Meath vs Dublin 17th June

[Hardy]

Fair enough - a deferred viewing (for one or other game) might have sufficed.

[The Real Laoislad]

I'll be watching the hurling

[The Real Laoislad]

Your lucky im a hunk so 

[Hardy]

Pillar gives directions to Kilberry as news breaks that Cian Ward starts on Sunday.

[Fishead_Sam]

I think that people from footballing counties will tune into the football & those from hurling the hurling, there will be alot of switching back and forth between the two channels with people switching to one or the other if one game is great & the other is a boxing match(I am not implying anything about the Dublin - Meath Match or the Cork hurlers  )

[agorm]

I hear that Pat McEneaney is refereeing the replay. Hopefully he will not be influenced by the media furore over Geraghty. I would say that both teams will be happy with him.

[Louth Exile]

I hear that Pat McEneaney is refereeing the replay. Hopefully he will not be influenced by the media furore over Geraghty. I would say that both teams will be happy with him.

Well if there is one man who wpn't pay any heed to the bulls**t in the media its Pat. You would swear that there was only one game next weekend if the media were to be believed, to be honest its gone way over the top:
1. Back page of yesterday's Sunday World - big Sold Out headline. Not a fact as Dublin or Louth have not yet distributed tickets!!
2. Sunday game last night - in one breath Spillane went from talking about Offaly & Carlow to bringing up the GG incident again. I would thought he should have faced disciplinary measures, he didn't, its over with, forget about it.
3. Spillane last night - he should no better, its one thing a Dublin radio station doing a competition to win tickets to the Dublin Meath game, thats fine. Spillane last night should have been offering tickets to the double header in Croker Park next week! It is a complete insult to Louth & Wexford
Rant over... I'll be at the game on Sunday enjoying hopefully, despite the hype.

[his holiness nb]

Exile, best to just ignore the hype, if its any consolation it probably does Dublin more harm than anyone, and gives non Dubs an excuse to moan about the attention we get.

When it comes to the Dubs, the media is a joke, but they are all in Dublin so its always gonna be like that.

[dinvincible]

I hear that Pat McEneaney is refereeing the replay. Hopefully he will not be influenced by the media furore over Geraghty. I would say that both teams will be happy with him.

Best ref around at the minute im not sure our Dublin neighbours would agree though

[Hardy]

That's a relief - I was dreading the thought that it might be Bannon or Collins. Is Collins still reffing? I haven't seen him in a while.

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Yeah I assumed when Spillane referred to the big game next Sunday that he was talking about Tyrone Donegal! Instead he didnt mention it but talked about 2 teams who havent one an all ireland between them this millenium. The big game has to be the clash of the National League Champions (who have already defeated Armagh) and the 2003/5 All Ireland champions. To be fair I really enjoyed the 1st Dublin Meath game and look forward to watching it on Sunday evening. Its just a pity it couldnt have been played on Saturday.

[stephenite]

When big decisions have needed to be made, Pat generally favous Meath


Never thought '96 would make this bitter

[Sky Blue]

When are tickets distributed? I've been promised two but the guy didn't know when he would have them.

[his holiness nb]

Who is "the guy"
A club official, parnell pass distibutor, or a tout?

[Stagmeister]

KEITH BARR IN THE INDO...

Tuesday June 12 2007


CHAMPAGNE boys, jokers, chokers and actors . . . it's not easy being a Dublin footballer these days with some of the flak you have to face.


It's easy for pundits to play to the gallery but when I heard that Kildare club football was awash with brilliant half-forwards compared to the Dublin squad, I had to pick myself up off the floor. Jayzus lads, get a grip!

There is a 'special' analysis reserved by commentators for the Dubs, one that would rarely be applied to good country lads. And when this analysis strays into the realm of abuse, which seems to be happening increasingly, any decent points to be made are lost in the wash.

What all this criticism should do is provide enough ammunition for the Dublin camp to start another bloody rising. How they use that motivation, though, is critical. Sunday's replay against Meath is a very interesting clash on many levels, but particularly on the line. Colm Coyle won the day in the drawn game because of his switches and substitutions.

Now he must decide whether these mid-game changes will shape his starting line-up, particularly as chief score-taker Brian Farrell is available again. Does he start Cian Ward, even though there is a belief in Meath that he doesn't create enough of his own scores?

Obsession

If Farrell and Ward start, who makes way - Peter Curran, Peadar Byrne? Will he start Nigel Crawford in midfield or is the obsession with Ciarán Whelan too big a risk?

While Dublin will probably remain favourites, there is a new pressure on Meath - expectation. Once the old values of Meath football had been restored by Coyle, their supporters will expect the graph to continue to rise, including beating Dublin. What if he starts Ward and he misses a series of chances, will the bench work as well the next day?

I continue to maintain that Meath are an average side with obvious potential. But I don't see an O'Rourke, Flynn, Stafford or a McEntee in the current line-up and they have a long road to travel before I change my mind.

Pillar Caffrey has his own imponderables. Having only made one substitution last time, he has plenty of scope.

I would switch things around fairly radically because I think it is imperative to go for the jugular playing against a Meath team with renewed belief. Paul Griffin would have to convince me that he will up the ante the next day, otherwise I would be inclined to move Barry Cahill to corner-back.

Shane Ryan and Collie Moran would be better employed as wing half-backs because the half-forward line is not contributing enough to the scoreboard. I would introduce Mark Vaughan and Bernard Brogan to the wing half-forward berths and play Jason Sherlock at centre-forward.

I'm not privy to the exact extent of Jason's injury but it sounds like one that could be patched up for the day with the aid of a good strapping and a jab, especially for a game of this importance. I would gamble with him because there is more to this replay than just safe passage to a date with Offaly. I think Jason could cause problems for Anthony Moyles and that is excuse enough to risk playing him.

Dublin need to line out with more scoring forwards and it is too much to ask Alan Brogan and Conal Keaney to always come up with the goods.

Choker tag

One of the reasons Dublin are coming in for such abuse about being chokers is because they are not converting enough chances, from frees and open play, thereby putting pressure on themselves. Vaughan's presence on the pitch the next day would give them another vital option.

I'm already on record as saying that I would ditch the pre-match circus. It does nothing to help their focus; therefore it serves no purpose. Players need to be greedy, selfish b***tards. Their own focus and performance are paramount and supporters, friends, family - even the clock and scoreboard - need to be ignored for the 70 minutes.

A tasty win over the old enemy should be incentive enough for any man in a blue jersey. Earn your right to march over to Hill 16 - after the game.

So Coyle joins Caffrey in the spotlight next Sunday and whoever plays their cards right will win the day. I believe it will be Dublin.

It's only June and already the stakes are sky high.