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NFL Division 2 - 5 Like(s)
Replying To Furlong1949: "Why have Meath improved this year. There are few reasons why this happened. Its a gradual process over a few seasons but there are few areas that have come together for Meath this season. I think most are very surprised by Meaths progress this year but the signs were there. In the last two years Meaths very good performances v Tyrone Donegal twice Galway Roscommon and even v Dublin in last few months were evidence Meath were not as crap as people thought. The loses v kildare Cavan Longford Tippearey and Cork in 2017 and 2018 were all well deserved victories for the above. But people only saw those defeats but ignored the 1 point losess to Donegal in 2017 and Tyrone in 2018.
So there is a surprise out there with. Meaths progress. For me the main surprise is that so many people are welcoming a Meath return , Meath progess. I never saw that one coming. Of course there is some of our neighbours and old enemies who if we score another point in championship it will a point to much. But overall because of Dublins domiance people wud welcome a stronger Meath. I think people might even miss the old Meath v Dublin battles which in their heyday were the biggest game in football after an All Ireland final. Definatly I feel people wud like to see Meath get stronger. Thats a surprise to me.
But why have Meath improved. Here are some reasons.
1 It was always in his third year McEntee would improve the team. It took Boylan Dywer and McGee, the three most sucessful managers in leinster football history outside Heffernan and Galvin , it took them years to turn around their counties. McEntees work with Meath minors and Ballyboden showed he had the CV. It also took McEntee a while to get use to inter county football. A common occurence for many managers.
2 Very good performances v Tyrone Galway Donegal and Roscommon and even Dublins showed good signs. Even the two games v Dublin in recent months were a help. Meath beat Dublin in a challenge game before christmas were Brian Fenton and 4 or 5 first team Dublin players were playing. Yes Dublin had allot of players missing and were not back training. But still dont underestimate that it was good boost for a Meath team to beat Dublin. And even if they lost on penalties to Dublins reserve team in Bynre cup. Just playing any Dublin team in two games in a few weeks and not been beaten in full time in both matchs. These things do help.
2 Meaths performance v Tyrone was important. Most people ignored it. The only person I saw recognising the importance of this performance was Alan Brogan. He said it was one of the games of the season. And Meath cud take an awful lot from the performance. He was right.
If Meath had beaten Tyrone I think this cud have been a bad thing. Lets say Meath reached the super 8 last year. Meath were weaker then Roscommon last year. look at what happened to Roscommon in Super 8 last year. If Meath reached super 8 last year they would have had worst defeats then Roscommon and would have ended the season a bit demoralised.
Instead Meath had a moral victory v Tyrone. They lost contervesaly and left the fans a bit aggrieved but also proud of the performance. A good way to end the season for a team rebuilding. Instead of getting bad hammerings in the Super 8. Meath took allot from that performance. And when Tyrone reached the All Ireland final afterwards, it made Meaths performance v Tyrone even more credible.
3 Since the Cork league game last year in about 14 or 15 games since longford defeat, Meath have only played one real bad game since. That was v Longford. What has happened,? Two posotional changes have transformed the Meath team. The moving of James McEntee to wing back and moving of Donal keoghan to centre back have been massive for Meath. Why?
Half back line has been a problem area for Meath for years. Half back line is most important line in modern football. If u dont have a quality half back line u cannot be sucessful eg Lee Keegan Karl Lacey James Mcarthy etc. James McEntee moving from wing forward to wing back has been a huge sucess. He has given many man of the match performances at wing back and is producing performances I havent seen at wing back for a Meath footballer in ten years at least.
The other was Donal keoghan. Donal keoghan has played at corner back wing back centre back in all 6 defence positions for Meath for years. If there was a player on the opposite team who was dangerous, Keoghan marked him. If Meath were struggling in a position, he played in that position. That meant Keoghan basically played corner back for Meath for 5 years. He was outstanding at corner back but it is not his best position. That was as a half back. A top class wing back is more important then top class corner back. U need good corner backs but half backs can really influence the game more.
Since the Cork game last year, Keoghan has played every game at centre back. His longest period out the field. Centre back has been a problem area since Enda McManus retired in 2000 for Meath. It is no coincidence that since the Cork game Meath have played well and improved and keoghan has played every game at centre back.
For me Donal keoghan is one of the best defenders in the country and could be the best. He wud walk onto any team in the country including Dublin and would walk onto Meaths teams of 80s and 90s. He is Meaths best defender since Darren Fay. And for me his level of performance for Meath is up there with Darren Fay Martin O Connell Robbie O Malley and Mick Lyons. Most people have not seen Keoghan as Meath have not been on telly much only when he was corner back when Meath were defeated by Dublin in 2014 and Westmeath in 2015. For me , Keoghan is up there with kieth Higgins and James Mcarthys , he reminds me of Meath Karl lacey. Meath have a top class centre back for the first time since Liam Harnan. That has been massive for Meath.
4 The main area ofs Meaths improvement was our defence. This is best Meath defence in ten years at least. Meath have 4 top class defenders. They are Donal keoghan Conor McGill Seamus Lavin and Shane Gallagher. Seamus lavin has emerged as quality corner back, the best we have had since Niall McKeigue retired 10 years ago. Conor McGill is one of the best full backs in the country. And Gallagher has been best man marker in Meath club football for years and has adapted to inter game very well. While young Ronan Ryan has been one of our finds of the season. He is tenacious Summerhill defender carrying on Mick Lyons and Mark Reilly Summerhill defending tradition. Mcoy has also been good. Niall kane and James McEntee means Meath have two quality effective wing backs. Its a pity kane will be out for months after picking up an injury v kildare. But overall this is Meaths best defence in at least ten years. Meath have a division 1 defence.
5 Meath have a group of players who are now peaking. Many of them r off the 2012 minor All Ireland finalist team eg Cillian Sullivan James and Shane McEntee Adam.Flanagan Seamus Lavin Padraig Harnan were all.on that team. While players like Donal Keoghan Brian Menton Conor McGill are also peaking. Player start to peak at 25 and reach peak at 27 28. These group of players have now years of strenght and conditioning and now are peaking and better equipped for inter county football.
6 Meaths tackling has improved in defence but also in attack. In the past few years Meath players would lose the ball in the tackle, we had a small team in stature. Who wud lose the ball in contact. Now after a few years strenght and conditioning ,these players are now stronger in the tackle. While younger players coming thru are the first generation of Meath players who have had strenght and conditioning training at underage. These new young players are bigger and more Atletic then underage players we have produced in a while.
7 Another reason for Meaths progress has been these new young players. Meath have a young team the average age is 23 24. But for the first time since 2012 when Padraig Harnan Alan Forde Damien Carroll Conor Gillespie in 2012 made a straightaway impact. For first time in years Meath have under 21 players making an impact straightaway. Players like Daragh Campion Ethan Devine Ronan Ryan and James Conlon all under 21 players all have made an impact . The good news is I can see 3 or 4 new young players next year and the year after making impact as Meaths best underage talent since 90s start coming through.
8 Andy McEntee in his first year or two was probably trying to do everything. Coaching and managing. This year he has brought in Nally as coach and this has worked real well. Andy McEntee is doing more one on one man mangement with the players this year. McEntees is good at man management. He can be blunt but he is a good motivator. Players like Michael Dara Macauley and Colm Keaney Dublin players who have been managed by Pat Gilroy Anthony Daly and Jim Galvin said McEntee was best manager they played under. McEntee managing the players this year is working.
8 The introduction of Nally as a coach has been very important. Coachs importance has grown massively recently. Paul Grimley Peter Lally Donie Buckley Cian O Neill Jason Sherlock have all showed how important a quality coach is. Jim Galvin or Mickey Harte dont do the coaching . They manage the team. The role of modern coach has improved recently. Look at Clare and Limerick All Ireland hurling win. Paul McKinnerk was the coach on both teams. He is possibly most important figure in hurling in this decade. Nally is one best coachs in leinster. He gives seminars and writes coaching manuals. The Meath players are very very happy with him.
I wud recommended every Meath person to check out Colm Nally appearance on off the ball football show recently. U cud listen to this guy talk about football all day long. He really impressed me in this show. Nally joining the Meath management team is a turning point.
Meath have failed to adapt to modern tactics in football. How do you get the Meath players to play tactically aware football with their old school passion. For me this is the first time I have seen Meath play tactics in a modern way sucessfully with old school passion. The management team of McEntee and Nally has had a massive role. McEntees passion combined with Nallys tactical nuance has really worked.
I have been so impressed as Nally , he is a Dub. Which I would never agree with having a Dub on any Meath management team. But to give Dubs their credit they always produce good managers coachs eg Paul Cafffry Pat Gilroy Jim Galvin Mickey Whelan and Jason Sherlock. Nally has been so good that when McEntee leaves and hopefully that is a couple of seasons. Nally for me would be a genuine and only candidate as a future Meath manager at the moment eeing the serious lack of young Meath managers out there. (Hopefully someone like Kevin Reilly at Navan O Mahoneys who is doing really well there at the moment can be sucessful at Mahonys. We need new sucessful talented managers to come thru. Hopefully Kevin Reilly is one. )
So there r 8 reasons why Meath have improved this year. Meath are still not the finished article and still wil have ups and downs. But they are going in right direction. They have young team with strong defence and strong management and new talent thru. A promotion for Meath to div 1 for the first time in 13 years wud be a masive boost for Meath. And I think Meath wud adapt better to divsion 1 football then people think. Galway adapted well. Galway feel like they belong in divsion 1 and have no inferior complex. Meath would also have same mindset as Galway and and wud have no inferior complex. If Meath cud get 4 games in Navan as Meath have a great record in Navan that would be massive for Meath. Hopefully we dont mess up next week. Meath football is turning the corner. And this can only be good for football. Leinster needs a strong Meath and kildare. Hopefully we see a Meath v kildare league final. 3 leinster teams in division wud be great for leinster football." Please keep your answers short, I'm probably one of many who never read it because of the length of it
PyatPree (National) - 18/03/2019 21:50:28
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Dublin V Tyrone - 4 Like(s)
Best wishes to Paddy Andrews, reminded me of Kennellys hit in 2009.
Straight red and it was nasty no other words for it.
westkerry (National) - 18/03/2019 20:07:53
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Dublin V Tyrone - 4 Like(s)
Replying To The_Fridge: "No it wasn't." Dont defend the indefensible.
If you ever played the game you know right well that morgan could have pulled out of that challenge.
westkerry (National) - 18/03/2019 21:18:25
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Dublin V Tyrone - 4 Like(s)
Replying To KingdomBoy1: "You make some great points there Llaw like you say teams are usually beat before they hit the pitch to play the dubs and when you look at the way Tyrone and Donegal and Roscommon approached the super 8 games against them last year the plan was to keep the score down and shoot out between eachother for the second spot, and that was understandable for last year but this year maybe team will take a bit of belief from Tyrone Kerry and Monaghan's victories over them and attack them.
Mikey Sheehy said when we were going for the 5 that they had done all the same preparation but that they all just felt flat ? Maybe just a lack of hunger or whatever.
Can you imagine the team that could stop the 5 would probably end up more famous than the team that did the 4"
You mean like Offaly.
AthCliath (National) - 18/03/2019 21:21:11
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NFL Division 2 - 3 Like(s)
Kildare making progress??? Are you serious? Maybe have have a look at our results this year and compare them to the last time we were in div 2 before posting utter nonsense.. We are missing Paul Cribben only, all the others have left the panel, in D. Flynn case probably for good.
And yet another hammering from dubs in a championship fixed for them to win should see another 1 or 2 lose interest and leave.. Meath deserve their chance but its an inevitable conclusion that your young lads will get fed up and leave to have a life when they realise how futile competing in Leinster or All Ireland is.. Thats why i hope if not Kildare then meath win the Div 2 title because its the only comp we can win that is not fixed for Dublin to win.. At least not yet, although God knows Gaa HQ will probably find a way..
cuttothebone (National) - 18/03/2019 19:53:21
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Dublin V Tyrone - 3 Like(s)
Replying To The_Fridge: "No it wasn't." OMG it was nasty and a straight red , open your eyes .
superbluedub (National) - 18/03/2019 21:08:17
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Dublin V Tyrone - 3 Like(s)
It was reckless and dangerous from Morgan and should of been a straight red card but I don't believe he meant to break Paddy's jaw.
clondalkindub (National) - 19/03/2019 10:28:29
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Dublin V Tyrone - 3 Like(s)
Replying To juicy: "From looking at it on TV, he is going in got the shoulder, unfortunately for Paddy the timing was slightly off. It was very marginal as well.
For to be considered reckless and dangerous Morgan has to lead with his elbow which he did not. His elbow is no where near a dangerous. That is the difference between this incident and the Kennelly incident mentioned in other comments. Kennelly lifted his elbow to connect.
Nobody wants to see anyone get injured, but unfortunately this things do happen from time to time. Incidents cannot be judged by the outcome, by if someone gets injured. You need to look at the full picture of what happened." His elbow can only be considered dangerous? What are you on about ? So a high shoulder into a mans jaw is not dangerous? Don't be silly Now.
clondalkindub (National) - 19/03/2019 11:55:51
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Dublin V Tyrone - 2 Like(s)
Replying To TheUsername: "I was actually very close to it, looked a fair shoulder to me at the time. Looks worse in the replay on TV and I have second thoughts about it. Apparently Paddy was taken to hospital. Hopefully Morgan didn't intentionally try and do him." Broken jaw apparently not a fair shoulder as he hit his chin, maybe an attempt at a fair shoulder.
arock (National) - 18/03/2019 18:28:01
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How Long More ... - 2 Like(s)
Replying To KingdomBoy1: "I always found a pint bottle of cider with ice did the trick but now we can't drive into town and have 1 nowadays so we have to suffer on.
Rural Ireland is fooked." It's a good thing you can't drink a pint and drive. I think most would agree with that.
The_Fridge (National) - 18/03/2019 21:04:06
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Dublin V Tyrone - 2 Like(s)
Replying To westkerry: "Dont defend the indefensible.
If you ever played the game you know right well that morgan could have pulled out of that challenge." You obviously played the game if your comment is to be taken seriously and you should know that only the goalkeeper knows the answer to that question and certainly neither you or I know whether it was intentional unless you are a mind reader. It was most unfortunate and I wish him a speedy recovery. Lots of footballers get nasty injuries with some intentional and some not. Most of the intentional ones can be quite obvious like the one at 'throw in' at the start of Cork v Kerry match.
browncows (National) - 19/03/2019 01:12:06
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Dublin V Tyrone - 2 Like(s)
Nothing to be proud of in those sort of tackles.
Reckless and cowardly stuff and a man having to have an operation for the damage.
You would hope his livelihood isn't affected.
catch22 (National) - 19/03/2019 07:20:26
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Dublin V Tyrone - 2 Like(s)
Replying To waynoI: "I always find it amusing that people watch a game, see an incident and then go on like they have a degree in body positioning and are able to read minds of players when they've seen a flashpoint incident from a good bit away in real time and/or watch it in slow motion about 100 times on tele and come to their own conclusion that player X DEFINITELY went to hurt player Y.
Here's the thing. The only person who knows for certain whether he meant to hurt Paddy Andrews, is Morgan himself and im confident that he didn't mean to hurt him. He has since come out on twitter and said he is sorry to hear about Paddy and has been in contact with him since, so that's it. Nothing else to see here.
Its a contact sport. There are hits, nowhere near as many tough hard hits as there was in the 70s and 80s its lame now in comparison, it was just one of those things, Ive seen and will see in future plenty of Dublin players letting their men know they are around, its part and parcel of the game, Doesn't mean they intend to hurt anyone, id be inclined to just take Niall Morgans hit on the chin excuse the pun.
Reckless ? A little. Late ? A little. but you can be late and reckless, doesn't mean youre purposely trying to break someones jaw." In spirit i would tend to agree with you.
But i think its naive to suggest that these incidents dont have an outside narrative and an influence on games as they effect a players reputation.
Watching the Duff Loachra gael programme its crazy to think that he was banned for a year for something that could have seen in any league ground at the weekend, certainly every second. With not any injury to the player in question.
Equally Diarmuid Connolly anyone who watched him will know he isnt a dirty player, yet the lad was hounded out of the game because of outside media narratives influencing banning that had a direct impact on his life. A direct result of Pat Spillane having a song and dance.
I mention it because the reality is in spirit i think most lads and fans want to take their licks and get on with and that would be my approach to this.
At the game on Sat night i didnt anyone mention the incident after the game, its only become a thing now because Brolly and O Se whipped it up. That has a direct influence on Morgans reputation and decision making in similar incidents in the future. In Brolly words he has "history", that influences games in my opinion.
Similar to Dully back in the day and Connolly in the modern era, like it or not the media and the highlighting of these issues has a direct influence on players reputations, an impact on their personal lives and reputations. If they play on after a ban, it has a direct influence on the game and decisions either for or against them and cards.
Im not saying i agree with any of that, but its naive to think it doesn't, whatever we think from a sporting moral point of view.
Im using a couple of Dublin players as an example, but im sure other counties have similar tales of woe.
TheUsername (National) - 19/03/2019 13:05:57
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How Long More ... - 1 Like(s)
Beat cure for a hangover is 2/3 cold cans of cider...great job.
yew_tree (National) - 18/03/2019 17:16:38
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Dublin V Tyrone - 1 Like(s)
Replying To KingdomBoy1: "You make some great points there Llaw like you say teams are usually beat before they hit the pitch to play the dubs and when you look at the way Tyrone and Donegal and Roscommon approached the super 8 games against them last year the plan was to keep the score down and shoot out between eachother for the second spot, and that was understandable for last year but this year maybe team will take a bit of belief from Tyrone Kerry and Monaghan's victories over them and attack them.
Mikey Sheehy said when we were going for the 5 that they had done all the same preparation but that they all just felt flat ? Maybe just a lack of hunger or whatever.
Can you imagine the team that could stop the 5 would probably end up more famous than the team that did the 4" That appears very harsh on Tyrone and Donegal last year. The Roscommon game was a dead rubber for both teams seeing as Roscommon couldn't qualify for the semi finals so that game can be largely discounted, though if their approach was to keep the score down then it certainly didn't appear that way when watching the game live.
Donegal were neck and neck with Dublin approaching half time and missed a very good goal chance. Dublin went straight down the other end and scored themselves. The second goal just after half time largely killed the game as a contest.
Similarly, Tyrone were very much in contention at half time in the Super 8 game, only being 2 points down and playing well. Dublin god a somewhat fortuitous goal shortly into the second half and it Tyrone very much forced the play from then until the end of the game but missed a few presentable chances to narrow the gap before Dublin sealed it in injury time.
None of these teams looked like their "plan was to keep the score down and shoot out between each other for the second spot" from my perspective. Perhaps my opinion on the matter is overly subjective but I don't think the teams in question lacked belief when facing the Dubs.
Kurt_Angle (National) - 19/03/2019 14:30:59
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Dublin V Tyrone - 1 Like(s)
Replying To The_Fridge: "Away back to the Hill 16 Army site with that crap. You will have an audience there.
Accidental crash. It happens. Feel for Paddy Andrews, good player, but these things happen in a contact sport. Hope he gets back to full fitness for championship" What a load of utter nonsense , have you ever played the game ? he could have pulled out , it's obvious his only intention was to take out the man , had no hope of winning that ball it was reckless and dangerous end off, as for your silly hill 16 army jibe ! Really grow up .
superbluedub (National) - 19/03/2019 14:58:02
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NFL Division 2 - 1 Like(s)
Why have Meath improved this year. There are few reasons why this happened. Its a gradual process over a few seasons but there are few areas that have come together for Meath this season. I think most are very surprised by Meaths progress this year but the signs were there. In the last two years Meaths very good performances v Tyrone Donegal twice Galway Roscommon and even v Dublin in last few months were evidence Meath were not as crap as people thought. The loses v kildare Cavan Longford Tippearey and Cork in 2017 and 2018 were all well deserved victories for the above. But people only saw those defeats but ignored the 1 point losess to Donegal in 2017 and Tyrone in 2018.
So there is a surprise out there with. Meaths progress. For me the main surprise is that so many people are welcoming a Meath return , Meath progess. I never saw that one coming. Of course there is some of our neighbours and old enemies who if we score another point in championship it will a point to much. But overall because of Dublins domiance people wud welcome a stronger Meath. I think people might even miss the old Meath v Dublin battles which in their heyday were the biggest game in football after an All Ireland final. Definatly I feel people wud like to see Meath get stronger. Thats a surprise to me.
But why have Meath improved. Here are some reasons.
1 It was always in his third year McEntee would improve the team. It took Boylan Dywer and McGee, the three most sucessful managers in leinster football history outside Heffernan and Galvin , it took them years to turn around their counties. McEntees work with Meath minors and Ballyboden showed he had the CV. It also took McEntee a while to get use to inter county football. A common occurence for many managers.
2 Very good performances v Tyrone Galway Donegal and Roscommon and even Dublins showed good signs. Even the two games v Dublin in recent months were a help. Meath beat Dublin in a challenge game before christmas were Brian Fenton and 4 or 5 first team Dublin players were playing. Yes Dublin had allot of players missing and were not back training. But still dont underestimate that it was good boost for a Meath team to beat Dublin. And even if they lost on penalties to Dublins reserve team in Bynre cup. Just playing any Dublin team in two games in a few weeks and not been beaten in full time in both matchs. These things do help.
2 Meaths performance v Tyrone was important. Most people ignored it. The only person I saw recognising the importance of this performance was Alan Brogan. He said it was one of the games of the season. And Meath cud take an awful lot from the performance. He was right.
If Meath had beaten Tyrone I think this cud have been a bad thing. Lets say Meath reached the super 8 last year. Meath were weaker then Roscommon last year. look at what happened to Roscommon in Super 8 last year. If Meath reached super 8 last year they would have had worst defeats then Roscommon and would have ended the season a bit demoralised.
Instead Meath had a moral victory v Tyrone. They lost contervesaly and left the fans a bit aggrieved but also proud of the performance. A good way to end the season for a team rebuilding. Instead of getting bad hammerings in the Super 8. Meath took allot from that performance. And when Tyrone reached the All Ireland final afterwards, it made Meaths performance v Tyrone even more credible.
3 Since the Cork league game last year in about 14 or 15 games since longford defeat, Meath have only played one real bad game since. That was v Longford. What has happened,? Two posotional changes have transformed the Meath team. The moving of James McEntee to wing back and moving of Donal keoghan to centre back have been massive for Meath. Why?
Half back line has been a problem area for Meath for years. Half back line is most important line in modern football. If u dont have a quality half back line u cannot be sucessful eg Lee Keegan Karl Lacey James Mcarthy etc. James McEntee moving from wing forward to wing back has been a huge sucess. He has given many man of the match performances at wing back and is producing performances I havent seen at wing back for a Meath footballer in ten years at least.
The other was Donal keoghan. Donal keoghan has played at corner back wing back centre back in all 6 defence positions for Meath for years. If there was a player on the opposite team who was dangerous, Keoghan marked him. If Meath were struggling in a position, he played in that position. That meant Keoghan basically played corner back for Meath for 5 years. He was outstanding at corner back but it is not his best position. That was as a half back. A top class wing back is more important then top class corner back. U need good corner backs but half backs can really influence the game more.
Since the Cork game last year, Keoghan has played every game at centre back. His longest period out the field. Centre back has been a problem area since Enda McManus retired in 2000 for Meath. It is no coincidence that since the Cork game Meath have played well and improved and keoghan has played every game at centre back.
For me Donal keoghan is one of the best defenders in the country and could be the best. He wud walk onto any team in the country including Dublin and would walk onto Meaths teams of 80s and 90s. He is Meaths best defender since Darren Fay. And for me his level of performance for Meath is up there with Darren Fay Martin O Connell Robbie O Malley and Mick Lyons. Most people have not seen Keoghan as Meath have not been on telly much only when he was corner back when Meath were defeated by Dublin in 2014 and Westmeath in 2015. For me , Keoghan is up there with kieth Higgins and James Mcarthys , he reminds me of Meath Karl lacey. Meath have a top class centre back for the first time since Liam Harnan. That has been massive for Meath.
4 The main area ofs Meaths improvement was our defence. This is best Meath defence in ten years at least. Meath have 4 top class defenders. They are Donal keoghan Conor McGill Seamus Lavin and Shane Gallagher. Seamus lavin has emerged as quality corner back, the best we have had since Niall McKeigue retired 10 years ago. Conor McGill is one of the best full backs in the country. And Gallagher has been best man marker in Meath club football for years and has adapted to inter game very well. While young Ronan Ryan has been one of our finds of the season. He is tenacious Summerhill defender carrying on Mick Lyons and Mark Reilly Summerhill defending tradition. Mcoy has also been good. Niall kane and James McEntee means Meath have two quality effective wing backs. Its a pity kane will be out for months after picking up an injury v kildare. But overall this is Meaths best defence in at least ten years. Meath have a division 1 defence.
5 Meath have a group of players who are now peaking. Many of them r off the 2012 minor All Ireland finalist team eg Cillian Sullivan James and Shane McEntee Adam.Flanagan Seamus Lavin Padraig Harnan were all.on that team. While players like Donal Keoghan Brian Menton Conor McGill are also peaking. Player start to peak at 25 and reach peak at 27 28. These group of players have now years of strenght and conditioning and now are peaking and better equipped for inter county football.
6 Meaths tackling has improved in defence but also in attack. In the past few years Meath players would lose the ball in the tackle, we had a small team in stature. Who wud lose the ball in contact. Now after a few years strenght and conditioning ,these players are now stronger in the tackle. While younger players coming thru are the first generation of Meath players who have had strenght and conditioning training at underage. These new young players are bigger and more Atletic then underage players we have produced in a while.
7 Another reason for Meaths progress has been these new young players. Meath have a young team the average age is 23 24. But for the first time since 2012 when Padraig Harnan Alan Forde Damien Carroll Conor Gillespie in 2012 made a straightaway impact. For first time in years Meath have under 21 players making an impact straightaway. Players like Daragh Campion Ethan Devine Ronan Ryan and James Conlon all under 21 players all have made an impact . The good news is I can see 3 or 4 new young players next year and the year after making impact as Meaths best underage talent since 90s start coming through.
8 Andy McEntee in his first year or two was probably trying to do everything. Coaching and managing. This year he has brought in Nally as coach and this has worked real well. Andy McEntee is doing more one on one man mangement with the players this year. McEntees is good at man management. He can be blunt but he is a good motivator. Players like Michael Dara Macauley and Colm Keaney Dublin players who have been managed by Pat Gilroy Anthony Daly and Jim Galvin said McEntee was best manager they played under. McEntee managing the players this year is working.
8 The introduction of Nally as a coach has been very important. Coachs importance has grown massively recently. Paul Grimley Peter Lally Donie Buckley Cian O Neill Jason Sherlock have all showed how important a quality coach is. Jim Galvin or Mickey Harte dont do the coaching . They manage the team. The role of modern coach has improved recently. Look at Clare and Limerick All Ireland hurling win. Paul McKinnerk was the coach on both teams. He is possibly most important figure in hurling in this decade. Nally is one best coachs in leinster. He gives seminars and writes coaching manuals. The Meath players are very very happy with him.
I wud recommended every Meath person to check out Colm Nally appearance on off the ball football show recently. U cud listen to this guy talk about football all day long. He really impressed me in this show. Nally joining the Meath management team is a turning point.
Meath have failed to adapt to modern tactics in football. How do you get the Meath players to play tactically aware football with their old school passion. For me this is the first time I have seen Meath play tactics in a modern way sucessfully with old school passion. The management team of McEntee and Nally has had a massive role. McEntees passion combined with Nallys tactical nuance has really worked.
I have been so impressed as Nally , he is a Dub. Which I would never agree with having a Dub on any Meath management team. But to give Dubs their credit they always produce good managers coachs eg Paul Cafffry Pat Gilroy Jim Galvin Mickey Whelan and Jason Sherlock. Nally has been so good that when McEntee leaves and hopefully that is a couple of seasons. Nally for me would be a genuine and only candidate as a future Meath manager at the moment eeing the serious lack of young Meath managers out there. (Hopefully someone like Kevin Reilly at Navan O Mahoneys who is doing really well there at the moment can be sucessful at Mahonys. We need new sucessful talented managers to come thru. Hopefully Kevin Reilly is one. )
So there r 8 reasons why Meath have improved this year. Meath are still not the finished article and still wil have ups and downs. But they are going in right direction. They have young team with strong defence and strong management and new talent thru. A promotion for Meath to div 1 for the first time in 13 years wud be a masive boost for Meath. And I think Meath wud adapt better to divsion 1 football then people think. Galway adapted well. Galway feel like they belong in divsion 1 and have no inferior complex. Meath would also have same mindset as Galway and and wud have no inferior complex. If Meath cud get 4 games in Navan as Meath have a great record in Navan that would be massive for Meath. Hopefully we dont mess up next week. Meath football is turning the corner. And this can only be good for football. Leinster needs a strong Meath and kildare. Hopefully we see a Meath v kildare league final. 3 leinster teams in division wud be great for leinster football.
Furlong1949 (National) - 18/03/2019 18:02:20
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Corofin V Dr Crokes - 1 Like(s)
Replying To kiloughter: "Interesting point. Some local conversation previously pointed to Rochford being a runner for Galway at some point in the future. I note in an interview with him on the indo on Sat when he left Mayo managing another Connacht county was not an option." Besides Stephen Rochford our own county board is a law unto themselves. Kevin McStay ignored for a prearranged appointment. Mickey Moran pushed aside after getting us to the final in his only year in charge. I wonder did they even consider a Rochford and Horan coaching team for 2019? They seem as regressive as coaches and players are progressive.
GreenandRed (National) - 18/03/2019 18:03:20
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The GAA Fixtures Error - 1 Like(s)
They are incapable of sorting out fixtures, their greed saw them create more games with the introduction of the Super 8's & this year an U 20 competition. Allowing pre season competitions such as FBD & Mc Kenna cup continue, as well as league & the Super 8's means their is too many games & no room for manoeuvring. Drastic changes are needed but can you see anybody at the top capable of leadership to implement change ? When you consider all the fiascos they oversaw last year, I wouldn't hold much hope. Another point is just like the club players, Div 3 is way down the list of priorities of those at the top, if it doesn't involve money or glory, they won't take any action.
Uimhir.a.3. (National) - 18/03/2019 18:18:36
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NFL Division 2 - 1 Like(s)
Replying To if_in_doubt: "You could say there's been a serious lack of focus for the majority of all our games to date.
Depsite doing our best to sabotage our own chance of promotion from the start, we somehow still find ourselves with an outside chance of going up heading into the final round." Thats a good sign for kildare. Kildare have not played to their potential. But yet kildare cud be promoted. Thats a good sign. U r missing Niall kelly ur best half forward and Daniel Flynn u best inside forward. O Neill has done a good job putting in good foundations to build a new kildare team. I always felt Glen Ryan with Davy Burke as part of management team wud be the guys to bring kildare on further.
Ryan did a good job at longford and himself and Burke got to two kildare underage teams to All-Ireland finals recently. He was also the main man on the 98 team and one of my favourite players of that era. A proper warrior. Kildare have potential. Good enough to achieve what 98 - 00 team achieved. Good enough to win leinster title or two in early 2020s and push for Sam Maguire. I think O Neill is not the guy to do that. But he has done a really good job introdcing these young kildare footballers to inter county level. He is quality coach. But coachs don't always make good managers. I think a management team of Glen Ryan and Burke with Burke to take over from Ryan in a few years wud be a good idea. Burke is young probaly bit to young to be manager. But he did impress with under 20s last year. Seems a very positive character. But kildare and Meath are definatly in the right direction. Both can only get better , looking at the age profile of both teams . There is genuine talent coming thru at underage level in both counties.
Furlong1949 (National) - 18/03/2019 18:24:04
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