Pa Ranahan “League tables does not reflect Limerick Footballers efforts”

“The league table doesn’t lie” A point of view that’s often rolled out in sport. And when taken solely on results it’s a fair statement to make. You get what you earn. But it doesn’t take into account what a team deserves or what strides they have made.

The final standings of NFL Division 4 have Limerick placed 7th on 4 points. And the results they produced dictate this finishing position. But without trying to sound blindly optimistic, the final position could have been 10pts and promotion. Limerick did everything but beat Leitrim in Round 4 and a win there would have made a huge difference to everything. Small margins.

So what positives can be taken from the league? I mentioned previously how “going the distance” in games ala Rocky Balboa had to be a target. And for the majority of the league Rocky would have been proud! In all bar the Derry game, Limerick were either in a winning position or within a score heading into the last ten minutes; a big improvement on last year.

Another area the panel and management have to take pleasure in is the variety of kickout. This has allowed Limerick to change the starting point of attacks on occasion, with the likes of Tommie Childs, Darragh Treacy and Cillian Fahy being willing outlets.

This means Limerick can stretch the pitch and while the short option is still on, it’s not the only option any longer. Possession is huge in modern day football and Limerick certainly had enough in league games to give them a strong platform.

Something else which has been evident is the size and physique of a lot of lads on the panel, who are obviously buying in to what is required there. It is certainly ‘height wise’ one of the bigger Limerick teams I have seen in some time. And while I certainly may not be the best person to be commenting – given I often tried to avoid contact! – it would be great to see a bit more physicality in their play, especially when they have the frames to back it up.

So there were certainly some Key Performance Indicators in the plus column during the league. And gave Limerick a realistic chance of positive results. So why didn’t this happen?

Well the game last Sunday was a microcosm of Limericks league campaign. A positive start which was reflected on the scoreboard; a willingness to get forward and support the ball carrier; an opportunity presenting itself to put the game to bed; losing concentration and poor decision making for a spell and ultimately tiring bodies running out of ideas on the home stretch.

In his post match interview, the always straight talking Billy Lee couldn’t hide his frustration at the way the league had panned out. Performances had indeed improved but results didn’t reflect this, and the main reason he gave was their conversion rate. And I’d have to agree with this.

Limerick averaged less than 11 scores per game during the league. Just not enough unfortunately. And it wasn’t because they didn’t have enough possession. There was just a lack of interplay between players.

You watch any game now and you have multiple players running hard lines at pace, keeping ball moving and committing defenders until a gap appears or a lazy tackle results in a foul. With Limerick at the minute it’s a lot of individual stuff especially when opposition gets set up. Any good defence will nullify that fairly quickly.

I mentioned prior to the league how, outside of the forward unit, there needed to be scores coming from elsewhere. Apart from Colm McSweeneys impressive 1-4 return in his 5 appearances, only Iain Corbett (0-2) and Tommie Childs (0-1) contributed. Jamie Lee and Seamus O’Carroll scored from play in every outing but it’s too much to expect either to post winning scores on their own.

It is the Achilles Heel of this panel at present but something that can be improved on for Championship by embracing more interplay and movement in attack. Given how well they normally defend as a team, 14/15 scores is a winning target on most occasions. But just like in defence, it will take a team effort.