Roscommon GAA Discussion Thread

padd b1975 wrote: »

The job would probably suit someone like Luke Dempsey.

:eek::eek:

yabadabado wrote: »

Never remember him managing any other Ros teams .he managed Kilmacud at a stage and some underage teams .

I could be wrong but im pretty sure he was incharge of the under 21s last year or the year before

Noel O Brien would be good.

RoscommonTom wrote: »

We can't be taking a punt t on another no hopper like Newton, and would be a few more wasted years in the wilderness Better to get a tried and trusted fella in

You could get Jack O Connor, John O Mahoney and Pat Gilroy if you like. Yes we need a higher class manager but they are not going to perform miracles either. We still need to be realistic.

LeoB wrote: »

There is no doubt there is huge talent and now a bit of patience and planning is required for Roscommon to challenge for top honours.

I wish I had your optimism! The standard of club football this year isn't hectic.

roscommon wrote: »

standard of referees in roscommon poor having been at most senior championship matches over last 30 years thuggery abounds un censored last years senior champ final this years league final to name last two major matches .Other successful counties have stamped out this affliction

and??whats your point? if you ask me roscommons biggest problem is that they are too nice, they can sometimes let a team (especially a bigger name team like say tyrone) walk the length of the pitch without getting a takle in.

Jayob10 wrote: »

Amazed he didn't get the job when Newton got it

Did excellent work with St Brigids, 2 connacht club titles, one all ireland final and one all ireland semi final.

I'd say he knows Roscommon football inside out aswell, where is he now?

I don't know what he's up to! He has had the year off now, no doubt he was fed up of the level and intensity of training with Brigids. I think he'd be deadly. A serious reader of the game, mature and solid enough to rise over the bull **** and a genuine love of Roscommon football.

Syferus wrote: »

Senan has a bad habit (at senior this year it happened as well) of wandering out for balls and then being caught out of position and not being there as the target man for long passes.

The Corofin game last November was a gaudy explain of mis-use of Senan. I remember Frankie having at least four frees or passing opportunities where he clearly wanted to go deep but his main target was parallel to the ball. To extrapolate out, most of the Brigid's team fell far deep trying to defend a minuscule lead for the last 10-15 minutes of that game, to the point that when Brigid's got obsession Frankie literally had no one inside to pass the ball to, you could see the frustration in his face. It was Frankie and not O'Brien that forced more of the players forward that day. That tactic nearly cost Brigid's the Connacht title.

As long as we're trying to play the 'I've been to lots of matches so I know better!' game, I can assure you I've been plenty of club games and have seen Senan played incorrectly regularly.

Fergie did a great job at utilising Senan in last year's championship by giving him a huge box of space to operate on the side of his favoured foot. With him it's all about creating one-on-ones close to goal because with enough good supply he's close to unstoppable.

O'Brien has a good track record and deserves to be considered, but there are flaws in his tactics that need to be expressed and not ignored.

You seem to have your say on all things Roscommon, its clear you go to alot of games and its clear you rate Senan Kilbride very highly I rate Senan alot higher than Donie Shine. However the bottom line is that the higher the quality of back, the less effective Senan becomes. He has fantastic talent, probably the most talented footballer in Roscommon in many a year. But the best in our own back garden may not come close to that in other counties. Senan has gone missing in alot of big games, but its his ability to score an eye catching point that gets folk talking.

As for O'Brien, I think folk are being harsh on his contribution. Its all well and good to claim Anthony Cunningham was the man to replace Fergie, but hindsight is 20/20. He was not even mentioned at this time.

If anything, O'Brien has done a better job with Brigids. They are a notoriously tough club to manage, so many voices pulling a manager in different directions. Big personalities both in the playing squad and "committee". He along with his selectors did a mighty fine job in uniting a talented but very hard to handle group of players and had them in the top 2-3 clubs in the country for the last 2-3 years. That in itself is a fantastic achievement.

On the face of it he took a Roscommon club side to the brink of winning an all ireland title, and almost took them to a second final in 2 years. Thats serious achievement, with a club with few inter county players might I add.
Domnican, The Kilbrides, Karol Mannion, thats it.

Brigids have had alot of success at underage level, not so much minor, more so under 21s. Its a fair jump between "winning alot of roscommon under 21 titles" and making a club competitive on a national level. Thats pretty much what happened.

O'Brien deserves huge credit, instilled a hunger in the likes of the Dolans and the clubs most talented youngsters and gave them a chance, its noteable around the time he came in you saw a cull of alot of the more popular players in the dressing room who were not as effective on the field. The talented younger lads were given more responsibility and they flourished in a far stricter environment focused on football.

Once again, I cannot stress how hard it is to manage a club like Brigids where you have so many "experts" in your ear, yet he managed to remain his own man.

I think he is a definate contender in fairness, its a decent CV. Throw in a county title in Longford aswell and it shows he can do it elsewhere too.

Syferus wrote: »

Brigid's have no shortage of talent outside the senior county players, indeed I think Brigid's extended runs for the last two years has prevented other Brigid's players from really breaking into the senior county team - at best they're coming in mid-league and there's little chance of them being thrown into the championship raw.

Frankie remains one of the finest play-makers at any level of the game, the younger Dolans are former underage county players, as are the McHughs. Ronan Stack and Shane Mannion featured heavily this year for the minors and u21's. Even Cake is playing more for them this year, which is a very good sign given how goal-keeping has been perhaps the team's weakest link. They have a club laden with talent, their B team made the intermediate county final two years ago and that tells its own story.

It really can't be characterised as success against the odds when Brigid's have owned underage football in the county for large parts of the last decade. It's more a story of a club that built strong foundations in the shadow of a far more illustrious neighbour - Clann - and eventually saw that work blossom to the point they are now probably a more formidable outfit than Clann ever were and have developed one of the finest club grounds and complexes in the country. The sorts of structures that will ensure Brigid's will remain there or thereabouts long after most of today's stars hang up their boots.

I certainly believe there's plenty for the county set-up to learn from Brigid's, but almost all of it was well established before O'Brien took over.

Again i'll point out the fact that winning County under 21 titles does not automatically translate into being top dogs in the province. Nobody is claiming Noel O'Brien built the club FFS.

O'Brien got it right in the one place thats most important, and that was on the field. He weeded out the dead wood that got their game by association. The best players played, and this does not happen in most gaa clubs.

You seem to think that having the best players in roscommon translates into provincial titles and all ireland honours, this is your naiveity Syferus. It always is with your posts. You are an "expert" on things inside your own county. Claiming Senan Kilbride is one of the best forwards in the country is an example of this. Best forward in Roscommon yes, but not even top 20 in the country.

Getting St Brigids to the all ireland final was an amazing achievement, many other manager (with the same infrastructure and facilities, some with even better backing might I add) tried and failed to get the best out of this group.