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Galway GAA discussion thread

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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,019 ✭✭✭TCDStudent1


    What is his fault though is the failure to benchmark against the best.

    And the best wouldn't pick our midfielders, even better versions.

    If the benchmark are doing something more efficient, you adapt their methods.

    Why he's continuing to dismiss the changes to midfielders(interchangable with forwards or backs) and kick outs I can only put down to ignorance at this stage.
    Surely Tipp scoring 1-5 to 0-0 of the kick outs should have been enough of a wake up call... on top of keeping Roscommon is the Connacht for an extra game(conceded theirs and lost ours).

    Anyway, its year three.
    He'll likely leave if this year whimpers and hopefully the next manager in takes 2 sessions to work on retaining our kick outs... I think we'd easily move up to 3-6 ranking with that one change.

    Who would you play midfield? I can't think of anybody that walsh hasn't tried that would improve things.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 741 ✭✭✭fearruanua




  • Posts: 6,581 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Who would you play midfield? I can't think of anybody that walsh hasn't tried that would improve things.

    Id only play players who could play HB or HF.
    MDMA and Fenton are not traditional midfielders, they could play elsewhere.

    If you don't boot aimless balls to midfield you don't need "midfielders", you're getting a double benefit, you're getting two extra players that can make better contributions from play and you win more of your own kickouts.

    I think his ignorance stems from his own playing days, his breed are obsolete(note he WAS good enough to be able to play midfield in the modern game... but the poor man versions of his playing style are no longer worthwhile) in the modern game.

    One player we have whos tailor made for the modern midfielder is Flynn... the other, well that's something I'd need to run trainings to find out who was big enough, mobile enough.... I think off the top of my head Gary Sice would fit the bill.
    Those are the type of players you need in there these days and just copy how Dublin retain their kick outs... you don't need mountains then contesting.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,030 ✭✭✭✭Utopia Parkway


    Those are the type of players you need in there these days and just copy how Dublin retain their kick outs... you don't need mountains then contesting.

    In fairness part of the reason why Dublin are so good at retaining their kickouts is that Cluxton is the most accurate kicker in the country. You can try and copy what they do but if you don't have a keeper who is as accurate with his kicking as he is you are going to lose some kickouts no matter what.


  • Posts: 6,581 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    In fairness part of the reason why Dublin are so good at retaining their kickouts is that Cluxton is the most accurate kicker in the country. You can try and copy what they do but if you don't have a keeper who is as accurate with his kicking as he is you are going to lose some kickouts no matter what.

    I don't dispute that.

    But what does he do that we don't, that we could?.
    He gets a ball and tee and readys them, and when the ball goes dead he runs out and often gets to kick it 5 yards.
    That's something everyone can do.

    Watch what Bernard was doing last year.
    Ball goes dead, he walks behind, gets the ball, looks for the tee, 45 secs later its placed and the opposition are set up.

    Cluxton only has to plant 50% of them to distance.

    Regardless of Dublin, every single team in D1 does it to some degree.
    I believe its the only reason Roscommon got there.

    If you're not trying to emulate the best then you might as well stay in bed.
    We're years behind with our last two managers since neither could see the most obvious thing in the world.

    A fact... Dublin would not have won 4 leagues in a row or a two in a row kicking it to any combination of midfielders.
    They're scoring something like 0.5 points per possession from their own kick outs.

    We are definitively not as good at them, so we need to cut out of waste in areas we can.

    We don't get embarrased by Tipp had we pushed up on them and won 80% of our own kick outs.
    You can't concede kickouts and lose more than half your own.
    That one area lead to us getting a spanking in CP.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,034 ✭✭✭mjp


    In fairness part of the reason why Dublin are so good at retaining their kickouts is that Cluxton is the most accurate kicker in the country. You can try and copy what they do but if you don't have a keeper who is as accurate with his kicking as he is you are going to lose some kickouts no matter what.


    Good point well raised there. We must be the most unsettled county when it comes to keepers as say we have tried well over 15 keepers since Alan Keane retired as he was last man to have held the jersey on a regular basis.

    Cluxton makes it look very easy but much harder to execute as many other counties have found out. Not until we try implement such tactics will we know how we fare compared to others


  • Posts: 6,581 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Thomas' playing utter garbage.

    You can't be scoring 3 points in a half.

    C.Cooney has self imploded on the frees, last miss was an awful one and he's been taken off them.

    Looking like Galway will have a full contingent for the league thus far.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,596 ✭✭✭MfMan


    Conor Cooney having a stinker overall; Thomas' HF line destroyed on their own puck-outs. Only David Burke and James Regan leading the resistance to any extent. Not in them to pull it back I fear.


  • Posts: 6,581 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    They nearly came back.

    Not sure what the max they were trailing by as I've been keen to watch the rugby so switched after the third score of the second half.

    Was it 15?.

    Just left themselves too much to reel in.

    Cooneys missed frees ended up being the difference.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,115 ✭✭✭Boom__Boom


    They nearly came back.

    Not sure what the max they were trailing by as I've been keen to watch the rugby so switched after the third score of the second half.

    Was it 15?.

    Just left themselves too much to reel in.

    Cooneys missed frees ended up being the difference.

    Ballyea went 1-15 to 0-5 up after the goal, so I think 13 was the max.
    Fair going to get it back to a point.

    Lots of regrets for the Thomas's lads I'd imagine.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,925 ✭✭✭aidan24326


    I'd say the main regret would be the performance, they were too bad to be true for about 3/4 of the game, just awful, and Conor Cooney had a nightmare on the freetaking even though he's normally one of the best freetakers around. Once they woke up and started playing they were unstoppable and very nearly pulled off an unlikely comeback. Ran out of time in the end. Better team won on the day though and no argument with that.

    Whoever wins it now will be a first time winner and you could only wish Ballyea the best of luck in the final, they had never even won a Clare county title before this so it would be an amazing achievement if they won the All-Ireland. They're a small rural club and would be similiar to when Caltra came from nowhere to win their All-Ireland.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,555 ✭✭✭windy shepard henderson


    aidan24326 wrote: »
    I'd say the main regret would be the performance, they were too bad to be true for about 3/4 of the game, just awful, and Conor Cooney had a nightmare on the freetaking even though he's normally one of the best freetakers around. Once they woke up and started playing they were unstoppable and very nearly pulled off an unlikely comeback. Ran out of time in the end. Better team won on the day though and no argument with that.

    Whoever wins it now will be a first time winner and you could only wish Ballyea the best of luck in the final, they had never even won a Clare county title before this so it would be an amazing achievement if they won the All-Ireland. They're a small rural club and would be similar to when Caltra came from nowhere to win the football.

    very gracious response , and yes for 50 minutes thomas's never turned up , both teams are fairly similar in style undoubtl the reason for ballyeas sucess was neill deasy with 1-11 most of which frees ,connor cooney had an opposite day,

    the fairytale is'nt what it seams , after ennis ballyea is the last hurling club in west clare , several foootball clubs are represented in the ballyea line up from kilmihil clondegad lissycasey and coooraclare , where no hurling is played


    ballyea are a small area with a huge pick !!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,030 ✭✭✭✭Utopia Parkway


    Galway almost blow yet another home game in the league but rescue a point in the end. Led for most of the 2nd half. Cork scored 3 late points to lead by two. Galway scored two injury time points to draw level and then Cork miss a handy enough free right at the death to win it. Draw game.

    Suddenly talk of promotion will be talk of avoiding relegation if they lose up in Fermanagh next.


  • Posts: 6,581 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    The lack of a kick out strategy is so frustrating. Cork won 3 of our first 5, missed a goal chance of one, scored a goal of another and at least one more point(was in the second half, they scored, won the long kick out and scored immediately again).

    Our players turn their backs and jog out, slim to no movement, nobody in the corners to provide the easiest option and stretch opposition out while our goalie is always slow and ponderous getting it set up.

    How Cork "kick it long" is how you should be, cram the middle, open space out wide and kick it to a player with a yard on his man.

    Anyway thats not going to change in year three so we're going to be giving away extra attacks for the year.

    Our transition play from the backs is still poor too, you need to load up players behind the ball and when you hit a defender pop it to a runner off the shoulder.
    Too many players in front of the ball and we're arsing about with it under pressure.

    Id love to know what our management are doing in training when we look like a team who's received zero coaching in the arts of the modern game.

    Lucky to get away with a point, Cork might be devoid of talent but theyre well coached in transition, retention and restarts.

    It was basically a game of skill vs structure.


  • Posts: 1,681 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Satisfactory result. Disappointing performance.

    Really the first half was effectively a repeat of the Tipperary game only Cork didn't finish us off as they should have. Dominated at midfield, Cork running through the defensive lines at will, Galway having lots of players back but nobody really knowing what their defensive role was. When we did manage to get some ball we weren't able to move from defence to attack due to lack of options. To be as close as we were at half time was something of a miracle.

    10 minutes after half time we get the customary spurt we get in most league games over the last couple of years, a glimpse that there might be a team in there somewhere before we go back to being 2nd best for a long spell again.

    In the end delighted Cork didn't win as despite undoubtedly being the better team on the day they tried to run the clock down from 3 or 4 minutes before the end of normal time (and with 4 additional minutes to play too) with the sort of football that would put you off going to watch it. If they'd pushed on and played constructive football I've no doubt they'd have won. Colm O'Neill showed his class off the bench to swing it Cork's way but to give the lads credit they stuck at it and that draw could be very valuable at the end of the league.

    On the positive side I thought Declan Kyne did quite well in terms of carrying ball, Gary O'Donnell in the 2nd half too. Damien Comer was out in front a lot and set up a lot of scoring chances for us. McHugh did fine on the frees. I thought all the subs made an impact which is good to see.

    I wouldn't be overly optimistic about the year ahead after watching that performance, still a lot of players to come back after today and it's only Day 1 but a lot of familiar failings and poor performances from familiar faces evident again today. Next week is a tough away game and will give us a good indication of whether promotion is a realistic expectation.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,019 ✭✭✭TCDStudent1


    While it was a disappointing performance (particularly in the first half with a strong breeze), there were some positives:

    - Luke Burke looks like a decent prospect. Very assured on the ball.

    - Michael Daly was hugely impressive when he came on. He is surely in line for a start the next day. Got on the ball and ran at Cork.

    - Damien Comer still seems to be in superb form


    Thought Flynn really struggled today (as he did last week in FBD) and Daly must be in with a strong claim for that place v Fermanagh now.

    It's early days yet. Cork are probably one of the strongest teams in the division and there are a number of players yet to come into that Galway team.


    On a side note, it is wonderful to watch McHugh taking long distance frees. His technique is superb. So much nicer to see that than a goalkeeper coming up and lumping the ball hoping it will go over.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7 hurlingma


    Taken this from facebook, Worth a read if your following the Galway lads involvement in the Fitzgibbon

    Irish Gaa Banter Page
    Fitzgibbon Cup Round 2 Roundup
    Thursday, February 02, 2017
    (A) 19.00 ITC 0-18 v Mary I 0-18
    (A) 14.00 GMIT 0-10 v DIT 3-15
    (B) 14.00 UL 2-21 v NUIG 2-12
    (B) 14.00 DCU St Pats 0-10 v CIT 3-15
    (C) 19.00 Trinity 1-8 v WIT 4-15
    (C) 19.00 DCU 0-15 v Limerick IT 2-12
    (D) 14.00 UUJ 1-7 v Maynooth 4-23
    (D) 15.00 UCD 1-5 v UCC 1-8

    A
    Mary I (+21): W D - DIT (A)
    ITC (+12): W D - GMIT(A)
    DIT (+2): L W - DIT (H)
    GMIT (-35): L L - MaryI (H)
    Mary I seem to have the top position in Group A wrapped up unless IT Carlow can overturn their 9 points deficit in points difference. It wouldn't be a surprise for IT Carlow to beat GMIT comprehensively, however we feel that Mary I will beat DIT by anything up to 10 points. IT Carlow would therefore need to beat GMIT by 20+ points to claim top spot. Mary I score 2-31 against GMIT so it is possible to do.

    B
    UL (+22): W W - DCU Pats (A)
    NUIG (+2): W L - CIT (A)
    CIT (+1): L W - NUIG (H)
    DCU P (-29): L L - UL (H)
    UL will claim top spot here in group B, light a candle for DCU St.Pats the night before this one. Group B is all about who can claim second place and take the second quarter final spot. It really is 50/50 between CIT and NUIG. CIT will have home advantage but NUIG wont take much notice of this. We can't pick a winner in this one and it is probably the match of round 3.

    C
    LIT (+29): W W - WIT (A)
    WIT (+9): L W - LIT (H)
    DCU (+4): W L - Trinity (A)
    Trinity (-42): L L - DCU (H)
    LIT will more than likely claim top spot in Group C bar WIT beating them and DCU hammering Trinity by 26 points. It is safe to say DCU will beat Trinity easily so if LIT beat WIT they will knock them out. It is possible that WIT beat LIT. LIT are defiantly strong favorites in this one. Every match is a knockout from here on in for WIT. If WIT beat LIT they also need DCU not to overtake them on points difference. Our predictions are LIT top the group and DCU get second place.

    D
    UCC (+21): W W - Maynooth (A)
    Maynooth (+17): L W - UCC (H)
    UCD: (+5): W L - UUJ (A)
    UUJ: (-43): L L - UCC (H)
    UCC will also claim top spot here with a win over Maynooth. Maynooth wont be any pushovers but we expect UCC to have too much firepower. UCD will also beat UUJ quiet easily and claim second spot.

    IGBP Current Power Rankings R1 & R2
    Overall: 1:LIT 2:UL 3:UCC/MaryI 4:Maynooth 5:IT Carlow
    Offence:1:UL 2:MaryI 3:LIT 4:IT Carlow 5 Maynooth
    Defence: 1:UCC 2:LIT 3:UCD 4:WIT 5:DCU

    WoodenSpoon Race
    The Current leaders of the wooden spoon race are UUJ followed closely by Trinity college then in third place is GMIT.

    IGBP Predicted QF's 14th Feb
    1. (1D) UCC vs DCU (C2)
    2. (C1) LIT vs UCD (D2)
    3. (B1) UL vs IT Carlow (A2)
    4. (A1) MIC vs NUIG/CIT (B2)

    Irish Gaa Banter Page Snapchat: igbp32


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,030 ✭✭✭✭Utopia Parkway


    While it was a disappointing performance (particularly in the first half with a strong breeze), there were some positives:

    - Luke Burke looks like a decent prospect. Very assured on the ball.

    - Michael Daly was hugely impressive when he came on. He is surely in line for a start the next day. Got on the ball and ran at Cork.

    - Damien Comer still seems to be in superb form


    Thought Flynn really struggled today (as he did last week in FBD) and Daly must be in with a strong claim for that place v Fermanagh now.

    It's early days yet. Cork are probably one of the strongest teams in the division and there are a number of players yet to come into that Galway team.


    On a side note, it is wonderful to watch McHugh taking long distance frees. His technique is superb. So much nicer to see that than a goalkeeper coming up and lumping the ball hoping it will go over.

    I agree I thought Daly was very good after he came on. Used the ball very well.

    Colm O'Neill made a huge difference to Cork after he came on. They would have lost the game without him. Kicked 4 superb points from play from what I can remember.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 144 ✭✭wonder88


    Great to see Colm O Neill back playing, as been said a class player, but he missed to free that gave us a deserved draw(I suppose).
    Galway were poor in the first half, with big problems around midfield. However some of the new players impressed; Daly and McHugh especially. Important that we didn't loose as the confidence would have taken a hit, especially with some of the established players having an off day.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,925 ✭✭✭aidan24326


    very gracious response , and yes for 50 minutes thomas's never turned up , both teams are fairly similar in style undoubtl the reason for ballyeas sucess was neill deasy with 1-11 most of which frees ,connor cooney had an opposite day,

    the fairytale is'nt what it seams , after ennis ballyea is the last hurling club in west clare , several foootball clubs are represented in the ballyea line up from kilmihil clondegad lissycasey and coooraclare , where no hurling is played


    ballyea are a small area with a huge pick !!

    Didn't know Ballyea had a big pick, still a good achievement from them though. And I wasn't familiar with Niall Deasy before but he is a seriously good player and there's surely a Clare jersey waiting for him after Paddy's Day.

    And for anyone at the football today is McHugh shaping like a guy that might actually be championship starting 15 material? And Daly? Or will it take another couple of rounds of the league to see where they're at? McHugh in particular really seems to be grabbing the bull by the horns now that he's been given a chance.

    Early days yet though. A draw against one of the better teams in the division is a reasonable start but Fermanagh away will be tricky and we really need to be winning that. Fermanagh are no mugs but we need to be beating them if promotion is a realistic aim.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,024 ✭✭✭Hulk Hands


    Midfield were crap and they seemed clueless about stopping runners scything through from deep. Disappointing enough. Comer is turning into some player however, he's the main positive


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,555 ✭✭✭windy shepard henderson


    if ye get the corofin lads back after next weekye will have no bother going up , if not it will be between yerselves and kildare , they have really good forwards if they click , thelikes of clare derry and fermanagh will contain for another year but down and meath are in big trouble

    galway football is going places ignore the bad day out in croker last july there is serious talent coming through


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 15,238 ✭✭✭✭Diabhal Beag


    Ya Daly was super when he came on. Thought Heaney, McHugh and Kyne had decent showings too. So many passengers though like Conroy and Flynn.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,019 ✭✭✭TCDStudent1


    if ye get the corofin lads back after next weekye will have no bother going up , if not it will be between yerselves and kildare , they have really good forwards if they click , thelikes of clare derry and fermanagh will contain for another year but down and meath are in big trouble

    galway football is going places ignore the bad day out in croker last july there is serious talent coming through


    There is a theory out that there that Galway have serious talent coming through. To a degree, that is true. However, we are desperately lacking in some positions. Goalkeeper, Defence, Midfield are major issues for Galway. I do not see the same quality coming through in those positions that I see in the forwards.

    Also, if Corofin lose next weekend, it is not necessarily good for Galway as it just means those Corofin lads are not as good as we all thought they were! :)



    aidan24326 wrote: »
    Didn't know Ballyea had a big pick, still a good achievement from them though. And I wasn't familiar with Niall Deasy before but he is a seriously good player and there's surely a Clare jersey waiting for him after Paddy's Day.

    And for anyone at the football today is McHugh shaping like a guy that might actually be championship starting 15 material? And Daly? Or will it take another couple of rounds of the league to see where they're at? McHugh in particular really seems to be grabbing the bull by the horns now that he's been given a chance.

    Early days yet though. A draw against one of the better teams in the division is a reasonable start but Fermanagh away will be tricky and we really need to be winning that. Fermanagh are no mugs but we need to be beating them if promotion is a realistic aim.

    As much as I like McHugh and admire the way he is taking his chance so far this year, I still find it hard to see him starting come championship. He is a little unfortunate in that he is almost competing directly with Comer for a place on that team. Comer would make any team in the country with his form from last 2 years. McHugh played ok yesterday - nothing more. His frees were excellent. He missed one but it was a very difficult kick - out on the right hand side near the touchline not far from 45. Galway had very few left footers playing yesterday so he gave it a shot. It probably shows the confidence he has in his free taking that he gave it a go. He worked extremely hard yesterday but at times found it difficult to get involved in general play and I recall one incident where himself & Comer got in each other's way. He currently deserves his place on the team and if I was Walsh, I would persevere with him because he may keep growing into that role and become better.

    Daly is definitely a player I could see nailing a place on that team. On Parkinson's "GAA Hour" a few weeks ago, he was talking about Lundy. He felt Galway dont use Lundy correctly. Corofin played him much closer to goal in their AI run a couple of years ago. There is some merit in that argument. I think playing Daly in the HF line this year may allow Lundy to be put into the full forward line. A HF line of Sice, Walsh, Daly sounds pretty good to me! I think it was Daly's debit for Galway yesterday. When he came on, no sign of nerves. He was demanding the ball, wanted to run at Cork. He looked like he belonged out there. I would certainly be starting him against Fermanagh to see if he can continue like that


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,596 ✭✭✭MfMan


    Agree with most of the summaries above. Simply put, you saw the future for Galway football yesterday; you can talk tactics for ever but the simpler solution is to get rid of the average players like Brannigan, Flynn (shocking yesterday), Armstrong, O'Donnell, Bradshaw, Heaney and replace them with better players, i.e. Ml Daly, McDaid (who also improved things when he came on). Don't think Day in midfield is up to it either, Cooke crucially made a difference the short while he was on as well. HB line in the first half, and pretty much all game was non-existent, time and again Cork strolled through it without difficulty (and that's a very ordinary Cork team). Kyne did good things carrying the ball forward but is still defensively suspect and where was the plan to deal with O'Neill who nearly won the game on his own when he came on? Paul Conroy needs to get more consistency also.

    On the flip side, we drew a game which we should have lost, instead of vice-versa; the subs were made when they still had time to make a difference; wee Danny is looking a bit more like a county player while Damien Comer is now the de facto captain of the team; in their big-game debuts McDaid and Daly looked the part.

    Galway can still be promoted and crucially have 2 of the apparently weaker teams away, Meath and Down, but Fermanagh next week won't be easy and KW needs to show more balls in his team selections and drop the dross.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,019 ✭✭✭TCDStudent1


    Ya Daly was super when he came on. Thought Heaney, McHugh and Kyne had decent showings too. So many passengers though like Conroy and Flynn.


    Gonna disagree with you on these two.

    Heaney was very poor yesterday after a great FBD final. He made a couple of awful errors in the second half which is what prompted the Galway management to take him off. I was sitting just behind them in the stand and could see the exact moment they called for Cathal Sweeney. I knew it was Heaney that was being taken off once they called for Sweeney. I like Heaney a lot as a player and I would certainly keep playing him in that number 7 position but I thought he was the worst of the HB line yesterday.

    Conroy did an awful lot of bad things in the match yesterday. However, a lot of Galway attacks originate from him doing good things. He came short a few times for kick outs when they were not winning them at midfield. He gave a few good balls into Comer. Comer thrives on the kind of ball Conroy gives into him. Conroy will be playing midfield when championship comes around. The question is who will be playing beside him. Day was a lot poorer than Conroy yesterday, and also played poorly against Roscommon last week. I suspect Walsh may throw Flynn into midfield next week, and start Daly number 10. It wouldnt be what I would do (I'd give Peter Cooke a chance) but Walsh seems to rate Flynn far higher than I do.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,596 ✭✭✭MfMan


    There is a theory out that there that Galway have serious talent coming through. To a degree, that is true. However, we are desperately lacking in some positions. Goalkeeper, Defence, Midfield are major issues for Galway. I do not see the same quality coming through in those positions that I see in the forwards.

    Ya, Galway have an young and up-and-coming team for the past 15 years now. Enough! :)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,019 ✭✭✭TCDStudent1


    MfMan wrote: »
    Agree with most of the summaries above. Simply put, you saw the future for Galway football yesterday; you can talk tactics for ever but the simpler solution is to get rid of the average players like Brannigan, Flynn (shocking yesterday), Armstrong, O'Donnell, Bradshaw, Heaney and replace them with better players, i.e. Ml Daly, McDaid (who also improved things when he came on). Don't think Day in midfield is up to it either, Cooke crucially made a difference the short while he was on as well. HB line in the first half, and pretty much all game was non-existent, time and again Cork strolled through it without difficulty (and that's a very ordinary Cork team). Kyne did good things carrying the ball forward but is still defensively suspect and where was the plan to deal with O'Neill who nearly won the game on his own when he came on? Paul Conroy needs to get more consistency also.

    On the flip side, we drew a game which we should have lost, instead of vice-versa; the subs were made when they still had time to make a difference; wee Danny is looking a bit more like a county player while Damien Comer is now the de facto captain of the team; in their big-game debuts McDaid and Daly looked the part.

    Galway can still be promoted and crucially have 2 of the apparently weaker teams away, Meath and Down, but Fermanagh next week won't be easy and KW needs to show more balls in his team selections and drop the dross.

    But you see, this is the problem. Are there better players out there than our current HB line? Looking at the backs in the subs yesterday, you had: Sean Kelly, Finian Hanley, Cathal Sweeney, Paul Varley.

    I have never seen Kelly play so know nothing about him.
    Cathal Sweeney is a player I think could potentially improve things in our defence.
    Personally, I would rate O'Donnell, Bradshaw & Heaney as better players than Varley.

    So, if you were to drop O'Donnell, Bradshaw & Heaney, who do you replace them with? I do not see any better players out there (except those playing with Corofin who are unavailable at the moment).


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,925 ✭✭✭aidan24326


    I think it was Daly's debit for Galway yesterday. When he came on, no sign of nerves. He was demanding the ball, wanted to run at Cork. He looked like he belonged out there. I would certainly be starting him against Fermanagh to see if he can continue like that

    I still haven't seen that much of Daly and didn't even hear the game on GBFM yesterday due to other committments so was just wondering if he can live up to the hype, and what you and others have said sounds encouraging so far, and good to see that he isn't letting weight of expectation drag him down either. And yes I'd agree that if he is looking that comfortable in his first game then start him the next day.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,067 ✭✭✭Green Peter


    There needs to be serious planning on kick outs, it didn't look like there was a plan yesterday. We should be able to pick out Conroy and Flynn on a fairly consistent basis especially with the mark and have closer options to vary it. Bradshaw is reverting to dwelling on the ball again and it cost us yesterday a few scores. I'd try Cathal Sweeney at No 6 next day and play Daly on the wing instead of brannigan. Not sure about Armstrong. Galway need to play more direct football like they did just after half time.


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