2019 Allianz Football League Division 3.

[les Antiques]

Kevin Meaney will be 34 this summer lads ,let's move on. In fairness he gave a good 10-12 years to Laois .
Midfield is definitely a worry going forward.

[High Fielder]

We have no target man and as On The Hop has been saying for a long time, that's ok if you have other ways of getting possession. The short kick out is our best friend and that's asking a lot of young inexperienced players. It also puts Brody under pressure

[Laoiseabu]

I stand corrected but I heard from a very reliable source that meaney didn't travel to Croker on Sunday on his own accord cause he wasn't on the 26 panel named. He was a decent ball winner something that we are badly lacking everywhere in our team at the moment . Tyrell will probably get the nod In place of Lillis but it still remains to be seen whether he will be good enough .Bracken from ods ,Eoin Dunne from Rosenallis and Daly from Joseph's were realeased from the panel after the O'Byrne cup . They were all being looked at for mid field .

[on the hop]

what ever about having a target man in midfield for kickouts, I just thought we should have had some sort of plan b when they pressed us. lumping it out when they had a clear height advantage is asking a lot of the two lads especially when at times they were moving backwards trying to field it. sean byrne was probably a loss as an option on the wing.  Dublin in the second game had a few basketball type moves where they bunched in the centre and then all broke to both sides, it reminded me of something Tully used to do with Ballyfin in the schools football. it was simple but very effective. With Lillis suspended I wonder who will start with the others it seems in the post above gone from the panel.

hopefully whoever does start doesn't fall into the lateral handpass that we often revert to when faced by a massed defense. A midfielder with pace that can break forward and long pass accurately is badly needed but there doesn't look to be too many of them around.

[Tony]

Meaney was a great servant to Laois over the years but he wasn't brilliant the last few seasons he was here. Just an observation. And Don is right to an extent in that, he was getting sent off when we were crying out for leaders to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. And from what i recall, they were clear sendings off, not just going for the ball too hard kind of sendings off. In that context, his attitude here seems off - in that, if he really wants his place back, he'll have to fight for it, just like everyone else. He can't just walk on the panel. Donie wasn't even allowed to do that last year and i commend the management team for taking that line. It commands respect and shows what kind of attitude is required. If Kevin wants to come back, let him fight for his place like everyone else. Simple as that. If he's upset that he was left out, that's nobody's fault but his own. Get better, don't moan and show everyone that you deserve your place, that's my advice. I have huge respect for anyone who does that.

PS Begley and JOL for midfield at the weekend, would be my pick. Give Piggott another go at number 6. Any update on Cahir? If we had Cahir and Timmons against Louth, for sure we wouldn't have concedes those goals, but, such is life.

[les Antiques]

I'd be worried about Healys pace particularly up against someone pacy in Croker.

[High Fielder]

Ah come on Tony. You know right well that some players get automatic places. Meaney had every right to look at the mess against Louth and ask the question. Sugrue obviously has some regard for him or else he would have released him. Lillis and O'Loghlin are two good players but unless they move a lot more, they will not win ball for us. And it's a massive achilles heel for us. Ball out and straight back at us. We have to get on and stay on the ball a lot more because our patience in possession improved so much last year. Saturday was a reminder, hopefully, that we need to work harder with each passing game. Players need to be tuned in and workmanlike from the throw in. The line too need to be more decisive when there are obvious issues. I'm confident that Sugrue will put plans in place to right the wrongs of Saturday

[Don Draper]

Ah come on Tony. You know right well that some players get automatic places. Meaney had every right to look at the mess against Louth and ask the question.

Had he not thrown the toys before the Louth game?

[High Fielder]

I don't know when the toys were thrown Don. I didn't even know they had been. It would be helpful to know who is still in there and what options we have

[Laois fan]

Ive heard healy is in bother with his knee and could be out long term,also that davy conway is  gone due to injury problems.Then you have quigley,glynn paddy osullivan benny carroll and timmons still out also

[Don Draper]

I don't know when the toys were thrown Don. I didn't even know they had been. It would be helpful to know who is still in there and what options we have

I believe someone here said they were. Read back.

[les Antiques]

Meaney was training the other night anyway so could be in the 26 for Sunday especially with lillis out .

[Laois Rising]

The big eye opener last Saturday was 1) the lack of real pace within the Laois team and 2) Lack of genuine midfielders who can dominate and field ball around the middle of the field. Louth had a field day cutting through Laois defense with genuine pace. Our half backs and half forwards dropping back couldn't match pace of players like Williams and Clutterbuck attacking from the Louth halfback line. It's hard ask on likes of O'Loughlin to try field ball against players who are 3/4 inches taller than him and more natural fielders of the ball. If kicking long from the kick out we need to get players around the breaking ball. This on a couple of occasions wasn't the case with the ball kicked long to one man that was isolated of support with two/three Louth players around him. Each time Louth inevitably regained possession. Louth seemed to have their home work done on the Laois kick out strategy.       

[Tony]

The Louth match was strange in that it's been the worst performance since Sugrue came in. We looked really awful - like a low division 4 side. However, put that in balance of our performances last year and in challenge matches this year as well as the Down match, and, well it really is a confusing one. I think we should see us against the likes of Sligo, Westmeath, Carlow etc to see where we're at. The mind boggles when it comes to that performance against Louth so the jury is out, for me. For example, all of a sudden Lillis's stock is down just because of what happened here? Similarly, some new players looked really promising against Down and in challenge games. More time needed to assess, in my opinion. There were some really alarming signs against Louth, but, I'd prefer to see some more games before making drastic and panicky calls.

[Nameless]

The Louth match was strange in that it's been the worst performance since Sugrue came in. We looked really awful - like a low division 4 side. However, put that in balance of our performances last year and in challenge matches this year as well as the Down match, and, well it really is a confusing one. I think we should see us against the likes of Sligo, Westmeath, Carlow etc to see where we're at. The mind boggles when it comes to that performance against Louth so the jury is out, for me. For example, all of a sudden Lillis's stock is down just because of what happened here? Similarly, some new players looked really promising against Down and in challenge games. More time needed to assess, in my opinion. There were some really alarming signs against Louth, but, I'd prefer to see some more games before making drastic and panicky calls.

Actually, some of the performances in division 4 weren't the best. It's just Louth are a step above that level so could expose us more. It has to be remembered that Down were missing a large number of players also. I think another reason for our struggles on the kick outs is because we have an inexperienced full back line. Their willingness and eagerness to make themselves available for a short kick out hasn't really been shown. This is very understandable as they are just establishing themselves and might be fearful of giving away a soft goal.