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Leitrim GAA thread - 10 Like(s)
Obviously not surprised at the Clare result. If you expected any different then you're either deluded or have very little knowledge of the state of adult football in the county. Most likely you're in both categories. Those who raved about our senior final(s) are a case in point. Exciting games? Yes. High quality? No.
Another example was the league final against Laois. The prize wasn't getting to the final and playing in Croke Park. We were supposed to try and win it. Of course the build up and the aftermath was dominated by people expressing their excitement about a day out in Dublin. It shows how out of touch some people are with reality when they're still getting excited about heading to Dublin.
Our women's team showed how pathetic this attitude was. No excuses, go and win the damn thing. Who cares whether its Croke park or St. Osnats you're playing in. They showed there was a job to do first and that was the priority. Giving our supporter's "a day out" was not the priority.
If you say it as it is, you're classed as being negative or not a real supporter. Instead, we're expected to all play along and wait with bated breath for the latest instalment of someone's trip to the game and who they met along the way. Give me strength!
I'm glad that Poacher is upfront about it being a rebuilding process instead of trying to fill the masses with nonsense. I don't see it as him getting in the excuses early. It's realistic. Last years team may have got to within 7 or 8 points of Clare at best.
The lads that committed this year are to be commended. It is a huge commitment and I genuinely hope that in time they get some kind of reward for their efforts. The lads that have stepped away and got their lives back are also to be commended. I am very grateful that they put their young lives on hold for us.
It doesn't take away from the fact that we have a major problem in that lads will inevitably come to that decision and will conclude that it's not worth it. As it stands, there's no other conclusion.
The irony is that the same supporters who won't countenance any criticism of Leitrim GAA are the same ones who will expect miracles from Poacher and expected miracles from his predecessors. They refuse to acknowledge that by the time lads are due to move into senior football its too late. The damage was done when these lads were 10 and 11 years of age. We didn't have the systems or pathway in place to produce inter county footballers.Can we produce good footballers? Absolutely. Are they good enough to play inter county? Absolutely. Are they ready to play it now? No. A major difference.
In spite of all this, there are positives. The appointment of Declan Bohan is one. Shane Wards involvement is another major plus. I was delighted to read his comments after the Leitrim schools semi final. We can produce the footballers but they need to be playing in higher quality competitions to progress as footballers. I've said it before, our football is too diluted. We have very good footballers mixed in with very poor footballers. The very good ones need to be playing with and against each other more often. There is ample room for the lads who just want to play football because they enjoy it. They are just as important but from an inter county perspective they are not going to improve our standards. For too long we have tried to progress our standards using a model that wasn't fit for purpose 20 years ago. That's why we're in this mess now. Manors minor team also showed what can be achieved with proper coaching. Of course they have some very talented footballers but the team as a whole was very well drilled.
The senior Leitrim team has to be seen as a separate entity from what's going on in the background. Some of our most "loyal" supporters fail to see that. Jim Gavin wouldn't have got a different result against Clare. They haven't a clue that the shambles of the last 20 years has brought us to this point. Calling it a shambles is being mild.
There are tentative signs that it is starting to turn. Our lack of proper structures at underage and in adult football means that players are thrust into senior inter county football when they're not ready. That's not the players fault. If Steven Poacher can instill a culture of the standards expected then his tenure will already be a success. If we overhaul our underage structures and instill a professional attitude at that level it will bear fruit pretty quickly. To put it mildly, those standards have been allowed to drift. You don't have to be paid to act professionally. If you are being paid, then you've absolutely no excuse. As important as our senior team is, sorting out the pathway to the senior panel is even more important. Otherwise we'll be repeating this year after year.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 04/02/2025 12:43:26
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Leitrim GAA thread - 7 Like(s)
The statement and the overwhelming response encapsulates where we are and where we'll remain. Happy to fail.
If there's a need to issue a statement then it proves that they're being dishonest with themselves or not used to being told some hard truths. Was their performance poor? Yes it was. That includes shot selection and shot execution. Are they going to be told this at training or are they going to be told they're all great lads like a bunch of 9 year olds at a blitz? Was it the first game where they were lazy and complacent? No it wasn't. That's what angers me. In my opinion it's the laziness and complacency that has us stuck in division 4.
That can't all be down to Andy Moran. They're old enough to have rectified these issues at this stage. Now we're a laughing stock. If you believe otherwise then you're kidding yourself. There are few shrinking violets playing at that level and it applies to our lads as well. So now they've a choice. Whinge, look for sympathy and walk away or react the right way and prove you're worthy of the jersey. Is there talent? Absolutely there is but its pointless having it if you're not going to fulfill it. Like any person involved in sport I've no doubt they follow other sports. Think of a few leaders in other sports and Gaa and ask yourselves whether this continuous complacency would be acceptable. You know the answer.
At this stage I can nearly tell you where people stand or sit in Pairc Sean for every match. We have loyal supporters that keep coming back and not just to Pairc Sean. There's plenty of money put into this team and they're well looked after. We're told that we dont have big businesses to fund it so where does it come from? From us. Therefore, we expect that, on and off, the pitch there's honesty of effort. By all accounts they wanted for nothing before and after the match. We expect a positive reaction.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 12/04/2023 11:58:27
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Leitrim GAA thread - 5 Like(s)
A disgrace. Let's call it as it is instead of rolling out the same tired excuses. We've heard them all at this stage. We're enabling this if we try and come up with excuses. It's what we are great at. Deluding ourselves that what we've been at for the past 25 years is good enough. Deluding ourselves that we are doing the right thing. We're not and we haven't been doing it for a long, long time. And don't bother telling me about sacrifices etc. etc. These lads are well looked after. Park that bull.
I've read on this forum that the lads are very happy with management. I can well believe it. I've read people giving out about Riordan O' Rourke allegedly walking. I don't blame him if he walked because he saw through the bull.
It's the same nonsense every year. Figure out too late that we could and should have been promoted. If only, if only.... The lead into the championship is either the same nonsense about New York or London, Sligo are the same level (they're not by the way) or maybe, just maybe if we play to our best and one of the big three have an off day, whisper this, we could take them. But it'll be a great experience getting hammered by them.
Then it's like child birth. We lap up the sob stories and the faux sympathy and we move onto the club scene. The wounds are healing by the time we've finished that and we sit back and wait for the league to start again. And it goes on and on and on. We'll post stuff on social media about yellow hats and walking 500 miles and put up pictures about lads eating their breakfast pretending they're celebrities. Harsh but true. Earn it instead of pretending that you've achieved something. Be honest with yourselves.
Should we at least have beaten New York comfortably. Yes we should. Stupid decisions that have been made throughout the league and obviously no "learnings" taken on board.
Oh and don't bother with the other age old excuse of population etc etc. Look at Sligo. Rugby and soccer are massive. Look at what they're achieving. Look at Fermanagh, Monaghan, Roscommon, Clare etc. etc.
We're full of excuses and great at convincing ourselves that it'll come good. It won't. Last night was no surprise.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 09/04/2023 10:40:42
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Will Rugby World Cup Harm Gaa. - 5 Like(s)
Replying To Low2Joe: "Doesn't come close to the 3 sports you've named. The 3 main sports cater for people from all different areas and backgrounds across the country.
Unfortunately the same can't be said for rugby. In saying that though I do enough going to the pub to watch some of the international games, like a lot of people." Utter nonsense! You're implying that you have to be from a certain background to play rugby?? You really haven't a clue if you think that.
There's a debate on here about clubs in Connacht. Ever been to Dunmore, Headford, Gort? Are you trying to say that only people from a certain background are welcome in these places along with loads of similar clubs around the country? If that was the case they simply wouldn't exist at all. The D4 types are in the vast minority in ordinary clubs around the country. In any event, whatever notions people may have are tested after a few games. Do they frequent the sidelines at Gaa and soccer matches? Most definitely. They think they're the next Andy Farrell, Dessie Farrell or Stephen Kenny. They've all the buzz words. Full kit ........
Are kids and their parents unique in dreaming about being successful? Of course they're not. That's sport. It's aspirational. You dream of being the next Henry Shefflin, Johnny Sexton, or David Clifford. You might be shite at one sport and find you're way better at another. You might be ***** at them all but you play it because you love it. I think it's great that people have a choice now instead of being dictated by geography. If you're born in a particular county its pre ordained whether you'll ever get near the top in GAA regardless of how good you are.
Are some of these rugby clubs struggling for numbers? Of course they are. Is that in an issue in the Gaa as well? Of course it is. The notion that the more clubs you have the better is nonsense. It makes sense if you have huge numbers but the opposite is also true.
As ever the GAA will blame other sports for their problems. Is it rugby or soccers fault that they're proposing to get rid of 5 counties from the hurling league? Maybe it's the fault of the GAA? Maybe it shows that their systems don't work or, shock horror, they couldnt care less about growing hurling outside the "homes of hurling" Maybe the GAA is open to a bit of discrimination of its own?
Rugby has established a very clear pathway for talent to move into academies. They have a very good system. They are making the most of what they have. Its a different system to the club and inter County system in the GAA. Soccer has its own system and its open to debate whether theirs is working.
Irish rugby is constantly identifying talent. The top schools dominate because its the system that's been in place for years and is well established but they are definitely trying to spread their reach. That doesn't necessarily mean that there will be an abundance of new clubs. Do you honestly think that Irish rugby are ignoring other talent because they didn't go to the right school or don't speak with the right accent? If you're good enough you'll get your chance.
Should the GAA be worried? No it shouldn't. But it will worry and it'll try and knock others instead of improving its own product and making it more attractive. Kids will decide for themselves and they'll laugh at the notion of "playing for the pride of the parish" They have choices now.
All that these stupid statements show is insecurity. Let's call a spade a spade. The only exclusion that happens is self inflicted. Lads come up with excuses as to why they don't play rugby and the easiest way to deflect from what they lack is to knock it.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 20/11/2023 11:02:32
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Leitrim GAA thread - 4 Like(s)
The only shock from recent results is that some people are shocked. We're in crisis mode and have merely been papering over the cracks for the last 15 years. The seeds of this disaster have been sown a long time ago and the blame for that lies squarely on the shoulders of those people tasked with running the GAA in Leitrim.
Undoubtedly Jim Gavin, Mickey Harte etc. would improve things but we're starting from a very very low base in terms of expectations. Would they have improved last years team? Of course. Could they improve this years? Perhaps, but I have my doubts as to whether they'd put much of a dent on the scorelines.
Of course, a genuinely top tier manager could have convinced a lot of lads to stay around but these are all moot points. We'll never know and we're beyond that anyway. We've reached the tipping point now where nobody wants to touch us because it'll damage their CV. That's our own doing or more specifically the County boards.
Outside of a wealthy benefactor with more money than sense deciding to bankroll us we're left with no choice but to start doing things the way we should have been for the last 15 years.
Unfortunately there have been too many within the County board who felt that all we needed was a good manager to sort things out. Clearly there are some people on this forum who agreed with them. It may explain why they're so angry with the current manager but it also displays their lack of in-depth knowledge of the state of Leitrim football.
The only silver lining is that this may be the jolt that stirs the County board into meaningful action. There are murmurings of discontent amongst some of our most "loyal" supporters. The fact that it's taken these results to wake them out of their delusion is telling. Their blind loyalty has enabled the County board to get away with this for too long. It had become a glorified social club, where as one member of the 94 team put it, they were more interested in "getting the feed" than doing what they're supposed to be doing.
But what about the Fr.Manning and the u20s? All this merely shows is that we are able to produce footballers. What about the Sigerson? Again, we are able to produce footballers. The notion that this can be attributed to the County board in any of its guises is laughable. The success of these players is thanks to their clubs, their parents and the individuals themselves. Too harsh? How much more evidence do people actually need before they accept that we have been doing things wrong for a very long time.
Of course, losing so many from last year is a huge blow to any County. Where we have consistently failed is in the production of inter county footballers. I'm not talking about the likes of Barry or Ryan etc. I'm talking about the squad player who is at least up to the speed and strength required to play inter county football. That comes back to the standards and structures there are in place. They have been allowed to fall off a cliff.
The red herring of our population is just that. Its been the default excuse but for some reason it wasn't a problem in the 90s. Unfortunately, too many of our decision makers are stuck in the 90s and think that bouncing along at the bottom will suffice. Whatever about the supporters accepting mediocrity, players won't.
There needs to be a complete overhaul of how we run things. From the ground up. This a crisis and if we're actually serious about football then the County board needs to act now. Dramatic? No it's not. Our last period of success was 30 years ago. It may as well have been 300 years. Kids and teenagers have any amount of options now. The notion that they'll bust a gut to wear the county jersey is naive in the extreme. Those days are gone. They can see there are better options available. They'd rather do nothing than commit to a team that lacks any level of professionalism. That starts at 10 or 11 years of age, the time when we should be identifying talent and giving it a pathway to success. As it stands we're not. If you think we are then you're the one that doesn't know Leitrim football.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 11/02/2025 15:21:32
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GAA President - Jarlath Burns - 4 Like(s)
Replying To sean og: "Great speech.
And a not so subtle dig at those right wing, racist, conspiracy theory loving, loyalists running about Coolock." Agree 100%. So called patriots whose only "achievement" is being born here. The irony is most of them are too thick to get the dig.
A great speech. His presidency couldn't come at a better time.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 22/07/2024 10:12:12
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Non-Gaa Forum - 4 Like(s)
Replying To Lockjaw: "Well what did we make of events in Dublin yesterday? Shocking stuff.
Hopefully the victims of the stabbing incident will make a full recovery. The physical scars may heal quicker than the pschological ones though I fear.
What happened afterwards was a disgrace and an embarrassment. It has been coming though, stabbing incident or not. I'd say a combination of things, easily led young people with limited opportunities being drip fed poisonous tripe about immigrants being the root cause of their problems. It is a tried and tested method for bigoted & hateful people to stoke tension for decades, only worse in this day and age with social media.
The Guards hands are tied too. They have to be so careful these days. Anything they say or do is likely going to be recorded. I would say that morale is quite low in the force. Dealing with scumbags like what we saw last night is like trying to keep the tide out. What's the deterrent? Social welfare cuts indefinitely for those charged?" They have plenty of opportunities. Don't fall for the narrative that they're disadvantaged. They have everything handed to them. They're s**m. They want to live like this. Generations of them. The bleeding hearts will blame everyone else but the reality is that they're just s**mbags. Always have been. Always will.
Far right s**m know that these thugs are itching for a chance to cause mayhem and they light the fuse. Loads of fine people from the north inner city there of course but there's a high proportion of scrotes. Again, that's their choice.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 24/11/2023 10:23:08
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Leitrim GAA thread - 4 Like(s)
Replying To 3rdmidfielder: "This story is not going away. The SHAME this has brought on us as a county in unforgivable.
I have heard no-one absolutely no-one agree that this was the right decision.
I can't understand how it was let happen.
I have never been as disappointed or disgusted by a footballing decision in all my time involved in football between playing and supporting." It's inexcusable and the best thing for the County board is to come out and apologise. Stop trying to convince us that the excuses proffered are valid. Its an insult to our intelligence. A PR expert would tell them to stop digging.
Trying to convince us that the lads training are so far ahead in terms of fitness is laughable. They're aiming the excuses at the converted but I think even the most deluded supporter is starting to smell the roses. Even with their heads buried in the sand!
ThePowerhouse (National) - 19/03/2025 18:22:51
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Non-Gaa Forum - 3 Like(s)
Replying To Lockjaw: "So true. I wonder would some Irish people be as belligerent about immigration if their sick child needed emergency medal attention from a Filopino nurse, or God forbid, a Syrian doctor?" They're too ignorant to join the dots. Find a racist and you'll discover that their lives are a failure. Look at the chief protagonists in this country. Bunch of wasters and scroungers.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 03/03/2025 10:27:13
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Non-Gaa Forum - 3 Like(s)
Replying To Lockjaw: "We can be agitated and angered by various government failures be they in housing, health, immigration etc
But racism & intolerance cannot be condoned. That young lady who represented Ireland so well recently at the European Chamionships has apparently been on the end of some awful online abuse.
Talk about the worst kind of miserable, ignorant losers who would go out of their way to do something like that. I would urge everyone to call racism out, especially even the "casual" sort that may appear in your family & social circles. Needs to be nipped in the bud big time." Well said. The dregs of our society using the tried and trusted playbook of racists all over the world. Aim for the people angry with their own lives and tell them its someone else's fault. Their only "achievement" in life is being born here. Never contribute anything positive to society. If you tell a lie often enough these fools will believe it. Now it's seeped into conversation amongst so called "decent" people. They're falling for it as well. It's a slippery slope and it should have been stamped out a long time ago. Have the courage to call it out. No excuses.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 16/06/2024 13:04:33
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Leitrim GAA thread - 3 Like(s)
Arising from this crisis there is opportunity. We have to grasp it otherwise football will die out in the county and, much like our hurlers, we'll be left with a handful of clubs that are kept going by diehards. It won't happen overnight but it has been happening for the past 15 years and will continue unless its addressed honestly. I appreciate that it may be difficult to accept this but we have to confront reality and stop burying our heads in the sand. If you think I'm exaggerating then ask yourself this. Did you foresee this day?
There are some of us who have been warning about this but we're condemned as negative. It gives me no pleasure to see what's happening. I'll be the first one to praise those in power if and when they grasp the nettle.
The endless cycle of new managers being brought in and expected to work miracles is an absolute folly. We have much bigger problems than a group of players being poorly managed. Rather than meeting the criteria that defines insanity again and again, we'd be much better off commissioning a group of people to examine where we are going wrong. The number one criteria is that they are independent and impartial. With all due respect to possible candidates, they cannot be from Leitrim. If we are serious about this we need impartiality. We're loathe to offend and we need to hear the unvarnished truth about where we're going wrong. If you think at this stage that we're doing it right then you're deluded.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 17/03/2025 11:57:12
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Donal O'Gs Comments On Football In General And The TC In Particular - 3 Like(s)
"Good hurling people" believed the hype from the ad campaign that made them out to be Cú Chulainns.
They can't understand why the game isn't played all over the world and yet they'll look down their noses at counties that aren't traditional hurling counties.
Donal óg experienced that snobbery himself when there was consternation that he passed to a team mate instead of just lamping it as far as he could. There's a reason why it's only taken seriously in a few places. There's no point blaming rugby or Gaelic football.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 16/05/2023 15:41:40
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Anti GAA Agenda - 3 Like(s)
Replying To boxtyburgerbuns: "A business arrangement with your greatest rivals never works out. You can't see the wood for the trees. I'm well grown up. You're the one who seems to be sniping." Your paranoia regarding rugby is even more bizarre considering Cuala winning yesterday. A club drawing players from some of the wealthiest parts of the country. Adding to their hurling title. If you were to believe the lazy sterotypes espoused by some people here, strictly rugby country. Similarly, Kilmacud.
The point is that if you give people a choice they'll pick what they enjoy and it generally follows that if they enjoy it they may also be good at it. I've no doubt Con O' Callaghan could have been very good at other sports but he chose GAA. I don't hear any rugby supporters bad mouthing him or the GAA for making that choice.
Paranoia, bitterness and begrudgery only push people away. Stop looking over your shoulder and look at ways to make a positive contribution to your club.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 20/01/2025 12:18:01
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Leitrim GAA thread - 3 Like(s)
Replying To 3rdmidfielder: "If you watched Leitrim it is very obvious they aren't fit enough to be able to compete with a half decent team. Some of them just aren't athletic enough." You realise you can't be saying that. There are sacred cows that need to be defended at all costs and criticism, even if its constructive, is not welcome on this forum.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 22/04/2023 17:36:45
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Leitrim GAA thread - 3 Like(s)
Our underage structure appears to have failed again this evening in Castlebar. Who would have thunk it! Its been working well for the last 15 years so I'm mystified as to how we got it so wrong.
**I am not apportioning blame to the players or even the management. It's what they've been reared on. It's reasonable for them to assume that they'll be given the best possible chance and that those in power will do what they're supposed to be doing.**
Anyway, awaiting the brow beating from the loyalists stating that its because of the likes of me we're not performing and I'm too negative.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 02/04/2025 19:53:05
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Leitrim GAA thread - 3 Like(s)
Everything is grand. Nothing to see here. Don't be negative no matter what. Don't say it as it is. Ignore the evidence at all costs. We'll still wear our silly hats and sure maybe Willie will take a picture and we'll get into the observer. Stevie Wonder could see this crisis was on its way. It's been coming for 15 years. Long before Poacher, Andy Moran etc. were on the scene.
Cue the usual nonsense and excuses about population and emigration. Blah blah blah. No, I'm not ignoring the fact that last years team is virtually gone. Has anyone from the County board bothered to ask them the real reasons? They won't because they won't like the answers. Fermanagh has a population of 64k. Let's be generous and say at least 25k are from a unionist background and have no input to the GAA. It's fair to say they have outperformed us for the last 20 years. So too Sligo. Sligo Town is a wasteland for the Gaa. Take out the town and their population is virtually the same as us.
The real reason this has happened is because of how the various county boards have run things for the last 15/20 years. If you really want to see change then stop going and giving them your hard earned money. Stop supporting them financially and demand complete reform and restructuring. It's an absolute insult to us at this stage.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 15/03/2025 13:35:53
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Non-Gaa Forum - 3 Like(s)
Replying To Galway9801: "Perfectly illustrated by the fact that the majority of the Irish people swallowed the lie that a Brazilian was the first to intervene in the attack on Dublin.
I'd bet you were more than happy to see that little lie being pedalled.
I'd bet you were also only to happy to see the terror attack being effectively deleted from the airwaves while our politicians instead decided to shift the attention onto their own citizens..
Seems to me the reason the "right wing media" are being given so much stick here is for revealing too many facts about the attacker." It's windy out so be careful you're tinfoil hat isn't blown off. The 5G rays will corrupt your mind.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 10/12/2023 12:13:18
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Leitrim GAA thread - 3 Like(s)
Replying To boxtyburgerbuns: "All well and good to say that's tough to a player and then for them to reply the same when they are approached again as players of potential walk away as is their right to go travelling etc...and the team in question is short on lads for a panel" I've no idea what any of that word salad means.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 24/03/2025 16:32:29
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GAA President - Jarlath Burns - 2 Like(s)
Replying To Kew: "But you are missing the point. He should not be bringing politics into the GAA like this. What if he started saying right wing stuff? The GAA should not be used as a stepping stone to get into government." Because what he said is 100% right. If he stated saying right wing racist stuff that'd be wrong. I don't see any problem whatsoever with people standing up to racism.
ThePowerhouse (National) - 22/07/2024 10:57:41
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Lack Of Ambition. - 2 Like(s)
Excellent appointment and backroom team.
ThePowerhouse (Leitrim) - 20/11/2019 14:10:44
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