An Mhí v Ard Mhacha, NFL Div 2, Round 3, Navan, Saturday 1st March 2014

[BallyhaiseMan]

Some scoring by Jamie Clarke,i can see Armagh coming good this year,there is alot of talent in the county and Clarke when in form is virtually unstoppable.

Meath have serious problems in the backline it seems, 0-20 against Monaghan, 4-11 against Galway and 0-19 against Armagh. If your backs are that poor, surely the best thing to do is pack your own half of the field with a mass defence and provide them some protection.
Juice/Jinxy, would it be fair to say that it doesn't seem like O Dowd is very tactically adept???

What makes you think Armagh will come good? They've a couple of very good players but seem to have a clueless manager and beating a poor Meath team doesn't make them any good. I'd be disappointed if Cavan can't beat them. Also a one man forward line is very stoppable too, UCC hadn't much bother stopping Jamie the other day and he had some top forwards along side him too.

As for Galway, I cannot understand what they are doing with endless underage talent they produce.

If you think back to the Cavan match last year,they destroyed us in the middle of the field,and as you say only for the management stupidity of allowing Keating/Dunne half of KBP, we probably would have lost that game. I think McGeeney's addition will be a big help to them and i can't see such tactical impotence occuring in May. I still give us a great chance of going down there and beating them,but it will be close either way.

Galway are producing talent but its not going to happen overnight. Their two outstanding under 21's will form the backbone of that team going forward and it may take them a year or two to adapt to the higher standard at senior IC level.

[rodney trotter]

Some scoring by Jamie Clarke,i can see Armagh coming good this year,there is alot of talent in the county and Clarke when in form is virtually unstoppable.

Meath have serious problems in the backline it seems, 0-20 against Monaghan, 4-11 against Galway and 0-19 against Armagh. If your backs are that poor, surely the best thing to do is pack your own half of the field with a mass defence and provide them some protection.
Juice/Jinxy, would it be fair to say that it doesn't seem like O Dowd is very tactically adept???

What makes you think Armagh will come good? They've a couple of very good players but seem to have a clueless manager and beating a poor Meath team doesn't make them any good. I'd be disappointed if Cavan can't beat them. Also a one man forward line is very stoppable too, UCC hadn't much bother stopping Jamie the other day and he had some top forwards along side him too.

As for Galway, I cannot understand what they are doing with endless underage talent they produce.

Thats why Grimley brought in McGeeney this year, who will probaly replace him in the future. Wouldn't say Grimley is clueless he just didnt want to play the sweeper system,. It didnt work him - and he got hammered.

Armagh have a lot of injured players to come back into the side like Aaron Kernan, McKeever,Aidan Forker and Rory Grugan will probaly feature in the forwards come championship a very lively player.

Will be a close game in the championship and Armagh will be seeking revenge.

[Throw ball]

Some scoring by Jamie Clarke,i can see Armagh coming good this year,there is alot of talent in the county and Clarke when in form is virtually unstoppable.

Meath have serious problems in the backline it seems, 0-20 against Monaghan, 4-11 against Galway and 0-19 against Armagh. If your backs are that poor, surely the best thing to do is pack your own half of the field with a mass defence and provide them some protection.
Juice/Jinxy, would it be fair to say that it doesn't seem like O Dowd is very tactically adept???

What makes you think Armagh will come good? They've a couple of very good players but seem to have a clueless manager and beating a poor Meath team doesn't make them any good. I'd be disappointed if Cavan can't beat them. Also a one man forward line is very stoppable too, UCC hadn't much bother stopping Jamie the other day and he had some top forwards along side him too.

As for Galway, I cannot understand what they are doing with endless underage talent they produce.

Thats why Grimley brought in McGeeney this year, who will probaly replace him in the future. Wouldn't say Grimley is clueless he just didnt want to play the sweeper system,. It didnt work him - and he got hammered.

Armagh have a lot of injured players to come back into the side like Aaron Kernan, McKeever,Aidan Forker and Rory Grugan will probaly feature in the forwards come championship a very lively player.

Will be a close game in the championship and Armagh will be seeking revenge.

Aidan Forker will not be there for the championship as he suffered a cruciate injury against Louth. Of those not available tonight we would hope to have Morgan, Donaghy, Aaron Kernan, McKeever, Ethan Rafferty and Tasker available for Cavan game. You are right about Grugan being a lovely footballer but he will probably have to bulk up a bit to make the half forward line. Armagh are not a great team but they are nowhere near as bad as many would make you think.

[rrhf]

[quote

No AI winners in the past 25 years have fallen further from the top table than Armagh and Meath.  Tonight showed who fell furthest.

Galway too
[/quote]
At least Galway had a bit of underage success   

Down plummeted too 

Ni h-uasal agus iseal ach thuas seal agus thios seal
It is a law of the planet.
[/quote]
20 years since down won Sam. N

[seafoid]

Some scoring by Jamie Clarke,i can see Armagh coming good this year,there is alot of talent in the county and Clarke when in form is virtually unstoppable.

Meath have serious problems in the backline it seems, 0-20 against Monaghan, 4-11 against Galway and 0-19 against Armagh. If your backs are that poor, surely the best thing to do is pack your own half of the field with a mass defence and provide them some protection.
Juice/Jinxy, would it be fair to say that it doesn't seem like O Dowd is very tactically adept???

What makes you think Armagh will come good? They've a couple of very good players but seem to have a clueless manager and beating a poor Meath team doesn't make them any good. I'd be disappointed if Cavan can't beat them. Also a one man forward line is very stoppable too, UCC hadn't much bother stopping Jamie the other day and he had some top forwards along side him too.

As for Galway, I cannot understand what they are doing with endless underage talent they produce.

That goes for the hurling as well
I think we need a new fuball manager.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/meath-league-campaign-off-to-flying-start-1.1676928

"I suppose a lot of people are looking at the Dublin template, trying to create some fast-moving football . . . we came off the wrong side of that here, so maybe we need to get a few more men behind the ball."

And Meath are hardly world beaters at the moment

[seafoid]

[quote

No AI winners in the past 25 years have fallen further from the top table than Armagh and Meath.  Tonight showed who fell furthest.

Galway too

At least Galway had a bit of underage success   

Down plummeted too 

Ni h-uasal agus iseal ach thuas seal agus thios seal
It is a law of the planet.
[/quote]
20 years since down won Sam. N
[/quote]
25 > 20 

[thejuice]

Juice/Jinxy, would it be fair to say that it doesn't seem like O Dowd is very tactically adept???

I wouldn't judge him so quickly, I think his intention was to recreate the style of play Dublin used last year but it hasn't worked for us so far and we may simply not have the squad to win like that. I think we need to reexamine our approach. Considering the amount we are conceding, I think we need to focus on getting more bodies in midfield and defense. However we are only three games into the league. We've a lot of injuries still to clear and we picked up a few more last night (tormey rumoured to have left in an ambulance last night??) 

Staying Div 2 shouldn't be above this team and we'll see what the summer brings for a true reflection of our capabilities.

[Itchy]

I say Grimley is clueless not because he favours a sweeper or any tactic but because he seems to think once you play one way at the start of a game you cannot change it during the game no natter what is happening. As for McGeeney, what has he done as a manager so far with all the resources as his disposal in Kildare, not a lot. If Armagh had a decent management they'd be a very decent 2nd tier team but at the moment they look like a div 3 team.

[agorm]

Juice/Jinxy, would it be fair to say that it doesn't seem like O Dowd is very tactically adept???

I wouldn't judge him so quickly, I think his intention was to recreate the style of play Dublin used last year but it hasn't worked for us so far and we may simply not have the squad to win like that. I think we need to reexamine our approach. Considering the amount we are conceding, I think we need to focus on getting more bodies in midfield and defense. However we are only three games into the league. We've a lot of injuries still to clear and we picked up a few more last night (tormey rumoured to have left in an ambulance last night??) 

Staying Div 2 shouldn't be above this team and we'll see what the summer brings for a true reflection of our capabilities.

While I wouldn't judge him at this stage I do think that he is very slow to make strategic changes and hasn't learned from previous games. No defensive strategy that I can see and I am unsure if anyone on the management team can read the game from a defensive point of view.

In the crucial periods towards the end of first half and midway through second half when Armagh picked off points in succession we were getting nothing breaking in centre, our half forwards are stylish footballers but don't do the dirty work to pick up scraps.

I also wonder what instructions the forwards are being given. Several crucial stages where a point was there for the taking they went for goals. Someone needs to teach those forwards the simple technique of punching a ball over the bar.  I think that Eamonn Wallace should be instructed NOT to go for a goal even in a one on one situation as he simply hasn't an accurate enough shot. Get him just taking points when he runs into a scoring position. Very disappointed overall with the score taking of our forwards as bear in mind we got 2 soft goals.

We allowed the momentum to turn back to Armagh by not taking easy chances including the 45 that Paddy took in preference to Newman. Paddy is not sufficiently good to be coming up and taking these and Newman had been lining up to take it.

Overall, I wouldn't be judging Mick ODowd but the gloss is diminished after the last 2 games. He doesn't seem to plan a defensive strategy based on the teams we are playing or maybe the strategy isn't implemented on the pitch. Bad luck with injuries and the talent just doesn't seem to be there in the county however. I just don't see much different in the approach to reduce the volume of scores conceded in the 3 league matches to date including Galway. It looks like we will have to sacrifice a half forward for an in your face type defender and try and stop or slow down attacks earlier on or up the pitch.

If we get a full panel back then I think we will definitely be better in better conditions during the summer. There seems to be an issue dealing with the more defensive ulster type sides but that might be a simplistic view and we will probably also struggle against Laois. If I was to do one thing I think I would seriously consider looking for a defensive coach to work with the backs and look at teams we are playing and plan our defensive approach to games.

[rodney trotter]

Thats the system he wanted to go with , if clarkes disallowed goal had stood Armagh could have went onto to win the game, and no one  would have cared about the tactics. Kildare dont have the footballers Dublin have, McGeeney made them into a solid chsmpionship team who reached the last 12 or quarters most years.. Armagh have a list of imjurie so how should they be a decent div 2 side. They have 3pts from 6 and were beaten by Down with a last minute goal in round 2. Not like they are playing as bad as galway

[Itchy]

I don't think they would have won the game. The goal armagh did get was a fluke. Cavan were by far the best team. The refusal to switch Dunne's marker or even give him some help says it all.

[rodney trotter]

They would have the momentum as it was a period when Armagh were geting on top

[Itchy]

They would have the momentum as it was a period when Armagh were geting on top

They got the goal 5 mins later when they still had momentum, how come they didn't go on to win the game. Answer, Cavan lifted it again and kicked more ball into the almost unmarked forwards wiping out that goal in a couple if minutes. Not sure why you are coming up with thus stuff Rodney, you are starting to sound like a biased armagh fan.

[rodney trotter]

They would have the momentum as it was a period when Armagh were geting on top

They got the goal 5 mins later when they still had momentum, how come they didn't go on to win the game. Answer, Cavan lifted it again and kicked more ball into the almost unmarked forwards wiping out that goal in a couple if minutes. Not sure why you are coming up with thus stuff Rodney, you are starting to sound like a biased armagh fan.

Do you expect Armagh to play like that this year in the championship? Biased because i give a few opinions on Armagh, ha right.

[Itchy]

They would have the momentum as it was a period when Armagh were geting on top

They got the goal 5 mins later when they still had momentum, how come they didn't go on to win the game. Answer, Cavan lifted it again and kicked more ball into the almost unmarked forwards wiping out that goal in a couple if minutes. Not sure why you are coming up with thus stuff Rodney, you are starting to sound like a biased armagh fan.

Do you expect Armagh to play like that this year in the championship? Biased because i give a few opinions on Armagh, ha right.

You conveniently skipped over your 'momentum' argument there. After that game last year there were loads of Armagh lads on here saying it was all down to how bad Armagh were and gave Cavan little credit. You are sounding like one of them. And no, I don't think armagh will play like that again which will only further show how bad Grimley was last year.