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NFL Division 1

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all in all a great result.. from one of banty's critics I have to say tactics were spot on.. It may not be the prettiest but a win is a win.. Beggan having an off day kept tyrone in the match for periods.. the running game suited monaghan with ward oconnell and bannigan to the fore.. Malone was exceptional and them games suit him...scoring threats is still the problem.. Kieran hughes had a great game up until he got the line and conor McCarthy finally showing some of his promise.. non displays from McCarron McManus can be put down to the system...my man of the match would of been mc anespie.. had the job off marking McCurry and did a great job at it..

detruth (Monaghan) - Posts: 196 - 03/02/2020 08:35:12    2264730

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Replying To Furlong1949:  "I think that summed everything really well. A good piece of anaylsis.
Just to list the players missing, its not an excuse, we are good enough, simple as, many teams are missing players. But for a div 2 teams thats trying to establish themselves in division 1 its a massive headache and not the ideal situation taking on the best teams and best player in the country. The elite in any sport will hurt you if show any sign of weakenss.

Ten Players injured today for Meath

Niall kane
Dara Campion
Seamus Lavin
Shane Gallagher
Padraig Harnan
Mickey Newman
Shane Walsh
Donal Lenihan
Andy Colgan
Shane McEntee

Thats our goalkeeper, our two corner backs. our centre back, Menton midfield partner last year and our three best forwards and 3 best freetakers and couple of more players also. But we just not good enough. Donegal had players missing they dealt with. Overall so far div 1 has being a very tough experience for Meath and with Dublin and kerry away and Monaghan in Clones, a rejuvenated Galway under Joyce and Mayo who need points in Navan, its going get even tougher. At the moment it doesnt look like Meath can break the div 2 team hoodoo, it does look at the moment we are a yo yo team. There is a serious gap between div 2 and div 1. Even though div 2 is a brillant div and the most exciting. Already this year its really being very competitive. But to try and go from div 2 team into the div 1 team, is a massive task and Meath are failing miserably at the moment at achieving that."
What is the problem ? Why are all these players injured. Here in monaghan we would never have a list like that ever. Somethings going wrong somewhere. No other division 1 team has that injury list

monaghanmad (Monaghan) - Posts: 378 - 03/02/2020 08:45:13    2264732

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Replying To neverright:  "It's difficult for the Meathteam, management and the fans but the gap between Di and D2 is much bigger than people realise. We see teams like Meath, Cavan, Roscommon and Kildare struggle to survive, having earned promotion from D2, It is suggested that playing against stronger teams will bring them on but often it seems their experiences in D1 demoralises them rather than encourages them. I don't know how teams can overcome these transition problems but one sure thing is that unless the promoted team has strength in dept they don't have a hope."
That's it. Look when Meath supporters say we have so many injuries, our main problem is that we have a limited panel of players that can compete at this level. I'd say we have 18/20 players who would be of the required standard. Everyone is missing players. But the problem is our replacements are not yet upto this standard. So when you take 10 players out of that group you gonna be in trouble.
Now hopefully the young lads can gain experience, that's the only positive we can take. Look at it this way we lost our first second and third choice free takers, and our fourth choice is reserve gk. We dust ourselves off and go again
Hon the royal

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 03/02/2020 08:51:29    2264733

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Replying To David:  "Patronising. Thanks.

Embarassing performance, I don't agree.

Not good currently, yes. But we will improve, or should I say, have to improve.

Yes we will most likely be relegated, something I feel most knowlegdeable Meath fans would expect (or should have expected before a ball was kicked). But can we learn? most definietly. I personally just hope we learn quickly, because some of these young players are naive, eager and most importantly inexperienced. But need guidance and confidence.

As a Meathman, and loyal realistic supporter, I will keep the faith and belief. We need to believe in ourselves and learn. Yes Meath as a team/squad are probably only a top 12 team, but we need to strive to get up to the top table and then develop again. Our strength in depth is being tested now, so it's how the team and management recoup and evolve from these experiences (defeats).

I do think we did some good things again today, like defending as a unit, and tenaciously. We turned Donegal over alot especially in first half. Stopped Donegal shotting from distance, but got ruthlessly punished when we made basis mistakes. Division 1 is definitely not division 2, where we got away with some of these mistakes.

On the flip side, we were rudderless and very blunt upfront. Quite surprised really. Okay, the Wallace brothers are quick but ffs can they lift their head when carrying the ball. If they let the ball into Thomas O'Reilly or Cillian O'Sullivan, especially in first half, Meath may have created opportunities. Bryan McMahon seems confidence-less. And the continuing lack of a Goalkeeper, is IMO stemming the problem(s).

But embarassing, I feel not. We need to learn quickly and implement these learnings. Development is progress, on a road to success!"
Can Meath learn though?

I would say the scoreline flattered Donegal but Meath have real trouble scoring. Like the the Leinster final last year they were doing some things very well but just can't score.

Gator (Monaghan) - Posts: 238 - 03/02/2020 09:46:43    2264745

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Replying To Furlong1949:  "Looking at that again. Fitzimoms started for Dublin last night and keegan came off the bench. So a revised injury list would be

Dublin 3 injured players, Mayo 4 injured players, Donegal 6 injured players, Galway 6 injured players, Meath 11 injured players."
A revised list for Dublin actually would be,
Cluxton
McMahon
Cooper
McCaffrey
McCauley
O'Callaghan

A revised missing list for Mayo would be
Clarke
Barrett
Darren Coen
Seamus O'Shea
McDonagh
C O'Connor
Boyle went off injured

A revised Galway list would include be
Power
Lavelle
Kerin
Sean Andy
Silke
Cooke
Molloy
Fintain O'Currain
Finnerty
McHugh
Burke
Leonard
Cummins
Kyne
Martin Farragher
Mike Farragher
Antaine O'Laoi
and Daihi Burke but he is hurling

What is your point? Every team else is missing players.

EDH (Galway) - Posts: 367 - 03/02/2020 10:32:24    2264760

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Replying To Furlong1949:  "Im not making an excuse. Im just saying its headache for Meath. For a div 2 team trying breaking into div 1 having well over half your first team players injured is not ideal. An proven div 1 teams with missing players have the depth and experience , talent and know how to navigate these issues. For div 2 team trying to break into div 1 football having over well half your first team injured is not ideal and the highest number of players injured in the division is a big concern. Its not an excuse Im just saying its headache , a worry concern for Meath. Lets look using your information a div 1 county player injury list in descending order. For a team coming from div 2 surely not an ideal situation to be in facing the best teans and best players in the country with these injuries. Its not excuse. We are not good enough. Simple as.

Dublin 4 Injured- Cluxton, Fitzimoms, Callaghan, Sullivan.
Mayo 5 injured - Clarke, Barrett, Keegan, O ' Shea, O Connor.
Galway 6 injured - Power, Silke, Burke,Molloy, Kerin, Conroy.
Donegal 6 injured - McGrath, McMenamin, Gillespie, McGee, McNelis, McBreaty.
Meath 11 injured - Campion, Kane, Lavin, Gallagher, Harnan, Colgan, McEntee, Newman, Lenihan, Walsh, Kennelly."
Spot on. It's difficult to build up strength and depth but a tough league campaign might have some benefits in the long run. I wouldn't count MacNillais as a missing player for Donegal as he has opted out for the second consecutive year and I'd be surprised if we see him in a Donegal jersey again unfortunately. It was good to see Niall O'Donnell back yesterday, he's a player I think will a lot of people will be raving about later in the year. Serious talent.

Daire O'Baoil and Oisin Gallen are two players missing at the moment and if we are to have a successful summer we will need these two as well as others you mentioned back for championship.

Mobot (Donegal) - Posts: 459 - 03/02/2020 10:44:29    2264764

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Replying To Ulsterchamps_32:  "I'm not sure that's fair, it's too easy to say it's the refs fault. The Flynn tackle was around the head he did connect and if you want to start taking player welfare and concussion more seriously then that had to start considering that kind of foul a red. The mcdaid tackle was a black. The 12 mins I believe did include 2 mins injury time so what's the deal. Mcdaid won't do that the next time either."
The McDaid sin bin was supposed to be 10 mins, but time to move on and yes he must learn from it

maroondiesel (Mayo) - Posts: 1196 - 03/02/2020 10:50:46    2264768

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Replying To EDH:  "A revised list for Dublin actually would be,
Cluxton
McMahon
Cooper
McCaffrey
McCauley
O'Callaghan

A revised missing list for Mayo would be
Clarke
Barrett
Darren Coen
Seamus O'Shea
McDonagh
C O'Connor
Boyle went off injured

A revised Galway list would include be
Power
Lavelle
Kerin
Sean Andy
Silke
Cooke
Molloy
Fintain O'Currain
Finnerty
McHugh
Burke
Leonard
Cummins
Kyne
Martin Farragher
Mike Farragher
Antaine O'Laoi
and Daihi Burke but he is hurling

What is your point? Every team else is missing players."
The point is Meath have little depth and so with all these players missing, their forward line in particular, the current team would struggle in Div 2, nevermind a particulary strong Div 1 this year.

To me, the injuries are reflective of poor planning by management and perhaps the new S&C coach - I wonder what the hell they've been doing over the winter to have so many injuries. The league is basically our championship this year so we should have been making sure the players were right for it. All that was required over the winter was to sharpen up tactics from last year, kickouts with a new gk, attacking strategies, shooting etc and to keep the players fit and motivated. Instead we have a disasters on our hands playing with a team that, as I say, would do well not be relegated from Div2.

Crinigan (Meath) - Posts: 1316 - 03/02/2020 10:53:06    2264769

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Replying To Mobot:  "Spot on. It's difficult to build up strength and depth but a tough league campaign might have some benefits in the long run. I wouldn't count MacNillais as a missing player for Donegal as he has opted out for the second consecutive year and I'd be surprised if we see him in a Donegal jersey again unfortunately. It was good to see Niall O'Donnell back yesterday, he's a player I think will a lot of people will be raving about later in the year. Serious talent.

Daire O'Baoil and Oisin Gallen are two players missing at the moment and if we are to have a successful summer we will need these two as well as others you mentioned back for championship."
Conor O'Donnell from Carn another who probably would be involved with the wider squad especially after the under twenties. Shame himself and Gallen missing from that squad through injury as along with Aaron Doherty be few under twenty teams able to live with that forward line. Am I right in thinking that Gallen is in DCU as well so missed out on a Sigerson medal?

panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2779 - 03/02/2020 11:21:50    2264787

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Replying To Crinigan:  "The point is Meath have little depth and so with all these players missing, their forward line in particular, the current team would struggle in Div 2, nevermind a particulary strong Div 1 this year.

To me, the injuries are reflective of poor planning by management and perhaps the new S&C coach - I wonder what the hell they've been doing over the winter to have so many injuries. The league is basically our championship this year so we should have been making sure the players were right for it. All that was required over the winter was to sharpen up tactics from last year, kickouts with a new gk, attacking strategies, shooting etc and to keep the players fit and motivated. Instead we have a disasters on our hands playing with a team that, as I say, would do well not be relegated from Div2."
That is a fair reply, but this craic of moaning about missing players is tiresome. You nailed it poor quality players and a poor game plan with poor skills, that is totally the opposite of traditional Meath football. Your manager has an issue, he can't go into the transfer market like he did with Ballyboden. Meath, need to return to there traditional football values. Galway had a similar issue but now appear to be returning to a better brand of football we hope this continues as difficult days will happen and they will get a trimming somewhere and everybody will he giving out, but they can't return to defensive football, the players and fans won't accept it.

EDH (Galway) - Posts: 367 - 03/02/2020 11:27:12    2264790

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Replying To suckvalleypaddy:  "Congrats Kerry you are a good team. Now the official used his "discretion" 3 or 4 times to stop McDaid coming back on after the 10 mins elapsed. How does discretion apply to the rule when it clearly states the player can return after 10 mins when there is a break in play. I contend that the GAA violated Galway in Tralee. The points should be split as the rule has nothing to do with discretion. The GAA has completely destroyed the game. I watched the Dublin/Mayo game it was rotten. The red card was a joke but that was discretion, like the extra time they play sometimes. They were giving marks before the players even asked for them. The sin bin duration is not a discretion issue. Gaelic Football is losing."
The 4th offical is not in charge of the black card timing, it is the referee only, which is somewhat ridiculous. Discretion doe not come in to it!! In this instance the referee was ignoring the promptings from the 4th official telling him that it was time for the player to RE-enter the field. If he did so without the referee's permission he would have been shown a yellow followed by a red. The GAA hierarchy have certainly messed up this whole black card issue. How is the referee going to manage this in club championship games?

hashtag2017 (Galway) - Posts: 173 - 03/02/2020 11:42:58    2264800

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Replying To EDH:  "That is a fair reply, but this craic of moaning about missing players is tiresome. You nailed it poor quality players and a poor game plan with poor skills, that is totally the opposite of traditional Meath football. Your manager has an issue, he can't go into the transfer market like he did with Ballyboden. Meath, need to return to there traditional football values. Galway had a similar issue but now appear to be returning to a better brand of football we hope this continues as difficult days will happen and they will get a trimming somewhere and everybody will he giving out, but they can't return to defensive football, the players and fans won't accept it."
You are 100% right there. The teams that got closest to Dublin over the last 5 years played an attacking brand if football, Mayo initially, then Kerry. I totally agree that Meath losing so many players had to impact on them in this league, which by the way is no tougher this year than any of the previous 5 years we have been in it.
What happened yesterday in the first half gave them no chance even had they a full team out. They should have pushed up and attacked Donegal, they had the wind to help them defensively and in attack. It is the way forward, and I hope Meath against Mayo and ourselves against Dublin go for it next week like we did two years ago, it's the only way to give yourself a chance

mhunicean_abu (Monaghan) - Posts: 1044 - 03/02/2020 12:08:40    2264806

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Replying To Gator:  "Can Meath learn though?

I would say the scoreline flattered Donegal but Meath have real trouble scoring. Like the the Leinster final last year they were doing some things very well but just can't score."
The scoreline actually didn't flatter Donegal. We're missed 2 other very good goal chances and missed a penalty. We looked like we had another great whereas Meath looked like they just hadn't a clue.

Tir Conaill Abu (Donegal) - Posts: 1671 - 03/02/2020 14:21:28    2264871

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How did Ryan McHugh play? I was afraid he was injured quite badly in Ballybofey. Obviously not. Was it his hip or his side?

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 03/02/2020 15:19:15    2264887

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Replying To maroondiesel:  "Interesting weekend, the officials took centre stage unfortunately. Mayo/Dublin ruined. Complete farce in Tralee not allowing Mc Daid back on for 12 minutes. Galway must lodge an official complaint. The mark is a disaster also."
A player who gets the bin can not come back on until there's is a break in play...if that means he is off for over 10 mins then you have to wait...rules are clear...

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11227 - 03/02/2020 15:46:32    2264893

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Replying To Tir Conaill Abu:  "The scoreline actually didn't flatter Donegal. We're missed 2 other very good goal chances and missed a penalty. We looked like we had another great whereas Meath looked like they just hadn't a clue."
Donegal didnt score a point from play until the 41st minute.

2 dubious penalties which were outside the square.

Donegal the better team, deserved to win but if Meath had any idea to shoot it would have been a closer affair.

Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 757 - 03/02/2020 16:17:31    2264900

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Replying To Royalio11:  "Donegal didnt score a point from play until the 41st minute.

2 dubious penalties which were outside the square.

Donegal the better team, deserved to win but if Meath had any idea to shoot it would have been a closer affair."
Did you even watch the incidents in the deferred coverage? On top of the two fouls inside the box that were given as 13m frees, the missed penalty, and Jamie Brennan having a shot brilliantly saved onto the crossbar.

It could have been 6 or 7 goals.

SurelyToGod (Donegal) - Posts: 373 - 03/02/2020 17:24:03    2264914

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Replying To yew_tree:  "A player who gets the bin can not come back on until there's is a break in play...if that means he is off for over 10 mins then you have to wait...rules are clear..."
You're right YT, the rule is clear, but it's also wide open for abuse. It will behoove some teams to play keep ball to potentially turn 10 minutes into 12 minutes or longer if the uninterrupted play means the other team is down a man waiting to get back on; so either it's a 10 minute sin-binning, or it's a minimum of ten minutes sin binning, it can't be both. I see no reason why the player can't be let on by the fourth official behind the ball once the 10 minutes are up.

For the record, I actually like the sin bin; McDaid had it coming and I think it's a far more effective punishment of cynical play than the previous BC rule. There's just a need for a small tweak.

festinog (Galway) - Posts: 3097 - 03/02/2020 17:57:05    2264920

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Replying To Royalio11:  "Donegal didnt score a point from play until the 41st minute.

2 dubious penalties which were outside the square.

Donegal the better team, deserved to win but if Meath had any idea to shoot it would have been a closer affair."
It'd be fair to say Royalio, that if our lads were to meet yours at the OK Corall just now there'd be very little danger of anyone getting hurt:) Next weekend is a chance for both teams to step up and show they're more than just hard working cowboys!

Pericles (Mayo) - Posts: 2521 - 03/02/2020 18:03:12    2264923

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Replying To Pericles:  "It'd be fair to say Royalio, that if our lads were to meet yours at the OK Corall just now there'd be very little danger of anyone getting hurt:) Next weekend is a chance for both teams to step up and show they're more than just hard working cowboys!"
Brilliant. Lol

David (Meath) - Posts: 567 - 03/02/2020 19:11:15    2264931

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