Dublin vTipp

[Punxsutawney Fergal]

**leaves thread quietly, trying to avoid the wrath of Indie**

[bottlethrower7]

- to pushing wexford and tipp and giving cork a bit of  agame and preserving our Div1 status. Surely that has to be some measure of progress.

when did all this happen?

Wexford are crap, simple as. That Dublin didn't beat them says more about Dublin and how they played that night than it does about Wexford. Dublin were hammered by both Cork and Tipp.

I'm more interested in finding out what the problems are and wanting to see them addressed. You're too busy making excuses for anyone to ever get anywhere.

[INDIANA]

What are the problems then o wise one? Didn't see any identified in your considered analysis.
Two simple problems- haven't the forwards and all the guys over 25 haven't the skill level required for that level. They never had the underage coaching to give them any chance at that level.
Management as well won't play certain players in their best positions like playing mc crabbe up front.
I'm not making excuses for anyone but i'd still say we had a better year this year than we've had a while. You're entitled to your opinions but i think you'r overly negative at times. I haven't said anywhere Dublin are going to win anything soon at senior level- but after the Humphrey kellegher debacle where I was sure the game was going to fold in the Capital -it's at least better than those days.

[Punxsutawney Fergal]

Wexford are crap, simple as. That Dublin didn't beat them says more about Dublin and how they played that night than it does about Wexford.

Rome wasn't built in a day, you can't expect just because your underage teams are performing well that it will translate unto the Senior team!! Dublin need time but at least they are going in the right direction. In 3 or 4 years Dublin will be in Leinster finals but whether they will be able to put it up to Kilkenny is another debate. Leinster are unlucky to have Kilkenny churning out talent like no tomorrow since 2000... Let's not forget Kilkenny have won the All-Ireland 4 times from 2000 to 2006

[GalteeMountainBoy]

I had a Magnum Opus wrote but the shaggin' pC froze, mortified with the language used no doubt.

No disrespect meant to Dublin, but this was a Lough Derg type assignment for us, penance due and owing from past sins.

We got through it, pure and simple, Dublin looked lively to start off with, finding their men with passes, tight and tough at the back. That centre back Fallon has a fine paw on him.

When the Tipp goal came, the closing credits were ready to roll though, Dublin hadn' t the stuff to make a fight of it at that stage.
Best fdr us IMHO were Fanning and Corcoran at the back, Corbett, Butler and the bould Willie Ryan up front who took the score of the hour with a long range bomb in the first half. There was method in Babs madness handing him the free taking against Limerick on the first day, character-building stuff.

The Paul Curran clatter was a cowardly stroke, on a day when a few Dublin hurlers sailed too close to the line on the dscipline stakes. Another gent tried to open up Benny Dunne's forehead only to miss barely. No place for dirt like that in the game, a few of the Dublin punters behind me in the stand thought it was great sport to see Paul Curran walking off clutching his jaw and spitting out tooth-butts. In fact Parnell is small enough for you to hear people who should no better roar "Same again Peadar" after the Curran incident.

A bad taste left in the mouth around Donnycarney, leaving it yesterday all right.

[bottlethrower7]

Wexford are crap, simple as. That Dublin didn't beat them says more about Dublin and how they played that night than it does about Wexford.

Rome wasn't built in a day, you can't expect just because your underage teams are performing well that it will translate unto the Senior team!! Dublin need time but at least they are going in the right direction.

exactly, and part of the problem is that many think that it will come for free because of the underage success. For starters Dublin need to be left alone by the media and the likes who get excited over nothing. For example, Dublin got a hiding from Cork, yet the papers were still full of 'Dublin put it up to them for a time' crap, whereas the truth was that Cork took their time working up through the gears, and pulled away at ease once they did. Dublin were never a match for them. No shame in that, but filling everyone's heads full of this 'aren't Dublin great' patronising shite is not constructive.

As Liam Griffin once said of Wexford's all-Ireland success in 1996, in a way it was the worst thing that happened  Wexford hurling as it masked a lot of the problems that were starting to manifest themselves within the county. It would seem hes been proven right. I think that a lot of people are so keen to see the positives with Dublin hurling that the negatives are missed. And its not the positives that need to be worked on, its the negatives.

Indiana, there was a huge improvement from the Cork and Wexford games (where I would say Dublin were equally as bad) to the Tipperary game. In the Tipp game players were looking up for options. There was support play. There even seemed to be tactics at times. And it often didn't work, but so what, at least they were trying. Dublin's forwards are weak at the moment, and employing a tactic where 6 big ball winners are picked, and lob the ball in high to them and hope for the best, was a poor one. It wasn't in evidence on saturday. When Kevin Flynn started to do his usual of tracking back behind midfield he was told to get back into his position. When he didn't he was taken off. Again, all positive. Despite what Carton did, his introduction was positive as it showed a desire to do something a little different from that which wasn't working.

Negative? The basics. Taking the wrong option time and time again. Micheal Carton continually fumbling ball when in an ocean of space. Standing back to admire themselves after the penalty save while Tipp were busy racking up 2 consecutive scores.

Dublin aren't world-beaters, and never will be with the current panel, but I would consider at least 1-3 of Tipp's scores were as a result of sloppy Dublin play. Of poor decision making, and of poor application of basic skill. Not having conceded that 1-3 may not have meant Dublin would have won the game, but at the time it came, it certainly would have meant that Dublin's head may not have gone down as and when they did.

What Dublin need to do now is to take things on and up another level for the Offaly game. Its the last game of the year and they need to go out on a high. Forget about going out to win the game and losing sight of what is needed to achieve that. Focus on the basics. Focus on man-marking at the back. Focus on taking the right option when passing, be in a ball to the forwards or a ball out of defense. A lot of the handpassing I thought was encouraging and players were looking for someone better placed. But it was overcooked at times, and proved costly.

I agree whole-heartedly about there being lots to be positive about. Some of the individual displays this season have been excellent. Ronan Fallon is probably the second or third best center back in the championship (after Ronan Curran and maybe Brian Geary) on his displays. Hiney has been great too, and others have done it at times. But the team has never been functioning as a team. It never even looked to be trying to function as a team until saturday, and what we saw was a very good first 45 minutes or so from them. Cut out the mistakes, and they are very preventable, and Dublin will be a far more competitive outfit. Bring the young lads coming through onto a team that can compete, and we'll start to see improvement.

By the way, I was at the intermediate final last night. I presume their center-back is a brother of David Henry. He looks a tidy bit of stuff. Surely theres room for him on the county panel?

[tayto]

Fair play Bottle - Agree with all  of that. a lot of sloppy errors after we went ahead and some stupid fouls as well which just made it easier for tipp to surge ahead.

Conor Henry? is Davids younger brother, was motm in the semi-final. Had to get the train home last night. Who won the final?

Raheny are in the Dublin North One cachement so hopefully he'll be playing on the regional team in the SHC at the end of July - otherwise Raheny are playing Senior hurling for the frist time in decades next year anyways.   

[bottlethrower7]

Raheny won by 3 or 4. They're not a great side. Ballyboden's center-forward was sent off after 3 minutes. But for that I think they'd have won comfortably. As it was they hurled really well. Their backs were well on top throughout, until running out of steam with 7-8 mins left. But Henry was left as the loose man and his positioning was top class. He cleared a mountain of ball.

[tayto]

Posted a match report on dublin hurling thread.

Agree that the current panel is still very much in transition and certain players arent up to stratch - or ever will be at this stage. As someone said on another forum, and i agree, we've a core group of about 7-8 players on there who are county standard and of those about 3 or 4 who are good intercounty. The fact that we've been missing a good few of this core group, for one reason or other, hasnt helped in the latter stages of the league and championship. You can't expect a clean bill of health but a couple of these guys really are key to our chances in the future in my opinion. We still need to find some forwards and a specailst corner man. Hope the two cornerbacks on the current minor team come through becuse they look like tigerish markers.

Having said all that you cant blame people for getting excited about our league this year, Sure we're still some way off the top counties but a good league is a sign that we are actually getting somewhere, beating galway and limerick and drawing with kk, hopefully there's plenty more of that to come, with hopefully a win over a top tier county to come in championship hurling soon. Not sure whether we should target Offaly this weekend or rest the u1 players with a mind for the u21 final on wednesday.