Meath Vs Dublin, 7th June 2009

[INDIANA]

I'd agree with that assessment of the performance Indiana. The Royals were pretty dejected last night and couldn't see a way forward at all.
On a sad note a young lad (16/17) collapsed on the sideline last week - he was playing a Junior match for Skryne - and is critical in Beaumont hospital. So puts all the bitching and cribbing about performances into perspective. Spare a thought for himself and his family 

Best wishes to him Declan. Thats awful to hear. Hope he pulls through.

[mannix]

and dublin are 6/1 to land sam with paddypower?
they are a good enough side but nowhere near sam if the league and that episode are to judge them by, i await the onslaught of excuses and derision.

[INDIANA]

Well if Cork were 11-1 at the outset I would have thought we'd be something similar.

[meathie]

Quite bizarre walking out after the game - usually when the Dubs beat Meath, the fans are euphoric regardless of the manner of the victory, but yesterday the feeling amongst the masses was closer to dejection!

I was hugely disappointed with the second half performance - the objective seemed to be to run into cul-de-sacs!

Having said that, the negative reaction is over the top. We had an excellent 15 minute spell at the end of the second half which showed what we are capable of. Big performances in June don't win All Irelands. You take every game as it comes, hope to improve each time and see how far it takes you.  

There is some hope that Davoren's injury might not be as bad as first feared. Would be a big pity if he was ruled out as he showed very well for his championship debut and really seemed to be enjoying himself.

Fair play to Darren Magee on winning man of the match. He fielded really well, and worked his socks off. Still needs some work on kicking the ball straight!

PS Best wishes to the boy from Skyrne.

Completely agree with that, we were saying it was the worst atmosphere at a Meath Dublin game ever. It felt like a league game or something. The only man with abit of heart on the Meath team at the mo is Moyles. a few mistakes but he was the only one I saw who really wanted to win. Also Joe Sherridan tho why he was left so late I dont understand. through the back door now, getting so used to it at this stage. Maybe we'll get to see a new aprt of the Country this summer!

[Hound]

and dublin are 6/1 to land sam with paddypower?
they are a good enough side but nowhere near sam if the league and that episode are to judge them by, i await the onslaught of excuses and derision.

"nowhere near" would be a tad of an exaggeration. Sure it looks like we'd have no chance of beating Kerry or Tyrone in a knockout match, but the same could be said of everyone else. If Kerry and Tyrone stay on the same side of the draw then the second spot in the All Ireland final is wide open, so any of 7 or 8 teams would fancy their chances, including Dublin. Whoever makes it would go in as big underdogs, but anything can happen in a one-off final.

[Bensars]

Will go against the grain here and say that I was happy with Dublin's display today. A major improvement in our problem areas..... the half back line, Full back and midfield consistency, winning breaks.
THe core of Dublin's problems imo on today's display anyway have been improved...... whether enough remains to be seen.

Very worried about Davoren's injury..... he seemed to be settling well into the pace of the game and he looked in alot of pain. THe forward didn't click today and I wouldn't be too worried about that unless they misfire again in the SF.

Very muted crowd today....... possibly because of the back door and the opinion of many Dubs I met before the game that the qualifiers might suit us better this year. However imo we will be slated and written off by one and all which suits us fine. Important to get to Leinster final  to avoid the early qualifiers.

I was absolutely frozen in the Hogan Upper. Played a match on the Saturday night and like alll the other lads I lost feeling in my hands towards the end of the game because of the wind , cold and hail. Some weather for June although I believe the rest of the Country missed it.

If the rumour is true and Gilroy and Whelan are deliberately aiming for peaking later in the Summer then today's result was v good for us.

THe core of Dublin's problems imo on today's display anyway have been improved......

Weak full back line
13 wides in first half
Letting strong leads slip
Seriously bad decision making
Failing to turn up for start of second half again

But most of all playing like individuals. Anything inside 40 yards and theres a race for the headlines.


Its a bad sign when the first two subs on are Ciaran Whelan and Jason sherlock  ( if not the first damn near it) against the weakest, tamest Meath time i have seen in my lifetime.

[INDIANA]

Will go against the grain here and say that I was happy with Dublin's display today. A major improvement in our problem areas..... the half back line, Full back and midfield consistency, winning breaks.
THe core of Dublin's problems imo on today's display anyway have been improved...... whether enough remains to be seen.

Very worried about Davoren's injury..... he seemed to be settling well into the pace of the game and he looked in alot of pain. THe forward didn't click today and I wouldn't be too worried about that unless they misfire again in the SF.

Very muted crowd today....... possibly because of the back door and the opinion of many Dubs I met before the game that the qualifiers might suit us better this year. However imo we will be slated and written off by one and all which suits us fine. Important to get to Leinster final  to avoid the early qualifiers.

I was absolutely frozen in the Hogan Upper. Played a match on the Saturday night and like alll the other lads I lost feeling in my hands towards the end of the game because of the wind , cold and hail. Some weather for June although I believe the rest of the Country missed it.

If the rumour is true and Gilroy and Whelan are deliberately aiming for peaking later in the Summer then today's result was v good for us.

THe core of Dublin's problems imo on today's display anyway have been improved......

Weak full back line
13 wides in first half
Letting strong leads slip
Seriously bad decision making
Failing to turn up for start of second half again

But most of all playing like individuals. Anything inside 40 yards and theres a race for the headlines.


Its a bad sign when the first two subs on are Ciaran Whelan and Jason sherlock  ( if not the first damn near it) against the weakest, tamest Meath time i have seen in my lifetime.

sadly I'd agree.

[Hound]

In fairness, its nonsense to say its a bad sign when you bring on two experienced quality footballers to close out a game. What is a bad sign is that Meath outscored us between then and the end of the game!

If Dublin had played in the second half, like they played in the last 15 minutes of the first half, and won by 10 points, we'd be no better off and we'd be fed an awful lot of sheight by the culchies in the media about how great Dublin are.

So long as Tyrone and Kerry keep wnning, the aim of a place in the All Ireland final is still attainable. And no harm at all that things will get a bit quieter.

[Jinxy]

Desperate, desperate stuff.
Why would you play a perfectly good centre-back at corner-back?
Why would you play a perfectly good wing-back at full-forward?
Why would you leave a perfectly good full-forward on the bench?
Someone seriously needs to tell Cian Ward to put the f**king ball on the ground when we get a free.
I'm baffled as to why he won't do this.

[Gnevin]

Dire game, but Dublin should be through to another Leinster Final and probably won't know their true abilities until then.

What the hell has gone so wrong with Meath football. That is one of the most diabolical Meath teams that I have seen take the field.

Mr Duffy of course was played a blinder at ruining any chance of a good game. The more matches you watch the clearer it is that the referees are dominating too much - not because of the rules, but their own inability to control the game properly. Duffy of course was on his best behaviour and was lauded in Croke Park in February when Dublin played Tyrone - their could be no yellow cards unless patently justified as part one of a great plan to bring in new rules without much criticism. Today in a game lacking any real contact (but a huge amount of diving  - young Davoren played a blinder here) there were yellow cards flying around all over the place. Now imagine if Congress had passed the new laws....

As for the stoppage time - ridiculous. The funny thing is the Meath crowd will be giving out about this, with the Dubs laughing. If Meath had scored a last minute goal could you imagine the craic!

You posted exactly my thoughts on the ref, rules, stoppage time etc. This guy will probably get the All-Ireland final this year. He almost got it the last two years. He's one of the best at what they are trained to do. This implies to me that there is a serious disconnect between what refs are taught to do and what 99% of gaelic football fans think.

Simple rugby style . Time off, Time on.

[INDIANA]

In fairness, its nonsense to say its a bad sign when you bring on two experienced quality footballers to close out a game. What is a bad sign is that Meath outscored us between then and the end of the game!

If Dublin had played in the second half, like they played in the last 15 minutes of the first half, and won by 10 points, we'd be no better off and we'd be fed an awful lot of sheight by the culchies in the media about how great Dublin are.

So long as Tyrone and Kerry keep wnning, the aim of a place in the All Ireland final is still attainable. And no harm at all that things will get a bit quieter.

I admire your optimism but I don't share it. The team isn't as good as previous years with the changes IMO. And the big problem with the players we've brought in is that there is a disticnt possibility with the opposition we've faced that we'll know nothing more about them before we play someone good. Leinster is by far the weakest province out there at the moment. The standard and pace of most of the teams is far below top level inter county football. Meath, Laois, Westmeath, Offaly, Longford  etc are really average outfits. Only Dublin and KIldare can raise a gallop at all in Leinster and the jury is still out on Kildare even though I like the look of them.
Changes had to be made. Bastick ,Flynn and Magee have been relative successes but to say Bryan Cullen isn't even in the top 20 footballers in Dublin is bizarre. I can't see the full back line holding up against the best. I really can't. That and the half forward line are dublin's biggest problems.
I'm amazed at people talking about Kerry and Tyrone. The likes of Derry/Galway/Cork and Mayo will not worry about playing Dublin. We seem to have in my view an ill-fated notion that a team like Dublin in total transition will be good enough to get to an All-ireland final. In my view the team is a complete WIP at the moment and talk of reaching an all-ireland final is premature and extreme to say the least.
Expectations are far too high among fans. Making the last 4 would be a good year for the new management IMO. I can't for the life of me unless we get the softest draw possible see us getting to an all-ireland final. Christ let alone winning it.

[Hound]

I'm amazed at people talking about Kerry and Tyrone. The likes of Derry/Galway/Cork and Mayo will not worry about playing Dublin. We seem to have in my view an ill-fated notion that a team like Dublin in total transition will be good enough to get to an All-ireland final. In my view the team is a complete WIP at the moment and talk of reaching an all-ireland final is premature and extreme to say the least.
Expectations are far too high among fans. Making the last 4 would be a good year for the new management IMO. I can't for the life of me unless we get the softest draw possible see us getting to an all-ireland final. Christ let alone winning it.

Nobody's talking about beating Kerry or Tyrone. But if they stay on the opposite side of the draw to Dublin, then aiming to reach an All Ireland final is not unrealistic. Its not as if Derry, Galway, Cork, Mayo etc are the finished article either.

[INDIANA]

They aren't but in my view we should be setting our sights with a new team on beating them and forgetting about thet others. The team from 2004-2008 is largely gone . Just my view but I think it'll take at least 12 months.

[Fuzzman]

I'm afraid I have to agree with ye Indiana.

I don't what what your new manager is playing at & has he a game plan
The changes he has made seem to have weakened the team so maybe he's making changes for the sake of change & is just trying to put his stamp on it.

With forwards like the 2 Brogans & Keaney you have a good basis for scores
Think midfield has never been a problem so I think its a matter of getting the defense tightened up and using some sort of system and a manager than can motivate them and rise above all the hype. I don't know much about Gilroy but he looks to be not be answer.
He doesnt seem to be a tactical genuis & woulld I be right to say he seems even stubborn enough not to be advised what needs to be done.

The way he dropped so many experienced players seems like he wanted to teach them a lesson or is he resting them for Sept?

[Jinxy]

I honestly don't see why there is such negativity about this Dublin team.
Dominated everywhere but the scoreboard.
Missed a lot of chances they would normally get, but that can happen sometimes.
If they'd won by 10 points (which they should have) it would be a different story.
I think that team can be tweaked for the next game and by the time the Leinster final comes around you'll have a group of players that know the system and what's expected of them.
I'd never write off anyone deemed an All-Ireland contender on the basis of their first championship match.