Meath GAA discussion thread

Obrieski

Jesus we are dominating midfield on kickouts but so ponderous, slow and lacklustre. Some terrible handling but 5 points in the run up to half time will help a lot! Hopefully, we kick on in second half! Rough being away for these games, come on Meath!!!

mattser

Obrieski wrote: »

Jesus we are dominating midfield on kickouts but so ponderous, slow and lacklustre. Some terrible handling but 5 points in the run up to half time will help a lot! Hopefully, we kick on in second half! Rough being away for these games, come on Meath!!!

Better team won. We were clueless in their half. Anytime we did get a laboured point, they countered at their ease.

We got a mauling in tactics the last day and this evening.

Anyway, thanks to all the lads for their efforts. It's awful easy on the sofa.

shaneon77

Pityful performance in abysmal conditions. Keoghan the only highlight, as well as biggys scores. I am not going to get excited by these players next year. But I probably will.

Al_Coholic

shaneon77 wrote: »

Pityful performance in abysmal conditions. Keoghan the only highlight, as well as biggys scores. I am not going to get excited by these players next year. But I probably will.

Paddy O Rourke you could include there too he was very good today

seriously disappointing performance though

paul71

mattser wrote: »

Better team won. We were clueless in their half. Anytime we did get a laboured point, they countered at their ease.

We got a mauling in tactics the last day and this evening.

Anyway, thanks to all the lads for their efforts. It's awful easy on the sofa.

Yes, this is true, moan as much as we like, none of us here really know the effort required to compete at even mid-rank.

shaneon77

paul71 wrote: »

Yes, this is true, moan as much as we like, none of us here really know the effort required to compete at even mid-rank.

I would suggest that after the last 2 performances MORE effort is required.

my friend

The Palace will be rockin tonight

dixiefly

Al_Coholic wrote: »

Paddy O Rourke you could include there too he was very good today

seriously disappointing performance though

I agree. Paddy O'Rourke, Donal Keoghan and Biggy were pretty good. David Bray got some nice points but also wasted some efforts.

We seem to have become a team that is afraid to put in the necessary hits. We dont seem to have a defensive strategy. What absolutely amazes me is how any manager could possibly think that bringing a young, small lad like Joey Wallace on against a team like Armagh on an evening like that could have any impact. We didnt look like a team that believed that we could win that game. Without K. Reilly we had no leaders on the field.

Not sure if it came across on TV but the royal roar in Croke Park was missing, Armagh outshouted us in the stands. We are just down the road and I would say Armagh outnumbered our fans 2 to 1.

Hard to know where to go from here. I dont want to call for MODs head but we have been seriously poor on the sideline at times. I think that he needs someone like Mick Lyons/ Liam Harnan/ Darren Fay/Kevin Foley to come alongside him to instill some grit/belief/ defensive tactics to that group of players.

After that our county needs to implement the structural and development changes that are needed. We have too many nice individual players. We need a tougher breed playing for us again who play to a system.

The Showstopper

Terribly disappointed tonight. We were clueless. Our only player that looked a top player is Keoghan, I'd like to think that the Meath management and Meath players are more intelligent footballers than what they showed tonight.

On the thing about effort, well they're doing a lot more than what I am but I'm not sure that they are putting in the effort required for the level that they're playing at.

rpurfield

I was more disappointed coming out of Croker last night than against the Dubs. The "sweeper" system we employed was a farce as the rest of the team just let armagh walk through unchallenged to kick points from a space before our sweeper came into play.

Another issue I have is Mick went down the road of quick players this year. Thats fine but surely then the idea should be to pack a defence and break at pace not leave the lads exposed to bigger guys easily able to rob them.

Back to the drawing board yet again I think, weve made no progress in the last three years. Thats not to say I want changes on the line as weve been chopping and changing management too much, but Mick needs to learn from his mistakes and I also reckon we need a look at the physical training as we look to light and faded out of the last three games due to fitness.

Royal Legend

took until today for me to post.
depressing to watch last night, I seriously though the signs were good earlier in the championship and that the Dubs match was just a blip.
To be honest, I have spent too much time hoping that Stephen Bray (and others that have been around a long time too long) will put in more than just one good game a season, we are too reliant on players that do not have it either physically or mentally.

chrysagon

The talent aint there due to a lack of success at underage, we are light years behind Dublin,and will continue at been just an average team for a few years to come, we dont seem to have the physicality and strength of many other teams!

S. Goodspeed

chrysagon wrote: »

The talent aint there due to a lack of success at underage, we are light years behind Dublin,and will continue at been just an average team for a few years to come, we dont seem to have the physicality and strength of many other teams!

Totally agree but it will be a lot more than a few years before we compete again if the underage system isn't sorted out once and for all. It's been a problem since the early 2000s and so the farce yesterday needs to be blamed on the those on the county board rather than the players and management team

rpurfield

I reckon our senior championship is part of the problem too, the group stages give teams too many chances and knocks the competitve edge off lads. Change it to reflect the All Ireland with a back door system, it works fine in Dublin

CrabRevolution

I dont buy the excuse that too many group games makes a team complacent. The season doesnt end at the group stages, 9 teams advance to the knockouts and 3 to relegation matches. If those relegation and knockout matches arent life or death with a competitive edge I dont know what is.

dixiefly

I dont think that our senior championship is a significant problem. I do think that there is something wrong in the fact that we are rarely competitive at underage level. We dont expect to be competing at every age level every year but we rarely feature at Leinster and All-ireland level minor and u-21 finals. As a big county with a significant football tradition we should be doing better at least every 2-3 years.

Overall, I think that our best hope is to play the final stages of the various football championships over the next 4-6 weeks and for the county selectors to reassess as many players as possible. Then start a winter programme straight away with about 40 players with the League in mind as the major objective for next year. I am not a coach so I dont know how a strength and conditioning programme will marry with a target for the league but I think both need to be prioritised.

Allied to the above, some developments and strength and conditioning for county players in the 16-19 age group is needed.

chrysagon

Either way..we are years behind Dublin

Felexicon

Seamus Kenny has retired from inter county football. A great servant to Meath GAA over the last 15 years.

Hammer Archer

He's been our best and most consistent player during the last 13 lean years in my opinion. Several players came into the fold after him yet left the scene before him. But Séamus was the player who you could always rely on to give his all. It always amazed me how brave he was in picking up a breaking ball and that he would often come under a high ball against a guy a good bit taller than him and come away with the ball.
My only gripe was that he didn't bury that high ball he collected in the 73rd minute of the 2010 Leinster final. Would have saved a whole lot of hassle if he did :pac:

Thanks for the years of service Sham.

Hammer Archer

Minor hurlers beat Kildare in the Minor B Championship quarter final in Trim this evening. 14 points to 2-7 it finished.
Charlie Bird looks like a serious hurler for the future. Already starting with the Seniors.

Hammer Archer

So, is the wind farm sponsorship €375k thrown away or not?
As far as I know, that money will most likely go to other community/sporting projects in the county so I feel it's the former. I can't really see others passing up an opportunity for that much money.

rpurfield

Hammer Archer wrote: »

So, is the wind farm sponsorship €375k thrown away or not?
As far as I know, that money will most likely go to other community/sporting projects in the county so I feel it's the former. I can't really see others passing up an opportunity for that much money.

Its a hard one to call, most of the communities up that way are dead set against the turbines so I could see most of the community groups in that area giving them the heave ho if they came offering them money. To me though €375,000 would go a long way to getting some extra coaching done in clubs or schools and help us start bridging the gap to the Dubs, but taking it at the risk of splitting the GAA fraternity in Meath in two would be a bad idea.

In terms of sponsorship and that sort of thing, I honestly think its another area we lag well behind in. The Tyrone version of Club na Mí managed to raise the funds for their training centre, so how we can't be doing something of a similar level to help clear off Dunganny or Pairc Tailteann or even raise the money for extra coaches, should be well within our remit. I'm sure they people running Club na Mí put plenty of time in and effort but its something the county board need to help them expand as opposed to just being grateful for what they do raise.

CrabRevolution

I'd say a lot of it is down to trust, obviously Tyrone fans felt they could trust their county board with their money to do the right thing and plan appropriately. In Meath though I know a lot of people who wouldnt want to hand money to the county board because God knows what they'd do with it.

I'd associate it more with the last administration so to speak, but when you see our Centre of "Excellence" in Dunganny, when you see Páirc Tailteann crumble and be used as an example country wide of a terrible grounds, when you see "Áras Tailteann" which is a bunch of portacabins, when you hear about the county board not applying for planning permission before building things, or failing fire regulations etc.

When I see all these things I think these lads couldnt plan a pissup in a brewery, so God knows what they'd do if you threw 1 million euro their way....

That said, the county board got a bit of a clearout 2 years ago and the new board seems to be formulating a plan for the county's future. If they can maintain some good momentum and keep building their trust and reputation, then I'd say more people will row in behind the cause.

(What we'll probably see though is a crippling club levy or compulsory raffle)

chrysagon

The clearout should have happened alot earlier, but at least the new crew are trying, dont know the detail of the 375k rejection, but hope it dont come back to bite them on the butt..

rpurfield

CrabRevolution wrote: »

I'd say a lot of it is down to trust, obviously Tyrone fans felt they could trust their county board with their money to do the right thing and plan appropriately. In Meath though I know a lot of people who wouldnt want to hand money to the county board because God knows what they'd do with it.

I'd associate it more with the last administration so to speak, but when you see our Centre of "Excellence" in Dunganny, when you see Páirc Tailteann crumble and be used as an example country wide of a terrible grounds, when you see "Áras Tailteann" which is a bunch of portacabins, when you hear about the county board not applying for planning permission before building things, or failing fire regulations etc.

When I see all these things I think these lads couldnt plan a pissup in a brewery, so God knows what they'd do if you threw 1 million euro their way....

That said, the county board got a bit of a clearout 2 years ago and the new board seems to be formulating a plan for the county's future. If they can maintain some good momentum and keep building their trust and reputation, then I'd say more people will row in behind the cause.

(What we'll probably see though is a crippling club levy or compulsory raffle)

Well I havent done the maths on it but the chap getting all passionate about the money and turbines in the locked thread here maintained that if every club in the county raised €25 a week to give to the county board it would cover it. It does appear the officers in the county board are heading in the right direction, but it would appear to be like turning an oil tanker.

On another note I see there was some clubs giving out about the rush to run off the leagues in the last few weeks at last nights meeting. I wouldve thought having regular games in the good weather and then a couple months off is what most club players would want. I dont see how every thing bar maybe the SFC IFC and JFC cant be ran and finished by September every year as well. Oh and I'd include the SHC and IHC in them exemptions too, but I think the way the Ring Maher and Rackard cups are ran enables a good streamlining of club hurling when they are done.

chrysagon

And a million needed for Dunganny, after rejected 375k plus, and the county board seemly refused to allow a debate on it from the clubs,, strange!

CrabRevolution

rpurfield wrote: »

Well I havent done the maths on it but the chap getting all passionate about the money and turbines in the locked thread here maintained that if every club in the county raised €25 a week to give to the county board it would cover it. It does appear the officers in the county board are heading in the right direction, but it would appear to be like turning an oil tanker.

On another note I see there was some clubs giving out about the rush to run off the leagues in the last few weeks at last nights meeting. I wouldve thought having regular games in the good weather and then a couple months off is what most club players would want. I dont see how every thing bar maybe the SFC IFC and JFC cant be ran and finished by September every year as well. Oh and I'd include the SHC and IHC in them exemptions too, but I think the way the Ring Maher and Rackard cups are ran enables a good streamlining of club hurling when they are done.

I think the issue wasnt not getting regular games, it was about going long periods with maybe the odd match, then suddenly having about 5 games in 3 weeks, and fitting as many games as possible into what most people took to be a holiday period. Then add on to that dual clubs and its a bigger problem.

I think 13 games is too many for the league, we have 52 teams in Meath, would a Division One of 12 teams and four divisions of 10 not make more sense?

Unfortunately we seem to operate a "promotion only" system in Meath, too many clubs cling to leagues and championships where they are hopelessly out of their depth. When it became clear our leagues and championships needed fixing, the "solution" chosen was to shunt as many teams upwards as possible, nobody wanted to offend anyone with relegation.

rpurfield

CrabRevolution wrote: »

I think the issue wasnt not getting regular games, it was about going long periods with maybe the odd match, then suddenly having about 5 games in 3 weeks, and fitting as many games as possible into what most people took to be a holiday period. Then add on to that dual clubs and its a bigger problem.

I think 13 games is too many for the league, we have 52 teams in Meath, would a Division One of 12 teams and four divisions of 10 not make more sense?

Unfortunately we seem to operate a "promotion only" system in Meath, too many clubs cling to leagues and championships where they are hopelessly out of their depth. When it became clear our leagues and championships needed fixing, the "solution" chosen was to shunt as many teams upwards as possible, nobody wanted to offend anyone with relegation.

Reqular games for club players shouldn't be an issue, I can see what you mean by a sudden glut, but with good planning a game a week for 12 weeks during the decent weather to run off the league should be manageable. Clubs don't need county players for leagues. In terms of relegation, there is relegation in the A and B leagues and in the SFC IFC and JFC, I don't know if it extends into Junior B, C and D though.

CrabRevolution

rpurfield wrote: »

Reqular games for club players shouldn't be an issue, I can see what you mean by a sudden glut, but with good planning a game a week for 12 weeks during the decent weather to run off the league should be manageable. Clubs don't need county players for leagues. In terms of relegation, there is relegation in the A and B leagues and in the SFC IFC and JFC, I don't know if it extends into Junior B, C and D though.

Sorry, mustn't have expressed myself well, I didnt mean there's no relegation.

I meant that 2-3 years ago we had some fairly lopsided championships and leagues, e.g 17 senior teams, 15 intermediate, 12 in Junior B, only 6 teams in Division 5 of the league etc.

It was clear that the championships and leagues needed to be ironed out to have equal groups with teams of roughly similar ability. This would have required a mix of promotions, relegations, and regrading.

Instead the county board came up with an "upward only" solution, where relegation was ended for 2 seasons in the league and championship. Then an extra team got moved to senior, and 4 extra teams moved into intermediate.

The only grade which got smaller was junior, and I'd imagine that was only because the relegated teams would be club 2nd teams, instead of some desperately poor first team clinging on to junior status for dear life.

Same with the league, division 5 was disbanded and all the teams moved into division 4. Again relegation was ended and for the next few seasons more teams were shunted up the system to make divisions 1 and 2 have 14 teams each. This has resulted in some hopelessly out of their depth clubs like Oldcastle and Kilmainham ending up in leagues too high for them.

I find it unsurprising that after 4 teams who would previously have been junior were suddenly regraded to intermediate, we've stopped having any impact on the Leinster junior club championship.

rpurfield

Apologies I get your point now. Yeah in that instance upward only is madness alright.