Davy Fitzgerald leaves Waterford

Daysha

Confirmed in the last 10 minutes. Some night for the managerial merry-go-rounds!

Kerrydude1981

Davy Fitz to Limerick and Donal O Grady to Waterford???

Sir Graball

Not suprised really. Will he look for or get Clare job?

ft9

About time IMO.

Deise 2012

Daysha wrote: »

Confirmed in the last 10 minutes. Some night for the managerial merry-go-rounds!

YES, YES, YES,

Sir Graball

Kerrydude1981 wrote: »

Davy Fitz to Limerick and Donal O Grady to Waterford???

Doubt it might see Kieran Carey offered Limerick. I've a feeling Waterford manager will be from county. Last three were from outside. Not anything wrong with that but someone whos been following club scene carefully is probably what they want especially near the end of season.

adrian522

If I was a clare man I'd be very worried right now...

hardybuck

Its not as if we are a massive county with endless amounts of hidden gems of players. If someone is being lined up they will more than likely know now and be doing their homework. The senior quarters are on, and there are loads of games left in the intermediate.

Plenty of time for an interested out-of-towner to frequent himself with the talent.

User Friendly

Daysha wrote: »

Confirmed in the last 10 minutes. Some night for the managerial merry-go-rounds!

delete this thread!!! unless you have evidence!:mad:

real stig

Going by todays Examiner Donal O' Grady was getting a two year contract with Limerick so i'd be doubtful he would take the Waterford job

Professey Chin

Feels good man!

Daysha

User Friendly wrote: »

delete this thread!!! unless you have evidence!:mad:

Chill! Newstalk, RTE and HoganStand are all reporting it.

http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=154625

CardBordWindow

Heard the same. Not surprised really.

legendary.xix

Fitz for the banner. I think Limerick will appoint within the county. O'Grady was always on a one year term. He'll be a good option for Waterford if they and he wants it.

CardBordWindow

legendary.xix wrote: »

Fitz for the banner. I think Limerick will appoint within the county. O'Grady was always on a one year term. He'll be a good option for Waterford if they and he wants it.

Rumour on Twitter is that Davey is heading for Galway.

Professey Chin

CardBordWindow wrote: »

Rumour on Twitter is that Davey is heading for Galway.

Heard that a few weeks ago actually

deisedude

CardBordWindow wrote: »

Rumour on Twitter is that Davey is heading for Galway.

A good fit i think. He'll toughen them up

Mountainlad

Daysha wrote: »

Confirmed in the last 10 minutes. Some night for the managerial merry-go-rounds!

YEEEAAAAASSSSSSSSSSS!:D:D

Fentdog84

Rumours also about Brian Cody perhaps he's looking for a new challenge..only 30 mins on the motorway now!!

Mountainlad

Fentdog84 wrote: »

Rumours also about Brian Cody perhaps he's looking for a new challenge..only 30 mins on the motorway now!!

...lol...

hardybuck

Although Galway have seperate boards, the football manager will be sourced from within the county this year due a number of factors - money being one of them.

Mountainlad

hardybuck wrote: »

Although Galway have seperate boards, the football manager will be sourced from within the county this year due a number of factors - money being one of them.

Rules Fitzgerald out so unless the reason there saving money is for the hurling!

Daysha

Before tonight I thought it was a certainty Davy would end up at either Clare or Galway, but now joining Limerick must be a real possibility. He only started his new role as LIT Director of Hurling earlier in the year and knows the setup there left right and centre.

hardybuck

While I was never a massive fan of his, I suppose I wish him the best of luck. He took Waterford on when probably nobody else was interested, and put a lot of his time into the role.

Hopefully we get someone to take us on that extra bit now.

Fentdog84

If Brian Cody does decide to finish up with KK then the county board should go all out to try and get him down even give him a private limo up and down if necessary. But then maybe thats wishful thinking. O' Grady would do the job as well, he promotes a good brand of hurling and will bring on the younger players. Dont know if there is much talent within the county, maybe Michael Ryan has a good track record but its a big step up from ladies football to winning All Irelands at Intercounty hurling.

hardybuck

Fentdog84 wrote: »

If Brian Cody does decide to finish up with KK then the county board should go all out to try and get him down even give him a private limo up and down if necessary. But then maybe thats wishful thinking. O' Grady would do the job as well, he promotes a good brand of hurling and will bring on the younger players. Dont know if there is much talent within the county, maybe Michael Ryan has a good track record but its a big step up from ladies football to winning All Irelands at Intercounty hurling.

Eh, De La Salle are Munster club champions, and he was manager?

Having said that, not totally sold on Ryan either. He used to make the same two or three subs per game believing that they were impact subs, but in reality the lads who kept coming in were just far better than lads who were picked to start, and they should never have been on the bench. It cost DLS in the All Ireland semi, if Madigan had started the game they may well have won.

Despite this, DLS developed a very neat new brand of hurling. You could see elements of football interplay there.

chinguetti

So Davy's gone and so is DOG. While it would be lovely to think they would swap jobs, it won't happen i think.

DOG twice turned down Waterford and would demand from the County Board the best of everything if involved and only right. As the Board is broke - the sum in debt depends on who you listen to, they won't be able to give what he requires (they couldn't in the past by all accounts) so he won't come which is a shame.

Give it to Michael Ryan. DLS haven't done too bad in the past and if they put a decent team together in the backroom, they might go somewhere. I'm not saying that he's the man to bring an AI but he seems to have a knack with teams.

As for Davy, i can't see Limerick rushing to greet him as he heads out the road to Clare. Limerick County Board makes ours look decent at times.

Davy would be a better fit for Offaly than Galway in my opinion.

Fentdog84

hardybuck wrote: »

Eh, De La Salle are Munster club champions, and he was manager?

Having said that, not totally sold on Ryan either. He used to make the same two or three subs per game believing that they were impact subs, but in reality the lads who kept coming in were just far better than lads who were picked to start, and they should never have been on the bench. It cost DLS in the All Ireland semi, if Madigan had started the game they may well have won.

Despite this, DLS developed a very neat new brand of hurling. You could see elements of football interplay there.

Im aware of that, but DLS are an exceptional team, who a monkey could manage they won the munster club 2 years previous with a different manager so that needs to be kept in perspective. But he has done a job at any team he's been, so if we go for an inside manager, he would be an obvious choice. Another road to go down would be a younger more inexperienced manager who starred over the past decade. Tony Browne, ken McGrath, Fergal hartley, Queally, Paul Flynn. Some guy like that but of course there would be a gamble involved with the lack of experience.

Mountainlad

hardybuck wrote: »

Eh, De La Salle are Munster club champions, and he was manager?

Having said that, not totally sold on Ryan either. He used to make the same two or three subs per game believing that they were impact subs, but in reality the lads who kept coming in were just far better than lads who were picked to start, and they should never have been on the bench. It cost DLS in the All Ireland semi, if Madigan had started the game they may well have won.

Despite this, DLS developed a very neat new brand of hurling. You could see elements of football interplay there.

Agreed about Madigan. But who else are you refering too?

Fentdog84 wrote: »

Im aware of that, but DLS are an exceptional team, who a monkey could manage they won the munster club 2 years previous with a different manager so that needs to be kept in perspective. But he has done a job at any team he's been, so if we go for an inside manager, he would be an obvious choice. Another road to go down would be a younger more inexperienced manager who starred over the past decade. Tony Browne, ken McGrath, Fergal hartley, Queally, Paul Flynn. Some guy like that but of course there would be a gamble involved with the lack of experience.

I'm not 100% sure what to make of it. I suppose of the inside managers he's probably the most suitable. Maybe Fergal as a selector then and continuing to manage the 21s, like Dublin with Stakelum as a selector and then u21s manager.

rebel girl 15

Press release by Waterford

By Tom Cunningham,

Cathaoirleach Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Phort Láirge

As Chairman of the Waterford County GAA Committee, it is with regret and great disappointment that I have been informed by Davy Fitzgerald of his decision to stand down as manager of the Waterford Senior Hurling Team.
Davy Fitzgerald accepted the challenging role of Bainisteoir in 2008 during a very difficult time, and subsequently guided our Senior Hurlers to their first All-Ireland Final appearance in forty five years, as well as three Munster Final appearances, winning the coveted title in 2010. Davy has given tirelessly of his time to the cause of Waterford Hurling since his appointment, and his passion and desire to see Waterford achieve at every level from Underage to Senior could never be questioned. It would be difficult to put into words the deep sense of pride that Davy instilled in our Hurlers during his time in charge.
This has been a time of great transition within the Waterford Senior Hurling Team. With the departure of so many great players from our setup over a short period of time, the role of Bainisteoir during Davy’s four seasons in charge required extraordinary leadership and commitment. Davy Fitzgerald’s ability to bring new players into the Waterford set-up and to successfully manage them into becoming highly rated intercounty hurlers was the principle reason as to how we managed to hold our position as one of the top four Hurling Teams in the land. It is ironic that our only championship defeats during his time in charge were to All-Ireland Champions Kilkenny and Tipperary.
On behalf of the County GAA Committee, I wish to express my sincere thanks to Davy Fitzgerald for all his work on behalf of our County Senior Hurlers for over 3 years. At this point, I would also like to express my gratitude to all those who worked as Selectors or as part of the Backroom Team with the Waterford Senior Hurlers during Davy’s time in charge.
On behalf of the Waterford County GAA Committee, I would like to wish Davy Fitzgerald the very best in any future roles he may take up, and I have no doubt that he will continue to be a fantastic ambassador for both Hurling and the Gaelic Athletic Association for many years to come.
A process by which to consider the appointment of a new Waterford Senior Hurling Manager will be discussed by the County Committee on Monday night next, September 12th 2011.

kraggy

Is John McIntyre not still Galway manager?

He may stay on for another year, so talk of Davy is premature.

hardybuck

Mountainlad wrote: »

Agreed about Madigan. But who else are you refering too?

I would have been referring to Lee Hayes also. Would be introduced every game, and would win vital possessions and chip in with a couple of points. The players he normally replaced weren't really doing either of these.

clogheentipp

Is Ken McGrath still involved in the club scene in Waterford? If so it would be great to see him back in the game. In my opinion one of the best players to grace a hurling field for any county. He would be inspirational for younger players as a local Waterford player that they could really look up to.

Not sure if he's even involved in coaching though.

lovelypoint

Heard the news last night, and must say thanks to Davy for all his hard work over the years. He's brought us on in a number of respects, and has helped us keep our head above water in a time of transition. I think both Waterford and Davy learned from each other, and imagine both will relish making their respective next steps forward.

buck65

As a Clare man can I just add...










Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

aidan24326

I don't get all the hate towards Davy from the Waterford crowd. He's a passionate hurling man who gave everything he had to the Waterford job. Tactically naieve at times maybe, but you can't fault him for effort and committment, and Waterford's performances under him have generally been pretty good. He can't be blamed for 2008 because the way Kilkenny played that day they would have walloped any team.

kraggy wrote: »

Is John McIntyre not still Galway manager?

He may stay on for another year, so talk of Davy is premature.

McIntyre is still there for now, but his position is under review. He may be kept on, he may not. As is always the way with County Board politics some of them will want to keep him on and some might not. But talk of Davy to Galway is cetainly premature.

Professey Chin

lovelypoint wrote: »

Heard the news last night, and must say thanks to Davy for all his hard work over the years. He's brought us on in a number of respects, and has helped us keep our head above water in a time of transition. I think both Waterford and Davy learned from each other, and imagine both will relish making their respective next steps forward.

Like?

shockframe

Mega Chin wrote: »

Like?

He moulded Shane o Sullivan into a decent enough midfielder for a start. He got tough with players such as Eoin Kelly and Dan Shanahan who were not prepared to work hard enough to win ball.Got the best out of John Mullane who was outstanding during his term.Same with Kevin Moran who I know was not rated highly by many waterford fans.

Won an All Ireland semi final against a tipp side managed by one of Tipps greatest managers. Beat other respected teams coached by Justin, O grady, O Loughlin etc.

Helped waterford recover from a horror show in the 2008 final when most neutrals thought it would put waterford back 20 years whilst other counties such as Cork, Limerick and Clare fell further behind.

Beat every hurling county outside of Kilkenny who lets face it had a fairly good team this decade wouldnt you agree.

But yeah as you say Davy was a disaster for Waterford wasnt he.

Daysha

I think what people outside Waterford don't understand is that the reason so many in the county wanted him gone was because we haven't seen anything in 3 years that suggests we can break into the top 2.

Since that semi-final victory against Tipp in 08 our league and championship record against the top 2 stands at played 12, won 1, drawn 1, lost 10. We drew with Tipp in the 2010 league and beat Kilkenny a year earlier, but apart from that it's been horrific.

I know we are a team in transition, but that can't and shouldn't be used as an excuse from some of the performances in that period. Two 20+ point defeats in Championship finals in the space of 3 years is simply not acceptable. We are far, far better than that and the tactics used by the management had a huge part to play in those defeats. Similarly in the 09 Munster final we lost by 5 when we were behind by double digits for most of the game, and a large reason for our 2010 defeat to Tipp was the disastrous 1-man full forward line which completely negated so many of our best players.

If we were more competitive in those big games I'd be fairly confident Davy would be heading into his 5th Championship with us. But the fact is when the push came to shove we were found out badly once too many times, and this year proved to many that, like Davy said himself this morning, he can't take us any further.

Professey Chin

shockframe wrote: »

He moulded Shane o Sullivan into a decent enough midfielder for a start. He got tough with players such as Eoin Kelly and Dan Shanahan who were not prepared to work hard enough to win ball.Got the best out of John Mullane who was outstanding during his term.Same with Kevin Moran who I know was not rated highly by many waterford fans.

Won an All Ireland semi final against a tipp side managed by one of Tipps greatest managers. Beat other respected teams coached by Justin, O grady, O Loughlin etc.

Helped waterford recover from a horror show in the 2008 final when most neutrals thought it would put waterford back 20 years whilst other counties such as Cork, Limerick and Clare fell further behind.

Beat every hurling county outside of Kilkenny who lets face it had a fairly good team this decade wouldnt you agree.

But yeah as you say Davy was a disaster for Waterford wasnt he.

Personally I wouldnt class SoS as a good enough midfielder to be starting but youre entitled to you opinion. Shanahan had come off his best ever year when Davy took over and eventually retired because he couldnt stand him (like some other players). Kelly was dropped to the bench but not for long and behind the scenes nothing changed with him. Mullane was always this good but its much easier for him to rack up scores when he's spent a lot of time as our only forward. Moran is best at CB or MF, this has been known for years. Davys had him playing on the wing for the vast majority of his tenure.

If youre giving Davy the Tipp victory then he has to take the blame for the absolutely immense fcuk up of the final. I dont remember many pundits, players or fans saying that final would put us back 20 years.

He's beaten bad teams and barely scraped past them at that. It took a replay to beat Justins limerick, a last minute goal to beat O'Gradys Division 2 limerick side and took a replay to beat a past it Cork side.

Id say it has been a bit of a disaster. He's taken one of the highest scoring, free flowing teams in the country and tried to turn them into boxers and fighters. Waterford has never been that kinda team and all the time hes been trying this we've lost nearly every bit of hurling skill we had. Theres times we can barely pick up the ball! Look at the warm ups he had us doing even. While Tipp & KK warm up with plenty of stick & ball work, we're running around in a figure 8 and shouldering each other.
Training was the same as this. Every bit of stick work was all unchallenged drills. Christ the players didnt even enjoy it (they were pretty much told no laughing, all serious at 1 stage this year).
He presided over the 2 heaviest defeats in the last 20 years (longer even I think) with his "tactical brains".
For all the talk of him giving youth a chance, if you look at his starting line up since the 2008 final, theres only been 2(maybe 3 since im not sure of the full story with Ringo) changes not forced by injury or retirement and both of these players are still on the bench and regular subs.

He's no better at man management then Justin was, never has had a plan B and if anything this team has gone backwards with him.

Royal Seahawk

Daysha wrote: »

I think what people outside Waterford don't understand is that the reason so many in the county wanted him gone was because we haven't seen anything in 3 years that suggests we can break into the top 2.

.

You haven't got the players to break into the top two. That's not an issue with management. Do you honestly think you have a squad of players capable of beating Kilkenny and Tipp regularly, all you need is a decent manager?

lovelypoint

Royal Seahawk wrote: »

You haven't got the players to break into the top two. That's not an issue with management. Do you honestly think you have a squad of players capable of beating Kilkenny and Tipp regularly, all you need is a decent manager?

In fairness, people would have said that about Tipp back in '08, that they were a flakey team that would not be able to challenge Kilkenny. Likewise, if Dublin continue the way they're going, will we be saying Waterford don't have the players to break into the top 3 ? Hindsight is a great thing, but the fact of the matter is Waterford simply failed to make the same kind of progress as Tipperary and Dublin in the same period, and no matter what way you wish to explain that, the fact of the matter is Waterford were simply not good enough under Davy, and the players cannot be blamed solely for that.

Daysha

Royal Seahawk wrote: »

You haven't got the players to break into the top two. That's not an issue with management. Do you honestly think you have a squad of players capable of beating Kilkenny and Tipp regularly, all you need is a decent manager?

Re-read what I said. I said we have the players that can be competitive with Kilkenny and Tipperary, something that has never happened in the last 3 years. In the 6 Championship games we played against them under Davy we lost by an average of 11 points, and not a single one was winnable with 10-15 minutes to go. Both Cork and Dublin managed to run the top 2 close in Championship games with the right tactics and right personnel.

I'm not delusional enough to think a new manager means an immediate break into the top 2, but it was never going to happen with Davy in charge so why not make the change and see what happens?

lovelypoint

Mega Chin wrote: »

Like?

Credit where credit is due. Davy has proved to be a great physical coach, who has supplemented the steel that already existed within the squad, as well as ensuring the team maintained a very high level of fitness during his reign. Likewise, he gave some up and coming players the breaks they needed, and his time as manager saw many young players come on in leaps and bounds. I'm not saying Davy has been a manager without flaw, but given the man has done the honourable thing to stand aside, I would think the least he deserves is to be credited with the good things he did.

Royal Seahawk

Daysha wrote: »

Re-read what I said. I said we have the players that can be competitive with Kilkenny and Tipperary, something that has never happened in the last 3 years. In the 6 Championship games we played against them under Davy we lost by an average of 11 points, and not a single one was winnable with 10-15 minutes to go. Both Cork and Dublin managed to run the top 2 close in Championship games with the right tactics and right personnel.

I'm not delusional enough to think a new manager means an immediate break into the top 2, but it was never going to happen with Davy in charge so why not make the change and see what happens?

Would you include Maurice Shanahan as one of them players who can make Waterford competitive against the big 2?

hurler on de ditch

Daysha wrote: »

Re-read what I said. I said we have the players that can be competitive with Kilkenny and Tipperary, something that has never happened in the last 3 years. In the 6 Championship games we played against them under Davy we lost by an average of 11 points, and not a single one was winnable with 10-15 minutes to go. Both Cork and Dublin managed to run the top 2 close in Championship games with the right tactics and right personnel.

I'm not delusional enough to think a new manager means an immediate break into the top 2, but it was never going to happen with Davy in charge so why not make the change and see what happens?

dont mind that none of them were winnable with 10-15 mins 2 go but there were over and out after 10-15 mins

Daysha

Royal Seahawk wrote: »

Would you include Maurice Shanahan as one of them players who can make Waterford competitive against the big 2?

In the future it's very possible, the guy is absolutely tearing up the Waterford County Championship for the 3rd year running. He's had a few niggling injuries recently and he's finding it a bit harder than others to adjust to inter-county, but there's glimpses of real potential there. But he's still only 21, his brother Dan didn't even become a regular starter for us until he was 25-26.

hurler on de ditch

Mega Chin wrote: »

Personally I wouldnt class SoS as a good enough midfielder to be starting but youre entitled to you opinion. Shanahan had come off his best ever year when Davy took over and eventually retired because he couldnt stand him (like some other players). Kelly was dropped to the bench but not for long and behind the scenes nothing changed with him. Mullane was always this good but its much easier for him to rack up scores when he's spent a lot of time as our only forward. Moran is best at CB or MF, this has been known for years. Davys had him playing on the wing for the vast majority of his tenure.

If youre giving Davy the Tipp victory then he has to take the blame for the absolutely immense fcuk up of the final. I dont remember many pundits, players or fans saying that final would put us back 20 years.

He's beaten bad teams and barely scraped past them at that. It took a replay to beat Justins limerick, a last minute goal to beat O'Gradys Division 2 limerick side and took a replay to beat a past it Cork side.

Id say it has been a bit of a disaster. He's taken one of the highest scoring, free flowing teams in the country and tried to turn them into boxers and fighters. Waterford has never been that kinda team and all the time hes been trying this we've lost nearly every bit of hurling skill we had. Theres times we can barely pick up the ball! Look at the warm ups he had us doing even. While Tipp & KK warm up with plenty of stick & ball work, we're running around in a figure 8 and shouldering each other.
Training was the same as this. Every bit of stick work was all unchallenged drills. Christ the players didnt even enjoy it (they were pretty much told no laughing, all serious at 1 stage this year).
He presided over the 2 heaviest defeats in the last 20 years (longer even I think) with his "tactical brains".
For all the talk of him giving youth a chance, if you look at his starting line up since the 2008 final, theres only been 2(maybe 3 since im not sure of the full story with Ringo) changes not forced by injury or retirement and both of these players are still on the bench and regular subs.

He's no better at man management then Justin was, never has had a plan B and if anything this team has gone backwards with him.

SULLY a good midfielder other than that i like what you wrote thank god the man is gone hope we never see or hear from him again

Professey Chin

hurler on de ditch wrote: »

SULLY a good midfielder other than that i like what you wrote thank god the man is gone hope we never see or hear from him again

Good yes but personally I dont think he's a championship starting standard. I think he's too easily pushed around and pressured under high balls. Although in fairness he's had days where he's been fantastic and id love to see him up his game a bit more on a regular basis

jive

Good manager, IMO. I think the hatred spawns from the fact that he loves the limelight and inadvertently takes some pressure off the players by doing that. Receives more hate than he deserves. Having said all that, he has had some horribly wrong calls/tactics over the years.

Browney7

Sure hes not lost to any team in the championship other than kk or tipp which isnt a bad achievement

Would john Allen be interested?