Was thinking when a galway poster said this year winning a provincial and getting to quarters would be underdog story for him , for meath i think the same could be said. From highs of 80s and 90s for meath and late 90s ,early 2000s for galway , what do ye think is the reason for falling back in the pecking order so much.
I mean that with the utmost respect for both counties.

AthCliath (Dublin) - Posts: 4347 - 11/05/2013 21:49:09    1382329

Look at Offaly in both codes..

kevdog (Westmeath) - Posts: 115 - 12/05/2013 11:15:19    1382376

this can happen to alot of counties. Dublin have been in 1 All Ireland in 18 years which isnt exactly anything to talk about. Teams go through phases of dominance and then can go missing for years. Look at Wexford and how strong they were in hurling or even Offaly for that matter i for one always could see them beating KK on their day now i couldnt see it happening in Championship at all. Meath club football is very weak aswel i think Summerhill won a county 2 yrs ago and played St.Brigids in Navan and it was one of the worst displays i saw from a club team let alone a county champion team. Clare were the same they were so strong in the 90's and its been a few years since they won a game in the Munster Championship.

dubshurling7 (Dublin) - Posts: 1017 - 12/05/2013 12:00:49    1382393

Yes, two former powerhouses, Galway always seem to have players with potential, Meath on the other hand don't. So for Galway a decent managerial set up and the maturing of their U21 team might suffice but Meath are going to continue to struggle!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8821 - 12/05/2013 12:00:52    1382394

We just had a good group of players from 1998-2001 and with a manager at the time who was one of the best in the game. I can think of three main reasons why we have fallen well back in the pecking order:

1) We just haven't had a crop of players to meet that standard since the late 90s. We have won 3 u21 All Irelands from 2002-2011 and we haven't been able to get enough players to the standard required. Wether that comes down to mismanagement, I don't know.

2) Donegal etc. who have revolutionised the way GAA has been played and that has hampered our tradition style of play and we have failed to "get with the times".

3) Our management situation, since 2007 we have gone through Peter Forde, Liam Sammon, Joe Kernan, Tomas O'Flatharta and now we have Alan Mullholland. The change of faces giving out the orders every 1/2 years wouldn't help.

ahsure. (Galway) - Posts: 1779 - 12/05/2013 12:02:53    1382395

I think this issue has been way too over-rehearsed in Meath anyway.

An ancient County Board over the last decade failed to put any proper under age structures in place for the development of our young players and now the pool of talent in Meath is not near as good as it used to be. The standard of the Meath Championship over the last decade as well has been very average.

Hopefully now with a new Chairman and fresh County Board we can start building for the future.

RoyalClass (Meath) - Posts: 790 - 12/05/2013 12:46:06    1382420

I think Meath were due a low cycle, they had been one of the top three or 4 teams for 20 years. They got complacent with their admin/organisational set-up & their underage structures.
Galway seem to have been struggling overall since the 60s, the 1998-2001 period was a golden burst of success in the midst of many more years where they often don't seem to be at the business end of the national competitions.
This is hard to fathom as they have an excellent record at underage level. I think you could describe them as mercurial but I've no doubt the reasons are much more mundane. Their hurlers' experience since the late 1980s/early 90s hasn't been dissimilar. Lots of talent, but seemingly not the overall drive and ruthlessness to win more.
I certainly feel they need to discover another really top coach.

Capitalist (Dublin) - Posts: 47 - 12/05/2013 13:25:23    1382445

Capitalist

I think Meath were due a low cycle, they had been one of the top three or 4 teams for 20 years. They got complacent with their admin/organisational set-up & their underage structures.


That's it in a nutshell really, we were considered a top team (or thereabout) from the mid 80's till the early 00's, that's a good 15 year spell. I think we had a great run and unfortunately all good things come to an end, the county board played a big role no doubt by ignoring the need for change and modernisation but in all honesty I think we'd be incredibly lucky if we were still a top team now after all them years.

I'm sure something similar could be said about Galway, although they have just won the AI U21 championship so maybe there's hope on the horizon for them, for us it's the great unknown. We'll either rise again sometime in the future or we'll go the way of former greats like Cavan and never be seen at the top again, who knows.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 12/05/2013 14:06:14    1382471

Galway seem to have been struggling overall since the 60s

Galway have won 5 All-Ireland's in the past 50 years. That's an average of one a decade. Most counties would love that record apart from Kerry or Dublin and even Dublin have only won one more during that time period. Even the last 15 years there's been 2 senior titles, 4 u-21 titles and 1 minor title. Again most counties would love that record.

Galway are not that different from most counties (apart from Kerry who are serial contenders most years). We will come with a very good team every once in a while, win a few all-Ireland's and in between that we will have some fairly average sides and even a few poor sides. Right now we are very average but the cycle will turn again eventually and hopefully in the next few years.

Marooned (Galway) - Posts: 2551 - 12/05/2013 14:27:02    1382479

Htaem, you said it, the mystery of how some counties can be so successful for periods, and so poor for other periods, and how some can be so lacking success despite so much put into trying to get it (Kildare). I'd love to see somebody write a book about it.

If you look at Down, leaving aside the obvious explanation of having players that are good enough, 2010 and since was possibly the first time they had a period of being "contenders" without winning. Prior to that, they seemed to win when they had any chance at all, otherwise seemed well out of it.

I think Galway and Cork are like polar opposites in football - Cork always seem to be in contention, yet haven't won hardly any more than Galway. I'm sure part of it is to do with strength of panel, but I think more is to do with admin structures etc, resources allocated, and attitude/ambition

Capitalist (Dublin) - Posts: 47 - 12/05/2013 14:29:28    1382482

Capitalist

Htaem, you said it, the mystery of how some counties can be so successful for periods, and so poor for other periods, and how some can be so lacking success despite so much put into trying to get it (Kildare). I'd love to see somebody write a book about it.


It's just the natural cycle of things really and it's the same in all sports, it's what makes sport so intriguing, no team no matter who they are can dominate and remain at the top for ever, there will always be a barren spell.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 12/05/2013 14:59:53    1382493

Maroond, I was referring to "since" the 1960s. In fact, since 1967. And I clarified that it wasn't about how many All-Is and leagues won per county, rather that in between their periods of success, Galway often seem well out of contention at senior level, despite having good success at underage level. They are not getting to All-I semis on a regular basis since about the 1980s, not including as stated of course 1998-2001. Not even hardly ever to quarter finals since about 2002.
The difference to Dublin, for example in that period has been that the latter have been frequently in All-I semis, or at least quarters. And yet I wouldn't say that Dublin had much more quality available up until the last 3 years or so. That's more or less my point, why are Galway so often well out of it, when they appear to have the players to compete much better?

Capitalist (Dublin) - Posts: 47 - 12/05/2013 15:26:28    1382501

Id say Galway have a better chance of making it back to the top at the moment than Meath. Having said that a strong Meath is good for the championship and certainly good for Leinster, they will be back, buy not anytime soon.

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 12/05/2013 15:32:00    1382506

Another massive fall, though obviously nobody has seen it given their profile, has been that of Roscommon hurlers of late. 10-15 years ago they were at the same level of Meath, Kerry, Westmeath, Carlow etc. They won an all ireland B in the 90s, getting to the all ireland quarter final. A small bit further back in the 80s and their clubs won the odd Connacht championship against Galway senior clubs.

Now for the 2nd year in a row they have lost to Donegal in championship hurling. No offence to Donegal hurling, they really have pulled themselves up, but if Meath managed to fall that low that we'd probably just give up hurling altogether. Roscommon have also only won 4 games in the Nicky Rackard in the last 5 years. Finished bottom in the league aswell, lucky for them there's no relegation from 2B.

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1741 - 12/05/2013 15:32:29    1382508

Can only speculate about Galway's demise but Meath's demise can be explained in one simple word.

Karma.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13846 - 12/05/2013 15:34:15    1382510

Galway also played in 3 All-Ireland finals in the 70's and another in 83 so it's not like they disappeared off the map once the 60's ended. Late 80's early 90's was a bad period for Galway. They didn't even win a Connacht title for 7 years there.

Marooned (Galway) - Posts: 2551 - 12/05/2013 15:37:13    1382512

Ah jasus lads, Dublin win one all ire in 18 years with a population of nearly a million plus, add to that every game is a home game, rather than look at other counties, surely the question is why has Dublin sooooo underperformed

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 12/05/2013 15:43:51    1382513

C'mon RD, you can't compare the two, Dublin may have only one title in 16 years but we've always been in the mix. Meath and Galway haven't come anyway near that in the last ten years. Meath have all but disappeared, you would never have thought that teams would be happy to draw Meath, but they are!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8821 - 12/05/2013 15:56:23    1382518

Dublin may have only one title in 16 years but we've always been in the mix

No they haven't always been in the mix. Late 90's early 00's for example. Dublin were nowhere near the mix all during that period. They won 1 Leinster title in 11 years.

Marooned (Galway) - Posts: 2551 - 12/05/2013 16:14:23    1382534

royaldunne
County: Meath
Posts: 3626

1382513 Ah jasus lads, Dublin win one all ire in 18 years with a population of nearly a million plus, add to that every game is a home game, rather than look at other counties, surely the question is why has Dublin sooooo underperformed

I wasnt having a pop at meath or galway, more wondering what meath and galway lads thought were the reasons why they fell back , im not talking about how many allirelands teams have won, or anything , im talking about being in the mix every year , they would be two counties that years gone by you would always be weary of, now they dont carry the same threat and are below the group of 6 or 7 teams that are mentioned every year.
thats not to say either cant get to a quarter final , but before that wasnt a big deal for ye, now it is.

AthCliath (Dublin) - Posts: 4347 - 12/05/2013 16:18:30    1382538