U20 All Ireland football championship 2020

[Angelo]

After the impressive win by the Galway lads on Saturday do any of the Galway contributors here believe that Galway can win a senior All-Ireland in the next few years?

In a word: no.
Dublin get one good Senior player off their panel and it's just another player into an already very competitive and successful squad, job done, that's all they need. Galway need a lot more than one player to come through in the next few years to even give Dublin a proper game and that's the truth of it.

If the U20 match Saturday was 70 minutes, Dublin would have won pulling up, already could see the superior S&C shining through for that age group, Galway started taking the wrong option way more down the stretch because they were flaked. Dubs still coming as if it was only the 20th minute of the match. Galway were for me the better team for the majority of the match and were left clinging on in the finish.

I don't want to get into some argument over Galway needing to sort out their own house or the ins and outs of Dublin's advantages, it is what it is. Galway would need to hit on an unbelievable amount of players from that U20 team to be winning an All Ireland, past experience would tell you it just doesn't happen that way.

At Senior we've been in one semi final and no final in 20 years, we're a mile off if you look at it without maroon tinted glasses and it'll take more than the decent prospects from that U20 team to rectify that situation.

I saw the great Galway team of the early ‘60s play and they were majestic. What is preventing the county from achieving that standard now?

The financial behemoth that is Dublin created by GAA HQ.

[galwayman]

After the impressive win by the Galway lads on Saturday do any of the Galway contributors here believe that Galway can win a senior All-Ireland in the next few years?

Realistically no. We have won 5 AI u20/21s since 2002 remember.
We'll get some good senior players from this crop for sure, but we don't have an established hardened core of quality players already in place that the u20s would supplement.

[Maroon Manc]

Galway in theory should be doing better, won 3 All Irelands in the last decade at u 20/21 level and lost another final. Tom Flynn is the only mainstay Galway got from the 2011 team and he was still there 2013 along with Shane Walsh & Comer. Ian Burke & Varley played too that day but you'd hardly call them fixtures in the senior side since. I'm sure Daithi Burke would probably have been but has been lost to the hurlers. So Galway have got a grand total of 3 players from 2 all Ireland winning teams, its a huge let down and its not like either side were huge teams who won through physically dominating their opponents.

Galway have used a lot of players the last 3 years, would be very surprised if any Div 1 side has used more than Galway; Only have to look at the difference between the side that lost to Dublin in 2018 and Mayo in 2019 & 2020.

Like the other posters on here going into 2021 Galway don't have enough top players who've nailed down their place in the team. With any confidence Sean Kelly, John Daly, Shane Walsh & Comer are the only 4 players I can name who will definitely be part of a starting 15 and probably Tom Flynn & Heaney although positionally wise he could be anywhere  from corner back to half forward.

I'd give McDaid more time, looked like he was going to be a future All Star back in 2017 but since he came back from Australia he's been riddled with injuries and not played enough football whilst Cooke who was outstanding against Mayo in 2019 is in the States currently. Michael Daly isn't good enough of an athlete to play the way he does and its familiar theme in the Galway team, not enough athletic players. The Corofin lads are all top footballers but don't think any of them have that athletic ability that's required although don't think Molloy hasn't had the chance to put down a marker. The likes of Brannigan is a good athlete but probably not good enough of a footballer to make the starting team if Galway are serious about winning All Irelands. Maybe I'm been a bit harsh but it is clear Galway don't have enough players of athletic ability.

Galway have beaten Mayo the last 5 occasions they've met at 20/21 level yet Mayo have got more out of those teams although that's mainly down to the last 12 months. Given all the success Galway have had at 20/21 they should not be in this position, its a numbers game and Galway should be doing better given they've done the most difficult part of the development.

[The Hill is Blue]

Galway in theory should be doing better, won 3 All Irelands in the last decade at u 20/21 level and lost another final. Tom Flynn is the only mainstay Galway got from the 2011 team and he was still there 2013 along with Shane Walsh & Comer. Ian Burke & Varley played too that day but you'd hardly call them fixtures in the senior side since. I'm sure Daithi Burke would probably have been but has been lost to the hurlers. So Galway have got a grand total of 3 players from 2 all Ireland winning teams, its a huge let down and its not like either side were huge teams who won through physically dominating their opponents.

Galway have used a lot of players the last 3 years, would be very surprised if any Div 1 side has used more than Galway; Only have to look at the difference between the side that lost to Dublin in 2018 and Mayo in 2019 & 2020.

Like the other posters on here going into 2021 Galway don't have enough top players who've nailed down their place in the team. With any confidence Sean Kelly, John Daly, Shane Walsh & Comer are the only 4 players I can name who will definitely be part of a starting 15 and probably Tom Flynn & Heaney although positionally wise he could be anywhere  from corner back to half forward.

I'd give McDaid more time, looked like he was going to be a future All Star back in 2017 but since he came back from Australia he's been riddled with injuries and not played enough football whilst Cooke who was outstanding against Mayo in 2019 is in the States currently. Michael Daly isn't good enough of an athlete to play the way he does and its familiar theme in the Galway team, not enough athletic players. The Corofin lads are all top footballers but don't think any of them have that athletic ability that's required although don't think Molloy hasn't had the chance to put down a marker. The likes of Brannigan is a good athlete but probably not good enough of a footballer to make the starting team if Galway are serious about winning All Irelands. Maybe I'm been a bit harsh but it is clear Galway don't have enough players of athletic ability.

Galway have beaten Mayo the last 5 occasions they've met at 20/21 level yet Mayo have got more out of those teams although that's mainly down to the last 12 months. Given all the success Galway have had at 20/21 they should not be in this position, its a numbers game and Galway should be doing better given they've done the most difficult part of the development.

I'm still not sure why Galway have not been able to emulate the successes of the Galway teams of the Twelve Glorious Years. Those teams had to co-exist with the likes of Kerry, Dublin, Down, Offaly, Meath and of course Mayo. Yet they reached the pinnacle in 1964 through 1966.   

They were a classy team that I really admired (and as an aside, the first book on Gaelic games that I read was Jack Mahon's "The Twelve Glorious Years".

[rodney trotter]

That was an excellent Galway u21 team in 2011.  Mark Hehir, Danny Cummins were class forwards on the team. Cummins was travelling this year, but was never really a regular on the Senior team.

Adrian Varley from the 2013 u21 team was good a prospect.

Not many stand out backs from those teams

[Manning18]

If the Hoganstand rumours of lads pulling out are true then they'll be going absolutely nowhere anyway. I've heard nothing in person so could be complete nonsense. An Fhairce Abu usually has his ear to the ground?

[mouview]

Galway in theory should be doing better, won 3 All Irelands in the last decade at u 20/21 level and lost another final. Tom Flynn is the only mainstay Galway got from the 2011 team and he was still there 2013 along with Shane Walsh & Comer. Ian Burke & Varley played too that day but you'd hardly call them fixtures in the senior side since. I'm sure Daithi Burke would probably have been but has been lost to the hurlers. So Galway have got a grand total of 3 players from 2 all Ireland winning teams, its a huge let down and its not like either side were huge teams who won through physically dominating their opponents.

Galway have used a lot of players the last 3 years, would be very surprised if any Div 1 side has used more than Galway; Only have to look at the difference between the side that lost to Dublin in 2018 and Mayo in 2019 & 2020.

Like the other posters on here going into 2021 Galway don't have enough top players who've nailed down their place in the team. With any confidence Sean Kelly, John Daly, Shane Walsh & Comer are the only 4 players I can name who will definitely be part of a starting 15 and probably Tom Flynn & Heaney although positionally wise he could be anywhere  from corner back to half forward.

I'd give McDaid more time, looked like he was going to be a future All Star back in 2017 but since he came back from Australia he's been riddled with injuries and not played enough football whilst Cooke who was outstanding against Mayo in 2019 is in the States currently. Michael Daly isn't good enough of an athlete to play the way he does and its familiar theme in the Galway team, not enough athletic players. The Corofin lads are all top footballers but don't think any of them have that athletic ability that's required although don't think Molloy hasn't had the chance to put down a marker. The likes of Brannigan is a good athlete but probably not good enough of a footballer to make the starting team if Galway are serious about winning All Irelands. Maybe I'm been a bit harsh but it is clear Galway don't have enough players of athletic ability.

Galway have beaten Mayo the last 5 occasions they've met at 20/21 level yet Mayo have got more out of those teams although that's mainly down to the last 12 months. Given all the success Galway have had at 20/21 they should not be in this position, its a numbers game and Galway should be doing better given they've done the most difficult part of the development.

A lot of truth there. McDaid is very good at carrying the ball at pace, but in truth, his footballing ability is very moderate by any standard; I think there's more football in Molloy, if not as much pace. Ml. Daly is the opposite, has good ability but is far too slow for top intercounty fare. Head-to-head we're at least as good as Mayo in having a good supply of players, but it seems to mean more to Mayo to make and play for the county. As a county populace we seem to be sated by more moderate successes - heaps of underage AI and club titles in both codes - that the same concentrated and ravaging hunger for our Senior footballers, so prevalent in our green and red neighbours, isn't present in our squads.