Championship Year Ahead

[Main Street]

My County: Monaghan

Football hopes for 2008: Crawl crab like out of the Ulster bucket, on top.
Football fears for 2008: Having to cheer for Tyrone

Hurling hopes for 2008: Hurling hope?  what does that feel like?
Hurling fears for 2008:   Again, I wouldn't know what that feels like.

Predictions for 2008:

Football Provincial Champions: Tyrone, Galway, Westmeath, Kerry
Football All Ireland Winners:  Kerry

Hurling Provincial Winners:
Hurling All Ireland Winners: 

[BallyhaiseMan]

My County: Cavan
Football Hopes for 2008: Beat Antrim,Compete well with Armagh and win at least one qualifier
Football Fears for 2008: Losing to Antrim and losing in the qualifiers, 2 games and done

Hurling Hopes for 2008: Be Competitive in USHC, and in fairness they put up a good show against Monaghan yesterday ,losing by a point.
Hurling Fears for 2008: Win a game or two in Nicky Rackard Cup.

Predictions for 2008:

Football Provincial Champions: Derry, Dublin,Kerry,Galway
Football All Ireland Winners:  Kerry

Hurling Provincial Winners: Antrim,Galway,Kilkenny,Tipperary
Hurling All Ireland Winners: Kilkenny

[stevecw]

My County: Carlow

Football Hopes for 2008: Run Meath close next Sunday. And then put an effort into TM Cup for once.
Football Fears for 2008: Get hammered by Meath and as usual most of panel walks away & we struggle to field 15 in TM Cup

Hurling Hopes for 2008: Win Christy Ring
Hurling Fears for 2008: We don't get out of our CR group somehow


Predictions for 2008:

Football Provincial Champions: Derry, Galway, Dublin, Kerry
Football All Ireland Winners: Kerry

Hurling Provincial Champions: Tipp, Antrim, Kilkenny
Hurling All Ireland Winners: Kilkenny

[Lecale2]

My County: Down

Football Hopes for 2008: Run Tyrone close and a good run in the qualifiers.
Football Fears for 2008: Out after 2 games v Tyronme and Waterford.

Hurling Hopes for 2008: Win Ulster & Christy Ring & Nicky Rackard.
Hurling Fears for 2008: We don't get out of our group.


Predictions for 2008:

Football Provincial Champions: Derry, Galway, Dublin, Kerry
Football All Ireland Winners: Kerry

Hurling Provincial Champions: Cork, Antrim, Kilkenny
Hurling All Ireland Winners: Kilkenny

[Maguire01]

My County: Monaghan

Football Hopes for 2008: Win Ulster
Football Fears for 2008: Lose against Fermanagh and bow out early in qualifiers

Hurling Hopes for 2008: Change of guard at both provincial (Ulster) and AI level
Hurling Fears for 2008: Same old same old

Predictions for 2008:

Football Provincial Champions: Monaghan, Meath, Galway, Kerry
Football All Ireland Winners: Kerry

Hurling Provincial Champions: Antrim, Kilkenny, Tipp
Hurling All Ireland Winners: Galway

[moysider]

So far the predictions for Connacht are 31 galway. 4 Mayo and 1 Sligo. Not much point gettin worked up there about so. With Mayo having home advantage all the way it goes to show what a mess we re in/ people think we re in. Very little variation in Munster or Leinster either. A few upsets needed to liven things up but sure the back door would sort out any hiccup.

[Lone Shark]

My County: Uíbh Fháilí

Football Hopes for 2008: In theory, to win Leinster. But if you offered me a jammy win over Westmeath and an honourable defeat to the Dubs right now I'd take it. I don't even expect that.
Football Fears for 2008: That Westmeath get a few early scores, we start carrying the ball in on top of them, they hit us for breakaway score after breakaway score and we end up losing by loads.

Hurling Hopes for 2008: That we put our best foot forward and don't roll over and die when things go against us as has been the way in recent years.
Hurling Fears for 2008: See above. In the absence of so many of our better players we are in real bother going to Portlaoise on Sunday week.

Predictions for 2008:

Football Provincial Champions: Kerry, Galway, Armagh, and probably Dublin but maybe Wexford.
Football All Ireland Winners: Kerry

Hurling Provincial Champions: Antrim, Kilkenny, Limerick
Hurling All Ireland Winners: Cork

[western exile]

My County: An Dún

Football Hopes for 2008: Play a championship game in Croke Park.

Predictions for 2008:
Football Provincial Champions: Monaghan, Mayo, Wexford, Kerry
Football All Ireland Winners: Kerry

I managed to get ALL my Football Provincial Champions wrong !!   But more importantly, I am  happy to have achieved my Football Hopes for 2008   

[AZOffaly]

My County: Offaly

Football Hopes for 2008: Win Leinster title.
Football Fears for 2008: Lose to either Westmeath or Longford, and crash tamely out of Qualifiers

Hurling Hopes for 2008: Beat Laois, run Kilkenny closer than last year (14 points). Show progress in back door.
Hurling Fears for 2008: Kilkenny maul us by more than 14. Get hockeyed in the back door as morale disintegrates.


Predictions for 2008:

Football Provincial Champions: Derry, Galway, Dublin, Cork
Football All Ireland Winners: Dublin

Hurling Provincial Champions: Cork, Antrim, Kilkenny
Hurling All Ireland Winners: Kilkenny

I got 5 of the 7 provincial winners, but Derry and Cork let me down for the  Ulster Football and Munster Hurling respectively.

On the really bad side, my Football fears came true, emphatically so.

Hurlers almost matched my hopes. We definitely showed signs of progress in the back door, although we didn't get any closer to Kilkenny.

[Croí na hÉireann]

My County: Westmeath

Football Hopes for 2008: Win Leinster title and reach AI SF.
Football Fears for 2008: Lose to Longford or Offaly and crash tamely out of Qualifiers

Hurling Hopes for 2008: Beat Dublin, retain Christy Ring Cup.
Hurling Fears for 2008: Get hockeyed by Dublin and don't even make de knockout stages of the Ring Cup.


Predictions for 2008:

Football Provincial Champions: Tyrone, Galway, Dublin, Kerry
Football All Ireland Winners: Kerry

Hurling Provincial Champions: Waterford, Antrim, Kilkenny
Hurling All Ireland Winners: Galway

Was only thinking of this thread last night. Neither hopes nor fears came through so I suppose it was a middling championship, we did give it a good lash though, never threw in the towel and if it wasn't for injuries we could be sitting in waiting as Leinster Champions at the moment. Least the hurlers are on course to retain the Christy Ring.

Got 4 out of 7 provincial winners, badly wrong for the Hurling All Ireland though 

[Roy]

Progress to date of the provincial winners:
Cork: Are Cork as bad as their first half or as strong as their second half.  My feeling on Cork is that they are a viable championship contender - as advanced as there is at the moment.  Im unsure if they could handle an armagh or Monagh at the moment but given an Ulster lite team in the quarter final it could take them on a bit.  
Armagh: Very uninspiring at the moment they dont to me look like a team that will win an All Ireland yet they have a slow powerful winning technique.  I have an inkling for an Armagh Mayo AIF but its much too early to predict events like that.  
Galway: Dont rate them / actually think Mayo are a better bet.  Joyce too old, team too lite.  
The Dubs:  They must be good, surely to post winning scores like that.  What I dont like about the dubs is that they have played nobody ,but shown everybody.  Theres some smart managers left in the championship and I dont have Caffrey down as one of them.  Yet they might just come through and win an average ALL Ireland like they did in 1995.
Overall I dont believe in Kerry this year, as I believe their team fared well to win 2 in a row are not 3 in a row material. and I believe one team from the pack will establish a new momentum and come from nowhere to win Sam.  So many teams are capable of winning this year, but only a few have the know how in their ranks.  I would not back against John O Mahony.  Monaghan also have a lot of teethy footballers and who knows what a win on Sunday would do for them.      

[ONeill]

AMALLLON is the man!

[Barney]

Predictions for 2008:

Football Provincial Champions: Armagh, Galway, Dublin, Cork
Football All Ireland Winners: Cork

Hurling Provincial Champions: Tipp, Antrim, Kilkenny
Hurling All Ireland Winners: Kilkenny

7/7 for the Provincials. Hurling winner as well. Tyrone messed up a full sweep for me.

Looking back its a pity that the fears of so many Mayo Supporters were realised!