Here are our games in the 2019 League Division 3.
2019 Allianz Football League Provisional Fixtures
Round 1
Saturday 26 January
(7.0): Down v Westmeath
Sunday 27 January
(2.0): Carlow v Sligo
(2.0): Offaly v Laois
TBC Louth v Longford
Round 2
Saturday 2 February
(7.0): Laois v Carlow
Sunday 3 February
2.0): Longford v Offaly
(2.0): Sligo v Down
(2.0): Westmeath v Louth
Round 3
Saturday 9 February
(7.0): Down v Laois
Sunday 10 February
(2.0): Carlow v Longford
(2.0): Offaly v Louth
(2.0): Westmeath v Sligo
Round 4
Saturday 23 February
(7.0): Laois v Westmeath
Sunday 24 February
(2.0): Longford v Down
TBC Louth v Sligo
TBC Offaly v Carlow
Round 5
Saturday 2 March
(7.0): Carlow v Louth
(7.0): Down v Offaly
Sunday 3 March
(2.0): Sligo v Laois
TBC Westmeath v Longford
Round 6
Saturday 16 March
(2.0): Carlow v Down
(2.0): Longford v Sligo
(2.0): Louth v Laois
(2.0): Offaly v Westmeath
Round 7
Sunday 24 March
(2.0): Down v Louth
(2.0): Laois v Longford
(2.0): Sligo v Offaly
(2.0): Westmeath v Carlow
Down away is not ideal but looking at the draw we should be there or there about come end of league for promotion. You would be hopeful that the team can kick on again next year.
Sligo away going to replace the famous London trip?
No reason why we can't target promotion. Hopefully Sugrue can add a few players from the club championship
Some interesting names that might come to the fore during the O'Byrne Cup and League.
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2018/09/06/25-footballers-who-could-boost-the-laois-senior-football-panel/
Lots of local derbies, 6 Leinster teams in the division. Would love if Laois could get back to back promotions.
I think promotion will be difficult for Laois. The opener against Offaly, under their new manager, is going to be tough for a start.
I think the Down, Longford and Westmeath games will be the hardest to win and we have two of those at home.
Sligo away will not be easy and Carlow will come looking for some sort of revenge for last year but I think we are probably the strongest team in the group and should be pushing hard for promotion..
It'll be a very competitive League, there wont be much in terms of quality difference between 2nd and 6th. The aim should be for promotion but it wont be a disaster if we stay up in Div 3. Sugrue made leaps and bounds progress in 2018 so it'll be very interesting to see what we can do next year. Would love to see a lot of new faces, as well as the likes of Healy, Merideth and Keogh back to strenghten our backline options. It'll be great to see Sean Moore involved, if he's suitable next year. In fairness, he was quite slight but he has bulked up somewhat. 4 or 5 teams can realistically get promotion; Carlow, Down, Laois are probably the 3 strongest teams on paper but it'll certainly be tight. The difference will be in the preparation this winter.
Underestimate Offaly at your peril.........especially under Maughan.
The county Committee have ratified John Sugrue as Senior Football Manager for 2019 his selectors will be put forward at next meeting.
Also Ratified was Billy O Loughlin as u20 Manager and his selectors are Billy Delaney Stradbally and Liam Brophy St Joseph's , Tommy Byrne Coach.
Quote from: Chrimtain on September 07, 2018, 05:50:32 PM
Underestimate Offaly at your peril.........especially under Maughan.
Meh
I see we've lost home advantage for one of our league Games next year for a " breach of training camp rules". That means 5 away , 2 at home I think
Load of shite in fairness. That a central body can tell you when it's ok to train. Load of shite. That they can place a ban on some counties when everyone is at it. Load of shite. That they somehow differentiate between training as a group and training as an individual. Another load of shite. The GAA heads live in a fantasy world. The modern GAA player can't afford to take time off properly if he wants to retain a certain level of fitness. They want the GAA and its players to be the best that they can be and pride themselves on the fact that this is voluntary and for the love of the sport. Then they go placing bans on lads who want to make themselves more competitive. I'd give the opposing team a walkover and throw the whole thing into chaos. Pure and utter shite
Don. You should delete that rubbish.
Loads of families scourged by illegal drugs.
I'm sure this has nothing whatsoever to do with the money that the GAA would lose if Dublin lost a home game.
High Fielder is right. It's a load of shite. Not only is it a kick in the hole for the players, but it's a kick in the hole for the supporters who will be out of pocket as a result.
If the GAA treated everyone equally, it would be easier to take (even though it is still a load of shite). The treatment of the Laois' and Wexfords of this world is totally out of order. They should fight this to the very end, preferably all 4 counties joning together to do so.
The GAA has long ago stopped treating counties equally or fairly. But in the past decade the focus is on the top 8 teams both by Croker and the media. Competition structures favour the super powers. Its going to get worse with a B Championship. Wont work long term.
It's time for our CB to stand up for the county; the players in particular. The GAA have fucked us about in the last few years and clearly don't give a fiddlers about us. They are a seriously deluded bunch who have no regard for the effort being made in Laois or elsewhere. They need to be told to f**k off and stop putting barriers in our way. It's hard enough getting lads to play and supporters to pay in an era when quite frankly, there is little to entice counties like Laois. A real sickener.
The problem is here- the GAA can't take a Dublin home game away because it shines a very public light on the fact Dublin own Croke Park and they do not want that debate. The GAA cant tell Dublin they loose a game in Parnell Park because they will look like fools and they cant take a Croke Park game because Dublin will say well thats not our Home Ground. This is the result of what you get when you allow a county dow hat they want, when they want and give them millions in the process.
Is there really a debate about whether or not Croke Park is Dublin's home ground? They play their home fixtures there and if they were to be treated like everyone else, they'd have to play in a neutral venue. I don't know - maybe it's because it's an amateur association that money is so important in their decision-making but they really are losing the public with this carry on I think.
If for example they fixed the carlow game for newbridge or the westmeath game for o connor park ..
Id be inclined for sugrue to make a Portlaoise or nowhere stance and put the gaa underpressure thus getting the whole county behind him and getting the Laois people's gander up so to speak it would only work wonders for the spirit he has already created within the camp.and the support who are starting to come back out in numbers ..
f**k the Gaa
LAOIS ARE ON THE UP
Quote from: Don Draper on November 08, 2018, 12:47:57 PM
The Dubs went on an historical outing. Be clear now, it was an historical outing. Philly McMahon will bring out a book about the trip any day now, explaining about how it affected him deeply, almost as deeply as his brothers heroin addiction. Did you know Phillys brother was an addict? You may not have, he doesn't like to talk about it all that much. But yea, his brother died from drug addiction. True story. Not many people know about it.
terrible stupid post. says way more about the anon poster than anything else.
We lost our appeal, only two home games for us in the league
http://hoganstand.com/Laois/article/index/292579?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on November 14, 2018, 03:08:51 PM
We lost our appeal, only two home games for us in the league
http://hoganstand.com/Laois/article/index/292579?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
This is lousy. Really unfair.
Quote from: SCFC on November 14, 2018, 03:26:23 PM
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on November 14, 2018, 03:08:51 PM
We lost our appeal, only two home games for us in the league
http://hoganstand.com/Laois/article/index/292579?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
This is lousy. Really unfair.
COE wont pay for itself lads.
Word has it the wexford hurlers won the appeal as they said it was a team holiday not training camp.
I don't understand this at all. If the reason for this ban was to ensure the integrity of the clubs only rule, how in the name of Christ does it matter if the team went on a trip to see World War I graves in Belgium or kicked a bit of football in Kerry?? Either way, they are not available to their clubs. This just seems completely ridiculous to me.
Quote from: Giovanni on November 14, 2018, 04:23:09 PM
I don't understand this at all. If the reason for this ban was to ensure the integrity of the clubs only rule, how in the name of Christ does it matter if the team went on a trip to see World War I graves in Belgium or kicked a bit of football in Kerry?? Either way, they are not available to their clubs. This just seems completely ridiculous to me.
The difference is Dublin have a very powerful county board and all the money in the world to afford lawyers if they need to.
We in Laois are irrelevant to the GAA.
Seems like Dublin knew exactly what they were doing from the start:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/gaa/how-dublins-footballers-found-inspiration-and-perspective-in-the-green-fields-of-france-866047.html
Not what we'd be used to on a Thursday night indeed..........
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on November 14, 2018, 04:34:16 PM
Quote from: Giovanni on November 14, 2018, 04:23:09 PM
I don't understand this at all. If the reason for this ban was to ensure the integrity of the clubs only rule, how in the name of Christ does it matter if the team went on a trip to see World War I graves in Belgium or kicked a bit of football in Kerry?? Either way, they are not available to their clubs. This just seems completely ridiculous to me.
The difference is Dublin have a very powerful county board and all the money in the world to afford lawyers if they need to.
We in Laois are irrelevant to the GAA.
Again, we're not irrelevant, as they are flowing money into the county in the form of the COE.
What is the connection between the COE and this decision to remove a home game from Laois?
Quote from: Giovanni on November 14, 2018, 04:54:49 PM
What is the connection between the COE and this decision to remove a home game from Laois?
Follow the money young man
Could anyone please translate?
Don is suggesting that Croke Park are funding the COE and Laois are willing to take the rap on the knuckles for breaking the rule instead of rocking the boat and risk losing funding. Its politics.
Quote from: SpeculativeEffort on November 14, 2018, 07:37:27 PM
Don is suggesting that Croke Park are funding the COE and Laois are willing to take the rap on the knuckles for breaking the rule instead of rocking the boat and risk losing funding. Its politics.
Chinatown
Quote from: SpeculativeEffort on November 14, 2018, 07:37:27 PM
Don is suggesting that Croke Park are funding the COE and Laois are willing to take the rap on the knuckles for breaking the rule instead of rocking the boat and risk losing funding. Its politics.
Thanks for this and apologies for being slow on the uptake! Don might be right but if he is, it's really very disappointing. Conleth's Park won't pay for itself either but that didn't stop Kildare making their point (and getting a lot of support for it). If it was really the case in Laois, you'd wonder why they bothered to appeal at all?
It's a f**king farce of a rule . The bullshit in the GAA these days is beyond a joke. Absolute cowboys of the highest echelons over the organisation. It's about time they took their tongues out of Dublin's arses and stop treating smaller counties like horseshite . We need more support off the GAA than Dublin but obviously they don't give a flying f**k about us 😡😡😡😡😡
It's all wrong but it's not a disaster. Our first home game was to be against Carlow
Round 2
Saturday 2 February
(7.0): Laois v Carlow
So what if we have to go to Carlow to play them, we usually beat them down there and they have some happy memories of victory's in O'Moore Park, not against us but victory's all the same which makes O'Moore Park a good place for them.
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on November 15, 2018, 02:19:28 AM
It's all wrong but it's not a disaster. Our first home game was to be against Carlow
Round 2
Saturday 2 February
(7.0): Laois v Carlow
So what if we have to go to Carlow to play them, we usually beat them down there and they have some happy memories of victory's in O'Moore Park, not against us but victory's all the same which makes O'Moore Park a good place for them.
Exactly. The gravy keeps flowing and all we need to do is pop over the border and put Carlow over our knees again in an auld league match. Be grand. Chill the beans lads.
Firstly, I don't think it's established that it's the Carlow game that we lose and secondly the game is supposed to be held in a neutral venue - not in their home ground.
In any case, the issue for me is more about the unequal application of this (ridiculous) rule to different counties. How anyone can consider that to be "grand" is beyond me.
Yeah Carlow shouldnt get home advantage because we broke a rule. Sure that would be unfair on every team in the competition. The rule itself is a grand rule if its enforced fairly which clearly it is not. The point above on Dublin Lawyers is relevent. Dublin have top guys working full time for them who can put the time and resources into working with lawyers and getting information together where we simply do not have that resource. The sad thing here is that again Dublin get away scott free while we are punished. I dont care where we play Carlow- can play them in the scottish highlands, if we are good enough we will win. O Moore park is hardly a fortress these times.
Quote from: Giovanni on November 15, 2018, 08:49:30 AM
Firstly, I don't think it's established that it's the Carlow game that we lose and secondly the game is supposed to be held in a neutral venue - not in their home ground.
In any case, the issue for me is more about the unequal application of this (ridiculous) rule to different counties. How anyone can consider that to be "grand" is beyond me.
Ah its not the end of the world. Britain is collapsing across the water, things could be worse.
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2018/11/15/john-sugrue-farcical-nature-of-ruling-against-us-as-gaa-create-culture-of-rule-bending/
This is the crux of it. Are we going to be honest in the application of this rule or not? Or are we just going to hit the eejits that haven't taken the care to buy a ticket for Daniel O Connell's birthplace.
I suppose we'll know better next time.......... Is that what they want?
And just to continue Dublin's run of good fortune...
Home comforts will continue on the double for Dubs next year
https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/home-comforts-will-continue-on-the-double-for-dubs-next-year-37530481.html
The thing about this is that Dublin and their supporters don't mind travelling at all...... they love a day out. These decisions are purely for political and economic reasons. The hierarchy could not give one fig about a level playing field
We have a few new men on the management team..
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2018/11/16/revealed-laois-manager-sugrue-adds-two-coaches-to-backroom-team-for-new-season/
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on November 16, 2018, 12:07:28 AM
And just to continue Dublin's run of good fortune...
Home comforts will continue on the double for Dubs next year
https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/home-comforts-will-continue-on-the-double-for-dubs-next-year-37530481.html
Really don't understand how all the other counties, who are pumping hundreds of thousands into the preparation of their teams, are accepting this.
On the question of the removal of our home game, there is also an issue for all of the other teams in the Division. Only one team in the Division (the one who avoids having to travel to Portlaoise) will have obtained an advantage that the other teams have not been given. How can that be fair on all the other teams either. The whole thing is a total joke.
Quote from: Giovanni on November 15, 2018, 11:53:56 AM
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2018/11/15/john-sugrue-farcical-nature-of-ruling-against-us-as-gaa-create-culture-of-rule-bending/
This is the crux of it. Are we going to be honest in the application of this rule or not? Or are we just going to hit the eejits that haven't taken the care to buy a ticket for Daniel O Connell's birthplace.
I suppose we'll know better next time.......... Is that what they want?
They want the odd soft touch to roll over and have their belly tickled. It's sad to say but Don is right and it's stuff like the COE funding that makes us the teacher's pet. There are of course other behind the scenes political maneuverings that make anything that John Sugrue has to say irrelevant. It's sad to say and I don't like admitting it because I'm proud of the man and how he conducts himself. But in truth, he'd have been better off wring to Santa. It would have got more of a hearing at least.
Does anyone know how much CoE funding we get from HQ? Is this proportionately more than the amounts received by other counties for similar facilities? I don't know much about the finances but I don't think we're getting any special treatment from a financial point of view.
Mistake number two Giovanni. Assuming everything afforded to Laois can be measured in the yearly accounts. I'll say no more
Quote from: High Fielder on November 16, 2018, 12:35:02 PM
Mistake number two Giovanni. Assuming everything afforded to Laois can be measured in the yearly accounts. I'll say no more
+1
Jesus! I'm sure you boys are closer to the administration of the GAA than I am but if it's really the case that HQ is not being transparent about the payments to various counties, then I'm afraid the future's not bright! So the CoE is being funded on a nod and a wink? Hard to credit that!
The politics of county boards and GAA Councils would make Brexit look like a tea party. The COE is a small cog in the wheel. The loss of home advantage another small cog. You just wouldn't know and probably wouldn't want to the full mechanics. Best just to suck it up and get on with it. This wheel is not for reinventing.
I saw from the Programmes in the last few months that they were looking for sponsors to support the CoE. I had intended to give them something this Xmas. I think I'll give it to the local soccer club instead. John Delaney seems like a paragon of virtue compared to this shit.
I would never discourage anyone from giving towards our development. But you could argue, and you'd have a point, that taking away home games from our own supporters does nothing to develop football in the county. At the end of the day, lads were showing commitment to Laois, and because of a jumped up rule from an equally jumped up administration, we have been penalised. I don't understand it, and in many ways it does little for my interest in the game. The GAA should never discourage a county like Laois, and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so.
We will play Louth in Parnell park we will win it will be forgotton about we will move on
Sugrue confident his side are on track in preparation for Allianz National League opener
(https://www.laoistoday.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/1524793-e1530789282351-640x469.jpg)
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/01/08/sugrue-confident-his-side-are-on-track-in-allianz-national-league-preperation/
Playing Louth in Croker. Curtain raiser to a ladies football game! ::)
Saves them having to open up Parnell Park I guess.
Quote from: The PRO on January 11, 2019, 10:48:26 AM
Playing Louth in Croker. Curtain raiser to a ladies football game! ::)
Curtain raiser to a double header actually.
The Laois hurlers would kill to play in Croker. Have at it I say
The last game with Carlow should be tasty 8)
Quote from: Don Draper on January 11, 2019, 12:59:16 PM
Quote from: The PRO on January 11, 2019, 10:48:26 AM
Playing Louth in Croker. Curtain raiser to a ladies football game! ::)
Curtain raiser to a double header actually.
The Laois hurlers would kill to play in Croker. Have at it I say
The last game with Carlow should be tasty 8)
Suits the grandest anyway. Laois match, watch the rugby on a telly in premium level and then watch the Dubs.
I haven't been to any of the O'Byrne cup games this year so hard to comment on player performance etc.
Anyone have an idea what the opening matchday squad might be, starting team + subs?
Quote from: redsetanta on January 15, 2019, 10:03:15 AM
I haven't been to any of the O'Byrne cup games this year so hard to comment on player performance etc.
Anyone have an idea what the opening matchday squad might be, starting team + subs?
Hard to say. A few lads are sure to start and it's anyone's guess after that. I'd say Brody, Timmons, JOL, the 2 Kingstons, Evan O'C, Dillon and maybe Lillis are nailed on.
I'd say something like ,
Brody
???
Timmons
Dillon
Attride
Begley
???
Jol
Lillis
???
P Kingston
???
Lowry
D Kingston
O Carroll
Well, thank God for that...
http://hoganstand.com/Laois/article/index/294384?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on January 19, 2019, 02:05:21 PM
Well, thank God for that...
http://hoganstand.com/Laois/article/index/294384?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Should suit a defensive team like Laois
Challenge games v Tipp (lost by a point) and Kerry (last night) this week. Plenty of lads looked at.
Anymore information in the games The Pro? What kind of team will line up against Down? Down away is the hardest game we could have so hopefully we have a full deck
i think they lost well to Kerry
Please god we do well in div 3 obviously it's a step up but promotion should be a must
Laois won the challenge game with kerry. Very experimental
Kerry team though so hard to gauge. Laois team seems to be in good physical shape a week out from start of league.
Laois did not beat Kerry in a challenge game get the facts right please
i dont agree with this "promotion is a must" business. We're clearly in transition. Retaining div 3 status wouldn't be a disaster, at all. Of course promotion should be the aim but def not a "must", in my opinion. I see a 3rd - 5th place finish for us, given the context of a bunch of new faces for 2019.
I think we should always be prioritizing promotion, I felt from the very start of Sugrue's reign that under previous management teams, we were victims of complete mismanagement, I personally think we are a mid table Div 2 team. If they miss promotion a fair analysis is asked for, but I have been impressed with Sugrue thus far and what his doing within Laois Football. Long term John Sugrue has been a good appointment for Laois Football, but we should always reflect on the short-term. Offaly are begging players to come in, I don't think there are too many in Laois who said no. Quite the opposite a lot bulling that they are not in with them and others worried about their places. This is start of a recovery but always have decent targets.
Quote from: town1980 on January 20, 2019, 09:50:56 PM
Please god we do well in div 3 obviously it's a step up but promotion should be a must
Are you still f**king here?
Quote from: town1980 on January 20, 2019, 09:50:56 PM
Please god we do well in div 3 obviously it's a step up but promotion should be a must
You have to build them up before you can knock them down. Make them seem like certainties to gain promotion, hope they lose most of their games and then go to town on them.
Quote from: Nameless on January 21, 2019, 10:19:45 AM
Quote from: town1980 on January 20, 2019, 09:50:56 PM
Please god we do well in div 3 obviously it's a step up but promotion should be a must
You have to build them up before you can knock them down. Make them seem like certainties to gain promotion, hope they lose most of their games and then go to town on them.
This fella is a **** from kildare, pay him no heed.
Healy picked up an injury against Kerry at the weekend ,looks like he'll miss the first 3-4 games of the league .
Quote from: les Antiques on January 21, 2019, 11:29:21 AM
Healy picked up an injury against Kerry at the weekend ,looks like he'll miss the first 3-4 games of the league .
Donie is doubtful too I heard. He has a virus of some sort.
Quote from: town1980 on January 20, 2019, 10:17:45 PM
Laois did not beat Kerry in a challenge game get the facts right please
Two Quotes from a Kerry Football Forum, good signs...
(http://i66.tinypic.com/10mtrtf.jpg)
(http://i64.tinypic.com/fwj9qg.jpg)
Thanks for that Junior.
I'd never have seen those comments.
We're gonna murder Down this weekend.
Junior's comments from the Kerry fans forum seems to contradict that idiot, town1980, who, as has been suggested, likes to build up the team only to be able to knock them later. Not sure where he is from, but he needs to get a life.
Personally, I will be happy if we consolidate our position in Div 3.
Quote from: Chrimtain on January 21, 2019, 02:37:07 PM
Junior's comments from the Kerry fans forum seems to contradict that idiot, town1980, who, as has been suggested, likes to build up the team only to be able to knock them later. Not sure where he is from, but he needs to get a life.
Personally, I will be happy if we consolidate our position in Div 3.
He's a simpleton gobshite.
Quote from: Don Draper on January 21, 2019, 02:39:42 PM
Quote from: Chrimtain on January 21, 2019, 02:37:07 PM
Junior's comments from the Kerry fans forum seems to contradict that idiot, town1980, who, as has been suggested, likes to build up the team only to be able to knock them later. Not sure where he is from, but he needs to get a life.
Personally, I will be happy if we consolidate our position in Div 3.
He's a simpleton gobshite.
Not Junior, he seems nice.
Quote from: town1980 on January 20, 2019, 10:17:45 PM
Laois did not beat Kerry in a challenge game get the facts right please
Embarrassing poster. Time to turn off the internet for a while mate. Take up a hobbie or something. You were found out a long time ago.
A lot of familiar names in that Kerry team all the same and we would hardly have had any of the lads who are involved in Sigerson.
Quote from: town1980 on January 20, 2019, 10:17:45 PM
Laois did not beat Kerry in a challenge game get the facts right please
f**k back to whatever hellhole in Kildare you crawled out of. Athy I'd say.
I do wonder about the Town1980 and his intentions on the forum. A practice game in January in the grand scheme of things means very little but his abhorrence to the idea that Laois might have played well and beat an experimental Kerry side does make me wonder.
Division Three will be competitive this year. Down away is a challenging start and Westmeath look in a good place winning the O'Byrne cup with the likes of Dolan, Martin etc. driving them on and the team in physically very good shape. Longford will be buoyed by success of Muillinachta but may suffer from not having likes of John keegan available to them for the early rounds of the league. I wouldn't be surprised if 4/5 teams have a realistic chance of promotion going into the final round of games.
Actually on reflection that did look bad so I apologize for the tone of my post lads it wasn't intentional
Quote from: Don Draper on January 21, 2019, 02:39:58 PM
Quote from: Don Draper on January 21, 2019, 02:39:42 PM
Quote from: Chrimtain on January 21, 2019, 02:37:07 PM
Junior's comments from the Kerry fans forum seems to contradict that idiot, town1980, who, as has been suggested, likes to build up the team only to be able to knock them later. Not sure where he is from, but he needs to get a life.
Personally, I will be happy if we consolidate our position in Div 3.
He's a simpleton gobshite.
Not Junior, he seems nice.
Aw, thanks Don, you're getting soft in your old age.. ;D
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/01/22/sugrue-says-laois-need-to-be-better-than-2018-as-division-3-test-draws-closer/ (https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/01/22/sugrue-says-laois-need-to-be-better-than-2018-as-division-3-test-draws-closer/)
According t othis article from Laois Today we were beaten by Kerry and Tipp last week!
Quote from: redsetanta on January 22, 2019, 09:37:48 AM
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/01/22/sugrue-says-laois-need-to-be-better-than-2018-as-division-3-test-draws-closer/ (https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/01/22/sugrue-says-laois-need-to-be-better-than-2018-as-division-3-test-draws-closer/)
According t othis article from Laois Today we were beaten by Kerry and Tipp last week!
Smoke and mirrors. We went down there and walked all over them.
What game were the lads in Kerry watching. Were Laois that far ahead with 10 minutes to go that they missed the epic comeback.
Whether Laois beat Kerry or not doesn't matter, playing Down does.
It'll be an incredibly tough match and the hardest of the league, we can certainly win it. Donie , if out, is a huge loss. We have a habit of going up north and winning and I hope we can this weekend too. Laois by 1
Agree with PK our record in the North in the league the past decade or so has been fairly decent.
Seemingly in the Tipp match recently Dilion played a half in the no 12 roaming role something Donagher was Good at in recent years . But that was with Healy involved so it'll be interesting to see the team and shape it'll portray when announced.
Such a pity that healy is out. Big pity for himself and us this year. But what can we do.
Not as bad as first feared Tony . Could see him involved towards the latter stages of the league all going well .
Quote from: Tony on January 24, 2019, 11:48:49 AM
But what can we do.
Is there anything to be said for saying another mass?
Quote from: les Antiques on January 24, 2019, 11:52:28 AM
Not as bad as first feared Tony . Could see him involved towards the latter stages of the league all going well .
Good to hear, Les Antiques. The man lives and breathes Laois GAA. I've the upmost respect for him and his dedication to Laois in his career. It'd be great to have him in there, in any capacity. I just hope he gets a good run of it this year, which he deserves. At 32 and with the mileage high in the legs, well, you know the rest. Who knows, he could be playing when he's 42. He's got some heart and he's a terrific player. Wishing him a speedy and healthy recovery.
(https://i2-prod.irishmirror.ie/sport/gaa/gaelic-football/gaelic-football-news/article1788786.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Cahir-Healy.jpg)
Interesting team, would not have seen it from the matches I have seen. Must be a few injuries. Any word on who is still on the panel
Five starters from the county champions. Can't complain about Portlaoise commitment to the county.
Best of lucks lads it won't be easy
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxtNSe2W0AErJDU.jpg)
Hope evan and Paul Kingston are on form or I don't see where we will get scores
Begley injured?
I like that team, I genuinely believe Boyle and Seale are two massive additions to the panel and definite starters come championship but the man to watch for me this year is Evan O'Carroll . I really think he could be a superstar for us and as the main man in attack he will flourish.
Sugrue has the lads going well in training by all accounts and win ,lose or draw against Down I don't think I've trusted a Laois mgt team to make us the best we can be.
It's been ages since i'v posted on here, Actually genuinely looking forward to the league this year.
Strong looking team considering we are missing Healy, Begley and Donie.
Looks like we have genuine options now in the fullback line. I haven't said that in years. Great to see Boyle back.
The new mark system and a full forward line with the 2 kingstons and Evan could be something to look forward to.
I think Down away might be a bridge too far this weekend. Down and Westmeath are probably the 2 best teams in div 3. we have both away.
Realistically a top 3 finish and a fight for promotion is what i'm after.
One or two names I don't like seeing there and I actually think some of our U20's would be better options in some spots. That said, I don't know what availability is like and Sugrue is not someone I distrust, so good luck to the team and I hope it goes well for all involved
I agree with High Fielder, likewise I trust Sugrue to get it right. Next I will agreeing with Tony ;D, it's a weird place to be nearly everyone singing from same hymn sheet. Slightly worrying as I am sure there are flaws but we are all happy to acknowledge and overlook. Good Luck Laois this weekend
ha, you never know, ballyroan - stranger things have happened :D. I think the main reason why people are all backing the setup etc is because we all know the right man is in there at the job. It's been countless years before we all agreed on a manager - maybe micko - and even at that there were a lot of lads saying we could do better. There's a real "feel good factor" around football in laois at the moment, especially given the context of hitting rock bottom and being relegated to div 4 a couple of years ago. It's amazing what a good managerial setup can do for a counties performance. It makes all the difference really. Fellas like Begley, Healy, JOL, Timmons etc, who are coming towards the latter part of their careers deserve a good setup such as this. Sugrue illustrates exactly what we were missing these past years, since McNulty, in my opinion. He's forward thinking, intelligent, proactive and a good man-manager. One cannot but wonder how it would have done had we had decent setups for earlier in this decade. Anyway, onwards and hopefully upwards and looking forward to the 2019 season which really throws in this weekend. Best of luck to all involved for 2019 :)
Down have named a very very beatable 15 . Down people aren't confident about their setup so I think we should fancy ourselves tomorrow
If Laois have anything about them they will win. I stand corrected but unbelievably only 1 player in the Down starting team donnnelly started against Cavan in last years championship match.
Laois home 4 points up coming to the closing stages
You would have to be happy
Delighted with that; some performance. more thoughts tomorrow - now - pints ;D
What a fantastic result from a very difficult opening game for Laois. Great performance from all and terrific use of the bench. How brilliant it is to have lads like that to come on and change the game completely in our favour. This is the start we needed and we can go to Croke Park with a spring in our step and really express ourselves.
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/01/26/brilliant-second-half-performance-sees-laois-get-the-better-of-down-in-league-opener/
That's a great win.
Just saw Steven Miller's tweet. Munelly is some man.
Great win. Interesting to note 8 of the starting 15 from Port & Portlaoise. The counties big urban centres more than pulling their weight. Can only be a good thing.
Just back from newry..great 2nd half..Brought donie and begley on in the 2nd half made a huge difference..different team in the 2nd half..thought jol was very good tonight,and evan ocarroll...not a huge laois crowd..but what was dere was great...This was a great start for them..delighted to have portlaoise lads on it...thought colm murphy had a great 2nd half..things looking good...
Great win. Didn't look like it early in the second half when we went 5 down against the wind. Down got a bit of a spurt before half time and pushed the league to four. It flattered them i thought as we had a lot of possession but found it hard to break down their blanket defense. We were over cautious at times. The two changes at half time worked a dream especially Donie. He went centre forward and offered a fulcrum, Begley to wing back and Dillon back to the corner. Unlucky on campion as he picked up a soft yellow from a picky ref. Work rate went up and a few real standouts, donie's Point from play and a turnover on the sideline lifted the team. Went really direct with Donie, Evan and Murphy doing damage. Once we got a run on them they were vulnerable. Should have had more goals, if only Evan would lift his head at times and Paul hitting the crossbar. Begley went asleep for their goal but we powered through to the end.
Great team effort, which gives us a great start. Backs were ok. The mark caught them out a few times. Piggot looks like he will be centre back. Midfield worked hard, jol took a bit of abuse. Probably both two alike in that they sit deep, which could be the game plan. Sean Byrne very intelligent player. Like the look of him. Donie made a big difference, one big mark in particular. Boyle kicked three points and got on a lot of ball, very good passer. Murphy great second half, really showed well and one great catch over his head. Evan the star man and could have doubled his score. He could do anything with frees though. Looks in great form. Not Paul Kingston's best night. Good to see Paul C finishing his goal after the miss.
Game of two halves. We were woeful in the first half and getting bullied. Down deserved their lead but it was encouraging that it was only four points because a better team would have doubled that margin. Donie came on and they hadn't a clue how to deal with him. Begley brought a bit of composure albeit he let their man in behind him for their goal. Lillis and O'Loughlin disappointed me because they bought into the mayhem around them when they should be experienced enough to make gains. They didn't help themselves by never looking forward, particularly in the first half, although it could be argued that movement in front of them was poor. Thankfully the changes created space and the bit of experience helped too. We were braver in our approach play and supporting each other. The gaps inevitably appeared. A good start but still some obvious weaknesses, particularly in the full back line. The high ball in is a big problem for us
Great start for Laois. Hopefully they will keep it going now. Its impressive how Sugrue is slowly changing the age profile of the team. Don't want to get carried away, but there are two winnable matches against Louth and Sligo coming up now.
Delighted to kick start the competitive year with 2 away points against another of the promotion prospects . Didn't make it to Newry but encouraging to hear about the panel we are developing and the depth on the line .
The physical size of the introductions in the second half shows what's at our disposal this year .
A early year run out in Croker next Saturday can only be a good thing .
What a turn around in the second half. It might be unfair on the other players to say that Kingston turned the game single handily but for sure, we would not have won without his introduction. At centre forward he won a lot of ball, created scores and got some himself. Training for a full season will make a big difference. Great league debut for Murphy. Early days but he looks the part. O'Carroll is very dangerous but his accuracy can let him down sometimes. Johno was good in the second half, a solid debut from Byrne and Boyle had a good game with 3 points. Only thing is his lack of pace.
It got him bottled up a few times and it is our weakness around the middle I think. The one thing that really is encouraging is the competition for places. Paul Kingston didn't have his best game so Cahilane has put his position under serious threat. He got a goal and hit the bar but he's also a left-footed free-taker which might put him ahead. We had O'Carroll missing two from that side in the first half. Nerney did ok at full back, decent back up for Timmons. Seale and Campion did fine. Dillon was moved back for the second half and we have Healy to come back also. Piggot is strong and a tight marker, we should give him a run at centre back. Then where to play Begley?
Maybe midfield, is Meaney still around? Sugrue indicated that he's going to give players a go so we'll see where that leads us. You have to perform to keep your place or claim a place. Training matches must be very competitive. Encouraging signs, very positive but still a lot to work on and figure out. A great way to start the league, next to an empty Croke Park. ;D
There was a significant moment at the start of the second half when Pigott got stuck into their midfielder. I thought it set the tone. He took the yellow and they stopped their funny stuff. I like this lad a lot. We could do with a few more like him. He's not dirty but he's a bit bould and there's nothing wrong with that at all. We upped our physicality from that moment on and didn't look back
High fielder..dont no what match u were at..
Probably the one you weren't
Quote from: High Fielder on January 27, 2019, 11:40:11 AM
There was a poignant moment at the start of the second half when Pigott got stuck into their midfielder. I thought it set the tone. He took the yellow and they stopped their funny stuff. I like this lad a lot. We could do with a few more like him. He's not dirty but he's a bit bould and there's nothing wrong with that at all. We upped our physicality from that moment on and didn't look back
??
Meant significant. Thanks for the spell check. This has been rectified
Quote from: welcomehome on January 27, 2019, 11:43:05 AM
High fielder..dont no what match u were at..
Not sure what that's about, welcomehome - I thought High Fielder was spot on in his analysis. We should be pleased with our performance and there are huge positives; yet we do have a lot to work on if we want to take things to the next level. Our pace and inexperience in some areas might be an issue, but, again, given where we where just this time last year, we've made huge progress and things look relatively positive. Looking forward to Croke Park, and, in a way it'll be nice to have an early trip up there instead of a home match. Here's the big man himself, John Sugrue, post Down which includes some updates on the panel and injury news :
https://soundcloud.com/midlandssport/john-sugrue-post-down
Quote from: High Fielder on January 27, 2019, 12:09:49 PM
Meant significant. Thanks for the spell check. This has been rectified
I'm sure it was poignant too.
Also, for Laois GAA diehards who can't get enough of the thing, here's a good relatively new "LaoisToday" podcast about the 2019 National Football League. This one is from a couple of days ago with some interesting Laois men and perspectives, including the great Padraig Clancy:
https://soundcloud.com/laoistoday/football-240119
Great to score 2 goals yesterday as we have struggled under previous managers to do this. A good battling performance but tougher tests to come. Carlow put up a decent score in Sligo. Westmeath just got over Offaly. Will be a very competitive campaign.
Quote from: redsetanta on January 27, 2019, 10:21:37 PM
Great to score 2 goals yesterday as we have struggled under previous managers to do this. A good battling performance but tougher tests to come. Carlow put up a decent score in Sligo. Westmeath just got over Offaly. Will be a very competitive campaign.
Sligo are shite. Westmeath always struggle with their betters in Offaly.
We'll be a-one.
That was a home game for Carlow and was a horrible game to watch, especially the first half. Carlow are still as defensive as ever and the goal was on OG which came from a 45. Laois should be well able to finish in the top two positions in this group. John Sugrue said he is still working from a panel of 40 so he has lots of options still. Great win up there in what was a very hostile atmosphere and sets us up nicely in the group.
Nice to see Sugrue didn't cull the panel as speculated by some on here at the time.
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on January 28, 2019, 07:18:31 AM
Great win up there in what was a very hostile atmosphere and sets us up nicely in the group.
It was just like playing away in Galatasaray! ;D I don't know where you were but that was far from hostile.
Fantastic win in Newry, unreal second half especially.
Big Donie did untold damage in the 2nd half, what a genius. The Portarlington lads all did very well. Everyone tried hard, we were physical.
Lets push on now for round 2 in Croke Park.
Quote from: Don Draper on January 28, 2019, 10:14:12 AM
Nice to see Sugrue didn't cull the panel as speculated by some on here at the time.
He will have to at some stage though you'd think. 40 plus seems too many. 35 or 36 seems to be the usual number carried.
I'd say a few under 20's will drop to their own panel.
A great start and a good foundation for the rest of league .
BTW I was reading Downs forum to see what their take is and they claim that Carlow's Steven Poacher had an altercation with Laois stats team at the back of the stand and threw a water bottle at them. Has anyone heard anything about this?
Quote from: portlaoisekid on January 28, 2019, 03:41:34 PM
A great start and a good foundation for the rest of league .
BTW I was reading Downs forum to see what their take is and they claim that Carlow's Steven Poacher had an altercation with Laois stats team at the back of the stand and threw a water bottle at them. Has anyone heard anything about this?
Impossible. Not Stevie. Wouldn't be in his nature. I'd say he was offering him a drink and possibly his hand slipped.
Was humming and hawing about whether to head up to this on Saturday night but was delighted that I did!
The thing that struck me was that every Laois player knew exactly what they were doing and the team performance was outstanding. While it's true that Donie did make a difference when he came on, I don't agree that this result was all about Donie. There was a fantastic structure to everything that was done and even when we went 5 point down, I never really felt we were out of it. The players showed a lot of composure and confidence in breaking down what looked like a pretty organised Down defence.
On player performance, I thought that of all of the new lads did well. Adam Campion and Seale had their hands full but the longer the game went on, the better they got. Piggott had a pretty good second half - his man Poland, who I thought looked a very good player in the first half, was eventually substituted in the second. Sean Byrne was also quiet enough in the first half but he did make one outstanding catch and made a goal-saving tackle/block to deny Down at a critical time.
The other thing that struck me was the fitness levels of the older lads. I thought Colm Begley looks like he's in better shape than he's ever been and JOL who has sometimes looked a bit sluggish in the past seemed to be flying even on the soft ground. Donie has a bit of catching up to do in that respect.
I didn't get the hostile atmosphere - in fact I thought the Down supporters were a lot more hospitable than you might find in some other northern counties (or southern ones for that matter).
I was in the stand, not too far in front of the where the officials were seated. I didn't see any incident but I'm assuming it would have been behind me so that's not to say it didn't happen.
I wasn't up in Newry myself. What did people make of the forward mark? Looks like both teams got a few scores from them. I can see more teams becoming even more defensive to prevent a free kick at goal.
Wasn't a hostile crowd. Some of them seemed down on there own team.
Wow what a win ...
Delighted I travelled up although a quick call to realitives in the North meant i misjudged the time and missed the first 12 minutes of the game .
I was impressed with Laois and our fitness levels .
Byrne Piggott and Murphy done themselves no harm
Boyle slotted in there like he was never away and gives us options on the ball when he releases it quick due to his accurate kick passing .
Dillion was good as was o loughlin
Donnie made a huge difference but Evan gets my nod for man of the match ...yes the odd silly selection on shots etc but he really looks in great shape this year and kept us in it in the first half ...
Great to see callihane involved hopefully he stays around .
Down were poor on the night and didn't seem as Well drilled as us esp when the conditions were with them in the second half .
There supporters were complimenting our style .
One guy said he was glad to see Donie back to form as he thought 10 years ago he was going to be better than Benny counter after a performance against Down in o Moore park ..
Bring on the wee county in croker
Quote from: smcder on January 29, 2019, 11:52:41 PM
Wasn't a hostile crowd. Some of them seemed down on there own team.
Going in I was greeted with,"F..k back home and bring those blue shirted b**tards with ya.. Inside we got some very unhealthy looks and some choice words from a few guys behind us and later on I heard a commotion near the back of the stand like chairs been thrown around or something, might have been coming from the commentary box. The stand was great and the match was good at times, especially the second half. There was only two of us but we made sure to walk out with a crowd... just in case like... :)
Sales of tin foil are going well in dunnes this week Junior. Ah no, if that's what you experienced, that's not nice. I found the crowd we were around to be quite friendly. And we didn't hide that we were from Laois. Maybe you got the 1% who are at every ground. They're always there. Somewhere. Lurking. You know it's not your day when one is sitting or standing right behind you at a match. They never shut up and they never stop talking #&§£;#:
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on January 30, 2019, 02:29:21 AM
Quote from: smcder on January 29, 2019, 11:52:41 PM
Wasn't a hostile crowd. Some of them seemed down on there own team.
Going in I was greeted with,"F..k back home and bring those blue shirted b**tards with ya.. Inside we got some very unhealthy looks and some choice words from a few guys behind us and later on I heard a commotion near the back of the stand like chairs been thrown around or something, might have been coming from the commentary box. The stand was great and the match was good at times, especially the second half. There was only two of us but we made sure to walk out with a crowd... just in case like... :)
Jesus, are you ok?
I wasn't in Down Saturday but have been before and always found them one of the soundest crowds up in Ulster. Very welcoming anytime I ever umpired up there.
Quote from: Heshs Umpire on January 30, 2019, 04:22:46 PM
I wasn't in Down Saturday but have been before and always found them one of the soundest crowds up in Ulster. Very welcoming anytime I ever umpired up there.
This always thought Down Donegal and Monaghan were the friendly sorts ..
Tyrone and Armagh are well Tyrone and Armagh ...Derry not the nicest and Cavan seem to have that chip on their shoulder about once being great ...
Antrim can be hostile esp in hurling if the game is tight ..
Only was in fermanagh once and found them to be far from complimentary
I recall being at a minor All Ireland Semi Final replay against Derry and having a Derry supporter repeatedly shout 'Youse Gaolers Youse' at Laois supporters after they had beaten us.
Needless to say, I didn't like them.
Eoin Buggie on the Laois panel?
Quote from: Don Draper on January 30, 2019, 08:13:22 AM
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on January 30, 2019, 02:29:21 AM
Quote from: smcder on January 29, 2019, 11:52:41 PM
Wasn't a hostile crowd. Some of them seemed down on there own team.
Going in I was greeted with,"F..k back home and bring those blue shirted b**tards with ya.. Inside we got some very unhealthy looks and some choice words from a few guys behind us and later on I heard a commotion near the back of the stand like chairs been thrown around or something, might have been coming from the commentary box. The stand was great and the match was good at times, especially the second half. There was only two of us but we made sure to walk out with a crowd... just in case like... :)
Jesus, are you ok?
I am, and don't call me Jesus... ;D
Ah no, to be honest it was a very small minority, any other Down supporters I spoke to were sound
Quote from: Chrimtain on January 30, 2019, 10:23:37 PM
I recall being at a minor All Ireland Semi Final replay against Derry and having a Derry supporter repeatedly shout 'Youse Gaolers Youse' at Laois supporters after they had beaten us.
Needless to say, I didn't like them.
He wasn't wrong. We have a lot of people working in the Gaol.
Quote from: Butch Cassidy on January 30, 2019, 10:46:19 PM
Eoin Buggie on the Laois panel?
I believe so Butch but along with Hitchcock and couple of others they were involved with the Siegerson which would have ended for most of them this week .
Except changes for the louth game .!
My mistake most of them will be involved again next Wednesday .Good wins for Carlow IT and UCD yesterday . Evan was excellent for UCD apparently.
Quote from: les Antiques on January 31, 2019, 11:54:43 AM
My mistake most of them will be involved again next Wednesday .Good wins for Carlow IT and UCD yesterday . Evan was excellent for UCD apparently.
O'Carroll is flying it, I said it last week and I'll say it again he can become a superstar player for us.
Quote from: portlaoisekid on January 31, 2019, 02:26:58 PM
Quote from: les Antiques on January 31, 2019, 11:54:43 AM
My mistake most of them will be involved again next Wednesday .Good wins for Carlow IT and UCD yesterday . Evan was excellent for UCD apparently.
O'Carroll is flying it, I said it last week and I'll say it again he can become a superstar player for us.
The Kingston/O'Carroll axis could be lethal! Either in the full forward line together or with Kingston at centre forward.
The sounds are that a few more lads will be given a go this weekend. Now is the time to do it. Louth don't appear to be up to much.
The attacking mark if kept for the championship would work very well for Kingston and O'Carroll. O'Carroll has really benefited from Sugrue's management and playing probably the best football in his career so far. On the flip side, we could be vulnerably defensively to an attacking mark. Monaghan had Dublin in serious panic everytime ball sent in towards McManusvand co in second half. By time championship comes around I'm sure Gavin will have figured out way to negate the threat but it does provide teams with a potential weapon of getting at the Dublin defense.
Louth losing at home to a very weakened Longford team would suggest that they are very much there for the taking this weekend.
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/01/31/laois-senior-football-team-named-for-louth-clash-in-croke-park/
Wasn't expecting this. No Donie, Evan or Colm Begley starting and another Croke Park outing for Ross Munnelly. However, I can understand that JS does not want to over use Evan, given his Sigerson Cup exploits.
Hopefully it will all work out and we will have another two points in he bag on Saturday evening.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyRN9rOWsAAR5ig.jpg)
Hopefully there's enough scoring threat there. Can see Donie and Even being needed off the bench.
I can see why Ross is starting. After the match in Newry, he was doing his own solo training while most other people were gone. He's very hungry to keep playing and he's some example for the younger lads on the team. He's some man and delighted he's starting, especially in Croke Park. I consider him a legend of Laois football and it's a privilege to see him perform all these years later. 2002 - 2019 is some run, who's to say he wont make it 20 years in 2022.
did he play in 2002?? I thought he started in 2003 in the league
Training with the panel since 02 but yeah, competitive debut in 03.
Quote from: on the hop on February 01, 2019, 07:17:45 PM
did he play in 2002?? I thought he started in 2003 in the league
Correct, I don't think he even trained more than once in 2002. Called in to make up numbers from the U21s once.
He's going long enough, we don't need to make up an extra year.
Too many lads playing with fear. Puts pressure on the whole machine.
Bad day. A total mess. Words are hard to find. Some lads for all their work rate, lack bottle and any sort of quality. Big kick up the arse
A bit like what is going on with the rugby team, today was a shocker for the team and management. Louth were no word beaters but they seemed far more mobile and clued in to what they were doing. We were shambles a lot of the time, with no shape to defense and no idea how to deal with their mass defense. The sending off further compounded matters as they used the spare man well. The three goals were shocking and really exposed us. If we had even a big of composure at the end we could have made them nervous, but some horrible options taken. I don't know what really you can say, it was that bad, we ended the game with our goal keeper chasing around their full back line trying to win back possession. At least he was trying
I wouldn't worry too much about that performance. I think it was typical of Laois teams down through the years, win a game they're not expected to and the cockiness creeps in and inevitably they are caught in the next game. I really believe if we had lost to Down we would have picked up two points here today.
John Sugrue seems to be the type of guy who will use that performance to drive home a few things to these guys and I hope they learn from it. I believe they will and Sligo will suffer for it next week.
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on February 02, 2019, 06:59:20 PM
I wouldn't worry too much about that performance. I think it was typical of Laois teams down through the years, win a game they're not expected to and the cockiness creeps in and inevitably they are caught in the next game. I really believe if we had lost to Down we would have picked up two points here today.
John Sugrue seems to be the type of guy who will use that performance to drive home a few things to these guys and I hope they learn from it. I believe they will and Sligo will suffer for it next week.
"John Sugrue seems to be the type of guy who will " my arse . He's the one that made the decision not to start O'Carroll Kingston and Begley. How can u win.
Ah lovely, we're turning on Sugrue already, what a shower of c***ts we are
Pay no heed to fools like that . ''Twas a bad day that's all I think you'll see that vast majority on here have full confidence in JS and his management team
Quote from: Laoiseabu on February 02, 2019, 07:53:17 PM
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on February 02, 2019, 06:59:20 PM
I wouldn't worry too much about that performance. I think it was typical of Laois teams down through the years, win a game they're not expected to and the cockiness creeps in and inevitably they are caught in the next game. I really believe if we had lost to Down we would have picked up two points here today.
John Sugrue seems to be the type of guy who will use that performance to drive home a few things to these guys and I hope they learn from it. I believe they will and Sligo will suffer for it next week.
"John Sugrue seems to be the type of guy who will " my arse . He's the one that made the decision not to start O'Carroll Kingston and Begley. How can u win.
You embody the worst in any "fan" f*ck off the bandwagon and go boil your head.
Best of luck to john and the team on the rest of the season great to see a couple of 100 travel up to croker for a leauge match.
Does anybody know how bad Sean Byrnes injury is??
Just back from croke park,really dont no what to say..There was no one u could say played good,except maybe brody..Hopefully its just an off day,we certainly got a wake up call today..I cannot understand why donie evan and begley dont start,i would love to know who in there right mind put this match in croke park.THE TEAMS CAME OUT TO AN EMPTY STADIUM...
Quote from: O moore parklife on February 02, 2019, 08:46:28 PM
Quote from: Laoiseabu on February 02, 2019, 07:53:17 PM
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on February 02, 2019, 06:59:20 PM
I wouldn't worry too much about that performance. I think it was typical of Laois teams down through the years, win a game they're not expected to and the cockiness creeps in and inevitably they are caught in the next game. I really believe if we had lost to Down we would have picked up two points here today.
John Sugrue seems to be the type of guy who will use that performance to drive home a few things to these guys and I hope they learn from it. I believe they will and Sligo will suffer for it next week.
"John Sugrue seems to be the type of guy who will " my arse . He's the one that made the decision not to start O'Carroll Kingston and Begley. How can u win.
You embody the worst in any "fan" f*ck off the bandwagon and go boil your head.
Best of luck to john and the team on the rest of the season great to see a couple of 100 travel up to croker for a leauge match.
[/quote
It's the truth . You can't afford to be without your 3 best players on from the start
Quote from: Jd on February 02, 2019, 08:35:28 PM
Pay no heed to fools like that . ''Twas a bad day that's all I think you'll see that vast majority on here have full confidence in JS and his management team
I'm not a fool. It was his decision not to start our three best players. I'm stating my opinion . I know the truth hurts but someone has to point it out. We are fooling ourselves if we think Donie Evan and Colm shouldn't be starting . Those three players were the reason we got a victory in Newry.
this division could be a game of snakes and ladders.
great result in newry, horrid today.
the only point I would add is that over the years, I have found louth to be a team which needs to lead early if they are to win.....when they beat us in the championship and more recently two years ago in the league they amassed big leads and we never were in the hunt. when louth fall behind , they a rarely make a comeback.
therefore starting our best forwards in the hope of establishing an early lead was important against this opposition.....bringing on donie and evan when the damage was done failed to rescue the situation.
it is easy to be wise after the event.....looking ahead to Sligo next sunday.....our problem against them over the years has been discipline(keeping 15 on the field), if we address this aspect in advance of next sunday we can win that game.
Quote from: welcomehome on February 02, 2019, 09:43:48 PM
Just back from croke park,really dont no what to say..There was no one u could say played good,except maybe brody..Hopefully its just an off day,we certainly got a wake up call today..I cannot understand why donie evan and begley dont start,i would love to know who in there right mind put this match in croke park.THE TEAMS CAME OUT TO AN EMPTY STADIUM...
We put it in Croke Park
Quote from: Laoiseabu on February 02, 2019, 10:03:42 PM
Quote from: Jd on February 02, 2019, 08:35:28 PM
Pay no heed to fools like that . ''Twas a bad day that's all I think you'll see that vast majority on here have full confidence in JS and his management team
I'm not a fool. It was his decision not to start our three best players. I'm stating my opinion . I know the truth hurts but someone has to point it out. We are fooling ourselves if we think Donie Evan and Colm shouldn't be starting . Those three players were the reason we got a victory in Newry.
Evan needs minding
Donie is recovering from a virus
Colm is returning from injury
Why flog them in a league match a risk worse injury and log term absence?
You're being quite foolish here. We need to develop new leaders and new players.
Quote from: Don Draper on February 02, 2019, 10:26:41 PM
Quote from: Laoiseabu on February 02, 2019, 10:03:42 PM
Quote from: Jd on February 02, 2019, 08:35:28 PM
Pay no heed to fools like that . ''Twas a bad day that's all I think you'll see that vast majority on here have full confidence in JS and his management team
I'm not a fool. It was his decision not to start our three best players. I'm stating my opinion . I know the truth hurts but someone has to point it out. We are fooling ourselves if we think Donie Evan and Colm shouldn't be starting . Those three players were the reason we got a victory in Newry.
Evan needs minding
Donie is recovering from a virus
Colm is returning from injury
Why flog them in a league match a risk worse injury and log term absence?
You're being quite foolish here. We need to develop new leaders and new players.
That's the most sensible thing you have said in a long time Don.. Congrats.. ;D
Firstly, reasons why we should have been able to win this game.
(1) Louth have officially the worst league record in the country losing their last ten matches in the league which includes the defeat to Tipp in the 2017 Division 3 league final.
(2) Louth have not won a match in Croke Park since beating Westmeath in the Division 3 final in 2011.
(3) Louth were 14/1 with the bookies not to win a game in Div 3.
(4) Since the beginning of last year Louth have only won two O'Byrne cup games.
Evan is in danger of being burnt out before the championship starts so it was a good decision to rest him until needed. Playing lads who are injured is not a good idea especially when we have a panel of lads who need game time. I thought Mark Timmons was badly missed today, we needed some experience in the defence and I think if Kevin Meaney was there he would have strengthened our midfield when Lillis got his walking papers.
Its still a learning curve for both players and management and I have no doubt they will all learn from this regarding attitude, commitment and keeping focused on the game in hand and not on previous results.
Alarm bell one. Our two midfielders were giving away a lot of height. Long kicks meaningless. Alarm bell two. Two inexperienced and nervy defenders left isolated without a sweeper. Alarm bell three. One of their forwards clearly rinsing one of our inexperienced backs and creating the perfect conditions for incoming attackers. Tackling powderpuff. Support play the stuff of negligence. Lads not tuned in and watching their team mates getting bottled up time after time. Just one of those performances that make you think that we made a fortune backing Louth at whatever ridiculous price they were. We can't be that bad and I know we're not but yet I can't understand what the hell happened today. I know we have lads playing who are a long way off what is needed even in the lower Divisions
Hard to put your finger on a performance like that; I thought there were poor performances lacking urgency all around the field, apart from Brody, Begley, Attride and Ross in the first half. HOWEVER, it's a league match at the start of February and I wouldn't be getting carried away one way or another, just like post Down victory last week. It's hard to know where we stand currently, we'll only know that come end of league / championship time.
However, one thing I do know is that the starting championship team will likely look VASTLY different to the one starting yesterday. I thought we lacked pace yesterday which was a killer, and I thought we lacked experience in VITAL areas. Anyway, it was valuable experience for a lot of lads like Piggott, Murphy, Nerney etc and it will bring those lads on a lot, and I think all the newer faces need and deserve a lot more time.
My team for the end of League / start of Championship looks something like this -
Brody
Healy/Seale Timmons Dillon
Attride Begley Lillis
JOL Quigley/Meaney
Boyle Donie Damien O' Connor/Byrne
P Kingston Evan O' C Colm Murphy / Cahilane
I know there are hardly any new faces there and that's an ageing team, but you have to go with your best 15 for C'ship, and, I see that being our best team come April or May. Plenty of size and decent pace in important areas. I still think there's a lot of potential in the likes of Nerney, Piggott, Byrne etc and there is a lot of competition for places / room for new lads to step up and claim their place. I just think that's the best we have in 2019; still mostly the old guard. Still life in them all yet, though, in my opinion.
Quote from: Tony on February 03, 2019, 09:28:15 AM
Hard to put your finger on a performance like that; I thought there were poor performances lacking urgency all around the field, apart from Brody, Begley, Attride and Ross in the first half. HOWEVER, it's a league match at the start of February and I wouldn't be getting carried away one way or another, just like post Down victory last week. It's hard to know where we stand currently, we'll only know that come end of league / championship time.
However, one thing I do know is that the starting championship team will likely look VASTLY different to the one starting yesterday. I thought we lacked pace yesterday which was a killer, and I thought we lacked experience in VITAL areas. Anyway, it was valuable experience for a lot of lads like Piggott, Murphy, Nerney etc and it will bring those lads on a lot, and I think all the newer faces need and deserve a lot more time.
My team for the end of League / start of Championship looks something like this -
Brody
Healy/Seale Timmons Dillon
Attride Begley Lillis
JOL Quigley/Meaney
Boyle Donie Damien O' Connor/Byrne
P Kingston Evan O' C Colm Murphy / Cahilane
I know there are hardly any new faces there and that's an ageing team, but you have to go with your best 15 for C'ship, and, I see that being our best team come April or May. Plenty of size and decent pace in important areas. I still think there's a lot of potential in the likes of Nerney, Piggott, Byrne etc and there is a lot of competition for places / room for new lads to step up and claim their place. I just think that's the best we have in 2019; still mostly the old guard. Still life in them all yet, though, in my opinion.
Great logical post makings of a battle hardened team there alright id much rather give young lads game time and potentially put out a "weaker" team and have them blooded for high intensity matches in Leinster and beyond
Good post Tony but i worry abou the pace on that team around the middle. The only one with natural pace on the half back line/midfield/ half forward line is Attride. The way the game has gone pace and power are essential and it's a big weakness on our team. Farrell and Damien O'Connor have good pace so can see them starting
Quote from: High Fielder on February 03, 2019, 12:32:52 AM
Alarm bell one. Our two midfielders were giving away a lot of height. Long kicks meaningless. Alarm bell two. Two inexperienced and nervy defenders left isolated without a sweeper. Alarm bell three. One of their forwards clearly rinsing one of our inexperienced backs and creating the perfect conditions for incoming attackers. Tackling powderpuff. Support play the stuff of negligence. Lads not tuned in and watching their team mates getting bottled up time after time. Just one of those performances that make you think that we made a fortune backing Louth at whatever ridiculous price they were. We can't be that bad and I know we're not but yet I can't understand what the hell happened today. I know we have lads playing who are a long way off what is needed even in the lower Divisions
My thoughts exactly. The management for some reason have not developed any sort of kick out strategy other than lumping it on jol the majority of the time. Even after losing Lillis we still aimed everything at him. With their height advantage they just broke ball off him. Most teams work kick outs for a high retention return, ours seemed to be 50/50.
Wasn't at this match yesterday but, in fairness, I thought they had clearly worked on kick outs for the down match. I doubt if they abandoned all that yesterday.
Down beat Sligo, Offaly and Longford draw. Do we go with the strongest team next week against Sligo, or do we stick with what we are doing. Vital game already in a tight division
Good question . Bound to be changes with Lillis suspended and can't see Evan playing if he is involved in Siegerson this Wednesday and again possibly the following Wednesday. Looks like he'll miss stick with Piggot at centre back for the league anyway and start Begley midfield against Sligo .
Quigley a long way off and Meaney a bit of the pace still .
Can see Cahillane starting next week . I wonder the extent of Sean Byrnes injury !?
They say you learn more in defeat and I think that was the case yesterday. It's clear that we have huge issues with pace. Especially around the middle. We saw it against Down but it was exposed by Louth. We just haven't got the speed to keep up with runners from deep. Do we have players to come in who can change this? I'm not sure. We have some pacier players who lack a bit of power on the panel while also having players with power who lack pace.
I thought Nerney did quite well and Seale and Campion did well enough considering they were left 1v1 most of the time. However, it's unlikely any of them will be starting if injuries clear up. Piggot has some qualities, he's strong, a tight enough marker. I don't like to be critical but maybe he lacks a bit of quality when in possession. I think Begley is our centre back and he's vital for us there. Attride hasn't been at his best. The other wing position is up for grabs. Maybe drop O'Connor back or try out Buggie, Kelly, Crowley, Collins, when injuries/sigerson cup clear up. Or Scully who looked ok when he was on.
Midfield is a bit of an issue. As has been pointed out, fielding and pace are the concerns. Better movement on kick outs can help the first part and can be worked on. Like others, it'd be nice to see what Meaney can do. Again, I don't want to be critical but although Boyle is a good passer, he just lacks the agility needed at this level. Wing forwards need to be extremely athletic, have huge engines to go back and forward for the game. Again, not sure we have anyone like that. Byrne deserves another run. Maybe O'Reilly should be given a go. We'll probably try Kingston at centre forward again. Maybe it's the virus but he was struggling after a few runs yesterday. Cahilane could be trialled if we're using our 11 as a creator. Paul Kingston hasn't started the league well. Ross played well but was dispossessed too easily on a few occasions. Murphy found it a bit tougher but we should stick with him.
We shouldn't be getting too carried away with anything. The league is for trying things out and seeing if players can fit into what Sugrue is trying to do. I don't mind if none of the big guns start. Let other players stand up and prove themselves if they have it in them. There's a big panel there who have been training extremely hard. Let's see what they can do. It'd be nice to get promoted but finding out what we have available is more important. Survival in division 3 will be enough after that.
Complacency was the biggest factor on Saturday .
It came from the manager with the team selection and filtered through the players ..
I've no doubt we will thump Sligo the next day ..
Not going to criticise too many but I'd only give pass marks to munnelly Boyle Brody Begley Scilly was unlucky to be taken back off.
The train on the way home was a sober one with the rugger heads crying into their beer aswell
Quote from: Unlaoised on February 04, 2019, 10:41:30 AM
Complacency was the biggest factor on Saturday .
It came from the manager with the team selection and filtered through the players ..
I've no doubt we will thump Sligo the next day ..
Not going to criticise too many but I'd only give pass marks to munnelly Boyle Brody Begley Scilly was unlucky to be taken back off.
The train on the way home was a sober one with the rugger heads crying into their beer aswell
What was wrong with the team selection?
First few games in the league can be hard to call. Teams find form at different times and form can be up and down.
Nameless makes a good point about pace. You can have 3-4 lads that don't have the pace but in the modern game you can't have more than that. Laois have struggled with this for a few years and will be interesting to see how Sugrue handles this. It may mean giving youth a chance over experience and taking short term pain over long term gain.
I don't agree that it was a complacent team selection. Why? Because A: it's the league, and you should try out newer players so they'll be more ready for the all important championship. And B: Colm and Donie are clearly not at full fitness due to coming back from injury and recent virus respectively. Evan is playing more than enough games in the sigerson.
So unless you want a stack of injuries, you have to allow fellas time to come back, the HEALTHY way.
And C: you want to give all your players confidence and to be able to count on them so they'll feel more ready when the big games come and they're throw in against a big name player after 50 mins of a game during summer. Starting a league match and playing 70 mins is fantastic preparation. Spend a penny, save a pound, etc.
So, no, it wasn't a complacent team selection. Let's not get too depressed (!) it's the start of February in the freezing cold. Time to calm down and relax. It will all be ok ;). The same lads would be complaining that Begley and Donie were brought back too early if they happened to pick up an injury during the first half. Time to face reality : Sugrue and the setup know better than you :-X.
Quote from: Unlaoised on February 04, 2019, 10:41:30 AM
Complacency was the biggest factor on Saturday .
It came from the manager with the team selection and filtered through the players ..
I've no doubt we will thump Sligo the next day ..
Not going to criticise too many but I'd only give pass marks to munnelly Boyle Brody Begley Scilly was unlucky to be taken back off.
The train on the way home was a sober one with the rugger heads crying into their beer aswell
Saying we will thump Sligo on Sunday is more complacency. I'd take a one point win now any day of the week
I wouldn't say complacent but I would say wrong. I'd like to know what the full panel is but I do know that when I see certain lads' names on the team I am either disappointed or worried. There are lads in the Under 20s I'd rather see on the team or at least around the panel. Hard work is always a welcome trait, but if you're out of position, nervous, or maybe just not good enough, you will get found out. We seem determined to put square pegs in round holes sometimes and it doesn't always work. The team selection was odd to say the least in light of everything that went wrong in the first half in Newry
It's easy to say it's wrong, now, with the power of hindsight. At the time, it was worthwhile persisting with certain fellas in certain positions. It's the 2nd League game in all fairness. Let's be fair, nearly all of us thought we'd have enough against a team who hadn't won a competitive game since 2017. It wasn't complacency, it was just being realistic. The team named was ok. Changes will be made going forward. The fact that you have hindsight on your side now, doesn't make you an expert.
To be fair to HF, if you look back through his posts you will see that he said was worried about the team selection well before the game on Saturday. So I don't think you can say that his views are only based on hindsight. I'm curious though about which U-20 players he thinks would improve things?
Do lads want us to throw a few more lads to the wolves? That didn't do us much good with the likes of Shiels, Keane and Moore. Give them a chance develop ffs, we'll get more out of them that way.
For once in a long time, I have to agree with the Don Master himself. Give the lads a chance, a lot are new to this level.
I'm all for giving chances to players but some lads, in my opinion, are not good enough. I won't name them because that's not fair. I'm actually shocked they've got this far. That's how strong I feel about it. O'Flynn in Courtwood, Saunders in Portlaoise and Tyrell in Camross are all lads I'd like to see given a try. There are more too. I'm not doubting Sugrue for one minute and he has my full backing because Saturday was just one of those days. He also knows and sees a tonne more than I ever will. But I trust my instincts and in my opinion, at least 3 of that team that played Saturday are no addition to us. Hard work does not a footballer make. In fairness to one of them, he has potential but none in his current position
Division 3 will be a dog fight. There is no stand out team in it.
We badly need a partner for JOL.
Dont know what the solution there is.
Quote from: ILikeStrawberryJam on February 04, 2019, 09:23:49 PM
Division 3 will be a dog fight. There is no stand out team in it.
We badly need a partner for JOL.
Dont know what the solution there is.
If he's any way right, Meaney.
Midfield has been an issue for a while i think . While Johnno does a good job and has consistently done good for us there I don't think he was or ever will be a natural midfielder. Quigley probably was the last natural centre fielder we had but he'll be way off championship pace come May/June . In fairness Lillis and JOl did a great job for us last year together .
Quote from: The PRO on February 04, 2019, 09:34:46 PM
Quote from: ILikeStrawberryJam on February 04, 2019, 09:23:49 PM
Division 3 will be a dog fight. There is no stand out team in it.
We badly need a partner for JOL.
Dont know what the solution there is.
If he's any way right, Meaney.
A year out of the inter county scene wouldn't have helped him but stIll may be an option . Still not the solution though
Anyone have any guesses on what the long term solutions will be for midfield ? Just say after Jol Lillis and meaney who are all over 30?
There's no really stand out candidates presently. When and if Tuohy returns he would be a possible candidate at midfield but not a long term solution either I suppose . He could be well in his thirties also.
Meredith could do a job there if we could only get him in.
Tuohy won't return.
Quote from: Don Draper on February 05, 2019, 09:39:02 AM
Meredith could do a job there if we could only get him in.
He would be the a right one in there alright .
Quote from: Batman!!! on February 05, 2019, 09:41:42 AM
Tuohy won't return.
He will, but he'll be in solid shite when he does.
https://www.balls.ie/aussie-rules-2/zach-tuohy-back-turned-tactic-393997
Quote from: Tony on February 05, 2019, 11:31:42 AM
https://www.balls.ie/aussie-rules-2/zach-tuohy-back-turned-tactic-393997
TBF its not hard bamboozle the average Australian male.
Quote from: Don Draper on February 05, 2019, 09:39:02 AM
Meredith could do a job there if we could only get him in.
I personally don't think Meredith will be back but I can see Sean Byrne being tried there . He's decent in the air and seems out of position at half foward . Meaney wasn't on the 26 the last two games(and made his feelings felt over it) so you could see Tyrell thrown in instead of the suspended Lillis
Quote from: Laoiseabu on February 05, 2019, 01:32:21 PM
Quote from: Don Draper on February 05, 2019, 09:39:02 AM
Meredith could do a job there if we could only get him in.
I personally don't think Meredith will be back but I can see Sean Byrne being tried there . He's decent in the air and seems out of position at half foward . Meaney wasn't on the 26 the last two games(and made his feelings felt over it) so you could see Tyrell thrown in instead of the suspended Lillis
Given how Meaney acted the last time he was in a Laois jersey, you'd think he'd bite his tongue and behave until his chance came.
I just think Begley and Donie should have started ...build up a lead then rest and try players if needed ...
I'm not criticising John or the players but we under estimated Louth esp their full forward line
Lack of knowledge here is frightening. Reasons why the players didn't ply are as follows:
Donie Kingston: battling a virus last few weeks and hasn't trained
Colm begley: hip injury and has barely trained
Mark Timmons: another illness and has been in hospital seemingly
Evan O Carroll: is plying with UCD tomorrow night. Has played 5/6 games between county and college in the last 3 weeks.
Give John Sugrue a break like good people and look into the reasons behind these things.
Quote from: Batman!!! on February 05, 2019, 04:35:11 PM
Lack of knowledge here is frightening. Reasons why the players didn't ply are as follows:
Donie Kingston: battling a virus last few weeks and hasn't trained
Colm begley: hip injury and has barely trained
Mark Timmons: another illness and has been in hospital seemingly
Evan O Carroll: is plying with UCD tomorrow night. Has played 5/6 games between county and college in the last 3 weeks.
Give John Sugrue a break like good people and look into the reasons behind these things.
Frightening is the important word there. Terrifying I would say.
There seems to real hostility to change on this thread. Timmons, Donie, Begley, Meaney, O'Loughlin etc must have 50+ years of Laois combined between them and what have they to show for it? Give the young lads like Nerney, Tyrell, O'Flynn, Whelan, Byrne, Murphy etc a chance for god's sake. If it costs us Division 3 promotion so what, we aren't exactly destined for Division 1 anyways.
I would agree in principle with that county minor. It would be nice to get promoted, but it's not the be all and end all. In many ways, it is only right that some players are protected with bigger days ahead. I have no problem at all with lads being minded and younger lads getting a crack. My problem is with some of the players getting a crack. In some instances, I don't believe they are good enough. I hope they prove me wrong; of course I do.
Someone mentioned Kevin Meaney above and in many ways his and others players' grievances are interesting. Meaney is easily one of the best midfielders in Laois. I personally would back him to dominate Lilis and O'Loughlin any day of the week in a club match. I would expect Gary Walsh to outscore most forwards outside of Portlaoise in any given Championship. But they obviously don't properly fit into Sugrue's plans, and it is days like Saturday that make you question the wisdom of that. Lillis and O'Loughlin were being comprehensively beaten in midfield in a way that I don't think Meaney would have been. Similarly, our forwards, Ross excepted, struggled, where you would imagine Walsh would not. It was after all only Louth. We were guilty on Saturday of not playing the team in front of us in my opinion.
Meaneys problems with Laois, on the field at least, were staying on the f**king field.
He plays on the edge alright, a bit like Quigley. He was playing in a team that was on the back foot and he didn't always cope with the pressure. That happens and Saturday showed that. In a team that has lacked any sort of bite for a long time, I'd make room for him and tell the rest to get a bit meaner
At a time when we needed leaders, he was getting set off repeatedly.
Thanks but no thanks.
Meaney would be a decent option when your getting cleaned out in the air in midfield
If a players attitude is wrong, he shouldn't be there. Simple as that. Doesn't matter what their name is. The days of players being able to act as they'd like, drink, not put in the effort etc and still get on the team are gone. I'm not referring to any specific player here by the way, just saying that if they're not getting selected, there's a reason for it.
Quote from: Countyminor on February 05, 2019, 07:02:58 PM
There seems to real hostility to change on this thread. Timmons, Donie, Begley, Meaney, O'Loughlin etc must have 50+ years of Laois combined between them and what have they to show for it? Give the young lads like Nerney, Tyrell, O'Flynn, Whelan, Byrne, Murphy etc a chance for god's sake. If it costs us Division 3 promotion so what, we aren't exactly destined for Division 1 anyways.
We might as well make the most of the older lads while we still have them cause they are all our better players . We should be fielding our strongest team and worry about replacing them when they do retire.
Quote from: Nameless on February 05, 2019, 09:37:24 PM
If a players attitude is wrong, he shouldn't be there. Simple as that. Doesn't matter what their name is. The days of players being able to act as they'd like, drink, not put in the effort etc and still get on the team are gone. I'm not referring to any specific player here by the way, just saying that if they're not getting selected, there's a reason for it.
Personally I'd rather go down with some sort of a fight. We have a very nice bunch of lads assembled. At times far too nice for my liking. I can't stand watching us get bullied
Quote from: Don Draper on February 05, 2019, 09:02:25 PM
At a time when we needed leaders, he was getting set off repeatedly.
Thanks but no thanks.
And that's fair enough too. Johnno and Lillis got tossed around on Saturday and Meaney doesn't really allow that to happen. He has his uses in my opinion but look, I'm not here to make the case for the defence. It's just an opinion
Wasn't at Louth match, but I personally would be happy with Lillis and JOL on the basis of their consistent performances over several years. Both of them were outstanding against Down. I've rarely seen them "tossed around" in any game. I don't see that we're particularly short of aggression but we are a bit short of pace in that area.
I think Tyrell could be a very good footballer but he will need some time to grow into it and I think Sugrue is looking after him properly.
Kevin Meaney will be 34 this summer lads ,let's move on. In fairness he gave a good 10-12 years to Laois .
Midfield is definitely a worry going forward.
We have no target man and as On The Hop has been saying for a long time, that's ok if you have other ways of getting possession. The short kick out is our best friend and that's asking a lot of young inexperienced players. It also puts Brody under pressure
I stand corrected but I heard from a very reliable source that meaney didn't travel to Croker on Sunday on his own accord cause he wasn't on the 26 panel named. He was a decent ball winner something that we are badly lacking everywhere in our team at the moment . Tyrell will probably get the nod In place of Lillis but it still remains to be seen whether he will be good enough .Bracken from ods ,Eoin Dunne from Rosenallis and Daly from Joseph's were realeased from the panel after the O'Byrne cup . They were all being looked at for mid field .
what ever about having a target man in midfield for kickouts, I just thought we should have had some sort of plan b when they pressed us. lumping it out when they had a clear height advantage is asking a lot of the two lads especially when at times they were moving backwards trying to field it. sean byrne was probably a loss as an option on the wing. Dublin in the second game had a few basketball type moves where they bunched in the centre and then all broke to both sides, it reminded me of something Tully used to do with Ballyfin in the schools football. it was simple but very effective. With Lillis suspended I wonder who will start with the others it seems in the post above gone from the panel.
hopefully whoever does start doesn't fall into the lateral handpass that we often revert to when faced by a massed defense. A midfielder with pace that can break forward and long pass accurately is badly needed but there doesn't look to be too many of them around.
Meaney was a great servant to Laois over the years but he wasn't brilliant the last few seasons he was here. Just an observation. And Don is right to an extent in that, he was getting sent off when we were crying out for leaders to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. And from what i recall, they were clear sendings off, not just going for the ball too hard kind of sendings off. In that context, his attitude here seems off - in that, if he really wants his place back, he'll have to fight for it, just like everyone else. He can't just walk on the panel. Donie wasn't even allowed to do that last year and i commend the management team for taking that line. It commands respect and shows what kind of attitude is required. If Kevin wants to come back, let him fight for his place like everyone else. Simple as that. If he's upset that he was left out, that's nobody's fault but his own. Get better, don't moan and show everyone that you deserve your place, that's my advice. I have huge respect for anyone who does that.
PS Begley and JOL for midfield at the weekend, would be my pick. Give Piggott another go at number 6. Any update on Cahir? If we had Cahir and Timmons against Louth, for sure we wouldn't have concedes those goals, but, such is life.
I'd be worried about Healys pace particularly up against someone pacy in Croker.
Ah come on Tony. You know right well that some players get automatic places. Meaney had every right to look at the mess against Louth and ask the question. Sugrue obviously has some regard for him or else he would have released him. Lillis and O'Loghlin are two good players but unless they move a lot more, they will not win ball for us. And it's a massive achilles heel for us. Ball out and straight back at us. We have to get on and stay on the ball a lot more because our patience in possession improved so much last year. Saturday was a reminder, hopefully, that we need to work harder with each passing game. Players need to be tuned in and workmanlike from the throw in. The line too need to be more decisive when there are obvious issues. I'm confident that Sugrue will put plans in place to right the wrongs of Saturday
Quote from: High Fielder on February 06, 2019, 11:26:03 AM
Ah come on Tony. You know right well that some players get automatic places. Meaney had every right to look at the mess against Louth and ask the question.
Had he not thrown the toys before the Louth game?
I don't know when the toys were thrown Don. I didn't even know they had been. It would be helpful to know who is still in there and what options we have
Ive heard healy is in bother with his knee and could be out long term,also that davy conway is gone due to injury problems.Then you have quigley,glynn paddy osullivan benny carroll and timmons still out also
Quote from: High Fielder on February 06, 2019, 11:42:30 AM
I don't know when the toys were thrown Don. I didn't even know they had been. It would be helpful to know who is still in there and what options we have
I believe someone here said they were. Read back.
Meaney was training the other night anyway so could be in the 26 for Sunday especially with lillis out .
The big eye opener last Saturday was 1) the lack of real pace within the Laois team and 2) Lack of genuine midfielders who can dominate and field ball around the middle of the field. Louth had a field day cutting through Laois defense with genuine pace. Our half backs and half forwards dropping back couldn't match pace of players like Williams and Clutterbuck attacking from the Louth halfback line. It's hard ask on likes of O'Loughlin to try field ball against players who are 3/4 inches taller than him and more natural fielders of the ball. If kicking long from the kick out we need to get players around the breaking ball. This on a couple of occasions wasn't the case with the ball kicked long to one man that was isolated of support with two/three Louth players around him. Each time Louth inevitably regained possession. Louth seemed to have their home work done on the Laois kick out strategy.
The Louth match was strange in that it's been the worst performance since Sugrue came in. We looked really awful - like a low division 4 side. However, put that in balance of our performances last year and in challenge matches this year as well as the Down match, and, well it really is a confusing one. I think we should see us against the likes of Sligo, Westmeath, Carlow etc to see where we're at. The mind boggles when it comes to that performance against Louth so the jury is out, for me. For example, all of a sudden Lillis's stock is down just because of what happened here? Similarly, some new players looked really promising against Down and in challenge games. More time needed to assess, in my opinion. There were some really alarming signs against Louth, but, I'd prefer to see some more games before making drastic and panicky calls.
Quote from: Tony on February 06, 2019, 07:21:56 PM
The Louth match was strange in that it's been the worst performance since Sugrue came in. We looked really awful - like a low division 4 side. However, put that in balance of our performances last year and in challenge matches this year as well as the Down match, and, well it really is a confusing one. I think we should see us against the likes of Sligo, Westmeath, Carlow etc to see where we're at. The mind boggles when it comes to that performance against Louth so the jury is out, for me. For example, all of a sudden Lillis's stock is down just because of what happened here? Similarly, some new players looked really promising against Down and in challenge games. More time needed to assess, in my opinion. There were some really alarming signs against Louth, but, I'd prefer to see some more games before making drastic and panicky calls.
Actually, some of the performances in division 4 weren't the best. It's just Louth are a step above that level so could expose us more. It has to be remembered that Down were missing a large number of players also. I think another reason for our struggles on the kick outs is because we have an inexperienced full back line. Their willingness and eagerness to make themselves available for a short kick out hasn't really been shown. This is very understandable as they are just establishing themselves and might be fearful of giving away a soft goal.
Lads were getting ahead of themselves with the win in Down. Yes it was a good victory but it was the opening game of the league. Save the gun powder until we've played another couple of games.
Cahir Healy gone for the year sad to hear . It's going to take something incredible to see him in a Laois jersey again but if anyone can do it its him .
Quote from: les Antiques on February 07, 2019, 09:31:49 AM
Cahir Healy gone for the year sad to hear . It's going to take something incredible to see him in a Laois jersey again but if anyone can do it its him .
That's a disaster for him. Really was hoping to see him in a county jersey again. That said, you'd have to wonder at how a lad based in the UK was going to work out. At an age when his contemporaries like Donoher, Strong etc were stepping aside.
He would have worked out alright. Pity. My eldest son played both codes with him years ago for a school team and he was and is a top lad all round, always helping others out and always had a top attitude to everything. Not many people would commit to their county if they lived in another country entirely - England in Cahir's case. A shame he won't be around, I think we could really have done with him. Best of luck to him with his recovery.
Be a few changes this weekend, lillis suspended, byrne will be outand piggott out for a few weeks apparentley.
What's the view on the team
Interesting team.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dy6bqSYX4AAfP2y.jpg:large)
Me likey .....
Mark Barry and Cahillne to shine ...
Good chance for Meaney to right the wrongs of Sligo two years ago ....
Looking forward to this
Who'd have thought after the Leinster semi last year we'd have seen Dicey and Stephen in the Laois starting line up ...
I hope a good crowd turns up Sunday for the first home game
Quote from: on the hop on February 08, 2019, 09:35:46 PM
What's the view on the team
Better team. No doubt about it. Some changes were absolutely necessary. I'm convinced last week was as much about focus as it was players not performing. We need to be tuned in and hungrier. We need to be on our toes and moving all the time. Nobody should care about promotion as that will look after itself if we apply ourselves properly. f it doesn't then we still have work to do. After last week, we have a lot of work to get through. I don't see the point in players working as hard as they do only to go and let themselves down so badly.
I still feel that the Championship side will contain and will need to contain some of our better young lads. That said, it's the league and we're still experimenting
Disappointed about Colin Murphy
Interesting team alright, I doubt anyone could've possibly predicted tomorrows lineup somewhat accurately prior to Louth. But injuries & suspensions are what they are. Excited to see Mark Barry start, a lovely, stylish player who can do it all. Great to see Dicey start his first competitive game in a year too. No room for complacency, but you'd expect there to be enough in this team to win somewhat comfortably.
Quote from: Chrimtain on February 09, 2019, 10:56:40 AM
Disappointed about Colin Murphy
Me too. I'd be giving him a run of starts. But to be fair, I'm not at training three or four times a week! I trust the lads over the team.
I don't think we have seen the last of Murphy , still early days .
I'd agree. It's a massive step up to inter county football. He looked a little lost last week, but then again he wasn't alone. The senior players need to lead by example and more importantly show by example
Based on today's performance, although we have some defensive frailties, I think there are a number of things to feel very positive about, not least of which is the number of young guys that John Sugrue is introducing to what was an ageing team. Today, Mark Barry provided one of the best 'full debuts' we have seen in a long time. Up to the point he was unfairly sent off, I thought Maty Scully did very well too. Added to that we saw the introduction of young guys like Tyrrell and O'Flynn. I hope I am not tempting fate, but, looking to the future, I think we have reasons to be optimistic.
Much better today. Bossed the game. Still a lot to work on, especially with teams running through us. I thought Scully was having a great game, very physical, comfortable on the ball and great distribution. The sending off was extremely harsh and I'm sure it'll be appealed. Brody had a few poor kickouts but I don't think he could have done much about the goals. Dillon played well in the full back line and I think Nerney is looking better with every game. As I said, Scully had a great game and with Attride and Begley, the half back line were strong and mobile.
I thought Meaney did well enough in midfield, enough to hold on to the jersey. O'Reilly worked very hard and got on a lot of ball. Barry scored a nice point, played well overall but maybe needs to work on his right foot. Lowry did well when he came on and Murphy got two points. Obviously, our main lads were the difference, Kingston and O'Carroll. They worked well alternating between half and full forward.
It has to be said that Sligo weren't very good but then again, Louth weren't very good so nice to get the win, a lot of positives and still plenty to work on.
In Mark Barry's case, I thought, for a lad so young, he was very lively and extremely eager to get on the ball. Definitely one for the future. (I hope I haven't put the hex on him now).
It was interesting to hear John Sugrue talk of the 'exciting young talent' in the panel in his after match interview.
Would agree with Chrimtain on Scully and Mark Barry in particular. Barry has super football intelligence and calmness on the ball. Great game. As for the sending off - if I'm not mistaken, that's the same ref that did the O Byrne cup match v Meath and awarded a penalty in the last minute that had everyone scratching their heads. In truth, referees from counties that are competing in the same league should never be used like that. If that had been a close match or an important one, there would have been war.
The concession of the 2 goals was very disappointing. On another day, that could have been the losing of the game. Not sure why it's happening so often - maybe some lack of mobility in the middle.
Evan was super again today. He's having a great season so far. He wasn't happy to be taken off but it was the right thing in the circumstances.
Job done and hopefully they'll get a bit of a run going now.
Just another point, I don't think it was totally coincidental that we conceded the 2 goals after Meaney was subbed. Yes, the 2nd goal came after the sending off but I think Meaney did a lot of dirty work, hard tackling and tracking back.
Good win but sligo were brutal,o carroll was excellent hes really on fire at moment.Barry had an excellent debut great vision and cool on the ball,still a bit light but hes very young and id prefer come championship he plays under 20.We sermed to concede every short kickout to then which was a bit disappointing.i see laoistoday said scullys shoulder was 50/50 from my viewpoint it was s bit reckless and mistimed
i thought Sligo were terrible, really very limited and we seemed to find it hard to get away from them for long periods. Probably a lot to do with trying to bed in a few players didn't help but they still managed to score two goals which was a disappointment. Kickouts a bit better today but at times we struggled when we fell back into kicking it long into the centre. its good to see a few young players getting a run and murphy looked very sharp when he came on.
in relation to the sending off, it happened just below me scully put two massive hits before hand but he was just off with that one.
Didn't see enough in the Scully incident to warrant a red - a yellow would've sufficed imo, certainly from my angle. We get carved open way too easily. Any bit of directness from the opposition and we look vulnerable.
Hard to read a whole lot into the game given we were playing against a team who in all probability will be plying their trade in Div 4 next year. Nevertheless I thought some of our forward play was top drawer. In O'Carroll, Donie, P Kingston, Cahillane, Lowry, Barry & Murphy we have full-forward line options the majority of counties would be envious of. Thought Dicey & Boyle did well on the wings, throw in Byrne, Farrell & Benny Carroll returning and we've good competition. Still light in midfield, Meaney did well on his return & put in a fine shift. Tyrell looks a tad raw, Johno is Johno.
Half-backline options are looking good. If all are fit we've Collins, Crowley, Begley, Pigott, Attride, Buggie, Scully, & potentially Dillon and O'Connor competing for 3 positions. Our full-backline did OK today, Nerney is growing all the time & Seale and Dillon in particular are very good options. Overall we've a nice little panel developing, will be interesting to see how things go from here. As Jack Nolan was saying on Midlands 103 a few weeks back prior to Down, you may as well jump on the Laois bandwagon ;D
Good to win but nothing really learned. Our forwards connected well and Evan was class. His movement and passing had them under pressure all day. On the flip side, it's still too easy for the opposition to get at us quickly.
Our tackling is Under 14 level and our forwards give up when their man goes by. That immediately gives numerical advantage to the attacking team and pushes our full back line back on top of Brody. I have no idea how a team as bad as Sligo could score 2-10 against anyone. And I mean that with all due respect. Just goes to show that we must be doing something wrong. Still nice to get the win though after the shambles of last week. Scully was unlucky. Mistimed at worst. Yellow all day.
Good win today against limited enough opposition but we did what needed to be done and came away with another 2 points. The games against Carlow, Westmeath and especially Longford will tell us where we stand as they will all be tough tests. I'm very happy with the way things are going so far and good to see a sizeable Laois support there today.
At last we have very good options in the forward division and the Kingston/O'Carroll threat is an exciting prospect to look forward too. Cahillane was very quiet today but he is another who I expect a lot from this year. We badly need a solid centre back but Scully could be the man we're looking for in that position. He's strong, fearless and very mobile and might have a big role to play for us this year.
Just saw this on Twitter, it's the form of all the teams in the league from the beginning of last years league up to today and we are right up there on top. The left column is today's result..
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DzE7Rh3WoAIoFfh.jpg:small) (http://i63.tinypic.com/2gy85z9.jpg)
Slowly but surely, we're working out our lines on the pitch - I now think we're fine in FF and HF line, and also, with Begley, Attride and what looks like a very good proposition in Scully, the HB line is looking good, too. Where we're looking somewhat scarce is midfield and FB line, in my opinion. Jury still out in midfield and what the pairing there will be. Quigley has been a good servant to Laois but at 32/33 and coming back from extensive injuries, it's hard to see him participate at a very high level in a position that is the most intensive on the pitch (i hope I'm wrong). None of our midfielders are very pacey, and that could hurt us against better teams. At this point, because we have options in the HB line, I'd be tempted to put Begley in midfield. He's likely the fittest man on the panel, in my opinion. He's very good on the ball and off, and he has high football IQ. He's quite mobile too and relatively pacey. We'd have plenty options to cover his role on HB line. JOL/Begley midfield would be my choice right now, but, we've lots more games to go before we must choose our absolute best 15, and, in fairness, lots of lads are holding their hand up for a place and the bite and healthy competitiveness seems to be there. Meaney did well enough against Sligo and deserves more chances definitely. Kieran Lillis has done little wrong in the last year though, he deserves another shot but for me, not midfield. Lot's of options all over the park, we're really still figuring everything out.
Agreed , we need someone athletic bedside JOL at midfield . I'd nearly swap Lillis and Begley. Meaney and Quigley are not the answer both could do a job for the last 20 mins which wouldn't be a bad alternative. Maybe Danny OReilly is worth a shot again at centre field ?!
Yesterday went as expected . Tactically in training I'm sure we are working on teams coming directly through the middle at us . We seem to be sticking to a game plan in defence and it's currently exposing us .
Good options up front which will keep everyone on there toes .
Sunday week in Mulligar will be interesting .
If Heaslin is fit we will struggle in my opinion.
This is the hardest game of the lot .
Horrible ground horrible pitch and not much success at any level up there in recent years .
Any sort of win would be massive.
Hope for a similiar teammate lills instead of scully ?
Like to see Lowry get more 'time and space as John says
Justice for Party Marty!
Quote from: Unlaoised on February 11, 2019, 10:36:24 PM
If Heaslin is fit we will struggle in my opinion.
This is the hardest game of the lot .
Horrible ground horrible pitch and not much success at any level up there in recent years .
Any sort of win would be massive.
Hope for a similiar teammate lills instead of scully ?
Like to see Lowry get more 'time and space as John says
Agree with it been a horrible venue etc results wise and othewise but how is Heslin suddenly going to become fit? He's back training less than an month , he's the least of our worries.
Eight-point win 'ok' states Sugrue
http://hoganstand.com/Laois/Article/Index/295550 (http://hoganstand.com/Laois/Article/Index/295550)
Boost for Laois footballers as Scully has controversial red card overturned
(https://www.laoistoday.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/pjimage408-640x360.jpg)
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/02/14/boost-for-laois-footballers-as-scully-has-controversial-red-card-overturned/ (https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/02/14/boost-for-laois-footballers-as-scully-has-controversial-red-card-overturned/)
Mid-Term Report: Plenty of new faces for Laois footballers with Midlands Derbies on the horizon
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/02/21/mid-term-report-plenty-of-new-faces-for-laois-footballers-with-midlands-derbies-on-the-horizon/ (https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/02/21/mid-term-report-plenty-of-new-faces-for-laois-footballers-with-midlands-derbies-on-the-horizon/)
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/02/19/sugrue-preparing-for-the-first-of-four-neighbourly-battles-in-division-3/
Laois senior football team named for away trip to Westmeath
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/02/22/laois-senior-football-team-named-for-away-trip-to-westmeath/
Graham Brody
David Seale, Denis Booth, Gareth Dillon
Marty Scully, Stephen Attride, Colm Begley
John O'Loughlin, Kevin Meaney
Damien O'Connor, Donie Kingston, Conor Boyle
Paul Cahillane, Evan O'Carroll, Mark Barry
That team is well seasoned anyways. Looks like it's straight out of 2014 with the exception of Barry
Plenty of wastefulness here. Ball into the forwards has been terrible at times. Some of it Hail Mary stuff. Support play is not all it could be either. Too stand offish. Too zonal. Scully not afraid to bring it in but not many joining him. A winnable game but we need to up the tempo and be sharper
Based on the overall display, I don't think we're properly at it just now. Someone said above that staying in Division 3 is enough, and I'd say looking at the way we played that going up is not a priority. We looked experimental, off the pace and lacking hunger. They looked fitter and hungrier in contrast, but still limited enough. The better team won on the day in fairness. Scully to my eye is more wing forward than wing back, but that's ok as there'd still be room for him in my opinion.
The problem with playing Evan and Donie on the one team is that they're arguably both at their best at full forward. Maybe we should play them together up there and allow ourselves the luxury of having a roving player; preferably someone who can sit in front of the midfield and pass consistently well. That said, Cahillane did well today, but getting the mix right is an issue. Our issues at the back are obvious enough. We lost shape when Seale went off, and we have to be honest and say that often we are putting square pegs into round holes. The need to develop players properly in key positions is something that should be on our mind for the long term future.
As for today, I would say nothing to panic about. It looks like Sugrue has not turned up the heat just yet.
Very poor today against a fairly limited Westmeath team.
Too many lads didn't show up today. I have to say that Donie might look back on his football career and wonder what might have been possible if he actually put the effort into getting fit. At one stage today he started 2 yards ahead of his man and finished 2 yards behind in a 15 yard sprint. He's obviously hugely gifted but talent will only get you so far at this level. If he could get himself in the same physical condition as Evan, for example, you'd have a completely different player in my opinion.
However, just as it wasn't all about Donie in Down, it wasn't all about him today either. The whole half forward line just don't seem dynamic enough and it leaves too many open spaces for opponents. This has been a constant issue since the beginning of the league.
Would also much prefer Lillis in centerfield. There were far too many balls kicked away aimlessly giving the forwards little or no chance. I felt sorry for Barry today - he didn't have a great game but he was left completely isolated a lot of the time. He'll have better days I'm sure.
Thought Denis Booth was having a bad day too and I thought we could have tried alternatives to pick up Heslin - Shane Nerney hasn't done much wrong and even Dillon might have worked better despite the height disadvantage. Even Meaney has some experience back there that might have been worth trying. In any case, I thought it was odd that no change was made there at all.
A huge amount of work to do.
On the positive side, I thought Scully and Begley were superb on the half back line, driving Laois forward time and again.
We seemed to be comfortable enough in the first half but when Westmeath decided that they'd like to win the game, we let them without much of a battle. Our play from half back to half forward was predictable, slow and ponderable while Kingston at full forward offered very little. Not sure why they didnt just leave O Carroll in there and let Donie drift.
I understand that the overall party line is 'we are building a team' but with the age profile through the spine of todays team Im not sure how true that can be. Booth, Dillon, Begley, Meaney, Johno, Lillis, Munnelly all over 30 with Kingston and Cahillane not far off it either. Where are their replacements going to come from to bring us to a top 12 county?
Was in mullingar today.laois were shocking.donie kingston frustrates me,for such a gifted player he is so lazy..,did absolutely nothing today..he wasnt on on his own,i thought evan ocarroll was poor today...The backline was poor.no changes made there i dont think they are playing as good as they did last year,need more players like marty scully,with a bit of heart..he was one of few players,that played well..We will be lucky if we dont go back to division 4 ,the way they are playing...
Quote from: SpeculativeEffort on February 24, 2019, 06:59:36 PM
We seemed to be comfortable enough in the first half but when Westmeath decided that they'd like to win the game, we let them without much of a battle. Our play from half back to half forward was predictable, slow and ponderable while Kingston at full forward offered very little. Not sure why they didnt just leave O Carroll in there and let Donie drift.
I understand that the overall party line is 'we are building a team' but with the age profile through the spine of todays team Im not sure how true that can be. Booth, Dillon, Begley, Meaney, Johno, Lillis, Munnelly all over 30 with Kingston and Cahillane not far off it either. Where are their replacements going to come from to bring us to a top 12 county?
Think Boyle is over 30 as well
Quote from: welcomehome on February 24, 2019, 07:58:04 PM
Was in mullingar today.laois were shocking.donie kingston frustrates me,for such a gifted player he is so lazy..,did absolutely nothing today..he wasnt on on his own,i thought evan ocarroll was poor today...The backline was poor.no changes made there i dont think they are playing as good as they did last year,need more players like marty scully,with a bit of heart..he was one of few players,that played well..We will be lucky if we dont go back to division 4 ,the way they are playing...
Alright Gary
Agree with a lot of posters above, really awful stuff. I don't think we scored from play for the last 55 minutes and bar Evans goal chance we didn't look like we would. Forwards are a major problem, no real pace from midfield up. We are terrible lateral and only Scully and Begley offered any threat from deep. Dillon was shoring up the full back line so he can't push forward and attride was at sea at centre back and ended up in the corner so another option was gone. options in midfield aren't great at present but I think after today meaney is offering nothing new.
I love to know what sugure's Forward plan was today. When it goes pear shaped or you are chasing the game you end up with teams doing mad stuff like Hail Marys. For some reason we started this fairly early, one in particular by meaney. Donie's role around the centre was bewildering. He offered nothing and barely moved. Once Evan didn't like the marking he was getting, they should have been switched or at least put Evan out onto the wing. To be honest donie should have been off if he wasn't going to be played nearer goals. He wasn't the only one that could have been subbed, they bullied our forwards especially in the second half and we wilted. The three forward subs offered nothing and to me Colm Murphy has shown more in previous games to be brought on ahead of Ross and Lowry. At least he appears to have the pace he show for the ball. The Longford game now is a real four pointer
Garett was brilliant today and taken off o Connor was a harsh decision all said we cruised last year this year we are been found out a little and so is our system but John has played so many lads he deserves credit because players genuinely know there getting a Craic of the whip for that I think were doing ok
Quote from: town1980 on February 24, 2019, 09:25:20 PM
Garett was brilliant today and taken off o Connor was a harsh decision all said we cruised last year this year we are been found out a little and so is our system but John has played so many lads he deserves credit because players genuinely know there getting a Craic of the whip for that I think were doing ok
We didn't cruise last year . We got the job done in most of the games .
Plenty of lads getting a shot anyway. Some putting the hands up, some not. We might be best served spending another year in division 3 anyway. As long as we don't f**k up and head the other direction.
Quote from: SCFC on February 25, 2019, 03:21:58 PM
Plenty of lads getting a shot anyway. Some putting the hands up, some not. We might be best served spending another year in division 3 anyway. As long as we don't f**k up and head the other direction.
I agree. If we do go to division 2 there is no point in having a team of 30 somethings with no pace and come straight back down. Need to keep the development focus.
Agree with the two posters above. Despite the awful performance yesterday, I think the management team are doing a good job in bringing new lads through. Indeed, some of our best performers have been these new lads so it's not all bleak.
Agree with the above three posters, promotion also not out of our grasp yet.
Funny auld game in the not so funny and horrible surroundings that is Mullingar...Westmeath were more physical and hit our players who didn't seem to like it ...
Disappointed in Donie and Evan..Midfield tried hard one of O loughlins better games .
Dillion Begley and scully were good as was Brody .
Our forwards need to be stronger and maybe dare I say it dirty a bit more instead of taking the abuse and lying down a bit ...
The late high balls into Donie at the end summed up the day as a whole ..He was ha4dly able to go for it and the quality of them gave him no chance anyway .
Good to see such a large Laois crowd there tho ..
Let's see how we get on against Longford this Saturday
Good to see Benny Carroll back. He brings a lot of energy to the team.
Quote from: Heshs Umpire on March 01, 2019, 10:03:48 AM
Good to see Benny Carroll back. He brings a lot of energy to the team.
I don't think I've ever seen him waste possession. A player I have great time for.
Three wins in the last three games might get us up. Is it too much to hope for?
Probably not, but I don't think it's a priority. We didn't look like a team seeking promotion last week, and we looked hopeless against Louth. I can't imagine the wheels have come off so spectacularly, although I could be wrong.
(http://i66.tinypic.com/50fn0i.jpg)
Laois manager John Sugrue felt his side petered out, after a lively start against Westmeath in their football league encounter in TEG Cusack Park on Saturday.
"We started brightly. Looked lively enough for 15,17,18 minutes and then just petered out.
"Westmeath got to grips with us and then we really struggled to make any inroads in the second half of the first half and then right through the second half," Sugrue said when speaking to reporters after the game.
The Kerry native agreed that his side never really looked threatening throughout the match when the question was put to him. "You could absolutely say that (weren't threatening). Some of the ball in was of poor quality.
"Some of the contesting for ball inside was of poor quality as well so it's a two-way thing we've got to learn and we've got to get back at it and try and be better again the next day" the Laois manager said.
Sugrue praised his defence and goalkeeper as his side did not concede a goal over the duration of the match but ultimately they did not score enough to win the match. "Out the field we probably let them away with a little bit too much open play without getting enough heat on them.
"In saying that now we didn't concede heavily at the back so great credit is due to the boys inside and Graham had a fine game as well" Sugrue said.
Sugrue does not believe that this result spells the end of Laois promotion hopes, instead opting to focus on the task in hand against Longford on Saturday. "We've got a game next weekend against Longford and we really have to focus on that and try and get ourselves back on track.
"If we do that then we'll see what the last two games bring but really it's as narrow as next weekend now. This is not over. We've put ourselves back on our heels again in this league campaign and it's up to us to respond."
Sugrue feels his side were particularly poor over the duration of the match, but feels that the off the ball department wasn't a million miles from what it could be.
"On the ball we were particularly poor today, off the ball we weren't as good as we can be but we weren't a million miles off what we could be," Sugrue said.
Sugrue agreed that Westmeath were finding it easier to win frees when the question was put to him post-match. "Yeah you could probably say that. On the balance of things I think these videos get reviewed and I think that will be reviewed in that regard" Sugrue said.
Laois face Longford on Saturday night in what is sure to be a match of upmost importance to both teams.
Regarding the Westmeath match , I do think Westmeath in the Championship on the 26th May could have been on the managements mind going into the last match .
3 battles left .We have 2 local derbies and a Longford team with seemingly everyone available again although it's looks like one of there marquee forwards has left the panel . Id expect a battle tomorrow night .
A lot of changes again. I really hope that the team play far quicker tonight and use the kick pass more. Our kicking game has been terrible at times and We don't have much of a scoring threat from the half forward line so I am hoping the changes are aimed at leaving the three lads in the full forward line tonight and aiming ball in at them, especially for marks. A bit what Dublin did to mayo last week. Benny Carroll and Lillis are very good passers and along with Boyle I am hoping that we use them rather than this horrible lateral game we seemed to have got trapped in. Jol should be trying to get any ball he wins to these three or Begley to get accurate ball in. If he starts drifting across the field then we are going to face the same problems of slow play or forcing runners into carrying it. I was a bit iffy on Ross starting, especially with Donie if we start this hand passing . Neither are going burn lads with pace and Ross has found it hard at times to create separation with his markers. His cuteness will get him a few frees but if he starts finding himself on his own half back line then we probably should be playing someone a bit faster. I had big hopes for Murphy in this regard as he shows very well for ball but he is not getting a look in. If Ross stays near goals he might feed off the other two and nab a few scores.
On what was a tough nervy night I don't think were playing that well but what I like is everyone is getting a chance to play,,well done lads
Quote from: town1980 on March 02, 2019, 10:21:39 PM
On what was a tough nervy night I don't think were playing that well but what I like is everyone is getting a chance to play,,well done lads
You must love go games
Super second half sees Laois record brilliant Longford win
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/03/02/super-second-half-sees-laois-record-brilliant-longford-win/ (https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/03/02/super-second-half-sees-laois-record-brilliant-longford-win/)
Nine Talking Points as Laois win to keep promotion hopes alive
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/03/02/nine-talking-points-as-laois-win-to-keep-promotion-hopes-alive/ (https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/03/02/nine-talking-points-as-laois-win-to-keep-promotion-hopes-alive/)
I thought we showed a lot of character to get the win last night.
Switching Attride to the smaller number 13 (a switch that I thought took too long), bringing on some pacy players into the middle third all helped. The power and leadership of JOL in the final 20 mins was crucial too - he's in great shape and he played a proper leader's role yesterday.
I think the management team will be learning a lot about the lads they have and I hope they'll see vast difference that extra pace can make on a night like last night.
Finally, congratulations to Ross on a really outstanding achievement. I doubt if he covered more ground in any of the previous 99 games. It's a bit of a shame his achievement wasn't announced at the beginning of the match - it would have added to the interest of it all. He had a great game and may he enjoy a good few more games before he finally hangs up the boots!
I've been trying to work out where the final third performance came from last night. Prior to it, we were nervous, pedestrian and lacking ideas. It is true, as Laois Today pointed out, that Johnno suddenly started to dominate at midfield. It's also true that the substitutions made an impact, as did a bit of shuffling of the pack. We have been trying to get away with playing lads out of position for a long time, and we probably still will because we have shortfalls in several positions. However, whilst a bit of experimentation is no harm if you think you haven't got the right man for the job, in general, I always think it's best to go with the best man in that position. That means that sometimes you have to leave good players on the bench, but so be it. Easy to say when you don't have to keep lads happy.
Anyway, that final third is what we are looking for. Movement, teamwork and energy. Benny Carroll had a good game considering he's been out for a while. He's what you'd expect of a good Portlaoise lad; comfortable on the ball, makes the right decisions and doesn't panic. With the way Longford set themselves up, we needed to be patient, and his runs infield regularly gave us an option that didn't look on just a few seconds before. He's fairly typical of the sort of lad who does well for Laois; a ball carrier and a good distributor. I am always happier to see us working the ball up the field rather than hoofing it aimlessly at the two big lads. By all means use that option when it makes sense to do so, but last week in Westmeath was the limit with high balls in. Percentage wise, we don't win enough of those balls to make it something we should do every game. We arguably don't move well enough either when we isolate our bigger men, and I mean that with no offence intended. Evan is a much better player on his toes. I hate seeing him standing on the edge of the square and waiting, because when he's running at you he is so elusive.
The most pleasing aspect for me was the concession of only 4 points in the second half. We were noticeably tighter and their threatening players were stifled. I said last week that getting the mix right is so important, and for the likes of Attride, who is so good going forward, it is horrible watching him struggle in a position that doesn't come naturally to him. He was so much more involved when pushed up to wing back. We probably can't completely avoid that in fairness because keeping good players happy also comes into it, but players like him look happier pressing further out. It was noticeable also how much of the game was played in their half in the second half. That took a lot of work when the breeze was in their favour.
Could there be a role for Shane Nerney at corner back, allowing Attride to play at wing back?
I think the full back line will be Seale, Timmons and Dillon. Attride and Begley wing backs. Piggott not doing enough so far this year at centre back, although maybe he's better at wing back, or, as a man marker. Collins has to be on the radar. He doesn't do too much wrong
They showed great battle to win that. As has been said, it looked like a Longford win until the last 20 minutes. Poor shooting and bad decision making cost us a lot in the first half. Nothing was going right for Donie, he got one good mark and we also scored some nice points but it was mixed with some really sloppy play. Even when we dominated for the last 20 minutes, we missed a lot of chances. It has to be said, the conditions were poor. The wind wasn't directly down the pitch so it made harder to convert chances, although Longford took a far higher percentage than we did.
We still have some questions over a number of positions. We need a centre back. We could put Attride there again when Seale comes back. Lillis had a tough night on a good player, I think Meaney is a better option. Scully has been very good at wing back but he offers a lot going forward. Munnelly had a good game and a great achievement to play 100 league games, he does get knocked off the ball a bit too easy on occasion though. We have tried a good few players in the league and unfortunately, some appear not to be at the right level as yet.
On the plus side, Timmons came back in and he makes a huge difference to out defence. Begley is always an option on kick outs and the freer role on the wing is really suiting him. O'Loughlin was very good. Benny Caroll had a good come back, adds some pace. As has been said above, other players to come on added pace also. O'Flynn looked solid. Murphy and Lowry did well also. Maybe a few of these deserve a start the next day to try to stake a claim. O'Carroll was good again but he and Kingston can play better. It's a huge plus that we won despite this.
Overall this league campaign has been very beneficial. It looks like we're safe now and in with a chance of promotion. We have done this while trying out a number of players and made a number of positional switches. We still have a lot of competition for places and two more games to assess further and then settle on a first 15. Going up to division 2 would be nice but staying in division 3 for another season wouldn't be disastrous as we continue to build.
I'd put Collins at corner back over Seale going forward. Thought he was really good when he came on last night, himself & O'Flynn made a real difference. Push Attride to half back. I'd give Pigott another go at centre. He's got that cuteness in him that merits another chance & can play some ball. A very disjointed performance last night but a win is a win. Slightly nervous about going to Tullamore, we never seem to play well there.
We have had some good performances in Tullamore, not least of which was the win against Westmeath last year.
One of the pleasing things about last night, despite long patches of poor play, was the impact made by young players when introduced.
Bring on the biffos ...
I enjoyed that last night ..crowd responded to the players and there was a decent number up there again ...
JOL had a great game ...evan was superb but Brody was my man of the match two superb saves when faced with one and ones ...the second one in particular changed the course of the match.
Well done to the player and management (Who made great changes)
Ohhh and kudos to Ross a great performance two terrific points from play I
My ratings no disrespect to anyone as i know howmuch commitment it takes .
Brody 9 -Two crucial saves at crucial times kickouts excellent aswell
S Attride 6 -Not one of Stephens best games alot more comfotable in the half backs
M Timmons 8-Tough time early on but grew into the game and was a leader in the 2nd half
G Dillon 6-Poor game by his recent standards seem to struggle on his wrong side at corner back
M Scully 7- solid adds bite to the half back line must improve tackling
R Pigott 6-okay at times still think number 6 isnt his positionin the backs
C Begley 7- Few good marks went out of it for a while but good in the last 20 when it counted
J O'Loughlin 9 - Best game in years looks a lot fitter this year.keep the left foot shots to a minimum John:-)
K Lillis 7- was on good player struggled at times But kick passing was exceptional
S Byrne 6 In and out of the game still signs are defo there that he is a county player for the present
B Carroll 7- Grew into the game after a very weak start intelligent player with good pace and hand passing
C Boyle 6-Not in the game much but under used in the first half when he was in space
R Munnelly 8 - wow 100 games i think he has scored 7-100 the gift that just keeps giving
E O'Carroll 9- Unplayable at times a great talent needs to practise his frees and must be kept fresh
D Kingston 7 -Surprised he got subbed was threat without being near his best
Subs: T Collins 7- A decent shift from an honest player
S O'Flynn 7- added good drive and pace to proceedings
C Murphy 5 - showed well but lost the ball 3 times one which was a crucial turnover that nearly cost us
E Lowry 7 A short spell but scored and was composed
P Cahillane Not on long enough to rate great talent to have on the bench
Sugure needs to take credit for the changes as well.
Anyone know why Paul Kingston wasn't togged out?????
Was named in the programme but not there on the line
He was centre forward for A/K last week in the Kelly Cup. .Hasn't been involved as much since Cahillanes return.
I think I detect a hint of frustration at the inconsistency displayed by the team in recent matches in John Sugrue's comments after the match. I would hope not. I think he is the best thing to happen to Laois football in years.
John Sugrue interview post Longford game:
https://soundcloud.com/midlandssport/john-sugrue-post-longford
Ross Munnelly interview post Longford game and 100 League games:
https://soundcloud.com/midlandssport/ross-munnelly-100-league-games-and-16-years-service-for-laois
Quote from: Unlaoised on March 04, 2019, 03:50:20 PM
My ratings no disrespect to anyone as i know howmuch commitment it takes .
Brody 9 -Two crucial saves at crucial times kickouts excellent aswell
S Attride 6 -Not one of Stephens best games alot more comfotable in the half backs
M Timmons 8-Tough time early on but grew into the game and was a leader in the 2nd half
G Dillon 6-Poor game by his recent standards seem to struggle on his wrong side at corner back
M Scully 7- solid adds bite to the half back line must improve tackling
R Pigott 6-okay at times still think number 6 isnt his positionin the backs
C Begley 7- Few good marks went out of it for a while but good in the last 20 when it counted
J O'Loughlin 9 - Best game in years looks a lot fitter this year.keep the left foot shots to a minimum John:-)
K Lillis 7- was on good player struggled at times But kick passing was exceptional
S Byrne 6 In and out of the game still signs are defo there that he is a county player for the present
B Carroll 7- Grew into the game after a very weak start intelligent player with good pace and hand passing
C Boyle 6-Not in the game much but under used in the first half when he was in space
R Munnelly 8 - wow 100 games i think he has scored 7-100 the gift that just keeps giving
E O'Carroll 9- Unplayable at times a great talent needs to practise his frees and must be kept fresh
D Kingston 7 -Surprised he got subbed was threat without being near his best
Subs: T Collins 7- A decent shift from an honest player
S O'Flynn 7- added good drive and pace to proceedings
C Murphy 5 - showed well but lost the ball 3 times one which was a crucial turnover that nearly cost us
E Lowry 7 A short spell but scored and was composed
P Cahillane Not on long enough to rate great talent to have on the bench
Sugure needs to take credit for the changes as well.
Anyone know why Paul Kingston wasn't togged out?????
Was named in the programme but not there on the line
As usual a great summary of how the individuals fared but I thought maybe Benny Carroll deserved more than a 7. I thought that himself and John O (along with a few more) were immense in the last 20 minutes.
Interesting to see if the team starts to settle down or will changes continued to be made. There has been a few injuries but the panel seems very open ended and a lot of players tried. A few players who started or were involved in earlier games are not making the subs now. Anybody know who is on the panel at the moment.
The trialling of personnel and positions has been very worthwhile. I'd say Sugrue has learned a lot. It still appears to be quite a large squad and some more might get a chance to shine in the last two games. I'm not sure who's left but players will be cut soon, some will go with the u20's and others will have benefitted from their time with the squad and it could pay off at a future date for them. They see what it takes to make it at inter county level and they have the opportunity to work hard on what they need to improve if they have the interest and determination to do so. Having a chat with Ross Munnelly should give them a fair idea on what's required.
Looking at the starting team. It looks like only 7 positions have been decided upon. Keeper Brody, full back Timmons, one corner Dillon, wing back Begley, midfield O'Loughlin, full forward line of Kingston and O'Carroll. The other corner back position is between Seale, Collins and Attride. Wing back Attride, Scully, Collins or O'Connor, we also have a number of other half back options on the squad. Centre back appears to be between Attride and Piggott, of course Begley can go back there but they seem to want him on the wing. Lillis and Meaney will battle it out for the other midfield position unless Quigley makes an amazing recovery. The half forward line is up in the air. Boyle has been there the whole league. Kingston didn't work out at centre forward despite some promise. O'Connor has been in and out. Then we have Carroll doing very well the last day. Scully looking good when moved forward. Byrne started a few games, O'Flynn showed promise coming on, Lowry is an option and there's a good few more also. The other corner forward spot is between Ross, Cahilane, Murphy and possibly Barry and Paul Kingston. I'm probably forgetting some but I think that's the lay of the land.
Big game on Saturday. Can see Championship esqu team starting . Panel due to be cut after the weekend.
One thing for sure Offaly will give this game everything
so our players need to be ready from the word go.
remember the last time Offaly in tullamore beat us
to but us down to div.4, and that not long ago,
(https://scontent-dub4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/cp0/e15/q65/p320x320/53121572_2086656351454753_7260304526379319296_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&_nc_ht=scontent-dub4-1.xx&oh=eb3822152ed622def651c5eced89d267&oe=5D0A8083)
Good attacking team named. Should be well able for the 2 points against a struggling Offaly team.
Quote from: redsetanta on March 15, 2019, 10:12:13 AM
Good attacking team named. Should be well able for the 2 points against a struggling Offaly team.
Hope you are right redsetanta. It won't be easy.
LAOIS:
Graham Brody;
Stephen Attride, Mark Timmons, Gareth Dillon;
Trevor Collins, Colm Begley, Marty Scully;
John O'Loughlin, Kieran Lillis;
Eoin Lowry, Donie Kingston, Benny Carroll;
Ross Munnelly, Evan O'Carroll, Colm Murphy
That team is well capable of scoring 1-14 or 1-15 which will beat Offaly.
I think Offaly are more unlucky than struggling at the moment, a couple of points here and there and they would be going for promotion. It's a home game I would not have this as gimme.
Offaly sent us down to Div.4 two years ago beating us by one point and delighting in it, hopefully we can get our own back on Saturday and do the same to them. #revengeissweet#
(https://scontent-dub4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/cp0/e15/q65/p320x320/53121572_2086656351454753_7260304526379319296_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&_nc_ht=scontent-dub4-1.xx&oh=eb3822152ed622def651c5eced89d267&oe=5D0A8083)
I think there won't be much in it. A couple of points one way or another at most. Hopefully we get a few breaks and come home with a win. A draw wouldn't be a huge surprise.
I believe and expect a five /six point win
Quote from: Unlaoised on March 15, 2019, 08:34:28 PM
I believe and expect a five /six point win
Never expect anything with Laois. It soothes the eventual disappointment.
And never include Laois in an accumulator.
But yeah, a 5/6 point win would be lovely, especially given points difference could still play a big role to come.
All depends on the weather, a wet and windy day and anything can happen..
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on March 15, 2019, 03:03:33 PM
Offaly sent us down to Div.4 two years ago beating us by one point and delighting in it, hopefully we can get our own back on Saturday and do the same to them. #revengeissweet#
(https://scontent-dub4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/cp0/e15/q65/p320x320/53121572_2086656351454753_7260304526379319296_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&_nc_ht=scontent-dub4-1.xx&oh=eb3822152ed622def651c5eced89d267&oe=5D0A8083)
We were f**king shit and deserved to go down. We did more to send us down than Offaly.
Just a question lads. Does head to head or points differences come into play first. If we beat Carlow andif westmeath beat both Louth and down then will the fact that we beat down put us up
We always looked like the better team today, but we still have a number of deficiencies. We have no outlet at midfield at all and the amount of self inflicted pressure this creates can cripple us. It now looks like we are dependent on the short kick out.
Our tackling at the back needs some sort of specialist attention in my opinion. It's fair to say that we have unnatural backs, but opposing players are not put under enough pressure. I was disappointed that we conceded 15 scores against a fairly raw looking Offaly team. I'll give the Offaly lads one thing. They lack nothing in guts and determination whereas we never look like we're at full tilt. That's as bad an Offaly team as I've ever seen, but they still made inroads with too much ease. Their Number 12 consistently gave us problems and was the best player on the pitch in my opinion.
The above said, it was a rotten day and we had the better players. I just feel that there should be a lot more in this bunch, but we lack leaders and we need to address obvious shortcomings
I agree with high fielder we have won the game that's great don't get me wrong but we Leak so many scores we are so open at this stage I think it's very naive and a silly way of playing we should be way ahead of Offaly in my view;; love the way sugru keeps switching and blooding players but I'm not convinced on our system of play but I'm there to be corrected as we have not lost many games under johns stewardship
Quote from: Jd on March 16, 2019, 05:44:19 PM
Just a question lads. Does head to head or points differences come into play first. If we beat Carlow andif westmeath beat both Louth and down then will the fact that we beat down put us up
Here are the rules concerning this:If two teams finish level on the same points then their head to head record separates them.
If three teams or more finish level on points then they're separated by scoring difference.
Good win today. Some things not so good.
Benny Carroll. There were eyebrows raised when that man was first thrust into the team last year but he's well and truly put those doubts to bed now. So astute and intelligent. Rarely wastes the ball. Must be nailed on come championship. Nice lad as well by all accounts. And a fantastic footballer.
Martin Scully is another that merits a mention. Poked holes in Offaly's defence all day. We've much more of a squad this year. Onwards and upwards.
Would agree with High Fielder generally. We looked better than Offaly but we didn't look very good.
I just feel that the work rate isn't high enough in some key areas and, for me, that's one of the main reasons why we seem to be playing in fits and starts. We played well in the first 15 minutes and then were atrocious for the next half hour. The two goals were obviously crucial. Evan did very well to win the first one over the full back's head and Cahillane was probably the only player on our team who could manufacture a goal out of the position he was in.
Some of the stuff was dire though. The free taking was abysmal, the tackling was dreadful and the pace and intensity was really low.
I'm not sure I would blame the midfielders as HF does. I think we need to see a lot more of the half backs and half forwards in this position. Begley should be at wing back I think and Donie never seems to come away with the ball in the middle third. It can't be just about the two midfielders.
I agree with county minor that Benny Carroll was very good again. He does show great composure and leadership. Martin Scully was very good too and I couldn't really understand why he was taken off. We came out of it on the right side but I wouldn't be getting too excited about it.
It was such an odd line up. We are playing to narrow especially in the forwards. With Donie static in the middle we had Lowry and Bennie Carroll roaming around the middle third. problems appeared again and again on the wings., one was number 12 was always free and got on a lot of ball. They went up the field down the sides several times from short kick outs to score. Donie or if either midfielder never got across to close this space down, they sailed up the line.. They were also working Gareth Dillon down the side. His man got four points from play, nearly all one on ones, but it was mostly unpressurized passes in that killed him. We need both wing backs pinning the forwards back but without Begley out there. There is no real threat that side. The full forward line was very static. Evan should have made real hay against that full back. He has potential to do massive damage but often fades out. Murphy was a big disappointment, looked lost in the corner. I still think he will be dangerous more central.Ross nipped away but I wish he played closer to Evan. It's a pity he hasn't pace to burn markers as he takes up great positions. He gets good ball but often he recycles it back out. Getting the right balance in the forwards still needs a bit of work.
I take your point Giovanni and it's fair enough. Maybe it's a lack of planning, a lack of height or movement. Maybe it's all of those and more. It is very obvious at this stage that going long rarely works for us, and you have to have that option somehow. Offaly could see our nervousness and pushed up. We retreated at that point and that allowed them to get some very soft scores. I'd like to see us try something different because without knowing the stats, it feels like we come away with one in four or five when we go long. The short kick out means our backs are constantly working without a break. I often think a lot of our wounds are self inflicted in that regard. There were worrying moments after we went six points up and that was the most disappointing aspect of the day. Just reading on the hop's comments there, I'd agree that the ball in and subsequent scores were largely without pressure being applied.
When I saw the six named forwards I thought four would stay up the whole time and two ramble. A bit like the Dublin system where all three stay in the full forward line in normal Positions or two up top and one in front. Maybe Ross our in front of the other two as he finds it hard to shake markers.Donie was then the pivot at centre forward, I would rather Benny Carroll there or boyle as they are more mobile and better passers. Once they dropped a sweeper behind Donie, the only ball we could get in was into the corners and this often resulted in the player recycling the ball back out the field. Donie has no real effect as once he turned towards goal he was often bottled up and turned back out the field. I only mention this as it's a constant problem, firstly with how we deal with sweepers. Something Carlow are going to give us plenty of but also the lack of pace from
Midfield and the half forward line. For some reason we just don't seem to get support runners taking the ball off a pass or get ahead of the play as support. If piggott can improve possibly pushing Scully up the field.
Taking this line from Giovanni forum
The free taking was abysmal, the tackling was dreadful and the pace and intensity was really low.
This is our big problem all during the league, Why can't Sugrue fix this,
Quote from: vetoldthe on March 17, 2019, 06:36:20 PM
Taking this line from Giovanni forum
The free taking was abysmal, the tackling was dreadful and the pace and intensity was really low.
This is our big problem all during the league, Why can't Sugrue fix this,
Mother of God this time 2 years ago we were nearing relegation to div 4 not a decent championship run in nearly 10 years. Today we have won 11 of the last 13 leauge games not including finals all be it in div4 and div 3 but its relevant to the present day.
I genuinely believe some people think we are far better than what we are. Let's accept at present we are a competitive div 3 team who are improving. Not even mister Sugrue can make a silk purse from a pigs ear but he is doing a great job.
Let's get behind the players and not heap pressure on them to be a team they might not have the capabilites to be just yet.
Some f**king misery on here.
I don't see any pressure. I think the players and Sugrue would know if we don't achieve promotion, that we probably should have. Notwithstanding that, nobody will get carried away if we don't. The pressure will more than likely come from within because they will know themselves. It's obvious enough that we have yet to put all of the pieces together, and listening to Sugrue after matches, he has yet to declare himself fully happy. For what it's worth, I believe there's a lot more in the tank, but in an overall context, we're moving forward.
Shocking turnout yesterday by the way. We probably outnumbered Offaly in Tullamore, and that says very little because the crowd was tiny. Both panels deserve so much more than that
I think most people who commented on this match agreed that Laois were better than Offaly. I don't see anyone on here who was "miserable" having won the match.
On the other hand, anyone that was there would not be going home thinking this was a great performance. As HF pointed out, Sugrue himself recognizes this. For what it's worth, I think he's doing a fantastic job. This doesn't mean that every game is always perfect. We're entitled to point out what we think are the weaknesses as well as the strengths.
Quote from: Giovanni on March 17, 2019, 11:58:51 PM
I think most people who commented on this match agreed that Laois were better than Offaly. I don't see anyone on here who was "miserable" having won the match.
On the other hand, anyone that was there would not be going home thinking this was a great performance. As HF pointed out, Sugrue himself recognizes this. For what it's worth, I think he's doing a fantastic job. This doesn't mean that every game is always perfect. We're entitled to point out what we think are the weaknesses as well as the strengths.
Please tell me how you're ENTITLED to spread your negativity.
Are you over there putting your shoulder to the wheel coaching?
Are you indeed a player?
All above doubtful, we as faceless nameless forum trolls are Entitled to very little bar the minimum duty of backing and being supportive to the men like Sugrue and the players who put their shoulder and name to the wheel.
This includes myself laois abu and thank Christ we are contemplating promotion this week rather than relegation to div 4 as we were 23 months ago
There's not a whole lot worse than a fella who believes he's entitled to something without doing a tap to get it.
I'd say the fact that Giovanni was at the match is proof enough that he supports Sugrue and the team. And the fact that we all put our shoulders to the wheel in some way for Laois GAA entitles us to an opinion. As long as nobody is being victimised, then general discussion about about teams and tactics has been going on for as long as games were being played. If you check back through everyone's posts, you'll see negativity in one way or another. I think it's fairly obvious when someone has overstepped the mark, and this forum rarely does that. As forums go, I would say this one is very tame, despite the odd wind up merchant trying to make it otherwise
Get over yourselves, lads. Leave your handbags down. Back to talking about the matches. Not a disaster if we don't get promoted, but, it's hard to replicate that "feel good" feeling and positivity going into championship in the camp should we not do so.
Quote from: Giovanni on March 18, 2019, 09:50:30 AM
Quote from: Don Draper on March 18, 2019, 08:07:20 AM
There's not a whole lot worse than a fella who believes he's entitled to something without doing a tap to get it.
You have some neck - there's no doubt about it! Just a couple of days ago you posted that one Laois player was more responsible for our relegation than Offaly were! I think that I'm entitled to post my own reflections on the game without personalizing the criticisms. If you and O Mooreparklife feel so positive about that performance, maybe you can set out a little more clearly what you liked about it and we can have a normal conversation.
I'm not sure how being a player or "putting your shoulder to the wheel" would give me a pass for posting on here. I am not a player any more - I'm in my 50s now so I hope you'll agree that playing is no longer an option for me. I don't coach a team due to work commitments (I'm out of the country at least 100 days a year). I have supported my home club (and indeed other clubs) with financial donations). I am based in Galway. Despite this, I manage to get to almost every Laois football game and a good few of the hurling games. And yourself? Maybe you can also share your CV showing that you're entitled to wind up genuine Laois posters?
Would you consider washing a few jerseys when you're home?
I would be more of an onlooker/lurker than a regular poster here.
Just some feedback - let's have more insights and opinions from the Giovannis of this forum and less smart alec posts like the above.
Totally agree, I've said it here before, if you ignore smart alec comments the poster usually gives up but reacting to them is exactly what they want and they feed from annoying people. Just ignore them and comment on things that are worth something..
Here is what needs to happen for us to get to the Div.3 final and get promoted:
Laois: We will get promoted if we beat Carlow and if Westmeath lose to Longford
Down: avoid defeat v Louth and they'll go up (superior Head to Head v Westmeath)
Offaly: must beat Sligo and hope Laois beat Carlow to avoid drop.
Carlow: need a draw.
Are Offaly not on 5 pts and Carlow on 3 with Offaly willing in Carlow meaning they have a better head to head and will stay up no matter what ?? I think Laois will go up with a shock for Westmeath in Longford (I hope)
Quote from: The Boy Wonder on March 19, 2019, 11:57:50 PM
I would be more of an onlooker/lurker than a regular poster here.
Just some feedback - let's have more insights and opinions from the Giovannis of this forum and less smart alec posts like the above.
Some great posters here, but it's this sense of entitlement that grates. Players are working their bollocks off, they don't need it. Entitlement is an awful affliction in this world.
I don't see any entitlement. I see a realistic expectation of our ability. We imploded against Louth and were outfought up in Mullingar. On both occasions, Sugrue was damning enough about our performances. It's not a stretch at all to have us as one of the best teams in the Division (we beat Down after all) so I have no idea where o moore parklife's outburst actually came from. It's Division 3 after all. f**k it if we can't be bullish about Division 3, it's time to fold up the tent
Quote from: High Fielder on March 20, 2019, 10:58:06 AM
I don't see any entitlement. I see a realistic expectation of our ability. We imploded against Louth and were outfought up in Mullingar. On both occasions, Sugrue was damning enough about our performances. It's not a stretch at all to have us as one of the best teams in the Division (we beat Down after all) so I have no idea where o moore parklife's outburst actually came from. It's Division 3 after all. f**k it if we can't be bullish about Division 3, it's time to fold up the tent
I wasn't the person who first used the word entitlement. Be bullish all you like, I'm all for a bit of that, but don't tell me anyone is entitled to anything from these players other than honest effort and desire. The sacrifices involved in being an intercounty player have gone beyond the pale, its a credit to any man who puts himself up for the process in this day and age for f**k all reward.
Granted. That said, it is not unhealthy to expect a certain level of performance, and that applies to the team and supporters alike. In my experience, if you expect nothing, you generally get nothing, and we certainly should not feel that way about Division 3. If we had folk on here saying we should be in Division 1, then that would be a very different matter. There isn't though
Quote from: Jd on March 20, 2019, 03:28:29 AM
Are Offaly not on 5 pts and Carlow on 3 with Offaly willing in Carlow meaning they have a better head to head and will stay up no matter what ?? I think Laois will go up with a shock for Westmeath in Longford (I hope)
(http://i65.tinypic.com/11mfiug.jpg)
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/03/20/explained-how-the-laois-senior-footballers-can-reach-the-division-3-final/
Highly unfair that if Down beat Louth, we beat Carlow and Westmeath beat Longford, you then have a back game where Westmeath play a Louth team with nothing to play for and a Westmeath win would edge us out of the promotion spot.
Just about to say that . Highly flawed scenario although hardly surprising.
Revenge , payback etc all words in the Carlow vocabulary this week from players and fans alike . A win for Laois Sunday would really put them back in there box once and for all.
Any word on JOl availability this Sunday after his withdrawal last Saturday. Hopefully nothing too serious.
Jesus Christ, we beat Carlow three times last year. They're in their box. They can go on about revenge all they like, but if they do, they're clowns, because you can be sure they tried that last year too. In any theory of game, if you play someone enough times, one team, no matter how bad, will eventually win. I'm sure that could happen. But we never feared Carlow, and we never f**king will.
BTW SCFC is right, the way the league is working out is a w**k, and Laois should object to any outcome that leaves a team playing with nothing to play for. The GAA fucked us over on the training weekend, we should fire one back. I'll ride Junior to the gates of Croke Park if I have to, whos with me?
Very few, I'd say.
Quote from: Giovanni on March 21, 2019, 01:10:27 PM
Very few, I'd say.
Saddle up, for we go to war in the morrow. I am the sword in the darkness.
Can't force amateurs to play during the week though can we. Both teams were asked to play on Monday but too many work committments. It is what it is, these things happen in amateur sport. I get it. All we can do is beat Carlow and let it work itself out with the other game. What alternative to the GAA have? Play it tomorrow?
Quote from: Tony on March 21, 2019, 01:23:30 PM
Can't force amateurs to play during the week though can we. Both teams were asked to play on Monday but too many work committments. It is what it is, these things happen in amateur sport. I get it. All we can do is beat Carlow and let it work itself out with the other game. What alternative to the GAA have? Play it tomorrow?
Why can't they play during the week? Every last one of the Louth and Westmeath panel would have trained Tuesday night. It's completely shafting us if the scenario I described above comes to pass.
It isn't right but now we just have to beat Carlow and hope Longford do us a favour. It makes no sense, it should have been played last night. The league final is due to be played on Saturday week. Nothing can be done now I suppose.
We know how Carlow are going to play, we will need to be patient at times and hopefully, we can get enough scores to get us over the line. Will be interesting to see the team selected with our next competitive game a few months away.
Quote from: SCFC on March 21, 2019, 04:10:21 PM
Quote from: Tony on March 21, 2019, 01:23:30 PM
Can't force amateurs to play during the week though can we. Both teams were asked to play on Monday but too many work committments. It is what it is, these things happen in amateur sport. I get it. All we can do is beat Carlow and let it work itself out with the other game. What alternative to the GAA have? Play it tomorrow?
Why can't they play during the week? Every last one of the Louth and Westmeath panel would have trained Tuesday night. It's completely shafting us if the scenario I described above comes to pass.
Don't be daft mate, it's staring at you in the face. Training in your OWN county for 90 minutes on a tuesday night is a WORLD apart from having a competitive match in ANOTHER COUNTY. All the squad would need to take most of the day off, between getting the bus there on time, preparing for the match and having the match itself and getting home. Get real. These lads might be from a different county but we'll completely run GAA players off if we start having short notice mid week games. If these lads were pros, then yes of course it'd make sense. But we have to think of these lads livlihood, too.
At the moment 5 teams are still in contention for promotion - Down, Westmeath, Laois, Louth, Longford.
Any of the above including Down could lose out depending how results pan out.
For example you could have a situation after next Sunday (and before Louth-Westmeath) where it's Down 10, Laois 9, Westmeath 8, Longford 8, Louth 8.
It's not right that the CCCC are allowing Round 7 games to be played before the postponed Louth-Westmeath game.
If all favourites win next Sunday then Down will be promoted and will be joined later by Westmeath who should win a game then meaningless for Louth.
It's galling to think that if Laois had played Louth at home and won they would have been in a position to secure promotion next Sunday.
And the Dubs got away without punishment because their trip to Normandy was to see the WWII beaches !
Quote from: Tony on March 21, 2019, 05:39:41 PM
Quote from: SCFC on March 21, 2019, 04:10:21 PM
Quote from: Tony on March 21, 2019, 01:23:30 PM
Can't force amateurs to play during the week though can we. Both teams were asked to play on Monday but too many work committments. It is what it is, these things happen in amateur sport. I get it. All we can do is beat Carlow and let it work itself out with the other game. What alternative to the GAA have? Play it tomorrow?
Why can't they play during the week? Every last one of the Louth and Westmeath panel would have trained Tuesday night. It's completely shafting us if the scenario I described above comes to pass.
Don't be daft mate, it's staring at you in the face. Training in your OWN county for 90 minutes on a tuesday night is a WORLD apart from having a competitive match in ANOTHER COUNTY. All the squad would need to take most of the day off, between getting the bus there on time, preparing for the match and having the match itself and getting home. Get real. These lads might be from a different county but we'll completely run GAA players off if we start having short notice mid week games. If these lads were pros, then yes of course it'd make sense. But we have to think of these lads livlihood, too.
Firstly, less of the "mate" crap.
Secondly, using capital letters doesn't add to your argument. No need.
Quote from: Tony on March 21, 2019, 05:39:41 PM
Quote from: SCFC on March 21, 2019, 04:10:21 PM
Quote from: Tony on March 21, 2019, 01:23:30 PM
Can't force amateurs to play during the week though can we. Both teams were asked to play on Monday but too many work committments. It is what it is, these things happen in amateur sport. I get it. All we can do is beat Carlow and let it work itself out with the other game. What alternative to the GAA have? Play it tomorrow?
Why can't they play during the week? Every last one of the Louth and Westmeath panel would have trained Tuesday night. It's completely shafting us if the scenario I described above comes to pass.
Don't be daft mate, it's staring at you in the face. Training in your OWN county for 90 minutes on a tuesday night is a WORLD apart from having a competitive match in ANOTHER COUNTY. All the squad would need to take most of the day off, between getting the bus there on time, preparing for the match and having the match itself and getting home. Get real. These lads might be from a different county but we'll completely run GAA players off if we start having short notice mid week games. If these lads were pros, then yes of course it'd make sense. But we have to think of these lads livlihood, too.
Both counties played midweek O'Byrne Cup games in recent years. Don't be over dramatic.
Don't be over dramatic? If I had a midweek game and had to take the day off to travel to another county and didn't give proper notice to my employer, I'd be sacked soon enough. I don't know what planet yee are from. Do you honestly think that a panel of 30+ players would all magically be able to get the day off, just to satisfy yee lads, while yee make no such compromise or sacrifice?! Get real, seriously. Talk about entitled ;D ;)
How do O'Byrne Cup midweek games get played? Westmeath played Dublin in the O'Byrne Cup final which was on a Friday, they only qualified for the final the weekend before. How did that happen?
Quote from: Tony on March 22, 2019, 10:33:06 AM
Don't be over dramatic? If I had a midweek game and had to take the day off to travel to another county and didn't give proper notice to my employer, I'd be sacked soon enough. I don't know what planet yee are from. Do you honestly think that a panel of 30+ players would all magically be able to get the day off, just to satisfy yee lads, while yee make no such compromise or sacrifice?! Get real, seriously. Talk about entitled ;D ;)
Relax, you'll do yourself an injury. This happens quite often. It happened in the OBC for both. Why are you so wound up?
The same O' Byrne cup where nobody cares about the result, players are trialled heavily, there are massive panels and if some players are not available for a particular reason, it's not a big deal? Yeah, that's like for like.
At the end of the day, the players said they can't play due to work commitments (from both panels) and I respect that. It's not good for us. But when you start disrespecting players wishes even more, you have issues. It's already next to impossible to be a county player with all the commitments involved.
If I was a county player in this scenario and I played for either team, I literally wouldn't be able to get a week day off with that short notice. So I'd have to take the day off if I wanted to play (ie call in sick). Which could get me sacked. I'm sure some of the 60+ players from both panels are in a similar boat as me.
Big difference between O'Byrne/McKenna Cup and National League in fairness. OBC & MKC games are glorified challenge matches where counties are missing players anyway who are on college panels. The league is a serious competition.
I would be surprised if ths had much to do with players' welfare.
The fact is that both Louth and Westmeath are in with a shout of promotion. Both will know exactly what they'll have to do by the time they play the game. This is a big advantage for them. I don't think it takes much imagination to figure out what Louth and Westmeath players (and management) would prefer to do in this scenario. That doesn't make it right.
Louth in particular have already been given an important advantage over all the other teams fighting for promotion since they had fewer away games and it seems odd they are being given more advantages now.
I take Tony's point about essentially having to write off the day (or at least half of it) but I think they do that fairly regularly for training camps, Saturday games, etc. already. Does anyone know how the decision was actually made?
It's possible that after the Round 7 games are played there will be no need for the Louth-Westmeath game to be played, same as the Laois-Antrim game in Div.4 last year didn't need to be played.
This would then mean that the Div.3 final could go ahead as planned and there would be no disruption to the "no inter county game" rule for April as April was set aside as the 'club month.
Quote from: Giovanni on March 22, 2019, 12:22:52 PM
I take Tony's point about essentially having to write off the day (or at least half of it) but I think they do that fairly regularly for training camps, Saturday games, etc. already.
Rarely at a few days notice though.
(http://i64.tinypic.com/rb9pgj.jpg)
Rob Pigott vs Brendan Murphy pt 3, MAKE IT HAPPEN JOHN
Great win ,great crowd,Evan immense,Laois promoted
Carlow and dirty Brendan Murphy relegated
Laois in division 2 next
Div 2 next year
Fermanagh
Roscommon
Cavan
Kildare
Armagh
Clare
Laois
Louth/westmeath
Fair play Laois you do everything right and you get a rub of the green, great to see it done the right way. Well done to the Squad, Management Team & the County Board. I realize some here don't be in Portlaoise very often but Laois's Centre of Excellence, will with the right people involved allow us a serious platform for the future. Well done Laois nice to see things being done well.
Great win. Absolutely fantastic to have Brendan Quigley back. Made the difference in midfield and the winnings of the game. Dug out the win. Plenty of roaring and balling from Carlow in the terrace. Decent crowd today hopefully good support for a final against Louth or Westmeath. Got a point that was about 2 yards wide in 2nd half. Great progress under Sugrue and hopefully more to come.Onwards and upwards.
Embarrassing display from that absolute w*nker Poacher at the end. Huge congratulations to our lads and our management team. They are a credit to themselves and their county. Never gave them so much as an inch or stooped to their level.
I love GAA but if Stephen Poacher is the best Carlow can have wel they can close the gates of Dr Cullen Park. His display at the end of the game was the worst I've ever seen at a GAA game anyways.
Great outcome today - well done to the lads. In truth they should have won more comfortably given they were so much on top in the 2nd half.
The Louth-Westmeath game won't be meaningless for either team after all 😀
Brilliant win, Quigley's return is a massive boost for us. Even without Begley, O'Loughlin and Benny Carroll we proved that we now have a strong panel that can come in and win a game of that ferocity which is something that we haven't had for a number of years now.
Carlow were very cynical and but for a very fussy referee the game could have turned very nasty. Stephen Poacher's influence on them was plain to be seen but even with that they didn't have the skillset to beat us, even when their survival in the division was the prize at stake. We now head to Div2 where we should improve even more so things are really looking up for these lads and I'm delighted for John Sugrue and his management team for what they have achieved.
I didn't see what Poacher did at the end of the game but there was a lot of verbal's between himself and the Laois crowd as he went down the tunnel at the end of the game. After all his carry ons during the year neither his home county, Down, nor his adopted county have achieved anything to shout about...
He spat at John sugrue's back.
Great to see Sugrue got the freetaking sorted out today,
9 from 9 [ I think ] CONGRATULATION TO ALL.
I'm so proud of our county. Fantastic news!!!
Great achievement to be promoted for two years in a row. I hope they avoid Westmeath in the final.
Quote from: Batman!!! on March 24, 2019, 06:16:33 PM
He spat at John sugrue's back.
Really hard to believe that
Quote from: Helix. on March 24, 2019, 05:13:44 PM
Great win. Absolutely fantastic to have Brendan Quigley back. Made the difference in midfield and the winnings of the game. Dug out the win. Plenty of roaring and balling from Carlow in the terrace. Decent crowd today hopefully good support for a final against Louth or Westmeath. Got a point that was about 2 yards wide in 2nd half. Great progress under Sugrue and hopefully more to come.Onwards and upwards.
It was hard listening to a few of them on the terrace. They really hate brody
Quote from: on the hop on March 24, 2019, 08:19:58 PM
Quote from: Helix. on March 24, 2019, 05:13:44 PM
Great win. Absolutely fantastic to have Brendan Quigley back. Made the difference in midfield and the winnings of the game. Dug out the win. Plenty of roaring and balling from Carlow in the terrace. Decent crowd today hopefully good support for a final against Louth or Westmeath. Got a point that was about 2 yards wide in 2nd half. Great progress under Sugrue and hopefully more to come.Onwards and upwards.
It was hard listening to a few of them on the terrace. They really hate brody
Cheering at the end in the terrace for Sligo thinking they were staying up then realising Offaly pull it out of the fire. 8)
https://youtu.be/yHlfb5uy7kY
Is there no rules to keep poacher off the pitch. Carlow might as well have had 16 playing at times. Maybe send Piggot thundering into him "by accident " might soften his cough a bit. I'm so proud of our county tonight. Them boys never took a step back all day despite all the late cynical hits from Carlow players. Nothing to fear in div 2 next year either. And finally..... Brendan Quigley is a monster. !!!
I was thinking the same. He really got on my wick. I just hope he did what is being reported above. Just makes the win sweeter. By the way, was Sugrue having a sly dig in the post match interview by saying they were a "well coached side?". He couldn't have been serious surely?
I liked what we did today. We looked comfortable. I felt no matter what they did, we had it covered. Bearing in mind we were short three starters, I was very happy. Our play going forward was particularly pleasing. They are a better team than Offaly and Sligo so it's their own fault that they've dropped. I thought yer man going in on the pitch and setting them up like 7 year olds distracted them. Thanks Poacher
Along with the Down game, I thought that was the best we played this year. To be without the likes of JOL, Begley and Benny Carroll and not really notice is a testament to the job that John Sugrue and his team have done. The promotion has been a fantastic achievement but the way he's brought lads through is arguably even more important. HF has consistently said that Sugrue improves players that join the panel and that is absolutely true.
I was delighted to see Brendan Quigley back. I don't think there's a better sight in Gaelic football than to see him in full flow. Some of the fielding today was just ridiculous. A rare player.
Don't know much about Poacher but he did spit at Sugrue's back (after a fairly aggressive handshake it must be said). To be honest, I think Carlow can probably do better for themselves than that lad. They have some good players and they might be better focusing on getting the best out of themselves rather than trying to drag teams down to some lowest common denominator.
Anyway, well done to all involved.
Any news on the injuries to O'Loughlin, Begley and Carroll? Their availability for the league final is not crucial, but that they are fit for the championship is vital.
Got to try out a number of players, got promoted, get a bonus match, play division 2 next year, been a very successful league. Great to see Quigley back, our spine is very strong now. The build up to the championship begins now but it'd be nice to pick up a trophy in two weeks.
By the way, I thought Pigott was excellent today at center back. He's growing into the position very well.
Quote from: Giovanni on March 24, 2019, 10:41:45 PM
By the way, I thought Pigott was excellent today at center back. He's growing into the position very well.
Not wanting to run anyone down but I'd disagree with this. Not sure he has the football in him. I think Begley is our man here. I hope not but I wouldn't be surprised if Meaney doesn't make a return. Right or wrong, he hasn't had many minutes and getting taken off early today might be the final straw for him.
I thought Quigley was MOM when he came on just different class. He can only improve provided he remains injury free.
Fantastic achievement well done to players and management! What an effort to be promoted 2 years running!
You can really feel the buzz around the county building up again! It was a real added bonus that Carlow were relegated - that'll quel their rising for a while! 8) they didnt deserve anything else with the sh1t carry on. Like someone said they are better than that Poacher arsehole. They are not a bad team - just playing badly.
I think that is goals for the year reached for me. Slowly build things again next year in division 2. I guess ultimate goal is to try build a competitive division 1 side?? Another run in championship like last year would be a bonus. Just beat who we should be beating and continue progressing nicely.
I wonder would you get any odds on J Sugrue next manager down in the south west? :o
Whisper that one very quietly Leixlad. We need to keep him for as long as possible. That said, he should be on their radar. He's doing good things with us. He's changing the mindset. Lads know what is expected of them and as a consequence of that, the rewards have followed. We're a million miles away from being a Division 1 team, and we still have so many limitations, but our players are giving their all and want to play for Laois. He has taken away the moral high ground from those who didn't commit to the panel but are good enough to be there. In the past, it was fashionable to sit on the sidelines and pour scorn on what was going on with Laois. That's not the case any more, and John Sugrue has made that happen. We're lucky to have him.
0 chance Kerry change their manager.
Long term Ballyroan. Relatively speaking, Sugrue is a young manager.
Well done to John and the boys, a wonderful achievement to do back to back promotions.
I hope those who were fearing the worst during the O'Byrne Cup have had their fears allayed somewhat now.
On another point, f**k the GAA for allowing the situation develop that Laois and whoever are to meet us, won't get their day out in Croke Park. Ask yourself, would this happen in Division 1? Would it f**k.
Loved Sugrues little dig when asked about a training camp in April seeing as the league will still be on, he said that we can't use that word but would maybe get out the thesaurus to get around it.
Quote from: Jd on March 25, 2019, 10:33:09 AM
Loved Sugrues little dig when asked about a training camp in April seeing as the league will still be on, he said that we can't use that word but would maybe get out the thesaurus to get around it.
Laois should head off somewhere this weekend for an historical outing. Start a whiparound there boys and we'll send them off to Andalusia to research Franco and Eoin O Duffy's links.
Quote from: Don Draper on March 25, 2019, 10:36:33 AM
Quote from: Jd on March 25, 2019, 10:33:09 AM
Loved Sugrues little dig when asked about a training camp in April seeing as the league will still be on, he said that we can't use that word but would maybe get out the thesaurus to get around it.
Laois should head off somewhere this weekend for an historical outing. Start a whiparound there boys and we'll send them off to Andalusia to research Franco and Eoin O Duffy's links.
. A former laois legend lives in Andalucia...he coul hhggelp out with tours etc ,📸🇧🇳
For those who haven't heard it yet : John Sugrue post promotion news audio below :
Great feel good feeling about football in the county, nice buzz around. Great to have this man on board, he's a great fit for a side like Laois -
https://soundcloud.com/midlandssport/john-sugrue-back-to-back-promotions-for-laois
Quote from: Tony on March 26, 2019, 12:34:40 PM
For those who haven't heard it yet : John Sugrue post promotion news audio below :
Great feel good feeling about football in the county, nice buzz around. Great to have this man on board, he's a great fit for a side like Laois -
https://soundcloud.com/midlandssport/john-sugrue-back-to-back-promotions-for-laois
He's a great fit for any side. We're lucky as f**king f**k we have him.
Quote from: Don Draper on March 26, 2019, 01:12:40 PM
Quote from: Tony on March 26, 2019, 12:34:40 PM
For those who haven't heard it yet : John Sugrue post promotion news audio below :
Great feel good feeling about football in the county, nice buzz around. Great to have this man on board, he's a great fit for a side like Laois -
https://soundcloud.com/midlandssport/john-sugrue-back-to-back-promotions-for-laois
He's a great fit for any side. We're lucky as f**king f**k we have him.
Very true but to keep him long term we need to give him whatever he needs to help keep Laois football progressing. Lets not f**k this up .
Quote from: portlaoisekid on March 26, 2019, 02:11:59 PM
Quote from: Don Draper on March 26, 2019, 01:12:40 PM
Quote from: Tony on March 26, 2019, 12:34:40 PM
For those who haven't heard it yet : John Sugrue post promotion news audio below :
Great feel good feeling about football in the county, nice buzz around. Great to have this man on board, he's a great fit for a side like Laois -
https://soundcloud.com/midlandssport/john-sugrue-back-to-back-promotions-for-laois
He's a great fit for any side. We're lucky as f**king f**k we have him.
Very true but to keep him long term we need to give him whatever he needs to help keep Laois football progressing. Lets not f**k this up .
Couldn't agree more.
Fully agree with all of the above. Guys like John Sugrue are few and far between and we certainly should do whatever is needed to keep him on board. His earlier idea of a north, south, east and west league was a sign of a guy who wasn't just talking about but was actually trying to get the best players on board and he now has a very strong panel at his disposal. His treatment of players, no matter who they are is a very positive step forward for us and he is getting the best from everyone involved on the panel.
While the players have to be praised for the work they did to get us to Div. 2 it was John's leadership that was the driving force behind it. Not too many managers have taken their team up two divisions in two years and got to a Leinster final on the way so I think he will have caught the eye of a few counties as a possible future manager for them. It's the responsibility of our Co. board to support him and the team from now on and make it a position that he will find it very hard to leave..
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.
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.
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.
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.
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..
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.
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.
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.
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.
Is Finbarr Crowley involved?
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.
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.
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.
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
As far as I know, Alan Farrell is on the panel but just a bit down the pecking order.
Quote from: les Antiques on March 28, 2019, 04:59:46 PM
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
Who would you drop, jol is playing a very deep role but handling a lot of ball and Lillis is one pushing forward at times and kicking a few scores. He also the best passer of the three which will he needed if we leave Donie and Evan inside.
Quote from: on the hop on March 28, 2019, 10:18:59 PM
Quote from: les Antiques on March 28, 2019, 04:59:46 PM
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
Who would you drop, jol is playing a very deep role but handling a lot of ball and Lillis is one pushing forward at times and kicking a few scores. He also the best passer of the three which will he needed if we leave Donie and Evan inside.
[/quote
Play Quigers as a number 12 ...some option for a kick out then
I dont think we should be putting pressure on Quigley to be our main man, the chap is 33/34 and just returned from serious injury and lets face it its unlikely that he has 70 minutes in his legs for the white heat of championship.
He is an excellent addition when fit but lets give him a chance to stay fit before we can expect him to run the show.
f**king hell, an attacking wing back would have a field day on Quigley. Lads need to catch themselves on a wee bit.
If Quigley can remain fit, he will be starting beside O'Loughlin. Lillis to bench. He is an option at centre back but his lack of pace would be exposed. I'm surprised O'Reilly hasn't been given another run at wing forward and O'Connor as well, he was taken off against Westmeath but was having his best game of the year that day.
So it's back to Croker next Saturday at 4.45 v Westmeath. Looking forward to a great contest..
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/03/30/revealed-time-and-date-confirmed-for-division-3-league-final-in-croke-park/
I'm sick of these Westmeath f**kers having the upper hand on us. We bet them last year when it counted, we'll see them twice this year when its gonna count. Time to lay down another marker.
I see that tickets are €20 for the game on Saturday and it's unreserved seating in the Hogan only. Im assuming tickets can just be purchased on the day at either of the GAA ticket offices!
TG4 are covering it too, I'd expect a very small crowd there with very little atmosphere. There are two college games on with it, one before and one after..
I think both A and B College finals are on before us!
Quote from: redsetanta on April 03, 2019, 12:32:30 AM
I think both A and B College finals are on before us!
You are correct, my apologies...
(http://i64.tinypic.com/211up9e.jpg)
Two Laois players named in "Pundit Arena's" Best League 15 out of all the 4 leagues..
https://punditarena.com/features/mcorry/pundit-arena-team-of-the-league/?fbclid=IwAR1lFEVtnUMc0wDLwKQlilDa3ZrQBvWz3O-8cXZZCMG_3NvN5tVBYD9N6R8
An interesting read.........
https://www.gaa.ie/football/news/steely-sugrue-is-made-of-the-right-mettle/
H'on Leix!
Quote from: Chrimtain on April 04, 2019, 08:52:05 PM
An interesting read.........
https://www.gaa.ie/football/news/steely-sugrue-is-made-of-the-right-mettle/
H'on Leix!
Lovely. f**king lovely.
Is Alan Farrell involved?
Quote from: Chrimtain on April 04, 2019, 08:52:05 PM
An interesting read.........
https://www.gaa.ie/football/news/steely-sugrue-is-made-of-the-right-mettle/
H'on Leix!
This guy is the real thing ok, if Kerry don't win the all Ireland this year they could well be looking for him. Lets hope our lads give him good reason to stay..
Laois senior football team named for Division 3 League final in Croke Park
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/04/04/the-laois-senior-football-team-named-for-division-3-league-final-in-croke-park/
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D3VfrzQW0AQycL3.jpg:small)
John Sugrue talks to Colm Parkinson
https://soundcloud.com/sportsjoe-gaa-hour/john-sugrue-interview-mayo-free-taker-playing-on-tv (Interview starts at 29:30 and there's a good chat about Laois football to listen to after the interview.)
Quote from: Batman!!! on March 24, 2019, 05:41:42 PM
I love GAA but if Stephen Poacher is the best Carlow can have wel they can close the gates of Dr Cullen Park. His display at the end of the game was the worst I've ever seen at a GAA game anyways.
Really hope something is done about this carry on, looks like Carlow are not flavour of the month anymore..
(http://i65.tinypic.com/2ajsy0l.jpg)
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on April 04, 2019, 11:44:37 PM
Quote from: Chrimtain on April 04, 2019, 08:52:05 PM
An interesting read.........
https://www.gaa.ie/football/news/steely-sugrue-is-made-of-the-right-mettle/
H'on Leix!
This guy is the real thing ok, if Kerry don't win the all Ireland this year they could well be looking for him. Lets hope our lads give him good reason to stay..
You think Kerry will sack Keane after one year? Are you insane?
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on April 05, 2019, 01:42:22 AM
Quote from: Batman!!! on March 24, 2019, 05:41:42 PM
I love GAA but if Stephen Poacher is the best Carlow can have wel they can close the gates of Dr Cullen Park. His display at the end of the game was the worst I've ever seen at a GAA game anyways.
Really hope something is done about this carry on, looks like Carlow are not flavour of the month anymore..
(http://i65.tinypic.com/2ajsy0l.jpg)
f**k Carlow and f**k Poacher. They're the past. We're behind that shite.
Quote from: Junior Ex Laoistalk on April 04, 2019, 11:52:38 PM
John Sugrue talks to Colm Parkinson
https://soundcloud.com/sportsjoe-gaa-hour/john-sugrue-interview-mayo-free-taker-playing-on-tv (Interview starts at 29:30 and there's a good chat about Laois football to listen to after the interview.)
Donie Kingston's last year?
Ah let's forget about Carlow and concentrate on our own lads. I like the team named. It's a nice mix of pace and size. I remember being here a couple of years ago and we were bemoaning our lack of pace, but we appear to have gotten a few fast lads and still have the strong core of a team. Credit for this has to go to John Sugrue. Young O Flynn is a real surprise starter but I've been watching him all through underage and have always felt he was good enough. I think the wide open space will suit our half lines and if we get enough ball in not Evan he could create havoc
On the team selection for the Westmeath match, I think it is great to see young Sean O'Flynn from Courtwood lining out. He follows the likes of George Doyle, Fergal Byron and Niall Donoher from that small club on the Kildare border. When they do produce county players, they are always good ones. I'm sure O'Flynn will be the same.
Plaudits too to John Sugrue for bringing in another young player. From the very start he has proven to be brave and innovative in his team selections. He deserves to succeed. Hopefully we will see Laois lift the cup in Croker tomorrow.
Sean is a really sticky defender. You'd rarely if ever see a man get the better of him. Really, really polite young fella as well, delighted to see him in.
Is his job to mark Ger Egan?
Quote from: Chrimtain on April 05, 2019, 12:22:46 PM
Is his job to mark Ger Egan?
He'd have it in him I'd say. It's a tactic John isn't shy to use either. Could see him shadowing someone alright
Great read....
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/pro14/sugrue-oversees-transformation-as-resurgent-laois-find-a-way-back-1.3850893?mode=amp
Very wasteful up front hopefully won't rue those misses! Big 2nd half coming up!
Very disappoiting so far. It seems that Westmeath have the better gameplan and the better forwards. We look so slow and pedestrian.
Taking all day to kick long range frees wide instead of trying to speed the play up and work an easier chance , goal just gone in uphill battle now
Quote from: Gmac on April 06, 2019, 06:08:09 PM
Taking all day to kick long range frees wide instead of trying to speed the play up and work an easier chance , goal just gone in uphill battle now
Left that behind them too wasteful and too many hit and hope balls in the 2nd half. Hopefully rectify it for championship in Tullamore. Attride one of the few positives today. Ger Egan is some player.
We simply were not at their level. The fact is that we played against 14 men for 20 minutes but could not capitalise. Can't see us turning it around in the championship.
We are just way too slow in everything we do. It was awful to see them resort to kicking in high hopeful balls at the end.
Graham Brody, please stay in the goals!!!!
Ah Jesus, the wides percentage is dreadful. Would remind you of the hurlers against Limerick. Simple misses. Young O'Flynn had two bad ones (fine game otherwise). Cahillane's missed goal chance was crucial. O'Carroll's frees aren't consistent enough. Begley seemed to stroll through the game which might be unfair of me. Attride is a great bit of stuff. What can you say about Brody? I love the guy but sometimes he costs us and one of those times was today. You just can't have your keeper chasing back while they're sticking the ball in the net.
Too slow. Too many passengers on a fast sod. It was only a matter of time before Brody's forays cost a goal. I can't see how it helps, he is usually the link man between 2 lads 15 yards apart. Evan O'Carroll only forward. Need to replace older lads with faster young fellas soon.
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on April 06, 2019, 08:56:28 PM
Too slow. Too many passengers on a fast sod. It was only a matter of time before Brody's forays cost a goal. I can't see how it helps, he is usually the link man between 2 lads 15 yards apart. Evan O'Carroll only forward. Need to replace older lads with faster young fellas soon.
What young lads would u suggest using ?
Two evenly enough matched sides with their ability to execute quicker the deciding factor. Some days, it really pisses me off that we are so passive in our approach. We need to be busier and we need to be more aggressive. Westmeath are very beatable but that's twice that I've felt we don't know how to do it. I wouldn't be getting too down in the mouth about it but we need to find a new approach and an extra gear the next time we play them. A very similar submission to the one in Mullingar. Credit to Westmeath. Deserving winners
A lack of a scoring threat between our half back and forward lines, as well as a glut of diabolical wides, killed us. They were cute and managed the game very efficiently. We paid for our wastefulness big time, we could've been out of sight early on. Timmons and Attride best on the day for us I thought. Our play was slow and lateral, it was easy for them to funnel back in numbers and strangle us. They were very disciplined in defence (black cards aside) whereas we were coughing up frees easier.
I'd still be confident we can catch them in May. They play like a slightly more progressive Carlow, not sure that style will lend itself well to summer ball.
Quote from: Laoiseabu on April 06, 2019, 09:22:19 PM
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on April 06, 2019, 08:56:28 PM
Too slow. Too many passengers on a fast sod. It was only a matter of time before Brody's forays cost a goal. I can't see how it helps, he is usually the link man between 2 lads 15 yards apart. Evan O'Carroll only forward. Need to replace older lads with faster young fellas soon.
What young lads would u suggest using ?
Not sure I have the answers. Benny Carroll for a start.
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on April 06, 2019, 09:47:58 PM
Quote from: Laoiseabu on April 06, 2019, 09:22:19 PM
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on April 06, 2019, 08:56:28 PM
Too slow. Too many passengers on a fast sod. It was only a matter of time before Brody's forays cost a goal. I can't see how it helps, he is usually the link man between 2 lads 15 yards apart. Evan O'Carroll only forward. Need to replace older lads with faster young fellas soon.
What young lads would u suggest using ?
Not sure I have the answers. Benny Carroll for a start.
I'd like to see young Barry from O'Dempseys getting a try. And possibly another look at Danny O'Reilly.
We are still playing like we played in Div 4. Slow, pedestrian and going back and forth across the field, whereas Westmeath, when they decided to counter attack, did so at pace. I'm afraid I am left with opinion that they possess much better footballers than we do.
They are a much better version of Carlow, and it will be very difficult to beat them in the championship. We have to change, We have to start doing things at a much faster pace.
Clearly, we don't trust our full forward line to win possession. If we did, when we have possession in the middle third, we would kick the ball into them, instead of constantly holding on to possession.
Sadly, we were shown up today and it may be very short summer.
Bit of an over reaction on here. We kicked 15 wides. They Kicked 5.
We made chances but didnt take them.
I think we'll beat them in the championship.
That was another shocking performance...I think we need a forward coach,when you have at least 5or 6 players that cannot take a shot 45 metres out..Also why did sugrue persist with evan taking frees,when he at least had 6 wides.What,s more worrying is that we dont have a settled 15 team at this stage in the championship...Only stephen attride and young oflynn played well...
Quote from: ILikeStrawberryJam on April 07, 2019, 09:07:43 AM
Bit of an over reaction on here. We kicked 15 wides. They Kicked 5.
We made chances but didnt take them.
I think we'll beat them in the championship.
There's been lads on here only waiting to put the boot in. They were seething to see things go well and a happy camp. Don't mind them. The internet is chock full of nut jobs.
Slightly disappointing, hoped to finish the League on a high. We must remember we gained promotion which is a positive. This is our level fair kudos to Westmeath who had more answers yesterday. Beaten by the better team, I genuinely thought we would have more than them but we found it hard to get scores much the same as Cusack Park. Back to Division to 2 and a million miles from two years ago, it's a pity we lost but there is room to improve in the coming years.
I heard an interview from John Sugrue yesterday, and few have been more critical of Laois's performance than himself. Comparing it to under 12 or 14 football, he came across as a very frustrated and disappointed man.
Definitely an overreaction from some here. Especially from some who weren't at the match and were probably watching it from their bedsit somewhere in Kildare.
It's clear we still have a lot to work on. Our lack of pace is something that continues to pop up and our lack of scorers is an issue. The ball wasn't put in early until late on in the match because Westmeath had an extra man back there. That left space elsewhere but our half forwards aren't great score getters, unfortunately. That's no matter who we bring in there. Kingston actually had a fine game, O'Carroll had an off day with the shooting but his conversion rate is never 100%.
They are very good footballers, great at club level and have many strengths but Boyle and Lillis are just too slow, especially when playing against a running team like Westmeath. They don't do enough in other areas to accommodate them I'm afraid. Benny Carroll adds a lot of pace and attacking threat. Like others, he isn't a great scorer but he's likely to start in the championship. Scully hadn't his best game of the league but adds directness to the attack.
It's clear that Sugrue wasn't treating this game as the be all and end all and I think we'll have up to 5 or 6 changes come May 26th. No matter what he goes with however, we'll have to face up to the facts that we have certain limitations. We have many strengths also and gaining promotion to division 2 means it was an extremely successful league campaign. The final was just a bonus game and although it would have been nice to win, it's definitely not the end of the world to lose it.
This was almost a carbon copy of the first match with Laois on top for the first 15-20 minutes, missing loads of chances and eventually the life being squeezed out of them.
I don't know whether the game was being played with one eye on the championship but it's hard to account for some of the play. The likes of Boyle and Lillis are well capable of looking up and popping accurate balls into the full forward line but instead of that they more often than not decided to run with it (when they weren't going sideways or backwards) which is definitely not their game. Pace is not just about how fast someone can run but how quickly they can use the ball. It must be said, that the inside line weren't making too much effort to make space either. It was all a bit static. After the first Westmeath game, John Sugrue talked about there being too much structure and I thought that was right. I thought yesterday was much the same.
Laois are in Division 2 next year because we were the second best team in the League. We're there on merit so I wouldn't be too down about this game. On the other hand, you'd hope that you'd see an improvement for the third meeting.
To be honest, while we didn't play well yesterday I think it was the perfect result as it exposed a lot of weaknesses in the team and in individual players who seemed to be believing all the hype that was going around and what was been written about them. Lack of pace is the most obvious one but decision making and real team play is another problem that will have to be addressed before the championship.
Brody's antics was always a disaster waiting to happen and the amazing thing was how he got away with it for so long. While it can be a good tactic at the back, especially if we are a man down, there really is no need for him to be going up into the half forward line looking for glory and leaving a defender to cover for him. Hopefully both he and management will learn from this and I'm glad it happened now rather than in a championship game. He is a top class goalkeeper and that's his primary job on the team.
Another thing is our team play especially when attacking. We have lads who make bad decisions when in possession and never seem to see a runner or a teammate in a better position to score. They run across and back before passing and lose any momentum that had been built up and a lot of times turn over the ball easily. Lads need to have more trust in their teammates and not be looking for particular lads to give the ball to. They are all good footballers and the team as a whole need to realise that.
The real problem we have is our scoring rate, I think Paul Kingston is too good to be left off this team and is always a danger to any defence. The quality of ball into the full forward line is awful and if any of these lads were getting a good, plentiful supply of the ball they would put up a good score. All this can be worked on and I'm sure it will be and overall I am happy with the progress we have made since John took over. If every player seriously looks at his own performance yesterday and lessons are learned from that game then it will have been a very worthwhile day out. In fairness we kicked 16 wides to their 6 wides and we gave then a present of a goal. If we had taken half of those chances we would have won so all is far from being bad.
I thought it was poor enough stuff from Laois and Westmeath Saturday, it was a weird match as there was zero atmosphere in Croke park and I think this impacted the game.
I thought Laois were average at best, we have major problems around the middle third in terms of the ball they give into the inside line as it tends to be neither quick enough or smart enough. We have good players inside but they need quality quick ball. Nothing we do seems to be at pace.
I dont think the team will change a great deal for championship but I do think , especially with the match being in O'Connor park, that Quigley is nailed on to start. We always seem to be a hairs breath from clicking, we can only but improve and I think we will be in much better shape come championship.
They say you learn more in defeat and since we've lost to these twice, we should have learned a good bit. One of the big things is the kick outs. They gave up possession to us for the majority of our kick outs. For 20 minutes that was because they were down to 14 but even when they had 15, we were rarely forced to go long. They also didn't want to go long on their kick outs. When they were forced to, we generally won them. Working it short and running at us from there resulted in a high number of scores, usually with overlapping runners, our lack of pace was exposed this way. This is something we can target. We'll have to be brave to do it but we can push up on their kickouts and force them long. With Quigley likely to be starting, I think we can boss the midfield this way.
The other obvious thing we've learned is they have a huge amount of speed and some players with power to break tackles. With the extra numbers they bring back to the defence, they need that speed to counter attack. A few of their defenders are extremely quick. We're going to have to add pace to the team to counter this. Not just for this Westmeath game, Meath have the same threat if we play them, in fact all the top teams have speedsters throughout their teams. We don't have many that have speed, are good distributors and score takers, unfortunately. We have a few that have 2 out of 3 of those qualities. I think we might just have to select our fast players for the half forward and half back lines.
Move Attride to the half back line if we put Seale in the corner. Bring Carroll in at centre forward, have Scully beside him and then one of O'Connor or Reilly on the other wing. Cahilane had a bad day on Saturday, that other corner forward spot is still up for grabs.
I wonder how big the panel is at the moment, going by the league programmes and what I can remember we have had 39 players involved in some form, a huge number. Probably a core 20 but a lot of room for championship bolters. Open to correction if I missed any.
Keepers- brody, Osborne sub in all games bar one when Comerford from Stradbally was listed
Full back line - finished as Timmons, Attride and Dillon. Seale played first 4 games before his injury and managed to get back to be a sub in the last two. Nerney started at full back for the first three, sub the next game and gone off the match panel since then. Campion played the first two, appeared once more as a unused sub and gone since then. Booth started for two and as a sub every other game. James Kelly sub for six games but didn't make it the last two panels.
Half backs- finished as Collins, Begley and O'Flynn. O Flynn came as a late bolter and Collins returned after injury. Piggott baring injury looks the preferred centre back choice. Scully got a foothold in the early games but is now a forward. O Sullivan came onto the panel late as cover like buggie as Crowley seems to have gone off the panel. A bit light in this area.
Midfield- is essentially four, Lillis, jol, meaney and the returned Quigley. His return has pushed back meaney and Tyrell involved in the first few but never appeared since.
Half forwards - Damien o Connor has been on and off, Lowry a bit of the same but more consistent. Boyle should be a starter. Sean Byrne started well, got injured and came back but wasn't the same. Didn't make the panel the last two games. Danny Reilly was involved early but hasn't appeared since. Benny came back late in the campaign and will push hard for the summer. Alan Farrell listed once as a sub.
Full forwards- some of them have seen action in a few positions but all are probably full forwards options. Core starters are Evan, Donie and Paul C. Ross is probably first sub, Paul
Kingston seems to have got ahead Murphy. Mark Barry is a strong possibility of a bolter. Alan Kinsella has appeared as an unused sub in a few of the later games.
At the moment, the full forward line worries me the most. They are too static, and I have a feeling that Evan and Donie don't play well together. When the two of them are on the pitch at the same time, teams can go forward with a little more abandon and in numbers, knowing that they have time to track back. I found it amazing that Westmeath"s full back was so adventurous, and even managed to score a point. Timmons did too, but that was a rare foray. This guy was at it all second half.
On top of the above, we are too easy to score against. Playing a sweeper now looks like a necessity. That doesn't bother me, but pace from deep should be the focus, rather than lack of pace up front. We might just have found our level and for all our players, it looked to me like Westmeath had the two best players on the pitch. Stop Heslin and Egan and it's game on. That has to be the priority
Quote from: High Fielder on April 09, 2019, 08:48:09 AM
At the moment, the full forward line worries me the most. They are too static, and I have a feeling that Evan and Donie don't play well together. When the two of them are on the pitch at the same time, teams can go forward with a little more abandon and in numbers, knowing that they have time to track back. I found it amazing that Westmeath"s full back was so adventurous, and even managed to score a point. Timmons did too, but that was a rare foray. This guy was at it all second half.
On top of the above, we are too easy to score against. Playing a sweeper now looks like a necessity. That doesn't bother me, but pace from deep should be the focus, rather than lack of pace up front. We might just have found our level and for all our players, it looked to me like Westmeath had the two best players on the pitch. Stop Heslin and Egan and it's game on. That has to be the priority
I have a lot of time for Donie, and also understand his shortcomings, which aren't going to change at this point. But lets ask ourselves this, who has he ever played well with? I don't mean this as a criticism of him, far from it, he is a gifted player, supremely so, but who has ever been his best foil? This is the nub of your problem.
Him and Evan can of course play beside each other, it just needs to be worked on how best this happens.
What does bolter mean ?
Quote from: Laoiseabu on April 09, 2019, 03:03:08 PM
What does bolter mean ?
A bastardised term from thugby, and specifically the Lions, to signify a player who will come from nowhere to make the starting 15.
Example in GAA terms, Munnelly in 2003.
We lost we played bad ...we move on and we learn
Great boost getting promoted
Quote from: Unlaoised on April 10, 2019, 08:19:56 AM
We lost we played bad ...we move on and we learn
Great boost getting promoted
I'm thinking the same.
It was a good league. It was an 8 out 10 league. We got promoted which was brilliant and we looked at in or around 30 players. We might have unearthed a couple of good ones in O'Flynn and Scully. We also got to see the likes of Campion, Byrne, Barry and Lowry, who all have potential.
Yes, Saturday was disappointing but I still think we can take them in Tullamore in 6 weeks' time.
Overall, we're a world away from where we were under Creedon and Lillis.
Westmeath are a small bit ahead of us at the moment, but a lot can happen in 7 weeks before championship. They really are around our level, and there was only a kick of a ball in it in both of our games. Whoever makes the most progress and positive adjustments in those 7 weeks will win in Late May. As far as I'm concerned, 2019 has already been a successful year for Laois football, no matter what happens in the championship. Lads have short term memories sometimes - we've seen good performances in a lot of games against better opposition this year but consistency is lacking. We have a lot to work on, but this is where we're at. We're about mid to low level division 2 standard. If we can be competitive with other teams around our level (which we are) and beat the lower teams, that's all we can ask for currently, and that's what we're getting. Sugrue and co are getting a lot out of these players and I'm delighted that's happening. I'm also delighted with the attitude the players and management are showing post league final. They're not happy with it and are very hungry to improve.
A great championship for us would be : Beat Westmeath; be competitive against Meath; 2 / 3 qualifier games.
Quote from: Don Draper on April 09, 2019, 03:44:35 PM
Quote from: Laoiseabu on April 09, 2019, 03:03:08 PM
What does bolter mean ?
A bastardised term from thugby, and specifically the Lions, to signify a player who will come from nowhere to make the starting 15.
Example in GAA terms, Munnelly in 2003.
Thugby. If you don't already, you should definitely start commenting on The Journal's sports articles. Feathers would be ruffled.
We won't see another Ross. There was a time when he couldn't even make the Arles U14 team. Luckily for him and Laois football that man hasn't known anything other than Ballygowen. Unreal servant.
Should probably start a new thread for this, but, (like Micko and John Sugrue) hopefully this Kerry man can prove a success in Laois too...
https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/04/10/laois-gaa-appoint-first-ever-games-development-manager/