Muineachán v Gaillimh - 06/02/10 ***Cluain Eois***

[soldier of destiny]

Shock resullt of the day fair play to Mc the knife fair play!

19 scores!!

Considering the state Galway football is in, is it really that much of a shock?

Considering Monaghan started with only 5 of last year's regulars and 8 players who never started a NFL game before, i would say yes it was.

[Maguire01]

Great result for Monaghan today, although Galway weren't up to much. On paper, this was probably our 'easiest' game of the league so it was important to get the two points. Also nice to have the good scoring difference.

Fair play to McEneaney and the new played - it was a severely depleated squad, but they did the business today. It's very early days, but we could have been on the end of a severe beating today and there's reason to be optimistic. Even when the regulars return, there'll now be some proper competition for places.

I thought McAdam had a decent game in midfield and had a few good clean catches. He has come on a lot on the last few years. Dick had a good game as well - a few dodgy enough decisions but he got through a serious amount of ball and shot two lovely points. Doogan and Turley looked good as well and McGuinness looked promising up front.

Having McManus back made a big difference and him and Finlay were ever reliable for the scores. McManus was left isolated towards the end as Finlay strayed outfield and that probably cost us a few more points in the final quarter of the game, but I suppose the emphasis turned to defence.

The #1 shirt looks like it could be staying with Keogh for a while. After two penalty saves in the McKenna Cup, he made a great save in the first half today and was also alert to any balls coming in, including high balls. A very positive addition. Interesting that Darren Hughes was sub-keeper and not McBennett - what's the story there? Is McBennett injured? Also, is Hughes not fit enough to play outfield? I think he'd be wasted in goals.

Another point - the pitch in Clones was in great shape, especially given the amount of rain there had been over the last 24 hours; it looks like it might finally have been sorted out.

[soldier of destiny]

Great result for Monaghan today, although Galway weren't up to much. On paper, this was probably our 'easiest' game of the league so it was important to get the two points. Also nice to have the good scoring difference.

Fair play to McEneaney and the new played - it was a severely depleated squad, but they did the business today. It's very early days, but we could have been on the end of a severe beating today and there's reason to be optimistic. Even when the regulars return, there'll now be some proper competition for places.

I thought McAdam had a decent game in midfield and had a few good clean catches. He has come on a lot on the last few years. Dick had a good game as well - a few dodgy enough decisions but he got through a serious amount of ball and shot two lovely points. Doogan and Turley looked good as well and McGuinness looked promising up front.

Having McManus back made a big difference and him and Finlay were ever reliable for the scores. McManus was left isolated towards the end as Finlay strayed outfield and that probably cost us a few more points in the final quarter of the game, but I suppose the emphasis turned to defence.

The #1 shirt looks like it could be staying with Keogh for a while. After two penalty saves in the McKenna Cup, he made a great save in the first half today and was also alert to any balls coming in, including high balls. A very positive addition. Interesting that Darren Hughes was sub-keeper and not McBennett - what's the story there? Is McBennett injured? Also, is Hughes not fit enough to play outfield? I think he'd be wasted in goals.

Another point - the pitch in Clones was in great shape, especially given the amount of rain there had been over the last 24 hours; it looks like it might finally have been sorted out.

McBennett must have been injured, he was on the field during the warm up but i don't think he took part.  Hughes only got back from travelling on thursday so he wouldn't have been fit enough for today.

[galwayman]

Congrats to Monaghan on a fully deserved win. We capitulated totally in the 2nd half. Galway football is in very bad shape at the moment I'm afraid.When we were struggling in the late 80s/early 90s we were still producing decent underage teams but the quality of our minor and u-21 teams has deteriorated considerably over the last 10 years and tha is reflected in the current state of our senior football squad.Granted we have won 2 u-21 AIs and 1 minor AI in that period but we are not producing good teams consistently.We had good teams in the years we won those AIs but poor enough sides most other years.
Mayo have been much more consistent in producing decent quality underage teams.

I disagree with Cosmo Kramer though re Galway having supposedly such a big pick.This is a common misconception among people outside of the county. True Galway is a big county but it is totally split in two in GAA terms so in gaelic football terms the pick available is smaller than you would expect. You don't see lads from big areas such as Athenry,Loughrea,Gort,Portumna,Craughwell,Clarinbridge etc playing on Galway county football teams (with the odd exception) because these are hurling areas that barely manage to field junior football teams (and in a lot of cases they don't field at all).

Contrast this with a county like Mayo for example which is roughly the same size county as Galway but is pretty much entirely gaelic football orientated - so they have a much greater pick of players than we do. Galway would actually have a much smaller pick of footballers than many far smaller counties for this reason.

It's hard to be optimistic for the year ahead unfortunately. Meehan and PJ will be carrying the team come championship but unfortunately for us you can't go far in championship football with only 2 really top class players

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Contrast this with a county like Mayo for example which is roughly the same size county as Galway but is pretty much entirely gaelic football orientated - so they have a much greater pick of players than we do. Galway would actually have a much smaller pick of footballers than many far smaller counties for this reason.

A yes Galwayman, but Galway's population would be around 230,000 compared to Mayo which is about 120,000. I think the number of football only or dual clubs in Galway compared to the same in Mayo would be a more accurate comparrison, as well as Minor, U-21, Senior and Intermediate playing in both counties.

[seafoid]

Contrast this with a county like Mayo for example which is roughly the same size county as Galway but is pretty much entirely gaelic football orientated - so they have a much greater pick of players than we do. Galway would actually have a much smaller pick of footballers than many far smaller counties for this reason.

A yes Galwayman, but Galway's population would be around 230,000 compared to Mayo which is about 120,000. I think the number of football only or dual clubs in Galway compared to the same in Mayo would be a more accurate comparrison, as well as Minor, U-21, Senior and Intermediate playing in both counties.

Christ, things must be bad if Mayo is the yardstick.

There have been thousands of football migrants into Galway in the last 10 years. 
Maybe Galway just needs to dump the non perfoming stars and build from the ground up. Things were much worse in the early 90s.  Ja and Val Daly were on their own for years. 

I couldn't care less about Monaghan in February anawez. I'd much prefer a cleanout that got Galway on the right track for later in the year.

The comfort of course is that those North Galway fuball genes will never disappear  and Jarlaths/Pats will throw up a team of stars at some stage and the whole machine will start ticking again and when that happens  we'll win another all-Ireland. Unlike Mayo.   

[Tubberman]

Contrast this with a county like Mayo for example which is roughly the same size county as Galway but is pretty much entirely gaelic football orientated - so they have a much greater pick of players than we do. Galway would actually have a much smaller pick of footballers than many far smaller counties for this reason.

A yes Galwayman, but Galway's population would be around 230,000 compared to Mayo which is about 120,000. I think the number of football only or dual clubs in Galway compared to the same in Mayo would be a more accurate comparrison, as well as Minor, U-21, Senior and Intermediate playing in both counties.

Christ, things must be bad if Mayo is the yardstick.

There have been thousands of football migrants into Galway in the last 10 years. 
Maybe Galway just needs to dump the non perfoming stars and build from the ground up. Things were much worse in the early 90s.  Ja and Val Daly were on their own for years. 

I couldn't care less about Monaghan in February anawez. I'd much prefer a cleanout that got Galway on the right track for later in the year.

The comfort of course is that those North Galway fuball genes will never disappear  and Jarlaths/Pats will throw up a team of stars at some stage and the whole machine will start ticking again and when that happens  we'll win another all-Ireland. Unlike Mayo.

Jesus things must be worse than I thought in Galway!
When Galway folk resort to getting their retaliation in first, they're very worried.

[cicfada]

Galway won't go anywhere without a midfield and hasn't had a decent one  since Kevin walsh left! as a whole the Galway players would want to pull up their  socks and start playing! I mean they haven't been happy with any manager for a long time! Peter forde was too defensive, they weren't happy with Liam Sammon, then kernan  and now I hear they are not happy with O'flaharta either! What the f**k do they want?? I woulnd't be surprised to see PJ retire or Meehan stay in Oz at this rate! They have loads of forward talent but what good is that without a midfield?? relegation followed by another  Connacht Championship exit I fear. I could be wrong  and it is early in the year but the omens are not good!! As for Mayo, they will probably win a Connacht title but that's as far as it goes!! Could be a long time before we see Sam coming west of the Shannon! I would love to see it from any connacht County but I am afraid it will go elsewhere this year at least!!

[Duine Eile]

Meehan is home cic so that's one less worry! Match was a disaster. This was one we needed to win really, we're probably the weakest team in the division being honest about it. If the league was being used to test new players we'd be getting some benefit from it but it's the same faces time and again. It's going to be another short year for Galway I think.

[seafoid]

Galway won't go anywhere without a midfield and hasn't had a decent one  since Kevin walsh left! as a whole the Galway players would want to pull up their  socks and start playing! I mean they haven't been happy with any manager for a long time! Peter forde was too defensive, they weren't happy with Liam Sammon, then kernan  and now I hear they are not happy with O'flaharta either! What the f**k do they want?? I woulnd't be surprised to see PJ retire or Meehan stay in Oz at this rate! They have loads of forward talent but what good is that without a midfield?? relegation followed by another  Connacht Championship exit I fear. I could be wrong  and it is early in the year but the omens are not good!! As for Mayo, they will probably win a Connacht title but that's as far as it goes!! Could be a long time before we see Sam coming west of the Shannon! I would love to see it from any connacht County but I am afraid it will go elsewhere this year at least!!

It's the turn of Mayo and Ros to win Sam anyway.  1951 and 1944 . Jaysus. Fianna Fáil were big back then.   

[ross matt]

Contrast this with a county like Mayo for example which is roughly the same size county as Galway but is pretty much entirely gaelic football orientated - so they have a much greater pick of players than we do. Galway would actually have a much smaller pick of footballers than many far smaller counties for this reason.

A yes Galwayman, but Galway's population would be around 230,000 compared to Mayo which is about 120,000. I think the number of football only or dual clubs in Galway compared to the same in Mayo would be a more accurate comparrison, as well as Minor, U-21, Senior and Intermediate playing in both counties.

Christ, things must be bad if Mayo is the yardstick.

There have been thousands of football migrants into Galway in the last 10 years. 
Maybe Galway just needs to dump the non perfoming stars and build from the ground up. Things were much worse in the early 90s.  Ja and Val Daly were on their own for years. 

I couldn't care less about Monaghan in February anawez. I'd much prefer a cleanout that got Galway on the right track for later in the year.

The comfort of course is that those North Galway fuball genes will never disappear  and Jarlaths/Pats will throw up a team of stars at some stage and the whole machine will start ticking again and when that happens  we'll win another all-Ireland. Unlike Mayo.

Jesus things must be worse than I thought in Galway!
When Galway folk resort to getting their retaliation in first, they're very worried.

My thougts exactly Tubberman.
The most insecure and overly sensitive post from a Galway poster I've ever read Seafoid. Things are bad in Galway football but its hardly tiome to be throwin shite at the neighbours before the season even begins.

[GalwayBayBoy]

In fairness Galway have had to play almost an entire year now without both Micheal Meehan and Nicky Joyce who both got injured during last years league. Obviously PJ as well although with greatest respect PJ is hardly one for the future. We just cant do without players of that quality at the moment because it doesnt look like we are going to stop leaking scores at the other end. To concede 0-19 to Monaghan in January is abysmal. What would Cork have scored on us?

New players just dont seem to be coming through at the moment. The football board have been so concerned with building football centres in recent years that they forgot they have to fill them with players. The neglect of the underage setup has been shocking. The minors have at least picked up a little. They won an All-Ireland in 07 and were within a kick of the ball of getting to the final last year. The U-21s have been brutal though the last 5 years after picking up two U-21 All-Irelands in the first half of the decade. I hear this years minors are meant to be very good again and it looks like Jarlaths have an excellent team this year after crushing Geralds recently but really you are looking well down the line for those players to emerge. Meanwhile we seem stuck with the same old. Not winning enough possession in midfield leaving too much pressure on an already shaky backline. They have lost so many tight matches in recent years by a single score that as soon as a game starts going against them they just seem to retreat into their shells. Confidence is obviously fairly low.

Relegation looks likely now I would think. The remaining fixtures are too difficult to see us picking up enough points.

[Sleater]

This win for Monaghan is as welcome as it was unexpected. Given the large number of regulars unavailable and the inexperience of the replacements, supporters expectations were very low. Despite the encouraging win and the pleasing aspect of some good individual performances I don't think Monaghan fans should go now expecting league domination!

Division 1 survival is important in these players development and I hope they can achieve it. When some of the more established players return I would hope that the extra competition for places will mean there team is stronger for it. One of the criticisims of the Banty during his tenure was he would often stick to the same core of players and not show enough faith in new comers. We often had a shallow squad as a result with maybe last year an exception where Banty at least gave it a try. I am glad Eamonn McEneaney gave the chance to the new players.

Mark Keogh if he continues as he has done so far will finally solve the goal keeping problem.

I am hopefully of the potential of Kieran Duffy and David Hughes. Cormac Brady, Drew Wylie and Ciaran Hughes all looked of the pace at this level. It was their first starts so maybe it would be a bit harsh to judge them on that, but the jury is still out on them. I was impressed by the graft of Neil McAdam in midfield and he took his point well. Big Benny McKenna and Frank Caufield just don't cut it in this sector at this level. I have seen enough of the latter two at club level over the few years and they don't even stand out at club level.

James Turley and Gavan Doogan got through a mountain for work which I would expect from both of them. Don't expect too many scores from either of them though. Mark Downey was the biggest surprise. When he first appeared in Monaghan colours 2 years ago, he looked lightweight and out of his depth. But he's come one in leaps and bounds and he added guile, creativity and tacked on two nice points. Chris McGuinness, well from when i seen him at minor level, he had bags of potential and was great to see him play well yesterday. Conor Galligan was very impressive when he came on.

Still, there was many more positives than negatives. I would hope Dermot Malone gets a run out as he's a quality player. I'd like to see Mark McNally get a chance at half back during the league ( i think he's injured at the moment?).

Armagh will be a very tough game, but hopefully the lads can up their game more for it.

[An Fhairche Abu]

Galway will be relegated make no mistake about it, exact same story as last year, players are simply not good enough at this time. First half was alright as a game with a bit of ebb and flow but once Monaghan pulled out the finger in the 2nd half there was only one team on the pitch. I could go through rating players etc but the is little point, it's the same issues time and again with Galway, I could probably quote from posts I made about league games last year and it'd pass for a report on the Monaghan game.
Only Hanley, Bradshaw, Bane and Armstrong looked like anything even resembling inter county class on the Galway team yesterday. Best player on the pitch was Conor McManus, kicked some super scores and torched Fitzgerald in the first half.

My biggest gripe with yesterday is this craic of fixing league matches for small venues where the pitches are generally not up to taking the weather at this time of year and then inevitably having to change back to the likes of Clones on the day, happens all the time during the league.

As for the Mayo lads giving their tuppence worth, we're worse than ye alright but there is not the cousin of a good team in all Connacht at the minute.

[Maguire01]

This win for Monaghan is as welcome as it was unexpected. Given the large number of regulars unavailable and the inexperience of the replacements, supporters expectations were very low. Despite the encouraging win and the pleasing aspect of some good individual performances I don't think Monaghan fans should go now expecting league domination!

I don't think anyone is expecting anything - everyone is just hoping for another 4 points or so to ensure another year in Division 1. A 3-year stint in Division 1 would be a great achievement for Monaghan and a great start for McEnaney.

Division 1 survival is important in these players development and I hope they can achieve it. When some of the more established players return I would hope that the extra competition for places will mean there team is stronger for it. One of the criticisims of the Banty during his tenure was he would often stick to the same core of players and not show enough faith in new comers. We often had a shallow squad as a result with maybe last year an exception where Banty at least gave it a try. I am glad Eamonn McEneaney gave the chance to the new players.

To be fair, Eamonn didn't have much choice! But it will be good if we can have some competition in the squad.