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This seems to be a thing now after Fermanagh win a game its all Der fault why do they make us play so bad? they are not playing attacking football?they,they. It's time to suck it up, county football is about winning games, and there is no better way to go into the championship than with a good league behind you, and anyone that has played the game should know that. weemanmc (Fermanagh) - Posts: 102 - 27/02/2019 18:55:38 2168763 Link 0 |
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Well statistically that isn't always true, take last season for example, Donegal got relegated from Division 1, then won the Ulster Championship and reached Super 8's. While in the previous 3 years under Rory Gallagher, has similar thoughts to yourself about entering Championship with a good league behind you, sadly for 3 seasons it was found to be incorrect. Jim McGuinness on the other hand had it spot on, use the National League for bleeding in new players, trying out various tactics and players in different positions, then go dominate your province and challenge for All Ireland's. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1110 - 27/02/2019 20:47:27 2168786 Link 0 |
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Well said
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 27/02/2019 21:00:13 2168787 Link 0 |
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Jim Mcguiness may not have taken the league seriously in terms of winning it, but he certainly wanted to win division 2 in 2011 which he did. In 2013 he didnt want to win division 1 but didnt want to get relegated either. Most crucially in 2014 he went for a strong league 2 campaign and got promotion on the back of it. The difference between then and now is that we have lost 2 division 2 matches and we may not get promoted as a result. I dont think we would have seen this under McGuinness. I think that while Bonner is doing his very best and I have huge respect for what he is doing and trying to do, we simply dont have the players any more. This is going to be hard on die hard fans who are wishing for a return to form when older players and paddy mc B come back into the fold. The difficulty that we will see with Paddy Mac is that he may not be at full strength this year as a result of his injury. Murphy and McGlynn likewise are not going to turn us around either as it is up to a new generation of players to do this. I hope I am wrong, but feel that we are going to struggle. Again, I will reserve my judgement for after the cork game, which I believe will make or break our season.
Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 27/02/2019 21:21:00 2168792 Link 0 |
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100% Some of the posting here is laughable. I'd rather chat about our crucial game on Saturday night. Having Mc Geeney banned is a bad thing for us. He's not a very vocal coach during the game from my experience of him so I don't think they'll miss him however he'll use his suspension to fire them up a bit, them against us. He'll have seen our struggles against Fermanagh last week and our inability to break them down in the second half. They have also beat a similar side to what we had our last week during the Mc Kenna Cup. Hoping the home advantage helps us and that we might get another player or two back but the news isn't good about two of our returning injured players. It's going to be tough and this will be pressure on these young lads. Hopefully they can respond. Tir Conaill Abu (Donegal) - Posts: 1671 - 27/02/2019 22:16:12 2168800 Link 0 |
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When I looked at the early 2011 team, I really didn't see anything special. Yes we had a few exceptional players like Cassidy, Lacey, Murphy and McFadden, but a lot of those who featured in 2010 were not considered superstars by fans. By 2012, a team started to take shape, where McGuinness was starting to get an idea of what worked and didn't work, and our starting 15 didn't change much during the full campaign. Right now we have a lot of talented players, but I don't think they are full settled on our strongest full back and half back lines, and midfield is not full settled either. When choosing our back six, we have the following headache. Brendan McCole, Neil McGee, Paddy McGrath Caolan Ward, Eamon Doherty, Conor Morrison. Eoghan Ban Gallagher, Stephen McMenamin, Daire O'Baoill Paul Brennan, Ryan McHugh, Tony McClenaghan Peader Mogan, Eoin McHugh, McFadden-Ferry. Midfield we are looking at the following Hugh McFadden, Leo McLoone, Martin McElhinney, Jason McGee, Caolan McGonigle, Odhran MacNiallais, Micheal Carroll. If we can settle on a back six, our strongest back six, it will be a major step forward. I think we are lacking in midfield. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1110 - 27/02/2019 22:29:41 2168805 Link 0 |
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I haven't seen Kildare play this year.so I don't know what they will bring, a honest assessment of Meath would be gk, can be prone to odd mistake. Fb line tigerish and won't get anything easy, Hb line missing James McEntee for this game , but still very strong, midfield, a put together midfield pairing where neither are midfielders but both are doing extremely well, half forwards can create some excellent scores but is prone to chopping and changing due to both O'Sullivan and Reilly been unable to play 70mins add to that O'Sullivan picked up further injury in cork and Brennan had to be taken off in first half with injury adds to worry , young campion has done very well but I'd like a experienced head around him, full forward line not taking as many killer shots as I'd like to see, McMahon is excellent at dropping back and and making runs forward, unfortunately sometimes those runs end up in not getting a score, Newman is a excellent free taker, but is not as mobile as the modern full forward is, still a foul within the 45 line and it should be a point, for that worth his weight in gold. We have strength in depth this year and have a very strong bench to call on, something we have been lacking in times gone by. All in all, for me the injuries to key players such as James McEntee, Brennan and O'Sullivan are worrying, Graham Reilly hasn't been able to play for 70 mins this league yet, but will probably have to do so on Sunday, so 4 players with injuries add to a worry, all are potential game changers, all are pivotal to the Meath game plan of the running game and breaking with pace, and all are on the experienced side. However it is up to the young guns to show their worth, what better place to put down a marker than a packed navan against Kildare? I'll go for a one point win, I'm hopeful not confident. royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 28/02/2019 08:38:20 2168821 Link 0 |
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My predictions for weekend ... Armagh Tipp Fermanagh and Meath for wins with a draw in Navan not unlikely either ! KeshGFC (Fermanagh) - Posts: 334 - 02/03/2019 00:02:06 2169316 Link 0 |
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I'd take either :)
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 02/03/2019 10:34:20 2169361 Link 0 |
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My tips, Donegal, Tipp, Clare, Kildare, 2 homes, 2 aways. Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 2746 - 02/03/2019 13:10:11 2169390 Link 1 |
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Armagh/draw. Tipp Clare Meath/draw. royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 02/03/2019 15:07:42 2169418 Link 0 |
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Last year Donegal literally broke the record for the most points scored in the Ulster championship, this included a 12 point victory over Fermanagh in the final.
greatpoint (USA) - Posts: 427 - 02/03/2019 15:24:54 2169422 Link 2 |
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Sorry replace Clare with Fermanagh to win.
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 02/03/2019 15:57:30 2169428 Link 0 |
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Are ya sure now ? Stick or twist ?? !!
KeshGFC (Fermanagh) - Posts: 334 - 02/03/2019 17:20:16 2169449 Link 2 |
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Nah stick :). I'm too excited about beating the Lilly's tomorrow,
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 02/03/2019 20:04:46 2169486 Link 1 |
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Donegal back on track with a narrow win against Armagh. lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2989 - 02/03/2019 22:05:36 2169532 Link 0 |
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Was listening it on radio, by sounds of it Armagh last score should have been a goal, only blasted over bar.
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 02/03/2019 22:33:20 2169547 Link 1 |
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Relying on Murphy is perplexing to me. He was a great player but is not as important as Ryan McHugh or mcbrearty imo. Correct about Kerry. I think that we expect too much from our lads. We as Donegal supporters expect games are ours to lose. We still are clinging to memories of beating the dubs in 2014. That was 5 years ago and we lost the final that year too. The team now is not the same as it was then. I think that we need to realize that we could have zero points, or 2 most likely rather than 4 after 4 of the easiest games in division 2. I said before that the cork game will sum up where we are at. This poor form is just where we are at rather than being down to missing players Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1110 - 02/03/2019 22:49:51 2169553 Link 0 |
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Same as Meath 'should have' beat Donegal was it?
Donegal_abroad (Donegal) - Posts: 1321 - 02/03/2019 23:17:07 2169562 Link 1 |
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Last score was a free with 14 donegal men on line. So was nowhere near a goal.
rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2401 - 02/03/2019 23:39:49 2169572 Link 1 |