Derek and Davy = Dreamteam
The calculating wordsmith who bonds with his players and understand the soul of Waterford and a deranged lad from Clare
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Neither would be a good appointment, though Davy would arguably get more out of them in the short term.
They seem to be mentally scarred are are no longer built to win soon. This is a project and needs someone who can build it. This current squad will not cut it anymore.
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I think the diminishing returns from TDB and Barron due to injuries means that the ship for this current group may have sailed.
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De Burca looked a much diminished player all year. I had it from a fairly good source before a ball was struck this year that he wasnât at all confident in the knee and didnât think he had long left at inter-county level. He looked and played all year like he was minding his knee and wasnât comfortable on it.
Barron with a proper rest and recuperation May overcome his injury travails.
Barron is there since 2012, he may well get back to form with a new manager but he is on the road a long time.
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Do you reckon? I think theyâd be better off tweaking and building on what they have than tearing it up and starting again from scratch, I think thereâs a decent two year window of opportunity there. TDB may or may not return to previous for levels, another year of work might get him there. Thereâs no reason barron canât have another four years at his peak.
Pity the way it worked out for Waterford that Aussie seemed to be back to his best or approaching his best after some indifferent years while other parts of the team started to decline
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Barron is 29 in October and has a bad history of injuries. There is no chance he has another 4 years in the midfield of the current game.
The players may want McGrath because theyâre comfortable with him and that, in itself, is the kernel of Waterfordâs problem - they will not challenge themselves beyond their limits.
There are some fine players to build around and it was good to see Gleeson back playing at the level heâs capable of, but reversion to the mean will not work for this squad.
Seems to be all soft tissue stuff with him like quads, hamstring, groin and calf which are tough to shake off.
Think they might get a couple of years out of him deployed somewhere else but the physicality needed at midfield these days it is hard to see him holding up
Tipp won an All Ireland in 2019 with a load of lads who were older then than Waterford will have in 2023.
It can be done and the Waterford lads definitely have the ability but whether they have the mindset is questionable.
The Waterford Medical/S&C set up in recent times was fairly amateur and had a lot to do with it.
Whether its retrievable for him now is another thing.
The two OâSheas, Cillian OâConnor, Alan Dillion and fuckin Andy Moran.
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I donât know, I think people are far too quick to write off players when they even approach 30. It depends on a lot but for some S&C now can prolong career and peak even further. Look at David Burke this year, or John conlon. I see no reason barron canât play at the level he did before again, I think Waterford should push him to the forwards anyway.
I also think itâs easy pronounce that Waterford were comfortable with McGrath. Maybe they just liked his management and also recognised that he brought them very close?
I think Cahill made a fatal misjudgement and wore the the squad out. I think he had built a really good team before that and a new manager would be better off trying to refresh that than tearing it up and starting again. I think McGrath would have the humility to see that and take that approach. I donât think Davy is the right man for a team that looked exhausted, although the comments from Wexford players were uniformly positive so maybe he would have the sense to adjust his approach a bit.
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Fair play managing to shoe horn in the Tipp wrists defying father time!
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Big difference is those Tipp lads had 2 already.
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Youâd think theyâd be embarrassed to mention the 2019 all Ireland.
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The Tipperary wrists were incredible. Could make the ball talk like nobody else.
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Yes it was like when Clare hammered Limerick in 2018 and Limerick got away with a handy All Ireland without having to face them again
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Shur Limerick couldnât beat Cork in 70 minutes twice the same year too and fell over the line by a point in a woeful Final but that doesnât suit the narrative.
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Derek was like a father figure to a lot of the lads he had when he was there 2014-18. Taught them in De La Salle, coached them to win two All Ireland Colleges in 2007 and 2008 and a life mentor.
Derek is the man for the job. Heâs probably trodden on too many County Board toes to get it though.
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