Overall an encouraging league campaign and a renewed sense for optimism however it's only the league and we shouldn't get too carried away. I'm not sure how well the direct ball into Donnelly and McShane will work in the Championship as a) it's now well signposted what Tyrone will look to do and the opposition will adjust for that and b) the rules will revert back to the normal so defenders will be waiting to pounce on the guy who wins the ball.
I was delighted to see Cassidy get his opportunity and take it on Sunday, he is a fine player and has been knocking about the panel for 3 or 4 years now but injuries and the form of other players have limited his chances. He should retain his place for the Championship opener and hopefully maintains his form.
We've certainly added some good options this year, guys like McDonnell and Kennedy have came in and done reasonably well. Coney has been making an impact off the bench and his passing and football brain is something that stands out from some of the other players. Kieran McGeary has done brilliantly the last few games, Richie Donnelly was excellent against Dublin and again gives us a player who has the vision to kick early and accurately off both feet. There's certainly a nice balance developing and sometimes it can take players 3-4 years to get acclimatised to the level needed .
On the panel itself from my reckoning we currently have 8 players with us that were not there last year (McCurry, Coney, Grugan, Kennedy, Gallen, Rafferty, Canavan, Murnaghan). I would hope and expect Canavan and Murnaghan to drop down to the u20s in the coming months, it's good experience for them to be involved in the senior campaign but they can contribute much more to the u20s this year which should have a very good shot of provincial and national honours. That would leave us with 6 new additions.
From last year we have lost:
McCarron (retired)
Mickey O'Neill (retired)
McNulty (opted out/injury)
Bradley (opted out)
Ronan O'Neill (opted out)
Ruairi Sludden (cut)
Which would effectively leave us with the same size squad as last year but there are a number of players who we haven't seen at all from last year who I'm wondering if they are still involved? From those not named in the squad for Galway that were involved last year:
Ronan McNabb - he wasn't involved in any squad in the McKenna Cup or League and played very little last year. I'm presuming that he has left the squad or perhaps he is injured? He's been very unlucky with injury in the past and an ACL injury after a superb year for Tyrone in 2015 may have been the end of him.
Declan McClure - hasn't been involved in the last few league squads but did play in some of the early games and showed well in the McKenna Cup so I'm presuming it's an injury issue.
Conan Grugan - I presume it's an injury as he has not been involved since the Mayo game which was only our 2nd match of the league campaign
Ciaran McLaughlin - played quite a bit of the McKenna Cup and League but I thought he struggled so I'd presume it's an injury or form related and he is still involved.
Harry Loughran - think he has had one appearance in the league but don't think he featured in the McKenna Cup so presumably it's injury related and struggling to break into a team going well on his return to fitness
David Mulgrew - played the first half of the opening game against Kerry and hasn't been seen since. Again I would say this is an injury, he's a player with great potential but has seen his first few years on the Tyrone panel hampered with injuries. Could be hard for him to make an impact this year now.
Brendan Burns - did his ACL last year so would presume he should be on the way back shortly and the club month might help bring him on but again I would say he is unlikely to be pushing for a place this year.
Ronan McHugh - again hasn't featured this year and I think he suffered a bad injury near the end of last year so I'd presume he won't be involved this year but heard nothing otherwise
Am I forgetting anybody else?
Overall the squad is stronger than last year, particularly in a physical sense and I don't think we will be overawed physically by some of the top teams like we possibly have in the past 3/4 years. Hoping that we can keep all our key players fit and healthy and have a long summer ahead.
I was delighted to see Cassidy get his opportunity and take it on Sunday, he is a fine player and has been knocking about the panel for 3 or 4 years now but injuries and the form of other players have limited his chances. He should retain his place for the Championship opener and hopefully maintains his form.
We've certainly added some good options this year, guys like McDonnell and Kennedy have came in and done reasonably well. Coney has been making an impact off the bench and his passing and football brain is something that stands out from some of the other players. Kieran McGeary has done brilliantly the last few games, Richie Donnelly was excellent against Dublin and again gives us a player who has the vision to kick early and accurately off both feet. There's certainly a nice balance developing and sometimes it can take players 3-4 years to get acclimatised to the level needed .
On the panel itself from my reckoning we currently have 8 players with us that were not there last year (McCurry, Coney, Grugan, Kennedy, Gallen, Rafferty, Canavan, Murnaghan). I would hope and expect Canavan and Murnaghan to drop down to the u20s in the coming months, it's good experience for them to be involved in the senior campaign but they can contribute much more to the u20s this year which should have a very good shot of provincial and national honours. That would leave us with 6 new additions.
From last year we have lost:
McCarron (retired)
Mickey O'Neill (retired)
McNulty (opted out/injury)
Bradley (opted out)
Ronan O'Neill (opted out)
Ruairi Sludden (cut)
Which would effectively leave us with the same size squad as last year but there are a number of players who we haven't seen at all from last year who I'm wondering if they are still involved? From those not named in the squad for Galway that were involved last year:
Ronan McNabb - he wasn't involved in any squad in the McKenna Cup or League and played very little last year. I'm presuming that he has left the squad or perhaps he is injured? He's been very unlucky with injury in the past and an ACL injury after a superb year for Tyrone in 2015 may have been the end of him.
Declan McClure - hasn't been involved in the last few league squads but did play in some of the early games and showed well in the McKenna Cup so I'm presuming it's an injury issue.
Conan Grugan - I presume it's an injury as he has not been involved since the Mayo game which was only our 2nd match of the league campaign
Ciaran McLaughlin - played quite a bit of the McKenna Cup and League but I thought he struggled so I'd presume it's an injury or form related and he is still involved.
Harry Loughran - think he has had one appearance in the league but don't think he featured in the McKenna Cup so presumably it's injury related and struggling to break into a team going well on his return to fitness
David Mulgrew - played the first half of the opening game against Kerry and hasn't been seen since. Again I would say this is an injury, he's a player with great potential but has seen his first few years on the Tyrone panel hampered with injuries. Could be hard for him to make an impact this year now.
Brendan Burns - did his ACL last year so would presume he should be on the way back shortly and the club month might help bring him on but again I would say he is unlikely to be pushing for a place this year.
Ronan McHugh - again hasn't featured this year and I think he suffered a bad injury near the end of last year so I'd presume he won't be involved this year but heard nothing otherwise
Am I forgetting anybody else?
Overall the squad is stronger than last year, particularly in a physical sense and I don't think we will be overawed physically by some of the top teams like we possibly have in the past 3/4 years. Hoping that we can keep all our key players fit and healthy and have a long summer ahead.