Galway GAA Discussion Thread #2

MattressRick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824007#Comment_120824007

Who did nothing then at under 20?

Robson99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824007#Comment_120824007

Are you taking the piss

cosatron

At the game. My personal view on it was that we were physically and mentally exhausted 10 mins into the second half. Limerick are a serious outfit, physically and it took its toll on our lads. People giving out about Murphys puck out, he had nothing to puck out to, the movement wasn't there as it was in the first half and there is no point going 2,3,4 every time.finally we don't have the players in the county, like Kyle Hayes, hegarty, Flanagan, brynes and the morriseys, big physical men who can move with massive stamina with good first touches. Limerick touch was very good yesterday. The only criticism I have about our lads, was that they were very green in thinking they could break the tackle and bringing ball in contact against Limerick, it didn't work out, everything we did good was ball into space, ball to hand and constant movement but when Limerick brought more men into midfield they snuffed it out.

threeball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120823343#Comment_120823343

Theres plenty of life in some of the older lads but they're being played out of position largely. Cathal Mannion, wasted sweeping and in midfield, he should be in our inside 6. Joe Cooney is not a midfielder, either wing back or wing forward. Our defenders are being hung out to dry with the formation we play. No back six would stand up in the same circumstances. Mannion got unlucky twice this year but Daithi has been as solid as usual. Whelan is an inside forward, end off, but he needs space in front and good ball delivery.

They need some young blood and they need to widen the net. We constantly hang our hat on a Jack Canning or a Donal O'Shea and when they don't come good we disregard everyone else as they weren't as good as those lads. I could see similar happening with young Niland as hes not a team player and that will bite him when he gets older. When Sean Finn is breathing down your neck you need to know how to find support and quick.

threeball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824613#Comment_120824613

Saying he had nothing to puck out to is nonsense. If the HF line is flooded, which it was, then you don't puck to it. He had at least 3 short options on every puckout but ignored them. Once the short option receives it you half forward line make the runs to midfield to progress the play. Limerick can either follow them or stick. They can't do both, so you get the option to A. give it to the advanced HF or B. go over the top into the space the tracking players leave. Its not rocket science. They then have to decide whether to press our puckout which opens up the long option again or stay as they are. We asked zero questions and Limerick couldn't believe what they were watching. Kinnerk and Kiely didn't even have a conflab in the 2nd half.

Charlie69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824679#Comment_120824679

You should apply for the Galway job threeball…. you seem to have all the answers.

cosatron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824679#Comment_120824679

He hit 2 puck outs to the daithi and mannion and the minute they received them 3 Limerick lads converged on them and turned over the ball. I was on the 45 and Murphy had nothing to hit. What should've happen was runs from our 10 and 12 should've been made into our half back to create an option or overlap but the horse had bolted at that stage with tired bodies and minds.

threeball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824688#Comment_120824688

And you seem to have none bar throwing digs. I'm glad you find Shefflins tactics so top notch.

threeball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824752#Comment_120824752

Theres plenty of things they could have done but you can't decide you're going to start doing them half way through an AISF. They had no preparation all year for anything other than the way they played in the 2nd half so thats how they played. I had a post last week saying exactly how the ball we were hitting from our goalie and back line was bread and butter to Limerick. If a lad on 100k a year with a backroom staff can't figure that much out then they need to find something else to do.

SqueakyKneecap

I dunno who we have within the county either to replace Shefflin. Lynskey and Hanley were both duds at u-20 level.

Shefflin is 100% not going to win us a provincial so best case scenario is a beating from Limerick in a semi.

Think the bandaid has to be ripped off and we need to tell Mac, Conor Cooney, Flynn, Fintan Burke, Shane Cooney etc that we're backing youth and to thank them for their services. Eanna Murphy is a shadow of himself from 2022 and I think Fahy needs to be tried out as first choice.

Realistically the blackhole of development that kills us at U-20 onwards is going to see us squander great prospects like Niland, Rabitte and Mike Burke. We're still not close to addressing it, even with development sides.

Limerick got it right with their excellent academy. The blueprint is there. Obviously JP money softens the financial burden but if we want to get serious talent at senior it's our only option.

Charlie69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824888#Comment_120824888

Have you ever heard the saying the best hurlers are always on the ditch?…You seem to think it’s all very simple.

You think Shefflin made the changes after 25 mins that changed the game whereas in reality it was Kinnerks changes that turned it around.

Look all things being equal Kinnerk is no doubt a way better coach and tactician than Henry but things are far from equal.

Do you think Kinnerk might just have better players at his disposal?

Do you think the fact that Kinnerk and Kiely have been coaching a system into those players for over six years gives them an advantage over a man two years into his first job at this level in a county where he knew nothing about the players and basically had to start from scratch?

There’s no doubt that Henry and his staff made mistakes yesterday but this Limerick team are an absolute juggernaut and arguably the best we’ve seen. They certainly have probably the best hurling coach of our times.

All I’m saying is you need to have a bit of perspective before slating people and of course you’re entitled to your opinions but you also need to have a bit of respect for other posters opinions.

Straight Talker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824688#Comment_120824688

He's entitled to his opinion. When you suffer a bad championship defeat, it's standard practice to question the management imo. Although in Galways case, they do have a history of treating managers harshly.

threeball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824995#Comment_120824995

That's a bit hypocritical seen as you don't seem to have any respect for mine. I posted most of my posts quoting no one. You quoted mine so its you who seems to have the issue.

How long do you think Shefflin should persist shovelling long ball to small forwards before he gets the breakthrough he craves? Beaten up a stick by most decent teams in the league, 2 years in a row, same in the championship. Beating a shìte wexford team, Antrim and westmeath the total of our achievement. Draw with a poor Dublin side, beaten by a poor Kilkenny side, hammered by Limerick. But poor auld Henry has only had two years and Kiely had six. Limerick didn't win anything in that 6 years of course, only starting to come good now...

Galwayguy35

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824919#Comment_120824919

Pains me to say it because he grew up a few miles down the road from me but I think you are right about Murphy.

threeball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824919#Comment_120824919

Definitely need a major change in player development. We seem to rely on individual brilliance to carry over from underage and that rarely happens. Our underage teams are packed with talented individuals and rarely play as teams. I've been to some development training sessions and you can see the little cliques within the groups, lads from the same club or school passing to one another or going solo but completely ignoring lads in better positions that they don't know. This years minor team was a perfect example. When they met a proper team, with a well drilled system, they couldn't handle it.

We also place no emphasis on physical development. All those minor lads are slips of things and that's fine at 16 or 17 but we'll see them in 2yrs at u20 and they'll still be slips of things. Limerick made us look like dwarves in the parade yesterday. Not just in height, which you can't change, but in physique. Only Daithi and Whelan seemed physically capable of going toe to toe. We brought on Liam Collins who's a lovely hurler but he's built like a 14yr old. It was a desperation substitution against that Limerick defence.

Charlie69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120825242#Comment_120825242

I have no issues with you at all and I actually agree with some of your points, as I said just suggesting a bit of perspective, You've ignored 90 % of my post and seem determined to have an argument with someone so I'll leave you to it.

Robson99

Lads maybe we gave to accept that we are just an average team. The bones of the 17 team with a few infills here and there. Some comments before the game how strong a bench we have....bar tom mon there wasn't one of them that you could say was very unlucky not to start and not one of them you could say at half time would give us a lift.

Time to look at 5 years down the road...develop a structure and team.Throw away the band aids and accept that we are piss poor

And this bullshit idea that winning u17 finals is the stepping stone....concentrate on 19, 20 and 21 year old development

I says

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120825293#Comment_120825293

That’s on the coaches to get them to look for the jersey not the person they know. Poor coaching is the worst of them all.

littlevillage

If you have two groups of lads with roughly the same skill levels, organizational awareness and motivation etc... then it comes down to strength & conditioning. Galway flew out of the blocks and had Limerick properly rattled, but simply ran out of gas after about 25 mins.

Limerick have a very advanced S&C programme (let's presume it's all legit) under Paul Kinnerk. That's the difference.

Remember Kerry footballers in the 80's, Clare hurlers in the 90's, Kilkenny hurlers in the 00's, Dublin footballers in the 20-teens, these weren't exceptional teams because they were more skillful than every body else, what they did was move the bar, in terms of their strength & conditioning.

threeball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120825690#Comment_120825690

That's my point but again the lads that are passing to one another are normally managed by lads from the same clubs who want to see their own advance. There's too many cliques in the whole thing. If I was bringing in outside coaches, then that's where I'd place them. In development squads.

I says

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120826113#Comment_120826113

That scutter goes on in the county I’m living in now also.

laymansterms

I have to applaud the dedication of those posting on here from Croke Park during the match! As has been said by those at the match, Murphy had nothing to hit at. There was no movement. It didn't matter if he pucked to 2, 3, 4 as then they had nothing to hit at.

Shefflin will have to take his share of the blame but it's just plain wrong to say we could keep going for the whole match the same way we had for the first 30 mins. Again, at the match you could see our HB line were going to be in trouble as soon as Limerick figured out what was going on and made the changes. They needed help. You don't see that on TV.

This Limerick team is full of generational talent. Their power, pace and skill is awesome. Our best chance at stopping them was 2018.

I'm going to hold my judgement of Shefflin until after his 3 years are up.

Girly Gal

We are a poor enough team at the moment, Shefflin in my opinion is also not getting the best out of what he has, he still hasn't really got a proper settled team together. Also this tactic of hitting it long and the forwards winning their own ball is straight from his own Kilkenny playing days, but, we simply don't have the players to do that and when it doesn't work, we should be trying something else. Limerick must have won virtually all our puck-outs in the second half and they all more or less went to the same area, total madness to keep doing the same thing expecting different results. As someone else said apart from Tom Monaghan we had nothing on the bench, even Flynn had he been available might had some impact.

Our first touch is also terrible, compared to Limerick who move the ball at pace and rarely fumble it, even Kilkenny and Clare on Sunday their first touch is far superior. The spine of the team isn't great, so until that's sorted we're going nowhere. It's a big rebuild, some of the older lads will have to be let go. We're a long way off, don't see us as All Ireland contenders over the next few years. The other worry I'd have with Galway and it's something that's always been there, we don't have the ability to hang in during matches when not playing well, we just seem to roll over and accept our fate, other teams also know this.

One thing we have to acknowledge is that no matter what team we picked or manager we had on Saturday, there is no way we could have beaten Limerick. They are one of the best teams ever, up there with Shefflin's great Kilkenny team.

MattressRick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120837018#Comment_120837018

"we don't have the ability to hang in during matches when not playing well, we just seem to roll over and accept our fate, other teams also know this."

This is the same lazy narrative that every pundit and journalist nationwide has been waiting for years to throw at Galway.

What about the Dublin and Kilkenny matches, there was no accepting our fate there. Loads of pride on offer.

Girly Gal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120839555#Comment_120839555

Hold on, did we win any of those matches? Drawing with Dublin is something to be proud of, no team with any serious all Ireland aspirations would be happy with drawing with Dublin we shouldneverhave been trailing them by 12/13 points in the first place. As for the last minute goal against Kilkenny, our defending was comical. The perception nationwide is that Galway are soft and will fold when push comes to shove, there's way more evidence to back up that claim than there is against it, it's one of the reasons teams always feel they have a chance against us.

MattressRick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120839779#Comment_120839779

Galway didn't roll over and accept their fate in those matches so it's wrong to say that. They fought back proudly from very difficult position.

Clare I would say accepted their fate in last year's All Ireland semi final. They bottled 3 point chances in a row in the Munster final when the finishing line was in sight and the game was there to be won. But I don't ever hear their stomach being questioned, when there's evidence of them **** the togs. Tipp blew a chance to make the Munster final by being out fought by Waterford, no stomach that day for a battle.

It's something that was thrown at Galway pre Cunningham, and it's being dusted off again now.

The reality is every team now and again struggles to contain opponents. If any other team didn't have phases of being, as you say, soft or prone to folding, then they'd be as good as Limerick wouldn't they. But nobody else is.

I see sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120837018#Comment_120837018

I think that's overly negative. We're short a few players compared to Limerick.

The 'spine' is actually really strong in the sense imo we've 6 top drawer players (D Burke, P Mannion, J Cooney, C Mannion, Whelan, Concannon).

I'd say we've also 6 very good players (McInerney, Grealish, Morrissey, K Cooney, Niland, T Monoghan).

Ok McInerney mightn't have a lot left in the tank but we need 2/3 of the 'very good' players to step up a level, and a few of the players not in the lists above to step up too.

Where these come from is admittedly a worry but that's always the case, as in players burst out in the space of a season regularly enough, it's hard to tell who it'll be beforehand.

Potentially Sean Linnane/C Fahy/Collins?

KK are the 2nd best team in the country but any game between Galway/KK would be 50/50 imo.

Look, we're behind Limerick but let's not overstate things. I remember when we were hopeless, it wasn't long ago.

cosatron

according to hoganstand forum, Cian O'Neill is gone. I heard it aswell from a mate. any truth to it. Big loss, hopefully joyce will swallow is pride and give David Morris a shot.

callaway92

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120849935#Comment_120849935

What has that to do with swallowing pride? Not a Galway man or anything; just curious

cosatron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120850173#Comment_120850173

The beat on the street is that you can't tell Joyce anything and players wanted Joyce out unless he got o niell in. He freely admitted last year that himself and o niell had loads of roars so will swallow his pride and ask Morris in, cause Morris will want full control over training etc