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Westmeath Football thread

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Replying To Fighting-Cocks69:  "Delighted to hear on the podcasts this week that they all seem to be against the football format. Even Alan was saying the gap between the two grades is massive, and it's nobody's fault but their own for not being in the A group. He even mentioned that if you're going to finish 4th, you might nearly be better off finishing 5th or 6th in the A group, as you'd have a better chance of making a quarter-final the following year."
It'll be voted out next year I suspect. Some of the same clubs that voted for it, will vote against it next year, as it'll no longer be in their individual interests.
County board will probably use it as a way to go to a completely different format , with fewer games , as this is what they want anyway.
It's a complete fiasco.

jamsie (Westmeath) - Posts: 520 - 08/07/2026 10:19:24    2684792

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Replying To Fighting-Cocks69:  "Delighted to hear on the podcasts this week that they all seem to be against the football format. Even Alan was saying the gap between the two grades is massive, and it's nobody's fault but their own for not being in the A group. He even mentioned that if you're going to finish 4th, you might nearly be better off finishing 5th or 6th in the A group, as you'd have a better chance of making a quarter-final the following year."
yeah it makes no sense, I hadnt realised the 2 teams in section B will play each other again in the QF as well. They're right though about it being the beginning of the end for current format, will be reduced group sizes soon you'd imagine

martyW (Westmeath) - Posts: 353 - 08/07/2026 10:25:19    2684795

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Replying To martyW:  "yeah it makes no sense, I hadnt realised the 2 teams in section B will play each other again in the QF as well. They're right though about it being the beginning of the end for current format, will be reduced group sizes soon you'd imagine"
Oh absolutely. The quarter-finals are a joke of a setup. Pat O'Brien hit the nail on the head-don't fix what isn't broken. As much as I don't agree with plenty of the County Board's decisions, if they can keep McHugh around for another few years I'll support them.

Fighting-Cocks69 (Westmeath) - Posts: 195 - 08/07/2026 13:43:24    2684832

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Seen Matty Whitaker on off the ball this week , spoke well.

Highlighted the issue with pitches at the start of the year and may have been associated with the poor league campaign?

Its quite important that after this years success that CB build on it and get some sort training centre going , it's all whsipers on when its going to commence and if land was sold etc. I heard the hurlers had multiple weekly sessions in Delvin during the league as well , surely that's not going to help the development of a player games / skills

Crucial to build on this years success , sitting ducks otherwise.

Also hope to see some good crowds in cusak for the football next weekend which I think will be a quite open championship. Not many teams bar 1 maybe with a full starting 15.

HutchDes01 (Westmeath) - Posts: 5 - 09/07/2026 10:12:47    2684906

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Hearing one of the best players in the Country, Matthew Whittaker, openly speak about the impact of having no permanent training base / Centre of Excellence should be a wake up call. Spending the entire League travelling to neighbouring counties and relying on the goodwill of Clubs for pitches is not the environment Inter County players should have to prepare in. I was laughed at on this forum a few months back when I suggested that the inconsistent performances in the League were directly impacted by having no training base. These players have given Westmeath some of the greatest days in the County's Football history. They have represented the jersey with pride and commitment, yet they continue to prepare without a permanent county training base, going to Leitrim to train ffs. They deserve better than this. Supporting our Inter County players with the facilities they need should be a priority, not an afterthought. It makes what they achieved this season all the more impressive. I will ask the question again, how much longer can the County Board stand back and do nothing? Like the lad on the scratcher all his life, sponging off the goodwill of Clubs and other Counties all his life.

iarmhiabu (Westmeath) - Posts: 352 - 09/07/2026 13:11:23    2684926

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Replying To iarmhiabu:  "Hearing one of the best players in the Country, Matthew Whittaker, openly speak about the impact of having no permanent training base / Centre of Excellence should be a wake up call. Spending the entire League travelling to neighbouring counties and relying on the goodwill of Clubs for pitches is not the environment Inter County players should have to prepare in. I was laughed at on this forum a few months back when I suggested that the inconsistent performances in the League were directly impacted by having no training base. These players have given Westmeath some of the greatest days in the County's Football history. They have represented the jersey with pride and commitment, yet they continue to prepare without a permanent county training base, going to Leitrim to train ffs. They deserve better than this. Supporting our Inter County players with the facilities they need should be a priority, not an afterthought. It makes what they achieved this season all the more impressive. I will ask the question again, how much longer can the County Board stand back and do nothing? Like the lad on the scratcher all his life, sponging off the goodwill of Clubs and other Counties all his life."
To a large extent I agree with all you have said. The crux in my opinion though is funds. Plain and simple. There is a large bank of land acquired in Mullingar for COE but even with the best will in the world its 3 to 5 years before you have any sort of a pitch on it. Unfortunately, we don't have a sugar daddy like Limerick has in JP to front load facilities. Oh sorry, we do have one up near Delvin, runs an airline. I wonder would he loosen his purse strings................!

Greengrass1 (Westmeath) - Posts: 78 - 09/07/2026 15:58:39    2684972

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