Kerry GAA Discussion Thread Mod Warning Post #4167

wonga77

Is there some other issue with Cox that he's not getting a chance? He's club displays are certainly good enough

keane2097

ciarriaithuaidh wrote: »

If that team DOES start I wouldn't be too happy.

Not aware of how anyone is going in training but based on what I've seen so far this year I'd be going with:

Kelly

Murphy
Griffin
Fionn Fitz

Crowley
Marc
Young/Enright..depends on opposition. Fionn could switch with Enright.

Sheehan
Moran (if fit)

Darran
Casey
Donnacha

O'Brien
Declan
Paul Geaney

Culhane and Cox were both going well enough, so disappointed they won't be around. The bench is beginning to look weaker by the day.:(

Would agree pretty much entirely with that selection.

ciarriaithuaidh

wonga77 wrote: »

Is there some other issue with Cox that he's not getting a chance? He's club displays are certainly good enough

No, don't think there's any issue. He's a good player, but maybe a tad lacking in pace for the very highest level...as an inside forward at least. I still maintain he could make a very good centre forward but nobody ever seems to play him there. Saw him play there with UCC and Listowel a couple of times and was very impressed. Beautiful kicker of the ball with both feet.

ciarriaithuaidh

keane2097 wrote: »

Would agree pretty much entirely with that selection.

Delighted to have a forum legend agree with me!

Now if ye could organise a Strand road delegation to head for Sydney this year to forcibly kidnap Tommy and bring him home, that'd be great.

keane2097

ciarriaithuaidh wrote: »

Delighted to have a forum legend agree with me!

Now if ye could organise a Strand road delegation to head for Sydney this year to forcibly kidnap Tommy and bring him home, that'd be great.

Probably need to kidnap five or six with him the way things are going in Strand Road :rolleyes:

ciarriaithuaidh

keane2097 wrote: »

Probably need to kidnap five or six with him the way things are going in Strand Road :rolleyes:

Yeah, not going too well this year. Shouldn't be involved in the relegation battle and you'd think would be good enough to play their way out of it..but not where the club should be given the talent available.

Who's in charge of the seniors this year?

keane2097

ciarriaithuaidh wrote: »

Yeah, not going too well this year. Shouldn't be involved in the relegation battle and you'd think would be good enough to play their way out of it..but not where the club should be given the talent available.

Who's in charge of the seniors this year?

Barry O'Shea

Boom__Boom

Kelly

Murphy
Griffin
Marc

Fionn
Crowley
Young

Maher
Moran

Darran
Casey
Donnacha

O'Brien
Declan
Paul Geaney

Subs
Kealy
AOM
Donaghy
Enright
Sheehan
Lyne
Sherwood
Kieran O'Leary
BJK
Mike Geaney
Culhane

A key thing for me is that we need to give our youngsters as much Championship time as possible given the odds are so high that Marc and Aidan will be gone next year. So in a sense start the youngsters and have the experienced heads to come off the bench if needed.
For me and from what I saw Kelly was better than Kealy in the league and based on that I think he should get the nod.
I really dont want to see Marc in the half-back line as I think he doesnt have the stamina to be covering the ground ; I also think his experience would be useful alongside Griffin and Murphy.
Fionn, Crowley and Young to my mind is our most natural half-back line-up. To me I can see them working well as a unit. Mobility being key - one are of concern is their ability to win breaking ball around midfield. AOM and Enright the likely subs here.

Maher to me is key - if he doesn't go well Kerry are in serious trouble. I hope to hell Moran is fit, because I have very little faith in Sheehan. For me I wouldnt be surprised if Fitzmaurice pulled a surprise out of the bag here as I think Eamonn doesnt really rate Sheehan either - maybe Donaghy, Griffin or AOM to start midfield? For me his contribution in general play is very limited - he doesn't cover ground, he's a very poor ball winner, he can't tackle for toffee. If you could bring him on Sheehan to kick 45s, deadballs and penalties as a specialist place kicker it would be great for what he contributes there. In club football where he has time and space Sheehan is a different case but at top level football I don't think he can be more than a bit-part player. He'd probably do ok in a game verus Clare/Waterford but this is a game to be preparing for Cork and for hopefully Croker.

Darren and Donnacha pick themselves in the half-forward line with Casey getting the nod here. Wouldnt be surprised to see Declan dropping out here as a tactic to leave room for the goal merchants of Geaney and O'Brien. JOD is a serious loss here, especially in terms of occupying defenders minds.

It will be very interesting to see what sort of kickout strategy we employ. In some of the league games it seemed to be the case that almost everything was lofted down the middle. Really got the sense that this was a case of keeping things under wrap.

Boom__Boom

ciarriaithuaidh wrote: »

No, don't think there's any issue. He's a good player, but maybe a tad lacking in pace for the very highest level...as an inside forward at least. I still maintain he could make a very good centre forward but nobody ever seems to play him there. Saw him play there with UCC and Listowel a couple of times and was very impressed. Beautiful kicker of the ball with both feet.

I think part of it is his link up play can be a bit limited - oftentimes he will look very much the lad who was star player on every team he has played so his instinct is to shoot first and only if he cant get a shot away does he look for the pass. This can look very selfish on an intercounty team especially when you have lads in blatantly better positions. Also I think he doesnt have the goal threat that some of the lads he is competing with have. The idea about him as a centre forward is interesting but you can understand why managers would like him near enough the posts.

Edit: Cox got 3 games in the league so it's not as if he is out of the reckoning (and he was involved with UCC and Sigerson football) so it's not as if he was completely free.

ciarriaithuaidh wrote: »

Delighted to have a forum legend agree with me!

Now if ye could organise a Strand road delegation to head for Sydney this year to forcibly kidnap Tommy and bring him home, that'd be great.

From everything I've heard no kidnapping will be necessary

Boom__Boom

Just came across this article. Of course it would be after I picked my team.

Key bits

Johnny Buckley (ankle) and James O’Donoghue (shoulder) ruled out along with captain Colm Cooper and Kieran Donaghy

Marc Ó Sé, Daithí Casey, David Moran, Anthony Maher and Alan Fitzgerald all had knocks but Fitzmaurice is hopeful those problems will have cleared

Fitzmaurice must also plan without Brian McGuire, James Walsh, David Culhane and Conor Cox, all of whom are heading to the United States.

“Brian McGuire got a job offer, they came back to him three times, he just had to take it. For the younger lads, the job prospects for the summer in Kerry aren’t great and they were probably getting frustrated too at where they were at in the panel, where they saw themselves.

“You can’t put a gun to a fella’s head, if he’s going to go, he’s going to go. When fellas are leaving after a good bit of work has gone in, of course it’s going to weaken competition in terms of trying to get into the [match-day] 26.”

The 3 younger lads heading to the States is a worry, especially as regards building for the future. I don't really count McGuire as the same as he's off full-time.

Jeez if a couple of those knocks don't clear up, we might see Eamonn taking up the number 26 position in the squad. The depth of the squad really doesn't look great, especially in terms of Championship experience. Between Tommy W in Sydney and the 4 lads in the US plus a couple of other lads not involved - Curtin, Geaney in meath (heard he scored 2-6 in a club game lately) we could nearly have a pretty decent Kerry exiles 15.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/kerry-boss-says-injury-crisis-is-easing-272002.html

D'Agger

ciarriaithuaidh wrote: »

Delighted to have a forum legend agree with me!

Now if ye could organise a Strand road delegation to head for Sydney this year to forcibly kidnap Tommy and bring him home, that'd be great.

Ah Jésus he'll feed off that for weeks :pac:

buyer95

The knock that Eamon is referring to as regards Marc is an underline issue with his back that is not clearing up. I have it from the horses mouth(literally in this case.) He can play through it and although it is causing him a great deal of pain, he is willing to as he is giving it one last lash with Kerry and then will retire from football totally.

keane2097

D'Agger wrote: »

Ah Jésus he'll feed off that for weeks :pac:

I know he doesn't mean it the auld bollocks!

ciarriaithuaidh

keane2097 wrote: »

I know he doesn't mean it the auld bollocks!

Surely you're not implying I was being sarcastic or something? :eek:

Prop Joe

1. Brian Kelly Killarney Legion
2. Paul Murphy Rathmore
3. Marc Ó Sé An Ghaeltacht
4. Shane Enright Tarbert
5. Peter Crowley Laune Rangers
6. Killian Young Renard
7. Fionn Fitzgerald (Capt) Dr Crokes
8. Anthony Maher Duagh
9. David Moran Kerins O’Rahillys
10. Darran O’Sullivan Glenbeigh-Glencar
11. Bryan Sheehan St Marys
12. Michael Geaney Dingle
13. Stephen O’Brien Kenmare
14. Declan O’Sullivan Dromid Pearses
15. Paul Geaney Dingle

Fir Ionaid:
16. Brendan Kealy Kilcummin
17. Aidan O’Mahony Rathmore
18. Kieran O’Leary Dr Crokes
19. Mark Griffin St Michaels/Foilmore
20. Jonathan Lyne Killarney Legion
21. Barry John Keane Kerins O’Rahillys
22. Pa Kilkenny Glenbeigh/Glencar
23. Daithí Casey Dr Crokes
24. Paul O’Donoghue St Marys
25. Kieran Donaghy Austin Stacks
26. Donnchadh Walsh Cromane


Fitzy trying out a few things on Sunday,Hoping to get over the tie without showing his hand to Cork.

Could see up to 6 of the subs Sunday start the next day out or could Fitzy be looking to finish the game stronger than starting it

Fireball07

No one has posted ye're team for the match against Clare?

1. Brian Kelly Killarney
2. Paul Murphy
3. Marc Ó'Sé
4. Shane Enright
5. Peter Crowley
6. Killian Young
7. Fionn Fitzgerald (Captain)
8. Anthony Maher
9. David Moran
10. Darran O’Sullivan
11. Bryan Sheehan
12. Michael Geaney
13. Stephen O’Brien
14. Declan O’Sullivan
15. Paul Geaney

Subs:
16. Brendan Kealy
17. Aidan O’Mahony
18. Kieran O’Leary
19. Mark Griffin
20. Jonathan Lyne
21. Barry John Keane
22. Pa Kilkenny
23. Daithí Casey
24. Paul O’Donoghue
25. Kieran Donaghy
26. Donnchadh Walsh



It's a young team, and it's not as if there's much experience on the bench. I mean, you should beat Clare but is that 15 ready for the top level yet? Some very decent players on the bench too though, you are putting together a decent panel again... although it could be a couple more years before you really bear the fruit of that... unless you rely on the older heads too much.

Is Fionn Fitz the captain since the start of the year?



EDIT- 2 mins late!!

DDC1990

Micheal Geaney???

What does Fitzy see in him I wonder.

Shown absolutely nothing in a Kerry jersey to date, to start over Casey/Walsh/O'Leary/BJK

Interesting team. Griffin can count himself unlucky also.

ciarriaithuaidh

DDC1990 wrote: »

Micheal Geaney???

What does Fitzy see in him I wonder.

Shown absolutely nothing in a Kerry jersey to date, to start over Casey/Walsh/O'Leary/BJK

Interesting team. Griffin can count himself unlucky also.

You and me, both lad. No logic to it IMO.

Griffin a tad hard done by alright. There'll be at least 3/4 changes to the team for Cork one would imagine though.

Seems the penny has finally dropped on Kealy aswell, which is one positive. Also good to see O'Brien and especially Murphy rewarded for league form.

Axel Lamp

I fear for us against Cork, based on the panel above (not just the starting team).

We could be out of the championship by the end of July.

Also to answer the question above Fionn Fitz is captain as he is the Dr Crokes representative

The_Honeybadger

DDC1990 wrote: »

Micheal Geaney???

What does Fitzy see in him I wonder.

Shown absolutely nothing in a Kerry jersey to date, to start over Casey/Walsh/O'Leary/BJK

Interesting team. Griffin can count himself unlucky also.

He would have had him all through school as he was teaching in dingle and must believe he has what it takes? He had a long time to assess him in fairness. That is the only thing I can think of, let's see what he does at the wknd. He has zero chance of starting later in the championship unless he plays a stormer Sunday though. Sometimes players develop late, given a chance you never know he may come good.

Very much an experimental team, look forward to seeing how some of the new guys do.

Gary Neville

Fireball07 wrote: »

No one has posted ye're team for the match against Clare?

1. Brian Kelly Killarney
2. Paul Murphy
3. Marc Ó'Sé
4. Shane Enright
5. Peter Crowley
6. Killian Young
7. Fionn Fitzgerald (Captain)
8. Anthony Maher
9. David Moran
10. Darran O’Sullivan
11. Bryan Sheehan
12. Michael Geaney
13. Stephen O’Brien
14. Declan O’Sullivan
15. Paul Geaney

Subs:
16. Brendan Kealy
17. Aidan O’Mahony
18. Kieran O’Leary
19. Mark Griffin
20. Jonathan Lyne
21. Barry John Keane
22. Pa Kilkenny
23. Daithí Casey
24. Paul O’Donoghue
25. Kieran Donaghy
26. Donnchadh Walsh



It's a young team, and it's not as if there's much experience on the bench. I mean, you should beat Clare but is that 15 ready for the top level yet? Some very decent players on the bench too though, you are putting together a decent panel again... although it could be a couple more years before you really bear the fruit of that... unless you rely on the older heads too much.

Is Fionn Fitz the captain since the start of the year?



EDIT- 2 mins late!!

Very hard to know what to expect from Kerry this year. The league was a mixed bag and some of the main men such as the O Sullivans, Young, O Se, Sheehan played little or no games. Current management play their cards close - training and challenge games are closed door anfd players/management don't talk to the press. Injury lists are released and you have to assue that's to lower expectations and keep opponents guessing.

There's such a huge gap in class, that the 2 c/ship games for Clare are unlikely to make much difference and whilst Kerry haven't had a competitive game for 8 weeks - they had a trip to Portugal and presumably some decent challenge games.

The main surprise is Ml Geaney in for D Walsh.

There is no way IMO that E Fitz is not showing his hand to Cork here. He'll be giving Clare full respect and will only start thinking about Cork if both come through the week-end.

The main interest for Kerry will be whether Maher gets back on form, how O Brien and the Geaneys step up to c/ship football and whether Declan O Sullivan can replace Cooper as the leader of the attack.

Boom__Boom

Fireball07 wrote: »

Is Fionn Fitz the captain since the start of the year?

Fionn gets the the captaincy because Kieran O'Leary isn't starting.

Kieran was named as captain by the Crokes.

Boom__Boom

Gary Neville wrote: »

The main surprise is Ml Geaney in for D Walsh.

There is no way IMO that E Fitz is not showing his hand to Cork here. He'll be giving Clare full respect and will only start thinking about Cork if both come through the week-end.

The main interest for Kerry will be whether Maher gets back on form, how O Brien and the Geaneys step up to c/ship football and whether Declan O Sullivan can replace Cooper as the leader of the attack.

There's a lot of questions to be sure.

I got 12 out of 15 in the team I predicted with the 3 I got wrong being

Mikey Geaney for Walsh
Sheehan ahead of Casey
Enright as opposed to Griffin (not that it was a straight competition as it was the decision to put Marc fullback that kept Griffin out)

Geaney is definitely a surprise considering he'd didnt exactly feature much in the league and didnt exactly make much of an impression.

Midfield is a worry, especially with one eye on the Cork game. How fit are Moran and Donaghy and will Maher manage to find some form?

The defence I'm fairly confident about (especially with Griffin and O'Mahony to spring from the bench if anyone is massively off-form) but the front 6 have a lot of questions hanging over them. The 2 Geaneys and O'Brien start their 1st Championship game, Darren after an injury wrecked season last year and surgery is a concern as is Declan's lack of proper game-time (pottering around playing a bit of inter-firms football is miles off playing Division 1 football) Sheehan will be fine from deadballs but in general play? Really wouldnt be shocked if the forwards struggle, especially if goals don't go in. Not a huge amount of faith in the options off the subs bench if we need to make subs.

Only 7 of the 15 who started the last championship game against Dublin starting says a lot about how much of a change there is here compared to last year.

Fr Tod Umptious

This idea that Kerry are "not showing their hand" is just silly.

No manager with an already weak squad is going to further weaken it just to try and hide something from the next potential opponent

Sure they will make changes cos it is Clare, but it will be to win the game while giving some players game time while resting others, not to hide anything from Cork.

Boom__Boom

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

This idea that Kerry are "not showing their hand" is just silly.

No manager with an already weak squad is going to further weaken it just to try and hide something from the next potential opponent

Sure they will make changes cos it is Clare, but it will be to win the game while giving some players game time while resting others, not to hide anything from Cork.

Nah I heard Tomas, Paul and Eoin will all be back for the Cork game and Cooper isnt even actually injured and Tommy Walsh is going to parachute in for the Cork game.

lukin

Boom__Boom wrote: »

Nah I heard Tomas, Paul and Eoin will all be back for the Cork game and Cooper isnt even actually injured and Tommy Walsh is going to parachute in for the Cork game.

I knew it. Typical Kerry cute-hoorism.

Amprodude

Boom__Boom wrote: »

Nah I heard Tomas, Paul and Eoin will all be back for the Cork game and Cooper isnt even actually injured and Tommy Walsh is going to parachute in for the Cork game.

Nothing surprises me about Kerry. :-)

Gary Neville

Boom__Boom wrote: »

There's a lot of questions to be sure.

I got 12 out of 15 in the team I predicted with the 3 I got wrong being

Mikey Geaney for Walsh
Sheehan ahead of Casey
Enright as opposed to Griffin (not that it was a straight competition as it was the decision to put Marc fullback that kept Griffin out)

Geaney is definitely a surprise considering he'd didnt exactly feature much in the league and didnt exactly make much of an impression.

Midfield is a worry, especially with one eye on the Cork game. How fit are Moran and Donaghy and will Maher manage to find some form?

The defence I'm fairly confident about (especially with Griffin and O'Mahony to spring from the bench if anyone is massively off-form) but the front 6 have a lot of questions hanging over them. The 2 Geaneys and O'Brien start their 1st Championship game, Darren after an injury wrecked season last year and surgery is a concern as is Declan's lack of proper game-time (pottering around playing a bit of inter-firms football is miles off playing Division 1 football) Sheehan will be fine from deadballs but in general play? Really wouldnt be shocked if the forwards struggle, especially if goals don't go in. Not a huge amount of faith in the options off the subs bench if we need to make subs.

Only 7 of the 15 who started the last championship game against Dublin starting says a lot about how much of a change there is here compared to last year.

What's your take on D Walsh not starting, Boom Boom ? He didn't get into the league game v Cork but I was very surprised that he was subbed a few minutes before HT. He gave McCaffrey a lesson last year and has been one of the most under-rated players on the Kerry side in the last decade IMO.

I am genuinely surprised that Kerry have not been dominant at MF this season, so far. I felt that there was serious competition Maher, Moran, Buckley and Sheehan but injury and form issues seem to have impacted - I can see this area coming good though.

I'd agree with you about the defence being solid - Marc struggled in the league and had injury niggles but this is his last year IMO and I expect him to do well.

Even without Cooper, Kerry can develop a very effective attack - as you say - The O Sullivans will need to get to 100% and Walsh also but the newer lads like Geaney, JOD and O Brien have impressed me and can do it at the highest level. Kerry definately have things to iron out but if things click, then Kerry have as good a chance as any of the chasing pack, IMO.

Boom__Boom

Gary Neville wrote: »

What's your take on D Walsh not starting, Boom Boom ? He didn't get into the league game v Cork but I was very surprised that he was subbed a few minutes before HT. He gave McCaffrey a lesson last year and has been one of the most under-rated players on the Kerry side in the last decade IMO.

I am genuinely surprised that Kerry have not been dominant at MF this season, so far. I felt that there was serious competition Maher, Moran, Buckley and Sheehan but injury and form issues seem to have impacted - I can see this area coming good though.

I'd agree with you about the defence being solid - Marc struggled in the league and had injury niggles but this is his last year IMO and I expect him to do well.

Even without Cooper, Kerry can develop a very effective attack - as you say - The O Sullivans will need to get to 100% and Walsh also but the newer lads like Geaney, JOD and O Brien have impressed me and can do it at the highest level. Kerry definately have things to iron out but if things click, then Kerry have as good a chance as any of the chasing pack, IMO.

Have heard speculation that Walsh isnt fit. He only had an average enough league. Totally agree about midfield was an area I expected to be a lot more comfortable about.

The thing about the defence being solid is that Aidan, Griffin and Kilkenny offer decent options off the bench if anyone is having a stinker. I think Marc struggled in the league as he doesn't have the legs for the half-back line anymore.

The forwards are one big mess of question marks. It's not just that Cooper being injured is a big blow it's that JOD is missing as well. People are assuming/hoping that Declan will step up but I just don't see it happening to the extent needed. He'll do well and chip it with 2-3 points a game but I don't see him suddenly becoming a lot more prolific because Cooper and JOD are missing. Darren I'm concerned about the state of his body with the number of injuries and the surgery. The fact that Darren had almost no league time and Declan had none certainly don't offer much reassurance. Sheehan's form for Kerry has been very average for a while now and while he'll contribute form deadballs, I have big questions over his contribution from play. I think it might still be a year too soon for O'Brien I have questions over whether he is physically ready for intercounty yet. Paul Geaney I think is the real deal and am pleased to see him get a run. I think it will be very interesting to see what exactly happens as regards his and Declan's movement/positioning. Mikey Geaney is a puzzler; a lot of folk wondering what exactly Fitzmaurice sees in him as regards intercounty, talk he did well against Meath in the recent challenge game but still.

Also as regards the forwards if replacements are needed it's a case of bringing on lads who really havent convinced that they are top level intercounty forwards when given their chance - O'Leary or BJK or throwing other new lads in - Casey, Paul O'Donoghue or Lyne.

Overall there are just a whole lot of question marks, especially with one eye on Cork. Still where there's life there's hope. This 11 week gap seems to have taken forever to pass.

homerjay2005

game went pretty much as expected. Clare gave us a big rattle, but we pulled through.

Cork favourites for the final, due to our injuries and home advantage.

thoughts on the game?