Tír Eoghain v An Mhí (AI Quarter Final '07)

[Jinxy]

Well its nice to see people are finally coming to the conclusion that Cavanagh would be better off as a half forward. I got it in the neck for saying he wasn't the midfielder people were making him out to be. Outstanding player but when he comes up against a big man he seems to struggle badly to win possession, which is after all the midfielders primary role. Savage man with ball in hand bearing down on goal, the heart rate jumped up a good few notches whenever he went on the charge. Although our oldest player gave him a 10 yard head start at one point and still caught him!

[Loup Bandit]

Orangeman - Think Hughes got subbed in the 55th minute for Tommy.

Is Big John McConville far away from making the panel? Could certainly do with a big, natural fielder around the middle. Was he called up towards the end of 2005 to squad training?

Was Colm Cavanagh on the bench and fit? i thought he would have been a good sub to bring in, possibly at wing forward and use the big spaces to run at the defence, as he did in croker aginst the Dub's in first round of national league?

[ONeill]

I feel Harte was definitely reluctant to make brave changes v Meath. In a panel of 38, that's criminal. Perhaps we were leaking in too many areas (Dooher, Hughes, Ricey, McCaul, Cavlan etc) but surely the likes of Colm Cavanagh, Dermy Carlin, Niall Gormley - fellas with energy, fitness and hunger to burn were wasted on the line when tiredness was creeping into a few fellas holding injuries.

Mickey deserves to stay as long as he wants, but here's hoping lessons have been learned about how he approaches all competitions in 2008. We've enough spring silverware now.

[Great Leap Forward]

As a neutral I have to say that this a load of shite Tony. Conor Gormleys block was one of the finest pieces of defending ever witnessed in All-ireland final.

As for the cheap free in 05, I recall that newspaper pictures clearly show McKeever was pulling O'Neills jersey. It's terrible that people have to spout biased shite instead of giving people their dues.

What is really terrible is that there will always be clowns like you to take him seriously

Thanks for that Uladh. Believe it or not I have been on this board a few years and know the craic with Tony but it does no harm to rise to the bait somtimes. It's a good way of letting off steam!

[nrico2006]

Extremely disappointed with the performance and obviously the result on Saturday.  Somehow, I felt it coming after the Monaghan match but the optomist within me was thinking that Tyrone really don't have two displays as bad as that in a row.  Meath were good, especially in the first half.  But to only win by 2 points against a team that performed as badly as Tyrone did is worrying.  I was impressed by Meaths full forward line, very sharp and caused loads of problems.  For Tyrone, Mulgrew impressed.  Quite noticeable that he didn't seem to have many options when carrying the ball forward, players seemed reluctant to make decent off the ball runs.  Midfield was terrible, I dunno how many ball Meath men caught cleanly, but not only cleanly there was at least 4/5 catches where they were completely unchallenged. Tyrone should not have started Dooher, and his normal prescence was clearly missed around the midfield and half back area.  The injuries is an excuse from a Tyrone point of view, and it has been widely documented.  Really frustrating from a fans view, as it would be great to see a Tyrone team with McGuigan, O'Neill and Dooher all playing and at 100%.  I doubt if Meath would have got close.  Questions definitely have to be raised with regards to Mickey Hartes McKenna cup and league policy.  Surely SON should have been nowhere near the McKenna at least.  After his troubles last summer with the hamtrings and again this year,  he needs treatment and rest in the coming months and him and quite a few others should be rested for the Mckenna cup and NFL.  A break would do a lot of players good, and hopefully put an end to the injury crisis.  As for Brain McGuigan, I hope to god he is back next year too.  Obviously people question Tyrones strength in depth due to not being able to replace the injured players, but which team could lose arguably their 3 most important players (Dooher, O'Neill and McGuigan).  How good would Kerry be without Darragh O'Se, Cooper and Donaghy???  You just can't replace come players.  I'm glad Harte is staying on, and he has earned the right.  Some decisions were strange, but every team who ends up defeated will query the managers calls.  Mulligan hit terrible wides, but would you take him off.  He is one of the few players in Ireland who can create that moment of magic, and that's probably what Harte was hoping for.  Sean Cavangh didn't do a lot, but he can't be the hero everyday.  I would love to have seen him run with the ball more, as there is no  legal way of stopping him.  The future isn't all doom and gloom, but I think that for next year the league should be used to see who is up to it and who is not.  New players should be tried, and current players should be rested.  There is a lot of players within the county who could do a great job for the team.  Young McCosker from Dromore and Niall McGinn should be tried along  with Justin McMahon.  The like of Paul Hughes from Carmen would bring a lot of power and running to the Tyrone half back line.

[loughshore lad]

Orangeman - Think Hughes got subbed in the 55th minute for Tommy.

Is Big John McConville far away from making the panel? Could certainly do with a big, natural fielder around the middle. Was he called up towards the end of 2005 to squad training?

John has not been on the county senior panel at any stage and didnt get a trial at the end of last season which puzzled me at the time as he played extremely well for Ardboe last season. He has not performed as well this season but has started to come back into his own of late. Hard to know if he would be county standard or not as its a massive step up but he definitely has great potential and in my opinion would be worth a look at least.

I think the game on sunday has been well summed up here. We were beat by a better team with more attacking options on Saturday. The writing was on the wall all year and it was only a matter of time until we exited. The majority of these players have been around the block for a while now and its difficult to consistently lift yourself to the level of application Tyrone have produced since 2003.
The whole set up seems a bit stale to me, maybe the players have become too familiar with the set up and methods in place. I think Harte should take a similar approach to McEnaney in Monaghan and completely overhaul the back room team. For some time now I have had reservations of the conditioning of the Tyrone players and I have not seen anything in the last few years to convince me other wise. Tally was a massive loss and has never been replaced - he was able to keep Tyrone fresh in 2003 without going through the back door, impressive stuff when recent trends show teams coming through the qualifiers seem to have a greater level of intensity built up than provincial winners.
Harte will be there for as long as he likes and deservedly so but I think he needs to seriously refresh the panel and change Tyrones style of play.

[Shadylimp]

Us tyrone lot are a fickle bunch arent we?? You's would all make great managers! i know everyone has a right to air their views but all ive heard so far is utter shite. its unbelievable what one game does to a team, for all i seem to hear is this team is finished? we were beaten by a better team on the day, thats it. Sean cavanagh isnt a midfielder??? catch yourselves on lads, one of the top 3 midfielders in ireland. we dont have any one near him in midfield in tyrone so to talk of putting him in half forward is a joke. hub played well against fmanagh, raked it against donegal, quietish against mghan, poor v meath. still our best option too. harte might have got it wrong with dooher though i feel, would have been better to throw him on in second half when players were down to his level of fitness. maybe mellon shouldnt have started too, but other than that..... Then we hear about these saviours that are there in club football, toner, mcginn, mcguckin et al. these boys have been tried in trials and such and werent up to it. you have to ask why toner and mcginn both couldnt make u21 level team. not good enough. there is a massive difference in club and county and these boys dont have it at county. if they were good enough theyd be there. end of. thats all i can think of for now but if yous keep talking rubbish, dont worry ill be back! oh one more, thought tyrones support was atrocious the other day, too many stayed away, thinking they would wait to semi final, thats one thing i love, sickening those sunny day supporters! hate that. but dont worry, tyrone will be back!  

[neutral]

Go choke yer chicken shady limp or stay off the board.  Tyrone football needs opinions at the moment as it has gone stale.  As for Toner and Mc Ginn, the Under 21 management are to blame for both of them not playing.  theose managers wouldnt know if she was blown up or stuffed.  I agree that Harte needs to freshen up his backroom team,  too many muscle injuries remember these guys train more than play matches so it has to be training methods and theres an arguement for poor enough conditioning in Mugsy's case.  We know Harte has the brain to win all Irelands but his backroom team need shaken up.  Harte has shown too much loyalty to me like Jordan, Mc Menamin, Mellon, Hub and nephew this year for a poor return. He will need to reinvent himself his style and his team next year to get back to this place he wants to be.  Can he do it or is he delaying the neccessary rebuilding process.  Well next September will answer whether he should have passed on the mantle now or not.  At the moment its entirely his decision and he has more than earned that right.       

[snappiered]

Anyone else agree with me that Mc Gees loss was underestimated??

Think Mc Caul could maybe solve the problem Full Back Spot in furture. But think we need to get our Full Back in place from early in year. This was only Joes second start there in 07

[rrhf]

No I dont particulalry rate Mc Gee, he has done well but is no defensive rock either. 

[nrico2006]

McGee's loss was definitely underestimated.  Think Hub is finished personally.  Hasn't shown much since returning from his sabbatical.  What is the score with Justin McMahon?  Should he be on the team, and if so where?  

[Sandy Hill]

completely overhaul the back room team

What role does the Rev McAleer play in the Tyrone setup?

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

What is the score with Justin McMahon?  Should he be on the team, and if so where? 

I'd say he should definitely be given a full chance nrico, but that's the key question: where? I might be inclined to try him on the half-forward line before anywhere else at this stage -- he can take defenders on, and he can take his points (from distance).

[haveaharp]

completely overhaul the back room team

What role does the Rev McAleer play in the Tyrone setup?

He is leading the rosary at the wake.

[Shadylimp]

Harte has shown too much loyalty to me like Jordan, Mc Menamin, Mellon, Hub and nephew this year for a poor return.       

Are you for real? you are actually gonna criticise jordan, ricey, hub and davey??? get over yourself man. these men were instrumental in getting you your days out in croker over these past few years, and now cos of one game there finshed? think about it nerd. toner and mcginn will be alright knocking them over against cookstown and these teams but if ever asked to raise there games for better teams, forget about it