Clare GAA Discussion part 2 , No Purple Jumpers Allowed !!

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122292237#Comment_122292237

in terms of negatives at the back , leen is the only one really holding it together , adam hogan is as much a liability as much as cleary is now , the short passing game also was ridiculous between the half backs and midfield , we must have coughed up 5 points today from poor short passing when we had a huge target down the field , with shanagher starting now we need to use him more and become more direct ,

PeggyShippen

I like Shanagher in the team . He doesn't do enough with his possessions of course but he laid off a few good balls today and then overplayed aload more unfortunately. Those kinks would have been coached out of him by a Kinnerk but he ll go hos whole career with Clare not fully reaching his potential.Does he ever hold his ground and take his man on? He's always running away from goal.

Leen was excellent. I'd agree that Hogan has lost his way a little. He looks abit crazy and plays that way. The midfield is a big worry. Malone doesn't offer enough for me. We leak so many scores when a team gets any type of run on us . Conlon looked great today but he'd a tonne of time and space. He won't get that again. Hard to see them beating Kilkenny. Just too loose a team for a Kilkenny. Kilkenny don't particularly like a pressure cooker backline like Limerick bring as a unit. Clare dont have that collective ability to turn the defensive screw. So we ll offer to too many chances and it ll be deja vu all over again. I ll still go though.. just in case I'm wrong.

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122292668#Comment_122292668

😂 your not wrong you are 100% right , and in a round about way you pretty much described the rumors of the players talk back to lohan after the limerick game , the players need to be listened to not have a stubborn manager come up with another stupid plan b in the all ireland semi final

shanagher caused all sorts of damage when he came on against kilkenny and needs to start the next day , he didnt do much on the ball but he brought everyone else into the game , something mccarthy was asked to do but doesn't have the ability to win his own ball, same team starts again the next day but we need to be prepared to take conlon off sooner and we badly need to stop messing around with the stupid hand passing in our own half of the field

limerick are a super team and i dont think enough people in this county or even in the media realise how stupid they sound when they hammer us for losing to them in 3 munster finals in a row , but no offence to kilkenny but if we lose 3 all ireland semi finals to them then lohan is finished ,the reality is even in kilkenny they are not seen as a great team especially with the high standards they set over the last few years , they are probably that bit better then us on a normal day but we really need to be able to beat teams on our own level too not just put it up to limerick and lose by a point or two , two weeks time is a really big game now but its good to be back to have another chance at it

caddy16

Fair play to Cleary today kept their main danger man quiet from play which is all you can ask, bigger task ahead for all the next day.

keeponhurling

Consider also that it was probably Shanagher's first start of the year, no wonder he lacked a bit of sharpness.

All things considered he did very well. The 60 minutes he played today before he was replaced will stand to him, he faded a bit towards the end.

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122292829#Comment_122292829

his touch was way off but he was sharp fitness wise , he disappeared slightly in the league final in the last ten minutes , today he was still making himself available and covering lots of ground up until he was withdrawn , he takes all the heat off rodgers and shane o donnell

farmerval

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122292668#Comment_122292668

Looking in from the outside Shanagher gave ye a better shape, winning ball and laying it off to runners. I feel Limerick exposed Conlon in the Munster final, ye use him to distribute lots of ball, that role sees him looking to move into space all the time rather than hold the middle, Limerick really targeted him for ferocious tackling and pressure and it paid off, I'd expect Kilkenny to do the same.

One of the puzzling things watching Clare is when somethings going well they stop doing it, if ball onto the inside forwards is working one of the wingbacks will take on a few hail Mary's from distance, or a defender with loose man 30 yards ahead will try something ambitious that doesn't come off.

Malone and David Fitzgerald don't bring the energy levels that any of Limerick's middle six bring.

Beating Kilkenny must be the big thing now, actually perform in Croke park. A bit like Conlon above Clare must pressurize Richie Reid, leaving him loose is a recipe for disaster. Tony Kelly got some good scores today but was absent for long spells, I'd push Duggan to centre forward against KK. There's no point having a centre forward running around the place if the centre back is going to town on you.

Limerick's half backs are the best in the business but conceding 6 points from play to them suggests a systems error that day.

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122292768#Comment_122292768

to be fair he doesn't have many inter county strengths but that is definitely one of them

Figerty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122292224#Comment_122292224

I think Limerick will take Cork apart.

The only pressure in a final is to win,.. who's going to be under greater pressure.. Limerick won't crack open no matter who they play,. but if its tight anything can happen.

fire_man

How are ticket sales going?How would you pick up decent tickets if not with a club?

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122315291#Comment_122315291

i would suggest wait a few more days , the clubs are only giving out the codes from ticketmaster this weekend , so whatever they dont sell and whatever is not sold will go on general sale next week , i wouldnt worry any way as in croke park you can move around freely when you get into the ground and if they open the upper deck you can go up there anywhere too if you like

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122292898#Comment_122292898

i meant to reply to this last week, we have been calling on here for ages for shanagher to get more time off the bench even just to offer something different , and he looked so dangerous in the league final to think he only got about 10 minutes in five championship matches up to last week is a terrible stat

i do also agree about us dropping off when we are ahead i still cant put my finger on it as to why it happens other then it been completely psychological which is something you dont shake off over night , i would prefer its down to trying to catch our second wind rather then thinking we are ahead now so lets take the foot off

malone brings loads to the rucks and the physical stakes but will o donohue has his number at this stage , Fitzgerald is our leading scorer from play but brings nothing whatsoever to the physical stakes but the management leave him on in the hope he hits a purple patch late on in games , it looks terrible when it dosent work like the munster final when kyle hayes was taking off down the field and putting balls over the bar when fitz was 40 yards back the field and walking around the place

beating kilkenny is huge , it will define this team if they dont win next week , whatever about losing 3 munsters to a great team , at least we won and drew a few games against them , but kilkenny by there own standards are in our ball park and we gifted them a goal at the worst possible time last year , got it totally wrong tactically the year before losing cant be an option next week

limericks half backs are the best in the buisness but they need plenty of protection in front of them , kinnerek uses a tactic that is normally used in football where the wing forwards drop back to protect the half backline and rush forward in to an attack when there is a turn over , this is somthing they didnt do enough of against cork and something i expect more of on sunday

farmerval

The night Cork beat Limerick a few things stood out, Cork were winning their own long puckouts, but also when they went short, once the corner or wing back got it and left it down their own wing quickly they benefitted, it was when they turned inside and tried to play across the field they got caught in possession. It should be a lesson to all teams, go short if you need to, but when you do keep the ball moving quickly down the field.

Clare need to run at the Kilkenny half backs, Quilligan has to be brave with his puckouts, especially in the second half, presumably it's to instruction, but regularly in the second half Clare just launch all puckouts long, makes it easy for opponents to squeeze down their space.

Kilkenny will look to crowd Conlon, they'll look to make the Clare halfback line a real battleground, while Clare need to play the ball through there they'll need to be really sharp about. The three best teams in the country plus Cork are in the semi finals, Clare need to win and prove that they are at least the second best.

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122319789#Comment_122319789

yeah i agree about the cork game they were way quicker with there possessions then us but limerick didn't really drop back that much that night , they rectified it the next day against waterford and have stuck with it since

clare just need to be quicker with the ball full stop , against kilkenny last year and the year before we got completely over run in the middle 3rd , kilkenny were hunting in packs and we couldnt cope with the pressure they were putting us under , if we varey it quickly into the forwards on one hand and attack on foot the next it will keep them open enough but its as 50/50 a game as there has been all year

cian kenny and ritchie reid have probably been the best midfield pairing all year in championship putting kelly in there is a worry

conlon has been too slow on the ball and at times has been found out for pace but he is still a vital cog , i am more worried about david mcinerneys loose defending at times or adam Hogan's rash decision making, i was full sure hogan would put himself in the picture of YHOTY category but this year he has taken a slight step backwards , again i dont think its helped by the form of the man in front of him (david mc)

PeggyShippen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122319844#Comment_122319844

I agree with McInerney and Hogan being under pressure. Both are fairly poor when their man has the ball in his hand. Hogan has that second season syndrome but hes the best we have still in his position . McInerney blows very hot or cold..Id trust him to come good. This game will be won by the midfield. We only need parity there I feel. If we can hold Cody from getting goals..we ll win . Kilkenny have not become world beaters but they are efficient and effective. We need to be intense ..like we are when playing Limerick...or 'were' last year I should say. I'd love if Duggan could restrain himself slightly from those rash and over zealous tackles. He's playing well overall. Id like to see Rodgers being clinical... hes missed a shedload of scores this championship. Malone doesn't do it for me...hasn't for 2 years. Id play taylor even if he's on one leg..can always bring Malone on. Taylor is a natural athlete ...

Of course if Ivor Quilligan decides to do something outrageous we are goosed.

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122323066#Comment_122323066

what worries me about kelly being moved to midfield is cian kenny is probably kilkennys best player this year he could nullify him very quickly , and ritchie reid hasn't been too shabby either so even if they put reid on him he will have his hands full

i have full faith in adam hogan but what annoys me is the mistakes he makes , he probably never made them in u14 training up in feakle but hes making them now in cusack park or thurles , mcinerney isn't helping him either and i still say cian galvin is not the answer in terms of his replacement

leen was tried there for one game on john donnelly in the league , donnally slightly got the better of him thanks to two mistimed jumps in the second half on leens part , john donnelly and martin keoghan have been nearly as good as the limerick half forward line this year and are probably the main threats next week ahead of cody or mullen

callaway92

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122065404#Comment_122065404

Just to go back to this - it’s such a pity that Taylor has missed essentially a full season. However, for the longevity of his career and health he has done things the right way

keeponhurling

I guess we have learnt that semifinals are not the time to make drastic changes, or try something new. I don't think we'll see Taylor even though it seems he's back to full fitness… match fitness is a whole other thing.

It'll probably be the same starting 15 as the Wexford game.

The one thing Lohan might be mulling over is whether Aidan McCarthy or Shanagher are better suited for this game. Free taking will be crucial and has cost us in the past. TJ will be putting over close to 100% of Kilkenny's frees, regardless of distance.

Anyone hear anything about the fitness of Darragh Lohan? I suspect he'll be a sub if he is available.

Figerty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122328875#Comment_122328875

McCarty's return rate on Frees isn't consistent enough to guarantee him a place. Rogers is as effective, and if Kelly nails a free early he's likely to nail them all. McCarty isn't dynamic enough on the field to threaten. Every goal he has scored or missed has been handed to him by another player. Shanagher is strong on one side and isn't consistent.

If Lohan were to do something radical he would put David Fitz at wing-back, Kelly at Midfield and Conlon full forward.

keeponhurling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122329014#Comment_122329014

Yeah I'd tend to agree with you, Rogers can handle the frees as well as McCarthy. So not worth starting McCarthy purely for frees.

Kelly is simply not a free-taker, not even for his club. I don't even consider him.

PeggyShippen

Shanagher for me has to start. McCarthy is a good sub to have. David Reidy definately holds his place and maybe second free taker. TJ scores alot of frees within 70 yards. He's not got the 80 yards plus in him like Byrnes has. Lads if Clare don't win this then it ll be the last opportunity for a long long while. If it's Kilkenny v Limerick then Limerick will beat em up a stick ..they have their number. Even if it's Cork v Kilkenny I think Cork will win...so come on Clare let's put the Cat amongst the pigeons.

oppiuy

Last minute change of plans here so I can now go to the game on sat. Rubbish tickets available on ticket master. If anyone has 2 spare lower hogan I'd take them. Or hopefully the released tickets go on sale soon

biglad40isback

any truth that 2 clare back room staff have walked out

Figerty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122336830#Comment_122336830

Reported in the Clare Echo.. always the bearer of news…

evolvingtipperary101

what’s going on with Padraig McMahon? Is he right or gone off on one?

Figerty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122337141#Comment_122337141

Timing is everything… he's been a clown for a long time now.

keeponhurling

Which backroom staff members ? Any more info on this one ?

Timing very strange just ahead of Saturday's game (if true)

High bike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122337537#Comment_122337537

Romer and O Neill allegedly

High bike

Romer

callaway92

In fairness to McMahon of the Clare Echo, if his information is correct then he’s just doing a journalists’ job - releasing the info at a time that would spike the interest in it.