Galway GAA discussion thread

Disappointed with the team myself.
Glynn has never had an ominous game with all his contributions usually leading to a yellow/goal/penalty when utilised near goal.
Always found him wasted when moved further out.

No disrespect to the lad but I haven't seen Mannion do a tad in a number of games I've watched to date.
Been at all the games since the Clare league and he's missed far more than he scored.
Puts no pressure on backs clearing ball either, honestly can't fathom what he's done to dislodge players like Hayes who've consistently performed or Glennon who did it in spurts.

I don't think its good for the camp to see a team that had to pull it out of the fire AFTER subs were introduced start the same again.

citykat

pmy.murphy wrote: »

Hopefully i am in the same boat myself

I'd say the Biffos are practising their Dubalin accent. Best of luck tomorrow.

clashoftheash

Yeah I'll second what citykat said and wish Ye the best of luck. Ye damn well deserved that draw on Sunday and regardless of what happens tomorrow I hope Ye carry that with you into whatever game you play next. Slan

citykat

clashoftheash wrote: »

Yeah I'll second what citykat said and wish Ye the best of luck. Ye damn well deserved that draw on Sunday and regardless of what happens tomorrow I hope Ye carry that with you into whatever game you play next. Slan

You are aware he's a KK man?

Diabhal Beag

Everybody posting in this thread seems to be a KK head since this time last week.

dastardly00

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Everybody posting in this thread seems to be a KK head since this time last week.

Hi Diabhal Beag

*waves*

citykat

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Everybody posting in this thread seems to be a KK head since this time last week.

From what I can see we're the only ones posting about hurling. Rest are posting about that eternal bore of football...

citykat

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Everybody posting in this thread seems to be a KK head since this time last week.

This is how the Galway backs are going to feel tomorrow...

Borders no.2

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Disappointed with the team myself.
Glynn has never had an ominous game with all his contributions usually leading to a yellow/goal/penalty when utilised near goal.
Always found him wasted when moved further out.

No disrespect to the lad but I haven't seen Mannion do a tad in a number of games I've watched to date.
Been at all the games since the Clare league and he's missed far more than he scored.
Puts no pressure on backs clearing ball either, honestly can't fathom what he's done to dislodge players like Hayes who've consistently performed or Glennon who did it in spurts.

I don't think its good for the camp to see a team that had to pull it out of the fire AFTER subs were introduced start the same again.

I'd agree. Mannion started the league well but he has faded in the latter stages of the league and his average/poor form has continued into the championship. He's struggling to hold his place. Glennon hasn't really impressed me any time I've seen him over the past while either and Hayes just doesn't have it in the tank and the management probably figure that its better he make a good contribution for 20-25 minutes at the end.

I suppose management must feel that Johnny Glynn's best impact is from the bench. He made a big impact off the bench in 2012 but there's not much point introducing him if we're 7 or 8 points down with 20 minutes to go tomorrow. I'd agree he's wasted further out. He can cause havoc if used correctly.

Really there is 4 or 5 Galway players who are very lucky to get a start again and who I'd give 20-25 minutes max. to perform tomorrow or I'd take them off. The management in 2012 impressed me at times with their ruthlessness at times. They didn't always get it right but they laid down a marker at least. However, the management were far too indecisive last Sunday and it had a major bearing in why we needed a freak finish to rescue a draw.

Really Galway have to win tomorrow if we are to have any kind of championship. Tipp aren't pulling up trees and are low on confidence but still they aren't far away. They seemed to me to be just letting the Limerick game drift to the finish rather than driving it home and you'd imagine they'll be keen to make amends in the back door. Our record in Thurles is dire and against Tipp isn't too hectic in recent years either.

We got out of jail last Sunday, Galway will have to deliver for the whole game tomorrow. Any more run of scores for KK like last Sunday and we can forget it.

I don't believe this team and management have what it takes to deliver for the full 70+ minutes. We'll probably need 4 or 5 goals to win it which isn't unthinkable but think Kilkenny will win this by 4-6 unfortunately. (reverse jinx I hope;))

Utopia Parkway

gilberto_eire wrote: »

No disrespect to the lad but I haven't seen Mannion do a tad in a number of games I've watched to date.
.

He was very good in the league in fairness. Better than Flynn. But Flynn has has 2 better performances in championship.

Flynn seems a bit more aggressive and you need that for championship hurling or you are goosed. You need to be able to fight for your own ball.

Kinda surprised Galway kept the same team. 2 or 3 lads have to be on short notice if they don't perform from the start.

Thought Glynn might start but he seems to create far more chaos when he comes on as a sub rather than play from the throw in.

Galway still up against it. Kilkenny don't often lose replays.

djPSB

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Disappointed with the team myself.
Glynn has never had an ominous game with all his contributions usually leading to a yellow/goal/penalty when utilised near goal.
Always found him wasted when moved further out.

No disrespect to the lad but I haven't seen Mannion do a tad in a number of games I've watched to date.
Been at all the games since the Clare league and he's missed far more than he scored.
Puts no pressure on backs clearing ball either, honestly can't fathom what he's done to dislodge players like Hayes who've consistently performed or Glennon who did it in spurts.

I don't think its good for the camp to see a team that had to pull it out of the fire AFTER subs were introduced start the same again.

Team will change before throw in I'd imagine.

MfMan

djPSB wrote: »

Team will change before throw in I'd imagine.

As would I. Can't see Mannion starting for one. Looking back at replay last night, (Sky+ is a godsend!), David Burke had been getting into it more and more prior to being subbed. Just a hunch that he could play as a 3rd midfielder with just 2 inside. Galway showed character and heart last week, but it doesn't disguise the fact that at least 25% improvement is needed all round.

Mountainlad

cul beag wrote: »

God help you're to be pitied!! That's what's called a bit of banter! Imagine hating a county because you got a bit of slagging years ago. Come on now can you not see how childish /immature that really sounds? For what its worth the Cork city hurling community are the most witty and knowledgeable people I've met when it comes to hurling but head towards the border areas of any rival counties and then you'll see a different story! All part of it. Wouldn't it be worse if you were wearing a Liverpool jersey with Suarez on the back of it!!

Sorry to take this thread off topic, but amprodude has the same story about any fans.

He also said only a few weeks ago that he'd shout for Waterford and Limerick outside of Cork. Full of sh*t.


Won't be able to see today's game with the Laois v Waterford game, no doubt it'll be another entertaining game. Think Galway will come out on top this time, I would think there's more room for improvement.

donnem33

djPSB wrote: »

Team will change before throw in I'd imagine.

i definately agree with this...changes will be made before throw in.

Hulk Hands

Yeah im looking forward to tonight. Post away lads until tomorrow afternoon, then can you kindly all clear out so we can get back to talking about the upcoming Connacht Final

savannahkat

Fair enough Hulk Hands a good visitor knows when it is time to go home.

Redo91

Is tonight's game a sell out?

Stroke Politics

Redo91 wrote: »

Is tonight's game a sell out?

Totally sold AFAIK. 17K capacity in a stadium which has only 3 sides.

Was wondering if it's a draw at full time will there be extra time? I have not been to Tellamore for a while, I knoe it has a lovely new stand, but does it even flood lights?

Diabhal Beag

citykat wrote: »

From what I can see we're the only ones posting about hurling. Rest are posting about that eternal bore of football...

Say what you will about Galway football but it hasn't been boring in a long long time. We almost lost to Waterford FFS.

citykat

Stroke Politics wrote: »

Totally sold AFAIK. 17K capacity in a stadium which has only 3 sides.

Was wondering if it's a draw at full time will there be extra time? I have not been to Tellamore for a while, I knoe it has a lovely new stand, but does it even flood lights?

Extra time in the event of a draw. Bring a torch just in case.

derealbadger

Looks like Tipp next weekend in Thurles so not very hopeful

pmy.murphy

Hard luck on yee tonight lads Joe didnt perform at all and now yee face a tough trip to Thurles next week. Best of luck against Tipp lads and no doubt yee will go out into that one with all guns blazing. Ill be shouting for yee anyway

dastardly00

Galway definitely have the abilty and skill to beat Tipp for sure.Should be a great match.

I thought ye were very undisciplined in the first half. Any time a KK player won the ball in the Galway half they nearly always fouled the KK player.

Galway didn't let the heads drop after the second KK goal, and ye began to really dominate in the last 15 minutes. If Joe had scored a goal from that 21 yard free, then who knows.

I'd be fairly píssed off with Andy Smith's antics during the match if I was from Galway.

MfMan

Forwards simply weren't good enough. Niall Burke not at the races, Joe Cooney didn't hit a ball and is just not good enough at this level, Jonny Glynn showed why he is really a man for off the bench, (very limited once in possession, he spills far too much ball and catches a lot less than many would think he does), JC too subdued. Only Conor Cooney and Flynn to an extent could be pleased with their evening's work. But worse than that, there was no real slickness or interplay about their display. Too many players going for individual scores rather than trying to find a teammate in space or a better position. Too many players not able to win their own ball, make room and take a score.

3-19 may seem like a big score to concede, but the backs in general hurled alright. Their indiscipline was costly in the first half but they all did quite well in the man-to-man battles and none of them was really cleaned. They hit enough ball forward in the second half but they were constantly under pressure because it was coming back down too easily again. Midfield and attack are the problem areas.

Hard to blame the management for the starting line-up they selected as they picked those who showed good form in the drawn match, but they must now show the same form in dropping those mentioned above who haven't done it for too long. Backs are ok. Niall and David Burke, Glynn, Joe Cooney cannot start the next day, they just aren't good enough any more to deserve to. Don't know why Johnny Coen was dropped, unless they wanted a man they could be sure of to make an impact off the bench. Only he and Cathal Mannion made much of an impression when introduced.

Well thats the final straw for me.

Not attending another game until AC's rein is over.

If I want to see a team play clearly beneath their ability I'll dish out some of Irelands old games under Trappatoni.

We are so poor structurally it's embarrassing.

When a long ball is played into our FB line it's 3v3 or 2v2, just asking to pick up yellows and give away goals like that.
And that's exactly how the first goal landed today. Even numbers contesting the high ball and TJ the spare man nips in and has a free reign on goal.
At the other end we're playing it to 2v3 and 1v2s in the oppositions favour.

KK backs catching, clearing and running/short passing balls out of defence all day.
FFS at one point Cillian Buckley managed to solo the ball about 45 yards up the pitch... honestly can't remember seeing a back run as far in a straight line unopposed before.

Was near enough a carbon copy of last week in terms of when we fell out of the game.
Let them pick off a number of scores just after HT but IMO it was more or less settled after 15-20mins when we went from 3 up to 5 down in the space of 10mins.

Coughed up a large amount of ball in the second half when trying to get a goal, KK backs were just compressing the area in front of the goal and then Galway players were trying to give silly passes that weren't on or some other waste of possession.

The 2nd and 3rd KK goals were just terrible..... the 2nd Callanan did well to deny what looked a certain goal. It spilled out to the side of the goal and everybody seemed to stop while it was pulled on off the ground from a tightish angle.... was a bit strange, seemed to me the backs stopped playing after the initial save.
As for the 3rd, TJ ran it straight down the middle from a good 45 yards out. He even managed to bounce it off the ground for another play before rounding Callanan and tapping it in.

Topped off a typical disjointed performance.

I've never been so disillusioned with the hurlers, for once I honestly don't see any way back this year.
Would always have looked to the qualifiers in previous years with optimism, can't see any way back for this team or MGMT.

We have the bulk of a team, we just need to find somebody who can drill them to get the best out of them.
Just look like a team playing Junior with zero work on forming a gameplan or identity.

KK are there for the taking, they struggled their way past us after two games with all those problems listed above.
I think Cork and Clare are both structurally strong, so will give them a better game than we did.

At least the footballers seem to be making some sort of a revival. Though on that note it was disappointing to read that the minors threw away a 5-6 point lead against Mayo to lose by 1.

The White Feather

How many frees did Kilkenny get? It sounded like Galway were very ill disciplined from what I can tell

donnem33

MfMan wrote: »

Forwards simply weren't good enough. Niall Burke not at the races, Joe Cooney didn't hit a ball and is just not good enough at this level, Jonny Glynn showed why he is really a man for off the bench, (very limited once in possession, he spills far too much ball and catches a lot less than many would think he does), JC too subdued. Only Conor Cooney and Flynn to an extent could be pleased with their evening's work. But worse than that, there was no real slickness or interplay about their display. Too many players going for individual scores rather than trying to find a teammate in space or a better position. Too many players not able to win their own ball, make room and take a score.

3-19 may seem like a big score to concede, but the backs in general hurled alright. Their indiscipline was costly in the first half but they all did quite well in the man-to-man battles and none of them was really cleaned. They hit enough ball forward in the second half but they were constantly under pressure because it was coming back down too easily again. Midfield and attack are the problem areas.

Hard to blame the management for the starting line-up they selected as they picked those who showed good form in the drawn match, but they must now show the same form in dropping those mentioned above who haven't done it for too long. Backs are ok. Niall and David Burke, Glynn, Joe Cooney cannot start the next day, they just aren't good enough any more to deserve to. Don't know why Johnny Coen was dropped, unless they wanted a man they could be sure of to make an impact off the bench. Only he and Cathal Mannion made much of an impression when introduced.

Good post! I have never been a fan of joe cooney even when he was a minor. He is too slow for intercounty and rarely if ever plays well.

Judging by the highlights on the news this evening, I thought Johnny Coen was badly caught out for the 3rd goal. He was too easily turned by TJ.

Its all well and good saying to drop David and Niall Burke, Glynn, J Cooney (and i would add A Smyth too - he spends way to much timing giving away frees and acting the hard man, but do we have anyone better to replace them? I don't think so!

Borders no.2

Depressing stuff. Really you'd have to question where Galway hurling is going. This team is miles off the level needed to be pushing for the McCarthy Cup. I think 2012 lulled us into a false sense that Galway Hurling wasn't in a bad place, we are well down the pack and we are sinking further and further down the pecking order. The last couple of years at u21 have been dire and the minors last year (bar 1 or 2) were the worst I remember in over a decade.

Cork, Clare, Limerick, Kilkenny, Dublin and Tipp are ahead of us now. Wexford are gaining significantly on us and Waterford are about the same level as us.

Look at the team that lined out. If other teams were looking at us, you'd ask who would they would want and the answer is there isn't too many.

For me the two Burkes in the backs did quite well and have added to the squad. David Collins is still battling away, Fergal Moore is past it now imo. Paul Killeen, Joseph Cooney and these lads will never be good enough for county hurling. Damien Hayes and Aidan Harte coming on says it all really.

You look down through the squad, there isn't really anyone left out who'd make a huge difference.

The one thing to the players credit is they made countless mistakes and looked a bit of a mess but they kept going which wasn't present in previous seasons but that's not much consolation.

Galway were ill-disciplined. Our game plan defied belief and as usual management didn't react to what was happening in front of him.

The worst thing of all is that the 2014 version of Kilkenny aren't that hectic. Teams with pace and a proper game-plan will may hay against that backline. Unfortunately for us we hadn't the personnel or the game-plan to make the most of Kilkenny's shortcomings.

We'll lose in Thurles next Saturday evening, the axe will fall on Cunningham and the merry go round will start again over the winter. Just totally fed up of it at this stage.

I really think we all need to wake up as to how far we are off the pace. The footballers went 32 years before 1998 without winning an All-Ireland. In 2020 we'll be 32 years without a hurling All-Ireland. It pains me to say I see no reason to believe we will win an All-Ireland before 2020.

donnem33

Borders no.2 wrote: »

Depressing stuff. Really you'd have to question where Galway hurling is going. This team is miles off the level needed to be pushing for the McCarthy Cup. I think 2012 lulled us into a false sense that Galway Hurling wasn't in a bad place, we are well down the pack and we are sinking further and further down the pecking order. The last couple of years at u21 have been dire and the minors last year (bar 1 or 2) were the worst I remember in over a decade.

Cork, Clare, Limerick, Kilkenny, Dublin and Tipp are ahead of us now. Wexford are gaining significantly on us and Waterford are about the same level as us.

Look at the team that lined out. If other teams were looking at us, you'd ask who would they would want and the answer is there isn't too many.

For me the two Burkes in the backs did quite well and have added to the squad. David Collins is still battling away, Fergal Moore is past it now imo. Paul Killeen, Joseph Cooney and these lads will never be good enough for county hurling. Damien Hayes and Aidan Harte coming on says it all really.

You look down through the squad, there isn't really anyone left out who'd make a huge difference.

The one thing to the players credit is they made countless mistakes and looked a bit of a mess but they kept going which wasn't present in previous seasons but that's not much consolation.

Galway were ill-disciplined. Our game plan defied belief and as usual management didn't react to what was happening in front of him.

The worst thing of all is that the 2014 version of Kilkenny aren't that hectic. Teams with pace and a proper game-plan will may hay against that backline. Unfortunately for us we hadn't the personnel or the game-plan to make the most of Kilkenny's shortcomings.

We'll lose in Thurles next Saturday evening, the axe will fall on Cunningham and the merry go round will start again over the winter. Just totally fed up of it at this stage.

I really think we all need to wake up as to how far we are off the pace. The footballers went 32 years before 1998 without winning an All-Ireland. In 2020 we'll be 32 years without a hurling All-Ireland. It pains me to say I see no reason to believe we will win an All-Ireland before 2020.

Little bit negative post..i mean if eoin murphy hadnt such an unbeliveable game last sun, we could well be preparing for a leinster final next sunday! Even this evening, Kilkenny didnt look overly confortable until TJ got the third goal (and he took plenty of steps aswell). In saying that Kilkenny were the better team and did deserve the win even though the scoreline is a bit flattering.

When losing a match like this evening, at least the lads have the chance to rectify the poor performance straight away next weekend and they deserve all our support. Tipp are no world beaters and are there for the taking! Even though it was only a challenge match, Galway gave them a nice trimming in a fiery match 2 weeks ago and Galway never fear tipp.

All it takes is one big confidence win in the qualifiers to get on a roll. Look at clare last year, they were woeful against cork in the munster final and the win against galway made them. One big win against a top team could make all the difference.

Hulk Hands

Thought the backs we're quite good, the Burke's especially as well as Moore. Tannion had a storming opening quarter and held his own thereafter. Andy Smith was ok in midfield if a little quiet. The blame lies with the forwards to be honest. They simply couldnt win primary possesion and were wasteful in the times they did. Cooney can excuse himself but the rest need to step up massively

Borders no.2

donnem33 wrote: »

Little bit negative post..i mean if eoin murphy hadnt such an unbeliveable game last sun, we could well be preparing for a leinster final next sunday! Even this evening, Kilkenny didnt look overly confortable until TJ got the third goal (and he took plenty of steps aswell). In saying that Kilkenny were the better team and did deserve the win even though the scoreline is a bit flattering.

When losing a match like this evening, at least the lads have the chance to rectify the poor performance straight away next weekend and they deserve all our support. Tipp are no world beaters and are there for the taking! Even though it was only a challenge match, Galway gave them a nice trimming in a fiery match 2 weeks ago and Galway never fear tipp.

All it takes is one big confidence win in the qualifiers to get on a roll. Look at clare last year, they were woeful against cork in the munster final and the win against galway made them. One big win against a top team could make all the difference.

In fairness while Eoing Murphy made some good saves, to think we were anything but blessed to get a draw last week would be looking at it with maroon tinted glasses.

Of course they deserve our support and Tipp aren't hectic but Clare last year had the hurlers and played to their strengths. Its fair to say if you had said after the Munster s/f last year they'd go on to win the All-Ireland most people would have laughed at you.

However, with Galway I see neither the hurlers nor any semblance of a game plan. If Joe Canning has a couple of big days it will help those around him and we may pick up a win or two but the fact that its a case of Canning not performing very well means Galway lose is not the credentials of a team going anywhere fast.

Syferus

Not to make it worse lads but ye lost another Connacht MFC SF against Mayo that ye should have won. Two promising Galway minor teams that haven't even reached a provincial final.

Charlie69

What's happened to David Burke? His performances in 2012 were a joy to watch especially in the Leinster final when he scored one of the best points I've ever seen.
He seems to have suffered a dramatic loss of form, does he need to go back to midfield where he has played some fantastic hurling in the past?

donnem33

Charlie69 wrote: »

What's happened to David Burke? His performances in 2012 were a joy to watch especially in the Leinster final when he scored one of the best points I've ever seen.
He seems to have suffered a dramatic loss of form, does he need to go back to midfield where he has played some fantastic hurling in the past?

I think he could be burnt out. He was playing with several teams at such a young age. Also, his groins are at him. He badly needs a rest from the game. Same thing happened his club mate Richie Murray.

Just judging by the radio commentary, I thought he seemed to play ok. He scored a point and seemed to be involved a bit. He certainly seemed to be more in the game anyway compared to Joe Cooney. Even Joe Canning hardly seemed to be involved much

citykat

donnem33 wrote: »

Just judging by the radio commentary, I thought he seemed to play ok. He scored a point and seemed to be involved a bit. He certainly seemed to be more in the game anyway compared to Joe Cooney. Even Joe Canning hardly seemed to be involved much

KK bossed the MF in the first half. GY came more into it there in the second half. Too many of GY forwards didn't fire yesterday: J Cooney, N Burke and to a lesser extent Canning were anonymous. Glynn tried hard but GY got no return from his work. Flynn was a threat but was smothered by Tyrrell particularly in the second half. IMO Cooney was GYs best forward and from what I've seen is a more accurate free taker than Canning.
KK packed the defence and played for the breaks esp in the second half. This made a tough job even harder for the GY forwards.

donnem33

citykat wrote: »

KK bossed the MF in the first half. GY came more into it there in the second half. Too many of GY forwards didn't fire yesterday: J Cooney, N Burke and to a lesser extent Canning were anonymous. Glynn tried hard but GY got no return from his work. Flynn was a threat but was smothered by Tyrrell particularly in the second half. IMO Cooney was GYs best forward and from what I've seen is a more accurate free taker than Canning.
KK packed the defence and played for the breaks esp in the second half. This made a tough job even harder for the GY forwards.

Good analysis. From a Galway viewpoint, we need to drop andy smyth. Good club hurler but doesnt cut it at intercounty. He gives away far too needless frees and the majority of the time offers very little. He did play well in the drawn match but in most matches he can be frustrating to watch

Pearlstone

donnem33 wrote: »

Good analysis. From a Galway viewpoint, we need to drop andy smyth. Good club hurler but doesnt cut it at intercounty. He gives away far too needless frees and the majority of the time offers very little. He did play well in the drawn match but in most matches he can be frustrating to watch

Not sure about that. Was near enough best player the first day. Needs to control his naturally combative streak a little bit but he is really a long way ahead of a totally out of form David Burke who badly needs to be rested.Probably cannot sustain a full game but still an important player for Galway.

24yearslater

Horrendous, absolutely horrendous. No gameplan (assuming u don't call lorrrying crap high balls into a non existent, well beaten full forward line), no tactical awareness, no courage, no concept of even the basic requirements of intercounty hurling, no fight, no teamwork, no hope. These hurlers are hopeless, completely hopeless. 1 good performance in 3 yrs, and that was quickly followed up by quickly throwing away a winning position in the AI final against the same team, a team who were paralysed with fear of us for 2/3 of the game until they realised we were totally incapable of driving on from a real winning position. We'll have our arses handed to us to a big big way next Saturday, & in fairness thus bunch of players deserve nothing less. I don't mind losing, God knows we're used to it, but when we turn up & merely roll up to have our bellies tickled, & raise the white flag after about 15 mins, well then I know it's time for me to say to hell with them. I'm done following them now, they're not worth the effort anymore. Some people say that they put in the same effort as all others & hence they deserve our support, but I'm not buying that, if they did they wouldn't be putting in so many bad performances over the last 20 odd months. We'll get destroyed on Saturday, Cunningham will get the bullet, there'll be a load of sparring between the clubs, a new man will be appointed after another co board charade, and these same players will pull 1 decent performance out of the fire when it's least expected, but they'll ultimately fail. It's so bloody devastating, Galway hurling is dead, and there isn't even an effn pulse.

Pearlstone

24yearslater wrote: »

Horrendous, absolutely horrendous. No gameplan (assuming u don't call lorrrying crap high balls into a non existent, well beaten full forward line), no tactical awareness, no courage, no concept of even the basic requirements of intercounty hurling, no fight, no teamwork, no hope. These hurlers are hopeless, completely hopeless. 1 good performance in 3 yrs, and that was quickly followed up by quickly throwing away a winning position in the AI final against the same team, a team who were paralysed with fear of us for 2/3 of the game until they realised we were totally incapable of driving on from a real winning position. We'll have our arses handed to us to a big big way next Saturday, & in fairness thus bunch of players deserve nothing less. I don't mind losing, God knows we're used to it, but when we turn up & merely roll up to have our bellies tickled, & raise the white flag after about 15 mins, well then I know it's time for me to say to hell with them. I'm done following them now, they're not worth the effort anymore. Some people say that they put in the same effort as all others & hence they deserve our support, but I'm not buying that, if they did they wouldn't be putting in so many bad performances over the last 20 odd months. We'll get destroyed on Saturday, Cunningham will get the bullet, there'll be a load of sparring between the clubs, a new man will be appointed after another co board charade, and these same players will pull 1 decent performance out of the fire when it's least expected, but they'll ultimately fail. It's so bloody devastating, Galway hurling is dead, and there isn't even an effn pulse.

Jaysus 24-I thought I was in foul mood until I read this post. Have been there many times over the past quarter century. I have walked out of Croke Park on nine occasions following AI senior hurling final defeats and I have lost the faith a few times too but feck it we are all Galway men/women and the hoodoo will eventually be broken, possibly when least expected. I agree with some of your comments. Tactically we were poor. Frankly I was baffled at the starting line up with pace being sacrificed for strength. I can't fault the effort in fairness and the lads who did not play well probably feel bad enough today without us keyboard geniuses laying into them. We must remember that players and management are amateurs but are giving an awful amount of their time and effort to the cause. I would not be totally without hope next Saturday provided the correct 15 are selected. Tipp will be under enormous pressure from their supporters whereas most of ours probably feel like yourself. I will have no issue if they are beaten as long as they die with their boots on, so to speak, but if they capitulate like last year v Clare then it certainly is time for a change.Keep the faith for another week 24.

savannahkat

There was 4 points in it when the 70 minutes were up and if Joe Canning had taken his point instead of going for a ridiculous attempt at a goal that game could very well have turned. Galway did not roll over yesterday. After the last five minutes of the drawn game you could not fault any selectors for picking the starting fifteen Galway went with yesterday, the fault if any was not bringing in the smaller faster types to have a cut off Brian Hogan, Jackie and maybe even JJ. You are being extremely hard on your own players. I think you expected to win not realizing that Kilkenny knew they were in trouble and Cody had a very different game plan to day one. Four of the six Kilkenny forwards yesterday were near enough passengers which speaks volumes for the Galway defense and but for the fouling would have restricted Kilkenny to a very paltry score line. Galway are way better than most of their own supporters here are saying

24yearslater

savannahkat wrote: »

There was 4 points in it when the 70 minutes were up and if Joe Canning had taken his point instead of going for a ridiculous attempt at a goal that game could very well have turned. Galway did not roll over yesterday. After the last five minutes of the drawn game you could not fault any selectors for picking the starting fifteen Galway went with yesterday, the fault if any was not bringing in the smaller faster types to have a cut off Brian Hogan, Jackie and maybe even JJ. You are being extremely hard on your own players. I think you expected to win not realizing that Kilkenny knew they were in trouble and Cody had a very different game plan to day one. Four of the six Kilkenny forwards yesterday were near enough passengers which speaks volumes for the Galway defense and but for the fouling would have restricted Kilkenny to a very paltry score line. Galway are way better than most of their own supporters here are saying

I certainly did not expect to win, Jesus if any Galway person went to any Galway match expecting to win I'd seriously suggest that they should be admitted, oven all that we have suffered over the past 25 years. We aren't like Kk, we don't think we have this God given right to win games. I don't know about others, but I've dreaded going to matches over the last 10 years or more, given the likelihood of humiliating carnage. What I do expect however, is that we don't roll over - & that's exactly what happened. Lazy tackling guving up gimme frees, no teamwork in the forwards, the likes of David Burke getting blocked down doing the same fkn thing time after time, JC couldn't be arsed, Smith trying to get himself sent off, Niall Burke not trying a leg, Killeen hopelessly out of his depth. I could go on, but what's the point? Just watched the Sunday Game there - you'd swear they were given a script to follow, rolling out cliches all night. No critical analysis, some brief reference to hopeless balls into the kk defence, and Mulcahy going on about Reid's class goal at the end, even though he blatantly fouled the ball at least twice. Sums it all up - a complete shambles

savannahkat

24yearslater wrote: »

I certainly did not expect to win, Jesus if any Galway person went to any Galway match expecting to win I'd seriously suggest that they should be admitted, oven all that we have suffered over the past 25 years. We aren't like Kk, we don't think we have this God given right to win games. I don't know about others, but I've dreaded going to matches over the last 10 years or more, given the likelihood of humiliating carnage. What I do expect however, is that we don't roll over - & that's exactly what happened. Lazy tackling guving up gimme frees, no teamwork in the forwards, the likes of David Burke getting blocked down doing the same fkn thing time after time, JC couldn't be arsed, Smith trying to get himself sent off, Niall Burke not trying a leg, Killeen hopelessly out of his depth. I could go on, but what's the point? Just watched the Sunday Game there - you'd swear they were given a script to follow, rolling out cliches all night. No critical analysis, some brief reference to hopeless balls into the kk defence, and Mulcahy going on about Reid's class goal at the end, even though he blatantly fouled the ball at least twice. Sums it all up - a complete shambles

There ain't much to say after that. The only thing I will say is that we don't believe we have a God given right to win. Most Kilkenny people approached yesterdays replay with a lot of trepidation and yes we did believe we could win it but were never certain we would and did not for a second believe it was a God given right. I will add, though it will never happen, one year with Cody in charge and no one but no one would beat that Galway team or more correctly the Galway team he would send out. Galway have the hurlers of that there is no doubt.

MfMan

24yearslater wrote: »

Horrendous, absolutely horrendous. No gameplan (assuming u don't call lorrrying crap high balls into a non existent, well beaten full forward line), no tactical awareness, no courage, no concept of even the basic requirements of intercounty hurling, no fight, no teamwork, no hope. These hurlers are hopeless, completely hopeless. 1 good performance in 3 yrs, and that was quickly followed up by quickly throwing away a winning position in the AI final against the same team, a team who were paralysed with fear of us for 2/3 of the game until they realised we were totally incapable of driving on from a real winning position. We'll have our arses handed to us to a big big way next Saturday, & in fairness thus bunch of players deserve nothing less. I don't mind losing, God knows we're used to it, but when we turn up & merely roll up to have our bellies tickled, & raise the white flag after about 15 mins, well then I know it's time for me to say to hell with them. I'm done following them now, they're not worth the effort anymore. Some people say that they put in the same effort as all others & hence they deserve our support, but I'm not buying that, if they did they wouldn't be putting in so many bad performances over the last 20 odd months. We'll get destroyed on Saturday, Cunningham will get the bullet, there'll be a load of sparring between the clubs, a new man will be appointed after another co board charade, and these same players will pull 1 decent performance out of the fire when it's least expected, but they'll ultimately fail. It's so bloody devastating, Galway hurling is dead, and there isn't even an effn pulse.

Settle now, settle. Things are bad but as Fergal Moore once said "You're never as good as you look when you win nor as bad as you look when you lose". For the record, if we had the 6 backs yesterday evening for the '12 final, we would have won it. The backs are good enough, the 2 Burkes are right cuts of hurlers and the half back line is at least the correct location for Tan. Moore and Collins did nothing much too wrong either. Yes, they conceded too many frees in the first half, but that is one of the easier things to rectify.

However, MGMT now have to bite the bullet and drop David Burke, restore Coen to midfield where he was very effective in the league, drop Niall Burke who epitomises the inconsistency of Galway; drop Joseph Cooney and Johnny Glynn, grand honest lads with great heart, but nowhere remotely near county level standard. Restore Cathal Mannion, though quiet the first day, at least has a better controlling touch and an awareness of teammates in space. Encourage Andy Smith to temper his aggression with control. After that, I don't know, try and patch up the blanks with a few, new hungry lads. If you're going to lose, it may as well be doing it trying something new.

TCDStudent1

MfMan wrote: »

Settle now, settle. Things are bad but as Fergal Moore once said "You're never as good as you look when you win nor as bad as you look when you lose". For the record, if we had the 6 backs yesterday evening for the '12 final, we would have won it. The backs are good enough, the 2 Burkes are right cuts of hurlers and the half back line is at least the correct location for Tan. Moore and Collins did nothing much too wrong either. Yes, they conceded too many frees in the first half, but that is one of the easier things to rectify.

However, MGMT now have to bite the bullet and drop David Burke, restore Coen to midfield where he was very effective in the league, drop Niall Burke who epitomises the inconsistency of Galway; drop Joseph Cooney and Johnny Glynn, grand honest lads with great heart, but nowhere remotely near county level standard. Restore Cathal Mannion, though quiet the first day, at least has a better controlling touch and an awareness of teammates in space. Encourage Andy Smith to temper his aggression with control. After that, I don't know, try and patch up the blanks with a few, new hungry lads. If you're going to lose, it may as well be doing it trying something new.

You are dropping a lot of players there - hope you have some better replacements to bring in!

I would have dropped David Burke for the replay. He just hasnt really done it this year and maybe dropping him would have sparked something in him. He has so much talent that its frustrating when you dont see him show it. I am not sure there is a huge amount you can do to improve the actual line up of the team. Is there any obvious player currently not getting a game that should be? I cant think of one. I'd like to see Mannion start at 10 and drop David Burke (or move Burke to midfield). Other than that, it's difficult to see where the team can be improved. Its easy to say X should be dropped. But everybody said that about Brehony last week, Cooney comes in and now he should be dropped. No point in dropping these players if the replacements are no better! Instead,they need to be encouraged and improved by getting game time.

MfMan

TCDStudent1 wrote: »

You are dropping a lot of players there - hope you have some better replacements to bring in!

I would have dropped David Burke for the replay. He just hasnt really done it this year and maybe dropping him would have sparked something in him. He has so much talent that its frustrating when you dont see him show it. I am not sure there is a huge amount you can do to improve the actual line up of the team. Is there any obvious player currently not getting a game that should be? I cant think of one. I'd like to see Mannion start at 10 and drop David Burke (or move Burke to midfield). Other than that, it's difficult to see where the team can be improved. Its easy to say X should be dropped. But everybody said that about Brehony last week, Cooney comes in and now he should be dropped. No point in dropping these players if the replacements are no better! Instead,they need to be encouraged and improved by getting game time.

Yes, but that is what I mean in the last line by trying something (somebody) new. David Burke played midfield all evening Saturday with no obvious improvement. Joseph Cooney (and Glynn) have been on the panel all during Cunningham's time, again with no discernible improvement in about 3 years. There comes a time when you have to draw a line under them and do something different. Of course, they may come good in time, it's taken TJ Reid probably until now to finally establish himself as a first teamer for KK, but it's unlikely there's going to be a sea change in the fortunes of the aforementioned in a week.

TCDStudent1

MfMan wrote: »

Yes, but that is what I mean in the last line by trying something (somebody) new. David Burke played midfield all evening Saturday with no obvious improvement. Joseph Cooney (and Glynn) have been on the panel all during Cunningham's time, again with no discernible improvement in about 3 years. There comes a time when you have to draw a line under them and do something different. Of course, they may come good in time, it's taken TJ Reid probably until now to finally establish himself as a first teamer for KK, but it's unlikely there's going to be a sea change in the fortunes of the aforementioned in a week.

Aah ok, sorry. I asked in the other thread where exactly he was playing and was told he was in half forward line. I couldnt go to the game due to a club match on Saturday.

Utopia Parkway

24yearslater wrote: »

I certainly did not expect to win, Jesus if any Galway person went to any Galway match expecting to win I'd seriously suggest that they should be admitted, oven all that we have suffered over the past 25 years. We aren't like Kk, we don't think we have this God given right to win games. I don't know about others, but I've dreaded going to matches over the last 10 years or more, given the likelihood of humiliating carnage. What I do expect however, is that we don't roll over - & that's exactly what happened.

In fairness it's very harsh to say Galway rolled over. There was 4 points in it as normal time ended. That is nothing in hurling. Kilkenny scored 1-1 in the last minute of injury time. Believe me I've seen Galway games when they have just given up but they kept going the last day.

24yearslater

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

In fairness it's very harsh to say Galway rolled over. There was 4 points in it as normal time ended. That is nothing in hurling. Kilkenny scored 1-1 in the last minute of injury time. Believe me I've seen Galway games when they have just given up but they kept going the last day.

They didn't show up collectively. Once things started to go bad after about 15 mins in, they all started hurling like individuals. The backs were clearing ball aimlessly (granted the 2 turlough Burkes & Tan played ok), the forwards weren't competing right, when they did get the ball they were horsing it in aimlessly to no one in particular, or going for crazy scores from impossible positions, whilst I couldn't possibly say a single good word about our midfield pairing. It was like most of them were saying to themselves "well this isn't going so good, so I'm just going to concentrate on trying to make myself look ok so I won't get the blame". As for both Niall Burke & JC - they both threw in the towel early on. As for the argument that kk were only 4 up late on, I'm not buying it. They held us at arms length comfortably all day, and I would suggest that they're not the lethal team of previous years. I could be wrong, but I do feel that they won't win the AI this year, I think they will struggle against sides with a bit of heart & fight & a proper gameplan.

ryanair22

TCDStudent1 wrote: »

You are dropping a lot of players there - hope you have some better replacements to bring in!

I would have stopped David Burke for the replay. He just hasnt really done it this year and maybe dropping him would have sparked something in him. He has so much talent that its frustrating when you dont see him show it. I am not sure there is a huge amount you can do to improve the actual line up of the team. Is there any obvious player currently not getting a game that should be? I cant think of one. I'd like to see Mannion start at 10 and drop David Burke (or move Burke to midfield). Other than that, it's difficult to see where the team can be improved. Its easy to say X should be dropped. But everybody said that about Brehony last week, Cooney comes in and now he should be dropped. No point in dropping these players if the replacements are no better! Instead,they need to be encouraged and improved by getting game time.

We look settled at the back except for right wing. Picking Killeen in his first championship start there to mark Reid made no sense, surely if he was to start it should have been in the corner in a swap with Collins where he is used to playing and where his lack of pace wouldn't be exposed so much. Harte had to be dropped, teams were starting to target his wing with puck outs and long clearances where his weakness under the high ball was exposed, don't think he's good enough anyway. I can understand not wanting to move Collins out as the full back line looks solid with Collins and Moore good at covering for Ronan Burke when he follows the full forward out as he often does but think we need to make that change. Noticeable that after Kk hit the first few puck outs to tannians wing where he cleaned tommy walsh they changed to the right wing and had a lot of success hitting there with nearly every long ball after that.

Our midfield and particularly forward line are really struggling, with Donnellan and Healy injured and Niall and David Burke badly out of form we're short of options here. Think we have to play to our strengths and go back to a 3 man midfield ahead of a tight defence to make us difficult to score against. Brehony was unlucky to be dropped had a good league and thought he was our best player v Laois, equally Coen was unlucky especially when David Burke has been consistently poor but still gets picked, time for Cunningham to make the call here, Thomas's man or not. Might be worth trying a switch of Smith to the forward line, he plays club there has pace and can take a score. Time to bite the bullet with Canning and play him midfield where he can get him on the ball more, don't think he's going to get much out of Paudie Maher if played FF, leave Glynn on him to keep him busy with Flynn and Mannion buzzing around Glynn.

Team for me would be,

Callinan
Moore R.Burke Killeen
Collins D.Burke Tannian

Coen Canning Brehony

Mannion Cooney Smith
Flynn Glynn

TCDStudent1

ryanair22 wrote: »

We look settled at the back except for right wing. Picking Killeen in his first championship start there to mark Reid made no sense, surely if he was to start it should have been in the corner in a swap with Collins where he is used to playing and where his lack of pace wouldn't be exposed so much. Harte had to be dropped, teams were starting to target his wing with puck outs and long clearances where his weakness under the high ball was exposed, don't think he's good enough anyway. I can understand not wanting to move Collins out as the full back line looks solid with Collins and Moore good at covering for Ronan Burke when he follows the full forward out as he often does but think we need to make that change. Noticeable that after Kk hit the first few puck outs to tannians wing where he cleaned tommy walsh they changed to the right wing and had a lot of success hitting there with nearly every long ball after that.

Our midfield and particularly forward line are really struggling, with Donnellan and Healy injured and Niall and David Burke badly out of form we're short of options here. Think we have to play to our strengths and go back to a 3 man midfield ahead of a tight defence to make us difficult to score against. Brehony was unlucky to be dropped had a good league and thought he was our best player v Laois, equally Coen was unlucky especially when David Burke has been consistently poor but still gets picked, time for Cunningham to make the call here, Thomas's man or not. Might be worth trying a switch of Smith to the forward line, he plays club there has pace and can take a score. Time to bite the bullet with Canning and play him midfield where he can get him on the ball more, don't think he's going to get much out of Paudie Maher if played FF, leave Glynn on him to keep him busy with Flynn and Mannion buzzing around Glynn.

Team for me would be,

Callinan
Moore R.Burke Killeen
Collins D.Burke Tannian

Coen Canning Brehony

Mannion Cooney Smith
Flynn Glynn

hmm, I dont think I'd put Canning any deeper than the half forward line.