Monaghan v Mayo - Inniskeen, 10th April 2011

[Cosmo Kramer]

Mayo SF Team V's Monaghan in Allianz Football League:
                        1) David Clarke
2) Cathal Hallinan 3) Alan Feeney 4) Keith Higgins
5) Peadar Gardiner 6) Ger Cafferkey 7) James Burke
          8 ) Seamus O'Shea 9) Tom Parsons
10) Aidan Campbell 11) Andy Moran 12) Kevin McLoughlin
13) Enda Varley 14) Alan Freeman 15) Jason Doherty.

Subs: Hennelly, Barrett, Reilly, R.OConnor, Rochford, Keegan, Moran, Gibbons, C OConnor, Kilcoyne, Ronaldson

Interesting selection -  a few players here with chances to stake a claim for the championship.

David Clarke - I rate Hennelly but he is still a bit erratic and prone to the odd mistake whereas Clarke makes very few. With a good few new players likely to feature on our starting 15 this year this is a position where I'd like to see a bit of experience so I'd be looking to stick with Clarke from here on out.

Cathal Hallinan - Feeney looks fairly nailed down as first choice full back now and Higgins is back in position in the corner after his holidays in Australia but the other corner spot might yet be up for grabs. Cunniffe has looked excellent at times but was suspect in both the Dublin and Cork games which still leaves a question mark over him. Always thought Hallinan would be a better bet for a corner back spot than full back but he hasn't played there much so if he goes well at 2 tomorrow, he could stay there for the summer.

James Burke - we still seem no nearer to solving who will play at 7 in the championship. Looks like we're settled on Feeney at 5 and Caff at 6 (sorry but I'm still not convinced on that one). Certainly seems that McLoughlin will be named at 12 as an extra back for the next while. My money is still on Donie Vaughan to nail down a place in the half backs once he gets fit but Keegan has done well and Burke deserves another run here so we'll see how he goes tomorrow.

McGarrity's midfield partner - We suddenly seem to have a ton of worthwhile options here - I wouldn't have said that this time last week. Everybody looks good when playing alongside McGarrity, Gibbons particularly did well in the early rounds. But then Gibbons and Parsons got destroyed against Armagh I think it was. Kilcullen and AOS stepped up to the mark without McGarrity last week and both enhanced their reputations and now SOS is getting his chance. Barry Moran loks to be well out of favour and unlikely to make the 30 at this stage. Gibbons seems to have dropped back as well - I would have preferred to have seen him get the start here rather than Parsons as I think he has done more during the league to deserve another run. Horan obviously rates Parsons because he is giving him every chance going but I reckon what Tom really needs is the kick up the hole that being dropped from the 30 would represent to see if he can find some heart and aggression to go with his obvious ability. So unless something major happens tomorrow to change my mind I'd like to see Parsons and Moran lose out here for this year and I'd keep AOS, SOS, Kilcullen and Gibbons as well as McGarrity obviously. I have a feeling Parsons will squeak in though.

Forwards - on the basis that McLoughlin will continue to be named at 12 that would seem to be five of the six starting spots sewn up (Dillon, Moran, McLoughlin, Freeman and of course the Goal Machine). This is bad news for Aidan Campbell as Dillon and Moran are likely to stay in the half forward line where they have both done well. So the free spot is at corner forward and I think Varley still has a shot here because I'm not sure if O'Connor is quite ready for it this year. Kilcoyne and Ronaldson have slipped right back and I would say Ronaldson must be close to losing out altogether. Douglas seems to have vanished having been ahead of Doherty in the pecking order only a few weeks ago. Killer can at least hit a 45 on his day so I'd like to see him retained as we are no nearer to finding a reliable long range free taker and he is an option in that respect.

About half of tomorrows 15 already know they are first choice for the championship and might not exactly be killing themselves if we go a few points behind, but there are enough lads starting with points to prove to make sure that we will at least be fairly competitive. However, as Monaghan have so much more to play for and as the game is in Inniskeen, I'd fancy them to win narrowly.

Predicted 30 after the cut next week:

Clarke, Hennelly
Cunniffe, Hallinan, A Feeney, R Feeney, Higgins, Barrett, Gardiner, Cafferkey, Burke, Howley, Keegan, Vaughan, McLoughlin
McGarrity, A O'Shea, S O'Shea, Kilcullen, Gibbons, Parsons
Campbell, Dillon, A Moran, Freeman, Doherty, Varley, O'Connor, Kilcoyne, Ronaldson

If the likes of Howley or Vaughan aren't considered fit enough to be named in the 30 at this stage then Eoghan Reilly might be kept on.

I might have left someone obvious out...

[AbbeySider]

Great post Cosmo. Summed things up well.

[Lar Naparka]

Mayo SF Team V's Monaghan in Allianz Football League:
                        1) David Clarke
2) Cathal Hallinan 3) Alan Feeney 4) Keith Higgins
5) Peadar Gardiner 6) Ger Cafferkey 7) James Burke
          8 ) Seamus O'Shea 9) Tom Parsons
10) Aidan Campbell 11) Andy Moran 12) Kevin McLoughlin
13) Enda Varley 14) Alan Freeman 15) Jason Doherty.

Subs: Hennelly, Barrett, Reilly, R.OConnor, Rochford, Keegan, Moran, Gibbons, C OConnor, Kilcoyne, Ronaldson

Yeah. That team has decent shape about it - even on paper. Richie Feeney is in pole position for 5 but management obviously see Gardiner still as a big player down the line. Interesting that Higgins is playing with the big ball even though the hurlers are playing in Clones at the same time. Dillon and Cunniffe are injured ( TC could not have been as loose the last day without being hamstrung in some way). I ve been impressed with Hallihan with the time he s got and I believe Burke will be one of the players of the championship if management go with him. Interesting that the much maligned Caff ( who some would not have even on the panel at all, at all, go deo,go deo) is, with Kevin McL and Andy the only one that has started all league matches.

For all his ability Parsons has to be under pressure to perform in this one. When the cut comes we could be losing a midfielder or 2. And we re slightly top heavy in the forwards as well. For midfield we ll have the 2 O Sés, McGar (hopefully), Parsons, Gibbons, Kilcullen, B.Moran. Could be tough decisions there as with the forwards. Douglas not listed for the next day. That mightn t mean a lot either. But Ronaldson and Kilcoyne seem to have been put on the hind tit recently. The backs might be more secure. I see only 2 backs being cut. If even that. I expect some of the big midfielders will be seen as options further in.

It sure does look fairly decent alright. JH has to be given credit for his work to date.
It's great too feel the sap rising again...!!
Anois teacht an Samraidh and all that -with due acknowledgements to poor Raftery.
(Paddy Kavanagh can shag off; he was a right awkward hoor anyway.)
I too had noted that Cuniffe was very loose last day but I didn't realise that he was carrying an injury. To me, he seemed to be very unsure of himself and didn't seem to liaise with his colleagues at all. His display had set me thinking that it is more important to have a player who fits in well with others around him than to have one who is a fine individualist.
The way the game is played now, you need a team effort from 1 to 15.
I imagine that Peadar is at the impact sub stage of his career. Still a fine player but hardly up to 70 mins at full stretch.
Horan has plenty of options in the HB line; it's a matter of get the mix right.
Midfield, Parsons has to do the business now or get off the pot. Seamus is back and McGar will be in pole position for the summer. Aidan has been a revelation out there. Barry Moran could well be in the reckoning so I expect Tom to give it his best shot tomorrow.
Campbell has been good-ish to date but hasn't staked a spot and Dillon will have to be accommodated. There are plenty of others jostling for places up front. All in all, I expect a lot of grunt work all over the park tomorrow.
(Janey Mac, I nearly forgot about Monaghan! )

[RedandGreenSniper]

An interesting post Cosmo, there's some things I'd not fully agree with you on though. Also, it's a Saturday and I've loads of time to myself!

David Clarke - I rate Hennelly but he is still a bit erratic and prone to the odd mistake whereas Clarke makes very few. With a good few new players likely to feature on our starting 15 this year this is a position where I'd like to see a bit of experience so I'd be looking to stick with Clarke from here on out.

I'll declare my club bias here as a Breaffy man but I really do think Robbie Hennelly offers us more in goal than Clarkie. Don't get me wrong, we're in a good position to have two excellent 'keepers - in fact I'd say Galway would love if they had Kenny O'Malley as their first choice 'keeper, someone who can't even make our panel. My biggest reason for favouring Robbie would be his kick-outs. The trajectory is much more suitable for out midfielders to be plucking them whereas Clarkie's kick-outs hang far too much in the air because he gets under them so much and it is very easy for the opposition to break the ball forward. I'd be curious to see a comparative analysis on our kick-outs with this in mind and I would bet good money that Robbie's kick-outs significantly favour us compared to Clarkie's. On the reliability thing, I don't agree. Robbie got caught against Dublin but as I've said before, he probably felt, wrongly, compelled to do something with the defence in such trouble under the high ball (and remember, if he didn't come, Connolly was still gonna be in possession of the ball in behind Higgins). Anyway, Clarkie dropped a clanger too against GMIT for a goal. I'd rate both as highly under the dropping ball and both are excellent shot-stoppers. But Robbie has it, the big game temperament, the ability and he's only going to get better.

Cathal Hallinan - Feeney looks fairly nailed down as first choice full back now and Higgins is back in position in the corner after his holidays in Australia but the other corner spot might yet be up for grabs. Cunniffe has looked excellent at times but was suspect in both the Dublin and Cork games which still leaves a question mark over him. Always thought Hallinan would be a better bet for a corner back spot than full back but he hasn't played there much so if he goes well at 2 tomorrow, he could stay there for the summer.

James Burke - we still seem no nearer to solving who will play at 7 in the championship. Looks like we're settled on Feeney at 5 and Caff at 6 (sorry but I'm still not convinced on that one). Certainly seems that McLoughlin will be named at 12 as an extra back for the next while. My money is still on Donie Vaughan to nail down a place in the half backs once he gets fit but Keegan has done well and Burke deserves another run here so we'll see how he goes tomorrow.

I wouldn't say Alan Feeney is nailed down for number 3 at all. Higgins is nailed for four but its two between three for the other two spots. It could be Hallinan, Feeney, Higgins; Cunniffe, Feeney, Higgins; or Cunniffe, Hallinan, Higgins. I wouldn't be too harsh on Tom from the Cork game, he was clearly struggling with his hammer even before halftime. The high ball in the Dublin game was a concern as is the fact his best position is on the wing but he has impressed in a couple of games in the corner. I'd like to have seen more of Hallinan this league because I think he has it. But has he had enough  exposure of this level before championship? Hard to know. Sunday might tell us. I'd be in favour of him before Tom Cunniffe and that way we have two players in the full-back line who can play full-back and corner-back so it helps much more for a horses for courses approach.

In the half-back line I have been impressed by Ger Caff' and think he could be a long-term solution for us there. He'll be there in championship anyway, have no doubt. I liked the bit of bite we saw from him against Cork, not afraid to go toe to toe with the animal that is Pearse O'Neill. Feeney will be at five and seven is wide open. We need to see more of Burke - in the same way as Hallinan - but I'd be inclined to give the nod to him. Donie Vaughan might push himself into contention but surely can't have enough football in him this year to start?

McGarrity's midfield partner - We suddenly seem to have a ton of worthwhile options here - I wouldn't have said that this time last week. Everybody looks good when playing alongside McGarrity, Gibbons particularly did well in the early rounds. But then Gibbons and Parsons got destroyed against Armagh I think it was. Kilcullen and AOS stepped up to the mark without McGarrity last week and both enhanced their reputations and now SOS is getting his chance. Barry Moran loks to be well out of favour and unlikely to make the 30 at this stage. Gibbons seems to have dropped back as well - I would have preferred to have seen him get the start here rather than Parsons as I think he has done more during the league to deserve another run. Horan obviously rates Parsons because he is giving him every chance going but I reckon what Tom really needs is the kick up the hole that being dropped from the 30 would represent to see if he can find some heart and aggression to go with his obvious ability. So unless something major happens tomorrow to change my mind I'd like to see Parsons and Moran lose out here for this year and I'd keep AOS, SOS, Kilcullen and Gibbons as well as McGarrity obviously. I have a feeling Parsons will squeak in though.

Yeah, midfield is a real hard one to call. You're right, Parsons does appear to be somewhat in favour. Either that or Sunday is shit or bust time for him. The same could be said of Seamie O'Shea even if that is unfortunate for him from a point of view of it being his first game of the year because of injury. He might put in five midfielders with the proviso that Aidan O'Shea can play in the forwards too but I can't see him bringing six. Barry Moran looks to be in bother, unless a spot can be found for him in the forwards. McGarrity, Aidan O'Shea, Kilcullen and Jason Gibbons look okay in my opinion. So Sunday could be a shoot out between the two starting midfielders.

Forwards - on the basis that McLoughlin will continue to be named at 12 that would seem to be five of the six starting spots sewn up (Dillon, Moran, McLoughlin, Freeman and of course the Goal Machine). This is bad news for Aidan Campbell as Dillon and Moran are likely to stay in the half forward line where they have both done well. So the free spot is at corner forward and I think Varley still has a shot here because I'm not sure if O'Connor is quite ready for it this year. Kilcoyne and Ronaldson have slipped right back and I would say Ronaldson must be close to losing out altogether. Douglas seems to have vanished having been ahead of Doherty in the pecking order only a few weeks ago. Killer can at least hit a 45 on his day so I'd like to see him retained as we are no nearer to finding a reliable long range free taker and he is an option in that respect.

Predicted 30 after the cut next week:

Clarke, Hennelly
Cunniffe, Hallinan, A Feeney, R Feeney, Higgins, Barrett, Gardiner, Cafferkey, Burke, Howley, Keegan, Vaughan, McLoughlin
McGarrity, A O'Shea, S O'Shea, Kilcullen, Gibbons, Parsons
Campbell, Dillon, A Moran, Freeman, Doherty, Varley, O'Connor, Kilcoyne, Ronaldson

If the likes of Howley or Vaughan aren't considered fit enough to be named in the 30 at this stage then Eoghan Reilly might be kept on.

I might have left someone obvious out...

Yeah, I think you're right, we've five definite starting forwards - Moran, Dillon, Doherty, Freeman and McLoughlin. I wouldn't say that the sixth guy has to be a corner-forward. In fact I would bet that it won't be. McLoughlin will either drop from 13, leaving two inside or drop from 10 or 12 with the number 13 dropping to the half-forward line - what happened against Cork. Either way its the same outcome, a two man inside line. I reckon it could be Aidan O'Shea as the third half-forward with Kilcullen and McGarrity in midfield.
On Neil Douglas, he has been having trouble shaking a hamstring injury for the last month so that explains his absence. I gather Mark Ronaldson is very close to the brink right now and not starting on Sunday is not a good sign for him, nor for Killer.
I think Eoghan Reilly will make the squad because we don't have much cover for corner-backs. Although I'd have someone like Vaughan or Howley in the corner ahead of him myself.

Championship thirty? Is it going to be picked next week? I'd feel it could be the following (not necessarily what I think, mind)

R Hennelly, D Clarke

C Hallinan, T Cunniffe, A Feeney, K Higgins, R Feeney, G Cafferkey, J Burke, E Reilly, D Vaughan, T Howley, L Keegan, P Gardiner. 

R McGarrity, A O'Shea, J Kilcullen, J Gibbons, T Parsons

K McLoughlin, A Dillon, A Moran, J Doherty, A Freeman, A Campbell, E Varley, C O'Connor, N Douglas, A Kilcoyne, P Harte (injury depending).

Chris Barrett might squeeze in ahead of Keegan or Gardiner. Ronaldson perhaps for Harte - not sure what his injury status is. Maybe B Moran might get in the forward line in this spot too.

[Maguire01]

The Irish News predicts the results of all 3 games going our way - wins for Monaghan, Cork and Galway.

[the Deel Rover]

The Irish News predicts the results of all 3 games going our way - wins for Monaghan, Cork and Galway.

that saves me a trip 

[Maguire01]

Dessie Mone is a very poor replacement for D Freeman imho.

How many times have you seen him play this year?

I've seen Mone play twice this year, and many times prior to that. Enough to make a judgement on him I would have thought. Its rather interesting that you took it as a slight on Mone rather than as a compliment to Freeman.

Probably took it that way on the basis of a previous comment indicating your dislike for Mone. Anyway, i'd see him as more of a replacement for McQuaid at #6 as Freeman generally played on the wing. Also, it's his current form that's relevant to his ability to replace retiring players - past form is really irrelevant.

Although it's good to see that you're still getting out to watch some proper football. 

[mannix]

The Irish News predicts the results of all 3 games going our way - wins for Monaghan, Cork and Galway.

Do they mention anything about tonights lottery numbers?

[Maguire01]

The Irish News predicts the results of all 3 games going our way - wins for Monaghan, Cork and Galway.

Do they mention anything about tonights lottery numbers?

Yes. They say 8.05 on RTÉ 1.

[Main Street]

Armagh fans might be sweating a few bricks but they are by far, in the strongest position to survive the drop.

[Lar Naparka]

The Irish News predicts the results of all 3 games going our way - wins for Monaghan, Cork and Galway.

Jaysus, I won't be reading it to get tips for the Grand National and that's for sure.

[AbbeySider]

Do you know who had a lot of trouble getting to Iniskeen once? Paddy Kavanagh:

Iniskeen Road: July Evening

The bicycles go by in twos and threes -
There's a dance in Billy Brennan's barn to-night,
And there's the half-talk code of mysteries
And the wink-and-elbow language of delight.
Half-past eight and there is not a spot
Upon a mile of road, no shadow thrown
That might turn out a man or woman, not
A footfall tapping secrecies of stone.
I have what every poet hates in spite
Of all the solemn talk of contemplation.
Oh, Alexander Selkirk knew the plight
Of being king and government and nation.
A road, a mile of kingdom, I am king
Of banks and stones and every blooming thing.


He was the boy, Kavanagh. Second only to Yeats as our greatest 20th century poet. Hope you're all proud of him in Monaghan.

Mike Finner just mentioned that poem on Mid West!
An obvious reader of the board   

[maigheo]

monaghan 1.02 mayo 0.04. tommy freeman doing the damage with 1.01. keith higgins marking him now

[Tubberman]

Sounds like big problems in Mayo full-back line again.
Monaghan have created 3 clear goal chances, have only taken one.

[AbbeySider]

Monaghans Freeman and the rest of their FF line seem to be causing serious problems.
The ball going in seems sublime which tells me the workrate out the field may not be great.