I agree with ye about the timing. I just donât like books like this mid course. When he retires, write the book straight away, fine. Not mid course, itâs a beacon for motivating other teams.
I just donât think he would walk away if KK win the AI this year. It is probable based on this that the next time that KK lose a knock-out championship match then KK will give it up.
I hope he devotes a whole chapter to their league win over Cork entitled 4-26 to 0-11
[quote=âMairegangaireâ]Great timing, from a commercial point of view mind.
He gets it out right on top of the 4 in a row; thisâll guarantee massive free press and a unstoppable news cycle, another year and a lot more than some of us would be sick of the sight of him and his black and amber.
I wonder will he come clean about Charlie Carter?[/QUOTE]
Thats the problem, if heâs still in the game, he cant come clean, itâll be neutered like all are when they come out mid career.
He can come clean about Carter no problems anyway as he ainât involved anymore.
Doubt he would to be honest, internal politics would mean heâll err on the side of caution I imagine.
Good man OgieâŚ
Dermot Earley and Eoin Cadogan have been named as the GPA Players of the Month for May.
Earley played a pivotal role in the Kildare footballersâ Leinster Championship win over Offaly in Portlaoise.
Cadogan, meanwhile, delivered a man-of-the-match display for the Cork hurlers despite their defeat to Tipperary.
MBB has mentioned the GPA Player of the Month awards above.
But I can exclusively reveal that Stephen Banville has won the official GAA Player of the Month award for May sponsored by Vodafone.
Rumours eminating from over the ditch that Cha Fitzpatrick has broken a bone in his hand.
So they are saying but these sort of rumours happens every year. If it has happened and we are also without Kavanagh and Lyng then we are in trouble.
Iâd like to see Rice midfield, with Fennelly Iâd reckon. Other options would be Ryall, Tennyson[unlikely with Hogan out], Dalton, Tommy.
Cha is incredibly important for us. He was a big plus when he came on for Shefflin in the league final. He started pick up a lot of breaking ball around midfield and created a few chances in extra time.
Cha is a big loss. The most intelligent hurler in the country and with Lyng out as well, its looking like a Michael Rice/Mick Fennelly midfield. Fennelly hasnât had a good season so far though. Dalton will be needed in the fb line so Iâd say itâll be Ryall or Tommy if its not Fennelly. Richie Power an option too.
Itâs no use to us (the hurling public) Kilkenny being beaten in their first game. Itâs an AI semi final we need them beat in so that they have no way back. If Kilkenny lose on Sunday, they will have more games than ever to get themselves into peak condition come September.
ITâS the first ever Kilkenny v Galway Leinster SHC clash, featuring superstars Henry Shefflin and Joe Canning, but the organisers are adamant that OâConnor Park, Tullamore, with a capacity of 20,000, will be adequate to cater for the crowd on Saturday week (7.0).
However, figures show that the last stand-alone Kilkenny v Galway championship clash drew 23,051 to Thurles in the 2004 All-Ireland qualifiers.
And since this is a historic fixture between the first and third All-Ireland favourites, it looked like an ideal opportunity to use Croke Park for a double-header with Dublin and Wexford, who are due to meet in the other Leinster semi-final in Nowlan Park, on Sunday week.
Despite the obvious appeal of Galway v Kilkenny, Leinster opted to stick by the recent policy of playing hurling semi-finals away from Croke Park. Leinster Council CEO Michael Delaney said that they anticipated an attendance of around 15,000 for the eagerly-awaited clash which, incidentally, will be all-ticket.
âKilkenny supporters havenât tended to travel to Leinster semi-finals in big numbers in recent years and Galway support hasnât been all that great either. I know there will be bigger interest than usual in this game, but we still expect OâConnor Park to be plenty big enough to cater for the crowd,â he said.
The fact that over 23,000 attended an All-Ireland qualifier game between Galway and Kilkenny in Thurles five years ago suggests that thereâs a big market for this pairing.
Kilkenny fansâ reticence to travel to Leinster semi-finals in recent years may have been down to a belief that the side would win easily.
Itâs different this year for, while Galwayâs only victims in the last three championships have been Westmeath, Laois and Antrim, thereâs still a firm belief in the county that they are closer to the big time than may be generally thought.
:rolleyes:
Awfully sad when a Wexford man has to use KK to try and wind up Corkmen.
Yeâre U21âs look good this year i see do they. Tremedndous work going on there in Wexford!
I feel sorry for George, doing it on his own.:rolleyes:
[quote=âcaoimhaoinâ]
Awfully sad when a Wexford man has to use KK to try and wind up Corkmen.
Yeâre U21âs look good this year i see do they. Tremedndous work going on there in Wexford!
I feel sorry for George, doing it on his own.:rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
Got you all the same didnât I. :rolleyes:
:rolleyes:[quote=âPikemanâ]Got you all the same didnât I. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
I laughed Pike, i know what you were up to. Just felt like a bit of timbering. Its friday after all.
Good article here from the examiner giving Gary Kirby and T.J Ryanâs take on the way Limerick re shaping up.
Kirby fearful over Limericks lack of firepower
By Diarmuid OFlynn
Friday, June 12, 2009
FOR years they soldiered together for Limerick. Gary Kirby and TJ Ryan, saw action in two All-Ireland finals, 1994 and 1996, in which Limerick hearts were shattered.
These days they are both out to grass but they are still very much in touch with the grassroots, Kirby managing his club, Patrickswell, as they look to regain the glory days at senior level, while Ryan is heavily involved at underage with his native Garryspillane.
And down at that level, as Limerick face into this Sundays Munster senior hurling championship match against Waterford, the vibes arent good. Limerick have played several challenge games since the end of what was a poor league campaign, and the results havent been encouraging. As a selector for the last two years, in 2007 when Limerick reached the All-Ireland final and 2008, Kirby is loathe to criticise the current regime, headed by Justin McCarthy, but accepts things arent going well.
âWhen I was involved we took the challenge matches immediately before the championship fairly seriously, it was important to get a feel for how things were going. I would accept that the vibes are not good at the moment, we are scoring well but were conceding even more, and thats a worry. Maybe there were circumstances we dont know about we dont know. But it is a concern, its been a while since they won a match, and getting into thelosing habit is not good.â
Ryan agrees with Kirby, that the major problem is up front. âOverall, youd have to say the league was a disappointment, we fell away in a few games we could have won. You could argue that we should have beaten Kilkenny and Cork, that we could have been further up the league table, but you could also argue that we beat Clare and Dublin early on, and only for keeper errors we mightnt have won either of those games, so as far as the league campaign is concerned its a glass half-full or half-empty scenario. In the challenge matches, normally you dont get a right good hard match. It tends to be open, lacks intensity, so you get big scores against Clare recently, it was something like 1-23 to 1-21, with Clare winning. When the points go into the 30s, however, as happened against Cork (Limerick were hammered, 1-32 to 2-15), thats a worry. I know that might seem like a poor reflection on the backs but its up front that were weak, the ball coming back far too easily, no firepower.â
On that front then, much will rest on the shoulders of Andrew OShaughnessy, struggling to discover his All Star form of 2007, on Niall Moran, Limericks best forward during the league, and on those such as the experienced Ollie Moran and Ryans younger brother Donie. But maybe thats part of Limericks problem, says TJ, the fact that its still more or less the same old faces.
âRead any of the news reports from the round of club championship matches played a couple of weeks ago and look at who starred for the different teams for Bruree it was Stephen McDonagh, for the Well it was Ciarn Carey, Barry Foley and Paul OGrady, all of those retired from the county scene, and for Adare it was Mark Foley, one of the oldest guys on the panel.â
âLook at the city championship final a few weeks ago, won by Na Piarsaigh,â adds Kirby, âThe highlight was Damien Quigley scoring three goals! And hes long gone from the county team. Thats what youre talking about. Go back 10 or 15 years, the members of the county panel at that time always stood out in club games youre not getting that now. We played Kilmallock in the last round of championship games, they have four fellas on the county panel the four of them looked fecked. We had three, and one of those is the keeper, Brian Murray the others, we had to take off Eoin Foley and we had to play Thomas OBrien in the corner, because they were both exhausted. To me, they look tired, all of them, whatever training theyre doing.â
âThere were a number of positives from the league,â said Ryan. âEspecially the form of Stephen Lucey at full-back. The return to action ofBrian Geary is another, hes a really good holding centre-back, and thats going to be important this Sunday. Limerick need to keep their half-back line close to the full-back line, keep it tight at that end of the field, because if it comes to a shoot-out, I dont think Limerick have the guns for it.â
Way to get behind the lads ehâŚ!
Thatâs what I was thinking. Ridiculous shit to be coming out with two days before championship.
Jesus lads can ye not see the bitterness in Gary Kirby? Very disappointed not to get a shot at manager after Richie Bennis got dumped.
who is liam?