(Oldest Posts First)
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bert09 (Meath) - Posts: 1668 - 05/02/2019 18:11:04 2162817 Link 0 |
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Very simple, you had a great manager, great players and balls of steel with a 'slight' touch of the divil. realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 7772 - 05/02/2019 23:24:54 2162881 Link 10 |
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And they were exceptionally fit, never over trained, in other words always fresh for match day. Ready to go 100 minutes if required. Now not everybody can achieve this with a group of young men varying in age from 19 to 35.
MillerX (Meath) - Posts: 742 - 06/02/2019 10:52:44 2162930 Link 0 |
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That sums it up really, nothing else to ad.
Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8583 - 06/02/2019 12:29:56 2162953 Link 5 |
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Yes but that great manager had exceptional skills as a motivator and man manager. He had very definate sessions for instilling pride of place, pride in the jersey, never say die attitude. scheduled sessions on mental toughness. I recall reading where 3 of our greatest ever players said the managers ideas on mental toughness and preparation were novel to say the least at the time and even looked mad. Later they realised the value in his approach and said the manager was bang on the button. nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 841 - 06/02/2019 13:29:08 2162971 Link 0 |
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Loyalroyal17 (Meath) - Posts: 627 - 06/02/2019 14:23:54 2162987 Link 0 |
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A very physical and fit team, game then was based around catch and kick which we excelled at, also had experience and leaders all over the field. We had this never say die attitude that got into other teams heads when things got tight near the end. seadog54 (Meath) - Posts: 1432 - 06/02/2019 15:48:56 2163013 Link 10 |
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That's it. And you would have played against them so you know all about it.
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 17035 - 06/02/2019 16:21:55 2163024 Link 0 |
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I'm still sore :D
realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 7772 - 06/02/2019 16:25:05 2163025 Link 8 |
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Hahaha
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 17035 - 07/02/2019 17:40:32 2163270 Link 0 |
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Boylan's personal approach. He instilled pride in his teams. They were proud of who they were and the jersey they wore and the history of their county. They trained together in training styles that were remarkably ahead of their time, in the era of "endless laps" around the pitch, Meath were doing military style training on Bettystown Beach or the Hill of Tara. They were doing yoga, and sessions aimed at their mental preparation. He had a great approach to managing individuals and psychology in the dark ages of the concept. And the players WANTED it. The old timers on the panel of 87/88 were tired of falling short early in their career and put a "toughness" into the younger guys that lingered for years. They were extremely mentally tough and feared no one, and adopted a siege mentality against all opposition. They just went out and got the job done or else died trying. The 80s/90s was also a freak generation of good players who could mix with the very best, with a few truly great players for good measure. The catch/kick game mixed with Meath lad's aggression and physicality around the breaking ball was down to their confidence, training and desire that Boylan put into them. It was a perfect storm. Us Meath folk will never see the like again. Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 391 - 08/02/2019 20:28:34 2163545 Link 10 |
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I hope that you're wrong about that. I'll slag off Meath for fun 'til the cows come home, but that's all it is, fun. I could do with the excitement of one of those clashes now I can tell you. realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 7772 - 08/02/2019 22:31:45 2163597 Link 10 |
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Ah dont get me wrong, Id love to be wrong. Id love to see Meath re-emerge with the same attributes as the teams of the past, but I think they were a product of their time and times have changed. Meath may well produce good teams in the near future and I hope that the old Meath-Dublin rivalry comes back in some form. I think Meath in particular needs it more than ever before. Honestly I feel that the game has evolved and Meath were left behind, and we're still trying to adapt to the contemporary game 10/12 years after some teams! As dark a thought as it is, Meath are as likely to completely fall into obscurity as to rise to the top table, and have been that way imo since the Westmeath loss in 2015 in Croke Park. It must be said that the club game in Meath is poor as well, and it wasnt in the past. However the minor/U16/U20 success in the last two years has given me a lot more confidence in a brighter future, now the challenge is to keep that success perenially and move those players up to senior progressively.
Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 391 - 09/02/2019 09:32:04 2163634 Link 11 |
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A golden generation with a genius managing them. Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 10/02/2019 16:59:03 2164114 Link 10 |
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I have to say Jack, although you're getting thumbs down I see your point. The 80s/90s wasnt a good era for Kerry and Dublin only won the two AIs in 83 and 95. There was a vacuum between 1986-99 there that our great Meath teams filled, as with Cork, Down, Donegal, Derry, and Galway all winning titles in the period, and Kildare, Cavan, and Tyrone getting close. The GAA could do with a similar scenario now to liven up the championship. Its very hard to compare old school players with modern players. With respect, they werent nearly as physically conditioned, and the game was a frenzy of long kicks and fights over loose ball as opposed to the possession sprint based game of today. Some of the greatest teams of the late 20th century could be out on their feet after 25 minutes playing today's best teams.
Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 391 - 11/02/2019 18:09:39 2164632 Link 11 |
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Well said but when I take an old team I assume those players today would undergo the training of today. So if you had the 90's royals playing now they'd be fitter and stronger.
Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 12/02/2019 01:15:11 2164731 Link 11 |
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I can only imagine today's game would have been perfect for that particular Meath team. Tight defense with forwards that could do damage on the counter? And like jack off says, they'd be trained in today's conditioning regime. Imagine what Boylan's magic dust could do with that scenario. Lethal I'd say. realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 7772 - 13/02/2019 21:15:12 2165210 Link 10 |
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As it pains me to say it but living on the other side of the Boyne you just have to sit back and admire Sean Boylan and his Meath teams. They were never beaten till the final whistle. How many times have them Meath teams come back from losing in matches to go on and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? The four game saga with the Dubs in 1991 is a prime example. Every one of them matches the Dubs should of won. But the Royals came back in every one of them matches. 1996 was probably Boylans finest achievement. They were written off that year and they came from nowhere to win Sam. OLLIE (Louth) - Posts: 12224 - 15/02/2019 11:23:33 2165456 Link 0 |