Wouldn't go looking too far down the line at this stage. A win this weekend is vital to building confidence for this group of players. I would actually prefer if Reilly didn't start this game, as when he's there I feel that some of the other forwards have a tendency to duck responsibility for shooting, and will try and work the ball round to him. Last weekend he wasn't there and it forced the others to have a bit of a go at the Armagh defense. More of the same with a bit more cohesion and we should get a win. It won't be easy especially as Fermanagh are coming off a spanking from Derry.

moylagh (Meath) - Posts: 484 - 04/02/2016 12:13:50    1822166

Moylagh what would you know

pim (Meath) - Posts: 119 - 04/02/2016 12:28:24    1822170

huge match for both teams, if fermanagh lose even at this early stage i cant see us avoiding relegation, actually we would be dead certs for the drop, likewise for meath if yous lose away to fermanagh, i cant see yous taking anything from tyrone, derry or galway which would put huge significance on the cavan game and alot would depend on how armagh fair for the remainder of the league...

Anyways for this game .. i think it 50/50 on one hand Meath are flying at the min confidence will be high, Fermanagh have had a reality check in recent games against tyrone and derry..but on the other hand Fermanagh are on a 10 game unbeaten run at Brewster park...last game played their a few weeks ago against a decent donegal team were fermanagh ran out comfortable 4point winners.. the teams system works so well their and most importantly the forwards are more productive at home.......as i said 50/50

abitawit (Fermanagh) - Posts: 274 - 04/02/2016 12:42:50    1822175

Good man Pim, still knockin' about, wll ya be in Teddies at the weekend?

moylagh (Meath) - Posts: 484 - 04/02/2016 16:46:49    1822298

Southmeathgael - I am not a glass half-full man at all. In fact my opinion is based on the very opposite - I have a fairly pessimistic view of some of the players and their importance. I rate Cillian O'Sullivan very highly. He is a good player who has the potential to be top class. But he is also held together with pins and wires, and past history in Meath would suggest that they will keep playing him and playing him until he breaks. I really hope I am wrong on this as I think that he can make a big difference, but I wouldn't be relying on him to last through the year. We also have Harnan who is CHF on a star studded UCD team, Tormey, O'Coilean, McEntee, Wallace and of course Biggy. We could survive without O'Sullivan and may well have to.
I also don't rate Mickey Newman as highly as some do. I think he was decent against Armagh, and didn't deserve the criticism he got on here. But for my money, he just hasn't pushed on in the last couple of years as I expected him to. When he came on the scene first, I thought he could be a star, but I just don't see that happening. Again, while he is a good player on his day, I don't think he is irreplaceable.
As I said, the two that we would really struggle without are Rooney (because we don't seem to have another fit midfielder anywhere in the county) and Keoghan because he is the only out and out corner back we have, and he is needed to help McGill out.

Regarding the league itself, I don't rate any of the teams particularly highly. Tyrone is definitely the best of them and should win the division handily, but the rest are all a bit like ourselves. Good on their day but very inconsistent. If Galway play to their potential, they are probably the most likely to go up, but you couldn't rely on this Galway team. We have the potential to beat any of the teams in the division (even Tyrone). We have also the potential to get hammered by any of them. Your guess is as good as mine as to which of those two things will happen in any particular game.

anfearbeag (Meath) - Posts: 1134 - 04/02/2016 16:51:55    1822303

abitawit

Where do you reckon Fermanagh are strong and were they are weak?

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 04/02/2016 17:58:00    1822329

anfearbeag

Agree with an awful lot of what you say.. Just in defence of Newman,he has had two years of injuries.I still think if he can keep away from those and stay fit,he can get to a very high level..

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 04/02/2016 18:01:45    1822333

Fair point on Newman, Ziggy.

Quick question. Given what you know of Meath players and chronic injuries, what do you think are his chances of staying injury-free for the next 2-3 years?

anfearbeag (Meath) - Posts: 1134 - 04/02/2016 19:09:48    1822362

Just to reiterate what ziggy said u can't say he hasn't progressed in last 2 years as he has been injured on off for most of that time.....the last time he was fit he gave Rory o Carroll and Johnny Cooper an awful run around in the Leinster final scoring 3 pts from play and then the Tyrone corner back, think it was mccarron a full of it too. When he fit he can be a match winner, and we dont have any other ff line player other then eamonn Wallace that has done it in big games before

southmeathgael (Meath) - Posts: 890 - 04/02/2016 19:20:09    1822367

This is a massive game for Meath really big.
A win here will prove that they aint too bad A loss will see us looking over our shoulder for the rest of the League.

Can we win I think yes.
We have always in recent times have found it hard to win on the road Hardly a win in Eamon OBrien's or Banty's time in charge. Last year we did take Down but I think that was it losing to Galway and Roscommon.
This will be a real tough challenge but I think Biggie will return and should contribute 2 or 3 points and that will be the difference in the end 1-12 to 1-10 or so

glenny (Meath) - Posts: 1108 - 04/02/2016 19:49:51    1822383

I think we have a fairly good chance of winning on Sunday but we must take it. Whilst it was a weakened Armagh team last Sunday, we won and our lads will have taken a lot of confidence out of that. As many have already said, maybe 2-3 years ago we might not have won it. IF Biggy is back on Sunday, it will be huge. Fermanagh have their own Biggy Reilly in the form of Sean Quigley and he will be their go to man, but they also have other dangerous players like Tomas Corrigan. On having a quick glance at Fermanagh's forum, there were a few areas in which their supporters feel Fermanagh are weak in, one of which was midfield, so maybe Harry and whoever plays alongside him will enjoy some success there. I think we will come out on top by a couple of points and set us up nicely for Cavan at the end of the month.

royalfan4life (Meath) - Posts: 76 - 04/02/2016 20:07:28    1822391

anfearbeag

Impossible to say,its more of a hope thing.He did say the Chronicle this week,that he has had a lot of different injuries in the past two years,that he feels good now though.He played some games last season etc when he wasn't fully fit,at that level,you really do have to be fully fit.

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 04/02/2016 20:33:08    1822398

abitawit

Where do you reckon Fermanagh are strong and were they are weak?

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts:4504 - 04/02/2016 17:58:00

Hard to say... probably weakest in the wider positions of the half forward and half back line, Fermanagh should be strong in the middle with ryan jones coming back into the squad were he will likely partner eoin donnelly, Quigley and the two corrigans the main scoring threat. Fermanagh wont want the game to turn into a turkey shoot, can see the game being defensively very tight.

abitawit (Fermanagh) - Posts: 274 - 04/02/2016 21:28:19    1822417

i see the meath team is named.....any surprises?

abitawit (Fermanagh) - Posts: 274 - 05/02/2016 10:53:21    1822483

Stronger team then last
All things been equal we should win this one.
But will have to put in a performance

head4dblackspot (Meath) - Posts: 513 - 05/02/2016 11:07:03    1822490

abitawit

No real surprises,Graham Reilly was named last week,but did not play,so we have to see on that one.Otherwise one change fom the team that beat Armagh.

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 05/02/2016 11:07:50    1822491

abitawit- No surprises really in that team. I'd say it's pretty close to what most supporters would have been expecting. Having said that it would be no shock to see an alteration or two before the throw in. Last week Graham Reilly was named to start but was out due to an injury picked up the previous Sunday and there's no guarantee that he's back yet. Truth be told we'll not know for sure until Sunday at ten to two.

Mick O'Dowd regularly makes a change from the named team so anything could happen on Sunday.

jackhackett (Meath) - Posts: 773 - 05/02/2016 11:12:21    1822495

abitawit

No real surprises,Graham Reilly was named last week,but did not play,so we have to see on that one.Otherwise one change fom the team that beat Armagh.

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 05/02/2016 11:27:57    1822499

Looks like a good strong team. I would have liked to see Tormey or Douglas given a chance, but I can understand why he went for The experience of Mickey Burke.
The half forward line of Reilly, O'Sullivan and McEntee looks pretty exciting and if we get enough ball in the middle, they could cause Fermanagh a lot of problems.
My only worry is that it almost looks like too attacking a line-up. If Fermanagh get a grip in the middle, I am not sure we have enough extra cover from the forwards helping out. McEntee will probably drop back a bit, as should Andrew Tormey. But it generally looks like a side that is designed to go for it.
Should be an interesting game. Unfortunately I'll be working so won't be able to make the trip. I'll just have to stay glued to LMFM and hope to hear snippets of the game in amongst their likely extended coverage of Louth's match.

anfearbeag (Meath) - Posts: 1134 - 05/02/2016 11:28:26    1822500

Jack doubt he will stray too much from a winning team. I think McMahon and Wallace will play important parts for Meath this season when the pitches get a bit drier.

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 05/02/2016 11:28:56    1822501