Galway GAA discussion thread

These woeful performances are just far too common in Galway GAA.

The people in charge of hurling and football in the county are the real embarrassment though, we're up there as the biggest underachievers.

Out of the 6 games across the three age grades in both codes Id say days like this happen 50% of the time.
The GAA aren't helping us in the under age hurling though with the structures but that doesn't excuse getting a trimming.

Radical changes need to happen in this county.
And the people in charge of promoting under age participation should step aside as they're doing a dismissal job of making use of the population advantages we have.

redlead

gilberto_eire wrote: »

These woeful performances are just far too common in Galway GAA.

The people in charge of hurling and football in the county are the real embarrassment though, we're up there as the biggest underachievers.

Out of the 6 games across the three age grades in both codes Id say days like this happen 50% of the time.
The GAA aren't helping us in the under age hurling though with the structures but that doesn't excuse getting a trimming.

Radical changes need to happen in this county.
And the people in charge of promoting under age participation should step aside as they're doing a dismissal job of making use of the population advantages we have.

To be fair that's an exceptionally talented Waterford team so I wouldn't be too harsh on Galway. The real problem is they should be in Leinster in which case they probably wouldn't be in the final.

redlead

redlead wrote: »

To be fair that's an exceptionally talented Waterford team so I wouldn't be too harsh on Galway. The real problem is they should be in Leinster in which case they probably wouldn't be in the final.

I'm not talking about this particular team, our minors were hammered on top of our senior footballers and U21 footballers can barely win a game in Connacht.

We're severe underachievers for a county with one of the bigger populations.

There's no excuse for it tbh, the county board are doing a woeful job of promoting the game to kids when you see our under age records.

These days are far too common.

Utopia Parkway

redlead wrote: »

To be fair that's an exceptionally talented Waterford team so I wouldn't be too harsh on Galway. The real problem is they should be in Leinster in which case they probably wouldn't be in the final.

Well they beat the Leinster champions coming in cold so they probably would have had a very good chance of winning Leinster. That said the lack of games does Galway no favours at underage.

Waterford were just way better than everyone at this level this year no matter what. They've pretty much stuffed everyone.

Grim viewing but that group will be Waterford's core for years to come whereas everyone knew this was a bad Galway team and we might get 1 or 2 players at a push out of that team. I thought we were very naive early on though. Given we were rank outsiders we should have been very conscious of dropping numbers back and of not leaving ourselves exposed to goals. 3 goals in the first quarter and it was dead and buried. Whatever we did though we were beaten in all the key sectors so just got to say well done Waterford.

The bigger problem for Galway is there isn't the group of players coming to give the existing senior players the push they need to try and get over the line.

I do think Gilberto has a point though. I think the minors victory last year papered over a lot of problems at underage in recent years and we were very much exposed by a more focused Tipp side this year. I don't see things changing at the top table anytime soon though.

A season that promised a lot comes down to the minor footballers to rescue. Would hope they can give a good showing but obviously very much up against it.

echolima

Don't know if it's applicable to Galway GAA in general, but I see major problems in our local club. I played camogie for 6 years from U6s up (2004-2010), and I'd say I rarely saw more than five minutes play at the end or when we were well ahead. Granted I was never the most talented player, but the entire focus seemed to be on winning. There was no encouragement to just take part, the same few of us stood on the sidelines every match. I can understand playing to win at older levels, when you've a thick enough skin to handle being benched for the sake of the team, but as a child I felt left out and unwanted. I have four or five county medals but they mean nothing to me. I quit as soon as my parents let me, and I want nothing more to do with the club.
I know that it's not a unique experience either, several people have left the club, both hurling and camogie, for the similar reasons. One lad in particular who I went to school with quit and joined another club because he didn't like the mentality of the club (we've had a few good auld rants about it :P ) He now plays senior football and hurling for another club and seems to love it.
That's only my personal experience with my local club, but a lot of these problems start at club level. I just think we need to encourage more young players of all skill levels to take part. Winning U8s camogie sevens is pointless if you can't carry it through and develop a well rounded panel. Encouragement, a good club spirit and a sense of belonging will do more for young players than any medal.

Utopia Parkway

Galway minor team to play Kerry

Cormac Haslam (Glenamaddy)

Liam Boyle (Kilkerrin-Clonberne)
Seán Mulkerrin (Oileáin Árann)
Eoin McFadden (Salthill-Knocknacarra)

Adam Quirke (Annaghdown)
Ernán McDonagh (Bearna)
Fionnán Garvey (Monivea-Abbey)

Céin D’Arcy (Caherlistrane)
John Maher (Salthill-Knocknacarra)

Finian Ó’ Laoi (An Spidéal)
Evan Murphy (Salthill-Knocknacarra)
Ryan Forde (Annaghdown)

Robert Finnerty (Salthill-Knocknacarra)
Seán Raftery (Glenamaddy)
Desmond Conneely (Moycullen)

Most other years I'd say they would be going into the final as favourites given the way they beat a much fancied Donegal side in the semis but they look to be up against an exceptional Kerry team. Hope they do themselves justice on the day.

seligehgit

Best of luck to you guys in the minor final,you are really up against it.Exceptionally talented Kerry team.Hoping Anthony "Larry" Finnerty's son Robert wins MOTM and two cups cross the Shannon come Sunday evening.

Missed the first 15mins, thought it was starting at 1.30.

Buy my god.... abysmal performance so far, 2 points in 30mins.
And another blunder by a Galway goalie in Croker(though it's normally a bad hurling goalie).

I can't understand why we're not coaching our county teams to kick the bloody ball short on kick outs.
I don't care if every other team(at this level) is kicking it long like the 90s, you won't win doing it at senior so why do it at minor.

At the very least if our coaches can't spend one training session on this simple concept, could they not inform our goalies to keep the tee and ball at the ready, get the ball placed and kicked asap.
We lost every single kick out since I turned it on, you'll never lose 5:5 if you have a rapid restart/short kick out strategy and you might not be trailing in an AI minor final or getting hammered to Tipperary in a senior quarter.

Clueless coaching of skills in this county.... living in the stone age.

SlipperyPeople

better start to the second half. need to take all their chances versus in the first half seemed nervous to shoot.

threeball

Another final thrown away. Too slow on the line as usual. Couple of the bigger names just not doing it but left on far too long. Poor execution of skills and decision making and still should be winning.
Hard to believe there's a minor team out there that has such a small representation of North Galway clubs. Everything seems to be based round West Galway.

threeball

Two perfect shoulders and a red card. Clown of a ref

Happyilylost

Would love to know what that second yellow was for. So frustrating watching this. Team can play so much better. A game from the water boys to the management to the players would love to have back and try it again. Pitfalls of underage sport.

Utopia Parkway

7 point defeat is probably not a fair reflection on the game. Was much closer in general play but Kerry got the goals. The 3rd was a killer as Galway were on top and had a chance to put only a point between the teams when they sloppily lost possession and Clifford got the ball out on the wing and ran in to score.

Disappointing day for Evan Murphy. Kicked 3 bad wides and was taken off. Just never got going. Some of the Galway shot selection was poor. Too many low percentage shots taken.

Mr Velo

Clifford is some footballer though - fantastic talent.

Mr Velo

Clifford is some footballer though - fantastic talent.

from_atozinc

Mr Velo wrote: »

Clifford is some footballer though - fantastic talent.

yes, unreal.
Ive never seen anyone solo a ball like him before, the hop from his foot to his hand is literally a few inches sometimes, very hard for anyone to rob him etc.

seligehgit

Commiserations Galway,no shame in that display against a very good Kerry team.

The first two goals were a killer for you.Big error by your goalkeeper and an at times shaky full back line.I was very surprised the management did not make changes in the first half.

In general play you were very competitive but Kerry seemed to get scores that little bit easier than your lads.The third Kerry goal was a joy to behold.

seligehgit

seligehgit wrote: »

Commiserations Galway,no shame in that display against a very good Kerry team.

The first two goals were a killer for you.Big error by your goalkeeper and an at times shaky full back line.I was very surprised the management did not make changes in the first half.

In general play you were very competitive but Kerry seemed to get scores that little bit easier than your lads.The third Kerry goal was a joy to behold.

This is the main point that's annoying me.

This is the question that needs to be asked in Galway GAA... Where are the good Galway teams, we've been told that same thing about Waterford.

I don't mind Minors losing a final, what I do mind is our overall level of competitiveness (in football mainly but both codes) when we haven't managed to win a quarter final in nearly 20 years now.

There hasn't been one root and branch review in Galway football from my recollection and we're only(temporarily) surpassed by Cork as the big underachievers in the country(both codes).

Its about time the GAA started to divert that development money away from the Behemoth that's now Dublin GAA and focus on city's like Galway and Limerick.

Diabhal Beag

Kevin Walsh and Micheal O'Donoghue were given 3 further years tonight.

Dunno how I feel on Walsh tbh. He's won us a Connacht, granted, but his tactically naivety (along with the selectors) is a massive worry when we play actual teams. I don't think we've the panel to contend with the top 4/5 but we surely should be a lot closer at this stage to the Donegals of the world.

Diabhal Beag

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Kevin Walsh and Micheal O'Donoghue were given 3 further years tonight.

Dunno how I feel on Walsh tbh. He's won us a Connacht, granted, but his tactically naivety (along with the selectors) is a massive worry when we play actual teams. I don't think we've the panel to contend with the top 4/5 but we surely should be a lot closer at this stage to the Donegals of the world.

If he didn't see the need to develop a short kick out strategy in year 1 or 2 then I don't see it happening in year 3.

You cant compete with the division one teams if they're going win 90% of theirs plus half of your own.

Something as simple as the goalie having the ball and tee ready to go(ala Cluxton), with a quick turnaround to placement seemed like an idea that wasn't even pondered.

I think if we had that one facet we'd have competed in a semi final this year and we'd have got promoted back to Division 2.

At least this will be the last year if its a rinse and repeat job.

MfMan

Why the alacrity in ratifying them for another 3 years? Why don't they complete their allotted term first and have a review then? Loved KW as a player, but as manager there's been scant improvement on AM before. Simply not getting the best XV in the county on the field during his tenure - that has to be challenged at CB meetings like tonight's.

Also heard, no underage teams likely to be welcomed into Leinster anytime soon; considering withdrawing Seniors now. Time for CB to really grow a pair and put the gun to their head and pull out. See what Central Council do then.

MfMan

MfMan wrote: »

Also heard, no underage teams likely to be welcomed into Leinster anytime soon; considering withdrawing Seniors now. Time for CB to really grow a pair and put the gun to their head and pull out. See what Central Council do then.

Sadly we could return to the status quo before the Leinster entry which only saw Galway been shafted with qualifier groups or no real second chance.

I wouldn't mind pulling out if it meant the GAA redrew the championship but that's probably what will happen.

The Leinster championship will go down the pot as well though.
It'll be easy wins for KK every season for the foreseeable future and the paltry attendances will decrease further.

I guess id probably take the risk though with that fact in mind.
It'll be a dismal championship that'll top the Leinster football for it's poor fare.

TCDStudent1

Seems strange that Walsh has been given such a long term stint. He certainly deserves another year after winning Connacht this year (and maybe at a push 2 years), but 3 years is too much for what he has brought to Galway so far.

TCDStudent1

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Sadly we could return to the status quo before the Leinster entry which only saw Galway been shafted with qualifier groups or no real second chance.

I wouldn't mind pulling out if it meant the GAA redrew the championship but that's probably what will happen.

The Leinster championship will go down the pot as well though.
It'll be easy wins for KK every season for the foreseeable future and the paltry attendances will decrease further.

I guess id probably take the risk though with that fact in mind.
It'll be a dismal championship that'll top the Leinster football for it's poor fare.

I would fully agree with Galway pulling out of Leinster if the underage teams are not allowed to compete there. Galway should be strong on this issue. They should also be strong on the home matches issue too. But the number 1 priority should be having underage teams play at provincial level. Galway have minors getting to AI finals thinking they dont have to work that hard to get there & I am convinced that has a knock-on effect as they develop into seniors. I abhor the small mindedness of some counties in Leinster saying that Galway at underage would set them back; playing good players never sets you back, it almost always makes you better. It is this small minded approach that prevents hurling from growing :mad:

fearruanua

TCDStudent1 wrote: »

I would fully agree with Galway pulling out of Leinster if the underage teams are not allowed to compete there. Galway should be strong on this issue. They should also be strong on the home matches issue too. But the number 1 priority should be having underage teams play at provincial level. Galway have minors getting to AI finals thinking they dont have to work that hard to get there & I am convinced that has a knock-on effect as they develop into seniors. I abhor the small mindedness of some counties in Leinster saying that Galway at underage would set them back; playing good players never sets you back, it almost always makes you better. It is this small minded approach that prevents hurling from growing :mad:

Good post. Agree wholeheartedly. As a previous poster said, time for the county board to grow a pair.

aidan24326

TCDStudent1 wrote: »

Seems strange that Walsh has been given such a long term stint. He certainly deserves another year after winning Connacht this year (and maybe at a push 2 years), but 3 years is too much for what he has brought to Galway so far.

Yes it's odd that they've given him 3 more years, I know a bit of stability is important but there has been very little progress or improvement in his 2 years so far and no obvious signs of that changing either. I thought he'd be lucky to get 1 more year let alone 3 after the shambolic performance against Tipp.

And in truth Galway won a soft Connaught title this year, catching Mayo on an off-day and then beating a shockingly poor Roscommon team. So when you add in failure to gain promotion from a mediocre division 2, there has been no real improvement.

RobbieRuns

But Walsh did deliver a Connacht title, did he not? The one to stop Mayo winning a record number in a row. No provincial title is soft and Mayo are a great team as they keep proving. Maybe it was an off day, maybe it even helped to focus them to go on and achieve the biggest reward this year (good luck to them). Walsh did deliver a Connacht title, soft or not and whilst we are here, people should give credit to a very good Tipp team who could do some real damage in years to come if they stick together.

Also remember that lots of players turned down the opportunity to play county football this year. To build on a good year (yes, winning a Connacht title is a good year) the manager has to be backed. I do not see an All Ireland in this Galway team, but I do not see anyone else who could get the best out of what we have than Kevin. (3 years.... not sure, maybe a bit long, 2 maybe ok for me). At least he has the platform to bring through some of the good Minors and a few young lads to build on this year.

TCDStudent1

aidan24326 wrote: »

Yes it's odd that they've given him 3 more years, I know a bit of stability is important but there has been very little progress or improvement in his 2 years so far and no obvious signs of that changing either. I thought he'd be lucky to get 1 more year let alone 3 after the shambolic performance against Tipp.

And in truth Galway won a soft Connaught title this year, catching Mayo on an off-day and then beating a shockingly poor Roscommon team. So when you add in failure to gain promotion from a mediocre division 2, there has been no real improvement.

I would not agree that it was a soft Connacht title. It is very rare that Galway have to beat 2 division 1 teams to win a Connacht and that is what they did this year.

RobbieRuns wrote: »

But Walsh did deliver a Connacht title, did he not? The one to stop Mayo winning a record number in a row. No provincial title is soft and Mayo are a great team as they keep proving. Maybe it was an off day, maybe it even helped to focus them to go on and achieve the biggest reward this year (good luck to them). Walsh did deliver a Connacht title, soft or not and whilst we are here, people should give credit to a very good Tipp team who could do some real damage in years to come if they stick together.

Also remember that lots of players turned down the opportunity to play county football this year. To build on a good year (yes, winning a Connacht title is a good year) the manager has to be backed. I do not see an All Ireland in this Galway team, but I do not see anyone else who could get the best out of what we have than Kevin. (3 years.... not sure, maybe a bit long, 2 maybe ok for me). At least he has the platform to bring through some of the good Minors and a few young lads to build on this year.

People use that argument to defend Walsh when it really doesnt reflect well on Walsh at all. Why dont players want to play for Walsh?

RobbieRuns

They do not want to play for Galway, that's why they do not put themselves forward, they do not want to play for their county.