Sat 22 Nov, 2008
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Ireland feeling the heat ahead of Europeans  x19
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| Irish Hockey |
September 1, 2005 
IrishExaminer.com, Ireland
> Page Views 5163
By Declan Colley
IRELAND’S senior men’s hockey team will travel to the European Nations Championships in Rome several days ahead of schedule to acclimatise properly ahead of the tournament, which begins on Sunday, September 11.
Having played two matches against Italy at the Tre Fontane stadium last weekend, coach Dave Passmore said the heat and humidity had acted against his players in the second game and he felt a little more time to get used to the conditions would boost the Irish.
“We will now be travelling next Wednesday, earlier than originally planned. The extra couple of days in Rome should be plenty for us to get used to the conditions there,” he said.
Passmore was not happy with the commitment shown by some of his defenders in the respective 4-4 draw and 4-3 victory over the Italians.
“I was disappointed by that aspect of the performances. I know we were missing Jason Black and David Smyth, who would be regulars, and I know players were anxious not to pick up any injuries so close to such an important tournament, but I was disappointed by the defensive displays.
“We did play two distinctive and different systems over the weekend, which may have played a part in upsetting our rhythm.
“Even so, we were able to claw our way back into both matches having gone behind early in both and you’d have to say that was good.
“All told it was a positive weekend and I have no doubt that the Italians will be big rivals when it comes to the tournament proper.
“They are a good side, very fast and skilful.
“They play very much like a football team and have a great understanding. They’ll be a threat, no doubt.”
Passmore was happy with the facilities in Rome, both on the playing front as well as with the team hotel.
“They will have to water the pitch a lot because the watering system is not great, but everything else was very satisfactory,” he added.
Ireland will compete in a Pool which also contains Wales, Belarus and Russia, but the Ireland coach said people should be taking nothing for granted.
“I can assure you that the players know exactly what they are up against and they are prepared for some very tough games.
“We play Belarus in the opener on Sunday, Wales the following day before we take on Russia on the Wednesday and the players know it will not be easy.
“But they are a tight-knit bunch and there is a good spirit there, so I am hopeful that we can secure promotion back into the elite ‘A’ Division and qualification for next spring’s World Cup Qualifier.”
Passmore highlighted the good form of the likes of Justin Sherriff and drag-flicker Stephen Butler as being a boost.
However, he said the team as a whole had to perform well if the overall aims were to be achieved.
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Comments on this article
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Mr Motivator
09-05-2005 3:22 am
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Man management
Is this really the best way to motivate your players prior to a major tournament Mr Passmore.... criticising your defenders in a national newspaper??
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yes
09-06-2005 6:30 am
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YES
YES IT IS. A GOOD KICK UP THE A"SE NEVER DID ANYONE ANY HARM....!!
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Zealot Supporter
09-07-2005 2:19 am
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I agree. He doesn't expect his team to hold back on the field so why should he hold back with his management tactics? Do whatever it takes to get the job done and it's true that some people just need a good kick for a wakeup call.
I reckon if you don't put in the performance during the training matches what makes you think you can pull it out of the bag when it comes to crunch time?
Good luck to the boys for the tournament!
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Hockey Player On the Fence
09-07-2005 1:59 pm
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I agree with both views. He shouldnt come out in a national newspaper and criticise his players no matter what. He should, i believe, take the players involved in to a room and say what he think is needed maybe a kick up the arse. Make it private so players dont feel any pressure from other team mates and other parties, i.e press.
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Child Minder
09-08-2005 5:18 am
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Mr. P is not a child minder, premiership coaches in the england criticise their players regularly in the papers and they just get on with it. If they deserved criticism then so be it, if they can't take it they shouldn't be there, we are not dealing with a ladies team here folks, they are not going to storm off the squad crying because Passmore criticised them. What a bunch of women those of you who disagree with his tactics are.
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El gringo
09-08-2005 5:59 am
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hockey player on the fence
Couldnt agree more. Players should be called aside to be criticised by the coach. Has nothing been leared from the roy keane/mick mccarthy fiasco in saipan
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Ignorant
09-18-2005 12:25 am
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I think it is great this website is going. It has caused so much grief in Irish Hockey. For those ignorant idiots who write on here - IRELAND WON IN ROME and apparently played superbly in the final. Congratulations to all and perhaps now we will get behind Passmore and the team and put all our petty rivalries behind us.
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Mozzarella
09-19-2005 6:57 am
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Provincial League programme
Fantastic win in Rome and mission accomplished, not only promotion back to elite A-division but also a place in the World Cup Qualifiers.
However, how will the preparation for this qualifying tournament affect the national players participation in the Provincial Club leagues?? How will previous "top-sides" in Ireland fair, now that they may have to perform without their international players for the majority of the league campaign......
What agreements between players and clubs have been set down??
Limited league match appearances.....irish Senior Cup......Inter-Pros???
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Concerned
09-19-2005 8:28 am
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Clubs
Irish players are not allowed play club games until after 3rd October. They can then play up until Christmas. From Jan 06 to end of season they can't play any league matches. Will be allowed play in ISC matches & club championship finals. A couple of clubs will be hit very hard by this & won't feature as much as usual. It's a great opportunity for clubs without Irish panelists to do well this season.
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Home truths
09-20-2005 6:14 am
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Any views?
Hockey in Ireland needs to be very very careful...it is NOT big enough to take the International players out of competition altogether and expect clubs to be able to function. My prediction is that if this is anymore than a short term solution we will see many clubs folding or getting in to serious trouble. Why ...because firstly the big clubs will want to attract new talent from other clubs to replace the players they have lost and secondly some clubs dont have the strength or depth to compete once their internationals have left....I really hope that demeaning the league and therefore ultimately the club championships (HArlequins/Garvey could have 5 or 6 players away and therefore fail to qualify) does not affect sponsorship for the IHA or even the sponsorship of domestic leagues. I am sure that Vi Sport in the North are just delighted that the league will now become totally meaningless this year..why onnearth invest in it at all?
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Mozzarella
09-20-2005 10:15 am
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Not the First!
It's a fair point, although the "totally meaningless" comment is a bit over the top. It's a bit of a double-edged sword, as if Ireland are going to regularly compete at the top level, the national squad has to train and play together in mini-tournaments and invitationals more often in order to maintain their elite level.
However, there has to be some benefit for the club that has helped to develop and train these players initially, which is in the form of match availability, otherwise why bother!!
So it's a balance between accepting the increased demands on international quality players without removing them from the club scene (and the sponsors) entirely.
Although this level of preparation is new to Ireland, I'm sure the more established countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Australia..etc.) have already experienced this dilemma and worked something out to the benfit of both club and country.
Does anyone have experience of playing for clubs in these countries? How do they manage club & country commitments?
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Get Real
09-20-2005 6:02 pm
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Well done Ireland - cracking result and from reading the reports the boys played really well.
The problem posed here is a difficult one - if they play league hockey, when do they train with the national squad?..... during the week when the players have to work? It's the first chance we have had in a long time (not sure how long) to do something in world hockey and now the clubs who are large enough to have these players (most of whom were developed in other clubs) start complaining. Who here is actually thinking about what the players themselves want? Perhaps if our league structure was stronger like in Germany we could prepare through our local leagues.
The clubs who will do the best are those that have developed in youth structures and have depth to their stronger squads. Will be interesting to see if Concerned is correct and some new clubs perform better.
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doubter
09-20-2005 6:05 pm
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credit
i was one of the doubters about how the team would perform in rome. i stand corrected - good job and well done to all the players. the news coming back was that passmore did a good job and seems to have the respect of the players. lets hope he is given the money and time to get us further up the world rankings.
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Check your facts
09-22-2005 8:36 am
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Get Real
''It's the first chance we have had in a long time (not sure how long) to do something in world hockey and now the clubs who are large enough to have these players (most of whom were developed in other clubs) start complaining...''
Potential players involved:
Garvey - Raphael, Waring, Cockram...all home-grown
Annadale - Smith, Lewers, Jackson...all home-grown
Cookstown - Barbour - need I say more
Glenanne - Butler, Shaw - Glens through and through
Where do you get your facts from - although these clubs may have accepted a fair proportion of imports over the years, the majority of guys that will be pulled out of club hockey will be the home grown talent!
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El gringo
09-23-2005 5:10 am
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Well done dave passmore. Really messing clubs around by making them miss their best players for most of the league season. Have you considered the consequences of this. Of course not you are only thinking of yourself. I am sure you are old enough to remember what happenend to the north american soccer league in the 1970's. The star players all simutaneously left and the league disintegrated. The regional leagues ( which are the backbone of hockey ) are going to be badly damaged by this and that means the next generation of starplayers might not come through and clubs will be fighting each other over players like never before.
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Mr. Positive
09-25-2005 7:13 am
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El gringo negative ass
El Gringo, take your negativity elsewhere, how can you turn a fantastic achievement into something negative you muppet. Congratulations to Mr. Passmore and his guys, fantastic achievement as I said. Now we find solutions to any obstacles that may arise to further achieve and qualify for the world cup. I suggest you find a website for moaners and begrudgers and air you negative rubbish there. Try a positive thought, you'll be amazed at what it might do for you.
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I.T.
09-25-2005 9:34 am
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El Gringo
What do you expect Passmore to do? Not train or prepare at all for the World Cup?? How can the squad prepare without training? Ok, so maybe they should train during the week - how do they then keep their jobs? I expect he is doing what every other country in the world is doing.
The regional leagues are the backbone of hockey - but should they be? No - because they are so poor. If we had a proper league structure which had decent teams in playing week in and week out (such as Germany or Holland) then perhaps the players could have been left in for more of the season. (and no I am not from Cork!).
Your point about the next generation of players is, in my opinion wrong - this will give those players the chance to perform, improve and take repsonsibility without the international players around. Maybe it will actually help develop these players.
Does anyone know if the internationals can play in the cup?
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News
09-26-2005 3:38 am
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Irish Players
Yes, they can play ISC & Club Championship Finals
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Bored bored bored
09-26-2005 1:27 pm
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Lads, can we not stop moaning for five minutes, your boring me senseless. I know a few lads in the team and they are buzzing right now.
Well done Dave Passmore, well done the staff, and most importantly well done the team. My club may not have any international players but this is the chance to move hockey forward in this country and I wouldn't give a stuff if we did and the team suffered. GO FOR IT...............
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