Love to see Dublin win this one , but will stick my neck out and feel confident that there is little chance of Kerry allowing themselves to be two defeats outta three down this early on. Kerry to win.

gaelantrim (Antrim) - Posts: 1616 - 25/02/2011 15:48:32    876379

Well Dublin won with some hard grafting and a fine bit of skill especially the last point, very disappointed with the officials, some really poor decisions. Still there is some engine in that Dublin team.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4954 - 27/02/2011 13:17:54    877177

1993 revisited... ;)

I'm not sure how we won that game last night... I guess goals win games - The grand old saying

I thought that was our worst performance in recent weeks

Listen I think very highly of Cluxton... but we need a better game plan than that at the end

4 points up and we couldnt get the ball out of our own half from the kickouts... which were poor and it didnt help that the lads were flat footed.

We let them back into the game.

We have to be far more crafty than that... just retain the ball. Its that simple dont lob out 50/50 ball when you can dink one short with a far better chance of retaining the ball.

Gilroy and co will need to come up with something... did anyone notice AB running down and saying something to Cluxton about it.

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 27/02/2011 14:34:40    877224

Its a results business we won the game. We've won 3 from 3 .. thats more than we could of asked for

Lets put this into perspective. When the league fixtures came out and our first three games threw us up Away to Armagh (a place we don't have a particularly good record) and at home to Cork and Kerry (on the big pitch in croke park) i think many neutrals and Dublin fans ourselves thought it would be very difficult to see a victory coming especially against the likes of Cork and Kerry. But we have come away from the three games with maximum points .. thats fantastic and lets not forget we still have an awful lot of players to come back from injury.

The last two weeks we have played with two make-shift midfielders in Barry Cahill and Dennis Bastick . We still have Darren Magee , Eamonn Fennell and MD McAuley (who started on the bench yesterday) to fill those two positions when they are fully fit. We had Sean Murray at CB (who is not a CB by trade) marking former player of the year Kieran Donaghy and had him feeding on scraps .. both he and James McCarthy played in midweek for the U21s too.. Kerry where almost full strength aswell yet we came out of the game with a victory and im absolutly over the moon with that win and our start to the campaign

Some of the defending has not been up to scratch and we did give both Cork and Kerry an awful lot of room in the last week or so but thats something we have the next few league games to work on before the really really serious stuff begins come june. No disrespect to the young fellas but i dont think the like of James Mc will be there come the summer .. As soon as the likes of Griffin , O sullivan , O'Carroll etc become available they will be back in ..

But for now im happy with our start to the year , 3 wins from 3 especially after last nights performance is fantastic

Its not everyday we beat Cork and Kerry in HQ in the space of a week so enjoy it , There are issues there but thats for Giller and the boys to iron out and ive every confidence they will .

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13654 - 27/02/2011 15:49:08    877256

I was talking to a taxi driver out near stephens green last night. He reckons dublin could go all the way this year.

patmcgee (Longford) - Posts: 520 - 27/02/2011 18:32:28    877388

patmcgee
County: Longford
Posts: 387

877388 I was talking to a taxi driver out near stephens green last night. He reckons dublin could go all the way this year.

and your point is?

dannyg (Donegal) - Posts: 119 - 27/02/2011 18:51:57    877404

PAT

I know we have made decent strides in last years league campaign and championship and after 3 games of this years league campaign picked up maximum points. But i still think its far far too early to talk about Dublin winning the all ireland. I'm certain that the bunch of players that we have to choose from and the ones still to come back from club commitments/injuries can put it up to the top sides on the island on a big day in croke park. But i still think there is alot of work to be done to ultimately win the all ireland which is our goal

Since the Kerry defeat in Croker in 2009 we have taken small strides that have improved us in the last year and a half. But we still have more steps ahead of us .. barriers to get over if you like before we can achieve our goal but results last night will breed confidence. Kerry had a very experienced and very strong team of players out their last night , As did Cork last week. So that will no doubt help the lads mentally for when the big occasions come round in croker (like Tyrone and Cork last year) and give us the confidence and belief to beat them .. so that in itself is a massive plus. Our Fitness and Physique looks top notch for this early in the year and the early mornin trainin sessions seem to be doing us good

Mentally we are alot stronger and its gotten to the point where i believe mentality and the fear of bottling the big occasion isn't an issue any more .. if this Dublin team can keep going with the work rate , commitment , passion , pride , belief and discipline that they have shown in the last year or so .. there is only one thing that can stop us winning an all ireland. And thats the quality of the players on the field. In my eyes players like Declan lally , Paul Casey , Alan Hubbard are not dublin starters. Players like that wont be in an all ireland winning 15. They do a job and they give everything but i dont believe they have enough Quality. If we can get the right players from number 1-15 with a decent subs bench then i believe we can win the all ireland sometime in the next 2-3 years .

Its important as a Dublin GAA fan (which i know your not but most of us here and in the city) that we have patience.. Rome wasnt built in a day and all that. The players are only young , They have a big future ahead of them and certainly have the potential. Its important we dont get ahead of ourselves.. if we approach things properly and not try and rush in an attempt of achieving our goal then eventually (next couple years as i said) we will win that all ireland. But until then we will take each game as it comes and try and take another small step in the right direction. We as fans just have to put our faith in Giller and his backroom team and players to go all the way ..

if we can keep doing what we are doing then we are on our way .. but this year ? no .. its too soon

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13654 - 27/02/2011 19:01:56    877419

I think this year is Dublin's best chance of winning that elusive All Ireland for a long time. Kerry are slightly in transition (if they ever are), and don't look as strong as other years. The hunger may not be there with Cork this year, and Dublin weren't far off them last year. Kildare, Down, Mayo and possibly Limerick are decent sides, but I don't think the quality is just there to win an All Ireland. Tyrone and Armagh look some way off their old heights.

Seriously, Dublin won't ever get a better chance. People should stop thinking about the future with Dublin. This is the year they could (and should) deliver

jafallon (Galway) - Posts: 489 - 27/02/2011 20:23:34    877495

Jaysus are we talking about September again...

Isnt it Monaghan up next...

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 27/02/2011 20:24:11    877496

The team to beat this year is Cork but I think the Dubs might have what it takes to beat them.
The GAA really need a strong Dublin team at the moment. Great win for the hurlers though.

Nick (Wexford) - Posts: 1100 - 28/02/2011 09:19:55    877640

its the league were playing for and its the league were concentrating on, wayno i wouldnt even bother trying to explain your correct rationality to those speaking about summer as the same posters will be back winding you up if we fail come the championship. dont feel the need to justify a level head. as said before, its been a great start but forward thinking goes no further than monaghan away in a couple of weeks which if won will put us in a great position in terms of the league. however, theres still work to be done, sorting out midfield and the half back line, and now that giller has the kilmacud players back he has a very hard job on his hands picking his best 15 or even 25. competition is rife in our ranks which is excellent but as giller has stated that he picks on form the next few team selections will be very interesting.

seany16 (Dublin) - Posts: 1663 - 28/02/2011 11:02:18    877719

Fitness and luck got us through the last two games. We're still along way off both teams for championship I'm afraid

Floops (Dublin) - Posts: 1623 - 28/02/2011 11:16:01    877745

Well done to the Dubs, finally got over Kerry in Croker but I did personally fully expect you's to win that game because Kerry are on the slide and Dublin are getting stronger so it makes sense. Only worry I'd have for Dublin is that I think they are peaking far too early, now I know winning games breeds confidence and becomes a nice habit but getting big wins in February and March is one thing, doing it in August and September is a completely different animal. I think Gilroy badly needs to keep his players grounded as the media cirus kicks into full swing because its a lot of unfair pressure to be putting on players, particularly young players.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 28/02/2011 11:40:09    877793

Fitness and luck got us through the last two games. We're still along way off both teams for championship I'm afraid

Spot on Floops. No need to over analyze Wayno, some very positive signs from the start of the league alright but I don't think we're blowing anyone away in terms of finesse or sublime skill. Long way to go before we can start dreaming of booking the Monday after the All-Ireland final off in my opinion

NavyNBlue (Dublin) - Posts: 1357 - 28/02/2011 11:44:50    877799

Floops
County: Dublin
Posts: 689

877745
Fitness and luck got us through the last two games. We're still along way off both teams for championship I'm afraid

you must be a real negative person give the team a bit of credit there playing extremly well and deserved to win the 3 matches and in all firness had cork beat with 10 mins to go and should have done the same to kerry but combination of terrible refereeing and tiredness catching up on some guys let them back in but still showed great bottle to go up the field and get the winner.

hteam i dont agree with peaking to soon as in all firness only four of the team that played against cork in the all ireland semi final started on saturday so theres at least 20 guys to come back from injury and colleges and crokes now that there out so he has fresh guys to pick from

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 28/02/2011 13:54:53    878002

Floops
County: Dublin
Posts: 689

877745 Fitness and luck got us through the last two games. We're still along way off both teams for championship I'm afraid

Not sure it was just fitness and luck that has carried us through though. We've won the 3 games because we were the better team on the day.

I agree with you about the championship though. There's no All-Ireland in that team. Too limited both in personnel and tactics.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13819 - 28/02/2011 20:45:12    878591

When did Dublin last beat Kerry at Croke Park?


_______________________________________

Last saturday night :)

BettystownRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 3353 - 28/02/2011 21:14:33    878637