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Loughnanes views on Kilkennys U21 team

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In fairness to Eddie Brennan he said after their semi final whitewash of Derry, that the U-21 championship would be a perfect place to trial an open draw or some sort of a new championship structure, barring that Galway need to be included at both U-21 and minor level. Galway actually had an excellent team this year, but playing their first meaningful game of the year in an All Ireland semi final against a class outfit like Limerick was always going to be a big ask, yet they almost pulled it off. Galway probably would have won Leinster this year, and who knows what would have happened after that, but either way change is badly needed at underage level. Finally I don't agree with Loughnane, although he is right about the Leinster counties only looking after their own interests, which is somewhat understandable, but is still nothing more than parish pump politics.

gilly0512 (Galway) - Posts: 1176 - 12/09/2017 13:15:31    2045239

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Galway have won many U21 & minor titles over the years, the system has served Galway well.
It sounds strange to complain now, you were beaten by a better Limerick U21 team.

fainleog (Limerick) - Posts: 598 - 12/09/2017 14:34:35    2045265

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Loughnane is a bit over dramatic. Kilkenny will always be strong. They still Hoover up Tony Forristals and schools ect. though they have way less schools than bigger counties.
I do think their players are abit one dimensional. They are tall and rangy and play by turning their man and running. If they are stopped from getting primary possession or prevented from getting turned then they have no subtleties.
They've set the standard. All counties have been forced to play hurling like Kilkenny do. And many counties have caught up and passed them out. I know is prefer a more ground hurling overhead pulling type game with more shoulder tackles but the great Kilkenny team rendered that obsolete.

bloodyban (Limerick) - Posts: 1710 - 12/09/2017 14:55:51    2045271

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I would bet my house on Kilkenny winning another All-Ireland before Liam crosses the Shannon to either Limerick or Ger's native Clare!
And I take no pride in saying that, I just cannot stand Ger Loughnane.

Pinkie (Wexford) - Posts: 4100 - 12/09/2017 16:33:13    2045296

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Replying To Pinkie:  "I would bet my house on Kilkenny winning another All-Ireland before Liam crosses the Shannon to either Limerick or Ger's native Clare!
And I take no pride in saying that, I just cannot stand Ger Loughnane."
I absolutely agree with you Pinkie. Neither Clare or Limerick have the intestinal fortitude to win the Liam McCarthy Cup. Limerick suffer from pure constipation in Croke Park. Joe Quaid was suffering so badly in 1994 he couldn't wait to puck out the ball after Johnny Dooley scored the Offaly free. It's at times like that when everything is going against you that the real men stand up.



Hairy Harry.

HairyHarry (Longford) - Posts: 14 - 12/09/2017 17:04:16    2045303

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Replying To HairyHarry:  "I absolutely agree with you Pinkie. Neither Clare or Limerick have the intestinal fortitude to win the Liam McCarthy Cup. Limerick suffer from pure constipation in Croke Park. Joe Quaid was suffering so badly in 1994 he couldn't wait to puck out the ball after Johnny Dooley scored the Offaly free. It's at times like that when everything is going against you that the real men stand up.



Hairy Harry."
Oh dear God...

skillet (Limerick) - Posts: 1062 - 12/09/2017 17:17:30    2045308

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Replying To skillet:  "Oh dear God..."
Don't mock. Hairy Harry knows his stuff ;) You could do with a laxative of sorts Skillet!

Some people say hurling isn't very important in the scheme of things. But to hurling people hurling is the scheme of things.

HairyHarry (Longford) - Posts: 14 - 12/09/2017 17:56:01    2045321

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Replying To Pinkie:  "I would bet my house on Kilkenny winning another All-Ireland before Liam crosses the Shannon to either Limerick or Ger's native Clare!
And I take no pride in saying that, I just cannot stand Ger Loughnane."
You should speak for your own county. At least Limerick have two excellent U21 teams
as a foundation for future success. One of those teams trounced Wexford in one of the
finals. What happened in 1994 will have no relevance to the new emerging Limerick team.
The future is bright for Limerick hurling.

fainleog (Limerick) - Posts: 598 - 12/09/2017 18:00:53    2045324

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Replying To fainleog:  "Galway have won many U21 & minor titles over the years, the system has served Galway well.
It sounds strange to complain now, you were beaten by a better Limerick U21 team."
Galway have been giving about their underage predicament for a long time. Even when we won competitions. We won minor this year in case you've forgotten. And two of the last three. Still not what people in Galway want. Player development with proper competition is more beneficial longterm. Winning a cup only playing potentially two games while asking young lads to train months for is not acceptable.

SamandLiamSoon (Galway) - Posts: 589 - 12/09/2017 20:17:12    2045364

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Replying To fainleog:  "You should speak for your own county. At least Limerick have two excellent U21 teams
as a foundation for future success. One of those teams trounced Wexford in one of the
finals. What happened in 1994 will have no relevance to the new emerging Limerick team.
The future is bright for Limerick hurling."
It will though. It's hard to get rid of psychological baggage. Ask Waterford and Mayo.

Hairy Harry.

HairyHarry (Longford) - Posts: 14 - 12/09/2017 20:23:43    2045368

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Replying To HairyHarry:  "It will though. It's hard to get rid of psychological baggage. Ask Waterford and Mayo.

Hairy Harry."
It is just wishful thinking on your part, when will Longford emerge from its slumber?.
The last time you won anything was the Leinster Football Final in 1968 but Kerry
quickly put a stop to your gallop. In regard to Waterford & Mayo, it has nothing to
do with psychology, they only happen to be the second best teams in the country
which is not a bad position to occupy and Mayo might change that position on Sunday
next to being the best football team in the country but again Hail Mary will be your
answer to that. Those positions happen to be a lot better than around the 30th position
that Longford occupy in Hurling & Football at present.
With regard to Limerick, they have won two of the last three U21s in hurling so they have
the best young talent in the country in hurling at present. With regard to winning the Liam
McCarthy cup in 2018, 2019 & 2020, it is a matter of conjecture but the future is bright for
Limerick hurling.

fainleog (Limerick) - Posts: 598 - 12/09/2017 21:34:31    2045402

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Replying To fainleog:  "Galway have won many U21 & minor titles over the years, the system has served Galway well.
It sounds strange to complain now, you were beaten by a better Limerick U21 team."
Where did I complain, I said that Galway were beaten by a classy Limerick team, so get your facts right. I'm complaining about a ridiculous system that has Galway training since Christmas, so that they can play one game in August, that is downright ridiculous and serves nobody. Yes they have won a few U-21s down through the years, but I guarantee that Galway would prefer meaningful games from May onwards.

gilly0512 (Galway) - Posts: 1176 - 12/09/2017 21:49:43    2045406

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Replying To fainleog:  "It is just wishful thinking on your part, when will Longford emerge from its slumber?.
The last time you won anything was the Leinster Football Final in 1968 but Kerry
quickly put a stop to your gallop. In regard to Waterford & Mayo, it has nothing to
do with psychology, they only happen to be the second best teams in the country
which is not a bad position to occupy and Mayo might change that position on Sunday
next to being the best football team in the country but again Hail Mary will be your
answer to that. Those positions happen to be a lot better than around the 30th position
that Longford occupy in Hurling & Football at present.
With regard to Limerick, they have won two of the last three U21s in hurling so they have
the best young talent in the country in hurling at present. With regard to winning the Liam
McCarthy cup in 2018, 2019 & 2020, it is a matter of conjecture but the future is bright for
Limerick hurling."
Such a long reply and i was only pulling your leg!!

That's why Limerick will never win anything. Ye have no composure. You're as bad as Joe Quaid in 1994, reactionary rather than thoughtful.

Longford is a great small county. Go on the Blacksmith of Ballinalee!

Yours, Hairy Harry.

HairyHarry (Longford) - Posts: 14 - 12/09/2017 22:51:07    2045441

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Replying To fainleog:  "It is just wishful thinking on your part, when will Longford emerge from its slumber?.
The last time you won anything was the Leinster Football Final in 1968 but Kerry
quickly put a stop to your gallop. In regard to Waterford & Mayo, it has nothing to
do with psychology, they only happen to be the second best teams in the country
which is not a bad position to occupy and Mayo might change that position on Sunday
next to being the best football team in the country but again Hail Mary will be your
answer to that. Those positions happen to be a lot better than around the 30th position
that Longford occupy in Hurling & Football at present.
With regard to Limerick, they have won two of the last three U21s in hurling so they have
the best young talent in the country in hurling at present. With regard to winning the Liam
McCarthy cup in 2018, 2019 & 2020, it is a matter of conjecture but the future is bright for
Limerick hurling."
You're a cranky little Limerick fellow.. like Eamonn Cregan!!

HairyHarry (Longford) - Posts: 14 - 12/09/2017 22:52:21    2045443

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Replying To gilly2308:  "In fairness to Eddie Brennan he said after their semi final whitewash of Derry, that the U-21 championship would be a perfect place to trial an open draw or some sort of a new championship structure, barring that Galway need to be included at both U-21 and minor level. Galway actually had an excellent team this year, but playing their first meaningful game of the year in an All Ireland semi final against a class outfit like Limerick was always going to be a big ask, yet they almost pulled it off. Galway probably would have won Leinster this year, and who knows what would have happened after that, but either way change is badly needed at underage level. Finally I don't agree with Loughnane, although he is right about the Leinster counties only looking after their own interests, which is somewhat understandable, but is still nothing more than parish pump politics."
Yes gilly that was a fine Galway side and even after playing 3 games in Munster it took every thing we had to beat them Galway always produce them and I remember seeing the odds before the game and thinking how crazy is that. Galway have probably won some all irls in past cos of the rules but don't actually think it helped Galway hurling overall and this yr had they came thru say Leinster they'd have been even a sterner test for Limerick but the counter argument could be they also knew more about Limerick than we knew of them.

I'd agree with the poster who suggests that Kk will get a few out of that team but overall I thought they'd be better

someday (Limerick) - Posts: 1104 - 12/09/2017 23:22:39    2045460

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Replying To HairyHarry:  "You're a cranky little Limerick fellow.. like Eamonn Cregan!!"
I must correct you there.
Eamon Cregan is not little.

Westfester (Limerick) - Posts: 943 - 12/09/2017 23:28:36    2045465

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Replying To Laois76:  "I agree. I'm not having a pop at Kilkenny but that's their position this year. Physically they were dominated by Limerick aswell. Could hardly win a high ball in the forwards.

Ger Loughnane will like relaying the message but when i think of the U21 teams of 1990, 2004, 2006 especially that team is poor. It's something that's common after senior dominance. Kerry footballers 1986-94, Cork hurlers post 2005 and now KK the underage seems to slip a little. Does a little complacency set in or is it just the natural ebb and decline of success?

I watched KK minors hammer Laois this year. Laois were poor but i remember saying to my brother that there was no real standout talent on the KK team. Again to use a Loughnane metaphor they were 'functional'. Now i know they played a tight semi with Galway in the minor after but goals at the right time flattered them a bit. It's difficult to produce minors of the 2002-2003 ilk constantly, Richie Power, John Tennyson, Cha Fitz etc. I think only now do we recognise how great the 2006-2009 team was.

I actually think KK may have a few lean years. There 3 best players Richie Hogan, TJ Reid and Mick Fennelly, if fit to play, will be 30, 30 and 33. After the U21 finalists of 2012 (Buckley, Walter Walsh, Aylward) i honestly don't see the same calibre of player coming through.

That's not having a go at anyone. Just speaking my mind. See KK at that 1996-98 stage."
I was at KK v Galway minor semi and thought KK were very poor.

However,was told in recent times by KK guy I meet regularly (and who knows his stuff) that KK's minor team this year were very poorly coached & managed.

Moyle (Tipperary) - Posts: 86 - 13/09/2017 09:23:33    2045520

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Replying To bennybunny:  "Hard to say that Kilkenny are the 7th best under 21 team. There are no rankings and there are only one off games. Kilkenny were very impressive in Leinster. They had to play three games and were good in all of them. They came up against a very good Limerick side who have been favorites from day one.

Kilkenny don't need all of these lads to progress to senior. You ever only get a handful from each team anyway. Cody will introduce a few of these lads. When they are playing next to TJ, the Fennellys, Cillian Buckley etc they will do alright.

Loughnane and others were fawning over Kilkenny a few years ago when they were winning. In true tabloid style, you kick them when they are down. As Somebody else said, the fact that we are talking about it shows it is working."
Well that's my opinion based on the game performance of teams in the under 21 grade this year.

Limerick are clearly number 1.

I wouldn't look beyond Galway, Waterford and Cork for the next 3 spots based on how they performed.

I thought Kilkenny were good in Leinster but didn't set the world on fire either. The Derry game was a complete Mis-match.

If Kilkenny are 6th or 7th, then the rest of the Leinster teams are below that in the ranking.

Killarney.87 (Tipperary) - Posts: 2513 - 13/09/2017 17:53:34    2045725

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Replying To bennybunny:  "Hard to say that Kilkenny are the 7th best under 21 team. There are no rankings and there are only one off games. Kilkenny were very impressive in Leinster. They had to play three games and were good in all of them. They came up against a very good Limerick side who have been favorites from day one.

Kilkenny don't need all of these lads to progress to senior. You ever only get a handful from each team anyway. Cody will introduce a few of these lads. When they are playing next to TJ, the Fennellys, Cillian Buckley etc they will do alright.

Loughnane and others were fawning over Kilkenny a few years ago when they were winning. In true tabloid style, you kick them when they are down. As Somebody else said, the fact that we are talking about it shows it is working."
PS, the highest I would rank my own county is 5th. It's nothing personal against this Kilkenny team. I just think hurling folk had unrealistic expectations for the final just because the bunch of players were wearing black and amber jerseys.

We should celebrate how good the Limerick team was and give the Kilkenny lads a break. In fairness to them they battled back well to get to within 2 points of Limerick in the 2nd half.

Limerick vs Galway was a great game to watch in the semi final. Galway looked really good that day and pushed Limerick all the way.

Killarney.87 (Tipperary) - Posts: 2513 - 13/09/2017 17:57:40    2045727

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Replying To Killarney.87:  "PS, the highest I would rank my own county is 5th. It's nothing personal against this Kilkenny team. I just think hurling folk had unrealistic expectations for the final just because the bunch of players were wearing black and amber jerseys.

We should celebrate how good the Limerick team was and give the Kilkenny lads a break. In fairness to them they battled back well to get to within 2 points of Limerick in the 2nd half.

Limerick vs Galway was a great game to watch in the semi final. Galway looked really good that day and pushed Limerick all the way."
Kilkenny never went within two points of Limerick in the second half, they went within four
points on one instance in the second half.

fainleog (Limerick) - Posts: 598 - 13/09/2017 18:20:04    2045742

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