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Replying To Furlong1949: "Andy asked him onto the senior panel at the start of the year , but he is concentrating on his studies. Which is the right thing to do . When he is finished his exams at end of June , he is coming straight onto senior panel. Which shows how much Andy McEntee rates him . James Conlon and Dara Campion have been excellent this year. I have been very impressed by both. But I rate young Walsh the best forward on last years under 20 team. I think he has huge potential. He offers something different to the forwards we have produced lately. We have produced allot of pacy skilful small in stature forwards. Shane Walsh is very skilful but also could be an excellent target man.
We havent really produced quality target man since Graham Geraghty. Every sucessful Meath team has had a quality target man eg Noel Curran in the 60s , O Rourke in 80s , O Dowd and Reilly in 90s and Geraghty in 00s. Now Im not comparing young Walsh to the above. He needs time to develop as a footballer. But I think Shane Walsh could be the type of player we need in the full forward line. I expect him on the senior panel next year , if he is on the senior panel this year. And of course he needs time and we shouldnt be putting to much pressure on him eitheir.
But I think he is excellent talent. I wouldnt be surprised to see a Donal Lenihan Michael Newman Shane Walsh full forward line next year. Two experienced inside forwards with lenihan and Newman and Conlon Dardis Toibin T O Reilly and young Walsh could be option for the final spot. We have some really good young exciting forward talent coming through. If 2 or 3 of them were to make an impact it would be brillant for this team. 5 players from last years under 20 team have played senior this year eg Conlon Campion Devine Reilly Scully. I can see 4 or 5 from this years team also. The Dunshaughlin two of Costello and Mitchell are also great prospects I can see them being giving a chance. While Trims Aaron Lynch and young Jordan Morris are also young talents worth looking out.
With Shane Walsh and hopefully someone from Costello Mitchell Lynch and Morris to be called up. The return of Donal lenihan and Two Wallaces. And return of Ronan Jones our best potential midfielder and Paddy Kennelly should be back is another option next year. Young Cian McBride also could be lookedd next year or the year after for a call up. Alan Forde and Niall kane should be fully fit next year. And allot of players peaking as footballers reaching ages of 25 26 27 eg McGill , Harnan , Sullivan , Gallagher , lavin , J McEntee, S McEntee, Flanagan , Forde , Dardis , McMahon , E Wallace, J Wallace. Basically allot of the class of 2012 who reached minor final. And players like J Conlon , Campion and Devine in their second year. With all.the above developments, our panel and team should be stronger next year for div 1 football. Thats one of the reasons I think we will stay in div 1. And will reach Super 8 next year and have good championship next year. If we went up any year in last few years we would have went straight down. Next year I think we are going in a position of strengh in terms of panel of players.
For example uf you add this years old 20s potential players eg Shane Walsh , and Matthew Costello or Luke Mitchell or Cian McBride or whoever is called up. And add Donal Lenihan , Ronan Jones , Paddy Kennelly, Niall Kane , Alan Forde , Eamon and Joey Wallace as options. Our panel strenght really gets stronger.
Anyway hopefully our under 20 players will be leinster champions this year. They are made up of two minor leinster winning teams while Dublin will be strong of course and kildare will.also be strong with All Ireland winners from last years team. We should be aiming to win this title. U never know with young lads and there is many examples of strong underage not achieving in every county. But this is a strong under 20 team.
Our record is appalling at around this age group for near two decades. We have turned the corner at minor, but we need to see sucess at under 20 now. Roscommon Tyrone Cavan Dublin Galway footballers have all used sucess at under 21 to build sucess at senior; while limerick and Clare hurlers used under 21 sucess for senior sucess. Under 20 is the new under 21 age grade. We need sucess here badly. Our minors are real contenders this year but we need to be winning under 20 leinster title this year.
We had strong under 20 team last yeae proved by 5 of them playing senior this year and we were only team to beat the All Ireland champions in the championship last year. Hopefully we dont see another dreadful performance like we saw v Dubs last year. That was shocking stuff. We should not have seen our under 20s being hammered by Dublin when kildare hammered Dublin afterwards and we defeated kildare well before that. Hopefully this year we will be champions at this grade. We really need to see sucess at this age group and it would really give our players huge confidence when they play senior next year.
U can see last years under 20s are full of confidence. That coz of sucess at minor. Allot of players who came onto senior team in last few years were on Meath teams who were beaten by Dublin kildare Westmeath and longford teams at minor and under 21. It is no coincidence we had losses to these counties at senior. If we start having more consistent sucess at underage this in the long term will have a massive positive benefit for our senior team. It would be brilliant if we did the minor and under leinster double this year. Its not impossible. But for me the under 20 leinster is the big one we need to win this year." Thanks furlong interesting post, just looked at the paddy power odds there for the under 20 all ireland, meath are 40 - 1 which are very tasty odds indeed, dublin are second favourites after Kerry to win the all ireland at odds 9 - 2, surely there's not much of a difference between meath and dublin at this age group. Kildare won the all ireland last year and there odds of repeating that are 11 - 1, interestingly the only team to beat kildare last year was meath, might be worth a little wager on meath this especially with them odds.
Royal.Legend (Meath) - Posts: 461 - 30/05/2019 20:12:05
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Replying To Furlong1949: "Andy asked him onto the senior panel at the start of the year , but he is concentrating on his studies. Which is the right thing to do . When he is finished his exams at end of June , he is coming straight onto senior panel. Which shows how much Andy McEntee rates him . James Conlon and Dara Campion have been excellent this year. I have been very impressed by both. But I rate young Walsh the best forward on last years under 20 team. I think he has huge potential. He offers something different to the forwards we have produced lately. We have produced allot of pacy skilful small in stature forwards. Shane Walsh is very skilful but also could be an excellent target man.
We havent really produced quality target man since Graham Geraghty. Every sucessful Meath team has had a quality target man eg Noel Curran in the 60s , O Rourke in 80s , O Dowd and Reilly in 90s and Geraghty in 00s. Now Im not comparing young Walsh to the above. He needs time to develop as a footballer. But I think Shane Walsh could be the type of player we need in the full forward line. I expect him on the senior panel next year , if he is on the senior panel this year. And of course he needs time and we shouldnt be putting to much pressure on him eitheir.
But I think he is excellent talent. I wouldnt be surprised to see a Donal Lenihan Michael Newman Shane Walsh full forward line next year. Two experienced inside forwards with lenihan and Newman and Conlon Dardis Toibin T O Reilly and young Walsh could be option for the final spot. We have some really good young exciting forward talent coming through. If 2 or 3 of them were to make an impact it would be brillant for this team. 5 players from last years under 20 team have played senior this year eg Conlon Campion Devine Reilly Scully. I can see 4 or 5 from this years team also. The Dunshaughlin two of Costello and Mitchell are also great prospects I can see them being giving a chance. While Trims Aaron Lynch and young Jordan Morris are also young talents worth looking out.
With Shane Walsh and hopefully someone from Costello Mitchell Lynch and Morris to be called up. The return of Donal lenihan and Two Wallaces. And return of Ronan Jones our best potential midfielder and Paddy Kennelly should be back is another option next year. Young Cian McBride also could be lookedd next year or the year after for a call up. Alan Forde and Niall kane should be fully fit next year. And allot of players peaking as footballers reaching ages of 25 26 27 eg McGill , Harnan , Sullivan , Gallagher , lavin , J McEntee, S McEntee, Flanagan , Forde , Dardis , McMahon , E Wallace, J Wallace. Basically allot of the class of 2012 who reached minor final. And players like J Conlon , Campion and Devine in their second year. With all.the above developments, our panel and team should be stronger next year for div 1 football. Thats one of the reasons I think we will stay in div 1. And will reach Super 8 next year and have good championship next year. If we went up any year in last few years we would have went straight down. Next year I think we are going in a position of strengh in terms of panel of players.
For example uf you add this years old 20s potential players eg Shane Walsh , and Matthew Costello or Luke Mitchell or Cian McBride or whoever is called up. And add Donal Lenihan , Ronan Jones , Paddy Kennelly, Niall Kane , Alan Forde , Eamon and Joey Wallace as options. Our panel strenght really gets stronger.
Anyway hopefully our under 20 players will be leinster champions this year. They are made up of two minor leinster winning teams while Dublin will be strong of course and kildare will.also be strong with All Ireland winners from last years team. We should be aiming to win this title. U never know with young lads and there is many examples of strong underage not achieving in every county. But this is a strong under 20 team.
Our record is appalling at around this age group for near two decades. We have turned the corner at minor, but we need to see sucess at under 20 now. Roscommon Tyrone Cavan Dublin Galway footballers have all used sucess at under 21 to build sucess at senior; while limerick and Clare hurlers used under 21 sucess for senior sucess. Under 20 is the new under 21 age grade. We need sucess here badly. Our minors are real contenders this year but we need to be winning under 20 leinster title this year.
We had strong under 20 team last yeae proved by 5 of them playing senior this year and we were only team to beat the All Ireland champions in the championship last year. Hopefully we dont see another dreadful performance like we saw v Dubs last year. That was shocking stuff. We should not have seen our under 20s being hammered by Dublin when kildare hammered Dublin afterwards and we defeated kildare well before that. Hopefully this year we will be champions at this grade. We really need to see sucess at this age group and it would really give our players huge confidence when they play senior next year.
U can see last years under 20s are full of confidence. That coz of sucess at minor. Allot of players who came onto senior team in last few years were on Meath teams who were beaten by Dublin kildare Westmeath and longford teams at minor and under 21. It is no coincidence we had losses to these counties at senior. If we start having more consistent sucess at underage this in the long term will have a massive positive benefit for our senior team. It would be brilliant if we did the minor and under leinster double this year. Its not impossible. But for me the under 20 leinster is the big one we need to win this year." Great post Furlong and a lot to be optimistic about for sure.
You didn't mention Cathal Finnegan- I mentioned on on this forum 3 years ago that he was a star of the future (I was slated as he wasn't even on minor panel at that time). I think he is the pick of the u20s along with Lynch.
Crinigan (Meath) - Posts: 926 - 31/05/2019 14:24:14
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Replying To Crinigan: "Great post Furlong and a lot to be optimistic about for sure.
You didn't mention Cathal Finnegan- I mentioned on on this forum 3 years ago that he was a star of the future (I was slated as he wasn't even on minor panel at that time). I think he is the pick of the u20s along with Lynch." Even without Shane Walsh this team has immense forward power. Connell Ahern, Jordan Morris, Matthew Costello, Cathal Finnegan, Aaron Lynch, Luke Mitchell, Conor Frayne. Brilliant forward power
LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 833 - 31/05/2019 14:29:56
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Replying To Crinigan: "Great post Furlong and a lot to be optimistic about for sure.
You didn't mention Cathal Finnegan- I mentioned on on this forum 3 years ago that he was a star of the future (I was slated as he wasn't even on minor panel at that time). I think he is the pick of the u20s along with Lynch." Well done you for mentioning him 3 years ago. Gold star in the post for you.
Aloblack (Meath) - Posts: 265 - 31/05/2019 15:01:47
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Replying To Aloblack: "Well done you for mentioning him 3 years ago. Gold star in the post for you." Cheers. Positive contribution from you as always.
Crinigan (Meath) - Posts: 926 - 31/05/2019 15:33:06
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Replying To LeitrimRoyal99: "Even without Shane Walsh this team has immense forward power. Connell Ahern, Jordan Morris, Matthew Costello, Cathal Finnegan, Aaron Lynch, Luke Mitchell, Conor Frayne. Brilliant forward power" There are a few others that you have mentioned including Saran O'Fionnagain. He didn't have one of his better games on Tuesday but he still caused trouble for Monaghan at times. Daragh Nolan from Dunboyne did well when he came on.
The forward line that started on Tuesday was
10 Ahern
11 Morris
12 Costello
13 Lynch
14 Finnegan
15 O'Fionnagain
ASaminthehand (Meath) - Posts: 292 - 31/05/2019 15:45:00
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Replying To Crinigan: "Cheers. Positive contribution from you as always." No problem just felt I'd give u a pat on the back to give you a rest from patting yourself on the back.
Aloblack (Meath) - Posts: 265 - 31/05/2019 15:56:44
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I'm hearing Liam Byrne and Andrew Beakey are out of the league both with hamstring injuries, and are in a race to be fit for championship.
Meathman100 (Meath) - Posts: 3 - 31/05/2019 16:04:47
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Replying To ASaminthehand: "There are a few others that you have mentioned including Saran O'Fionnagain. He didn't have one of his better games on Tuesday but he still caused trouble for Monaghan at times. Daragh Nolan from Dunboyne did well when he came on.
The forward line that started on Tuesday was
10 Ahern
11 Morris
12 Costello
13 Lynch
14 Finnegan
15 O'Fionnagain" Put Luke Mitchell in for Saran and that's the 6 I'd start with. Wish Shane Walsh was there but atleast we weren't overly reliant on him
LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 833 - 31/05/2019 16:08:41
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Replying To Furlong1949: "Andy asked him onto the senior panel at the start of the year , but he is concentrating on his studies. Which is the right thing to do . When he is finished his exams at end of June , he is coming straight onto senior panel. Which shows how much Andy McEntee rates him . James Conlon and Dara Campion have been excellent this year. I have been very impressed by both. But I rate young Walsh the best forward on last years under 20 team. I think he has huge potential. He offers something different to the forwards we have produced lately. We have produced allot of pacy skilful small in stature forwards. Shane Walsh is very skilful but also could be an excellent target man.
We havent really produced quality target man since Graham Geraghty. Every sucessful Meath team has had a quality target man eg Noel Curran in the 60s , O Rourke in 80s , O Dowd and Reilly in 90s and Geraghty in 00s. Now Im not comparing young Walsh to the above. He needs time to develop as a footballer. But I think Shane Walsh could be the type of player we need in the full forward line. I expect him on the senior panel next year , if he is on the senior panel this year. And of course he needs time and we shouldnt be putting to much pressure on him eitheir.
But I think he is excellent talent. I wouldnt be surprised to see a Donal Lenihan Michael Newman Shane Walsh full forward line next year. Two experienced inside forwards with lenihan and Newman and Conlon Dardis Toibin T O Reilly and young Walsh could be option for the final spot. We have some really good young exciting forward talent coming through. If 2 or 3 of them were to make an impact it would be brillant for this team. 5 players from last years under 20 team have played senior this year eg Conlon Campion Devine Reilly Scully. I can see 4 or 5 from this years team also. The Dunshaughlin two of Costello and Mitchell are also great prospects I can see them being giving a chance. While Trims Aaron Lynch and young Jordan Morris are also young talents worth looking out.
With Shane Walsh and hopefully someone from Costello Mitchell Lynch and Morris to be called up. The return of Donal lenihan and Two Wallaces. And return of Ronan Jones our best potential midfielder and Paddy Kennelly should be back is another option next year. Young Cian McBride also could be lookedd next year or the year after for a call up. Alan Forde and Niall kane should be fully fit next year. And allot of players peaking as footballers reaching ages of 25 26 27 eg McGill , Harnan , Sullivan , Gallagher , lavin , J McEntee, S McEntee, Flanagan , Forde , Dardis , McMahon , E Wallace, J Wallace. Basically allot of the class of 2012 who reached minor final. And players like J Conlon , Campion and Devine in their second year. With all.the above developments, our panel and team should be stronger next year for div 1 football. Thats one of the reasons I think we will stay in div 1. And will reach Super 8 next year and have good championship next year. If we went up any year in last few years we would have went straight down. Next year I think we are going in a position of strengh in terms of panel of players.
For example uf you add this years old 20s potential players eg Shane Walsh , and Matthew Costello or Luke Mitchell or Cian McBride or whoever is called up. And add Donal Lenihan , Ronan Jones , Paddy Kennelly, Niall Kane , Alan Forde , Eamon and Joey Wallace as options. Our panel strenght really gets stronger.
Anyway hopefully our under 20 players will be leinster champions this year. They are made up of two minor leinster winning teams while Dublin will be strong of course and kildare will.also be strong with All Ireland winners from last years team. We should be aiming to win this title. U never know with young lads and there is many examples of strong underage not achieving in every county. But this is a strong under 20 team.
Our record is appalling at around this age group for near two decades. We have turned the corner at minor, but we need to see sucess at under 20 now. Roscommon Tyrone Cavan Dublin Galway footballers have all used sucess at under 21 to build sucess at senior; while limerick and Clare hurlers used under 21 sucess for senior sucess. Under 20 is the new under 21 age grade. We need sucess here badly. Our minors are real contenders this year but we need to be winning under 20 leinster title this year.
We had strong under 20 team last yeae proved by 5 of them playing senior this year and we were only team to beat the All Ireland champions in the championship last year. Hopefully we dont see another dreadful performance like we saw v Dubs last year. That was shocking stuff. We should not have seen our under 20s being hammered by Dublin when kildare hammered Dublin afterwards and we defeated kildare well before that. Hopefully this year we will be champions at this grade. We really need to see sucess at this age group and it would really give our players huge confidence when they play senior next year.
U can see last years under 20s are full of confidence. That coz of sucess at minor. Allot of players who came onto senior team in last few years were on Meath teams who were beaten by Dublin kildare Westmeath and longford teams at minor and under 21. It is no coincidence we had losses to these counties at senior. If we start having more consistent sucess at underage this in the long term will have a massive positive benefit for our senior team. It would be brilliant if we did the minor and under leinster double this year. Its not impossible. But for me the under 20 leinster is the big one we need to win this year." I see a lot of other counties tend to bring in there strong u20 players when there championship is over, do you think Andy might consider this to bolster squad later in year like Donegal do. I hear Andy was coy on Walsh and D.McGowan but allowed them to play own age group and also wanted to bring in Lynch after last year. Experience alone would benefit them going forward. Walsh decision is understandable and fair play to him it's a difficult time of life trying to balance exams and football and no pressure should be placed on him to make a decision he feels is not right
mr.lucky (Meath) - Posts: 10 - 31/05/2019 17:10:28
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Replying To mr.lucky: "I see a lot of other counties tend to bring in there strong u20 players when there championship is over, do you think Andy might consider this to bolster squad later in year like Donegal do. I hear Andy was coy on Walsh and D.McGowan but allowed them to play own age group and also wanted to bring in Lynch after last year. Experience alone would benefit them going forward. Walsh decision is understandable and fair play to him it's a difficult time of life trying to balance exams and football and no pressure should be placed on him to make a decision he feels is not right" I think he will. I wouldn't be surprised to see Cian McBride (young I know but good enough) involved, Walsh and maybe another forward like Costello. We need more options in midfield and in the forwards, subs are vital- we saw what happened in last 15 mins against Donegal, team that finished was too far weaker than team that started. It's a cliché but it really is all about the strength of the subs one has in modern football. The intensity involved in a high press for example is unsustainable for 70 mins.
Crinigan (Meath) - Posts: 926 - 01/06/2019 12:15:44
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Replying To Crinigan: "Great post Furlong and a lot to be optimistic about for sure.
You didn't mention Cathal Finnegan- I mentioned on on this forum 3 years ago that he was a star of the future (I was slated as he wasn't even on minor panel at that time). I think he is the pick of the u20s along with Lynch." Thanks for the above comments Crinigan, Royal.Legend and bobkarlgees .
I agree Crinigan, young Finnegan is a serious talent also. I forgot him, theres just so many exciting young talent from the age 16 to 21 , young exciting Meath forwards coming through. We always have produced quality forwards especially the end of the 00s when after kerry and Tyrone we had the best forwards in the country, much superior to Dublin eg Sheridan, Ward, Farrell, O Rourke, Geraghty, D Bray, S Bray, Reilly , Byrne. The changing managers every year or two meant they never reached their true potential as a group, but the 5 goal hammering of the currrent great Dublin team in 2010 and beating the great Tyrone team in a q final in 07 and a draw with Dublin in 07 and reaching two All Ireland semi finals in 3 years and winning Leinster in 10, showed their potential and we had on paper the best team in leinster from 2007 to 2010. They should have won more.
Our forward line currently is good, but I feel allot of these Meath players had bad experiences at underage v Dublin kildare longford and Westmeath and this led to bad defeats at senior to these above counties. They lack confidence. but slowly and surely McEntee is building up their confidence. But the new forwards coming through have that old Meath swagger cockiness and skill. Campion and Conlon have a real confidence to them and skill. Both have impressed me greatly. Beating kildare and Dublin at underage and winning Leinster titles helps confidence.
Its pity about our minors, kildare had a much easier draw. we had Dublin and Westmeath just to reach the semi final. Kildare had kilkenny to face and other easier opposition. We seem to draw Dublin every year at minor in our first game. Kildare are always on the easier side of the draw. The county board should try and look into this why we are always put in the same group as Dublin. Kildare avoid Dublin and won 3 leinster minor recently and didnt beat Dublin or play Dublin in any of those years. If this Meath team were on kildares side of draw they would have built up confidence and reached leinster final. Losing to Dublin so early, doesnt help confidence. Thats just my observeation.
Regards under 20s there is some serious forward talent coming through who are going to on the Meath club scene for most of the 2020s really lighting up the Meath club scene.Many of them will be called up to senior team. We need maybe 4 or 5 to step up, but if 2 or 3 where to turn into top inter county forwards I think it would be massive for us. Lenihan/ Newman duo will be strong combination next year, but both r in late 20s , so we need new young talent and we have some exciting new talent coming thru like players like Niall Finnerty, David Bell, James Conlon, Daire Campion, Ethan Devine, Shane Walsh, Eoghan and Conor Frayne, Connall Aherne, Luke Mitchell, Matthew Costello, Cathal Finnegan, Aaron Lynch, Saran O'Finnagan and Jordan Morris. They are all under the age 21. Im really looking forward to these young exciting talents develop over the coming years. It does feel like Meath football is heading into a positive exciting era in 2020s. And another player like Daire Rowe who is I think 23 , he is a very good talent, if we could get him committed next year, our options up front really are improving.
Anyway we should be winning leinster under 20 title this year, I would be very disappointed if we dont. Callaghan is in his third Meath underage job , so no excuses he should have the experience now to win this group leinster . We have to be ruthless thats how the Dubs and Kerry operate.Meath football winning when it counts thats what we did in the past , its now time for a new generation to stand up and deliver when it counts in the present and future. But overall there is some really exciting forward talent coming thru.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 02/06/2019 07:52:11
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Regards next year players like Cian McBride Matthew Costello Shane Walsh could be called up to senior as well as others of our current under 20 team. It feels next year our senior panel depth will be stronger.
Next year in defence you will have a fully fit hopefully Niall Kane. And maybe someone like James O Hare cud be an option.
At midfield Cian McBride Paddy Kennelly and Ronan Jones could all come onto the panel. Jones and Kennelly r back next year.
In the forwards Donal lenihan will be on the inside line. While Joey Wallace Eamon Wallace Alan Forde and Ruarai O Coilean should be all back. And then u have under 20s like Walsh and Costello.
So if u add Donal lenihan, Ronan Jones, Niall Kane , Alan Forde , Paddy Kennelly, Joey Wallace , Eamon Wallace , Ruari O Coilean, Cian McBride, Shane Walsh , Matthew Costello and one or two more current under 20 players and say Daire Rowe. Just as we play div 1 football our panels strenght grows and grows as many players return from travelling. , college , injuries and players from an exciting under 20 team.
In the last few years players have been leaving Meath panel every year. Next year no one will want to leave with division 1 football on offer. And by coincidence we will have a big group some of them proven inter county players, all potentially returning to the panel. I can see 4 or 5 of the current under 20 playing some part with our seniors next year. If we went up to div 1 anytime in last few years we wud have went down straight away. Next year we are going up just at the right time. Add Ronan Jones to our midfield and Lenihan to the forwards and Kane to half back line. Add the Wallaces and O Coilean as options from the bench. A fully fit Alan Forde wud be pushing starting place. And players like Shane Walsh and Matthew Costello and others from this years under 20 team maybe also could have the same impact as Conlon and Campion this year , or have an even bigger impact. We will only get stronger next year.
This year it might be hard to peak twice in one year. There are so many examples of up and coming teams having great leagues and then poor championships in the same year. That cud be an issue for us this year. But next year with div 1 football we should reach super 8s and I think we have great chance of staying in div 1 which cud be a massive game changer for Meath football. But to peak twice in one year for upcoming team from div 2 is difficult. The examples are numerous
1 1986 Laois won div 1 league title. Poor championship followed knocked out of first round in leinster by Wicklow
2 1992 kildare reached first league final div 1 in over 20 years. They were knocked out in first round in leinster by louth.
3 In this decade kildare Derry Cork all had great leagues and followed up with poor championships.
4 In 2015 Roscommon were promoted from div 2 , they had a very poor championship following and the manager departed.
5 In 2017 Galway won the div 2 title. They were hammered by Roscommon in Connacht final and were very poor v kerry when they were knocked out of the following championship in the same year in 2017.
6 The last 4 promoted teams from div 2 had poor enough championships.
2017 Galway and kildare were promoted from div 2. Galway were hammered by Roscommon in Connacht and were very poor when knocked out of championship by kerry in the same year.
kildare played well v us in 2017 after promotion to div 1 , but were hammered by Dublin by 9 points in leinster final and it could have easily have been 15 points only for a disallowed Dublin goal in final minutes and kildare scoring a injury time.goal. The performance was hyped by the media but the truth is kildare were hammered by Dublin team in second gear in 2017 leinster final by 9 pointa. They were very poor when knocked out by Armagh in the folllwing qualifier.
In 2018 Cavan and Roscommon were both promoted to div. 1. Both Cavan and Roscommon had very poor championships afterwards. Both their managers departed after the championship.
So the odds are stacked against us. Up and coming teams who have good leagues can have poor championships. The Offaly performance fits that description. Its not impossible for us to have a good championship, its just difficult for an upcoming team to peak twice in one year. Next year I believe will be a good year for Meath football. Even if the championship ends poorly next year I expect a very positive year and be very confident we will reach super 8 and compete at that level. Look at Roscommon beating Mayo. Why ? They played a spring of div 1 football.A spring of div 1 football will bring this Meath team on leaps and bounds. Even if we reach Super 8 this year we cud face what Roscommon had last year. Bad hammerings. Next year after a spring in div 1 we will be better able for super 8 football.
Regards reaching Super 8. , laois will be very tricky and are our only real true bogey team in championship over the decades. The county in leinster that has beaten Meath most after kildare and Dublin in recent years is laois with 4 big victories in 1985 , 1992 , 2003 and 2012. All significant victories. loais dont have an inferior complex and traditionally put it up to Dublin kildare and Meath. They are a div 2 team. No way shoud they have been in div 4. They reached leinster final last year. And have won 2 promotions in a row meaning they have won 11 or 12 competitive games in 2 years. Remember we only won 3 competitive games last year. We have won 8 competitive games this year.
Winning two games in leinster has helped our confidence. Remember our recent record in leinster is dreadful. At start of decade we reached 4 leinster finals in 5 years meaning we have been second most successful team in leinster in this decade , kildare will only reach 1 leinster final in this decade. However in the second part of this decade kildare and Meath in leinster have collapsed. kildare had record defeats to Dublin and loses to Westmeath and Carlow.
Since 2014 leinster semi final Meath had two records defeats to Dublin in 2014 and 2016. First time ever defeat to Westmeath in 2015 and a record defeat to kildare in 2017 and first defeat to longford in nearly 40 years. For me our performances v Offaly and Carlow were hangovers from those defeats. Many of these Meath players have had real bad defeats in leinster in last 4 years. Offaly wud have seen Longford and Westmeath beating us recently and seen Meath as very beatable opposition in leinster. Winning two games in leinster for first time since 2014 and if we win 3 games it will be the first time in years we have won 3 games in leinster. Its alls about building up confidence.
Also our record in Croker recently is poor. Meath havent won a match in Croker since 2014 v kildare. Kildare havent won a match in Croker since 2013 v Offaly. Since our last win in Croker we have lost every game there twice to Dublin , Westmeath and Donegal . We have lost our last 4 matchs in Croker. So the laois game and victory wud be a very important so to get our confidence back in Croker. Laois have more wins in Croker then us in recent years. They won twice there last year. We are ahead of laois but it still is on paper a 50 50 game.
If we get over laois we all know the opposition we face..A Dublin team that have won probably 100 competitive in Croker , 4 All Irelands and 8 leinsters in a row in Croker v a young team from Meath which wud have only won 1 ever competitive victory in Croker as a team together. We all know the odds are stacked against us. If we lose to Dublin we r probaly facing strong Ulster opposition in the backdoor eg Tyrone Donegal or Monaghan..We will put it up to all.those counties. But we have been knocked out of the championship in last 5 years in row v Ulster opposition. And remember nearly 90 % of teams that lose their provicial final lose their following qualifier games. Its worst for leinster final losers as nearly 99% fail to win a game in the backdoor.
There has been 17 years of the qualifiers, 17 years of leinster teams playing qualifier game after losing a leinster final. 16 of those 17 teams who lost leiinster final, 16 of those 17 teams lost their following qualifier game. Dublin in 2001 when they beat Sligo in the backdoor after they lost a leinster final. won their next qualifiers game and r only team to ever lose a leinster final and win their next game in the backdoor.
So only one team , one time in history has a leinster team.lost a leinster final and won their next game in the qualifiers. So while many pundits predicted we wud reach super 8 after losing leinster final. In reality the odds are stacked against us. But the pundits have got it wrong about Meath. None of them predicted our promotion. And if we have poor championship this year most pundits will see us having a poor year next year even though the odds are we will stay in div 1 and even if we dont the odds r we will have a good championship next year.
Im not saying we wouldnt have a good championship this year. It just will be difficult. For me next year we will have good championship. Spring div 1 football will be the making of this Meath team. And if we stay in div 1 for two years our development as team will develop very quickly. Stay 3 or 4 years in div 1 well we break into top 6 teams in the country. Who knows what level.we can get to . But I do feel Meath are entering a more positive era which will have ups and downs but overall the 2020s will be a much better decade for Meath football then this decade.
Developing young top class coachs and managers as good as Dessie Farrells or Peter keanes that an area we must improve in . When McEntee leaves hopefully its not for another 5 or 6 years. We need to have sucessful Meath managers with proven sucess cv to take over. A Meath manqger who has at least reached an All Ireland final at minor club under 20 or schools level. The next Dublin manager is under 21 and minor All Ireland winning manager eg Dessie Farrell. Next kildare manager will be under 20 All Ireland winning manager eg Davy Burke or under 21 All Ireland finalist manager eg Glen Ryan. Thats the standard of manager we need to replace McEntee with. Hopefully someone like Kevin Reilly managing O Mahoneys at the moment becomes a quality manager. I believe we have player talent. I worry do we have the managerial.and coaching talent that is at level of Dublin or kerrys managers. Look.at kerry they could have picked for kerry senior job they cud have picked Jack O Connor Peter Keane Pat O Se all All Ireland winning managers and liam kearins and John Evans proven inter county managers. We need to see sucessful Meath managers and coachs sucessful at national at underage and at club level nationwide.
But overall I feel slowly and surely Meath football is on its way back. Just we need to be patient. This summer might not be the sucess we all hope for. But I believe the signs are next summer and next year will be a good year for Meath football and the long term signs for future of Meath football are very good.
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 02/06/2019 11:18:50
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Agree with your sentiments about a stronger squad next year Furlong. I am almost sure Ronan Jones won't be back however
LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 833 - 02/06/2019 14:19:39
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Replying To LeitrimRoyal99: "Agree with your sentiments about a stronger squad next year Furlong. I am almost sure Ronan Jones won't be back however" That's bad news for us leitrimroyal99 if Ronan Jones is not back next year. He was excellent v louth in championship in 2017. He is in my view best out and out midfielder available to us possibly. I thought he was coming back after two year in college in states. I think Kennelly should be back and young McBride could be an option at midfield also for us next year. Its an area midfield that is still area of concern for us. Harry Rooney maybe might be another option next year also. Harry Rooney Paddy Kennelly and Cian McBride wud give us options at center field. Its all about panel.strenght for div 1 football next year..
Furlong1949 (Meath) - Posts: 1046 - 02/06/2019 19:21:20
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Replying To Furlong1949: "That's bad news for us leitrimroyal99 if Ronan Jones is not back next year. He was excellent v louth in championship in 2017. He is in my view best out and out midfielder available to us possibly. I thought he was coming back after two year in college in states. I think Kennelly should be back and young McBride could be an option at midfield also for us next year. Its an area midfield that is still area of concern for us. Harry Rooney maybe might be another option next year also. Harry Rooney Paddy Kennelly and Cian McBride wud give us options at center field. Its all about panel.strenght for div 1 football next year.." Yes if we can get harry Rooney fit he would be up there . Also think that kennelly and Devine could come through as midfielders. Still think Menton a back and a very good one
Bear10 (Meath) - Posts: 328 - 02/06/2019 20:38:11
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Would Harry Rooney have any interest in playing for Meath? Another thing is that being mobile and able to run up and down the pitch for 70 mins is the minimum requirement for an inter county midfielder. So Jones or possibly McBride would be my preferred choice.
But if Jones isn't coming back like someone said then we can rule him out and I think McBride should be left with u20 team next year so it doesn't leave us with too many options.
Barney123 (Meath) - Posts: 676 - 02/06/2019 22:43:06
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I really wouldn't see any point in the likes of Walsh and Mc Bride going in with the seniors before they have excelled at u-20 level. Fair enough they were good minor players but the step up to senior level is massive.
Walsh is a promising player, if he joins the senior set up this year will he make a major difference straight away? No, he is not going to be the difference in winning a leinster championship or getting to the super 8s. His influence for the u-20s could be significant and potentially the difference in winning a leinster and maybe even an all ireland.
We have not won a thing at u-20/21 in years and I think as a county we need to be prioritising u-20 success and hope that the seniors will follow in years to come. I think a bottom up approach is best for meath football and streamlining lads in to the senior set up won't do anything to help that.
Thunderstruck (Meath) - Posts: 449 - 03/06/2019 05:42:59
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I agree but I think Barry Callaghan won't take him back once his Leavingcert is finished. But Andy Mc would. That's my understanding
LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 833 - 03/06/2019 12:01:40
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Yeah I don't know what the situation is but I would say Barry won't take him back to the panel because it would be unfair on the lads who have been training for months but he will go into the senior panel to develop. I don't think he will see any game time with the senior team or even be named on a match day panel but it will be good for his development to be training with the senior squad.
And before anyone thinks I am criticizing him or something for not taking part with u20 this year I definitely am not. Leaving Cert is far more important and he will be eligible for u20 again next year.
Barney123 (Meath) - Posts: 676 - 03/06/2019 13:09:38
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