Kerry GAA Discussion Thread Mod Warning Post #4167

Kerrydude1981 · 04-03-2014 7:37pm

Is Gavin O Grady injured? Or has he emigrated?

He showed signs of been a promising forward when he was playing minor,well able to finish a chance.

ciarriaithuaidh · 04-03-2014 11:40pm

Kerrydude1981 wrote: »

Is Gavin O Grady injured? Or has he emigrated?

He showed signs of been a promising forward when he was playing minor,well able to finish a chance.

Has serious injury problems I'm told..pity as like you say he has a touch of class about him.

thinkstoomuch1 · 05-03-2014 2:07pm

What ye think yere u21 team next wed will be.
Are ye happy that panel,anyone not there that should be

I wonder will daragah call to pull the lads from the ucc team in the sigerson ,back fire

And fitzmaurice not using any u21s

homerjay2005 · 05-03-2014 2:14pm

keane2097 wrote: »

Kealy

--- Enright --- Griffin --- Fitzgerald

--- Crowley --- O Se --- Young
Maher --- Moran

--- Walsh --- Darran --- O'Brien

--- James --- Declan --- Cox

It's a very young team, I'm not sure what the hang up about old guys is

thats your team for the championship ya?

suppose if that wsa to be our best 15, then we are good indepth with Lyne,Buckley,Sheehan, Star amongest 4 or 5 other such as Aidan, Casey, O Leary, Maguire, BJK etc etc making up a pretty strong 24.

Star, Declan and Darran prob had their poorest 2 years in their careers, if they all step up this year it can fill the gooch void, with the others stepping up also.

keane2097 · 05-03-2014 2:15pm

thinkstoomuch1 wrote: »

What ye think yere u21 team next wed will be.
Are ye happy that panel,anyone not there that should be

I wonder will daragah call to pull the lads from the ucc team in the sigerson ,back fire

And fitzmaurice not using any u21s

Strand Road won the U21 Championship a couple of months ago but only have one player on the panel.

I would have thought we'd have a few more but wouldn't be too up to date on what the standard of the rest of them would be like so not complaining, just a bit surprised/disappointed.

keane2097 · 05-03-2014 2:24pm

homerjay2005 wrote: »

thats your team for the championship ya?

suppose if that wsa to be our best 15, then we are good indepth with Lyne,Buckley,Sheehan, Star amongest 4 or 5 other such as Aidan, Casey, O Leary, Maguire, BJK etc etc making up a pretty strong 24.

Star, Declan and Darran prob had their poorest 2 years in their careers, if they all step up this year it can fill the gooch void, with the others stepping up also.

It's a possible one I suppose depending on how the rest of the league goes, obv very early to pick anything but I'd like to see it shaping along those lines. Time to commit to the young lads come hell or high water, not that there are any other options really.

Darran had his best year in 2011 playing a role from the half forward line that involved making runs from deep and getting on the end of moves, hopefully he can reprise that this year. Don't think there's anywhere for Declan but the full forward line these days as don't think he has the engine to get up and down with the type of half backs that are around currently.

Not sure what role Donaghy has to play anymore, the high ball pretty much doesn't work anymore and I've never thought he was good enough as an intercounty midfielder.

I'd give Murphy a good chance of displacing Enright in that line up based on the two games I've seen and reports from the McGrath Cup from the old man.

Moran has been the better of the two midfielders so far but Maher isn't playing at his best yet. I think Sheehan and Maher is prob still our best pairing if we can ever get everyone fit and on form.

Might be a bit of a waste having Fionn in the corner but AFAIK Marc has told them he's playing out the field this year and that's the end of it, so I'd prefer Fionn in there than Young, who is a good wing back and a bad corner back.

Cox and O'Brien are unknown quantities, but have been very impressed with O'Brien so far and would like to stick with him - we need his sort of pace badly.

Cox is nearly in there by default, not sure he's the best option but he has potential and I try to never talk about BJK

Uncle Mclovin · 05-03-2014 2:45pm

Having seen a lot of Conor Cox playing I don't think he's good enough to be starting at 15 for Kerry. He doesn't win enough of 50/50 balls. I think his free kick taking ability covers over a lot of his faults. Saying that, there is 2 spots up for grabs in the forwards.

D Walsh

Darren O'S

D Casey

James O'D----Declan O'S

S O'Brien / P Geaney / BJ Keane

I'd also like to see Sheehan starting midfield with Maher.

Anyone know what the story is with Paddy Curtin these days?

keane2097 · 05-03-2014 2:57pm

Uncle Mclovin wrote: »

Having seen a lot of Conor Cox playing I don't think he's good enough to be starting at 15 for Kerry. He doesn't win enough of 50/50 balls. I think his free kick taking ability covers over a lot of his faults. Saying that, there is 2 spots up for grabs in the forwards.

D Walsh
Darren O'S
D Casey

James O'D----Declan O'S
S O'Brien / P Geaney / BJ Keane

I'd also like to see Sheehan starting midfield with Maher.

Anyone know what the story is with Paddy Curtin these days?

You know I probably forgot about Casey a bit, I think it's probably early days for him at this level but think him on the wing and O'Brien in the corner could be better than what I posted above alright.

I do hold out a bit of hope for Cox going forward though, I like his pace and physique, and he looks like a player who fancies getting on the ball and trying things which is important.

EDIT: I think he's working in London these days (Curtin).

slingerz · 05-03-2014 3:02pm

I reckon Brian Sheehan could do a lot of damage at full forward for Kerry rather than midfield to be honest

ciarriaithuaidh · 05-03-2014 3:21pm

Uncle Mclovin wrote: »

Having seen a lot of Conor Cox playing I don't think he's good enough to be starting at 15 for Kerry. He doesn't win enough of 50/50 balls. I think his free kick taking ability covers over a lot of his faults. Saying that, there is 2 spots up for grabs in the forwards.

D Walsh
Darren O'S
D Casey

James O'D----Declan O'S
S O'Brien / P Geaney / BJ Keane

I'd also like to see Sheehan starting midfield with Maher.

Anyone know what the story is with Paddy Curtin these days?

Curtin is moving abroad for work unfortunately. He's a bit of a loss to the panel at the very least.

If Keane won't include BJK in his potential team, then I sure as hell will! I'd hope he pushes on this year to really cement the starting place we all know he's capable of holding down. Was a bit disappointed with him Sunday after a very good start, but in fairness the full forward line didn't see a lot of ball in the second half. Thought he should have kept the goal chance lower..easy to be an armchair critic I know, but you need to be putting chances like that away.
Like some, I'm not sure if Donaghy is any good to us these days. It would make things a lot easier if he recovered a bit of form so we could move Declan out to the 40 again..easier still if Tommy came home from Oz. Christ how we could do with him now!
Anyway, this is just a guess at what we might end up with come the real stuff in the summer. Also, to highlight another issue Keane has mentioned, Kealy continues to be unimpressively inconsistent with his kickouts and command...but unfortunately don't see anyone taking his place at the moment. So..

Kealy

Fionn Fitzgerald

Mark Griffin

Enright ---

Crowley

Marc O'Sé

Young ---

Maher

Moran

Darran

Casey/Sheehan

Walsh ---

JOD

Declan

BJK

If Bryan Sheehan gets fit enough and is in form I'd play him centre forward, but with him being out for so long, I'm not sure he'll make it back to the level of fitness in time. He would add strength to the half forward line and would be a huge asset from placed balls obviously. Darran may get named 11, but he'll never really play there and I wouldn't want him to. He's a natural wing forward. Outside that 15, you're talking about Paul Murphy, AOM, Buckley, Sheehan/Casey, O'Brien, Paul Geaney, Cox, Donaghy, Pa Kilkenny, Kieran O'Leary as realisitic options off the bench depending on the situation/form.
All things going well, with everyone fit and the right attititude we still have enough to beat the majority of teams out there.

keane2097 · 05-03-2014 4:14pm

I think BJK has all the attributes to be a very good ball winning half forward besides gas, I suspect he just has a natural problem with his engine regardless of how hard he trains, which is obsessively to be fair.

I was doing scores for all the games on Sunday so wasn't able to watch as closely as I'd have liked but it looked like Higgins was marking him at times for Mayo? He struggles a bit in the corner when the who's marking him has him for pace.

The goal chance he definitely could have held onto the ball for a bit longer, snatched at it a bit and didn't put it in the corner.

Poor_old_gill · 05-03-2014 7:02pm

keane2097 wrote: »

Strand Road won the U21 Championship a couple of months ago but only have one player on the panel.

I would have thought we'd have a few more but wouldn't be too up to date on what the standard of the rest of them would be like so not complaining, just a bit surprised/disappointed.

This resembles a conversation I had with someone recently and the conclusion that we drew, having seen KOR last year, was that they had a lot of 7/10 players with Savage being the only real standout.

Lots of teams will have 3/4 really good players, 5/6 average and 5/6 deadwood. That KOR team was solid all over with no huge weakness but not too many stars.

I did expect 1/2 more to make it though

DDC1990 · 05-03-2014 7:09pm

I'm expecting something along these lines for Championship:

Kealy

Marc

Mark Griffin

Enright

Crowley

Fionn Fitz

Young ---

Maher

Buckley

Casey

Sheehan

Walsh

JOD

Declan

Darren

With: Moran, BJK, O'Brien, Lyne, Murphy, AOM, Donaghy, Cox, Sherwood being our main sub contributers depending on the type of game.

ciarriaithuaidh · 05-03-2014 7:30pm

DDC1990 wrote: »

I'm expecting something along these lines for Championship:
Kealy

Marc
Mark Griffin
Enright

Crowley
Fionn Fitz
Young ---
Maher
Buckley

Casey
Sheehan
Walsh

JOD
Declan
Darren

With: Moran, BJK, O'Brien, Lyne, Murphy, AOM, Donaghy, Cox, Sherwood being our main sub contributers depending on the type of game.

As Keane said, Marc is most likely going to be used at 6 come c/ship..unless things are really bad in the fullback line..I expect Enright and Griffin to improve a lot.
Enright's problem is consistency. Have seen him have outstanding games, like Tyrone and Donegal in 2012 but has had some shockers also where his concentration doesn't seem to be there. He did have a good Munster final last year aswell to be fair. Would want to be nailing down a place at this stage. Griffin is still new to the scene and will keep getting better. Got a bit of a roasting Sunday, but wouldn't worry too much about it.
I would hope that we could swap Fionn Fitz and Marc on your team and gain more..but we'll see.

Sheehan is going to really struggle to get where we need him to be in terms of fitness and match fitness (2 totally different things) before c/ship. I would like to have him on the 40 like you, but would have doubts he can make it. We'll see.
I don't think Casey and Walsh can both play in half forward line. Neither is very good tracking back, unlike Darran who does some trojan work in that regard. I would like to see more of Casey at 11 as he is a good kick passer and decent on the ball. Did ok on Sunday, but failed to track his man on a few occasions.
Darran has done his best work on the wing as I said. Did ok in 2009 in the corner but always at his most effective running from midfield/half forward. Could be a case of naming him there and bringing him out of course. JOD/Declan would definitely be the preferred inside duo as you named it.

Just a minor point on panel members you mentioned. Don't want to be unnecessarily harsh, but have seen nothing from Sherwood yet to suggest he'd cut it in c/ship. If he steps it up in the coming weeks, I'll re-assess, but I stand firm in my opinion that it was insanity to throw him into the fray last year in the semi final, regardless of form in training and I don't think the attempt to make a defender of him is entirely fair, given the fact he played the majority of his underage football as a forward/midfielder. Would much prefer we gave game time to natural defenders like Pa Kilkenny and Paul Murphy (if not for this year, then looking ahead) going forward.

While I'm in this rant mode, may aswell add that I don't think Mikey Geaney is up to it either...baffled by his continual game time at wing back, half forward, centre forward etc..We have better players than him in every position and most people I've spoken to agree with this.

homerjay2005 · 05-03-2014 7:40pm

what are your expecctations for this year lads?

i thought we would win it in 2011 and 2013, but alas we came short. im not so confident this year, but from reading that Fitzmaurice interview he makes me think anything is possible.

need to pick up a few wins in division 1 tho asap and remain there as momentum going into may is vital, as is playing top level next spring.

ciarriaithuaidh · 05-03-2014 7:46pm

keane2097 wrote: »

I think BJK has all the attributes to be a very good ball winning half forward besides gas, I suspect he just has a natural problem with his engine regardless of how hard he trains, which is obsessively to be fair.

I was doing scores for all the games on Sunday so wasn't able to watch as closely as I'd have liked but it looked like Higgins was marking him at times for Mayo? He struggles a bit in the corner when the who's marking him has him for pace.

The goal chance he definitely could have held onto the ball for a bit longer, snatched at it a bit and didn't put it in the corner.

He was excellent at a half forward at minor level and would have been a standout player at that level had he not been f*cked around by Kennedy. I do think the corner is the spot for him at this level though. He just needs to keep working to get to the level he was at in 2010 or towards the end of 2011 say. It's natural he's take time to get back into the swing of it given the absence from the panel last year.
Wouldn't blame him for taking on that shot when he did at all btw, just needed to be better directed, lower specifically, is all. He could have also flicked it to Cox who definitely would have scored but it was a difficult ball to execute I admit.

DDC1990 · 05-03-2014 7:59pm

ciarriaithuaidh wrote: »

As Keane said, Marc is most likely going to be used at 6 come c/ship..unless things are really bad in the fullback line..I expect Enright and Griffin to improve a lot.
Enright's problem is consistency. Have seen him have outstanding games, like Tyrone and Donegal in 2012 but has had some shockers also where his concentration doesn't seem to be there. He did have a good Munster final last year aswell to be fair. Would want to be nailing down a place at this stage. Griffin is still new to the scene and will keep getting better. Got a bit of a roasting Sunday, but wouldn't worry too much about it.
I would hope that we could swap Fionn Fitz and Marc on your team and gain more..but we'll see.

Sheehan is going to really struggle to get where we need him to be in terms of fitness and match fitness (2 totally different things) before c/ship. I would like to have him on the 40 like you, but would have doubts he can make it. We'll see.
I don't think Casey and Walsh can both play in half forward line. Neither is very good tracking back, unlike Darran who does some trojan work in that regard. I would like to see more of Casey at 11 as he is a good kick passer and decent on the ball. Did ok on Sunday, but failed to track his man on a few occasions.
Darran has done his best work on the wing as I said. Did ok in 2009 in the corner but always at his most effective running from midfield/half forward. Could be a case of naming him there and bringing him out of course. JOD/Declan would definitely be the preferred inside duo as you named it.

Just a minor point on panel members you mentioned. Don't want to be unnecessarily harsh, but have seen nothing from Sherwood yet to suggest he'd cut it in c/ship. If he steps it up in the coming weeks, I'll re-assess, but I stand firm in my opinion that it was insanity to throw him into the fray last year in the semi final, regardless of form in training and I don't think the attempt to make a defender of him is entirely fair, given the fact he played the majority of his underage football as a forward/midfielder. Would much prefer we gave game time to natural defenders like Pa Kilkenny and Paul Murphy (if not for this year, then looking ahead) going forward.

While I'm in this rant mode, may aswell add that I don't think Mikey Geaney is up to it either...baffled by his continual game time at wing back, half forward, centre forward etc..We have better players than him in every position and most people I've spoken to agree with this.

Bollox I had an essay-length reply to this and i refreshed the page by accident so i'll give you the abridged version:

I agree that Casey doesn't track back enough as it is. However i'd be more worried with Sheehans work ethic then Donnacha's. He's probably one of the hardest workers we have an spends 70% of the game tracking run's back.
How about:
10. An Other (Hard worker, breaking ball winner.. basically a young Paul Galvin)
11. Casey
12. Walsh

Would be ideal :P

Disagree with Marc as a centre-back. Too late in his career, not enough pace to deal with lads coming through the middle. Could see him picking up black cards easily. Fionn struggled big style at Corner Back vs Castlebar on Tom King. Looks far more comfortable in Half back line (i.e the Dublin game last year). Would be good attack-wise but a disaster defensively. Besides when it comes to crunch games, Kerry line up Man-to-Man rather then position-wise usually.

Sherwood: Hopeless v Dublin but far more positive last 2 games (especially defensively vs Derry). Struggles with ball distribution surprisingly as a guy who was a decent underage Wing/Half forward.

Kilkenny: Yes! Forgot him. Looks really decent (if a little undersized). Like Fionn last year.

Geaney: No thanks. Hides from games. Wouldn't be a massive fan on past performances.

closeline · 06-03-2014 1:50am

thinkstoomuch1 wrote: »

What ye think yere u21 team next wed will be.
Are ye happy that panel,anyone not there that should be

I wonder will daragah call to pull the lads from the ucc team in the sigerson ,back fire

And fitzmaurice not using any u21s

Did you watch the Sigerson, none of them were pulled as far as I could see.

homerjay2005 · 06-03-2014 12:00pm

closeline wrote: »

Did you watch the Sigerson, none of them were pulled as far as I could see.

indeed, was thinking it was a strange post.

how many of that Sigerson team are from kerry and on the u-21 panel the next night?

this u-21 is a vitual unknown, at minot level they were the team that was 11 points up against Tipp in first round and lost by a point. Tipp did win the All-Ireland though.

assume Tipp would be the big favourites to win the u-21 this year or have they regressed?

Uncle Mclovin · 06-03-2014 12:27pm

Kerry U21 Panel for next day.

Adrian Spillane (Templenoe), Brian Crowley (Templenoe), Cathal O Luing (An Ghaeltacht), Ciaran Keating (Skellig Rangers) Cillian Fitzgerald (Churchill), Conor Jordan (Austin Stacks), Conor Keane (Killarney Legion), David Foran (St Senan’s), Denis Daly (St Mary’s), Eanna O Conchuir (An Ghaeltacht), Gary O’Leary (Kilcummin), Gavin Crowley (Templenoe), Gavin Curran (Dingle), Gavin O’Shea (Dr Crokes), Greg Horan (Austin Stacks), Jack Barry (Na Gaeil), Jack McGuire (Listowel Emmetts), Jack Savage (Kerins O’Rahillys), James Crean (Annascaul), Jeff O’Donoghue (Glenflesk), Kieran Murphy (Kilcummin), Michael O’Connor (Derrynane), Nathan Breen (Beaufort), Niall Sheehy (John Mitchels), Padraig O Conchuir (Dingle), Padraig O Sé (An Ghaeltacht),Shane Murphy (Kilcummin), Sean Keane (Killarney Legion), Tadhg Morley (Templenoe), Thomas Hickey (Castleisland Desmonds).

Jack McGuire, Sean Keane and Thomas Hickey were involved with UCC in the Sigerson. Could be one more I'm missing. Sean Keane started the final wearing a sub jersey. I don't think any of them were pulled.

The Sigerson team had a good few other Kerry players including:
Brian Kelly
Fergal McNamara
David Culhane
Paul Geaney
Conor Cox

I thought David Culhane and Fergal McNamara had excellent games in that final.

Prop Joe · 06-03-2014 1:24pm

This is the team i would be expected to start

Gavin Curran (Dingle) or Shane Murphy (Kilcummin)

Jack McGuire (Emmetts)
Gavin Crowley (Templenoe)
Cathal O Luing (An Ghaeltacht)

Padraig O Sé (An Ghaeltacht)
Tadhg Morley (Templenoe)
Jack Barry (Na Gaeil)

Sean Keane (Legion)
Kieran Murphy (Kilcummin)

Cillian Fitzgerald (Churchill) or Greg Horan (Stacks)
Gary O’Leary (Kilcummin)
Adrian Spillane (Templenoe)

Ciaran Keating (Skellig Rangers)
Thomas Hickey (Desmonds)
Conor Keane (Legion)

Others that would be very close to starting

Gavin O’Shea (Crokes)
Niall Sheehy (Mitchels)

keane2097 · 06-03-2014 2:43pm

homerjay2005 wrote: »

what are your expecctations for this year lads?

i thought we would win it in 2011 and 2013, but alas we came short. im not so confident this year, but from reading that Fitzmaurice interview he makes me think anything is possible.

need to pick up a few wins in division 1 tho asap and remain there as momentum going into may is vital, as is playing top level next spring.

It's very hard to know this year with such a changed team and so many young guys. I think staying in Division 1 and getting to an All Ireland semi-final would be objectively a good result from the group as it stands.

Once you get to a semi-final you wouldn't know what could happen.

Last year was pretty much a success by virtue of the performances of Fitzgerald, Crowley and O'Donoghue alone. If we finished up this year with another three or four of the young players having performed as well as that trio did last year we'll be getting close to being in good shape again.

Poor_old_gill · 06-03-2014 2:58pm

Prop Joe wrote: »

This is the team i would be expected to start

Gavin Curran (Dingle) or Shane Murphy (Kilcummin)

Jack McGuire (Emmetts)
Gavin Crowley (Templenoe)
Cathal O Luing (An Ghaeltacht)

Padraig O Sé (An Ghaeltacht)
Tadhg Morley (Templenoe)
Jack Barry (Na Gaeil)

Sean Keane (Legion)
Kieran Murphy (Kilcummin)

Cillian Fitzgerald (Churchill) or Greg Horan (Stacks)
Gary O’Leary (Kilcummin)
Adrian Spillane (Templenoe)

Ciaran Keating (Skellig Rangers)
Thomas Hickey (Desmonds)
Conor Keane (Legion)

Others that would be very close to starting

Gavin O’Shea (Crokes)
Niall Sheehy (Mitchels)

Jeez we'll be in serious trouble if thats the team-
O Luing will get skinned at corner back- if he is to start then it will be at full back.
Jack Barry- I would be surprised to see him in there
Conor Keane-not good enough, was very poor for the minors last year and I really just think that he is good enough to get in the team to be honest.
If he can be marked out of it against Tipp and Tyrone then I wouldnt expect him to have much of an impact at this level.

Surprised that Jamie Moriarty from Mitchells isnt in there

Also- we'll get cleaned out at midfield

Archer3083 · 06-03-2014 3:19pm

I think Kerry might be better if they gave their younger players more time on the pitch this year, and get some much needed experience into them. It would be great if they got a couple of games in a packed Croke park as well. I can't see Kerry progressing beyond a semi-final. I can't see Kerry winning Munster this year, so I think it will be a quarter-final against one of the other provincial winners. So, it could be Mayo, Dublin or Tyrone. Kerry would have a good chance against a Mayo or Tyrone team, but it might be a bit much this year. I think Fitzmaurice will have to sacrifice a bit of success this year to get the younger lads up to speed. They'll be in a much better position that way when Gooch comes back next year, and next year would be the time to have a real go at another AI.

thinkstoomuch1 · 06-03-2014 6:01pm

Thomas hickey,Jack maguire,Adrian spillane didnt play the final weekend.
Shaun keane did play,a half the only u21 to do so

Hickey for example had played or were subs in earlier game for ucc in the group stages.
My point was playing sigerson cup in the final weekend .
I watched the Sigerscon cup final,replayed in full as what at the laois hurling game,and only one u21 kerry man was involved that day or the day before .

word was they were pulled by O se,in the lead up to the u 21 game .If it wasnt through ,fair point ,but only keane played a part that weekend .And Cronin of cork was out for ucc in that final so there was places availble up for grabs.

The other kerry lads ,culhane ,cox,geaney are over age at u21.

Uncle Mclovin · 06-03-2014 6:15pm

thinkstoomuch1 wrote: »

Thomas hickey,Jack maguire,Adrian spillane didnt play the final weekend.
Shaun keane did play,a half the only u21 to do so

Hickey for example had played or were subs in earlier game for ucc in the group stages.
My point was playing sigerson cup in the final weekend .
I watched the Sigerscon cup final,replayed in full as what at the laois hurling game,and only one u21 kerry man was involved that day or the day before .

word was they were pulled by O se,in the lead up to the u 21 game .If it wasnt through ,fair point ,but only keane played a part that weekend .And Cronin of cork was out for ucc in that final so there was places availble up for grabs.

The other kerry lads ,culhane ,cox,geaney are over age at u21.

If you read my post again you'll see that I didn't say they played. I just said that Keane played the final. I didn't say that Cox or Geaney were U21. I just said they were Kerry men.

By the way your post is difficult to understand.

ciarriaithuaidh · 06-03-2014 9:56pm

Lay off the posting of under 21 probable team lads..one of the slight advantages we might have is that I don't think Cork have as clear a picture of what our lineup will be as they would usually have at this level!

The biggest issue we're going to have is our defence v their attack. We need to get the marking match-ups right and, call a spade a spade, we're going to need to get bodies behind the ball a lot. If we give that Cork forward line space it will be trouble.

Our forward line has enough firepower to do damage, I think we should do ok at midifield, so it will come down to how well we defend. The likes of McEoin and Cathal Vaughan in particular will need to be closed down.

Fr Tod Umptious · 06-03-2014 11:37pm

homerjay2005 wrote: »

what are your expecctations for this year lads?

i thought we would win it in 2011 and 2013, but alas we came short. im not so confident this year, but from reading that Fitzmaurice interview he makes me think anything is possible.

need to pick up a few wins in division 1 tho asap and remain there as momentum going into may is vital, as is playing top level next spring.

As a Mayo blow-in living in Kerry I spend as much time these days wondering about Kerry as I do Mayo.

To be honest I think a semi-final is about as good as it will get for Kerry.
They are a team in transition, there is no doubt about that and there is no use denying that they still have gaps to fill to get back to being regular winners.

I think league form is always a decent indicator of how a team will do in the championship, usually for the worst too.
Look at Dublin 2012 and Donegal 2013, they both had poor leagues and ended up not being the force they were expected to be in the Championship.
Kerry's poor league form in 2013 was also a indication what was to come.
And Kerry's poor results this year, and their inability to perform for 70mins is a sign for the year ahead.
To be honest there is not much more to be added to this current squad.
Declan O' Sullivan has had a few poor years and is not getting any younger
Star is lost
Brian Sheehan has struggled to get fit after a few injuries
Darran O' Sullivan could still offer a lot but time will tell.

I also think that the absence of the Gooch could expose some members of this team.
Many bathed in the reflected glory of the Gooch when they were to ones to give the final pass to him.
How good will they look when some one less talented than Gooch is not working wonders on the end of those passes ?

I think they will struggle to win the Munster Championship in Cork (not that Cork are great either to be honest) and eventually go out to Mayo/Dublin/Tyrone/Donegal.
They will probably get past the last round of the qualifiers as the teams coming from the 3rd round will not be of great quality.
Then again I feel that if the likes of Cavan meet Kerry again in 2014 they would not give them the same respect as they did in 2013.
And the days of Kerry getting to Croke Park and turning it on are gone since 2009.
Since that last All Ireland win they have beaten the following in Croke Park in Championship
Limerick, a young and inexperienced Mayo and a young and inexperienced Cavan

If they happen to win Munster then a semi-final may be on the cards (possibly v Mayo), but then again they could struggle to get past a Cavan or Monaghan team in the QFs that would have learned from their 2013 experiences in the big house.

That's my honest assessment as an outsider looking in.

ciarriaithuaidh · 06-03-2014 11:43pm

thinkstoomuch1 wrote: »

Thomas hickey,Jack maguire,Adrian spillane didnt play the final weekend.
Shaun keane did play,a half the only u21 to do so

Hickey for example had played or were subs in earlier game for ucc in the group stages.
My point was playing sigerson cup in the final weekend .
I watched the Sigerscon cup final,replayed in full as what at the laois hurling game,and only one u21 kerry man was involved that day or the day before .

word was they were pulled by O se,in the lead up to the u 21 game .If it wasnt through ,fair point ,but only keane played a part that weekend .And Cronin of cork was out for ucc in that final so there was places availble up for grabs.

The other kerry lads ,culhane ,cox,geaney are over age at u21.

Just noticed this post now.

TTM, the "withdrawal of players" was nothing but a rumour, no idea why you're bringing it up repeatedly.

You've just gone and disproved the theory yourself by mentioning Cronin being out for the final and replaced by...Sean Keane, who is a Kerry Under 21.

Of the others, Thomas Hickey couldn't get a game because the full forward line consisted of 2 Kerry Seniors and a Tipp Senior, who were all excellent.
Jack McGuire was close to the team, but he's a fullback and you have 2 Cork Seniors and Fergal McNamara who was a Kerry under 21 last year in the fullback line.
Adrian Spillane is not as good as the other midfield options.

It's a simple as that. There was no withdrawal of anyone and why would there be 3 weeks before the game.

ciarriaithuaidh · 07-03-2014 12:14am

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

As a Mayo blow-in living in Kerry I spend as much time these days wondering about Kerry as I do Mayo.

To be honest I think a semi-final is about as good as it will get for Kerry.
They are a team in transition, there is no doubt about that and there is no use denying that they still have gaps to fill to get back to being regular winners.

I think league form is always a decent indicator of how a team will do in the championship, usually for the worst too.
Look at Dublin 2012 and Donegal 2013, they both had poor leagues and ended up not being the force they were expected to be in the Championship.
Kerry's poor league form in 2013 was also a indication what was to come.
And Kerry's poor results this year, and their inability to perform for 70mins is a sign for the year ahead.
To be honest there is not much more to be added to this current squad.
Declan O' Sullivan has had a few poor years and is not getting any younger
Star is lost
Brian Sheehan has struggled to get fit after a few injuries
Darran O' Sullivan could still offer a lot but time will tell.

I also think that the absence of the Gooch could expose some members of this team.
Many bathed in the reflected glory of the Gooch when they were to ones to give the final pass to him.
How good will they look when some one less talented than Gooch is not working wonders on the end of those passes ?

I think they will struggle to win the Munster Championship in Cork (not that Cork are great either to be honest) and eventually go out to Mayo/Dublin/Tyrone/Donegal.
They will probably get past the last round of the qualifiers as the teams coming from the 3rd round will not be of great quality.
Then again I feel that if the likes of Cavan meet Kerry again in 2014 they would not give them the same respect as they did in 2013.
And the days of Kerry getting to Croke Park and turning it on are gone since 2009.
Since that last All Ireland win they have beaten the following in Croke Park in Championship
Limerick, a young and inexperienced Mayo and a young and inexperienced Cavan

If they happen to win Munster then a semi-final may be on the cards (possibly v Mayo), but then again they could struggle to get past a Cavan or Monaghan team in the QFs that would have learned from their 2013 experiences in the big house.

That's my honest assessment as an outsider looking in.

That's largely fair enough.

Only 2 elements of the post I'd have a problem with are:
1. Your assesment of the Croke park performance since 2009 is a bit of a misrepresentation IMO given the close nature of the 2011 final, 2012 game v Donegal, 2013 semi final with Dublin.
2. Mentioning Cavan twice..the game with Cavan last year was a shocking performance yet, without one of our 2 best players (JOD) the game was still over at half time. This thing about "giving Kerry respect" is nonsense. Monaghan I would agree are a team that could give a lot of teams trouble on their day and would have beaten Tyrone last year if they had the courage to abandon their overly defensive structure for even a quarter of the game.

Personally, for the first time in a long time, I don't expect us to be in contention for Sam, but I would like to see an improvement in structure, tactical performance and in individual performances like Buckley, Moran, Enright and Griffin for example.

What do you make of Mayo's prospects for the year?

Kerry GAA Discussion Thread Mod Warning Post #4167

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