Messages

I think a lot depends upon our experienced palyers like Bergin, Hanley and Joyce. We have to do well at midfield considering we have three debutants in the backline. The backline looks weak to me, hopefully I'm proved wrong but I worry about our lack of pace there.

I would say the long ball into Conroy would be the idea with PJ and Bane to try to pick up the pieces around him, interesting to see if that works out. I think we need goals to win, at least 2 to my mind.

To be honest, I don't know what to expect from this Galway team and I don't think anyone can predict either with any great accuracy.

From reports of the most likely teams from this thread Galway will enter the match will a new full back, centre back, centre forward and our normal full back playing midfield. That's the entire spine of the team!! The only constant is Padraig Joyce and am afraid he will have to carry our hopes in the forward line. Bane is hit or miss, he can be anonymous in games, and in particular in open play but can be a poacher too. I assume they are hoping Conroy will be the new Donaghy but I'm not sure. I would prefer Bradshaw in the half back line taking the game to the opposition as I don't think he will score enough as a forward.

There are too many questions to be honest and I'm not sure I will like the answer. I think we will battle and considering how many games in the last few years we lost by one point that may be the obvious choice, given where the two teams are I would forsee with home advantage a narrow Mayo win of a couple of points.

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Another happy Galway man today. It was a really good win, every player played their part but I thought some of the point taking from Hehir and Cummins was exceptional and the midfielders had 2 savage games. I really hope we can bring them through to senior level as soon as possible, the defence was really tight, they conceded the only goal in the whole campaign at the very end with the final match and it was already won but they still weren't happy with themselves.
The penalty was really soft and you have to wonder about referrees making decisions giving penalties from 20 or 30 yards away from the play. That said, I think Cavan had a better case for a penalty later on but the ref is never going to give a second penalty.

Fair play to the Cavan team who were sporting throughout, many teams who are losing by a lot lose the heads and start doing dirty things as was seen in the second game today but Cavan players played the game until the end and never gave up and showed their class. Also a word to the supporters who came in their thousands and showed real grace and sportsmanship to applaud the Galway team on their lap of honour. Also well done to captain Colin Forde who spoke very well, led throughout and brought the cup over to some young fan for pictures after the game during the lap of honour, another class act and hopefully you will lift another cup for Galway in Croke Park some day.

It's nice to see Galway football on the up, hopefully we will see this momentum brought into the seniors. Finally I would say that Alan Mulholland will be the next Galway manager if he wants it. He has had All-Ireland success at minor and now u21 level. He seems to be a good man manager, also he seems to pick players from anywhere, he has a good knowledge of the game at under-age level and hopefully he can make a team out of some of the good young players we have. Of course if O'Flaratha can do that sooner, all the better

£40 million is too cheap for Torres. We are in the age where Ronaldo went for £80 million, Dzeko went for £26 million and Charlie Adam is worth £46 million!!!

We need to hang onto Torres until at least the summer, allow us to see if Suarez can cut it in the Premier League and hopefully drag Man City into a fight for Torres. They have been interested befor and if this miss out on Champions League football again, then they may look for someone proven in the Premier League.

If we take £40 million, then the price for Adam goes to £10-£15 million and before you know it the money is gone and is not spent wisely.

He was made a peer and an enterprise champion by Labour so after a complaint the show was not to be aired until after the general election in case he and the BBC could be accused of bias.... as if the show could influence people's thinking on an election.

And Sugar has a history of picking the candidate that seems to have done less well in the series, I don't even remember him picking the best candidate based on the tasks in the series so I wouldn't be surprised if Chris won. Also I heard that the finalists work for him for some time prior to the final so the choice is not based on the series at all!!!

yes he's over-rated, Brolly puts him up on a pedestal but don't think he's any better than a lot of referrees. Always seemed in my mind to give Kerry some handy frees when he refs them and there was a lot of mistakes yesterday even if we don't take the square ball goal, possibly penalty and good point waved wide into account.

I think Galway's record in the qualifiers is dreadful apart from coming through the qualifiers to win the All-Ireland the first year it was introduced in 2001.

That was a different time though, since then we have been handy pickings for Donegal, Meath and Westmeath. Not confident about this at all.

I'm not spoilt by success, I am just annoyed at lazy views that rate us higher than what we are based on what we have done in the past, not what we are currently producing.

Armstrong and Nicky Joyce have been around since 2005/6. When do we stop talking about potential? I do agree that Conroy and Bradshaw are good young players and was pleased with Concannon's championship debut.

If our midfield is competing why are kicking kick-outs out the sideline.

I was at the match and it looks every inch a free in real time but I do think that after sending Armstrong off the ref would have been keen to even the game up when Galway got so close. Anyway if you are 9 points up and a man up, you shouldn't be looking at the referee if you cannot win the game!!!

I think the standard of Connact football can be found in the teams that will put us out of the Championship this year.

So far Longford beating Mayo is not a good sign, I can see Galway really struggling against Wexford if they lose next week and we wait and see with the other teams.

I think the standard of Connacht football is in a poor place at present and whoever the Connacht champions may be will struggle in the quarter-final if they come up against decent opposition such as Armagh, Derry, Fermanagh, etc.

You have to think that Sligo will win the next day. I mean Galway were absolutely dreadful yesterday. There were very few redeeming features that you could take from the game apart from the fact that Padraic Joyce is still the best of what we have to offer at 33, a return to from of sorts for Finian Hanley and a reasonable championship debut for Concannon with 1-1 and some game time for Michael Meehan.

Otherwise we were a disaster, I still cannot fathom how Alan Burke lasted seventy minutes on David Kelly who roasted him all day and can't understand how Bergin, Sice, O'Donnell lasted seventy minutes on the pitch.

Even in the second half we tried to play this possession game but no penetration at all, we played like clueless chicken at times and only for P Joyce and to a much lesser extent Meehan when he came on, we would have been hammered.

Why were we kicking the ball over the sideline fom our kick-outs when we won a reasonable amount at midfield? Why was our build-up play so slow and ponderous? I really cannot see anything other than an easy Sligo win the next day. Galway will put up a fight to come close with about 10-15 minutes to go and then fall away similiar to playing Donegal the next day.

I know there is a lot of talk of lazy media in England today and how they hype up the England team. The same happens with the Galway team which is living in the past glories of '98 and '01. When will it be seen that this team is a poor relation of those teams and that we are really poor indeed?

My first reaction to the Galway team is who will play in the half forward line. if Bergin is helping out in midfield, Sice is providing defensive cover and Armstrong will be in the full forward line when who is playing half -forward!!!

I think Sligo will play with a lot of confidence, however they did struggle to put away a team struggling in form and confidence so this match will be close all the way. A lot depends upon the ability of Galway to win ball at midfield. if the attitude is right and the desier to win the dirty ball is there, then we have the fire-power up front to score. Bergin and Conroy are capable of taking a score too.

Very hard to know which Galway will turn up. If the players have the correct attitude and desire to win the breaking ball, then our scoring forwards should sneak us a win, I think but with no great confidence.

Arsenal at home first game of the season, followed by Man City away.
I think it gives a focal point to get the season off to a good start a bit like pulling a big name at the start of the championship

Hopefully the increased match fitness due to starting in the Europa League early in the season may count for us. That and an early bath for Spain at the World Cup

Turning decisively for Bruton in the last few hours?

Maybe Connacht football is in bigger trouble than you realise 
Galway have flattered to deceive over the last 5 years and have capitulated far too easily in some cases.
It would be heartening to see a bit of hunger the next day and some belief that they can do something this year.