Waterford Hurling (now incorporating intermediate football) 2013 and subsequent years

[Raylan]

Would you give the players a pass Fagan? This habit of downing tools is becoming a recurring feature

[Perez2017]

The clubs would want to take a look at themselves. Mount Sion and De La Salle pale shadows of their former selves.

[ChairmanDan]

@anon67715551

@ChairmanDan nailed this as far back as last August (post 3802).
You’d feel for the Waterford supporters as much as you’d wonder who sanctions these appointments.

The players didn’t down tools on Davy because they were never picking up tools to begin with for Davy. I flagged it last August as soon as he was first mooted for the job. In fairness, just about everyone else in Waterford did too. Do you think sneers like that gomb @Elvis_Brandenberg_Kr would listen though.

@Fagan_ODowd

Davy is some operator getting his trusted lieutenant to come out in the media and tell them that the whole county is delighted we have Davy in the same article where he says that two of his sons are fucking off to Oz for the year.

My sources tell me the whole county isn’t delighted. Fergal Hartley was seen having a heated argument in the Strand last night presumably over his role in Davy’s appointment or in Fergal’s case possibly over having to buy a round.

@ChairmanDan

Davy is box office. He’s just not a very good hurling coach/manager.

It’s some going to blag his way into another inter-county job after the two years he punched in, in Wexford in 2020 and 2021.

@Elvis_Brandenberg_Kr

Davy would arguably get more out of them in the short term.

@ChairmanDan

No. There’s a lot of opposition to this appointment across the board in Waterford. It was presented as a fair accompli at the County Board meeting in Lawlors Hotel tonight. 8 speakers from the floor, 4 spoke vociferously against this appointment and how the whole process was carried out. They were told to shut up, that dissent wouldn’t be tolerated. @Fagan_ODowd has summed it up best here as to the calibre of administrator you have in the Waterford County Board making important decisions like this.

@Raylan

You claimed the players were against it, nothing about delegates, who haven’t nominated anyone else despite their apparent objections

@Elvis_Brandenberg_Kr

A bullshitter will bullshit…

@ChairmanDan

Correct. The players are not happy at all about this appointment and why would they be. Davy’s record in inter-county management across 14 seasons is very underwhelming. As I’ve said already, Waterford have appeared in 13 All Ireland semi finals in the 20 years back to 2002. Only Kilkenny have appeared in more.
There’s very little about Davy to suggest that he’ll take Waterford to the next level and deliver an All Ireland.

@anon67715551

I think this is a post we’ll be coming back to in the fullness of time.
I’d advise lads to bookmark it for future reference.

[Fagan_ODowd]

Ken McGrath

[Thornhill]

He had a serious cut at the whole set up. From top to bottom and the lip service the county board are giving underage games and teams.

[ChairmanDan]

What’s it out to now in terms of 2023 Championship record? Between minor, U20, Senior in hurling and football and Tailtean Cup it’s something like 17 losses from 17.

1 win from 15 in the Round Robin blitz phase of Munster Senior Hurling Championship since its introduction in 2018.

Waterford senior footballers went 2 years without winning a game league or championship before beating London a few weeks ago.

Waterford U20/U21 hurlers haven’t won a Championship game since 2016 All Ireland Final. The record in minor hurling isn’t much better over last decade.

No home pitch to play Munster Senior Hurling round robin blitz games so ceding home advantage.

Heads should be rolling at County Board level. To compound it all they think Davy is the answer and the saviour of Waterford hurling and go and hire him.

[StoneCold]

Nothing will happen in Waterford until there is a competitive Senior hurling championship. Any county that wants to be taken seriously cannot have one club more than likely going to win 20 county finals in a row.

[myboyblue]

Didnt do Armagh too much harm for a long time.

[StoneCold]

The Crossmaglen lads were huge contributors to the Armagh team though; not many Ballygunnar lads are standing out for Waterford at the moment.

[ChairmanDan]

Correct Crossmaglen despite their dominance bought into the county set up and team. Ballygunner don’t.

[Fagan_ODowd]

@StoneCold

Nothing will happen in Waterford until there is a competitive Senior hurling championship. Any county that wants to be taken seriously cannot have one club more than likely going to win 20 county finals in a row.

Last time Waterford won the all Ireland Mount Sion were in the middle of a nine in a row. Mount Sion had six starters on the winning team though.

[ChairmanDan]

Ballyhale while not quite at Ballygunner levels have had a serious level of dominance in Kilkenny for 16-17 years now. They have backboned Kilkenny teams throughout regularly with 5-6 starters.

Club players in Waterford are just completely beaten down with little expectation of toppling Ballygunner. That feeds into the mindset they bring to the county team.

[peddlerscross]

I dont think thats particularly fair.

Bar O’Keefe, everyone who should be there is there. They had 7 individuals start the 2017 and 2020 finals.

Ballygunner aren’t individually all that particularly special, but their togetherness, commitment and organisation make them vastly superior to the sum of their parts.

[Fagan_ODowd]

@peddlerscross

I dont think thats particularly fair.

Bar O’Keefe, everyone who should be there is there. They had 7 individuals start the 2017 and 2020 finals.

Ballygunner aren’t individually all that particularly special, but their togetherness, commitment and organisation make them vastly superior to the sum of their parts.

Don’t forget the size of their pick.

[ChairmanDan]

Ballygunner have the pick of about one fifth of the population of the county. It is extraordinarily. I doubt there’s a comparable in any other of the 32 counties.

[peddlerscross]

I’m only going on the actual players they have.

They have an avalanche of very good players, without many superstars.

The younger Mahony’s, Power, Foley, Leavy etc are excellent for BG, but I dont think they’ve the attributes needed to make a big difference for Waterford.

Fitzgerald might buck that trend.

[myboyblue]

@StoneCold

The Crossmaglen lads were huge contributors to the Armagh team though; not many Ballygunnar lads are standing out for Waterford at the moment.

That’s Waterford for you

[Thornhill]

I was talking to lads who look after senior club teams and lads who work well in underage set ups with their clubs recently. To a man they think the whole thing needs to be torn down and start again.
They worry that the money collected by the county board recently will be just squandered on the senior teams when in their opinion the ship has sailed on those teams and it should be put into getting underage structures right.

They was one lad over county minor the u21 or u20 and in 5 or 6 years I cannot recall a team of his winning a game. I would never knock him for all the time and effort he must put into it but is he up to it. The feeling is most coaches getting teams now are not really up to it but they put themselves forward and they get a team.

Ken this morning said that DLS Mount Sion and Roanmore all have very good under age teams now and they are more than able to match up to BG at that level. So there are some green shoots. However what happens when the pick of these lads get put on development squads with Waterford.

[Thornhill]

There are very few BG lads that have not either played or have not been looked at.
Ian Kenny is travelling
Soky is retired from county
Philip Mahony is too old and suffered a couple of leg breaks
Pauric Mahony could not play the style of running game required of him. Also two really bad injuries.
Sully retired
Conor Sheehan was on the extended panel for a couple of years at least without getting a look in.

Tadhg Foley not sure if he got a call. Would he be good enough or quick enough?
Ronan Power

Soky’s back up with BG is training with the panel.

Fourmilewater had about 5 lads called up to the panel at the start of the year.

[Thornhill]

They do have a savage pick and it should be looked at definitely.

However they make the use of it.
Dungarvan. Tramore and even Butlerstown would have sizeable picks but just don’t have the structures or coaching to make use of it.