Galway GAA discussion thread

Diabhal Beag

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

No way you could start Armstrong on 4 weeks notice even though he played against Westmeath. A substitute appearance is more than likely should he stay fit.

As for Meehan I would wonder was today just a day he felt fit enough to play or is he genuinely making a recovery from the Paul McGrath injury?

Meehan was scheduled to play that league game for a week or two at least.
I heard about it a while back, can't remember when though.

I'd say he's fitter than people are giving credit for, he would have been in the gym months, this was just his first game after the injury.
Most clubs are training a month+ by now as well.

I'd have no problems playing him in 4 weeks, when you're playing FF it doesn't take a massive amount of chemistry with the other players, the role is much the same at every club, so the new lads will know where, when and how.
That aside though, it's no an All Ireland final, so don't see any reason to risk it.
Let him come back when he feels ready.

InchicoreDude

Didin't see what O'Dwyer was sent off for.

I didnt see it either, but saw a Galway player on the ground in the middle of the field not long beforehand and wondered what happened; I suspect it was related to that... O'Dwyer did seem rather bewildered at getting the red though.

Diabhal Beag

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Meehan was scheduled to play that league game for a week or two at least.
I heard about it a while back, can't remember when though.

Wow that's genuinely fantastic news. Somebody mentioned to Newstalk's Ciarán Murphy on twitter that it was predicted he would play prior too.

cgpg5

A worry is Cunningham doesn't seem to have a clue what his best team is, I'd personally like to see something like this come champ:

---

Skehill (process of elimination)

Connolly

---

Kavanagh

---

Moore

Collins

---

Regan

---

Donohue

---

D. Burke

---

A. Smith

---

Breheny

---

N. Burke

---

Tannion

D. Hayes

---

Canning

---

Glennon

InchicoreDude

A worry is Cunningham doesn't seem to have a clue what his best team is

A failing of many Galway hurling managers in recent years.

In fairness to John McIntyre, he was one of the few managers who put together a settled team.

Hulk Hands

InchicoreDude wrote: »

Its one thing being fit enough for club games, its another for inter county matches. However, 4 weeks is a good time frame to improve your fitness alright. I am assuming there will be more club games before the Ros match so they should help. However, I would sceptical about starting a player that played no part in the league. I would much rather see him on the bench.

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

No way you could start Armstrong on 4 weeks notice even though he played against Westmeath. A substitute appearance is more than likely should he stay fit.

As for Meehan I would wonder was today just a day he felt fit enough to play or is he genuinely making a recovery from the Paul McGrath injury?

We're short enough on talented scoring forwards as it is, I don't think you afford to leave him on the bench, especially with Nicky's injury. If he's fit enough to play senior club now then he should be grand to play in a month's time, provided there's no setbacks

RealityCheck

Hulk Hands wrote: »

We're short enough on talented scoring forwards as it is, I don't think you afford to leave him on the bench, especially with Nicky's injury. If he's fit enough to play senior club now then he should be grand to play in a month's time, provided there's no setbacks

I think ye are getting far too ahead of yourselves. It will still be a miracle if he can play inter county on a regular basis. There's some hope at least, but I still can't see him being togged for Roscommon. Afterall he still is injured, he's just trying to make do with what he's got.

Mountainlad

cgpg5 wrote: »

A worry is Cunningham doesn't seem to have a clue what his best team is, I'd personally like to see something like this come champ:

---

Skehill (process of elimination)

Connolly

---

Kavanagh

---

Moore

Collins

---

Regan

---

Donohue

---

D. Burke

---

A. Smith

---

Breheny

---

N. Burke

---

Tannion

D. Hayes

---

Canning

---

Glennon

Really? Like Regan especially, he's nowhere near good enough to be an inter-county centre back and I dunno how many times he has to prove that for it to be accepted. I like David Burke and wouldn't launch a scathing attack on him for the poor performance against Waterford last year. Andy Smith, however, is not a midfielder in my opinion and a large part of the reason ye were wiped out by us last year.

Tannian is too incosistent for my liking as well, more than likely won't produce come championship. Is Kavanagh back on the panel?

Overall I think Galway should be a little bit more positive about Sunday. I thought they'd be well beaten but they actually showed up. I know there's frustration there but it means they get another competitive game before championship, and let's be honest about it, of all the teams ye dropping to Div 2 might actually be a good thing. The level of expectation amongst the media would calm down a bit and it would give the young players a chance to build confidence.

I think people take the league too seriously. Fair enough, the best preparation for championship would Division 1 but it is far from imperative to be there. Who won the league last year? And in 2010? And how did they fare in the all-ireland series? People might say because Kilkenny win the league one year and win the all-ireland as well that the league is important. It's really not that important, championship is everything.

cgpg5

Mountainlad wrote: »

Really? Like Regan especially, he's nowhere near good enough to be an inter-county centre back and I dunno how many times he has to prove that for it to be accepted. I like David Burke and wouldn't launch a scathing attack on him for the poor performance against Waterford last year. Andy Smith, however, is not a midfielder in my opinion and a large part of the reason ye were wiped out by us last year.

Tannian is too incosistent for my liking as well, more than likely won't produce come championship. Is Kavanagh back on the panel?

Overall I think Galway should be a little bit more positive about Sunday. I thought they'd be well beaten but they actually showed up. I know there's frustration there but it means they get another competitive game before championship, and let's be honest about it, of all the teams ye dropping to Div 2 might actually be a good thing. The level of expectation amongst the media would calm down a bit and it would give the young players a chance to build confidence.

I think people take the league too seriously. Fair enough, the best preparation for championship would Division 1 but it is far from imperative to be there. Who won the league last year? And in 2010? And how did they fare in the all-ireland series? People might say because Kilkenny win the league one year and win the all-ireland as well that the league is important. It's really not that important, championship is everything.

Regan is the best of a bad bunch at centre back I'm sorry. Moore is a natural corner back and should be played there. Kavanagh is not on the panel- yet! Playing outstanding for Kinvara in the league by all accounts and Cunningham simply cannot continue to ignore him.

It's either Smith or Donnellan unfortunately, while the latter is game he is not a hurler and will definitely struggle against the big sides. Without Farragher Galway are not blessed with many options in the midfield department. Thank God for David Burke's improvement in form.

Wouldn't worry about league form one bit, I'd worry that Cunningham has no clue what his best 15 is and he's as close to finding it as going to the moon in a rocket. Many under 21 players tried out won't stand out in club championship in Galway next weekend so why they're included on an inter county panel is baffling. I guarantee you Kavanagh will play a blinder for his club.

aidan24326

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

No way you could start Armstrong on 4 weeks notice even though he played against Westmeath. A substitute appearance is more than likely should he stay fit.

As for Meehan I would wonder was today just a day he felt fit enough to play or is he genuinely making a recovery from the Paul McGrath injury?

Why do you refer to Paul McGrath? His problem was always with his knees, Meehan's injury is in his ankle.

Great to see him back playing anyway. Even if he was fit enough to make the subs bench for the Roscommon game that would be a huge bonus. Be a great sub to throw in for the last 20 minutes. Even if he's only at 80% of what he used to be he'd still be better than most of what we have. Good news, though it's only one club appearance so I wouldn't be getting my hopes up too much.

cgpg5 wrote: »

A worry is Cunningham doesn't seem to have a clue what his best team is

I think it's difficult for a Galway manager to find his best 15, since we have so many hurlers at or around the same level, but very few that really stand out. I mean you take 5 players out of the team and replace them with 5 others and you'd get the same performance with the same failings. It's different shades of grey a lot of the time unfortunately.

And I'd agree with those of ye who are saying he should have kept on a couple of the more experienced players just for a bit of balance. I don't see why Ger Farragher (for example) wouldn't still have something to offer.

Diabhal Beag

aidan24326 wrote: »

Why do you refer to Paul McGrath? His problem was always with his knees, Meehan's injury is in his ankle.

It's a continuous pain similar to McGrath's knee

Mountainlad

cgpg5 wrote: »

Regan is the best of a bad bunch at centre back I'm sorry. Moore is a natural corner back and should be played there. Kavanagh is not on the panel- yet! Playing outstanding for Kinvara in the league by all accounts and Cunningham simply cannot continue to ignore him.

It's either Smith or Donnellan unfortunately, while the latter is game he is not a hurler and will definitely struggle against the big sides. Without Farragher Galway are not blessed with many options in the midfield department. Thank God for David Burke's improvement in form.

Wouldn't worry about league form one bit, I'd worry that Cunningham has no clue what his best 15 is and he's as close to finding it as going to the moon in a rocket. Many under 21 players tried out won't stand out in club championship in Galway next weekend so why they're included on an inter county panel is baffling. I guarantee you Kavanagh will play a blinder for his club.

And logically then he should be brought back into the team then.

I would definetly try that Gordon fella or someone else other than reverting back to Regan. Going nowhere with him there. Immediate results are a lot to expect of some of the younger players, but the sooner they are brought in the sooner they can fulfill their potential...whatever that may be.

Hulk Hands

RealityCheck wrote: »

I think ye are getting far too ahead of yourselves. It will still be a miracle if he can play inter county on a regular basis. There's some hope at least, but I still can't see him being togged for Roscommon. Afterall he still is injured, he's just trying to make do with what he's got.

I was referring to Sean Armstrong, not Michael Meehan

cgpg5

Mountainlad wrote: »

And logically then he should be brought back into the team then.

I would definetly try that Gordon fella or someone else other than reverting back to Regan. Going nowhere with him there. Immediate results are a lot to expect of some of the younger players, but the sooner they are brought in the sooner they can fulfill their potential...whatever that may be.

Not Gordon anyway, Lydon was the man I though but was dropped. Look Regan has plenty of experience but tbh its not a position we're blessed with talent in. Gordon is nowhere near being up to it

aidan24326

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

It's a continuous pain similar to McGrath's knee

Ok I see.

McGrath used to have constant pain in his knees and would have pain-killing injections to get him through games.

I don't think Meehan's problem is about pain as such. It's more that the ankle damage makes it difficult for him to turn on it. He can run in a straght line no problem but turning on the ankle is an issue. It's hugely encouraging that he played at the weekend and it would be great if we saw him play some part in Galway's championship efforts but he must be a fair bit off county level still in terms of sharpness and match fitness. If he's even on the bench against Ros I'd be delighted.

24yearslater

InchicoreDude wrote: »

I think Galway will see this out. But god, they are crying out for an experienced player to be brought on here. Would be ideal to bring on Ger Farragher here to hold onto possession. But Cunningham doesnt see the value of mixing youth with experienc...:-(

Can't understand the obsession in some quarters here to bringing back Farragher/Kavanagh/other beaten dockets from the last few years panel. These lads patently proved since '06 that they weren't up to the demands of intercounty hurlers. I'm not doubting their abilities skillwise, but they've proved time & time again that they are missing the vital ingredients necessary for bigtime senior c'ship games. Whether you want to call it character, determination, attitude, bravery, balls, kahunahs, whatever I'm not sure, but anyone who witnessed the total collapse over the years (06 v Wat & KK, '07 v Clare & KK, '08 v 14 man Cork, '09 v Kk & Wat, '10 v KK & Tipp, & last years horror shows v Dub & Wat) will have to accept that these guys aren't going to deliver for us. I'm not just including Farr & Kav in this, but the whole structure of the panel had to be dismantled. Arguably a number of others were also lucky to survive the cull, but suggestions that we should go back for more of them is crazy, and would surely send out all the wrong messages to the young players. This panel is the future for Galway hurling, & cunningham has clearly indicated he is going to sink or swim by them. He has my full support in this decision, and I just hope he gets the minimum requirement of 3 years to deliver. I have stated before that he should never have been allowed keep the westmeath football job, but at least he's done with all that from now on.
As regards last Sunday, I was relatively encouraged by the performance, even though there was a familiar feeling of frustration at the end. However, for the 70 minute game I felt that we showed great heart & character to remain in the game at various stages, esp after conceding the 2 goals, whilst the 3 points in injury time was battling qualities I haven't seen in a fair few years. They were completely headless in extra time after the 2 sendings off, but I reckon it worked more against them if anything. Ironically enough I feel we would have won if it remained 15 v 15. However they'll learn from it. Looking at the league overall, I reckon apart from the kk calamity it's been ok - we did v well to beat Dublin & Cork, were unlucky to lose to Tipp after playing with great heart right through, lost a mess of a game v Wat but at least stayed fighting when nothing was working, whilst the less said about the kk nightmare the better. I swore blind to anyone after Nowlan Park that I wouldn't cross the road to see them as long as I lived, but it was like a drug sucking me back in last Sunday.

Looking forward to another match against a fine Dublin team on Sat.

InchicoreDude

Can't understand the obsession in some quarters here to bringing back Farragher/Kavanagh/other beaten dockets from the last few years panel. These lads patently proved since '06 that they weren't up to the demands of intercounty hurlers. I'm not doubting their abilities skillwise, but they've proved time & time again that they are missing the vital ingredients necessary for bigtime senior c'ship games. Whether you want to call it character, determination, attitude, bravery, balls, kahunahs, whatever I'm not sure, but anyone who witnessed the total collapse over the years (06 v Wat & KK, '07 v Clare & KK, '08 v 14 man Cork, '09 v Kk & Wat, '10 v KK & Tipp, & last years horror shows v Dub & Wat) will have to accept that these guys aren't going to deliver for us. I'm not just including Farr & Kav in this, but the whole structure of the panel had to be dismantled. Arguably a number of others were also lucky to survive the cull, but suggestions that we should go back for more of them is crazy, and would surely send out all the wrong messages to the young players. This panel is the future for Galway hurling, & cunningham has clearly indicated he is going to sink or swim by them. He has my full support in this decision, and I just hope he gets the minimum requirement of 3 years to deliver. I have stated before that he should never have been allowed keep the westmeath football job, but at least he's done with all that from now on.
As regards last Sunday, I was relatively encouraged by the performance, even though there was a familiar feeling of frustration at the end. However, for the 70 minute game I felt that we showed great heart & character to remain in the game at various stages, esp after conceding the 2 goals, whilst the 3 points in injury time was battling qualities I haven't seen in a fair few years. They were completely headless in extra time after the 2 sendings off, but I reckon it worked more against them if anything. Ironically enough I feel we would have won if it remained 15 v 15. However they'll learn from it. Looking at the league overall, I reckon apart from the kk calamity it's been ok - we did v well to beat Dublin & Cork, were unlucky to lose to Tipp after playing with great heart right through, lost a mess of a game v Wat but at least stayed fighting when nothing was working, whilst the less said about the kk nightmare the better. I swore blind to anyone after Nowlan Park that I wouldn't cross the road to see them as long as I lived, but it was like a drug sucking me back in last Sunday.

Looking forward to another match against a fine Dublin team on Sat.

You miss my point. I think new management coming in often make the mistake of taking the view "these guys have had their chance, they blew it, lets bring in young lads". This is pretty much your argument too.

However, I take a different view. I say bring in some new faces but hold onto the good experienced lads as well. The young guys will spur these very good and experienced players on to do better. This is a better approach than getting rid of older players en masse. I am not saying all experienced players should automatically retain their place. But I really feel this current Galway team is the worse for dropping a couple of the more senior guys (Like Kavanagh & Farragher).

I was having the same argument about the fotballers with a different poster at the beginning of the league campaign where he suggested that Mulholland should take the same approach as Cunningham by ridding himself of a lot more experienced players. And it was pointed out to me how it was working for the hurling team, and not the footballers [How things change by the end of the league!]. But 3 of the footballers we discussed in that argument have had good league campaign, 2 of which will be certain starters in the championship now - Bergin & O'Donnell.

It just makes no sense to not hold on to good experienced players. It is different if they are not up to it any more. But if they are good enough, they should be there. And the likes of Farragher & Kavanagh would have a good influence on younger players I am sure; they are both very talented players.

aidan24326

The game on Saturday is now live on tg4 for anyone that isn't going. They were due to show Cavan v Roscommon in the U-21 football but that's been bumped to the tg4 website now.

24yearslater

InchicoreDude wrote: »

You miss my point. I think new management coming in often make the mistake of taking the view "these guys have had their chance, they blew it, lets bring in young lads". This is pretty much your argument too.

However, I take a different view. I say bring in some new faces but hold onto the good experienced lads as well. The young guys will spur these very good and experienced players on to do better. This is a better approach than getting rid of older players en masse. I am not saying all experienced players should automatically retain their place. But I really feel this current Galway team is the worse for dropping a couple of the more senior guys (Like Kavanagh & Farragher).

I was having the same argument about the fotballers with a different poster at the beginning of the league campaign where he suggested that Mulholland should take the same approach as Cunningham by ridding himself of a lot more experienced players. And it was pointed out to me how it was working for the hurling team, and not the footballers [How things change by the end of the league!]. But 3 of the footballers we discussed in that argument have had good league campaign, 2 of which will be certain starters in the championship now - Bergin & O'Donnell.

It just makes no sense to not hold on to good experienced players. It is different if they are not up to it any more. But if they are good enough, they should be there. And the likes of Farragher & Kavanagh would have a good influence on younger players I am sure; they are both very talented players.

I'm not saying they blew it, just that they've proved time & again in the big games that they're not up to it. Farragher hasn't played well in a big c'ship game (I'm talking serious knockout here) since semi '05 v Kk. I accept he put up some serious scores in other games, but when the call for real leadership came in the games like wat '09 & '11, tipp '10, kk '10, dub '11, ne wasn't able to deliver. Kavanagh got cleaned out in similar games. I'm not knocking them, they're fine men who mostly gave everything they had for the shirt, but they were found wanting. A large number of others were also exposed, some of whom I reckon are very lucky to have made the panel again this year.

I've no wish for this topic to degenerate into a slagging forum for ex players. I just want the current panel to develop into a serious competitive outfit over the next year or 2, with a view to having a real crack at winning the AI in 2014. I do accept we have serious problems right across the fullback line since Ollie retired, and in this respect I'm wondering what happened to the Burkes off the 08 & 09 minor teams. Think their names were Darragh & Ronan, but I haven't seen either feature since.

basillarkin

24yearslater wrote: »

I'm not saying they blew it, just that they've proved time & again in the big games that they're not up to it. Farragher hasn't played well in a big c'ship game (I'm talking serious knockout here) since semi '05 v Kk. I accept he put up some serious scores in other games, but when the call for real leadership came in the games like wat '09 & '11, tipp '10, kk '10, dub '11, ne wasn't able to deliver. Kavanagh got cleaned out in similar games. I'm not knocking them, they're fine men who mostly gave everything they had for the shirt, but they were found wanting. A large number of others were also exposed, some of whom I reckon are very lucky to have made the panel again this year.

I've no wish for this topic to degenerate into a slagging forum for ex players. I just want the current panel to develop into a serious competitive outfit over the next year or 2, with a view to having a real crack at winning the AI in 2014. I do accept we have serious problems right across the fullback line since Ollie retired, and in this respect I'm wondering what happened to the Burkes off the 08 & 09 minor teams. Think their names were Darragh & Ronan, but I haven't seen either feature since.

As far as im aware Farragher did not line out again Dublin last year, I wish lads would get their facts right before they posted. Farragher was poor against Kilkenny in 2010 but held his own in the other games you mentioned. Kav has always been consisted for Galway, he has been below average in some games but is the best option for full back imo.
I admire Cunninghams stance with going with the younger lads but he needs to blend the two. I don't agree with some posters on here and on other sites that say it wont be a bad thing if Galway get relegated. What a load of crap. These young lads in order to progress have to be playing against quality opposition and that is in D1.
Cunningham, Helebert and co not playing lads in their best positions is not helping either. I know he has to experiment with players but Tony Og is a Centre B, Moore a Corner Back and Collins a wing/corner. Daly been played in the FF line is a bit of a puzzler for me. Tannion can count himself lucky to be there but played well in the free man role when moved out the field the last day.
Cunningham will get the 3 years but i would be less optimistic about his chances in changing Galways fortunes than alot of other posters on here.

antoobrien

basillarkin wrote: »

As far as im aware Farragher did not line out again Dublin last year

Farragher wasn't togged against Dublin last year.

24yearslater wrote: »

I'm not saying they blew it, just that they've proved time & again in the big games that they're not up to it. Farragher hasn't played well in a big c'ship game (I'm talking serious knockout here) since semi '05 v Kk.

You didn't notice the man of the match award against Clare and a strong performance against Cork then did you? Both of them win or die matches. While he was center forward we actually looed like we had a half forward line for a change.

If you're going to flog Farragher & Kavanagh then I suggest then you take a serious look at collins, smith, burke, hayes & canning who did absolutely nothing against waterford. Canning in particular spent the day taking ball down for a 38 year old to clear. Walking out of that match a waterford lad commented whcih one was the 38 year old because canning looked it.

24yearslater

antoobrien wrote: »

Farragher wasn't togged against Dublin last year.



You didn't notice the man of the match award against Clare and a strong performance against Cork then did you? Both of them win or die matches. While he was center forward we actually looed like we had a half forward line for a change.

If you're going to flog Farragher & Kavanagh then I suggest then you take a serious look at collins, smith, burke, hayes & canning who did absolutely nothing against waterford. Canning in particular spent the day taking ball down for a 38 year old to clear. Walking out of that match a waterford lad commented whcih one was the 38 year old because canning looked it.

Had forgotten about Farraghers hamstring for the Dub match last year - apologies to the man himself. I do actually recall someone saying during the match that it was a pity he wasn't playing, since Joe was so poor on the frees that day.

I accept he played really well in both the games you mentioned above, but with all due respect to Clare & Cork over the last few years they weren't exactly category A matches (in fairness both seem to be making big strides this year). The Clare game was pretty much over after 25 minutes, whilst we beat Cork v comfortably after a bad start. Farragher was super in those games, but we need leaders for the games against Tipp & KK, and he hasn't shown it in recent years. Neither has Kavanagh, Lee, Cullinane, Callanan, etc. Hence we need to look elsewhere for these leadership qualities - guys who will take the responsibility to drag us back into games when the going gets tough. We haven't had guys like that for years (Ollie Canning excepted).

You're 100% correct when you mention others who could have got the boot after last year, Joe included. In reality I wanted them all to be dropped when I was walking out of Thurles after the waterford debacle. However Cunningham has made a decision to keep some, whilst to blend them with a large crop of successful underage players from '08-'11. It's completely radical, and I don't think any Galway manager has tried to do this in the past. IMO though, it's the right way to go - JBM did it with cork in the past, and in fairness seems to be trying to do something similar 2nd time round. I don't know if it's going to work, but I think it's worth a try. That was a really good U21 side last year - a number of them are still eligible this year I think. For what it's worth I think we should persevere with them.

Just for the record - I'm not on here to "flog" any player - I'm just giving an opinion. I do appreciate all anyone has done in a Galway shirt, and just so you know I reckoned that GF has one of the sweetest strikes of a sliothar I've ever seen in hurling. His problem I reckon is that he isn't physical enough, and that puts him at a serious disadvantage in the modern game. Give him a ball in space - no matter how small it is, and he'll invariably score. I just feel that in all the big matches his man always gets on top of him physically, and that he can't find any space. Kavanagh is unlucky in that he just lacks a half yard of pace necessary for intercounty. Waterford exploited it in both the league & c'ship last year, and other teams have also done this in the past.

If the 2 of them (& any others) came back into the panel, & we won the AI this year as a result, I would gladly eat humbe pie. It's so frustrating to think it's been 24 years since we won it, given all the talent we seemed to have at our disposal during this period. I remember Joe Connolly commenting last year about how the '09 & '10 finals had taken hurling to a completely new level, and that all other counties outside of tipp & kk had to at least reach that standard to have any hope of competing. He mentioned that players had to be tall, fit, fast, superbly conditioned and really stong in the air, if they were to have any hope. He placed special emphasis on the conditioning, saying that players should be prepared to live like monks, and treat their hurling as a career, not just something you prepare for from season to season. He suggested that kk had reached the level by '06, and that it took tipp until '09/'10 to catch up, after 3 years preparing. There might be a lesson in that for us.

antoobrien

24yearslater wrote: »

I accept he played really well in both the games you mentioned above, but with all due respect to Clare & Cork over the last few years they weren't exactly category A matches (in fairness both seem to be making big strides this year). The Clare game was pretty much over after 25 minutes, whilst we beat Cork v comfortably after a bad start.

I agree with you on that, but the problem i have is that people were talking about all-stars for canning and hayes after those two matches, whereas other players (Kavanagh, Farragher & Barry) seem to have taken the brunt of the blame for the waterford match while the others failures are excused.

24yearslater

antoobrien wrote: »

24yearslater wrote: »

I accept he played really well in both the games you mentioned above, but with all due respect to Clare & Cork over the last few years they weren't exactly category A matches (in fairness both seem to be making big strides this year). The Clare game was pretty much over after 25 minutes, whilst we beat Cork v comfortably after a bad start.

I agree with you on that, but the problem i have is that people were talking about all-stars for canning and hayes after those two matches, whereas other players (Kavanagh, Farragher & Barry) seem to have taken the brunt of the blame for the waterford match while the others failures are excused.

I certainly never spoke of allstars for anyone after those games, but I know what u mean. I'm not solely concentrating on the Waterford match - it was a cumulative effect over a number of years. There are some players on the current panel that have a lot to prove, and I have never excused their failures. The jury is out on them this year - esp JC after the year he had in '11

24yearslater

Team for the replay just announced:

1. Fergal Flannery
2. Kevin Hynes
3. David Collins
4. Johnny Coen
5. Niall Donoghue
6. Fergal Moore
7. Tony Og Regan
8. David Burke
9. Iarlath Tannian
10. Andy Smith
11. Niall Burke
12. Cyril Donnellan
13. Damien Hayes
14. Joe Canning
15. Davy Glennon

Surprised to see Coen cornerback

MfMan

24yearslater wrote: »

Team for the replay just announced:

1. Fergal Flannery
2. Kevin Hynes
3. David Collins
4. Johnny Coen
5. Niall Donoghue
6. Fergal Moore
7. Tony Og Regan
8. David Burke
9. Iarlath Tannian
10. Andy Smith
11. Niall Burke
12. Cyril Donnellan
13. Damien Hayes
14. Joe Canning
15. Davy Glennon

Surprised to see Coen cornerback

Hmmm.. if you go by that line-up the 'playing players out of position' is starting to look even worse, Cunningham is now starting to show a Trappatoni-like obstinacy in this regard. HF line now very poor, at least 2 of the starting 3 will be replaced at some stage. Good to see Kevin Hynes back on the scene though with O Halloran finally making way. Declan Connolly should also be brought back I think.

Diabhal Beag

I'll be honest, I like the idea of Tannion in midfield.

antoobrien

24yearslater wrote: »

I certainly never spoke of allstars for anyone after those games, but I know what u mean.

Sorry, didn't mean for you to pick it up that way, I heard plenty of talk of them being all stars - which stopped at about 4.30 in Thurles.

24yearslater wrote: »

I'm not solely concentrating on the Waterford match - it was a cumulative effect over a number of years. There are some players on the current panel that have a lot to prove, and I have never excused their failures. The jury is out on them this year - esp JC after the year he had in '11

Well this is the problem, he only got into the team regularly in 2009 (after being more or less ignored by Loughnane & scapegoated by Hayes).

In 2010 he was 3rd top scorer from play (1-7) when playing from midfield. Only Hayes & Canning scored more.

In 2011 he scored 1-10 in three matches (one of only 2 forwards to score twice against Waterford), again finishing 3rd from play behind Hayes & Canning.

And yet there's a cumulative effect of him not being good enough?

As for JC - he's pretty much living off 3 matches against cork (just like richie Murray managed to live off the 2001 semi for so many years), so the jury should be well and truly out on him.

basillarkin

I don't, far to loose, not mobile enough and for a Big lad does not win enogh ball in the air for me.

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

I'll be honest, I like the idea of Tannion in midfield.

cgpg5

Johnny Coen hasn't played corner back in a competitive game since minor final 2009. He is a player who is more suited to out the field and that's the wrong call imo.

With regard to Glennon he is not a corner forward. I know he lined out for the under 21's wearing 15 last year but played more out the field. He is a natural midfielder I think. Would have liked to see Breheny playing Wing forward but I'm sure he'll spring from the bench at some stage.

Rumour has it Adrian Cullinane is flying for Craughwell, and could be well in line for a call up.

IsMiseJoe

cgpg5 wrote: »

Rumour has it Adrian Cullinane is flying for Craughwell, and could be well in line for a call up.

Heard his name mentioned a few times lately. Mainly pubtalk, but you never know...
All Ireland's have been won and lost in the pub

cgpg5

IsMiseJoe wrote: »

Heard his name mentioned a few times lately. Mainly pubtalk, but you never know...
All Ireland's have been won and lost in the pub

Haha know what you mean but I've also heard from a man involved in Craughwell. Granted, he's prone to bias but he really was impressed by Cullinane so far this year. Now inter-county level is a different matter than club league games and he has shown nothing major in the past to warrant inclusion imo

MfMan

antoobrien wrote: »

Sorry, didn't mean for you to pick it up that way, I heard plenty of talk of them being all stars - which stopped at about 4.30 in Thurles.



Well this is the problem, he only got into the team regularly in 2009 (after being more or less ignored by Loughnane & scapegoated by Hayes).

In 2010 he was 3rd top scorer from play (1-7) when playing from midfield. Only Hayes & Canning scored more.

In 2011 he scored 1-10 in three matches (one of only 2 forwards to score twice against Waterford), again finishing 3rd from play behind Hayes & Canning.

And yet there's a cumulative effect of him not being good enough?

As for JC - he's pretty much living off 3 matches against cork (just like richie Murray managed to live off the 2001 semi for so many years), so the jury should be well and truly out on him.

The rest of your points are reasonably made but the highlighted is absolute rubbish I have to say.

antoobrien

MfMan wrote: »

The rest of your points are reasonably made but the highlighted is absolute rubbish I have to say.

Name another match he has played well in for more than 15 minutes.

Diabhal Beag

antoobrien wrote: »

Name another match he has played well in for more than 15 minutes.

Did you watch the Clare match last year?

basillarkin wrote: »

I don't, far to loose, not mobile enough and for a Big lad does not win enogh ball in the air for me.

He's badly needed to bulk up the midfield. He has better physicality than most of them and wins a fair amount of breaking ball in half-forward. There were times in that league where he was given no ball at all. Also who in midfield for Galway catches cleanly in the air regularly?

basillarkin

Galway are not blessed with top quality midfielders but can you honestly see Tannion keeping up with the likes of Fennelly, Rice, Ryan etc?

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Did you watch the Clare match last year?


He's badly needed to bulk up the midfield. He has better physicality than most of them and wins a fair amount of breaking ball in half-forward. There were times in that league where he was given no ball at all. Also who in midfield for Galway catches cleanly in the air regularly?

Diabhal Beag

basillarkin wrote: »

Galway are not blessed with top quality midfielders but can you honestly see Tannion keeping up with the likes of Fennelly, Rice, Ryan etc?

I never said he was a great midfielder who could keep up with the best midfielders in the country. When Farragher was midfield he didn't either. IMO Tannion is just the best of a bad bunch.

basillarkin

I know you didn't, I just think if we have to relie on Tan there for the championship we will be in trouble. In saying that it is a hard job to pick Galways two best midfielders at the moment.

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

I never said he was a great midfielder who could keep up with the best midfielders in the country. When Farragher was midfield he didn't either. IMO Tannion is just the best of a bad bunch.

antoobrien

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Did you watch the Clare match last year?

Oh please, the clare match? My granddad could have played full forward that day.

He went missing in the last 4 "big" matches he played. Dublin & Waterford last year, Tipp in 2010 and against Waterford in 2009.

basillarkin

I agree to a certain extent but Canning is Galways only standout hurler, i.e he would get in most intercounty teams. The only problem I have with Canning is the All-Star he recieved ahead of Mullane when he barely put two good games back to back in the championship that year.

Unfortunaly Cunningham has decided to cull Farragher, Kavanagh et al which I believe warrent inclusion in the current panel but as i said earlier Cunningham has decided to go with youth and should be giving time. But I fear that Galway could get beat on Sunday.

antoobrien wrote: »

Oh please, the clare match? My granddad could have played full forward that day.

He went missing in the last 4 "big" matches he played. Dublin & Waterford last year, Tipp in 2010 and against Waterford in 2009.

MfMan

antoobrien wrote: »

Oh please, the clare match? My granddad could have played full forward that day.

He went missing in the last 4 "big" matches he played. Dublin & Waterford last year, Tipp in 2010 and against Waterford in 2009.

Tipp '10 I'll give you, the two last year he was still nearly the best of the bad lot, plus he orchestrated the defeat over Cork. W'ford '09 wasn't too bad either. Also good v Offaly 2 years ago, drawn match and replay. Every game that has to be won is a big game, regardless of opposition. If every player 'went missing' as often as JC, we'd still be better off today. Shefflin has had manys the quiet day too you know.

deisedude

Howdy lads! I'm up in Galway a few months at this stage and I want a hurling team to follow in the Galway championship to make it more interesting. Living in the city! Who should i be rooting for?

cgpg5

deisedude wrote: »

Howdy lads! I'm up in Galway a few months at this stage and I want a hurling team to follow in the Galway championship to make it more interesting. Living in the city! Who should i be rooting for?

Going to matches or just a passing interest? Hard to suggest an exact team but the City teams in the senior championship are Liam Mellows and Castlegar. Moycullen who are about 15/20 minutes from the City are a newly promoted side and if you like going for the underdog there is your bet!

My own club is intermediate but the teams I personally like
seeing doing well in senior are TAD (who are an incredible young team), Tommie Larkins (I don't know why really) and Clarenbridge. Saying that there are a lot of teams I (and no doubt many others in the county) don't like seeing doing well to say the least

basillarkin

Carnmore just out past the airport are senior too.

cgpg5 wrote: »

Going to matches or just a passing interest? Hard to suggest an exact team but the City teams in the senior championship are Liam Mellows and Castlegar. Moycullen who are about 15/20 minutes from the City are a newly promoted side and if you like going for the underdog there is your bet!

My own club is intermediate but the teams I personally like
seeing doing well in senior are TAD (who are an incredible young team), Tommie Larkins (I don't know why really) and Clarenbridge. Saying that there are a lot of teams I (and no doubt many others in the county) don't like seeing doing well to say the least

deisedude

cgpg5 wrote: »

Going to matches or just a passing interest? Hard to suggest an exact team but the City teams in the senior championship are Liam Mellows and Castlegar. Moycullen who are about 15/20 minutes from the City are a newly promoted side and if you like going for the underdog there is your bet!

My own club is intermediate but the teams I personally like
seeing doing well in senior are TAD (who are an incredible young team), Tommie Larkins (I don't know why really) and Clarenbridge. Saying that there are a lot of teams I (and no doubt many others in the county) don't like seeing doing well to say the least

I'd like to go to games. I go to plenty of Waterford and Cork club games when i'm home so i'm branching out!

Thanks for all that, will do some homework and pick one.
I've enough of the plucky underdog, i'm a Waterford fan afterall! :pac:

h2005

deisedude wrote: »

I'd like to go to games. I go to plenty of Waterford and Cork club games when i'm home so i'm branching out!

Thanks for all that, will do some homework and pick one.
I've enough of the plucky underdog, i'm a Waterford fan afterall! :pac:

Moycullen is also the only senior football and hurling club in the county

deisedude

Tan is getting destroyed by Quilty in midfield

redlead

deisedude wrote: »

Tan is getting destroyed by Quilty in midfield

Quilty is having a brilliant game. I don't know what to make of Tannion. He's either brilliant or doesn't turn up (a mirror image of Galway I suppose).

There's no ball going into Canning as usual. They have to make better use of him.

Edit: Picked him out nicely for his goal!

Mars Bar

Coming together nicely for us now. Thank feck coz I'm sure this team will be the cause if my father having a heart attack. They seem to be unable to pick the ball off the ground when they're running.

Lapin

Fergal Flannery is playing a blinder in goals.