Donegal GAA Discussion Thread

Steve The Barman

the word nausea had me confused there!

Stoner

Watched the game on TV again last night. He said it was one win from the last 9 meetings so that's 1 in 10 now a the draw from a few years ago. That very surprising in all fairness.

The game looked a lot worse on TV , at half time we were all talking about the good contest, speed and the quality of points from both sides.

fullstop

Steve The Barman wrote: »

the word nausea had me confused there!

I assume that he'd make you sick watching him?

Ceist_Beag

It was pretty typical league fare I felt. Some good but an awful lot of poor stuff. I thought Eamonn mcGee had a good match, and Ryan was his usual self. Of concern were the performances of Thompson (I'm not sure Thompson will get back to his best) and McLoone. Murphy needs to learn that he doesn't have to be the man all the time. The second yellow was stupid. It was good to see young Ciaran Gillespie play a full match and he did ok but we desperately miss Frank. Overall it was a very disappointing evening for those who made the trip. I'm not expecting much this summer but we should still be good enough to give Ulster a run.

Nidgeweasel

Ceist_Beag wrote: »

It was pretty typical league fare I felt. Some good but an awful lot of poor stuff. I thought Eamonn mcGee had a good match, and Ryan was his usual self. Of concern were the performances of Thompson (I'm not sure Thompson will get back to his best) and McLoone. Murphy needs to learn that he doesn't have to be the man all the time. The second yellow was stupid. It was good to see young Ciaran Gillespie play a full match and he did ok but we desperately miss Frank. Overall it was a very disappointing evening for those who made the trip. I'm not expecting much this summer but we should still be good enough to give Ulster a run.

The players are good enough to give ulster a proper crack and have a big say in the All Ireland.

Not sure the line is up to scratch though. 'Only the league', granted but Saturday was another worrying display.

green and yellow

another good win for naomh columba today beating Killybegs away by 9 points.

Redsoxfan

Ok, Saturday was my first game of the year to see live (attendance really suffering this year for a variety of issues), so I don't have much to compare it too, but I can only assume we were nowhere near as defensive in our other games this year.

So, why did we line up the way we did? I wouldn't assume we had no interest in winning the game, because I have seen other teams line up like this in knock out competition. Teams coached by acolytes of Rory G. If that was the goal, then it failed, not spectacularly but it was a failure all the same. Look, Dublin are well used to these sort of games at this stage, so it needs to be more than just getting bodies back to beat them.

If it was a case that we didn't want to 'show our hand', why not just set up in a more conventional manner and let the players have a crack. They wouldn't have been as knackered at the end of the game and may even have enjoyed themselves. But, the danger in adopting such a tactic against Dublin is that it could get out of hand very quickly.

So, if the goal was to just keep the score down and essentially secure our place in Division One next year, then it was fairly successful. It could have backfired - Dublin could easily have scored more than the one goal, and if not for some uncharacteristically poor place kicking, the margin of defeat could have been more than 10 points.

Anyway, given the way we set up, it was hard to pick out anyone who played particularly well or badly. I thought both McHughs who stared the game did well - they sure worked hard anyway. Eoin needs to finish the chances he gets though, and I hate seeing Ryan McHugh having to cover defensively, he's one of our better attacking players and that should be his focus. I thought Paddy McGrath tried hard. Ciaran Gillespie - who? I don't recall him from any of the recent underage teams. He didn't disgrace himself that's for sure, but then again, in that system, it's easy to hide deficiencies. MacNiallais mixed the good and the bad. It's great to have a player with his vision and ability to play good kick passes, but his decision making is questionable. I thought Leo McLoone was poor and there's something not right there - maybe he was pissed off being asked to play the role he was assigned? I dunno. I thought Anthony Thompson looked off the pace as well and yet he seemed to be a stand out performer for his club today. The other McHugh was the source of the Dublin goal. Nuff said on him.

Michael wasunfortunate. I guess the first yellow was down to how it looked in real time, but there's no question he now has a reputation and this counts against him. He needed to be careful thereafter and it was a wild enough lunge that got him the second yellow (in fairness to Kilkenny, he didn't milk it at all). This is all indirectly a consequence of having him play deeper, he's a yellow card candidate in nearly every game at this stage.

Our kickouts - wtf? There was no movement that I could see and anything kicked long was essentially a lottery.

Once Michael went off, that was that and we seemed to lose whatever shape we had. The game had been there for the taking, but Savage was pretty solid in deputising for Cluxton and the Dublin bench had an impact.

At this stage, I am very concerned about the time being missed by Big Neil and Frank. Big Neil didn't tog for club today either. Hopefully we see them in Castleblayney next weekend.

Given Monaghan need to win, they will presumably have to go for it. It could well be like last year's game in Castlebar and I wouldn't be surprised if we fell into the semi-finals again. Mind you, what's the point in facing Dublin in Croke Park again?

I have seen nothing yet to give me any feeling for how we will do in the summer. We are worse without Papa and everyone else is a year older. Eoin McHugh is a good addition, but nobody else has played enough to suggest that they will be able to make an impact in the summer. Ulster is competitive but very winnable.

Tl;dr? #roryout

Ceist_Beag

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Ciaran Gillespie - who? I don't recall him from any of the recent underage teams.

Fullback in the minor team that was beaten in the final by Kerry in 2014. A regular in the u-21 team this year as well. He's a good young lad and I was impressed at his physique as he has filled out from his days as a minor but he still has a fair bit to learn and I don't think wing half back is his best position.

Redsoxfan wrote: »

I have seen nothing yet to give me any feeling for how we will do in the summer.

That's my biggest concern. We don't seem to have really added anything to our game since Rory took over. We just seem to be a team trying to play Jims way but less effectively and with poorer discipline. I really thought we would know what Rorys view of how the game should be played is by this stage but tbh I'm none the wiser.

Redsoxfan

No Frank McGlynn for Glenfin today. Absolutely hammered by Malin.

Redsoxfan

Ceist_Beag wrote:

That's my biggest concern. We don't seem to have really added anything to our game since Rory took over. We just seem to be a team trying to play Jims way but less effectively and with poorer discipline. I really thought we would know what Rorys view of how the game should be played is by this stage but tbh I'm none the wiser.

100% agree.

babybuilder

Ceist_Beag wrote: »

Fullback in the minor team that was beaten in the final by Kerry in 2014. A regular in the u-21 team this year as well. He's a good young lad and I was impressed at his physique as he has filled out from his days as a minor but he still has a fair bit to learn and I don't think wing half back is his best position.


That's my biggest concern. We don't seem to have really added anything to our game since Rory took over. We just seem to be a team trying to play Jims way but less effectively and with poorer discipline. I really thought we would know what Rorys view of how the game should be played is by this stage but tbh I'm none the wiser.

Absolute agreement. No development of any kind. Getting fed up with sh1t brainless football. Plan A and then plan A. If I was Murphy I would be really frustrated at what he's being asked to do. However the absolute legend that he is makes him the standout player for Donegal. I agree that we need to be more disciplined.

I would love to see us March through Ulster. Is it Fermanagh that we're likely to meet? If so then they could provide us with a stern test. What are our goals for the year? Stay in Division 1 and get to or win an Ulster? Would this be acceptable for most fans? Is it possible we expect too much of an ageing team? McGuinness has set the bar high.

Nidgeweasel

Ceist_Beag wrote: »

That's my biggest concern. We don't seem to have really added anything to our game since Rory took over. We just seem to be a team trying to play Jims way but less effectively and with poorer discipline. I really thought we would know what Rorys view of how the game should be played is by this stage but tbh I'm none the wiser.

In a nutshell.

No idea what we are trying to do, I daresay Rory has either.

Nidgeweasel

babybuilder wrote: »

Absolute agreement. No development of any kind. Getting fed up with sh1t brainless football. Plan A and then plan A. If I was Murphy I would be really frustrated at what he's being asked to do. However the absolute legend that he is makes him the standout player for Donegal. I agree that we need to be more disciplined.

I would love to see us March through Ulster. Is it Fermanagh that we're likely to meet? If so then they could provide us with a stern test. What are our goals for the year? Stay in Division 1 and get to or win an Ulster? Would this be acceptable for most fans? Is it possible we expect too much of an ageing team? McGuinness has set the bar high.

Fermanagh and Pete McGrath has banana skin written all over it especially if our management is a clueless as I think.

Perhaps we are being unduly harsh however, the season is in it's infancy. However alarming the increasing list of cock ups is.

What's McEniff and Harkin at this summer?

Redsoxfan

babybuilder wrote:

Absolute agreement. No development of any kind. Getting fed up with sh1t brainless football. Plan A and then plan A. If I was Murphy I would be really frustrated at what he's being asked to do. However the absolute legend that he is makes him the standout player for Donegal. I agree that we need to be more disciplined.

Is he given free reign to play where he likes?

babybuilder wrote:

I would love to see us March through Ulster. Is it Fermanagh that we're likely to meet? If so then they could provide us with a stern test. What are our goals for the year? Stay in Division 1 and get to or win an Ulster? Would this be acceptable for most fans? Is it possible we expect too much of an ageing team? McGuinness has set the bar high.

I don't really care about Division One or Two, especially if we deliver such lacklustre performances as we have seen of Iate (and v Monaghan last year...). With this group of players, assuming they are all fit, there is no reason why we shouldn't win Ulster. There is no team obviously consistently good enough to be considered better than us, but on any given day, we are there for the taking.

Fermanagh in Enniskillen looms as a massive banana skin. There have been some horror shows there in the past that I'd say most of us remember. And that assumes that Fermanagh beat Antrim who are the toast of Division Four.

Yes, McGuinness has left us with higher expectations than we are entitled to but I don't think that gives the current manager a free pass.

Redsoxfan

Actually, is it home to Fermanagh if they win but away to Antrim? Big advantage if so. Can Antrim even play at home this year?

Ceist_Beag

Seems to be home if Fermanagh alright RSF but if Antrim the venue is TBC as far as I know - not sure what the logic is there - does it depend on the last venue when the teams clashed or something?

squareball1988

I've come to the conclusion that Saturday night was us testing a new defensive set up against the best attack in the country in preparation for Ulster. It's just unfortunate we were missing our spine (Durcan, McGee, McGlynn, Gallagher and latterly Murphy) for the match. If it wasn't an experiment, then we may give up now.

There's no way McElhinney, McLoone or McHugh will line out as a rotating FF in Summer. The fact that we tried it against Dublin, and p*ssed them off in the process is a bonus. It is very probable we will play them this summer (as Ulster Champions or not, I don't know) so it's nice to be under their skin again.

Which means Rory is fully expecting to take 2 points of Monaghan this Sunday. As we need a league semi before the long break. At the very least we should aim to finish the match with 15 men.

Or maybe I'm deluded.

Ceist_Beag

squareball1988 wrote: »

I've come to the conclusion that Saturday night was us testing a new defensive set up against the best attack in the country in preparation for Ulster. It's just unfortunate we were missing our spine (Durcan, McGee, McGlynn, Gallagher and latterly Murphy) for the match. If it wasn't an experiment, then we may give up now.

There's no way McElhinney, McLoone or McHugh will line out as a rotating FF in Summer. The fact that we tried it against Dublin, and p*ssed them off in the process is a bonus. It is very probable we will play them this summer (as Ulster Champions or not, I don't know) so it's nice to be under their skin again.

Which means Rory is fully expecting to take 2 points of Monaghan this Sunday. As we need a league semi before the long break. At the very least we should aim to finish the match with 15 men.

Or maybe I'm deluded.

That's certainly a positive view of it at least! :P
I must admit I was really scratching my head when I saw Leo being replaced by McElhinney who then went straight into FF where Leo was! This wasn't a case of Big Neil from 2 years ago where he made a run timed for kick outs so I've no clue what Rory was trying here but let's hope you're right there and that this is all part of Rorys master plan for the summer!

squareball1988

Yeah, our substitutions this year have been crazy too. Paddy McGrath must have been injured? Why else would he have come off? Personnel decisions over the past few games have had a lot of us scratching our heads.

Would love to see Michael at edge of the square this Sunday for the first 20 minutes or so.

Ceist_Beag wrote: »

That's certainly a positive view of it at least! :P
I must admit I was really scratching my head when I saw Leo being replaced by McElhinney who then went straight into FF where Leo was! This wasn't a case of Big Neil from 2 years ago where he made a run timed for kick outs so I've no clue what Rory was trying here but let's hope you're right there and that this is all part of Rorys master plan for the summer!

ghostfacekilla

I'd personally love Donegal to be responsible for relegating Monaghan.
It'd leave my mindbeans blown.
Off yiz trot to never, never land.
Except it might give them the juices to beat us in Uladh.

squareball1988

haha yeah would be great.

But our League form has never really fed into our Championship form the past few years. Wouldn't worry about it. Be good to do that to them... in Monaghan too.

ghostfacekilla wrote: »

I'd personally love Donegal to be responsible for relegating Monaghan.
It'd leave my mindbeans blown.
Off yiz trot to never, never land.
Except it might give them the juices to beat us in Uladh.

Ceist_Beag

meh, I don't personally have any animosity towards Monaghan. I admire what they've achieved in recent years and they have some proper decent footballers too (I'd never hear a bad word said about McManus). I'd much rather see Mayo or Cork get relegated meself! That's not to say I'll be hoping we lose to let them stay up mind! :P

ArnoldJRimmer

Firstly, I'd like to beat Monaghan for dragging Donegal supporters all the way to Blayney instead of holding the match in Clones. Hopefully we win, but it'll matter for nothing if we don't repeat the trick in the championship

Its going to be my first Donegal game in 18 months as I'll be home from the States for a few days on holiday. Not sure the folks are too impressed that I'll be taking this detour on the way to Donegal, but worth it to catch what could be a proper battle.

Hard to know what to expect or how Rory will treat this game, but we cant just keep plodding along until the league is over, we really should be going all out for a semi final spot

harpsman

God alot of negativity on here considering its the league and we're safe from relegation. None of our performances this year were anywhere near as bad as Laois in Letterkenny in 2012 or Meath in Ballybofey in 2014 and those years didn't work out too badly. You might as well start calling for heads after a McKenna cup match. Who knows-maybe the players are doing stamina work the weeks of these games and are only at 70-80%. Anyway its a bit premature to be calling the management "clueless" based on what we've seen so far.

Now they might turn out to have a terrible championship, just saying DONT READ ANYTHING INTO THESE MEANINGLESS MATCHES.

Ceist_Beag

Anyone going along to the u-21 semi against Tyrone tonight?

Nidgeweasel

harpsman wrote: »

God alot of negativity on here considering its the league and we're safe from relegation. None of our performances this year were anywhere near as bad as Laois in Letterkenny in 2012 or Meath in Ballybofey in 2014 and those years didn't work out too badly. You might as well start calling for heads after a McKenna cup match. Who knows-maybe the players are doing stamina work the weeks of these games and are only at 70-80%. Anyway its a bit premature to be calling the management "clueless" based on what we've seen so far.

Now they might turn out to have a terrible championship, just saying DONT READ ANYTHING INTO THESE MEANINGLESS MATCHES.

Not talking about performances per say, more the set up.

And it's not just this year. There's been plenty to worry from last year.

Anyway, it's a waiting game now see what the craic is in the summer.

U-21's tonight. Absolutely massive game. Tyrone will be hard beat.

dog_pig

corny wrote: »

They did but they were just following the ball. Donegal were so slow in their build up play it was natural for Dublin to funnel back. Had Donegal moved it faster they might have got joy up the centre with Lowndes and Cooper not being a great spine. Not one long ball was dropped in either. Point is we don't know what Dublin learned because Donegal asked no questions.

In that case were they not "just following the ball" in 2014 then?

There has been marked difference in how Dublin has set up against defensive systems since that match. It's clear to see.

Ceist_Beag

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

U-21's tonight. Absolutely massive game. Tyrone will be hard beat.

Listening to commentary on Highland, 6-4 at half time. Sounds like we're playing well but should be further ahead.

Ceist_Beag

Tyrone scored 1-2 in first 8 mins of the second half but we came right back with 1-1 showing great character, we're ahead by 1 again.

Ceist_Beag

Momentum swung back to Tyrone big time now, 1-9 to 1-7 ahead and we're down to 13 men. It'll take a bit effort to come back from this.