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Clare GAA discussion thread
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windy shepard henderson wrote: »i think some of the supporters from galway were very naive in there planning for traveling south today , i met several that came in at half time or before it , you need a plan B when traveling to big games
if you are stuck heading into templemore you will see 2 or 3 signs for clonmore take one of them and they will bing you into templemore , when you get to templemore take a left for loughmore (noel and john mcgrath country) and when you arrive in loughmore village go left and take the next right and it will lead you into thurles at the munster hotel side , go right and it will bring you back on the main road just outside thurles about 4 or 5 miles away ,
thurles is full of small roads leading into the town have a look on google maps before you plan your next journey but beware they are a minefield if you dont know the areas
In all my years travelling to Thurles, yesterday's traffic was by far the worst in my experience. I had alway managed to get into The CBS car park previously. Alternately I could turn around and park on the Templemore rd. Yesterday the Gardai were redirecting traffic up a right-hand road to a big field where I got parked, thankfully for €5:D.
Gutted with the result, though.0 -
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Usually before I make my comments on here, I watch the recording back. I think this was the first time I switched it off before half time. Honestly, I remember leaving Croke Park after the AI semi final in 2005 against Cork thinking I never experience such a heart breaking defeat. Daly said after the match that day the game will set back Clare hurling for years. At least with the loss yesterday, John Conlon is the only outfield player over 26 years old. I think we will be back next year. But for sure, we are going to have alot of regrets about yesterday, like we did in 2005. Yesterday was heart breaking.
2005's team had Davy, the Lohan's, Seanie, Lynch, Markham and Gilligan, all winners with Clare merging with Griffin, D. McMahon, Nugent, Carmody. 2005 wasn't about potential, it was about the team that had won 2 All Irelands, 3 Munsters and lost another All Ireland merging with the next generation. Leaving Croke Park in 2005 we knew that half the team was gone and those coming through weren't going to do anything, it was the case of we're gone.Look, I'm reading back through the pages and I'm seeing alot of people pointing fingers at players, bemoaning missed chances, etc. Like people need to understand, hurling is an incredible emotional, fast-paced intense sport. We have to remember the conditions of the game yesterday, after the extra time played a few days ago and the heat yesterday, it was an incredibly difficult environment, with both teams making alot of mistakes. It was always going to be like this, players don't deliberately hit balls wide. I think they deserve some leeway in this regard.
We are taling about 170 minutes of hurling after 7 matches that came down to 1 point of a difference between 2 teams, leeway is implied.
Again, we played them for 170 minutes and lost by a point, yesterday we scored twice as much from frees than they did, that suggests we are physically better than them. These aren't small underage players, these are grown men.The main reason we are not going to Dublin in a fortnight though is we don't have a proper balance across the park of players that can physically take on a team like Galway.When you only have one puckout option down the field, when you don't have enough players that can win their own ball, when you don't have enough players that can take and give a physical challenge, you leave yourself open to being starved of possession and quite litterly runover.
Clare's puck out stradegy was amazing, didn't they win 24 out of 27 of their own, our options are quick to corner/wing backs or low driven ball to Podge or Reidy or high ball to Kelly or Duggan. The 1 thing that Calre was brilliant at was our puck outs.
The first day Galway beat us for the first 15 minutes by crowding the middle third and exposing our weak half forward line, we adjusted by dropping a player back and bringing our full forward line back as well. The second day we started how we counteracted the first day, this meant that Galway's weakness in the backs was actually a strength, it wasn't helped by out backs hitting balls straight to the Galway half backsAnd that's what Galway did in the opening 20 minutes of both games. Yesterday it was too much. I said it before the game we had to survive the opening half before the game loosened up and we didn't. I think we are probably short a midfielder and a half back to be honest,like if we want to single out players, Mannion and Canning were the only two players out of both team's 5-12 that hurled consistently well throughout the 160 odd minutes we played. Those two players were the difference between the sides imo.
Tony Kelly and Peter Duggan both scored once from play each yesterday, they were our only half forwards/midfielders to score from playFirst off, I know it's a tough loss to take, but we cannot forget the massive improvements and positives the team made throughout this season.
At the end of the day they finished 2 places better in the league and lost a semi final instead of a quarter final, I don't think that'd be considered massive improvements.From Touhy's rock solid year in goals
Agreed, I thought Touhy was brilliant all year, he's unlucky that Quaid had that save for Limerick, he'd be All Star Goalie otherwise
Stand up John Conlon, 2019's captain, the amount of strapping the man had on yesterday meant he must have been in pain, he did it when it counted all year.to Conlon's amazing season there are loads of positives.Even just take Hayes coming on there. Lads no joke honestly, that poor kid must have spent well over an hour throughout the year, standing on the line with his helmet on ready to come in for his debut, only not to! And then for his first proper appearance (Wexford aside) he is tasked to man mark one of the best forwards in the game in an tight AI semi final. The kid did brilliantly. At the end of the day, we still have a young squad, but it's hugely important that we build on what has been a great year and learn from our mistakes. That's vitally important. Because this team can achieve something special.
Hayes was briliant yesterday, serious speed merchant, why wasn't he playing earlier in the year? Sorry Pat but you might have lost your place.
I agree 100%, they amount of effort it takes for any player/manager/selector/analyst/physio is amazing, thank you to everyone involved, I know I'm being a **** calling out the issues.Finally, I'm just very thankful for all the players and management efforts throughout the year.
Clare support will always come out to support a team that gives their all, there are a lot of reasons there was a small Clare crowd at the Wexford game but twice we should have won only to not win and to roll over, to be let down by certain players. We were lucky to beat Tipp, we could have beaten Cork and Gawlay, we beat Limerick and WaterfordIt was an amazing year really, Jamie Wall's tweet summed it up saying we were the width of a post between being knocked out by Tipp but also denied an AI final place. That's just the way this crazy game goes, but one thing I would never question is the team's honesty and heart. They died in their boots there yesterday. I think what makes me proud also, everyone is always talking about Clare's weak support, but yesterday there was a brilliant Clare support. I think this year we all saw and appreciated the work and commitment the players were bringing, I think there is a strong connection back between the players, management and supporters which is really important.0 -
Right, today's performance sums up EVERYTHING that's wrong with this set of Clare hurlers, this isn't a set of players with potential, this is a set of players who won an All Ireland 5 years ago. Not only could they have won today, they SHOULD have won, they held the All Ireland champions to 10 scores in the first half and still went in the break down by double scores, our half forwards were non existent. For the whole first half stupid ball was being sent into a 2 man forward line who just broke the ball down to Galway defenders, they couldn't do anything else, they were out manned, our half forwards were completely missing.
David McInerney's distribution was terrible, he seemed more intent to pick out a Galway player than do anything else with the ball, his striking was extremely poor. I thought Cleary was excellent, he played very well.
Now, for the 2 reasons we lost the match, Tony Kelly and Peter Duggan. Kelly just went missing anytime he was needed, he seemed more intent to live on the fringes than getting stuck in, at the end of the match where was our start forward/midfielder? He was BEHIND his full backline hiding from play, he seemed shocked when he got the ball, but when he did get it you'd think he'd do something with it, but no, he did the most idiotic thing possible and hit a high ball into the forwards, it was clear that any low driven ball into the forwards would have resulted in at worst a free. Peter Duggan, first terrible thing was the sideline at the end of the first half, he might as well as driven the ball out himself for Galway, he free taking was of poor standard today and his sidelines were worse, he missed 2 frees that should have been scored and put 3 sidelines wide.
Re Duggan and that sideline at the end of the 1st half, I wouldn't put the entire blame on him.
He didn't want to shoot due to the angle, was looking for options & runners but we were entirely static, as we were up front all half bar O Donnell.
Eventually Duggan had no other choice, that said he should have reset his feet to have a proper cut at the posts0 -
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Re Duggan and that sideline at the end of the 1st half, I wouldn't put the entire blame on him.
He didn't want to shoot due to the angle, was looking for options & runners but we were entirely static, as we were up front all half bar O Donnell.
Eventually Duggan had no other choice, that said he should have reset his feet to have a proper cut at the posts
Agreed that no-one was making a run, in fact Reidy turned his back and walked the other way, but what he did with the ball was shocking.0 -
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The game was lost because of management. They have been found out tactically and are slow to respond to make changes to what is happening on the pitch. I couldn't believe the tactics in the first half of playing a sweeper where Tuohy passed to the either corner back who would run 10 yards and hit long high balls into our two man full forward line against three Galway backs and sweeper. It happened time and time again in that first half. The reason we came back into the first match in Croke Park was by running at Galway with short offloading passes through the lines and hitting low balls into our forwards, similar to how we reverted in the second half and got back into the game. Galway were vulnerable to being run at. Not once did Conlon get a low ball in front of him, frustrating. Fair play for the underage success but I like to see the two lads gone now, their term is up now too. Would like to see Brian Lohan take charge, his done a very good job in UL.
Can't fault the players they gave everything asked of them and tried there best. Didn't work out for Duggan, was man marked throughout. Kelly was poor and hasn't really done anything since 2013, goes missing in big games a lot and doesn't get stuck in, similar to the Munster final performance. Don't think center forward is where he should be played, I'd put him in corner next year and let him roam between the forward lines, his kind of game.
It was great to see the size of support from Clare, we outnumbered them 2:1 I'd say. great to see the yellow jerseys being worn again. Also I've noticed this year Clare have brought the flags back, which have kind of disappeared from county games these last few years. They are a great sight to be seen, especially during the parade.
Overall was a good year, all hurling teams are fairly even now, anyone can beat anyone. Make few changes and we will go again in 2019.0 -
There's are only a few positives to gain from 2018. Going deep into the championship is one and not losing in Ennis is the other. There's way more question marks now then there was a the start of the year. I 'll list a few.
1. Is Tony Kelly only a 'bit' player ?
2. Have we a viable midfield partner for Galvin?
3. Is David McInerney really a fullback?
4. Is Peter Duggan a 'clutch' free taker or just a taker of great frees?
5. Is Podge a sub and sub only?
6. Can Pat O Connor remain on the team?
7. Are our management worth another 2 or 3 years?
8. Will we keep making average decisions on the ball and will our wide tally remain an unmitigated disaster? (Brushed off by Moloney)0 -
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I can't understand starting with the sweeper, not only is it a complete change but Galway would have been expecting it. With Galway starting a new centre back surely we should have pushed up. In my opinion our half forward line was the weakest line all year and ended up costing us.0 -
I can't understand starting with the sweeper, not only is it a complete change but Galway would have been expecting it. With Galway starting a new centre back surely we should have pushed up. In my opinion our half forward line was the weakest line all year and ended up costing us.
Yes, our half forward is the weakest link, Kelly and Reidy aren't half forwards. Reidy is a midfielder so move him there and put Kelly into Podge corner spot next year. We missed the opportunity in the league this year to experiment new players but management kept same team throughout. Ian Galvin deserves a shot at wing forward0 -
In the first half, we had numbers along our HB line/midfield and instead of running at Galway and using the spare man as a runner/option, we continually pumped aimless ball into an outnumbered FF line. The most frustrating thing watching it was the strikers had time to see what they were doing, it wasn't like the simply had to get rid of it due to pressure applied.
For next year's league we have to try and use more players in the league. This ye we went to Waterford having already qualified for the knockout stages. A great opportunity to use the panel, instead we went out with an almost full strength team0 -
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very good article on today's Independent by Eamonn Sweeney, sums it up perfectly
https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/eamonn-sweeney-semifinal-meltdown-will-haunt-clare-for-a-long-time-as-they-let-galway-off-the-hook-37187395.html
Clare are a real jekyll and hyde team, sublime to the ridiculous is ingrained in their DNA now, eradicating this must be foremost in their pre season preparation, lack of composure and good decision making is literally killing them, despite all their flaws [and there are many] they were only [a sliotar 1 inch to the left] away from getting to an all Ireland final
they've play 8 high intensity championship games with ZERO to show for it, the big question is, can they use the devastating hurt of being so near and yet so far away to really drive on and don't accept anything else only being top of the pile by August 20190 -
Yes, our half forward is the weakest link, Kelly and Reidy aren't half forwards. Reidy is a midfielder so move him there and put Kelly into Podge corner spot next year. We missed the opportunity in the league this year to experiment new players but management kept same team throughout. Ian Galvin deserves a shot at wing forward
Ian Galvin is well worth a start going forward. He's been coming on and getting important scores all year. He scored a great point on Sunday from out by the sideline - the kind Kelly, Colm Galvin and Reidy all missed and the kind the likes of Conlon or Canning or Shefflin would nail more often than not.
Not sure about Reidy in midfield though, I think we need a bit more size and physicality in there. Even though we pushed Galway close twice, we badly struggled with their physicality at times. A few more duggans and conlons in the side are badly needed.0 -
supernova5 wrote: »very good article on today's Independent by Eamonn Sweeney, sums it up perfectly
https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/eamonn-sweeney-semifinal-meltdown-will-haunt-clare-for-a-long-time-as-they-let-galway-off-the-hook-37187395.html
Clare are a real jekyll and hyde team, sublime to the ridiculous is ingrained in their DNA now, eradicating this must be foremost in their pre season preparation, lack of composure and good decision making is literally killing them, despite all their flaws [and there are many] they were only [a sliotar 1 inch to the left] away from getting to an all Ireland final
they've play 8 high intensity championship games with ZERO to show for it, the big question is, can they use the devastating hurt of being so near and yet so far away to really drive on and don't accept anything else only being top of the pile by August 2019
That article sums up Clare. They have oodles of hurling, running ,skill but are the worst decision makers of all the top 5 hurling teams.0 -
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At the start of the year we wanted to stay in the top division of the league and get to Croke Park, we should be happy with that but the problem is we are so much better than that.0 -
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Was talking to a friend about Duggan's frees and he pointed out that Duggan doesn't have a set routine for frees at all, if you watch any top class free taker in any sport they all go through a set routine and hit the ball the same every time, Duggan changes his feed and striking style for different frees, his most comfortable free is the low driven 1 but that's been blocked down twice this year but he will revert to it if he's in doubt.0 -
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BloodyBill wrote: »There's are only a few positives to gain from 2018. Going deep into the championship is one and not losing in Ennis is the other. There's way more question marks now then there was a the start of the year. I 'll list a few.
1. Is Tony Kelly only a 'bit' player ?
I don't know what Tony Kelly is to be honest, he seems to want to be able to play a roaming role picking up lose ball but at inter-county level he's being found out.
2. Have we a viable midfield partner for Galvin?
Malone has gone up in my expectation no end, if he could add some finishing to he arsenal he'd be a HOTY candidate.
3. Is David McInerney really a fullback?
Nope
4. Is Peter Duggan a 'clutch' free taker or just a taker of great frees?
Nope, he has missed some terrible frees this year, except for the first day against Galway I don't think he scored every scorable free, to be blocked down twice in 1 year is a disgrace
5. Is Podge a sub and sub only?
I think he's a corner forward. I don't think there's a sub better than him at the moment over the full 70 minutes
6. Can Pat O Connor remain on the team?
Nope, Hayes is the future.
7. Are our management worth another 2 or 3 years?
They have to be, who else would you get? Maybe Anthony Daly.
8. Will we keep making average decisions on the ball and will our wide tally remain an unmitigated disaster? (Brushed off by Moloney)
Our lack of half forward line means that we will continue to struggle for both of the above0 -
Im not sure about management. Why did they not bring on Shanagher earlier or even start him. He got a run in the drawn match and was buzzing. Big, fast and strong, ideal for playing a big Galway team. This was their biggest mistake. Other things may not have worked out but what was the thinking behind this? Was he fully fit?
We only have a few years left with this team and maybe Daly with his All Ireland medals might just give them that little bit more confidence. Management have been around this group of players for along time now and maybe players need a new voice. Donal and Gerry have been great for Clare but Daly was good too and might tweak things a little. We are not far away
We lack the killer extent for a number of years now, never far away but cant get the job done all the same. We were lucky against Tipp and could have been out along time ago.
Saying that, fair play to all involved including management, they did us very proud0 -
Again, we played them for 170 minutes and lost by a point, yesterday we scored twice as much from frees than they did, that suggests we are physically better than them. These aren't small underage players, these are grown men.
Clare's puck out stradegy was amazing, didn't they win 24 out of 27 of their own, our options are quick to corner/wing backs or low driven ball to Podge or Reidy or high ball to Kelly or Duggan. The 1 thing that Calre was brilliant at was our puck outs.
At the end of the day they finished 2 places better in the league and lost a semi final instead of a quarter final, I don't think that'd be considered massive improvements.
I agree with all your other points, these three I wouldn't be on the same page.
With regards to points one and two, like I agree the puckout strategy in Corke Park after 16 minutes was excellent, but abysmal the first 16. On Sunday, as I said, the losing of the game for me was our inability to take on Galway in physical matchups/contests across the field in the first half. Like I don't know could I go up to Michael Donoghue and tell him we were brilliant on our puckouts in the first half. Most went to Jack Browne close to the corner flag, and for me it would be naive to think this was part of a cunning plan to get a lad open. Another went stright back over the crossbar. Donoghue had his homework done, and while 6 forwards can't mark 7 players, he gave leeway to Jack Browne knowing he isn't a noted sticksman that can make pin point deliveries into the forward line.
Looking back on the game, the 5 lads that were playing around the 40 were Duggan, Reidy, Kelly, I. Galvin and Podge, not one player, not one, either caught a high ball, won a 50-50 ball, turned a Galway back over. The only score we got in the first half where a player won a contest was SOD, who passed it off to Kelly for a point. By comparison Galway scored 1-4 from either winning a high ball, 50-50 or turning over a Clare player. Your example of frees won/lost is skewed because the 3 frees we won the first were just careless Galway discipline (high arm on Reidy, tug on Fitz, Burke tripping on Conlon). At the end of the day, the start of any game of hurling always features tighter man marking, less space, more structured, high tactical input, meaning the team that is physically stronger, better in the air and winning contests usually gets on top. Everyone knew we were going to be in survival mode against Galway in the first half, because under these terms, we don't have the proper balance of players throughout the team to cope. The team is purely designed to take teams on in loose open games of hurling where our excellent skill and movement can be prominent, but for me it's not enough, and it wasn't enough to sink Galway.
Here is Donal Moloney himself saying as much after the game:
"I thought it was a case of Galway just hanging in there when we came with the storm in the second half. I wouldn't agree that we played particularly poorly in the first half. We've got to recognise Galway and the way they start. Both Kilkenny and ourselves have experienced that over the last few weeks. They've a big capability when they come with that early surge. Our focus was that this (early surge) was going to come. Let's weather it and we'll take them in the final straight."
With regards to your last point, we didn't improve much, I think your forgetting the base we are coming from. Our performances in the championship last year were very medicore, like probably our best performance last year was as good as our worst performance this year. The additions of Touhy and Duggan were massive upgrades just that alone. But also looking at the teamsheet, along with Touhy and Duggan, Browne, Morey, Malone, Conlon, O'Donnell, Podge, Ian Galvin had significantly better years. Other intangibles like discipline (especially) and work-rate cannot be over looked. I think this year we have elevated ourselves to being proper AI contenders, showing an ability to go toe to toe against some of the best teams in the country. If we can re-look at our lineup between 5-12 and find say 2 players, along with the likes of Hayes, Shanagher, Cunningham, O'Brien pushing for places we will be there abouts again next year for sure. There wasn't a single stage, from 2014 to 2017, did we put in even just one performance in the championship that was remotely close to our best.0 -
1. Is Tony Kelly only a 'bit' player ?
I don't know what Tony Kelly is to be honest, he seems to want to be able to play a roaming role picking up lose ball but at inter-county level he's being found out.
2. Have we a viable midfield partner for Galvin?
Malone has gone up in my expectation no end, if he could add some finishing to he arsenal he'd be a HOTY candidate.
3. Is David McInerney really a fullback?
Nope
4. Is Peter Duggan a 'clutch' free taker or just a taker of great frees?
Nope, he has missed some terrible frees this year, except for the first day against Galway I don't think he scored every scorable free, to be blocked down twice in 1 year is a disgrace
5. Is Podge a sub and sub only?
I think he's a corner forward. I don't think there's a sub better than him at the moment over the full 70 minutes
6. Can Pat O Connor remain on the team?
Nope, Hayes is the future.
7. Are our management worth another 2 or 3 years?
They have to be, who else would you get? Maybe Anthony Daly.
8. Will we keep making average decisions on the ball and will our wide tally remain an unmitigated disaster? (Brushed off by Moloney)
Our lack of half forward line means that we will continue to struggle for both of the above
I'd agree with some of what you said. I don't think Cathal Malone is a good enough hurler to hold his place. Effort, attitude etc is first class, but he doesn't have the skill set required to beat teams.Malone fouled the ball twice against Wexford if I recall correctly. He isn't a 'natural' hurler, but he is a valuable workhorse, Fergal Hegarty was similar but a far superior hurling brain.
Podge is exceptional, but in the current game, wing forwards or roving corner forwards are expendable,, the should be burnt out after 50 minutes and hand over to fresh legs. To me that was the mistake Clare made this, a little too slow to bring in the subs.. Limerick are the same, they left it until nearly too late to bring on Dowling.
McInerney is doing fine at full back. He is the best option we have. I'd like to see Cleary bursting up the field a bit more and turning the oppositions half back line with smart ball in .
Pat O'Connor is a leader, he may lack a little pace, but he is a lovely stick hurler and a calm head. I had hoped he would move to centre back but that won't happen.
The criticism of Duggans free taking is justified. Brilliant against Galway the first day. But did you notice for the blocked down free in the replay, Galway put two men in front of him, they knew they had a chance to block him down with the style he has.
Management has to stay, but it has to get a little more ruthless on match day.
No team has won an all-ireland with a sweeper, and if we haven't men who win their own battle with opposition we are going to struggle. Having the sweeper,, (or two at times), means that for close in line balls there were 3 Galway players free,, meaning Duggan had little other option that to shoot for a score..
There are positives,. but we were the width of a post from being beaten by Tipp so in reality, we are still in the chasing pack rather than top 3.0 -
I had this idea for next year with regards to our forward line in order to try to maximise our talents. In key periods this year, the second half versus Cork and the first halves versus Galway, our two best forwards, Tony Kelly and John Conlon were out of the game. There is a multitude of reasons, but the main reasons are that Kelly isn't good at winning his own ball and we didn't get good supply into Conlon during those period.
So I have this way of working around the problem.
With Shanagher fit next year, we can use him as another focal point of the team. If were in a situation where once again Kelly is out of the play and Conlon is getting no ball, we could bring him out to try get us back in the game, while taking Kelly out of the 'warzone' if you like where he is redundant, and have him roaming inbetween good ball winners like Conlon, Shanagher and Duggan. Making runs onto passes and shooting is his game as we know. While Conlon, although not ideal away from goal, at least he would be still in the game. He shot 5 points from play against Cork in the first round of the championship from center forward.
Duggan - Conlon - I. Galvin
Kelly
Shanagher - SOD
When the game opens up later on, and were able to get good ball inside, we can return to default with both Shanagher and Conlon inside. Kelly back to center forward getting on loose ball. Having a forward line and where players have to adapt and change positions can be hard to get right but it's something that we can work on next spring.
Duggan - Kelly - I. Galvin
SOD
Conlon - Shanagher
Finally, heading into the last 15/20 minutes you can inject some serious speed into the forward line.
Duggan - Kelly - Reidy
Podge
Cunningham - Conlon
Just this idea I had that could help keep our best forwards in the game more and cope with different patterns of play.0 -
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I had this idea for next year with regards to our forward line in order to try to maximise our talents. In key periods this year, the second half versus Cork and the first halves versus Galway, our two best forwards, Tony Kelly and John Conlon were out of the game. There is a multitude of reasons, but the main reasons are that Kelly isn't good at winning his own ball and we didn't get good supply into Conlon during those period.
So I have this way of working around the problem.
With Shanagher fit next year, we can use him as another focal point of the team. If were in a situation where once again Kelly is out of the play and Conlon is getting no ball, we could bring him out to try get us back in the game, while taking Kelly out of the 'warzone' if you like where he is redundant, and have him roaming inbetween good ball winners like Conlon, Shanagher and Duggan. Making runs onto passes and shooting is his game as we know. While Conlon, although not ideal away from goal, at least he would be still in the game. He shot 5 points from play against Cork in the first round of the championship from center forward.
Duggan - Conlon - I. Galvin
Kelly
Shanagher - SOD
When the game opens up later on, and were able to get good ball inside, we can return to default with both Shanagher and Conlon inside. Kelly back to center forward getting on loose ball. Having a forward line and where players have to adapt and change positions can be hard to get right but it's something that we can work on next spring.
Duggan - Kelly - I. Galvin
SOD
Conlon - Shanagher
Finally, heading into the last 15/20 minutes you can inject some serious speed into the forward line.
Duggan - Kelly - Reidy
Podge
Cunningham - Conlon
Just this idea I had that could help keep our best forwards in the game more and cope with different patterns of play.
Would love to see Conor McGrath come back to his own high standard.0 -
Would love to see Conor McGrath come back to his own high standard.
Me too. I'm not sure is it a pace issue most people seem to think, he is only 26, granted after some injuries, but he was never a speed merchant, he always relied on his quick feet. I think he has lost alot of composure and decisiveness when he gets the ball. Also I think he needs to be put in a position where he is just 1v1 closer to goal, he is not great in crowded areas. I'm not ruling him out, the talent is there. I hope he goes back to Cratloe, gets back enjoying his hurling. Then throw away the hurley for the winter and come back next year eager with no shackles and play his own game. Greame Mulcahy's form this year is a good example of a player playing great in his late 20's.
Our inside forward line is stacked.0 -
What are the views on Pat O'Connor lads? I thought he was fairly well regarded but the last few pages has me wondering if I'm 100% right.0
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Figerty the top 1 is the only thing that matters in any given year. No reason why ye can't be that next year at this stage, time will tell.0
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Is O'Donnell not away next year or something like that?I had this idea for next year with regards to our forward line in order to try to maximise our talents. In key periods this year, the second half versus Cork and the first halves versus Galway, our two best forwards, Tony Kelly and John Conlon were out of the game. There is a multitude of reasons, but the main reasons are that Kelly isn't good at winning his own ball and we didn't get good supply into Conlon during those period.
So I have this way of working around the problem.
With Shanagher fit next year, we can use him as another focal point of the team. If were in a situation where once again Kelly is out of the play and Conlon is getting no ball, we could bring him out to try get us back in the game, while taking Kelly out of the 'warzone' if you like where he is redundant, and have him roaming inbetween good ball winners like Conlon, Shanagher and Duggan. Making runs onto passes and shooting is his game as we know. While Conlon, although not ideal away from goal, at least he would be still in the game. He shot 5 points from play against Cork in the first round of the championship from center forward.
Duggan - Conlon - I. Galvin
Kelly
Shanagher - SOD
When the game opens up later on, and were able to get good ball inside, we can return to default with both Shanagher and Conlon inside. Kelly back to center forward getting on loose ball. Having a forward line and where players have to adapt and change positions can be hard to get right but it's something that we can work on next spring.
Duggan - Kelly - I. Galvin
SOD
Conlon - Shanagher
Finally, heading into the last 15/20 minutes you can inject some serious speed into the forward line.
Duggan - Kelly - Reidy
Podge
Cunningham - Conlon
Just this idea I had that could help keep our best forwards in the game more and cope with different patterns of play.0 -
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Join Date:Posts: 23156
One of the big problems I see for next year is what to do with Tony Kelly. It's clear that he's not a marker so there's not point in playing him in the backs. It's clear that he doesn't like winning his own or dirty ball so there's no point in playing him in midfield. I don't think he likes to be marked closely, in a few games where teams have manned marked him (even at club level) he disappears a bit.
He has to be played in the forwards I'm still not sure where to play him. As he won't win dirty ball there's no point in playing him wing or corner back so he's down to 2 positions, his current position 11 or 14. At 11 he goes missing too much, missing might be the wrong word, but he goes looking to make himself available on the fringes of the play, this leaves a big hole in the middle of the field which means we'll always struggle to get scores. At 14, he won't win his own ball or like to be marked so it's hard to play him there.
I don't think he can keep playing in his current role, he just goes missing too much and I don't think he's enough of a leader, a prime example of this for me was the end of the game on Sunday, when we needed a score at the end of the game he went back behind the full back line, not in the middle of the pitch but hiding behind the play, when he got the ball he just put the head down and ran, he didn't look up to pick out a pass and at the end he did the worst thing possible, it's not as if Clare haven't experience of being in that position.0 -
Would love to see Conor McGrath come back to his own high standard.
Likewise, but I'm fearful that injuries have robbed him of the short burst of acceleration he used to get by defenders.
He simply wasn't able to shake them off this summer & got blocked down regularly.
I hope I'm wrong but I wouldn't be shocked if he left inter-parliamentary hurling altogether0 -
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Join Date:Posts: 23156
We're a huge bunch of players who are all around 25/26 with Under 21 and Senior All Ireland medals already won, the games against Galway should definitely show them they aren't wasting their time like they were under Davy. Next year is going to be able bringing new players through the league and having different systems available if needed. In a way I'm delighted SoD is going off until next May, it wouldn't do a few of the other "senior" players to take a break for the winter and for them to realise that there are other players there.0
This discussion has been closed.
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