Mod Note Post #1 - The 2022 All Ireland Senior Football Championship.
Comments
-
The Dubs are a dangerous team this year. Everyone has written them off after the league. Same thing happened with Limerick in the hurling.
Man for man I think they're the best team still. Cork were pretty much neck and neck with Kerry for the first 50/55 minutes.
4 -
League is League and championship is championship, no one with any sense had written Dublin off, their manager is clueless but i wouldn’t take any notice of the yerra yerra we’re crap that some of their supporters have been coming out with.
5 -
My first Derry Ulster game in 13 years, I forgot how atmospheric those games were.
I was standing below the BBC NI section, it was interesting to hear Sidebottom and McConville discuss what the talking points were going to be.
3 -
Was at game score line papered over cracks . Meath made it easy for Dublin gave forwards loads of space unchallenged. Dublin forwards accurate with loads of time on ball. I think Meath will do well to stay in div2 to be honest. Comparisons to Limerick hurling are a bit premature I think.
Despite this any time Meath managed to run at Dublin fb line was chaos. But Meath forwards had one of those days where they couldn’t finish their dinner.
A side with half decent forwards against Dublin will make hay. Kildare no doubt taking note. Also high ball into dublin fb line nearly caused goal. But Wallace fluffed it
Meath keeper awful made life very extra easy for Dublin was like having a 16th man. Could not find men in green on kickouts. Plus not only that went up and took two woeful freekicks at goal at crucial times first half early on.
Post edited by gormdubhgorm onGuff about stuff, and stuff about guff.
0 -
Serious bang of yerra off that post
3 -
Advertisement
-
Very difficult for any meaningful conversation to develop when this is the response.
0 -
I wouldn’t rule Dublin out of an AI but I would have to say I thought they were quite sloppy, particularly early on, and can read little into today as Meath were so poor. Jordan Morris should have buried that early goal chance.
1 -
goal
0 -
I think that is over the top, pathetic is very strong word and uncalled for. So many counties with great tradition have struggled in recent years. Look at Cork at their lowest now since 1950s. That's the last time Cork were uncompetitive v kerry and not in div 1. Look at Down no Ulster title in 28 years. Armagh have shown promise but to recently were at their lowest since 1960s with 3 years in div 3 and couldn't win a championship match in Ulster in 5 years recently. Cavan won a great Ulster title recently but they then dropped to div 4. That was only their 2nd Ulster title in 50 years. In leinster Offaly didn't reach leinster final in 2010s first decade since 1950s and have been div 3 r div 4 team for years. Laois are back in div 4. Laois are at their lowest in 40 years. Kildare showed some promise at stages in league but that was their 4th relegation in 8 years and have only reached 3 leinster finals since 2010 Meath have reached 6. They have only won twice in Croke Park in last 8 years. And outside Nowhere or Newbridge game in 2018, kildare haven't beaten top team in championship in 21 years. Meath in that period beat kerry Dublin twice Tyrone Mayo Galway twice in championship. Yes Meath have declined since were they were one of top Counties each decade along with Dublin kerry Cork Galway from 1930s to 2010. But so many great counties have struggled in recent years.
Dubs have hammered humiliated teams in leinster for ten years. There average winning margin in leinster in last 8 years is 15 pts. Actually 13 pt loss is one of the better results for leinster teams in recent years. Only 4 times in 8 last years have Dubs not won leinster game with double digits. They have hammered Meath by 15 and 16 pts before. Dubs have hammered kildare by 15pts and 19 pts before in recent years . Dubs hammered Westmeath by 31 pts in recent years and Laois by 18 pts in leinster final recently. Kildare lost by 9 pts in 2017 and they were greatly praised. The Ulster champions in 2020 Cavan lost by 15 pts to Dubs in All Ireland semi final and were praised. Dubs have been humiliated hammering leinster teams and allot of teams in the country in recent years. If your going to call teams pathetic who are hammered by Dublin particularly in leinster, your going to have to include allot of counties. What Dubs did to Meath today they have done to all of leinster in last ten years and to allot teams across the country.
1 -
-
Advertisement
-
On the other side of things Meath were a div2 team for 12 years. And in that period in Leinster championship/qualifiers lost to teams plenty of times that they should be beating such as Westmeath etc. Teams dip but Meaths fall has been drastic and prolonged.
Guff about stuff, and stuff about guff.
1 -
You'd think with the growing population of these counties with dubs moving to commute, there'd be a better footballing performance from the likes of Laois, Meath and Kildare?
0 -
Ulster championship is fantastic year after year.
football might not be to everyone’s liking, but it always guarantees close battles even if Donegal have made 80/90% of the last 10 finals (can’t recall the stat)
connacht a close second with the rossies/ Galway / mayo shootout
leinster and Munster aren’t even worth watching after that
heres hoping it changes soon but it’s hard to see how
1 -
Ridiculous having the two Leinster Semi - Finals in Croke Park.
1 -
Cavan were only five points down at HT in that All Ireland semi final and made a match of it until late on. Meath were finished after 5-10 minutes today and this Dublin team have slipped since 2019.
0 -
that has been said for twenty years , one theory is that the sons of Dubs who moved out to Meath and Kildare simply supported the Dubs ?
its pointless claiming that Meaths decline is no different to that of Laois or Cavan , Cavan ( bar very occasional ulster championship wins ) havent been a top contender since the 1950,s , thats several generations ago , Laois were never a top county at any stage , they have no All Irelands , they were never Wicklow bad but its a bogus comparison , as for Cork , well Cork was never primarily a football county , the period from 1987 to the late nineties was a sort of an anomaly , 2010 was a sort of a flash in the pan , obviously they are at a very low ebb now but Cork being in the football doldrums means a lot less to Cork people than hurling being in the ditch
the comparison with Kildare is the most accurate in that Kildare like Meath is also a county with a good sized population and is also not low on resources , its a wealthy county , as is Meath , Kildare however never saw the highs that Meath did either , they could beat anyone in Leinster on their day but havent won Sam in nearly a century , Meath were All Ireland contender every year from 1986 to 2001 , they had two different teams who were in the running , a real footballing super power , up there with Kerry and Dublin for nearly two decades , they are nothing today , its an incredible fall all things considered and by far the most striking decline of any county this century
0 -
Those crazy goalkeepers.
1 -
-
Meath have declined back to rest of leinster. Most teams in the country are starved of sucess. Take away kerry Dublin Ulster teams and Mayo, most of the rest havent being sucessful. Meath come from a part of Ireland starved of sucess. The Rest of leinster. Meath were hugely sucessful county from 1930 to 2010. Meath beat Dublin 8 times and 5 draws in 80s and 90s. Kildare laois Offaly have beaten Dubs twice in last 45 years. Louth havent beaten Dub since 50, longford havent since 1968. Wicklow Carlow, Wexford havent beaten Dubs since 40s. Meath have won 8 leinsters in last 35 year. kildare have won 3 leinsters in last 84 years, Offaly have 1 leinster in 35 years. Laois have won 1 leinster title in 60 years. Westmeath have 1 leinster. Laois and Westmeath have never beaten Dubs in leinster final. kildare have beaten Dubs in 1 leinster final in 94 years. Meath beat Dubs in 7 leinster finals in 80s 90s.
Outside Dublin
No leinster team has reached All Ireland final in 21 years
No leinster team has reached All Ireland semi final in 12 years. Mayo have reached 9 semi finals in that period.
No leinster team has won league div 1 title in 24 years.
No leinster team has stayed in div 1 for 3 or 4 years since 2000
Kildare, Offaly, Laois, Wicklow were relegated this year, Wexford third from bottom in div 4. Next year first time ever no leinster team in div 1. Most decades you had 3 leinster teams in div 1. Meath have returned to the pack. Meath overachieved for decades. In 60s Meath had population of 60000. Meath were the 18th most populated county in Ireland, yet had 3 All Irelands. Meath population was 90000 in 80s and Mayo and Donegal had bigger populations than Meath in 90s. Meath was rural sparsely populated county up to 2000. The county with the smallest popualtion to win All Ireland in the last 60 years is Offaly, Meath had the second smallest population to win Sam in last 60 years. Meath population doubled after 2000. Meath whole county changed from quite rural county to massive suburbs on the east of the county. But look at Wicklow Antrim population guarantees nothing. Meath overachieved from 1930 to 2010 went toe to toe with Dublin.
Its always happen after era of sucess comes decline, after golden era
1 Kildare after era of sucess in 1920s declined. Didnt reach another final for another 60 years
2 Mayo declined after era of sucess in1951. Didnt reach another final for another 48 years. Mayo didnt win Connacht title in 1970s
3 louth declined after era of sucess in 40s 50s. Louth have reached 1 leinster final in last 60 years
4 Cavan declined after era of sucess in 40s 50s. Cavan have won 1 championship match in Croke Park in 60 years. And no national title league div 1 or All Ireland since 50s.
4 Tippearary hurling decline after era of sucess in 60s. They didnt win 1 championship match in Munster in 70s.
look at Offalys decline after 70s and 80s in hurling and football. Look at Down decline since 90s.
Meath decline is a normal path of most counties who have had sucess.
0 -
Population gurantees nothing. Look at Wicklow and Antrim. Look at Limerick Footballers. Limerick hurling until recently struggled even with huge popualtion. In 1960s Meath had population of 60000. Meath were the 18th most populated county in Ireland, yet had 3 All Irelands. Meath population was 90000 in 80s and Mayo and Donegal had bigger populations than Meath in 90s. Meath was rural sparsely populated county up to 2000. The county with the smallest popualtion to win All Ireland in the last 60 years is Offaly, Meath had the second smallest population to win Sam in last 60 years. Meath population doubled after 2000. Meath whole county changed from quite rural county to massive suburbs on the east of the county. But look at Wicklow Antrim population guarantees nothing. Meath overachieved from 1930 to 2010 went toe to toe with Dublin. The whole county of Meath and kildare has changed. There is now huge suburbs. Doesnt gurantee sucess. Look at Dublin inner city or Tallaght or many areas of Dublin. Population doesnt gurantee sucess. look at India and China at soccer. If it was a numbers game why are they so poor at soccer. You need a big population. But it gurantees nothing. Look at Down and Monaghan. Down great tradition, big popualtion. Yes section of county dont support GAA, but look at Tyrone compares it recent sucess to Down. Monaghan has smaller population, but has won 2 Ulster titles recently Down havent won Ulster in 28 years and are in div 3 and Tailtean cup.
0 -
Advertisement
-
My own county Offaly have declined drastically since the late 1990's.r
0 -
Cavan lost by 15 pt in All Ireland semi final. It was a record defeat. If you lose by 15 pts its not a great performance in anyones book. Meath made a match v Dublin last year only 3 pt in the game at 70th min. Last years Meath v Dublin game was closest and best performance any leinster team has had v Dubs in the last ten years in championship. Meath made a match of it until late on in league in Parnell Park in 2020, a game Meath could have won. Only 1 pt between teams in 70th min. Meath lost by 4 to Dublin in 2020 league and 6 in 2021 championship. Losing by 4 pts and 6pt is better than losing by 15 pts. Cavans performance in 2020 All Ireland semi final was hammering just like today. It is one of the worst results ever for a Cavan team in Croke Park. And one of the worst results by Ulster team in All Ireland semi final in the last 35 years.
2 -
Just on the Laois were never a top county at any stage, they were in the 30s and 40s, considered the best team not to win an All Ireland up to Mayo 2012-17. 4 Leinster titles in 11 years. Lost to Kerry by 2 points in an All Ireland semi replay and other tight semi margins. Tommy Murphy played fro 16 years to 36 and is on the Millennium Team midfield.
2003-2007, was a good period 4 Leinster final appearances, one win. We contested Leinster finals in both codes in the 80s. In the hurling and football in 1985. No disrespect but I know my Laois!!
6 -
if any changes are to be needed to curb the decline in leinster espically and the gap between division 1 and 2 , then bring back the division 1 A division 1 B league system to football like in hurling , 4 teams from division 1 and division 2 in each group , meaning the likes of meath will get 4 games against division 1 teams each season
any team that gets relegated plays in the 2nd tier for the championship , and in division 2A or 2 B the next season , offering 4 games of a higher quality
1 -
What about Down. Won 5 All Ireland before Tyrone or Armagh won 1 All Ireland. Down are one of the greats of GAA, an Ulster superpower. Down havent won Ulster title in 28 years. Down are currently in div 3 again. And are in Tailtean cup currently. Down won 12 Ulster titles in 35 years between 1959 and 1994. Since Down have 0 Ulster titles since.
Down between 1959 - 1994 (35 year period) won 12 Ulster titles and 5 All Irelands
Down between 1995 - 2022 (27 year period) won 0 Ulster titles and 0 All Irelands
Offaly hurling won 4 All Ireleand in 80s and 90s. Offaly are not even in the All Ireland championship anymore. Offaly football in 70s and 80s won 3 All Ireland. Offaly have won 1 leinster title in last 35 years and have being in div 3 and div 4 for most of last decade. Offaly were football superpwer in 60s 70s 80s. Won 3 All Irelands and 10 leinster titles in that period.
Offaly between 1980 -1995 won 9 leinster hurling titles and 4 All Irealand in hurling
Offaly between 1996 -2022 won 0 leinster hurling titles and 0 All Ireland in hurling
Offaly between 1960 and 1982 ( 22 year period) won 10 leinster football titles and 3 All Ireland in football
Offaly between 1983 and 2022 ( 34 year period) won 1 leinster football titles and 0 All Ireland in football
Meaths is not incredible its part of the course so many counties go into huge decline you mentioned Cavan their decline is one of the most striking
Cavan between 1884 - 1970 ( 84 year period) won 38 Ulster titles and 5 All Irelands
Cavan between 1970 - 2022 ( 52 year period) won 2 Ulter titles and 0 All Irelands
Cork Hurling has declined in this century
Cork hurling won between 1940- 1990 ( 50 year period) won 16 All Irelands in Hurling
Cork hurling between 1990 -2022 ( 32 year period) won 3 All Irelands in Hurling. Cork won 5 All Ireland in 40s, 3 All Irelands in 50s, 4 All Ireland uin 70s. Cork havent won senior hurling All Ireland in 17 years, a record for Cork.
Meath is not the only county pretty much nearly every county in GAA history declined massively after huge era of sucess. in this century Meath are not the only county to decline. Look at Down, look at Offaly hurling. Cork hurling has fallen from heights of the past. Galway since 2001 have struggled. Galway havent reached All Ireland final in 21 years and reached 1 All Ireland semi final since 2001. Galway went 17 years from 2001 to 2018 from winning championship match in Croker. 2010s is the worst decade in history of Galway football since 1900. 2010s is the first decade Galway didint reach an All Ireland final since 1900s. Galway have only beaten 1 top team in champioship outside Connacht in last 21 years. Mayo would have beaten 6 or 7 at least. Galways era of sucess was 1920s to 1966 they won 7 All Irelands. in the next 50 years Galway have won 2. Take out 3 incredible years 98 00 01 Galway have struggled since 60s. Galway didnt win championship match in Croke Park for 14 years before 1998 and 17 years after 2001.
Since 2000 take out kerry Dublin Ulster counties and Mayo, and most counties have struggled for long parts. Look at Cork huge underage sucess in football. No Munster title in last ten years. You say Cork is hurling county. Cork is the 4th most sucessful football county with 35 Munster titles, 7 All Irelands and 8 league div 1 titles. Great football counties like Donegal Roscommon Monaghan Armagh have 1 league title, Tyrone have 2 league titles, Galway have 4, kildare have never won league title, Cork have 8 league titles. Cork has more football clubs than kerry. Cork has eitheir the most or second most football clubs in the country and most registered club footballers, first or second. Yes Cork has proud tradition of hurling but to say Cork 4th most sucessful county a county with one of the biggest numbers of football clubs and registered footballers in the country, to say Cork is not huge strong football county, is wrong . Cork is hugely sucessful football county, Cork is a football superpower. From 1967 to 2012 there wasnt year Cork werent in top 5 teams in the country. There wasnt a year Cork werent All Ireland contenders in last50 to 60 years. Throughout 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s every single year Cork was in top 5 or 6 teams in the country and were All Ireland contenders. In the last 50 years only Kerry and Dublin have won more All Ireland than Cork. In last 50 years the most sucessful counties after kerry Dublin are ( the only counties to win more than 1 All Ireland)
Cork and Meath with 4 All Irelands
Tyrone and Offaly with 3 All Irelands each
Donegal Galway Down with 2 All Ireland each
Its noticeable of those 7 counties , 5 of them have declined in new century. Between 1987 and 2001 Meath Cork Galway and Down won 10 All Irelands between them in 15 years. In the following 20 years in the new century the same counties Meath Cork Galway Down won 1 All Ireland between them. Between 1987 and 2001 Meath Cork Galway won 8 All Irealands in 15 years. in the new century since 2001 in last 21 years None of them have won All Ireland since. And only one Down have reached a final after 2001eg Down in 2010. Between 1987 and 2001 Meath Down Galway reached 12 All Ireland finals in 15 years. In new century since 2001 Meath Down Galway have reached 1 All Ireland final in last 21 years.
From 1930s to 2000 Top football counties every decade All Ireland winners or contenders are Kerry Dublin Cork Galway Meath. After 2001 Meath declined but so did Galway. After 2010 Cork declined. After 1994 Down declined. Tyrone replaced Down as Ulsters top county after 2000. Mayo replaced Galway as Connachts most sucessful county after 2001. Top counties since 2001 are kerry Dublin Tyrone with Mayo consistently sucessful without All Irelansd sucess but with 8 All Ireland final appearances Mayo have to be considered a sucessful county since 2001.
Post edited by Sonny678 on1 -
Those examples you give are skewed by other variables. Limerick fairly decent county at all sports historically - Rugby soccer, hurling, football. So that population was spread thin - Jack of all trades master of none. Until very recent history.
Kk in contrast just focus on hurling polar opposites to the multi sport mad Limerick..
Your example of Ulster Antrim etc is skewed because of issues beyond the game of football. Basically in certain counties in Ulster you can divide any playing population by half straight away!
Once a culture and base has been created- a tradition of at least 20 years built up it should be a lot harder for a team like Meath to fade. Not many hurl and I wouldn’t call it a soccer county. So football is Meath’s main team sport.
Something has gone seriously wrong with Meath GAA. And it can’t just be the Boylan factor gone. Meath are clearly underperforming despite advantages over most on many factors - football tradition/population etc.
Guff about stuff, and stuff about guff.
0 -
You said Once a culture and base has been created- a tradition of at least 20 years built up it should be a lot harder for a team like Meath to fade. Well its happenned over and over again in football counties. Look at Mayo Kildare Cavan football is main sport by a mile.
Well what about Mayo football 20 years of sucess from 1930 to 1951. 3 All Irelands many finals. From 1951 to 1989 nearly 40 years Mayo didnt reach All Ireland final. Mayo went into decline for decades up to late 80s. Between 1955 and 1980 Mayo won 2 Connacht titles in 25 years. Mayo didnt win Connacht title in 70s. Mayo went 12 years without winning Connacht title up to 1981. Mayo has always being football mad county. Number 1 sport in the county.
kildare had 20 years of sucess 1900 to 1920 winning 4 All Irelands and 9 Leinster titles by 1931. In the following 57 years kildare won 2 leinster tiles. And in 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s kildare were in doldrums div 2 div 3 even div 4. An early superpwer with huge sucesss for 20 years fotoball is main sport. The county more similar to Meath in terms of landscape and towns and nearness kildare sufferred the same.
Of course Cavan is a football mad county. The number one sport in the county. Cavan between 1884 - 1970 ( 84 year period) won 38 Ulster titles and 5 All Irelands. Cavan between 1970 - 2022 ( 52 year period) won 2 Ulter titles and 0 All Irelands. Cavan had over 80 years of sucess. But in last 50 declined. Another county near to Meath similar to Meath.
Meaths decline is not unusal its a very common occurence in GAA. If Meath didnt decline after Boylan left. That would have being unusal, it would have very unusual for Meath not to decline after Boylan left.
Post edited by Sonny678 on0 -
Meaths decline is not unusal its a very common occurence in GAA. If Meath didnt decline after Boylan left. That would have being unusal. Look at Man Utd after Alex Fergsuon left. And Man utd spent 1 billion on players since Ferguson left. Anytime a manager has huge sucess stays 20 years, there is decline afterwards. It happens in soccer all the time. Forest declined after Brian Clough left, Celtic declined after Jock Stein left, Leeds declined after Don Revie left, Arsenal decline after Wenger left and so on and on. If team can spends ten of millions and in Utd case 100s of millions, and cannot have sucess after great manager leaves after having 10 to 20 years of sucess. Of course Meath will struggle when Sean Boylan left.
Again population gurantees nothing. look at Wicklow never won a leinster title. If anything population growth has meant Meath has lost its idenity.
Meath since 2001 along with kildare have still being the two most sucessful counties after Dublin in leinster. Which is not much to shout about. But in leinster since 2010 Meath have been most sucessful county after Dublin. Meath have reached 6 leinster finals in 2010 2012 2013 2014 2019 2020 winning in 2010 and beating Dubs in 2010 and draw in 007. Next best is kildare with 3 leinster final appearances in 2017 2021 2022. Kildare and Meath have been at same level since 2001. Both r failing to knock Dublin from their perch and failing to become div 1 team consistently. Meath overachieved for 80 years, but Meath are underachieving now. Again very common in the GAA. You could say from 1930 to 2010 Dublin underachieved despite the advantages over all in terms of tradition and pop. Many counties you could say same about.
Its not all doom and gloom. Huge work is being done on the ground. Todays Meath team 8 of the players who played are 21 or 22. Harry Hogan 21 Robin Clarke 22 Cathal Hickey 21 Matthew Costello 21 Shane Walsh 21 Jack O Connor 22 Jack Flynn 21 Jordan Morris 22. While O Hare Muldoon on the bench are 21 and McGowan 22. Thats allot of very young players.
Meath have won 4 out of last 5 U17 Minor leinster titles and have beating Dubs 5 times in 5 years at underage with huge hammerings by Meath to Dublin with two eleven point defeats and ten point defeat of Dublin. Meath minors last year are one of the best underage teams to come out of leinster in this century, in last 20 years. They were only third leinster team to win All Ireland minor title in last 21 years since 2000. Those player have another two years 2023 2024 to go at U20.
Meath havent made breakthrough at u20 but in next two years they should have best footballers in the provience at the age group and there will be big push to win titles at u20. People will put down minor sucess. But there is allot of talent coming through, and there is allot of talent to come through yet. The most talented young footballers Meath have produced since 90s. But it will take 3 to 4 years for them to come through. Under McEntee Meath got to leinter finals, div 1, and were very competitive v top teams. Didnt win, but came as close as humanly possible. Should have knocked Tyrone out of 2018 championship and Donegal in 2017 championship lost both by 1 pt. In 2019 2020 Meath lost to Tyrone Mayo by 1 pt, Donegal twice by 2 pts, Galway by 2 pts, kerry by 3 pts in killarney, and drew with Monaghan in Clones and lost by 4 and 6 pt Dubs. Everyone of those games Meath were eitheir level or a score between teams in 70th min. Meath were beaten in injury time in all games, competitive til 70th min v Donegal in 2017, Tyrone in 2018 ( after extra time), Donegal in 2019 twice and Kerry Mayo Galway Dublin Monaghan all pulled away from Meath in injury time in 2020. McEntee made Meath competive again and defeated teams like kildare ( twice) Cork ( twice) Armagh Clare (5 times) Derry Galway in recent years. No backdoor in 2020 2021 was a setback for the team. Meath could have done damage in qualifiers. But clearly last two years things have gone stale. McEntee has stayed to long. He has put in good foundations. But Meath need a new voice after 6 years. What you saw today was a very young team thats needs a new voice at the top.
But Meath have potential. If people say kildare potential so do Meath. Both have young talented players coming through. kildares have come through a little earlier than Meath. Jimmy Hylands are now 23 24. Meaths Jimmy Hyland are 18 or 19. Yet to come through. Meath can suprise people in coming years. Meath is a county that always makes good use of underage sucess. Anytime Meath have minor All Ireland they have won senior All Ireland in the next 4 to 5 years. look at ladies. Thats a new Meath built on the foundations of the old Meath identity. Things are not as bad as many want outside the county. If kildare get hammered in the leinster final no one will blink an eye lid. But when Meath get hammered many enjoy it. Whats going on here, is allot of Meaths old enemies, counties who Meath once had battles with, are enjoying today. But Meath can be back sooner than people think.There is huge work being done on the ground and the minor sucess and ladies sucess is just the tip of iceberg. Meath are driven to suceed. And it will come again. Today was just a 6 in a row All Ireland winning great team whose county who has won the last 12 leinster beatin a div 2 team with lots of young players and things gone stale with the manager staying a year or 2 in the job to long.
There is great football talent coming through in Meath. It will take time. But just look at the ladies. You could see for years the underage sucess and work being done in Meath ladies GAA. The Meath ladies wasnt an overnight sucess as people thought. It took 6 years for that team to develop into All Ireland winners. Ladies sucess can inspire. Many of the ladies team go out with some of the young Meath players on the panel. Many believe Mayo sucessful ladies team in 00s inspired the Mayo men in 2010s. It all helps. The ladies and minors sucess was a new Meath with old Meath still there. Both had great full backs, strong midfield and class forwards. Players from the new suburbs of Ratoath, Dunshauglin, Dunboyne, Bettystown mixed with Meath old tradiitonal clubs eg Skyrne Summerhiill and mixed with rural Meath Kilmainhamwood Ballinabrackey. Allot of things that happened in Dublin in 00s is happening in Meath. Work being done on the ground and in the schools. Huge growth of gaa in southside suburbs eg kilmacud Crokes, Ballyboden Cuala, once GAA wastelands. Same happening is in Meath. Growth in gaa in south east suburbs Ratoath Ashbourne which were once GAA wasteland in terms of producing senior Meath players and club sucess at senior level.
And so many of the Dublin players parents came from the country, from Donegal kerry Clare, the western seaboard and brought there love of gaa, joined the local GAA club and their children became Dublin all time greats winning 6 in a row. The same dymanic is happening in Meath. While many of the Dubs try and make sure their children support and want to play for Dublin. Its the country parents who are more likely to encourage children to play for Meath. People forget many have moved to Meath from Connacht or Munster or rest of leinster (outside of Dublin). You will see more Meath players with parents outside the Pale. You can see that wtih ladies team and the minor All Ireland winning team. Emma Duggan a player who could become one of th greatest lady footballers ever, her father is from laois, a great footballer from Portlaoise. Meath team of 80s and 90s was positively impacted with migration with many having west of Ireland parents. Like Mick Lyons Liam Harnan Robbie O Malley parents from Mayo and Colm O Rourke born in letrim and Colm Coyle born in Donegal. The same thing happened with THE Dubs great six in a row team and the Meath ladies and Meath underage teams currently.
The thing is many here enjoy when Meath lose and a sucessful Meath would be there worst nightmare. They r hoping Meath continue to fail. With a new manager in coming years and young talent on the panel and more to come in, things are not as bad as many want outside the county. Meath need a new manager and 1 or 2 top class forwards, maybe 3. Meath always produced top class forwards, for generations Meath had better forwards than Dubs. 2010 was first decade since 30s Dubs had better forwards than Meath. If Meath could uearth a few more class forwards to assist Jordan Morris Matthew Costello Shane Walsh Jack O Connor all 21 year young forwards old ( who all have potential also). There is quality young forwards 18 and 19 still to come through of sucessful underage teams. If Meath coud unearth 1 or 2 marque forwards, it would be transformational.
There are 11 gaa players in Auzzie rules. 2 of the 11 are from Meath. look at Glass with Derry and McKenna with Tyrone, gaa players return from Auzzie rules. Meath have two 6ft 5 atlletic powerful pacey midfielders Conor Nash 26 and Cian McBride 21 in Auzzie Rules. Both have said they would like to come back to play for Meath in the coming years. If they come back that is huge. Means Menton goes to centre back and Jones half forward and Nash McBride would be best Meath midfield have had in 20 years. Nash is generational talent, the most talented athlete footballer Meath have produced since Graham Geraghty. And McBride is a Fentonesque type midfielder. Not as good, but similar style. He is still only 21.
A new manager, young forward talent to come thorugh two outstanding talents to come back from Austrialia ( McBride contract is up end of year), the foundations McEntee built can be built on. The next decade Meath will try and push onto become a top div 1 team. The anybody but Meath crowd, the Meath haters will be praying Meath never come back and r enjoying today. But Meath will be stronger in 2020s and 2030s than last 20 years. There was no work done on ground for over decade. Meath are now working hugely on the ground. That wouldnt stop. It will take time. Better days ahead.
2 -
There was 38k people in Croke Park yesterday. There's not another ground in the province to go even close to facilitating that so it certainly was not ridiculous. People can take issue with Dublin playing there etc. which isms fine but a different argument. Certainly from a capacity angle the decision to use Croke Park was not ridiculous.
0 -
Advertisement
-
Tailteann Cup draw
Preliminary rounds
Wexford v Offaly
Wicklow v Waterford
1st round
Southern Section
Wexford or Offaly v Wicklow or Waterford
Carlow v Tipperary
Laois v Westmeath
Northern Section
Longford v Fermanagh
Leitrim v Antrim
Sligo v London
Cavan v Down
0
