Meath GAA discussion thread

rpurfield

lads maybe i was looking at it wrong on sunday but in my eyes is bryan menton not every bit as good as kev reilly.now id much prefer to have kev in the team as bryan can play elsewhere also but i never have a worry when hes on the edge of the square either.

i hope we get a big turn out in tullamore on saturday, laois will be fancying this giving the short turnaround and all and a good support will lift the lads imo

meath12

in fairness menton is good but reilly is one of the best fullbacks in the country imo and if he hadnt gone off i dont think those two goals would have gone in.

Hammer Archer

rpurfield wrote: »

lads maybe i was looking at it wrong on sunday but in my eyes is bryan menton not every bit as good as kev reilly.now id much prefer to have kev in the team as bryan can play elsewhere also but i never have a worry when hes on the edge of the square either.

i hope we get a big turn out in tullamore on saturday, laois will be fancying this giving the short turnaround and all and a good support will lift the lads imo

I don't think Menton is of the same standard as Reilly to be honest (which is not to say that he won't be in future or isn't any good at present). Over the last three seasons, Kevin has really grown into the full back role. It wasn't too long ago that I thought he may not be good enough (I remember him coming in for criticism when playing at full back a few years back) but his performances over the past two seasons especially have been sensational.
In a perfect world, I think Reilly at 3 and Menton at 6 would be best for us. I keep on saying it but McAnarney simply isn't good enough at number 6.

On a related note, I am absolutely delighted with the performances of Keoghan recently. The guy is a terrier when challenging his man and many times either dispossesses him or forces him to concede a free.

Browning2010

Whats the story with tickets for Saturday lads, do yous have them already or you planning on getting them below?

I got them below for the games against Carlow but not sure if it will be the same for this game?

Hammer Archer

Browning2010 wrote: »

Whats the story with tickets for Saturday lads, do yous have them already or you planning on getting them below?

I got them below for the games against Carlow but not sure if it will be the same for this game?

I'd say you'll be able to get them in Tullamore itself no problem.
You can also get them here to print at home (as far as I know).

a7k10rf6z8buel

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Browning2010 wrote: »

Whats the story with tickets for Saturday lads, do yous have them already or you planning on getting them below?

I got them below for the games against Carlow but not sure if it will be the same for this game?

I'd say you'll be able to get them in Tullamore itself no problem.
You can also get them here to print at home (as far as I know).

Have printed off tickets for last two games but doesn't look like you can for this game (only delivery option is via post). The provincial grounds probably don't have the equipment to scan the ticket barcodes. Handiest place to get a ticket before the game is Super Valu.

Diego Maradona

There's a School (think it is anyway) straight across from O'Connor Park on the far side of the bridge they have parking in there and also sell tickets.

Hammer Archer

Louisa Slow Superpower wrote: »

Have printed off tickets for last two games but doesn't look like you can for this game (only delivery option is via post). The provincial grounds probably don't have the equipment to scan the ticket barcodes. Handiest place to get a ticket before the game is Super Valu.

Good point.

Diego Maradona wrote: »

There's a School (think it is anyway) straight across from O'Connor Park on the far side of the bridge they have parking in there and also sell tickets.

Yeah I'd say that'd be the best place to get them. Doubt it if it'll be a sellout, especially with it being on TV.

Hammer Archer

U21 hurlers lost by a single point to Kildare tonight in the Leinster U21A final. Meath were supposedly leading for a good portion of the game (1-10 to 1-6 at HT) but lost 2-14 to 1-16.

GaughMan

Does anyone know if the man is still selling flags and whatnot from the back of his van at the Round O in Navan?If so,is he cheaper than the shops and what sort of selection does he have? Any help much appreciated

Felexicon

Only change for Laois game is Ward replacing Bray. Probably the right choice on Sundays performances by both players

meath12

i wonder will kevin reilly actually start, during the week banty said he was out with an injury, if hes anyway not right they should just leave him off especially if we win and get to the quarter final we'll need him then. its good too that banty has kept with the young lads, hopefully they'l put in a good performance this time, it would have been very bad for their confidence if banty had dropped them after one bad game.
i actually thought queeney would start and i think he deserves to start, what more does he have to do to start but i suppose they must still just want him as an impact sub. i wonder will there be a change with meade though, like how many chances is he going to get, alot of other players wouldnt have got nearly as many chances if they wernt playing well.

keane2097

There's a piece by Big Joe here on the loss last week, the game tomorrow and the whole six day turnaround thing here if anyone's interested:

http://www.livegaelic.com/the-joe-show/the-myth-of-the-6-day-turnaround/

keane2097

Felexicon wrote: »

Only change for Laois game is Ward replacing Bray. Probably the right choice on Sundays performances by both players

Bray is injured rather than dropped I think.

Hammer Archer

keane2097 wrote: »

There's a piece by Big Joe here on the loss last week, the game tomorrow and the whole six day turnaround thing here if anyone's interested:

http://www.livegaelic.com/the-joe-show/the-myth-of-the-6-day-turnaround/

He's right in that, if we are beaten tomorrow, the 6 day turnaround won't be any excuse.
It is interesting that, in the 11 years of the qualifiers, not one team has won their round 4 qualifying game 6 days after losing a provincial final (Dublin had 7 days in 2001). I've got a very bad feeling about our game to be honest. We haven't been great against Laois in league or championship in recent times.

I'd be very surprised if Kevin Reilly starts. I'd say Harrington will come in for him. I'm glad the likes of Forde, Carroll and Gillespie are still in the team. None of them had the best game on Sunday but it should be good for their confidence to know that one mediocre performance won't mean they're back on the bench.

meath12

yeah i have to say ive a bad feeling about tomorrow too, i think the lads will try their best but i just think laois are a better team than they are given credit for, i could actually see us just losing out narrowly by one or two points. i really hope im wrong though.

rpurfield

the only thing that might stand to us is we finished the dublin game on the up and mightve snatched something if wed had a few more minutes.i agree kev wont start myself or if he does itll be another early change, i doubt youll return from what he has so quick.

agree with hammer archer about keoghan too hes had a great season so far proper cornere back up your mans hole dont give him space to breathe.

eastmeathroyal

Come on the royal !!! Huge game today, hopefully everyone travels and gets behind the team. Come on You Boys in Green

Hammer Archer

What a difference a week makes
Last week we were preparing for a Leinster final and now we're out of the championship. Today was a prime example of why I hate playing Laois. They regularly have a poor championship yet they almost always raise their game against us. Not nice to see some of the challenges made by their players though, especially Munnelly going in knee first on Keoghan which forced him off. Really missed him in the second half as a lot of Laois' scores came from his side.

Really need to search high and low for a new goalkeeper and new midfielders between now and the league. Gallagher has been too dodgy this season and there is surely a young goalkeeper somewhere in Meath that can go between the sticks. Also, despite Gillespie's MOTM performance against Kildare, he's been poor in the two games since.
If Banty goes, then get a replacement in ASAP so he can scout around the championships which will be starting back in the next week or two. Though I expect the county board to faff about as usual.

Been a very tough year following the team around. I was in Navan when the season started in the O'Byrne Cup against Wexford. I was in Omagh when we were beaten out the gate by Tyrone. I witnessed the horrible sight of Louth fans "oléing" every pass with 10 minutes left in Navan as we were dumped into Division 3 and the win and performance against Kildare, for me, doesn't make up for the fact that we were woeful for the most part this season.

But I'll probably be back again next year for my troubles. Hopefully our injury nightmares will be over and we'll have the likes of Reilly, Kenny and (dare I say it?) O' Rourke back in the team. I do think we have a pretty solid defence to build on. Keoghan has been a revelation at corner back and with Reilly at full back and Menton at centre half back, I wouldn't be worrying about the defence. If we can sort out our goalkeeper and midfielders and our forwards can get some consistency, we can have a good season in 2013.

meath12

i was very dissappointed with the game today, had a really bad feeling before the game so im not that surprised we lost. i think the players that we were really missing today were kenny and shane orourke. against dublin also we couldve done with kenny. we needed someone like him getting the breaking ball and giving good passes into the forwards. hopefully he will be back next year.
then we still have mark ward, david bray,paddy gilsenan and hopefully an injury free kevin reilly to come back next year. so infairness we have had to deal with alot of injuries this year that alot of teams wouldnt have been able to deal with never mind get to a leinster final.
the thing im worried about next year is that the league will be really important, if we dont get promoted from division three i dont think we'll have a good year in the championship. its already a disadvantage playing in division 3 but if we win it, then atleast we will be doing something right.

eastmeathroyal

Hammer Archer wrote: »

What a difference a week makes
Last week we were preparing for a Leinster final and now we're out of the championship. Today was a prime example of why I hate playing Laois. They regularly have a poor championship yet they almost always raise their game against us. Not nice to see some of the challenges made by their players though, especially Munnelly going in knee first on Keoghan which forced him off. Really missed him in the second half as a lot of Laois' scores came from his side.

Really need to search high and low for a new goalkeeper and new midfielders between now and the league. Gallagher has been too dodgy this season and there is surely a young goalkeeper somewhere in Meath that can go between the sticks. Also, despite Gillespie's MOTM performance against Kildare, he's been poor in the two games since.
If Banty goes, then get a replacement in ASAP so he can scout around the championships which will be starting back in the next week or two. Though I expect the county board to faff about as usual.

Been a very tough year following the team around. I was in Navan when the season started in the O'Byrne Cup against Wexford. I was in Omagh when we were beaten out the gate by Tyrone. I witnessed the horrible sight of Louth fans "oléing" every pass with 10 minutes left in Navan as we were dumped into Division 3 and the win and performance against Kildare, for me, doesn't make up for the fact that we were woeful for the most part this season.

But I'll probably be back again next year for my troubles. Hopefully our injury nightmares will be over and we'll have the likes of Reilly, Kenny and (dare I say it?) O' Rourke back in the team. I do think we have a pretty solid defence to build on. Keoghan has been a revelation at corner back and with Reilly at full back and Menton at centre half back, I wouldn't be worrying about the defence. If we can sort out our goalkeeper and midfielders and our forwards can get some consistency, we can have a good season in 2013.

Hammer every year were going to have injuries to certain players.
Keoghan going off made a huge difference. Tom Walsh will do the midfield role next year and if shane o'rourke gets back with have a partnership.

menton needs to be center half back and biggy in the forward line. big joe would want to keep himself fit too it wasn't acceptable how unfit he was for most of the year.

personally i'm not disappointed. the best we could have hoped for was a win over mayo in the quarters. we are nowhere near donegal, cork, kerry, dublin and mayo. can't see us beating the top teams for a good 4 years and the best we can hope for is a leinster title.

rpurfield

so now weve had a few days whats everyones plus and minus points been for the year?on the negative side has to be the league the rubbish that went on between league and championship with the county board and how quick the championship season fell apart.on the plus side was the emergence of the likes of donal keoghan bryan menton damien carroll alan forde and mark collins and the return to form of graham reilly and brian farrell.

blackbelt

rpurfield wrote: »

so now weve had a few days whats everyones plus and minus points been for the year?on the negative side has to be the league the rubbish that went on between league and championship with the county board and how quick the championship season fell apart.on the plus side was the emergence of the likes of donal keoghan bryan menton damien carroll alan forde and mark collins and the return to form of graham reilly and brian farrell.

I think a huge lesson is going to be learned from the last 2 seasons.There are certain counties who will not ever warm up to an outside manager.Kerry,Cork,Dublin and Meath.

Banty was treated terribly and I respect him for the dignity he showed even when his own county board undermined him. He should go for his own sake and for the sake of the team who can only be responsible for their performances.The man showed he had the passion for the job even when Meath were in their last few minutes.

An inside manager has to be brought in.I wonder what the odds are that Gerry McEntee would take it if Banty steps down.

Hammer Archer

Biggest positive of the year was Donal Keoghan without a doubt. I'd say he's a shoe in for Player of the Year. Hopefully he has a quick recovery from his injury. I'm presuming it was broken ribs he suffered.
As well as that, I honestly thought that Brian Farrell was past it before the championship but he's probably been our best forward. But have the likes of Forde and Carroll really done enough yet to be praised as much as they have been? Both were pretty shocking on Saturday and I thought Carroll should have been subbed earlier. I'm not saying they won't turn into good players, just for me, the jury's still out on both of them.

Low points were pretty much everything from February to May as well as the game on Saturday. We seriously have to get out of division 3 next season and I don't think it'll be as easy as a lot of people think. We still have our shocking away record where we've failed to beat the likes of Antrim, Tipperary and Roscommon outside of Navan. Need to hope for 4 games in Navan and also need to win a couple of away games.
I really hope that this year is the year that the majority of the county board do the decent thing and step down for the good of Meath football.

eastmeathroyal wrote: »

Hammer every year were going to have injuries to certain players.

I realize that. However, this year, we seem to be getting more injuries than ever. We've had Shane O' Rourke, Stephen Bray, Seamus Kenny, Mark Ward, Gary O'Brien, Kevin Reilly and Paddy Gilsenan, all (more or less) first team players who were out for most or all of the Championship.

rpurfield

bantys been nominated for the monaghan job again i wonder will this give him the out that he wants like?honestly dont think there is anyone in the county that could step up to the plate now

Seves Three Iron

Banty is gone, no surer thing than that. I'd be optimistic about the future though. Despite how things ended in the last 10 days, there is a general feeling, rightly or wrongly, that Meath are on the up again with a new team. That will appeal to a lot of decent managers out there. They'll be cute enough to see Division 3 next year as a great chance to impress fans early on and get promotion.

I'm surprised to hear Giles' name mentioned for the job. Think it's way too soon for him. Same with Geraghty. Not sure about Harnan, for a few different reasons. At least with the outsider hoodoo now broken, a decent line up of non Meath guys might express an interest without fear of being barracked by the likes of Eamonn Barry.

Oh, and on Eamonn Barry, he might be an option (joking, joking!!)

Hammer Archer

Can't see Banty going back to Monaghan. If I remember correctly, he didn't exactly get on with the county board there either.

GPA player of the month nominees for July are Ryan Bradley of Donegal, Bernard Brogan and Mick Foley. No sign of Keoghan Quite perplexing as Brogan had one good game against us and a stinker against Wexford. I don't think Brogan was even the best Dublin player of July.
Keoghan had two stormers against both Kildare and Dublin (pretty much kept Doyle and McManamon anonymous) and was having another great game before he went off injured on Saturday.

my friend

Ba bye Banty

whatnext

Here we go again, let's see how much of a joke the county board look at the end of this circus

I would place a bet Johnny Evans will become new Meath manager. Very funny he was brought in around the same time Banty was facing the chop.