Meath Forum

Meath Hurlers 2020

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Very impressed with your hurlers today.

Sticky full back line and strong half backs. Your centre back
controlled the second half.

Just missing a few scoring forwards.

Definitely up to Mcdonagh cup standard, I fancy you to beat Westmeath in a few weeks.

Good luck in the rest of the games.

carlovia (None) - Posts: 1525 - 07/11/2020 22:30:52    2305959

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Big game for hurlers this weekend, yes they cant qualify for the final or get relegated, but a win would do alot for this team moving forward for 2021.
This fixture is always very close so hopefully we can get team selection and tactics right.
McGowan, Kelly and Healy all came of the bench V Carlow I'd expect them to be starting this weekend.
Imagine Healy and McGowan in full forward line with Gannon buzzing around them

Slimbob (Meath) - Posts: 26 - 18/11/2020 12:02:59    2310999

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Replying To Slimbob:  "Big game for hurlers this weekend, yes they cant qualify for the final or get relegated, but a win would do alot for this team moving forward for 2021.
This fixture is always very close so hopefully we can get team selection and tactics right.
McGowan, Kelly and Healy all came of the bench V Carlow I'd expect them to be starting this weekend.
Imagine Healy and McGowan in full forward line with Gannon buzzing around them"
agreed on these 3 and not sure as to why they didn't start the last day....crucial thing here is getting team selection right

Thelongwoodslasher (Meath) - Posts: 401 - 18/11/2020 13:06:28    2311033

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Replying To Slimbob:  "Big game for hurlers this weekend, yes they cant qualify for the final or get relegated, but a win would do alot for this team moving forward for 2021.
This fixture is always very close so hopefully we can get team selection and tactics right.
McGowan, Kelly and Healy all came of the bench V Carlow I'd expect them to be starting this weekend.
Imagine Healy and McGowan in full forward line with Gannon buzzing around them"
Is James Toher back, or still injured.?

Trim missed him big time in that Intermediate Final.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 3983 - 18/11/2020 13:12:58    2311036

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Replying To Thelongwoodslasher:  "agreed on these 3 and not sure as to why they didn't start the last day....crucial thing here is getting team selection right"
I dont think the manager has a clue what the best team is and thats been apparent for a while imo.

Irish_downunder (Meath) - Posts: 640 - 18/11/2020 14:13:06    2311066

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Replying To Fionn:  "Is James Toher back, or still injured.?

Trim missed him big time in that Intermediate Final."
Is he still on the meath panel ?
To he fair he hasn't really being involved last few years seems to be injured alot or something.
Agree management don't know there best 15 always chopping and changing, and I'm sure mcgowan and Healy must be carrying knocks reason not starting

Slimbob (Meath) - Posts: 26 - 19/11/2020 14:22:10    2311414

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Replying To Irish_downunder:  "I dont think the manager has a clue what the best team is and thats been apparent for a while imo."
well little or no changes ...one...im going to stay positive & say that the bench looks strong & hope when used, it pushes on to a much needed win

Thelongwoodslasher (Meath) - Posts: 401 - 20/11/2020 13:21:26    2311685

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Replying To Thelongwoodslasher:  "well little or no changes ...one...im going to stay positive & say that the bench looks strong & hope when used, it pushes on to a much needed win"
I am guessing Gavin McGowan is injured - he is not on the panel and I would certainly have him as a starter!

Royalblufill (Meath) - Posts: 511 - 20/11/2020 13:50:29    2311692

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Replying To Royalblufill:  "I am guessing Gavin McGowan is injured - he is not on the panel and I would certainly have him as a starter!"
bloody frustrating....am I off my rocker...i may very well be...but would it such a terrible thing for an odd update to come from management that says.. we are in fine fettle...carrying a few knocks & injuries, but no more than any others at this time of the year...and unavailable for selection are the following ….,would he really be giving anything away to the opposition....i know he is not here to worry about our thoughts...

Thelongwoodslasher (Meath) - Posts: 401 - 20/11/2020 14:09:43    2311699

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Replying To Thelongwoodslasher:  "bloody frustrating....am I off my rocker...i may very well be...but would it such a terrible thing for an odd update to come from management that says.. we are in fine fettle...carrying a few knocks & injuries, but no more than any others at this time of the year...and unavailable for selection are the following ….,would he really be giving anything away to the opposition....i know he is not here to worry about our thoughts..."
Thelongwoodslasher do you know why Healy isn't starting ? Even if he is carrying a knock surely should be starting.
Add few more to our bench I'd be confident they would beat our starting 15.
Suppose we don't know what is going on inside the camp with injuries sickness etc, but on normal day potterton, mcgowan, healy, odonnacha would be much more treat upfront than Walsh, regan mccabe, Morris( should be midfield) ,

Slimbob (Meath) - Posts: 26 - 20/11/2020 16:02:24    2311747

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Replying To Slimbob:  "Thelongwoodslasher do you know why Healy isn't starting ? Even if he is carrying a knock surely should be starting.
Add few more to our bench I'd be confident they would beat our starting 15.
Suppose we don't know what is going on inside the camp with injuries sickness etc, but on normal day potterton, mcgowan, healy, odonnacha would be much more treat upfront than Walsh, regan mccabe, Morris( should be midfield) ,"
really positive display and where in that game right to the end. Sending off was not the winning & losing, but at same time ud have to think it counted in the closing stages. We are not far off , if we can keep making the right calls

Thelongwoodslasher (Meath) - Posts: 401 - 23/11/2020 10:07:24    2313680

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So is it back to christy ring again?

Irish_downunder (Meath) - Posts: 640 - 23/11/2020 10:18:08    2313697

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Replying To Irish_downunder:  "So is it back to christy ring again?"
No

MillerX (Meath) - Posts: 1080 - 23/11/2020 11:54:44    2313835

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Replying To Irish_downunder:  "So is it back to christy ring again?"
jez no....we are were we should be. and save for maybe a bit better prep, or better match day mix or an injury or two , we are right where we should be , Now its about building on this. That was some game on Saturday, and we are not far off. Its about steps , and after a few moments earlier in the campaign where we seemed to have taken one step back overall I think we have taken 2 steps forward

Thelongwoodslasher (Meath) - Posts: 401 - 23/11/2020 13:31:52    2313937

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If we look back over the year itself has the team really pushed on? Zero wins in Joe McDonagh. 2 wins in the league against a team playing 2 levels below us and the other unable to make knockouts of the Christy Ring. Appreciate it has been an unprecedented year but we can't kid ourselves as a county that we are moving forward. We are missing some key players but the "spirited performance" is simply not good enough. See the same dialogue on the football forum now. We need to get real.

From management perspective. Seems to be happy to call in Ratoath lads but not really play any of them which is disappointing as they are the ones on form this year. Playing some household names that may not be having the best season or may be past it from an intercounty perspective. Pick on form not name. This year was an ideal time to blood younger lads for next year.
Example is he could have given the Ratoath goalkeeper a run out this year or the Trim one, both young and impressive this year for the club. Mark Mac is a good keeper but not the future and I'm not taking away from him making his debut this year. Hopefully Shane McCann is back next year to push it on.

off_the_wall (Roscommon) - Posts: 71 - 23/11/2020 16:50:49    2314134

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Replying To off_the_wall:  "If we look back over the year itself has the team really pushed on? Zero wins in Joe McDonagh. 2 wins in the league against a team playing 2 levels below us and the other unable to make knockouts of the Christy Ring. Appreciate it has been an unprecedented year but we can't kid ourselves as a county that we are moving forward. We are missing some key players but the "spirited performance" is simply not good enough. See the same dialogue on the football forum now. We need to get real.

From management perspective. Seems to be happy to call in Ratoath lads but not really play any of them which is disappointing as they are the ones on form this year. Playing some household names that may not be having the best season or may be past it from an intercounty perspective. Pick on form not name. This year was an ideal time to blood younger lads for next year.
Example is he could have given the Ratoath goalkeeper a run out this year or the Trim one, both young and impressive this year for the club. Mark Mac is a good keeper but not the future and I'm not taking away from him making his debut this year. Hopefully Shane McCann is back next year to push it on."
I posted something similar earlier this year. We've achieved perfect equilibrium in hurling, never improving but at the same time never slipping down either. I can't see any signs of improvement. Every year we get well beaten in a few games but also ship one or two narrow defeats which people claim are proof we're up there with the top teams. We've finished 4th in division 2A for 3 years in a row without beating a high ranked team or losing to a lower one, you could almost set your watch to it.

How many years of almost, but not quite beating the likes of Carlow/Antrim etc. will we get? I know I'll be told "we need more games at a higher level to beat these teams". But how come the Meath team of 2017 managed to beat Kerry and were only a whisker away from a Leinster QF despite not playing at SHC level since 2004 and despite playing the likes of Armagh and Roscommon in the league, yet now after almost 4 years and about 20 competitive games against these higher class teams, we're about to finish dead last again and are happy just to run teams close?

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1664 - 23/11/2020 22:16:56    2314371

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Replying To CastleBravo:  "I posted something similar earlier this year. We've achieved perfect equilibrium in hurling, never improving but at the same time never slipping down either. I can't see any signs of improvement. Every year we get well beaten in a few games but also ship one or two narrow defeats which people claim are proof we're up there with the top teams. We've finished 4th in division 2A for 3 years in a row without beating a high ranked team or losing to a lower one, you could almost set your watch to it.

How many years of almost, but not quite beating the likes of Carlow/Antrim etc. will we get? I know I'll be told "we need more games at a higher level to beat these teams". But how come the Meath team of 2017 managed to beat Kerry and were only a whisker away from a Leinster QF despite not playing at SHC level since 2004 and despite playing the likes of Armagh and Roscommon in the league, yet now after almost 4 years and about 20 competitive games against these higher class teams, we're about to finish dead last again and are happy just to run teams close?"
so in a nutshell, are ye saying we should go down gain?

Thelongwoodslasher (Meath) - Posts: 401 - 24/11/2020 10:08:40    2314495

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@Castlebravo completely in agreement. Perfect equilibrium is a good way to describe it. Could possibly get relegated back to Christy Ring for 2022 which is now the new third tier given both Kildare and Down are now up to Joe Mc and Offaly will surely sort themselves out enough to win it next year. Win Christy Ring again in 2022 and be back where we started.

Time we had a frank and honest review of the last 3 years. Personally think we need to get someone with real intercounty management experience in to drive it on or even maybe someone like Pat O'Halloran who has won something as a manager with a couple of different squads. He may not be everyones cup of tea but at least he knows how to make the most of a panel of players and organises a team very well. I think he would get a reaction from the team and knows every player that is out there in the county.

off_the_wall (Roscommon) - Posts: 71 - 24/11/2020 10:48:39    2314521

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Replying To off_the_wall:  "@Castlebravo completely in agreement. Perfect equilibrium is a good way to describe it. Could possibly get relegated back to Christy Ring for 2022 which is now the new third tier given both Kildare and Down are now up to Joe Mc and Offaly will surely sort themselves out enough to win it next year. Win Christy Ring again in 2022 and be back where we started.

Time we had a frank and honest review of the last 3 years. Personally think we need to get someone with real intercounty management experience in to drive it on or even maybe someone like Pat O'Halloran who has won something as a manager with a couple of different squads. He may not be everyones cup of tea but at least he knows how to make the most of a panel of players and organises a team very well. I think he would get a reaction from the team and knows every player that is out there in the county."
He couldn't get a very strong Na Fianna team out of Intermediate so I think he would be a step back from current set up.

toon (Meath) - Posts: 247 - 24/11/2020 11:46:22    2314568

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Replying To Thelongwoodslasher:  "
Replying To CastleBravo:  "I posted something similar earlier this year. We've achieved perfect equilibrium in hurling, never improving but at the same time never slipping down either. I can't see any signs of improvement. Every year we get well beaten in a few games but also ship one or two narrow defeats which people claim are proof we're up there with the top teams. We've finished 4th in division 2A for 3 years in a row without beating a high ranked team or losing to a lower one, you could almost set your watch to it.

How many years of almost, but not quite beating the likes of Carlow/Antrim etc. will we get? I know I'll be told "we need more games at a higher level to beat these teams". But how come the Meath team of 2017 managed to beat Kerry and were only a whisker away from a Leinster QF despite not playing at SHC level since 2004 and despite playing the likes of Armagh and Roscommon in the league, yet now after almost 4 years and about 20 competitive games against these higher class teams, we're about to finish dead last again and are happy just to run teams close?"
so in a nutshell, are ye saying we should go down gain?"
No, we've improved from CR level and shouldn't go back down there. We're in a better place than 5 or 10 years ago.

My main point was that we've stagnated a bit, and talk of "encouraging signs" and "we're getting there" make no sense to me since I don't really see any obvious signs that we are pushing to the next level. Results are pretty predictable-beat Mayo/Wicklow/Kildare, lose to Carlow/Kerry/Westmeath. Our underage doesn't look to me like we're producing a generation of hurlers to push us on; yes we win the odd Minor and U21B title, but we've always done that.

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1664 - 24/11/2020 12:57:13    2314623

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