Meath GAA discussion thread

Godge

rpurfield wrote: »

Just out of interest did you raise it with them or the stewards or just decide to post on the Meath topic here under a faceless user name? I've seen plenty of lads out of school in Croke Park over the years and generally a word in the ear sorts it, or failing that no steward would see kids put off and would sort it.

There were some Meath supporters near me at the same. The steward spoke to them because there were kids in hearing range but it made no difference.

threerockers

I did ask the people in question to stop as kids were upset and was told to F..k Off. The stewards and guards were dealing with the situation when I left. Obviously my kids are my priority

whatnext

Is there anything planned by way of a reception for the hurlers? (like last time)

mattser

threerockers wrote: »

As a dub I was disgusted with some of your fans today. I was there with my six and 9 yr old who were reduced to tears due to the aggressive nature of two Meath fans in section 309 of the Cusack Stand. I am going to Croke Park for 30 years and never had to leave until today due to the fear they put in my kids. This behaviour is not acceptable at what is supposed to be a sporting occasion . Just for the record if either of them have sobered up enough to read this Diarmuid Connolly was kicked at the back of the neck by Mr. Reilly and he should have been put off.[/QUOTE]

The same guy who was cleared by the authorities after a few extraordinary meetings last year. Give it a rest will ya.
I sympathise with you on the fans behaviour, but in your thirty years I'm sure you've heard and seen some beauts in dubs shirts too.

iDave

Dublin fans are always paragons of virtue as we all know.

The irony of DC complaining about someone getting away with it really is laughable.

As for Meath even as it slipped away I didn't feel so bad. If they kept it to 6/7 you could of said progress but the wides started to add up and so did the sloppiness which made the scoreline uglier than it needed to be.
The sheer number of soft frees in very scorable positions was infuriating. All the Dubs needed to do was run at our defense, feel contact, fall over and get the free.
It's so hard to compete against Dublin for a multitude of reasons but the ref giving Rock so many handy frees exasperates the problem.
We'd of lost anyway but our plight wasn't helped

Still delighted with our hurlers nevertheless. Was great describing an epic hurling match to a kilkenny lad in work.

whatnext

One thing that struck me as I watched what was at times out sole forward in the attacking half of the field is how much the game has changed in recent years and how we don't seem to have adapted to it. Meath dont seem to have a "style of play". it seems to change from game to game or even half to half.

I really miss the old fashioned way when teams lined out as numbered in a 3,3,2,3,3 formation.

Now this is only a personal observation / opinion, but I feel if we dont come up with our own "philosophy" (thanks LVG) and we continually play to counter the oppositions strength we will continue to stagnate at best. Players can't build an instinct for their team mates moves or know without looking where their outlet will be if the system keeps changing. Repetition of anything makes it more efficient and makes everyone better or more effective at what they do. It's was depressing looking at lads retreating to the half way line to defend and then when we do turn the ball over there is no release route bar hoof it up to a forward with 3 men on him.

I know we cant always dictate the style of play, but if we did have some sort of style at least the opposition would perhaps do something to counter it and mean that they weren't let run loose to do as they please.

Hammer Archer

threerockers wrote: »

I did ask the people in question to stop as kids were upset and was told to F..k Off. The stewards and guards were dealing with the situation when I left. Obviously my kids are my priority

But why mention it here? What can we do about it? Can you do anything about the eejits on the Hill throwing missiles and singing "I'd rather be a **** than a Royal"?

Looking at the Burke and Biggy incidents, Burke 100% should have gotten the line, but jaysus talk about making a mountain out of a molehill with Biggy. I've seen less made out of Connolly himself driving his knees into a player's head while on the ground a few years back.

One of the few positives yesterday I thought was Paddy's distribution from kickouts. I don't remember one of his short ones going astray.

his holiness captain caveman

iDave wrote: »

Dublin fans are always paragons of virtue as we all know.

The irony of DC complaining about someone getting away with it really is laughable.

In fairness DC isn't complaining about anything. This is a fan complaining about a player being kicked in the back of the head. And in fairness, it's a justifiable complaint.

The fact that Connolly was on the receiving end is, in my opinion, the reason for the lack of outrage. Which is wrong.

Regarding the fans, we all have our own d***head fans unfortunately.

mattser

Why are Dublin consistently allowed to take that short kick out ? Just push up and make him kick it long.

Once they have possession it's very hard to get it back. Refs generally give them soft frees which doesn't help either.

If you're beaten 20 points instead of 10, what the hell.

Rock Lesnar

Hammer Archer wrote: »

One of the few positives yesterday I thought was Paddy's distribution from kickouts. I don't remember one of his short ones going astray.

In fairness Hammer while i agree that they were accurate, i feel they let him kick it short, as we had so many players in our own half, kicking long was pointless.

I also agree with the posts about Dublin getting soft frees, they did, but i'm more concerned about what we done, and what we done was not good enough.

corny

mattser wrote: »

Why are Dublin consistently allowed to take that short kick out ? Just push up and make him kick it long.

Once they have possession it's very hard to get it back. Refs generally give them soft frees which doesn't help either.

If you're beaten 20 points instead of 10, what the hell.

Teams are afraid that if Dublin win the ball in midfield they'll have space in behind to exploit if they push up. Dublin have pace all over the place. Kerry in the semi final a couple of years back famously got some joy out of 'pushing up' but ultimately Kevin McManamon's winning goal came from them being exposed in behind. Risk and reward i suppose.

On the frees? Yeah the ref ****ed Meath over imo. Even pissed me off when he awarded frees to Dublin instead of just letting them get on with it.

Hammer Archer

Video of Saturday's game is up on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYeRbNgxMl4

mattser

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Video of Saturday's game is up on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYeRbNgxMl4

Great stuff Hammer. All the better there's no inane RTE commentary.

Hammer Archer

Bit strange that Meath are not included in Martin Fogarty's new job of Hurling Development Manager. Carlow and Antrim are specifically mentioned as deserving of assistance in developing hurling.
I seem to remember Meath being mentioned in an official GAA report as being in the same tier of hurling as the likes of Louth, Longford, Monaghan, Fermanagh etc.

mickrourke

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Bit strange that Meath are not included in Martin Fogarty's new job of Hurling Development Manager. Carlow and Antrim are specifically mentioned as deserving of assistance in developing hurling.
I seem to remember Meath being mentioned in an official GAA report as being in the same tier of hurling as the likes of Louth, Longford, Monaghan, Fermanagh etc.

Sure we dont need assistance! Didnt we just win 2 cups in the space of 2 weeks

paul0103

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Bit strange that Meath are not included in Martin Fogarty's new job of Hurling Development Manager. Carlow and Antrim are specifically mentioned as deserving of assistance in developing hurling.
I seem to remember Meath being mentioned in an official GAA report as being in the same tier of hurling as the likes of Louth, Longford, Monaghan, Fermanagh etc.

That was the hurling 2020 report, launched January 2015!! One of the proposals was to establish a full time Director of Hurling. Almost a year and a half to find the (hopefully) right person...

Could only find a link to the full report from on Connacht Gaa site. And yes, unfortunately Meath are in the 'develop the game' section, instead of 'grow the game'. Not much foresight really, considering two of the grow the game teams are no longer in Liam McCarthy, and one (Derry) are in Nicky Rackard. Shows the danger of putting teams into categories that don't really seem to be based on a whole lot of research. I know every county will have their own arguments, but surely Meath would be a good candidate for growing the game, with a relatively large number of hurling clubs (~24).

http://connachtgaa.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/GAA-Hurling-2020-Report.pdf

CrabRevolution

I remember giving out about that report at the time too!

One thing I will admit though that has probably worked against us is that Meath's success has been a bolt out of the blue. For years we have heard about how great Westmeath/Carlow/Antrim/Kerry are and how they're just being kept down by lack of attention from Croke Park. We don't tend to make that kind of noise about ourselves in Meath. So when people talked of the tier 2 counties they never included Meath.

2 months ago we'd flopped in the league and beaten Wicklow in the CR first round. Had you told anyone that by the end of June we'd beat London, Kildare, then reach our first CR final and draw with before beating the apparently invincible Antrim, you'd have been laughed at. Hopefully we build on this next year and get out of 2B before surviving in the Leinster Round Robin.

LeoB

Rock Lesnar wrote: »

I also agree with the posts about Dublin getting soft frees, they did, but i'm more concerned about what we done, and what we done was not good enough.

The problem with the frees is not that they were "soft" but the Meath tackling was juvenile at times. There will always be questionable frees in games where we can argue the toss but Meath were the architects of their own downfall with lazy tackling. Leaving 1 forward up is an invitation to any team to come and attack and eventually you get hurt. Dublin were the masters of this (getting hurt) until 2011

Most Dubs I spoke to were disappointed with Meath on Sunday. I spoke to a few before the game who felt Wallace and Newman could cause us serious problems but if you dont get the ball to them quick enough Dublin just cover of the space. Leinster needs a good Meath team and so do Dublin.

As for this ****e about money been pumped into Dublin. A lot of this money goes on G.P.Os and coaching in disadvantaged areas. Have a scroll through the Dublin thread and you will see lads pay for their own coaching courses as the clubs dont have the money. Nobody minds paying either. There are a few massive clubs in Dublin Boden, Crokes, Vincents Na Fianna but outside of that I would say from the facilities in Meath clubs are as good if not far better. But the amount of coaching going on in Dublin is amazing. The commitment is huge and the hype helps get kid in playing. Meath need to look inward and not blame Mick O'Dowd. Did Meath not hang on to a few players back 15 years ago a bit too long? A lot of very good players never got a chance (it happened in Dublin also. Kerry went through the same after Mick O'Dwyer finished up. To change this it takes years and Meath beating the Dublin minors this year could well be a stepping stone to getting back as serious contenders again. They aint a million miles away.

As for the behaviour of the fans!! Name a county that doesnt have absolute dick heads following them. Fair weather fcks who would not be able for the cold of an O'Byrne cup game in Navan or Parnel park. There is a responsibility on county boards and us supporters to deal with these people and not give them tickets. Our club refused tickets to a few lads a couple of years back and it cut out the messing.

Green_Tae

Superb moral and sporting victory for the royal county's hurlers on Saturday! Hoorah!

Just a shame they couldn't do it in a slick, good-looking green and gold number - you know, like Leitrim's...

That's all I have to say on the matter.

CrabRevolution

Green Tae wrote: »

Superb moral and sporting victory for the royal county's hurlers on Saturday! Hoorah!

Just a shame they couldn't do it in a slick, good-looking green and gold number - you know, like Leitrim's...

That's all I have to say on the matter.

If that's our biggest problem then it's fair to say we don't have any problems.

Green_Tae

This is the official Leitrim jersey for the 2016 season:




Expertly-fitted - peerless tailoring along the shoulder seams with added pads to accentuate masculinity. A proper manly shade of green is complimented by tapering vertical stripes along the front and back of the jersey.

The finishing touch is the life-size yellow bush on the front to let the opposition know you really mean business!

You might pretend otherwise, you might claim that Meath football's problems lie in the lack of coaching structures, laissez-faire county boards, even 'celebrity' footballers more interested in media gigs than developing a plan for the future - the simple fact of the matter is we need a jersey we can believe in, one that oozes sex-appeal and doesn't come with complicated washing instructions that make you cry when you realise there was a button on the machine that facilitated forty degree washes and none of this need ever have happened.

I know it, the dogs on the street know it, this smiley face knows it

An Mhi abu!

iDave

Green Tae wrote: »

This is the official Leitrim jersey for the 2016 season:




Expertly-fitted - peerless tailoring along the shoulder seams with added pads to accentuate masculinity. A proper manly shade of green is complimented by tapering vertical stripes along the front and back of the jersey.

The finishing touch is the life-size yellow bush on the front to let the opposition know you really mean business!

You might pretend otherwise, you might claim that Meath football's problems lie in the lack of coaching structures, laissez-faire county boards, even 'celebrity' footballers more interested in media gigs than developing a plan for the future - the simple fact of the matter is we need a jersey we can believe in, one that oozes sex-appeal and doesn't come with complicated washing instructions that make you cry when you realise there was a button on the machine that facilitated forty degree washes and none of this need ever have happened.

I know it, the dogs on the street know it, this smiley face knows it

An Mhi abu!

CrabRevolution

I'm not sure if the jersey worn in 1996 (with the chevrons on the sleeves) when winning the AI was ever thought of as having sex appeal.

Or maybe my view of it has been tarnished from the fact that these days it's normally worn accompanied by a beer belly and a balding head :pac:.

awaywithyou

Green Tae wrote: »

This is the official Leitrim jersey for the 2016 season:




Expertly-fitted - peerless tailoring along the shoulder seams with added pads to accentuate masculinity. A proper manly shade of green is complimented by tapering vertical stripes along the front and back of the jersey.

The finishing touch is the life-size yellow bush on the front to let the opposition know you really mean business!

You might pretend otherwise, you might claim that Meath football's problems lie in the lack of coaching structures, laissez-faire county boards, even 'celebrity' footballers more interested in media gigs than developing a plan for the future - the simple fact of the matter is we need a jersey we can believe in, one that oozes sex-appeal and doesn't come with complicated washing instructions that make you cry when you realise there was a button on the machine that facilitated forty degree washes and none of this need ever have happened.

I know it, the dogs on the street know it, this smiley face knows it

An Mhi abu!

vertical is right.....

Hammer Archer

CrabRevolution wrote: »

I'm not sure if the jersey worn in 1996 (with the chevrons on the sleeves) when winning the AI was ever thought of as having sex appeal.

Or maybe my view of it has been tarnished from the fact that these days it's normally worn accompanied by a beer belly and a balding head :pac:.

What about the 1999 jersey, wearing it Trevor Giles style?

Hammer Archer

Decent weekend for the underage sides. Split U15 teams comprehensively beat split Dublin teams and the U16 team beat Wicklow by 40 points in the Gerry Reilly tournament.
Let's hope the minors continue it on Wednesday.

rpurfield

Just back to the hurling lads, do we not go into the Leinster quarter final as per the Antrim motion to congress? I thought we did.

Hammer Archer

I think that motion means the Christy Ring champions go into the Leinster quarter finals the same year. Probably starts with next season's championship. Would hope the Christy Ring champions would still go into the round robin stage the following year regardless of how they do in Leinster.

iDave

That's a messy poorly conceived structure. Brought in the moment Antrim got relegated.
Why should a CR team get a place in the Leinster QF ahead of a team slugging it out in the round robin which is supposed to be a higher level?

Hammer Archer

Looking back, it got 80% of the vote though.