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Meath Panel 2023

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Replying To hyperache:  "Take your point on Mickey Newman and focusing on youth, but over the last year or two, Meath's output up front has been pathetic. We lack any forwards of any quality compared to some of the counties we need to be on or near the level of.

The likes of the Wallace brothers, Brian McMahon, James Conlon aren't good enough. They're too small, not physical enough and don't really offer enough for a modern day forward - time to draw a line through them. And we also don't really have a free taker either, every good team has a reliable free take. Was down in Ennis when we lost to Clare this year and watching us flustered as to who was going to take the penalty was embarrassing, and even more so when the full back stepped up to kick it, clueless. Harry Hogan seems to be very hit and miss, have seen him kick some poor wides.

You are correct, we need to focus on youth and bring through the likes of Frayne, but you also need experience. Mickey Newman and Cian Ward for example would offer an awful lot of experience to the squad, and I'd be fine with either coming off the bench. Not sure if either would come back, but we need something different."
Again with banging on this drum of the full back taking the penalty.....Morris is our penalty taker and McGill is next in line, I don't understand why you and anyone else can't seem to fathom this or has a problem with it!! The lad is an excellent penalty taker as anyone on his team or in his club will tell you so there was no confusion or anyone flustered bar maybe people in the stands.
As for a free taker, I will again say this is on the players to practice, there were a number of free takers on the pitch that day, O Sullivan, McMahon, O Reilly, Hogan, Costello who take them with their clubs, but seem to hit a mental block when it come to county. A manager can do all he wants in terms of practicing in training etc but unless the lads themselves put in the overtime away from training themselves then we will have the same issue this year and the year after and the year after.
And I could say with almost 100% certainty that ?Newman and Ward will not come back into the panel this year even if they were asked. Its a massive massive commitment that neither lads body could physically handle at this stage.

ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 582 - 11/08/2022 08:22:56    2437023

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Lads Mickys body is not able anymore it's that simple, no big falling out with Andy he just was ruined by injuries and the training at that level just causes it to break down. He won't be involved and cian ward certainly won't be either given the fitness needed at that level, if they are involved it will be as coaches down the line but leave that be

Thejoeshow (Meath) - Posts: 687 - 11/08/2022 09:38:06    2437027

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Replying To ratlag:  "Again with banging on this drum of the full back taking the penalty.....Morris is our penalty taker and McGill is next in line, I don't understand why you and anyone else can't seem to fathom this or has a problem with it!! The lad is an excellent penalty taker as anyone on his team or in his club will tell you so there was no confusion or anyone flustered bar maybe people in the stands.
As for a free taker, I will again say this is on the players to practice, there were a number of free takers on the pitch that day, O Sullivan, McMahon, O Reilly, Hogan, Costello who take them with their clubs, but seem to hit a mental block when it come to county. A manager can do all he wants in terms of practicing in training etc but unless the lads themselves put in the overtime away from training themselves then we will have the same issue this year and the year after and the year after.
And I could say with almost 100% certainty that ?Newman and Ward will not come back into the panel this year even if they were asked. Its a massive massive commitment that neither lads body could physically handle at this stage."
ratlag, not disagreeing with a word you say and i agree on a couple of your points.

1) Penalty taking, I'd never seen McGill take a penalty for anyone, and that it took about 20-30 seconds for things to be sorted and him to step step up for the penalty is where the commotion was for me. Now fair play he buried the penalty and should be taking penalties or an option again.

2) Free taking. I agree with you it's on the players to practice their free taking away from the training sessions and whilst I'm not saying its the case, there appears to be a lack of effort from players to do things outside of training. I think the fact that many of the players on the panel are free takers for their clubs and none of them have a consistent style and approach or success rate is something the manager needed to address. I think its then on the manager to bring in some one to help them out, to develop a style and to improve their conversion rate but as you say unless the lads do things outside of collective training then it'll be screwed.

3) Newman is barley able to play with his club. Read the Gordon Manning article he did with Mickey before Christmas. It's not happening. Ward is almost 10 years out of inter county and almost 40. He's not coming back either you're dead right.

We need to look to youth and guys who could be brought back into the panel and add experience. The U20's being the former and maybe a guy like James Toher in the later part?

Dunno who it was that mentioned the U20's need to be playing regularly for their clubs before being brought in. This is a great take. Guys like Eoghan Frayne, Ciaran Caulfield, Conor Gray and John O'Regan are starting games in the senior/ intermediate championship and should be brought in and getting exposure to the panel. I'm not saying they'd be in a match day 24/ 26 but getting a chance to see what's needed of them to get there would benefit them. Liam Kelly and some of the younger guys need to be part of the wider panel until they are starting for their clubs.

Look at Andy, brought in Liam Byrne and David McEntee and neither are regularly starters for Dunboyne. You've got to be playing regularly for me at club level and standing out and shining before you should be on the panel.

brian (Meath) - Posts: 1973 - 11/08/2022 10:26:18    2437037

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Replying To Thejoeshow:  "Lads Mickys body is not able anymore it's that simple, no big falling out with Andy he just was ruined by injuries and the training at that level just causes it to break down. He won't be involved and cian ward certainly won't be either given the fitness needed at that level, if they are involved it will be as coaches down the line but leave that be"
Well said Joe, could either be considered as a forwards coach, or possibly assisting with the free takers.

brian (Meath) - Posts: 1973 - 11/08/2022 10:27:31    2437040

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You have to laugh at all the demanding clichés thrown out around a new manager; harness the talent, scour the county, think outside the box, leave prejudice out of it, innovate, clean slate, get the right man for the right job etc.

But then lads are infuriated at the idea of a full back scoring a penalty.

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1668 - 11/08/2022 11:40:41    2437048

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Replying To brian:  "ratlag, not disagreeing with a word you say and i agree on a couple of your points.

1) Penalty taking, I'd never seen McGill take a penalty for anyone, and that it took about 20-30 seconds for things to be sorted and him to step step up for the penalty is where the commotion was for me. Now fair play he buried the penalty and should be taking penalties or an option again.

2) Free taking. I agree with you it's on the players to practice their free taking away from the training sessions and whilst I'm not saying its the case, there appears to be a lack of effort from players to do things outside of training. I think the fact that many of the players on the panel are free takers for their clubs and none of them have a consistent style and approach or success rate is something the manager needed to address. I think its then on the manager to bring in some one to help them out, to develop a style and to improve their conversion rate but as you say unless the lads do things outside of collective training then it'll be screwed.

3) Newman is barley able to play with his club. Read the Gordon Manning article he did with Mickey before Christmas. It's not happening. Ward is almost 10 years out of inter county and almost 40. He's not coming back either you're dead right.

We need to look to youth and guys who could be brought back into the panel and add experience. The U20's being the former and maybe a guy like James Toher in the later part?

Dunno who it was that mentioned the U20's need to be playing regularly for their clubs before being brought in. This is a great take. Guys like Eoghan Frayne, Ciaran Caulfield, Conor Gray and John O'Regan are starting games in the senior/ intermediate championship and should be brought in and getting exposure to the panel. I'm not saying they'd be in a match day 24/ 26 but getting a chance to see what's needed of them to get there would benefit them. Liam Kelly and some of the younger guys need to be part of the wider panel until they are starting for their clubs.

Look at Andy, brought in Liam Byrne and David McEntee and neither are regularly starters for Dunboyne. You've got to be playing regularly for me at club level and standing out and shining before you should be on the panel."
And again I agree with your point that the manager can be doing stuff to help lads with free taking such as a designated coach etc to help develop a style or approach to gain consistency. What he can't do however is allow a lad to stand to one side for 15-20 mins of a training session just taking frees and not being part of general training, this is where lads need to take it upon themselves to practice in their spare time/before trainings/after trainings.
And absolutely spot on about the younger lads, they can't be brought into the panel if they can't cement a place on their club teams. Let them develop a bit and when they are ready you can bring them in.

ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 582 - 11/08/2022 12:49:50    2437054

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Replying To ratlag:  "And again I agree with your point that the manager can be doing stuff to help lads with free taking such as a designated coach etc to help develop a style or approach to gain consistency. What he can't do however is allow a lad to stand to one side for 15-20 mins of a training session just taking frees and not being part of general training, this is where lads need to take it upon themselves to practice in their spare time/before trainings/after trainings.
And absolutely spot on about the younger lads, they can't be brought into the panel if they can't cement a place on their club teams. Let them develop a bit and when they are ready you can bring them in."
I fully expect that all the areas where basic skills have to be improved will get the required attention as an absolute priority. I fully expect coaching standards will improve including areas of ATTITUDE. For example any player who does not take on the responsility to improve his standards will not survive on the panel.Under O Rourke players will WANT to improve themselves rather than wait to be told. This has to be a new beginning where players will be challenged ,supported and encouraged to give of their best Otherwise whats the point ?

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1266 - 11/08/2022 17:54:54    2437096

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Replying To CastleBravo:  "You have to laugh at all the demanding clichés thrown out around a new manager; harness the talent, scour the county, think outside the box, leave prejudice out of it, innovate, clean slate, get the right man for the right job etc.

But then lads are infuriated at the idea of a full back scoring a penalty."
Was so surreal the lads on here complaining about a full back taking a penalty. Shows just how backward or ignorant many of the GAA community in the county are.

Crinigan (Meath) - Posts: 1352 - 11/08/2022 21:29:17    2437110

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Replying To Crinigan:  "
Replying To CastleBravo:  "You have to laugh at all the demanding clichés thrown out around a new manager; harness the talent, scour the county, think outside the box, leave prejudice out of it, innovate, clean slate, get the right man for the right job etc.

But then lads are infuriated at the idea of a full back scoring a penalty."
Was so surreal the lads on here complaining about a full back taking a penalty. Shows just how backward or ignorant many of the GAA community in the county are."
Yeah I marked it down as officially the stupidest comment on here ever

Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 1012 - 12/08/2022 09:36:19    2437123

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Replying To Crinigan:  "
Replying To CastleBravo:  "You have to laugh at all the demanding clichés thrown out around a new manager; harness the talent, scour the county, think outside the box, leave prejudice out of it, innovate, clean slate, get the right man for the right job etc.

But then lads are infuriated at the idea of a full back scoring a penalty."
Was so surreal the lads on here complaining about a full back taking a penalty. Shows just how backward or ignorant many of the GAA community in the county are."
Totally and utterly agree. However I do think it was who was manager rather than McGill been a fb. If he had done it under cor it would be lauded. Those are probably the same ones sending letters of abuse to andys house. In other words. Nutjobs

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 12/08/2022 14:37:15    2437175

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Replying To hyperache:  "Take your point on Mickey Newman and focusing on youth, but over the last year or two, Meath's output up front has been pathetic. We lack any forwards of any quality compared to some of the counties we need to be on or near the level of.

The likes of the Wallace brothers, Brian McMahon, James Conlon aren't good enough. They're too small, not physical enough and don't really offer enough for a modern day forward - time to draw a line through them. And we also don't really have a free taker either, every good team has a reliable free take. Was down in Ennis when we lost to Clare this year and watching us flustered as to who was going to take the penalty was embarrassing, and even more so when the full back stepped up to kick it, clueless. Harry Hogan seems to be very hit and miss, have seen him kick some poor wides.

You are correct, we need to focus on youth and bring through the likes of Frayne, but you also need experience. Mickey Newman and Cian Ward for example would offer an awful lot of experience to the squad, and I'd be fine with either coming off the bench. Not sure if either would come back, but we need something different."
typical clueless analysis, those 4 lads have shown they can open tight defenses over many years and have ridiculed the 'too small' argument years ago. It is usually made by big useless heap of dung types.
Do you still think trevor giles , Peter Canavan, Colm Cooper etc were too small or light.

Ashrules (Dublin) - Posts: 553 - 12/08/2022 15:35:28    2437190

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Replying To Thejoeshow:  "Lads Mickys body is not able anymore it's that simple, no big falling out with Andy he just was ruined by injuries and the training at that level just causes it to break down. He won't be involved and cian ward certainly won't be either given the fitness needed at that level, if they are involved it will be as coaches down the line but leave that be"
If they are involved Colm will be gone by year end. And anyone calling for either return need their heads examined. Ffs , I'm all for a good wind up. But this is taking it too far.btw they will not be involved as cor knows they've had their day. End of

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 12/08/2022 15:48:12    2437192

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Replying To Blackspot09:  "
Replying To Crinigan:  "[quote=CastleBravo:  "You have to laugh at all the demanding clichés thrown out around a new manager; harness the talent, scour the county, think outside the box, leave prejudice out of it, innovate, clean slate, get the right man for the right job etc.

But then lads are infuriated at the idea of a full back scoring a penalty."
Was so surreal the lads on here complaining about a full back taking a penalty. Shows just how backward or ignorant many of the GAA community in the county are."
Yeah I marked it down as officially the stupidest comment on here ever"]And that takes some doing. :)

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 12/08/2022 15:49:35    2437193

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Any word on lavin return? He would definitely be one to take over. I think James Conlon will return as Will joey wallace. Eamonn I'm not so sure of.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 14/08/2022 13:12:22    2437339

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Replying To royaldunne:  "Any word on lavin return? He would definitely be one to take over. I think James Conlon will return as Will joey wallace. Eamonn I'm not so sure of."
As of what I know at the minute I don't think he'll be back next year

LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 1527 - 14/08/2022 14:17:02    2437346

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Replying To Ashrules:  "typical clueless analysis, those 4 lads have shown they can open tight defenses over many years and have ridiculed the 'too small' argument years ago. It is usually made by big useless heap of dung types.
Do you still think trevor giles , Peter Canavan, Colm Cooper etc were too small or light."
With all due respect those 4 great players all played 10+ years ago when the game was more suited to forwards. Gooch struggled a bit later in his career and he was a magician of a passer which allowed him to play at 11 but as an inside forward he couldn't match the physicality. If you look at today's best forwards Walsh, Comer, Clifford, O'Shea, O'Neill, Kilkenny, Con O'Callaghan, Cillian O'Connor, Michael Murphy some of them aren't the tallest but they all have a real physicality and power. I do think to be a top inside forward in modern football you really do have to be strong and powerful. A smaller player has to be lightening quick with the ball skills to beat a man, and even then will often have to drift out the pitch (Tommy Conroy, Daragh Canavan and Paudie Clifford for example)

LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 1527 - 14/08/2022 14:24:06    2437348

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Replying To LeitrimRoyal99:  "With all due respect those 4 great players all played 10+ years ago when the game was more suited to forwards. Gooch struggled a bit later in his career and he was a magician of a passer which allowed him to play at 11 but as an inside forward he couldn't match the physicality. If you look at today's best forwards Walsh, Comer, Clifford, O'Shea, O'Neill, Kilkenny, Con O'Callaghan, Cillian O'Connor, Michael Murphy some of them aren't the tallest but they all have a real physicality and power. I do think to be a top inside forward in modern football you really do have to be strong and powerful. A smaller player has to be lightening quick with the ball skills to beat a man, and even then will often have to drift out the pitch (Tommy Conroy, Daragh Canavan and Paudie Clifford for example)"
Tyrone and Kerry could accommodate Peter or Gooch as they had big physical players around them.

I said it before on other forms, we can probably only accommodate one of them guys in the starting team and maybe one on the bench if you're going for a like for like sub.

UsernameInvalid (Meath) - Posts: 409 - 14/08/2022 14:56:10    2437354

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Replying To LeitrimRoyal99:  "As of what I know at the minute I don't think he'll be back next year"
Cheers. Pity a very solid back

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 14/08/2022 17:26:55    2437377

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Replying To Ashrules:  "typical clueless analysis, those 4 lads have shown they can open tight defenses over many years and have ridiculed the 'too small' argument years ago. It is usually made by big useless heap of dung types.
Do you still think trevor giles , Peter Canavan, Colm Cooper etc were too small or light."
In fairness they were too light for the type of football McEntee was playing - ie carrying the ball and trying to punch holes. That kind of football is too attritional for a Joey Wallace or a James Conlon. They'd be much better served by quick diagonal ball into the corners but we were always so deep it seemed for that and didn't either have the forwards far enough forward to receive it or the providers far up enough the field to provide the long pass.

Crinigan (Meath) - Posts: 1352 - 14/08/2022 21:40:37    2437437

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Replying To Crinigan:  "In fairness they were too light for the type of football McEntee was playing - ie carrying the ball and trying to punch holes. That kind of football is too attritional for a Joey Wallace or a James Conlon. They'd be much better served by quick diagonal ball into the corners but we were always so deep it seemed for that and didn't either have the forwards far enough forward to receive it or the providers far up enough the field to provide the long pass."
I disagree somewhat.

All excellent club footballers and all decent 2nd tier intercounty footballers as in Division 2 teams and below but time and time again they were all found wanting when we played a top tier team. Occasional flashes of quality but more often than not they were cancelled out quite easily by the opposition . This IMO has nothing to do with the style of play the team were playing and is more just to do with the players we are speaking about.

BTW it's not just those lads who I would put in that bracket of good 2nd tier intercounty footballers. Unfortunately I would put most of our main starting players in that bracket also baring the few obvious exceptions.

Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 1012 - 15/08/2022 10:10:01    2437460

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