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Meath V Dublin - 24 Like(s)
We did it in 1945 beat an unbeatable Dublin team
We did it in 1964 beat an unbeatable Dublin team
We did it in 1975 beat an invincible Dublin team
We did it in 1986 beat an invincible Dublin team
We did it 1996 beat an unbeatable Dublin team
We did it 2010 hammer a Dubin team that would soon become invincible.
Yes the rain probably doesn't suit our team style of play. But we need a local derby dogfight. And thr three lowests scoring leinster finals of the last 45 years were the wettest leinster finals. Its nearly alway dry hot weather for leinster final..The last 3 dreadful wet leinster final eg 1986 , 1994 , 1996. Two of them 1986 and 1996 are not only greatest leinster final victories for Meath in leinster finals ever , but the two biggest shocks in leinster final s ( along with Offaly in 97 ) in last half century.
Rain can lead to low scoring games , dogfights, anf yes Dublin could turn on the style in the rain , their lowest scoring All Ireland win in this decade was a very wet Croker in 2015 v kerry where Dublin scored 0 - 12 to win Sam. It was one of the wettest championship games Dublin played in this decade and possibly lowest scoring Dublin championship game since 2011. Even a great team like Dubin can be effect by wet dirty day.
And while our style of play doesnt suit the rain , in the league v kildare in a dreadul snow storm conditions this Meath team showed the old Meath dogfight never say die spirit. So for me for us to put it up to Dublin and yes even beat them we needed rain and muck. We have now rain and muck. Now all we need is 15 Meath men to play the Meath way v Dublin, we need 15 Meath men in the rain and muck to play like 15 possesed Meath men willing to go through brick walls to get the ball in.the rain and muck.If that happens Dublin will not beat us by double digits , if that happens Meath will put it up to Dublin and if Meath get enough breaks keep Dublin goaless another famous Meath victory v the invincible unbeatable Dubs will.again happen.
Basically a 6th generation of Meath footballers will have beaten an unbeatable invincible Dublin team in Croke Park. Its in our dna , it in our blood, its our heritage, its our tradition and its our culture. Its our past present and future. While every other team throws in the towel v Dublin, Meath are the one county who always shout stop, STOP to Dublin..We have always done it. We will always will do it. Just believe Royals, Believe.
And McEntee seems to be able to motivate his teams to perform in big matchs when they r massive underdogs. He did it with Meath minors in 2012 quarter final v Tyrone and semi final v Mayo. He did it in Dublin senior club championship quater final semi final and final.with Ballyboden. And he has done with Meath seniors in the last two years v Galway , Roscommon, Tyrone and Donegal in 3 games. This manager teams always up their game in big matchs v best teams, this current team always ups their game in big matchs v the best teams. Meath football in the past always upped their game v strong opposition. Being an underdog who no one gives a chance, Meath football sucess was built on this notion. We wouldnt want it any other way.
So best of luck to Andy and the boys and to all the great Meath men and women on this forum like Royaldunne, Htaem , Young_Gael, Bert09 , Meath 1977 , Usernameinvalid , bobkarlgees , longroadback , the joeshow, Barney123 , leitrimroyal 99 , overthehill 72 , Reco , Crinigan , thelutch , northsidegaels , seadog54 , greenfield, Royal.legend, Aloblack, redser 123 , southmeathgael and even the bold Jack _Goff and many many more . And when that ball is thrown in 4.00 look to the hill everyone of youse and think two things and two thing only . Firstly think we are going to beat this shower today and secondly think u can never ever right of the royals. Thats what I will be think at 4.00 on 23rd June 2019 in wet rainy Croke Park tomorrow. We might have the odd barney on this forum but there is no doubting we all have an unreal passion for Meath football , we are proud Meath to the core and we all want the best for Meath football. And hopefully tomorrow will join 1991 as one of the greatest sporting days of our lifes. Believe Royals Believe.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 22/06/2019 18:56:16
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Clare - 22 Like(s)
Replying To royaldunne: "No. You heard one of the men been named as possible next manager saying it won't change anytime soon. So if he takes over Meath will he change that ? The fact is apart from one or two players no Meath player in senior or u20 would get on the Dublin panel. So what can we do ?" Royaldunne, I hope u don't mind Mr asking. But who is this possible manager for us after McEntee who said it wouldn't change anytime soon. No top class manager Horan McGuinness Gavin or great manager Boylan Dwyer Hefferanan Harte if they were in charge of Carlow would say that. You might think it, but any manager worth his salt his first job is to instill confidence in the players. Is it Robbie Brennan. If you don't want to say yes or no. I understand. But it you the name year Meath first won Sam in your answer I will take that as a yes. I think this is very important information that's needs to be known. If the next manager has defeatist attitude before he even take over.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 04/06/2022 20:14:07
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Meath V Laois - 21 Like(s)
Replying To royaldunne: "As usual furlong a excellent post" Thanks Royaldunne.
Ur clubman young Conlon has been a revelation. 10 points from play in 3 games , 2 games as a substitute. 5 points from play in first 3 championship games , 5 points from play in first championship game in Croker. He is player of potential and could be matchwinner even this year. He is small and light but he has ability to create space in tight spots and is a handful for any defender. It was a pleasure to see him perform in Croker in his debut. It wouldn't be his last game in Croker. He seems to be a player who grows in the Meath jersey . St Colmcilles players from past and present eg B Flynn , R O Malley and G Reilly have always been big match players for Meath. He carrys on that great tradition . Its a pity maybe he scored so much today as Dubs have been warned of his talent. So they will be aware of him , while going into leinster final under the radar , might have been better. But the form he is in , he will be a handful for Dublin.
And its great for him to be performing so well as we enter the real endgame of the championship. I felt all year we were to reliant on Newman in the inside line. Donal lenihan has been a lose. T Reilly and Dardis have had good moments and good games but they are players developing. We need a duo upfront always have eg Curran Shanley in 60s , O Rourke Flynn in 80s and Murphy Geraghty in the 90s. The last time Meath had a real good leinster final and good championship, Newman and Wallace were a good partnership dup up front which caused Dubs bother. With S Bray also a threat a bit deeper. Newman and Conlon could be a duo like Meath had with Newman and Wallace had 2013. And Sullivan could play the Bray role.
I always felt if we played Dubs we needed more threat upfront from play. So Conlon could be a real important player in the leinster final . Hes young and he is still learning his trade. But McEntee has used him well this year. Instead of thrown in the spring in bad conditions. He used him sparingly in the league. And used him more in 2 championship games before today. Bringing him on in the last 15 mins when the opposition where tired. Young Conlon full of energy. Young Conlon made an impact and scored 5 points from play and his confidence has skyrocket. And he started today and he is clearly flying. A definate player for the future. But he is a player that could have a big role for us this summer.
Just regards the performances lately we won the leinster quater final by 15 points and leinster semi final by 11 points. They are impressive winning margins and yet we didnt play brillant in both games. A good way to reach a final. Its all about building towards a final and then delivering s big performance in the final. U need a team to peak in a final. We peaked in the league. And there was always going to be comedown after a sucessful league. The Offaly game was example of that. The team is trying to build up again. Carlow was an improvement on the Offaly game and Laois was an improvement on the Carlow game. So the run in leinster has got confidence up again.
And three wins on a trot builds confidence also. So the key is to keep improving and deliver their best performance of the year v Dubs. Everyone playing well v Carlow is not essential. Everyone playing well v Dubs thats what we need. So for me the performances v Carlow and laois is just the right build up before Dublin. We improved on Offaly game in each game after. We now need to deliver a performance similar to what we saw v Tyrone last year , Armagh in Navan this year , second half v kildare and first half v Donegal in Croker. But the 65mins we performed v Donegal in Ballybofey if we perform to that level play that quality of football, intelligent quality football. Then we have a great chance of being very competitive game and even a tight game and u just never know, maybe another famous Meath victory over Dublin.
Just a side note A wet bad day might be a good thing. I know we are a small pacey team that suits dry conditions. But in 1986 in dreadful conditions we won leinster final v Dublin by 9 points to 7. In 1996 we defeated Dublin in dreadful rain conditions 10 points to 8. I will be hoping for more rain on the 23rd June. It suited us a underdogs in 86 and 96. A real dirty dog of day could lead to a dogfight. And Meath always beat Dublin in a dogfight.
Another way would be to go for the juggler in first 15 mins. Like we did v Donegal and throw the kitchen sink at Dublin in first 15 mins. Go for goals unsettle them and try and get in early lead. The way we played v Donegal in Croker in the first half is the way to go. Try and blow Dublin away in first 20 mins. Try go into an early big lead. That would be my plan for leinster final. Im sure McEntee has a plan also.
McEntee is steeped in Meath football. This is his first game v Dublin. He knows he will judged as a manager of Meath in how we plays v Dublin. How many times he beats Dublin. I expected Meath will put it up to Dublin all year long , and if u look at every single Meath manager ever in their first championship game they always put it up to Dublin.
1983 Boylan first game v Dublin. Meath drew with Dublin and narrowly lost the replay. Meath threw the kitchen sink at Dublin.
2007 Next Meath manager first game v Dublin was Colm Coyle. Meath again drew with Dublin. Meath lost the replay narrowly after putting it really up to Dublin.
2010 The next Meath manager Eamon O Brien first game v Dublin 09 we lost by a couple of points. A game if we played a little bit better we cud have won.
2012 Next Meath manager was Banty, and this was the last manager and team to nearly get result v Dublin. Meath lost by 3 points and had chances to draw the game at the end.
2013 The next Meath manager first game v Meath was Mick O Dowd. Meath were 2 up at half time and were much better team after missing many goal chances. It was the last time any team in leinster got close to Dublin. The game was still in the balance with 10 mins to go.
So every Meath manager in their first game v Dublin they all put it up to Dublin. Sean Boylan, Colm Coyle, Eamon O Brien, Seamus McAilneney and Mick O Dowd. Andy McEntee doesnt want to be first Meath manager ever to not put it up to Dublin in his first game. I expect Andys first game for Meath , for Meath to throw the kitchen sink at Dublin like we did in 1983 and 2007.
I know my head says Meath who have 1 game ever won as a team in Croker v a Dublin team who has won 4 All-Irelands and 9 leinsters in Croker. The head says it it of course Dublin the gap and experience Dublin have is to much for Meath to close in one summer. But I am a Meath man. And thinking with the head when it comes to Dublin is just not the case. When that ball is thrown in I will expecting those Meath lads to throw the kitchen sink at Dublin and in my heart and soul and with all the passion I can muster I will expect and believe Meath can win. Why ? because no team has beaten Dublin more then Meath. No team has been a stone in the shoe of Dublin football more then Meath. Dublins worst nightmare is if Meath came back as strong sucessful county because the one thing Dublin could never deal with is a strong Meath team. So it doesnt matter how many titles Dublin have in their pockets when they Meath play Dublin I always expect Meath have a chance. Why shouldnt I ? Why shouldnt I believe the county that has beaten Dublin more then any other county a county that has hammared humilated and drove Dublin football to the wilderness for years after Meath victories. We are Meath, they are Dublin. Its not a question of Meath will beat Dublin. Its a question when. This year or in 2020 or 2021 or 2022. It going to happen. Just believe.
At the start of this decade a Dublin team played Meath in leinster championship . On that Dublin team who were hammered and humilated by Meath were the Dublin players Stephen Cluxton , James Mcarthy , Phily McMahon, Michael Fitzsimmons, Michael Dara Macauley , Bernard Brogan, Alan Brogan, Diarmaid Connolly , Kevin McMemanin, Paul Flynn., Rory O Carroll , Ger Brennan , Bryan Cullen , Eoghan O Gara. Basically the great Dublin team that won 5 All Irelands in 6 years were hammered by 5 goals on that day by. Meath. Only 4 teams have beaten Dublin in this decade. Kerry Galway Tyrone none of these teams have beaten Dublin in this decade. The four teams that have beaten Dublin in this decade are Mayo Donegal Cork and of course Meath.
We started this decade shocking this great Dublin, hammering this Dublin team. Wouldnt it be Dublin's worst nightmare in the year of the five of a row, that their greatest nemesis where to end the decade just like we stated the decade. Humbling and beating the Dubs. Its in our dna it who we are as a people. Beating Dublin is everything to Meath people.Its defines it make us unique. We have done it 36 times in league and championship beaten Dublin more then any other county in the country. We did it in the sun in 1964 when they were All Ireland champions, we did it in the rain when they were as invincible as they were now in 1986. We did it in 1987 and 1988 to prove our greatness. We did it 90 again and in 91 in 4 games they threw kitchen sink at us and still we never were beaten.
We did it in 88 in a league final v Dubs with 14 men for a a whole game and won by 8 points. We did it in the rain in 1996 when they were champions and we did it in 1997 1999 and 2001 just because we were better then them. We drew in 07 and hammered the living daylights out of them in 2010 with 5 goals. We can do it. Never give in .
They have always had more resources more money more population. But we have heart and a never say die spirit. And that will always suceed for if u have heart and a never say die spirit u are never beaten and you can win a game. Its 15 Meath men v 15 Dublin men. We started this decade with a bang v Dublin lets not end on a whimper v Dublin this decade. Lets throw the kitchen sink at them. And let's see how they like it up So when that ball is thrown I wouldn't be thinking with my head I will be believing in my heart that we can beat Dublin. Its the only county when Meath play in the championship I know we can beat and will always beat. Because it the Meath way , we can and will beat them. Why not in 2 weeks.
Believe in the greatest footballer county Ireland after kerry , Meath . Thats who we are now we must deliver because we dont know any other way. Who is going to be our Seamus Darby , is it Newman or McMahon or Sullivan or Menton or keoghan running from deep. No, young James Conlon will score the winner for Meatg ijn injury time.
June 23rd 2019 A day Meath will rock the capital and the GAA to its very foundations, not for the first time not for last time.
Meath 2 - 14 Dublin 0 - 19.
Meath Leinster champions 2019.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 10/06/2019 00:57:36
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Meath V Dublin - 21 Like(s)
Replying To oldsam_newsam: "Thanks Furlong.
Only thing is - will the returnees be up to speed for the championship if they are only getting over injuries?" Thanks for the comments Oldsam_newman. Thats a good question. Match fitness could be an issue. Big matchs are mid June to end June where we should be looking at leinster semi final or leinster final or massive qualifier matchs. Wexford /Wicklow v Meath game and some challenge matchs should bring players on, but match fitness for returning players is an issue. The only thing when players come back get a bit of match fitness, they have to perform because there are coming back to very competitive panel. So Mickey Newman comes back and if lenihan, Walsh Newman r playing well, he have to fight for his place. Same for lavin where there is real competition for place in the backs. But the hope would be by leinster semi final or final stage, lavin and Newman will be starting and won back their place. Lavin and Newman and also Campion are 3 players we need back especially lavin and Newman.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 10/03/2020 15:04:30
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So It'S Clare - 21 Like(s)
Replying To Greenfield: "Am I right in thinking that this game will mean that we'll have played every county in Ireland in championship football? Was having a think about it and Clare were the only team I could come up with that we were missing.
Furlong, maybe you know?" Yep thats right thats the full 31 counties. The only county we havent played in championship is london. But we have now played everyone else. Of Course we have played everyone in leinster. Even kilkenny footballers . Our last game v Kilkenny was in 1979 and the one before that was 1923. We have actually played kilkenny 10 times in the championship with 7 wins and 3 loses. 9 of those games were before 1923.
In Connacht we have of course played the big three with excellent record v Roscommon 4 wins no loses and also an excellent record v Mayo with 5 victories 1 draw and 1 lose. We have played Sligo once and that was in 2017. And we have played Leitrim once and that was a win in 2005..We have a great record v the West. We have only been beaten twice in 70 years in the championship v Connacht teams eg Galway in 1966 and Galway in 2001.
In Ulster we have played all the counties all the big ones eg Down Donegal Tyrone Armagh and Derry. We have played Derry once in 1987 , we have played Fermanagh 3 times in 2003 , 2004 and 2007. We have played Monaghan once in 2003. We have played Antrim 2 times with two victories in 1951 and 2005.
Down south we have played Cork and kerry many times. We have played limerick twice in 2008 and 2009. We have played Waterford once in 2009 and Tippearey once in 1896 in the All Ireland final of 1896 where we lost 0 - 4 to 0 - 3 to Tipp. .And we will play Clare for the first time on Sunday and that will be the full 31 counties, the only ones left out are London and New York
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 03/07/2019 08:36:41
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Meath V Laois - 21 Like(s)
Replying To bobkarlgees: "It would be great if we could get to the super 8s this year, it would be great preparation for to div 1 next year. a trial run for what's ahead of us next year. At moment I think we just need to win 2 games. Loais and one more. (Leinster final or if we lose that one more after that) hopefully we could avoid the big names." It wud be great achievement to reach super 8 and I like all Meath supporters wud love to see it. But U would worry also that super 8 doesn't suit or benefit up and coming teams. Its suits Dublin but very few else.
Under the old system an up and coming team reachs a q final they have a bad defeat. It is pretty much forgotten soon after and theres a positive vibe for the next seaaon. look at Galway in 2017 who a bad defeat to kerry in q final , but they reached q final so it was a good season and the kicked on in 2018.
Look at Roscommon and kildare last year. Roscommon had 3 bad hammerings and the manager leaves. Their league campaign is not great. Its a hangover from 3 super 8 hammerings. It effected the morale in Roscommon . Look at kildare. Under the old system they would have lost v Monaghan in a close game and so a good end to season. In the end for the first time in kildares history they had 4 defeats in the championship in 1 year. And finished with bad hammering to kerry. They had a poor league campaign. For me the defeats in super 8 and the bad hammering to kerry effected morale in kildare. As I said super 8 doesnt suit an upcoming team. Playing 3 division 1 teams in a month for a team promoted from div 2 is a tall order. I think next year after a spring in div 1 I think we wud be better able for super 8.
But who knows if we reach super 8 how we will do , we have shown v Tyrone and Donegal in 3 games in last 12 months, we can compete v top teams. And if we were to reach super 8 and compete well at that level this year It wud be an unbelievably good sign for our future. Heres hoping we reach super 8 and we compete well. But for me next spring cud be defining for this group of players. Next spring is very important.
Still we have to play laois first who are always hard to beat when they r going well they r tough opposition . We will have to play well to beat them and give a similar to performance to what we saw in the league v kildare Armagh and Donegal. And if we reach leinster final we know what we face but it wud be a first leinster final in 5 years wud be a good boost for the county.
As I said if we reach and a lose leinster final we will be facing someone like Donegal or Tyrone to reach super 8. And of course we have shown we will put it up to them. But if a team loses a leinster final and meets a team on a run in the backdoor , history shows teams that lose leinster finals dont win their following game. Only once in history has a leinster team lost a leinster final and won their following qualifier and reached super 8 / q final.That was 18 years ago when Dublin got a very handy draw v Sligo.
If u play well in leinster final and lose , theres a comedown , if u get hammered in leinster final theres also a hangover. I think u need a month for team to get over leinster final loss. Leinster finals while are seen as non events nationwide when a county reachs a leinster final v Dublin it still has certain significance in the county. Kildare reached their first final in 8 years in 2017. There was a big crowd at the final and bit of excitement in the county before hands. Last year laois reached first leinster final in this decade again there was build up in laois and good crowd turned up. The same if Meath beat laois, it will Meath first leinster final in 5 years. There will be good strong Meath crowd at the final eg 50000 probaly. And while leinster final has nothing like it had years ago. It still is an event for players and when they lose their is comedown. And whoever loses leinster final Dublin Meath or laois. They will have to face a Donegal or Tyrone two weeks later. That is real tough obstacle to get over. Anyway thats for another day.
The main thing now is laois. It would great to get our first win in Croker in 5 years and r first three in row wins in leinster since 2010 I think. When we defeated Offaly laois and Dublin. I hope that is a sign of things to come. The draw in leinster has helped us. Offaly gave us a good kick up the backside and got expectations lowered agmost supporters which is a good thing. Carlow we got things up and running again. Now we need a performance we saw in the league similar to kildare, first Donegal game or Armagh game. If we deliver such a performance we will.win. Play like we did v Offaly we will lose. Promotion from div 2 and leinster final appearance everyone wud have been delighted with that. We r game away from that. We can do it. But we need a very good performances v laois.
Hopefully James McEntee will be back, he is a big player for us. When he plays well , Meath plays well. He is great at breaking the line. He had quite game v Donegal and Offaly. He is due a good game. Harnan has to start. J McEntee Harnan Keoghan half back line looks the business. If that line plays well we will have a great chance of victory as the half back line is most important line in modern gaelic football. We have with J McEntee Keoghan Harnan McCoy Kane and Ryan more options here then we have had for years. Its no coincidence we have had our best year in years , the year our half back line has been excellent and we had plenty of options in half back line. We miss kane. But keoghan best position is wing back. Harnan is the best out and out centre back we have. It wud be hard luck on Mccoy who has been real good. But McEntee Harnan Keoghan looks very strong and our best option.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 03/06/2019 16:44:59
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Meath Div 1 2020 - 21 Like(s)
Any news on Alan Forde, before he did his cruciate in McEntee first year in my view he was one of our best players in that league. He would be a player we lack , a hard working wing forward who can get up and down the field. He plays the kind of Paul Galvin / Brian Dooher role. Im not saying he is as good as Galvin or Dooher , he just plays that role. He is only 26 , hasnt played a championship game for Meath since 2012 when he was 19 year old when he put in man of the match performance v kildare scoring a few points from play and played in 2012 leinster final. He has only played one league campaign that was McEntees first year. He has suffered badly with injuries. I think when I saw him play he was the best in the county in that kind of half forward who can be defensive and also link backs and forwards. Forde also could be option at half back. In McEntees first year in Bynre cup he played wing back and was excellent. But for me his best position is half forward.
Paddy kennelly and Niall kane are on the panel. I thought they both wud start in louth game , maybe next game. Kane was outstanding in Ballybofey in league in Feb v Donegal. J McEntee D Keoghan N Kane gave an exhibition of half back play in that game. For me first 60 mins v Donegal in Ballybofey in league in Feb was the best football Meath have played under McEntee , it was quality intelligent mature football . Kane for me would be my first choice to start in place of Harnan. Hes still only 23.
Kennelly was excellent at midfield last year at end of league. He came in v Down and made a big impact at centrefield. And was excellent v louth in last league game and v excellent Westmeath in Bynre cup at center field. He played v longford and actually one of few players who played decent enough scoring two points from play from midfield. He missed Tyrone game with injury. And went travelling last year. He is still 25 or 26 , himself and B Conlon would be real options to partner Menton at midfield.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 05/12/2019 16:02:49
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Where Do We Go From Here? - 20 Like(s)
Cavan had a great year, they can be proud of. A great football county. Great football supporters. Winning Ulster was great for Cavan. Only there second Ulster title in 50 years. The way they fought back v Down and Monaghan showed good heart and great character. Big strong team backboned by the 5 under 21 Ulster winning teams.
Fair play to them. But they arent the Tyrone team of 00s or Down team of 90s, this could be it for this Cavan team, I hope not, but history shows this could be a one off. Also I think there performance v Dublin is been hyped into something here its not. It seems to be out of line with rest of the GAA world thought.
The Star newspaper Headline for the match was "Breffinis Capital Punishment" The article said after bright start for Cavan, after first 20 mins Dublin were cruising to victory. The article said the " The Dubs were whistling to victory" it was that easy for them.
RTE website headline on the match said "Dublin beat Cavan at a canter to reach another final" the RTE website said "Dublin eased past Cavan to reach an eighth All-Ireland SFC final in ten years". "But after a bright start, the Ulster champions were always gasping for air against a Dublin side".
Dublinlive website headline was "Dubs secure sixth All-Ireland Final place after easing to win over Ulster champs"
The Irish Times headline for the match was "Dublin pick Cavan off with precision and turn it into a procession by the end"
the artice said "Brian Fenton, Ciarán Kilkenny and Con O'Callaghan run the show at Croke Park" and also said The dubs "turned the Cavan carriage back into a pumpkin and Cavan's year ended with a whimper, They were ushered towards their demise by one of those displays where Brian Fenton, Ciarán Kilkenny and Con O'Callaghan look like they're playing a couple of years overage"
The Hogan Stand headline said "Dubs brush Breffni men aside" and also said "Without being anywhere near their best, the Leinster champions cantered through to the novel 2020 Sam Maguire Cup decider,"
Since the game, because the margin of the hammering was so large, even The Sunday Gmae had to talk about Dublins finance and dominance. Most Cavan supporters were delighted with year, but semi final was tough losss. It was one of Cavan worst defeats ever in Croke Park, and one heaviest defeats an Ulster team had had at All Ireland semi final ever and one biggest margin of defeat team has had All Ireland semi final in last 20 years. The last time I remeber a team was beaten by 15 points in All Ireland semi final was Meath v kerry 2001. When team gets beatings by 15 points and game is over after 55 mins, its always seen as hammering. Meath had similar performance last year. Cavan kept Dubs to 5 point lead in first half. Meath kept Dubs to 4 point lead at half time last year. Dubs pulled away after 55min in both games and defeated Meath by 16 last year and Cavan by 15 thi year. If Meath was seen as hammering last year, surely Cavan should be seen as an hammering this yeat. ok Cavan scored more in the first half. Well in 2016 Meath were 3 points behind Dublin at half time with score 0-11 Dublin 0-8 Meath. And Meath lost by 10 points in 2016 to Dulbin. It was called a hammering, a bad defeat for Meath. Cavans was a bigger defeat by 5 points on Sat. Cavan started brightly like Meath in 2016 or 2013, but the game was over by 55 min and they suffered a record defeat of 15 points. To make it into some sort of great performance, doesnt make sense. Ulster final was a brillant performance by Cavan but saturday was hammering, thats what the general consensus nationwide in the media is and even Cavan supporters are very disappointed of the defeat. No county would see a 15 point defeat in All Ireland semi final as some sort of great performance,
Regards Cavan, there is very little between Cavan and Meath. They have played many challenge games in last 3 years and I think Meath have won a few of those challenge games. Both at the same level, Cavan hate Meath so if they see Meath jersey they up there game, but if they played ten times Meath would win 5 Cavan would win 5. Both are top 12 teams who have failed to stay in div 1. Remeber Cavan are in div 3 next year. So it will take, 2 more years at least to get up to div 1. ALso history is against Cavan. This could be highpoint for this Cavan team. Any time a county has ended a provicial drought, decades of no provicial sucess they have failed to build on it in football.
1992 Clare won first football Munster Champ first time in over 60 years, the team never won anything after, that was highpoint
1993 Leitrim won football Connacht Champ for first time in over 60 years, the team never won anything after, that was highpoint
1997 Cavan won football Ulster Champ for first time in 30 years, the team never won anything after, that was highpoint
2003 Laois won football leinster Champ for first time in over 60 years, the team did get to two leinster final in 2004 and 2005 but never won anything after, that was highpoint in 2003
2004 Westmeath won football leinster Champ for first time ever, the team never won anything after, that was highpoint
2007 Sligo won football Connacht Champ for first time in 30 years, the team never won anything after, that was highpoint
When team break a famine, a provicial famine going on decades it very hard to build on that. The only one that comes to memory was kildare in 98 they won in 2000. But they had greatest manager of all time and 2000 was that was the only year Kildare built on 98. They declined after 2000. I wish Cavan all the best. But Donegal and Tyrone will be very difficult to beat next year and Armagh in div 1 should get a bounce from that. It will be very hard to win Ulster and Donegal and Tyrone probaly look better all round contenders in next 2 to 3 years. It would be great if Cavan suceed, but it will be difficult.
Meaths performance v Dublin needs to be ringfenced. If they just hammered us, fair enough, but Dubs do this to everyone, they hammer and humilate every team even the top teams. Dubs beat Cork by 13 last year, Roscommon the Connacht champions by 22 and Mayo by 10 in semis last year. They defeated Cavan by 15 in the semis this year and Tyrone by 12 in semis 3 years ago. Just look at the above results. The Dubs do this to everyone. The key is can we beat Monaghan, Galway or Mayo. And then Kerry Donegal or Tyrone. Losing 1 point to Mayo and 2 points to Galway and 3 to kerry this year and drawing to Monaghan this year and losing by 2 points twice to Donegal last year and 1 point to Tyrone in 2018 shows we are very close. We need to break into top 8 get back to div 1 and beat Monaghans and Galways. Thats are aim. And if do that in next 2 year, then think about taking on Dubs. We are years behind Dubs, But beating Monaghan or Galway or Mayo or Donegal will be tough but not impossible. Thats our aim. That what we are aiming for.
Meath lost by 1 point to Mayo and 3 to kerry this year. Meath are not beating top teams, but Mayo, Kerry, Galway, Tyrone, Monaghan, Donegal have struggled to beat Meath recently. Meath lost by 1 point to Mayo in spring, Meath were ahead at 69th min until Mayo goal won the game. Marc O S e said Meath should have beaten kerry in killarney in spring, Meath were the better team. Meath were riddled with injuries in all these games. With 12 first team players missing v Mayo Galway and kerry.
2018 Meath lost by 1 point to Tyrone in championship
2019 Meath lost by 2 points to Donegal in Ballyboefey (a game Meath dominated til 63rd min until freak goal)
2019 Meath lost by 2 points to Donegal in league final. Meath were much better team in first half with 5 up at half time.
2020 Meath lost by 1 point to Mayo
2020 Meath lost by 2 points to Galway
2020 Meath lost by 3 points to kerry
2020 Meath lost by 4 points to Dublin
2020 Meath drew with Monaghan
Yes Meath are not beating top teams, but Meath are going toe to toe for 70 seconds and top teams are struggling to beat a very young team with so many 19 and 20 and 21 year olds., Meath have one youngest teams in the country( 10 players played v Dublin in league and championship who were 21 are under). Meath lost all those games in injury time. I have 8 competitive games since 2017 v best teams in the country where Meath lost by 1 or 2 points or drew and went the full 70s mins with Tyrone, Donegal 3 times, Monaghan, Mayo, Galway and 3 point lost to kerry this year where Pat Spillane and Marc O Se said Meath should have won. Maybe Meath will fade away and not get over the line. but with this young team lets see if we can get over the line v Monaghan Galway Mayo and Tyrone in next 2 years. We might not. But we are not a million miles away from beating Monahgnan Mayo or Galway.
We need to put Dubs to one side. Dubs hammer and humilate everyone. Meath are no different, even the top teams the Dubs have hammered. The finals have been tight. Finals in gaelic football tend to be tight. But there is much more to a season then a final, in league and championship in league games, league semi finals and league finals and q finals and super 8s and semi finals in the championship the Dubs have heavily beaten, hammered and even humiliated the top teams in the country outside leinster for years. Dubs have totally dominated gaelic football nationally recently with 12 national titles in a decade which includes 7 All Ireland titles in 9 years and 5 national league div 1 titles in 6 years. They have gone on the longest unprecedent winning run in football history with unprecedented 40 game unbeaten run in championship, far ahead of anything put together at senior inter-county level ever before. Of the 21 major trophies open to Jim Galvin, All-Ireland, provincial and league, the Dub won 18 of them. Under Galvin that breaks down as six All Irelands, seven Leinsters and five leagues. To win all them Dubs had to beat teams outside Leinster. And on many occasions they heavily defeated teams outside leinster also. Dublin are totally dominating gaelic football nationwide also not just Leinster. And they have heavily beaten all the top teams since they started totally dominating football. Examples below of games v oppostion outside leinster. Remeber all these games are v div 1 teams in that year, or teams in All Ireland q final, super 8s, semi final stage. Dubs hammered us , they hammer all teams in leinster by 16 to 22 points recently. But they have also hammered all the top teams recently also. Here are the results below.
Summary of Games
2011 Dublin beat Tyrone by 7 points
2012 Dublin beat Armagh by 16 points
2012 Dublin beat Donegal by 9 points
2013 Dublin beat Kerry by 7 points
2014 Dublin beat Cork by 7 points
2014 Dulbin beat Derry by 15 points
2015 Dublin beat Monaghan by 13 points
2015 Dublin beat Cork by 11 points
2015 Dublin beat Fermanagh by 8 points
2015 Dublin beat Mayo by 7 points
2016 Dublin beat Cork by 10 points
2016 Dublin beat Donegal by 10 points
2016 Dublin beat Kerry by 11 points
2017 Dublin beat Mayo by 12 points
2017 Dublin beat Roscommon by 22 points
2017 Dublin beat Monaghan by 10 points
2017 Dublin beat Tyrone by 12 points
2018 Dublin beat Kerry by 12 points
2018 Dublin beat Roscommon by 14 points
2018 Dublin beat Galway by 8 points
2019 Dublin beat Galway by 11 points
2019 Dublin beat Mayo by 8 points
2019 Dublin beat Cork by 13 points
2019 Dublin beat Roscommon by 18 points
2019 Dublin beat Mayo by 10 points
There has been many 5 or 6 points wins over Mayo, Donegal and Galway also. I left out defeats under 7 points.
Here are the games again listen above but just in more detail interms of ]fixutre
Dublin beat Tyrone by 7 points 2011 Champ Q Final
Dublin beat Armagh by 16 points 2012 League
Dublin beat Donegal by 9 points 2012 league
Dublin beat Kerry by 7 points 2013 Champ Semi final
Dublin beat Cork by 7 points 2014 League semi final
Dulbin beat Derry by 15 points 2014 League Final
Dublin beat Monaghan by 13 points 2015 League
Dublin beat Cork by 11 points 2015 league final
Dublin beat Fermanagh by 8 points 2015 Champ Q final
Dublin beat Mayo by 7 points 2015 Champ Semi final
Dublin beat Cork by 10 points 2016 League
Dublin beat Donegal by 10 points 2016 League semi final
Dublin beat Kerry by 11 points in 2016 L League Final
Dublin beat Mayo by 12 points in 2017 League
Dublin beat Roscommon by 22 points 2017 League
Dublin beat Monaghan by 10 points 2017 Champ Q Final
Dublin beat Tyrone by 12 points 2017 Champ Semi final
Dublin beat Kerry by 12 points 2018 League
Dublin beat Roscommon by 14 points 2018 Champ Q Final Super 8s
Dublin beat Galway by 8 points 2018 Champ Semi Final
Dublin beat Galway by 11 points 2019 League
Dublin beat Mayo by 8 points 2019 league
Dublin beat Cork by 13 points 2019 Champ Q Final Super 8s
Dublin beat Roscommon by 18 points 2019 Champ Q Final Super 8s
Dublin beat Mayo by 10 points Champ Semi final
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 08/12/2020 05:55:19
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After Andy - 20 Like(s)
First point the big issue that is hurting us for years is forwards. We have good forwards. But no marque All star forward. Andy McEntee is the only Meath manager who has never had all star forward to work with. Sean had Footballer of the year forwards like Colm O Rourke, Brian Stafford, Trevor Giles, 4 time All star winners like Tommy Dowd and other top class forwards like Geraghty, Murphy, Flynn. Coyler, Barry, Banty had Geraghty, Bray all stars. You look at the forwards Eamon O Brien had; Stephen Bray, Joe Sheridan, Graham Reilly, Brian Farrell, Cian Ward, David Bray, Shane O'Rourke, Peadar Byrne. You could make strong case after Tyrone, kerry we had best forwards in the country 07 to 10. We had much better forwards than Dubs. That's why one of key reasons in those years we beat Dublin, Tyrone, Mayo, Galway in the championship, reached 2 semis and won leinster. Andy has never had Stephen Bray or Graham Geraghty. Even players like Cian Ward or Joe Sheridan would be great addition. We always had better forwards than Dubs from 1930s up to 2010s. The last Meath forward to be nominated for all star was Michael Newman 9 years ago. Newman was the best Meath forward of his generation. But had years of injury problems. The only 2 years he was fully injury free was 2013 and 2019. Our two best seasons in last 10 years. The only years we got promoted in last ten years and did well in championship. Look at div 1 teams like Dublin have Callaghan, Costello, Kilkenny. Kerry have Clifford, Geaney, O Shea. Monaghan have McManus McCarron. Galway have Walsh, Comer. Donegal have Murphy, McBreaty. Tyrone have McCurry, McShane. Mayo have O Connor, O Donoghue. Derry have McGuigan, Roscommon have Cox, Smith. Kildare have Flynn, Hyland, Kirwan. Even louth have McIlroy. We don't have any forwards at that level. Look at some key matchs were we lost to top teams it was top forwards who were the difference. McBreaty scoring winner in 2017 v us. Galways Shane Walsh scoring winner v us in 2020. Until we find a few marque forwards, it's an issue. There is hope. Morris, Walsh, Costello, O Connor are 21 22. Ollie Murphy, Bernard Flynn, Stephen Bray are Meaths three best inside forwards of last 50 years and took a couple seasons before they went up a level. Time is on their side. Eoghan Frayne, Diarmaid Moriarty, Christian Finley and other young forwards have potential. If we could unearth two or three top class forwards it would be transformational.
Andy will be leaving in coming weeks. If he could end with run in backdoor it would end this year positively. Andy has put in good foundations and in his first 4 years made real progress. Clearly year 5 and especially 6 things have gone stale. A change is needed. It will happen. We want to become one of the best teams in the country. So we do have to get one of the best managers in the country. That rules out everyone in Meath. We have to go outside. And there is one outstanding candidate for the Meath Job. He the best candidate by a mile. And everything has to be done to get him involved.
Firstly let's look at some candidate people are mentioning. The fact is the credible candidates to replace in and outside county you could count them on one hand. It feels people like people trying to pad out list of names just give false impression there is huge list. There is very few top class manager at div 1 standard available. We have to find div 1 manager. What is a div 1 manager. Well here are all div 1 managers this year and next year.
Kerry Jack O Connor Before he took the kerry job he managed kerry to 3 senior All Irelands, managed kerry to U21 and minor All Irelands. And managed kerry school to schools All Ireland. He also managed kildare seniors to div 1 and leinster final.
Mayo James Horan. Before he took current Mayo job he had managed Mayo seniors to 4 Connacht senior title's & 2 All Ireland finals.
Dublin Dessie Farrell. Before he took current Dublin Job he managed Dublin Minors & U21s to All Ireland titles.
Donegal Delcan Bonner. Before he took Donegal job currently he managed Donegal seniors to Ulster finals & managed Donegal minors to All Ireland final. His assistant S Rochford managed Corofin to All Ireland club senior title & he managed Mayo to 2 All Ireland senior finals.
Monaghan Banty Before he took Monaghan job currently. He managed Monaghan seniors before to league titles and q final. He managed Meath seniors to a leinster final and managed Monaghan minors to Ulster title. He also managed Monaghan ladies team.
Armagh kieran McGeeney. Before he took Armagh job, he manged kildare seniors to leinster final & couple of q finals.
Roscommon Anthony Cunningham. Before he took Galway job, he manage Galway U21 hurlers to All Ireland U21 title. He managed Galway senior hurlers to 2 All Ireland senior finals and managed Garycastle to All Ireland senior club final.
Kildare Glen Ryan. Before he took kildare job currently he managed kildare to U21 Leinster title & U21 All Ireland final. He managed Longford seniors.
Galway Padraig Joyce. Before he took Galway job he managed Galway U21 to Connacht U21 title.
Tyrone Lohan/Dooher. Before they took Tyrone job they managed together Tyrone U21s to All Ireland U21 title.
Derry ( not div 1 team but will be soon). Rory Gallagher. Before he took Derry job he was assistant manager to Jimmy McGuinnes when Donegal won senior All Ireland. He also managed Donegal seniors and Fermanagh seniors.
Let's even look at some of our neighbours
Louth Mickey Harte. Before he took louth job currently he managed Tyrone to 3 All Ireland senior titles, and Tyrone to Minor and U21 All Ireland titles.
Offaly John Maughan. Before he took Offaly job currently he managed Mayo seniors to 3 All Ireland senior finals. He managed Clare seniors to Munster senior title and managed Roscommon and Fermanagh seniors also.
Cavan Mickey Graham. Before he took Cavan job currently he managed small Longford club to leinster senior club title and to All Ireland senior club final.
So what is the criteria to be div 1 inter county manager. A div 1 manager a top manager before he takes a inter County team must have
EITHER
MANAGED INTER COUNTY AT SENIOR LEVEL SUCCESSFULLY AT DIV 1 LEVEL
OR
MANAGED A CLUB TEAM TO ALL IRELAND SENIOR TITLE OR EVEN FINAL
OR
MANAGED U21/U20 INTER COUNTY TEAM TO U20/U21 ALL IRELAND TITLE OR EVEN FINAL.
That's what every team in div 1 look for in manager. So basically that rules everyone currently out inside Meath. We have to go for an outside manager. And there is one top class manager that is currently available that tops the list.
There is one candidate Meath that could be option. But it's highly unlikely he will be option. That's Colm O Rourke. O Rourke would have questions marks in that he has never managed inter County team before or club or U21/ 20 to All Ireland final or title. He has managed international rules teams successfully and Simontown to 2 county titles. He is the most successful underage manager in Meath football ever with 3 All Ireland schools titles. There would be question marks over him but he is the only credible candidate in county. But at 63, and after turning down chances in 00s, and with Sunday Game and Sunday Independent workload it's very very unlikely he is an option. So we have to rule him out as an option.
There is 3 managers that could be potential Meath managers in 4 or 5 years time. But don't have CV currently. They are Brian Farrell, Kevin Reilly and Cathal O Bric. Brian Farrell didn't do well with U21s but managed Rataoth to senior club Meath title. If he could manager Meath club to All Ireland senior club title or final or U20 Meath team to U20 All Ireland final or title in coming years, he will be future option. But not now. Kevin Reilly has really impressed taking Trim to Leinster intermediate title and leinster intermediate All Ireland final. If he could lead Trim to All Ireland senior club title or final in coming years he will be option in future. But not now. Cathal O Bric has really impressed me. He gives me the John kiely Limerick manger Vibes. He managed Meath minors to leinster and All Ireland minor titles. But no way should he being taking away from U19 and U20 Meath job's. He has to be given chance to win U20 All Ireland with All Ireland minors. If he was to be taken from the post we would be sabatoging our best chance of winning u20/21 All Ireland title in 30 years. If he wins U20 All Ireland final or gets team to a final he will be future Meath manager. And when these talented minors come through to the seniors in 3 or 4 years time of, if O Bric is successful at U20 level than he would be perfect candidate to bring them on to senior in 3 or 4 years time, but not now.
Others mentioned in county. McDermott has good club CV, but again would kerry, Dublin, Tyrone, Mayo, Galway, Monaghan even Roscommon or kildare make him manager. I dont think so. He has never managed top inter County team at div 1 level successfully or managed teams to All Ireland senior club or All Ireland U20/21 title or even a final. Garrigan also doesn't have the CV mange Meath . Regards Eamon Murray, Eamon who is originally from Cavan, has no interest in managing Meath mens team . He is being manager for ladies teams in Meath for 20 years. He has said he has he has no interest in managing any men teams he doesn't like the aggression or cynicism or even cursing in the mens game. He is becoming one of the best ladies GAA managers ever. I can see him becoming the Sean Boylan of Meath ladies football. And also Eamon is not tactics manager, he is brillant man manager. But as I said he is not interested so not an option.
Regards outside the county managers like Jimmy McGuinnes are not option. There is a bigger chance of Roy keane becoming next Meath manager as Jimmy McGuinnes. Jimmy McGuinnes has stated his future is with soccer. He will stay involved in soccer for next few years. And if he does come back to the GAA in a few years time it will be with Donegal or top div 1 team. Rochford will be next Donegal or Galway or Mayo manager again. He will have options on his doorstep to manage best teams in the country. He is not coming to Meath. Other candidates people have mentioned don't have the CV. Paul Galvin managed Wexfords seniors for couple of months. They lost most of their games, players walked from the panel, and he left the job himself as manager weeks before championship. Paul Galvin is not an option. Others have mentioned Dublin figures like Paul Curran. He again doesn't have the CV to manage Meath. Would kildare consider managers like the above no. Why should we.
Some have mentioned Robbie Brennan. And I do get feeling he is the running and could already be the chosen option. Huge question marks over him. He has huge Meath connections. He has CV worth looking at, but there are red warning signs. He managed Crokes to All ireland club final. So that would be meeting the criteria. But getting super club like Crokes to All ireland final, how big achievement is that really. Mickey Moran leading small Down club to the All Ireland title is greater achievement. ( Its pity Moran was younger he has great CV, coaching Derry to All Ireland senior title, managing Derry snrs to league div 1 title, managing Mayo seniors to All Ireland final and managing to win 5 of last 6 Ulster senior club title with 2 different teams & leading Derry club to senior All Ireland club final. He would have being great option if he was younger).
Brennan Crokes also played a slow ponderous hand passing game. He also was Meath selector recently to Meath minor and U21 teams. Both teams lost all their match and played poorly. You cannot blame him in that he was selector. But still not great sign. And also he is duo manager. He won Dublin club title with Crokes years ago & leinster club senior title last year but he was co manager with Johnny Magee. If he comes in he needs to bring Mageee also. How good a manager is he on his own. We don't know. He also lost a leinster club senior final with Crokes to tiny Longford club. There is just allot of question marks.
So leaving Colm O Rourke to one side. There are only two credible managers with one being the outstanding choice.
The second option who know one has mentioned. That is Davy Burke. Who is one of the best young managers in the country. And best young manager in Leinster. He turned down option to manage inter County teams in leinster this year he is in demand. He has the CV. He managed kildare U20s to U20 All Ireland title, kildare only All Ireland they have won at any grade in last 50 years. And only kildares 2nd All Ireland at any grade in last 90 years. He also managed Wicklow senior to div 4 title. He is young, and hasn't managed top div 1 team. But he is hugely promising young manager. Could he be our John O Mahony. O Mahony was let go by Mayo and went to neighbours Galway and was hugely. Burke went for kildare job and they went for Glen Ryan Earley Doyle Rainbow instead. He definitely has a CV worth looking at. I am shocked no one has mentioned him.
But the outstanding choice for to be next Meath manager, the best choice, top choice and has to be chosen if the county want to give us best chance is one of the best managers in the country and that is Malachy O Rourke. The 5 best manager to manage since 2010 are Jimmy McGuinnes James Horan Jim Galvin Eamon Fitzmaurice and Malachy O Rourke. He is best Ulster manager of his generation after McGuinnes. Everywhere he has gone he has been huge sucess. You would think he jump at the chance to manage Meath. Take over sleeping gaint with lots of underage talent. Malachy O Rourke has to be next Meath manager. He has to be number 1 on the list. We want to become a top div 1 team. Who has achieved that in recent years. Malachy O Rourke with Monaghan. We want to achieve what Monaghan have done. Why not get their manager. He is currently successfully managing Derry club. If Meath came and asked him he would say yes.
Malachy O Rourke CV
2001 He managed Monaghan club Tyholland to their first Monaghan senior title.
2003 He managed Derry club Loop to their first senior club title in 68 years. He also led loop to Ulster senior club title.
2006 He managed Errigal Ciaran to Tyrone senior club title
2007 He managed Cavan Gaels to Cavan senior club title.
2008 He managed Fermanagh snrs to Ulster final in 2008 beating Derry and Monaghan. And was one kick away from winning Fermanaghs first ever Ulster title ever v Armagh in the 2008 Ulster Final. He brought a very good Armagh team to replay. But he was so close to winning on the first day.
2011 He was part of latton management team who won Tyrone senior club title
2013 He managed Monaghan snrs to Div 3 league title. He also managed Monaghan snrs to their first Ulster title in 25 years.
2014 He managed Monaghan snrs to Div 2 league title. He led Monaghan to Ulster final and q finals.
2015 He managed Monaghan snrs to another Ulster snr title and q finals.
2017 He led Monaghan to q finals.
2018 He managed Monaghan to q finals.
2019 He managed Monaghan snrs to their first All Ireland semi final in 30 years losing by 1 pt to Tyrond. He managed Monaghan to wins over kildare & Galway & draw with kerry all in Super 8.
2021 He managed Derry club Glen to their first ever senior club title
In his tenure he led Monaghan to victories over the best teams in the country. He turned Monaghsn into permanent top 6 team, from div 3 to div 1. His teams are very well coached and are always tactically aware. He is brillant man manger. Players love him. He always brings in two excellent coach in McBride and Porter wherever he is manager. Porter coached Tyrone club Domore to 3 Tyrone county titles.
Malachy O Rourke is the outstanding choice to be the next Meath manager .
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 18/05/2022 21:54:43
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Meath V Donegal - 20 Like(s)
If you look at the player injured its serious list, its being in the double figures for both games. Its not an excuse, the panel is not good to take it. But it is an injury crisis. Maybe I am wrong to label it that. Just look at list, its a serious of some of our best footballers.
Meath Players Injured Today
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.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 02/02/2020 21:19:20
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Meath V Dublin - 20 Like(s)
Replying To royaldunne: "As per usual a superb post." Thanks Royaldunne, I appreciate it, your a legend and a gentleman.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 09/03/2020 20:44:49
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Meath Vs Kerry - 20 Like(s)
Replying To seanboylansdonkey: "Great post Furlong, the two lads u mentioned Costello and Mitchell are Dunshaughlin lads." Thanks for the comments Seanboylansdockey. That was a mistake I sud have said Dunshaughlin. Costello is very good young footballer. Costello and Campion are real prospects for the half forward line in the future. Campion is very creative player and he took his goal brillantly at the weekend. If that was Con Callaghan or David Clifford who had scored that goal the sunday game would have praised it and praised it. Instead all they talked about was bad kerry defending. Sullivan made a great run but Campion had allot of work to do and from a real tight angle scored a great goal. His performance v Donegal in Ballybofey in.the league and v kerry last weekend shows he has real big match temperment. Costello is younger but needs time. But he has very good vision for a centre forward which u dont see anymore , half forwards picking out passes anymore. There is no Trevor Giles or Greg Blaney or Brian McGuigan in football anymore. The best is kilkennny who is an excellent footballer but doesn't have the vision of giles , kilkenny is to conservative. Im not saying Costello is that good. We dont how good he is. We need to give allot of these players time and be patient. Some like Shane Walsh can impact straightaway but I remember it took Ollie Murphy 4 years to become first team starter to Meath. We have to be careful and let them.develop at their own pace. And truthfully not all talented young players become great seniors.
But I just think Costello is quality footballer has real vision and can pick out a pass really well and he has a great understanding with Mitchell who is real proper finisher. Cian McBride wud be the other player worth looking at from this years under 20s and Aaron Lynch is also good forward worth looking at also. And Morris also. But Costello and McBride would be top two worth looking at from this years under 20.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 07/08/2019 08:06:12
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Meath Vs Mayo - 20 Like(s)
Yes we do need a few more players to add to the core group. But I think there are lots of options there. Defensivly Lavin McGill Ryan Gallagher Harnan Kane keoghan J McEntee S McEntee Mcoy lynch and S Reilly means defensivly we have lots of quality options. Defensivly we have depth I have never seen before and problems area that have bedevilled Meath football for two decades are sorted out. We have had problems at centre back and in the half back line for years. This year the half backs have been excellent and are being praised nationally.
Midfield we need a top class midfielder to partner Menton. The loss of S O Rourke and Gillespie to injury , Nash to Auzzie Rules , Jones to College in US and Rooney not available has meant we are playing two half backs in midfield. Menton has developed into an effective midfielder but he needs a partner. If Jones returns for me he is the best midfielder in the county. Against louth in 2017 in championship in his first game he showed real potential. McBride is a future option but he still needs a few years development. We have to get Rooney back. After Jones he is best midfielder in the county. And in 2015 there was signs he had potential to become a very effective inter county midfielder.
We lack big men around the middle. This would help our kickouts if u had Ronan Jones and Harry Rooney as options at midfield as they are an option for kickouts , but also give a physical edge to middle center. We are a small team in stature. And evey sucessful Meath team has had big men around the center. Our last strong team 09 2010 had big men like Crawford, Moyles, Meade , K Reilly , J Sheridan , it was a big powerful team. It lacked pace. U need power and pace now u need atleticism. We lack this. We need two big men around center in next few years. Devine is a real prospect at 10. But Jones is best option at midfield. A Menton / Jones midfield partnership and Jones/ McBride future partnership look our best options. And to have Rooney available also would be of great help. Look at Donegal they have big men at midfield and on the 40.
Upfront Walsh is a serious prospect and for me I expect him to play all the league games. Conlon Campion and Devine are all.excellent prospects. Campion and Devine are serious prospects for 10 and 11. Newman Sullivan lenihan and McMahon should all.start to peak in next 24 months. Return of Alan Forde our best defensive wing forward and two Wallaces would give us real options upfront.
But we need a top class target man ( and I believe young Walsh has the attributes to become one ). A top class inside forward ( Conlon has potential but u wud worry about his size, but he is very skilful and intelligent and very brave he will have long career with Meath seniors.) If one of the young talent on our under 20 and minors cud step up and become a top class inside forward. I really like Luke Mitchell I think he is a real proper natural inside finisher. Ruari O Coilean is an option worth looking at in the full forward line or half forward line.
We need a top class half forward. Devine and Campion could be the men here. Devine looks like a proper modern wing. forward. Campion has creativty and pace to become a quality centre forward. And Matthew Costello I also think has huge potential.
From juniors Kevin Ross and Jason Scully are options. Both were on senior panel at different times. And I liked the look of Ross when he played senior for Meath.
The goalkeeper option will improve when midfield improves. Robbie Burlingham, Jack Hannigan, Shane Geraghty, Andy Colgan , Johnny Lynch , Conor McHugh and Andrew Beakley are best goalkeeper's in the county. But which has the best kickout. A Kickout like Patton or Cluxton..I dont think there is a goalkeeper at that level of kickout. But we need to find out who is best kickout. U need to be a shot stopper also but good kickout now is essential for inter county. I dont know any player in county that standout with kickouts. But we need to find who has the best. But if midfield option improves with big powerful men at center field and on the 40. That will help greatly our goalkeeper.
Regards McEntee he is the best option and only option for manager in the county who has div 1 CV. We have great coachs and managers in the county but lack we division 1 inter county managers. let's look at all.div 1 managers next year and what they did before taking senior job. McEntee has a similar cv to them. With exception of C O Rourke and that ship has sailed, there are no real options. Barry Callaghan was mentioned before for Meath senior job . But that is not an option now. We should be really looking for new under 20 next year. Barry is a legend of 96 and worked really hard and is top bloke nic guy. But Callaghan has been charge of 3 different underage teams and failed get any to leinster final. He managed minors and they lost leinster semi final to kildare, he managed under 21 and they lost first round championship match to Westmeath and managed the under 20 and they were knocked out of leinster semi final by 9 points to laois who were hammered by Dublin in leinster final.
Anyway let's look at division 1 managers next year before they got the senior job. McEntee fits in .
1 Jim Galvin won 2 Under 21 All Irelands with Dublin
2 Peter Keane won 3 minor All Irelands with kerry
3 Mick Harte won Minor and under 21 All Ireland with Tyrone
4 Declan Bonner was an ex Donegal senior manager and brought Donegal minor to an All Ireland final. Rochford won All Ireland senior ckub title with Corofin and brought Mayo to two senior All Ireland finals
5 Malacky O Rourke ( is gone but he was Ex Fermanagh manager who got them to Ulster final.and won club senior titles in Derry , Fermanagh and other counties
6 Kevin Walsh was ex Sligo senior manager who got Sligo to their last Connacht final and had them in div 2
7 James Horan was a former Mayo senior manager who brought Mayo to 3 All Ireland finals and won 5 Connacht titles in a row
8 Andy McEntee brought Meath minors to an All Ireland final and won club All Ireland senior with Ballybodwn
So Andy McEntee is the only Meath man who has a division 1 CV is division 1 manager. He is making real progress and as Osin McConville said on the TV at the end of the match yesterday Meath have to keep McEntee. Other counties that hate Meath eg kildare Cavan and Dublin would be delighted if McEntee left. Outside the county his stock is rising. On Off the ball they were talking about manager of the year before super 8s. leaving Jim.Galvin to one side the panelist said Anthony Cunningham of Roscommon and Andy McEntee were managers of the year so far.
Yes he is not Sean Boylan. And yes he could be a bit old school.at times and is a bit blunt. But he is a good motivator. And himself and Nally form an excellent management team a div 1 management team. Nally coachs, McEntee manages. Colm. keaney the Dublin hurker and footballers said McEntee was best manager he ever had . He was managed by Anthony Daly , Paul Caffrey and Pat Gilroy. He said McEntee's passion was infectious. Michael Dara Macauley also said he was best manager he ever was managed by. Thats the manager we have. Sticking with him for another 3 years make perfect sense. Anything else would be like shooting oneself in ones own feet. It woud be back to the Autumn of 2010 and 2012. looking for another manager and more likely we would end up a worse manager and things are not going to get better under a worst manager.
We are going in right direction and in the next two summers in 2020 and 2021 we will make an even bigger impact in the championship. We are getting stronger and improving and we will continue this thrend.
Meath Leinster champions 2021 or 2022. Meath in the super 8 winning matchs. It will happen. We are on the road to that desination. keep the Faith Royals. An Mihi Abu.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 22/07/2019 21:42:46
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Meath v Cavan - 20 Like(s)
Replying To fredflint: "With respect Furlong1949 I think that is some load of nonsense
- Donegal, Derry, Armagh, Tyrone won All Irelands since 1990 with zero tradition of doing so.
- Meath didn't win an All Ireland until 1949 I think so before that also had no tradition.
There is nothing "quantifiable" in this notion of tradition and if there were any basis to it quite a few counties I have mention above would have quit trying and never won Sam. If you ever want to beat Dublin it will be based on the work your county put in at underage and at club level and zero to do with what you did decades ago." Of course Im not saying it has all to do with tradition. There are 20 or 30 reasons are more why a county is sucessful. But tradition is one of the reasons that can play a role. To deny that would be nonsense. Of course teams can have sucess with no tradition. Everyone starts off with no tradition. We have had 4 new All Ireland winners in the last 25 years. Were are they from Ulster eg Derry Donegal Armagh abd Tyrone.
Why Ulster? . Ulster have had the best players best managers best tactics. But now they have created a winning tradition. The reasons why Tyrone and Armagh made the breakthrough in 02 and 03 was because they had great players and great managers. But also they could look to the sucess of neighbours like Derry and Donegal and this also helped. Why didnt Laois make the breakthrough and Armagh did. Armagh had better players and a better manager. They also come from provience that now has a winning tradition. Tyrone Donegal players dont fear Dublin or Kerry. Why should they when they saw Ulster teams like Derry Down and Donegal all beat Dublin in the 90s.
Regards Meath appearing on the scene in 1949. It didnt happen over night. It took 15 years for Meath to build to 1949. Meath were resurgent in the 30s. Meath won national league div 1 title in 1933. And narrowly lost an All Ireland senior final to kerry by 2 points in 1939. They won leinster titles in 1939 1940 and 1947. And they also won the national league div 1 title in the early 1940s. So Meath did not appear overnight. They were building from the 1930s onwards. Meath where a top division 1 team from the early 1930s onwards. That was not an overnight sucess.
Of course to beat Dublin you need top players great underage and work and an investment in time and money. It depends on the standard of player and manager you have. These are the single most important things. But you need belief also. And this is where tradition can help. Tradition can give you belief. Look at Mayo. Clearly Mayo are good enough to win Sam. They should have won the last two years. But the weight of history to close that gap since 51 is a massive weight. No team in gaelic football has won an All Ireland after a 40 year gap. When you dont win for generations the weight of history becomes a massive issue. Look how it took the golden generation of Irish rugby players to win the grand slam after 60 year gap. We had better players then Wales. But Wales won more. The weight of history was an issue. In soccer only Chelsea have won the league after a 50 year gap. Even in pro sport it has a role. And in Gaa why did Galway beat Mayo not Roscommon recently. I think the tradition of Galway football had a role.
Howcome I believe that Meath will win a leinster title in the next few years. And I meet many people in Meath at all different ages from young to old who think the same. When I meet kildare supporters very few have any sort of believe that kildare will beat Dublin in the coming years. They hope but they lack belief. I hope but I also believe and expect like many of my fellow Royals that we wil. Maybe of the below facts and stats will explain what give us this belief. A long winning tradition v the Dubs. Is it not better to have it then dont have it. Its not the main thing for sucess. But it can help.
Who was the last team to beat Dublin at underage in leinster ? Meath
Who was the last team to hammer Dublin at underage in leinster? Meath
Who was the last team to get close to Dublin in leinster? Meath in 2013
Who was the last team to beat Dublin at senior level in leinster? Meath
Who was the last team to hammer Dublin at senior kevel in leinster? Meath
Who was the last team to draw with Dublin in leinster at senior level ? Meath
Who was the last team to beat Dublin in a senior leinster final? Meath
Who was the last team to beat Dublin to beat Dublin two years in a row in leinster at senior level? Meath
Who was the last team to beat Dublin three years in a row in leinster? Meath
So who has the best tradition and best record v Dublin in the country? Meath
Stats
Kildare have beaten Dublin twice in leinster in 45 years
Offaly have not beaten Dublin in 35 years in leinster
Louth have not beaten Dublin in over 40 years in leinster
Longford have not beaten Dublin in 50 years in leinster
Westmeath have only beaten Dublin 1 time in over 70 years in leinster
Laois have only beaten Dublin 1 time in the last 35 years in leinster. And twice in the last 60 years in leinster.
Wexford have not beaten Dublin in over 70 years in leinster.
Wicklow have not beaten Dublin in over 70 years in leinster
Carlow have not beaten Dublin in over 70 years in leinster
Meath have beaten Dublin 10 times and had 4 draws v Dublin in the last 35 years in leinster. Only kerry come close with 5 wins. The two teams with best winning tradition v the Dubs.
Who will be the team to topple next outside leinster. More then likely Kerry. Who will be the team to topple Dublin in leinster next?. I believe it will be Meath. And Im not the only Meath person that thinks that. We are years behind Dublin. But we will beat them in the coming years. Its not a question of if but a question of when. Probaly in 2020 or 2021. Every generation of Meath footballers have beaten Dublin in every decade since the 20s . We did it in the 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 00s and this decade. We dominated the Dubs in the 40s 50s 60s 80s and 90s. No teams has had that level of consitent sucess over Dublin. No team has had more sucess over Dublin in the country then Meath. Thats why one of the reasons are under 17 defeated Dublin in leinster final last year. And our minor hammered them two years.l ago. They were good footballers with good management. And good work has been done at underage level. But they were also standing on the shoulders of Meath greats. Our tradition of beating Dublin generation after generation has been taken on by our next generation. Now that is not nonense. That is Meath football. That's what we do. Beat the Dubs.
Is it not better to have the tradition then dont have it. It is not negative thing to have a tradition. Theres no harm in believing is there?
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 08/02/2018 15:35:51
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Meath Vs Mayo - 20 Like(s)
Replying To noluso: "Really ? ... The fact remains that we have only beaten Carlow , Offaly , Laois and Clare ,and were blown out of the water by Dublin and Donegal . Hard to see where your coming from . If your scribbling are just an exercise in positivity then fair enough ...work away . ...there's no harm in that ." It took Boylan 4 years Late Eugene McGee 4 years and Mick Dwyer 5 years to make the breakthrough in leinster. There are no overnight sucesses in gaa exception Dublin in 1974 kerry in 1975 and Meath in 1996. It takes years of slow progress slow building, bad defeats , morale victories anf hard luck stories before a county suceeds in achieving its aims. Even current Dublin team it took allot of those players years of close misses and bad loses to suceeed. They were operating at a higher level to us but it took Dublin from 2005 where they were 5th best team in country to 2011 to become 1st best team. They had close loses to Tyrone kerry Cork and Mayo and bad hammerings to Meath and kerry.
Meath are at lower level but we have gone from 15th best team in the country to the 7th in current rankings. The next step is break into top 6 and stay there. It will be very very tough. But it takes years of a slow build to achieve this. There are no overnight sucesses in gaelic football. But we are improving we r getting better we have one youngest teams in the country which will peak in 2021 2022. Maybe we wouldnt suceed. But we are definitely going in right direction and we have a chance of suceeding. Next summer we sud be stronger. look at Roscommon this year after ten ganes v div 1. Judge this Meath team in next years championship and 2021 . Thats when we will peak as a team .
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 20/07/2019 17:49:56
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Meath V Laois - 20 Like(s)
Meath have won 9 competitive games in the championship and league together this year. That is the most competitive ganes Meath have won in 1 season in 13 years. In 2007 we had ten competitive wins in that seasons league and championship. The 9 victories we have achieved so fsr this year and 10 victories we achieved in 2007 , these are most competitive victories Meath have had in one season since we won the All Ireland in 1999. Simply put along with 2007 this is one of our most consistent seasonsand most victories we have had in a season in 20 years. And the season is not over yet , reach the super 8 we could have 10 or 11 victories by the end of the season which would mean this year would be the most competitive wins Meath have had in a season since 1999 .
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 09/06/2019 20:54:48
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Meath V Tyrone - 20 Like(s)
Replying To Talking_Sense: "Thought month ago we had a wee chance against Tyrone , but they have just won the McKenna cup beating teams relatively easily whilst experimenting with new players. Can't as much as I hope see us beating Tyrone. Hope we are competitive . My concern would be if we went down 8 to 10 that would be a disaster ." Tyrone have won 8 of the last 9 McKenna cups. Twice they were relegated twice when they won McKenna cup in recent years and last year they won Mckenna cup but were shocking poor v kerry in first round of the league. Tyrone are very up and down in the league..They finished the league very strongly last year. Still It will be very tough. They are very well organised and we havent beaten Tyrone since 2007. With 5 loses and 1 draw since. We havent beaten a Ulster team in Ulster in the league since Down in 2015. And we havent beaten a top div 1 team in the league eg top 4 or 5 team in the country since Eamon Barrys Meath beat Armagh in 2006. Who were the Ulster champions in 2005 and 2006 and div 1 league champions in 2005. That was in Navan. The Last time we beat one of the best teams in the country in the league away from home was v kerry in 2000 in league semi final in Thurles were Sean Boylans Meath made a great comebacks. Thats 20 years ago. So a Meath victory would be a landmark win on Sunday. I think we can do it. But the Donegal and Mayo games are the massive ones. But victory in Omagh wud be a brillant start.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 20/01/2020 11:48:38
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Meath Vs Mayo - 20 Like(s)
Replying To Jackpot: "We only beat loais Carlos offaly and Clare. Dont get too excited" We also beat Armagh comprehensivly by 6 points this year also. An Armagh team many in the gaa were praising throughout the year. Armagh team which had it best season in this decade. We defeated kildare comprehensivly even though it was one point it should have 7 or 8. kildare were red hot favourites to win promotion and reach super 8 at the time. We defeated Fermanagh by 7 points. A Fermanagh team that reached Ulster final last year had a great league and have best organised outside div 1. We comprehensivly defeated Cork by 6 points. Yes Cork have improved but beating Cork by 6 point in Cork seen Cork beat us by 5 points last year is a big turnaround. We played the second or thirs best team in the country 3 times and they struggled three times to beat us. We went to toughest place in the country to play twice and Donegal struggled to beat us twice. We dominated Donegal til 63rd v second best team in the country in the league in Donegal. We were dominate v Donegal in league final in first half and lost by 2 points. kildare a week earlier lost by 11 point to Donegal. And we went toe toe with second or third best team in country in the championship for 55 mins and v one of the teams of the decade , the best team to never win an All Ireland we wwbt toe to toe for 60 mins. Last year we nearly knocked out the All Ireland finalist, lost contervesialy by 1 point after extra time.
The difference since Longford game is huge Last year we won 3 games this year we won 10 games. The most games Meath hace won since 2009 . Since 2001 this year and 2009 are the years we had the most competitive wins. We kept Dublin to their lowest first half championship score since 2011. And we were first leinster team in 11 years to win next qualifier after losing leinster final. And are only team ever to lose leinster final and beat a team from top two divisions in their next qualifier. Kildare beat division 4 Wicklow in 2009 after losing leinster final and Dublin beat division 3 Sligo after losing leinster final in 2001.
If u look at the full picture serious progress has been made this year. Our defence is the best defence in div 2 div 3 div 4 teams. And we have better defence and defenders then some div 1 teams. We need 2 to 3 top class forwards but hopefully the young forward talent coming through can make a difference.
We reached div 1 for first time in 13 years.
We reached 8 team div 1 for first time in 22 years.
We won 3 games in leinster for first time since 2010 and reached our first leinster final in 5 years and reached quater final for first time in 9 years and only for the 5th time in our history. We have made serious progress this year. And many of our footballers are improving by the game eg Seamus lavin , Conor McGill , Shane Gallagher, Gavin Mcoy, Bryan McMahon.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 22/07/2019 20:34:57
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Meath V Dublin - 20 Like(s)
Looks like no championship but the league games might be played. A bit of info below
It looks like Mickey Newman is retired from inter county with hip injury. A loss. Our two best years in recent years were 2013 and 2019. The only years Mickey Newman was available, basically full fit from injury. In 2013 he was very good in his debut year and got nominated for all star. 2014 2015 2016 2017, he suffered injuries every year and missed most league campaigns and was struggling with injuries. In 2018 took year off to get injuries sorted, came back as full forward last year, a kind of target man at times, hes more an inside forward. He was 4th top scorer in last years championship. Destroyed Donegal in league final in first half and was man of the match in our biggest game of the year v Clare where he scored 1 - 5. Very popular in the panel and he is an important player, a very good natural freetaker and he is a poacher finisher corner forward, a player who waits for break and good eye for goal. Had a good season for us last year leading the line. But with out and out target man full forward S Walsh I think that would have got the best out of Newman. Was looking forward to see him starting him with D Lenihan and S Walsh in full forward line this year. Thats our best full forward line, but its look like now they will never play with each other. Mickey Newman and lenihan have only started one game for Meath even though best inside forwards we have had in recent years.
Its means Shane Walsh will start v Dublin with I think with Thomas Reilly who was very good in early parts of league. With Lenihan Joey Wallace and James Conlon fighting for last place. I think Lenihan Walsh O Reilly will start our best option with J Wallace and J Conlon as impact subs. And young players like Jordan Morris and Jack O Connor as options of the bench with maybe Mark Sullivan. S Mattimoe would be worth looking at he had a great championship.
Meath played Cavan in a challenge game recently. Cavan game was a rough tough game. A proper tough local derby. Ronan Ryan played full back v Cavan. It looks like he could start there. As McGill and Rataoth lads are probaly not available. Lavin Ryan Toner were the full back line v Cavan. B Conlon was at centre back v Cavan I expect him to keep his place as Harnan was injured. Brennan started in goals in first half and Colgan in.second I think Colgan with start. No sign of J McEntee.
S McEntee was at midfield with Brian Menton with Ronan Jones Ethan Devine on 40. I think we will see that v Dubs with Menton B Conlon Jones Devine and McBride of bench giving us options for kickout, gives us real physicality which we lacked at centre field for years. I can see Jones Menton at midfield with Shane McEntee playing a more defensive role maybe come back sweeping up at times in the defence.
Mark Sullivan Moynalvey called up to the panel. Hes Cillians brother. Played in 2011 v kildare as a wing back in thechampionship. He has played very little since. Had a good year at full forward for Moynalvey. Could be worth looking at. And Duggie Dillon fron Navan O Mahoney also called up, an half forward. Cian McBride could be option from the bench. He made an impact with high fielding v Cavan.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 16/10/2020 18:12:16
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Meath Vs Mayo - 20 Like(s)
We are on schedule everything is coming slowly together. To be successful in gaelic football it is a slow burner , it takes years and years of ups and downs, bad defeats, near misses , hard luck loses and morale victories to achieve ur aims. There are no ever overnight sucesses in gaelic football. There is odd exception once in a blue moon where team is a sucessful over night eg Dublin 1974 Meath 1996. But especially when it comes to a a traditional county in the doldrums it take 4 to 5 years before aims are achieved. It took Boylan Dywer and late Eugene McGee 4 to 5 years to turn the corner. It took Jimmy Barry Murphy Nicholas English kevin Walsh and many more 4 or 5 years to achieve their aims, years of ups and downs.
2 years ago I said on this form because of the above examples and that are players age profile would peak at 26 27 28. I predicted 2 years go on this forum we would improve this year and make impact in year 4 of McEntees tenure. I know no one likes a no it all.
The point is here if u examined the evidence closely the signs were there we were going improve this year. No one in the media or in gaa community thought we would get promoted this year or reach super 8 , no one was saying this in January 2019. People didnt see Meath improving. Actually most people were predicting Meath would be relegation candidates and many said we would be relegated in the media and in the gaa in general . Tomas O Se predicted in January we would be relegated to div 3 along with Tippearey. Everyone expects us to be relegated next year. But With McEntee in his 4th year , players returning eg lenihan Wallaces Jones Forde Kennelly O Coilean Kane. New talent coming through eg Costello Mitchell McBride, younv players developing furthrr eg Walsh Campion Conlon and Devine and players peaking eg Harnan 24 , Lavin 24 , Gallagher 25 , Sullivan 25 , McEntees 25 , McGill 26 , it very obvious are going to be stronger next year.
Two years ago on this forum
1 I predicted in McEntees first two years we was going to be no or little progress. That proved to be right
2 I predicted two years on this forum we would improve in year 3. I predicted at start of the season on this forum we would get promoted. That proved to be right
3 I predicted two years on this forum we would make an impact in championship in year 4 and year 5. And I feel they are all still very very attainable.
4 I predicted two year on this forum we would win leinster title in 2021 or 2022. 2 years that seemed not very attainable. I think to say Meath could win leinster title in 3 years time doesnt sound that outlandish now.
So we are on target. I expect if we get 4 games in Navan and get teams like Galway in Navan ( they haven't beaten us in Navan in near 40 years ) we have a great chance of staying in div 1.
But with ten games v top teams in ten months by next years championship we will be much better able to deal with Mayo or Donegal. And I expect us to reach super 8 next year and we will beat Donegal or Mayo or Tyrone next year. We r on target. We are definitely going in the right direction to where we all.want to be. By end of this year McEntee is half way through this rebuilding job. When McEntee took the job it was always a 6 or 7 year job to get Meath back to where we all want us to be. We are on target.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - 22/07/2019 20:01:10
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