2018 Joe McDonagh Cup

Started by Mossy Bruce, March 20, 2018, 11:24:55 PM

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clonadmad

Quote from: Laoiseabu on May 05, 2018, 11:09:17 PM
There's a biffo managing our team . Please help us

He's a Tipperary man

merman

No biffo but he's a bluffer. And the players know it.

Laoiseabu

Well he managed Offaly so that's enough for me 😂😂 On a more serious note it's hard to see where Eamonn has improved this team since Cheddar

Mossy Bruce

I was listening to the first half of the match as I was getting ready for work—the last few minutes of the first half were awesome. Then arrived at work about five minutes before the end of the match. My god what a shift in the game. :'( :'( :'(

These next two away matches are going to be rough. :-\
LAOIS! LAOIS! LAOIS!

burdizzo

Worst performance in a long time. A sickener. As Giovanni said, why on earth could we not work out a way of countering their tactics by half-time? It just seems as if Westmeath - who were dire in the Div 2 final against Carlow - spent April actually DOING something, like coming up w/ a strategy. They looked far sharper from the very start. There's no reason for our lads to underestimate these teams or this competition.

Tobias

Too much talk of hurling in croke park and then getting a crack at the big boys. They'd be better off concentrating on the job in hand.
Do or die next weekend in Kerry in what will be a very difficult game.

blueandwhite1

#36
Would agree with most of what has been posted about the match.

Firstly, the set up was a disaster. In particularly our puck outs on either end. We just launched ball after ball into the air and they used their sweeper system to mop it up. How many times did one of their half backs win the ball uncontested? And we never changed the system even after 20 minutes when it was obvious it was failing spectacularly. Westmeath just passed the ball to their free man, then to a runner in the middle and voila, they were on the attack. We never pushed up on their men and it made us look very stupid. This has to be blamed fully on management.

Secondly, as a couple have said, passion. Most of the players played well within their capabilities and didn't fight as they should have. There was no urgency except from a few players. We were well off the pace. The same players would not give up on balls so easily or allow the opposition to catch balls over their heads playing for their clubs. I would say this is the fault of both management and the players, particularly the leaders. All too casual. They were not mentally prepared for what was thrown at them, unlike Westmeath who looked like they were playing a championship match.

Thirdly, our ability. Our skill levels are very poor in general. The most obvious gap is the ability to win a ball in the air but not just that. Falling over balls on the ground and not reacting to breaking balls at speed seems to be normal for most of our hurlers. Sloppy stuff. We lost nearly every contest yesterday and when a ball went between a Laois man and a Westmeath man in the air or the ground you could be sure it would be a maroon jersey that came away with the ball. The speed at which we play the game is just way too slow. What the hell are they doing in training?

Fair play to Westmeath, they were a much better hurling team than us and surely should be favourites for the competition.

On the players, here is my short summary.

Rowland: Great distance on puck outs but needs to use his brain. Regardless of instructions, should have seen what was happening in front of him and tried some shorter, more directed puckouts.
Phelan: Roasted
Bergin: Should have done better for first goal but was very solid otherwise. One of our better players.
Cleere: Held his own. Hope he is ok.
Lalor: Mixed the good with the bad. Mopped up lots of ball in first half.
Matthew: Did well enough. Has that bit of cuteness and experience.
Killeen: struggled with pace. Should be better in the air.
Purcell: anonymous for most of the game. Couple of flashes of how he was last year but didn't look interested.
Corby: one great score but didn't compete for possession well.
Ryan: ok in parts, some great passes. Again, played well within himself.
Cha: best he has been this year but went missing for long spells. Some super scores.
Conroy: looked dangerous at times but tends to waste too many chances
Ross: anonymous from play. Good on frees. Seems wasted in the corner.
Neil: our best player yesterday. Always dangerous and was up for the challenge. Hope he recovers soon.
Willie: couldn't get into it.

Of the subs, Picky looked fit and dangerous and made a difference. Ryan Mullaney is in good condition and got on top of his position quite quickly and Cían Taylor looked sharp and should be given more time on that team.

Our championship could be over next Saturday so these lads will have to dig deep and produce a result down south. I'd say Kerry, Antrim and Carlow are rightfully licking their lips. I hope we can respond.

Bud Wiser

Looking at the social media pages in Westmeath there seems to have been two different approaches to this game, Westmeath manager said "during meetings all week the importance of everyone stepping u including the subs was discussed" and the players interviewed after the match refer to a "motivational meeting held on Friday night".  I don't want to be butting in here but it seems to me, and I hope I am wrong, that the lads are putting in the work and training hard and giving their all for the county. However,  there are very little team performances, it used to be a sending off was an excuse for playing with 14 men.  If the lads are giving it their all in training that is no use unless they are motivated like they were when they played Galway last year.  I believe they are not motivated enough to get off a bus much less break a hurl and the team deserves better. 
" Laois ? You can't drink pints of Guinness and talk sh*te in a pub, and play football the next day"

Mossy Bruce

I see that Kerry had just lost to Carlow near the end.

Kerry will be on home ground and hungry, next week. I hope our lads will be hungrier.
LAOIS! LAOIS! LAOIS!

Bud Wiser

#39
Last week on here ye were talking about lifting cups in Croke Park, now ye are talking about being doubtful of beating a Kerry hurling team that is after being beaten by Carlow.  So, as the horse said to the jockey "Is it you that's getting heavy or is it me that's getting slow?"  Are the other counties after improving that much?  Or have Laois dis-improved that much since we played Galway. At least when players were getting sent off and everyone was complaining about indiscipline those players were getting sent off because they were motivated enough in the first place.  So what is wrong? It's not a population issue because if there was all out war the hurling populations of Carlow, Kerry and Antrim are not going to take over the country.  If the players are giving their all in terms of commitment to training, and I believe they are, then it is either one of two other problems. Either the sideline is wrong or the problem that exists in a lot of other counties is wrong where the county board divert all their interest to football and don't give a flying about hurling or where they end up. Maybe both.

And, I am not calling for the managers head here, not at all.  That is the easy thing to do, especially from a keyboard. What I am saying is, identify the problem. No manager is perfect in all areas unless he has a proper support team around him, unless there is a solid wall that says, "I am in charge and I ain't listening to anyone else"  Same for players and it is good to see on here that,  unlike other forums, there is very little singling out of named players and judgement's being passed and that posters for the most part appreciate the efforts they are making.
" Laois ? You can't drink pints of Guinness and talk sh*te in a pub, and play football the next day"

redsetanta

I only made it to the last 10 minutes of the game as there was a crash on the motorway and traffic was at a standstill. When I did finally get in to O'Moore Park the score was level. From the bit I saw Westmeath seemed to be the team with plenty of space. They had no problem finding a man with a short puckout and yet Rowland sent a couple down in Cha's direction where he was marked by a lad much taller than him.
Ross King for all his accuracy didn't score anything from play either. Laois looked flat and there didn't seem to be too much joined up thinking. Westmeath were winning the close quarter battles also.
Very disappointing particularly the fact that Laois couldn't find a way to get on top. One cameo was PJ Scully in the corner chasing down a ball and he was shunted out over the end line near the end. There was no other Laois man in there using his physicality to help Scully but there was 2 or 3 Westmeath lads. Westmeath were not great on the day and hit a lot of wides but they were hungrier for it.
Has to be complacency because we have performed at a higher level in the league and got a great result up in Antrim last day. I cannot comment on the manager as I have no inside line and can only go on what I see but I don't agree with Kelly having to sit in the stand during a game. It's a pet gripe of mine more than anything else but what's the point having someone else on the sideline encouraging etc while the manager sits in the stand.
The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. VinceLombardi

blueandwhite1

I don't think there are any great surprises.

Our best performances in the league were against Galway and Antrim. We ran Galway close but so did Antrim and a few other teams.

We are at our level in the McDonagh cup and need to be at our best to succeed in it. Westmeath and Carlow have both beaten us at U21 level and have some very fine hurlers. We barely beat Antrim on both days. To answer your question Bud Wiser, yes, the other counties are after improving that much and are making at least as much progress as us. You could argue moreso when you looked at our skill level compared to Westmeath on Saturday.

As I said on my earlier post, on third of the problem was the tactical plan - it was shockingly poor and wasn't changed when it failed spectacularly. One third was the hunger and attitude and the final third was ability. We don't have enough good players at this level. Westmeath had more.

redsetanta

blueandwhite1 I wouldn't agree that Westmeath have more better players than us. They had as much difficulty at times rising the ball or holding onto possession. It was hunger and tactics for me. The extra man at the back allowed them time to get the ball to the forwards whereas we pumped balls down on top of those same backs.
Yes Westmeath have performed better at U21 level but many of our players performed better at minor level than them. Ok you can say there's a difference and U21 level has been disasterous from a Laois point of view but I don't agree that Westmeath are that much better player wise.
Anyhow there are 4 games left to get things right and maybe this result will push them on. 
The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. VinceLombardi

Clubber Lang

The biggest weakness to this Laois side is a lack of physical strength. This concern was noted by many after the Offaly league game. This current Laois team will always be bullied by other teams with physically bigger, more aggressive players. Westmeath contained more players able to win 50/50 battles and many of their scores came from being able to claim the sliotar in the air, break tackles easier and physically being able to dominate their direct opponent. The loss of players like Healy, Hyland, fitzpatrick, stapleton and Delaney to name a few is still being felt within the county-it is a pity that the current squad hadn't a couple of more years playing with the likes of the named players at county level. Each of them were leaders on the field and would have matched the physical challenge put down to them by any opponent. They would have added greatly to the development of the lads now coming through. The majority of Laois' starting team have lost at under 21 level to Carlow and Westmeath over the last number of years. Losing at the weekend to Westmeath should not be viewed as a shock result. With two teams relegated from the Joe McDonagh this year we will need to get our act together quickly. Meath will be favourites for the chop but anyone of the remaining teams could join them. Playing Christy Ring against Down, Mayo and Kildare in 2019 is not a proposition I want to consider.   

merman

It's just hard to see what Kelly is bringing to the table right now.

He's not bringing the level of intense organisation and commitment that Cheddar demanded; intensity levels we were told needed to be tempered.
I have seen very little from a tactical side; in fact, I'd say we've regressed even since last year.
S & C conditioning? Skills development? Style of play? Passion? Players committing and staying with the panel?
There just doesn't seem to be a vision for where we are going; he doesn't seem challenged to find one.

I simply don't believe Eamon Kelly commands the respect nor demands enough of the players. He comes in, does a job and slips away safe in the knowledge that he's upsetting nobody and sailing along nicely under the radar. I doubt his name is hardly ever mentioned at county committee level. When he leaves, he'll say a few nice things about the lads, say it was a pity he couldn't get a full hand to deal with and slip on to his next job wherever it might be.

I'm sorry that I appear so negative but I think anyone who looks at my posts objectively will see that I don't usually single out individuals lightly.
I'm also acutely aware that there are structural issues within our juvenile structures and there is a lack of real depth to our pool of senior players but I still think we are under-achieving., even with the panel we do have available.

Looking forward, Kerry are likely to score quite freely against us and it should be high-scoring. I don't think they're world-beaters and if one or two of our forwards hit anything like their best form then we have a chance. Picky back can only be a help but I'm worried about the form of King and Dunphy.

Antrim away looks a tough ask but we've a good enough record over them in recent years.

We'll know a lot about where we are in the next fortnight.

I don't actually believe we're dead and buried but I can't say I'm optimistic either. I hope the lads put absolutely everything into the Kerry game; leave nothing behind and we'll see then if we can carry that momentum up north.