I think Donegal would love to meet Dublin. I think Donegal would put it up to Dublin but Dublin's firepower would be too much. Dublin have 6 scoring forwards and another 3-4 off they bench if they want them.

I think Kerry/Mayo will fight out a semi final spot. Too hard to call as it all depends on the day. Kerry have the upper hand in games lately in Croker and Mayo would be all out to rectify that. Could turn out to be game of the year if it does go ahead.

aidan64 (Kerry) - Posts: 665 - 28/07/2014 13:20:34    1627243

jimbo

I would disagree with you about Donegal not being as good as 2012 for the followng reasons.

1. Durkan has learned from the Master & his kickouts are much more varied than in 2012.

2. Much stronger bench with some great new young players.

3. More variety in their play with the likes of Lacey, Thompson, McGlynn & McGee regularly joining the forwards, while Murphy is trying to become the first player in history to win an All Star for both full forward & full back. Not alone is there now a Plan A there is also a Plan B & Plan C.

4. Half forward line much more of a threat than in 2012.

Granted McFadden's form is a concern but Croke Park was always much more to his liking than smaller pitches, I would also like to have had Mark Mc Hugh but we can't have everything.

Nobody here is fooling themselves, Dublin are the best team in the country & are deserved favourites to win Sam. They play great football & if we don't win I hope they do.

What is important to us is that we are competitive again & in with a shout & that means a lot to us. For a while it looked as if Dublin were going to trample over everyone but as thing stand now they have real challengers & there will be no easy procession to glory in 2014.

Whoever gets their hands on Sam in the end will have earned it the hard way which is as it should be

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 28/07/2014 13:31:21    1627248

Re: Monaghan caused them trouble with 2 scoring forwards - only a score in it at the end and Monaghan had their chances

jimbo me auld pal I wouldn't agree with you on that one. Monaghan's 2 danger men were extremely well taken care of I thought. The goal chances Monaghan got were from individual errors the likes of which we rarely if ever make. The margin at the end may only have been 3 points but I think that flattered Monaghan a small bit.
Too early to say how far we'll go. I don't like this chat of a semi-final clash with Dublin. Monaghan/Meath/Kildare and indeed Monaghan could have plenty to say about that yet.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9136 - 28/07/2014 13:32:28    1627249

Earlier this year I felt they needed to win Ulster in order to make a serious shout for an All Ireland. They've won Ulster, but now it remains to be seen if they can live with Dublin.

Donegal are a momentum team, very dangerous and hard to stop if they get a head of steam up. Their results rarely give away where they are at, as they could beat Fermanagh or Carlow by 8 points and a week later beat Tyrone or Cork by 6 points. They take every team serious, and don't take huge risks.

While Donegal have a few men near or over 30, they still actually have a relatively young squad. And with a strong batch of players coming through to bolster this, I think they could be in a position to challenge for another few seasons.

They are coming in under the radar a bit this year, as many people don't seem to feel they are the real deal. Formidable outfit on their day.

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 28/07/2014 13:53:44    1627269

I was shocked to see Donegal are not in the top 3 for the championship betting. I would have thought they along with Dublin Region and Mayo are in the top 3.

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 7853 - 28/07/2014 18:18:03    1627510

Ah legend, cute to the last!!

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 28/07/2014 19:32:45    1627586

Surprised Donegal lads are getting drawn into this.

Thread started by a Kerryman and now even the Dubs are bigging up Donegal.

Let's see who we get in the QF. None of our potential opponents will be there to make up the numbers.

Cleatus (Donegal) - Posts: 125 - 28/07/2014 19:56:38    1627612

The B side semi-final has been made out to be a nailed on certainty. Predict the winner. Predict the All-Ireland champion.

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 7853 - 28/07/2014 20:05:09    1627626

Jimbodub
The open spaces of Croke park did not worryDonegal in 2011 but it was not wide enough or open enough for Dublin. When was the last time you saw Dublin scoring 2points in the first half and only 8 in total.
To win this All Ireland Donegal will have to have plenty going for them , luck on the day( in any of the games left) stay free of injury and above all stay disclipined. Kerry , Mayo,Cork Dublin and even Monaghan , Meath and Kildare all are in the race with Dublin odds on fav.
As regards 8/9 scoring forwards I do noy know about that , what about the 12 or 13 defenders Donegal can have , will they be asleep all day ??
Also I read that of the six forwards that started against Meath 4 started against Donegal in 2011 so should have no big worries on that We might keep them to 7 points this time around if we meet.
But a very good point from the Kerry man ::: Donegal won't have to change their style but Dublin might

SamOnErrigal (Donegal) - Posts: 1427 - 28/07/2014 20:45:04    1627673

How is legend cute?Who exactly is he fooling?

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 28/07/2014 21:00:27    1627687

If this is the famous cute Kerry whoreism at play,well quite frankly,im underwhelmed.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 28/07/2014 21:03:11    1627690

Dublin are 4/9 to win sam thats 69.23% probability
Donegal are 10/1 which is 9.09 % probability

So the detailed quantitative analytical model rates dublin as almost eight times more likely to win Sam than Donegal.
Whilst I would wager that the PP model had never faced a three man tackle from 2 Mcgees and Frank Mcglynn at the same time the variance in odds offered says a lot about both teams respective chances

ruanua (Donegal) - Posts: 4966 - 28/07/2014 21:20:45    1627703

At the end of the day, I think both sides of the draw have 2 strong teams and a third then that could cause an upset. Donegal were on the opposite side of the draw to the Dubs these last two years so there cannot be complaints on that score. Kerry did their time on that side of the draw last year. At the moment Mayo are the last team I want on our side of the draw but while saying that, making a third final might be beyond them and they might not even make the semi-finals. The last time Mayo failed to make the final, they were on Kerry's side of the draw. Interesting two weekends ahead!

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 7853 - 28/07/2014 21:28:42    1627712

I was just more so making my point of how I was suprised donegal havent been given a look in all year! We can all talk about dublins scoring forwards and backs but I think donegal will love that! While they never look as good going forward in ulster against other defensive teams, in 2012 they beat cork, kerry and mayo and played some excellent counter attacking football in doing so. Dont understand why people say they lack firepower when they blew mayo apart early on in 2012! I think the thoughts of counter attacking against dublin is a dream come through, you cant keep playing that open football and expect to get away with! James McCaffrey was targeted by kerry last year and mayo did the same because he is not a defender! The whole point of thia thread is that it is crazy to rule out the 2012 all ireland champions who are also the only provincial side that played against teams that were somewhat competitive! Mayo, kerry and dublin havent been challenged yet and its hard to say where any are at! Also, alot of talk about how the donegal barely got past monaghan, if the dubs get monaghan in the qf and arent at full tilt it will be an early end to the summer for them!

as_ky (Kerry) - Posts: 535 - 28/07/2014 21:47:37    1627727

Not a hope. Won't even make last 4.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 29/07/2014 08:47:16    1627743

SamOnErrigal
County: Donegal
Posts: 511

1627673
Jimbodub
The open spaces of Croke park did not worryDonegal in 2011 but it was not wide enough or open enough for Dublin. When was the last time you saw Dublin scoring 2points in the first half and only 8 in total.

It was wide enough.

Dublin won. Donegal lost.

Now I'm backing yous this but this constant harping back to the 2011 semi-final by some Donegal posters is funny when talking about Donegal beating Dublin in 2014 is ridiculous.

First up, it was 3 years ago and this is a radically different Dublin team but most importantly Donegal lost a game against a 14 men Dublin.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13709 - 29/07/2014 13:14:18    1627883

We will make the last 4, if we play Meath in QF.......... But that unlikely to happen, so you just might be right Royal........

ben1977 (Donegal) - Posts: 364 - 29/07/2014 13:16:07    1627884

Royaldunne

Donegal will play either Meath, Armagh or Kildare afaik.

I honestly can't see the pick of those 3 coming anywhere near Donegal.

They are defo going to be in the semi-final.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13709 - 29/07/2014 13:29:45    1627903

2011 is pointless to bring up, McGuinness was just in the job and had only begun his ling term plan! That year donegal brought in the basics of what was to become there system and were a total different opposition in 2012! Doesnt matter how wide the pitch is, dublin nearly always try and come through the middle! I fancy donegal in this one, think they are the hungrier as well and the dubsmay have just started to believe their own hype! The dubs were run very close by kerry last year who were probably the weakest Iin the last few years when u take into acxount age profile and depth of the squad! Dont rate this dublin side the same as others do, leinster has made them look alot better than what they actually are! Jack McCaffrey and Kilkenny were made out to be superstars but were nowhere to be found in the semi and final!

as_ky (Kerry) - Posts: 535 - 29/07/2014 20:15:50    1628179

MesAmis
The point I was trying to make was how difficult Donegal with their defensive setup made life so hard for Dublin. And that was system that was just beginning to develope.
If I'm right that day MDMA was taken off ,B brogan had not a good game so it shows that star players can be stopped in their tracks from delivering big performances.
As the Kerry poster pointed out about Kilkenny/McCafferty being found wanting in last years semi//and final I can see other Dublin players not performing in games especially if they play teams like Monaghan/Donegal
We might not meet at all but if we do I expect Donegal to be right there with time almost up. We might loose but I can foresee one helluva game
The other thing Iv noticed about Dublin is over the last few years they don't win as handy in August /September as they do earlier in the year. It is possible that the reason is they were playing better teams or had they peaked earlier

SamOnErrigal (Donegal) - Posts: 1427 - 29/07/2014 20:49:46    1628218