Be the Holy Lord Jaysus.
What the fuck is it with us and offaly??
Thoughts in no particular order:
Hickey went off injured, rolled ankle it looked like. Hope heās ok, heās too important to lose. Full back line was alright.
Half back line was mostly bypassed. Morrissey is probably our best back up option for a wing back but is a bit ponderous.
Hannon didnāt convince at 6. Fumbled one short puck out from Nicky, was dispossessed, and the ball thrown over the bar. If wayne Mc did it thereād be lads here howling the roof down. Give him another chance by all means but we will probably have Wayne for summer.
Our mids are good but Browne had a nightmare shooting, he had a procession of dreadful wides in the last quarter which could have had us pushing back level.
Breen is no good as an inside forward. He needs space to run into, made good runs and eventually wasted possession a few times. And what was Dodge doing in full forward line at times? I know dodge has often been written off during the league and had great campaigns after, but heās 34 now and based on what I saw last year he hasnāt 70 minutes in him. Heās not a half back and I donāt think heās a first choice mid or half forward.
Tobin 
What the fuck were management doing taking off our best forward (Tobin, he was excellent, may well keep Downes on the bench again this summer) and putting on Tom Morrissey when we were chasing the game a couple points down with a couple mins to go??
Cian Lynch wonāt ever dominate a one on one contest with his man, but he uses ball brilliantly, incredible vision and array of skills. He should start on summer, the faster the game the better for him. Still inclined to drop shots short when he shoots from distance.
Reidy chased down one lost cause ball and won a free when he had no right to.
Having seen Seanie OāBrien play corner back twice now I think he has done enough to convince that he is a decent sub option -as a corner forward.
Another fucking year if fucking 1B :oops::mad::rolleyes:
[QUOTE=ādodgy-keeper, post: 1106946, member: 1552ā]People going on about how Hickey should be out the field got their answer tonight when he went off injured. We collapsed after his departure, missed his presence in the full backline enormously.
Iām gutted after that, even if itās only the league. Another trip to Ballycastle next year now.
Beat Clare and tonight will be forgotten but itās a right disaster. Offaly are muck, weāll beat them by 30 points if we meet them in the summer.[/QUOTE]
Why are people so confident that Limerick would beat these teams in the championship?
Truth is that for the fifth year in a row, Limerick hurlers will likely not get promoted from the second division.
The current team are very poor, yet we somehow expect that miraculously things will click into gear against Clare on May 24. I have seen nothing to indicate confidence in this occurring.
[QUOTE=āProjectX, post: 1106957, member: 1742ā]Why are people so confident that Limerick would beat these teams in the championship?
Truth is that for the fifth year in a row, Limerick hurlers will likely not get promoted from the second division.
The current team are very poor, yet we somehow expect that miraculously things will click into gear against Clare on May 24. I have seen nothing to indicate confidence in this occurring.[/QUOTE]
If theyāre very poor and are semi-finalists 2 years in a row; what does that say for the rest of the country?
Itās shit losing to Offaly but things clicked into gear against Tipperary after poor league campaigns for the last 2 years, and there are 7 or so players who have been starters still to come back into the team.
[QUOTE=āglasagusban, post: 1106956, member: 1533ā]What the fuck is it with us and offaly??
Thoughts in no particular order:
Hickey went off injured, rolled ankle it looked like. Hope heās ok, heās too important to lose. Full back line was alright.
Half back line was mostly bypassed. Morrissey is probably our best back up option for a wing back but is a bit ponderous.
Hannon didnāt convince at 6. Fumbled one short puck out from Nicky, was dispossessed, and the ball thrown over the bar. If wayne Mc did it thereād be lads here howling the roof down. Give him another chance by all means but we will probably have Wayne for summer.
Our mids are good but Browne had a nightmare shooting, he had a procession of dreadful wides in the last quarter which could have had us pushing back level.
Breen is no good as an inside forward. He needs space to run into, made good runs and eventually wasted possession a few times. And what was Dodge doing in full forward line at times? I know dodge has often been written off during the league and had great campaigns after, but heās 34 now and based on what I saw last year he hasnāt 70 minutes in him. Heās not a half back and I donāt think heās a first choice mid or half forward.
Tobin
What the fuck were management doing taking off our best forward (Tobin, he was excellent, may well keep Downes on the bench again this summer) and putting on Tom Morrissey when we were chasing the game a couple points down with a couple mins to go??
Cian Lynch wonāt ever dominate a one on one contest with his man, but he uses ball brilliantly, incredible vision and array of skills. He should start on summer, the faster the game the better for him. Still inclined to drop shots short when he shoots from distance.
Reidy chased down one lost cause ball and won a free when he had no right to.
Having seen Seanie OāBrien play corner back twice now I think he has done enough to convince that he is a decent sub option -as a corner forward.
Another fucking year if fucking 1B :oops::mad::rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
I was at the game god man
Thatās 1bE=āJoe Player, post: 1106950, member: 2692ā]I was at the two games today. Two enjoyable games BUT Miles apart in class.[/QUOTE]
Thats 1b for u Joe. We be grand in championship , IF TJ picks the right team
The long grass is beginning to grow again Joe.
Eventhough promotion is now gone, itās important that Limerick nail down the runner up spot. A competitive quarter final will stand them in good
stead come championship. Also Limerick are learning more about what depth(or lack of) there is in the panel. Disappointing but not the end of the world for us.
Once I saw that selection last Thursday night I knew we were fucked. The optimist in me says itās only the league, weāre down a share of players and will be in decent shape come 24th May.
The pessimist says that Ryan is out of his depth and has no discernible gameplan other than horse aimless ball up the field (if this is true, heās found the perfect centre-back in Hannon to implement it).
The reality is somewhere in between. The big positive for me tonight was Tobin. He was excellent. Won some ball he had no right to win when being marked by 3 players and took some fine scores. I think his being substituted was more down to him being knackered more than anything else. I also thought Dodge had one of his better games in a while but theyād want to work out what they want him to do. Heās being fucked all over the field and just doesnāt have the engine he once had anymore. Used correctly, he could still be highly effective for us.
I hope they saw enough to realise that Hannon as a 6 is a no-no. He was destroyed once Bergin came in on him. He gave a display of hitting mindless ball out defence not seen since the heyday of Mark Foley. Morrissey was no better in his delivery but, at least, his basic defending wasnāt too bad. Allis was cat. Brownie was afraid to shoot after a couple of shocking wides and David Breen was brainless. Richie Mac and Jim Bob were very good and Walsh looks to have nailed down no.2
Wexford and Waterford will have a winner-take-all game next week. Good luck to them. We got what we deserved and another year in 1B awaits.
[QUOTE=āElvis Brandenberg Kremmen, post: 1106967, member: 1624ā]Once I saw that selection last Thursday night I knew we were fucked. The optimist in me says itās only the league, weāre down a share of players and will be in decent shape come 24th May.
The pessimist says that Ryan is out of his depth and has no discernible gameplan other than horse aimless ball up the field (if this is true, heās found the perfect centre-back in Hannon to implement it).
The reality is somewhere in between. The big positive for me tonight was Tobin. He was excellent. Won some ball he had no right to win when being marked by 3 players and took some fine scores. I think his being substituted was more down to him being knackered more than anything else. I also thought Dodge had one of his better games in a while but theyād want to work out what they want him to do. Heās being fucked all over the field and just doesnāt have the engine he once had anymore. Used correctly, he could still be highly effective for us.
I hope they saw enough to realise that Hannon as a 6 is a no-no. He was destroyed once Bergin came in on him. He gave a display of hitting mindless ball out defence not seen since the heyday of Mark Foley. Morrissey was no better in his delivery but, at least, his basic defending wasnāt too bad. Allis was cat. Brownie was afraid to shoot after a couple of shocking wides and David Breen was brainless. Richie Mac and Jim Bob were very good and Walsh looks to have nailed down no.2
Wexford and Waterford will have a winner-take-all game next week. Good luck to them. We got what we deserved and another year in 1B awaits.[/QUOTE]
Who do we put at 6 though, if Hannon doesnāt make it? Wayne again?
Wayne or Dodge. Theyāre about the most experienced and safest options we have. Personally, Iād have Dodge in there as it looks like theyāre trying to fit him into the team for the sake of it at the moment. If weāre going to start him it may as well be at 6.
I would go Wayne Mac, Dodge and Condon in the half back line.
He doesnāt look like he can last 70, not sure heās even good enough to start, and heās been poor at wing back when played there. Why would you put him at 6? He was good there 3 years ago and Iād have left him there the , but now, I donāt think so.
Dodge vs Kelly? Not a hope. Kelly went to town in the All-Ireland semi on Dodge and the management know it.
Kelly has the legs for Wayne too so thatās why weāre seeing Hannon back. Iām not sure what the solution is tbh, there arenāt many lads who can stay with Kelly on his day. Hopefully Galvin fcuks off on a J1 and Kelly moves to midfield!
What we have found from the league is that we have five or six lads in the squad who have had minutes on the pitch who, while good club hurlers, are just not at intercounty level. Weāll have a better bench than last year but weāre relying on about 20/21 lads who are championship standard. Any sort of injury or suspension crisis and weāll really be in trouble. The reputation of the likes of Kevin Downes and the Kilmallock lads will only have increased after they missed the league campaign.
Itās a sickener but over the last two years weāve turned up for most championship games when it mattered. The lack of discernible tactics is the most worrying thing.
Back Page Man will be screaming that we are in turmoil but Iād still expect us to be there at the AI quarter finals when the business end of the championship commences. Maybe out of blind loyalty more than anything we have seen so far this year. Really need to pull the finger out though. Lose to Clare and an awkward qualifier draw (Galway/Wexford/Kilkenny away) and the year will have been catastrophic.
[QUOTE=ābones, post: 1106978, member: 2780ā]Dodge vs Kelly? Not a hope. Kelly went to town in the All-Ireland semi on Dodge and the management know it.
Kelly has the legs for Wayne too so thatās why weāre seeing Hannon back. Iām not sure what the solution is tbh, there arenāt many lads who can stay with Kelly on his day. Hopefully Galvin fcuks off on a J1 and Kelly moves to midfield![/QUOTE]
Donāt think Hannon has the ālegsā for Kelly either- Kelly is at his best when allowed to roam free. No matter who we put there, weāre going to ask our centre-forward to hold the middle. If Kelly lined out as a traditional centre-forward, I donāt think he has the physicality to be a constant threatā¦ heās the type who drifts in and out of games anyway. The reason he is so dangerous is his movement, he drops back into midfield, into his half-back line, makes runs out to the wingsā¦ ideally youād put a man marker on him, someone like Hickey but weāll probably need Hickey to mark McGrath. Kelly at midfield is arguably even more dangerous, itās not as if he sticks to a position anyway.
Iām not convinced by either Wayne or Dodge at centre-back; maybe Dodge is slightly more suited to it, hard to know.
[QUOTE=ābones, post: 1106978, member: 2780ā]Dodge vs Kelly? Not a hope. Kelly went to town in the All-Ireland semi on Dodge and the management know it.
Kelly has the legs for Wayne too so thatās why weāre seeing Hannon back. Iām not sure what the solution is tbh, there arenāt many lads who can stay with Kelly on his day. Hopefully Galvin fcuks off on a J1 and Kelly moves to midfield![/QUOTE]
At the moment I see no option other then to persist with Wayne at CB, his definitely a more viable option then the two lads mentioned. I donāt see any better alternatives at the moment [SIZE=3]which is a pity. Whatās just as important is to give him more protection on the wings. Finding two settled wing backs is absolutely crucial. We wonāt win anything with that line being potentially our weakest.[/SIZE]
[QUOTE=ādodgy-keeper, post: 1106980, member: 1552ā]What we have found from the league is that we have five or six lads in the squad who have had minutes on the pitch who, while good club hurlers, are just not at intercounty level. Weāll have a better bench than last year but weāre relying on about 20/21 lads who are championship standard. Any sort of injury or suspension crisis and weāll really be in trouble. The reputation of the likes of Kevin Downes and the Kilmallock lads will only have increased after they missed the league campaign.
Itās a sickener but over the last two years weāve turned up for most championship games when it mattered. The lack of discernible tactics is the most worrying thing.
Back Page Man will be screaming that we are in turmoil but Iād still expect us to be there at the AI quarter finals when the business end of the championship commences. Maybe out of blind loyalty more than anything we have seen so far this year. Really need to pull the finger out though. Lose to Clare and an awkward qualifier draw (Galway/Wexford/Kilkenny away) and the year will have been catastrophic.[/QUOTE]
Which lads in particular do you not think are good enough? Allis, Morrissey & Reidy? Seanie OāBrien? Lynch?
Itās not been the most fruitful campaign, but in terms of learning whether players are good enough; I reckon weāve found a couple of players who at the very least can make an impact off the bench. Itās not ideal, I wish weād found more but the squad is slowly increasing.
Iād be much more worried about tactics than anything else tbh.
General vibes from what Iāve heard is that everything is very basic, in terms of both tactics and training. Thatās not necessarily a bad thing for training and the players seemingly enjoy it, but youād think weād need a bit more nous come championship time.
[QUOTE=āAristotle, post: 1106981, member: 2949ā]Donāt think Hannon has the ālegsā for Kelly either- Kelly is at his best when allowed to roam free. No matter who we put there, weāre going to ask our centre-forward to hold the middle. If Kelly lined out as a traditional centre-forward, I donāt think he has the physicality to be a constant threatā¦ heās the type who drifts in and out of games anyway. The reason he is so dangerous is his movement, he drops back into midfield, into his half-back line, makes runs out to the wingsā¦ ideally youād put a man marker on him, someone like Hickey but weāll probably need Hickey to mark McGrath. Kelly at midfield is arguably even more dangerous, itās not as if he sticks to a position anyway.
Iām not convinced by either Wayne or Dodge at centre-back; maybe Dodge is slightly more suited to it, hard to know.[/QUOTE]
If he was in midfield Brown could more than stay with him plus heād give him plenty to think about defensively as Brown always chips in on the board. Again no worries with JimBob on him either as he can stay with him.
I agree he roams and doesnāt play like a traditional CF. Iāve a feeling weāre experimenting with a 2 man FF line because Teege isnāt confident In the HB and thinks weāre going to need cover.