*Limerick GAA news/discussion thread*

Aidric

Same old story year in year out. One good championship performance where we gallantly lose and then play flat in the qualifiers.
I'd question why the tactics weren't changed midway through the match today. Why persist with this slow laborious hand passing game when it isn't working? All it does is slow up play and invite the opponents on to challenge. This often ends up in being dispossessed. When we play direct with pace we are at our best.

Ian Ryan's performance against Meath is beginning to look like a flash in the pan, he has gone missing ever since.

Ger Collins is a class act in the forwards although he missed a few soft frees today.
John Galvin wasn't as effective as he was against Kerry but still a dominant force.
Jim O Donovan is well off this level. Way too clumsy in possession and doesn't have a brain on the pitch.
Stephen Kelly has an enormous tank and no little skill. He was our best player today along with Collins.
Steven Lavin is a real asset to the team and offers another option in attack.
The rest are much of a muchness, average footballers at best.
That's 5 years now for Mickey Ned and no significant progress. What's his contract situation?

ShamoBuc

Aidric wrote: »

That's 5 years now for Mickey Ned and no significant progress. What's his contract situation?

5 years ago Limerick would have been given little chance of getting close to Cork and Kerry. Yet again tonight they proved how far they have come. They are very unfortunate that they have 2 of the best football teams in Ireland to play nearly every year. If limerick were in the Connaught championship they would be winning more games than losing them - that's progress I would say.

Aidric

ShamoBuc wrote: »

5 years ago Limerick would have been given little chance of getting close to Cork and Kerry. Yet again tonight they proved how far they have come. They are very unfortunate that they have 2 of the best football teams in Ireland to play nearly every year. If limerick were in the Connaught championship they would be winning more games than losing them - that's progress I would say.

I'm not trying to diminish in any way the job done by O Sullivan. In fact I think he has done an excellent job and he has assembled a solid panel.
All I'm saying is that we haven't made that next step and all the moral victories in the world don't make up for that.

soccymonster

Anyone know what was up with everyone surrounding John Galvin at the end and clapping after he walked away? I missed it Did he say on radio limerick that he's retiring?
God, I'm very disappointed atm. Very. I should really be used to there moral victories but god...

busbybhoy

Aidric wrote: »

I'm not trying to diminish in any way the job done by O Sullivan. In fact I think he has done an excellent job and he has assembled a solid panel.
All I'm saying is that we haven't made that next step and all the moral victories in the world don't make up for that.

Have to agree with Shamo...That "next step" is the toughest step to take. Being from mayo i know what its like to come close year in year out but in fairness to Limerick ye were just so unfortunate to get Cork in the first qualifier. Ye did yourselves proud yet again and have been the best value entertainment for us neutrals this year. Until next year....

ShamoBuc

Aidric wrote: »

I'm not trying to diminish in any way the job done by O Sullivan. In fact I think he has done an excellent job and he has assembled a solid panel.
All I'm saying is that we haven't made that next step and all the moral victories in the world don't make up for that.

I understand where you are coming from, but the facts are they will play Cork or Kerry or BOTH in the championship - not alot of teams in Ireland would be able to put in the performances that Lim have done in recent years.
To make the next step - all I can say is ye nearly made it tonight. Posession football will only get ye so far, sooner rather than later you have to mix it up with fast long ball into the 2 man full forward line. Maybe ye lost it on the line, but had ye won, would ye have won it on the line?

Aidric

ShamoBuc wrote: »

I understand where you are coming from, but the facts are they will play Cork or Kerry or BOTH in the championship - not alot of teams in Ireland would be able to put in the performances that Lim have done in recent years.

I accept that completely, two of the pre favourites for the All Ireland most years. The thing is we have come really close on a number of occasions in the last few years and haven't made that leap. It's not as if we were hammered out the gate. The games were there for the taking. The deflation of this is carried in to the qualifiers and we inevitably fall flat.

ShamoBuc wrote: »

To make the next step - all I can say is ye nearly made it tonight. Posession football will only get ye so far, sooner rather than later you have to mix it up with fast long ball into the 2 man full forward line. Maybe ye lost it on the line, but had ye won, would ye have won it on the line?

It has to come down to the sideline to change things up when the possession game wasn't working. As I was saying in another post we are at our best playing direct football.

panda100

soccymonster wrote: »

Anyone know what was up with everyone surrounding John Galvin at the end and clapping after he walked away? I missed it Did he say on radio limerick that he's retiring? ...

No hes not retiring. He stayed for half an hour on the pitch signing autographs and taking pictures with loads of the little kids. The poor guy looked exhausted,yet he didnt just run to the dressing room.Great ambassador for the sport imo.

I had to laugh at us Limerick supporters who get so excited with a draw we have a pitch invasion.

Im so pissed of we got Cork in The Qualifiers. Any other team and we'd be in the quarters now.

After yesterdays display, its Bye-Bye Mickey ned. Tactics lost us the game.

TheSpecialOne

Was at the game and i feel we lost it giving away cheap points e.g. messing with these hand passes in the backs and getting caught out,Scanlon messing with the ball twice cost us 2 points,and silly frees!Some bad misses too from Collins especially one in e.t!Look we are not far off the top we just need to take our chances in the big games!

P.S I think john stayed around to report the assault he got in the cork box in the first half,and the ref gives a free out!:mad::mad:

soccymonster

TheSpecialOne wrote: »

Was at the game and i feel we lost it giving away cheap points e.g. messing with these hand passes in the backs and getting caught out,Scanlon messing with the ball twice cost us 2 points,and silly frees!Some bad misses too from Collins especially one in e.t!Look we are not far off the top we just need to take our chances in the big games!

P.S I think john stayed around to report the assault he got in the cork box in the first half,and the ref gives a free out!:mad::mad:

What was the ref's reason for giving a free out, do ya know?

flutered

soccymonster wrote: »

What was the ref's reason for giving a free out, do ya know?

i said yesterday the ref would decide the outcome, which is why the weaker countys have to really win easy, i also said some time ago that m.n.o sullivan should not have been reappointed, all last year cork were suspect under the high ball, things have not changed, towards the end when j.galvin tired a little he should have been pushed into the full forward line and a fresh pair of legd be brought into the middle of the park, then keep pumping the high ball in.

grenache

I won't be too harsh as these guys are amateurs and I know nobody goes out to intentionally have a bad game. That said, one must be constructive in both criticism and praise. All marks out of 10.

Brian Scanlon - 7
Got good length in his kick-outs all night and produced one marvellous save from Colm O'Neill in the first half. Scored a magnificent free near the end but was guilty of supply hospital passes to both Lane and O'Riordan which directly led to Cork scores.

Mark O'Riordan - 5
Performed reasonbly well on Colm O'Neill, one very good block in the first half, but gave away many petty frees. Wisely substituted on the 40 minute mark as he seemed to be heading for an early bath.

Johnny McCarthy - 6
Not a bad nights work from a defensive point of view, but was guilty of too many lateral hand-passes and not enough forward ones. Dealt admirably under the high ball despite conceeding a few inches to Ciarán Sheehan.

Andrew Lane - 5
Had a decent enough first half but never really got to grips with Daniel Goulding once he came into the game. Gave good support play to Pa Ranahan but all in all not his best night in a green jersey.

Stephen Lavin - 5
A good opening 25 minutes in which he drove forward at every opportunity, scoring one beautiful point, was spoiled by a rueful second half and ET performance. Coughed up possession far too easy and kicked two free out over the sideline. His sending off was harsh and added insult to injury. He's much better than this.

Stephen Lucey - 4
A night he'll want to forget, was lethargic on the ball and kicked away possession far too easily. Pierce O'Neill dragged him further towards midfield leaving a gaping whole for Kissane and O'Leary to exploit.

Pa Ranahan - 5
Couldn't fault the guy for effort, was one of the few players who looked to kick the ball directly into Ian Ryan and Ger Collins. Was always available to give support to John Galvin when needed. Lacks pace however and was exposed by Paddy Kelly on a couple of occasions.

Jim Donovan - 5
A good first twenty minutes but faded there after. Did at least try to counter-act Cork's crowding tactics by attemping to break the falling ball from kick-outs - a good tactic if our half backs had bothered to gather the breaking ball. Fouled a bit too much and tired near the end.

John Galvin - 7
A few super catches and carried lots of ball. Didn't get the support he warranted under the kick-outs. Was guilty of taking too much out of it at times and faded near the end. Is still the rock upon which this team is built and will be for a few years yet

Padraig Browne - 6
One of the few players who improved as the game wore on. Carried the ball well when at half forward but faded just after half time. Was subbed but re-introduced in ET at right half back and did better when switched to his natural position. One brilliant block in the second period of ET.

James Ryan - 7
Once again ran himself into the ground, and popped up everywhere. Like the rest was guilty of over-elaborating at times and kicked two bad wides in particular, but offered better support to the man in possession than any other player on the night. A guy you'd want in your team any day.

Seanie Buckley - 6
Was unlucky not to rattle the net or earn a penalty in the first half, his work rate is tremendous but was guilty of some poor delivery into the full line. Never seems to finish a game as he runs himself into the ground.

Ger Collins - 6
His poorest game for Limerick this year, but in his defence he was rarely supplied with decent ball. Guilty of couple of awful wides, and should have tested Alan Quirke in ET when the goal was at his mercy. Kept his cool to slot home the penalty and was always in front of his man, something you couldn't say for the rest of the full line.

Ian Ryan - 4
Was unlucky with an effort that rebounded off the upright in the first half. Tried hard but was not afforded enough space by Canty or Kissane. Appeared more lethargic as the game went on and was rightly substituted.

Stephen Kelly - 6
Can't question his willingness to run and the punishment he takes from opposing defenders is something else. However he never got the space required as Cork made sure the area between midfield and the 40 line was always congested. Took his point well but aimed some really useless ball into Collins and Fitzgerald as the match wore on.

Subs used
Conor Mullane - 8
Definitely Limerick's most assured and best player on the night. His positional sense was second to none and he used all of his physicality and experience to keep tabs on Sheehan. Also sought to go forward with the ball more often than sideways. Why he isn't on the starting 15 we can only scratch our heads at.

Conor Fitzgerald - 5
On the field for five seconds when Lucey's quick free picked him out all on his lonesome. Fluffed his chance and that was a sign of things to come. Composed himself to score the equaliser but was too often second to the ball behind Jamie O'Sullivan. Disappointing night for a normally reliable forward.

Shane Gallagher - 6
The man from Ballysteen injected a bit of energy into Limerick's game, and he somewhat stemmed the constant flow of Cork ball towards our goal. Looked to get forward more often than the man he replaced, but also played some silly hand passes into no-mans land.

Eoin Joy - 4
No joy for Eoin last night. His most memorable contribution was to snuggle up to Graham Canty on the ground. Didn't really have any affect and kicked away some wasteful ball. Was subbed in ET.

Eoghan O'Connor - 6
Couldn't fault his enthusiasm, he looked to support Stephen Kelly and John Mullane at every occasion and ran at the Cork defense, but all too often was guided down a cul-de-sac.

John Mullane - 5
Did his part, tried to play some early ball into his forwards but like the rest coughed up cheap possession through over-use of lateral play.

panda100

I can't believe Cork got Roscommon in the Quarters. Il be supporting the Rossies from now on!

grenache

ShamoBuc wrote: »

5 years ago Limerick would have been given little chance of getting close to Cork and Kerry. Yet again tonight they proved how far they have come. They are very unfortunate that they have 2 of the best football teams in Ireland to play nearly every year. If limerick were in the Connaught championship they would be winning more games than losing them - that's progress I would say.

I dont know if you've followed Limerick's fortunes but we were every bit as good five years ago as we are now. Kerry beat us by 2 clear goals in 2005, two moments of magic from the Gooch. The previous year we drew with Kerry in the final and lost by four in the replay. The year before that we beat Cork by ten points in PUC. The improvement in our team isn't a recent one, it can be traced back to the turn of the century with our good u-21 team.

Benny Cake

Question for ye lads, have limerick ever played a senior championship football match in croke park? I know they have played 2 league finals in recent times there but I cant recall them ever getting to croker in the championship.....

grenache

D_Red_Army wrote: »

Question for ye lads, have limerick ever played a senior championship football match in croke park? I know they have played 2 league finals in recent times there but I cant recall them ever getting to croker in the championship.....

I believe the answer to be no. Even when we won the 1896 All Ireland Final i'm not even sure if it was played at Croke Park, or Jones' Road as it was known back then.

On a separate issue, John Allen has tonight quashed any rumours that he is favourite for the Limerick hurling manager's job after being named on the three wise men's list of nominees. He did analysis on TG4's live coverage of the Munster u-21 hurling final tonight. When asked if he was in the running for the job, he replied "Tá liosta an fhad ann, níl suim agam san post" - which to those of you who did foundation level Irish for the Leaving translates as "there is a long list there, i've no interest in the job".

flutered

so the question arises how many on the list are interested,
b.t.w. davy fitz was coaching not far from the gaelic grounds, never asked to manage limerick,
the sparrow knows limerick hurling like the back of his hand, he should have been kept in limerick,
anthony daley looks to be fissed off up in dublin, would he not do ?,
to me the qualifications of some on the list are non existant,
ah well thats limerick hurling for you.

pajoguy

Dont forget the committee can interview anyone else not nominated. Those 3 clare men may well be on the radar as well as Ger L.
Not sure how well that would go down....The only way is up!

flutered

so how do they find people that are not nominated, has an add being placed looking for a manager, (sorry victim).

Limerick_Lass

Approach people they feel would be suitable?! Maybe

panda100

Rumour is that Mickey Ned is staying on next year??!

Say it isn't so!

We've gone backwards with him,not forwards, why is everyone insisting that he's done great things for Limerick football

I was watching Kildare at the weekend in Croker, a team we almost beat two years ago in the second round of the qualifiers. In the two years Kildare are at the semi's and playing Division 2 football.
We're down in Division 4, still trying to get out of the qualifiers. We're the same team we were three years ago,having been beaten by a mediocre,ageing Kerry team in Munster final.
We need to come up another level and that means better training,new skills and new tactics!

What do the football fans here think of Mickey Ned staying on for another year?

liammur

I would agree, mickey ned has done all he can. However, that football team just isn't good enough.

Browney7

I'd hope Mickey Ned sees sense and leaves. I think a new voice in the dressing room is required and to be honest I think he's taken them as far as he can to be fair.

He doesn't seem to be letting them play football either which is frustrating because I think we have the footballers to play good football.

grenache

liammur wrote: »

I would agree, mickey ned has done all he can. However, that football team just isn't good enough.

It is good enough, with right man at the helm, we can still win a Munster title. I firmly believe that. They just need a break, something to go their way. Someone who encourages a quick direct brand of football would be a help too. If Mickey Ned stays, i can't see us winning anything any time soon.

Get Mick O'Dwyer in and do something positive for once Limerick County Board!

liammur

This limerick football team is full of excuses and bad luck/ref stories.

How many games have they lost a point? it's laughable

By limerick football standards, yes, they're good. But that's all.

flutered

liammur wrote: »

This limerick football team is full of excuses and bad luck/ref stories.

How many games have they lost a point? it's laughable

By limerick football standards, yes, they're good. But that's all.

the ref plays a huge part in games, just ask louth,
i.m.o. different tactics would have got different results, but the one thing we have to realise is, we are here giving our opinions on an online forum, while m.ned is collecting a nice few bob in exes.

Limerick_Lass

John Galvin has confirmed he'll stay for another year and has urged that Mickey Ned stay on aswell.

liammur

i agree the ref plays a big part in a game, but it seems to be happening to limk just too often to be a fluke.

i also agree the tactics v cork were desperate, looked like they were content to lose by a point or 2 (you'd have thought they had enough narrow defeats)

TheSpecialOne

Mickey Ned will stay on hopefully!and this nonsense about not wanting to lose games...we get men back and we defend like any county should.Kildare are a very similar team to us they get plenty back but the difference is in the forwards they take there chances we don't!We have had no luck between crap penalty call in Cork,Two Goals in last min vs Cork,Kerry having 15 men on pitch this year,Scoring a point in last sec against meath last year but ref blew it up and then the same ref giving a free out for an assault on Galvin this year vs Cork!If our forwards woke up we would be a serious team.Mickey ned to hopefully stay on he is a great man.

soccymonster

grenache wrote: »

It is good enough, with right man at the helm, we can still win a Munster title. I firmly believe that. They just need a break, something to go their way. Someone who encourages a quick direct brand of football would be a help too. If Mickey Ned stays, i can't see us winning anything any time soon.

Get Mick O'Dwyer in and do something positive for once Limerick County Board!

The amount of times my dad has said this :P
He'd be great to take on tbh with all the work in Wicklow and he'd be much closer to home.
Mickey Ned has really brought the team on in leaps and bounds and I praise him for that but a new man is needed to just get that munster trophy and get over that mental block of beating a big team like Cork/Kerry. If nothing does happen, I'd be a small bit apprehensive about the future.