NFL Division 1 - 2020

[Blowitupref]

Jim McGuinness makes good first impression with Galway players


Galway manager Padraic Joyce said that Jim McGuinness' involvement with the Tribesmen was a one-off session on Sunday but he has not ruled out utilising the former Donegal boss again.

Joyce said he would wait for feedback from the players before deciding if McGuinness was to have further involvement, but he said the initial reaction was very positive.

"Jim is a personal friend of mine and has been for years. I went to college with the man. I'd have huge respect for him and his CV speaks for itself.

"He is a qualified professional performance coach and I fell that the time that we needed a kind of a mental aspect to the game, to kind of get a bit of extra bonus into the players. There is a lot more to training a team than going out on the pitch and just kicking points or just blocking and defending.

"There are a lot of aspects to it. Jim brought a different element on Sunday and the lads enjoyed the session as I did.

"We'll have to wait for the feedback, the session only took place yesterday at 2 o'clock, it was over at 4. We need to do an analysis of the session and take the feedback from the player and see what way it's working."

Joyce, speaking at a scheduled press conference at the Galway training centre at Loughgeorge as they prepare to play Mayo in the Allianz League on Sunday, was displeased that a video of McGuinness working with the players at Tuam Stadium on Sunday, was used on social media.

"We can't legislate for a man that's living in a house behind the pitch recording stuff. It's unfair on the players that it got out, you're invading people's privacy doing that, but unfortunately it's the social media platform and social media world we live in." Joyce and McGuinness won a Sigerson Cup with IT Tralee in 1998 and they have kept in touch ever since.

"He's an old friend of mine. We were in college together for years. We had plenty of nights out and plenty of craic and plenty of matches together. I know him really, really well. I've always stayed in touch with him over the year and we have been good friends and close friends.

"I'm always looking to do what I can for the players. My job as Galway manager is to make sure that my players are the best prepared that I possibly can give them. I just felt at this time that we needed some bit of a surge or something.

"The mental aspect in the game is huge nowadays and he's in my eyes the best performance coach that's in the country. He's been there, he's done it and he's very relevant to GAA as you know. He's won it as a manager himself. I just thought it was a perfect fit, it was a no-brainer for me. It didn't just fall out of the sky," he added.

[GetOverTheBar]

I'd say its just McGuinness taking a session as a favour (or paid favour) to an old college friend

This is the most likely scenario.

Great boost for Galway none the less. Rare you get an All Ireland winner going "outside", he's going in with a blank sheet and what a year to get involved...Calculated risk by all.

[larryin89]

Don't believe he's only there for one session at all .

[An Fhairche Abu]

I'd say its just McGuinness taking a session as a favour (or paid favour) to an old college friend

This is the most likely scenario.

Great boost for Galway none the less. Rare you get an All Ireland winner going "outside", he's going in with a blank sheet and what a year to get involved...Calculated risk by all.

Sure if it adds a few percentage points of improvement to performance it would be well worth it I suppose, not a lot to lose really if it doesn't work out and he's not the primary coach involved.

We will have to see whether the Galway team will be named tomorrow night as was the usual case before the National Leagues hit the pause button, certainly John Daly is the biggest loss for Galway since then - after Shane Walsh he was my Galway player of the league - and of course some other players may not be going as well now as they were in the spring. Interesting to see will there be much change to the playing panel and the starting 15 anyway. Confirmed today that Paul Kelly, James Foley and John Maher have been added to the Galway panel.

Mayo seemed to be in big trouble in March but it's a different story now as those matches may as well have been played last year at this point, no better lads with their backs to the wall needing a league win then Mayo so Galway will be wary enough. I've no idea what shape either team will turn up on Sunday to be honest, doubtful many do.

[galwayman]

I'd say its just McGuinness taking a session as a favour (or paid favour) to an old college friend

This is the most likely scenario.

Great boost for Galway none the less. Rare you get an All Ireland winner going "outside", he's going in with a blank sheet and what a year to get involved...Calculated risk by all.

Sure if it adds a few percentage points of improvement to performance it would be well worth it I suppose, not a lot to lose really if it doesn't work out and he's not the primary coach involved.

We will have to see whether the Galway team will be named tomorrow night as was the usual case before the National Leagues hit the pause button, certainly John Daly is the biggest loss for Galway since then - after Shane Walsh he was my Galway player of the league - and of course some other players may not be going as well now as they were in the spring. Interesting to see will there be much change to the playing panel and the starting 15 anyway. Confirmed today that Paul Kelly, James Foley and John Maher have been added to the Galway panel.

Mayo seemed to be in big trouble in March but it's a different story now as those matches may as well have been played last year at this point, no better lads with their backs to the wall needing a league win then Mayo so Galway will be wary enough. I've no idea what shape either team will turn up on Sunday to be honest, doubtful many do.

Yeah it's impossible to know how teams are shaping up. I know Mayo played Donegal and Clare recently. Not sure if we have had any games.
I thought there might be a few more additions to the panel actually than those listed (along with Sice obviously).
Kelly and McLoughlin both playing for the 20s this weekend anyway.
Kerin and Cunningham gone off the panel. Probably a few more also.

[larryin89]

Galway raging hot favs for this , think our bucks have all but given up on staying in div one . It's all about Carrick in three weeks time but even at that cant see past a defeat in the Hyde the week after . Very unimpressive club championship as regards county men , AOS aside cause he was very good , likes of Evan regan , Conor o s and Andy still in the top 7/8 forwards in Mayo . Be very concerned we are going nowhere fast as evident pre covid league games .

[macdanger2]

Good move from Joyce to bring McGuinness no matter what capacity it's in. There's literally no downside to it

Odds for Sunday:
Galway 4/6
Mayo 13/8
Draw 13/2

The main thing we have going for us in this match is that our need is greater

[Blowitupref]

Good move from Joyce to bring McGuinness no matter what capacity it's in. There's literally no downside to it

Odds for Sunday:
Galway 4/6
Mayo 13/8
Draw 13/2

The main thing we have going for us in this match is that our need is greater

With that in mind Mayo's odds are very tempting.

[An Fhairche Abu]

Safe to say that ye can lump on, news from the Galway camp on the injury front is poor to the point where you'd be thankful that relegation from Division One isn't something that's on the line over the final two league games.
Shane Walsh is injured, currently in a walking boot and "in a race to be fit for the championship" according to the Irish Examiner, so that's Galway's best player out for the foreseeable and given the truncated nature of the season any player with a significant injury is in serious bother. He was shipping serious punishment in the intermediate championship matches so I don't know if it's that shocking to hear that he is coming back to the panel with injuries.
Walsh is not a player that can be replaced to no matter who comes in instead so that's Galway depleated in a major way,you are adding that to the loss of Daly and also Ronan Steede who is out for the league as well, so looking at a lot of starters from the initial 5 games of the league out now, will be interesting to see how Galway setup at least.

[Farrandeelin]

I suspect that James Horan will continue with the tried and tested on Sunday. He might throw a curveball and fire Darren McHale in from the start. Imagine!

It's a toss up as to how it'll go. A win may still not be enough for Mayo depending on the Tyrone Donegal game. As you said yourself An Fhairche Abu, March seems ages ago now at this stage so the previous 5 games will count for nothing form wise.

[galwayman]

Safe to say that ye can lump on, news from the Galway camp on the injury front is poor to the point where you'd be thankful that relegation from Division One isn't something that's on the line over the final two league games.
Shane Walsh is injured, currently in a walking boot and "in a race to be fit for the championship" according to the Irish Examiner, so that's Galway's best player out for the foreseeable and given the truncated nature of the season any player with a significant injury is in serious bother. He was shipping serious punishment in the intermediate championship matches so I don't know if it's that shocking to hear that he is coming back to the panel with injuries.
Walsh is not a player that can be replaced to no matter who comes in instead so that's Galway depleated in a major way,you are adding that to the loss of Daly and also Ronan Steede who is out for the league as well, so looking at a lot of starters from the initial 5 games of the league out now, will be interesting to see how Galway setup at least.

Shane is irreplaceable full stop. Especially with the form he has shown in 2020.
Hopefully the 2 lads are back for championship. I'd be worried about Steede though - I know Pj mentioned he got an ankle injury against Mountbellew but he was obviously struggling with a knee all through Corofin's club campaign as well.

[mouview]

Safe to say that ye can lump on, news from the Galway camp on the injury front is poor to the point where you'd be thankful that relegation from Division One isn't something that's on the line over the final two league games.
Shane Walsh is injured, currently in a walking boot and "in a race to be fit for the championship" according to the Irish Examiner, so that's Galway's best player out for the foreseeable and given the truncated nature of the season any player with a significant injury is in serious bother. He was shipping serious punishment in the intermediate championship matches so I don't know if it's that shocking to hear that he is coming back to the panel with injuries.
Walsh is not a player that can be replaced to no matter who comes in instead so that's Galway depleated in a major way,you are adding that to the loss of Daly and also Ronan Steede who is out for the league as well, so looking at a lot of starters from the initial 5 games of the league out now, will be interesting to see how Galway setup at least.

Shane is irreplaceable full stop. Especially with the form he has shown in 2020.
Hopefully the 2 lads are back for championship. I'd be worried about Steede though - I know Pj mentioned he got an ankle injury against Mountbellew but he was obviously struggling with a knee all through Corofin's club campaign as well.

Steede's absence is variable as he hadn't really tied down a starting spot anyway. Walsh as you point out is irreplaceable. It's a good argument against a 'split' season. If ever back in normal times, Inter-county must take precedence.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Unfortunately rumours that we will have a couple more absences. And among the U-20's on Saturday as well.

[Blowitupref]

Unfortunately rumours that we will have a couple more absences. And among the U-20's on Saturday as well.

Looks like no Moycullen players due to covid?

[GalwayBayBoy]

Unfortunately rumours that we will have a couple more absences. And among the U-20's on Saturday as well.

Looks like no Moycullen players due to covid?

Official now. Moycullen have a number of cases within their squad.

That would be Sean and Paul Kelly, Dessie Conneely, Gareth Bradshaw, James McLoughlin and Daniel Cox.

Cox, Paul Kelly and McLoughlin in particular would be absolutely massive losses to the U-20's.