Meath Forum

Sam Maguire Cup

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Replying To Royalblufill:  "I think it is more disappointing to hear him say that we don't have a Clifford or an OCallaghan! We all know that - very few counties do!! In fact only 2!!
But I think Frayne and Costello are very good and I think if they were playing with a team that was more aggressively winning the ball and letting it in to them they would do serious damage!
I for one would be bigging these guys up - they don't need to be told publicly that they are not as good as someone else!

But….

Please go back and watch the game again - have a look at the scores Kerry got coming into the D - look how little pressure was put on them! If you are going to drop everyone back to the D surely you have to protect it and put pressure on the opposition at that point! It seems amazing to me that we are not doing that!! I am assuming that that is part of the management tactic - and I don't understand it!!"
Agree with you on both points,if Clifford or o Callaghan were getting the same service as Costello or Frayne they wouldn't be shooting out the lights.Ive said it before o Rourke doesn't install belief into the players and that is evident when you look at the players on the pitch.A good point also by you about 15 behind the ball no point unless you tackle and hit hard marking space was al we were doing and against top tier teams that doesn't work as they know how too work around that.

Proudroyal (Meath) - Posts: 275 - 04/06/2024 16:03:41    2549467

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Monaghan game next , sadly it will be our last competitive game of this year , our next competitive game will be in 7 months time , looking at Division 2 next year I can't see us staying up , I just can't see any improvement in the next 7 months when we have no games and nothing positive to build on , especially when we haven't won a game since February of this year really doesn't help the squad .

WhyTheLongFace (Meath) - Posts: 896 - 04/06/2024 16:06:33    2549470

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Replying To nobull456:  "Good man....... I am not happy with Meath for several years now. I am not happy with the no progress now either. Your quick fire answer Get in a" top class man now"that will solve the problem. When there was a vacancy not so long ago how many top class men wanted the job... None..... Why,? I suggest it is not an attractive gig. It's like asking a truck driver to do a long haul trip in a truck truck that needs a complete overhaul Fill her up with dsl is not the answer Furthermore I think you know that also However. What has logic got to do with anything as your post reminded me"
Im not sure your logic on the truck makes much sense! The players are there. The truck is fine! its the driver thats the problem!
If you flash the cash you can pick up any amount of good managers! unfortunately that the case but it is what it is! And there are plenty out there that would take the meath job.
Flynn had a decent backroom team in Stephen Rocthford and another good lad but wasnt given a sniff!
But then again we all thought COR would be a good appointment back then ... including myself.
You think that some paper based program is going to get meath to the big time???. I dont know what you expect from that! No county has "blueprints" or big development structures other than the Govt./GAA backed Dublin GAA.
Its all about the picking the best players from teh county and getting a good manager with a good system to get the best out of them. Roscommon were in Div one and putting it up to Dublin. They dont have a Centre of Excellence even! Louth.. no centre of excellence even! Westmeath mixing it with the Armaghs and Galways have about 5 decent club teams and no center of excellence!
Id like to know what a Top Class county Board is going to do as opposed to a top class manager??
Just exactly what are you expecting from this "big reform" ???
Utter nonsense ... just get in a manager and staff who know what it takes to compete in the modern game against the best! As a Meath supported I have no interest in waiting another 5 or 10 years to see if our "development plan" is working!
The game will probably have changed again in that time and we will be probably still 5 years behind! :)
Get on with it! get in the best manager we can and I guarantee you that you will get more out of that than any 10 year "development plan"!

JonnieG (Meath) - Posts: 238 - 04/06/2024 16:59:02    2549487

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Replying To JonnieG:  "Im not sure your logic on the truck makes much sense! The players are there. The truck is fine! its the driver thats the problem!
If you flash the cash you can pick up any amount of good managers! unfortunately that the case but it is what it is! And there are plenty out there that would take the meath job.
Flynn had a decent backroom team in Stephen Rocthford and another good lad but wasnt given a sniff!
But then again we all thought COR would be a good appointment back then ... including myself.
You think that some paper based program is going to get meath to the big time???. I dont know what you expect from that! No county has "blueprints" or big development structures other than the Govt./GAA backed Dublin GAA.
Its all about the picking the best players from teh county and getting a good manager with a good system to get the best out of them. Roscommon were in Div one and putting it up to Dublin. They dont have a Centre of Excellence even! Louth.. no centre of excellence even! Westmeath mixing it with the Armaghs and Galways have about 5 decent club teams and no center of excellence!
Id like to know what a Top Class county Board is going to do as opposed to a top class manager??
Just exactly what are you expecting from this "big reform" ???
Utter nonsense ... just get in a manager and staff who know what it takes to compete in the modern game against the best! As a Meath supported I have no interest in waiting another 5 or 10 years to see if our "development plan" is working!
The game will probably have changed again in that time and we will be probably still 5 years behind! :)
Get on with it! get in the best manager we can and I guarantee you that you will get more out of that than any 10 year "development plan"!"
Spot on again sir.
Btw just saw the 'transfer market' comment. All i can say is wow.
I understand why they are devoid of confidence.

Ed2010 (Meath) - Posts: 103 - 04/06/2024 17:09:12    2549492

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Replying To JonnieG:  "Im not sure your logic on the truck makes much sense! The players are there. The truck is fine! its the driver thats the problem!
If you flash the cash you can pick up any amount of good managers! unfortunately that the case but it is what it is! And there are plenty out there that would take the meath job.
Flynn had a decent backroom team in Stephen Rocthford and another good lad but wasnt given a sniff!
But then again we all thought COR would be a good appointment back then ... including myself.
You think that some paper based program is going to get meath to the big time???. I dont know what you expect from that! No county has "blueprints" or big development structures other than the Govt./GAA backed Dublin GAA.
Its all about the picking the best players from teh county and getting a good manager with a good system to get the best out of them. Roscommon were in Div one and putting it up to Dublin. They dont have a Centre of Excellence even! Louth.. no centre of excellence even! Westmeath mixing it with the Armaghs and Galways have about 5 decent club teams and no center of excellence!
Id like to know what a Top Class county Board is going to do as opposed to a top class manager??
Just exactly what are you expecting from this "big reform" ???
Utter nonsense ... just get in a manager and staff who know what it takes to compete in the modern game against the best! As a Meath supported I have no interest in waiting another 5 or 10 years to see if our "development plan" is working!
The game will probably have changed again in that time and we will be probably still 5 years behind! :)
Get on with it! get in the best manager we can and I guarantee you that you will get more out of that than any 10 year "development plan"!"
The wee county has a fine centre of excellence for many years now.

ged (Louth) - Posts: 299 - 04/06/2024 18:19:52    2549508

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Replying To JonnieG:  "Im not sure your logic on the truck makes much sense! The players are there. The truck is fine! its the driver thats the problem!
If you flash the cash you can pick up any amount of good managers! unfortunately that the case but it is what it is! And there are plenty out there that would take the meath job.
Flynn had a decent backroom team in Stephen Rocthford and another good lad but wasnt given a sniff!
But then again we all thought COR would be a good appointment back then ... including myself.
You think that some paper based program is going to get meath to the big time???. I dont know what you expect from that! No county has "blueprints" or big development structures other than the Govt./GAA backed Dublin GAA.
Its all about the picking the best players from teh county and getting a good manager with a good system to get the best out of them. Roscommon were in Div one and putting it up to Dublin. They dont have a Centre of Excellence even! Louth.. no centre of excellence even! Westmeath mixing it with the Armaghs and Galways have about 5 decent club teams and no center of excellence!
Id like to know what a Top Class county Board is going to do as opposed to a top class manager??
Just exactly what are you expecting from this "big reform" ???
Utter nonsense ... just get in a manager and staff who know what it takes to compete in the modern game against the best! As a Meath supported I have no interest in waiting another 5 or 10 years to see if our "development plan" is working!
The game will probably have changed again in that time and we will be probably still 5 years behind! :)
Get on with it! get in the best manager we can and I guarantee you that you will get more out of that than any 10 year "development plan"!"
Of course must remember this forum is often about amusement....get a new" top class"man and bobs your uncle that will cure 20 year old problems, to hell with that fancy stuff asking why no suitable person wants the job. Reviews.. Why?... Rubbish let them at it all and he is top class itl be grand Derry might not go with that this week. Get a "top class man" (even if nobody wants it) Just Like That as Les Dawson used to say Ah yes we would all buy that if only it was that simple???

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1246 - 04/06/2024 18:30:25    2549512

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Replying To ged:  "The wee county has a fine centre of excellence for many years now."
Very fine Ged. Protection and Prosperity Centre of Excellence in Darver. Was up there in December.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7455 - 04/06/2024 19:55:08    2549521

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Replying To Blackspot09:  "On O'Rourkes interview where he said anyone who isn't patient we ignore.

Does anyone know any meath supporter who has been demanding instant success from the team or the current management ?? Because I don't.

Any meath supporter I know and have spoken to which is a lot just want to see some signs of gradual progression and improvement over a period of time like 1 year 2 years etc. That's all the knowledgeable meath supporters which in my opinion is most of us because meath football supporters are very knowledgeable imo are looking for. Evidence of improvement and progression and we are clearly not seeing anything of the sort so for him to come out basically say we ignore the majority of meath supporters because they "don't understand" is incredibly arrogant."
Agreed!

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1246 - 04/06/2024 20:56:59    2549536

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Replying To nobull456:  "Of course must remember this forum is often about amusement....get a new" top class"man and bobs your uncle that will cure 20 year old problems, to hell with that fancy stuff asking why no suitable person wants the job. Reviews.. Why?... Rubbish let them at it all and he is top class itl be grand Derry might not go with that this week. Get a "top class man" (even if nobody wants it) Just Like That as Les Dawson used to say Ah yes we would all buy that if only it was that simple???"
Excellent post…. For all those saying just get a top class guy/ coach.. we tried that with Andy McEntee and through no lack of trying on his part it didn't work… there's a handful of top class guys in the country … they don't want to work with an also ran which Meath have become … look at Flynn saying he'd a top class guy in Rocthford and then have to retract it when Rocthford was on kevin mcstays ticket. … most on here wouldn't give Eivers and Garrigan the time of day last year …what would they know many said... Now they were the only good thing going from last years set up

Also love all this new found romanticism about the hammerings… we've only got under Colm O'Rourke in the championship .. history begs to differ

Leinster
2017. Lost by 9 to Kildare
2018. Lost by 2 to Longford
2019. Lost by 16 to Dublin… scoring 4 points over 70+ minutes
2020. Lost by 21 to Dublin.. scoring 9 points over 70+ minutes
2021. Lost by 6 to Dublin
2022 . Lost by 13 to Dublin

Super 8's
Donegal lost by 9
Mayo lost by 9
Kerry lost by 8

2020 league
1 point from 14
Lost by 5,10, 1, 3, 2 and 4

Our biggest issue is we don't score enough and haven't for years. We're not a heavy scoring team and until you're hitting 18-20 scores a game and multiple goals a game you're at nothing. It's all well and good getting them against lower level opposition but when it matters we struggle badly. Have we scored a goal in any of our last three games? We don't have any top class forwards and to be honest we haven't consistently had since stephen bray retired. Biggy and michael newman had patches but never sustained year on year scoring.

Looked Colm is done for it's that simple. I hoped for progress after the TC but there's no signs to support that during this year. A lot of it is Colms fault but the players need to answer questions, people need to stop absolving them of any blame. This pre dates Colm and tbh the further removed we get from Andy McEntee the more I feel he was badly let down too and I have a certain sympathy for him. The lack of basic skills can't be blamed on a manager solely and whilst I don't agree with a lot of what Cian ward said earlier this week, the fact so few of our players can't do the basics of the game is a huge concern.

At this point a year or two in division 3 wouldn't be a bad thing and let the squad and county rediscover its identity. Look at Derry and Louth in recent times. They played in division 3 and 4 and built an identity and style about themselves. They mastered what they were doing and that's what this current squad needs. Many on here won't want to hear that but that's what's needed.

brian (Meath) - Posts: 1967 - 04/06/2024 23:44:38    2549577

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Replying To brian:  "Excellent post…. For all those saying just get a top class guy/ coach.. we tried that with Andy McEntee and through no lack of trying on his part it didn't work… there's a handful of top class guys in the country … they don't want to work with an also ran which Meath have become … look at Flynn saying he'd a top class guy in Rocthford and then have to retract it when Rocthford was on kevin mcstays ticket. … most on here wouldn't give Eivers and Garrigan the time of day last year …what would they know many said... Now they were the only good thing going from last years set up

Also love all this new found romanticism about the hammerings… we've only got under Colm O'Rourke in the championship .. history begs to differ

Leinster
2017. Lost by 9 to Kildare
2018. Lost by 2 to Longford
2019. Lost by 16 to Dublin… scoring 4 points over 70+ minutes
2020. Lost by 21 to Dublin.. scoring 9 points over 70+ minutes
2021. Lost by 6 to Dublin
2022 . Lost by 13 to Dublin

Super 8's
Donegal lost by 9
Mayo lost by 9
Kerry lost by 8

2020 league
1 point from 14
Lost by 5,10, 1, 3, 2 and 4

Our biggest issue is we don't score enough and haven't for years. We're not a heavy scoring team and until you're hitting 18-20 scores a game and multiple goals a game you're at nothing. It's all well and good getting them against lower level opposition but when it matters we struggle badly. Have we scored a goal in any of our last three games? We don't have any top class forwards and to be honest we haven't consistently had since stephen bray retired. Biggy and michael newman had patches but never sustained year on year scoring.

Looked Colm is done for it's that simple. I hoped for progress after the TC but there's no signs to support that during this year. A lot of it is Colms fault but the players need to answer questions, people need to stop absolving them of any blame. This pre dates Colm and tbh the further removed we get from Andy McEntee the more I feel he was badly let down too and I have a certain sympathy for him. The lack of basic skills can't be blamed on a manager solely and whilst I don't agree with a lot of what Cian ward said earlier this week, the fact so few of our players can't do the basics of the game is a huge concern.

At this point a year or two in division 3 wouldn't be a bad thing and let the squad and county rediscover its identity. Look at Derry and Louth in recent times. They played in division 3 and 4 and built an identity and style about themselves. They mastered what they were doing and that's what this current squad needs. Many on here won't want to hear that but that's what's needed."
Look Brian we know the calibre of player isn't there to be world beaters. They need to do plenty of improving. But is this management team the right team to help them do that improving, I don't think so. Also in that you mention the 3 super 8 games. We ended up losing comprehensively. But with 20 mins left those games were level. I don't think anybody would dispute that the performances in those games weren't far better than what we've seen against top teams in the last 2 years. And those divison 1 losses by 1,3,2 and 4 against the best teams in Ireland along with a draw against Monaghan, we are so far off that now. Also you've brought up pretty much the worst games from Andy's tenure as a comparison. What about wins over Galway and Armagh in the league. Losses to Donegal by 2 in Ballyboffey and in Croke Park in a league final. Losses to Donegal by 1 in championship, by 1 after extra time to all Ireland finalists Tyrone. COR's league performances are worse than any of Andy's or even MOD's worst years. His championship record is 1 win and 4 losses and we've been out of the game at half time in 3 of those losses. Would we be a top team with better management, no probably not. Would we be a walkover for any decent team we play, I don't think we would be

LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 1490 - 05/06/2024 09:17:35    2549610

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"One glaring thing the Royals need to work on is their finishing, to shoot just three first half points from fourteen opportunities (even accounting for a tricky breeze) just isn't good enough.

"Yeah, well we'd love to go into the transfer market and get Seán O'Shea or Paudie Clifford or David Clifford or some of the good Dublin forwards," O'Rourke said when asked about that.

"We just don't have that clinical edge to our performances. It's let us down now for the whole year. All we can do is...we spend hours and hours training and score-taking. Everybody seems to be able to kick points in training. It seems to desert them in the games. But again, we'll just keep at it."

The transfer comment with context. If you listen to recent ex players from Dublin and other top tier counties they'll talk about each player knowing their scoring zone. The 80/20 zone where they would expect to score 80% of the time. If they take on a shot there and it doesn't land that's fine, everyone understands they were right to have a go. For a marquee forward that zone will be huge, for a corner back coming up they probably need to see the whites of the keeper's eyes before they take on a shot. But everyone knows the system, everything about the attack is about getting players into their 80/20 zone.

I've seen no evidence that COR and co are talking in these terms to players. As said by a number of posters, a top class forward would not look very good in a team without a system.

MeathAbroad (Meath) - Posts: 64 - 05/06/2024 09:29:29    2549612

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Replying To brian:  "Excellent post…. For all those saying just get a top class guy/ coach.. we tried that with Andy McEntee and through no lack of trying on his part it didn't work… there's a handful of top class guys in the country … they don't want to work with an also ran which Meath have become … look at Flynn saying he'd a top class guy in Rocthford and then have to retract it when Rocthford was on kevin mcstays ticket. … most on here wouldn't give Eivers and Garrigan the time of day last year …what would they know many said... Now they were the only good thing going from last years set up

Also love all this new found romanticism about the hammerings… we've only got under Colm O'Rourke in the championship .. history begs to differ

Leinster
2017. Lost by 9 to Kildare
2018. Lost by 2 to Longford
2019. Lost by 16 to Dublin… scoring 4 points over 70+ minutes
2020. Lost by 21 to Dublin.. scoring 9 points over 70+ minutes
2021. Lost by 6 to Dublin
2022 . Lost by 13 to Dublin

Super 8's
Donegal lost by 9
Mayo lost by 9
Kerry lost by 8

2020 league
1 point from 14
Lost by 5,10, 1, 3, 2 and 4

Our biggest issue is we don't score enough and haven't for years. We're not a heavy scoring team and until you're hitting 18-20 scores a game and multiple goals a game you're at nothing. It's all well and good getting them against lower level opposition but when it matters we struggle badly. Have we scored a goal in any of our last three games? We don't have any top class forwards and to be honest we haven't consistently had since stephen bray retired. Biggy and michael newman had patches but never sustained year on year scoring.

Looked Colm is done for it's that simple. I hoped for progress after the TC but there's no signs to support that during this year. A lot of it is Colms fault but the players need to answer questions, people need to stop absolving them of any blame. This pre dates Colm and tbh the further removed we get from Andy McEntee the more I feel he was badly let down too and I have a certain sympathy for him. The lack of basic skills can't be blamed on a manager solely and whilst I don't agree with a lot of what Cian ward said earlier this week, the fact so few of our players can't do the basics of the game is a huge concern.

At this point a year or two in division 3 wouldn't be a bad thing and let the squad and county rediscover its identity. Look at Derry and Louth in recent times. They played in division 3 and 4 and built an identity and style about themselves. They mastered what they were doing and that's what this current squad needs. Many on here won't want to hear that but that's what's needed."
Just on this final point Brian , with regard to consolidating at a lower level, i think its an interesting point , for a number of reasons . One of those is that cracks that were prised wide open this year where very visible to see last year, and in many respects "winning" The Tailteann did no favours to either COR , the squad or the Mindset. We were poxed in that first half against Down...terrible in fact, and they should have been "out the gate " by Half time . Instead , everyone involved only looked at the second half and in fact The Result . added to that CORs constant rheteroic from his first day , of Dublin being the Yardstick for Us , has double downed on the Wrong Mindset of everyone involved.

Thelongwoodslasher (Meath) - Posts: 392 - 05/06/2024 09:42:49    2549616

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Replying To JonnieG:  "Sick of hearing this nonsense about "we need a development plan" or "we need the CB to lead from the top"!
And now apparently we need a culture change! More buzzwords that mean absolutely nothing!
This current crop of players are surviving Div2 literally on their own without a proper management/coaching team behind them. Surviving on their talent and determination alone.
Time to start looking for a top class successor now who can transform this group into a well coached team with a proper modern day system. Hard to break down and clinical when they get the chance. And fit!!!

That's the first thing that needs to change and the most important!!"
we dont need to get as complicated as a "development Plan" , in fact im sure there is probably something that the CB call a plan down in Navan somewhere. There is a world of a difference between having a Plan, and Having a Good Plan. in fact id argue having no Plan is probably better than having a bad one.
All we have to do initially is stop making Knee jerk decisions . A little bit of thought and analysis of what is needed is the the bare minimum we should expect from the Powers that be. .We have been making emotional , personality driven decisions for over 20 years now ...and with each one...we double down on the problem, because as each "personality" comes in...they clear out even the Good bits that the previous Manager had achieved . I am no clearer of an identity of meath now than i was 10 years ago.
Kneejerk decisions and personal agendas.....Colm Coyle....Eamonn O Brien , Banty, MOD , Andy Mc, and Now COR
COR should have been in the shake up for the Job ..but it was 15-20 years ago. my understanding was that he put a blueprint to the CB at that stage and it was rejected by them ...im kinda guessing that No Blueprint was put in front of them this time around. Andy Mc wasn't favoured by some CB members well before he got the Job...he then goes & wins a Club All Ireland , and in a fit of emotion. he is given teh Job...BUT crucially...he had too many people in the CB just waiting for him to fall...Personality driven agendas ...and we are paying for them now

We don't need Statredgy...we just Need to ask those empowered to make Open minded well informed deciisons in the Best Interest Of Our game in the County

Thelongwoodslasher (Meath) - Posts: 392 - 05/06/2024 10:36:02    2549628

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Replying To LeitrimRoyal99:  "Look Brian we know the calibre of player isn't there to be world beaters. They need to do plenty of improving. But is this management team the right team to help them do that improving, I don't think so. Also in that you mention the 3 super 8 games. We ended up losing comprehensively. But with 20 mins left those games were level. I don't think anybody would dispute that the performances in those games weren't far better than what we've seen against top teams in the last 2 years. And those divison 1 losses by 1,3,2 and 4 against the best teams in Ireland along with a draw against Monaghan, we are so far off that now. Also you've brought up pretty much the worst games from Andy's tenure as a comparison. What about wins over Galway and Armagh in the league. Losses to Donegal by 2 in Ballyboffey and in Croke Park in a league final. Losses to Donegal by 1 in championship, by 1 after extra time to all Ireland finalists Tyrone. COR's league performances are worse than any of Andy's or even MOD's worst years. His championship record is 1 win and 4 losses and we've been out of the game at half time in 3 of those losses. Would we be a top team with better management, no probably not. Would we be a walkover for any decent team we play, I don't think we would be"
Excellent post.

Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 910 - 05/06/2024 10:41:48    2549631

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Replying To brian:  "Excellent post…. For all those saying just get a top class guy/ coach.. we tried that with Andy McEntee and through no lack of trying on his part it didn't work… there's a handful of top class guys in the country … they don't want to work with an also ran which Meath have become … look at Flynn saying he'd a top class guy in Rocthford and then have to retract it when Rocthford was on kevin mcstays ticket. … most on here wouldn't give Eivers and Garrigan the time of day last year …what would they know many said... Now they were the only good thing going from last years set up

Also love all this new found romanticism about the hammerings… we've only got under Colm O'Rourke in the championship .. history begs to differ

Leinster
2017. Lost by 9 to Kildare
2018. Lost by 2 to Longford
2019. Lost by 16 to Dublin… scoring 4 points over 70+ minutes
2020. Lost by 21 to Dublin.. scoring 9 points over 70+ minutes
2021. Lost by 6 to Dublin
2022 . Lost by 13 to Dublin

Super 8's
Donegal lost by 9
Mayo lost by 9
Kerry lost by 8

2020 league
1 point from 14
Lost by 5,10, 1, 3, 2 and 4

Our biggest issue is we don't score enough and haven't for years. We're not a heavy scoring team and until you're hitting 18-20 scores a game and multiple goals a game you're at nothing. It's all well and good getting them against lower level opposition but when it matters we struggle badly. Have we scored a goal in any of our last three games? We don't have any top class forwards and to be honest we haven't consistently had since stephen bray retired. Biggy and michael newman had patches but never sustained year on year scoring.

Looked Colm is done for it's that simple. I hoped for progress after the TC but there's no signs to support that during this year. A lot of it is Colms fault but the players need to answer questions, people need to stop absolving them of any blame. This pre dates Colm and tbh the further removed we get from Andy McEntee the more I feel he was badly let down too and I have a certain sympathy for him. The lack of basic skills can't be blamed on a manager solely and whilst I don't agree with a lot of what Cian ward said earlier this week, the fact so few of our players can't do the basics of the game is a huge concern.

At this point a year or two in division 3 wouldn't be a bad thing and let the squad and county rediscover its identity. Look at Derry and Louth in recent times. They played in division 3 and 4 and built an identity and style about themselves. They mastered what they were doing and that's what this current squad needs. Many on here won't want to hear that but that's what's needed."
Brian,how would going down to divison 3 benefit us?We won a division 3/4 championship last year and that hasn't done us much good.I would always say you only get better playing better teams.id say it would be hard to get young lads commit if we're stuck in division 3/4.I get it's a momentum argument but we were competitive to an extent this year in divison 2.With a better setup we would've bet Fermanagh,Cavan and Cork and giving Armagh and Donegal a better game so we have a decent team which needs direction and belief.I agree with you the players do need to take some responsibility as passing and shot selection leave alot to be desired but is that not managements job to improve players and work on weaknesses in training?.On your point about forwards no we dont have top class forwards at the minute but if they got better service I think Frayne and Costello would definitely improve plus maybe a couple of the young lads coming through as well.As other posters have pointed out we dont expect winning all Irelands etc but would be good to get the best out of this team and in my opinion we're not seeing that.

Proudroyal (Meath) - Posts: 275 - 05/06/2024 11:31:49    2549646

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Great post LeitrimRoyal99 fully agree we can be so much better than we are showing at the moment. Not sure the reasons why Eivers and Garrigan left end of 2023 but heard they were not wanted to carry on. Fair enough if Garrigan was replaced by a top coach then but that did not happen neither which would leave big questions on what manager was thinking at the time. Who is currently doing all the coaching in the sessions with the team or is it just spread out among manager, goalkeeping coach and selectors?

HARRYM (Wicklow) - Posts: 70 - 05/06/2024 11:48:29    2549662

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There's a lot of individual fingerings pointing at management, players and county board but to me all three are accountable for the shambles we are in.

I've been defending COR since he came in but in my opinion he is out of his depth at the minute, we don't have a settled team, there has been chopping and changing of goalkeepers, midfield pairings and no reliable free taker. We're back at the beginning were Andy ended up. COR doesn't have a top coach like a Darcy, Devlin, Donie Buckley or Rochford and it would be very difficult to get one in given the level we are at. We would want to be operating at Division 1 to have any chance. There has been no flow under COR to any part of the game, for example against Kerry and Dublin we done well for 20 minutes but against Louth we were destroyed. If that display was put in against Louth then we would have been in the game at half time.

The players are also not there. Besides Keoghan who else would get into that Dublin or Kerry team?
Even go further down, O Neill, Campion and Costello would just about get into a Galway, Mayo, Tyrone, Armagh or Derry.
We have no marquee forward compared to other counties and before people push to say we do look at the top counties in Ireland and tell me do we have a player at that standard
Dublin - Mannion, Costello, O Callaghan, Kilkenny
Kerry - Clifford's x2, Geaney, O Shea
Galway - Walsh and Comer
Mayo - O Connor, O Donoghue, Conroy
Derry - McGuigan
Tyrone - Canavan x2
Armagh - O Neill
Donegal - McBreaty and Gallen
Cork - Hurley and Sherlock
Monaghan - McManus
Louth - Mulroy

Take the same above counties besides maybe Armagh and Monaghan, they all have 1 nailed down midfielder who is going to work his ****** off, I don't see that with us.
Cian Ward summed it up, a lot of the Meath players are wanna be footballers but when they come up against top teams they get their ***** handed to them.

UsernameInvalid (Meath) - Posts: 365 - 05/06/2024 12:47:09    2549676

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Replying To UsernameInvalid:  "There's a lot of individual fingerings pointing at management, players and county board but to me all three are accountable for the shambles we are in.

I've been defending COR since he came in but in my opinion he is out of his depth at the minute, we don't have a settled team, there has been chopping and changing of goalkeepers, midfield pairings and no reliable free taker. We're back at the beginning were Andy ended up. COR doesn't have a top coach like a Darcy, Devlin, Donie Buckley or Rochford and it would be very difficult to get one in given the level we are at. We would want to be operating at Division 1 to have any chance. There has been no flow under COR to any part of the game, for example against Kerry and Dublin we done well for 20 minutes but against Louth we were destroyed. If that display was put in against Louth then we would have been in the game at half time.

The players are also not there. Besides Keoghan who else would get into that Dublin or Kerry team?
Even go further down, O Neill, Campion and Costello would just about get into a Galway, Mayo, Tyrone, Armagh or Derry.
We have no marquee forward compared to other counties and before people push to say we do look at the top counties in Ireland and tell me do we have a player at that standard
Dublin - Mannion, Costello, O Callaghan, Kilkenny
Kerry - Clifford's x2, Geaney, O Shea
Galway - Walsh and Comer
Mayo - O Connor, O Donoghue, Conroy
Derry - McGuigan
Tyrone - Canavan x2
Armagh - O Neill
Donegal - McBreaty and Gallen
Cork - Hurley and Sherlock
Monaghan - McManus
Louth - Mulroy

Take the same above counties besides maybe Armagh and Monaghan, they all have 1 nailed down midfielder who is going to work his ****** off, I don't see that with us.
Cian Ward summed it up, a lot of the Meath players are wanna be footballers but when they come up against top teams they get their ***** handed to them."
A very fair assessment on your part, watch someone say your an alias or burner account I use

But you make great points, same as Leitrim, longwood and proud royal have today. All of you guys are great posters who give a considered opinion and whilst we might have differing opinions I think generally we all want things to improve. And in 2024 they clearly haven't

I agree with most things you've all posted today and you're all correct in saying it's time to say goodbye to Colm. There's a regression in 2024 back to before Colm arrived in an unsettled team, no tactics, no game plan, no defensive or attacking strategy, no kick out strategy, no free taker and players rapidly regressing. That's simply unacceptable. Thanks for taking on something not many wanted but we can't accept going backwards. I was critical of Andy for it, and I'll be just as critical now of Colm for it. It brings me no pleasure but it's the honest truth

One point I'd disagree with is we need to play better quality opposition, that has gotten us nowhere in the last 10 years. Whilst we were competitive in some games up to 2019, those days are long gone now and the gap is only getting wider by the game. Honestly when was the last time we beat a team of a higher calibre than us in the championship… is it Dublin in 2010??? That's 15 years ago effectively… even teams at a similar level we don't tend to beat. Maybe Kildare in 2012 and 2020 were at the same level as us but other than that our record since 2019 is appalling. Winning league games is not the same as championship as teams are experimenting and trying things and it's now 5 years since those victories over Armagh and Galway.

As user says above there's blame on many sides be it players, management, county board and even ourselves as supporters for not doing more.

What the future is I don't know. Is robbie Brennan available for the Meath job? Is Paul Garrigan still working as head of player development? Could they be involved in 2025 cos honestly that's where we need to be looking too. Is Eugene Eivers committed to Donegal or would he get involved with Meath again. Can Meath people accept an outsider like a D'Arcy, Curran, Clarke, Bohan, Sherlock or others being involved with Meath? Is the county board willing to do what's required to right the wrongs? Are the players willing to put in the hard yards needed? So many questions..

brian (Meath) - Posts: 1967 - 05/06/2024 13:16:59    2549686

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Replying To UsernameInvalid:  "There's a lot of individual fingerings pointing at management, players and county board but to me all three are accountable for the shambles we are in.

I've been defending COR since he came in but in my opinion he is out of his depth at the minute, we don't have a settled team, there has been chopping and changing of goalkeepers, midfield pairings and no reliable free taker. We're back at the beginning were Andy ended up. COR doesn't have a top coach like a Darcy, Devlin, Donie Buckley or Rochford and it would be very difficult to get one in given the level we are at. We would want to be operating at Division 1 to have any chance. There has been no flow under COR to any part of the game, for example against Kerry and Dublin we done well for 20 minutes but against Louth we were destroyed. If that display was put in against Louth then we would have been in the game at half time.

The players are also not there. Besides Keoghan who else would get into that Dublin or Kerry team?
Even go further down, O Neill, Campion and Costello would just about get into a Galway, Mayo, Tyrone, Armagh or Derry.
We have no marquee forward compared to other counties and before people push to say we do look at the top counties in Ireland and tell me do we have a player at that standard
Dublin - Mannion, Costello, O Callaghan, Kilkenny
Kerry - Clifford's x2, Geaney, O Shea
Galway - Walsh and Comer
Mayo - O Connor, O Donoghue, Conroy
Derry - McGuigan
Tyrone - Canavan x2
Armagh - O Neill
Donegal - McBreaty and Gallen
Cork - Hurley and Sherlock
Monaghan - McManus
Louth - Mulroy

Take the same above counties besides maybe Armagh and Monaghan, they all have 1 nailed down midfielder who is going to work his ****** off, I don't see that with us.
Cian Ward summed it up, a lot of the Meath players are wanna be footballers but when they come up against top teams they get their ***** handed to them."
Would Keoghan get on a Dublin team at the moment? I very much doubt it. He is not motoring well at all is a part of the teams demise now too. Along with O'sullivan and Jones, our experienced players certainly are not leading the way. It is just a complete system breakdown with no individual blameless and certainly wouldn't be saying any of our players are good enough to play for a top team at the moment.

winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 544 - 05/06/2024 13:28:51    2549692

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Anyone who says we should drop down and play in division 3 really should be ignored .

We have been the longest team in division 2 , since 2008 we only dropped down to division 3 (2013) got promotion once to division 1 (2020) , division 2 is our level , we spent 14 years in it out of 16 years .


Maybe division 3 or 4 is the standard of our current management team ?

WhyTheLongFace (Meath) - Posts: 896 - 05/06/2024 13:32:15    2549693

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