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Well that kinda is my point. The team was not as dismantled back then. Even with players to return, the main stalwarts are 5 years older and basing their performances on last years form, especially in the match in ballybofey, v tyrone, were not at the races. We have got to keep murphy in full forward to have a hope. We need an uninjured mcbrearty. We need Jason McGee to play outstanding stuff at midfield to keep murphy in the forwards. He is not fit to run the entire pitch nor has he been for the past 4 seasons. We will know more after away v cork and home to Armagh imo. I believe we can beat Fermanagh even though it is in Letterkenny. I also think we could beat Kildare but this is on a knife edge also. This is my fear and it may upset some Donegal supporters, but that is the downside of posting on an open forum. We all are entitled to our opinion. Otherwise we can just wave our flags despite what we are seeing.
Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 14/02/2019 10:08:53 2165253 Link 0 |
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Well that kinda is my point. The team was not as dismantled back then. Even with players to return, the main stalwarts are 5 years older and basing their performances on last years form, especially in the match in ballybofey, v tyrone, were not at the races. We have got to keep murphy in full forward to have a hope. We need an uninjured mcbrearty. We need Jason McGee to play outstanding stuff at midfield to keep murphy in the forwards. He is not fit to run the entire pitch nor has he been for the past 4 seasons. We will know more after away v cork and home to Armagh imo. I believe we can beat Fermanagh even though it is in Letterkenny. I also think we could beat Kildare but this is on a knife edge also. This is my fear and it may upset some Donegal supporters, but that is the downside of posting on an open forum. We all are entitled to our opinion. Otherwise we can just wave our flags despite what we are seeing.
Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 14/02/2019 10:08:54 2165254 Link 0 |
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Meath's game royaldunne will be in Pairc U Rinn. Announced today that all Cork's games now transferred there.
lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2990 - 14/02/2019 16:27:01 2165359 Link 0 |
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Pity. I was looking forward to seen the new stadium.
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 14/02/2019 18:15:34 2165376 Link 0 |
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Personally I think this team is a couple of years off but was pleasantly surprised by the progress made last year even though it did involve a relegation. I completely agree we do need Paddy back and MM does not really have the pace for out the field esp if Hugh McFadden plays. However I disagree in relation to the game against Tyrone. It was a game we were ahead in for a large part with the loss of MacNiallais to injury a big turning point. If Tyrone were to lose say Sludden and Donnelly against Donegal they also might struggle. As for Jason he is going to need time like alot of the younger lads. Some young players can make the step up immediately while other need time. If we pick up 2 wins from the next 2 games we will be in a strong position.
panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2782 - 14/02/2019 19:01:49 2165387 Link 0 |
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The last 20 minutes against Tyrone we were fairly hammered imo. I think the tide had turned even before McNeilis got subbed. If it is a benchmark by which we look at our team for this year, then I would say that if we have Mcbrearty we have a chance. If we don't, then I expect more of the same. In the big games, I think that we are going to struggle.
Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 14/02/2019 20:22:32 2165400 Link 0 |
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No I don't think the tide had turned as they got their goal directly after he got injured. Then with Odhran off we did not have the same outlet up front and injury happened just as he was beginning to make his stamp on the game. What happened after was indeed poor not helped by poor substitutions with wrong players taken off and the wrong ones remaining on esp when chasing the game. But I agree getting McBrearty back is imperative but would u consider Monaghan to be as competitive as Donegal without McManus as Donegal without McBrearty?
panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2782 - 15/02/2019 01:24:41 2165426 Link 0 |
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Lots of ifs there. I don't think that Monaghan would be as competitive without their best player either, but he has not been injured the way that McBrearty gets injured, almost every season at various times. Ham string normally and 6 weeks at least. You say that we had poor substitute selections v Tyrone last year. We had to bring in fresh men as the Tyrone pace had swept us aside. So we could have kept our remaining lads on for 78 minutes or subbed them. The reasonable thing to do was to bring in subs. Who would you have brought on? For the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half we looked really like we could go on and win the game, but unfortunately we just were not good enough as a panel to sustain another half an hour of football, which is what it is all about. To summarise my point, if we have no McB, then we are in serious trouble. If we have him, then we need him and Murphy to stay put in around the forwards. This could be Murphys last big year, he is struggling with his own legs over the past few seasons and he is now almost 30. To keep saying that we have the makings of a team in a year or 2 is grand, but it is non specific and not dealing with the hear and now. I have heard this cliché about Donegal teams in the past being full of potential and that is as far as it seems to go. I prefer to look at the team this year. We need McB and Murphy to work together up front with runners coming in, of which we have plenty. We need a steady and fairly consistent mid field pairing that start and finish the half in their positions. We need to take goal chances which we create almost every game, but seem to waste. Why I am so negative about our prospects this year is because I look to the past 4 seasons and don't remember the above ingredients ever working for even half a season. Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 15/02/2019 09:57:20 2165439 Link 0 |
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Not particularly regarding the if's. Plus was not suggesting to not make substitutions just imo the wrong ones were made. For example Ciaran Thompson was taken off far too early in that game. He was doing fine plus is a great point taker from distance. Yet Eamon Doherty stayed on for the duration of the match when his main asset is man marking not chasing a game. I am in agreement with you regarding both Murphy and the need to get Paddy back. But I have hardly being talking Donegal up either have I? In fact I think I have given a fairly accurate description of how we done in games I was at. Just for me it is a bit early to be ringing the bells. There was big improvements from league to championship last year hence I would not be too downbeat so soon. panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2782 - 15/02/2019 11:48:15 2165464 Link 0 |
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If you are going to play Murphy and Mc Brearty inside what do you think should be done with Brennan? If you think we will be playing 3 inside then that's a pipe dream. The only one of those 3 that's effective further out is Murphy and I fully expect him to be at midfield or No.11 come championship IF Mc Brearty is fit.
Tir Conaill Abu (Donegal) - Posts: 1671 - 16/02/2019 11:18:06 2165629 Link 0 |
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I kinda agree with you here, the Super 8 game against Tyrone was lost in our substitutions last year, that and our failure to have any solid plan in place for Lee Brennan entering the match. We were leading that Tyrone side for over 60 minutes, and we lost 2-15 to 0-16 against Dublin in Super 8 opener, in both games without Paddy McBrearty. Donegal have a lot of talented players, yes we are missing ideal players for certain positions, but we have players that can be adapted for those positions. I believe we have the talent needed to challenge and win Ulster titles and All Ireland titles, but haven't identified our best 15 and bench just yet. There is a difference between talking your County up (Suggesting they are better than what they really are) and simply believing in your County ability when at full strength. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1114 - 16/02/2019 20:28:43 2165778 Link 0 |
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I think Donegal would be better served to rotate all of our forwards, to twist and turn opposition defenses, where each of our forwards drop in and out at different stages. I'm not just referring to Jamie Brennan, Paddy McBrearty and Michael Murphy, who are top drawer forwards, who can all take on and beat their markers repeatedly I'm also talking about the likes of Odhran MacNiallais, Michael Langan and Ciaran Thompson etc, who are deadly from close range or at distance.
Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1114 - 16/02/2019 21:18:17 2165790 Link 0 |
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Brennan could be a very useful impact sub. Murphy will get cleaned out midfield after half an hour. Not his fault, he is carrying too many knocks at this stage. I have seen it so many times where he is put out midfield and then he cant run for the last 15 minutes of a game. We were beaten by Dublin in the super 8s by 5 points fair enough, but you have got to look at the last 20 minutes of the game and how little Dublin were trying to push up at us. They were just counter punching the odd time as the money was in the bank and they were looking towards omagh the following week. The tyrone match in ballybofey was not won and lost on the line. It was lost because we hadn't Mcbrearty nor had we the players to match Tyrone's bench from our first 15 or subs that day. We will know more after our next 4 outings in the league, particularly our away game against cork how good or otherwise we are shaping up. I think we have a couple of more options now that the Gweedore lads are available again. We will see. Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 18/02/2019 12:59:50 2166118 Link 0 |
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Just curious DL posters but what size is the pitch in Letterkenny ?? And how good are these burgers ?? KeshGFC (Fermanagh) - Posts: 334 - 18/02/2019 15:47:00 2166164 Link 0 |
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From what I remember it's a good size pitch. As for the burgers I didn't have one just met a few of the friendly local burghers.
lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2990 - 18/02/2019 16:16:38 2166173 Link 2 |
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I completely agree regarding Murphy. He does not have the legs to play midfield for a full game and I imagine most of Donegal's opponents are much happier seeing him there than inside. In relation to the Tyrone game you are also correct but I also feel the loss of McNiallais to injury was another factor. He was playing his way into the game at the time. I have some reservations too but do think its a bit early in the year to be getting too pessimistic. The league for me is about getting more experience into our younger players and maybe see one or two push maybe with the odd surprise. This while still getting promotion.
panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2782 - 18/02/2019 18:19:46 2166204 Link 0 |
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I disagree, Dublin were instructed to hold possession and run down the clock, because Jim Gavin knew at that stage that while we were inexperienced in areas, we were capable of hurting them when we got the ball. Jim Gavin took the safe option.......the smart option. As for Tyrone, the real turning point was Lee Brennan coming on, and us failing to mark him our nullify his threat. It's obvious that not having Paddy McBrearty clearly was a hugh blow, as he until that point was by far our best marksman. Our subs weakened us in that match, and I think management got it wrong that day. We've been playing the first 3 league games with a severely weakned squad, and I don't think early National League matches is an accurate portrayal of where we are at. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1114 - 19/02/2019 08:42:07 2166281 Link 0 |
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Cork v Meath = cork are struggling this year so it's meath to shade it Royal.Legend (Meath) - Posts: 665 - 19/02/2019 13:51:22 2166361 Link 1 |
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This weekend will be tough on all teams. Donegal won't have it easy away to Fermanagh and I sense a draw here, feel Kildare have to win to keep up their chances. Meath? Don't care what anyone says it won't be easy and there will be a sting in corks tail. That been said I think we will have enough to narrowly prevail royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 19/02/2019 14:28:28 2166373 Link 0 |
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only 2 away wins in this division so far i think. Greenfield (Meath) - Posts: 522 - 19/02/2019 15:30:00 2166390 Link 0 |