New Season is creeping up

Kerry On Tour

Well it's nearly 3 months since the demolition in dublin and in another 3 months the league will be in full swing so maybe fella's want to have a say about how their respective counties are doing.

My Own - Kerry

Only thing I think standing in our way for 3 in a row is complacency (like the one that should have seen us beaten by Monaghan). Any slip ups this year will be duly punished by the big guns and even though I'm confident it's an absolute MAMMOTH task to do it again and it will be a fantastic achievement if we do so.

EARMUFFS

Kerry On Tour wrote: »

Well it's nearly 3 months since the demolition in dublin and in another 3 months the league will be in full swing so maybe fella's want to have a say about how their respective counties are doing.

My Own - Kerry

Only thing I think standing in our way for 3 in a row is complacency (like the one that should have seen us beaten by Monaghan). Any slip ups this year will be duly punished by the big guns and even though I'm confident it's an absolute MAMMOTH task to do it again and it will be a fantastic achievement if we do so.

As you say yourself it is a mammoth task. The other main contenders however like Dublin and Tyrone who will have a lot of the big guns back this year have more question marks over them than Kerry do so at this stage they have to be the favourites.

Tomthepost

Kerry On Tour wrote: »

Well it's nearly 3 months since the demolition in dublin and in another 3 months the league will be in full swing so maybe fella's want to have a say about how their respective counties are doing.

My Own - Kerry

Only thing I think standing in our way for 3 in a row is complacency (like the one that should have seen us beaten by Monaghan). Any slip ups this year will be duly punished by the big guns and even though I'm confident it's an absolute MAMMOTH task to do it again and it will be a fantastic achievement if we do so.

What big guns??? Do they really exist:D

Kerry On Tour

Tomthepost wrote: »

What big guns??? Do they really exist:D

Ahhh now Tom, that's where we can't get cocky. . . we had a swagger about us going into the finals in '82, '02 and '05 so we are not invincible. . . . . just nearly invincible :rolleyes:

blackbelt

I don't want to come across as pessimistic or anti-Kerry (I'm not anti-Kerry) but it seems that every year,all GAA fans are excited as to who is going to win the Championship.Come September,the usual suspects are left lifting the Sam Maguire.

It has gotten to the point where it is starting to get so predictable that that buzz of talking up other teams is fading.Maybe if we stop speculating about other teams and let them get on with it,we might get a pleasant surprise.

I can only see Kerry winning Sam in 08.If this is to happen,I can only hope that they win it in a competitive final match instead of the shambols that was 04,06 and 07.Its been years since Kerry won a competitive final.I think it takes the gloss off the honours somewhat.

Tomthepost

No disrespect to the others.
I want to see Tyrone back to there best and hopefully have another crack at them next September.

blackbelt

Tomthepost wrote: »

No disrespect to the others.
I want to see Tyrone back to there best and hopefully have another crack at them next September.

I've actually grown to like them....ok better way to put it,I've grown not to dislike them.I'd hope that Dublin,Tyrone and Mayo could come back and challenge Kerry.I've a sneaking suspicion that Tyrone won't though.They play too many matches up there that are very physical and competitive and Mickey Harte is too liberal with letting players play club/college matches during the league etc that by the time the championship comes,the players are either burned out or injured.

Unless Mickey has a hard line approach to this next year,Tyrone won't be in any position to challenge like they did in 05.I think 09 will see the re-emergence of Armagh.Give them a year to adjust to the new management and they'll be there again.

I think if Mayo simply concentrate on staying up in Division 1,they'll be able to challenge.They peaked against the likes of Cork and Galway in the league and by June,they were no more.

Tomthepost

blackbelt wrote: »

I've actually grown to like them....ok better way to put it,I've grown not to dislike them.I'd hope that Dublin,Tyrone and Mayo could come back and challenge Kerry.I've a sneaking suspicion that Tyrone won't though.They play too many matches up there that are very physical and competitive and Mickey Harte is too liberal with letting players play club/college matches during the league etc that by the time the championship comes,the players are either burned out or injured.

Unless Mickey has a hard line approach to this next year,Tyrone won't be in any position to challenge like they did in 05.I think 09 will see the re-emergence of Armagh.Give them a year to adjust to the new management and they'll be there again.

I think if Mayo simply concentrate on staying up in Division 1,they'll be able to challenge.They peaked against the likes of Cork and Galway in the league and by June,they were no more.

I actually agree with you on all the above. Mayo on paper at least are by far the strongest team in Connacht. Armagh do have young talent on the way. But Tyrone will be fasinating to watch next year. I think they feel that to prove they are a great team they got to be in Croker next Sept.

villains77

blackbelt wrote: »

I don't want to come across as pessimistic or anti-Kerry (I'm not anti-Kerry) but it seems that every year,all GAA fans are excited as to who is going to win the Championship.Come September,the usual suspects are left lifting the Sam Maguire.

It has gotten to the point where it is starting to get so predictable that that buzz of talking up other teams is fading.Maybe if we stop speculating about other teams and let them get on with it,we might get a pleasant surprise.

I can only see Kerry winning Sam in 08.If this is to happen,I can only hope that they win it in a competitive final match instead of the shambols that was 04,06 and 07.Its been years since Kerry won a competitive final.I think it takes the gloss off the honours somewhat.

you have a valid point there man. Iam bored doing ths fecking microsoft access exercises not long to go now and are lecturer is not in have some other lecturer tmrrw aswell. think i pull a sickie tmrrow lol. well talk to u again blackbelt.

scaramanga

Tomthepost wrote: »

I actually agree with you on all the above. Mayo on paper at least are by far the strongest team in Connacht. Armagh do have young talent on the way. But Tyrone will be fasinating to watch next year. I think they feel that to prove they are a great team they got to be in Croker next Sept.

mayo? i know its the silly season but.......
mayos chance was in 96 when the ball bounced over the bar! since then they've been involved in a few exciting, but not high quality , games that made them appeear better than they are.
plus if the suporters are anything to go by the bitterness will be too great for them to carry

blackbelt

villains77 wrote: »

you have a valid point there man. Iam bored doing ths fecking microsoft access exercises not long to go now and are lecturer is not in have some other lecturer tmrrw aswell. think i pull a sickie tmrrow lol. well talk to u again blackbelt.

Ah yes microsoft access.Takes me back to 4th year.Be a good boy and don't lie and go to your lecturers.Remember to brush after meals and don't forget your Ps and Qs.:D

Talk to you later man.Up the Dubs.

Supermanscat

Sligo---
I think we'll take the summer off and keep celebrating:D:D

aidan24326

Kerry On Tour wrote: »

Well it's nearly 3 months since the demolition in dublin and in another 3 months the league will be in full swing so maybe fella's want to have a say about how their respective counties are doing.

My Own - Kerry

Only thing I think standing in our way for 3 in a row is complacency (like the one that should have seen us beaten by Monaghan). Any slip ups this year will be duly punished by the big guns and even though I'm confident it's an absolute MAMMOTH task to do it again and it will be a fantastic achievement if we do so.

At the moment there's not many 'big guns' around to trouble Kerry from what I can see. The only danger to Kerry is that they get complacent or get caught cold some day as almost happened against Monaghan. With a quarter final spot all but guaranteed Kerry can ease into it and peak at just the right time later in the Summer. That's the advantage of a fairly easy Munster Championship. It's an absolute cert that Kerry will be in the shakeup again, I can't see many threats other than possibly Dublin. Tyrone are not the team they were although I'm sure Kerry would be still be very wary of them.

My own county (Galway) are open to improvement with a new management team in place. We'll hardly win it out but I'd be looking for a much better showing than we had the last couple of years. A semi-final place would be a realistic aim.

kevmy

scaramanga wrote: »

mayo? i know its the silly season but.......
mayos chance was in 96 when the ball bounced over the bar! since then they've been involved in a few exciting, but not high quality , games that made them appeear better than they are.
plus if the suporters are anything to go by the bitterness will be too great for them to carry

As a Mayoman I have to say you're right that Mayo won't win it this year. At the moment Johhno is casting around the county looking for a full-back, a centre-back, a second midfielder and a full-forward. Now there are maybe 3 or 4 players in the present panel that could fill one or two of those positions but tbh I think this is another rebuilding year.

As for the second part of your post. Mayo contested finals in both 04 and 06 now okay they were well beaten by a Kerry side that has since been held up a one of the greats. But that still puts Mayo in the top 4 with Kerry, Armagh and Tyrone around that time. Remember they beat Tyrone, Dublin, Galway and Laois along the way to those finals. If those teams were better than them then why didn't they beat them.

As for Mayo fans being bitter I think anyone who has ever been to a Mayo match be it league or Championship will acknowledge that Mayo fans aren't bitter. We follow the team through thick and thin and we may be overly optimistic when wining and fatalistic when losing but I don't think we are bitter in the slightest. By the sounds of your post your the bitter one

Kerry On Tour

kevmy wrote: »

As a Mayoman I have to say you're right that Mayo won't win it this year.

While I agree with you, it's a foolish team that underestimates Mayo on any given day. With some of the undoubted talent Mayo have in the team and the potential of some lads to stand up and be counted they are capable of beating anyone I think in a one off match. What the lack is the sort of consistency and belief to do it game after game after game. The mistake they have made I think anyway against Kerry in 2004 and 2006 was trying to go toe to toe with Kerry playing open football in which case there was only ever going to be one outcome. Need more steel in midfield and defence and a half forward who can win 70% of the ball played into him. That's my take on Mayo.

holymolyHS

Kerry On Tour wrote: »

While I agree with you, it's a foolish team that underestimates Mayo on any given day. With some of the undoubted talent Mayo have in the team and the potential of some lads to stand up and be counted they are capable of beating anyone I think in a one off match. What the lack is the sort of consistency and belief to do it game after game after game. The mistake they have made I think anyway against Kerry in 2004 and 2006 was trying to go toe to toe with Kerry playing open football in which case there was only ever going to be one outcome. Need more steel in midfield and defence and a half forward who can win 70% of the ball played into him. That's my take on Mayo.

Strangely enough, it was a Kerryman who told me before the semi in 06 that one day Mayo forwards will take their scores and will put in a performance to be remembered. Sadly enough he was spot on as we all know in that classic of a match against the Dubs. Shame they didn't bring the same mental strength to the final.

I think Mayo have talent, but still don't have what it takes to win the big one. Their defence is very suspect and I still don't think their forwards are consistent enough.

popebenny16

the real fun has to be guessing the quater finals in the football. so, who do we think will emulate Sligo this year? Is it written in stone that we will see Dublin/Kerry/Tyrone/Cork in this years Semi's?

I want Dublin to get a proper league under their belt. Although there is a theory that despite not getting to the knock out stages of the leauge Dublin have come mighty close to an AI Final and so it cant do them any harm to go on in that fashion I think that if they got a round or even three of genuine knock out football under their belt it can only bring them on.

Also, there is one hell of a gap from the end of the non-knock out part of the leauge till June.

As for Hurling lets just call it the Kilkenny/Cork Champtionship, and run it like the World Series so that KK can win it 60 matches to Corks 58 or something.

What I would give for Dublin to win a Leinster though...........

DublinDes

popebenny16 wrote: »

the real fun has to be guessing the quater finals in the football. so, who do we think will emulate Sligo this year? Is it written in stone that we will see Dublin/Kerry/Tyrone/Cork in this years Semi's?

I want Dublin to get a proper league under their belt. Although there is a theory that despite not getting to the knock out stages of the leauge Dublin have come mighty close to an AI Final and so it cant do them any harm to go on in that fashion I think that if they got a round or even three of genuine knock out football under their belt it can only bring them on.

Also, there is one hell of a gap from the end of the non-knock out part of the leauge till June.

As for Hurling lets just call it the Kilkenny/Cork Champtionship, and run it like the World Series so that KK can win it 60 matches to Corks 58 or something.

What I would give for Dublin to win a Leinster though...........

Is there a possible U21 All Ireland hurling title for the Dubs this year ?? Not to mention a good minor team on the way. Still, looks like another bloody boring season at senior level, Kerry and Kilkenny :rolleyes:

Erin Go Brath

Lads don't be so depressing. Its not going to be the Cork/Kilkenny championship in hurling and the Kerry show in football.

In hurling theres a number of teams much improved in the last year or so. Waterford, Limerick, Tipperary are all well capable of causing upsets to the status quo, and if Galway hit form they can be dangerous too. The cats are there to be knocked, and I think teams are wising up to them and their style of play. They're still favourites, but certainly no guarantee that they'll retain Liam this year.

In football its even more competitive. The Ulster teams had a poor season this year. I'd expect Armagh, Tyrone, Derry, and Monaghan to be serious contenders next year. Dublin, Meath, Cork, Galway, Mayo can't be written off and there'll surely be a surprise team making the step up to challenge Kerry.

Theres a lot of hurling and football to be played before next September yet!!!

yurmothrintites

As much as it pains me say Dublin have a fair chance of winning sam this year. Kerry are undoubtingly the team to beat though as they will be looking for the three in a row and they have just as much hunger as ever.

I'd love to say Mayo will sam, but it's not going to happen in the near future. Hopefullly we will just build up a strong team and try our best this year.

shiibata

I think kerry or the dubs for sam, no way can I see tyrone, monaghan or especially derry:rolleyes: having a say..I would have an outside bet on Armagh at 16s

blackbelt

shiibata wrote: »

I think kerry or the dubs for sam, no way can I see tyrone, monaghan or especially derry:rolleyes: having a say..I would have an outside bet on Armagh at 16s

Kerry and Dublin are definitely in with a shout and as for Monaghan,I think they'll be the kingpins of Ulster and may possibly get to an All Ireland semi final if Mickey Harte is still too liberal letting his Tyrone players play in club/colleges matches during the league and pre-championship.Otherwise,Donegal would have to be fancied for Ulster honours if these two teams don't do the business.

Armagh are rebuilding.Young players and a new manager,give them a year to get some experience and they'll be back.Luck defeated them against Donegal and Derry played their heart out in defense to deny Armagh the second day.

In Connaught,it will probably be business as usual again with Mayo winning there and in Leinster,we're probably looking at a Dublin-Meath final.Kerry for Munster and Sam though probably although it will be interesting to see Cork and how their young panel progresses over the year.

Division 2 will be contested by Dublin and Cork while Division 1 will probably be fought out between Tyrone,Donegal and Kerry.

smashey

blackbelt wrote: »

Division 1 will probably be fought out between Tyrone,Donegal and Kerry.

Donegal have a nice handy opener at home to Kerry. Oh, and it's under the new lights at Ballybofey.

As for division 2. Meh.

Pride Fighter

My picks
Football
Leinster- Dublin
Munster- Kerry
Connacht- Galway
Ulster- Tyrone
Back door- Armagh, Mayo, Meath, Cork
Surprise- possibly Monaghan instead of Mayo
AI- Dublin

Hurling
Leinster- Kilkenny
Munster- Waterford
Surprise- Dublin to make the Leinster final
AI- Waterford

Daysha

This years championship restored my faith in hurling. Unfortunately with Kilkenny given a bye to the AI semi finals for the forseeable future it'll take a huge effort from one county this year to stop them.

Even though most have assumed Waterfords best chance has gone, thats not the case. Flynn and Browne have remained for another year while players like Molumphy and Kearney will get better again. Thanks to a nice Munster draw I'm expecting Waterford to at least beat Cork in the Munster final. And with one or two lucky breaks heading into the All Ireland's, we won't lose our 5 semi final in 7 years!

aidan24326

deise59 wrote: »

This years championship restored my faith in hurling. Unfortunately with Kilkenny given a bye to the AI semi finals for the forseeable future it'll take a huge effort from one county this year to stop them.

Even though most have assumed Waterfords best chance has gone, thats not the case. Flynn and Browne have remained for another year while players like Molumphy and Kearney will get better again. Thanks to a nice Munster draw I'm expecting Waterford to at least beat Cork in the Munster final. And with one or two lucky breaks heading into the All Ireland's, we won't lose our 5 semi final in 7 years!

Waterford have failed to deliver in Croke Park, and I reckon their chance has come and gone. Maybe, just maybe they'll have one more lash at it in 2008 but really '07 was their chance and they blew it.

If Kilkenny don't win it there's realistically only 3 teams who could stop them, Cork, Waterford and maybe Galway. Nobody else has much of a chance in my opinion.

If Loughnane can learn from the mistakes this year I think Galway will be the team who might capitalise if KK don't manage the 3 in a row. But with the amount of talent at their disposal, and some of the best players ever (Shefflin,Walsh,Fitzpatrick) Kilkenny are hard to oppose.

Mweelrea

Kerry On Tour wrote: »

Ahhh now Tom, that's where we can't get cocky. . . we had a swagger about us going into the finals in '82, '02 and '05 so we are not invincible. . . . . just nearly invincible :rolleyes:

Kerry On Tour can ye let someone else win this year?

I don't think the dubs will win the AI
People thought the same last year and the year before that but they never make it past the semi's

As for Mayo my own county i think getting in the back door would be an achievement considering the fact that there are too few young players comming through and those that do get whipped up by the AFL or in one case the IRFU

I'd like to see monaghan win it simply because they're underdogs

padraig_f

Hard to look past Kerry for the All-Ireland. Don't forget last year they had a change of management and a couple of rookies playing in back line -- Reidy and Young who came on very well. For most other teams, it would've been a transition year. I think they won the 2007 championship without playing fully to their potential and I'd expect them to be an even tighter unit this year. In a knockout tournament, anything can happen of course, but if you're picking one team, it has to be Kerry for me.

I don't think the dubs will win the AI
People thought the same last year and the year before that but they never make it past the semi's

Agree with this. They've been flattered in recent years by playing in a very weak Leinster championship. Once they've got out of Leinster their limitations have been exposed. I can't see what's going to be different this year.

I really thought they needed a change of management after last year to shake things up. They were relegated in the league and got no further in the championship than previous years, so I was a bit puzzled why they stuck with the management team for another year. They're not a bad team and have some good players, but I think under the current set-up they're still some distance off winning an all-ireland.

aidan24326

padraig_f wrote: »

I really thought they needed a change of management after last year to shake things up. They were relegated in the league and got no further in the championship than previous years, so I was a bit puzzled why they stuck with the management team for another year. They're not a bad team and have some good players, but I think under the current set-up they're still some distance off winning an all-ireland.

Agreed. A change of management could have done the trick for Dublin. They're not far off the mark, and it might have given them the extra push to go all the way. Pillar is an uninspiring manager. Just my opinion.

blackbelt

Have to disagree with you guys (Padraig_f and Aidan) in the context of getting a new manager and being uninspiring.Look back down through the years Pillar has been in charge.3 Leinster Titles and two semi-finals is nothing to be laughed at.Its a huge achievement considering where the team was at in 2003 and 2004 under the shambles that was the Lyons era.My only gripe with Caffrey is his tendency to misread crucial games and make some bogey substitutions.Ray Cosgrove anyone?

I think Leinster is more competitive than Munster and Connaught certainly.With teams like Dublin, Laois, Meath and Wexford you are looking at a very competitive province whereas Munster and Connaught will predominantly be a two horse race with Mayo and Galway in Connaught and Kerry and Cork in Munster.Limerick and Sligo are on the periphery and when the top guns fade away,they'll take their chance and thats what Sligo did against Galway.

I don't think Dublin would progress just because of a change in management after this year.When Pillar took the reigns in Dublin,it was widely speculated that some form of silverware was going to be won by the Dubs and that was the Delaney Cup.When they won it that year (Pillars 1st year 2005) it was not a surprise at all.Remember,Dublin lost to Laois in 2003 and Westmeath in 2004 in Leinster semi-finals under Lyons who was in my mind a useless manager.Dublin beat the then said teams with ease in the games after.

The players are really behind Caffrey and gave him their backing.Ciaran Whelan staying another year is proof and Alan Brogan and Jayo urged Pillar not to go.If Dublin are going to play really well,having a manager that they support strongly is part of the ingredients.To take that away from Dublin for 2008 might have upset things.

Dublin are also not a league team.While I'm disappointed they are not in Division 1,it may not be an altogether bad thing.In fact,Dublin were in Division2 when they won Sam in 1995.If Dublin win Division 2,who knows what they could do after that,maybe even reach the final but the league can be viewed in two ways.

1.Just a warmup competition for the championship
2.The window of opportunity to signal to the rest of the country who are contenders.

If you saw how Mayo performed in the league,you'd see a team who signalled that another championship final looked very likely.Defeating Dublin,Kerry,Cork Tyrone and Galway in February-April looks well on paper but come May they got hockeyed by Galway who they beat the previous month and then Mayo could only defeat themselves against Derry in Celtic Park.

Donegal were guilty of this too.Defeating Dublin,Mayo,Cork,Kerry,Tyrone,Kildare and Mayo again was a sign they could win Sam,they looked invincible.Come July,they were beaten off the pitch by Tyrone and Monaghan accounted for their season.The league can mean different things to different teams.I don't think it means an awful lot to Dublin or Kerry.The primary objective for those two teams is winning Sam.

shiibata

we won the league alright but we had our first 15 out all the time as most other teams in div 1 had a good few regulars out, i think thats how we won it and were then hungover(in more ways than one:mad:) for championship..
Think the dubs have been unlucky this last couple of years..only a kick of the ball in it when they get beat and if monaghan would have beat kerry last year, which they should have, dubs would have won all ireland no problem..
Long mat the fast last though:D

Mweelrea

shiibata wrote: »

we won the league alright

Mayo have a great league reccord but have only ever won 3 all irelands.
Teams like Kerry aren't great in the league but brilliant in the championship and sadly for mayo its the championship that counts

gaeilgegrinds

Any hope for Galway or are they really as bad as people think?

aidan24326

gaeilgegrinds wrote: »

Any hope for Galway or are they really as bad as people think?

Who said they were that bad?

gaeilgegrinds

Most of Galway from what I can make out...Have they any hope cos I'd only love if they won!

aidan24326

gaeilgegrinds wrote: »

Most of Galway from what I can make out...Have they any hope cos I'd only love if they won!

Impossible to say at this stage. New management, new year, we'll have to wait and see. An All-Ireland is unlikely but an improved showing is a definite possibility.

Mweelrea

gaeilgegrinds wrote: »

Any hope for Galway or are they really as bad as people think?

I doubt they'll win it but with new management who knows where they'll be in the years to come