Meath GAA discussion thread

Hibbeler

I wonder is the thinking behind sheridan's inclusion be that the management know we need to get goals and see Joe as the best man to get them? I just hope that the game plan will not involve just blindly hoofing the ball in Joe's direction as I don't think that will work. We will more than likely see Peadar Byrne off the bench at some stage and he has shown in the past that he can be effective as a substitute. Some people would say he's better off the bench than starting. Remember he scored a goal as a sub against Kildare last year.

royaler83

Hibbeler wrote: »

I wonder is the thinking behind sheridan's inclusion be that the management know we need to get goals and see Joe as the best man to get them? I just hope that the game plan will not involve just blindly hoofing the ball in Joe's direction as I don't think that will work. We will more than likely see Peadar Byrne off the bench at some stage and he has shown in the past that he can be effective as a substitute. Some people would say he's better off the bench than starting. Remember he scored a goal as a sub against Kildare last year.

I'd imagine they are trying to mix it up a bit, leave space for reilly n wallace to run with it or at times let it in to bray newman n joe, all 3 capable of winning their own ball.

Hammer Archer

royaler83 wrote: »

I'd imagine they are trying to mix it up a bit, leave space for reilly n wallace to run with it or at times let it in to bray newman n joe, all 3 capable of winning their own ball.

Hopefully that's the thinking behind it. All week, Tyrone have probably been gearing up to try and counter our speed. Joe Sheridan at full forward could give them something else to think about. If it works, great. If it doesn't, I hope Micko isn't shy about changing things early.

royaler83

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Hopefully that's the thinking behind it. All week, Tyrone have probably been gearing up to try and counter our speed. Joe Sheridan at full forward could give them something else to think about. If it works, great. If it doesn't, I hope Micko isn't shy about changing things early.

Yea tactics would need to be changed quicker than kildare changed theirs. Suppose any man that dropped cian ward off the panel isnt afraid to make big calls.

Tyrone will surely try to expose burke after the last day, he got cleaned when the space was in front of him. Half back line is a position that needs to be sorted or Cavanagh etc will run through us

OiOshawott

I'm beginning to doubt that we'll win tomorrow. Hopefully the boys all prove me wrong though.

rpurfield

i dont think joe coming in is a great move but one thing about mick is he hasnt been afraid to make decisive moves all year and has generally got them right so he must have something up his sleeve

Mauser 308

Did Peadar maybe pick up a niggle? Although it does seem more like a change of tactics.
Mick has got it right in the main so far so fingers crossed.

shaneon77

Best of luck to the whole squad today, I hope Joe gets into the game plan and plays well. It should be tight enough and I expect plenty of rough stuff from Tyrone.

Lemlin

shaneon77 wrote: »

Best of luck to the whole squad today, I hope Joe gets into the game plan and plays well. It should be tight enough and I expect plenty of rough stuff from Tyrone.

A Meath man worrying about rough stuff!

Best of luck today lads.

mattser

Lemlin wrote: »

A Meath man worrying about rough stuff!

Best of luck today lads.

Thanks, and good luck to the Breffni.

Lemlin

mattser wrote: »

Thanks, and good luck to the Breffni.

I'll be round for the Meath game.

Do ya think will many Meath people wander in for the Cavan match?

Al_Coholic

Lemlin wrote: »

I'll be round for the Meath game.

Do ya think will many Meath people wander in for the Cavan match?

id say a few in the border area will head up to watch the cavan game.

hope Meath can win today

Lemlin

Al_Coholic wrote: »

id say a few in the border area will head up to watch the cavan game.

hope Meath can win today

It'll be tough. Tyrone are favourites in my mind as I said earlier in the week but Meath do have a bit of a psychological hold over them.

Will be interesting to see how starting Joe pans out. I'm very surprised by the move myself.

shaneon77

Lemlin wrote: »

A Meath man worrying about rough stuff!

Best of luck today lads.

not worried about it, just expecting it!!

Al_Coholic

gutted that Meath lost that game,had the chances to win it,also the amount of handy fouls Tyrone got was unreal...couldnt touch them and the ref would give a free.

the only thing from today is that Joe is not fit to play for Meath any more...he was awful any time he got the ball.

anyways hopefully Meath can push on from this next year.

mickrourke

Another good display. Good on ya lads, we could have won it but the future is bright. There is a lot of spirit and passion in that team and we can only get better. Definitely 2nd best team in Leinster at the moment. Some lovely football in the 2nd half. An Mhi Abu.

Felexicon

Well that was tough to take. Was quietly confident going into it as didn't see Tyrone as being much stronger than us in many areas. And I think that was proven throughout the evening.

Referee did his best to destroy the game as a spectacle. Gave an unholy amount of soft frees to Tyrone forwards.

Biggie Reilly was kept quiet for most of the game which hurt Meaths chances but there are plenty of positives to take from tonight's game.
There may not be a better corner back in the country at the moment than Donal Keoghan, Newman and Wallace struck up a great little partnership, we're only a solid centre back away from having a very good back 6 and with the return of Young and Dalton it should allow Menton to move to 6.

On the other side tonight should be the last time we see Joe or Brian Farrell in a Meath jersey. Farrell looked like a poor junior player when he came on. Completely lost out there.

For anyone unlucky enough to watch the match on RTE, I urge you all to complain about the sound of 2 grown men masturbating over 15 men in white jerseys. I mean it was crazy stuff altogether. Every time Tyrone completed a pass they were lavishing praise on them. And as for Gers interview with MOD after the game. It was cringe worthy stuff. Questions like "What did you think of the fouling at the end" and "Tyrone ended with 14 men and you had the full compliment. What did you think of that?"

shaneon77

Kicked it away tonight. Midfield were only ok. I can't remember meath winning ball from tyrones kick out more than twice. Biggy tracked back well but wasn't too hot up front. Cavanagh is unmarkable on tonights performance. Things look good though for the future. Wallace played well.

Hidalgo

As a neutral watching, I thought that Tyrone got 2 or 3 soft frees. The one where Stephen O Neill got fouled by Bray, O Neill was looking forward and ran into Bray as much as the other way round.
The late free was dubious at best.

Then again, the penalty was outside but near impossible to spot in real time, absolute quality finish from Newman. Between his penalty and Michael Meehan goal, rare to see 2 like that in 1 day.

I thought Meath lost it in a decisive period in the 2nd half. Paddy O Rourke's long range free that drifter left, within a minute Newman had hit the post from a brilliant pass from Graham Reilly. There was also the the Stephen Bray (or was it Farrell) miss after the handpass from Newman, the same tactic worked perfectly a few times with Newman passing to Wallace.

From a neutral pov, a really enjoyable second half, thought ye'd nearly see it out with 15mins to go

Tom Joad

Great display from Meath tonight as expected. I know ye don't do moral victories but should be hugely proud of that team and performance. Nice to see Meath on the rise again..

mickrourke

I think we Will really give it to Dublin next year. I agree, Joe and farrell are gone, club players but no longer county. Newman was outstanding again but we need to score more from play bar Wallace who was brilliant. Peadar should have started and burke played well tonight. Division 2 Will help the teams players next year.

Hibbeler

Truth is I'm very disappointed with that loss. On the balance of play Tyrone were probably worthy winners but I felt that Meath showed throughout that they were capable of winning that game. There was a bit of cynical fouling towards the end but the luck just wasn't on our side.

I think we can probably count this as a good year in terms of our expectations going into it. Promotion in the League and Leinster final were the main aims going into this year I suppose and the team achieved both. A quarter final would have been nice too but it wasn't to be.

At least the posts on this thread at the moment are far more positive than at the start of the league campaign

paul71

Given that poor start to the league I think we can look back on the year with some satisfaction.

Goalkeeper is solid shot stopper, and at 6"5 is always capable of stopping a point or two, needs to think faster on kick-outs and vary them a little more.

In K. Reilly, Menton and Harnan we have 3 quality backs with age on their side, in Keoghan we have the best corner back in Ireland and the best I have seen in many years. Midfield is competitive and Gillespie at his age will only get better, Meade has had his best championship season.

Newman and Wallace have real quality and given their age will also only get better. Bray remains what he has always been a top class forward. G. Reilly is free scoring against weaker teams but not so against the better ones he is however still capable of providing quality ball to Newman, Bray and Wallace as he did in the final quarter today, he needs to eliminate the poor tackling and giving up scorable frees from his game.

Big Joe may have a year or two left to offer as an impact sub or maybe not. Brain Farrell does not. Seamus and Peadar are the wrong side of 30 but lets hope they continue to able to give what they have given this year for a few more years. M. Burke played well today and offers something against teams who are not lightening quick but can be exposed by forwards who are. Carroll I am reserving judgement on as he has had 2 poor games but he is still a boy with skill who needs experience and physical conditioning.

Now look at what we are expecting/hoping will come back. Shane O'Rourke is real quality and lets hope he has the same ability to overcome serious injury as his a father, if he does he has the ability to become one of Meaths greatest ever players. Lets hope for that. Stephen Bray has the potienial to every bit as good as his brother. Davy Dalton and Young could fill the remaining back positions.

To top this we have the enigma that is Cian Ward.

Thormley and Tobin I like the look of to provide cover.

The future is brighter then it looked in February and in 18 months we may not be far off the pace of the best.

Todays match, should have won and we are already better then Tyrone but Tyrone were cuter in buying soft frees from a guilable referee, that is something that experience will teach our younger forwards.

rpurfield

disgusted coming out of croke park tonight as really thought deegan gave handier frees to tyrone and the one where cavanagh tripped himself up in the first half was beyond belief.in terms of negatives as has been said joe and brian farrell are finished at county level, i honestly think if are intending to be carrying them they need to make way for cian ward.our lack of experience came through at times again but its only by being in these tight games that we will improve on that.

on the plus side we have some cracking players there, eamonn wallace really shone tonight and was man of the match.were about one player short at the back of a very good back line and prehaps most importantly weve a management team on the line who get it right the vast majority of the time and look like theyll do something given time.pride most definitly restored in the county this year

Al_Coholic

that full back line Meath have now is one of the best in the country...all very strong defenders.

along with Paddy O Rourke who has had a very good year

Hammer Archer

Gutted.
We had the winning of the game but for some bad luck and some poor shots. Also glad that I wasn't the only one who thought Deegan was atrocious. He gifted Tyrone 4 or 5 points with some unbelievably easy frees. Had to laugh at Cavanagh's free in the first as well where he basically fell over himself.. Also, Tyrone's last point from a free was a fantastic challenge by Kevin Reilly. That gave Tyrone the breathing space knowing we needed a goal. Had we gone back down the field, we probably would have taken it to extra time. Have to say that if Tyrone don't alter their play for next year, the new black card rule will crucify them.

But I have to say, I was proud of how the new guys performed. With the likes of Brian McMahon, Andrew Tormey, Brian Dillon etc. coming through, I think we can do pretty well in Leinster next season. Unfortunately, I can't see much place in the team for Farrell or Sheridan any more. While I could have understood Joe starting at full forward today, I simply cannot fathom why he was put at half forward. I'm also disappointed that he was left on for so long and that he was replaced by Farrell.

Back to the club championships now. Hooray.

Hammer Archer

Also have to say that Bray's point was probably the best I've ever seen.

mattser

Fair play to Tyrone, and good luck to them. I thought their legs would give out in the last 10 minutes after last week, but they gave it 150 per cent. Kavanagh is one hell of a player, and his face after the final whistle spoke volumes. He was absolutely wrecked.

And so to us.

Big Joe didn't work, and I don't hold that against him or Mick O'. Newman and Wallace left neutrals sad that they wouldn't see more of them in the C/Ship this year. What a pity. Bray got point of the year. But he was player of the year you know.

As for the referee. I wouldn't do it, or neither would you, BUT, this was a bad day at the office for Mr. Yellow. At least he got the back pocket correct.

On the plus side, someone in RTE has given their camera people a well deserved kick in the hole. Now we can see replays of wides, fouls, the person in Row Z, seat 23 picking their nose, and not miss the kick out. Glory be.

Nite all.

Lemlin

My opinion of Meath hasn't changed after this game. I said it to a few people I was chatting to at the game too. IMO yas have 12 players as good as anyone in Ireland. Then you have Damien Carroll, Joe Sheridan and at least one of your half back line needs changing.

Yesterday I thought Burke improved when moved to half back but Kenny was poor enough.

I'm not even going to start on Joe. The cheers from supporters when he left said it all. I couldn't believe when Brian Farrell got on ahead of Peadar Byrne either.

I looked at your bench before the game and I also thought it would be the losing of the game for ye. Tyrone had players like Kyle Coney, who was a huge name at minor a few years back, and Meath had nobody who would inspire confidence.

If ye want to get back to playing with the big boys, a bit of strength in depth is certainly needed.

Royal Legend

Lemlin wrote: »

My opinion of Meath hasn't changed after this game. I said it to a few people I was chatting to at the game too. IMO yas have 12 players as good as anyone in Ireland. Then you have Damien Carroll, Joe Sheridan and at least one of your half back line needs changing.

Yesterday I thought Burke improved when moved to half back but Kenny was poor enough.

I'm not even going to start on Joe. The cheers from supporters when he left said it all. I couldn't believe when Brian Farrell got on ahead of Peadar Byrne either.

I looked at your bench before the game and I also thought it would be the losing of the game for ye. Tyrone had players like Kyle Coney, who was a huge name at minor a few years back, and Meath had nobody who would inspire confidence.

If ye want to get back to playing with the big boys, a bit of strength in depth is certainly needed.

Thanks Lemlin, you got over a real banana skin yesterday, I would not write youse off against Kerry either.
In some ways we are better off finishing like we did last night, we are still a work in the early stages of progress and I don't think I could watch us trying to play another anti football team this summer. When I got home I watched the tape of the game, two things stood out, Kevin Reilly's non foul at the end, which for some reason RTE did not show a replay of and Brolley's comments afterwards, for once I had to agree 100% with the man, especially the "holier than thou" comment.
For me personally, I had Newman as Man of the Match, he was a constant threat, won his own ball against experienced negative defending, won the peno, setup the goal, set up numerous chance for others. Last night was the first time I really saw the how people could compare his potential to a young Brian Stafford
The future is bright and it is Green, there will be a lot of pressure for the lads to build on this next year, don't expect too much next year, I would give them at least 2 years to build on this, a lot of teams would have taken notice of us this year and the likes of Wallace, Newman and Reilly can expect a lot of extra unwanted attention next year. I still think we have big issues at midfield. At least I don't have to comment on Tyrone, I have always viewed them as they were viewed by the majority of spectators last night (except the two clowns in the commentary box), the black card will kill them off next year, they could also do with bringing it in for feigning injury as well.
I am not going to knock Joe or Brian, but they do not look to be at the races anymore as regards the pace of games, it was a mistake not to start Peadar. Both Joe and Brian have given us a lot of enjoyment during some lean years and that should not be forgotten. Other than that Mick O'Dowd and the whole Meath setup have put the pride and passion back into Meath football and for that they deserve all the plaudits.
An Mhi Abu