Waterford GAA Discussion Thread 2011-2012

Hslaw

Lads can we stop about Eoin Mcgrath,before this gets really nasty, I agree he would of being last on the list of starting subs. But It's not just his fault,The game is. Over, were out move on.

Fair play to JBM and cork

lovelypoint

Hslaw wrote: »

Lads can we stop about Eoin Mcgrath,before this gets really nasty, I agree he would of being last on the list of starting subs. But It's not just his fault,The game is. Over, were out move on.

Fair play to JBM and cork

Yes, would be worth remembering it was a call on the line to bring any player on, so if people have an issue with who is brought on, it should be a reflection on management, not the player. Especially if the player in question gives his all, it is very unfair to be targetted for abuse on his ability.

deisebhoy17

hurler on de ditch wrote: »

just watched it great ,but for the sight of seamus after defeat to limerick ,the worst thing about that day ,was after the match interview with richie bennis ,what a clown

richie bennis is an honest genuine hurling man what he said wasnt meant in any malice whatsoever it was his simple answer to the question where the game was won and lost. he said 'limerick got 5 goals and big dan got no goal' he probably couldnt think of anything else to say. i could never understand the furore among waterford ppl after that. he paid huge homage to us I thought. definetly need to move on

Orizio

Commiserations lads. Bench won it for us.

enoughtaken

Smiley Burnett wrote: »

lads, why is Eoin McGrath even on the panel???????
when was the last time he did anything half-decent for either club or county??
waterford people have been saying for the last few years that we have nice young hurlers coming through, yet we see eoin mcgrath coming off the bench in a quarter final???

if eoin kelly isnt regarded by ml ryan and co as an impact sub when a full forward goes off injured, then he has absolutely no business on the panel either.

The waterford management team are a joke!!!

What planet are ye on!! Ye wrote off Michael ryan half way through league. Here ye are again writing him off. I am very proud tonight of our performance today. Ok we fell short but we are far from finished. Lets see what the waterford championship will throw up. Maybe 1 or 2 or even 3 players might make a case in the next month for next year. Let's be positive and get behind our management team.

deisebhoy17

Smiley Burnett wrote: »

lads, why is Eoin McGrath even on the panel???????
when was the last time he did anything half-decent for either club or county??
waterford people have been saying for the last few years that we have nice young hurlers coming through, yet we see eoin mcgrath coming off the bench in a quarter final???

if eoin kelly isnt regarded by ml ryan and co as an impact sub when a full forward goes off injured, then he has absolutely no business on the panel either.

The waterford management team are a joke!!!

Nail on the head. I refuse to believe that Eoin Kelly didnt have something to offer today. The substitutions made were just bizarre. How do Eoin McGrath and Shane Casey suddenly become the first subs on when they didnt feature for either of the previous championship games? Both these players have been given umpteen chances before, Casey has been knocking around the panel since 08', so how was it felt that these guys were going to change the game for us today?

I was in the Killinan end and for the second half and there was some great ball coming in, but at once stage our FF line consisted of mcgrath casey and shanahan, neither would win an argument and i had a feeling the game was up. Pity because with a bit more cuteness I think this Cork team was definetly there for the taking.

Im not going to go into slating management weve been sick of that with the past 4 years under davy fitz. but unfortunately i think the good times are well and truly behind us.

Just to the Cork lads on here.... congrats. I think today will bring ye on leaps and bounds and I have a feeling ye can go and take the tribesmen aswell.

PS: As well as mullane and moran played this year unfortunately we can forget about an allstar. One championship win and 2 defeats isnt enough to merit any player an allstar

Mountainlad

lovelypoint wrote: »

Yes, would be worth remembering it was a call on the line to bring any player on, so if people have an issue with who is brought on, it should be a reflection on management, not the player. Especially if the player in question gives his all, it is very unfair to be targetted for abuse on his ability.

I think it's a major cop out from people to level at all on the management as well though. Bit patronizing as well for Eoin McGrath. When he goes on to the field a certain standard is expected of him. Why would he bother himself if he didn't feel he could meet that standard? If you think about other Counties, would they put up with that and make that excuse for him? I very much doubt it.

It was a mistake by the management, no question about it, but I have a few problems here. If Martin O'Neill had come on and failed to impact as happened against Tipp what would people say?

It seems to me that half the people here would question why Eoin Kelly didn't come on, and the other half would rightly have questioned why he was brought on when he inevitably contributed nothing but petulance. For me, Gavin O'Brien should definitely have been brought on and that was bad in my opinion that he didn't even get a run today. Having said that, however, it was Eoin McGrath that fumbled that ball, not Michael Ryan, Sean Cullinane or Ken.

Anyone who is saying this the worst management team ever because they brought on Eoin McGrath should cop themselves on. That's like something a child would say. Remember that Justin brought on Paul Foley as the answer to Cork turning the tide in 2005, and Davy Fitz played Gary Hurney too. Eoin McGrath was a better player than both of those, though he's past it a while.

As for remarks about Kelly not being on the panel if they weren't going to play him, well I personally don't think he should have been brought back but he played both of the last two games so it's not as if he was brought back to warm the bench. It would have been terrible management if they'd dropped him at this stage and the reason is the media circus would have returned and would have effected the camp negatively, and then no doubt 'the worst management ever' would be getting criticized for that.

This was not a bad season overall, and considering the financial problems we've had. There was lads not getting expenses at the start of the year, don't think they've gotten any extra gear this year and all that goes on while you have other Counties that aren't having any of those difficulties.

By the way, most of that comment is not directed at you lovelypoint, I was addressing other people indirectly.

Mountainlad

deisebhoy17 wrote: »

Nail on the head. I refuse to believe that Eoin Kelly didnt have something to offer today. The substitutions made were just bizarre. How do Eoin McGrath and Shane Casey suddenly become the first subs on when they didnt feature for either of the previous championship games? Both these players have been given umpteen chances before, Casey has been knocking around the panel since 08', so how was it felt that these guys were going to change the game for us today?

I was in the Killinan end and for the second half and there was some great ball coming in, but at once stage our FF line consisted of mcgrath casey and shanahan, neither would win an argument and i had a feeling the game was up. Pity because with a bit more cuteness I think this Cork team was definetly there for the taking.

Im not going to go into slating management weve been sick of that with the past 4 years under davy fitz. but unfortunately i think the good times are well and truly behind us.

Just to the Cork lads on here.... congrats. I think today will bring ye on leaps and bounds and I have a feeling ye can go and take the tribesmen aswell.

PS: As well as mullane and moran played this year unfortunately we can forget about an allstar. One championship win and 2 defeats isnt enough to merit any player an allstar

Even after you've seen Kelly in the last two games? How many chances does he have to get? At least Eoin McGrath and Casey have a decent attitude. I'd feel sorry for Martin O'Neill and Gavin O'Brien that they didn't get a run and maybe that the other two have come in ahead but than if you're not pulling your weight in training and your form in matches hasn't been great, can you really expect to be a shoe in to make an appearance? I dunno who is training well, but I'd imagine Casey has been.

All-stars are individual awards, not team awards. We won't get many, but we'll get one at least.

Also, that is a dramatic turn around from this morning when you felt we might go all the way!! It may take a few years, but we will be back competing strongly again, I have no doubt about that. I hope others have the same faith.

deisebhoy17

Mountainlad wrote: »

It was a mistake by the management, no question about it, but I have a few problems here. If Martin O'Neill had come on and failed to impact as happened against Tipp what would people say?

Yea but Eoin McGrath has been tried and tested so many times before and failed to deliver, thats what frustrates people. Casey aswell. Maybe Martin O'Neill mightened have made any more of an impact, who knows.... but if they have been happy to bring him and O'Brien in throughout the year, why have they suddenly lost faith in these lads? They are the future, young, fresh and fearless.

lovelypoint

Mountainlad wrote: »

I think it's a major cop out from people to level at all on the management as well though. Bit patronizing as well for Eoin McGrath. When he goes on to the field a certain standard is expected of him. Why would he bother himself if he didn't feel he could meet that standard? If you think about other Counties, would they put up with that and make that excuse for him? I very much doubt it.

It was a mistake by the management, no question about it, but I have a few problems here. If Martin O'Neill had come on and failed to impact as happened against Tipp what would people say?

It seems to me that half the people here would question why Eoin Kelly didn't come on, and the other half would rightly have questioned why he was brought on when he inevitably contributed nothing but petulance. For me, Gavin O'Brien should definitely have been brought on and that was bad in my opinion that he didn't even get a run today. Having said that, however, it was Eoin McGrath that fumbled that ball, not Michael Ryan, Sean Cullinane or Ken.

Anyone who is saying this the worst management team ever because they brought on Eoin McGrath should cop themselves on. That's like something a child would say. Remember that Justin brought on Paul Foley as the answer to Cork turning the tide in 2005, and Davy Fitz played Gary Hurney too. Eoin McGrath was a better player than both of those, though he's past it a while.

As for remarks about Kelly not being on the panel if they weren't going to play him, well I personally don't think he should have been brought back but he played both of the last two games so it's not as if he was brought back to warm the bench. It would have been terrible management if they'd dropped him at this stage and the reason is the media circus would have returned and would have effected the camp negatively, and then no doubt 'the worst management ever' would be getting criticized for that.

This was not a bad season overall, and considering the financial problems we've had. There was lads not getting expenses at the start of the year, don't think they've gotten any extra gear this year and all that goes on while you have other Counties that aren't having any of those difficulties.

By the way, most of that comment is not directed at you lovelypoint, I was addressing other people indirectly.

Yes, I understand that, and would hope I laid out my own reasons for my conclusions after the game in my initial post. I am not one for general or kneejerk reactions, but credit where credit is due, and likewise with culpability or responsibilty.

lovelypoint

Mountainlad wrote: »

Even after you've seen Kelly in the last two games? How many chances does he have to get? At least Eoin McGrath and Casey have a decent attitude. I'd feel sorry for Martin O'Neill and Gavin O'Brien that they didn't get a run and maybe that the other two have come in ahead but than if you're not pulling your weight in training and your form in matches hasn't been great, can you really expect to be a shoe in to make an appearance? I dunno who is training well, but I'd imagine Casey has been.

All-stars are individual awards, not team awards. We won't get many, but we'll get one at least.

Also, that is a dramatic turn around from this morning when you felt we might go all the way!! It may take a few years, but we will be back competing strongly again, I have no doubt about that. I hope others have the same faith.

I wouldn't count on that. At the best of times, we never got what we deserved, and this year after bowing out at the QF stage, would be very surprised if we got any.

Nonoperational

Well it was as we all thought a tight tough game that could have gone either way. We'll take this gladly after the disappointments of the past few meetings. Unlucky today, some real greats on display but the the missed opportunity to go 4 points up coupled with a stronger bench just did it for us. There'll be other days, and that in itself is something to look forward to.

Mountainlad

deisebhoy17 wrote: »

Yea but Eoin McGrath has been tried and tested so many times before and failed to deliver, thats what frustrates people. Casey aswell. Maybe Martin O'Neill mightened have made any more of an impact, who knows.... but if they have been happy to bring him and O'Brien in throughout the year, why have they suddenly lost faith in these lads? They are the future, young, fresh and fearless.

Ah like I agree, I wasn't happy to see Eoin McGrath coming on and I have no qualms about people saying the management got it wrong, but I do have a problem with anyone who calls them clueless 'or the worst ever'. I know you didn't, and yeah O'Neill would have been preferable to McGrath in my eyes but particularly felt Gavin O'Brien was worth a go. I would not under any circumstances, however, entertain Eoin Kelly being suggested as a better option. He may have more skill than Eoin McGrath, but he's slow and his attitude sucks and he's just a bad influence.

deisebhoy17

Mountainlad wrote: »

I would not under any circumstances, however, entertain Eoin Kelly being suggested as a better option. He may have more skill than Eoin McGrath, but he's slow and his attitude sucks and he's just a bad influence.

I disagree. I still think hes well capable of doing something. Im no more his number one fan than you are but I found myself looking at the line to see if he was warming up when Cork were getting on top in the final 10 mins, we needed someone from the bench to come in and make a difference and I thought he was the best bet. Throw him in Full Forward, backs were to the wall. I wasnt thinking about attitudes or whose putting it in in training. I was just thinking about how we can win this game at that stage

Maybe there was something else up like he was sulking or wasnt in the right mindset, if thats the case then let it be. We dont know. Either way his intercounty career is over now. I dont expect to see him in the white and blue again

solarith

woof

doz

Desperately disappointing defeat, we had Cork on the ropes but ultimately we didn't get the scores to finish the game off. The injury to Shane Walsh was a real turning point and I believe we would have won if he had remained fit. Someone on the radio commented that we have to work far harder for our scores than other teams and I think that is probably a fair statement, we just do not have enough quality in our forward lines. I think we have a stronger 15 than Cork but did not have anything in reserve, whereas they emptied their bench to great success, we had players on the pitch who had clearly run out of steam. Ultimately we just do not have a squad of 20 quality players at this moment in time which you need in today's game.

To the players who may retire after today (possibly Seamus, definitely Tony, maybe even Kelly as well), thanks for everything, particularly Tony, a hurling legend and a gentleman. On the plus side, I think we have made some progress this year and the management team deserve another chance. However they need to work hard during the rest of the county championship, as we need to identify some more players to push through in time for the start of the league, particularly in attack. Best of luck to Cork also, who I firmly hope defeat Galway. DEISE ABU!

lefthanded

As a Kilkenny fan, I was at the match, I was going for Waterford and they were doing so well. Waterford were definitely the better team over the 70 minutes and they just didnt seem to have the legs to hold out against the young Cork subs. Mullane changed the game when he came out midfield but died out towards the end, they really threw it away with the two chances towards the end and Shanahans many wides from frees, it was disappointing because those Cork fans really annoyed me the way that there was no sign of that badhrán when Waterford started to come back at them and didn't resurface until they went two points up.

ShamoBuc

Molumphy got motm - deserved, he's a fine player.

ShamoBuc

lefthanded wrote: »

As a Kilkenny fan, I was at the match, I was going for Waterford and they were doing so well. Waterford were definitely the better team over the 70 minutes and they just didnt seem to have the legs to hold out against the young Cork subs. Mullane changed the game when he came out midfield but died out towards the end, they really threw it away with the two chances towards the end and Shanahans many wides from frees, it was disappointing because those Cork fans really annoyed me the way that there was no sign of that badhrán when Waterford started to come back at them and didn't resurface until they went two points up.

Kilkenny fan complaining about Cork fans, priceless - given the tiny amount of kk fans that turned up.

deisedude

Sickened with that defeat. Threw it away against a very average Cork team.

Game was lost in the opening and closing minutes. The first twenty minutes we were brutal altogether, a more clinical team would have put us to the sword early. We gave Cork a 6/7 point headstart before the team got going at all. How we were only a point down at half time was a miracle.

On the sideline in the closing minutes the decisions were ludicrous. Eoin McGrath hasn't done anything in a county jersey since 2008 and Shane Casey has never been up to scratch yet these are the two who are entrusted to score a goal when you leave a proven goal scorer on the bench. I'm no great fan of Kellys attitude but not putting him on when the game was there for the taking was ridiculous. Another thing, Tommy Ryan simply is not big or strong enough for intercounty hurling, might as well have been playing with 14 men while he was on.

One thing to leave you with, in 3 championship games we only managed to score one goal from play. Shocking statistic.

Cake Man

deisedude wrote: »

Another thing, Tommy Ryan simply is not big or strong enough for intercounty hurling, might as well have been playing with 14 men while he was on.

One thing to leave you with, in 3 championship games we only managed to score one goal from play. Shocking statistic.

Yeah, I don't like to be critical of our own as the lads go out to try their best but Tommy is just too light and was brushed off every ball today. Think he was a bit too eager and tried to go for goal every time, when a point was on.

That's an awful stat alright but its just not surprising as it confirms our scoring threat is fairly blunt these days.

Professey Chin

We get in plenty of goal scoring positions though. Its just not helped by people not passing the fcuking ball :mad:

nkay1985

The Great Chinholio wrote: »

We get in plenty of goal scoring positions though. Its just not helped by people not passing the fcuking ball :mad:

Correct. With the exact same players in the exact same situations, a Tipp or Kilkenny team would have had at least two goals today. For some reason, our lads just don't seem to have that awareness. It's also so frustrating to see Maurice running well at goal but the second a back comes near him, he has to turn back as he just doesn't have the physicality to break or ride a challenge when going for goal.

Obviously disappointed tonight but it's not all doom and gloom. If we carried a goal threat, we could be Munster champions and, even if not, would almost certainly be looking at an All-Ireland semi-final now. Maybe it's something that can be addressed. We have a lot of youth through our team now. The likes of Moran are really stepping up. I think we'll at least be competitive for the next while, not slip into obscurity as has happened to a lot of teams after a good run.

wex_lad

deisedude wrote: »

One thing to leave you with, in 3 championship games we only managed to score one goal from play. Shocking statistic.

On the way home from Thurles we were discussing this statistic. What made the journey home even more depressing was the comparison to previous years....

In 2007, Waterford scored 15 goals in 5 Championship games with 14 of those coming from play.

In 2008, Waterford scored 12 goals in 6 Championship games with 11 of those coming from play.

In 2009, Waterford scored 6 goals in 5 Championship games with 4 of these coming from play.

In 2010, Waterford scored 4 goals in 4 Championship games with 4 of these coming from play.

In 2011, Waterford scored 6 goals in 4 Championship games with 6 of these coming from play.

In 2012, Waterford scored 2 goals in 3 Championship games with 1 of these coming from play.

The last 5 years waterford have scored 43 goals in 24 games with 39 of them coming from play. In this years Championship we managed just 2 goals and the most worrying part is just 1 has come from play. The depressing thing about this year from other years is we don't even look like scoring at any stage in a match. Its nearly a surprise if Waterford score a goal at this stage. Simply put, Waterford just don't have the forwards. Its all well and good having brilliant players like Kevin Moran, Molumphy, Brick and Noel Connors who can prevent goals, but goal prevention isn't going to win any All Irelands - goal scoring is. To make a breakthrough Waterford need at least 3 forwards capable of scoring goals. At the minute we have 1 in Shane Walsh, 1 isn't good enough. Although Mullane is probably the best forward in the country for the last 4 or 5 years his goalscoring record isn't as good as it probably should be. Goals win games and for now, the lack of goals is the achilles heel in this Waterford team. The Munster final was crying out for a Waterford goal that never came, and more importantly never looked like coming. Today against Cork a goal anywhere between the 20th - 60th minute would have taken Waterford into the All Ireland semi final. Unfortunately, that goal never came and once again never even looked like coming. In Championship games involving Wexford, Clare, Cork, Offaly, Galway, Tipperary, Dublin and Kilkenny there has been lots of goals and lots and lots of goal chances. The one goal Waterford did score from play this year wasn't even created by us, it came from a poor mistake in the Clare full back line.

Having been very confident of a Waterford win today, I now think that it was blind faith which made me think we would win. We simply aren't creative enough from 10 - 15 and although we are solid from 1 - 9 and we will be for the next 5 or 6 years, the problems at 10 - 15 look set to continue for us, and if they do then we can forget about winning a Munster title let alone an All Ireland because without a creative and ruthless set of forwards we will continue to be disappointed. I'm not having a go at anyone on the team as I am proud of their efforts. Its just that when we are really honest with ourselves we simply aren't good enough at the moment.

mccarthy37

deisedude wrote: »

Sickened with that defeat. Threw it away against a very average Cork team.

Game was lost in the opening and closing minutes. The first twenty minutes we were brutal altogether, a more clinical team would have put us to the sword early. We gave Cork a 6/7 point headstart before the team got going at all. How we were only a point down at half time was a miracle.

On the sideline in the closing minutes the decisions were ludicrous. Eoin McGrath hasn't done anything in a county jersey since 2008 and Shane Casey has never been up to scratch yet these are the two who are entrusted to score a goal when you leave a proven goal scorer on the bench. I'm no great fan of Kellys attitude but not putting him on when the game was there for the taking was ridiculous. Another thing, Tommy Ryan simply is not big or strong enough for intercounty hurling, might as well have been playing with 14 men while he was on.

One thing to leave you with, in 3 championship games we only managed to score one goal from play. Shocking statistic.

This reminds me of '99. I think "if" is our biggest problem. When we eliminate that the world is our oyster.

WumBuster

Pretty much echo much of the dissapointment and sentiments of the other posters. Just a few things

- Waterford should have had a penalty in the injury time as Mullane was blatantely dragged to the ground by the cork defender as the ball was coming in. I was standing right behind the goals and saw it clearly. Unfortunately it was something that both the ref and the tv cameras missed. :mad:

- Young Ryan in the corner should have been taken off after 15-20 mins as it was clear it wasnt happening for him and he was either out of his depth or really nervous. yes a tough call but if we had either O neill, G O brien, or Kelly on at that stage it would have made a difference, i feel.

-As said already, the choices of Mcgrath and Casey were the wrong ones with better options on the bench as pointed out above. But its a bit unfair to hammer eoin mcgrath for that dropped ball, as he did well to get away from his man and it was unlucky as probably 9 times out of ten he would have caught that and buried it. And he didnt play too bad when he came on, but really, kelly shouldnt have been left on the bench before him, especially when Shane walsh had to come off.

Professey Chin

nkay1985 wrote: »

Correct. With the exact same players in the exact same situations, a Tipp or Kilkenny team would have had at least two goals today. For some reason, our lads just don't seem to have that awareness. It's also so frustrating to see Maurice running well at goal but the second a back comes near him, he has to turn back as he just doesn't have the physicality to break or ride a challenge when going for goal.

Its nearly like theyre afraid to take a shot without the guarantee and keep trying to get closer to tap it in.
Look at KKs 3rd & 4th goal today. They were winding up the shots from 21 yards out hell bent on putting it in the net. Our forwards would be looking for that extra few steps or would have already taken the point.
It really needs to be gotten into their head that you should go for it in that situation like we used to. I don't know is still hangover from Davys tactics or where its coming from the last few years but it has to be sorted.

crazy_kenny

Too many average players on team to compete at this level. Also physically not a match for top teams. How many of the current players would make the Tipp or Kilkenny team? Brick, Mullane, Moran... That's about it.

Professey Chin

crazy_kenny wrote: »

Too many average players on team to compete at this level. Also physically not a match for top teams. How many of the current players would make the Tipp or Kilkenny team? Brick, Mullane, Moran... That's about it.

I don't give a sh!t about how many individual players would make it into other teams. We have too many individuals. Great teamwork makes up for weaker players and brings them on.
Look at our play from puck outs. SOKs has great puck outs (although he sent far too many down the right in the 2nd half when we were winning none of them) and Prender is a good ball winner but what happens when he catches it? Nothing. Nobody running from midfield, nobody running from the wing for him to lay the ball off to. Molumphy is tireless at breaking ball and dropping deep but he isnt a creator so that leaves Maurice or the 2 Mahonys who should be helping out but they stand around waiting for the ball too much.
And our entire forward line is guilty of the same thing. In most occasions nobody runs off whoever has the ball. They stay stationary and our entire attack has to slow down. Of course this isnt helped by people not looking up and passing whenever someone does find space. I don't know is it because theyre not even expecting anyone to go with them or they just want the glory (probably both)

alllcounty

crazy_kenny wrote: »

Too many average players on team to compete at this level. Also physically not a match for top teams. How many of the current players would make the Tipp or Kilkenny team? Brick, Mullane, Moran... That's about it.

Waterford came up short again. Same problem arose which caused the Deise of ultimately failing again for another year and that is not having enough strength and depth in the panel, to be able to bring on subs that don’t weaken the team and can get the team over the line. We see it in other successful counties like Kilkenny and Tipperary if they are struggling with 15 minutes to go they can bring in players that are just as good as the starting 15. So why does Waterford not have that depth in the panel to win an all Ireland.
When you look at the adult club structures in Waterford and the clubs represented on the panel it is not hard to see why Waterford will never win an all Ireland. Less than 10% of the panel come from non senior clubs. From a panel of 34 players there are just 3 players namely Seamus Prendergast, Brick Walsh and Darragh Fives who play their club hurling on intermediate club teams in Waterford. That is a shocking statistic. It is the worst ratio of any top hurling county in Ireland. When you look at other successful hurling counties like Kilkenny they are able to call upon players from intermediate and junior clubs to strengthen the depth of their county team. They don’t weaken the county panel as they are playing club hurling at a high standard that involves leagues and championships involving clubs from all over the county. But in Waterford the reality is we don’t have this.
The standard of intermediate and junior club hurling in Waterford is at rock bottom and that is why there are no players coming from intermediate or junior clubs to strengthen the county panel and giving it the capability of winning an all Ireland. The west versus east divide has prevented the next 12 best clubs in Waterford from playing in a competitive structure and the same with the 3rd best 12 clubs.
Clare is one county who realised the need for change in their adult club structures a number of years ago and so they decided to bring in a senior B league and championship. The players playing for these senior B clubs are now playing at a higher standard and are supplying a far better quality of player to the county teams than Waterford is capable of doing. This has been suggested by some why the clare under 21’s continues to develop further when they leave minor as they are now playing in a competitive club structure from senior to junior.
However the change in adult club structures does not look like changing any time soon where there is so much resistance from senior clubs in Waterford to allowing intermediate and junior clubs increase the standard and quality of their club hurling by playing in all county structures. People like Pat Grant of Fourmilewater and Eddie Cunningham of Tallow are doing enormous damage to Waterford developing a senior county team with strength and depth in the panel that also includes players from non senior clubs that are playing club hurling at a high level and don’t weaken the county team if and when called upon. If senior hurling clubs in Waterford want the county to make the breakthrough then that means changing the adult structures for non senior clubs in the county so that a panel can be developed in future years that does have a depth in the panel consisting of players from senior and non senior clubs.
One chink of light to allowing this to be discussed in a reasoned manner in the county was recommendations made in the Waterford gaa strategic plan which was due to be released in early march of this year. This has now not being released due to threats from some senior club delegates. For as long as Waterford allow Pat Grant and Eddie Cunningham and other senior club delegates dictate the structure for non senior clubs then Waterford will not have a depth to its panel like kilkenny are capable of having and waterford will not be making any breakthrough.