Looking forward to 2010, surely an All Ireland Final appearance must be the aim for all involved in the County Ladies set up. Rumours of unhappy players and dressing room problems were flying around at end of 09 season - is there change on the way?? Its not always easy to pinpoint problems at that level, but no-one can argue that problems existed, so surely the Co Board will strive to fix them for next year??? The quality of player available is not in question, as we have never had as much talent in Ladies Football in the County......

W4S (Wicklow) - Posts: 104 - 24/10/2009 12:39:31    464976

W4S - West of the County rumours are also circulating about in house unrest and certain unprofessionalism of the Co Manager. I have said it many times on this forum that change is needed. People in the know in my locality are saying the Balto girls wont be making themselves available if the current set up is retained. But what is the process for bringing about change ?

Whocares (Wicklow) - Posts: 229 - 28/10/2009 12:14:22    468335

I agree that change is needed alrigh Whocares, and Im sure the AGM this year will be an interesting one! Grapvine has it that Management team are going to go again for another year but with player unrest, surely they cant be appointed again?!!! I have heard of one other person interested so maybe.....

W4S (Wicklow) - Posts: 104 - 31/10/2009 21:24:59    471973

As a player I personally wouldn't change our management for the coming season, I believe we're going to Croker this year so bring on the new season

skyblueLass (Wicklow) - Posts: 54 - 01/11/2009 17:20:30    472328

I hope that the current management get to stay at the helm for another year. I think they will have learned from their mistakes of chopping and changing the team throughout the championdhip and try get their strongest 15 on the park for the year. Division 2 will be tough this year and the girls will have to up the tempo yet again if they are to survive. I also hope that all the ladies from each club make themselves available next year. I think one possible line up with some new faces could read:

1. Emer Miley. Has to be one of the best shot stoppers in the country! Well able to take her scores at club level to!
2. Aoife Heffernan. Tight speedy marker.
3. Janet Miley. Strong defender who has really come into her own this year at club and county.
4. Lorna Fuisciardi. Was probably the best player marker for the county last year. Kept Dympna under shackles against Limerick!
5. Orla Byrne. Had a great year for Arklow and is one for the future!
6. Catriona McKeown. A solid leader on the pitch!
7. Niamh Kelly. Had a brilliant debut year for the county and can match it, and go better again next year!
8. Catriona Byrne. Always gives 110%. Good at getting in the hard blocks too!
9. Catherine Kavanagh. I think she is at her best to date this year and could make a difference if brought in.
10. Niamh Carroll. Speedy and accurate! Knows where the posts are!
11. Caoilfhionn Deeney. When fully fit and fired up for a game she's a thorn in any teams side!
12. Laurie Aherne. Well able to take her scores!
13. Aine O' Gorman. Classy classy player, would be great if she was committed for the year!
14. Ger Norton. Has to stay in around the square and contest the high ball which must be played into her!
15. Tanya McDonald. If available would bring a huge threat to the forward line.

Others pushing for places: Aisling O hAnnaidh, Lizzy Brophy, Monica Lynch, Amie Byrne

What do people think? Or who would you change?

SupersizeMe (Wicklow) - Posts: 173 - 02/11/2009 19:48:00    473354

I think Ann-Marie Doran and Jackie Kinch would do in the mix as well , the managers did some pretty strange things last year and I feel they would do the same again .

eyeontheball (Wicklow) - Posts: 80 - 02/11/2009 23:33:11    473578

Supersize me are you for real ? See this is the problem I have with the Ladies section of the Wicklow County set up, Its just the same old names and faces year in year out !! At least eye on the ball has a bit of sense trying to bring change. OK lets get this straight. The ladies, last year got promoted out of a league that they lost 2 of the 3 matches in. They played well against Limerick but not against any other team this year. They were appalling in the Leinster junior final. Look lads, this County has some great players, lets get a sense of reality here. Last year was a terrible year for the girls and the senior panel next year deserves and needs better. I am not just talking about the team management, I am talking about EVERYTHING, from the top right down. We have a committee with no real ambition, no drive. Dont get me wrong, they have done great work when ladies football has been rock bottom but now when have players who have the potential to go on and be very competitive so we need to back this up with a Co board that have the will and the Drive to take things further. The juvenile set up is very strong now and I would like to see some of these leaders step up now and drive the ladies section on further.

Whocares (Wicklow) - Posts: 229 - 03/11/2009 10:39:43    473738

Laura Hogan from Tinahely would surely be worth a shout too. I would start Amie Byrne.. Good footballer

Southern Dandy (Wicklow) - Posts: 789 - 03/11/2009 10:41:30    473740

Sorry Dandy forgot about Laura and the brightest star in Wicklow ladies football Lucy Mulhall from Tinahely only 16 I think and would walk on to the county team , also I thought Monica Lynch got a raw deal last year she was in and out of the team which could not have been much good for her confidence ... Problem with Ger Norton is the managers did not know how to get the best out of her ..

eyeontheball (Wicklow) - Posts: 80 - 03/11/2009 11:59:48    473812

The Wicklow Co Juvenile Committee are only in place 1 year. They've still alot of issues to resolve. I don't see them moving on!

wicklowrunner (Wicklow) - Posts: 637 - 03/11/2009 15:34:01    474078

How is it all our boards in Wicklow have problems its the same with the camogie ,great players that won't play for the county and people wanting to take over when they already have enough on their plate . We have some great talent in this county but because of politics we never get to see the half of it ..

eyeontheball (Wicklow) - Posts: 80 - 03/11/2009 18:11:03    474286

eyeontheball, We can only deal with what we are given! Last year Laura Hogan was on the county panel and left early in the year before the girls got to the league knockout as she couldnt committ. The option is open for all women to attend but the reality is every year we are left with the same committed bunch! Two of the best servants of the current team are Aoife Heffernan and Emer Miley, I honestly don't think either have missed a year of intercounty since they were under 14! Same with Aisling O hAnnaidh, Eado Lenihan, Niamh Carroll (to name but a few) except for when she took a break to travel. We see the same faces every year because they are the committed women who slog it out through the winter months to the summer because they believe in themselves. It has nothing got to do with the management that these other players dont put themselves forward, as an open invite is sent to all clubs for any player who wants attend training with the county.

SupersizeMe (Wicklow) - Posts: 173 - 03/11/2009 19:45:54    474376

As a current county player, I am saying right now- it would be great and I personally would welcome any girls who wishes to play on the county team this year to come aboard. I don't understand players in the county who are good enough but just don't want to play for their county. I understand college and work commitments aside-but there are players out there in the county who could be playing county and just don't..it's a shame, but if they don't want to represent their county then it should be the girls who would love to play for their county to be welcomed on board- hopefully we'll have a great yr this yr if we start off the way we mean to go on.
Thanks for the great and supportive posts. :)

skyblueLass (Wicklow) - Posts: 54 - 04/11/2009 13:22:11    474842

Very well said Skybulelassie !! People in this County dont wish to play at the highest level which is a shame. I believe last year at the start their was approx 15 new players showed up but after 5 games a lot of them still had not been given a run so they left. Is it any wonder no one new wants to play. Skybluelass please take off your rose tinted glasses and wake up. My fellow club frien Ger Norton was treated disgracefully last year and she is the best forward Wicklow had !!

Whocares (Wicklow) - Posts: 229 - 04/11/2009 14:26:22    474913

Whocares,
I think it is very premature for you to say that no girls were getting a run as the management organised many challenge matches against Kildare, Wexford, Kilkenny and big senior club teams from Laois and Wexford at the start of the year. Each match was played over three 20-25 minute periods where EVERY player got a run out, new players getting at least playing 2/3's of these matches.. NO players got dropped last year some players just werent committed. In agreeance with SupersizeMe that its the same faces who stay committed for the year! I commend them as they are up winning an All-Ireland medal big time.
Also, dont get me wrong here, Geraldine Norton is a brilliant player and a lovely girl but last year she did not play next nor near as good as she played the previous year. And there are other forwards as good as her on the team.

Bridalceoil (Wicklow) - Posts: 115 - 04/11/2009 21:26:38    475423

Sorry but cant actually believe some of the posts here! Wicklow Ladies had a realistic chance of winning an All ireland this year and didnt do it, bottom line. Everyone here keeps going on about "committment" on this forum, but sooner the better that we realise that committment is the basic quality needed for a team to win an All Ireland - not something so boast about having - all the major teams have committment as a given. What we need is tactical mgmt know-how of Ladies Football, a professional setup for the girls to prepare for games, a proper selection process (not just who is friends with who) and above all else, a Management team that has the full support of ALL the players. If the above is in place, Wicklow will win an All Ireland, otherwise it is difficult to see it happening.

Next year is key for the Wicklow Team, we have one of the best midfielders in Deeney, and I dont care what anyone says, Ger Norton would get on any Junior or Intermediate Ladies team in Ireland. Captain leads by example and Miley is exceptional, but still its not happening? Must be something wrong somewhere.....

W4S (Wicklow) - Posts: 104 - 04/11/2009 23:05:13    475587

W4S - you are contradicting yourself! Yes i agree , commitment is a basic quality and as you have said "all the major teams have commitment" but that is the problem W4S, it is only this group of 7or8 girls that have the commitment. The reality is that some people in the county have a notion that, on there reputation alone, they should be a regular starter on the team and when they don't get a game, instead of picking themselves back up and going at it again, they drop off the panel due to having "other commitments". It is a fault of their own and not management! As for Ger Norton, she is an exceptional talent but seemed to drop her head last year after a rocky start to the season. I'm sure she's ready to go this year and can show the managers exactly what they've been missing. I don't believe she was "treated disgracefully" though. I believe she was treated like any player in a professional environment would be treated, if off form. Bridal Ceoil is correct in saying that every player got a run out in the first few games of the season , some people simply did not show that they were good enough to win an All-Irelnad for the county(regardless of whether they are or not). I will agree with you (W4S) on the fact that a team needs a management team that has the full support and backing of all there team and I'm in doubt after these posts that this is the case, although players that want to win for their county will show up in January regardless of who is in charge and if they don't it's a shoddy excuse!

blueblueblue (Wicklow) - Posts: 14 - 05/11/2009 09:22:48    475738

W4S - At last I have someone on here that shares my views and has the same understanding of what it takes. Look folk's lets be honest about it, why would I join a set up when I know deep down that I have no realistic chance of making the team because I am not in the "gang". And bridalceoil you are very wrong to say that EVERY player got their chance last year becasue we both know that that was not the case. People will want to play for the County team when the structure is professional and their chances are real - end of story.

Whocares (Wicklow) - Posts: 229 - 05/11/2009 11:10:51    475838

whocares - i challenge you to name one player that was on the panel and did not get to show what they could do before championship started. (excluding players ruled out due to injuries.) You are talking through your hat about "gangs" and "friends" on the team getting priorities. Get off the stage and stop being so dramatic

blueblueblue (Wicklow) - Posts: 14 - 05/11/2009 14:51:20    476093

Blueblueblueblueblueblueblue I could easily name names but I wouldn't want to bring other people into this conversation. See there is no stage here and there is no drama here either Blueblueblue - It is simple FACT. Ladies players were not given a fair crack last year and a lot of players on the panel would totally agree with me on that one. I dont need to be challenged to be brutally honest because I am being realistic and honest. You can live in your little dreamland and pretend all is Rosey in the Garden when in truth their are a lot of underlying problems and issues within "camp" which, if not sorted, will stop this team from reaching the heights they can. We have girls coming on here and talking about making Croker next year and winning All Irelands, Come on Girls - Whats going to be different next year to last year ?

Whocares (Wicklow) - Posts: 229 - 05/11/2009 15:27:53    476137