no Paddy Christie not involved. Considering who the footballers beat, it was the bare minimum accepted. They should have been in the shake up, they have a squad good enough to be competing. Good enough for promotion at this stage is another point, but thats where a good manager/coach comes in to take them on another level.
Biggest issue at the moment as I see it is the distribution of coaching resources and initiatives for football promotion. It’s virtually nil. Lots of hurling coaches and lots of hurling initiatives with huge private funding into the hurling set up. The co board do treat both codes equally, but the natural order for the counties preference to hurling is taking over more and more each year. The fact that the senior football championship is being won by clubs who either get knocked out of the hurling early or who get a good run in both says it all too. Essentially it is being won by teams who put a passing interest and time into their football endeavours whilst concentrating much more on hurling. And this can be against teams who do focus a lot on football.
being bottom of Division 4 is ranked last in the country. I’m not sure why I would have to say I’m wrong because they won 2 more games and are no longer ranked last?
I know where you are coming from @Gman but three of the last four winners would be traditional football clubs, while Shels are pretty much a dual club from u-13 upwards, maybe with a preference for hurling at senior?
2018 Shelmaliers
2017 Starlights
2016 Gusserane
2015 St. James’
add in the 3 previous winners to that list? St Annes and St Martins, who would be similar to Shels by having a preference to hurling (in my opinion, others may dispute that). So I would make that 2 of the last 7 were football clubs, counting Starlights as more interested in hurling with the Rapps who got to the hurling semi in 2017. St Martins also beaten in 2 of those finals too, being heavy favourites against St James but losing out.
Whereas in our peak performances at county level, the years previous to the last 7, Horeswood, Castletown, Clongeen, Kilanerin made up the previous 7 winners, and mainly against football predominant clubs too. Seeing the likes of Adamstown, Clongeen, Bannow, Duffry etc drop down the ranks who would be seen as football based clubs hasnt helped either.
Ah Jaysus, @Gman Starlights are football only and the Rapps have only won one hurling title in their history and believe it or not Adamstown would see themselves as a traditional hurling club.
In fairness though, it can only be a good thing that both Kilanerin and Horsewood are now back senior. More importantly though, how the fook have the Martin’s only won a single football title
Yeah I would have Adamstown alright as a mixed set up, my grandfather won senior hurling medals with them so know their tradition. They’ve fallen away big time in both set ups but they always had good underage football and that came through in their senior teams for a few years.
Despite the Rapps only winning once (although the Rapps is an amalgamation of the old St Aidans club who won 9 titles), my feeling within their set up is they concentrate more on hurling than football. Similar to the Annes, who have won one senior hurling title in their history (correction, 2, just checked for fear of being called out. 1924 the other time), but have won 4 football in the past 20 years, but yet my impression is that they consider themselves more hurling than football. If only someone with knowledge on them could verify or dispute that.
It is good with Kilanerin and Horeswood back up senior (albeit I still do not like what happened with the whole Kilanerin/Tara Rocks thing). But the Wexford club football is weak. It is a very competitive competition, but records outside the county in provincial are brutal.
very much 50-50. Throughout all the age groups. Its rare we’d have one group stronger at one over the other, usually much the same at both. Pretty much all players play both, not many one sport only players. Training is usually taken 50-50 unless there is an extended run in either. Many of the younger players would chose hurling at county level though, but I think that is more the general allure of hurling over football anyway.
He was a year or two behind me in school and would have hurled with lapsed member @Pikeman. Last I heard he was still in Australia but that was a few years back.
and believe it or not Adamstown would see themselves as a traditional hurling club.
