Leitrim GAA thread - 4 Like(s)
A lot of unbalanced criticism of Andy Moran here. I don't think anybody is saying he is Jim Gavin either but when the job became available Moran/Sloan were the best option. Now Moran/Graham are a duo most Division 3 or 4 counties would be very happy to have. That's the bottom line of it. That conversation needs to be parked until September. The players also love playing for him which was not the case even if we had great success. This is shown with pretty much all available players comminating over the last few years. They have also had to deal with Covid, The Keith Beirne situation, Ryan O'Rourkes injuries and mass emigration of young people out of the county which has weakened our playing pool/standards in the county considerably. We are 3 wins from 3 in Division Four. Without Keith Beirne, Pearce Dolan, Cillian McGloin, Jordan Reynolds, Jack Heslin, David Bruen, Fergal McTague and Shane Moran for various reasons. They also took the brave decision to push Paddy Maguire into retirement after his waning commitment last year. All of those players would start for Leitrim or make a big impact on the panel. However, I do think Moran and co. are particularly weak when it comes to in-game substitutions which again baffled me at the weekend. Bringing on Tom Prior before Plunkett and Keaney was strange when we clearly needed ball winners. As good as newcomers McGreal and Foley have been I do think our half back line is really struggling physically which is natural as it will take a few years to build up their S&C. Diffley in my eyes is not a natural 6 and also struggles physically. Plunkett or Gilheany at 6 is the natural solution. Plunkett is also our best foot passer so that should stop a lot of the lateral play if he was played there. He is struggling with a hip injury according to the radio so maybe they are easing him back in. Does anyone know of Jordan Reynolds injury status? He would defiantly be a starter along with Keaney in our forward line. Was a huge call to start Cathal McHugh at corner back for his first start for Leitrim. He looks to have huge potential and a great engine. He struggled a small bit but I've never seen him play for Ballinamore in the full back line before so it'll be a great learning experience for him. McNulty looks like he is ready to go to the next level which could be huge for the team. He was our best player against Wexford and hopefully he kicks on now. The hatrick and overall performance by O'Rourke should give him the confidence to go on and show that he's the best forward in the Division on his day. Hopefully we continue to play him close to goal. The Goalkeeper situation still makes me uneasy. A natural goalkeeper deals with the Wexford goal easily but at the same time O'Donnell offers long-range free taking and is a good option to receive the ball as a 'fly' keeper. They must not rate Gaffey as highly as others do. That performance won't be good enough to beat Carlow but add in Pearce Dolan who is a huge loss and a few other players and we now have a real chance of going up. Wexford have every right to be livid about the penalty decision but Ben Brosnan should have been sent off before that. In Leitrim its very rare we have got the rub of the green so we ill take what we get.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 19/02/2024 23:08:06

Championship 2018 - 3 Like(s)
From what I understand the named team will have a change or two. Noel Plunkett is supposedly starting at Wing Back. If the Roscommon teams starts as announced I see a few areas where we could potentially gain the upper hand. Compton and O'Rourke are two brilliant rangy midfielders but thankfully they are not hugely athletic which suits us perfectly. We were in so much trouble at midfield in the Bronx as a result of the sheer pace and athleticism of the New York midfielders so hopefully this match up will suit us better. Brian Stack is named at Centre Back for them. I can see him switching with McManus on the wing but if he does start there we need to move M. Plunkett onto him as Stack may be a brilliant footballer but I think Plunkett would have the upper hand physically on him. Dominican at Full Back is a past Roscommon captain but with the form Beirne has been in the past year I have no doubts that he can pick off a few scores. Kilroy is their Centre Forward. He is a brilliant fast footballer but is tiny, he generally drops deep so if this is the case Wrynn can become a sweeper in front of our full back line if Kilroy pushes up I would argue that we should put Madden on him as he has the pace and agility to track him whereas Wrynn could struggle is this respect. The Ross player I worry most about is Enda Smith from the named team I don't see anyone who has the pace, strength and awareness to match him. This is why I think Benny will place Noel Plunkett on him with James Rooney going to Wing Forward and dropping deep as an extra defender. Our Full back line is where I think we need to say our prayers as we will be under considerable pressure trying to control Diarmuid Murtagh (Paddy will tag him), Donie Smith and Ciaran Murtagh who will come deeper to leave space for the other two. In our forward line I would like to think Ryan O'Rourke can get Deaveny playing on the back foot taking him on. He should also have the pace to track his runs from deep. Mulligan will probably be marked by McInerney where I hope he can engineer a few frees. I hope the boys are fired up and bring physicality to this game otherwise the Rossies will run through us again. I'd have no problem with us getting very physical and getting into a dog fight and taking them out of their comfort zone. We are at home against our main rivals after getting embarrassed last year so we need to get stuck in and not show them to much respect. Look, I don't expect Leitrim to win but we should all be expecting a good performance at the very least. If we can avoid conceding a raft of goals I think it's possible we can keep it under 10 points. Defensive Match ups: Donie Smith - Michael McWeeney D.Murtagh - Paddy Maguire C. Murtagh -Donal Wrynn Kilroy - Oisin Madden E.Smith - N Plunkett Fintan Cregg - Shane Quinn

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 24/05/2018 16:32:52

Leitrim GAA thread - 3 Like(s)
I went to Ballinasloe for the U21 game. Last night. Firstly, I'd be surprised if Galway aren't the best team we face all year at that age group. That's also a Galway pane; who only have 4/5 players on the panel that won the U19 a few years ago. A crazily impressive stat. Firstly the make-up of the backroom team. Andy Moran, Barry McWeeney, Ryan Jones and James Mannion (who is extremely well regarded in Galway Gaa as a coach) So theres no doubt the team is getting top-class coaching. They don't get it often but credit to the county board for that. Galway were excellent. Pace, Power and Top class forwards a long with an excellent goalkeeper. I think we will be hearing/seeing a lot about Mathhew Thompson and Colm Costello for Galway seniors in the next few years. Their S&C looked a fair few steps ahead of ours and it told. Its an area where Leitrim Gaa need to address and get into the secondary schools. I think Galway were missing a few regulars through injury but that's why they are one of the favourites for the All Ireland. Saying all this I was quite impressed with Leitrim. The scoreline flattered Galway. A 3 or 4 point difference would have been a real reflection of the game. The team really picked itself - The only gripes I would have is: why play Michael McBrien who was one of the best Wing-Backs in the club championship last year at wing-forward? He looked a little lost and didn't impact the game. Paul Moran was also used as a sub (he had a slight knock) If he was fit to play I find it a brave call that he wasn't starting seeing as he has already played for Leitrim seniors. I also would have liked to have seen more of Tom Plunkett. Paul Honeyman really justified the hype. He was really excellent especially in the first half on limited ball. Up there as good as anything Galway had. The umpire getting involved needlessly and getting him a black card for nothing towards the end was a disgrace we missed him when he was off the field. Darren Cox is a joy to watch as well. Reminds me of a Darragh Canavan type player. It takes real courage to play how he does (which will also lead to mistakes) but his vision and running with the ball caused Galway problems all night. His attempt at a goal from a quick free and a few other attempts at points just showed his lack of experience though and it'll be a good lesson for him. He's a throwback. Barry McNulty really showed his class/leadership in what has been a hectic time for him. He really gave his all and drove the team on all night. I was really impressed with his workrate for such a big player he covered a serious amount of ground. Hopefully his injury isn't too bad and that he is fit for the Senior game on Sunday. He has been carrying a knock on that ankle for a while now. I also think Eannagh McNamara and Brian Cull had great games and have big futures if they want it. Galways first goal was a killer - We were just about keeping in touch with them and we lazily didn't track a runner and they punished us with a brilliant finish. This was then compounded by the penalty miss (which clipped the post). A question that no one at the ground could understand: The penalty award looked extremely soft - but if the Ref thought it was a penalty why was the Galway defender not black carded? Honeyman was destroying him at the time. We then started slowly in the second half - poor turn-overs and poor shot selection let Galway extend the lead. But when we fought back in the 3rd quarter Galway were really on the ropes. There was 4 points in it with 8 minutes left. There was a fierce buzz in the crowd from our supporters - It looked like a shock was on. They turned us over from a short kick-out and punished us with a goal - That was game over. Their subs made a huge impact and it sucked the life out of the game. Theres no doubt a few players like Ben Guckian, Jack Casey McBrien and Moran can make a bigger impact in the upcoming games. Serious talent and potential in that team. It's fantastic that its now league based and not just a knock out game. Hopefully they can shock a few teams in the next games.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 21/03/2024 08:55:10

County Panel 2019 - 3 Like(s)
Enjoyed the positivity in that last post. I might not agree with all of the selections but in the main if all them players commit we are looking up. The age profile is something that Terry H must be impressed with. Most exciting time in 20 years to be a Leitrim supporter in my view. New management team that we could only have dreamed of in the last 10 years. A young group of attack minded players who have huge potential to develop. Yet then we have our most high profile player in Emlyn Mulligan who has been at every media possible in the past few weeks putting a downer on everything. He attended the draw for the Connacht championship where we could only draw Sligo, Mayo, Galway or Roscommon and we drew Roscommon. In my view the second best result we could have hoped for. He then proceeds to attempt to gain as much publicity as possible by stating his dismay with this. Would he have preferred to have drawn Mayo or Galway? Why go to the event if you are just going to be negative about your own county straight away. Terry Hyland and the rest of the players must have been fuming with him. I understand his overall point but he knows the structures are not going to be changed for next year yet still uses his 'status' for negativity. All he had to say was 'our focus is on Division 4 and we will worry about Ross later on in the year'. I would imagine most of the younger players will have a complete contrasting view of things and will only relish the challenge. Genuine question and when you consider the new rules with the 'attacking Mark' and the pace of the current game does Emlyn on current form get into the Leitrim starting line up next year? I know he was only coming back from another serious knee injury this year but on his form does he get in a forward line that will feature Ryan O'Rourke, Gary Plunkett, Jack Heslin, Shane Moran, Keith Beirne, Mark Plunkett, Darragh Rooney, Cillian McGloin and Niall McGovern? I can't see how he does. Now I do believe he has been our top player in god knows how long especially when you consider the torture with his injuries but I can't see any way in that he won't be an impact sub especially with that attitude.

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 22/10/2018 14:39:10

Leitrim v Roscommon May 22nd - 3 Like(s)
By allowing Ward to continue the county board obviously thinks theres no one better to replace him? Off the tip off my tongue Glen Young, Michael Moyles, Gary Donoghoe Aidan Rooney are all more capable then this present management team and that's just inside the county. There's definitely coaches in either Rosscommon or Cavan that can't get their own county job because of the success that they are having that would take on Leitrim in an effort to prove themselves. Declan Darcy would be the ideal candidate. Clearly capable because of his role in Dublin and would surely inspire all players to join the panel. Even if he couldn't be convinced to take the job surely he could be an advisor for structures or have some involvement. The signs are that the county board are slowly waking up with their proposed new coaching template but it needs to be implemented ASAP with good young energetic coaches. When people see good structures being put in place money will also start to flow so the excuse of a lack of resources would quit. Something small to consider Mohill won last years championship and are clearly the best team in the county at present had two players playing yesterday and Aughawillan won it the year previously and had none starting? Surely in a small county we should be using players from the strongest teams, are they not committing or not being picked?

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 23/05/2016 13:31:13

Leitrim GAA thread - 3 Like(s)
It's taken a few days for that performance and result to sink in. The result itself is so so disappointing. With 5 minutes left ourselves and Laois were being promoted but the reality of it is when the game finished we were in 5th place in division four. A bottom half team in the weakest division. The players have set to high of a standard in the last few years to hide from that fact. If that was any other management team there would be serious questions being asked. The performance itself was so blunt and really poor. If we are being honest Sligo were at least a 6 point better team then us. It would have been a lovely daylight robbery if they won. We were so deep and invited Sligo onto us and went out of the game after the first 10 minutes. We rallied really well when it looked as if there was nothing to play for but in reality their was no plan as to what we were doing. It was all guts at hearts from the lads and a fantastic performance from Tom Prior that got us back into the game. I see a poster is getting abuse for saying Keith doesn't perform when it matters. If we just take this game in isolation he was roasted. Have a watch of this video https://twitter.com/NoPlanBGAA/status/1640379215982874628. I would say Keith won't mind admitting that himself. It can happen to any player on any day. The problem is we have had no strategy whatsoever all year apart from hoping that Beirne kicks 10 points a game. You might get away with that against poor teams but against half decent opposition it just won't happen. Paul Keaney isn't ready or conditioned enough to play at midfield on a county team just yet. I thought he should have been on the 40. But taking him and Plunkett off with 15 minutes left was lunacy and made me question Morans decision making once again. We had no shooters left on the field when it mattered and it meant Sligo could crowd Beirne out. We all know Plunkett and Keaney have the ability to kick long range scores and draw the opposition out. Which would have created space for our inside forwards. Starting Domhnail Flynn in our half back was a nightmare waiting to happen and it's exactly what occurred. Trying to copy what Mayo are doing with Conor Loftus was a lazy strategy. Fair play to Nevin O'Donnell for keeping us in the game with the two superb saves he made but his kickouts along with Beirne being out of the game were the main reason we lost the game. It was like watching Leitrim in the 90s where every kickout would be ballooned upon the great Mickey Quinn. Pearce Dolan (and Plunkett in the first half) were having to jump against two men every time and was completely gassed by the end of the game. I'm not sure if we went short once? Paddy Maguire was exceptional again but I do think we got it wrong and he should have been our man marker closest to our goals. Diffley was roasted and doesn't have the power to compete yet. He was brushed aside at times. The referee was a disgrace I thought at significant moments as well which was the most frustrating thing. From what I know there has been no falling our with Ryan O'Rourke but after NYC he will not be a part of the panel along with a few other squad players. Its completely understandable. He can't get his body right to play and with the management Fenagh have in place there is now real pressure to win the club championship. New York have Quinlivan from Tipp and Gavin O'Brien from Kerry and it was interesting to see some of their management team in the Pairc at the weekend.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 29/03/2023 10:40:04

Qualifiers 2019 - 3 Like(s)

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 04/06/2019 15:50:20

Championship 2018 - 2 Like(s)
McKiernan Madden McWeeney Paddy Rooney Wrynn Plunkett Quinn McGovern O'Rourke Plunkett McGloin Rooney Beirne Mulligan With Murphy being ruled out I feel Madden might be moved into corner back. His speed will suit Gaelic Park and give an out ball to the defence especially as most teams only play two-inside these days aswell so he will be left free if McWeeney and McGuire are man-marking. The midfield is an issue McGovern is the only guaranteed starter here. I would have thought Plunkett would have been nailed on once he returned but he doesn't even start there for the Willies and would be a massive presence on our half forward line if left there where he could roam to the middle. Shane Quinn has been our most consistent performer all year and I'm not comfortable taking him away from wingback but he easily holds his own for Mohill at midfield and he should be able to do this while protecting the defence for the county. I feel O'Rourke (if fit), Beirne and Darragh Rooney are the three forwards who have their name on the team sheet so far. Mulligan if he is comfortable playing on the synthetic surface will also probably start at corner forward and then it's between McGloin, Gaffney, Gallagher (who played well for Lucan in the Dublin championship), Heslin, Flynn, Ward etc. for the final wing forward spot. I feel McGloin will get the call as he has height, can kick long range scores and is fast, his only negatives are his lack of strength and his inexperience. Ward could be a dark horse as he could become an auxiliary centre back to help out our defence. Heslin is unfortunate as his form at the tail end of the league was superb but himself, Gaffney and Kennedy could make a big impact off the bench which we will need in the heat. With this selection it is fair to question both wing back slots as they have both played little inter-county football this year but to me of what players are on the squad and fit this is our strongest starting team. We can't let New York get a good start as it will drive them on as well as putting more doubt into the minds of our players. Winning the middle third will be crucial.

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 16/04/2018 15:13:41

Division 4 - National League - 2 Like(s)
Going to name what I think will be our panel of 26 for the day. I to agree with previous posters when they said there's probably 13 or 14 of the starting team decided upon already. The hardest part I feel is going to be deciding on who doesn't make the panel for such a big day. As far as I know Noel Plunkett and Sean Flanagan are still injured or not back to sufficient fitness to be considered and there's question marks over Damien Moran. 1. Diarmuid McKiernan 2. Aidan Flynn 3. Michael McWeeney 4. Paddy Maguire 5. Shane Quinn 6. Mark Plunkett 7. Ray Mulvey 8. Shane Moran 9. Dean McGovern 10. Sean McWeeney 11. Domhnail Flynn 12. Jack Heslin 13. Evan Sweeney 14. Pearce Dolan 15. Ryan O'Rourke 16. Cathal McCrann 17. Fergal McTague 18. Conor Reynolds 19. Oisin Madden 20. Gary Reynolds 21. Emlyn Mulligan 22. Gary Plunkett 23. Darragh Rooney 24. Cillian McGloin 25. Conor Cullen 26. Damien Moran* Players who are on the panel but won't be named. 1. Cathal McCauley 2. Niall Brady 3. James Rooney 4. Nicholas McWeeney 5. Oisin McCaffery 6. Sean Flanagan* 7. Noel Plunkett*

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 26/03/2019 11:01:51

Division 4 - National League - 2 Like(s)
Must say I like 'OnTheBanks' team for the game against Waterford. But the risk of injury worries me. Very undecided personally on how we should approach this game. Do we try and give squad players another chance to impress or do we put out a full team in an effort to gain more confidence and pray we don't pick up injuries? With the way the surface is in Pairc Sean I'd be worried about injuries. From what I can see Shane Moran, Mark Plunkett, Shane Quinn and Aidan Flynn have played all the games so I'd give them a rest this weekend. I also want to see if McTague is back to his best yet, same goes for Oisin Madden. Dean McGovern has been poor since the Mayo game so he needs to play himself into contention. Is Flanagan still injured since before the Limerick game. Would have been good to see what he would bring. Agree that we should not be defensive. A Big win would give everyone's confidence a boost going for Croker. Not sure what to do with Jack Heslin, feel he could be our Key Player in Croker with his pace but his history of Hamstring injuries worries me especially with the sod in Carrick. But does he need game time to be sharp? Maybe a second half appearance would be enough. McCrann Reynolds McTague (Michael) McWeeney Madden Reynolds (Nicholas)McWeeney McGovern Cullen McGloin Rooney Domhnail Flynn Sweeney Mulligan (G)Plunkett

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 21/03/2019 15:59:29

Leitrim GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Before I get into my reaction to the league final and what I think might happen in R1 of the championship I've a side point to make. I think I've seen nearly every senior team play atleast twice this year and I've seen a fair few underage games along with county games aswell. We have a brilliant crop of young players coming through - Especially forwards, in the next few years. Can some other posters let me know if all of these players are U20 for the county in 2024. Barry McNulty (Manor), Paul Moran (Ballinamore), Tom Plunkett (Aughawillan), Darren Cox (Annaduff), Paul Honeyman (Ballinamore), Jack Casey & Ben Guckian (St Marys). Those seven players have enormous potential to be top class players for Leitrim and their clubs in the coming years (I'm sure I'm missing a few aswell). There can be a lot of doom and gloom around Leitrim football but they all have serious potential. Onto the league final - A Final nobody apart from St Mary's wanted to be in. Then St.Marys proceeded to give lads a chance or rest their main players with knocks etc. To give some context. Paul Keaney is still playing football in Boston, Daire Farrell is injured and they then left Nicholas McWeeney (their most important player), Adam Reynolds, Ben Guckian, Gavin Reynolds and Diarmuid Kelleher on the bench. The fact that they could still challenge a 'top team' such as Fenagh while not starting or playing those players is both scary and impressive. Also rumours that Michael Mcweeney may be staying around for the championship. I'll frame the game in this way. Carrick were way of the pace of the game in the first half. Jack Casey was their standout player and looks like he has a brilliant future if he can focus on his conditioning over the winter. Riordan O'Rourke and Jack Gilheany were Fenaghs two crucial players. Riordan playing in his natural position as a forward and not as a wing-back as he was bizzarely used with the county. Gilheany dominated the middle third and it's a must that he is brought back into the county Set-Up. Mark Diffley was roasted by O'Rourke and it has to be questioned how suited he is to full back after the tough time he has had this year. He was directly at fault for Fenaghs winning goal. McWeeney and a few more came on at half time and the game instantly changed in St. Mary's favour. How they didn't get across the line will raise many questions for Marys management but im sure their players wont be happy with their managements selections either. Was happy to see Donal Wrynn score the game winning goal. He has soldiered with Leitrim and Fenagh for years and taken a lot of unwarranted abuse while always giving his all and not getting involved in anything he shouldn't unlike some others. Fenagh will rattle most teams if they can get Ryan O'Rourke back fully fit but their defence looks suspect. The McCormacks find a way to win again. No Shock to anyone there. Predictions for the weekend: Ballinamore -V- Aughnasheelin = Ballinamore by a landslide Gortlettragh -V- St Mary's = St Mary's by a landslide Fenagh -V- Leitrim Gaels = There could be a shock in this game. Fenagh were out on their feet by the end of the league final and Leitrim Gaels have David Bruen back. Dromahair -V- Mohill = Mohill by +10 Aughawillan -V- Manor - The tie of the round. A lot will focus on if Evan Sweeney is back fit for Manor, They should have a bite to them after being relegated. If not I can see Aughawillan getting over the line by a couple of points in a dog of a game.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 01/08/2023 13:50:40

National League 2018 - 2 Like(s)
I know I have been saying this for a long time on here and I get no happiness out of being right but when do the county board begin to act? The unfortunate thing is losing to Carlow is no surprise. We beat them by 2 points last year in the league and should have won way easier so within a year we have had a turnover of 14 points. We have lost the majority of players that backboned the team that beat Carlow last year. It seems as if we have no clear defined game plan other than just hope for moments of magic off Rooney, O'Rourke and Beirne. That may have worked when John O'Mahony was in his pomp and Benny and Seamus were players but Football has completely changed and their needs to be structures and systems in place. Especially, when these three players are only in their second year of senior county football. Carlow are a case study in this, I believe within the county we have far better footballers then Carlow but they have an effective even if it's an ugly system that has been getting them results. To play against a blanket defence you need width, patience and power to break through the lines. We have lost Shane Moran, the two Plunketts, Paddy McGuire to name a few who are all physically able to break the lines. Yesterday we just lost our patience and either kicked the ball into the Carlows spare men or got bottled up in the tackles as we had no plan in place to deal with the blanket defence. How long before the rest of the players get sick of this ineptness? Our 2 sub keepers are already gone off the panel so if anyone has spare gloves be prepared for a call. Tick Tock, Tick Tock.

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 11/02/2018 19:23:37

Leitrim GAA thread - 2 Like(s)

Leitrim1234 (National) - 16/05/2023 11:47:15

Galway Football thread - 2 Like(s)
Been at a lot of club games in Galway this year as I'm living up here and I've heard a lot of people mention it: Ruari Lavelle looks like the best keeper in Galway to me and by quite a distance. He was made a scapegoat by supporters (first chapter of Walsh's book) previously in a team that was nowhere near as good as what Galway have now. Is it a personal matter between him and Joyce? (supposedly the manner in which he was dropped upset a lot of people) or is it a work/commitment issue? Or is he just burnt by what happened previously? His kicking out of hand and from the deck is excellent and he's just as good a shot stopper as Gleeson or Bernie Power. In an area where every other county seems to be finding that edge its strange that he's not being called in or talked about? Outside of Moycullen I've been a small bit disappointed with the overall standard would be surprised if they didn't win it out.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 13/10/2023 09:34:24

National League 2018 - 2 Like(s)
The most frustrating aspect of this debacle is even if we had of just at the very least retained all of our players from last year and developed them over the winter along with adding players like Shane Quinn Etc. Then I think we would have had our best shot ever at getting promoted. Imagine what playing in Croke Park would have done for this group of young players along with the boost it would have given supporters and clubs in the county. Many have been saying since the end of last year that change was required and the reasons why. If people on a forum are able to spot this and players themselves won't commit as they don't have faith in the management after a year of working with them then surely the county board aren't clueless? We could have been lining up with a team similar to this: Flynn Murphy McGuire McWeeney Madden Wrynn Quinn Moran McGovern O'Rourke Plunkett J.Rooney Rooney Beirne Kennedy That would have left McKiernan, Cullen, Mulligan, Gaffney, P.Dolan, Ward, Heslin, Moreton, N.Plunkett, Ward Mitchell, G.Plunkett, O'Donnell Keegan, Canning, Flynn, Carberry on the bench. That is also without considering Conlan or Brennan I for one think that panel would have been good enough to get us promoted. Criticising the management isn't nice especially as they just aren't good enough and shouldn't have been granted the role. Then when you factor in that a lot of our top players just won't commit under this set up it's truly hard to judge how good or bad they are. The bottom line is that in intercounty management a significant portion of a manager's job is to be able to get the best players in the county to commit to the cause Benny and Seamus clearly can't do this which means they aren't fulfilling their duties. That's before we even examine how there is a lack of a tactical know how or the ability to coach a proficient structure. Where can anyone see us getting a win? This is all before club manager's start asking their players on the panel if it is worth missing club training and matches for.

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 11/02/2018 20:18:42

Leitrim GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Very interested to see what team Moran/Sloan put out this weekend. Sligo play a two man full forward line with Murphy and O'Connor inside who are two exceptional footballers. They flood the middle third with Spillane, Lally and Kilcoyne and have Carrabine on the 40 who is a deadly forward at this level. They then have Luke Towey who was in Aussie Rules running hard from the half back line. Hopefully Donal Casey is back to mark Carrabine on the 40 which will solve a lot of our problems. I would then detail Mark Plunkett to drop out and act as a third midfielder to tag Spillane. This would give Spillane something to think about as he would have to defend aswell. Paul Keaney and Pearce Dolan should be more than able to hold their own then in the middle third. Who is told to follow Towey is what worries me. I think I would put Aidan Flynn on him. And then Paddy Maguire on Niall Murphy. They will have lots to worry with us then as well. I feel like they struggle for a real top quality man marker so who they put on Beirne will be interesting. This is a huge game for this group going forward. Win and we have serious momentum and another day in Croke Park. Hopefully there is a huge crowd for this game. Best of luck to all the squad.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 24/03/2023 10:53:59

Leitrim GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
1. Nevin O'Donnell 2. Mark Diffley 3. Donal Casey 4. Adam Renoylds 5. Aidan Flynn 6. Mark Plunkett 7. Cillian McGloin 8. Pearce Dolan 9. Jack Gilheaney 10. Shane Quinn 11.Barry McNulty 12. Paul Keaney 13. Ryan O'Rourke 14. Evan Sweeney 15. Darragh Rooney This is what I would go with. I'd be very worried with the backline but with the players currently in the squad we don't have too many options. Is Conor Hackett from St Marys on the panel? I thought he really impressed in the club championship at wing back. An area we are really struggling with. It seems like Moran is going to stick to his guns with O'Donnell in goals. Wouldn't be my first choice but he hasn't done much wrong to be fair. At 6 Mark Plunkett was the stand out player in league and championship by a distance in this position in an average Aughawillan team and if he is fit I would be surprised if he wasn't played here. Its a position we have really struggled with in the last few years. Jack Gilheany and Sahne Quinn should offer plenty of protection as well. We need Paul Keaney to really begin to show form for the county like he has done with his university. It would be a massive plus for the team if he can bring that form through. McNulty looks a really good prospect but there a lot of pressure being placed on a player thats still so young. If he has the required pace for Inter County football he could be a gem. Without Keith Beirne we are going to need Darragh Rooney and Ryan O'Rourke to shoot the lights out. Both are fully capable of doing this. I genuinely believe if we stay injury free and we can get a good defensive system in place that we will be promoted.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 15/01/2024 01:30:45

Leitrim GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Huge congratulations to the players and management and their families. A huge achievement. So many Leitrim teams have strived to get promoted before this and have failed. We need to enjoy the good days. From my count there's approximately 9 players from the previous team that only lost to Derry by 4 points still involved. Ryan O'Rourke, Mark Plunkett, Darragh Rooney, Conor Reynolds, Pearce Dolan, Aidan Flynn, Cillian McGloin, Evan Sweeney, Shane Quinn. There may be one or two more that I'm forgetting. For them boys it's a tremendous achievement to keep the wheels turning when it might be easy to not make all the sacrifices they make especially after losing in New York. Seeing the emotion in the faces of the likes of Donal Wrynn in some of the photos on the Observer shows how much it means to these players and why some of the talk about players can be disgraceful. For example this must be Wrynns and Shane Quinns 10/11 year representing Leitrim at Senior level - that's a phenomenal record without much reward. Theres going to be a lot of people on here that need to reconsider their views of the management team. The reality was when we were replacing Hyland (who the players were completely fed up of) the Leitrim job isn't going to be the most appealing. There were also 3 or 4 other jobs of the same standing on the go at the time. On his own Andy Moran wouldn't be considered for the job with his lack of experience but when you added in Mike Sloan who had won an All Ireland u21 with Mayo and Barry McWeeney, James Glancy etc. into the backroom team you can see why as a package they were the best option available. It also took great humbleness and lack of ego for Moran to bring in Mickey Graham once Sloan left - You will now here people saying that this weekends results were due to Graham etc. Speaking to any of the players over the last few years they really enjoy the environment that's been created which is huge as apart from emigration we haven't seen many players just 'not commit'. That's not saying Moran has ben perfect. Their choice of captains over the years including this year has astounded me. They should never have allowed the league game that we lost to London go ahead in Beakan - No other county would have been pushed into this. Their in-game substitutions can be extremely bizarre and make little impact. It also took them too long to make the change at centre back this year- Whether that was because they made Diffley Captain, I'm not sure but it was as clear as day to anyone who has been to games that either Gilheany or Plunkett had to be played here. I also feel like they enabled Keith Beirne after his lack of commitment around the London game which was completely unfair to the wider panel. They have made hard decisions though they 'pushed' Paddy Maguire into retirement after he really let himself down last year and a few other players who aren't good panel members weren't recalled. They've had to deal with Covid, wide-scale emigration and serious off-field issues that I'm not sure many management teams in the country would be equipped to deal with. Even their stubboness to stick with Nevin O'Donnell in goals has to be fair worked out okay - That was a completely left field idea that not many would have tried. At the start of the year if anyone had told me we would get promoted without Pearce Dolan and Plunkett for the first few games and without Keith Beirne, Jack Heslin, Paddy Maguire, David Bruen, Jordan Reynolds on the panel I wouldn't have believed them. We've also lost other players that would be on the squad such as Michael McWeeney, Oisin Madden etc. That's a huge amount of players (Many whom would start) to not have available in a county with the second smallest pick in Ireland. The wider scale mass emigration has also affected the quality of our club football which can't help either. What we do now have is brilliant forwards. Our rate of scoring over the last 5 years is huge for a Division Four team. O'Rourke is the best forward I've seen in Leitrim in 30 years. You always have a chance when he's on form. John O'Mahonys team was built on defence and midfield and Des Dolans team was built on a back 6 that was as good as any in Ireland at the time. Darragh Rooney has now finally turned into the player he threatened to be when he broke through at 17/18. He's a real leader now and his move to Judes has worked our brilliantly. His success up there also shows to the rest of the players they would compete in any county. In Plunkett you have the ultimate Team Player who will knit everything together and do what the team needs to be done a member of the backroom team said the other day that he probably shouldn't be playing at the moment with his hip injury - Remember he was our best player against Derry that day in Croke Park. The word is that there will be a few more significant players emigrating at the end of this year (just another reason to enjoy days like Saturday) but with the likes of McNulty, Foley, McGreal and the other promising u20s coming through hopefully we can keep the spine of this team together and push on. I for one feel like they should prioritise winning this game and try secure some silverware and then deal with what comes with Sligo!

Leitrim1234 (National) - 25/03/2024 23:53:37

Division 4 - National League - 2 Like(s)

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 26/02/2019 19:01:44

Leitrim GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
With the real club action starting now that the county players have returned I've ran through all the big teams in the Senior Ranks. Worrying that Manor are the only North Leitrim club anywhere near this. Can't see anyone else bar St Mary's winning everything in their path if they can get it going again. St Mary's: Manager: Alan Flynn Everything is in place for Mary's to dominate Leitrim football for the next few years. Their underage is eating every other club alive at all ages. It's so impressive yet has to be worrying for the overall health of the game in Leitrim and will also be a challenge for St Mary's to retain so many of these players they have coming through. On this year they should win the championship. They have the best coach by a distance and have the best overall squad if not any standout individual players just yet/ Paul Keaney may become that but he has a lot to prove as his lacklustre performances with the county have shown. In Ben Guckian, Adam Reynolds, and Jack Casey they have three potential inter-county players for 10 years. The game changer for them I feel is Killian Gaffey in goals - I think it'll be shown how wrong Andy Moran was for not using him in the Tailteann cup. Likes of Conor/Daire Farrell, Kelleher and O'Connell are brilliant club players then that would be main men on most other senior teams. St Mary's are red hot favourites but Keaney, Diffley Reynolds etc. are heading to the USA for the summer so that may take an edge off them when they return. Other than that not having a scoring forward is their main concern. Fenagh: Manager: Joe & Tommy McCormack The Spurs of Leitrim football. All the talent in the world but fail to perform when it matter and then put all the blame on the coach when they get knocked out. They have had a poor start under the McCormacks but have been missing a huge amount of players. Ryan O'Rorurke who in my eyes is the best player by a distance in the county is back training and if they can keep him fit they should be a match for any team. Along with Oisin McLoughlin and Riordan O'Rourke they have as much potential in the forwards as any club team anywhere. Out from Conor Dwyer (who is injured) they suspicion is that they don't have enough quality in defence to win a championship. Jack Gilheaney has been moved between 6/8 so it'll be interesting to see where he is positioned. No doubt they have the talent to win it though. Ballinamore: Manager: Ray Logan Struggled to find a manager which is never a good sign - Talk is that Mickey Graham is in the background 'helping out'. In Shane Moran, Dean McGovern, Tom Prior, Dillon Beirne, Paul Moran, Wayne McKeown and Michael McKiernan they have a lot of talent but they are very inconsistent and have suffered a lot through emigration - losing the likes of Oisin McCaffery and Niall McGovern. I'm not sure if they have enough depth to win a championship but if they get on a role and build momentum they could shock a few teams. They will be very strong down the middle and are capable on their day but I'm not sure if there is a championship in them. Glencar-Manor: Manager: Glen Young Manor have gone back to the future by appointing Glen Young who led them to numerous county championships previously. All doesn't seem well however as they've had to recall the old guard in James Glancy and Gerry Hickey etc. for their first league game and then conceded their second game against Ballinamore due to a stag doo. They should have more than enough players that they don't have to be playing men in their 40s or conceding games so something is not right. In saying that I think they could be dark horses for the championship. Barry McNulty, Evan Sweeney, James Rooney and Paddy Maguire will give them a chance in every game and then they have experienced players around them to help them over the line. Be interesting to see how they fair out now that the league is really starting with the county players returning. Aughawillan Manager: Cathal Murphy Arguably the most interesting team who have a chance of winning a championship. Some would say they have underachieved in the last few years and others argue that they are just past it. That group of players have 3 championships, and the argument is that they havent freshened it up enough or don't have the playing numbers to do so. They are probably the team left with the most County level experience with the three Plunketts, Pearce Dolan, Barry Prior, Fergal McTague and Ciaran Gilheany. Do they still have it in the legs or the hunger to compete is the question? They should be dominate in the middle of the park with Dolan and Mark Plunkett and the scores of Gilheany and Gary Plunkett will give them a chance but do they have the depth or anyone else to step up. St Marys have hammered them the last few years so they will need to pull something out of the bag or do something different. Anything is possible with them however. Mohill: Manager: Eamon O'Hara In what could have been an era of dominance for Mohill has turned a small bit sour. Many clubs would bite your hand off for what they have achieved in the last few years but they have also came up short on the big day more than any other team. They've lost Oisin Madden through emigration and Jordan Reynolds to injury for the year so can Shane Quinn and Keith Beirne keep them going? I have my doubts. No doubt they'll have talented youngsters coming through but I feel we are going to see a major drop off from them this year unless Beirne can do something incredible. However, he has looked burtn out in the last 3/4months. There was also a lot of criticism from within Mohill about O'Haras abilities last year so that will be interesting to see how it plays out. Leitrim Gaels: Manager: Paul Prior Probably the team punching above their weight the most. They have lost Brendan Flynn who is now playing in goals for St.Judes. Talk is that David Bruen will be returning for championship which is huge for them as he is their main man. Out from Bruen it is hard to see who is going to bring them to that next level that's necessary to win a championship. Their power and height around the middle wins them a lot of games early in the year but they get found out during the height of the summer. In Goldrick and Moreton they have two decent forwards but I can't see them challenging for honours. Aughnasheelin: Manager: Terence Reynolds Probably the team who most will see as the weakest in the senior ranks after getting promoted last year. But to be where they are after rumours a few years ago they could fold is impressive. Conor Cullen is a huge loss for them and hopefully they have him back next year. In Ciaran Cullen they arguably have the best young talent in the county - and most likely the fastest along with Jack Heslin. Aaron Hoare should give them a good platform in the middle third and Fitzpatrick is a decent free taker but out from that I think they will struggle. Lots of good young players but they won't see the benefit for that for a few years if they can keep them together.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 08/06/2023 13:02:23