Thats the stuff Farmer - good to see you beginning a 10 day countdown to the Big One !!!
As for my team, I would have a couple of changes to your side but sure isnt that what its all about - opinions !!!
No problem with your back 7. The full back line has to be Reynolds/McKeon/McGuinness. One of the best in the business. McWeeney had to come back in and I have always liked Prior. Gets forward as much as he can and is always a good man for a point or two. Not convinced by Foley but is there an alternative out there ?
In midfield Id have McCloskey and Noel Doonan. I have always liked Doonan. Watched him play against Roscommon in a minor game in Hyde Park a couple of years ago and he was outstanding. Have kept an eye on him ever since and would love to see him get a settled place on the team.
Half forwards I agree with Regan and Foley at 10 and 12. At centre forward, I would have either James Glancy or Shane Canning - cant make up my mind. If either of them are there I’ll be happy enough and you would have a decent replacement to come in if, in the unlikely situation, Leitrim are struggling.
My full forward line would be Brennan/Maxwell/Duignan. If enough ball gets into them, that trio would get scores. I think I have mentioned on the forum before why Id like Maxwell there. Win ball in midfield, hit it long and Maxwell will win his fair share.
Anyway I’m sure Dessie has his own ideas and in him I trust but really looking forward to it now Farmer. Confidence growing by the day !!!
Had a long post typed and then the computer died so I lost it
Few quick points:
Foley is a decent half back - the best in the county in that position anyway
Doonan certainly has the heart but he overdoes it sometimes. Never forget him getting seny off against Ros in the league when we were on top. But he could have a great game
Brennan/Maxwell/Duignan is a good full forward line but I worry about midfield
Michael Duignan will play. Played all through the league and one of the selectors is from his club
Remmeber Pat Farrrell Baby? What a midfielder he was - if only he didnt get injured and stayed off the beer
Rock I’m not sure about McKiernan. Haven’t heard of him been introduced in any of the league matches anyway
Bandage I take your point re provinces. We won Connacht in 94, having beaten Ros, Mayo and Galway along the way. I think Leitrim would beat Wexford if they were to play them now - that’s all I can say on it really
Surely RTE will change their schedules to show the Tipp-Limerick game instead of this game. We all know Galway will hammer Leitrim and it’d be a shame to miss part 3 of the hurling after 2 cracking games so far.
To be fair it would be a shame if RT were to abandon the series of games now having already shown the first 2. It’s a reflection of the quality summer of matches so far that they’re having this problem every week.
Connacht football generally makes for poor telly. Matches played in the arse hole of no where, in shitty grounds and with a poor standard of football to boot.
Tipp - Lim is proving to be enthralling and must ge the nod, but with a 330 throw in it seems unlikely.
If you are going to start the generalisations then I could open the book on Leinster football
I believe that 2001 was the last time a team from that province were in the All-Ireland and they were hammered by Galway, who, guess what, are from Connacht
Pearse Stadium
McHale Park
Hyde Park (dare I say it)
Pairc Sean now with its new stand
All decent stadiums by GAA standard. I have always experienced decent crowds. Standard of football is decent as evidenced by Connacht’s frequent participation in the All Ireland in recent years
while they are all valid poitns big man ,i would say as a neutral looking in that football in connachts lacks the draw as other provinces. Munster has Cork & Kerry & Ulster has a number of top teams - The dubs bring an atmosphere to the games that no other teams do - as neutrals Connacht’s championship doesnt have the same buzz
Cork and Kerry versus Galway and Mayo
Not much of a difference there
Anyway down to more important things. Leitrim team has been named:
1 Noel Gill
2 Dermot Reynolds
3 Michael McGuinness
4 Barry McWeeney
5 Barry Prior
6 John McKeon
7 Shane Foley
8 Gary McCloskey
9 Michael Duignan
10 Colin Regan
11 Michael Foley
12 Declan Maxwell
13 Donal Brennan
14 James Glancy
15 Ciaran Duignan
Maxwell will probably play as a third moidfielder
Can’t see McKeon starting at centre half - think McWeeney will come out and McGuinness into the corner
Not happy seeing Michael Duignan there
Baby did you just ring the County Board looking for tickets? Did they send them out to you yet?
This is obviously something that they are going to do a lot of throughout the summer. I thought that they were limited to three games a weekend though - they showed four last weekend
It’s clearly driven by demand. I think when they show the first game of a series they feel compelled to show the replay. They got over 500,000 viewers for the Limerick v Tipp game last weekend. That’s massive. And over 500,000 for Cork v Waterford which is excellent considering Dublin v Meath was on tv at the same time and there was a captive audience of about 200,000 at intercounty games around the country.