Dun na nGall v Doire 13th April 2008

[Flex]

Another dissappointing game yesterday and it will be heard to see an Ulster Championship this year unless we can get a few more scoring forwards and a decent pairing in the middle of the field.

A lot of focus has been on the midfield (and rightly so) as we know that Devenney, Murphy and others can give us soem sort of forward option. I'm wondering what it takes to be a good midfielder nowadays though...??  I stand to be corrected here, but you could probably count on one hand the number of 'clean' catches by the numbers 8 and 9 for both teams yesterday...  Alot of breaking ball and free kicks in there...

Also J70 - can you explain this comment to me..? 

Is Rafferty really a serious option after all these years?

Rafferty opted out of the panel for a number of years because he could not give full commitment to the team. Despite numerous calls from management in the intervening years, he stuck to this decision until this year.  At 27 years of age there's still plenty of potential and time there.  A weights program like Kavanagh is going to be a help here..

[MrC]

Worrying story by Chris McNulty on the back of the Donegal News today that Ciaran Bonner has opted out of the Donegal panel and said he won't be back. Jesus we could be doing with him come the Championship 

[screenexile]

Another dissappointing game yesterday and it will be heard to see an Ulster Championship this year unless we can get a few more scoring forwards and a decent pairing in the middle of the field.

A lot of focus has been on the midfield (and rightly so) as we know that Devenney, Murphy and others can give us soem sort of forward option. I'm wondering what it takes to be a good midfielder nowadays though...??  I stand to be corrected here, but you could probably count on one hand the number of 'clean' catches by the numbers 8 and 9 for both teams yesterday...  Alot of breaking ball and free kicks in there...

Also J70 - can you explain this comment to me..? 

Is Rafferty really a serious option after all these years?

Rafferty opted out of the panel for a number of years because he could not give full commitment to the team. Despite numerous calls from management in the intervening years, he stuck to this decision until this year.  At 27 years of age there's still plenty of potential and time there.  A weights program like Kavanagh is going to be a help here..

I thought Conway and Doc won a lot of clean ball yesterday. The fact they were mauled when they came down doesn't detract from winning the ball in the first place. In fairness to Conway he has stepped up to the mark since the Galway game and if he continues in that vein he will be a definite starter come championship.

I thought Diver coming on yesterday upset our midfield dynamic as he was very eager to come straight on and start plucking balls from Half Forward which meant him jumping on top of Doc and Conway. Of course I understand that's one of the strongest parts of his game and he wants to stake a claim for a place but the management need to sort out what happens for kickouts when he is brought in. I would say the three have to take a wing each and one in the middle for it to work but it's something that needs to be considered!

[toiletroller]

why was deighan not in nets?

[sawel]

I was talking to him at half-time and he said he got injured in a club game last Mon night.
He did not think it was too serious and hoped to be back for the final.
I see Michael O'Neill was called in for cover

[Donegal Danny]

Didn't see alot of the game because i was stewarding at the game. First things first Mc Iver didn't really want o win otherwise he would have started his best team. Prime example brings Frank Mc Glynn(Donegals best player all year by far) on at half time and within 10 minutes he has scored 2 points from half back.Paddy mc Daid tightened up the full back line a bit when he came on. Toye showed a bit of what he can do when on form with 1 great run to set up a point.

Another serious point is that Colm Mc Fadden played 50 minutes of a club match on Saturday night against Termon, now is this the preparation of a team that is serious about winning a game the next day. Ciaran Bonner has left the panel and no harm because he is a clown always looking for publicity and the limelight. He fell out with Mc Iver last week after being taken off at half time.

Thought the Eunan's boys didn't shine either with Dunne a bit unlucky in the first half although he should have kicked 2 points.Any comments on the set up at O'Donnell i thought it lacked a bit of atmosphere especially from the stand where normally even at a club game there is plenty of noise.

Finally i expect Donegal to beat Derry in the championship in Ballybofey, they will be a totally different prospect.

[J70]

Also J70 - can you explain this comment to me..? 

Is Rafferty really a serious option after all these years?

Rafferty opted out of the panel for a number of years because he could not give full commitment to the team. Despite numerous calls from management in the intervening years, he stuck to this decision until this year.  At 27 years of age there's still plenty of potential and time there.  A weights program like Kavanagh is going to be a help here..

I was asking the question if he was a serious option to solve our midfield problems after being out of intercounty football for so long. I'll be delighted if he is, but I am a bit skeptical. Make the case yourself if you think he will.

[marty88]

Will be a completly different game in Ballybofey, Donegal han't near their strongest team out, like wise Derry could of brought in 5 players

[The Voice Of Reason]

I think in midfield we should perhaps just accept the fact that only Neil Gallagher is ever going to consistently win primary possession from the kickouts, so we should instead concentrate on becoming a good team at mopping up breaking ball (an aspect at which Roper is critical to our game). So taking that attitude I'd actually stick Christy Toye in midfield. For us to get any sort of run this year we need him to be in form. When on form he's the best footballer in the county in my opinion, and a couple of years ago when St. Michaels had a great run in the intermediate club championship he was lethal from midfield. Ok inter-county is a massive step-up, but he has the raw ingredients, as he'll run all day, has serious height, and importantly makes surging runs up the middle on the counter-attack.


Up front I'd hope that Michael Murphy may come through. I'd give Bradley another chance at full-forward, he's a big physical presence and high-fielding is a very strong part of his game. McFadden is the only guy up front who can score 2-08 or whatever in a big match, but I'm still very wary of relying on him. I didn't see the last couple of games on tv, but I hope that McFadden is now taking _ALL_ the frees. It was silly having Ryan Bradley taking frees (even though they were only ever so slightly to the left of the posts), as he doesn't even take frees for his club.


Anyways the good thing about this league, is that the players have always been talking about the championship. It's all about the summer for this group of players who have a lot to prove.

[Flex]

More interesting observations around the midfield Voice Of Reason.  The first I agree with, the second I don't. 

If you look at the game in Kildare this year, Gallagher/Rafferty tried to catch every ball against Earley/Brennan and got played off the park. Breaking the ball would have been the better option.  In all games since, when things were going against the midfield, the ball is being broken down a lot more. On Sunday we just didn't get enough of it though.  Walsh would have been another addition to Roper in this area on Sunday.

There's one reason why I feel Toye will not work at midfield.  His tracking back.  He gets exposed at half forward, a position where I believe it is easier to track your man.  This will be even harder for him at midfield.  I can't get my head around Toye at the moment though or even the past couple of seasons.  In the games he started in this year (I'm particularly thinking about Kildare and Laois) he has been poor.  Yet the games where he came off the bench (Tyrone and Derry) he has made an impact.  I really thought that sitting out the Tyrone game would have been the kick start he needed, but his peformance against Laois proved it wasn't

Gallagher/Kavanagh will be the midfield partnership I believe come June...

Hegarty hit the right footed frees in the past couple of games.  Doing alright at it too...

[The Voice Of Reason]

...Hegarty hit the right footed frees in the past couple of games.  Doing alright at it too...

Hmmm, I'm not too sure that's a wise thing! I just have a couple of memories of Hegarty being left to take some very important frees in the last couple of years, and everytime they've been very poor attempts. Fermanagh in '04 springs to mind right away, and there's another game in my mind too but I just can't remember exactly.

[J70]

...Hegarty hit the right footed frees in the past couple of games.  Doing alright at it too...

Hmmm, I'm not too sure that's a wise thing! I just have a couple of memories of Hegarty being left to take some very important frees in the last couple of years, and everytime they've been very poor attempts. Fermanagh in '04 springs to mind right away, and there's another game in my mind too but I just can't remember exactly.

To be fair, the goings-on surrounding those extra-time frees in the Fermanagh debacle weren't Hegarty's fault alone!

He certainly isn't the most reliable of free-takers from what I've seen when he's played for the county though. Personally, I thought Devenney was good enough most of the time, even when he wasn't playing well, and I'd expect he'll get those duties again, assuming he's fit.