Offaly footballers and hurlers end league campaigns with unwanted record

YOU would have to do a deep dive into research to find when this last happened before but Offaly ended their National Football and Hurling League campaigns with a very unwanted record last weekend.

The county not only endured simultaneous relegations from Division 1 in hurling and Division 2 in football but both went through their entire programme without taking a single point.

There are extenuating circumstances in both cases. Not only were both up a grade, jumping in at the deep end, but both also had to deal with a series of debilitating injuries to key players. The hurlers would almost certainly have been relegated with a full team but the footballers may very well have survived had fate not dealt them such a cruel hand.

Irrespective of that, the bare statistics look bad, it is a record that piles pressure on both squads and managements ahead of the impending championship campaigns and both have big points to prove.

It has also been represented in a growing apathy among supporters. There was a shocking crowd of just over 600 people at Offaly's National Football League loss to Cavan in Tullamore two weeks ago. There was over 3,000 at Sunday's closing game against Meath but the overwhelming majority of those were visitors who duly saw their side win and get promotion.

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The apathy has not been as prevalent in hurling but it has been bubbling beneath the surface. In football, some people have been very quick to avail of the opportunity to put the boot into the team management, in particular Declan Kelly, and in the modern world with social media, these voices can be a lot more prominent than they would have been a few years ago.

There are supporters out there ready to jump down the throat of joint football manager, Kelly and his no nonsense, ruthless approach, the players he has discarded and the ones who haven't got the game time they wanted, has certainly affected his popularity in some areas and clubs – his fellow joint manager Mickey Harte escapes lightly in comparison, even though they are very much a team.

Hurling manager Johnny Kelly and his backroom team have got a free ride in comparison to the opinions being expressed by some about the football management but all of this has to be put on the back burner by everyone involved for the moment.

The comments of a loud few people on social media can't dictate anything for the County Board and it is the championship that will determine what happens team managements next year. If Offaly don't make inroads in a favourable Leinster Senior Football Championship draw or reach the Tailteann Cup final, there will be a very strong case for new management in senior football. Similarly, if the hurlers don't take a scalp and rely on beating Kildare to stay in the Leinster championship, Johnny Kelly and company will probably run out of road – the nightmare scenario in hurling of course is relegation back to the Joe McDonagh Cup.

If Offaly lose to Laois in the first round of football and go belly up in the Tailteann Cup once again and if the hurlers are relegated or stay up by the skin of their teeth, the debate will be a short one and both teams will have new managers next year.

All of that, however, is a decision for next August and the next two months will determine what happens. And don't be surprised if both teams perform well enough to change the whole perspective. We certainly shouldn't judge either team management on the league campaigns, irrespective of the relegation and that very disappointing statistic of not picking up a solitary point.

The scale of injuries was very severe for both, even if points did slip through the net in football with the players that were available, and in truth, both relegations were very much on the cards before a ball was kicked and pucked.

Offaly were never going to survive in Division 1 in hurling but the unavailability of players such as Ciaran Burke, James Mahon, Killian Sampson, who has got back, and Charlie Mitchell sealed their fate.

In ways, the footballers were worse hit. Paddy Dunican, Aidan Bracken, John Furlong and Cathal Flynn missed the entire campaign while Dylan Hyland and Shane Tierney only got back in the last two weeks and made a big difference. The loss of Dunican, Furlong and Flynn was a huge factor in relegation. With Furlong and Flynn dictating proceedings from centre back and centre forward, Offaly would very possibly have picked up points against Louth, Kildare and Cavan, and stayed up.

Dunican's absence in the goals was also a big factor. Sean O'Toole was solid in the goals in the opening rounds but his kickouts were a bit of an issue. Conor Melia was generally good at finding his man from kickouts in recent weeks but conceded soft goals – no one is pointing the finger of blame at the goalkeepers for relegation, O'Toole and Melia are finding their way at this level and are very good players.

Getting players back is crucial to both teams making championship progress. In football, there is doubt about who will be back. Hyland and Tierney should be fit to start in the championship and John Furlong is getting closer but it remains to be seen if Dunican and Flynn will see any action – the long term picture has to be considered as well, the priority is for all players to make complete recoveries and rushing things would be counter-productive.

Ferbane attacker Cian Johnson's fitness has also improved and it is a pity that he didn't get to play last Sunday after being initially lined up for action as he really needed a game.

Despite the record, there were some green shoots for both teams. The hurlers received a bad beating in Cork on Sunday and their application levels were poor in the second half but the home side were hungry for action, keen to inflict maximum pain on Offaly and it is difficult to keep concentration and effort levels right when you are being blown out of the water. Tipperary also did a bit of a job on Offaly but there were positives to be taken out of the defeats against Kilkenny, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

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They were only four points behind Kilkenny and had very good spells in some of the other games.

In football, Offaly definitely could have beaten Louth in the first round, they should have been a lot closer to Kildare and they missed a great opportunity of a morale boosting win against Cavan. Derry was the only really dreadful performance and that was just not nice to see but again, there were spells in games where they played well while their effort levels were right for the most part.

Last Sunday against Meath, there were moments where the impression that they are turning a corner was strong. It didn't happen and Offaly were well beaten but it could have been a whole lot worse as they fought to the end.

It is all down to championship now and both teams have a very short window to fine tune things. The hurlers have a crunch first game against Dublin in Tullamore on April 18 and this will dictate so much for them. Offaly have to beat Kildare but Dublin and Wexford are the big targets for them in terms of beating an established top tier team and taking a significant step forward.

It is a packed schedule as they are away to Galway on April 26, at home to Kilkenny on May 10, at home to Wexford on May 16 and away to Kildare on May 24.

The footballers are at home to Laois on April 11 with the winners playing Kildare while Meath, Westmeath and Longford are on the same half of the draw. With Louth and Dublin on the other side, there is an opportunity for making progress but Meath are certainly ahead of Offaly and at the moment, you just can't make a convincing case for them winning three games and making a Leinster final.

Yet, the footballers can't be ruled out and a couple of returning players would have a huge impact. Realistically, the Tailteann Cup is where it is at for Offaly and they can't be ruled out in this – notwithstanding the apathy they have shown in the past for this competition.

It will be very interesting to see how the championship campaigns unfold. As things stand, the smart money will be on Offaly having new managements next season but nothing is written at stone, both teams will perform in the championship and there could be pleasant surprises in store.