2019 Allianz Football League Division 3.

Started by Junior Ex Laoistalk, September 06, 2018, 12:26:09 AM

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Chrimtain

#420
What he has done over the two years is remarkable and he will certainly be in demand. The big advantage we have is that he lives in Laois. I also get the impression from his interviews that he cares about Laois football.

Having said that, we face tough hurdles in the upcoming championship and repeating the feat of appearing in another Leinster final is going to be mighty difficult.

Tony

Agreed, he's very proactive and forward thinking. Hearing stuff like "oh poor us, we dont have a pitch to train in" like we heard a few years back just didn't inspire any confidence at all. John is the opposite. He's capitalising on any opportunities he sees. Laois is where John is permanently based now; he even refers to his kids as "Laois men". That's great for us but the county board etc must now realise that this man is the real deal and is worth supporting, whatever he needs backing with. For the first time in years and years there is proper positivity and almost universal unity about the whole setup and supporters, and, from the position we were in, I don't think many forsaw this level of improvement in such a short amount of time.

Of course, new talent coming through is important, but that seems to be looking up, too. The age profile of the team is relatively high, but we have good talent coming through and a lot of 1st teamers now, who are young and pacey. The centre of excellence should also help. At end of day, all we can hope for, as supporters, is not necessarily leinster titles and all ireland semi finals etc, but rather for our team to go out, play to our potential and give it our best shot. From that perspective, I'm delighted. Well done, all; the League Final is a bonus game and a great way to celebrate the year thus far.

vetoldthe

What i like about Sugrue he is not afraid
to hauled off a player no matter who you are,
If he feel he is not playing up to the standard
of which is expected.

The Boy Wonder

#423
Quote from: Chrimtain on March 24, 2019, 07:23:28 PM
Great achievement to be promoted for two years in a row. I hope they avoid Westmeath in the final.

I hope we avoid Westmeath too but I do reckon they will come through (no fears of Westmeath if our lads play to their potential but it would be best to keep our powder dry until Leinster meeting).
Louth did us a huge favour by beating Down - if they had drawn or lost then it would most likely have been Down & Westmeath going up.
For that reason I would love to see Louth winning promotion.

Junior Ex Laoistalk

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on March 26, 2019, 11:54:03 PM
I hope we avoid Westmeath too but I do reckon they will come through (no fears of Westmeath if our lads play to their potential but it would be best to keep our powder dry until Leinster meeting).
Louth did us a huge favour by beating Down - if they had drawn or lost then it would most likely have been Down & Westmeath going up.
For that reason I would love to see Louth winning promotion.

I too would like to see Louth winning as it would give us another shot at them. I don't think we did ourselves justice the last day we played them in Croke Park..
Winners are not those who never fail, but those who never quit!

High Fielder

Doesn't bother me who we play. It won't bother them either. They will feel we're beatable. I saw nothing when we played them that you can't set up properly against. Their threats are very obvious. We've been promoted without playing a full game to our potential. The 3 point win against Carlow flattered them and not us. We need to find a bit of a killer streak from somewhere.

Nameless

We got promoted without Donie playing particularly well. He changed the game when he came on against Down but has only shown glimpses since then. O'Carroll has been our main man and if we can get Donie going, that would be real danger in our forward line. I think Cahilane has won the battle for the other full forward line spot. It was and still is hotly contested. Quigley looks like he has leapfrogged back into a starting role alongside O'Loughlin.
It'd be nice to pick up some more silverware, will probably be played in Tullamore or Mullingar, maybe Parnell Park. The good news in a way is that we still have a lot of improvements to make before championship time.

Laois Rising

Evan O'Carroll needs to be wrapped up in cotton wool between now and start of the championship. From having attended most of the league games it is evident that he now our main attacking threat. Donie hasn't shined the way you would have expected but there is still plenty of time for him to step it up to another level. If Quigley maintains his fitness and nails a starting position where does Lillis go or is he dropped from the starting 15?

That level of competition for places should drive players on and bring a greater intensity to training between now and May. A fault of the O'Flaterta, Creedon eras was the lack of true competition for places. It always felt like players weren't pushing themselves or bringing the required intensity in build up to championships (perhaps because in a lot of cases starting places were assured) and then when faced with the red heat of championship battle they were exposed and found wanting. 


Countyminor

We were over reliant on Donie for far, far too long. It broke him a little bit I reckon. Still an absolute quality player, but he's not at the level he was last at in 2017.

Butch Cassidy


SCFC

#430
Quote from: Butch Cassidy on March 27, 2019, 01:10:37 PM
Is Finbarr Crowley involved?
No. Either left panel or was dropped off it, not sure which.

on the hop

Good solid performance against Carlow, always looked in control and probably should have pushed on our superiority. Carlow started fast and aggressive and things were even enough for the most part. There stacking the wings on both sides prospered against our continued narrow defensive system and they appeared to target dillon a lot. The slowness of their attacks and the appearance that all their forward line had to offer was trying to buy frees by hook or crook exposed their limitations.

Quigley's introduction had a huge bearing, up till then they had been very aggressive on our kick outs, pushing up. We went short a lot with jol missing but we weren't helped that poacher ran into the free area of the pitch every time we had a kick out. There is always a bit of nervousness when defenders are taking the ball static or with their back to the play. Brody's comfort on taking the return pass took a lot of heat of their tactic, but once we could go long it forced them back. It also allowed us to press their kick outs in the knowledge that they wouldn't go long. Once their keeper put one over the side line, their goose was cooked. Another signal was when Brendan Murphy went full forward, there wasn't a hope that Timmons was going to let him to do damage.

Paul callihane might have found a spot for himself playing out in the pocket ahead of the front two. He was excellent, especially his passing. We still need to introduce a runner from the middle third to add a scoring threat, Boyle did it once or twice but long term we still need someone to be coming from deep, possibly Begley when fit. Plenty to do but we are in a nice position at present and there is a lot of potential in the u20 squad that was named.

Giovanni

Quote from: on the hop on March 28, 2019, 12:57:48 AM
Good solid performance against Carlow, always looked in control and probably should have pushed on our superiority. Carlow started fast and aggressive and things were even enough for the most part. There stacking the wings on both sides prospered against our continued narrow defensive system and they appeared to target dillon a lot. The slowness of their attacks and the appearance that all their forward line had to offer was trying to buy frees by hook or crook exposed their limitations.

Quigley's introduction had a huge bearing, up till then they had been very aggressive on our kick outs, pushing up. We went short a lot with jol missing but we weren't helped that poacher ran into the free area of the pitch every time we had a kick out. There is always a bit of nervousness when defenders are taking the ball static or with their back to the play. Brody's comfort on taking the return pass took a lot of heat of their tactic, but once we could go long it forced them back. It also allowed us to press their kick outs in the knowledge that they wouldn't go long. Once their keeper put one over the side line, their goose was cooked. Another signal was when Brendan Murphy went full forward, there wasn't a hope that Timmons was going to let him to do damage.

Paul callihane might have found a spot for himself playing out in the pocket ahead of the front two. He was excellent, especially his passing. We still need to introduce a runner from the middle third to add a scoring threat, Boyle did it once or twice but long term we still need someone to be coming from deep, possibly Begley when fit. Plenty to do but we are in a nice position at present and there is a lot of potential in the u20 squad that was named.

Really interesting analysis as usual. It is interesting how a reliable fielder can change the whole structure of the game. Would fully agree about the need for runners. Is Alan Farrell not around the panel? He was named as a sub a few weeks back but wasn't listed last week. I thought we was very good a couple of years ago.

les Antiques

A fully fit and raring to go Quigley would be instrumental to Laois this summer . Realistically he's our only out and out Centre fielder. Meaney Apart

The PRO

As far as I know, Alan Farrell is on the panel but just a bit down the pecking order.