it worked for us , but teams do video analysis on everything nowadays so you have to have a plan B or C , he's too stubborn to change

Best thing ye can do now is get rid of Davy as the championship is only going one way for ye. The players look lost in processes and don’t seem to believe in what they are doing

I'd love to know what in god's name the county board were thinking appointing him. He won't have been cheap either.

I suppose seen as the team only just got a sponsor and you still can't buy new kit, the board are showing a lot of incompetence.

Unfortunately davys 60 player hurling panel/development squad with numerous footballers hanging around this extended panel and never ever getting game time or lets be honest genuinely good enough for senior inter county hurling has affected what small hope the senior footballers have of making any kind of progression and limiting the strength and depth of footballers panel.

U20 footballers played very well,were competitive until the sending off in the second half.

Davy fitz only cares about himself ultimately and not Waterford gaa

The conditions were awful yesterday. I'd say Kilkenny fans made up at least half of the crowd. 2 Waterford players in the Kilkenny half of the field for most of the game with both teams short passing didn't make for great viewing.

Hard to see how we will improve for the championship to score enough to win games with those kind of tactics.

4 wins in 14 games. Wins against (league) Antrim, Laois and Offlay, (championship) Tipp.

People may say it's only the league. We're not a very well decorated county and winning breeds winning, I don't think we are the type of county that can just turn it on when we need too.

Looking at both league campaigns, advancing to a semi final was definately do-able in both campaigns.

A good run in both leagues would have been a financial boost and a moral boost heading into the championship but here we are all discussing and focusing on the negative as both campaigns have been brutal.

I still think our panel of players are still good enough to win both our Munster home games, and with their backs to the wall we would expect to see a big performance v Cork, but based on our performances to date and Davy's over thinking of the game, it gives me little hope.

Very few were happy with the reappointment (including me) and the only rational can be that the county board fully believed that the "Davy impact" of 18 months might be enough to get us over the line but if anything we now seem further away from an all Ireland.

Generally we see with Davy, players really buy into him for 12-24 months and then things go south.

As soon as Davy started speaking of taking 2-3 years to build a team and a plan, I even lost the little glimmer of hope that I might have had

We're gone from believing we can beat anyone with the exception of Limerick to now only getting wins over the "weaker" counties.

If we don't get out of Munster then this has been a serious **** show and the county board have seriously blown any chance that we have had left of winning an All Ireland.

Honestly starting to feel we will be here in 2059 discussing how it's been 100 years since we last won an all Ireland.

Depressing.

As a Kilkenny man looking at it yesterday I thought when Waterford moved the ball quickly and a bit more direct in the first half they looked really dangerous. The players look over coached as if Davy's tactics have scared any natural instinct out of them which led to over carrying on 5/6 occasions easily. It was two on two in the full forward line for most of the 2nd half and no ball played into the them which seemed strange.

Walsh park is turning into a nice venue I thought new stands looked really well.

Our county treasurer stepped down only weeks ago

BECAUSE OF DAVY FITZS OUT OF CONTROL SPENDING!!

A county treasurer who gave incredibly loyal service to Waterford Gaa over the years in various roles and a genuinely good man.

The treasurer stepped down due to Davys spending so far this season.

A senior hurling training weekend in Wexford that cost thousands that the treasurer was against.

Absolutely in agreement about spiralling costs at inter county.

Not sustainable.

Treasurer was trying his best to keep Waterford gaa finances in order which is his role.

I can't speak for other counties as im not aware of their individual financial situations.

I don't think you can analyse the game yesterday very thoroughly as conditions were just too bad. So I'd be more inclined to look at the league as a whole.

Positives

• Didn't lose any game by more than a score. Though the margins of defeat increased as the campaign went on.
• Some players have looked good. Jamie Barron and Calum Lyons would be the two that jump to mind though Shane Bennett deserves a mention. Before the head injury against Wexford Michael Kiely had been exceptional.
• Sean Walsh scored goals in the first three games and looks like he could play a role in the championship. One person mentioned they think he may have picked up a knock which would help explain why he hasn't played since.
• Paddy Leavy looked good when played in his natural midfield role.

Negatives

• The team set up. In the first half of the games against both Wexford and Kilkenny there was a clear attacking shape, however this was the exception. In the second half of both games all this shape was lost, certainly in the Wexford game it was deliberate as players were told in the dressing room to drop back as sweepers. For the most part we've had a turgid, negative set up and no clear idea of how to move the ball forward as we have nobody up there.
• Relegation. And not just relegation but the manner of it, losing to all bar Offaly. That reduces the gates at games next year as well.
• A lot of injuries. A lot of players will be going into the championship undercooked if they even feature. Stephen Bennett, Dessie, Kiely, Patrick Fitzgerald, Iarla Daly, Ian Kenny, Conor Prunty, Tadhg De Burca off the top of my head have played very little recently.
• Aside from the system, the form of individual players is concerning. Some players look like they're second guessing everything they do and don't look comfortable because of it. I'd be thinking of Shaun O Brien and Neil Montgomery in particular.
• I had suggested last week morale couldn't be good in the camp and as a poster here mentioned during the week there was a confrontation between management and at least some players. It seems to also have been caused by the treatment of a young player on the panel by management. One of the players leading it is currently on the injured list but I didn't see him there yesterday so I don't know if he's still on the panel after it.
• There's a disconnect between the support and the team now. That has a few effects but one simple one was the small crowd yesterday brings in a lower income. In addition Murphy is a weak ref and with a big home crowd he is the sort that can be influenced. That didn't happen yesterday.

It's harder than ever to see where the switch can be flipped and for things to turn around. We did put in a better performance against Limerick last year than anything in the league but getting nothing from that seemed to have a huge affect. I'm trying to think if I have ever approached a championship with less hope than this one and I can't think of any.