National Forum

Leinster Football Semi Finals 2022

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post


Replying To royaldunne:  "And you lot should be worried about Dublin more than ur obsession with Meath."
A lion does not concern himself with the opinion of a sheep

Sweetspot (Kildare) - Posts: 323 - 19/05/2022 12:28:16    2418656

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "And you lot should be worried about Dublin more than ur obsession with Meath."
No obsession here with what is in reality a Division 3 team. You're the one who has the obsession. Whatever happens on May 28 those Kildare players will play with pride in their jersey and their county. If Dublin are good enough they'll beat us and vice versa. Either way either team will earn a Leinster Title

LilywhiteGael (Kildare) - Posts: 93 - 19/05/2022 12:50:26    2418671

Link

Replying To LilywhiteGael:  "No obsession here with what is in reality a Division 3 team. You're the one who has the obsession. Whatever happens on May 28 those Kildare players will play with pride in their jersey and their county. If Dublin are good enough they'll beat us and vice versa. Either way either team will earn a Leinster Title"
Both in division 2 next year. And after Dublin hammers you I hope to see you back here. And not disappear like you did after geezer left. And brought seannie with him.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 19/05/2022 12:55:25    2418674

Link

Replying To WanPintWin:  "Ennis holds less than 20K and the atmosphere was brilliant for Clare-Limerick at the weekend. The reason, because it was full of course.
Of course the one-sided nature of the game didn't help. I've heard some whinging from a former Meath player about it not being a fair fight. The same arguments we've had for a decade. Last Sunday said far more about Meath than it did about Dublin."
There is a lot of problems in Meath but the basic statement that playing all Leinster semi-finals and finals in Croke Park gives Dublin an advantage is plainly true. In the other provinces many of the counties generally seem to play each other in the Championship home and away on a largely 50/50 basis. If not playing in each other's grounds on a 50/50 basis then they at least often play their opponents on a neutral ground. Leinster is different to all the other provinces with all the latter stages being played in Croke Park and Dublin playing almost all matches there.
After spending so much money on Croke Park years ago the GAA it seems doesn't want to develop inter county grounds in Leinster to any major extent. The attitude to developing county grounds in the other provinces seems completely different. Galway have had Pearse stadium redeveloped with the aid of the GAA but it seems very hard for Meath to get support to get PT redeveloped.
In one sense, based on Irelands small population it makes sense for the GAA to develop a small number of stadiums but while this approach has been stuck to in Leinster it is ignored in the other provinces.
It amazed me during Covid that, when spectator capacity was no issue when Meath played Dublin it still had tom take place in Croke park.
Due to familiarity, home support, referring decisions being influenced by supporters and traveling playing at home is known to be a huge advantage in all sports.
From a tactical point of view nowadays playing in Croke park pitch also suits Dublin. In modern times I would always like to play Dublin on a tight pitch. The reason for this is because as preparation has become so much bigger in the inter county game Dublin will usually be fitter than their opposition due to being in a position to put a better backroom team in place. The bigger the pitch (Croke Park pitch post redevelopment was made much wider) the more a fitter team can over run their opposition. In a tight game (and before you say it I know we haven't had many of them in Leinster in last decade when Dublin are playing) it can make a decisive difference and in a more one sided game it can be the difference in a good beating and a hammering.

bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1353 - 19/05/2022 13:05:44    2418682

Link

Replying To Sweetspot:  "A lion does not concern himself with the opinion of a sheep"
You should concern yourself with the fact the only game you won outside newbridge was one where the better team over the game (Westmeath) lost. I will enjoy the Leinster final. And believe it or not I wish you all the luck in the world. Cause you gonna need it.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 19/05/2022 13:16:57    2418690

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "Both in division 2 next year. And after Dublin hammers you I hope to see you back here. And not disappear like you did after geezer left. And brought seannie with him."
Lads give over ! This is like two bald men fighting over a comb !

DUBJOHN (Dublin) - Posts: 932 - 19/05/2022 13:53:06    2418708

Link

Replying To Sweetspot:  "A lion does not concern himself with the opinion of a sheep"
OMG, you seriously already comparing this Kildare team to a lion?, why can you just wait until you achieve something first, like supporters from most counties would, before saying something like this. It's always the same with Kildare, a bit of positivity and suddenly they are legends in your own mind.

bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1353 - 19/05/2022 13:57:14    2418709

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "You should concern yourself with the fact the only game you won outside newbridge was one where the better team over the game (Westmeath) lost. I will enjoy the Leinster final. And believe it or not I wish you all the luck in the world. Cause you gonna need it."
Look my friend, you're about as blindly spiteful towards Kildare as I am Meath (I love winding ye up but mean no harm by it), but even through all your ignorance, you cannot tell me Westmeath were the better team in the day last Sunday. Come on… last year, fair enough. This year, the game was over after 10 mins

Sweetspot (Kildare) - Posts: 323 - 19/05/2022 14:07:41    2418713

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "You should concern yourself with the fact the only game you won outside newbridge was one where the better team over the game (Westmeath) lost. I will enjoy the Leinster final. And believe it or not I wish you all the luck in the world. Cause you gonna need it."
Not sure what game you were at but Kildare were by far the better team through out. We only closed the gap in last quarter but the truth is the game was over. It would have been an injustice to Kildare had we come back.

The_Fonz (Westmeath) - Posts: 213 - 19/05/2022 19:43:12    2418810

Link

Replying To bdbuddah:  "There is a lot of problems in Meath but the basic statement that playing all Leinster semi-finals and finals in Croke Park gives Dublin an advantage is plainly true. In the other provinces many of the counties generally seem to play each other in the Championship home and away on a largely 50/50 basis. If not playing in each other's grounds on a 50/50 basis then they at least often play their opponents on a neutral ground. Leinster is different to all the other provinces with all the latter stages being played in Croke Park and Dublin playing almost all matches there.
After spending so much money on Croke Park years ago the GAA it seems doesn't want to develop inter county grounds in Leinster to any major extent. The attitude to developing county grounds in the other provinces seems completely different. Galway have had Pearse stadium redeveloped with the aid of the GAA but it seems very hard for Meath to get support to get PT redeveloped.
In one sense, based on Irelands small population it makes sense for the GAA to develop a small number of stadiums but while this approach has been stuck to in Leinster it is ignored in the other provinces.
It amazed me during Covid that, when spectator capacity was no issue when Meath played Dublin it still had tom take place in Croke park.
Due to familiarity, home support, referring decisions being influenced by supporters and traveling playing at home is known to be a huge advantage in all sports.
From a tactical point of view nowadays playing in Croke park pitch also suits Dublin. In modern times I would always like to play Dublin on a tight pitch. The reason for this is because as preparation has become so much bigger in the inter county game Dublin will usually be fitter than their opposition due to being in a position to put a better backroom team in place. The bigger the pitch (Croke Park pitch post redevelopment was made much wider) the more a fitter team can over run their opposition. In a tight game (and before you say it I know we haven't had many of them in Leinster in last decade when Dublin are playing) it can make a decisive difference and in a more one sided game it can be the difference in a good beating and a hammering."
RTE had an interesting article on GAA pitch sizes a few weeks back. Croke Park is almost at the maximum dimensions (145 x 88) with O'Connor park being the only Leinster venue at the maximum dimension (145 x 90). Most county grounds are within 2 or 3 meters of the maximum dimension. Newbridge and Navan are very much the outliers here when it comes pitch sizes being genuinely smaller than most other county grounds.

Having said that - a Dublin V Meath semi-final in O'Connor park would be a lot more equitable than in Croke Park due to all the other reasons you outlined.

The crux of the RTE article was that The "tight pitch" argument doesn't really hold up. It was in relation to Cork wanting to play in Pairc Ui Rinn - a tight pitch that was in fact 850sqm bigger than Fitzgerald Stadium.

Kildare and Meath both need to ensure the county grounds are brought up to standard. As part of this both pitches need to be made bigger towards Croke Park size. It doesn't do Kildare or Meath any good to be playing regularly on pitches 10 meters shorter than everybody else and in Kildare's case a good bit narrower as well.

Leinster needs to go home & away for matches like other provinces for all games bar the Leinster final. If like in Kildare the ground is not up to championship standard then the lest that should be in play is a neutral venue.

brianb (Kildare) - Posts: 285 - 20/05/2022 10:56:59    2418876

Link

One of the greatest (and incorrect) cliches in GAAworld
The infamous "wide open spaces of Croke Park" as lazy journalists confuse crowd capacity with pitch size.

Seanfanbocht (Roscommon) - Posts: 1419 - 20/05/2022 12:52:03    2418927

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "Both in division 2 next year. And after Dublin hammers you I hope to see you back here. And not disappear like you did after geezer left. And brought seannie with him."
Tailteann Cup is Mearh's level rather than Westmeath. Of Meath and Westmeath, at least Westmeath showed some spirit and pride as you would expect from an inter-county team. The Meath performance that I witnessed up to half time points to fundamental issues within that county. That's just my observation. Anyway s I said earlier my interest in Meath would be negligible to say the least.

Regarding, Kildare whatever happens on Leinster Final day will be decided on merit. If Dublin do win they'll have earned it and likewise for ourselves. Stripping away the hype surrounding Dublin It will be their first time to encounter a Division 1 team since March, and that didn't end well for them. Anyway bring it on....

LilywhiteGael (Kildare) - Posts: 93 - 20/05/2022 13:52:21    2418962

Link

Replying To DUBJOHN:  "Lads give over ! This is like two bald men fighting over a comb !"
I'm certainly not fighting with RoyalDunne, my interest in Meath or it's fortunes would be next to zero. Simply pointing out he would be better concentrating his faux concern for Kildare on the issues within his own county.

LilywhiteGael (Kildare) - Posts: 93 - 20/05/2022 13:55:51    2418963

Link

Replying To brianb:  "RTE had an interesting article on GAA pitch sizes a few weeks back. Croke Park is almost at the maximum dimensions (145 x 88) with O'Connor park being the only Leinster venue at the maximum dimension (145 x 90). Most county grounds are within 2 or 3 meters of the maximum dimension. Newbridge and Navan are very much the outliers here when it comes pitch sizes being genuinely smaller than most other county grounds.

Having said that - a Dublin V Meath semi-final in O'Connor park would be a lot more equitable than in Croke Park due to all the other reasons you outlined.

The crux of the RTE article was that The "tight pitch" argument doesn't really hold up. It was in relation to Cork wanting to play in Pairc Ui Rinn - a tight pitch that was in fact 850sqm bigger than Fitzgerald Stadium.

Kildare and Meath both need to ensure the county grounds are brought up to standard. As part of this both pitches need to be made bigger towards Croke Park size. It doesn't do Kildare or Meath any good to be playing regularly on pitches 10 meters shorter than everybody else and in Kildare's case a good bit narrower as well.

Leinster needs to go home & away for matches like other provinces for all games bar the Leinster final. If like in Kildare the ground is not up to championship standard then the lest that should be in play is a neutral venue."
I found the article (https://www.rte.ie/sport/hurling/2022/0511/1297395-size-matters-gaa-pitch-dimensions-irk-beyond-measure/), I have to say I'm amazed that there is quite a few stadiums which have pitches at or close to maximum size, I would have always thought Croke Park and Thurlas were the biggest pitches by a bit.
The article downplayed the variance in pitch sizes listed though by listing them as how long the pitches were rather than by what the area of the pitch was.
By area the smallest allowed pitch size is over 20% smaller than the max pitch size.
A good few of the pitches listed would be closer to the minimum allowed size (by area) for a GAA pitch than the maximum allowed size.

bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1353 - 20/05/2022 15:20:20    2419011

Link

Replying To LilywhiteGael:  "Tailteann Cup is Mearh's level rather than Westmeath. Of Meath and Westmeath, at least Westmeath showed some spirit and pride as you would expect from an inter-county team. The Meath performance that I witnessed up to half time points to fundamental issues within that county. That's just my observation. Anyway s I said earlier my interest in Meath would be negligible to say the least.

Regarding, Kildare whatever happens on Leinster Final day will be decided on merit. If Dublin do win they'll have earned it and likewise for ourselves. Stripping away the hype surrounding Dublin It will be their first time to encounter a Division 1 team since March, and that didn't end well for them. Anyway bring it on...."
Hopefully a change in management in near future will halt our slide, sadly nothing unexpected from our no show on Sunday, if it continues then TC is a strong possibility. Kildare look like a different outfit this year and for once you have forwards to put it up to most teams. With Ryan ic I would expect Kildare to have little fear of Dublin.

seadog54 (Meath) - Posts: 2142 - 20/05/2022 15:30:02    2419015

Link

Replying To brianb:  "Did a lot of daft stuff towards the end of the game. Being outscored 0-7 to 0-2 in the last 20 mins isn't the mark of a team that are going to win silverware. I'm not sure if it was a bit of lethargy sneaking in or trying to shut up shop and not concede a goal. In truth probably a mix of both.

I'd be more concerned about the goal chances we're conceding though - we tend to have plenty of men back but one poor decision leaves a 1 on 1.

On a side note - I've posted on here before about the growth of Rugby in Kildare at the expense of football. It is an absolute joke that the Leinster Final is directly clashing with the European Rugby Cup that Leinster are in. I don't know how these decisions are made. Could we not have held off on the provincial finals for a week when there'd be full attention on the games? The GAA need to have a serious look at how football is being promoted."
I would find it really embarrassing as a GAA person if the GAA changed the date or time for the Leinster final because Leinster qualified for their rugby cup final.
I like rugby, I watch most Ireland international matches but the media really go over the top promoting it, it is a minority sport in every country in the world except New Zealand (ok Wales if you count it separately to Great Britain). Years ago I remember a Meath match throw in being deferred due to Ireland playing a European championship match. This made sense, the European soccer championships are a huge international event. The rugby cup final is just not at that level. If the European rugby cup wants to defer their kick off time let them do it.
In reality a much bigger factor as to whether a big Kildare crowd travel will be how positive they are about their team.

bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1353 - 23/05/2022 19:51:02    2419859

Link

Replying To bdbuddah:  "I would find it really embarrassing as a GAA person if the GAA changed the date or time for the Leinster final because Leinster qualified for their rugby cup final.
I like rugby, I watch most Ireland international matches but the media really go over the top promoting it, it is a minority sport in every country in the world except New Zealand (ok Wales if you count it separately to Great Britain). Years ago I remember a Meath match throw in being deferred due to Ireland playing a European championship match. This made sense, the European soccer championships are a huge international event. The rugby cup final is just not at that level. If the European rugby cup wants to defer their kick off time let them do it.
In reality a much bigger factor as to whether a big Kildare crowd travel will be how positive they are about their team."
The reality is that kids are playing more than one sport. In Kildare there are good rugby clubs sitting alongside good football clubs. A lot of kids play for both. We've forced them to choose between supporting their top level local rugby team or their top level local football team - both in finals.

I wouldn't be calling for a change in the match time due to the clash. But it is a clash that should never have happened in the first place. It's happened due to rushing to complete the season as quick as possible.

Whats the rush? The whole season could have been pushed by a week allowing for better promotion of the provincial football finals without a clash with other big sporting events. Better promotion of the games could only be a good thing.

brianb (Kildare) - Posts: 285 - 24/05/2022 11:11:37    2419916

Link

Replying To brianb:  "The reality is that kids are playing more than one sport. In Kildare there are good rugby clubs sitting alongside good football clubs. A lot of kids play for both. We've forced them to choose between supporting their top level local rugby team or their top level local football team - both in finals.

I wouldn't be calling for a change in the match time due to the clash. But it is a clash that should never have happened in the first place. It's happened due to rushing to complete the season as quick as possible.

Whats the rush? The whole season could have been pushed by a week allowing for better promotion of the provincial football finals without a clash with other big sporting events. Better promotion of the games could only be a good thing."
Taken in isolation the way the GAA is compressing the inter county season does not make sense but when you look at the effect the intercounty game has on the club game it does make sense. For example in Meath intercounty players (footballers and hurlers) often don't train with their club's when the inter county season is active for Meath (this can be bad for clubs who have intercounty players). If you're compressing the season playing more matches on Saturdays is inevitable.

bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1353 - 25/05/2022 15:56:53    2420201

Link

The Dubs will most definitely win out leinster, absolutely, they also have one hand firmly fixed on the Sam Maguire Cup, without a shadow of doubt.
supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 2591 - 16/05/2022 20:27:51


Just sending out a gentle reminder I got it spot on, the only thing is I couldn't agree with myself on a final score, it could have been anything. The Dub's as of now appear to (unless things change) have both hands on the Sam Maguire Cup, Absolutely, without a shadow of doubt.

supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 2907 - 29/05/2022 10:48:24    2420725

Link

Replying To LilywhiteGael:  "Tailteann Cup is Mearh's level rather than Westmeath. Of Meath and Westmeath, at least Westmeath showed some spirit and pride as you would expect from an inter-county team. The Meath performance that I witnessed up to half time points to fundamental issues within that county. That's just my observation. Anyway s I said earlier my interest in Meath would be negligible to say the least.

Regarding, Kildare whatever happens on Leinster Final day will be decided on merit. If Dublin do win they'll have earned it and likewise for ourselves. Stripping away the hype surrounding Dublin It will be their first time to encounter a Division 1 team since March, and that didn't end well for them. Anyway bring it on...."
I saw this post after our loss to Dublin and held my powder. This part in particular stuck out to me
"The Meath performance that I witnessed up to half time points to fundamental issues within that county"
Do you put Kildare in the same bracket as us now?

SimonstownBack (Meath) - Posts: 143 - 29/05/2022 10:52:36    2420726

Link