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It is a 6 pointer on Sunday. Its a tough game for Meath. But also tricky for Roscommon. If you look at teams that where promoted in recent years. Many of them won their first 4 or 5 games on the trot and where promoted before the last game. Monaghan Tyrone Donegal and kildare all did this sucessfully. While the second promotion place went down to the wire to the last game. Also teams promoted from div 3 getting promoted straight up to division 1 has also been a feature. Eg Monaghan Roscommon and kildare all went from.division 3 to div 2 to div 1 . So Tipp and Louth could be a good outside bet. So this game is important for promotion.
Roscommon are the strongest team in the division. They have spent two years in division 1 and won a provincial title very impressivly and went toe to toe with the second best team in the country last year in the drawn game. Also they have some of the most exciting young forwards in the country eg Smiths Creggs Murtaghs. They are ahead of Meath in terms of development. They also have allot of underage sucess which Meath dont have. But both counties are two of the youngest teams in the country. And both teams are probaly 2 to 3 years away before they both reach their peaks as teams.
Meath are not as bad as people think or want them to be. They are a very young team with potentially a top class manager. But it will take time for Andy to suceed. It took Sean Boylan and Mick Dywer 4 years before they made the breakthrough with Meath and kildare in leinster in the 80s and 90s. Both Boylan and Dywer had poor second seasons and it was not til the 4th season that an positive impact was made. It will take Andy the same amount of time.
There is a group of young teams in the country at the moment with allot of potential eg kildare Galway Roscommon Cavan Tyrone Meath. The next few seasons all these teams have potential. People seem to not realise this a new completely Meath which are 2 to 3 years from peaking and the vast majority of this team are 6 or 7 years before they reach their 30s. I dont know how anyone can right off such a young team. They have potential.
Meath have been in transition in the last few years. There has been a massive overhaul of the Meath panel in recent years. At the start of the deacade the 07 to 2010 team broke up. Many new players where blooded. Colm Key researched all the panels in the country and wrote in the indo last year that the team in football that had overhauled their panel the most in recent years was Meath. This a completely new Meath team in the very early stages of their development.
Players like Adam McDermont Conor McGill Shane Gallagher Brian Conlon Adam Flanagan Alan Forde James McEntee Padraig McKeever Daire Rowe Dan O Neill are all players that will be on the Meath team and panel over the next few years. How many people outside the county have seen these players play football?. How can you completely right off a Meath team in the next few years with a whole new set of players you have never seen before. Then you have players still young like Donal keoghan Harry Rooney Brian Power Brian Menton Cillian Sullivan Donal lenihan and Bryan McMahon that people have seen play in Croker who are still young footballers with plenty of football left in them. Their best days should be ahead of them,not behind them.
And I do believe Meath will be stronger particularly at the start of the next decade when the players reach 26 27. How sucessful? I dont know. But we will be stronger. This year again will be up and down. But we could still grab promotion seen we have been unlucky to be not promoted on 3 occasions in the last 4 years.
On Sunday, Roscommon are deserved favourites. And again like last year it is a tough opener for Meath. Roscommon should win. But I think the game will be tigher then people think. And a Meath victory is not impossible. We usually play well against the top counties. Traditionally we have always played well against the top counties. And even in recent times leaving Dublin to one side , when we played stronger teams, we do seem to up our game. Last year v Galway and Donegal. When we met Tyrone in 2013 and 2015 we put it up to them. And when we played Donegal in 2014 the year they reached the final we played very well and drew a game we probaly deserved to win.
Secondly Meath played Roscommon in 2 challenge matchs last year. 1 of the challenge games was a week or 2 before the Connacht final. Both counties played pretty much full strenght teams. Most people would expect Roscommon to win both challenge games. Meath won both games and particularly the challenge game before the connqcht final, Meath were impressive v the Rossies. Of course there is health warning with any result from a challenge game. And it would be foolish to write to much into those games. But for me it probaly indicates this game will tigher then people think.
But overall I expect Roscommon to top the group. They are a team with huge potential. And they will win more Connacht titles and play in divsion 1 and participate in the super 8s and have more sucess. And if this great Mayo team where to dip and Galway didnt fully get back to the top football table in the next few years . Roscommon have a great chance to do what they did with a brillant team they had in the late 70s. Dominate the provience of Connacht and play in an All Ireland final and push to win one. They are team with lots of potential.
But Meath also have potential. Meath are not as bad as people think or want them to be. Meath have potential also. They key for Meath is promotion to divsion 1. The last time Meath were in divsion 1 year after year was the late 90s . Promotion to Division 1 and staying their is the key to all teams gaining sucess recently . And always has been. Meath won national league div 1 titles in the 30s 40s 50s 70s 80s and 90s. Meath won All Irelands senior titles in 40s 50s 60s 80s and 90s . Meath All Ireland sucess was linked to Meaths league sucess for 80 years. This decade has been Meaths worst in 100 years. The only counties with such sucess consistently ib that period along with Meath where Dublin Kerry Cork and Galway. This decade has seen Meath been stuck in div 2. It has been our worst decade since 1920s.
In the last 16 years
Meath have spent 1 year in division 1,
2 years in division 3
and an extraordinary 13 years in division 2.
If you want to understand why Meath have not had an impact on the championship recent times. The above stats r one of the main reasons. A team that had lost out on three occassions unluckily in the last 4 years to promotion ( on scoring difference head to head and point differnce). A county with such a record means promotion this year and next year is a possibility. And seeing that Meath players will be older and stronger in next few years , yes staying in div 1 will be very difficult. But it will not be impossible. I believe Meath will win leinster title in eitheir 2020 2021 or 2022. I cannot predict more sucess. But no one knows how good these Mesth young footballers can become. But we will be stronger in the coming years then we have been in the last few years. I think that is on the cards.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 26/01/2018 17:17:38
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Replying To Furlong1949: "It is a 6 pointer on Sunday. Its a tough game for Meath. But also tricky for Roscommon. If you look at teams that where promoted in recent years. Many of them won their first 4 or 5 games on the trot and where promoted before the last game. Monaghan Tyrone Donegal and kildare all did this sucessfully. While the second promotion place went down to the wire to the last game. Also teams promoted from div 3 getting promoted straight up to division 1 has also been a feature. Eg Monaghan Roscommon and kildare all went from.division 3 to div 2 to div 1 . So Tipp and Louth could be a good outside bet. So this game is important for promotion.
Roscommon are the strongest team in the division. They have spent two years in division 1 and won a provincial title very impressivly and went toe to toe with the second best team in the country last year in the drawn game. Also they have some of the most exciting young forwards in the country eg Smiths Creggs Murtaghs. They are ahead of Meath in terms of development. They also have allot of underage sucess which Meath dont have. But both counties are two of the youngest teams in the country. And both teams are probaly 2 to 3 years away before they both reach their peaks as teams.
Meath are not as bad as people think or want them to be. They are a very young team with potentially a top class manager. But it will take time for Andy to suceed. It took Sean Boylan and Mick Dywer 4 years before they made the breakthrough with Meath and kildare in leinster in the 80s and 90s. Both Boylan and Dywer had poor second seasons and it was not til the 4th season that an positive impact was made. It will take Andy the same amount of time.
There is a group of young teams in the country at the moment with allot of potential eg kildare Galway Roscommon Cavan Tyrone Meath. The next few seasons all these teams have potential. People seem to not realise this a new completely Meath which are 2 to 3 years from peaking and the vast majority of this team are 6 or 7 years before they reach their 30s. I dont know how anyone can right off such a young team. They have potential.
Meath have been in transition in the last few years. There has been a massive overhaul of the Meath panel in recent years. At the start of the deacade the 07 to 2010 team broke up. Many new players where blooded. Colm Key researched all the panels in the country and wrote in the indo last year that the team in football that had overhauled their panel the most in recent years was Meath. This a completely new Meath team in the very early stages of their development.
Players like Adam McDermont Conor McGill Shane Gallagher Brian Conlon Adam Flanagan Alan Forde James McEntee Padraig McKeever Daire Rowe Dan O Neill are all players that will be on the Meath team and panel over the next few years. How many people outside the county have seen these players play football?. How can you completely right off a Meath team in the next few years with a whole new set of players you have never seen before. Then you have players still young like Donal keoghan Harry Rooney Brian Power Brian Menton Cillian Sullivan Donal lenihan and Bryan McMahon that people have seen play in Croker who are still young footballers with plenty of football left in them. Their best days should be ahead of them,not behind them.
And I do believe Meath will be stronger particularly at the start of the next decade when the players reach 26 27. How sucessful? I dont know. But we will be stronger. This year again will be up and down. But we could still grab promotion seen we have been unlucky to be not promoted on 3 occasions in the last 4 years.
On Sunday, Roscommon are deserved favourites. And again like last year it is a tough opener for Meath. Roscommon should win. But I think the game will be tigher then people think. And a Meath victory is not impossible. We usually play well against the top counties. Traditionally we have always played well against the top counties. And even in recent times leaving Dublin to one side , when we played stronger teams, we do seem to up our game. Last year v Galway and Donegal. When we met Tyrone in 2013 and 2015 we put it up to them. And when we played Donegal in 2014 the year they reached the final we played very well and drew a game we probaly deserved to win.
Secondly Meath played Roscommon in 2 challenge matchs last year. 1 of the challenge games was a week or 2 before the Connacht final. Both counties played pretty much full strenght teams. Most people would expect Roscommon to win both challenge games. Meath won both games and particularly the challenge game before the connqcht final, Meath were impressive v the Rossies. Of course there is health warning with any result from a challenge game. And it would be foolish to write to much into those games. But for me it probaly indicates this game will tigher then people think.
But overall I expect Roscommon to top the group. They are a team with huge potential. And they will win more Connacht titles and play in divsion 1 and participate in the super 8s and have more sucess. And if this great Mayo team where to dip and Galway didnt fully get back to the top football table in the next few years . Roscommon have a great chance to do what they did with a brillant team they had in the late 70s. Dominate the provience of Connacht and play in an All Ireland final and push to win one. They are team with lots of potential.
But Meath also have potential. Meath are not as bad as people think or want them to be. Meath have potential also. They key for Meath is promotion to divsion 1. The last time Meath were in divsion 1 year after year was the late 90s . Promotion to Division 1 and staying their is the key to all teams gaining sucess recently . And always has been. Meath won national league div 1 titles in the 30s 40s 50s 70s 80s and 90s. Meath won All Irelands senior titles in 40s 50s 60s 80s and 90s . Meath All Ireland sucess was linked to Meaths league sucess for 80 years. This decade has been Meaths worst in 100 years. The only counties with such sucess consistently ib that period along with Meath where Dublin Kerry Cork and Galway. This decade has seen Meath been stuck in div 2. It has been our worst decade since 1920s.
In the last 16 years
Meath have spent 1 year in division 1,
2 years in division 3
and an extraordinary 13 years in division 2.
If you want to understand why Meath have not had an impact on the championship recent times. The above stats r one of the main reasons. A team that had lost out on three occassions unluckily in the last 4 years to promotion ( on scoring difference head to head and point differnce). A county with such a record means promotion this year and next year is a possibility. And seeing that Meath players will be older and stronger in next few years , yes staying in div 1 will be very difficult. But it will not be impossible. I believe Meath will win leinster title in eitheir 2020 2021 or 2022. I cannot predict more sucess. But no one knows how good these Mesth young footballers can become. But we will be stronger in the coming years then we have been in the last few years. I think that is on the cards." were we twice in division 3 Furlong ? or was it the old league system
WhyTheLongFace (Meath) - Posts: 876 - 26/01/2018 20:19:43
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Replying To WhyTheLongFace: "were we twice in division 3 Furlong ? or was it the old league system" Banty had us 1 year in div 3. He sent us down in 2012. And Sean kind of had us down for 1 year. I think it was div 2 c in mid 00s. But it was the old system. So I think our record shoul be
In the last 16 years
1 Year in division 1
1 year in divsion 3
14 years in division 2
I am so sick of division 2 football. Its been so long since we played in Castlebar or Killarney in the league. Imagine the Dubs coming to Navan . It would be brillant.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 26/01/2018 20:42:03
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You could even say that when we did play divsion 1 football in 2007 or 2008. It was a 16 team divsion 1. The last time we played a 8 team divsion 1 was 2001, the year we reached the All Ireland final. You could then say we havent really played in division 1 in 16 years. We havent reached an All Ireland final in 16 years. Its linked. Not playing div 1 is one of the major reasons why. Thats why getting to divsion 1 is essential with this young team. Stay in divsion 1 and sucess will follow. Any teams who have stayed in div 1 have had provicial sucess eg Roscommon Monaghan Tyrone. While others have become hugely sucessful eg Mayo Donegal Kerry Dublin. Division 1 football is the key to sucess.
We haven't being a million miles away from getting to divsion 1 recently. If we did go up in the last few years we would have went straight down. We wouldnt be physically ready for div 1 football. But if we go up this near or next year. Our strenght and conditioning will have improved and our player will be 26 or 27 and they will be able to adapt more. Also we always seem to up our game v the top counties. It would be very difficult to stay in div 1 but it wouldnt be impossible. That give me allot of hope for the future. Meath arent as farway as people think.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 26/01/2018 20:57:02
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Replying To Furlong1949: "You could even say that when we did play divsion 1 football in 2007 or 2008. It was a 16 team divsion 1. The last time we played a 8 team divsion 1 was 2001, the year we reached the All Ireland final. You could then say we havent really played in division 1 in 16 years. We havent reached an All Ireland final in 16 years. Its linked. Not playing div 1 is one of the major reasons why. Thats why getting to divsion 1 is essential with this young team. Stay in divsion 1 and sucess will follow. Any teams who have stayed in div 1 have had provicial sucess eg Roscommon Monaghan Tyrone. While others have become hugely sucessful eg Mayo Donegal Kerry Dublin. Division 1 football is the key to sucess.
We haven't being a million miles away from getting to divsion 1 recently. If we did go up in the last few years we would have went straight down. We wouldnt be physically ready for div 1 football. But if we go up this near or next year. Our strenght and conditioning will have improved and our player will be 26 or 27 and they will be able to adapt more. Also we always seem to up our game v the top counties. It would be very difficult to stay in div 1 but it wouldnt be impossible. That give me allot of hope for the future. Meath arent as farway as people think." Furlong here is a list of divisions that Meath have played in the league over the last twenty years: The league has been restructured three times in that period. The last time the Royals played in a Division One eight division was 1996/1997.
2018: Division 2
2017: Division 2
2016: Division 2
2015: Division 2
2014: Division 2
2013: Division 3
2012: Division 2
2011: Division 2
2010: Division 2
2009: Division 2
2008: Division 2 (League restructured)
2007: Division 2B
2006: Division 1B
2005: Division 2B
2004: Division 1B
2003: Division 1B
2002: Division 2B
2000 - 2001: Division 1B
1999 - 2000: Division 1B
1998 - 1999: Division 1B (League restructured)
1997 - 1998: Group B (League restructured)
1996 - 1997: Division 1
OLLIE (Louth) - Posts: 12224 - 26/01/2018 21:45:03
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Extraordinary stats Ollie. Those of us with a few years on us still have a great fear and respect for Meath football but it is living on past glories. This has to be an organisational/ structural problem as Meath has so much going for it- tradition, playing population , support base and finance, county players close to home, the list goes on. Benign dictator required maybe ?
facethepuckout (Roscommon) - Posts: 214 - 26/01/2018 22:20:32
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Replying To OLLIE: "Furlong here is a list of divisions that Meath have played in the league over the last twenty years: The league has been restructured three times in that period. The last time the Royals played in a Division One eight division was 1996/1997.
2018: Division 2
2017: Division 2
2016: Division 2
2015: Division 2
2014: Division 2
2013: Division 3
2012: Division 2
2011: Division 2
2010: Division 2
2009: Division 2
2008: Division 2 (League restructured)
2007: Division 2B
2006: Division 1B
2005: Division 2B
2004: Division 1B
2003: Division 1B
2002: Division 2B
2000 - 2001: Division 1B
1999 - 2000: Division 1B
1998 - 1999: Division 1B (League restructured)
1997 - 1998: Group B (League restructured)
1996 - 1997: Division 1" Thanks Ollie. That is unreal. We havent played in divsion1 eight team since 96. The amount of years we have spent in div 2 are unreal. Thanks again Ollie for the exact information.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 26/01/2018 22:22:34
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Replying To facethepuckout: "Extraordinary stats Ollie. Those of us with a few years on us still have a great fear and respect for Meath football but it is living on past glories. This has to be an organisational/ structural problem as Meath has so much going for it- tradition, playing population , support base and finance, county players close to home, the list goes on. Benign dictator required maybe ?" Meath reasons for decline
1 Always going to dip after high of 80s and 90s
2 Not producing player of the calibre of the past
3 Any time a manger leaves after two decade in charge chaos follows. Look at Utd after Ferguson. The same with Meath after Boylan.
4 lack of underage sucess. No leinster minor title since 2008. No leinster under 21 title since 2001.
5 Changing manager over and over again. Meath had 1 manger for nearly 22 years. Since Meath have had 7 managers in the last 12 years. This leads to inconsistency of player selection and halting in development of tactics.
6 Meath have not had a top class manager since Boylan left.
7 Population growth had led to identity been diluted.
8 Very bad defeats to Dublin Kildare Westmeath have led to low confidence levels.
9 Problem with strenght and conditioning. Armagh had a strenght and conditioning coach in the early 00s. Meath only appointed one in the mid part of this decade. Meath lag behind other teams in the department of strenght and conditioning.
10 Meath have not produced a top class midfielder since McDermont. And a top class centre back since Liam Harnan.
11 Meath have had problems at centre field and the half back line.
12 Meath have lost potentially 3 top class midfielders eg Nash Gillespie and O Rourke
13 Meath have not adapted to change in modern tactics.
14 Meaths traditional kick and catch game does not work in the more modern posession game.
15 Meaths kick and catch game does not work well v blanket defences and sweepers.
16 Meath have a problem of deciding which way to play. A possession game or a kick and catch game. They fall between both stools . They havd neither.
So there are my reasons. A reason I think people use which is not as important as people think is Meaths record at club level in leinster. People think Meath lack of sucess at club level in leinster, it is a reason for lack of sucess, it is not. The stats show not in my viewpoint . Between 1987 and 2001 Meath reached 9 All Ireland senior final including replays. In the same period a Meath club did not even reach a club senior All Ireland final. Meaths most sucessful period at club level was in the late 70s and early 80s.
Walterstown reached Meaths only All Ireland club final in 84. While Summerhill won leinster club title in 77 beating one of the greatest club teams ever St Vincent's by 5 goals. Meath club won 3 leinster club titles in 7 years between 1977 and 1984. It is Meath most sucessful period at club level. At the same time at inter county Meath in late 70s early 80s where heading to div 4 after championship defeats to longford and Wexford in 81 82. I think this shows Meath club form is not as big a reason for Meaths decline in football. Carlow and Wicklow have a better club record in leinster club then Meath Kildare or Offaly. It does not translate to inter county game. And when Meath won the All Ireland in 1996, they did this with 15 players from 15 different clubs. Which shows Meath sucess is not based on one or two strong clubs but based on a wide selection of players from different clubs in different parts of the county.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 26/01/2018 22:45:24
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Replying To OLLIE: "Furlong here is a list of divisions that Meath have played in the league over the last twenty years: The league has been restructured three times in that period. The last time the Royals played in a Division One eight division was 1996/1997.
2018: Division 2
2017: Division 2
2016: Division 2
2015: Division 2
2014: Division 2
2013: Division 3
2012: Division 2
2011: Division 2
2010: Division 2
2009: Division 2
2008: Division 2 (League restructured)
2007: Division 2B
2006: Division 1B
2005: Division 2B
2004: Division 1B
2003: Division 1B
2002: Division 2B
2000 - 2001: Division 1B
1999 - 2000: Division 1B
1998 - 1999: Division 1B (League restructured)
1997 - 1998: Group B (League restructured)
1996 - 1997: Division 1" We have a great tradition in league football with only Dublin kerry Cork and Mayo having more divsion 1 league titles. We have won the national league Division 1 title in the 1930s 1940s 1970s 1980s and 1990s. And we have reached Division 1 finals in 30s 40s 50s 70s 80s 90s and 00s. It has led to many All Ireland sucess. So why have we dropped our league status so much. Many reasons have massively contribute to us staying in div 2 so long.
1 The chopping and changing of managers .
In the last 11 years we have had 7 managers. Eg Boylan Barry Coyle O Brien Banty O Dowd and McEntee. A new manager comes in. The first year is a right off from the start. The manager is getting to know players in the league. The chopping and changing of manager leads to inconsistency in team selection and tactics. A new manager comes in. Drops players and brings in his own players. He also brings in his own tactics. This disruption has halted our return to the top flight.
2 Local Derbys in Division 2
In Division 2 we have had so many local derby's year after year. Games v kildare Cavan Louth Westmeath Monaghan. Local derbies can be close affairs. Also our neighbours do attend to up their game when they play the green and gold of Meath. So many local derbies have lost us points.
3 Division 2 Turning into a mini Ulster championship
Divsion 2 has turned into a mini Ulster championship in recent times. 1 year I think there was 5 Ulster teams in divsion 2. We have had problems dealing with the physicality of Ulster teams and their blanket defences and sweepers in recent times. We have gone from a team that was Ulster teams main bogey team ( 14 All Ireland semi final games v Ulster teams and 14 wins no loses) to a county who cannot beat any Ulster opposition. We have been knocked out of the championship in the last 15 years 7 times by Ulster teams. While our victory over Down last year in Newry was our first win v Ulster opposition in Ulster in a long time. Division 2 has become an Ulster mini championship at times and that has led to the loss of points also.
4 Bad luck.
We have finished 3rd 3 of the last 4 years in div 2. We have lost out to promotion on points difference scoring difference and head to head. If we were not giving a free against us for wasting time in the dying minutes v Donegal one year or if we had beaten Down last year or stopped Roscommon scoring a flukes goal in the Hyde 2 year's ago we would have been promoted .
Hopefully this year our luck will change. If we did go up in the last few years we would have been relegated the next season. However if we go up this year. The average age will be 25 next year. We will physically better to deal with div 1. Quite a few teams will have allot of mileage or in transition next year 2019 in div 1. And we usually traditionally play better against the stronger counties.
So promotion and staying in div 1 is the key. And it is possible and attainable. But it will be tough.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1067 - 26/01/2018 22:53:34
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Replying To Furlong1949: "Thanks Ollie. That is unreal. We havent played in divsion1 eight team since 96. The amount of years we have spent in div 2 are unreal. Thanks again Ollie for the exact information." No probs at all Furlong. It was 1996/1997. Back then the league started before Christmas and went into the New Year. So 1997 was the last time that Meath were in a 8 team Division one. Back in 1997 we had the three great game thrillers between Kildare and Meath in the Leinster Championship with Meath coming out on top in the end, a few counties ended famines this year with Kerry winning their first All Ireland title in eleven years, Cavan winning their first Ulster since 1969 and Offaly winning their first Leinster title since 1982.
OLLIE (Louth) - Posts: 12224 - 26/01/2018 22:56:33
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Replying To facethepuckout: "Extraordinary stats Ollie. Those of us with a few years on us still have a great fear and respect for Meath football but it is living on past glories. This has to be an organisational/ structural problem as Meath has so much going for it- tradition, playing population , support base and finance, county players close to home, the list goes on. Benign dictator required maybe ?" Oh tell me about Facethepuck. I live right on the Meath border so I know down through the years what them great Meath teams were like. They reminded me of Alex Ferguson's Man Utd. They were never beaten until the final whistle went. Sean Boylan was some manager and one of the best in the game. They had some tough and great players and they have broken my wee heart on many occasions.
OLLIE (Louth) - Posts: 12224 - 26/01/2018 23:01:45
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Replying To Furlong1949: "It is a 6 pointer on Sunday. Its a tough game for Meath. But also tricky for Roscommon. If you look at teams that where promoted in recent years. Many of them won their first 4 or 5 games on the trot and where promoted before the last game. Monaghan Tyrone Donegal and kildare all did this sucessfully. While the second promotion place went down to the wire to the last game. Also teams promoted from div 3 getting promoted straight up to division 1 has also been a feature. Eg Monaghan Roscommon and kildare all went from.division 3 to div 2 to div 1 . So Tipp and Louth could be a good outside bet. So this game is important for promotion.
Roscommon are the strongest team in the division. They have spent two years in division 1 and won a provincial title very impressivly and went toe to toe with the second best team in the country last year in the drawn game. Also they have some of the most exciting young forwards in the country eg Smiths Creggs Murtaghs. They are ahead of Meath in terms of development. They also have allot of underage sucess which Meath dont have. But both counties are two of the youngest teams in the country. And both teams are probaly 2 to 3 years away before they both reach their peaks as teams.
Meath are not as bad as people think or want them to be. They are a very young team with potentially a top class manager. But it will take time for Andy to suceed. It took Sean Boylan and Mick Dywer 4 years before they made the breakthrough with Meath and kildare in leinster in the 80s and 90s. Both Boylan and Dywer had poor second seasons and it was not til the 4th season that an positive impact was made. It will take Andy the same amount of time.
There is a group of young teams in the country at the moment with allot of potential eg kildare Galway Roscommon Cavan Tyrone Meath. The next few seasons all these teams have potential. People seem to not realise this a new completely Meath which are 2 to 3 years from peaking and the vast majority of this team are 6 or 7 years before they reach their 30s. I dont know how anyone can right off such a young team. They have potential.
Meath have been in transition in the last few years. There has been a massive overhaul of the Meath panel in recent years. At the start of the deacade the 07 to 2010 team broke up. Many new players where blooded. Colm Key researched all the panels in the country and wrote in the indo last year that the team in football that had overhauled their panel the most in recent years was Meath. This a completely new Meath team in the very early stages of their development.
Players like Adam McDermont Conor McGill Shane Gallagher Brian Conlon Adam Flanagan Alan Forde James McEntee Padraig McKeever Daire Rowe Dan O Neill are all players that will be on the Meath team and panel over the next few years. How many people outside the county have seen these players play football?. How can you completely right off a Meath team in the next few years with a whole new set of players you have never seen before. Then you have players still young like Donal keoghan Harry Rooney Brian Power Brian Menton Cillian Sullivan Donal lenihan and Bryan McMahon that people have seen play in Croker who are still young footballers with plenty of football left in them. Their best days should be ahead of them,not behind them.
And I do believe Meath will be stronger particularly at the start of the next decade when the players reach 26 27. How sucessful? I dont know. But we will be stronger. This year again will be up and down. But we could still grab promotion seen we have been unlucky to be not promoted on 3 occasions in the last 4 years.
On Sunday, Roscommon are deserved favourites. And again like last year it is a tough opener for Meath. Roscommon should win. But I think the game will be tigher then people think. And a Meath victory is not impossible. We usually play well against the top counties. Traditionally we have always played well against the top counties. And even in recent times leaving Dublin to one side , when we played stronger teams, we do seem to up our game. Last year v Galway and Donegal. When we met Tyrone in 2013 and 2015 we put it up to them. And when we played Donegal in 2014 the year they reached the final we played very well and drew a game we probaly deserved to win.
Secondly Meath played Roscommon in 2 challenge matchs last year. 1 of the challenge games was a week or 2 before the Connacht final. Both counties played pretty much full strenght teams. Most people would expect Roscommon to win both challenge games. Meath won both games and particularly the challenge game before the connqcht final, Meath were impressive v the Rossies. Of course there is health warning with any result from a challenge game. And it would be foolish to write to much into those games. But for me it probaly indicates this game will tigher then people think.
But overall I expect Roscommon to top the group. They are a team with huge potential. And they will win more Connacht titles and play in divsion 1 and participate in the super 8s and have more sucess. And if this great Mayo team where to dip and Galway didnt fully get back to the top football table in the next few years . Roscommon have a great chance to do what they did with a brillant team they had in the late 70s. Dominate the provience of Connacht and play in an All Ireland final and push to win one. They are team with lots of potential.
But Meath also have potential. Meath are not as bad as people think or want them to be. Meath have potential also. They key for Meath is promotion to divsion 1. The last time Meath were in divsion 1 year after year was the late 90s . Promotion to Division 1 and staying their is the key to all teams gaining sucess recently . And always has been. Meath won national league div 1 titles in the 30s 40s 50s 70s 80s and 90s. Meath won All Irelands senior titles in 40s 50s 60s 80s and 90s . Meath All Ireland sucess was linked to Meaths league sucess for 80 years. This decade has been Meaths worst in 100 years. The only counties with such sucess consistently ib that period along with Meath where Dublin Kerry Cork and Galway. This decade has seen Meath been stuck in div 2. It has been our worst decade since 1920s.
In the last 16 years
Meath have spent 1 year in division 1,
2 years in division 3
and an extraordinary 13 years in division 2.
If you want to understand why Meath have not had an impact on the championship recent times. The above stats r one of the main reasons. A team that had lost out on three occassions unluckily in the last 4 years to promotion ( on scoring difference head to head and point differnce). A county with such a record means promotion this year and next year is a possibility. And seeing that Meath players will be older and stronger in next few years , yes staying in div 1 will be very difficult. But it will not be impossible. I believe Meath will win leinster title in eitheir 2020 2021 or 2022. I cannot predict more sucess. But no one knows how good these Mesth young footballers can become. But we will be stronger in the coming years then we have been in the last few years. I think that is on the cards." Jesus Christ how long did it take you to write that fair play fella
Cuckoosinging (Roscommon) - Posts: 992 - 26/01/2018 23:11:46
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Replying To Cuckoosinging: "Jesus Christ how long did it take you to write that fair play fella" Great post by the way furlong.....if admins could add to my previous post which in quoted please and thank you
Cuckoosinging (Roscommon) - Posts: 992 - 26/01/2018 23:18:32
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Now that the rd bashing and keyboard warriors stuff has calmed down can we actually get back to topic and game at hand
joeblogs10 (Dublin) - Posts: 104 - 27/01/2018 17:37:14
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Replying To Furlong1949: "It is a 6 pointer on Sunday. Its a tough game for Meath. But also tricky for Roscommon. If you look at teams that where promoted in recent years. Many of them won their first 4 or 5 games on the trot and where promoted before the last game. Monaghan Tyrone Donegal and kildare all did this sucessfully. While the second promotion place went down to the wire to the last game. Also teams promoted from div 3 getting promoted straight up to division 1 has also been a feature. Eg Monaghan Roscommon and kildare all went from.division 3 to div 2 to div 1 . So Tipp and Louth could be a good outside bet. So this game is important for promotion.
Roscommon are the strongest team in the division. They have spent two years in division 1 and won a provincial title very impressivly and went toe to toe with the second best team in the country last year in the drawn game. Also they have some of the most exciting young forwards in the country eg Smiths Creggs Murtaghs. They are ahead of Meath in terms of development. They also have allot of underage sucess which Meath dont have. But both counties are two of the youngest teams in the country. And both teams are probaly 2 to 3 years away before they both reach their peaks as teams.
Meath are not as bad as people think or want them to be. They are a very young team with potentially a top class manager. But it will take time for Andy to suceed. It took Sean Boylan and Mick Dywer 4 years before they made the breakthrough with Meath and kildare in leinster in the 80s and 90s. Both Boylan and Dywer had poor second seasons and it was not til the 4th season that an positive impact was made. It will take Andy the same amount of time.
There is a group of young teams in the country at the moment with allot of potential eg kildare Galway Roscommon Cavan Tyrone Meath. The next few seasons all these teams have potential. People seem to not realise this a new completely Meath which are 2 to 3 years from peaking and the vast majority of this team are 6 or 7 years before they reach their 30s. I dont know how anyone can right off such a young team. They have potential.
Meath have been in transition in the last few years. There has been a massive overhaul of the Meath panel in recent years. At the start of the deacade the 07 to 2010 team broke up. Many new players where blooded. Colm Key researched all the panels in the country and wrote in the indo last year that the team in football that had overhauled their panel the most in recent years was Meath. This a completely new Meath team in the very early stages of their development.
Players like Adam McDermont Conor McGill Shane Gallagher Brian Conlon Adam Flanagan Alan Forde James McEntee Padraig McKeever Daire Rowe Dan O Neill are all players that will be on the Meath team and panel over the next few years. How many people outside the county have seen these players play football?. How can you completely right off a Meath team in the next few years with a whole new set of players you have never seen before. Then you have players still young like Donal keoghan Harry Rooney Brian Power Brian Menton Cillian Sullivan Donal lenihan and Bryan McMahon that people have seen play in Croker who are still young footballers with plenty of football left in them. Their best days should be ahead of them,not behind them.
And I do believe Meath will be stronger particularly at the start of the next decade when the players reach 26 27. How sucessful? I dont know. But we will be stronger. This year again will be up and down. But we could still grab promotion seen we have been unlucky to be not promoted on 3 occasions in the last 4 years.
On Sunday, Roscommon are deserved favourites. And again like last year it is a tough opener for Meath. Roscommon should win. But I think the game will be tigher then people think. And a Meath victory is not impossible. We usually play well against the top counties. Traditionally we have always played well against the top counties. And even in recent times leaving Dublin to one side , when we played stronger teams, we do seem to up our game. Last year v Galway and Donegal. When we met Tyrone in 2013 and 2015 we put it up to them. And when we played Donegal in 2014 the year they reached the final we played very well and drew a game we probaly deserved to win.
Secondly Meath played Roscommon in 2 challenge matchs last year. 1 of the challenge games was a week or 2 before the Connacht final. Both counties played pretty much full strenght teams. Most people would expect Roscommon to win both challenge games. Meath won both games and particularly the challenge game before the connqcht final, Meath were impressive v the Rossies. Of course there is health warning with any result from a challenge game. And it would be foolish to write to much into those games. But for me it probaly indicates this game will tigher then people think.
But overall I expect Roscommon to top the group. They are a team with huge potential. And they will win more Connacht titles and play in divsion 1 and participate in the super 8s and have more sucess. And if this great Mayo team where to dip and Galway didnt fully get back to the top football table in the next few years . Roscommon have a great chance to do what they did with a brillant team they had in the late 70s. Dominate the provience of Connacht and play in an All Ireland final and push to win one. They are team with lots of potential.
But Meath also have potential. Meath are not as bad as people think or want them to be. Meath have potential also. They key for Meath is promotion to divsion 1. The last time Meath were in divsion 1 year after year was the late 90s . Promotion to Division 1 and staying their is the key to all teams gaining sucess recently . And always has been. Meath won national league div 1 titles in the 30s 40s 50s 70s 80s and 90s. Meath won All Irelands senior titles in 40s 50s 60s 80s and 90s . Meath All Ireland sucess was linked to Meaths league sucess for 80 years. This decade has been Meaths worst in 100 years. The only counties with such sucess consistently ib that period along with Meath where Dublin Kerry Cork and Galway. This decade has seen Meath been stuck in div 2. It has been our worst decade since 1920s.
In the last 16 years
Meath have spent 1 year in division 1,
2 years in division 3
and an extraordinary 13 years in division 2.
If you want to understand why Meath have not had an impact on the championship recent times. The above stats r one of the main reasons. A team that had lost out on three occassions unluckily in the last 4 years to promotion ( on scoring difference head to head and point differnce). A county with such a record means promotion this year and next year is a possibility. And seeing that Meath players will be older and stronger in next few years , yes staying in div 1 will be very difficult. But it will not be impossible. I believe Meath will win leinster title in eitheir 2020 2021 or 2022. I cannot predict more sucess. But no one knows how good these Mesth young footballers can become. But we will be stronger in the coming years then we have been in the last few years. I think that is on the cards." What a load of waffle and wishes.
Jonnycee (Longford) - Posts: 185 - 27/01/2018 20:28:17
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Replying To Jonnycee: "What a load of waffle and wishes." Disagree very informative and Hoganstand needs more posters with that kind of knowledge of the game.
ispeakwisdom (Roscommon) - Posts: 2487 - 28/01/2018 00:58:59
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Ahh you can't beat the morning of a match. Quite windy outside so if it doesn't ease will make for awkward play for both. Best wishes to both sets of players and fans.
And safe journey to all traveling.
Hon the royal
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 28/01/2018 07:12:11
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Great attitude showed by Meath against the breeze, but once we went 4 ahead we should have won.
ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 28/01/2018 16:44:48
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Meath had a great 20 minute spell and should have seen the game out.
Ref had a very very bad game and gave some very soft frees.
Meath player should have got a red for the clothesline in last few minutes don't know how he gave a black for it. Both sides will struggle if they play like that for the year
Cuckoosinging (Roscommon) - Posts: 992 - 28/01/2018 16:52:40
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Replying To Cuckoosinging: "Meath had a great 20 minute spell and should have seen the game out.
Ref had a very very bad game and gave some very soft frees.
Meath player should have got a red for the clothesline in last few minutes don't know how he gave a black for it. Both sides will struggle if they play like that for the year" First game in greasy, windy conditions. Both sides will improve.
ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 28/01/2018 16:59:06
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