Sligeach v. Liatroim

[magpie seanie]

Sunday brings us to Carrick where the locals will have the smell of blood in their nostrils. After a fighting display but a third defeat against Fermanagh their slim survival hopes demand victory on Sunday. For our part the bad start will be largely forgotten about if we can rack up a second successive win. I hear McNamara is unavailable so we'll be no wiser as to the plans for him for the year until a bit later in the year. Johnny Mac is almost certain to need an op and the London game in the championship is probably the target for him. I've heard no word on Egan but we could do with his power.

Interestingly for those Antrim hurling supporters who couldn't be accomodated last weeked - the throw in time is switched to 3pm to facilitate the St. Patricks Day parade in Carrick.

[SLIGONIAN]

Im looking forward to this game. It will be dogfight. If we win we send them down and if we lose we could be heading with them. Leitrim seem to have problems in defence, 2-10, 2-17,3-10 are all massive scores against and our forward play has improved so hopefully it'll continue.

Im glad mcnamara is unavailable because I would be seriously pissed off if management ever select him CHB again. It does bring aonther worry for me and that is it tinkers with our best line with bringing mcguire to CHB. Naughton is a liablity at fb and if maxwell gets decent ball he'll destroy him. Our only saviour is harrison and donovan can somehow cover naughton aswell. Personnaly I would leave mcguire in fb and bring in phillips or mcgovern CHB. My first choice CHB would be egan and I would even try Ohara there. Am slightly worried about kivelhan too thought he was mediocre but in fairness it was his first game. Mcgovern was a suprise to be dropped the last day.

Disappointed to hear mcpartland is out injured, id seen him named on subs every game and couldnt understand not playing him but that explains it.

Id expect sweeny and cawley to have big games for us. Conditions wont suit kelly or breheny both will have an impact though id expect. Gallagher got injured last day so maybe wont start. I hope Quinn and beirne can win the midfield battle against mccloskey and duignan who arent as good as limerick midfield. Galvin impressed me there last game. Supply needs to improve to forwards. Lots to work on but I am delighted with J Davey, kelly, cawley, fb line so far this yr. Sweeny and brehony have done ok but not consistent enough yet.

I have doubts over the new management and old selectors in how long it took to see mcanamara not CHB which was a basic observation and not rocket science. I hope they start to get things right soon and quicker.

This kinda is a championship type game. Loser will be relegated.

[Teeling Gael]

Big game alright. Agree that it is hard to see the loser staying up. Disappointed to hear that John Mac is injured at this stage of the season. Feel that John needs an injury free pre season to get him in the shape he needs to be for Connaught semi final.

In fairness to Michael mc Namara , he has in recent times came in for alot of criticism and I would like to defend him. He did play extremely well last summer and I feel that the team was in some ways built around him because he has strengths that were crucial to the teams strategies. He was in my opinion the playmaker with easily the best kick passer and a conduit for handpassing the ball out of defence. His lack of aggression was compensated for with  the work ethic of Kieran Quinn and Brian Curran working back. This season the style of football has changed and Quinn and Curran arent fit enough yet to cover back as freely as in the summertime. I always though he flattered to deceive in the forward line and save for a point after about 30 seconds in Hyde park cant remember him been overly effective up front. In essence , I think if he will make the team it will be at No. 6.

Up to last season always thought Mcquire was a better half back than full back so not surprised about him playing there. Dont think OHara is a viable alternative at centre half back. Again I would go slightly against the grain about Naughton. Feel he is victimised alot over the sins of Karl Mannion beating him in 2004.Prior to that , he was ultra consistent at intercounty level. Karol Mannion is an excellent footballer. Naughton has been one of the standout footballers in club football over the last 5 years in Sligo and I feel he deserves his chance and quite frankly is the only alternative in the full back line. I would prefer him at No. 6 and McGuire at full back. Finally how Karol o Neill is on his 4th Sligo manager and has yet to get a run puzzles me greatly. Again he is consistently amongst the best footballers in the county.

In fairness the forwards are shaping up ok with Kellys form being the revelation. At the end of last season , one had to question whether he would actually make it at this level but obviously the DCU acamedy is working wonders with him.

[magpie seanie]

Some excellent points TG. While he hasn't been playing well at all and I don't think centre back will work for him this season, the criticism of McNamara has been a little too harsh. You are dead right to say he was the ball player in that pivotal position and Sligo's high octane workrate covered over his defensive weaknesses. The only times out centre got exposed was when an attack broke down and the opposition had the break on us.

Naughotn will I feel work out fine at either 3 or 6. It must be remembered that Naughton had his ankle heavily strapped that day against Ros when Mannion bettered him and he got precious little help from his team mates that day with Frankie being allowed the freedom to send in the bullets. Some of his performances in recent years (2005 in particular) in club football were truly awesome. After his long injury layoff he's not quite back at that pitch but I think if he gets back close to that he's be more than adequate at FB (with Ross and Charlie beside him) or CB.

Karol O'Neill will surely get his chance shortly. Without doubt a first 15 man. He has had a lot of injuries in the past that have hampered his chances but he's playing great stuff at present. Jordan is a shrewd operator and will get the best out of him, I've no doubt.

In regard to Kelly's form I think while the lad deserves credit himself its obvious that its something that has been worked on. Many times in previous years Kelly would win ball and no Sligo man was within 30 yards of him and worse made no effort to support him. Players are playing off him now and he's not isolated with the ball which is encouraging.

[Davitt Man]

Karol O'Neill will surely get his chance shortly. Without doubt a first 15 man. He has had a lot of injuries in the past that have hampered his chances but he's playing great stuff at present. Jordan is a shrewd operator and will get the best out of him, I've no doubt.

O'Neill has been knocking around a while now, a big season is needed from him. He hasnt convinced yet.

[SLIGONIAN]

I like the postivity in both teeling gaels and seanie posts.  For me Karl oneill is a fine footballer but last time I seen him play he looked unfit and seem to have to no pace due his very physical form. He looks a man to me that overdid the weights in the gym when he was younger. I think there are many ahead of him in the pecking order, like phillips, kivelhan and conor mcgown.. with mcgovern, j davey already settled there in our half back line. Phillips was outstanding for harps last yr and it sorta puzzles me that yee rate oneill ahead. I find it hard to see what yer opinion is based on.. 4 different managers havent seen what yee can see, are they wrong?

Its a shame that J Martyn isnt committing this yr, if fit id definitly have him in HB line.

On mcnamara to my eyes his passing was a lottery.  The connaght final was an example, before he hit that wonder pass for the goal, he kicked a ball out over the sideline not near anyone... never has the consistency...In this day and age for us to really be up there we cant have a CHB who needs to be compensated for defensively.. as yee say when the opposition attack  were in trouble there. I belive it costed us 2pts in down.. Anyways its all irrelevant Jordan has seen his weaknesses cost us and took him off at HT the last day which to me sends a message to mcnamara.

On the naughton point, lads do yee really see him holding the likes of mortimer or meehan... i dont belive hed be able. Even maxwell worries me this weekend.. If he is selected FB i give him the benefit of the doubt for this weekend and see how he goes but it does worry me based on past performance..

Club level is one thing and county is alot different..

Im also delighted with how kelly progressing. I seen him for the u21s against fermanagh and he looked poor but the next week he was brilliant against wexford. Fair play to him he kept it going the last day too. Sweeney worked well as a target man and cawley running off the end of attacks to finish scores were well timed.

[SLIGONIAN]

Delighted to see we have a decent ref Brian Crowe from cavan to ref game on sunday and who reffed the connaght final and did a good job. My source being the Sligo Post. Hope its right.

[Teeling Gael]

O Neill has had injury problems over the years and I dont actually think the profile of the Coolera panel have helped him in the sense that over the last few years they have had excellent backs which allowed them play him as a forward quite alot. This seems to have led to a belief in intercounty circles that he is a forward. He isnt a forward at inter county level but a half back. He is unquestionably a better wing half back than McGowan and Kivlehan. Comparing him to Phillips is chalk and cheese as Phillips is a central player at this stage. There are very few sligo players with a Sigerson medal at home.

Regarding McNamara , to say he was a poor passer because of one mistake doesnt make sense.As I said in my initial post Ma Namara was the playmaker of the Sligo team and whilst you may disagree with that , it was abundantly clear to me that was his role. One of your heroes Sligonian, McGuire would be long finished at intercounty level if he was dropped for all the mistakes he made over the years.However he ended up maturing into a top quality intercounty footballer.  

Cant see too many viable alternatives to Naughton at full back so hopefully he will cement his place.

[SLIGONIAN]

On mcnamara one example I was just using,  I have many examples in my head even so far ths year. If he was so important in that role why is he dropped. Was the 2nd half in which we scored 9pts not enough proof. How can a team do that without there playmaker? Because he wasnt. We played better attacking and defending without him simple as that.

McGuire too me was always top class, dont remember many mistakes, Hes been consistently good last few yrs so and proven rather than hearsay and injuries been used as excuses for others.

Sigerson means nothing to me. It counts for nothing with Sligo. If he plays well and consitently for Sligo that is worth way more to me. Ive just read Oisin McConvilles book and he said you only as good as your last game. Reputations have to count for nothing because players get complacent. Keep them on there toes. I agree strongly, last yr is long gone.

[stevo-08]

Some good debate going on here folks.

regarding Naughton, I always thought he was an excellent player and as seanie says, his performances for club in '05 were outstanding. Agree he got exposed by mannion in hyde but i'd like to see him given a chance at chb and revert mcguire back to full back. McNamara, yes the criticism has probably been a bit harsh but I just feel that he has no positional sense - always getting pulled out of position. Thats a liability you just cant afford at no.6 so even though he is a good playmaker, i'd banish him from that position.

as for o'neill, i think he's been really unfortunate with injury but is undoubtably one of the finest talents in the county. Injury and, as teeling gael says, being played out of position have been his main problems. Hopefully, he'll stay fit and we'll see him on the team sometime this year, i'd certainly rate him ahead of kivlehan or mcgovern.

[Owenmoresider]

Good stuff here, agree with much of what's been said, particularly wrt Naughton and O'Neill. Has to get his chance sooner or later. Not sure what we can do with McNamara, been a while since he was in the forwards, but difficult to see where else he could go if McGuire retains the CHB spot, which he should do. While hopefully the issues at FB and CHB have now been sorted out, the problem of Quinn's partner at MF remains, will Byrne come good? Can't see it myself, but then the options are not that many. While the forwards are certainly improving , one question is will Sweeney start again, even though he fails each time he does so? Maybe they should bring him in the first time the ball goes dead instead, might work.

As for the idea that the loser goes down, IMO Leitrim are already gone, it's just a question of whether they can take us down with them, and they would love that. Won't happen though, we'll not win by a wide margin, but 3-4 points would be satisfactory.

[Mano]

Very important game this weekend in Carrick. Leitrim are always hard to beat at home but i think we should manage it this weekend. Leitrim had a few injuries including 2 of their excellent full back line of recent years. If McKeon and McGuinness are still out we should be able to score enough to win.

The centre half back/full back debate is interesting. I haven't been at a game this year yet so i can't give a first hand comment however more and more people seem to have joined Sligonian assessment that McNamara is a liability at chb. Having seen him last year against Ross and Galway i thought he had 2 fine games (Sligonians comment that he got mom because of a point and one footpass is extremely harsh). However he did get a lot of protection in that position with 3 tenacious tacklers Egan, O'Hara and Curran dropping deap and giving an extra layer of support in front of the full back line. Its seems there is a different game plan this year so Mac is a bit lost in the position which is not natural to him.

For Sunday i think Philips should be given a chance - he is a goo reader of the game, good distributor and is tenacious in the tackle. He may stand off a bit in his marking though. I would say leave McGuire where he is in our best line.

Sligo to win by 3 points and get a bit of momentum going for the rest of the league.

[SLIGONIAN]

I maybe harsh and ruthless but i am just saying it how I see it. Stevo-08 I agree 100% about your point on mcanamara positional sense, it just doesnt exist as I said in my post after Down game. He got sucked into the midfield and left huge spaces in the centre of our defence for down forwards to overlap and exploit.

No offence to anyone here but refering back O5 club championship to me that is 100% pointless. That was ages ago for crying out loud. There is no guarntee naughton will regain whatever form he had back then and another point club football is different. No one can argue with that.

Owenmoresider I really your hope yer right that our FB and CHB problems are sorted, however one half of football is not enough to convince me. Also on the midfield issues, you say wil beirne come good, he was very impressive against Down, my question is when will quinn come good this yr and help beirnes iniation into county football? Quinn has been poor and that not just my opinion. Hes 3 games under his belt. Surely hes fit by now.

Do any of yee see that sweeney or any forward is 100% reliant on supply. Sweeney plays well when the supply is good sweeney plays bad when supply is bad.

I agree mano Id leave mcguire FB and give phillips a run of games. Unlike the hearsay and speculation on here phillips has done it for Sligo and more recently harps.

[Teeling Gael]

No one is saying Mc Namara is playing well. Simply I am explaining how he was an integral part of the team last year and why he isnt as effective this year -- the fitness of the surrounding players and the change in gameplan.

Your last sentance Sligonian "Unlike the hearsay and speculation on here phillips has done it for Sligo and more recently harps "  makes no sense from a footballing sense vis a vis Naughton nor does it reflect well on yourself. Everyone has different opinions and the joy of this actual thread is that people are making their points in an articulate and reasoned manner so there is no need for the hearsay and speculation rubbish Sligonian. Its certainly extremely rich use of words coming from someone who libelled Tommy Brehony on this website last Autumn. Lets stick to pure football without trying to belittle other peoples opinions simply because you disagree with them.

[SLIGONIAN]

Teeling gael, relax one second will ya. Take a deep breath.

Have you asked Tommy Jordan has he made a change in gameplan on last yr? Id love to know. If not can you explain your point. I know a new manager brings new ideas but except for our forwards is there a huge difference. Like last yr we over used kelly as our target playmaker in the forwards. This yr there is more variety but I dont see hows its affected mcnamara.

People are saying to me that naughton should be FB and is county standard and very good at that level, based on no factual basis and reffering to 05 club championship to reinforce the point is very speculative. I used the word hearsay because the points being made have no credibilty.There is no weight to that argument based on the recent past which is what everyone opinions SHOULD be based on. Your last paragraph is getting kinda personal dont you think towards me. I taken plenty of critism come my way on this board some justified the majority not and in this case definitly not justified. 99% of my posts are football related. How on earth does that reflect badly on me? Who are any of yee to judge? To me my point just makes the evidence your using to make your points, 3 yrs out of date. I do hope naughton plays well on sunday and i wish him well as I do quinn.

If I constructively criticise a player or say one thing negative its jumped on and all my postive comments ignored in my match reports. That is a 2 weekly occurance.

To be honest it always gives me great satisfaction when posters stop talking football and have a go at me. I know why they do it and I know why youve done it here. Id say 7 or 8 sligofans tops on here and we all have this one thing in common. Sligo GAA. I rarely stup to this level only when im usually defending myself which makes me as bad in a way. I really shouldnt entertain this BS and its nearly always someelse who starts it, rarely if ever me.