2008 Championship
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2008
In September 2007, Sammon was confirmed as the new Galway senior football boss, receiving a three-year term and succeeding Peter Ford in the hot seat. His appointment meant that Galway had a native in charge of their premier football team for the first time in almost 10 years. Sammon is the second oldest inter-county manager on the scene at the moment after Mick O'Dwyer. Sammon’s backroom team includes former Galway defender Richie Fahey, Dunmore McHales Tom Ryder and another former county player, Jimmy O’Dea, of Tuam Stars.
On 19 May 2008, Galway won Connacht Senior Football Championship first round clash against Roscommon at Pearse Stadium by a comfortable 2-16 to 0-06 scoreline. Sammon said "I didn’t think we would win by so much. I would have settled for one or two points, I thought that’s how close it would be." after the match. Their semi-final clash against Leitrim also at Pearse Stadium, saw Galway win by 2-14 to 1-13. Sammon wasn’t entirely satisfied with Galway's performance and felt there was plenty of room for improvement ahead of the Connacht final against Mayo. "Goals are so important and they win games. We were fortunate when we got two and were disappointed that we gave one away. We were giving away goals in the early away goals in the early rounds of the league and we worked on stopping that, so we’re not happy."
On 13 July 2008, Galway won their 44th Connacht SFC after beating Mayo by 2-12 to 1-14 in a provincial decider at McHale Park. Sammon warmly greeted the victory after the final. "Any time you can win, it certainly stands to you, particularly down here in Castlebar. It is a very difficult places to win in," he said.
In the quarter-finals, Galway played reigning All-Ireland Champions Kerry. A spirited performance from the Tribesmen was not enough as Kerry won by 5 points, 1-21 to 1-16. Sammon said after the match, "Kerry were brilliant today. They just proved what a great team they are. Any team that is going for three-in-a-row deserves the respect and plaudits that they get. Looking back, I think that it has been a successful year for Galway as we brought on a number of young players. I felt at one stage when we got the goal that if we had pressed forward and gotten a point or two more, we might have gone ahead. But that is the sign of a great team — any time they are under pressure that they are able to come back and score". In his assessment of Galways season, he added "Looking back, I think that it has been a successful year for Galway as we brought on a number of young players."
Read more about this topic: Liam Sammon, Managerial Career