Meath Forum

Meath Vs Down

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Replying To Ed2010:  "I have noticed over the past few weeks that there seems to be some confusion as to how or why Colm is in the job. Some posters seem to think the CB begged him to take over and he is only doing it out of the goodness of his heart.
'courage to take the job' is nonsense. This isn't u10s. You go for/take the job because you believe you can be a success. Anything different is just cover for a poor job"
agreed ED
other issue that im starting to have a serious problem with COR , is this "low base" narrative ...iif that is his understanding of where we are at after his time involved..surely he should be then lauding Andy McEntee for dramatic over achieving in his tenure? ....He is creating a narrative, and only time will tell what the ultimate goal of that is

Thelongwoodslasher (Meath) - Posts: 403 - 23/05/2023 15:30:32    2480962

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Very odd venue and time, i expect Down are not happy with that. Playing Meath in thier own back yard. The equivalant of going to Corrigan Park to play Down in a supposed neutral venue. Good i suppose for meath fans to tip into from Ashbourne, Ratoath, DunsHAUGLIN , nAVAN

dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 790 - 23/05/2023 15:40:54    2480972

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Replying To dickie10:  "Very odd venue and time, i expect Down are not happy with that. Playing Meath in thier own back yard. The equivalant of going to Corrigan Park to play Down in a supposed neutral venue. Good i suppose for meath fans to tip into from Ashbourne, Ratoath, DunsHAUGLIN , nAVAN"
Venue suits Meath, especially people who want to see Meath play in CR Cup later that day. Last time we played Down at neutral venue we got the raw deal.

seadog54 (Meath) - Posts: 2196 - 23/05/2023 16:17:15    2480999

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Replying To nobull456:  "Courage can be defined as the ability to control your fear in a dangerous of difficult situation. Colm publicly said no .Then as is common knowledge he was again approached. NO suitable person applied for the job or was available. Why ? I assume it was seen as a poison chalice. Why ? because it was seen as a massive recovery task.
I assume Colm was fully aware that there may be an anti Colm thing ,and that he would be working against even greater odds. If thats not courage i dont know what is. You know from this forum that for some he can not win before he started. I manage to ignore as its clearly an agenda . However, maybe others are more skillful at hiding their bias. I suggest distractions such as playing with words achieve nothing here anyway, More balanced approach might be to give the man the time he asked for and fully deserves"
Common knowledge is not fact. So you cannot say they approached him for sure. Usually People apply for a position. But I am open to correction.

Ed2010 (Meath) - Posts: 109 - 23/05/2023 16:19:13    2481000

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Replying To nobull456:  "Courage can be defined as the ability to control your fear in a dangerous of difficult situation. Colm publicly said no .Then as is common knowledge he was again approached. NO suitable person applied for the job or was available. Why ? I assume it was seen as a poison chalice. Why ? because it was seen as a massive recovery task.
I assume Colm was fully aware that there may be an anti Colm thing ,and that he would be working against even greater odds. If thats not courage i dont know what is. You know from this forum that for some he can not win before he started. I manage to ignore as its clearly an agenda . However, maybe others are more skillful at hiding their bias. I suggest distractions such as playing with words achieve nothing here anyway, More balanced approach might be to give the man the time he asked for and fully deserves"
One more thing...saying no in the SG was him just gathering traction. He previously said he wanted it several times and made no secret of it

Ed2010 (Meath) - Posts: 109 - 23/05/2023 16:22:14    2481002

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Replying To Thelongwoodslasher:  "agreed ED
other issue that im starting to have a serious problem with COR , is this "low base" narrative ...iif that is his understanding of where we are at after his time involved..surely he should be then lauding Andy McEntee for dramatic over achieving in his tenure? ....He is creating a narrative, and only time will tell what the ultimate goal of that is"
In fairness you have had issues with COR from early in his tenure. He has done nothing but tell the truth, have you watched Meath over last two years, hanging in there by our finger nails. Not something any manager with ambition should be lauding. Evidence has been there for all to see, like it or not we have been on a downward curve for years now. Is he the man to turn things around? At this point we dont know, next years league may provide some answers. A very positive sign is the willingness of players to commit. What goal do you think he has, what are the rest of us missing?

seadog54 (Meath) - Posts: 2196 - 23/05/2023 16:40:51    2481009

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Replying To nobull456:  "Courage can be defined as the ability to control your fear in a dangerous of difficult situation. Colm publicly said no .Then as is common knowledge he was again approached. NO suitable person applied for the job or was available. Why ? I assume it was seen as a poison chalice. Why ? because it was seen as a massive recovery task.
I assume Colm was fully aware that there may be an anti Colm thing ,and that he would be working against even greater odds. If thats not courage i dont know what is. You know from this forum that for some he can not win before he started. I manage to ignore as its clearly an agenda . However, maybe others are more skillful at hiding their bias. I suggest distractions such as playing with words achieve nothing here anyway, More balanced approach might be to give the man the time he asked for and fully deserves"
'Massive recovery task' is absolute rubbish talk. We were a divison 2 team not a divison 4 team like Derry when Gallagher took over. So much of the quality we had is getting overplayed to suit the narrative in favour of colm. We had a decent group of players, not a bad group but not a great group. One of our best players was then dropped. That was hardly going to help.

contributingtoamelee (Meath) - Posts: 55 - 23/05/2023 16:48:36    2481010

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Replying To seadog54:  "In fairness you have had issues with COR from early in his tenure. He has done nothing but tell the truth, have you watched Meath over last two years, hanging in there by our finger nails. Not something any manager with ambition should be lauding. Evidence has been there for all to see, like it or not we have been on a downward curve for years now. Is he the man to turn things around? At this point we dont know, next years league may provide some answers. A very positive sign is the willingness of players to commit. What goal do you think he has, what are the rest of us missing?"
Exactly.......Nobody knows how this will go. I dont see Colm making excuses. .He has repeatedly praised the players for their commitment and willingness to try to improve. He said from the start he did not have all the skills and that he would bring in as required. I assume thats a work in Progress.So Colm is on a learning curve and said so from the start. In fact not only do i applaud his courage in trying to move us forward. i also applaud his honesty. Maybe in 2 years we will be in a better position to make an informed judgement. Meanwhile we continue on a learning curve BECAUSE WE HAVE NO CHOICE !. " I expect Down may just realise at the next match that Meath as total underdogs are dangerous animals ,and should never be taken for granted." BTW that comment came from a Down man last night. Meanwhile we go back to the menu for the last 20 years of HOPE!

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1266 - 23/05/2023 17:41:19    2481032

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Replying To contributingtoamelee:  "'Massive recovery task' is absolute rubbish talk. We were a divison 2 team not a divison 4 team like Derry when Gallagher took over. So much of the quality we had is getting overplayed to suit the narrative in favour of colm. We had a decent group of players, not a bad group but not a great group. One of our best players was then dropped. That was hardly going to help."
What CONSTRUCTIVE comment do you offer ?

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1266 - 23/05/2023 17:46:16    2481034

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Replying To Ed2010:  "Common knowledge is not fact. So you cannot say they approached him for sure. Usually People apply for a position. But I am open to correction."
Yes local press printed that at the time...check it out

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1266 - 23/05/2023 17:50:56    2481040

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Replying To Ed2010:  "One more thing...saying no in the SG was him just gathering traction. He previously said he wanted it several times and made no secret of it"
Anyway You need to complete his full statement at the time .he went for it several times but.........you finish his statement

Do you want to see him complete his 2 years YES or NO ? and no buts

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1266 - 23/05/2023 17:59:46    2481049

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Replying To seadog54:  "In fairness you have had issues with COR from early in his tenure. He has done nothing but tell the truth, have you watched Meath over last two years, hanging in there by our finger nails. Not something any manager with ambition should be lauding. Evidence has been there for all to see, like it or not we have been on a downward curve for years now. Is he the man to turn things around? At this point we dont know, next years league may provide some answers. A very positive sign is the willingness of players to commit. What goal do you think he has, what are the rest of us missing?"
Hanging in by our finger nails? On a downward curve for years now? We got to division 1 for the first time in ten years, and were within a game to do that again. We also got the closest to dublin since 2010. How is it a positive sign for the players to commit, that should just be taken for granted. It's not about what goal do you think he has, it is about is he capable of delivering that goal and the answer so far is a concrete no.

contributingtoamelee (Meath) - Posts: 55 - 23/05/2023 19:42:24    2481069

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Replying To nobull456:  "What CONSTRUCTIVE comment do you offer ?"
All you're saying is 'I think colm will realise', 'I think colm will do this, I think colm will do that. Base your argument of facts, the majority of our performances have been dreadful this season.

contributingtoamelee (Meath) - Posts: 55 - 23/05/2023 19:47:13    2481070

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Replying To nobull456:  "Courage can be defined as the ability to control your fear in a dangerous of difficult situation. Colm publicly said no .Then as is common knowledge he was again approached. NO suitable person applied for the job or was available. Why ? I assume it was seen as a poison chalice. Why ? because it was seen as a massive recovery task.
I assume Colm was fully aware that there may be an anti Colm thing ,and that he would be working against even greater odds. If thats not courage i dont know what is. You know from this forum that for some he can not win before he started. I manage to ignore as its clearly an agenda . However, maybe others are more skillful at hiding their bias. I suggest distractions such as playing with words achieve nothing here anyway, More balanced approach might be to give the man the time he asked for and fully deserves"
Well Nobull456, you say there was an anti Colm feeling before he took the job, I dont think there was.While some people didnt want or like him from the start i would say the majority of people did.At the Clare game there was a real positive feel and a big enough crowd and alot of good will torwards him.That has tapered off due to poor results.we have had some shocking performances Kildare one was as poor as I've seen for many years no fight or spirit that day.Put any manager in and some will find fault with him, sure even Boylan got stick when we were at the top table so you will never have everyone on board.As I've stayed in other posts yes he should be given time but we should also see improvements.We still dont have a freetaker, we still are so open at the back massive worry for us as Tipperary and Waterford ran through us at will and with all due respect to them they both have had poor seasons and the majority of teams in the TC are a fair bit better than them.Im not really seeing a structure or plan yet after 8 to 10 games.Our passing and tackling also leave alot to be desired although would not put all that on Colm as the players have to take blame here as well.In fairness I'll pick a couple of positives we seem to have 2 good goalkeeper s (I know one has only played the last 2games)but looks good.He has blooded a few young lads and while some might say they would be on anyway he has put them in and in fairness it's his neck on the line.We have scored a good bit the last 2 games but against weak enough opponents (all due respect again)so hopefully we can do that the next day.We have some good players i dont see us as a division 4 or 3 side.Colm needs to big them up tell them they can do much better, confidence is key and unfortunately we dont have alot of that at the minute.Its not going to change either if we keep saying we are division 3 team as if we go down to it and lose games then what?ah we are division 4 standard.We have to be aiming higher.I personally think he needs some one in there to get into lads mindset that they can be better and I know that's not easy but without belief and confidence you wont go very far.Thats not going to fix it all but it would certainly improve us .

Proudroyal (Meath) - Posts: 296 - 23/05/2023 20:06:03    2481075

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Replying To Ed2010:  "One more thing...saying no in the SG was him just gathering traction. He previously said he wanted it several times and made no secret of it"
Yes, he makes no secret of the fact he wanted job applied for position on 2 or maybe 3 occassions. He wanted change in the set up ( no idea if his demands or ideas were made public) but CB knocked him back each time. When asked on SG if he would put his name forward, he said no, CB had made it clear he was not wanted and had no intention of been knocked back again. However, things changed and expected interest in job was less than hoped for. Lack of interest was not surprising for many reasons. CB turned to Colm ( nobody suggests any crawling took place) and agreement was reached and I expect terms and conditions set. The whole thing was a reality check for people in charge and not before time. If there was little interest then, what has changed in less than a year to suggest this time would be different? Why would any manager, external or internal touch the job or belive any agreement reached would be honoured? Things far from ideal at the moment but the most important thing is all the panel have commited and that is a good sign. More players will be added, hopefully a few new faces put their hand up during club championship and I expect we will see addition to coaching staff during summer.

seadog54 (Meath) - Posts: 2196 - 23/05/2023 20:12:15    2481076

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Replying To contributingtoamelee:  "Hanging in by our finger nails? On a downward curve for years now? We got to division 1 for the first time in ten years, and were within a game to do that again. We also got the closest to dublin since 2010. How is it a positive sign for the players to commit, that should just be taken for granted. It's not about what goal do you think he has, it is about is he capable of delivering that goal and the answer so far is a concrete no."
That's exactly what everyone is saying

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 23/05/2023 23:05:57    2481098

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Replying To seadog54:  "Yes, he makes no secret of the fact he wanted job applied for position on 2 or maybe 3 occassions. He wanted change in the set up ( no idea if his demands or ideas were made public) but CB knocked him back each time. When asked on SG if he would put his name forward, he said no, CB had made it clear he was not wanted and had no intention of been knocked back again. However, things changed and expected interest in job was less than hoped for. Lack of interest was not surprising for many reasons. CB turned to Colm ( nobody suggests any crawling took place) and agreement was reached and I expect terms and conditions set. The whole thing was a reality check for people in charge and not before time. If there was little interest then, what has changed in less than a year to suggest this time would be different? Why would any manager, external or internal touch the job or belive any agreement reached would be honoured? Things far from ideal at the moment but the most important thing is all the panel have commited and that is a good sign. More players will be added, hopefully a few new faces put their hand up during club championship and I expect we will see addition to coaching staff during summer."
Just a reminder folks this is the same poster who called for a change in management mid season a year or two ago. Saying anyone could do better we were drawing with Offaly and Down. Agenda ?? I'll leave that for others to decide

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 23/05/2023 23:12:03    2481100

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Replying To Proudroyal:  "Well Nobull456, you say there was an anti Colm feeling before he took the job, I dont think there was.While some people didnt want or like him from the start i would say the majority of people did.At the Clare game there was a real positive feel and a big enough crowd and alot of good will torwards him.That has tapered off due to poor results.we have had some shocking performances Kildare one was as poor as I've seen for many years no fight or spirit that day.Put any manager in and some will find fault with him, sure even Boylan got stick when we were at the top table so you will never have everyone on board.As I've stayed in other posts yes he should be given time but we should also see improvements.We still dont have a freetaker, we still are so open at the back massive worry for us as Tipperary and Waterford ran through us at will and with all due respect to them they both have had poor seasons and the majority of teams in the TC are a fair bit better than them.Im not really seeing a structure or plan yet after 8 to 10 games.Our passing and tackling also leave alot to be desired although would not put all that on Colm as the players have to take blame here as well.In fairness I'll pick a couple of positives we seem to have 2 good goalkeeper s (I know one has only played the last 2games)but looks good.He has blooded a few young lads and while some might say they would be on anyway he has put them in and in fairness it's his neck on the line.We have scored a good bit the last 2 games but against weak enough opponents (all due respect again)so hopefully we can do that the next day.We have some good players i dont see us as a division 4 or 3 side.Colm needs to big them up tell them they can do much better, confidence is key and unfortunately we dont have alot of that at the minute.Its not going to change either if we keep saying we are division 3 team as if we go down to it and lose games then what?ah we are division 4 standard.We have to be aiming higher.I personally think he needs some one in there to get into lads mindset that they can be better and I know that's not easy but without belief and confidence you wont go very far.Thats not going to fix it all but it would certainly improve us ."
Yes i think that is a fair and balanced post ..no argument, In particular your last constructive comment re.bringing someone in to deal with the minset is bang on the button. Even a couple of short sessions working on belief and confidence could prove of major benefit. In fact as i said in an earlier post i think that should be given top priority.
Yes i share that frustration and impatience when its clear basic shortcomings are seen too often. I do agree that these basics should be showing improvement with time spent. For me the real question is what is done at a training session?
However, i do agree that the minset suggestion is critical to everything. as benefits will impact on everything else.

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1266 - 23/05/2023 23:28:17    2481102

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Replying To contributingtoamelee:  "All you're saying is 'I think colm will realise', 'I think colm will do this, I think colm will do that. Base your argument of facts, the majority of our performances have been dreadful this season."
Thats your OBSERVATION of me .fair enough. i am not important. I asked you for a CONSTRUCTIVE comment aimed at trying to bring improved performance You did not answer the question. .i will leave it at that !

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1266 - 23/05/2023 23:43:49    2481104

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Replying To seadog54:  "In fairness you have had issues with COR from early in his tenure. He has done nothing but tell the truth, have you watched Meath over last two years, hanging in there by our finger nails. Not something any manager with ambition should be lauding. Evidence has been there for all to see, like it or not we have been on a downward curve for years now. Is he the man to turn things around? At this point we dont know, next years league may provide some answers. A very positive sign is the willingness of players to commit. What goal do you think he has, what are the rest of us missing?"
i have . And that is because of his utterances prior to the Job & his. Its not as if CORs views have been hiding under a bushel prior to him getting the role. He has a profile , as large as any would be Top manager., so having a perception or a bias on COR before he got the job is correct. Now , honestly, I also wanted him to do well and with the first two league games i was as happy as any meath supporter . Its since the losses & pressure has started to build that you really find out about a manager, and i have to says , I'm worried, Very worried. , as to how he has dealt with that BUT...and i do mean this...everyone has the capacity to learn & grow...and i hope that for him , that he has that capacity
he has tow choices as i see it.....he admits that HE was the Problem in the division 2 campaign, that His Inter county Managerial inexperience , was a huge contributory factor for our fall off and our resulting Tailteann Cup predicament ...OR....He takes the High Ground. and Protects his own reputation ..and creates a narrative , that he was mislaid, that the situation was much worse than he was lead to believe...that the Job is a long term rebuild , and he is THE man to start that rebuild ...and that we are 10 years away from Competing with Dublin.....

Thelongwoodslasher (Meath) - Posts: 403 - 24/05/2023 09:40:30    2481144

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