It was once said that you hadn't Offaly beaten until The Sunday Game was over.
But that great passion for hurling has begun to dissipate; the desire has relented. Offaly will soon begin their search for a third county hurling manager in three years, following the resignation of Kevin Ryan. Speaking on Morning Ireland, Michael Duignan said he was "shocked" by the decision. Ryan explained his decision to Jackie Cahill of HoganStand.com, claiming it would have been too "divisive" to remain on, although he denied that the players had forced him out.
Later on in that article, he highlighted another problem: the lack of players willing to hurl for Offaly.
Despite having spoken to 62 players to request their joining of the panel, he found that a raft of them were unwilling to play.
One of the reasons why I wouldn’t be looking for reappointment is that I believe you’d need a squad of 36-38 players for training through the winter months, to give you a squad of 30.
But I don’t think that I’d be capable, right now, of getting close to 40 lads to train over the winter.
Looking at things from a logical, rational point of view, those numbers probably make sense: next year, Offaly face into a struggle to retain Division 1B status, and they are at the top of the queue in Leinster to ship a heavy beating from Kilkenny or Galway - the latter against whom they shipped 0-33 last month.
Players have to be driven by a largely irrational passion and desire to train for the winter, or at least the prospect of playing in big matches and winning medals come August and September.
At the moment, it seems, Offaly hurling is missing both.
