Dooley's successor as hurling manager will face a very difficult task

Joe Dooley's decision to step aside this week brought to an end a four-year spell in charge of the Offaly senior hurling team, and his comments in the local and national media since giving his decision to the Offaly county board have highlighted the scale of the task currently facing the Offaly county board in promoting and advancing hurling in the county into the future. His unhappiness with some individuals was put on record when he wrote to all the clubs in Offaly and the national media, however the problems within Offaly hurling run much deeper than arguments over training in the county ground. During the four years of Dooley's reign, not unlike that of John McIntyre before him, the Offaly hurlers endured some bad days, one or two good ones, and all too many near misses that could have meant so much to the county if a little bit more luck had been on their side. Offaly hurling supporters walked out of the two games against Galway last year and also the games against Cork and Dublin this year immensely proud of the efforts of the players, but ultimately disappointed at the chances that had been let slip. For the players, who so badly crave a meaningful championship win, they certainly will look back at these last few seasons as lost opportunities. However Offaly's decline as a competitive team at underage level means that while there are some very talented hurlers in Offaly, local hurlers aren't playing in a high-level senior championship and neither are there waves of young players stepping forward to put real and meaningful pressure on those players in possession of a county jersey. Over the course of the past decade, Offaly have passed more and more milestones on the way down the pecking order at underage hurling, reaching a new low this year when a Westmeath minor hurling team easily knocked Offaly out of the Leinster championship in Tullamore, and it wasn't even a surprise. Westmeath were clear favourites and their comfortable win was exactly what was expected. At under-21, Dublin overcame a poor start to outscore Offaly 0-19 to 0-2 in the last three quarters of their meeting at Parnell Park, thus almost managing to outdo last year's horror show in Nowlan Park. The next man in the Offaly hot seat must somehow grow fruit on this barren ground and with so many key Offaly players currently in their mid twenties and at their peak, it is vital that the county board get the process and ultimately their decision right in terms of who to appoint to this vital role. One bad decision and several high quality players could be past their best with little or nothing in the pipeline to replace them. It's understandable that supporters are looking south at the job that Donal O'Grady is doing in Limerick and wishing that a similar messiah could take the reins in Offaly, but any appointment that is made must be realistic. There is no scope in Offaly right now for an appointment that would come with significant expenses and neither is there a sizeable rump of talented, disenfranchised hurlers waiting on the wings to come on board if the right leader took charge. No matter who manages Offaly next year, the team and the squad will bear considerable resemblance to the 2011 group, albeit with hopefully a lot more luck in terms of injuries. More important is to get these players hurling in an effective system, and one suited to the modern game. The art of ground hurling has gone the way of the overhead pull and the blind, over-the-shoulder clearance. They look great, but even when used well, they usually lead to forfeiture of possession, possession which is very hard to win back. The modern hurler is able to win ball from the clouds and from rucks of players on the ground, to lay the ball off in the tackle and always hurling the ball facing forward, with a clear plan as to where the sliothar is supposed to go. Many of Offaly's hurlers are adept at these modern skills, but others aren't and much more of the focus at training must be geared towards perfecting these arts. It might not be as attractive as watching somebody like John Troy work magic with his wrists, but wishing for a bygone era is not going to change anything. During the 1980's and 1990's, when Offaly invariably used to beat Wexford when the two sides met, the old adage used to be that Wexford never hit the ball anywhere other than the farthest it could travel, while Offaly never struck the ball any further than it needed to go. Somewhere in the last decade Offaly hurling lost that sense of purpose with the sliothar, that sense of controlling the play to ensure that the ball was delivered to a man in a better position and in a fashion where he would be favoured to collect it. The Offaly teams of the eighties and nineties used ground hurling because it served that purpose at that time. Modern teams don't use ground hurling, because it wouldn't achieve anything of the sort right now. These Offaly hurlers need two things - they need a coach to instil a system of play that can win, and they need a leader to make them believe that they have the ability to execute that system. These attributes are vital, and while it will do no harm if a candidate has won All Stars or All Ireland medals while hurling for Offaly themselves, those medals will be of little value to the players in the dressing room trying to win some of their own. Offaly were a very popular and well liked team under Joe Dooley's reign, partially because some of the games involving the Offaly hurlers tended to be among the best games played in any given year, but also because ultimately Offaly were never likely to knock over any serious hurling county either in Leinster or in the qualifiers. Donegal footballers are currently being castigated in the media for their unwatchable style, but yet they are division two champions and have reached the Ulster Final. Jim McGuinness has turned things around up north, and he hasn't let the critics worry him. Right now, Offaly need somebody who can find a way to help these players win - first in division two, then in Leinster. They've come close enough under Joe Dooley to suggest that this is not unrealistic, while simultaneously, a process must be undergone to ensure that the production lines start working again before the lack of competitiveness that is evident at underage filters through to the senior set up.