Now I'm not his biggest fan,but it is hard to disagree with his piece in The Star today. Over the last few years we have had terrible results ,and we are soft mentally.. Defeats to Limerick,Wexford,Cork,and more recently Louth proves that..

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 23/05/2012 12:56:44    1178742

Aside from Cork we would have better players than all of those teams,yet........

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 23/05/2012 13:01:28    1178745

I would have to agree with Martin,we have gone very timid and a lot of our footballers don't know how to tackle,particularly Ward and Meade who we depend so much on at midfield.

jake1 (Meath) - Posts: 268 - 23/05/2012 13:46:03    1178792

Jake


It's not just a physical thing,but mentally,that would concern me even more,but can't see this changing with the current panel

ziggy32001 (Meath) - Posts: 8354 - 23/05/2012 14:05:32    1178817

http://www.hoganstand.com/Meath/MessagePage.aspx?TopicID=73915

Old news at this stage Ziggy, but I suppose McHugh likes to keep repeating it again and again.

Let's all be positive for the Championship and hope the lads surprise one of the more highly regarded sides before the season ends.

GlasagusOr (Meath) - Posts: 1348 - 23/05/2012 14:57:27    1178875

the hardman days are over, referee's just won't tolerate it

Shearer (Louth) - Posts: 927 - 23/05/2012 16:49:28    1178994

Lads like Lyons and Harnan wouldnt survive until half time the way the game is refereed nowadays. McHugh wants to get a dig back at Meath because of all the times he was on the receiving end from the likes of Harnan and Lyons.

kingofclubs (Meath) - Posts: 350 - 23/05/2012 17:34:17    1179042

I wouldn't pay any attention to that bitter begrudger who's never had anything good to say about Meath. What teams nowadays would you describe as "tough" and "hard as nails"..? Football has evolved in the way that speed and athleticism has improved. Football back in the 80's and early 90's were different with regard to hard hitting etc. Meath like everyone else have evolved and no longer is toughness the biggest trait of any team.. its skill, speed, strength & athleticism.

What I will say is that Meath are lacking mentally and have a major confidence issue. Want any salt with that chip in your shoulder Martin..?

RoyalClass (Meath) - Posts: 790 - 23/05/2012 19:06:43    1179126

Shearer,
With a name like that you should stick to soccer which Louth are definitely better at than meath.You can still be tough and play well at gaa but when you don't know how to tackle then you are on the back foot.That is why Louth beat a very timid Meath team,didn't it prove it last weekend when a late goal from Louth beat a very poor Westmeath team.

jake1 (Meath) - Posts: 268 - 23/05/2012 19:52:34    1179162

Why would any self respecting Meath man listen to him. The minute any Meath team offer any sort of physicality to a game he'll be the first to put the boot in. Another thing is he must be delusional if he thinks a Kerry man needs a football manual from Ulster to win All Irelands. Ignore the man and maybe, just maybe he'll go back to Umpa-Lumpa land.

hootervillian (Meath) - Posts: 310 - 23/05/2012 20:05:59    1179171

Meath may have been hard back in the day, but they also had top class players in prime positions, now you have neither, simple as that.

lilypad (Kildare) - Posts: 1363 - 23/05/2012 20:23:47    1179178

I cant stand the sight of that fella but he is right!! Look at the amount of times in the last few years they have been bullied out of games. There still are hard teams out there........... you might not be allowed throw a punch anymore but there are orther ways of doing it. Cork Kildare donegal and arguably Tyrone are hard teams with tough players throughout there team.

greenrow (Meath) - Posts: 44 - 23/05/2012 21:20:38    1179214

ah no i wouldn't call kildare a hard team at all! cork disappear in croker and aside from canty wouldn't be notoriously hard, donegal id say are tough but thats about it

Thejoeshow (Meath) - Posts: 687 - 23/05/2012 21:37:40    1179228

Kildare win games by absolutly physically pummeling teams and then when the oposition run out of steam they strike. There problem is they have no scoring forwards. So when they come up against a team that match them for fittness and strenght they struggle.
Cork have a clueless manager (Thats why they dont have more all irelans) but have serious power throughout the tem!
Toughness comes from physical strenght and fitneess as well as the bit between the ears! Meath flounder on fitness and that bit between the ears!

greenrow (Meath) - Posts: 44 - 23/05/2012 21:47:11    1179239

You'd swear it was Germany not Meath McHugh was on about with all the farm hands and milk maids!!! If we were any harder in North Meath we'd break!!

An_Oifigeach (Meath) - Posts: 220 - 24/05/2012 08:24:11    1179267

he's dead right

matrixroyal (Meath) - Posts: 96 - 24/05/2012 09:23:31    1179289

Greenrow when were you actually allowed to throw a punch it,never meant a player was tough anyway only cowardly

pistelero (Wicklow) - Posts: 1719 - 24/05/2012 11:00:44    1179367

The celtic tiger has made young men in meath soft with too much money from doing brain dead work and not able to handle it apart from drinking themselves stupid every weekend.

Along with soft this present Meath panel are not very clever when you compare to winning meath teams, I would say you have 5 professionals in the whole group. Where are the Doctors, teachers, solictors, farmers, physiotherapists ,Scientists, Engineers, Business executives etc.
I would say in IQ test we would rank about the same positon as our standard of football DIV3:)

Also North Meath as a region should be ashamed of ourselves we are offering nothing to any Meath team and this is where you get that much needed steel,determination and will to win that is naturally in a good North meath player.

Northmeathman (Meath) - Posts: 284 - 24/05/2012 11:10:09    1179378

I have to agree with some of McHugh's comments. The physical side of things isn't about polaxing someone its about been able to stand there ground when someone comes running at them and turning them back . Look at Meaths midfield and centre back especially they stand like scarecrows with there hands out waiting for someone to run into them and hopefully it works but believe me it never will.The best way to tackle someone running at you is to meet them and you moving forward.

godalmighty (Meath) - Posts: 36 - 24/05/2012 12:26:57    1179470

wouldnt even dignify mchugh with an answer, the man is ulster biased and paranoid about meath. meath gaa is definitely not physically soft, witness any club game.

All thats soft in meath football now is belief - one good win will change that.

leave marty and jimmy mcguinness eke a living justifying that beach volleyball crud they love up north...or is it water polo? if id me chainsaw, id cut off donegal football right now, tow it out to iceland and leave them at it...maybe tow them back when they start kicking the ball like men...

RoyalSt.Pat (Meath) - Posts: 333 - 24/05/2012 17:32:55    1179842