Messages

I can see why a change was made in the half forward line...all well and good having scoring forwards inside but theyre not much use if they are not getting the ball. That said, he should have put Coleman in for Meehan and put Nicky inside. Nicky has serious pace which Mike Meehan doesnt and I believe he is capable of giving any corner back a serious roasting. Blake to six, Coyne to seven and Comer to be dropped. Cullinane in at midfield and Coleman and Bane at wing forward with Matt Clancy at 11 to run straight at Padden in May. Meehan, PJ and Nicky at 13,14 & 15 respectively. There is enough ball winners from 8 - 12 top ensure the full forward line gets an ample amount of ball to put up the scores.

Yeah, they sound real hardcore.........recruiting on Bebo!  Anyone on Bebo to start with would want shooting with their own ball of shite!

Galway Sham, rookie mistake bigging ur team up before the match, i'm off to the bookies to bet on a record defeat.

In seriousness i'd expect this to be a close one, a lot closer than i'd imagine may to be

The rating of mayo's backs seems to be very down on them, just because a player is inexperienced doesn't make him immediately worse than a galway back line which hasnt exactly set the world on fire the last 3-4 years

Sunday will tell a lot abot kilcullen but i think JOM will use it to improve him rather than replace him, ditto for BJP

Will be disappointed if howley doesnt get a run on sunday after his best performance in a mayo jersey last sunday

Certainly woldnt consider the Mayo back line to be as poor as some on here have commented but Padden is a major weakness at 6......if bergin runs direct at him.....lets face it,Ja hasnt the legs anymore.....if we win some midfield ball for a change on Sunday, he'll be in trouble. Not to mention the likes of Sean Kavanagh, Whelan, Brosnan et al later in the summer. Galway know the value of a good number six after losing Tomas Mannion.....its took 5 years to find a good replacement in Blake.
And if the Galway back line have not set the world alight its cos midfield were so poor since big Walsh left that the ball generally is raining down on them non stop......would happen to any backline yet they havent shipped any massive scorelines outta memory

A fella that can keep tabs on PJ as well as Heaney cant be a bad footballer! God bless the dry sod and the fast ball!!!! Nothing like it to get the competitive juices flowing!!!

If anyones wondering what Damien Burke is capable of, they should have come to Tuam last Sunday. Benny Coulter scored 1-1 on him....the goal wouldnt have happened but for the keeper getting a rush of blood to the head and coming out where he shouldnt and the point came off a 45. Theres not too many that could match pure ox strength and speed with Coulter but Burke was comfortable.
One of the best man markers ive seen in a good while with Marc O'Se, Michael McCarthy, Paul Griffin. Hes seen off better than Mortimer.....hopefully he'll do the job on Sunday

Not far off the Championship fifteen.........a bit late in the day for Forde to be trying Blake at midfield. Hes a class act at no 6 but will be interesting to see how he does there. Hes a decent midfielder for Milltown but intercounty is a much bigger ask. He will be back at 6 no doubt come 20 May.......Coyne was ok for league but unsure if hes made of Championship stuff. Meehan back at 5 too asap hopefully.
Coleman and Clancy will be fit for bench....will be big impact subs if they are up to coming on for last twenty.
Expect the real fireworks on 20/5/07......dont expect Sunday to be a barnstormer. Doesnt mean too much to either side....All Irelands are what both sides are looking for now and a league certainly wouldnt appease the Mayo crowd. Given that its so long since Galway won the league it would be valued a bit more by ourselves probably.

Waterford - hurling

Cavan - football

Was at U21 game v Leirim - tough to judge what Galway are like based on it...Leitrim really were that poor. That said, full forward line looked mightily impressive....especially Frankie and Greg Rogan. Armstrong did ok too but failed to show often enough and when he did, he often didnt release to better placed players. May be the main man in the forward line but has to realise that its about more than him. Some handy goal chances went astray last Sat but hopefully on another day they will be stuck away.
Midfield were ok against a very poor Leitrim pair.....will be interesting to see how they do against a stronger Mayo duo.
Gleeson at full back looks a good prospect for senior panel in next year or two, Bradshaw is a class act in half back line and Cillian Bane a very neat and tidy wing back.
We owe them one after failing to show up last year in Castlebar for U21 final.
Much will depend on whether the Mayo full back line can hold out against Rogan, Armstrong and Burke and the midfield battle. If Mayo win this match, they will have earned it this year I think.

Forde and Kellys bit of a to-do was instigated by Kelly - I was standing in front of where it happened. Like a child he kept pulling open Kellys helmet and was in his ear constantly during the game so if he took a bit of a dunt, it was coming to him for acting like an eejit. That said Forde was no better for reacting but at the end of the day it was handbags and to make anything more of it is just making Babs himself look daft.
Think Pa Burke got a bit of a cappataggle welcome from Damien Joyce alright but it was harmless and wouldnt give it a second thought.
Tipp well beaten alright........Galway wont be too far off if they can sort out the full back spot.
Anyway, isnt it great to see Galway hurling producing a few players that are capable of mixing it after the last few years of windy efforts. Sure with Loughnane, Lynskey and Treacy there you'd expect nothing else.

Tuam Stadium as is is a complete crap heap but hopefull wyhen the redevelopment is completed theyll take the football games outta Paerse. No atmosphere and a bloody wind tunnell which could ruin the best of games on the finest summers day. Sea breeze is not agreeing with the footballers of Galway at the moment obviously either!!!

Agree with previous post - Ford is not up to it. He comes across to me at least as a guy who doesn't care. Both himself and Eoin O'Donnellan were sat on a bench for the majority of the first half of yesterdays game - showed players no encouragement, showed no desire himself to make the Galway team better. If the manager doesn't seem to give a toss, its hard to point finger at players. Seems we are going down the same road as last year. Different selectors, same story.

Granted, the calibre of player is no longer there. Blake, Hanley, Damien Burke have the potential to be as good as the backline going back to the 1997-2001 period. Mullahy has to be given credit - you'll never get less than 100 per cent from him but lacks intercounty quality as does both of the midfielders who started yesterday. Forwards are rudderless - run the ball into cul de sacs and then cant get out.

Galway football needs change from the top down - county board, management and some of the players.