Messages

I just couldnt watch Laois under McNulty in his final year.
There was no enjoyment in it as a supporter and i doubt there was as a player.
I remember being at the league match against Westmeath and he was screaming at i think
it was Gary Walsh to go back and defend. that would have put the entire 15 in our half.
Granted there was a big wind but how is that football.

There has to be a happy medium. To be fair Laois Senior Football Manger in 2016 is a tough job.
He deserves a lash at it. He's a rookie at this level. Hisfirst game tactically was a mess in the first half.
But to be fair several teams took hidings on Sunday. Can he learn from it and adapt, thats the big question..
Armagh will tell us more ..

I think he'll struggle Tony. Ross will be the man again or Tom Shiels.
If I'm wrong feel free to pull me up on it and I'll eat a large slice of humble pie.

I dont think Lillis can compete with our similar big men in quigley,meaney,oloughlin,begley.
Cant really see where he'd get a spot.
Hes a good honest player but i think he'd be badly exposed at CHB, simply has the pace.

I'm not sure why people think Cahillane will be a success. He had a run before and struggled at this level.
He's a great finisher one on one with a keeper but i cant see him winning his ball. Impact sub for me.
Dillon at half back is an interesting one .. could work ..

I dont think Cahillane would be a starter. Might make an impact coming off the bench.

Ross has to play with Tom shiels pushing hard for a place. He really impressed me last year.

In a word Tony No.
We have no chance against Dublin.
We have some really good forwards and a very good midfield but we have no tight defenders.
Even if we got 1-14 they are likely to get 3-18+

Great to get off to a good start against Galway ..

Who are our 6 best defenders ?

Woolie let himself down with the comments about the setup.
Its the first week in January ffs, give the setup a chance.
Good to see Gary Walsh back, a talented player on his day.
Disappointing to see a former player wanting their county to lose.
Personal scores being settled in public. Cringy carry on.

Still some very good players willing to pull on the jersey although the backs are
gonna be very thin again .. I'll be there to support them play Galway at the end of the month.

There is obviously respect there for the lads that are giving their all for the county but from what i have heard there is no real respect there for TOF.
Its all been driven by the players. Why have O'leary, mcmahon, meredith, meaney all dropped off the panel since the start of the year.
Also D conway, booth, walsh since last year. I dont really think there are any portlaoise players that would get in the first team or first 20 ..
All you want is the best setup possible for the players as per the hurling setup. You dont feel this is happening with the footballers.
We survived in Div 2 thanks to the brillance of Donie. We have a limited panel but why dont lads want to play that are good enough to play.
Thats the elephant in the room. Is it down to TOF? i dunno from what i heard its a big part of it ..

Definitely left it behind us. Was sure p Kingston was gonna put it over.
Both team were average but produced an entertaining match but based on that we would be terribly out of out depths if we got through.  I'm still not sure how TOF has set us up tactically. Seems a bit haphazard.
We let them run down the central back channel  unchallenged so often.
Our forward play was poor. Ball into donie has to be better.
I can't understand what Boyle brings to the team. Nice footballer but too slow.
We have to have a better plan for the next day.
When johnno and O'Carroll make those Hugh runs we need ross and shield wrapping around them
We got turned over way more than Kildare.
Donie was immense. What a player. As good a player as there is in the country.
O Connor was very good going forward.
Timmons was solid as always.
Midfield was very good. Like to see johnno release it a bit more.
Shiells will only get better.
Overall I think Kildare have a better tactical manager with a broader spread of players but
We have donie !! Have to get Ross into the game next week.

Damien O Connor deserves to start based on his displays in the league.
Maybe start him in half forward line with Meredith to come on in 2nd half.
Paul begley is a doubt .. Is hanrahan fit?

Replacing donie with finn giovanni jaysus I think we're screwed if we do that. I think throwing Billy in is our best option. get him to run the full back a bit. Donie was carried the team this year I can't see any way we can win without him. Maybe if Ross had a blinder but that seems very unlikely on current form. Wheather we survive or not after Sundays results something has to be done to find out the reason why so many of our better footballers don't want to play for the county anymore. its not common in other counties to be missing so many. has the commitment become too much? Is it the 14 men behind the ball?    It's deck chairs on the titanic this year. There is only so much tof can do.
Hope the lads prove me wrong on Sunday but with down desperate for the points I can only see one result.

We only played for 20 mins on Saturday but still almost won. Bolton makes a habit of popping up with goals and should have been tracked from the kick out.
To be fair to the team and MGMT we are trying to play a decent brand of football. Any chance we had to kick the ball we did.
We are screwed for defenders. When p begley didn't start I feared the worst. Attride and O'connor just aren't corner backs but what can we do when there is no one else willing to commit.
thought c begley and timmons were excellent. Damien o conner had a great attacking game.
Thought midfield weren't great but quigley made one of the fetches of the decade towards the end.
Johnno did well at times with his direct running but i thought midfield was a battle we lost for most of the game.
donie and Evan were great when they ran at them.
Donoher was excellent. He's been great lately. Passing and scoring. Ross is just completely out of sorts which makes our recent results all the more impressive. Boyle mixed the good with the bad. Shiels looks good. P Kingston might still  be better
coming in from the bench ..
Down match without Donie and Ross not playing  well seems a very long shot.
Nothing to fear in the championship against Kildare but could really do with mcmahon back.
Kildare are just not dignified winners. The supporters around me lost the plot completely at the final whistle.
Billy has always gave 100% when playing for Laois. Bit mouthy but plays like he really gives a shit. Thought he gave us that bit of a spark when he came on

When you consider we are pulling from a threadbare squad as portlaoise kid said its an incredible turnaround.
I think Kildare are a much better side than their position suggests. They will be desperate for the points today so well
have to match that hunger.  O'Connor at corner back is a worry but I guess there just isn't anyone else. Damien is a good footballer but Jason Ryan will know he's not a corner back.
We'll need a big game from Ross today and young Kingston. It's a given now that donie will deliver.
Hope Evan has a good game. Should be a championship feel to tonights game.
Best of luck to the hurlers too !!

Well TOF is giving young Dillon every chance. Surely it would make more sense for him to come in off the bench. Would be less pressure on the lad. If things don't go well for him early today he'll be hawled off again destroying his confidence further. I hope he has a blinder. Its a big ask to get a result up there but not impossible. Need Ross to return to better form and for O'Connor to do OK in corner back.

Great fightback on Saturday. We were poor in the first half and when we went 7 down
it looked bleak. JOL, Timmons, Donie led the fightback. Donies switch to CHF made
the difference and they couldn't handle JOL direct running. I thought after the Cavan match we were screwed and that TOF was clueless but these lads are proving me wrong.
Timmons was excellent on bray. Paul begley was tigerish and o Connor while having none of the instincts of a corner back really grew into the game. His pace was important.
Thought Colm begley showed great experience and never gave the ball away.
Paul Kingston looks to be made of the right stuff. Couple of great points.
What drove me nuts as the game went into the last 15 minutes was Boyles lack of stamina and glaring lack of pace. He's a nice composed footballer but can't do 70 mins
And some of his attempts at tackling were awful when they ran at us towards the end.
Ross tried hard but just didn't happen for him. Didn't happen for Evan or young Dillon but they deserve a bit of support it takes time at this level.
We are doing well with a threadbare squad.
Galway will be a huge test but we have some good leaders in that team and you'd never know. Hopefully we can get a big crowd for the Kildare match it will be a relegation decider more than likely.

I agree with beano the support for the team the last day was an insult to the players.
You could see the pride the players had in the jersey and gave absolutely everything
in an excellent gritty display. €15 is a bit steep to be fair but when you see lads giving so
much they deserve better support.
We are suspect defensively and we have to rack up big scores but have some top forwards.
Its worth paying the entrance fee alone to see donie these days. He was excellent on sunday.
Scoring off both feet and always using the ball intelligently.
Quigley and Johnno were excellent in the middle.
Niall Donaher was very good. got a great goal and a point.
Evan O Carroll was MOTM. He was excellent. scored a great 45 and carried the ball brillantly.
Defensively we were still a bit open but much improved. Paul Begley was very good against a much bigger man.
If they bring the same fight to their remaining games they have a chance of staying up.
Respect to redstetanta and junior for getting this forum up and running and promoting it.