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Wicklow GAA thread

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Which clubs are looking for new managers this time around? The "managerial merry go-round" as the soccer lads say.

I believe Blessington, AGB, St Pats, Bray, and An Tochar are alllooking for a new manager. Most will probably want internal managers, but I don't know if many of them have quality there internally to get them where they want to go to? An Tochar seems to have some problems, the last two internal management teams were removed. AGB were unlucky with their management the last two years, although there are playing issues there too where they just cannot seem to win the tight games. Bray will go for a Dublin name again presumably? St Pats and Blessington will probably go internal, they both need to turn things around quickly after underwhelming seasons.

At intermediate, I believe Kilcoole, Avondale and Annacurra are looking for new managers.

Not sure about junior. Anyone know the story with the junior teams? Or with any of the above?

OldSchoolRules (Australia) - Posts: 29 - 28/10/2024 16:20:15    2577355

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Replying To wicklowsupport:  "There are some posts regarding u19/u20 and minor A final that I'll have to read before I respond. I was at the senior final today and I thought it was a most enjoyable game of football, two teams going out to play constructive football and trying to win. No cynical play nor a dirty blow in the whole 65 minutes and no mass defences. Just proves that there is nothing wrong with the current game if team play it in the right way. Congratulations to Tinahely; I don't think any one except maybe some Baltinglass supporters would begrudge them their day in the sun. Baltinglass will be disappointed that they couldn't build on their six-point half-time advantages The wind played its part in the game; Baltinglass may feel that they should have had a bigger lead at half-time than they did. They probably lack that killer instinct to finish teams off in these county deciders. A poster on this forum has been singing the praises of Matthew Ging and shouting for his inclusion on the county team; on today's performance, I can see why. Today he produced one of the most outstanding individual performances I've seen from a footballer on county final day. It will be interesting to see if he is willing and is given the chance to push for a place on the county senior team in 2025. Finally, I commented earlier in the week that I couldn't see why these two teams couldn't go ahead and play on Monday if required. I'd like to revise this opinion, witnessing players cramping badly in the final minutes of today's final, there is no way that these players could have played another match of the same intensity on Monday. For this reason, I'm glad that one team won out today. Best of luck to Tinahely next week. I think I am correct in stating that they are away to Portalington in Portlaois - if this is the case, this is a tough assignment. Maybe the celebrations will be still in full swing at that stage."
Don't disagree with this. For that last play, I thought he had blown the final whistle when the ball was played into the Baltlnglass Forward. The Tinahely bench thought the same and started to come out into the pitch but Tinahely definitely took a free kick after this and then the final whistle went.

That said , Baltinglass only scored two points in the second half, Tinahely absolutely gifted them one of their goals and they were still largely dependent on John McGrath to carry them (he had a fantastic game) so they can't really complain overall.

Hawkeye2 (Wicklow) - Posts: 135 - 28/10/2024 16:54:47    2577357

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Congrats - Tinahely Bucko. Hope ye'd good night boss

Passer_By (Carlow) - Posts: 520 - 28/10/2024 20:31:57    2577384

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Replying To neutralfan:  "Not sure who you are trying to fool here, Baltinglass players, management and supporters all out on the pitch afterwards and stayed for presentation and speech. Very respectful considering the soft decisions that went against them in second half. Some of them quite embarrassing to be honest. Hopefully Tinahely can recover in time for next weekend, would be great to see a performance against Laois victors."
Agree with u. I waited for some of the traffic to go and sat in the stand for 20 minutes. There was lots of Baltinglass players and mentor on the field. I was hoping Tinahely would win but they got the rub of the green onloads of things in second half

heavyheart19 (Wicklow) - Posts: 141 - 28/10/2024 21:24:48    2577388

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Top 6 CLUBS at minor 2024 in no particular order :

Blessington,
An Tochar
Rathnew
Annacurra
Eir og
AGB

Albundy19 (Wicklow) - Posts: 65 - 29/10/2024 11:15:15    2577432

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Replying To Freethinker:  "Minor A is on Monday at 2pm. Amongst the recommendations (from u21 management) was a request that the 25 u19 panel be got together in Oct / Nov as is the case in most of the more successful counties apparently, rather than months later. To accommodate this, the u19 championship would be need to played out earlier. This didn't happen obviously. It was a worthwhile proposal, in my opinion. . But, if I remember correctly, the former u20 championship was shelved for years ostensibly because the senior clubs wouldn't have some of their younger stars for the latter end of the championships. Some of the more prominent clubs in the county were the ones who were in favour of burying it."
Reading what you've written and this is not slight on you - why is there a u19 championship? U-17 which was minor is played alongside the senior championship but not played on the same day as the senior championship final due to traffic concerns. Is there a U-20 championship? which was previously the U-21 grade. Counties who are competing and winning at senior intercounty level realise the importance of the player pathway. A number of counties assemble a squad of players at underage and bring them through the various age groups right up to senior. The objective should be to develop as many players as possible who will eventually play for the senior county team. Obviously there are various reasons why players may not ultimately play senior but as much as possible should be done to help as many players as possible at this level. If a manager makes recommendations to improve what he sees as a blocker then his opinion should be listened to and where possible, gone with. One thing I've heard down through the years concerning Wicklow football is that club want their players to play less games so that they can play in a championship match or be rested for an important game. For me this is a mistake and the reason is this: young players improve by playing more games, not less. I accept that there needs to be precautions to prevent burn out at a young age but I would be concerned that Wicklow way of developing players is not best practice and this is part of the reason we struggle to win at under age. Any improvements that can be integrated in this development process should be adapted.

wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 2016 - 29/10/2024 21:04:00    2577523

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Replying To wicklowsupport:  "Reading what you've written and this is not slight on you - why is there a u19 championship? U-17 which was minor is played alongside the senior championship but not played on the same day as the senior championship final due to traffic concerns. Is there a U-20 championship? which was previously the U-21 grade. Counties who are competing and winning at senior intercounty level realise the importance of the player pathway. A number of counties assemble a squad of players at underage and bring them through the various age groups right up to senior. The objective should be to develop as many players as possible who will eventually play for the senior county team. Obviously there are various reasons why players may not ultimately play senior but as much as possible should be done to help as many players as possible at this level. If a manager makes recommendations to improve what he sees as a blocker then his opinion should be listened to and where possible, gone with. One thing I've heard down through the years concerning Wicklow football is that club want their players to play less games so that they can play in a championship match or be rested for an important game. For me this is a mistake and the reason is this: young players improve by playing more games, not less. I accept that there needs to be precautions to prevent burn out at a young age but I would be concerned that Wicklow way of developing players is not best practice and this is part of the reason we struggle to win at under age. Any improvements that can be integrated in this development process should be adapted."
Nope. It's u19 in Wicklow, or was the last few seasons anyway. And, probably as a result of never having much success at senior inter county level, club football has, over the years, taken precedence at club level. It's more important that clubs have access to full panels. This may have changed a little since dropping to u17 and 19 from 18 and 21. Lack of success has bred various impediments and barriers which have not all been broken down.

Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1243 - 29/10/2024 22:29:42    2577535

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Replying To Freethinker:  "Nope. It's u19 in Wicklow, or was the last few seasons anyway. And, probably as a result of never having much success at senior inter county level, club football has, over the years, taken precedence at club level. It's more important that clubs have access to full panels. This may have changed a little since dropping to u17 and 19 from 18 and 21. Lack of success has bred various impediments and barriers which have not all been broken down."
I don't understand the rationale for u19; maybe there is a valid reason but it is lost on me. I think Wicklow have made progress at underage in recent years but there's a reason why we fail to make the breakthrough. Unless the reason(s) are identified and addressed then that breakthrough may never materialise. I think the best people to determine what those reason(s) are is the people at the coalface - the managers/coaches. It seems that the county board aren't listening to the feedback from the people at the coalface which appears to be a mistake, from a distance.

wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 2016 - 31/10/2024 11:35:25    2577706

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Best of luck to Tinahely in their upcoming Leinster Club championship match v Portarlington. It will be interesting to see how they get on.

roseyinthegarden (Wicklow) - Posts: 114 - 01/11/2024 17:01:22    2577856

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Replying To roseyinthegarden:  "Best of luck to Tinahely in their upcoming Leinster Club championship match v Portarlington. It will be interesting to see how they get on."
They will lose by at least 8 points. Poorest champions to come from Wicklow in a while.

heavyheart19 (Wicklow) - Posts: 141 - 01/11/2024 23:01:13    2577892

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Replying To wicklowsupport:  "I don't understand the rationale for u19; maybe there is a valid reason but it is lost on me. I think Wicklow have made progress at underage in recent years but there's a reason why we fail to make the breakthrough. Unless the reason(s) are identified and addressed then that breakthrough may never materialise. I think the best people to determine what those reason(s) are is the people at the coalface - the managers/coaches. It seems that the county board aren't listening to the feedback from the people at the coalface which appears to be a mistake, from a distance."
The reason the Wicklow championship is u19, is that this is the crop which will be u20 the following season. So for the current 2024 u19 championship, these are all the players who will be part of the 2025 u20 squad. It's a great idea, rather than using meaningless trial games to pick u20 panels like other counties have.

There is a good argument to be made that Wicklow should have one more age grade as a development competition, whether at u21/u22/u23. I believe the u23 competition in Kildare is working very well for example. It could even be a regional competition if clubs struggled for numbers.

OldSchoolRules (Australia) - Posts: 29 - 02/11/2024 11:05:14    2577931

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Replying To heavyheart19:  "They will lose by at least 8 points. Poorest champions to come from Wicklow in a while."
Heavy heart how did St. Pats get on in 2022?? They were beaten out the gate by palatine. Many wicklow teams don't impress in Leinster. Best of luck to Tinahely tomorrow from a wicklow supporter

kodak13 (Wicklow) - Posts: 75 - 02/11/2024 14:04:25    2577944

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Replying To kodak13:  "Heavy heart how did St. Pats get on in 2022?? They were beaten out the gate by palatine. Many wicklow teams don't impress in Leinster. Best of luck to Tinahely tomorrow from a wicklow supporter"
As you say, best of luck to Tinahely tomorrow from me also. I'm not too sure that getting personal with Heavyheart will get them over the line. Wicklow teams have been beaten out the gate for years now, so let's hope Tinahely can buck that trend. There is a gulf has developed over the last 15/20 yrs now between our champions and the others in Leinster. Since that great Rathnew team in fact. This is an indisputable fact. This years championship was a real tipsy survey of a mixed bag and a close county final can't gloss over that. Having said that, Tinahely are our reps tomorrow and the very best of luck to them. They will need it.

Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1243 - 02/11/2024 14:59:09    2577947

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St Nicholas gave AGB an awful hiding in the minor A shield final today in Aughrim.

Albundy19 (Wicklow) - Posts: 65 - 02/11/2024 16:31:55    2577954

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Replying To Freethinker:  "As you say, best of luck to Tinahely tomorrow from me also. I'm not too sure that getting personal with Heavyheart will get them over the line. Wicklow teams have been beaten out the gate for years now, so let's hope Tinahely can buck that trend. There is a gulf has developed over the last 15/20 yrs now between our champions and the others in Leinster. Since that great Rathnew team in fact. This is an indisputable fact. This years championship was a real tipsy survey of a mixed bag and a close county final can't gloss over that. Having said that, Tinahely are our reps tomorrow and the very best of luck to them. They will need it."
Best of luck to Tinahely. I understand from people I know in Portalington that a few of their key players who travelled back from Australia to play in the county final have gone back to Australia. Two of these players in particular played a key role in Portalington winning the county final. Minus these players should give Tinahely a great chance to progress to the next round. Tinahely should be aiming to give a good account of themselves as forty years is a long time to wait to get a crack at the Leinster championship so they surely won't want to go out in the first round. I've said it numerous times on this forum, our clubs have to get back to competing in the latter stages of the Leinster club championship. Results in the last twenty years haven't been good enough. A competitive local championship is great but the winners have to represent the county better. Anyway, we'll know tomorrow night if Tinahely have given it a good shot or not.

wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 2016 - 02/11/2024 19:10:38    2577984

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A great addition to Oisin's backroom team. Former Roscommon legend Frankie Dolan. His first journey into intercounty management. His CV is impressive. Won AI with St Bridgets, Lead Bridgets to county success. Lead his current team to success in Longford. Won titles in Longford and Roscommon. Won Connacht medal with Roscommon. The list is endless.

Jack L (None) - Posts: 3139 - 02/11/2024 22:17:36    2578019

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Replying To Jack L:  "A great addition to Oisin's backroom team. Former Roscommon legend Frankie Dolan. His first journey into intercounty management. His CV is impressive. Won AI with St Bridgets, Lead Bridgets to county success. Lead his current team to success in Longford. Won titles in Longford and Roscommon. Won Connacht medal with Roscommon. The list is endless."
I agree that Frankie Dolan is a great addition to Oisin's backroom team. Has extensive experience at club level and of course he was an outstanding forward for both the St. Bridget's club and for Roscommon. I hope that the thinking behind his addition is to work with our forwards. We have some promising young forwards but they lack composure and if we are to gain promotion our forwards have to increase their efficiency rate.

wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 2016 - 03/11/2024 11:02:37    2578060

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Congrats to Tinahely on a great win today. Let's hope they can keep this up. If memory serves, the last time Tinahely were in Leinster, they also themselves well.

Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1243 - 03/11/2024 16:19:12    2578141

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Replying To Freethinker:  "Congrats to Tinahely on a great win today. Let's hope they can keep this up. If memory serves, the last time Tinahely were in Leinster, they also themselves well."
I'd like to add my congratulations on Tinahely's victory over Portalington today. I know Portalington were missing some key players today but for an inexperienced team to go away to Portlaois and beat Portalington who have won 3 Laois senior championships in recent years is a good start to their campaign. It doesn't get any easier but at least they have home advantages next Sunday against Tullamore. Matthew Ging and Eoin Darcy are pivotal to Tinahely's attack. They need to continue to show this form if they are to overcome Tullamore next weekend.

wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 2016 - 03/11/2024 16:44:18    2578154

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Replying To heavyheart19:  "They will lose by at least 8 points. Poorest champions to come from Wicklow in a while."
I know this wasn't Tinahely's only doubter this weekend but I feel the reference to them being the worst champions in the last 10 years with the footballers they have at their disposal is crazy and now proven to be massively untrue. Well done Tinahely from a proud Wicklow man this evening.

Onlywayiswicklow (Wicklow) - Posts: 1 - 03/11/2024 21:08:57    2578218

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