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New era is great for a county

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Great thing about a new era is the excitement it can bring to the league/die hard supporters. I'm hoping our spate of retirements and absentees has a Meath 96 outcome. Our league campaign in 2011 was magic for the diehards as it was low key and nationally relatively unnoticed and I'm hoping this year will bring some more as there is a lot of positivity in the youth in Donegal. Any other supporters out there feeling it? I imagine Kerry people are excited. Meath under McEntee ? Another year under McGrath for Fermanagh?

fintownsuburbs (Donegal) - Posts: 30 - 14/01/2017 20:06:15    1945709

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Replying To fintownsuburbs:  "Great thing about a new era is the excitement it can bring to the league/die hard supporters. I'm hoping our spate of retirements and absentees has a Meath 96 outcome. Our league campaign in 2011 was magic for the diehards as it was low key and nationally relatively unnoticed and I'm hoping this year will bring some more as there is a lot of positivity in the youth in Donegal. Any other supporters out there feeling it? I imagine Kerry people are excited. Meath under McEntee ? Another year under McGrath for Fermanagh?"
I think you need to rephrase the title as 'can be' great for a county rather than 'great'.

I also think that the thread can be broken into 2 categories,

1 Those of us who are going to comment and compare this to other counties experiences and hopes.

2 Those of us who are going to hope and despair in equal measures at donegal's prospects this season.



First off, I think that yes, Meath have every right to be excited at new management and the return of a few excellent players who for whatever reason didn't play with Meath over the past couple of years. Also, I think that Kildare could be making a sort of a comeback this year. Possibly cavan too can make a longer summer of it but it will be hard for a small county in year 2 of a new era. Year 1 sometimes delivers all that a county is going to and is capable of getting. Rosscommon would strike me as being belonging to this group. As for Tipp, I feel the fact that they won the hurling this year wont do them any favors.

I would put Galway and Fermanagh in the same bracket as Roscommon and Tipp in that they are not going to push on, at least I dont think they can unless they zero in on the league or their respective provinces or go all out for league glory.

Meath can make a go of it and I would look at their prospects of winning division 2 of the league as being very good. I would even say they are dark horses in leinster. I know that this might be the butt of ridicule, but I am going to stick my neck out and say it.

re the field, Cork are the only other team on paper equipped with the man power to push on and make a go of things. They have won only 1 game in Croke park since 2010 and that was in 2012 when they demolished Kildare. They have been a shadow of themselves since that year. I think they may well struggle again once they get to play the big guns later in the year.

As for ourselves, a new dawn is forced upon us. Retirements are a blessing as well as a curse but in our case, I believe that many have come at the right time. Another year of running around Clones and then croke park is too big an ask for our older lads, and it is indeed the right time for some u21s to step in straight away. But what is going to happen them? Are they going to be a cog in a system or is there going to be an era of fearless change or at least moderated change? I am not one bit optimistic. I feel that our under age teams have been taught how to try to hold on to win by a point and hope the opposition bottles it out of frustration. This will not work against the very good teams.

To finish off, I think that Meath will have a great year. Cork may have a good year, but they will have to win the 2nd division to do this as I dont think they are good enough to beat kerry, especially seeing as they will have to play another munster final in killarney. Galway and Ross are doomed as Mayo will be out to correct the mistakes of last year. Fermanagh do not have the fire power, nor do cavan. Tipp footballers are in the shadows of an all ireland winning hurling team and clare will default back to where the were 2 years ago. Kildare could string a few results together this year, but are not good enough to roll a big head yet.

The field will not close on dublin, kerry, mayo nor tyrone imo

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 14/01/2017 20:50:56    1945727

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Replying To Donegalman:  "I think you need to rephrase the title as 'can be' great for a county rather than 'great'.

I also think that the thread can be broken into 2 categories,

1 Those of us who are going to comment and compare this to other counties experiences and hopes.

2 Those of us who are going to hope and despair in equal measures at donegal's prospects this season.



First off, I think that yes, Meath have every right to be excited at new management and the return of a few excellent players who for whatever reason didn't play with Meath over the past couple of years. Also, I think that Kildare could be making a sort of a comeback this year. Possibly cavan too can make a longer summer of it but it will be hard for a small county in year 2 of a new era. Year 1 sometimes delivers all that a county is going to and is capable of getting. Rosscommon would strike me as being belonging to this group. As for Tipp, I feel the fact that they won the hurling this year wont do them any favors.

I would put Galway and Fermanagh in the same bracket as Roscommon and Tipp in that they are not going to push on, at least I dont think they can unless they zero in on the league or their respective provinces or go all out for league glory.

Meath can make a go of it and I would look at their prospects of winning division 2 of the league as being very good. I would even say they are dark horses in leinster. I know that this might be the butt of ridicule, but I am going to stick my neck out and say it.

re the field, Cork are the only other team on paper equipped with the man power to push on and make a go of things. They have won only 1 game in Croke park since 2010 and that was in 2012 when they demolished Kildare. They have been a shadow of themselves since that year. I think they may well struggle again once they get to play the big guns later in the year.

As for ourselves, a new dawn is forced upon us. Retirements are a blessing as well as a curse but in our case, I believe that many have come at the right time. Another year of running around Clones and then croke park is too big an ask for our older lads, and it is indeed the right time for some u21s to step in straight away. But what is going to happen them? Are they going to be a cog in a system or is there going to be an era of fearless change or at least moderated change? I am not one bit optimistic. I feel that our under age teams have been taught how to try to hold on to win by a point and hope the opposition bottles it out of frustration. This will not work against the very good teams.

To finish off, I think that Meath will have a great year. Cork may have a good year, but they will have to win the 2nd division to do this as I dont think they are good enough to beat kerry, especially seeing as they will have to play another munster final in killarney. Galway and Ross are doomed as Mayo will be out to correct the mistakes of last year. Fermanagh do not have the fire power, nor do cavan. Tipp footballers are in the shadows of an all ireland winning hurling team and clare will default back to where the were 2 years ago. Kildare could string a few results together this year, but are not good enough to roll a big head yet.

The field will not close on dublin, kerry, mayo nor tyrone imo"
Agree re our own lads Donegalman I suppose the youth will bring a bit of zip to our game which we only have had in 2014 since 2012. Also agree that the year will possibly be either horrible or very good.
Cavan people seem delighted with acquisition of McGleenon and Banty must see something in Wexford. Laois are coming from a very low ebb and I can see Galway kicking on. The shenanigans in Mayo could turn out to be real positive for the Rochford era

fintownsuburbs (Donegal) - Posts: 30 - 14/01/2017 21:15:16    1945739

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Replying To Donegalman:  "I think you need to rephrase the title as 'can be' great for a county rather than 'great'.

I also think that the thread can be broken into 2 categories,

1 Those of us who are going to comment and compare this to other counties experiences and hopes.

2 Those of us who are going to hope and despair in equal measures at donegal's prospects this season.



First off, I think that yes, Meath have every right to be excited at new management and the return of a few excellent players who for whatever reason didn't play with Meath over the past couple of years. Also, I think that Kildare could be making a sort of a comeback this year. Possibly cavan too can make a longer summer of it but it will be hard for a small county in year 2 of a new era. Year 1 sometimes delivers all that a county is going to and is capable of getting. Rosscommon would strike me as being belonging to this group. As for Tipp, I feel the fact that they won the hurling this year wont do them any favors.

I would put Galway and Fermanagh in the same bracket as Roscommon and Tipp in that they are not going to push on, at least I dont think they can unless they zero in on the league or their respective provinces or go all out for league glory.

Meath can make a go of it and I would look at their prospects of winning division 2 of the league as being very good. I would even say they are dark horses in leinster. I know that this might be the butt of ridicule, but I am going to stick my neck out and say it.

re the field, Cork are the only other team on paper equipped with the man power to push on and make a go of things. They have won only 1 game in Croke park since 2010 and that was in 2012 when they demolished Kildare. They have been a shadow of themselves since that year. I think they may well struggle again once they get to play the big guns later in the year.

As for ourselves, a new dawn is forced upon us. Retirements are a blessing as well as a curse but in our case, I believe that many have come at the right time. Another year of running around Clones and then croke park is too big an ask for our older lads, and it is indeed the right time for some u21s to step in straight away. But what is going to happen them? Are they going to be a cog in a system or is there going to be an era of fearless change or at least moderated change? I am not one bit optimistic. I feel that our under age teams have been taught how to try to hold on to win by a point and hope the opposition bottles it out of frustration. This will not work against the very good teams.

To finish off, I think that Meath will have a great year. Cork may have a good year, but they will have to win the 2nd division to do this as I dont think they are good enough to beat kerry, especially seeing as they will have to play another munster final in killarney. Galway and Ross are doomed as Mayo will be out to correct the mistakes of last year. Fermanagh do not have the fire power, nor do cavan. Tipp footballers are in the shadows of an all ireland winning hurling team and clare will default back to where the were 2 years ago. Kildare could string a few results together this year, but are not good enough to roll a big head yet.

The field will not close on dublin, kerry, mayo nor tyrone imo"
I don't see it with Meath. What I saw of them over the last few years is that the players aren't there. I think we may struggle a bit this year. Marty O'Brien is a massive loss for us. Still vulnerable at full back. Anyway who knows what the future holds.

gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 14/01/2017 21:38:16    1945747

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Replying To fintownsuburbs:  "Great thing about a new era is the excitement it can bring to the league/die hard supporters. I'm hoping our spate of retirements and absentees has a Meath 96 outcome. Our league campaign in 2011 was magic for the diehards as it was low key and nationally relatively unnoticed and I'm hoping this year will bring some more as there is a lot of positivity in the youth in Donegal. Any other supporters out there feeling it? I imagine Kerry people are excited. Meath under McEntee ? Another year under McGrath for Fermanagh?"
Hey its only early January so its hard to tell, early signs are good from Meath, most importantly we now have a experienced man in charge, lads that would have been in team before have made themselves available again, also plenty new players tried out, got to be honest two in particular Kennelly and Ross look the tea deal, that been said its only early January,so we will look at it again come march .
I do think promotion is on the cards, beating the dubs ? Should we get that far could be a hill too high to climb in year one. We are heading in right direction, we have the players particularly with everyone making themselves available. I think most Meath people would be happy with promotion and last 8 ,a good foundation to build on for next year.
But yes there is a buzz around Meath team that hasn't been there for awhile.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 14/01/2017 22:27:31    1945760

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Donegal have good young players. However most counties have talented players coming through. The problem may be, do Donegal have enough experienced players?! They will be competitive to a certain extent, but in my opinion, Donegal will not be at the top table for a few years. The glory days are probably gone for now. Dublin, Mayo and Kerry are on a different level nationally, and within Ulster they are back into the pack.

sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 14/01/2017 22:29:47    1945761

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Replying To royaldunne:  "Hey its only early January so its hard to tell, early signs are good from Meath, most importantly we now have a experienced man in charge, lads that would have been in team before have made themselves available again, also plenty new players tried out, got to be honest two in particular Kennelly and Ross look the tea deal, that been said its only early January,so we will look at it again come march .
I do think promotion is on the cards, beating the dubs ? Should we get that far could be a hill too high to climb in year one. We are heading in right direction, we have the players particularly with everyone making themselves available. I think most Meath people would be happy with promotion and last 8 ,a good foundation to build on for next year.
But yes there is a buzz around Meath team that hasn't been there for awhile."
nah theres just a buzz around you royaldunne everyone else in meath knows theyre poor :)

lilypad (Kildare) - Posts: 1363 - 15/01/2017 03:09:36    1945772

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Replying To fintownsuburbs:  "Great thing about a new era is the excitement it can bring to the league/die hard supporters. I'm hoping our spate of retirements and absentees has a Meath 96 outcome. Our league campaign in 2011 was magic for the diehards as it was low key and nationally relatively unnoticed and I'm hoping this year will bring some more as there is a lot of positivity in the youth in Donegal. Any other supporters out there feeling it? I imagine Kerry people are excited. Meath under McEntee ? Another year under McGrath for Fermanagh?"
Ya excited about Meaths new era,but it will take time,alot of things need to be put right.Physically we are not the biggest,that won't change overnight.

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 15/01/2017 10:13:29    1945782

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Meath are not poor, they just lacked character and conditioning under odowd. They will close that gap over the league I have no doubt about this. They probably have been forced to come down to earth too and realize every game must be prepared for individually and scientifically looking at opposition rather than just playing their own game. I got the feeling that under odowd they were repeating same mistakes over and over. Correct this and the players are there to be conditioned and schooled in tactics. They will be a force

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 15/01/2017 10:25:57    1945784

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Replying To Donegalman:  "Meath are not poor, they just lacked character and conditioning under odowd. They will close that gap over the league I have no doubt about this. They probably have been forced to come down to earth too and realize every game must be prepared for individually and scientifically looking at opposition rather than just playing their own game. I got the feeling that under odowd they were repeating same mistakes over and over. Correct this and the players are there to be conditioned and schooled in tactics. They will be a force"
I agree with you , I hope your right that it works out, I just think it may take another year, I was at the game lad night against Laois, now ok it was a damn strong Laois team for a O'Byrne cup and we were trying out lots of different players and things like Joe in goals, (he did well btw) which surprised many. But Laois were lot physically stronger than us and big tough men against boys was how one Meath man beside me described it. But we are going in right direction, everyone knows its all about trying to get promoted this year, it wont be easy but that's the goal.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 15/01/2017 10:56:59    1945792

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Replying To royaldunne:  "I agree with you , I hope your right that it works out, I just think it may take another year, I was at the game lad night against Laois, now ok it was a damn strong Laois team for a O'Byrne cup and we were trying out lots of different players and things like Joe in goals, (he did well btw) which surprised many. But Laois were lot physically stronger than us and big tough men against boys was how one Meath man beside me described it. But we are going in right direction, everyone knows its all about trying to get promoted this year, it wont be easy but that's the goal."
I just wonder how Andy can get us more physical in the short term.In the league we will play better and stronger sides than Laois.The players still act a bit shocked when faced against a blanket defence.
I do think that if you had Harnan,Forde and Tobin in the half back line that we would be more physical.McGill at full back too.

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 15/01/2017 11:27:23    1945796

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Replying To ziggy32001:  "I just wonder how Andy can get us more physical in the short term.In the league we will play better and stronger sides than Laois.The players still act a bit shocked when faced against a blanket defence.
I do think that if you had Harnan,Forde and Tobin in the half back line that we would be more physical.McGill at full back too."
No doubt its a tough one, I think Harnan would add a little, also your own clubman might be better in half backs (Menton) than midfield O'Brien and Flanagan may do in centre, that would add steel to halfbacks Line, granted the deer in the headlights shock at a blanket defense has to be done away with. I am sure Andy will rid them of that as its mentally rather than physical problem. Id still be confident enough of been in the shake up for promotion

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 15/01/2017 11:48:59    1945800

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Replying To royaldunne:  "No doubt its a tough one, I think Harnan would add a little, also your own clubman might be better in half backs (Menton) than midfield O'Brien and Flanagan may do in centre, that would add steel to halfbacks Line, granted the deer in the headlights shock at a blanket defense has to be done away with. I am sure Andy will rid them of that as its mentally rather than physical problem. Id still be confident enough of been in the shake up for promotion"
First two games are vital.

I expect us to beat Kildare,but Fermanagh is always very tricky.

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 15/01/2017 13:52:35    1945814

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Replying To ziggy32001:  "First two games are vital.

I expect us to beat Kildare,but Fermanagh is always very tricky."
I think we can win first two games, Kildare may try blanket defense, which will prepare us for Fermanagh game.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 15/01/2017 14:17:03    1945821

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Replying To royaldunne:  "I think we can win first two games, Kildare may try blanket defense, which will prepare us for Fermanagh game."
I backed our lads at 18/1 in 2012. Going to wait for relegation from Division 1, the loss of more first teamers, wait till they drift out to 66/1 then lump on !!

fintownsuburbs (Donegal) - Posts: 30 - 15/01/2017 17:50:22    1945862

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Replying To royaldunne:  "I think we can win first two games, Kildare may try blanket defense, which will prepare us for Fermanagh game."
Have to say we were nothing special today. But still a lot to come back into the team.

gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 15/01/2017 18:17:13    1945866

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Replying To royaldunne:  "I think we can win first two games, Kildare may try blanket defense, which will prepare us for Fermanagh game."
I don't expect Kildare to use the blnaket defence during the league royaldunne, as they haven't to date overall in the O'Byrne Cup.

lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2990 - 15/01/2017 18:55:58    1945876

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Replying To gotmilk:  "Have to say we were nothing special today. But still a lot to come back into the team."
Ye have a superb manager in his third season? Ye will be a different animal come the league.

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 15/01/2017 18:57:35    1945878

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I dont think we'll need a blanket defence v this meath team to be honest

11jm11 (Kildare) - Posts: 365 - 15/01/2017 21:10:30    1945920

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Replying To ziggy32001:  "Ye have a superb manager in his third season? Ye will be a different animal come the league."
Yeah we should hopefully be a different team come the league. Still a number of players to come back into the fold. Daryl Keenan came on after not playing for the last 2/3 years and bagged himself a goal. In fairness Pete is a top quality manager.

Are Meath on course to retain the O'Byrne cup?

gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 15/01/2017 21:39:28    1945935

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