Iâd say they would prefer to ride Con though.
Doctorâs orders
Wexford legend Tom Dempsey is adamant that the services of Davy Fitzgerald as senior hurling boss must be secured âfor at least another yearâ or Model County fortunes may turn bleak with âno ready-made replacementâ to steer them forward.
With rumours swirling about Fitzgerald possibly being in the mix to replace MicheĂĄl Donoghue in Galway, Dempsey believes it would be a âhuge blowâ were he to leave the sunny south-east after claiming Leinster honours earlier this summer.
Dempsey, an All-Ireland winner in 1996, feels it is a necessity that everything is done to see Fitzgerald take charge of Wexford for a fourth year and put a succession plan in place for when he does part ways.
âI really think itâs important that they keep him for at least another year. Walking out of Nowlan Park four years ago after a 24-point hammering to Kilkenny, you couldnât have said that Wexford would have a Leinster title four years later,â Dempsey said.
"Since Davy came in, we have been very successful in Wexford terms and the bottom line is that there is no ready-made replacement if he decides to not come back. The problem that we would have would be something similar to what Waterford have then.
"Davy has built a system and has the trust of the players, they are very much going in the one direction and it has taken three years to build that. If somebody new came in, theyâd come in with new ideas.
"It wouldnât be a simple job to change systems, change everything and gain trust so itâs important for Wexford that he stays at least another year and that they groom someone for the job during that time.
âSome people will say this and that about their system but if you change that system you could have pandemonium, it could take another 12 months to turn that around and get a new imprint on it so thereâs a lot riding on Davy.â
While acknowledging that Wexford need to unearth another two or three players to become genuine All-Ireland contenders, Dempsey is confident that they can challenge for Liam MacCarthy once again under Fitzgeraldâs watch.
Dempsey doesnât believe that Fitzgerald will make the switch to Galway should he leave Wexford given his âspecial relationshipâ with players and fans, although the Bufferâs Alley clubman appreciates that there are other things which will shape his decision.
âPeople are talking about Galway but I donât believe Davy would go to Galway. If you talk to 99 per cent of Wexford people, they absolutely love Davy. They all want him to stay, heâs the Lord Mayor in waiting down there, they absolutely love him,â he said.
"Iâm not sure where you would go if he didnât come back. The first thing would be to get someone high-profile and Iâm not sure if thereâs anyone waiting within the county to take that job. Itâs vital for us that he does stay.
"Thereâs only so much you can give to something too but I just hope for Wexfordâs sake that he does stay. If he doesnât stay, I see him taking a break. I donât see him going across to Galway.
âHe needs to take care of himself of course but hopefully heâll do that in a couple of yearsâ time and stay with us in the meantime.â
Across to galway?? Its at least two steps up in importance and prestige
do elaborate.
well if he were to get galway out of leinster then hed certainly have his legacy established as the GOAT
Whether he stays with Wexford or not, I just canât see Davy leaving the Leinster champions, the best team in the province, to take over the fifth best team in Leinster.
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Wexford is a bad joke really. Similar to the irish soccer ball team, they arenât good at the sport, rely on a horrendous system which other teams laugh into their sleeves at and celebrate mediocrity.
Galway is a high pressure job, an expectant knowledgeable public full of hurling people (the opposite of wexford) who will hold him to account.
But you have to admire his chutzpah, wanting to manage a contender again, wanting to push his chips back in when the soft harmless option is there.
You seem to have a great knowledge of Wexford people i presume you must have spent some time in the Sunny South East at some stage?
Personally having spent a lot of time in Galway the expectant knowledgeable hurling folk seem to dwell south of the railway tracks and nearly in ClareâŚ
Galway is a county divided by itâs affiliation to Gaelic Football Rugby and Hurling in that order⌠they are the Fancy Dansâ of the GAA world who show up once every 20 or 30 years in an All Ireland FinalâŚthey lack heart.
Davy should stay in Wexford , le croi agus lamh.
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Sounds like you really know your stuff
thatâs when they show up, they bottle it the rest of time.
Thatâs why Galway have won so many more All Irelands than WexfordâŚ
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Oooooft. Thatâll be a hard one for him to take. Almost as hard as the 19 All Ireland finals his county have lost
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Theyâve got to a lot more semi-finals than Wexford
Indeed. Theyâve lost a lot of those too.
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Iâd be amazed if davy left wexford. I honestly think he would be mad to.
He certainly wonât have 99% approval rating in galway. I doubt a combination of Cody, Mandela and the Messiah would.
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27 consecutive semi-finals is some record though in fairness
I donât think any other county can match that
It must be some size of a trophy cabinet to store all those Connacht title replica trophies.
All 25 of them
None since 1999 though
The famine goes on
Do they carry their medals in their gear bag or their back pockets?