Anyone who is "thankful" that we did not gain promotion, as described by our Cavan friend, is the real delusional one. I am certainly of the opinion that a chance in Division 1 would help this team greatly, now having said that Division 2 is going to be a dogfight again next year but we should be playing the Dublin's, Kerry's, Mayo's of this world to improve ourselves and gain experience. For the second year in a row we have just missed out on promotion to Division 1, largely through no ones fault but our own as was the case last year, but that's an improvement on being relegated to Division 3 and just avoiding said relegation the year before that as as the case a couple of years back and yet we have as much criticism now as we had then. As I said before we are not a county who has recently experienced a successful spell, we are trying to re establish ourselves as a competitive force and I think we have players at our disposal to do just that, of course not getting promoted is a dissapointment, if we want to be a top 8 team as is MO'D's aim then we should be in Division 1 but look around today lads, Kildare, Westmeath, Louth all relegated, Laois survive by the skin of their teeth and up until today Galway could still have been relegated. I believe we are in a far better place looking forward than those counties and a lot more besides and believe we can reach the quarter finals this year which is a necessity I believe to move forwards. We will be in a Leinster Final this year, let's face it if we can't beat Wicklow in Navan and Wexford, two Division 4 teams, we don't deserve anything, so the road ahead is clear, players and management know what must be done and what represents progress, it's our job to turn up in the numbers we did today and SUPPORT them, I sincerely hope Navan is full to whatever capacity she can hold on June 15th next and we start our championship positively both on the field and on the stands and terraces.

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 05/04/2015 20:25:51    1710974

Richieq

Ya I think the Laois game is the frustrating one,we just missed out last year,but we lost out to Monaghan and Donegal who are very good sides,but I would argue that we are as good as the Rossies and Down..

ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 05/04/2015 20:28:13    1710977

Sorry meant Wexford and or Westmeath/Louth there, how could I forget such illustrious neighbours......

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 05/04/2015 20:29:56    1710979

RD, yeh I know nothing is certain ... expect three home games next year, one extra would be a bonus. But the Monaghan situation was slightly different in that those two games were in D3 and then D2. As Galway, Cavan, Laois and ourselves are now part of the furniture in D2:) I'd say there is a better chance of the reverse of this seasons fixtures.

GlasagusOr (Meath) - Posts: 1348 - 05/04/2015 20:33:33    1710983

Richieq

ya doesn't really matter who gets through from those sides,although I think it will be Westmeath.

ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 05/04/2015 20:34:22    1710985

Wasn't a great game today but the closeness of it kept the interest alive for the duration. All this talk about not good enough for Div. 1! Are we any worse than Down or Roscommon. Beat Down comfortable last week and but for an awful mistake from Paddy would probably have beaten the Rossies as well.
We were very defensive at times today and only with 15 minutes to go we decided to push up on Cavan's spare player at the back. And Low and Behold we forced Cavan to Kick long and we scored 5 points without reply. A great last 15 minutes and fair play to Bray for taking his point as the game was so tight. Had Mackey done the same then the outcome may have been different.
Add Tormay and Kev Reilly to that panel and we're in decent shape for the championship. An Mhi Abu.

Diego (Meath) - Posts: 1205 - 05/04/2015 21:15:17    1711024

Doitmyway1212
County: Meath
Posts: 46

1710750
Good win , but meath going no where

we are doing fine..and know where we are..unlike you sunshine fan

blind ref (Meath) - Posts: 204 - 05/04/2015 21:22:05    1711035

No we are not doing fine, Meath are still struggling and just because someone has different opinion to you does not make them a sunshine fan.

seadog54 (Meath) - Posts: 2142 - 05/04/2015 21:41:25    1711056

Lets call a spade a spade , Gaa football is a disgrace . I am not a fan of Mick ODowd but I feel sorry for him he is fighting a loosing battle . We have a lot of good players on this Meath panel but they haven't a clue what they are at as a unit . MOD hasn't a clue what he is trying to do and thats so obvious but this is not his fault this is a gaa problem . They have allowd negative managers dictate what way football should be played . When you hear after todays game the president of the Gaa saying it was a good game of football , 1 he hasnt a clue 2 he has no notion of changing anything under his watch . We as a county still like to think that we can someday contest an all Ireland final but in the gaa we have to many teams that will never compete on the 3 sunday in September and the gaa never done anything to address this . The championship at senior , u21 and minor need a complete overhaul . I believe that the under 21 and minor should be scraped and be replaced with an u19 championship . I would not allow any player play senior until the are finished playing u19 . The championship should start as a league with 8 groups of 4 teams each team playing 3 games 1 at home 1 away and 1 at a natural venue . After the league the top 2 in each group go into a straight knockout and play for the sam maguire and the bottom 2 play for another cup both finals played on the same day in september . I would play the u19 final before one of the semifinals . Somethink needs to be done fast or nobody will want to play gaa football let alone watch it . Todays game was awful to watch and whether we were good enough to play in div1 next year we wont know now . This years div2 was probably the worst in a while and we couldnt get out of it . We still continue to play to many players out of position and I doubt anyone on this forum would even get close to naming our championship team . I dont believe our management has any idea . Who would want to be a manager at this time your damed if you do and damed if you dont .

mmc (Meath) - Posts: 266 - 05/04/2015 21:47:46    1711059

Richieq - I didn't get out of the stand for a while after the game, but the players were still on the pitch when I did. Didn't hear any type of abuse but if there was then they are just boorish so and so's. Border rivalries tend to bring out the worst in some people. Hopefully players and management are thick skinned and do not take offense; as these are not the type of people who travel around the country supporting the team.

Players, management and genuine supporters have similar aspirations, hopes and dreams (although sometimes unrealistic expectations); we win and lose together; we will differ on opinions from time to time. But mutual respect and acting with decorum is a given, even when things do not go to plan and/or we suffer disappointments.

Genuine supporters should rebuke any oafish person or persons they witness abusing players and management.

GlasagusOr (Meath) - Posts: 1348 - 05/04/2015 21:50:37    1711061

Yeah i too was in the stand and i didn't hear any abuse , well nothing more than the usual you stupid so and so, or what were you thinking stuff. Was it more from the terraces? Actually walked onto pitch with my youngest girl and she got her jersey signed, the lads were very downbeat, which in itself i think it showed how Much promotion meant to them. But what's done is done, if the get a Leinster medal today will mean nothing.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 05/04/2015 22:02:38    1711074

Yeah i too was in the stand and i didn't hear any abuse , well nothing more than the usual you stupid so and so, or what were you thinking stuff. Was it more from the terraces? Actually walked onto pitch with my youngest girl and she got her jersey signed, the lads were very downbeat, which in itself i think it showed how Much promotion meant to them. But what's done is done, if the get a Leinster medal today will mean nothing.

______________________

You wont win a leinster medal this year.

I'm sorry, But you just wont.

Meath are not good enough to beat Dublin.

Nobody in Leinster is good enough to beat Dublin.

Someone mentioned it above. Division one is where you have to be if you want to become competitive, Playing the best teams in the country through-out the spring is a massive learning curve and adds to the experience of the players.

Sitting pretty in division two does nothing for Meath who have their eyes set on improving.

I come on here and other county forums out of curiosity and just to generally have a nose at what fans think of their county, And i see there are alot of posters who are being a bit ungracious about Roscommon. One meath posters says something along the lines of, Roscommon are going to do a Westmeath next year, ie, lose all their games in D1.

Maybe that poster is right, Maybe they will. But that poster could do with opening his eyes. Roscommon are in a much better place than MEath right now and they are a team on the rise. Roscommon are doing EXACTLY what Meath want to do/should do. They may not be a fantastic side, They may not be up there with the Kerry's and Donegals of this world, But THEY are the team improving. They are the side with momentum. Its them who will go on the learning curve next year in D1 while meath try AGAIN to emulate what Roscommon did this year.

Meath shouldnt be downplaying Roscommon and their achievement in gaining promotion, They should be using that as the example next year to go one better. But for me the reality is simple. Until Meath are playing division one football experiencing games against the Islands top teams, They will go nowhere and the inevitable beating by the Dubs will continue.

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13650 - 06/04/2015 11:01:20    1711117

Firstly, congrats to the lads on the win. Game itself - atrocious, 16 wides each kind of says it all. Don't know what game the GAA pres was watching if he thought this was good. We must have set for a consistency record for the number of scores in the league, either 13 or 14 over 7 games. Would agree with waynol and others that Meath at the moment are comfortable in Div 2 and are not pushing on. In the league as a whole, 4 of 6 teams relegated are from Leinster, 8 of the 11 Leinster football teams will be playing Div 3 or 4, not good. Honestly speaking, it looks like another stroll for Dublin until August. QF at best for ourselves. Hopefully I'm wrong and we can improve as the summer progresses.

moylagh (Meath) - Posts: 484 - 06/04/2015 11:43:09    1711139

I think our biggest problem in the league has been our finishing to be honest.no lack of effort from the players throughout,in general we have a better attitude than we have had in years imo.But we must have had some amount of misses within 30 metres from goal in this campaign,with little or no pressure on the player,hard to know why this is the case at this level.

ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 06/04/2015 11:58:51    1711147

royaldunne, before yesterday's game I had a very slight inkling that Meath might have a chance of causing an upset in Leinster. That was after the Down game and the thoughts of Tormey, Gillespie back etc. But, after yesterday, it is very unlikely. I agree with Moylagh there, yesterday was horrendous stuff. Leinster in a very bad place. Panel needs a freshen up. MOD and selectors need to be looking again at the club games and bringing in a few players as there seems to be players on the panel that have not made it and are not being considered anymore.

And the point about Leinster teams is correct. Dublin has a bigger population than the rest of the province combined, I gets more funding than the rest of the province combined and has more coaches than the rest of the province combined. Leinster football is dying. I have been going to championship games for 30 years, always a major part of the summer. Thins have got stagnant in Meath and I reckon in other Leinster counties. Serious review needed not just in Meath, other Leinster counties need to step up as GAA will be replaced by soccer and rugby as the sport of choice in Leinster counties outside Dublin and the Leinster football championship will become as competitive as the Connaught and Ulster hurling championships.

trim1 (Meath) - Posts: 162 - 06/04/2015 12:05:53    1711152

Waynol first off your most welcome to post on this forum anytime, especially living in the county.
But with no disrespect to you, we should have beat both Roscommon and Laois, in the Hyde we hit 20 wides and por gave rossies a goal, we were the better team but we blew it, the same against Laois with 7 up and blew it. No one is blaming Roscommon we are just highlighting our own fault, we are in div 2 cause of our own shortcomings and stupidity in front of goal. Btw i didn't say we would win Leinster what i said is that IF they win yesterday will make no difference, lets call a spade a spade, if we don't win Leinster and or fail to get to quarters then mod will move on such is the way with football these days' now perhaps that's what's needed to push us on , in not so sure .
Yesterday game was terrible quality, if i was to take one positive going forward its that we seem to be getting the hang of countering the blanket defense. But yes i have said all along Meath need to be in div 1 football if we have to progress, next year will help Roscommon but they will do a Westmeath on it Imo , but sure who knows.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 06/04/2015 12:31:49    1711173

God mod doesn't make things easy on himself, no regrets??? Ahh come on we all have regrets after that league, it was one that got away regarding promotion.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 06/04/2015 13:55:43    1711233

RD

You think if the team fail to beat Dublin Micko should go??

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 06/04/2015 16:25:32    1711307

trim1

Who the county could we bring into the panel who is better than anyone on the current panel? To be fair to the management,they have looked at alot of players over the last few seasons..

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 06/04/2015 16:27:40    1711308

Ziggy ,I think in cold light of day and this far out from Leinster final, that its going to be virtually impossible to beat dub, now as we get further into the year my optimism will increase and ill naturally take the slightest bit of hope and turn it into a sure fire way of winning Leinster, but a bit out from it and i can be objective, in short no he should not go if we don't beat dubs , but he should go if we fail to reach quarters again, i think with this been year 3 of a 3 year term failure to get to division 1 in what arguably was the easiest div 2 in long time , no Leinster title and not getting into quarters then it would be impossible to have his contract extended. You would have to say that every objective was not reached , and i think if that happens (hopefully it wont) then there is no choice other than to say you have taken us as far as you can, thanks very much and move on , bit like what Westmeath did with Dempsey when they went for pauidi for that extra push.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 06/04/2015 17:25:02    1711326