Totally agree. The Celtic Final was played on the same surface yesterday and absolutely no problem.
You've missed the point. Everything is connected. If you dont see that......we are already on the back foot. Training, facilities, S&C, fund raising, fixtures scheduling, knowledge of rules and eligibility, the sponsors, opposition analysis, communication with clubs, minding the playing surface of our county ground.
It was one glaring example which was on show for whole country this time though.....there are plenty of others, but this was one I was particularly sore about because we went out of our way to ensure a commemorative all ireland final and mark the occasion where everything should be perfect. We done great on the day(obviously issues with some public facilities like toilets aside as pointed out by others), but dropped the ball in the lead up regarding gig/fixture schedules beforehand not taken into account. To me that's a drop in standards and no one owned up.....with many saying....its grand.
Just look at Offaly....getting their house in order. Getting a little success after sorting standards across the organisation of hurling. Even they are still making mistakes (re tickets).....but they hold hands up when they're made, and it wont be made again I'd say.
But I know not everyone will agree with me.
I won't comment on it anymore. I hope lessons learned going forward.
Kilkenny will be hard to stop at minor I think
I've disagreed with you on some of your points but you're spot on with this post
The condition of the pitch had absoulety no bearing on the u20 final it had no bearing on the Wexford Kilkenny match it looked patchy in places so what,two very good matches were played on it,one poster here comparing the pitch to the county board and standards is laughable stuff altogether.There are other issuses with Nolan Park which other posters have highlighted which need some investing in.
they will always have the flag upside down from now on as a good luck charm.
I don't disagree with you at all WB but I'll say it once and leave it at that 😊 pitch was poor at one end. I think the toilets and stands are a disgrace and to cap it all the Offaly flag was upside down 🙄
https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/gaa/1517053/offaly-fans-baffled-as-county-flag-is-flown-upside-down-at-u20-all-ireland-final.html
Wexford only scored three points from play they obviously had a strategy to foul them further out the field where Sean O Brien couldn’t do damage. Clare will be a hard task in the semi final. What’s the story with Galway, limping along into a semifinal? Are they going to be a danger yet.
ye you’re right to call me out. The county board is not run by the county board but by a few people at the top table who have formed sub committees who are handpicked by the top people. The county board as a collective will have to stand up and be counted and ask the hard questions. Some of these guys are at the top table since I was a boy and I’m a big boy now and I feel that anyone new that comes in are controlled by the top people who do not trust the younger generation to do a job. Even take the situation where we are seeking ground for a centre of excellence they would only go at it half arsed instead of striving to have the best facilities in the country, imo they are light years ahead in their forward thinking. But I do see them making big progress with the appointment of Michael Fennelly and seems to be making big progress already. But just before that appointment Ciaran Muldowney wanted to implement all the things they are doing now in the academy and he resigned out of frustration. So in answer to your question the ordinary soldiers in the county board will either have to actively ask the hard questions or go about replacing the top tier with a new, younger and more dynamic top tier.
I think that's all fair enough
I was lucky enough to be at that enthralling spectacle on Saturday night and in my opinion, it's the best atmosphere I've ever seen in Nowlan Park for a game, including the KK vs Tipp senior game. As a neutral, it was a joy to sit back and watch the game ebb and flow. The bank holiday weekend, Saturday evening, the weather, the sell out crowd, the renewed excitement with Offaly supporters made for a most enjoyable and entertaining occasion and one which was very fitting to honour James Nowlan.
I have to say the groundsman did some job in patching up the pitch as best he could. I actually walked it during the week and again on Saturday evening and that was a good idea to use the green dye to take the awful look off it. Apart from that, the cover that was on the rest of the pitch was unblemished, lush and was like a carpet. I got talking to so many Offaly supporters and the excitement is just unreal, they really are on a high and as a hurling supporter, isn't it fantastic to see them back winning All-Ireland titles. Hopefully that continues and they make the breakthrough back to the Liam McCarthy and we get to see Adam Screeney, Dan Burke et al mix it against Kilkenny teams on the big stage in years to come. Hurling is in safe hands when you see the talent, skill and confidence of both teams on display at the U-20 grade.
I think you are right to be honest.....and the history books won't mention the playing surface. I'm sure Offaly won't mind anyways .
I just don't like that it was allowed happen. I think one poster who outlined for CB to resign...that's a step to far for me. I'd just like accountability when mistakes are made and f**k ups occur.....so they won't happen again...and we get better. But the attitude that "it was grand"…or "it'll do"....well that's simply not good enough and is not up to the standards we set ourselves for hurling in kilkenny and all the preparation around it.
For what it's worth, I think funds gathered from u20 packed house, the concert and the wexford match was great....but it could have been done in a different order so everything was perfect when we display our pride and joy. I just want us to take a little more ownership and think before scheduling so things like what led to the scarring of the pitch don't happen.
Settling for "it'll do".......won't see us get back to winning All Irelands.
So what’s the deal with the Minor SFs now that Galway and Clare are through? I’m assuming Tipp play Galway and we play Clare?
Not to be a smart arse or anything here, I'm genuinely way out of the loop now in terms of how the county is run, and I appreciate your commitment to supporting the county teams and all that, but when others criticise the management teams you've said they need to give solutions as to who should replace them. So, who should be running the county board?
For the record I think bringing Springsteen and the final to kk was a big win for the county, and a few patches on the pitch is not great but it's a relatively small price that nobody is going to remember years from now when the memory of the occasions themselves (the gig and the final) still linger.
I think we are due to play Clare in the Minor semi final after they easily beat Wexford today. Probably up against it
I was in the park for the Celtic challenge and I was sitting right along the line of all the damage. How the county board did not have someone overseeing the dismantling of the stage is beyond belief it was like something was dragged along the whole width of the pitch. Besides all the blame game with management and players on the U20s. The county boards top men should all resign they were fully and totally to blame for the whole mess from start to finish and we ended up without an U20 trophy.Just on the matter of the venue Offaly were better off playing in the park than Limerick, it created a cauldron which must have been daunting for Tipp. If Tipp had brought more supporters it could have been different.
There's been plenty of "jokers" outlining the shortcomings with the field. From what I could sense nobody from Kilkenny really cared what state it was in…..It wasn't good, and looked really poor when the Ariel pictures from above during the match on Saturday night showed how bare it was in that whole span of the field. There was plenty of bad press about it beforehand I seen with one particularly bad photo doing the rounds before the game. There was actually a column of ground right through the centre affected also, as well as the 35 yards of affected areas spanning the width of the pitch. I don't blame the groundsman, as it was an impossible job for the surface to recover in only a couple of days. I just blame the County Board for their awful scheduling in advance of this match. The fact that Offaly won and completed their fairytale deflected from the issue, which was lucky for us.
It was a great game and fitting to commemorate James Nowlan with….Offaly and Tipperary both delivered in spades, as it was very exciting and the place was packed and a great atmosphere from what I could see on TV, but I feel the surface was well below standard for a Commemorative all Ireland final, we ourselves requested.
The surface should be immaculate for a showpiece….Disagree if you like….I'm sure you will.
With all the talk of five in a row, does anyone remember when Kilkenny footballers won five games in a row?
1988
NFL Division 4: Kilkenny 2-10 Waterford 2-8
Challenge: Kilkenny 2-20 Army Selection 2-6
O'Byrne Cup 1st Round: Kilkenny 1-6 Carlow 1-5
O'Byrne Cup Quarter Final: Kilkenny 0-8 Kildare 0-5
Leinster Junior Championship 1st Round: Kilkenny 1-9 Carlow 1-8
The winning run came to an end in the O'Byrne Cup Semi Final where Laois won 1-11 to 0-6.
Hard to believe no jokers on here complained about the state of the pitch, well done Kilkenny 👍
Hard to believe nobody shouted stop in this day and age. The whole point of this competition is continued player development and retention, so that was an unbelievable decision for Tipp to drop players on this panel and parachute in lads who were on the minor panel. Actions speak louder than words.
Well done to Kilkenny Celtic Challange team today. They hurled very well as a team and from what parents told me today, they work seperately to the minor panel. This was an obvious difference in the two teams on show. Our disgraceful decision to drop players who had earned a place in an All-Ireland final and field minor panelists totally backfired. Fair play to KK for backing and respecting their own chaps.
ye it was a good win today for KK Celtic challenge, people might scoff at the win but I think it’s great it sure eats losing and it continues our run underage.Congratulations to all involved.
Well done to the Celtic Challenge team, great to get as many players as possible involved in inter county competitions not withstanding that the style of play and physical development of the players is key, interesting comments from Joe Canning recently on the approach taken by the Galway management to the 4 in a row All Ireland minor winning team, the jist of which that the focus was on winning under 17/18 all Ireland's rather than developing players for the senior team
They both take frees off the ‘unorthodox’ side. Hard not to have something a little awkward when hitting from that side. But the Tipp free takers routine is embarrassing. Someone will surely beat it out him eventually if he makes the senior Tipp setup.
The only technique the Tipp free taker was missing was picking his arse like Rafa Nadal did when serving
great match
A real shot in the arm for hurling in Offaly and they deserved their win.
One thing I noticed was the free-taking routines, which look less than ideal for both teams - A lot of moving parts and lining up facing the goal rather than side-on to the target. It doesn’t seem to affect Screeney much though he did miss a couple, but McCarthy has an even more elaborate routine with the OCD grass toss and I don’t think it helps
I’d be interested to know if they were coached to do this or developed it naturally
I’ve always thought TJ has the ideal style and coaches should be encouraging young lads to adopt it
It was great seeing the Park full last night, shame it doesn’t happen very often as it looked like a fantastic atmosphere
I agree, no need to cali out players outside of what happens on the hurling field
Village 87 sain earlier that Mark Dowling didn’t even know the rules on the eligibility of players, I don’t know about that like they all knew the rules last year and the same thing happened. On another issue if people are going to call out players by name have the decency to identify yourselves and also if you are constantly bitching about someone give solutions to the replacements of players or management.
Too easy an option to ‘go with that’. In 2020 Kilkenny won the Leinster Minor final beating Offaly 2-21 to 3-9. In 2023 Offaly won Leinster U20. In 2021 Kilkenny beat Offaly 3-21 to 1-16 on the way to winning the Leinster Minor Championship. In 2024 Offaly won the Leinster and All Ireland U20 finals….. Something went wrong the last two years. Mark Dowling being robbed of B Drennan in 2023 and K Doyle in 2024 was simply disgraceful and certainly didn’t help Kilkenny underage hurling.
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