Connacht SFC 2008

[GalwayBayBoy]

Well might as well start this one off as it's not too far away now. Looking at the draw it's on paper a not very interesting looking championship this year. On one side Galway have home games against Roscommon and probably Leitrim and it's very difficult to see anything other than Galway wins in both those games. Ros should rouse themselves a little for the championship but it's difficult to make a case for them winning in Pearse Stadium. On the other half of the draw Sligo will have to travel to Mayo which could be a good game but given Sligo's current slump in form and the fact that Mayo will have home advantage you'd have to fancy Mayo to come through that one although Sligo will still have their backers.

All of which would leave us with a Mayo v Galway Connacht final to be played in Castlebar which is anyone's game really. As I said not the most exciting looking draw on paper and trying to make the case for an upset or two is not easy this year given the big two's home draws.

Preliminary Round
New York v Leitrim
London v Sligo
Galway v Roscommon

Semi-Finals
Mayo v London/Sligo
Galway/Roscommon v New York/Leitrim

[heineken_on_tap]

Would have to agree GBB- any year Galway/Mayo are kept apart they are front runners for the Connaught final. I don't think Sligo will upset the odds against Mayo and I would take Galway to beat Ros. Infact if Galway do progress, I would imagine Leitrim would prove more difficult opponents to beat.

In the end, while there is not much between the sides,  I would just have a slight fancy for Galway to beat Mayo in the final.

[moysider]

A bit early for this but why not. Dont think we re out until about 22 June which is a month later than last year. Galway have the more settled look about them but with home advantage all the way it s set up for Mayo if we re good enough.
Losing Bergin is a setback for Galway and even though they got a bit of a run around v Kerry in last league match they ll probably put that down to a learning experience and be better for it. Remember they gave Derry a bit of a going over themselves and we know what happened last weekend. I would not expect Sligo either to be affected much by their league experiences and I would expect them to perform like they did in Connacht last year rather than anything they ve done since. They ll have 2 months preparation for Mayo and will fancy turning us over. Difficult to know what to make of Roscommon but they can only get better and who knows? Leitrim will be resourceful and give a good account of themselves as they do. Are they in Páirc Seáin for semi depending if it s Ros or Galway?
It s so far removed from the league campaign its like a whole new year and conditions will be completely different. Mayo will be looking to take advantage of their youth, speed and athleticism. They are there to be taken as well though as regards inexperience, defensive frailty - as it stands at the moment anyway - , and a team that can deny them ball and put them on the backfoot have a great chance.
For at least 3 managers this is a huge campaign. For Johnno a Connacht title is a must after last years drubbings in Galway and Derry. Liam Salmon has had a great spring with Galway  but they need to progress to reassure his refreshingly purist approach can cut it in the championship. Galway would look more capable of progressing the qualifier way but Mayo would want to avoid that at all cost after last year's experience.. Mayo need to get to the big open spaces as painlessly as possible. McHale Park to Croke Park in a single bound is the only way. Tommy Jordan needs Sligo to at least make a good fight of it in Castlebar. Mayo s need is probably the greater but Galway are still the smart choice  - they usually win the tight years even if its down to Mayo s fcuk ups than anything great they come  up with themselves.
  I still think there ll be a few twists between now and the real stuff. These challenge matches may well reveal more than the league campaign. I ll reserve judgment on Mayo s chances yet until we see how the next few weeks pan out.  I still expect one addition to Mayo panel - not Mac though not ruling him out entirely either - that may well start v Sligo. If you take the league selections and absentees into consideration there are only about 2 places on Mayo team up for grabs. As of now. That may still change.

[Barney]

Galway are shoe-ins

[MaroonAndWhite]

Galway are shoe-ins

Cheers Barney....thats us fcuked so!

I dont know......I have a sneaky feeling that Ros could give us a fair rattle in the first round. They always come out firing against ourselves although we should have enough to get by them. Our forwards should have too much for their backs to handle...particularly if PJ & MM keep in their most recent vein of form. I dont know what the situation is with Ger Heneghan....I believe he was doubtful for opener with us. If hes out, he'll be a big loss. Looking forward to Seamie O'Neill & Cullinane knockin sparks off each other....should be a tough "contest". Whats Ryan's pedigree as a manager? Has he been in charge of many clubs? He was a Gaels player wasnt he?

Leitrim always give us problems...even at home. Its pretty much the same full back line that Declan Maxwell played silly beggars with in Salthill a couple of years ago so it all depends if they can get him enough ball. Dessie Snr is a cute hoor though and they will be well up for that.

On the other side, with all due respect to Sligo, I cant see them tripping up Mayo particularly the way Sligo are going at the minute. Still I didnt see the result in the Connacht Final coming last year so what do I know  Dunno....maybe if the Mayo lads insist on the burning of JOM at the stake after the McDanger fiasco, they may take the eye of the ball.....

Going on current form ya cant look past a Galway v Mayo final........and if that happens Lord knows how it will go

[mouview]

Sounds like heresy I know, but (*IF IT'S*) a Galway/Mayo final has long since lost it's novelty or importance (roundabout since the back-door rule was introduced). As I said previously I would have much preferred to win a League final than a Provincial one at this stage. For Galway the 'break' game (the one they must break through) is the 1/4 final - they have only won one ever.

[Solo Run]

Agree about the (lack of) importance of the Connacht Final to Galway / Mayo, same applies to Kerry, Cork, Dublin, Meath, Tyrone, Armagh etc. - the All-Ireland Quarter-Final is when the real serious stuff begins but it is tricky and getting trickier to get there. Provincial system has served us greatly for a 100 years or so but needs to change......another discussion for another day, but concentrating on the subect at hand, Connacht SFC 2008 but from a Leitrim perspective.

Chance (25%) lost for us last year as I felt that Galway, Mayo, Leitrim, Sligo could beat each other on the day, I said as much at the time, didn't get much credence but luckily I had 50 euro on both Sligo and Leitirm at 16/1 and 20/1 respectively with a view that if one got to the final I'd be quids up anyway. Sligo did the business and on the day I decided to not to lay-off (normally I would)...nice return.

Looking for repeat this year but I'm no so optimistic and confident as I was last year. I still think Roscommon have to be a bit off the pace, they have some glaring weak-links, and are not physical enough (did I ever think I'd say that about a ros team?), will be full of bluster for a while but will not beat Galway. Could beat Leitrim or Sligo on a given day, but not Galway or Mayo right now.

Taking a line from the last couple of years, in my view Leitrim (despite relegation) have improved year on year for the last 4. They have their eye on one thing only a Connacht Championship and have stayed together this year. Hungry, dangerous and the most committed team of the 5, but I believe they haven't found sufficient quality in some areas to get over the line. Some indecisions in the half-back line in terms of staring personnel despite finding a gem in Gary Reynolds could prove crucial and undermine the excellent full-back line.  Midfield is adequate but really their function is to neutralise the opposing midfield rather than provide a springboard for a win - the big big weakness in my view. The forwards are much maligned despite the presence of Declan Maxwell, but I believe there is a big game in them and the over-reliance on Maxwell has gone with the emergence of Emyln Mulligan.

The last two games against Galway were physical and competitive affairs and clearly Leitrim are not afraid of them but I feel that Galway were very very ordinary last year and their progress in the league will bring them on more than Leitrim's slow and gradual improvement. Galway to win a possibly torrid affair (if the game goes against Leitrim then its the last chance for a some of them and given how aggreived they are about the circimstances that led to relegation I can see a frustration over-spill).

I have the impression that this Sligo team is very much a summer team, they have a bit of arrogance about them and believe they can mix it with the best. They are not as good as they think they are,  but are capable of sustained spells (15-20mins) of great football. If O'Mahoney wasn't in charge of Mayo, I'd be quite bullish about a Sligo shock but he will keep them focussed. Mayo are re-building and this will show maybe in Connacht, maybe in the qualifiers. Would Sligo have beaten Mayo in a connacht final last year? I believe they would have (in fact I'm not sure that Mayo would even have got there). Sligo will have regressed slightly and Mayo will have improved but that to me only makes it an even enough contest. Against conventional wisdom I'm going for a draw in Castlebar with a Sligo win in the replay, setting up a repeat Connacht final.

However this a Connacht Final that Sligo will lose (whether against Galway or Leitrim). Galway will have revenge very much on their minds and the over-reliance on key players is likely to tell at that stage, I don't believe Sligo can handle the likelihood of injuries this year.


So there it is, my call is Galway, to beat Sligo in the final. Close encounter in Castlebar,  but Sligo to hold out for a replay at home. Leitrim to lose a tetchy affair in Salthill. Roscommon to realise they really in as much trouble as their loyal fans suspect they are.

By the way, New York to do their usual and put it up to Leitrim, but Leitrim to win comfortably. Sligo to beat London by half-time.

[mouview]

The last two games against Galway were physical and competitive affairs and clearly Leitrim are not afraid of them but I feel that Galway were very very ordinary last year and their progress in the league will bring them on more than Leitrim's slow and gradual improvement. Galway to win a possibly torrid affair (if the game goes against Leitrim then its the last chance for a some of them and given how aggreived they are about the circimstances that led to relegation I can see a frustration over-spill).

Aye, the league will have improved Galway, mainly due to Sammon's organisational and managerial skiils, but they are still ordinary unfortunately and have no really new players from last year bar an injury-free Dunleavy hopefully. Progress will depend a certain amount on the presence of a fit Armstrong and a motivated Nicky.

[SLIGONIAN]

To be honest I havnt a clue how this yr will go. Solo run makes many valid points. We are a summer team, our players are suited to fast pitches because we have light fast paced players whereas in 2002 we had more physical players. So league form wont count for much on june 22.

Big problem with Sligo this yr has been our team selections, nobody is sure whos running the show despite the universal rule the manager has the final say. Our best team hasnt been selected and has cost us points in Div3. No fan in Sligo has disagreed with me except maybe a few on here.

Another myth is that Sligo played to there full potential last yr in CSFC, we played atrocious football against ros for first 50 mins then woke up, and against Galway only one line played to there potential that day and that was our Full back line. Saved us along with 2 or 3 others out the field. It always makes me laugh when I hear people lauding Brehony, but for some fantastic individual displays we wouldnt have won. Did he get the best out of this team? I believe not. He did get lucky though.

For any outside observer last yr seeing Galway bringing back Fallon and Joyce sends out a very negative message at the standard of underage players coming through especially considering they had 2 all ireland u21 teams. Tells me there not bringing them through.

Speaking to Mayo people recently they say there no world beaters. The standard has gone down and I hope Sligo take advantage like last yr again. We let ourselves down against Cork with a negative approach and gameplan.

The only guarntees this yr is Galway and Mayo will defo improve on last yr. Ros and Leitrim will make a fight of it but may have to settle for the usual morale victory although Leitrims hunger will have gone through the roof with the pain of relegation so there not to be underestimated.

If we select the right team we will improve too and hopefully show this squads full potential which we havnt seen yet, only glimpses. Management team made too many mistakes but will hopefully wake up and learn quickly but so far so bad. If team isnt selected right we dont have a chance. The players are there and to be picked in there best postitons we might just suprise the outsiders.

[magpie seanie]

Solo Run - that was an excellent contribution. Couldn't argue too much with any of it bar that we might struggle a bit more with London that you say. I honestly believe we will go to Castlebar with a great chance. The inferiority complex is gone (in fact as you point out it might have gone a bit the other way). We are definitely a summer team and have a small enough number of players who are good enough. Obviously Mayo and Galway are going to be tough to beat any year but it is possible.

If ye had any sort of a half back line last year against Galway ye might have won that game but ye totally fell apart in that sector in the second half.

[GalwayBayBoy]

For any outside observer last yr seeing Galway bringing back Fallon and Joyce sends out a very negative message at the standard of underage players coming through especially considering they had 2 all ireland u21 teams. Tells me there not bringing them through.

Joyce never left the panel to come back. He's been on the panel every year since 1998 and deservedly so. Would you leave a player of his talent off a county panel? Fair enough Ja came back but he was still training away with the team when he was on the coaching team. Granted he was past his best but when a legendary player wants to come back and play it's hard to say no to him I guess. All the players from the two U-21 All-Ireland winning teams are already on the senior panel so it makes no sense to say they are not being brought through. Where do you think Meehan, Armstrong, Nicky Joyce, Coleman, Coyne, Dunleavy, Hanley, Sice, etc and all the others came from?

[Rossfan]

We have no hope.
:(We are only now at the stage of putting a panel together - about 6 months behind most Counties.
Then there's 2 years of dog track training to be over come.
A spirited performance in the Salthill winddrome is the best we can hope for in the  Connacht SFC.
Then get down to preparing for th equalifiers 2 months later.

[moysider]

Crikey. reading this lot - including my own earlier contribution  - we re wasting our time this year. Poor johnno ll be lucky to get a Seanad nomination next time out.

If O'Mahoney wasn't in charge of Mayo, I'd be quite bullish about a Sligo shock but he will keep them focussed.

I wish I shared your faith in Johnno Solo Run. Mayo will be focused enough never fear. And anyway it would nt be a shock anyway - Sligo are defending champions and Mayo are in turmoil with Danergate threatening team preparations More worryingly will Johnno get the team selection right and will we be good enough on the day? But I think we re a better team than Sligo and should pull through. But I d like to reserve judgement on this game until I see what management has in mind. At this stage there seems to be no reason why McDanger could not be there if people come to their senses. What almost happened 2 years ago in Carrick should be a reminder what can happen and should ensure focus will be sharp. Home advantage means that anything else than a Connacht championship would be seen as catastrophic in this county. We ve never been any good on the chicken and chips circuit of the qualifiers and this team is nt hardened enough for it either. So while some contributers here dont rate a Connacht it is essential to us this year at least.

It just goes to show how irrelevant league form is when teams relegated to division 4 are fancied to push [ and in the case of Sligo get a result] division 1 teams playing at home.

[SLIGONIAN]

For any outside observer last yr seeing Galway bringing back Fallon and Joyce sends out a very negative message at the standard of underage players coming through especially considering they had 2 all ireland u21 teams. Tells me there not bringing them through.

Joyce never left the panel to come back. He's been on the panel every year since 1998 and deservedly so. Would you leave a player of his talent off a county panel? Fair enough Ja came back but he was still training away with the team when he was on the coaching team. Granted he was past his best but when a legendary player wants to come back and play it's hard to say no to him I guess. All the players from the two U-21 All-Ireland winning teams are already on the senior panel so it makes no sense to say they are not being brought through. Where do you think Meehan, Armstrong, Nicky Joyce, Coleman, Coyne, Dunleavy, Hanley, Sice, etc and all the others came from?

Didnt make my point great the first time so your right to question it. Should of said they are bringing the talent through but its just there not that good. Not progressed as players since winning u21s. If anything some have went backwards thus the need to keep fallon and joyce. Really winning those competitions should be a precurser for senior all ireland success. Does anyone think Galway are all ireland contenders? Doubt they are.

With Sligo the inferiority complex is gone, and our team is relatively young but team selections will cost us if they dont get it right. I wont even chance predicting Sligos chances in CSFC until I see the team line up for the MAYO game. We will beat london by 5+ points thats all but thats not the real CSFC.

Before the Mayo lads get carried away with there doubts. Even though we are reigning Connaght Champions yer are still the favourites against us. We will be wriiten off by every outside expert but we love that and being underdogs .

[King of Kilskerry]

if galway and leitrim both win the 1st round matches where do they play ?