Allianz Football League 2017 - Division 3

Started by Junior Ex Laoistalk, September 15, 2016, 02:07:18 AM

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High Fielder

I have no faith in the Senior clubs of Laois to realise the harm they're doing. Three quarters of them are probably happy to be called Senior clubs, when they are actually anything but. Here we go again approaching March playing Kelly Cup (some clubs don't even bother) and then the small step up to league. We play proper football for a couple of months, whilst most other counties manage to slot in some Championship in the first part of the year I'm not convinced that we actually understand and embrace how serious it has all become. We like to think we do, but it's getting away from us.

Downtheroad

#121
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on February 06, 2017, 10:41:40 PM
Jack Nolan made some interesting points on Midlands Radio 3. He says that our county players are generally a reflection of the club game in Laois - lacking physicality, intensity and no consequence for a bad season with so many senior teams off the mark.

We need a strong underage structure once again and a dog eat dog championship like in the hurling. Until then, we are going nowhere only backwards.

Even if we do improve, when we see survival in Div 3 as a success, it shows you how far we have fallen. We are now a top 20 county at best.

The good news for me is that many in Tipp credit Creedon with building the structures in the county and taking on the vested interests. I wish him luck in Laois. The recent resistance to reforming the senior championship illustrates the challenges he faces.
Mightn't always agree with Jack but he has a point here. The lack of intensity and real preparation is evident in the Laois SFC and it's logical that this can have a knock on effect at county level. Until we dispense with the attitude that clubs are too big to be relegated we are doomed. In defence of Laois, the football landscape has changed dramatically in the last 2 decades. Laois are in a group of 16/20 counties below the top level where there is scarcely a kick in the ball between them.

Unlaoised

Amazing what one bad result can do.

I take all your points lads but one bad result changes the mindset of everything.

If we had a full team and beat Louth by say the same scoreline they beat us then its all talk of maybe been a step up from this division and getting promotion back to where we belong.

Colm Kelly was on Wooly's show last night and gave a very honest and frank interview he said he thought Laois were unlucky that there 7 wides in first half cost them and he won't be getting carried away with Louth's win as he said a fall is only around the corner in management .Everything we hit went over the bar he said you don't get nights like that too often that against Dublin they played just as well if not better but couldn't hit a barn door.


I know we have a slipped a level or two since the glory days in early 2000's and McNulty brought back a steel and a hard to beat approach that worked for a spell .

We are a small county with a small population counties like ourselves your Monaghan's Wexford's Westmeath's Offaly's can have these golden spell's where a flock of great talent gets produced all at the same time its very hard to keep that going over a sustained period of time especially when nearly half the county don't play football.

Its up to someone hopefully Creedon to build the structures like whats in Tipperary to go forward at underage for the future.

The County Championship needs to be changed that's for sure and until the dinosaur's get their heads out of the sand that won't change.

What might change is our form this year.I felt like everyone else leaving O'Moore Park on Saturday night but i'd still be hoping by the time Tipperary roll into Town in three weeks we'd be in better shape to judge the team.

I get shot down by my own for being an optimist but it's the only way to think if you want to succeed .

We have good players in our ranks,Brody,Timmons,Begley,Attride,Damien O'Connor,Strong,Meaney,Paul and Donie Kingston,O'Loughlin Quigley,O'Carroll,and even the likes of Sean Moore ...If we could get 11 or 12 of these on the pitch by the end of the league Supported by the likes of Gary Walsh ,Lillis,McMahon,Donoher,and the younger lads coming through who's to say we might not have a good summer yet.

Keep the faith.
LAOIS ABÚ

High Fielder

I'd take what Colm Kelly says with a pinch of salt. I'd say they couldn't believe how piss poor and weak we were. My recollection of those wides were that some of them, most of them even, were pot shots. Lads panicking and making the wrong choices. A pure sign of a nervous or poor player.

Creedon's pedigree suggests he prepares his teams for later in the year. Tipperary, All Ireland semi finalists and an improving team in the last few years, have always languished in the lower leagues. Fair enough, a vote for optimism. But seriously, what I witnessed Saturday night was pathetic. Our lack of work rate without the ball is shameful. Our forwards throw a star jump at backs coming out and then watch them run up the field to set up an attack. And this happens time after time after time. There is no hitting in us, and we just look under pressure all the time. We have to stop that quick transfer of ball from back to front or we will always be under the hammer. Our forwards need to work on getting their own ball, rather than standing there waiting for it to come to them.


redsetanta

The forum was going mad a couple of weeks ago after our draw with Meath with people saying how brilliant we were and things were looking great for the league etc etc. I felt it was great to see at the time aswell however Louth beating them the following day put perspective on that performance and it was said on here.
Since then we get handed our arses in Portlaoise and Kildare do the same to Meath up in Navan.
We might play out a draw with Meath again next year in Div 3.

Injuries to key players was an issue but in saying that Louth were just better drilled and much sharper. The ball carrier always seemed to know that he had support players and when they did break they more often than not raised a flag. Laois on the other hand looked laboured and alot of hand passing went sideways or back. We also had lads doing their own thing and getting dispossessed. One cameo near the end showed Donie trying to break through 3 Louthmen rather than look for someone else. Maybe they weren't available but ultimately he lost the ball and Louth cleared.

Normally you'd say that based on the performance we have no chance in Armagh but of all the teams in Ireland it's the one game you can rarely call so it wouldn't surprise me if we upset the odds. In saying that though it's unlikely with Armagh kicking themselves over their own result at the weekend.
The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. VinceLombardi

Catch and Kick

There is a tendency for contributors to take extreme views on victories and losses. It's either a massive high or an almighty low. Managers are cannon fodder for every loss or mistake made and this cult of the all powerful manager is a myth. The reality is that he is only one piece of the jigsaw. Laois were missing a number of key pieces through injury.
The Laois team that took the field against Louth was considerably under strength. Only the likes of Dublin can cope with that loss of first choice players. Of course they were going to struggle to meet the level of performance that supporters like to see.
And the other tendency is to be dismissive of the opposition. This Louth team is playing excellent football, has a lot of pace and is sprinkled with some strong individual talent. They are no mugs.

Laois will be a different animal with the return of the injured players.

Strength in depth is a problem all Division 3 and 4 teams suffer from; they may have a good crop come along every few years but sustaining that level of player isn't possible due to national weaknesses in the current organisational structures of the GAA. These are likely to worsen in the coming years.

High Fielder

Nobody is looking for Creedon's head. We all know the team was under strength. Nobody dismissed Louth - they beat us by 10 points a few years ago and we snaffled a very lucky 1 point win in Drogheda 2 years ago. We would hope that Laois would be better when some of the injuries clear up. We know we are a small county with a small playing pool.

Bearing all of the above in mind, it was still a shocking performance. The worst I've ever seen, and I hope nobody has seen worse than it.

Junior Ex Laoistalk

#127
I think Kildare beating us in the championship in 1997 with 13 men for most of the game would be a worse beating than this one, we lost 1-11 to 1-7 that unforgettable day. While this was bad it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for all concerned, both players and management.

They might have thought at the back of their minds that this was Div.3 and it would be easy enough to get points but they now know just how difficult its going to be to get out of this group. They will have to work as hard as any Div.1 team and keep their concentration to achieve anything this year and I have no doubt that you will see a different team performance next weekend from these guys.

If we had won this game those thoughts of it being relatively easy would have grown and could possibly have given us a false sense of grandeur, especially with most of our top players missing.
We now know in no uncertain circumstances the level we have to be at to succeed and no doubt management will be pushing that fact home to these lads every chance they get.
Winners are not those who never fail, but those who never quit!

Zooming around

I wouldn't worry too much about the result last Saturday night. At least all the main important things like fashionable jersies, flash hairdos, designer stubbles and fancy boots were all in place.

Laoiseabu

You wouldn't worry too much about the result ? I would, Louth were in division 4 last year and had it far from all their own way In fact they were beaten by Leitrim and only bet Waterford by a point and drew with Antrim . Yet they can bully us from start to finish on our home patch . I'd be very worried about Armagh next then Tipp and then Sligo away could have no points after 4 games.

Zooming around

Quote from: Laoiseabu on February 08, 2017, 12:45:09 PM
You wouldn't worry too much about the result ? I would, Louth were in division 4 last year and had it far from all their own way In fact they were beaten by Leitrim and only bet Waterford by a point and drew with Antrim . Yet they can bully us from start to finish on our home patch . I'd be very worried about Armagh next then Tipp and then Sligo away could have no points after 4 games.

I think you need to reset your sarcasm detector.

Unlaoised

Quote from: Zooming around on February 08, 2017, 02:01:09 PM
Quote from: Laoiseabu on February 08, 2017, 12:45:09 PM
You wouldn't worry too much about the result ? I would, Louth were in division 4 last year and had it far from all their own way In fact they were beaten by Leitrim and only bet Waterford by a point and drew with Antrim . Yet they can bully us from start to finish on our home patch . I'd be very worried about Armagh next then Tipp and then Sligo away could have no points after 4 games.

I think you need to reset your sarcasm detector.


I think this one went over his head  :o :o :o :o :o :o :o
LAOIS ABÚ

Laoiseabu

What's your view on our prospects over the next few weeks Unlaoised ? Can you see results or more misery 👍

town1980

I see more misery,,,that group dropped there heads to quick but yes I am giving out management did not help them,,, I see a loss n Armagh and Tipperary sorry just what I think

Junior Ex Laoistalk

Quote from: blueandwhite1 on February 06, 2017, 10:41:40 PM
Jack Nolan made some interesting points on Midlands Radio 3. He says that our county players are generally a reflection of the club game in Laois - lacking physicality, intensity and no consequence for a bad season with so many senior teams off the mark.
We need a strong underage structure once again and a dog eat dog championship like in the hurling. Until then, we are going nowhere only backwards.
Even if we do improve, when we see survival in Div 3 as a success, it shows you how far we have fallen. We are now a top 20 county at best.
The good news for me is that many in Tipp credit Creedon with building the structures in the county and taking on the vested interests. I wish him luck in Laois. The recent resistance to reforming the senior championship illustrates the challenges he faces.


https://soundcloud.com/midlandssport/still-in-shock-at-poor-they-were
Winners are not those who never fail, but those who never quit!