Paddy O Rourke played seriously well for the county when he was in nets, however people on here were continuously saying that he was not up to the standards and now when hes not there were seriously struggling without him! even last year when murphy was there, he made plenty of mistake, coming out of defense against kildare cost us points in the first game, but murphy never had a bad word said about him! paddy was one of the best goalkeepers we've had for a long time but people always wanted someone else. there is plenty of good goalkeepers in the county, some wont play now because of the way that they were treated in the past,

we have mark brennan from o mahonys, ricky nolan from d/b david nolan for w/t who are as good as any in the country but have never been given a fair crack at performing on the county stage.

in my opinion gallagher is nowhere near the level that is required. his kicking out is terrible, poor shot stopper, unconvincing on any ball coming in and is a poor communicator with his defense.

juicy (Meath) - Posts: 402 - 11/06/2012 16:13:19    1191929

Guys Paddy O Rourke was doing his finals and told the management he wouldnt be able to commit until they were over which he was then told to forget about it. So in fairness to the young lad he concentrated on his studies.
In my opinion it is total disrespect to him by not encouraging him to complete his studies and then think of football, surely his mind would be more on football at that stage!!!

m11 (Meath) - Posts: 61 - 11/06/2012 16:23:32    1191937

would agree with ricky nolan not getting a chance , fantastic goalkeeper , had a chance when he was on the panel in 2006 or so but they opted against using him , i think hes away working in a foreign country now at the moment and only comes back for D/B championship games , shows commitment .

M.Simoncelli (Meath) - Posts: 126 - 11/06/2012 16:27:17    1191945

Was not at the game yesterday but was listening in..

Can someone clarify the input that Forde had.
Can someone clarify what Collins did when he came on

Now, when things got into the melting pot, that is final 5 minutes with midfield being demolished at Gillespie off, why was an electric player like Peader Byrne thrown in - eager as ever to win ball and charge at the Carlow defence and release the ball to forwards/ get into position to win a free.

Meath seem too laid back to let opposition players stroll out of defence and over the half way. Common trait in the league and looked to be the case yday. The forwards should be glued to their markers, or any nearby opposition player when possesion is lost.

If the youth brought in HAVE NOT contributed then the changes need to be made, replace them with players who have come in for them. Like Queeney, Brian Sheridan and I think, Bring Harrington and/ O Connor into defence - these guys were regulars when Meath were winning games.
The reason I call for these players is because, they have been sitting on the bench, watching the brutality in front of them. Time to give them a shot nd stop having them make up the numbers.

Now Im not saying these guys are the solution, but they may have a serious part to play in the replay!

My team for the replay would be:

Gallagher (messed up but he'll have to do)

Keogan (has sufficed in the position)
K. Reilly (No faults)
O' Connor (the guy was a regular and might stick on his man)

Mc Anarney (he is the captain now, not going to be dropped, just have to deal with it, changing will cause more harm)
Menton (not perfect but will do)
Tobin (I dont know who would replace him)

Meade (has been a stand-out player in the championship to date)
Byrne (heard he was doing well here for his club, his electricity around that area of the field is necessary and can make pentrating runs)

Stephen Bray (he has to be fit by saturday we need him in there)
Graham Reilly (got a battering yday, but still gets scores)
B. Sheridan (another option that has to be given a shot)

Farrell (definately earned his place)
Sheridan (he has to make a contribution at some stage)
Ward (still not convinced with free-taking but dangerous and according to the forum set up 10 of the scores)

Gilsenan does not make it purely because he may need more injury recovery time so Brian Sheridan should be thrown in.
Changes must be made to add a new dimension or these sub-standard displays will continue

Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 805 - 11/06/2012 16:40:46    1191958

A lot of the lads looked tired. Not aggressive enough. Same problems as per the league, too slow to step up and apply pressure when defending. I have no problems with zonal defending, it's part of the intercounty game but to do it well you need to know when to press the ball. The late warm-up didn't help matters either.

Alan Forde looked suspect defensively, he's a great attacking player but when you need defensive discipline we may be better off looking at Peadar Byrne or Eoin Reilly in this position?

Ollie99 (Meath) - Posts: 442 - 11/06/2012 16:40:52    1191959

The draw against Carlow has to be one of the most dissappointing and deflating results of modern time. You can blame everyone under the sun but it doesn't change the fact that a Meath Senior Football team drew, yes drew, a C'ship game with Carlow.
The whole days yesterday screams a complete lack of management from start to finish (this from what was promised to be the best managament team we could get)
Late arrival at the pitch - good idea to have the warm up in Durrow, bad idea not to have a garda escort arranged. Folks associated with the Co Board running around like headless chickens at the exit of the ground looking for a garda at 1.30 to get a garda escort in from Durrow.
Free taking - is there not one decent free taker in the county. Staff would have nailed 99% of the missed chances in his sleep. The modern game appears to have an aversion with practicing one of the simplest and most effective forms of score taking.
The short kickouts - even before Gillespie was sent off, we had difficulty with the Carlow short kickout. Now that doesn't need someone from the line to shout in "sort it out". There is a lack of leadership on the field.
When Ward got his goal, it looked like one of those days where he could get 3 or 4, but collectively the whole team sat back and coasted...sure its only Carlow
Was impressed by D Keoghan the first day but yesterday he was bet to every ball. he lost every ball he contested in the first half, yet no changes made by Banty and his merry men
It could be a case of too many cooks at this stage, but we really are in one of the worst places we have been in years. The football played in the Meath game was a mile behind the quick, direct, organized football played by Long/Wex in the second game.
And of all four teams that were on display yesterday, Dublin would eat them for breakfast. We are now a Division 3 team, playing like a Division 4 team. We are years behind Dublin in terms of development of a panel and quality in the first 15.
We will beat Carlow (they will be missing the two lads sent off) and will progress to Croker where Kildare will teach us a lesson. We'll then (provided we get an easy draw) get through a couple of rounds of the qualifiers, but we'll be out by August.
The real loser in all of this is the genuine club footballer who will not play another Championship game this side of the 10th Aug (last game 27 Apr). Thats the real shame

Man_ball_all (Meath) - Posts: 3 - 11/06/2012 16:51:10    1191966

Also forgot to mention the farce that is the lack of a sub goal keeper. JCL is not a keeper. Gally better not get injured.

Man_ball_all (Meath) - Posts: 3 - 11/06/2012 16:53:17    1191967

juicy

Mark Brennan?

I do agree thought that the whole JCL thing is a joke. There are 2 excellent goalkeepers vying for minor custodian at the moment who'd be more accomplished than JCL not to mention a whole host of club and former county underage men. Oldcastle, Ashbourne, Dunshaughlin and Dunboyne can offer at least 2 each who have come through years of development and goalkeeping training.

rath_togh (Meath) - Posts: 740 - 11/06/2012 17:14:13    1191988

The Meath players should be ashamed of themselves in my opinion. I did not go to game as I saw enough at the Wicklow game to confirm this is worst Meath team I've ever witnessed.

I also voiced my opinion on Cian Ward last week due to his comments on Championship matters but was not posted. He and Joe are talented players but their actions on and off the field explain why we are where we are. Everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves. But the opposite in fact seems to be portrayed.

I expected them to win by 4 -5 points but would get hammered by Kildare as I'm sure they are keen to put all the tight games of the past 2 years to bed.
We have only 3 players, the 2 Reilly's and Bray who would be close to getting in the Dublin or Kildare team.

Burke, Queeney,O'Conor, Wards and Joe should be dropped in my opinion.
The worrying aspect is that Cian Ward must be roasting the defenders in training which further highlights our dismiss. What Farrell did when kicking the handy point and not passing to Queeney is not good enough. What are they doing at training. This is a common problem with the forwards, critical stage in Kildare game in Navan Joe did the same with a player free inside and worse Joe kicked it wide.

Banty and all his merry men from all over Ireland should also be removed. To come out with statements like we are delighted with the result is truly depressing. It's no wonder our players are beyond soft listening to this rubbish.

I was going to wait for Meath Kildare game but I will not be wasting my hard earned money.

PS: Meath clubs and players also need to take responsibility for the shame we are in at present, the standard at club matches from junior to senior is not short of appalling.

Northmeathman (Meath) - Posts: 284 - 12/06/2012 10:17:37    1192418

This was posted as a new thread but as the subject matter is the same it has been incorporated here.

trim1
Posts: 64
Meath
12/06/2012
09:18

Report on Meath Carlow game

The report in the Irish Independent had all players on the Meath team rated a 7 and the description of the Carlow goal is a great piece of fiction in my opinion. Also, he seemed to be able to read Joe Sheidan's mind at the end on the game.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/mcenaney-slams-royals-after-late-smith-leveller-3134042.html

Here is the description of the Carlow goal.... But somehow -- from the depths of their being -- Carlow dredged up one more assault on the Royals goal and in a glorious move, Nolan found substitute Keith Jackson with a precise pass, and he transferred it to Smith, who smashed the ball into the Meath net.

Player ratings....
Meath -- D Gallagher 7; D Keogan 7, K Reilly 7, B Menton 7; D Tobin 7, S McAnarney 7, M Burke 7; C Gillespie 7, B Meade 7; A Forde 7, P Gilsenan 7, G Reilly 7; B Farrell 7, J Sheridan 7, C Ward 7. Subs: J Queeney 7 for A Forde (44); M Collins 7 for P Gilsenan (50).
Carlow -- T O'Reilly 7; P Murphy 8, C Lawlor 7, B Kavanagh 7; K Nolan 7, S Redmond 7, T Bolger 7; Brendan Murphy 9, D Foley 8; Brian Murphy 8, P Reid 7, E Ruth 7; JJ Smith 8, S Gannon 7, D St Ledger 7. Subs: D Hayden 7 for D St Ledger (36); P Lambe 7 for T Bolger (51); K Jackson for D Foley (60); C Murphy for Brian Murphy (67).

How every Meath player can get a 7 is beyond me. Also considering we drew a game we really should have won, its strange to think Carlow have 5 or 6 lads with scores above 7. Pretty lazy if you ask me!

InTheLoop (Meath) - Posts: 147 - 12/06/2012 12:01:04    1192520

Id say that reporter was at home listening to the radio

bobjaffacake (Meath) - Posts: 1400 - 12/06/2012 12:36:43    1192564

Hopefully a better performance next Saturday in the replay!We should adopt the mantra ...... Believe in better!

We still have the minors to come against Westmeath too.It will be great if they can win and make it to another Leinster final.

gaelichead (Meath) - Posts: 12 - 12/06/2012 21:43:37    1193137