Former Waterford manager Michael Ryan gives his thoughts on the Deise campaign and manager Davy Fitzgerald.
Former Waterford manager Michael Ryan believes that the players need to be let off the leash by Davy Fitzgerald.
The Sixmilebridge man was defiant after the Deise ended their championship season with a fine victory over Tipperary at Semple Stadium.
He felt that two bad halves across four outings had cost them, and that they were otherwise very good against Limerick, Cork, Clare and the Premier.
Ryan succeeded Fitzgerald as Waterford manager in 2012 and 2013, and is currently a selector with the county’s Under-20s.
“I think they will be very disappointed with the championship,” Ryan says.
“I don’t subscribe to Davy’s theory that they had two bad half hours.
“To me, we saw the real Waterford against Tipperary; they just went out and played.
“There was too many tactics, too many different things put in place.
“Waterford are a team that play at their very best when they are almost off the cuff.
“When the reins and leash were taken off the last day, they played really well against Tipperary.
“I didn’t think there were going to win that game but, to be fair, they really turned it around.
“I still think we have a lot of good hurlers in Waterford. Mark Fitzgerald and Patrick Fitzgerald have come through, and there’s a few more Fitzgeralds as well.
“There is good talent in Waterford but I hope when management sit down to review the whole thing, looking forward that we can’t, that you can’t… this is not a game of Playstation.
“You can’t just put so many restrictions in place… I remember somebody telling me that Wexford had 17 different puckout strategies (under Fitzgerald), how true that is I don’t know, but you need to step back from it and let the players off the leash and let them show what they were made of.”
MUNSTER
- Round 1: April 23: Limerick 1-18 Waterford 0-19, FBD Semple Stadium; Tipperary 5-22
Clare 3-23, Ennis. - Round 2: April 29: Clare 1-24 Limerick 2-20 TUS Gaelic Grounds; April 30: Cork 0-27
Waterford 0-18, Pairc Ui Chaoimh. - Round 3: May 6: Cork 4-19 Tipperary 2-25, Pairc Ui Chaoimh; May 13: Clare 2-22
Waterford 0-16, FBD Semple Stadium. - Round 4: May 21: Clare 2-22 Cork 3-18, Ennis; Tipperary 0-25 Limerick 0-25, FBD Semple
Stadium. - Round 5: May 28: Limerick 3-25 Cork 1-30, TUS Gaelic Grounds; Waterford 1-24 Tipperary
0-21, FBD Semple Stadium. - Final: June 11: Limerick 1-23 Clare 1-22, TUS Gaelic Grounds
ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Preliminary quarter-finals: June 17: Carlow v Dublin, Netwatch Cullen Park; Offaly v
Tipperary, Glenisk O’Connor Park. - Quarter-finals: June 24: Galway v Offaly/Tipperary; Clare v Carlow/Dublin.
- Semi-finals: July 8: Limerick v quarter-final winners; July 9; Kilkenny v quarter-final
winners. Both in Croke Park. - Final: July 23, Croke Park.
