Leinster Senior Football Championship 2016

[Tony]

Something seriously wrong in the camp. Nobody up for it yesterday apart from a few. Tackling awful. Giving away possession too easy. Lads unfit. We only seemed to spark into life when they came back at us. Don't know what to make of it or who to blame. Lads unfit, out of shape, lack of organisation - managments fault. Lads not up for it at all - why even put on the jersey.

Looked like a training match yesterday. If Wicklow had a free taker to capitalise on our awful defending, we'd be in bother.

On the plus side, we seem to have a habit of playing much better when our backs are against the wall. Doesn't seem to suit us to be far ahead - we seem to get complacent. For that reason, I think we'll put up a fight against the dubs, but our lack of organisation, lack of fitness and lack of talent in management will mean we'll be way off the pace.

I agree, Timmons man of the match. I thought Farrell did well when he came in. Meaney tried hard. O loughlin did well. Ross shouldn't have started - really not match fit. Kingston looked a shadow of himself - why? One of the best talents in the country looked average and unfit and disinterested - why? What's going on in that camp at all - does lillis even know? Seems clueless.

Each player needs to ask themselves : Do you want this? Do you want to play for Laois and play your heart out and progress? Be honest with themselves. If the answer is yes, great - you're doing the county proud. If no, leave it to someone who wants it. Same goes for management.

[ILikeStrawberryJam]

Great post Tony. Laois Gaa is a mess. The malaise within the county is shocking.
I don't know what the answer is but I'd start with the county board.

As for the dubs our only hope is to put 13 behind the ball ala donegal and counter
Attack at pace. We have the players to play that game. We cant defend so the only option
Is to flood the defence with bodies around the scoring zone.  Get dillon, ocaroll, o loughlin, oconnor
Breaking out at pace and keepin walsh and donie as our outball.
Ross is not fit. Cahillane does not have the pace for ic football..

[OTF]

Great post Tony. Laois Gaa is a mess. The malaise within the county is shocking.
I don't know what the answer is but I'd start with the county board.

As for the dubs our only hope is to put 13 behind the ball ala donegal and counter
Attack at pace. We have the players to play that game. We cant defend so the only option
Is to flood the defence with bodies around the scoring zone.  Get dillon, ocaroll, o loughlin, oconnor
Breaking out at pace and keepin walsh and donie as our outball.
Ross is not fit. Cahillane does not have the pace for ic football..

It's worrying alright, even if we put 13 behind the ball we still can't tackle  or stop runners.

We have to do everything we can to keep the score down a 20+ beating would demoralize the team going into the qualifiers.

[les Antiques]

From attending all but one league game  this performance isn't altogether surprising . We can state cliches all day long etc and ask where the effort is from the players but this has been coming . Apart from Crossmaglen this year where the majority of the Armagh team didn't bother to turn up we have never looked like actually winning a match . 
Our warm up in Enniskillen was as amateur as I have seen at any inter county match   .
There is a distinct  lack of organisation and our defensive set up is bewildering chaotic which was clearly evident yesterday . Most worryingly this team is not fit .
I as every Laois Gaa supporter should do,   will be in Nowlan Park on June Bank holiday weekend but I fear for us .. I really do .

[blueandwhite1]

Not a bit surprising how we played. Amateur set up. No structure and no pattern to our play. Lads did their best which is good enough to beat the wicklows and carlows. Thank god Wicklow played man on man. Such a pity as we may not be good enough to beat the dubs but we could be a lot closer with a well run setup.

[Giovanni]

Generally, I left much the same as most of the other posters as I was leaving the ground on Saturday night. The quality of the defending is just incredible at this level. And this is nothing to do with defensive systems - this is just about getting the skill of tackling right. Funny enough, two of our best players, Attride and Timmons, played in the full-back line but as usual, the damage was done further out the field. Wicklow got 6 points from frees and could easily have had 4 or 5 more. The refereee was fussy but, apart from one or two in the first half,  it couldn't be said that they weren't fouls. It was lazy and indisciplined and that's really frustrating to see. If u-12s were doing that, you'd pick them up on it. I don't know if these habits can be overcome easily. I doubt it.

On the other hand, I think it's worth bringing some balance to this too.

Firstly, we won by 7 points. If we'd taken the two clear goal chances in the second half, it would have been 13 or more. Most people were saying before the match that they'd be happy to squeak a win.

Secondly, we didn't concede any obvious goal chances. I suspect that this might have been due to Wicklow's weakness but it's still a fact that we didn't give up any real goal chances

Thirdly, I thought that the general look of the camp was a bit more serious than it was during the league. There was a proper warmup routine (not that this should be considered a great advancement) and they started like they meant business. They also didn't fold when the pressure came on as they did against Antrim. Here, I would say that the panic substitutions that were made didn't help at all.

Fourth, there was some leadership. I thought JOL played like a man possessed. Timmons made some inspirational interventions and Attride was very good.  If the rest of the players needed some examples to follow, there were 3 of them there.

Fifth, although Donie is probably the most frustrating player I have ever seen play for Laois and had an awful game, he ended up with 1-6!! Half of these key scores came when we needed it. Although I don't personally buy into it, this would also be described as leadership by a lot of people.

Sixth, Gary Walsh got a great goal and looked dangerous every time he got the ball close to goal.

I'm not trying to suggest that this was a great performance at all - it certainly wasn't - and the tackling in particular seems to be getting worse and worse. But there is a danger that we go overboard on the criticism sometimes.

[blueandwhite1]

I don't know Giovanni.

Look at most modern defences including the Dubs - they work on blocking and smothering runners and forcing turnovers using 2-3 players. It isn't really about the individual tackle which is often defined by the referee of the day as it was on Saturday. Although I do agree that our attempts at tackling on Saturday was fairly brutal, particularly on the half back line. I do think it is laughable that Mick is saying in his interview that our defence will not be good enough against Dublin when he has done nothing except resist the development of a defensive system all year (it doesn't suit us he said). Now we have 3 weeks to put something together - like we are surprised. The biggest criticism I would have of Lillis is that nobody seems to know what their job is. We put a tonne of hit and hope balls into the forwards yesterday, many which were easily dealt with. Players look isolated too often and too often there are no runners in support.

We still have the players to beat division 3 and 4 teams, you can get away without having a plan and a well drilled team. Beyond that is where this setup is still in the 80s. They could be so much further along with an intelligent setup.

[Giovanni]

I wouldn't disagree with you blueandwhite.

I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that even a good defensive system will inevitably fall apart if the tackling is as indisciplined as ours. McGeeney had this problem with Kildare when he was getting referees to come and teach them to tackle...... A huge effort needs to be put into this from our side.

I don't dispute that we don't seem to have any discernible defensive system (or any discernible attacking system for that matter). I don't think that can be solved in a few weeks but if we could at least avoid giving away a dozen stupid frees from scoring positions, it would be a start.

[High Fielder]

No point being overly critical. It is what it is and we will lose to Dublin and enter the qualifiers. We should be grateful to these lads for committing to a cause that has no reward. Look at Brendan Murphy on Saturday. One of the finest underage talents in the country walking around the pitch disinterested and wanting to be elsewhere. Real change is needed in the GAA because at the moment it is a complete waste of time for counties like ours. We simply cannot compete. Maybe lads who don't play well or who are unfit are just not motivated? I couldn't blame them for that. I really couldn't.

[redsetanta]

It's hard not to be critical when we are referencing a game against the AI champions and commenting on our championship game against a Div 4 team. Johnny Magee summed it up when he said if Wicklow can score 18 points against us the Dubs will at least double that.
Our half back line will be destroyed by the Dubs. I can see us taking the sort of beating that Longford used to get.

[From the Terrace]

I thought our full back line was solid, Timmons was superb. Our half back line was poor, with the constant fouling hard to watch at times as the wicklow attack were running out of options at times then our lads weighed in with a stupid foul. Midfield was good JOL put in a big shift especially. Our half forward line wasnt special now thought cahillane should of been on more ball, thought donoher tried hard but didnt really work out for him. Full forward line were do you start full of talent or donie was lethal the last 10 mins but up to that he looked off the pace. Gary walsh was good great finish i thought Ruari looked lively but we should have ended game with 5 goals on board. Overall i like everyone else appreciate each and every player on panel the time they give up to play football for laois, hopefully they can kick on and give account of themselves against the dubs i for one will be there with bells on.

[Unlaoised]

So we got a seven point win spot on the money what the bookies predicted .

hard to make head nor tail of the game.

We started so well with Walsh and O'Carroll looking so dangerous I thought it was going to be a cake walk maybe the players did as well.

We let Wicklow creep back into the game and paid the price for some terrible slack defending (as weak as I've ever seen in the tackle)


Ross and Donie were well of the pace in the first half and this meant a lot of ball being turnover in the full forward line .Kingston didn't look sharp be he was well marked but a sticky full back with plenty of power and height he did however come good.


Wicklow gifted us 1-2 from poor kickouts when we needed it most in the second half and i'd say their goal keeper will be having nightmares about them.

We lost the shape of the team because of all the changes and things looked dis-organised from what I could see.

In the end we just had too much for them as you'd expect and hope..

Negatives -
Our shape when we loose the ball there is no shape this has to be worked on in truth it looked better in the friendly against Kildare than it did last Saturday night(maybe Cunningham not being present on Saturday made a difference)

Our tackling its so easy to get past us on a solo run even O'Loughlin and strong seem to have lost the art of stopping players in the tackle the only one who held up their men Saturday were Quigley a few times and Mark Timmons and Damien O'Connor at times.

Holding on to the ball to long O'Loughlin despite having a decent game was the biggest offender but not the only one.

The delivery if Donie calls for it high then float it up there don't be pinging it in just over head height which allows defenders to get a hand in.

Our fitness didn't look up to much hopefully it can be improved even in three weeks.

POSTIVES

Scoring 3-16 while not really playing that well...3-11 from play.

Gary walsh when he was played close to goal in the first half he looked like a man that would trouble any defense why they moved him out i don't know.

I thought Our Midfield were decent kept the shape there well and both lads worked hard on and off the ball and Kevin Meaney was also a big boost when he came in there.

Keeping calm under pressure when working the ball out from Brody all the way up which was pleasing on the eye.

Not playing well but winning!



The players that did well were
Brody good kickouts one mistake over carrying but it was a tad harsh from the ref.

Attride looks very fit and mobile didn't give his man a sniff.

Timmons such a steady full back when fit he is a great reader of the game

O'Connor seemed to do a bad job on the ankle early but he is a hardy bit of stuff and played a decent match to be fair to him.


Quigley was well matched in the air and Finn of Wicklow is a fine footballer but Brendan done well off the ball played a defensive midfield role and covered for the half back line was steady on the ball as well.

O'Loughlin frustrating at times to watch but he put in a great shift and got on a lot of ball won countless frees

O'Carroll started well but faded unlucky not to get a goal but caused problems all day till he got injured.


Donie was off the pace but turned it on when we needed it his goal was a cracker.

Ruairi O'Connor looked sharp when he came in as did Adam farrell.

Gary Walsh was unlucky to be subbed he should have been left close to goal where he is dangerous.



Look its Dublin next the whole country including our own county men will be writing us off but Dublin are out of Croke park and one of these days have to have and off day maybe just maybe it will be the next day and our lads can show a bit of pride in the shirt go out hit them hard and try everything to get close to them.

Its going to be a unique game with Nolan park packed to the rafters hopefully with a sizable Laois contingent as well the 1000s that will be there from Dublin so for the players it will be something special to be a part of and they hopefully can rise to the occasion.

We are hoping and praying that Lillis and Cunningham can come up with a better defensive plan and improve on fitness and on tackling in the next three weeks.

It doesn't seem like much time but with 12 sessions or more you'd be amazed what can be worked on!

[steven seagal]

We are hoping and praying that Lillis and Cunningham can come up with a better defensive plan and improve on fitness and on tackling in the next three weeks.

We'll have to get Cunningham back from Spain first, he's away on his holidays. He wasn't even at the game on Saturday.

It's a testament to how much of a farce this season has been that we are left hoping we can completely alter our style of play, and in improve our fitness, in three weeks. We conceded 0-18 against a mid-table Division 4 team. If they'd had a decent free taker, they would have scored over 20. We have a manager who seems to place no merit whatsoever on defending or tackling, because we've consistently made the same mistakes and they haven't been addressed.

Sure enough we scored a good bit ourselves, but we seem to pick the team based on attacking abilities, so we'd want to be running up scores. From the team on Saturday, the 11 players from the half back line forward are all significantly more comfortable attacking than defending. The intention seems to be to leave the full-back line to deal with the defending, while the rest will chip in when they can.

My big fear heading into the Dublin game is that they give us a hammering similar to the one Cork gave our hurlers a few years ago. We're unfit, confidence is low, and we don't seem to have any defensive plan, so we're there for the taking. If we do get beaten by that much, I don't know if there is a footballing equivalent of Cheddar Plunkett out there in the county to come in and lift the whole setup. At least when that happened the hurlers, there had already been an upturn in our juvenile fortunes for a number of years. The same can't be said for the football. Some of the stories you'd hear about the development squads are worrying to say the least.

If memory serves me correct, there was a football review committee appointed in January of last year to do an audit on all aspects of football in the county. Has that ever been completed? Did it even start?

[redsetanta]

Get Wolly on to it.

The likes of Daithi Regan and Michael Duignan made sure the whole country knew that Offaly CB were dragging their heels with stuff. They were quick enough to act then.

I also think that the top underage coaches in the county should be assessed on an ongoing basis, independently where possible, so there can be no accusations of bias. There should not be any jobs for the boys, but those who are the best candidates.

[les Antiques]

 Anthony Cuinnigham is no miracle worker and as far as I know Lillis will continue to call all major decisions ,tactics and team personnel until the season is over anyway and rightfully so . He was hired by the county board on a pretty much voluntary basis and now the introduction of Cunnigham weeks before the championship to the set up confirms the dire situation we are in .
It's a long time since I saw a Laois team this unfit . From the highlights of the Offaly game on Sunday they look on a different level to us in the fitness department especially . They had a play .. a pattern of play that worked for them . I saw none of this in Portlaoise Saturday night. If Wicklow had possessed a half decent free taker the end result would have been different.

Saying that I do think think the current Laois crop have talent and do show a lot of heart . However I doubt that will go very far in Nowlan Park judging by the current set up . I really wish im wrong just like when we beat them in '86 and '03 .