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Best of luck to the donegal ladies today. It's a novel final and meath are strong and no doubt favorites. I think it's the first time for a lot of the team to play in croke park and fingers crossed for them. Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 692 - 10/04/2022 10:54:12 2410423 Link
Replying To Donegal_abroad: "Yes, was at the game and also can't understand that statement. Donegal could have won it at the end of normal time but for a kick into the keeper's hands which should have gone over. When Donegal decided to really run hard at Tyrone they had them rattled in that game. So much like the issue with our senior team really. Not sure why we had to wait until 11-6 down to drive at them. Lateral handpassing and turning back instead of going at the defender is a plague in the county. Both teams were very good though in many aspects. Donegal kept coming at Tyrone and will feel unlucky. Tyrone to be fair were excellent. Powerful game actually to be at." As much as this statement is over the top there is some validity in it. Dermot carlin mentioned on ttm they targeted the loop around from mcglynn (the soccer player) and mcgroddy and that really limited the donegal attack until the goals. Folks talk about donegal seniors playing not enough defenders. That team seemed to me to start with too many defenders on it or at least not enough players who could comfortably kick the ball over the bar. Tyrone marshalled these two scoring players and let lads they know who couldn't really score have the ball. In fairness donegal rectified it with the introduction of of o'reilly. Tyrone had not accounted for him and he made a big difference. He could both score and create. Now you don't know about fitness and how players are going in training so maybe they had no option but go with what they did but you need the right balance in a team. Donegal were completely cleaned out by mcglennan at midfield. There's no shame in that as he's a monster but you did let yourself get cleaned out the whole night and conceded two goals directly from it. They were basically 50 metre "short kickouts" that eliminated half the donegal team from being able to defend. You just had to give them up particularly after the second donegal goal. It would have messed the game up as a spectacle and it was a great game but you would have increased your chances of winning. Also I suppose the rythm of the game is fully formed at that point and it is hard to change. Donegal did outscore Tyrone 10 scores to 7 from the second donegal goal and were the overall better team then but goals win games. I did see leo mcloones interview after and he was clearly disappointed for them. They seem like a really good bunch and they gave it everything. In saying that i see a whole host of them were back with their clubs and luke mcglynn was a real difference coming off the bench for Glenfin. I'm not sure how right it is from player fatigue point of view but there's always another horse to get back up on and go again. Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 692 - 10/04/2022 11:44:48 2410428 Link
Replying To Tirchonaill1: "You'd wonder how that habit of lateral short passing and passing backways crept into the football in this county, we are much better as was said when we go at teams, I'd rather see us playing to win rather than trying not to lose if that makes sense, Future looks bright but we need better leadership, if we had the likes of Jack O'Connor and Buckley managing/coaching the talent we have we'd have a better chance of winning the big one again." It seems to be (and not just in Donegal) that football is slowly becoming a risk management exercise - focus on not losing rather than going out to win a game. This manifests itself as players playing 'safe' ball 'through the hands' and not willing to risk a defence splitting kick pass. Ironically, you will notice that the teams more willing to take on these 'risky' kick passes are generally the ones that win most games, two examples in the past week: Kerry in the NFL Final and Tyrone overcoming our 20s on Friday night. peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 801 - 10/04/2022 11:48:59 2410429 Link
Replying To Ulsterchamps_32: "Just wondering what do you mean by jack o'connor‽ Sure he managed kildare in the ultimate trying not to lose way in the leinster final last year. Dublin were there to be got at and he went all defensive and they still ended up being hockeyed. They got a wonder goal with 10 mins to go and scored one more point for the rest of the game and finished with a score of 1-9. It was awful stuff." Well I suppose the talent Donegal have on tap is better than he had to select from in Kildare in my opinion anyway, I should have said 'a' Jack O'Connor type, someone with an outside perspective and a strong winning mentality, he seems to have Kerry back to winning ways and they are the favs for Sam. I forgot Buckley is with Monaghan now. I think under the current set up from the county board down we are content to stay in div 1 and be also rans in the race for Sam and have a good crack at Ulster. McGuinness believed we could win the All Ireland, I don't think that belief is there from the top down anymore, if you are going to win the thing it's starts with believing you can in the first place. Good luck to the women today, it would be brilliant to see them win the league. Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 2747 - 10/04/2022 12:07:14 2410430 Link
Replying To Ulsterchamps_32: "Just wondering what do you mean by jack o'connor‽ Sure he managed kildare in the ultimate trying not to lose way in the leinster final last year. Dublin were there to be got at and he went all defensive and they still ended up being hockeyed. They got a wonder goal with 10 mins to go and scored one more point for the rest of the game and finished with a score of 1-9. It was awful stuff." I agree with you there I thought O'Connor had a shocker in that game. It was clearly there to be won but he implemented a play not to lose system in which they lost anyways. I was surprised he got the Kerry job but he obviously has alot of sway. Alot of what Kerry are doing this year has Paddy Tally's hand prints all over it. Plus we often hear about how important Michael Murphy is to Donegal and that there is no more one player as important to a team to Donegal as Murphy which certainly has its substance. However to me I would say the same about Clifford to Kerry at this stage. So while O'Connor has started this tenure brightly I wouldn't necessarily see him as this outside figure who could turn any side. panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2782 - 10/04/2022 12:28:19 2410431 Link
Replying To Tirchonaill1: "Well I suppose the talent Donegal have on tap is better than he had to select from in Kildare in my opinion anyway, I should have said 'a' Jack O'Connor type, someone with an outside perspective and a strong winning mentality, he seems to have Kerry back to winning ways and they are the favs for Sam. I forgot Buckley is with Monaghan now. I think under the current set up from the county board down we are content to stay in div 1 and be also rans in the race for Sam and have a good crack at Ulster. McGuinness believed we could win the All Ireland, I don't think that belief is there from the top down anymore, if you are going to win the thing it's starts with believing you can in the first place. Good luck to the women today, it would be brilliant to see them win the league." Jack o Connor now, great example alright with Kildare. I could nearly manage that Kerry team to an all Ireland myself, even you wudnt be far away. Any manager needs the tools to play with. Have you any sensible suggestions I'm getting bored reading your words of wisdom.. rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2404 - 10/04/2022 12:43:49 2410433 Link
And there is Declansbot right on cue, we'll see anyway how it goes this year, if Bonner doesn't deliver real progress this year I think there will be real pressure on for a change, who else wants the job or could get by the county board politics? I think they should look outside the county this time. I doubt there's more to it than anyone could manage Kerry to an All Ireland, I believe our squad of players have the beating of any team if they are set up and managed correctly. It's funny how teams reflect the managers personality. If you start off with doubts that you are good enough then you are setting yourself up to fail, 2 weeks now till the Armagh game, can't wait. Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 2747 - 10/04/2022 14:57:28 2410446 Link
Replying To Tirchonaill1: "Well I suppose the talent Donegal have on tap is better than he had to select from in Kildare in my opinion anyway, I should have said 'a' Jack O'Connor type, someone with an outside perspective and a strong winning mentality, he seems to have Kerry back to winning ways and they are the favs for Sam. I forgot Buckley is with Monaghan now. I think under the current set up from the county board down we are content to stay in div 1 and be also rans in the race for Sam and have a good crack at Ulster. McGuinness believed we could win the All Ireland, I don't think that belief is there from the top down anymore, if you are going to win the thing it's starts with believing you can in the first place. Good luck to the women today, it would be brilliant to see them win the league." I kind of get the overall point but Jack o'connor sticks on my craw because his motivations were not for the betterment of kildare football. They were for the betterment of Jack o'connor and wouldn't want someone like that near donegal football. If Peter Keane was still managing kerry they'd still be favorites. It doesn't mean I'm against outside managers. Look at the esteem mickey moran is held by kilcoo. Brian mcivor won donegals only league. The Donegal players just didn't seem mature enough to fully buy in fully and McGuinness sorted all that out. McGuinness was very abnormal as well though. I can't see anyone else having won that all ireland with that donegal team. He was obsessed got the players to an incredible level of fitness and got a tactical run on other teams. I think this donegal have achieved more and ultimately a whole pile of other things have lacked an edge at times. No donegal team under bonner as downed tools either though and he's a million times better than some outside mercenary that doesn't give two hoots about donegal football. Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 692 - 10/04/2022 18:49:26 2410460 Link
Replying To Ulsterchamps_32: "I kind of get the overall point but Jack o'connor sticks on my craw because his motivations were not for the betterment of kildare football. They were for the betterment of Jack o'connor and wouldn't want someone like that near donegal football. If Peter Keane was still managing kerry they'd still be favorites. It doesn't mean I'm against outside managers. Look at the esteem mickey moran is held by kilcoo. Brian mcivor won donegals only league. The Donegal players just didn't seem mature enough to fully buy in fully and McGuinness sorted all that out. McGuinness was very abnormal as well though. I can't see anyone else having won that all ireland with that donegal team. He was obsessed got the players to an incredible level of fitness and got a tactical run on other teams. I think this donegal have achieved more and ultimately a whole pile of other things have lacked an edge at times. No donegal team under bonner as downed tools either though and he's a million times better than some outside mercenary that doesn't give two hoots about donegal football." Yeah maybe so, I just want to see us doing better, ok if you get beat by a better team fair enough,just don't get beaten without having a real go and judt handpassing the ball over and back for most of the game. maybe Bonner will silence us doubters this year and I hope he does, he has had plenty chances though, I think with the talent we have if we get a good injury free run we should be going very close, I think Ulster is winnable for us this year, Tyrone are never as good the year after the win an All Ireland and they have a lot of guys stepping away too for whatever reason, as we seen in 2020 though you take nothing for granted in Ulster, even a weakened Armagh are still very dangerous if we are not firing on all cylinders this day week. Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 2747 - 10/04/2022 21:07:27 2410469 Link
Replying To Tirchonaill1: "Yeah maybe so, I just want to see us doing better, ok if you get beat by a better team fair enough,just don't get beaten without having a real go and judt handpassing the ball over and back for most of the game. maybe Bonner will silence us doubters this year and I hope he does, he has had plenty chances though, I think with the talent we have if we get a good injury free run we should be going very close, I think Ulster is winnable for us this year, Tyrone are never as good the year after the win an All Ireland and they have a lot of guys stepping away too for whatever reason, as we seen in 2020 though you take nothing for granted in Ulster, even a weakened Armagh are still very dangerous if we are not firing on all cylinders this day week." Maybe it's not management fault at all. Maybe we're not as good as you think we are. What under age success had we this last few years. Compare that to Kerry 5 all Ireland minors. You might think I'm being negative but the facts speak for themselves. Even in Ulster Tyrone are beating us year in year out. As for an outside manager it doesn't work , most of them are only there for the money and we seen in Rory's time his reluctance to let lads play at u 21 level. rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2404 - 11/04/2022 10:21:29 2410492 Link
Hard luck to the Donegal ladies yesterday. There was a definitely a good chance for them and they will rue a few things. They missed too many chances and had too many unforced turnovers. Though both teams were getting tired at the end and fatigue does increase the error rates. Meath are something else with their tactics. When defending they put every player into the scoring zone and that's a smaller zone than mens football so it was very congested. Once they turn the ball over and they all go bombing up the field. They put a very aggressive press on the opposition kickout as well and often turned it over. Once they don't turn it over they'd all go back to the defence again. It's a very running game and not much kicking. They were doing it at real pace and must be very fit. Donegal struggled with them at the start and thought an awful hammering but they got to terms with it and could have won it. They left players back to meet the counter attack in the scoring zone and that worked. Donegal also put the full court press on the kick out and got it mostly right but they got done for the first meath goal by pushing too much much up the field and goalkeeper kicked over them all. You could see it happening from the stand. Overall it was still the right tactic and it did lead to the penalty and the Donegal goal. The goalkeeper in ladies football is a very tough position. You are contronted by the walls of opposition players. Not being able to kick it as far as the mens game make it even harder again. It was a very enjoyable game for the most part. Meath have a super connection with their fans and that was nice to see. Say when watching Dublin they tend to systematically foul the opposition and both teams yesterday were not doing that and it was better because of it. Anyhow hard luck to Donegal again and best of luck to them in the championship. Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 692 - 11/04/2022 13:18:13 2410527 Link
Replying To Tirchonaill1: "Yeah maybe so, I just want to see us doing better, ok if you get beat by a better team fair enough,just don't get beaten without having a real go and judt handpassing the ball over and back for most of the game. maybe Bonner will silence us doubters this year and I hope he does, he has had plenty chances though, I think with the talent we have if we get a good injury free run we should be going very close, I think Ulster is winnable for us this year, Tyrone are never as good the year after the win an All Ireland and they have a lot of guys stepping away too for whatever reason, as we seen in 2020 though you take nothing for granted in Ulster, even a weakened Armagh are still very dangerous if we are not firing on all cylinders this day week." I understand why the lateral play is used, but its supposed to be followed up with incisive penetrating runs, which we seem incapable of making most of the time. Some of our U20's gave me hope though, seeing the likes of McGroddy, O'Reilly and Bobby McGettigan take on their men was a delight to see. Defensively I don't think we are far off the rest, Kerry, Dublin and Mayo are not much better in the full back lines, Tyrone have lost some of their depth, then you have Monaghan, Armagh, Galway, Roscommon, Kildare etc who are all capable of taking any scalp on any given day. Donegal do need to work on our attacking gameplan though, I think this is where our games are really being lost, our shooting accuracy has been woeful in recent times, even when we do have sufficient time on the ball. I think we have as good a chance as anybody to win Ulster this year, I think if we can get traction in Ulster we could go on and win an All Ireland too. I don't see Kerry or Mayo's league campaign as a reason why we can't beat them in Championship. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1114 - 11/04/2022 13:40:01 2410532 Link
Replying To rorysboys: "Maybe it's not management fault at all. Maybe we're not as good as you think we are. What under age success had we this last few years. Compare that to Kerry 5 all Ireland minors. You might think I'm being negative but the facts speak for themselves. Even in Ulster Tyrone are beating us year in year out. As for an outside manager it doesn't work , most of them are only there for the money and we seen in Rory's time his reluctance to let lads play at u 21 level." We won an ulster under 21 in 2017 and were treated unfairly for the all Ireland semi. It was also a very strong Dublin team. Under 21 was done away with in 2018. From the senior team this year there would have been mccole, mcmenamin, obaoill, langan, Jason McGee, Ethan O'Donnell, Niall O'Donnell, Mogan , McFadden ferry, mark curran and maybe jeaic mcceallbhui (under 19 along with Mogan) on it. That team would have won Ulster at least. We did beat Tyrone in last years under 20. It is also interesting to note that the Clifford and O'Shea less Kerry under 20s won no all Ireland so the overall talent probably not as strong as you might think. Galway have won piles of hurling minors and have a very poor conversion to senior. Donegal could no doubt be better at underage but it's not the only borometer. You have to look at the players and there's definite quality there. The age profile is pretty good now and they (both players and management) should be setting a high bar for themselves. I'm sure they are. Armagh will be coming to win and with a chip on their shoulder and O'Neill back will fancy themselves. Donegal have a great chance to really show their worth and then to continue to drive on for the rest of the year. Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 692 - 12/04/2022 13:35:24 2410664 Link
Good to see O Neill play the next game, a fine footballer to watch paly and see how we cope with him. When you play a game you want to play their best team and beat then without excuses. jacktheboy (Donegal) - Posts: 405 - 12/04/2022 14:24:53 2410680 Link
Correct there . Be nicer to beat Armagh if o neill playing.. hopefully we'll do it on the day should be a good atmosphere in ballybofey that day. rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2404 - 12/04/2022 14:59:55 2410696 Link
Wasn't there camera footage of Rian O'Neill striking a Donegal player? Or did that mysteriously disappear now? Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1114 - 12/04/2022 17:42:04 2410730 Link
Replying To Ulsterchamps_32: "I kind of get the overall point but Jack o'connor sticks on my craw because his motivations were not for the betterment of kildare football. They were for the betterment of Jack o'connor and wouldn't want someone like that near donegal football. If Peter Keane was still managing kerry they'd still be favorites. It doesn't mean I'm against outside managers. Look at the esteem mickey moran is held by kilcoo. Brian mcivor won donegals only league. The Donegal players just didn't seem mature enough to fully buy in fully and McGuinness sorted all that out. McGuinness was very abnormal as well though. I can't see anyone else having won that all ireland with that donegal team. He was obsessed got the players to an incredible level of fitness and got a tactical run on other teams. I think this donegal have achieved more and ultimately a whole pile of other things have lacked an edge at times. No donegal team under bonner as downed tools either though and he's a million times better than some outside mercenary that doesn't give two hoots about donegal football." I have nothing against Bonner personally, by all accounts he is a very personable man and I have no doubt he is a Donegal man to the backbone and was a great player in his day. This isn't personal it's just about football, We are now in year 5 and we have been regressing as he a team since the Cavan debacle, we have no forward plan and seem to spend too much time working on kickouts and little else. We have not managed to beat Kerry, Dublin or mayo in any sort of meaningful competitive game in that time and these teams are the yardstick at the moment. He doesn't appear to be strong to tell mm to start at full forward and stay there where is presence at the very least keeps the opposition honest and gives us an option if there is nothing on for the player in possession in the middle third. A prominent player saw very little game team last year because he lined out for his club, another prominent player intervened before the league and the player committed stated he would play for Donegal again on the condition there was a change of manager, 3 weeks later he started against Mayo! Hopefully we will have a fully fit hand to play against Armagh and hopefully we will play a high tempo game on the front foot, because when we play without the shackles I think we could be a match for anybody. totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 916 - 12/04/2022 19:21:14 2410739 Link
Really looking forward to this one, this suspension fiasco after the shemozzle has only added to it, hope to see a convincing win from Donegal. Hope we have a lot of men back from injury and raring to go. Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 2747 - 12/04/2022 20:30:55 2410755 Link
Replying To totalrecall: "I have nothing against Bonner personally, by all accounts he is a very personable man and I have no doubt he is a Donegal man to the backbone and was a great player in his day. This isn't personal it's just about football, We are now in year 5 and we have been regressing as he a team since the Cavan debacle, we have no forward plan and seem to spend too much time working on kickouts and little else. We have not managed to beat Kerry, Dublin or mayo in any sort of meaningful competitive game in that time and these teams are the yardstick at the moment. He doesn't appear to be strong to tell mm to start at full forward and stay there where is presence at the very least keeps the opposition honest and gives us an option if there is nothing on for the player in possession in the middle third. A prominent player saw very little game team last year because he lined out for his club, another prominent player intervened before the league and the player committed stated he would play for Donegal again on the condition there was a change of manager, 3 weeks later he started against Mayo! Hopefully we will have a fully fit hand to play against Armagh and hopefully we will play a high tempo game on the front foot, because when we play without the shackles I think we could be a match for anybody." Name the two prominent players. You probably won't it's easy coming on here with accusations when you can't back it up. You wait till it's almost a week out from championship and come out with a story that nobody knows if it's true or not. Not surprising but ..goin by your usual comments. Leitrim yea at least be proud of your county if your from Donegal rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2404 - 13/04/2022 10:25:16 2410786 Link
Replying To rorysboys: "Name the two prominent players. You probably won't it's easy coming on here with accusations when you can't back it up. You wait till it's almost a week out from championship and come out with a story that nobody knows if it's true or not. Not surprising but ..goin by your usual comments. Leitrim yea at least be proud of your county if your from Donegal" A very proud Donegal man living in Leitrim for around 30 years. Not going to be naming anybody just highlighting we need management to be strong to take on some big personalities for the betterment of Donegal football. I will cheering Donegal irrespective of who is in charge on Sunday I travel the length and breadth of Ireland to support the team. Again I am not against Bonner just the direction he has taken us in, I Hope he proves me wrong totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 916 - 13/04/2022 17:11:31 2410880 Link