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the sweeper does not work people! Thats what ive learned this year. Hurling as we know it is dissappearing before our eyes! No shape to the game, id say the record for the most passes in a single game is well and truly smashed! And thats from both teams! The short passes cost us at least 5 points, we have a long puck champion in goal playing with the wind and playing short passes to dublin players! When he did go long there was only 2 in the full forward line winning f**k all ball. Were so predictable, dublin cut out the sweeper with good ball into the corners and buried 2 early goals. Then we get ourselves back into it but only with long range efforts again, no decent ball into the full foward line. Same as the offaly game except offaly were just crap for 70 minutes. We wernt gona keep that up against the wind in the second half. Then bad defending for the 3rd goal, you could see a mile off that the ball was gona come across the square to the man left all alone, matt whelan at least 5 yards away from him, too easy. Palmer was brutal, he just held his hurl in the air when trying to contest puck outs. Zane worked hard at getting the ball back in the first half in fairness but was non existent other than that. Even when we eventually went 15 on 15 about 15 minutes to go the full forward line wouldnt stay in, i think theyre afraid of the goals! Foyle stayed in but stayed in behind his man too! When he did get the chance to have a go on goal he bottled it! Im struggling to be positive because im angry, im angry because we are better than that, its mostly the system that is defeating the players. If the backs delivered good quick ball to a normal layout of forwards, the forwards would perform better. And our backs are well capable of spraying the ball around when they want to. The players are doing what is asked of them and trying their best but the system does not work and it is restricting the players. Dublin were pretty poor in the second half and were there for the taking if we had used the ball and our players better.
I will say everyone tried their best and in general worked their socks off. Those lads owe us nothing. Joe fitz, matt whelan, cha, willie, stood out for me.
Go back to traditional hurling, perfect it, use support plsy and good off the ball movement, use the ball well, thats how we will progress. Stop negative hurling!
Jaysus its great to get shit off your chest!

Kilkenny will win by 10 points or more. Galway have had an easy run so far that has made them look good. no tough matches to test them, not a great full back line either. i think Kilkenny will blow them away early.

i see your point G@@, but its not for some fluffy feeling i would like all counties to get a run out in croker, its for when the hard work pays off, they wont be running out in 'the big shmoke' for the first time, they will have that experience out of the way.
not a major issue but worth mentioning all the same! 

didn't hear about a munster power house match, do tell??

For what its worth, i reckon Galway get beat by 10 points in the leinster final...
Dublin were very poor against them, and we were worse. those 2 soft games will have done nothing only give false hope! Dublin will be improved a lot for our game, no doubt about that but they are not world beaters either and hopefully we can change things up a bit and give them a rattle. especially with a strong home crowd behind them.
just a side note to that, nearly all of our players have never hurled in Croke Park. i was involved with the county underage set up before women and drink took over!  and thats the age we all start dreaming of hurling in Croker, that dream doesn't go away though and i thought it a bit,... struggling to find the right word here, but maybe, harsh/unfair? i think the GAA should accommodate all counties so that they get a game in Croke park, at least once every 2 years or so, for the experience of it if nothing else. just for talks sake we beat Galway in that semi, most if not all of our players would have been playing in Croke park for the first time. which would probably knock some about mentally. i just think the likes of Willie Hyland and Tommy Fitzgerald etc, with the set up for 10 years or so, they deserve a game in HQ.

Elverys have a good selection too but dont know if there is a price difference?
just an FYI i was in supervalue in the square portlaoise this morning, there is Laois iphone cases, mini jerseys for the car window, little flags etc there too.

i kind of understand the want from Cheddar to play a sweeper, i just don't like it personally, never did. i think the 15 on 15 option needs to be worked on more and developed, we will eventually need to look at it. that's how we will progress as a team.
but using 2 sweepers was only a death sentence, we never had a chance with that system. its like Cheddar decided we wern't going to win this game so lets try keep their scoring to a minimum. that's whats frustrating me the most. because that's straight up bullshit and not fair on the players. i think Cheddar actually feels like a father figure to this group of players and in doing so is going OTT to try and protect them instead of letting them hurl.
the Tipp vs Limerick match Sunday wasnt a classic but Tipp were a joy to watch. nothing too fancy, just great intelligent hurling, working well as a team, moving off the ball, support play, good delivery of ball to their forwards. this is what we should be working on and having a sweeper as a back up plan. that, IMO is being real.

cant see Pat stepping down just yet. there is a possibility that this is being said too often now, but, i do think next year could be the year and Pat knows it. i think 10 of that team are underage next year as mentioned above. after all his time and effort, he should stick with them for 1 more year. 

i cant believe the lack of conversation about the tactics used last saturday...its been touched on in a couple of posts above but 1 mention is almost defending the tactics!
i personally was sickened by them. the lads never had a chance, they were beat before they set foot on the pitch. and i feel sorry for the players, who are giving their all to the set up. Cheddar was obviously that afraid of Galway that he thought only of defense, nothing about actually winning the game. the players heads must have been full of negativity after that "plan" was explained to them. i would love to ask him what the actual plan for winning the match was?! im not a fool, i know Galway are a stronger side than us, however, we, or any other team for that matter, will NEVER win anything with 2 sweepers and only 4 forwards! every time the backs cleared the ball it was coming back to them just as quick. if the forwards managed to win a ball they had to get past their own man plus the spare Galway men, then its have a pressured wild go at goal or try and find a team mate which is hard when you're lacking in bodies at that end of the pitch! if you are afraid of getting beat by a better side then go out and hurl them man to man, 15 on 15, and if you are beat, so be it, the best team won etc, but have a go!!
anyone who thinks that is progressive hurling needs their head examined. what is wrong with playing man to man, with good intelligent hurling, low balls to the forwards, cross field balls, moving off the ball, support play. these basics will work if tried and tested and worked on. galway knew we would use a sweeper, they would have planned accordingly. thats why we should have had a go, 15 on 15 at least for the first 10 minutes and see what happens. then if needs be bring back ONE sweeper. and whats more - it was 1-18 to 2pts at half time. i think by the time it got to 1-9 or 1-10 to 2pts it was evident the plan wasn't working but management did nothing only look on?
we shouldnt have even used a sweeper against Offaly! we payed them too much respect, we are good enough to beat that Offaly side man to man. brilliant long range efforts from Zane Cha and Willie kept us going that day.
im sure there is some folk here who will disagree but all this negative hurling is not helping and im venting here!
people are nearly afraid to speak ill of Cheddar after all he has done. he has changed the face of hurling in laois for the better, forever. he is a great man manager. but on the sideline or tactically i dont think he is doing a great job.
i just hope to god he goes 15 on 15 against Dublin and lets our forwards have a proper go, they must be itching for it, and the backs for that matter! but i doubt he will....
Rant over, for now!