National Forum

Leinster Football Semi Finals 2022

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post


Replying To TheUsername:  "Yes i am, during the O Dwyer years it was advantage because it was on your doorstep and played all your games there, during the Boylan years for Meath it was similar - there was some crazy stat about Darren fay that he was 10 odd years or something playing for Meath before he played a Championship game in Navan. Taking Dublin out of the question - like in 98 in an example of the point I'm am making.

Kildare and Meath when they've been successful have set up base camp in Croke Park, obviously using your own premise that calls into question sporting integrity in comparison to say Cork, Kerry, Donegal or Galway who may only play a semi there.

Croke Park isn't an advantage to Kildare and Meath, because they haven't been competitive for top prizes. It wasnt for Dublin in say Kildares pomp in the late 90's - because we werent competitive. But if it turns, for either Kildare and Meath - they will once again set up base camp in Croker. So like i say sporting integrity my eye, every county will want to play in the venue that best suits them and if Kildare could mobilise crowds like we saw in the late 90's (where are they gone) they will use Corker like home ground - nailed on - Meath to."
Maybe I'm just being naive because as a 20 something I've never experienced Kildare having that relative period of success you talk about being required to make Croke park like a home ground.
My opinion comes off the back of listening to James O Donoghue on the football pod talk about the difference between PUC and PUR in Cork and the way that even though the dimensions are the same, one plays like an open pitch and the other a closed pitch. Even though there are plenty of pitches in Ireland that match Croke park with the dimensions, it plays very openly. This suits Dublin far more than Kildare and other Leinster counties who are used to tighter playing pitches.

All this said, I see your point regarding the Kildare vs Kerry/Galway/Donegal narrative and integrity. I also could be wrong regarding my opinions on venues and their affect. As. I could be wrong about my semi final prediction and Westmeath could win. What's a forum for aye?

Sweetspot (Kildare) - Posts: 323 - 06/05/2022 14:18:31    2415272

Link

Now Sweetspot you have been told.. it's easy, all Kildare need to do is start beating Dublin in their home ground (worth a min of +3pts adv/game for home team) regularly so that we take over croke park and then go on and use it as our home ground against teams who would have played perhaps 2/3 less games than us there. I'm sure we will get the cheap hill tickets too and friendly stadium announcers! Im still trying to understand this one but I've been told most of Kildare is closer to croke park than Dublin anyway..!
How can you be so rude to rattle on about neutral semi finals when that logic is put in front of you??

cuttothebone (Kildare) - Posts: 163 - 06/05/2022 14:25:40    2415277

Link

Replying To Sweetspot:  "Maybe I'm just being naive because as a 20 something I've never experienced Kildare having that relative period of success you talk about being required to make Croke park like a home ground.
My opinion comes off the back of listening to James O Donoghue on the football pod talk about the difference between PUC and PUR in Cork and the way that even though the dimensions are the same, one plays like an open pitch and the other a closed pitch. Even though there are plenty of pitches in Ireland that match Croke park with the dimensions, it plays very openly. This suits Dublin far more than Kildare and other Leinster counties who are used to tighter playing pitches.

All this said, I see your point regarding the Kildare vs Kerry/Galway/Donegal narrative and integrity. I also could be wrong regarding my opinions on venues and their affect. As. I could be wrong about my semi final prediction and Westmeath could win. What's a forum for aye?"
Thats sad to hear a chara, i had many friends around the time in Kildare and Meath we were certainly worse than both and both would play far more in Croke Park in those years then Dublin did, You can check yourself. I played club football in Kildare and i used to tease my Kildare friends, i played more in Newbridge than Kildare at the time.

Remembering the time, it was incredible as a Kildare fan, i had friends on the panel, the crowds were huge and Croker was heaving. Same when Meath were at their height. Fully packed out Leinster Semis and finals and Dublin wouldn't be involved.

Personally id like to see Dublin outside of Croker more, i do think there is a financial/commercial agenda and their is a point to be made about sporting integrity - esp when you get to the business end - id accept that. Id also accept its divisive. The Pragmatist in me thinks though, everyone wants to play games outside of Croker - but everyone also wants more money out f the GAA and L.C - so you know something has to give.

But im full sure Croke Park would be defacto Kildare and Meath home ground if they were competing in the same punchers weight competing for trophies. It has been in the past. Shout out for Laois to.

You missed some rare times for your County, Meath and Kildare did and are capable of bringing the crowd Dublin can, some incredible scenes in the ground and around the City in those days - when that happens Crorker is/will be there home again. Its actually a great amenity to have for the whole of Leinster.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4445 - 06/05/2022 14:39:30    2415288

Link

Replying To TheUsername:  "Yes i am, during the O Dwyer years it was advantage because it was on your doorstep and played all your games there, during the Boylan years for Meath it was similar - there was some crazy stat about Darren fay that he was 10 odd years or something playing for Meath before he played a Championship game in Navan. Taking Dublin out of the question - like in 98 in an example of the point I'm am making.

Kildare and Meath when they've been successful have set up base camp in Croke Park, obviously using your own premise that calls into question sporting integrity in comparison to say Cork, Kerry, Donegal or Galway who may only play a semi there.

Croke Park isn't an advantage to Kildare and Meath, because they haven't been competitive for top prizes. It wasnt for Dublin in say Kildares pomp in the late 90's - because we werent competitive. But if it turns, for either Kildare and Meath - they will once again set up base camp in Croker. So like i say sporting integrity my eye, every county will want to play in the venue that best suits them and if Kildare could mobilise crowds like we saw in the late 90's (where are they gone) they will use Corker like home ground - nailed on - Meath to."
You may have hit on something quite insightful there but things have changed since the 90's. Croker park was redeveloped and has also become a lot harder to travel to. The qualifiers have also removed a degree of jeopardy from Leinster Championship games.

It would be an interesting vox pop as to who likes travelling to Croke Park these days.

For me - I think we all like going for Leinster finals and All Ireland series games (if get there). We like going for Club finals. All of these are big occasions. But for the not so big occasions like Leinster Semi finals the atmosphere suffers; the venue is quarter full; it becomes more expensive and is very hard to travel to. These are also the games that get called out most for Dublin's home advantage. We should keep Croke Park for big occasions.

For Leinster football Its a shame that Ed Sheeran didn't finish his tour in Croke Park instead of starting it there.

brianb (Kildare) - Posts: 284 - 06/05/2022 15:13:16    2415294

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "Not having a go here. But how you could consider Westmeath higher than Meath. When they couldn't get out of division 3 and meath lost to Galway (beat mayo) Roscommon (which they should have won) and Derry (who beat all ire champions). Just my observation."
I just think they are consistently better championship performers than Meath the last couple of years and in John Heslin they have a player who would make it onto the first 20 of most division 1 teams, something Meath don't have at the moment. Last year we played Meath in what was effectively a championship match and won it with relative ease, even allowing for losing Paul Cribbin and Jimmy Hyland in the fist 20 minutes and then being reduced to 14 men. We found Westmeath were a much sterner challenge in the Leinster semi-final and their league form last year underlined that running Mayo to 3 points in the league. As I said I do think they've regressed a little this year but I would still place them ahead of Meath in Leinster as Meath did nothing in the league to suggest any progress, in fact they seem to have regressed further

LilywhiteGael (Kildare) - Posts: 93 - 06/05/2022 15:55:16    2415307

Link

The Croke Park for semi finals argument has been done to death over the years really. Majority of fans would rather play in provincial venues and majority of players would rather play in Croke Park too I'm sure.

35 quid for a ticket to 2 games when you only have an interest in watching one of them? Yeah it's not great but 20 quid to stand on a terrace somewhere isn't a great comparison. Half empty stadium with a poor atmosphere and sparsely populated lower tiers and an empty Hill 16 for the first game? Not a great look but generally people making these decisions aren't too worried about the optics of them.

As enjoyable as a Saturday evening match in Tullamore or Portlaoise can be Croke Park is just too easily accessible for a lot more people than any provincial ground in Leinster. I don't see how anyone can complain about public transport or parking for a match in Croke Park and at the same time prefer a match to be played somewhere else in the province. It'll be a lot easier for an awful lot of Kildare fans to get to Croke Park than it would anywhere else. Likewise for Meath.

Dublin might well have an advantage over Meath in terms of playing in Croke Park but like f**k does that bother me. The only way Kildare will ever have a similar advantage over teams is by playing in Croke Park more often.

Croke Park not being used for league games apart from the final, and not being used for Leinster matches apart from the final would be great in an ideal sporting fair play world. Not something we're ever going to get with the GAA unfortunately for a variety of reasons.

In the mean-time it's just a case of trying to enjoy what we can - collect a few of the lads Sunday morning, park at the train station, into Drumcondra within 30 minutes. Hit Ryans or the Big Tree for a catch up with mates from Dublin and Meath, home for a kebab and garlic cheese chips and the highlights of the Giro, happy days.

if_in_doubt (Kildare) - Posts: 3685 - 06/05/2022 16:21:59    2415314

Link

Replying To thelongridge:  "That doesn't sound like a valid reason for playing games outside Croker."
I don't think it is, but clearly the accountants do.

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 2557 - 06/05/2022 16:50:27    2415321

Link

So with the games not on TV, I'm guessing they won't be on GAAGo either? So if you're abroad no chance of seeing games live? Bit of a joke for a couple of big Championship games like this.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 26 - 06/05/2022 19:02:00    2415344

Link

Dublin are one of twelve Leinster Counties.

It's amazing how the 11 still can't get get this done.
It's fine in hurling for some reason.

As for the poster above complaining about not being able to get cheap terrace tickets......I know the Ticketmaster website can be hard to navigate but surely it's not that hard. Dubs seem to do okay in anyways.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13707 - 07/05/2022 09:16:14    2415365

Link

Replying To NYRoyal:  "So with the games not on TV, I'm guessing they won't be on GAAGo either? So if you're abroad no chance of seeing games live? Bit of a joke for a couple of big Championship games like this."
Yeah, you would think people would have they're full of meaningless predictable Munster hurling rounds, like we already know who is going to win it. They could have shown Dublin v Meath instead of two hurling matches.

jonno (Kildare) - Posts: 260 - 07/05/2022 10:58:54    2415374

Link

Replying To LilywhiteGael:  "I just think they are consistently better championship performers than Meath the last couple of years and in John Heslin they have a player who would make it onto the first 20 of most division 1 teams, something Meath don't have at the moment. Last year we played Meath in what was effectively a championship match and won it with relative ease, even allowing for losing Paul Cribbin and Jimmy Hyland in the fist 20 minutes and then being reduced to 14 men. We found Westmeath were a much sterner challenge in the Leinster semi-final and their league form last year underlined that running Mayo to 3 points in the league. As I said I do think they've regressed a little this year but I would still place them ahead of Meath in Leinster as Meath did nothing in the league to suggest any progress, in fact they seem to have regressed further"
Again not been picky but Donal keoghan would walk onto any starting 15 in country including Kerry Dublin mayo Tyrone or any of them. He is unreal , and the best player in Meath by some distance.
If we going on last year I think we gave Dublin a better game than Kildare did. Anyway it's all irrelevant to this year.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 07/05/2022 11:23:48    2415382

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "Again not been picky but Donal keoghan would walk onto any starting 15 in country including Kerry Dublin mayo Tyrone or any of them. He is unreal , and the best player in Meath by some distance.
If we going on last year I think we gave Dublin a better game than Kildare did. Anyway it's all irrelevant to this year."
Up until about 2 years ago, yes. Before that, he'd make any county team for 5-6 years. He's lost that all vital but if pace, so no longer is Keoghan a Grade 1 operator. But my God, he was some player when in his prime.

foreveryoung (USA) - Posts: 1914 - 07/05/2022 13:35:20    2415402

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "Again not been picky but Donal keoghan would walk onto any starting 15 in country including Kerry Dublin mayo Tyrone or any of them. He is unreal , and the best player in Meath by some distance.
If we going on last year I think we gave Dublin a better game than Kildare did. Anyway it's all irrelevant to this year."
Keoghan wouldn't get near a Division 1 team now. Re Westmeath I think they are a more substantial team than Meath at the moment. Regarding last year Meath made a fist of it in the second half without ever looking like they would beat Dublin. We were saddled with a manager who had no belief in his team. We had the beating of Dublin that day but Jack O'Connor's tactics were not about winning but damage limitation. He lost the dressing room after that game.
The management team there now are all warriors. These men would bleed white. Glenn Ryan doesn't do moral victories and that is reflected in the Kildare performances this year. Ryan etc have brought these players up at least a couple of levels from where they were last year. Anyway as you say the coming weeks will tell us all where we are.

LilywhiteGael (Kildare) - Posts: 93 - 07/05/2022 18:51:10    2415453

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "Again not been picky but Donal keoghan would walk onto any starting 15 in country including Kerry Dublin mayo Tyrone or any of them. He is unreal , and the best player in Meath by some distance.
If we going on last year I think we gave Dublin a better game than Kildare did. Anyway it's all irrelevant to this year."
Do you think westmeath will get close to kildare I await the answer

mickcunningham (Westmeath) - Posts: 1802 - 07/05/2022 20:54:48    2415472

Link

Replying To mickcunningham:  "Do you think westmeath will get close to kildare I await the answer"
It all depends on which Westmeath team shows up. The talent is there but just not the consistency unfortunately.
It could go either way honestly.

35OLT (USA) - Posts: 90 - 07/05/2022 21:25:00    2415478

Link

Replying To mickcunningham:  "Do you think westmeath will get close to kildare I await the answer"
Yes I do. And of course I will arrive early and watch my adopted co hopefully beat Kildare (it will take a lot to go right) like ourselves. But no point turning up if they not going all out for the win.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 07/05/2022 21:36:30    2415479

Link

Replying To LilywhiteGael:  "Keoghan wouldn't get near a Division 1 team now. Re Westmeath I think they are a more substantial team than Meath at the moment. Regarding last year Meath made a fist of it in the second half without ever looking like they would beat Dublin. We were saddled with a manager who had no belief in his team. We had the beating of Dublin that day but Jack O'Connor's tactics were not about winning but damage limitation. He lost the dressing room after that game.
The management team there now are all warriors. These men would bleed white. Glenn Ryan doesn't do moral victories and that is reflected in the Kildare performances this year. Ryan etc have brought these players up at least a couple of levels from where they were last year. Anyway as you say the coming weeks will tell us all where we are."
Ahh two wrong penalty calls destroyed the Meath dubs game. One given one not. That's football. You may be right regarding management. Btw keoghan would still walk onto any division one team.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 07/05/2022 21:38:57    2415480

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "Yes I do. And of course I will arrive early and watch my adopted co hopefully beat Kildare (it will take a lot to go right) like ourselves. But no point turning up if they not going all out for the win."
Hahaha Meath men reduced to shouting for Westmeath, oh how the mighty have fallen

LilywhiteGael (Kildare) - Posts: 93 - 08/05/2022 07:15:09    2415484

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "Ahh two wrong penalty calls destroyed the Meath dubs game. One given one not. That's football. You may be right regarding management. Btw keoghan would still walk onto any division one team."
Dublin would still have won that game.
Re Keoghan, he showed promise early career that unfortunately was never fulfilled. Might make an O'Byrne Cup, FBD Connacht League, McGrath Cup or McKenna Cup panel, maybe but no more

LilywhiteGael (Kildare) - Posts: 93 - 08/05/2022 07:19:36    2415485

Link

Replying To LilywhiteGael:  "I just think they are consistently better championship performers than Meath the last couple of years and in John Heslin they have a player who would make it onto the first 20 of most division 1 teams, something Meath don't have at the moment. Last year we played Meath in what was effectively a championship match and won it with relative ease, even allowing for losing Paul Cribbin and Jimmy Hyland in the fist 20 minutes and then being reduced to 14 men. We found Westmeath were a much sterner challenge in the Leinster semi-final and their league form last year underlined that running Mayo to 3 points in the league. As I said I do think they've regressed a little this year but I would still place them ahead of Meath in Leinster as Meath did nothing in the league to suggest any progress, in fact they seem to have regressed further"
It's kind of funny hearing Kildare talking about how easy they won the league match against us last year, ignoring the fact that their goalie had to pull off a point blank save right at the end which would have tied up the match.

bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1351 - 08/05/2022 10:23:18    2415502

Link