Replying To OhtobeARossie:  "Do you actually go to any matches RD, Meath are very very poor and that's them at there own admitted full tilt to get out of division 2, which is working cause they won't be in it next year."

Replying To royaldunne:  "4 points down with 70 minutes gone and Meath gift you a goal and a point and ROSCOMMON threw away a point? Yeah I see the schools in Roscommon are so lowly in comparison to other counties, it makes sense after that statement"

Replying To royaldunne:  "The worst team we played this year was Roscommon by some distance."

Replying To Barrowsider:  "Some interesting comments on the state of Leinster football. I think unreal expectations are a real factor, I seen Meath in the o'byrne and they struggled to beat a Carlow team that left off most of their best players and subbed many of the rest and were still competitive. Now from my experience of Meath over the years that does not look right as usually their second string would beat our full team. Kildare are playing at a higher level and I think even though the results are not good the experience of playing there will bring them on a bit but still they will be very disappointed with how it's gone. Louth looked to be making progress but seem to be slipping again. I wonder is the unwillingness in Leinster to adapt to the modern game part of the reason so many traditional counties are struggling. Counties like Longford have punched above their weight for years and are still doing ok, Westmeath are competitive. I think Wicklow are in trouble but that's a long-term issue. Carlow are improving last Saturday was their 8 league win in a row if you count the last 3 games from last season. Offaly are a disaster. I think they are looking at their 3rd if not 4th relegation to division 4 in ten years. I think laois will use this year in division 4 to steady the ship and I'd expect them to be pushing for promotion from div 3 next year."

Replying To royaldunne:  "The worst team we played this year was Roscommon by some distance."

Replying To royaldunne:  "The worst team we played this year was Roscommon by some distance."

Replying To Cuckoosinging:  "Ye should hold yer own next year so in D3 if the worst side ye played this year could be heading for D1."

Replying To MesAmis:  "The state of leinster football is just getting worse and worse. The league proves that. The divisions 2 3 and 4 and also divsion 1 are not a pretty picture for leinster football as we enter the final stages of the national league. I thought with young kildare Meath Westmeath louth Offaly teams we would see an upturn in fortunes. If anything things are getting worse. leaving Dublin to 1 side,Overall this decade has been the worst for leinster championship ever. Dublin have had not to face division 1 opposition since early 00s.Simply put we are talking a good 15 years or longer since Dublin had to face division 1 opposition in the provience. Thats unprecedented in leinster football.

Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 279 - 13/03/2018 03:19:34 2084157

Not disagreeing with your overall point but I'm pretty sure Kildare were Division 1 under McGeeney when we played them in Championship."

Replying To OffalyBigBall:  "Barrowsider, just in response to your comment on Offaly. Yes its fair to say that things look to be a bit of a disaster at present. I'm not holding my breadth for a good 2018. But I do see some light ahead (relative light) and I expect that if we can escape relegation this season that we will consolidate again over the next couple of seasons.

Since the revamp of the divisions (in 07 I think), Offaly have been relegated from Division 3 on 2 occasions (2012 & 2014). But on the flipside, we've been promoted from Division 4 on 3 separate occasions (2008, 2013 & 2015) during the last 10 years. So, I think its fair to say that the negative of relegation has been offset by the positive of promotion for the most part during this time. Its not like we have been getting consistently and successively relegated. We cant seem to get out of the Division 3/4 stranglehold this last decade, but in our defense we have spent the majority of those years in Division 3 and not 4. Nationally, in terms of media exposure and general talk, I think Offaly footballers have become a real non-entity. Its like we don't exist anymore. On-field results have obviously been the catalyst for that."

Replying To Furlong1949:  "I should have mentioned Carlow. One of the few leinster counties doing well. Their league form is good. And championship form also. Barrowside Truth is Carlow gave Dublin probaly their toughest test in leinster in last 2 to 3 years. Very well organised and drilled and very shrewd manager Carlow have. Also your point is totally 100 % correct about leinster teams failing to adopt to the modern game eg sweepers blanket defences kickout strategy and more possession game. Actually Carlow are one of the few leinster counties playing a modern type of football sucessfully. But also alot of teams outside Ulster have not adapted to new modern game. Take Meath Down and Galway. ( I know Down are in Ulster and reached the Ulster final but they have not adapted to the modetn game well). Meaths biggest problem is we have failed miserably to adapt and play a modern tactically driven game. The way Meath and also Galway and Down won All Irelands in the past, their style and systems of play are not fit for purpose in the 21st century.

Between them Meath Galway and Down before 2001 they won 21 All Ireland senior title all playing a traditional kick and catch game. long balls into forwards and not much handpassing. After 2001 the game changes. Meath havent reached an All Ireland in 17 years. Galway havent won a championship match in Croker in 17 years and Down havent won a Ulster title senior in 24 years. None of them have really adapted to the new game. Galway in this league is the first time any of them have been able to play the modern game sucessfully. And we will really only know till the summer if they really have adapted. As kildare in 2013, Cork and Derry in the following seasons and Roscommon 2 years ago all had similar excellent leagues in divsion 1 to Galway this year and all had disastrous championship afterwards. Galway have been very impressive. But are they peaking to soon. If they are beating top division 1 teams in Croker in July we r then more then likely looking at future All Ireland champions in Galway in the coming years. But if they are sucessful it would be the first time in a hundred years that Galway would be sucessful playing not their traditional game.

Mayo and Donegal have always played a more hand passing game. They have adapted well to the new modern game possesion game. While Kerry and Dublin have always played a hybrid game, a mixture of handpassing and traditional catch and kick game. Ulster teams have also played a more handpassing game tradtionally. Since 2002 /2003 when Armagh and Tyrone changed the face of football with new tactics, leinster teams have not adapted at all. Kildare at times have but kildare also would have traditionally played a more possession hand passing game. Cork have also played a more handpassing game traditionally and they did sucessfully adapt to changes in football in late 00s winning Sam in 2010. The last leinster teams other then Dublin to reach a division 1 national league final were laois in 2003 and Meath in 2000. The last leinster team to win divsion 1 national league final was Offaly (other then Dublin) in 1998. Its says it all really.

Meamis. You are correct that kildare played division 1 football for 1 year in 2013 and Meath did the same in 2007. But overall Dublin have not faced strong division 1 opposition in leinster since early 00s. The best way to show this is to show how every decade you had All Ireland winners ,finalist and leinster and league division 1 winners in the provience. Stats below

2010 to present Dublin multiple All Ireland and leinster and league division 1 winners.
Rest of leinster No All Ireland winners or finalist, No National league Division 1 winners just 1 leinster title for Meath.

00s Dublin multiple leinster winners, Meath All Ireland finalist and leinster winners
Westmeath laois and kildare leinster title winners.

90s Dublin All Ireland champions, Meath 2 time All Ireland winners , Kildare All Ireland finalist, Offaly leinster title winners and National league Division 1 winners

80s Dublin All Ireland winners, Meath 2 time All Ireland winners , Offaly 1 All Ireland title winners and laois national league Division 1 winners

70s Dublin 3 time All Ireland winners, Offaly 2 time All Ireland winners , Meath All Ireland finalist and leinster title and National league Division 1 winners

60s Dublin All Ireland winners, Meath All Ireland winners, Offaly leinster champions and 2 times All Ireland finalist and longford leinster champions and National league Division 1 winners.

50s Dublin All Ireland winners, Meath All Ireland winner, Louth All Ireland winners , Kildare and Wexford leinster champions

40s Dublin All Ireland winners, Meath All Ireland winners , Louth and Carlow leinster champions

30s Dublin leinster winners, Meath All Ireland finalist, leinster champions and National league division 1 winners and kildare leinster champions

20s Dublin 3 time All Ireland winners, Kildare 2 time All Ireland winners and multiple leinster champions.

So when you compare every decade since the foundation of the state every decade outside Dublin you had strong division 1 opposition winning All Ireland titles reaching All Ireland finals and winning leinster and national league division 1 titles. This decade no leinster team outside Dublin have won an All Ireland title. In this decade no team in leinster have even reached an All Ireland final ( if no leinster team reachs a senior All Ireland final in the next 2 years it would be the first decade in nearly 120 years since 1900 this has happened . . The last time a leinster team reached an All Ireland final other then Dublin was 17 years ago with Meath in 2001 ) and no National league division 1 winners or even finalist in this decade outside Dublin in leinster. That is all unprecedented.

leinster football whatever way you look at it is at an all time low. And division 2 3 and 4 and even division 1 in this years league proves that point with nearly 1/ 3 of the provience looks like it will be relegated in the coming weeks."

Replying To royaldunne:  "The worst team we played this year was Roscommon by some distance."

Replying To Toney:  "Please cut royaldunne some slack lads... Things aren't going right for him on hoganstand these days, his predictions and comments for the league are making him look more foolish than ever, so maybe give him a break? The county he pretends to support are in serious relegation trouble despite him tipping them to win promotion and every game along the way (in fairness he wasn't overly confident for the Tipperary game). And the worst team they played this year are looking good to make a return to Division 1! But on the upside for the Ballinabrackey Bettystown Mullingar man Kildare are coming back down to Division 2!"

Replying To Toney:  "Please cut royaldunne some slack lads... Things aren't going right for him on hoganstand these days, his predictions and comments for the league are making him look more foolish than ever, so maybe give him a break? The county he pretends to support are in serious relegation trouble despite him tipping them to win promotion and every game along the way (in fairness he wasn't overly confident for the Tipperary game). And the worst team they played this year are looking good to make a return to Division 1! But on the upside for the Ballinabrackey Bettystown Mullingar man Kildare are coming back down to Division 2!"

Replying To kildare73:  "I dunno, he wasn't very thrilled after playing us in division 2 last year!! Thing is, he might not have to worry about that anyway:)"

Replying To Toney:  "It was 'only the first Sunday of February' when you gave us a pasting in Navan though. We were told after that game we would see a different result if we met in the championship. Low and behold we were beaten by a similar margin in June but if Andy hadn't put the players through such a gruelling warm up at O'Connor Park..."

Replying To moros:  "Give him a break...well he should stop spouting his mouth off and he has a particular dislike of Roscommon which he has shown consistently on forums in the last few years...his daft comment about Schools football doesn't stack up either...for the record and from some one who knows Roscommon players who achieved quite well in 2018 with their schools include...Ros CBS ..played A colleges...St Nathys Ballaghadreen with Ros and Mayo players won Connacht Colleges b...Strokestown got to B final...Colaiste Chiaran Roscommon side of Athlone won the C Connacht title..so cut him slack...he should shut his trap till he get his facts right."

Replying To Toney:  "It was 'only the first Sunday of February' when you gave us a pasting in Navan though. We were told after that game we would see a different result if we met in the championship. Low and behold we were beaten by a similar margin in June but if Andy hadn't put the players through such a gruelling warm up at O'Connor Park..."