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

Feenie

anyone else think David Reidy should be moved into the backs? he seems to have that aggression needed for the corner or wing back position.

Banner2theend

letowski wrote: »

My first look at Lohan's Clare team, early doors yet of course, but he had the team playing very direct. I taught moving Niall Deasy into full forward turned the game around for us to be honest. Young Colin Guilfoyle started at 14, but he was relatively ineffective. Deasy was very good in the second half and was a handful for Tipp. If Clare want to keep looking to play the ball in diect theyll need a good player in the air up top to make it stick.

Other than that it was a good run out for the lads. Taught Reidy, Podge, Galvin played well as did Taylor, the McCarthys, Shanagher and Reidy. Ryan scored two brilliant points to start the game, but needed to come off with a leg injury after 10 mins. I think bringing Shanagher out to the 40 is a good idea to help with his development. He stalled the last year, but I think bringing him out will help improve his movement, control and striking. Good to have Reidy back also. Lohan brought on a lad there in the 2nd half at wing forward, Donal McMahan, dont know much about him only he is a big kid. Could he offer something at this level?

Backs were solid enough back there. Lohan had them organised. Browne struggled a bit with Forde. Hehir did fine at center back. The corners played well.

Very good summary letowski. Agree with those you mentioned regarding who stood out today. Another thing that I noticed while watching the match on the Irish Examiner Sport facebook page, was our workrate off the ball.

Certainly a huge letdown in 2019 and in recent years, the blocking, hooking and tracking back of our forwards was the thing that really stood out to me today.

Overall a very good contest considering the underfoot conditions. Really happy with how the team is progressing under Lohan. One or two things that need to be addressed include, perhaps we overdid the direct stuff at times. I felt we were a bit wasteful with possession at times.

Also as you said Jack Browne struggled on Jason Forde. We really need a commanding presence at full-back, who can not only defend properly, but can tackle with discipline and when on the ball, use it intelligently.

The days of a Diarmuid O'Sullivan lash it as long as you can, are over. It's an area that we need to address and hopefully come the conclusion of the league campaign, we will have a fully settled full-back line ahead of the start of the Munster Championship campaign.

Once the Christmas festivities come to an end its back to hurling training proper. Our next game is a home tie against Limerick in the Munster League on Sunday January 5th at Sixmilebridge. Throw-in is at 2 pm. Expect a huge crowd for what should be a most spicy contest. So far I'm content of what I have seen from Clare under Brian, but its very early days yet.

Niallers87

Banner2theend wrote: »

Very good summary letowski. Agree with those you mentioned regarding who stood out today. Another thing that I noticed while watching the match on the Irish Examiner Sport facebook page, was our workrate off the ball.

Certainly a huge letdown in 2019 and in recent years, the blocking, hooking and tracking back of our forwards was the thing that really stood out to me today.

Overall a very good contest considering the underfoot conditions. Really happy with how the team is progressing under Lohan. One or two things that need to be addressed include, perhaps we overdid the direct stuff at times. I felt we were a bit wasteful with possession at times.

Also as you said Jack Browne struggled on Jason Forde. We really need a commanding presence at full-back, who can not only defend properly, but can tackle with discipline and when on the ball, use it intelligently.

The days of a Diarmuid O'Sullivan lash it as long as you can, are over. It's an area that we need to address and hopefully come the conclusion of the league campaign, we will have a fully settled full-back line ahead of the start of the Munster Championship campaign.

Once the Christmas festivities come to an end its back to hurling training proper. Our next game is a home tie against Limerick in the Munster League on Sunday January 5th at Sixmilebridge. Throw-in is at 2 pm. Expect a huge crowd for what should be a most spicy contest. So far I'm content of what I have seen from Clare under Brian, but its very early days yet.

Are we not playing limerick on the 20th of December or has that been moved?

Banner2theend

Niallers87 wrote: »

Are we not playing limerick on the 20th of December or has that been moved?

https://twitter.com/GaaClare/status/1199357046950416384

Feenie

predictions for the Limerick game? Can Clare get revenge for the hammering in July? I know it's a bit early to be speculating but how do you guys feel it will play out??

BloodyBill

Feenie wrote: »

predictions for the Limerick game? Can Clare get revenge for the hammering in July? I know it's a bit early to be speculating but how do you guys feel it will play out??

It wouldnt be revenge unless it was Championship. It's always a keenly contested contest between Clare and Limerick. Obviously Limerick have a stronger squad at the moment and will be pushing for the All Ireland but I think Lohan will be a great appointment. Clare have good players but probably not enough of them.

Treble double

I hope it goes well for Lohan and hopefully he can implement a more direct style of play.
However games at this time of the year are going to tell us absolutely nothing about what kind of fettle we will be in come summer.
Mid winter muck with cold heavy sliothar may as well be a different sport to mid summer hard ground with the ball travelling like a bullet. In fact there are players that will thrive in the muck, who will be lost when the dust is rising, horses for courses as they say. These games should be seen as training exercises and nothing else, reading anything into them will make a fool of you.
As for the style of play that Lohan will try and implement, I think in the modern game limits that choice. Professional analysis and stat gathering has totally taken the randomness out of the game and keeping possession is the order of the day, going direct has to be done with precision and with alot of work being put in for the reciever to have space to make runs which takes alot of coaching.
Langering the ball in like Kilkenny did against Tipp will not work. Ballygunner were the best outfit I saw this year at working the ball to the advantage of their forwards with fast ball from their half back line. Winter conditions beat them in a Munster final. Borris had more stomach for the rudimentary elements of hurling in the muck.

Banner2theend

Looks like Clare FM are on the lookout for a new sports journalist. It appears that Galway native Darren Kelly has left the role as Clare FM head of sport and he has changed his twitter page profile to "commentator", with no mention of Clare FM. He was only appointed to the role, just a year ago.

Disappointed to see him go. Was quite impressed with him. With Derrick Lynch his predecessor, also leaving his role to become a journalist with Clare Champion newspaper, that's quite a turnover of staff for Clare FM.

Any word on why Darren left, would be most greatly appreciated by this poster.

Feenie

are there any club hurlers in Clare that haven't been picked up for the senior panel?

Banner2theend

Feenie wrote: »

are there any club hurlers in Clare that haven't been picked up for the senior panel?

I think that Cratloe's Billy Connors is not involved. He wasn't part of last year's Clare senior panel either, which is a huge surprise.

Other than that, it's good to see the likes of Donal McMahon (Tubber) and Stiofain McMahon (Broadford) get rewarded for their strong performances at intermediate level this year, by being part of the Clare senior hurlers training panel. Great to see Feakle's Oisin Donnellan also involved too.

In the link below I have the two teams that lined out for Clare in their last two matches. Here below is the team that started against Galway in Ballinderreen.

https://twitter.com/DLynchSport/status/1203296552808263687

Here are some of the subs that came on via Derrick Lynch from the Clare Champion

https://twitter.com/DLynchSport/status/1203333495868870656

Here now is the Clare match day panel for the Tipp game last Sunday, see right of picture.

https://twitter.com/StephenGleeson_/status/1206202776050708480

I hope that helps Feenie.

Stationmaster

Was there any reason given why Davy Mac didn't play the last day after been named to start as captain?

Howitzer the 5th

Banner2theend wrote: »

Looks like Clare FM are on the lookout for a new sports journalist. It appears that Galway native Darren Kelly has left the role as Clare FM head of sport and he has changed his twitter page profile to "commentator", with no mention of Clare FM. He was only appointed to the role, just a year ago.

Disappointed to see him go. Was quite impressed with him. With Derrick Lynch his predecessor, also leaving his role to become a journalist with Clare Champion newspaper, that's quite a turnover of staff for Clare FM.

Any word on why Darren left, would be most greatly appreciated by this poster.

No idea in the world why Darren left but logically, presumably he's got a better offer. Bearing in mind the fragility of local radio these days its hard to justify a 'sports' journalist when stations in far larger areas, both urban and rural, survive on one body to cover all avenues of news and sport. Clare fm lose staff by the new time and have had a revolving door for years and years. There isn't a strong future working in commercial radio propped up by sales staff struggling to generate advertising revenues to keep these places going. So few people listen now also. The internet has long since made such outlets redundant and almost quaint.

Feenie

Does anyone know what happened to Conor McGrath? I haven't seem him on the panel for a long time but I know he still plays with Cratloe

windy shepard henderson

Feenie wrote: »

Does anyone know what happened to Conor McGrath? I haven't seem him on the panel for a long time but I know he still plays with Cratloe

Conor has been plagued with injury in the last few years , returned to full fitness for cratloe and had a fine club championship for them in midfield , rather then a forward , was whispers he could forge a place on the clare panel in that position

the problem after a couple of knee and hip injuries he has lost some pace its hard to know if he will feature too much for clare again , he has some miles on the clock too for a lad in his late 20s , i would hope to see him back in a clare jersey again but i doubt it , i imagine he will concentrate on his club now

Feenie

Does anyone else think Clare should pick up some of their retired hurlers from 2013? Like in my opinion our backline could be alot better with Cian Dillon, Domhall O'Donovan and Patrick Donnelan. However I'm not sure if it's worth picking back up Patrick Kelly, he seems to be slightly better on the puckouts than Donal Touhy but not as good at making saves.

finbarrk

No chance I'd say.

Marty Xavier

Not sure Dillon has the pace for intercounty now. Had a great year with Crusheen in centre back though.

Feenie

Marty Xavier wrote: »

Not sure Dillon has the pace for intercounty now. Had a great year with Crusheen in centre back though.

That might be true. If ever does rejoin the squad the manager's should focus on his pace, treadmills gym, etc.

In general I think his experience and aggression could bolster the full back line. In my opinion Clare's weakest line.

BloodyBill

Feenie wrote: »

That might be true. If ever does rejoin the squad the manager's should focus on his pace, treadmills gym, etc.

In general I think his experience and aggression could bolster the full back line. In my opinion Clare's weakest line.

Hed no problem with pace. The problem he had was turning and getting his speed up fast. He had no quickness as the athletics trainers would say. But his 40 and 60 yard dash was good . Conor McGrath has no pace or quickness and really no place on an inter county panel. The amount if times hes been pulled for over carrying was shocking. And of course his inability to pass the ball to a team mate was a negative. Very good skill full player though.

Feenie

BloodyBill wrote: »

Hed no problem with pace. The problem he had was turning and getting his speed up fast. He had no quickness as the athletics trainers would say. But his 40 and 60 yard dash was good . Conor McGrath has no pace or quickness and really no place on an inter county panel. The amount if times hes been pulled for over carrying was shocking. And of course his inability to pass the ball to a team mate was a negative. Very good skill full player though.

With Cian Dillon I feel like he want to be a bit like Tommy Walsh. Tommy Walsh said himself he was never that fast so he always tried to win the ball first, because there was no point in him trying to chase after whoever already had the ball.

Figerty

BloodyBill wrote: »

Hed no problem with pace. The problem he had was turning and getting his speed up fast. He had no quickness as the athletics trainers would say. But his 40 and 60 yard dash was good . Conor McGrath has no pace or quickness and really no place on an inter county panel. The amount if times hes been pulled for over carrying was shocking. And of course his inability to pass the ball to a team mate was a negative. Very good skill full player though.

McGrath is a general on the field, he makes decisions and can see things other cant. Unfortunately, he has been carrying injuries that have hampered that ability.
I believe he had been carrying a shoulder injury that hampered his movements. You might recall he was brought on against Galway in the drawn match and was taken off again. He kept favouring his right side, but even with that, he replaced Cathal Molone who in the whole of the match hardly touched the ball at all.
If he is over-carrying, it's because he is hampered, and that possibly why he is finished with the county team. A awful shame because forwards with his pace, and upstairs smarts are not easily found. McGrath should be our go to forward at this stage of his hurling life.

windy shepard henderson

Feenie wrote: »

Does anyone else think Clare should pick up some of their retired hurlers from 2013? Like in my opinion our backline could be alot better with Cian Dillon, Domhall O'Donovan and Patrick Donnelan. However I'm not sure if it's worth picking back up Patrick Kelly, he seems to be slightly better on the puckouts than Donal Touhy but not as good at making saves.

Stephen O'Halloran has been called back into the panel in the last month or so , he probably wont make the championship team but worth taking a look at in the games against carlow and laois he was on the 2013 panel , didnt play any championship games then

bridge keeper derek fahey has also been added to the squad , he was on the 2013 panel also ,

10 from the 2013 30 man panel have retired from intercounty hurling though
around 4 are abroad for 2020 and a further 16 are on the panel as it is so there is not many more to add really


totts as a back up free taker he is still only 26 or that , would love to see colin ryan back into the panel , just gone now 31 very unlikely to make a return

BloodyBill

Figerty wrote: »

McGrath is a general on the field, he makes decisions and can see things other cant. Unfortunately, he has been carrying injuries that have hampered that ability.
I believe he had been carrying a shoulder injury that hampered his movements. You might recall he was brought on against Galway in the drawn match and was taken off again. He kept favouring his right side, but even with that, he replaced Cathal Molone who in the whole of the match hardly touched the ball at all.
If he is over-carrying, it's because he is hampered, and that possibly why he is finished with the county team. A awful shame because forwards with his pace, and upstairs smarts are not easily found. McGrath should be our go to forward at this stage of his hurling life.

Yes he should be but it isnt going to happen. If hes a 'General' then it's a Chad or Libya type 'General'...self appointed and no body of work to back that up with a uniform made by a curtain maker with plenty of gold braid... Shefflin was a general, even Galvin is only a Colonel.

Banner2theend

The Clare senior footballers will open their new season with a McGrath Cup game against Limerick in Rathkeale, on this Sunday with a 2 pm throw-in. The likes of Kildysart's Emmet McMahon and Ennistymon's Cillian Rouine are among the likely new starters for the footballers this Sunday, who will be missing Jamie Malone and Gary Brennan for the 2020 league and championship campaign.

The likes of St Breckan's Aidan Davidson and Joe McGann are likely to play a part also, as the main focus for Colm Collins' side will be the opening NFL Division 2 league game against Westmeath in Mullingar on Sunday January 26th.

Division 2 survival and a Munster final appearance are the main goals for 2020, from a Clare football point of view.

Finally I want to wish all posters on boards a very peaceful and happy Christmas!!!

Figerty

BloodyBill wrote: »

Yes he should be but it isnt going to happen. If hes a 'General' then it's a Chad or Libya type 'General'...self appointed and no body of work to back that up with a uniform made by a curtain maker with plenty of gold braid... Shefflin was a general, even Galvin is only a Colonel.

Nonsense, if you had a look at this years championship in Clare and last years you would have seen that he was an absolute master of his position. If you can't see that then I don't know what games you were looking at.

Feenie

windy shepard henderson wrote: »

Stephen O'Halloran has been called back into the panel in the last month or so , he probably wont make the championship team but worth taking a look at in the games against carlow and laois he was on the 2013 panel , didnt play any championship games then

bridge keeper derek fahey has also been added to the squad , he was on the 2013 panel also ,

10 from the 2013 30 man panel have retired from intercounty hurling though
around 4 are abroad for 2020 and a further 16 are on the panel as it is so there is not many more to add really


totts as a back up free taker he is still only 26 or that , would love to see colin ryan back into the panel , just gone now 31 very unlikely to make a return

Cian Dillon is 31, Colin Ryan is 31 like you pointed out, Pat Donnelan is 34, Domhall O'Donovan is 31, Pat Kelly is 33, Brendan Bugler is 34 and Dara Honan is 29. None of them, other maybe Pat Donnellan, are too old to play hurling, especially when most of them still play with their clubs. I understand Dara Honan retired due to injury but he couldn't be at the stage where can't play hurling. I also realize he's got a chip on his shoulder over the county board and truthfully, they handled with a spectacular amount of disrespect towards Honan. Clare's older hurlers are a huge lose, especially when most of them are backs who were replaced by under underage hurlers. the vast majority of the lads filling their spaces wouldn't be able to start if the lads from 2013 were still on the panel.

BloodyBill

Feenie wrote: »

Cian Dillon is 31, Colin Ryan is 31 like you pointed out, Pat Donnelan is 34, Domhall O'Donovan is 31, Pat Kelly is 33, Brendan Bugler is 34 and Dara Honan is 29. None of them, other maybe Pat Donnellan, are too old to play hurling, especially when most of them still play with their clubs. I understand Dara Honan retired due to injury but he couldn't be at the stage where can't play hurling. I also realize he's got a chip on his shoulder over the county board and truthfully, they handled with a spectacular amount of disrespect towards Honan. Clare's older hurlers are a huge lose, especially when most of them are backs who were replaced by under underage hurlers. the vast majority of the lads filling their spaces wouldn't be able to start if the lads from 2013 were still on the panel.

Great post. I'd agree with all that. There was a narrative that hurling was a young man's game (somewhat true) and guys would/should retire at 29. Colin Ryan and Pa Donnellan should have be kept ,no matter what. I ll point you at 2 of the most important squad members in Limerick in 2018. Richie McCarthy and Tom Condon. If a guy is good enough he should be kept

Feenie

BloodyBill wrote: »

Great post. I'd agree with all that. There was a narrative that hurling was a young man's game (somewhat true) and guys would/should retire at 29. Colin Ryan and Pa Donnellan should have be kept ,no matter what. I ll point you at 2 of the most important squad members in Limerick in 2018. Richie McCarthy and Tom Condon. If a guy is good enough he should be kept

Thank you! it's great to see someone else agrees. But it's not that they should have been kept, just that they should have been pursued. We were too ready to try and replace them with under 21 hurlers that we forgot how skillful and important they were. In my opinion they only of those new that would be able to start with the presence of Dillon, O'Donovan, Donnellan, etc would be Conor Cleary and David Fitzgerald.

letowski

To further add to the posts about the backs above, I think its fair to say alot of lads didnt develop well to the level we taught they could. Davy McInerney and David Fitzgerald are two players they have all the skills and physical tools you want in a back, but they havent properly emerged as dominant backs (save for some Davy Mc games). I think the Davy Fitz sweeper era did alot of damage to our backs ability to mark a guy 1v1 and hold him at bay without fouling. Its something the other top counties are way ahead of us, it is always a staple of KK teams. In this last decade, players like O'Donovan, Dillon, McInerney, Fitzgearld, O'Connor, Morey were all noted skickmen, but struggled at basic, disciplined defending. Waterford last year were carved open with ease at the back, one year removed from Derek McGrath's defensive style.

That the one big hope I have with Lohan. I think he can be the guy that gets the backs defending with proper basics and discipline and as one compact unit. Looking at the match last Sunday, Hehir at 6 was holding the center back position at all costs and the lads worked hard back there. Those were good signs anyway.

Feenie

letowski wrote: »

To further add to the posts about the backs above, I think its fair to say alot of lads didnt develop well to the level we taught they could. Davy McInerney and David Fitzgerald are two players they have all the skills and physical tools you want in a back, but they havent properly emerged as dominant backs (save for some Davy Mc games). I think the Davy Fitz sweeper era did alot of damage to our backs ability to mark a guy 1v1 and hold him at bay without fouling. Its something the other top counties are way ahead of us, it is always a staple of KK teams. In this last decade, players like O'Donovan, Dillon, McInerney, Fitzgearld, O'Connor, Morey were all noted skickmen, but struggled at basic, disciplined defending. Waterford last year were carved open with ease at the back, one year removed from Derek McGrath's defensive style.

That the one big hope I have with Lohan. I think he can be the guy that gets the backs defending with proper basics and discipline and as one compact unit. Looking at the match last Sunday, Hehir at 6 was holding the center back position at all costs and the lads worked hard back there. Those were good signs anyway.

I agree with you here, with Clare's super forward line I don't think we valued a real strategy for the backs. Aswell the sweeper system was never a good idea since that isolated our full forwards. Brian Lohan could have more to do work on with Dillon, O'Donovan, Donnellan, Bugler still present in the backline. Too put it simply Clare have more options we don't use.