2008 Championship Draw

cruiserweight

It is on live on RTE, so far the have just done the hurling

Leinster Championship

(1) Laois vs Offaly
(2) Dublin vs Westmeath
(3) Wexford vs (2)
(4) Kilkenny vs (3)

Munster Championship

(1) Waterford vs Clare
(2) Limerick vs (1)
(3) Cork vs Tipperary

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Leinster Football Championship

(1) Kildare vs Wicklow
(2) Meath vs Carlow
(3) Longford vs Westmeath
(4) (1) vs Laois
(5) (2) vs Wexford
(6) (3) vs Offaly
(7) Louth vs Dublin
(8) (4) vs (5)
(9) (6) vs (7)

Munster Football Championship

(1) Limerick v Tipperary
(2) Clare vs Waterford
(2) vs Kerry
(1) vs Cork

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Connaught Football Championship

(1) New York vs Leitrim
(2) London vs Sligo
(3) Galway vs Roscommon
(4) Mayo vs (2)
(5) (1) vs (3)

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Ulster Football Championship

(1) Antrim vs Cavan
(2) (1) vs Armagh
(3) Fermanagh vs Monaghan
(4) Donegal vs Derry
(5) Tyrone vs Down
(6) (3) vs (4)
(7) (2) vs (5)

Daysha

cruiserweight wrote: »

It is on live on RTE, so far the have just done the hurling

Leinster Championship

(1) Laois vs Offaly
(2) Dublin vs Westmeath
(3) Wexford vs (2)
(4) Kilkenny vs (3)

Munster Championship

(1) Waterford vs Clare
(2) Limerick vs (1)
(3) Cork vs Tipperary

That cant be right....Waterford aren't playing Cork?:D
Handy enough draw. We never play fantastically against Clare but even with their new manager I dont expect them to do much next year. And then Limerick would be particularly nice to play too!

So with the new hurling structure, here's how it could pan out
Galway will beat Antrim, meaning the two first qualifying matches will be Galway against Laois probably (Westmeath arent in the All Ireland and Offaly should beat Laois) and then Antrim against the losers of Clare vs Waterford. Again i'll assume Galway and Clare will go through here (presuming we beat them )

Then in the 2nd qualifying round we'll have the losers of Dublin or Wexford, Offaly (they wont beat KK), losers of Waterford Limerick and losers of Cork Tipp. Two Munster vs Leinster matches so you'd have to think the two Munster teams would go through.

Third round we should have Galway, Clare, losers of Waterford Limerick and losers of Cork Tipp. I dont know if its open draw or not but theyll be good games.

Then theres the two winners from that phase against the two provencial finalists in the AI Quarters, and finally two winners from that against the provencial winners in the AI Semis.

cruiserweight

deise59 wrote: »

That cant be right....Waterford aren't playing Cork?:D

Christ on a bike, I thought I had made a mistake for a minute

From a Wexford point of view, I am happy with the draw in the hurling, not as happy with the football.

shiibata

cruiserweight wrote: »

Ulster Football Championship

(1) Antrim vs Cavan
(2) (1) vs Armagh
(3) Fermanagh vs Monaghan
(4) Donegal vs Derry
(5) Tyrone vs Down
(6) (3) vs (4)
(7) (2) vs (5)

Happy enough with that draw(donegal), just antrim could be tricky in the final:D

Pride Fighter

I am happy with the hurling draw. Dublin can have a crack at Wexford for a spot in the Leinster final (no disrespect to Westmeath) and the football team should walk Leinster, AGAIN!! 08 is Dublins year. We are going to make the quarter-finals in the hurling and win Sam. C'mon the Dubs!!

BIG-SLICK-POKER

Seriously need Leinster sorted out , Its always plain Sailin for KK i mean they are nearly assured an Allireland Final Spot

I say Open it all up ?If Kilkenny was in Munster see how many All Irelands they would get in the future its a total diff game then

New System sucks they tryed this before changed and now went back ? Really need an Open draw look at Waterord/Kilkenny and the difference in opponent , U tell me which side u would prefer to be on lmao

Waterford to get to the All Ireland Semi

Beat Clare
Beat Limerick
Beat Cork/Tipp

Kilkenny To get to all ireland Semi

Beat Laois/Offaly
Beat Wexford/Dublin prob

mise_me_fein

Happy enough with the Louth draw in the championship. Think we're playing a team in decline.

Expecting a big North East derby game with Meath in the final.

cruiserweight

Pride Fighter wrote: »

I am happy with the hurling draw. Dublin can have a crack at Wexford for a spot in the Leinster final (no disrespect to Westmeath) and the football team should walk Leinster, AGAIN!! 08 is Dublins year. We are going to make the quarter-finals in the hurling and win Sam. C'mon the Dubs!!

I think Dublin will make the Leinster final again, probably against Meath or maybe Wexford As for the hurling I don't see you making the Leinster final just yet, if the draw had been a bit kinder to you then it might have been interesting.

BIG-SLICK-POKER wrote: »

Seriously need Leinster sorted out , Its always plain Sailin for KK i mean they are nearly assured an Allireland Final Spot

I say Open it all up ?If Kilkenny was in Munster see how many All Irelands they would get in the future its a total diff game then

Yawn, same old stuff again. Kilkenny were the best team in the country by a margin last year, doesn't matter what province they were in. Wexford were crap against them, which made Wexford look poor. But then again who were good against them in the championship, Galway for 55 minutes???? When Wexford played Munster opposition they beat them in the championship last year, same with Clare and Galway in the league. Unfortunately for us in Wexford, Kilkenny always take us seriously and are not as quick to write us off as other people and counties may be.

kevmy

cruiserweight wrote: »

Connaught Football Championship

(1) New York vs Leitrim
(2) London vs Sligo
(3) Galway vs Roscommon
(4) Mayo vs (2)
(5) (1) vs (3)

Great to see this draw. Was praying not to have a Mayo v Galway first round match. It makes a mess of it. Both teams peak for each other and then assume they've a Connacht title won like last year.

Mayo have a good draw too. The first round matches against NY and London are only a waste of time and come too far before the semi. We should make the final at least and hopefully regain the Connacht title. From there we have a launchpad because we never do any good through the back door.

dodgyme

when is it decided whether the venue is home or away for these games??

aidan24326

dodgyme wrote: »

when is it decided whether the venue is home or away for these games??

In Connaught the teams alternate home venues, I think it's the same in Munster while most Leinster games are played in Croke Park now. Not too sure about Ulster.

dodgyme

Mayo - Galway final I guess in connaught

smashey

Donegal v Derry at home. Bring them on.

pd101

Micko will be up against his previous two counties (Kildare and Laois) this year on the way to the final.:D Up Wicklow

blackbelt

mise_me_fein wrote: »

Happy enough with the Louth draw in the championship. Think we're playing a team in decline. Expecting a big North East derby game with Meath in the final.

Haha,had to laugh at this.Please insert the bolded line into a revived Louth v Laois thread and then it could be relevent IF they play off in the qualifiers.I think you should definitely go ahead with a Meath v Louth Leinster Final thread reminiscent of the Louth v Laois thread and see how it pans out from there in June.:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

In all seriousness now,I think the only thing Louth can take from this game is that it will bring them on even further.Can't see anything than a Dublin win by 5 points to set up an EAST derby with Meath in the final after they dispose of Louth and probably Westmeath.

In Connaught,I expect Mayo to come back and scrape past Sligo to beat a declining Galway side handy enough.Kerry to stroll through Munster and Tyrone to retain Ulster if there is no injury crisis.I'd expect Derry to win that match against Donegal.

kevmy

dodgyme wrote: »

Mayo - Galway final I guess in connaught

It should be. And if it is it will be in Castlebar.

Leitrim the dark horses this year in Connacht

Daysha

cruiserweight wrote: »

Yawn, same old stuff again. Kilkenny were the best team in the country by a margin last year, doesn't matter what province they were in. Wexford were crap against them, which made Wexford look poor. But then again who were good against them in the championship, Galway for 55 minutes???? When Wexford played Munster opposition they beat them in the championship last year, same with Clare and Galway in the league. Unfortunately for us in Wexford, Kilkenny always take us seriously and are not as quick to write us off as other people and counties may be.

I dont think anyones disputing the fact that Kilkenny are an awesome team. And Wexford can also be good when they want to be. But while Kilkenny stroll past Offaly to reach the Leinster Final Clare and Waterford have to beat each other and then face Limerick to reach the same stage, with no extra benefits.

Erin Go Brath

deise59 wrote: »

And then Limerick would be particularly nice to play too!

Ye lot might beat us in that one, but we'll get ye later in the C'ship when it really matters

I suspect Waterford will beat Clare, unless Clare improve dramatically between now and then.

Limerick v Waterford, and Cork v Tipp should be two cracking semis. They could both go either way. I wouldn't like to call either at this stage, though I feel Cork will be back hungrier than ever next year, and would probably make them slight favourites to win Munster.

Again, next year I feel the big question is: Can anybody stop Kilkenny?
I'm not convinced there is though!

BIG-SLICK-POKER

Erin Go Brath wrote: »

Ye lot might beat us in that one, but we'll get ye later in the C'ship when it really matters



Again, next year I feel the big question is: Can anybody stop Kilkenny?
I'm not convinced there is though!

Well it aint goin to be Offaly/Laois/Dublin/Wexford

I am not disputing that they are the best team but they always get an easy ride and then experience comes into play in semis and finals and they are so calm as this is a yearly event fot them , Thats my point look at waterford last year did all the hasr work early on and were shattered . Kilkenny have no hard work at all just a Final to win

Again its Kilkenny in the All Ireland Final vs a Run Down Munster Team

mise_me_fein

blackbelt wrote: »

Haha,had to laugh at this.Please insert the bolded line into a revived Louth v Laois thread and then it could be relevent IF they play off in the qualifiers.I think you should definitely go ahead with a Meath v Louth Leinster Final thread reminiscent of the Louth v Laois thread and see how it pans out from there in June.:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

In all seriousness now,I think the only thing Louth can take from this game is that it will bring them on even further.Can't see anything than a Dublin win by 5 points to set up an EAST derby with Meath in the final after they dispose of Louth and probably Westmeath.

I may have got it wrong last year but all this BS about an easy game for the Dubs is way off the mark. Wicklow are a better team than people think. I expect them to beat Kildare. We beat Limerick and Kildare away last year and lost to Cork by only two points in the last 12.

Dublin were the third best team in the country last year but constant failure to win Sam will hit them mentally next year. If Paddy Keenan rules midfield - which I expect him to do - just forget it, you're in for the qualifiers Blackbelt.

Have to say, can't wait for the Louth Dublin game. The victory will be sweet.

blackbelt

I think Louth can forget about Leinster for another year,they are up against the best team in Leinster and arguably the second or third best team in the country and I'd expect Whelan and Ryan to mop the floor with Louth in midfield.If not winning Sam would hit Dublin mentally,I can see how much Louth are hit by not even winning a provincial title in donkies.

While Limerick are a tough team to beat in the Gaelic Grounds,Kildare aren't exactly world beaters.When you look at Limerick and Kildare in general,Louth 9average) happened to beat two other very average teams while I agree Wicklow aren't a bad side but in comparison,one had to expect Louth would have put Wicklow away with relative ease.This didn't happen though and although they ran away with the game in the third replay,the fact it took three matches for Louth to beat Wicklow is not encouraging.

I'd expect Louth v Dublin to be tighter match score-wise but would also expect it to be on a par with Dublin v Offaly circa 2006.Dublin by 5 points.

Also to take the piss out of Heineken slogan but I think its good to sum up Louths chances.....Louth don't do good matches in Croke Park but if they did,it would be the best miracle in the World.

Marse

Are the dates locked in?

mise_me_fein

We did well to beat both Kildare and Limerick on their own patch and could have beaten Cork had we more experience. We played 7 games last year. This will stand to us.

Louth to win by 2.

blackbelt wrote: »

Also to take the piss out of Heineken slogan but I think its good to sum up Louths chances.....Louth don't do good matches in Croke Park but if they did,it would be the best miracle in the World.

It's Carlsberg, typical Dub. LOL

blackbelt

Actually I stand corrected but as a typical Dub I will admit that,I was actually thinking of having a nice cold pint of Heineken when I wrote that....very subliminal.

Ok,you beat Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds which is no easy task but overall they are an average team and are there for the taking.Kildare are no great shakes either.They have a track record of losing to teams like Roscommon and Leitrim and so forth,the weaker Connaught teams in the weakest province of them all.Its no surprise they'd lose in their own back garden,they simply don't do qualifiers and more specifically,second round qualifiers although when I saw Louth and Kildare in Croke Park in their respective matches,Kildare looked more impressive losing to a Meath side than Louth did drawing with Wicklow.

I heard talk of how Louth would roll past Wexford after those three games but I never once bought into it.It advantaged Wexford because they could see Louths style of football,key men,strong points and weaknesses and thats where they picked on.Those matches actually prepared and brought on Wicklow more than it did Louth because they never lost a match after that and won the Tommy Murphy Cup against Antrim after beating a favoured Offaly along the road.

I think you can scrap those matches against Wicklow and Wexford and bring it down to three (Limerick,Kildare and Cork) but against the Dubs...no chance.You're looking at a team that are dominating Leinster and going for a four in a row and contending Sam year in,year out.You put it up to Cork which was impressive but Cork were hardly impressive during the summer.It was only until the Meath match that they peaked and were at their most impressive.

Louth beating Dublin is akin to a snowballs chance in hell.It won't happen.Whelan will single handedly win midfield on his own with Shane Ryan winning every breaking ball.Hell,they could put on Johnny and Darren Magee and give Whelo and Ryaner a rest and it will be the same result.Vaughan will be good for the free kicks and Bernard and Alan Brogan will put over some points and some goals along the way.Meanwhile,Cluxton will be having a picnic while all this goes on and I'm betting Shaughnessy will return to look after the Louth attack.:D

This match will bring Louth on,not a three match saga with Wicklow.They'll still lose though.Hopefully,Louth will then be drawn against Kildare under the new management of McGeeney which should indicate how he is getting on with Kildare.

What happeneed to the Louth v Meath thread?:D:D:p ...typical Louth man :rolleyes:

mise_me_fein

It's too early for that. I'll wait until March. As for the Dubs, do you know how the English soccer fans go on about the English soccer team, well eh...........enuff said I think.

Think the best thing to do is just leave it to the lads on the pitch. Paddy Keenan will destroy that knacker Whelan. I like Shane Ryan as a footballer but he'll be too fat this year to win anything.

blackbelt

mise_me_fein wrote: »

It's too early for that. I'll wait until March. As for the Dubs, do you know how the English soccer fans go on about the English soccer team, well eh...........enuff said I think.

Think the best thing to do is just leave it to the lads on the pitch. Paddy Keenan will destroy that knacker Whelan. I like Shane Ryan as a footballer but he'll be too fat this year to win anything.

The difference between English soccer fans and the Dubs is that the Dubs actually have substance in their arguments.I love how you and others compare us to English soccer and their fans...just brilliant.It wreaks of desperation.

Lets be hypothetical and in doing so I will use your great example,if England won the European Championship 3 times in a row and got to semi-finals in World Cups,do you not think they should have a cause/case to be confident?Do you not think they have the right to predict a win over a team that is not up to the standard and played 3 matches to beat an even weaker team?

Of course not because your posts are trying taking the mick.It is all tongue in cheek stuff.You know very well Louth will lose.Its really just a case of how much they will lose by and that is no disrespect intended to you or the Louth team.They are just not up to the calibre of the Dublin team.

As for Whelan,its all-star v joe bloggs to be honest.Total non-contest.Shane Ryan looked a bit beefy against Cork in the league and still contributed a lot to that match which Dublin won by 7 points hands down.Come June when the Dublin campaign started,he was in peak physical condition and trimmed down significantly.That goes to show how good he really is.He can weigh in at 16 or 17 stone and still toss Louths salad.:D

mise_me_fein

blackbelt wrote: »

The difference between English soccer fans and the Dubs is that the Dubs actually have substance in their arguments.I love how you and others compare us to English soccer and their fans...just brilliant.It wreaks of desperation.

That's bollox mate.

Dublin and the England soccer team are both over exposed on TV and newspapers.

Both have a large fan base, with a large percentage of that base not knowing a clue about the team they're following.

Both seem to think they're going to win the ultimate prize every time but always seem to fall short.

BTW, check out Peter Canavan's article on this in Hoganstand.

I totally agree with everything he says in it.

I'm not gonna bother arguing with you again on this.

If you want to catch a glimpse of Paddy Keenan before the game tune in to the All Ireland Club championship final on Paddy's Day next year.

blackbelt

Fraid not,by the time 17th March comes around Mossy Quinn,Dermot Connolly and the lads will have disposed of the Louth champs if nobody else hasn't done it yet.Although St Brigids do look like very tough opponents so it could even be Kevin Bonner.I'm a St Vincents man and can assure you that Vincents are out to win flat out.

I didn't know tickets had gone on sale for this.What row is Paddy sitting in?I'll look out for him.Mind you,I'll be there regardless of who is playing.

Oh yes the great Peter Canavan.Prime example of a former intercounty player that conforms to "conventional" thinking.I think you look at too much BBC and read too much of the News Of The World.Do you also read the Evening Herald?They over-expose these teams to sell papers.Thats their job.

Dublin winning the All Ireland is the only realistic chance of another team winning Sam.Although if Tyrone get their injury crisis sorted out,they'll be strongly favoured to put Kerry away.Otherwise,the other counties look like they don't have a hope excluding Monaghan.

premierstone

blackbelt wrote: »

Lets be hypothetical and in doing so I will use your great example,if England won the European Championship 3 times in a row and got to semi-finals in World Cups,do you not think they should have a cause/case to be confident?:D

I see your really comparing like with like here winning a European Championship is the equivalant of winning a provincial title that tbh if dublin werent in would very easily pass as the tommy murphy cup

And yes your quiet correct Peter Canavan is great, an absolute legend who is fully entitled to his opinion which as it happens is like everything the man has always done - spot on.

mise_me_fein

I see you're still dreaming of Dublin winning the All Ireland. Listen mate, they were a decent outfit in Leinster for the past few years but they're time is up. Why pressurize the team when everyone knows, as fit as they are, they just don't have it where it counts.

Louth and Monaghan are on a similar level. I've taken note of Monaghan's progress in the past 3 to 4 years and I noticed it's quite similar to the Wee County's.

Oh Paddy Keenan won't be in the row until the end of the game, he has to pick up a cup I believe after the game is over.

aidan24326

mise_me_fein wrote: »

We did well to beat both Kildare and Limerick on their own patch and could have beaten Cork had we more experience. We played 7 games last year. This will stand to us.

Louth to win by 2.

Great confidence from the Louth lads I see! It's a rotten draw for Louth as they're a team who would have had a decent chance of a Leinster final but hard to see them beating Dublin. If it was in Navan I think Louth would have had the smell of an upset but in Croker the Dubs will be too strong. It's games like this where the Croke Park advantage really kicks in for Dublin, the Longford game a couple of years ago showed they can be vulnerable when taken out of Croker. Dublin should win this by 5 or 6 pts.

Nalced_irl

Hehe, and so it begins! mise me fein, you never cease to amaze me. Dublin fans always think they are gonna win? At the start of this years championship, who here was saying The Dubs would win? As far as i recall it was mostly people from outside Dublin. I only remember one group looking further than they even got and that was you Louth heads. However i feel quite confident in saying Dublin will push Louth to the side with relative ease. If im wrong, ill hold my hands up and admit it but i dont think i will be. Dublin by 6 points. Looking forward to a few months of Dub v Louth banter on this now

Nalced_irl

mise_me_fein wrote: »

It's Carlsberg, typical Dub. LOL

How is that a typical Dub??? Stating the wrong beer with regards to an advertisement??? Way to cut to the bone there brah!

An Citeog

mise_me_fein wrote: »

I see you're still dreaming of Dublin winning the All Ireland. Listen mate, they were a decent outfit in Leinster for the past few years but they're time is up. Why pressurize the team when everyone knows, as fit as they are, they just don't have it where it counts.

Louth and Monaghan are on a similar level. I've taken note of Monaghan's progress in the past 3 to 4 years and I noticed it's quite similar to the Wee County's.

Oh Paddy Keenan won't be in the row until the end of the game, he has to pick up a cup I believe after the game is over.

Whatever about Blackbelt's posts (and I don't agree with some of what he says), you really are dilusional!

Monaghan progress has been far better than Louth's. Have Louth got a forward anywhere near the calibre of Tommy Freeman? No! What about decent teams at underage level? Recent success at club level even? Some of those Monaghan lads have won Sigerson Cup medals with DCU. I'm impressed with the way Louth have progressed over the past few years but you're nowhere near Monaghan's level at the moment (or Dublin's for that matter).

Whatever about the hype, it's nothing to do with the Dublin players themselves. If Meath can build on last years performances, they'll have a shot at Leinster, Louth certainly wont.

Don't lose hope though, you're probably better off in your dilusional state for now!

mise_me_fein

An Citeog wrote: »

Whatever about Blackbelt's posts (and I don't agree with some of what he says), you really are dilusional!

Monaghan progress has been far better than Louth's. Have Louth got a forward anywhere near the calibre of Tommy Freeman? No! What about decent teams at underage level? Recent success at club level even? Some of those Monaghan lads have won Sigerson Cup medals with DCU. I'm impressed with the way Louth have progressed over the past few years but you're nowhere near Monaghan's level at the moment (or Dublin's for that matter).

Whatever about the hype, it's nothing to do with the Dublin players themselves. If Meath can build on last years performances, they'll have a shot at Leinster, Louth certainly wont.

Don't lose hope though, you're probably better off in your dilusional state for now!

Monaghan's and Louth's progress have been quite similar actually.

We won a Div 2 title the year after they won theirs and we've been knocking on the door of the 1/4 finals every year in the past few years but for the time when we got Tyrone(the then All Ireland champs) in the first round of the quals. We clawed back from 6 points down at half time to draw the game AET.

As for our forwards, Shane Lennon who isn't a first choice all the time(probably will next year though) was the main man for UCD winning the Dublin Senior Championship. I believe Ronan Carroll was on that DCU team. Midfield for Louth and also not a first choice.

Monaghan would have beaten Kerry with more experience last year and I think Louth would have beaten Cork.

As for Dublin, you's were lucky to get past Derry and Monaghan p!ssed all over them in the Ulster championship.

Roll on the Summer.

blackbelt

mise_me_fein wrote: »

Monaghan's and Louth's progress have been quite similar actually.

We won a Div 2 title the year after they won theirs and we've been knocking on the door of the 1/4 finals every year in the past few years but for the time when we got Tyrone(the then All Ireland champs) in the first round of the quals. We clawed back from 6 points down at half time to draw the game AET.

As for our forwards, Shane Lennon who isn't a first choice all the time(probably will next year though) was the main man for UCD winning the Dublin Senior Championship. I believe Ronan Carroll was on that DCU team. Midfield for Louth and also not a first choice.

Monaghan would have beaten Kerry with more experience last year and I think Louth would have beaten Cork.

As for Dublin, you's were lucky to get past Derry and Monaghan p!ssed all over them in the Ulster championship.

Roll on the Summer.

You must be joking right?April fools day is is roughly 6 months away.You can't compare Louth and Monaghan as having the same progress by comparing winning a league division 2 title.

Plus,Monaghan got to an Ulster Final,the toughest province to play in and narrowly lost out to Tyrone and then came back and totally dominated Kerry for 66mins in a match they should have won.

Louth struggled to shake off Wicklow and then had an impressive run by beating Limerick and Kildare but they are not the best of teams.As for Tyrone,you were playing a heavily depleted watered down version of the All Ireland champions and got beat in the replay.

And what happened to UCD this year?...oh yes they got knocked out by a well oiled St Brigids team that never looked in any real danger despite the nature of the scoreline.UCD forwards were useless btw.

As for Louth beating Cork.....well they didn't,did they.I still think Louth would have lost.They had all the experience and matches under their belt having played 6 competitive matches while Cork had only played one competitive match.I still think Cork could have gone up another gear or two in that match but they didn't and looked unimpressive but still won.
As for Monaghan,experience wasn't the deciding factor that day.It was Monaghan gift wrapping easy free kicks straight in front of goal that cost them that match.Had they defended cleanly,Monagan would have won hands down.

As for Dublin,no we weren't lucky to beat Derry.We beat them with skill and determination.Both teams had 70+ minutes to prove who was the better side and Dublin prevailed by 3 points.We led by 8 points coming up to the final stages of that match.Having taken their foot off the pedal as they are known to do sometimes,Derry couldn't capitalise on this enough and our defense dealt with the Derry attack.Dublin were the all round better team both in attack and defensively.

As for Louth,you were lucky to even draw with Wicklow,especially the first time when you were 5 points down at one stage only for some free kicks towards the end and one or two well taken scores as I remember,you were saved.Although Tommy Gill also saved Wicklow but both teams could have lost it was that tight.Being led by 5 points by Wicklow is a situation Louth should have never been in that far into the game.If they are to be serious contenders,they'll have to do better than that.

An Citeog

mise_me_fein wrote: »

Monaghan's and Louth's progress have been quite similar actually.

We won a Div 2 title the year after they won theirs and we've been knocking on the door of the 1/4 finals every year in the past few years but for the time when we got Tyrone(the then All Ireland champs) in the first round of the quals. We clawed back from 6 points down at half time to draw the game AET.

As for our forwards, Shane Lennon who isn't a first choice all the time(probably will next year though) was the main man for UCD winning the Dublin Senior Championship. I believe Ronan Carroll was on that DCU team. Midfield for Louth and also not a first choice.

Monaghan would have beaten Kerry with more experience last year and I think Louth would have beaten Cork.

As for Dublin, you's were lucky to get past Derry and Monaghan p!ssed all over them in the Ulster championship.

Roll on the Summer.

Nah, he might have been on the panel but wasn´t near the team. The DCU midfield that year was made up of Owen Lennon and Ross McConnell. Winning division 2 means sweet FA. Monaghan should never even have won that anyway. They scored the most comical last minute goal I´ve ever seen against Meath!

Nice to see a bit of optimism in you though. Just don´t go betting your house on it!

mise_me_fein

Wininng Division 2 means **** all? That's bollix anyway.

Forget all that cr*p anyway. Dubs are the favourites I'll give you that but if Louth play like they can, for example first half Vs Meath and second half Vs Tyrone in 06....then really I think only Kerry could live with us.

Now that we have some experienced young players in the team, I think we're ready to get to a Leinster final at least.

cruiserweight

I won't be making any judgements on any teams until April anyway. A bit early to be making predictions.

The first thing we need to sort out in Wexford is a manager then we can worry about Meath.

An Citeog

mise_me_fein wrote: »

Wininng Division 2 means **** all? That's bollix anyway.

Forget all that cr*p anyway. Dubs are the favourites I'll give you that but if Louth play like they can, for example first half Vs Meath and second half Vs Tyrone in 06....then really I think only Kerry could live with us.

Now that we have some experienced young players in the team, I think we're ready to get to a Leinster final at least.

And if Dublin play like they can, nobody could live with us. No team can go absolutely flat out for 70 minutes and especially against the better teams, you have to learn that you´re not going to dominate the game from start to finish.

Incidently, did Louth win either of the 2 games you just mentioned?

mise_me_fein

Lost first, drew the second.....incidentally has a county with the biggest pick in the country won an All Ireland in the last 12 years?

blackbelt

MMF,do you have any figures or cold hard facts to suggest Dublin has the biggest pick in the country in terms of players and talent?I think it is fair to say that you might be basing this theory on population.Take into account the proportion of that population who don't play GAA,gender,demographics etc and you will see the how big it really is.From what I hear,Cork actually has the biggest pick in terms of people playing GAA per population.

Louth can play lovely football but they are not up to the standard of Dublin or Monaghan.They aren't even as good as Wexford as seen in the Leinster quarter final.However,I am open to the possibility that Louth have a better team after the Louth 5 left the intercounty scene.However,this is not evident enough that they are way up in standards now.

Dublin did win an All Ireland in 1995 while other strong counties like Mayo haven't won an all-ireland in over 50 years.Whats your point?

Kerry would beat Louth on their worst day even if Louth were on their best day.That is realistic.I think your over-optimistic there MMF but I've never begrudged anybody having confidence in their team.If you listen to me now,you can save your change on the kleenex in June.:D

aidan24326

mise_me_fein wrote: »

...but if Louth play like they can, for example first half Vs Meath and second half Vs Tyrone in 06....then really I think only Kerry could live with us.

Now that we have some experienced young players in the team, I think we're ready to get to a Leinster final at least.

Maybe with a nicer draw, but it wasn't kind to ye unfortunately. The most important thing is not to get hammered.

Any chance of Louth getting this as a 'home' game(presumably Navan) or is it definitely Croker?

blackbelt

The GAA would be mad not to put this in Croke Park.Afterall,us Dubs are their cash cow.

Nalced_irl

mise_me_fein wrote: »

incidentally has a county with the biggest pick in the country won an All Ireland in the last 12 years?

And that has what to do with anything? Is that your reasoning for why you think Louth will win or just a little dig? When did you last win an AI? In the 50`s? Also, as pointed out, you have no idea what your talking about. You have no clue if Dub have the biggest pick. Yes we have the biggest population but take into account that a large amount of people in Dublin are from other counties/countries and everything mentioned by blackbelt and that pick is alot smaller. I dont know any exact figures (and unlike you will not pretend to) so cant say who has the largest pick but i would doubt it is Dublin.

mise_me_fein

Suppose you can't win a debate with a bunch of arrogant Dubs.

The Louth 5....lol, some of them lads will be back next year. I know one of the lads from Collon only went to the US coz he's young and he didn't really feature that much but should from here on.

Lets just leave it to the lads next year ok.

Dublin doesn't really have to deal with hurling like Cork does, no offense.

An Citeog

mise_me_fein wrote: »

Dublin doesn't really have to deal with hurling like Cork does, no offense.

On the contrary, Dublin hurling has to deal with football and that's one of the major factors holding it back.

Less of the arrogant Dubs remarks. Sure isn't Louth in the greater Dublin area?!

mise_me_fein

Go to bed An Citeog.

No Louth is not in the greater Dublin area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Dublin_Area

Anyway that's another debate altogether.

Louth for Sam 08!