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I was listening to a sidelines Derry footballer yesterday. He was discussing the change that Rory Gallagher has brought to the table in Derry and how players bought into it. And various ways he has changed things. He would visit players at home if they were doing individual gym workouts etc. a whole new approach. And then I get back to thinking of our woes. A few questions come to mind. Is he on a fixed term or sliding contract ?? Is it a long term arrangement ? Has he to prostate himself before a committee every year to explain how he has performed. Have his copybook checked and ticked as it were. If he looks for more supports does he get then ? I think it's only a few short years since Derry found themselves in the basement and boy have they made strides. Should we not send a delegation to Derry for a few days to discuss their overall strategy which seems to be working so well. Meet the clubs etc to see what they are doing. We have to start somewhere so why not by trying to see what is making Derry tick.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 994 - 26/06/2022 20:37:28 2427764 Link 0 |
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Freethinker; anything is possible but it does require a plan as to how we will get there. Equally before the plan comes ambition to think big. There are a lot of average county team in ireland so it is possible to go from divisions 4 to 2 and maybe 1 in a short space of time. There is a key difference between us and Derry. Derry's problem was at county level, in that players at club level didn't think the county was ambitious enough and the players felt the county board lacked in certain areas. But Derry clubs were competing in Ulster and at All Ireland level plus their schools were doing the same. We are not strong in Leinster in either of these categories but over a period we could become competitive. It may be easy for make this statement and to apportion blame on a forum like this but what is the relationship like between the county executive and the clubs? We need everyone on the same hymn sheet which is the starting point for such a project. I know a number of counties are playing their league now in advance of the club championship; this maybe happening in wicklow but it is next to impoosible to know when games are on as there is no central forum/source for this type of information. The whole structure/setup is very disjointed and a bit disorganised from the outside, looking in. This is pretty basic and should be easy to remedy but you have to get it organised, clealy set out what you want to achieve before you talk to other counties about how they did it.
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 27/06/2022 10:00:20 2427866 Link 0 |
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what managers would you like in wicklow it a question ? Bring success into it i have wrote messages about recritment of managers but have not be posted on this . lor12 (Wicklow) - Posts: 238 - 27/06/2022 17:52:21 2428133 Link 0 |
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I think the general feeling on this forum is that it won't really matter what manager is appointed until the structures within the county are changed in order to bring about greater drive and ambition within the GAA family in the county. Bringing anyone in for 2/3 years and expecting miracles is a futile exercise. We have tried that for 20 / 30 yrs and it doesn't work. We are at least 5 yrs away from being able to compete for anything. The sooner the better this particular penny drops with those charged with developing the games in the county. So, whatever team or structure is put in place needs to be given that timeframe at least. We seem to have a stream of youngsters going the tightest, but we are still off the pace. Maybe not as far as we were but we are still behind other counties like Kildare, Westmeath or Offaly and I am not even thinking about the Dubs. Until we can compete with and beat these counties at their level on a reasonably regular basis at underage, we are peeing against the wind in concentrating on our senior teams. Just my opinion.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 994 - 27/06/2022 21:11:17 2428197 Link 0 |
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Lor12; i was disappointed when Davy Burke left the role as I thought he was the right man to develop young players, is ambitious and very progressive in terms of how his teams play. I would love to know the reason he moved on. The current management team have done ok so i would envisage them staying in situ but i think they need to address the defensive side of the team as we are conceding goals which makes very difficult to get results even in division 4.
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 27/06/2022 21:46:18 2428209 Link 0 |
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I've managed to catch a couple of minor matches for ver the last two weeks and they've both been great watches. Seems like we've a couple of really handy players on the club scene at that age group. Victorious87 (Wicklow) - Posts: 597 - 29/06/2022 08:52:50 2428513 Link 0 |
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Reading the Paper seems to be a competitive league with 10 teams in the "A" which is great, should be as many team in the better for players developing win or lose. Last few years there were 6 teams or so. This is a positive step by the clubs to commit hopefully games will be even enough. Looks like AGB are very strong too, with Blessington, Baltinglass & Bray possibly Greystones also. Reads as if Aughrim & An Tochar was a good game. Aughrim won this championship at u15 so i say they be one of the favourites, An Tochar reads as if they have very young team or size wish i.e. a few will play again next year at minor level and St Kevins you never write off. It'll be interesting league championship but i assume plenty of teams will lose players to holidays so why not do a league and then a championship some the end of the summer. its one to keep a eye on StrandedinWW (Wicklow) - Posts: 20 - 29/06/2022 17:21:10 2428695 Link 0 |
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Thank you for posting an update on the minor scene. I am always interested to know more about the next generation of potential seniors are developing. It is good to hear that there are quality matches underage and that a number of clubs are competing at this grade. Wicklow as we always have, continues to produce good players and yet we fall so short and for so long at senior level.
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 29/06/2022 19:18:04 2428724 Link 0 |
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On another topic. Is there any source other than The Wicklow People where people could get match reports ?? I've noticed recently that their coverage of mens league - both hurling and football matches is abysmal. They had a few photos of the recent Bray v Glenealy league game but no coverage that I could find. And that's just one. There are loads more. This seems to be a post CoVid phenomenon. They can claim lack of space but this weeks issue has pages and pages of photos and advertising. I buy it mostly for match reports but that will cease if coverage of the games or lack of it continues. I remember being in Tipp a few years ago and saw the local paper. Now admittedly it was a broadsheet but it had pages and pages - and pages of every match from juvenile up in ALL sports. Now fair play to the local paper with their coverage of ARP in the Feile, the Wicklow Cup final and they must be congratulated on their coverage of the womens / girls games but, going forward are we going to have to just live with hearsay reports ?? The paper is expensive enough but people will stop buying it altogether if we can't find articles we are interested in. Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 994 - 30/06/2022 09:07:57 2428749 Link 0 |
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Agree wholeheartedly. Have noticed in recent times the lack of men's gaa coverage.
roseyinthegarden (Wicklow) - Posts: 109 - 30/06/2022 13:41:12 2428816 Link 0 |
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I think coverage of gaelic games across the board in Wicklow needs to be addressed. As a supporter of club and county football in wicklow while living outside the county; it is extremely difficult to know wgen matches are scheduled, results and reports. I know that there are some individuals that post updates on twitter which i much appreciate but my understanding is that this is an informal arrangement as oppose to coing from the county board.
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 02/07/2022 10:40:22 2429128 Link 0 |
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It seems as if our local paper has loads of photographers and precious few sports reporters. We hardly need a blow by blow account of every action in a game that takes up a whole page. We would settle for a few columns inches of coverage. Our much maligned ( by me, for one) county board would not have the resources to cover games, seeing as how they struggle handling the really important issues.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 994 - 02/07/2022 14:30:35 2429202 Link 0 |
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I may have bern wrong earlier when i said that wicklow gaa account wasn't managed by the county board. I see a post on twitter just now inviting applicants for under 20 and senior football managers posts. So it seems that the county board are starting a fresh search for a new manager for both the under 20 and senior teams. Whose next for the job; any suggestion.
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 02/07/2022 15:36:53 2429224 Link 0 |
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Personally I think this application invite for managers is little more than a joke. Certainly at senior whatever about u20. What has changed since Davey, or Evans or anyone in the last 20/30 yrs ?? Who will put their hand up for a job that really needs a miracle worker. What are the parameters of the job ?? What is the time frame ?? What resources will they be given ?? What back up and support ?). An organisation who have proven their inadequacy for years again dipping their toe in the waters without a major overhaul of mindset is, to me, as I said above, a joke. So, the very best of luck to whoever is foolish enough to take on this job. He / she will receive no criticism from this quarter. On the bright side, at least the exercise will generate a little more traffic on this forum.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 994 - 03/07/2022 12:14:41 2429382 Link 0 |
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I wouldn't disagree with you. The downside is that underage talent is blighted by the politics and ineptitude which has plagued the county for a century without any resolution or change being introduced. This woll result in these young talented players will leave the game for other sports. If support is dwindling at the same rate in term of county support as on this forum then nobody will know or care who the manager is come the league in february.
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 03/07/2022 13:40:04 2429398 Link 0 |
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Depressing as it is I also have to agree and what is really disappointing is that we are starting to produce some good young players. I have seen some of the Minor championship games this year and they have been of good quality....certainly far better than 10 years ago. With the seniors back down to the basement again you would imagine they won't have a flood of applications from inside or outside the county. I really thought they were onto a winner with Davy with just a little ambition to match his I'm fairly sure we would have comfortably stayed in Divison 3 and might have even looked to consolidate that ..but sure same old same old with the county board. Anyway I hope they do their homework better than they did with that Kelly fella!
stringfellohawk (Wicklow) - Posts: 124 - 04/07/2022 19:55:06 2429738 Link 1 |
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I see Andy Mc Entee recommended for Antrim job. Haven't heard a word from anyone in this county about who we are looking to get in. A joke. roseyinthegarden (Wicklow) - Posts: 109 - 11/07/2022 14:02:20 2431389 Link 0 |
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It would indeed be a joke if it wasn't so serious. I don't know what parameters are laid down by our leaders ( and I use that term advisedly) but they must be pretty stringent if the manner in which recent managers have walked away. I am not really putting Mr Kelly in this category. That seems to have just been a disaster. I don't know how many managers with any kind of track record are looking for a county to manage, and I can't see too many looking on our direction or if they do, it would be a pretty fleeting glance before looking somewhere else. Surely guys at this level would have some kind of informal communications between themselves so I would imagine whatever made Davy, Jon walk and others having no interest in renewing contracts, would be well known in those circles. The only reason - and it's a pretty good one - is the obviously improved bunch of good promising young players which are starting to populate our club teams. Just maybe all is not yet lost.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 994 - 11/07/2022 16:22:23 2431479 Link 0 |
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Antrim are a county that seem to have ambition when you consider that Enda McGinley has just vacated the job. Maybe it is down to the fact that gaelic football is a religion in the province and they are surrounding by this passion and want a piece of the action. If I looked at it from an underage and provincial perspective, I would think we are a more desirable option; in a less competitive province with what seems like better underage prospects. Unfortunately that is where the good points end for us. I would say that Antrim are more likely to succeed than us as there is a distinct lack of ambition at county board level in Wicklow which will kill any momentum gained. What is the staying, it is the lack of hope that kills you in the end ... is that Wicklow GAA supporters motto? I am very familiar with Davy Burke in Kildare. He is a seriously ambitious guy who seem to be won over by the players' ambition in Wicklow and then he was gone so I would imagine that there was a stop put to what he wanted to do in order to push on from Division 3. It wasn't the Kildare job as there was no signal that Jack O'Connor was going anywhere when he resigned from the Wicklow job. Obviously he applied for the Kildare job after resigning from the Wicklow job and when Jack O'Connor decided to go back to Kerry after their position became vacant so I would be fairly sure that his resignation wasn't related to Kildare. These are worrying times for Wicklow. The bandwagon is falling apart in terms of publicity, support, news, people talking about the intercounty team. It is as bad as I have seen it for quite a long while and to think what it was like ten years ago when we were unlucky to draw with Armagh in Armagh before narrowly losing to them at home in the qualifiers. Compare and contrast the two counties ten years on!!! One is ambitious, the other shows no sign of wanting to achieve anything!!!!!
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 11/07/2022 20:16:37 2431538 Link 0 |
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Weird thing is that there are lots of reports of inter county ladies games from u14 up. The boys development squads play matches every couple of weeks and nothing in the paper about it. Not even a photo.
liam500 (Wicklow) - Posts: 175 - 12/07/2022 09:53:05 2431577 Link 0 |