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All Ireland Championship 2020

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Replying To Furlong1949:  "Delighted with Meath performance with so many players missing. Closest leinster team has got to Dublin in championship or league in 7 years, since Meath lost by 7 points in leinster final 2013."
Makes up somewhat for the embarrassing Leinster Final hammering to the Dubs last year, 1-17 to 0-04.

Big improvement alright.
Going in the right direction.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 3725 - 17/10/2020 21:20:50    2298536

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Replying To Furlong1949:  "Delighted with Meath performance with so many players missing. Closest leinster team has got to Dublin in championship or league in 7 years, since Meath lost by 7 points in leinster final 2013."
Fair play a chara, good to see you about. Meath played very well, Keoghan in some player and very good at the back. Menton good in midfield, O Sullivan a decent player, Walsh look prodigious, get Newman in there to looks a decent forward line. Up for the battle tonight, looked hungrier then the Dubs. McEntee imprinting his philosophey, thought Meath got more purchase tonight with the running game then the counter approach in 19, who knows we might get a shock in Leinster this year.

Dubs very lax at the back tonight, big score to concede, Johnny going off injured is a worry as we look light there. But we take the points, dust of the cobwebs and move on to Salthill next week.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4445 - 17/10/2020 21:25:38    2298538

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Replying To TheUsername:  "Fair play a chara, good to see you about. Meath played very well, Keoghan in some player and very good at the back. Menton good in midfield, O Sullivan a decent player, Walsh look prodigious, get Newman in there to looks a decent forward line. Up for the battle tonight, looked hungrier then the Dubs. McEntee imprinting his philosophey, thought Meath got more purchase tonight with the running game then the counter approach in 19, who knows we might get a shock in Leinster this year.

Dubs very lax at the back tonight, big score to concede, Johnny going off injured is a worry as we look light there. But we take the points, dust of the cobwebs and move on to Salthill next week."
We only had half of our regular 6 defenders but I agree, we conceded a lot, including 8 frees.

Keoghan, Menton and Cillian O'S are excellent players.
Think Mickey Newman has left the panel due to persistent injury.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 3725 - 17/10/2020 21:36:54    2298554

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Going in right direction.
I want to say one thing . It is a stain on the all stars that Donal Keogan does not have one after 3 nominations. I honestly have never met anyonenfrom another county who does not think he is one of the best in country.
Anyway we are inching closer, slower than I would like but getting there. I know ever team is struggling with the covid thing, but we are missing every player from the co champions which I think at times showed tonight. Great to see Morris perform so well tonight when he came on. We have positives. We will give Leinster a good crack this year , I can't help but feel our slow starts has been the real problem this year. We played well enough to stay up, but just couldn't hit the ground running in any game.
A learning curve but one we must take. Fair play to Dublin, it was reminiscent of old times at stages there. And I look forward to that going into the future , it's important that Andy is allowed to continue with what he has been doing. Fenton is some excellent player. Probably best in country.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 17/10/2020 22:08:59    2298570

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Replying To Fionn:  "We only had half of our regular 6 defenders but I agree, we conceded a lot, including 8 frees.

Keoghan, Menton and Cillian O'S are excellent players.
Think Mickey Newman has left the panel due to persistent injury."
We're looking light there to me a chara. We could do with Jonnys injury not being to serious. We have a massive Jack shaped hole at the back, while McDaid and Eric are game, they are not not in that territory. No sign of Rory tonight, Daly retired (always a big fan of Daly) What did you think of Murphy? I thought he was keen as mustered, a few rookie errors - frees and handling on the ground, he's in there on form though with TD - be interesting to see can he step up. No Jamesy tonight, Philly was on the bench. Cian looked like he was moving very very well, he looked back to his old self in in the Dublin Senior A. A lad I've been banging the drum for a while is Sean Byrne from Raheny, he was on the bench in Jan, not sure if he still knocking around the squad. He was great in the Senior A this year to.

Ah didn't know that about Newman has he jacked up?

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4445 - 17/10/2020 22:39:45    2298586

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Replying To TheUsername:  "We're looking light there to me a chara. We could do with Jonnys injury not being to serious. We have a massive Jack shaped hole at the back, while McDaid and Eric are game, they are not not in that territory. No sign of Rory tonight, Daly retired (always a big fan of Daly) What did you think of Murphy? I thought he was keen as mustered, a few rookie errors - frees and handling on the ground, he's in there on form though with TD - be interesting to see can he step up. No Jamesy tonight, Philly was on the bench. Cian looked like he was moving very very well, he looked back to his old self in in the Dublin Senior A. A lad I've been banging the drum for a while is Sean Byrne from Raheny, he was on the bench in Jan, not sure if he still knocking around the squad. He was great in the Senior A this year to.

Ah didn't know that about Newman has he jacked up?"
Sorry meant Sean McMahon from Raheny.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4445 - 17/10/2020 22:53:23    2298590

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Replying To royaldunne:  "Going in right direction.
I want to say one thing . It is a stain on the all stars that Donal Keogan does not have one after 3 nominations. I honestly have never met anyonenfrom another county who does not think he is one of the best in country.
Anyway we are inching closer, slower than I would like but getting there. I know ever team is struggling with the covid thing, but we are missing every player from the co champions which I think at times showed tonight. Great to see Morris perform so well tonight when he came on. We have positives. We will give Leinster a good crack this year , I can't help but feel our slow starts has been the real problem this year. We played well enough to stay up, but just couldn't hit the ground running in any game.
A learning curve but one we must take. Fair play to Dublin, it was reminiscent of old times at stages there. And I look forward to that going into the future , it's important that Andy is allowed to continue with what he has been doing. Fenton is some excellent player. Probably best in country."
Excellent player Keoghan but at nearly 30, he won't have many more chances for that All Star.

Division 2 will do ye no favours next year though

As for Fenton - a pure Rolls Royce of a player.

Hopefully James Mc, Philly, MDMA and Mannion all get a run out next week.
Reckon Howard will start next day out also.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 3725 - 17/10/2020 23:16:15    2298597

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Replying To TheUsername:  "Sorry meant Sean McMahon from Raheny."
Interesting listening to Dessie after the game on Sat night.
He confirmed that the Dubs had had no challenge games in the run up to their game v Meath.
I know other counties had a few challenge games organised, including some of their county minor teams.

It will need to ramp up now significantly with the Leinster Championship, if it goes ahead, only 3 weeks away.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 3725 - 19/10/2020 08:53:29    2299018

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Dublin look in good shape. They have serious depth and with the players to come in they will certainly be the team to beat again in 2020. Some people are saying that Mayo and Donegal look sharp but Donegal are only a few weeks away from a knock out game v Tyrone so they need to be and Mayo needed to win their last two league games to stay in Div 1 so they also needed to be sharp.
Dublin and Kerry will saunter their provinces and won't need to be up to full pace for another 6 weeks.

Tir Conaill Abu (Donegal) - Posts: 1671 - 19/10/2020 10:05:58    2299043

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What did you all make of the games at the weekend? For me Mayo, Kerry and Roscommon were the standout teams.
It will be interesting to see if Mayo persist with Aiden O'Shea at full forward. It has mystified me for years now why Mayo didn't position him there all the time. The man is a wrecking ball and it's not as if Mayo were lacking in terms of physicality around the middle.

Kerry looked in very great nick and in David Clifford they have a player for the ages. It's frightening to think what he'll do in the years ahead. Hopefully he'll get an injury free run at it because like Gooch, he is a player that seems to operate on a higher plane than most others.

Roscommon were impressive winners in what was a sticky enough away fixture in Armagh. I was keen to see how Armagh played given that they are potential Ulster semi-final opponents for us. Their defence will worry Kieran McGeeney. Roscommon got in behind them easily and could have scored more than the 3 goals they managed.

We had a good win over Tyrone especially considering we were missing 3 key men in McBrearty, Langan and Jason McGee. I'd be very wary of Tyrone yet for the Championship though. Conor McKenna will be some addition to them. He got into it slowly yesterday but you can see the power and athleticism he will bring. An inside forward line of himself, McShane and Harte would take some watching!

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9116 - 19/10/2020 10:29:39    2299057

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Replying To Tir Conaill Abu:  "Dublin look in good shape. They have serious depth and with the players to come in they will certainly be the team to beat again in 2020. Some people are saying that Mayo and Donegal look sharp but Donegal are only a few weeks away from a knock out game v Tyrone so they need to be and Mayo needed to win their last two league games to stay in Div 1 so they also needed to be sharp.
Dublin and Kerry will saunter their provinces and won't need to be up to full pace for another 6 weeks."
Watching Kerry defensive set up last night when the opposition had the ball.
So many of their own players in their own 45... and backs breaking at pace.
Gonna be so difficult for anyone to beat them.

They will play within themselves v Cork.
On a different level.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 3725 - 19/10/2020 10:58:13    2299078

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "What did you all make of the games at the weekend? For me Mayo, Kerry and Roscommon were the standout teams.
It will be interesting to see if Mayo persist with Aiden O'Shea at full forward. It has mystified me for years now why Mayo didn't position him there all the time. The man is a wrecking ball and it's not as if Mayo were lacking in terms of physicality around the middle.

Kerry looked in very great nick and in David Clifford they have a player for the ages. It's frightening to think what he'll do in the years ahead. Hopefully he'll get an injury free run at it because like Gooch, he is a player that seems to operate on a higher plane than most others.

Roscommon were impressive winners in what was a sticky enough away fixture in Armagh. I was keen to see how Armagh played given that they are potential Ulster semi-final opponents for us. Their defence will worry Kieran McGeeney. Roscommon got in behind them easily and could have scored more than the 3 goals they managed.

We had a good win over Tyrone especially considering we were missing 3 key men in McBrearty, Langan and Jason McGee. I'd be very wary of Tyrone yet for the Championship though. Conor McKenna will be some addition to them. He got into it slowly yesterday but you can see the power and athleticism he will bring. An inside forward line of himself, McShane and Harte would take some watching!"
Always wanted him at 14 as well. He frees up space around the 40 as well because of it. He gets a hard time online because we never got over the line but people forget how good he can be. He was brilliant in midfield in the 17 final but because we didn't win people talk as if he went missing which is nonsense if you watch the game back.

Put him inside but don't try and lamp every ball into him. If they get the mix right it will be great if O Connor can stay fit beside him. Will be interesting to see what happens.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 7885 - 19/10/2020 12:47:42    2299144

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Replying To Fionn:  "Watching Kerry defensive set up last night when the opposition had the ball.
So many of their own players in their own 45... and backs breaking at pace.
Gonna be so difficult for anyone to beat them.

They will play within themselves v Cork.
On a different level."
Kerry, defensive, surely Pat Spillane could never allow that!! Kerry will win an all Ireland very soon as they have the talent but not sure they're seasoned enough for this year. Softer weather usually suits the older more seasoned teams and Kerry aren't just there yet. I'd put Mayo ahead of them at present.

Tir Conaill Abu (Donegal) - Posts: 1671 - 19/10/2020 12:51:49    2299149

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "What did you all make of the games at the weekend? For me Mayo, Kerry and Roscommon were the standout teams.
It will be interesting to see if Mayo persist with Aiden O'Shea at full forward. It has mystified me for years now why Mayo didn't position him there all the time. The man is a wrecking ball and it's not as if Mayo were lacking in terms of physicality around the middle.

Kerry looked in very great nick and in David Clifford they have a player for the ages. It's frightening to think what he'll do in the years ahead. Hopefully he'll get an injury free run at it because like Gooch, he is a player that seems to operate on a higher plane than most others.

Roscommon were impressive winners in what was a sticky enough away fixture in Armagh. I was keen to see how Armagh played given that they are potential Ulster semi-final opponents for us. Their defence will worry Kieran McGeeney. Roscommon got in behind them easily and could have scored more than the 3 goals they managed.

We had a good win over Tyrone especially considering we were missing 3 key men in McBrearty, Langan and Jason McGee. I'd be very wary of Tyrone yet for the Championship though. Conor McKenna will be some addition to them. He got into it slowly yesterday but you can see the power and athleticism he will bring. An inside forward line of himself, McShane and Harte would take some watching!"
On Aidan O'Shea not playing FF, there are 3 reasons I'm aware of:

1. He doesn't like playing there.
2. He doesn't like playing there.
3. He doesn't like playing there.

When I saw the team announced and Aido up in the ff line with Conor Loftus selected at midfield I thought it was a fairly hackneyed and obvious selection ploy. The big surprise is that it wasn't a ploy at all! Conor Loftus is a good passer of the ball, so playing him outfield was always going to give the team something. Having Aido inside is a no-brainer, especially with the mark there to exploit. I'm sure Tyrone will come up with a plan the next day though... they always do!

Pericles (Mayo) - Posts: 2521 - 19/10/2020 13:04:29    2299159

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Replying To TheFlaker:  "Always wanted him at 14 as well. He frees up space around the 40 as well because of it. He gets a hard time online because we never got over the line but people forget how good he can be. He was brilliant in midfield in the 17 final but because we didn't win people talk as if he went missing which is nonsense if you watch the game back.

Put him inside but don't try and lamp every ball into him. If they get the mix right it will be great if O Connor can stay fit beside him. Will be interesting to see what happens."
The criticism I would have had for him was mainly that he faded out of the big games in the last 15/20 mins, in what were very tight affairs. He also had a tendency to take too much out of the ball, when there were better options. I think this actually had an impact on him running put of steam later in games.
He's unmarkable one-on-one around the square, but better teams won't leave a full-back on his own like yesterday. He had a constant supply of good ball yesterday too.
It's not as simple as just leaving him in there. The way a game is going will dictate it. If the opposition are dominating possession like Kerry were in last year's game in Killarney, he can't be left inside or it's a complete waste of his ability.

WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2037 - 19/10/2020 13:11:40    2299165

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Am I right in saying that if Meath do us a favour and beat Monaghan next week then we are safe regardless if we lose to Mayo or not.

Wally (Tyrone) - Posts: 912 - 19/10/2020 13:17:36    2299169

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Replying To Wally:  "Am I right in saying that if Meath do us a favour and beat Monaghan next week then we are safe regardless if we lose to Mayo or not."
It's hard to see Meath beating Monaghan so I think it's more likely you have a winner takes all game in Castlebar. If Meath do surprise people then you're correct it doesn't matter what happens in the Tyrone/Mayo game but I don't see that happening. As things stand you'd have to say Tyrone are in a bit of trouble and probably favourites to go down with Meath.

sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 19/10/2020 13:34:00    2299173

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Replying To WanPintWin:  "The criticism I would have had for him was mainly that he faded out of the big games in the last 15/20 mins, in what were very tight affairs. He also had a tendency to take too much out of the ball, when there were better options. I think this actually had an impact on him running put of steam later in games.
He's unmarkable one-on-one around the square, but better teams won't leave a full-back on his own like yesterday. He had a constant supply of good ball yesterday too.
It's not as simple as just leaving him in there. The way a game is going will dictate it. If the opposition are dominating possession like Kerry were in last year's game in Killarney, he can't be left inside or it's a complete waste of his ability."
Yeah you're right. I can imagine Tyrone will have one or two back helping McNamee next weekend.
It's a similar situation to us with Murphy. For the best part of a decade successive Donegal managers have been told they've wasted his talents by not putting him on the edge of the square. But only an idiot, or a very naive manager would leave him one-on-one in there with a full back. Murphy exerts massive influence around the middle third of the pitch when he roams out. I suppose the key is in good game management, recognizing the opportune times to go into full forward and that the lads out the field are fully tuned into that fact.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9116 - 19/10/2020 13:47:06    2299182

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Replying To Tir Conaill Abu:  "Kerry, defensive, surely Pat Spillane could never allow that!! Kerry will win an all Ireland very soon as they have the talent but not sure they're seasoned enough for this year. Softer weather usually suits the older more seasoned teams and Kerry aren't just there yet. I'd put Mayo ahead of them at present."
Aye sure we had to adapt like we did in the allireland final in 2014.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 19/10/2020 14:09:49    2299196

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Replying To WanPintWin:  "The criticism I would have had for him was mainly that he faded out of the big games in the last 15/20 mins, in what were very tight affairs. He also had a tendency to take too much out of the ball, when there were better options. I think this actually had an impact on him running put of steam later in games.
He's unmarkable one-on-one around the square, but better teams won't leave a full-back on his own like yesterday. He had a constant supply of good ball yesterday too.
It's not as simple as just leaving him in there. The way a game is going will dictate it. If the opposition are dominating possession like Kerry were in last year's game in Killarney, he can't be left inside or it's a complete waste of his ability."
Oh for sure there are times he tries that move where he tries to barge through the middle of 2 tacklers but the criticism of him at times is absolutely ridiculous, even in his own county at times. He can fade at times but Dublin in the 17 final his performance in the first hour was the springboard for Mayo been in a great position in the last 10. He would make any team in the country in my opinion.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 7885 - 19/10/2020 14:10:19    2299197

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