Rossies v Kerry round 2, will Croke Park be playable?

[Rossfan]

I wouldn't mind Syfín too much
I didn't notice it at the game as I followed the ball and didn't hear anyone making anything of it around me.
Looking at the TV version hard to claim Donaghy did it deliberately so you'd have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Syferus]

Push in back = foul even in HillBillyland.
Syfín - you need to calm down a biteen over Donaghy.

League is over, we're still in D1 so let's hope the Troika will have learnt a lot about our players.
Meanwile we'll look forward to the Championship.

For what it's worth Ross it was definitely a free to Roscommon, a push in the back all day long but for Syf to suggest that because Donaghy couldn't avoid him he deserved a red and a long suspension is ridiculous, I would assume most Rossies can see that.

A stamp is a stamp. To suggest otherwise is what's ridiculous. I'm done with this.

[Zulu]

Nonsense. Let me paint you a picture -

Roscommon are two points up in the dying embers of the All Ireland final and Dublin are chasing a goal, they lob a long high ball into the square in a desperate attempt to get the goal they need to save themselves. As the ball lands into the goal area a number of Roscommon defenders and Dublin forwards challenge for the high ball, one Ros defender attempts to punch it away but misses and strikes the back of the head of a Dublin forward. A strike being a strike, I presume you would agree it's a Dublin penalty and a sending off for the Roscommon defender (and a lengthy ban for such a cowardly and dangerous strike)? No intent whatsoever by the Roscommon defender but a strike, as you say, is a strike. The Roscommon defender is off, Dublin bury the penalty and Syferus spends many months defending the referee on gaaboard for making the correct call.

[Lar Naparka]

https://twitter.com/The_Abbeytonian/status/719163195970207745

Look at that linesman right there. Christ above. What's the point of officials?

Anyone who thinks that was deliberate has never set foot on a football pitch in his life. To think he would have the poise and wherewithal to think and react to the situation is ridiculous. As much as I dislike Donaghy and think he's a tr**p theres nothing to see here.

Maybe if the rossie didn't fire himself to the ground after a hand in the back he wouldn't have got a boot to the face though

I find it hard to say anything nice about Donaghy but of the rare times I do. I don't see anything premeditated in that foot-stamp.
Yer man went flying and wound up on the ground right in the quare fella's way. So Donaghy had to jump o try and get over him and landed awkwardly. As for the Rossie in question I don't think he took a deliberate dive. Donaghy clipped him on the ankle and tripped him up. IMO, neither  did anything wrong.

[westbound]

There is WAY too much being made of a nothing incident here. (Even if you think it might have been deliberate, what purpose does it serve going on about it now?)

We got a good beating fair and square last sunday. Time to stop moaning about Donaghy, learn from the game and move on.

NY in 2.5 weeks!

[Rossfan]

I suspect our management may have learnt a good bit about some of their own players last Sunday.
We need a new full back line, a chb, midfielder and 2 new full forwards.
My Championship team
Keeper
Murray McInerney Mullooly
Seànie Collins  one of the Dalys
Done Shine and one of the Dalys
Harney C Cregg E Smith
D Murtagh C Murtagh Connolly

[theyellowbus]

I suspect our management may have learnt a good bit about some of their own players last Sunday.
We need a new full back line, a chb, midfielder and 2 new full forwards.
My Championship team
Keeper
Murray McInerney Mullooly
Seànie Collins  one of the Dalys
Done Shine and one of the Dalys
Harney C Cregg E Smith
D Murtagh C Murtagh Connolly

Id go with that team with maybe collins and mullooly swapping and harney and c murtagh swapping.
I'm afraid relying on Senan Kilbride is just not an option anymore.
Too many stale or poor performances mixed in with the odd good performance.
We are missing one key element in our approach and it showed up against Mayo and Kerry and also last year in championship.We are just too nice.
We don't have players with an element of ruthlessness or aggressive behaviour which all the top sides have in their players.
Donaghy for Kerry,Connolly and McCarthy for Dublin,Keegan for Mayo,cavanagh for tyrone. All these lads have two things in common top class footballers and they take a level of aggression onto a pitch which is bordering on insanity.
Their not the only players in their respective sides with these traits but they are the men generally who will grab a game by the scruff of the neck and impose themselves on it with the rest following suit.
Whether we like it or not this is the way the game has gone you have to be man enough to be good enough and while playing nice silky football is grand it will only get you so far to reach the top you then have to be ruthless in your approach.
Teams like Dublin and Kerry will aspire to play good football but first and foremost they will impose themselves on their opposition and mentally break them down and all the cynical and borderline play will be brought out to ensure this.
Any one who watched Donaghy in the first 15 mins of that game last Sunday will see a man absolutely intent on making sure he was top dog in that area of the pitch and by any method necessary.Our lads didn't have a prayer because they couldn't live with that aggression plus they didn't want too or didn't know how too.
All of a sudden you have the the Kerry middle eight players just choking the life out of Roscommon and the platform is built.
Yes we can play but at the moment we have no stomach for a fight.

[AZOffaly]

I suspect our management may have learnt a good bit about some of their own players last Sunday.
We need a new full back line, a chb, midfielder and 2 new full forwards.
My Championship team
Keeper
Murray McInerney Mullooly
Seànie Collins  one of the Dalys
Done Shine and one of the Dalys
Harney C Cregg E Smith
D Murtagh C Murtagh Connolly

Jaysus lads, If you come out of an 8 game league campaign, and reckon ye need 7 changes, including right down the spine of your defence and midfield, what the hell was the league all about? That would be a bit of an indictment of the management if that's the case. Whatever about 2 or lads, in wing or corner positions, that sort of surgery would be major.

[Ryano]

For what it's worth Ross it was definitely a free to Roscommon, a push in the back all day long but for Syf to suggest that because Donaghy couldn't avoid him he deserved a red and a long suspension is ridiculous, I would assume most Rossies can see that

Yes we do, nothing in it for 99.9% of us. Was an accident, Donaghy is a big long 6'6", 15 odd stone, string of awkwardness. He was going full pelt after Cregg, fouled him, fell over him, got tangled in Creggs arm/legs and couldn't get his foot far enough forward to clear him and clipped the top of his head.

There was no reaction from Cregg, the Ref, Linesman and more importantly the other Rossie players. If they thought for a second it was deliberate we would have had a big smozzle, hand bags swinging, pushing, shoving and a few lads on their arses. 

Instead Donaghy waited beside Cregg until he got up, apologised and that was/is the end of it.

[muppet]

I suspect our management may have learnt a good bit about some of their own players last Sunday.
We need a new full back line, a chb, midfielder and 2 new full forwards.
My Championship team
Keeper
Murray McInerney Mullooly
Seànie Collins  one of the Dalys
Done Shine and one of the Dalys
Harney C Cregg E Smith
D Murtagh C Murtagh Connolly

Jaysus lads, If you come out of an 8 game league campaign, and reckon ye need 7 changes, including right down the spine of your defence and midfield, what the hell was the league all about? That would be a bit of an indictment of the management if that's the case. Whatever about 2 or lads, in wing or corner positions, that sort of surgery would be major.

That is exactly what I thought, but I figured I would be seen as simply Roscelona bashing so I said nothing. 

[weareros]

Team won't change drastically. Ros had a good few players injured and missing during the league with the likes of Donie, Cathal, Diarmuid Murtagh and David Keenan only seeing county football when Div 1 status was already secured. Ultan's only got a run with U21s.

Team I'd go with would be:

Claffey
Collins, Mullooly, McInerney
Conor Daly, Ian Kilbride, Nial Daly
Cathal Shine, Donie Shine
Enda Smith, Ciaran Murtagh, Cathal Cregg
Diarmuid Murtagh, Ultan Harney, Connolly

[Rudi]

Team won't change drastically. Ros had a good few players injured and missing during the league with the likes of Donie, Cathal, Diarmuid Murtagh and David Keenan only seeing county football when Div 1 status was already secured. Ultan's only got a run with U21s.

Team I'd go with would be:

Claffey
Collins, Mullooly, McInerney
Conor Daly, Ian Kilbride, Nial Daly
Cathal Shine, Donie Shine
Enda Smith, Ciaran Murtagh, Cathal Cregg
Diarmuid Murtagh, Ultan Harney, Connolly

Jaysus thats awfull harsh on poor auld Dev and Fintan. Its going to be a hard team to pick. What has Ultan done to warrant inclusion, he was very poor verses Mayo U21.

[Syferus]

Team won't change drastically. Ros had a good few players injured and missing during the league with the likes of Donie, Cathal, Diarmuid Murtagh and David Keenan only seeing county football when Div 1 status was already secured. Ultan's only got a run with U21s.

Team I'd go with would be:

Claffey
Collins, Mullooly, McInerney
Conor Daly, Ian Kilbride, Nial Daly
Cathal Shine, Donie Shine
Enda Smith, Ciaran Murtagh, Cathal Cregg
Diarmuid Murtagh, Ultan Harney, Connolly

Jaysus thats awfull harsh on poor auld Dev and Fintan. Its going to be a hard team to pick. What has Ultan done to warrant inclusion, he was very poor verses Mayo U21.

Dev and Fintan were the players who enabled a lot of our fast, good football this year. Cannot see any case for Connolly over Dev if it came down to that, name him 15 and play him out the field in that case.

[Rossfan]

Jaysus lads, If you come out of an 8 game league campaign, and reckon ye need 7 changes, including right down the spine of your defence and midfield, what the hell was the league all about? [/quote]

First 5 games was about staying in Div 1, fielding our strongest (perceived) available team usingonly fit or match sharp players.
With survival assured after 5 games the 3 games against the "Big 3" were used to give game time to lads returning from injury or world tours or whatever, to try out a couple of lads on the panel who hadn't got game time.
I strongly suspect last Sunday was an individual test for a lot of players to see what they were made of and what they might be like in a hoped for Connacht final.

Anyway we are only half way through Year 1 of a 4 year project so there could be many a change  along the road.

I see "weareros" is dropping Seanie and Davy Murray but including 2 Dalys in defence

[Syferus]

Dalys get too much abuse for their defending. Davy is your favourite child by the sounds of things but he's been caught napping plenty himself. All those players can do a good job if they're given roles that suit their skill-sets and they remain switched on for the whole match. Coaching the tackle and defensive systems are exactly why lads like David Casey (never replaced since he retired) and Liam McHale are there.