OhtobeARossie (Roscommon) - Posts: 1491 - 26/01/2018 12:10:14    2070760

I think the game on sunday is a 6 pointer. An important game. But we shouldn't hype it up to something its not eitheir. As some sort of referendum on McEntee as a manager. If Meath lose, there will be criticisms of everthing from managers tactics/ strategies and everything in between. We can only judge McEntees tenure in 2 or 3 years time. For me the most important factor in the next few years is not the players or manager but the supporters. The key is patience. Rome was not built in a day. Any sucessful gaelic football team was built not in a year or two but in 4 or 5 or a 6 year period. If the supporters show patience and give this management time. I believe we will be more sucessful then people think or even could imagine.

I know it beens 7 years since we last made an impact on the champuonship. And this naturally leads to disappointment agmost fans. But I believe all the indications are we are entering a stronger period for the county. But and I cannot emphasis this enough , Andy has to be given time. It will take years to close the gap with the Dublins kerrys and Mayos. It will also take years to get our players mentality stronger. We have a young team, but they have collectively had very bad experiences at underage and senior level in the Meath jersey. That will take time to rectify. Of course people can criticize. And Andy will make mistakes. But overall our only chance of sucess is under this management.

The key to sucess will be patience from our supporters . It also very important we dont listen to any voices outside of the county. Already I hear national papers /media outlets / gaa websites saying McEntee will be under pressure and question marks about McEntee as a manager if Meath are not sucessful this year. The GAA media always love a Meath crisis. And the truth is they dont care what is good for Meath football. If Andy doesnt make an impact this year they will make negative conments on him as manger. Yet when it took Kevin Walsh three years to get Galway to divsion , negative criticisms were few in the national media. While under McGeeney Armagh have spent 3 of the last 4 seasons in division 3. For the players Armagh have and a county their stature. They are a county that is underachieving. But yet there is very little criticsm in gaa media land of McGeeney. Yet if Andy fails to get us out of div 2? there will be allot of criticism outside the county. We need not listen to outside voices. Standby this management team and I expect in the next few years we will make progess and win a leinster title and maybe even more. We all have a role to play.

Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 26/01/2018 14:01:16    2070800

grahamc9897 (Meath) - Posts: 1083 - 26/01/2018 14:23:26    2070805

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 17035 - 26/01/2018 15:04:35    2070814

ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 323 - 26/01/2018 15:09:31    2070816

Loyalroyal17 (Meath) - Posts: 627 - 26/01/2018 15:11:59    2070817

pauk123 (USA) - Posts: 189 - 26/01/2018 15:30:27    2070823

The evidence backs up that Andy had to be given time. Theres the odd example of managers having immediate effect. It usually happens in Ulster and under unusual circumstances. McGuiness in Donegal ( like Ger Loughnane in Clare one county , all supporters and player all together under one manager). Kiernan in Armagh ( he took over a multiple Ulster title winning team that needed a final push in 02). Ulster have had the best managers players and teams in the last 25 years. But overall it takes time. Especially when someone takes over a traditional sucessful county that has been in the doldrums for a while. It takes years to get a former traditional county up and running again. Look at when Jimmy Barry Murphy and Nicolas English took over Cork and Tipp in the 90s. Both traditional counties who were in a bad period. It took years for English and JBM to turn things around. They had some nightmare defeats before they made progress.

Just look at the evidence. It cannot be argued with. Anytime a team in leinster has tried to topple Dubln and be consistently sucesfful, it has took years. In the last 40 years , only 4 times has there been a sucesful period for counties other then Dublin.

1 Offaly late 70s and Early 80s. First two years Offaly made no progess under Eungene McGee. It was in his fourth year he made an impact with players of the calibre of Matt Connor.

2 Meath late 80s. It took Sean Boylan 4 years to make the breakthrough with players of the calibre of O Rourke Lyons O Malley O Connell Stafford

3 Meath late 90s. 92 the late 80s team broke up. But it took Sean 93 94 95 and into 96 to turn things around. Again it took Sean the second time for 4 years to make an impact with players the calibre of Giles and Geraghty.

4 kildare late 90s. It took Mick Dwyer in his second spell as kildare manager and in his 5th year in charge to made the breakthrough.

So it took the two greatest managers in the history of gaelic football both 4 to 5 years to turn things around. And it took 4 years for Boylan to turn O Malley O Connell Hayes Stafford Flynn Giles and Gerathy into winners. And it took 4 years for Mick Dwyer to turn Glenn Ryan Dermot Early Niall Buckley Davy Dalton into winners. It took McGee 4 years to turn the lowry and Connor brothers and Matt Connor into winners.

How can one exoec8t Andy McEntee to turn things around in over a year. It has never been done before in the history of leinster football. If the two most sucessful managers of all time who won 12 All Ireland senior football titles between themselves with some of the greatest players ever to play the game 4 years to turn things around. Of course it is going to take Andy 4 or 5 or 6 years to turn things around.

Look at the evidence the first year is always a right off eg getting to know players. Just look at kevin Walshs, Cian O Neill , Pat Gilroy, Donoghue, Jimmy Barry Murphys , Donal kingston first unsucessful season recently. Most times the second year also there is little progress being made. Mick Dyer Dwyer Sean Boylan (twice) Pat Gilroy kevin Walsh Nicholas Englidh and Jimmy Barry Murohy and many many more all had unsucessful second years. It was not till 3rd year progrees was made. Why is this?. Simple answer. Managers r getting to know the players and their getting to know the manager. Fitness and tactics are been sorted out in the first two years. Bascically the first two years are the years where strong foundations for future sucess are being put in.

I can see little progress this year. We might get promotion seen that we have been very weak in the last few years and still we were very unlucky not to get promoted on 3 occasions in the last 4 years. Promotion is a possibility. But we have only played in div 1 one time in the last 16 years. This would indicate we have massive problems getting into div 1. Next year I believe we will see progrees. And in the years 2020 2021 2022 I believe we will win the leinster title participte in the super 8 and reach an All Ireland semi final. And you never know maybe even more sucess.

I believe the premiership and soccer has had bad influence. Look at the way managers in soccer are giving no time to build a team. Soccer managers aresacked in weeks. This mentalty has creeped into the GAA. People are not willing to wait for sucess. People demand sucess here and now. People dont want sucess in the future, they want it yesterday. Thats not how it works in the GAA.

Sucessful teams are built over years of ups and downs. Years and years of work and determination and hard effort. Sucess does not come cheaply. Sucess doesnt come lightly. Only the ones in for the long haul will be sucessful. And before sucess is achieved, there is many bumps in the road. From bad defeats, future sucess is achieved. By learning and gaining from the experience. Keep the faith and we will do it. But it will take time. It will take years.

Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 26/01/2018 15:37:02    2070825

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 17035 - 26/01/2018 15:59:59    2070834

Football goes in cycles. What is happening now will not continue in 2020 or 2023 or 2027. It will change. Every county comes with new players every ten years. A team emerges , grows and peaks. Then this team declines . A period of transition follows. And new players emerge and the whole cycle starts up again.

For example Kerry and Donegal are teams in transition currently. Dublin Mayo and Monaghan have panels with allot players in their 30s. They are experienced teams who more then likely nearing the end of their lifecycle.

Kildare Roscommon Galway Tyrone Cavan Westmeath Meath are all young team. The r the youngest teams in the country. This is a very important point that people seem to miss. Can young teams improve ?.Yes they can. As players develop and get more experience can they improve ? Yes they can. Players dont stand still. They develop as footnallers as the years pass. As players like Mcgill Power Rooney Flanagan Sullivam McEntees McMahon Rowe Wallaces start reaching their mid 20s and late 20s they have the capacity and potential to improve as footballers. The most important aspect is having a top class manager. Without a good manager sucess will be limited. Andys CV is outstanding. His greatest strength is his man management skills. Dwyer Cody Boylan all the great managers where no great tacticans or coaches. They were great man managers.

The last few years have been unsucessful why?. Well at the start of the decade it was the break up of the 07 to 2010. That team had huge potential but with 5 managers in nearly 6 years and the fallout from leinster final in 2010 that team broke up before its time. We then had a period of transtion from 2013 to 2016 2017. When we had a massive overhaul of our panel. Colm keys researched all the counties and in the indo last year he said that no football county has had such an overhaul of it panel then Meath in recent years
This period is now ended. We are now entering a more stronger period. Without a doubt the next few years we will.stronger then we were in the last few years. How strong? I do not know. But we will be stronger.

Meath football is alway strong at the end of decade eg 1949 1967 1987 1988 1996 1999 2007 2009. And again extraordinarily looking at the age profile of our players, we should be peaking as a team in the early part of the next decade. Which will be a time when also we will have an influx of some of the current talented under 17 minor and under 20 players to senior level. The key is Andy in charge. He will be the difference between sucess and failure. But again and it cannot be said enough, he must be giving time.

Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 26/01/2018 16:02:15    2070836

I Believe when Cian O'neill look on the Kildare job there wasn't much shake up of players the first year. He spent the first year giving everyone a chance. But the second there was players cut etc a good shake up. I hope this is the same with Mc . I hope there is a shake up this year. ( well with allot of players leaving for different reasons there is going be significant change ) The team announcement tomorrow will tell me all about the way Andy is thinking as he begins his second year.

bobkarlgees (Meath) - Posts: 1192 - 26/01/2018 16:11:54    2070838

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 841 - 26/01/2018 16:21:43    2070839

pauk123 (USA) - Posts: 189 - 26/01/2018 16:48:36    2070847

Northsidegaels (Meath) - Posts: 227 - 26/01/2018 17:42:29    2070862

U won't be ahead of us physically or preparation but fitness wise probably.
His bulked them up as there mainly reaching 23 24 now and a couple of the returning lads are far bigger physically than lads there replacing
He has left a lot of fitness training to do sane as last year but he has a far far far better bench than any of the previous years which may cancel lack of fitness.

OhtobeARossie (Roscommon) - Posts: 1491 - 26/01/2018 17:57:23    2070863

Think we may have a ace up our sleeve in this game anyway, I think rossies will double up on biggy in the belief that that's how you stop Meath. However that will leave at least one other free , O'Sullivan lenihane wallace Brennan Tobin mckeever or whoever starts freedom, could get a lot of change out of this.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 17035 - 26/01/2018 18:41:02    2070871

grahamc9897 (Meath) - Posts: 1083 - 26/01/2018 18:55:51    2070874

WhyTheLongFace (Meath) - Posts: 829 - 26/01/2018 19:05:30    2070876

RoylerKing (Meath) - Posts: 809 - 26/01/2018 19:42:01    2070882

nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 841 - 26/01/2018 19:55:53    2070885