UC 2010: Aontroim vs Tír Eoghain 23rd May, Páirc Mhic Asmaint

[EC Unique]

IMHO, I would think Mickey Harte and the Tyrone squad are very happy with where they're at after Sunday.

I would agree with that. They got through but have work to do. Competition for places all over the pitch. If they had of hammered Antrim for the second half as well then the whole country would have them as AI winners. As it is they are in the next round without a lot fuss.

[Man Marker]

Didn't think Dooher would last the pace, and Mickey id exactly what I said he would, hall him off when he felt they had the game won. A good solid performance, the 1st half was class, but the second confirmed what we all know

[Zapatista]

Didn't think Dooher would last the pace, and Mickey id exactly what I said he would, hall him off when he felt they had the game won. A good solid performance, the 1st half was class, but the second confirmed what we all know

Do you think he would have taken him off if they were getting beat?

[Fuzzman]

IMHO, I would think Mickey Harte and the Tyrone squad are very happy with where they're at after Sunday.

That's my thinking too.
Look at it this way
Cork beat us well last summer and immediately afterwards quite a lot of players were deemed to have either flu, stomach bugs or playing with long term niggly injuries.

4 or 5 players went under the knife and so I think a decision might have been made to just cruise through the league and do the best we can but we need to rest up a lot until next July. Some of these players may be approaching the 30 mark & already have 2 or 3 AI medals so we can't take the old attitude of winning every game and staying at a high level for several months now.

Therefore hang in there til championship comes and do enough to get to an Ulster final. Then from July onwards is when the real matches begin.
Of course you could lose on the way to Donegal, Down, Armagh or Monaghan but its all about the 2nd half of the summer for players that no longer doubt themselves how to win big games.

So personally I'm more than happy after Sunday
Had we won by 10 or more we would have went into semi over confident with nothing to work on whereas now we've loads to work on
We have so many players that can play any position and so just cos yer name corner back or corner forward doesnt mean you'll stay there the whole game.

Its way to early to be talking about how we'd fair against Cork or Kerry but I think we've a stronger team than we had last year if everyone is fit and I'd probably prefer to meet Cork now in the AI semi or final rather than another boring Kerry game
                                                                                                                     

[nrico2006]

Didn't think Dooher would last the pace, and Mickey id exactly what I said he would, hall him off when he felt they had the game won. A good solid performance, the 1st half was class, but the second confirmed what we all know

What do we all know?

[Man Marker]

Didn't think Dooher would last the pace, and Mickey id exactly what I said he would, hall him off when he felt they had the game won. A good solid performance, the 1st half was class, but the second confirmed what we all know

Do you think he would have taken him off if they were getting beat?

Yes, he would have, you can't put legs where they won't go anymore. Mickey called it right. Hopefully from our point of view his game time will get longer as he builds his fitness over the summer and stays injury free which is in gods hands, and i don't mean peter

[up tyrone]

I can recall all of the mocking we had to listen to about Armagh having to play the sweeper to protect the fullback. 

Did we not see Joe McMahon play that role yesterday as he swept across the front of the full backs and tried to mop up the running men beating Harte and Jordan?  Did we not see Penrose withdrawn to the defensive midfield area to protect the growing problem in defence, running around in a Marty O'Rourke role but not just as tenacious?  How long over the 70 minutes did the Moy brothers disappear completley from the play?

Yet Tyrone still won.  The terminal decline of a team cannot be halted unless there is a policy to introduce the new talent and let them make their own mistakes as they take over from the old guard.  Tyrone will continue to win this season they will play in Croke Park but not in September as a safety first policy continues.

Whers all this new talent everybodys talkin about apart from peter harte how many will make it.As good as joey was in the match cj still scored 4pts of play from him.

[DickyRock]

One thing I would be worried about is fresh legs for midfield. Without Cassidy we've no one to spring from the bench. The best we can do is pull sean in and rearrange the forward line

[Club Rossa]

Cassidy will prove to be a big loss as the season goes on.

[tyroneman]

Cassidey will be a big loss alright.

What concerns me most however is the lack of a proper CHF. I struggle to remember games where Sean Cav has started as a half forward and dominated games.

FF or MF = yes, no problem, but HF = no.

We need a bit more guile in the team. Brian McGuigan unfortunalely looks a player better suited to coming off the bench than starting. God knows what is up with Collie McCullough, brought back onto the panel after retiring and has barely touched leather. Is he injured? Unfit or does he just not fit into MH plans at present?

Hopefully Peter Harte will mature into what we need, but at the moment we're a bit stuck

[Lamh Dhearg Alba]

Cassidey will be a big loss alright.

What concerns me most however is the lack of a proper CHF. I struggle to remember games where Sean Cav has started as a half forward and dominated games.

FF or MF = yes, no problem, but HF = no.

We need a bit more guile in the team. Brian McGuigan unfortunalely looks a player better suited to coming off the bench than starting. God knows what is up with Collie McCullough, brought back onto the panel after retiring and has barely touched leather. Is he injured? Unfit or does he just not fit into MH plans at present?

Hopefully Peter Harte will mature into what we need, but at the moment we're a bit stuck

Agree with this point, I said earlier in the thread that our biggest weakness in 2009 was not having somebody in this role. Sean is a fantastic player and can be very effective in the half forward line but he isnt the man to link it all together like Brian McGuigan did in 2003 and 2005 and McCullagh in 2008. As you say we havent seen enough of McCullagh of late to know what his form and fitness are like.  Brian McGuigan is a fantastic man to bring on to settle the team (2008 final being a classic example) but it would appear he will never be the same player as he was pre-injuries and as such is unlikely to fill the number 11 role and really dominate games as he did. Orangeman said earlier in the thread that Tommy was well capable of doing the job but whilst I rate him and feel he has plenty to offer we'd be looking for a big improvement for him to step up and take on that role. I dont see it. Too early for Peter Harte to do the job and Mulgrew isnt going to do it either. Coney might be an option in time but not yet for this role either. So more questions than answers.

Overall though some people are a bit too hasty in writing Tyrone off. There is an idea that its an old team on its last legs but for all these boys have plenty miles on the clock the class of 97/98 are only 29/30. One poster said this isnt the Tyrone team of 2008 but in many ways its potentially stronger. SON is back and Mugsy looks in better shape. The likes of Justy McMahon and Penrose are further established. There is another generation of talented players breaking onto the panel. The big questions are can Dooher reach the 2008 heights again and can we address the playmaker issue mentioned above. Id still be pretty hopeful that whatever happens these next few monthts that those posters who are writing this team's obit and expecting a few years in the wilderness for Tyrone will be proven wrong. 

[Zapatista]

Didn't think Dooher would last the pace, and Mickey id exactly what I said he would, hall him off when he felt they had the game won. A good solid performance, the 1st half was class, but the second confirmed what we all know

Do you think he would have taken him off if they were getting beat?

Yes, he would have, you can't put legs where they won't go anymore. Mickey called it right. Hopefully from our point of view his game time will get longer as he builds his fitness over the summer and stays injury free which is in gods hands, and i don't mean peter

Then the highlighted bit in your previous post means nothing if you thought he would hall him off either way.

[ONeill]

Turning over a new leaf.

Tyrone are great and we're going to win the hape.

[EC Unique]

Don't see how it is too early for Pete Harte to be tried at 11. He is the same age as Sean C was in 2003 and we all know how that faired out!  Let him at it I say.

[nrico2006]

Don't see how it is too early for Pete Harte to be tried at 11. He is the same age as Sean C was in 2003 and we all know how that faired out!  Let him at it I say.

I was thinking that myself EC, he showed glimpses the other day of what he can do around the CHF spot, he would have the creativity and skill for the role.