Galway GAA discussion thread

Hulk Hands

1. Manus Breathnach

2. Colin Forde 3. Finian Hanley 4. Keith Kelly

5. Conor Doherty 6. Gary O’Donnell 7.Gary Sice

8. Paul Conroy 9. Greg Higgins

10. John O’Brien 11. Sean Armstrong 12. Michael Farragher

13. Mark Hehir 14. Michael Meehan 15. Danny Cummins.

Galway side for Saturday.

Mixed feelings. I like the full back line, there's nice balance with a speedy corner back and a good reader of the game. Finian back is huge. They obviously have a lot of time for Doherty as a footballer so this move will be interesting. He was certainly not a scoring threat in the forwards.

Surprised there's no Flynn or O'Currain. We could easily see them though. That midfield is flawed but should still be able for Tipperary. Higgins is solid if unspectacular. I like the forwards bar O'Brien who is more of an athlete than Footballer. Would rather see Conroy there and one of the U21s at Midfield. Farragher is well worth a try in the forwards. Hehir is a nice addition given the circumstances, every chance of a windy day in Salthill. If Tipp bring men behind the ball then long range score taking will be crucial, and Hehir is especially adept at that. Looking forward to it.

InchicoreDude

Hulk Hands wrote: »

1. Manus Breathnach

2. Colin Forde 3. Finian Hanley 4. Keith Kelly

5. Conor Doherty 6. Gary O’Donnell 7.Gary Sice

8. Paul Conroy 9. Greg Higgins

10. John O’Brien 11. Sean Armstrong 12. Michael Farragher

13. Mark Hehir 14. Michael Meehan 15. Danny Cummins.

Galway side for Saturday.

Mixed feelings. I like the full back line, there's nice balance with a speedy corner back and a good reader of the game. Finian back is huge. They obviously have a lot of time for Doherty as a footballer so this move will be interesting. He was certainly not a scoring threat in the forwards.

Surprised there's no Flynn or O'Currain. We could easily see them though. That midfield is flawed but should still be able for Tipperary. Higgins is solid if unspectacular. I like the forwards bar O'Brien who is more of an athlete than Footballer. Would rather see Conroy there and one of the U21s at Midfield. Farragher is well worth a try in the forwards. Hehir is a nice addition given the circumstances, every chance of a windy day in Salthill. If Tipp bring men behind the ball then long range score taking will be crucial, and Hehir is especially adept at that. Looking forward to it.

There are changes which is good.

But that team does not fill me with confidence.

Big match for Armstrong. He is the main man in that forward line now and this is the match he needs to step up and finally show something for Galway in the championship. Hopefully, we can get a big match from him.

I'd definitely have gone with Martin ahead of Hehir. Farragher is a talented player and is a decent addition. I am not sure if he is up to this level but I think he is worth looking at and this may as well be the time. Has he ever even played a league match for Galway though?
Doherty is a player who could be a very very good attacking wing back. So hopefully that move will come off.

I wouldnt be rushing to put money on Galway winning this match however. Lets hope they are keen to show some pride.

premierstone

InchicoreDude wrote: »

I wouldnt be rushing to put money on Galway winning this match however. Lets hope they are keen to show some pride.

Tipp are in tatters and are missing 7 of teh starting 15 against Kerry including there only two scoring forwards and their best overall player, Galway will win this despite themselves.

InchicoreDude

premierstone wrote: »

Tipp are in tatters and are missing 7 of teh starting 15 against Kerry including there only two scoring forwards and their best overall player, Galway will win this despite themselves.

Why are they missing so many?

I expect Galway to win. Wouldnt be surprised if they lost. From what I hear, Galway's training is not so great at the moment.

premierstone

InchicoreDude wrote: »

Why are they missing so many?

I expect Galway to win. Wouldnt be surprised if they lost. From what I hear, Galway's training is not so great at the moment.

2 decided to head to the states and 5 are injured! Grogan and Quinlivan are our only real scoring forwards and both are definitely missing.

leonidas83

InchicoreDude wrote: »

Why are they missing so many?

I expect Galway to win. Wouldnt be surprised if they lost. From what I hear, Galway's training is not so great at the moment.

Could you elaborate on that please

MfMan

InchicoreDude wrote: »

There are changes which is good.

But that team does not fill me with confidence.

Big match for Armstrong. He is the main man in that forward line now and this is the match he needs to step up and finally show something for Galway in the championship. Hopefully, we can get a big match from him.

I'd definitely have gone with Martin ahead of Hehir. Farragher is a talented player and is a decent addition. I am not sure if he is up to this level but I think he is worth looking at and this may as well be the time. Has he ever even played a league match for Galway though?
Doherty is a player who could be a very very good attacking wing back. So hopefully that move will come off.

I wouldnt be rushing to put money on Galway winning this match however. Lets hope they are keen to show some pride.

Every match Armstrong goes out in seems to be a make-or-(mostly)-break game for him. Swiftly running out of chances now surely. Hehir offers very little, but Martin doesn't promise too much either. Hopefully the maligned Cummins can continue his Mayo-form. Forwards as a unit extremely ordinary though.

Backs much changed too; no room for Duane surprisingly while Forde, Sice and Kelly hold their places. Also no room for U-21 midfielders, though Flynn hasn't really made the breakthrough at the top level yet IMHO.

Management correct in making changes and trying something else, but it still has the air of rearranging pieces into different areas rather than a whole new approach. Welcome to the small time!

Diabhal Beag

I don't think it really matters how bad Tipp are on paper. If they show any fight at all this Galway side will **** themselves. A lot of players in this Galway side are going in carrying injuries, which is my biggest worry. O'Curraoin is a big loss if that starting lineup isn't a dummy.

Doherty to halfback is very interesting. One of those players who hasn't really been given enough chances to tell if he's up to senior. With all due respect though if you're going to try something new in the championship, Tipp are the team to try it against. Looking forward to seeing how Farragher gets on. I presume that the likes of Flynn and Duane will make appearances.

Hopefully Meehan and Army can spark a big showing tomorrow night. It may only be a League attendance but they should be happy to even get that after a hammering and a disappointing League. I am really excited for this, maybe I'm going mental.

TriggerLivesOn

James Kavanagh has accepted an invitation to joint the county panel! Hopes to join if Galway beat Tipperary!

Syferus

Forget about those Tipp lads, what about yer minors? Mayo in the Theater of Tears on Sunday.

Looks a good Galway side and one everyone fancies to account for Mayo.

manofwisdom

premierstone wrote: »

2 decided to head to the states and 5 are injured! Grogan and Quinlivan are our only real scoring forwards and both are definitely missing.

Shame Grogan isn't playing as he would have caused Hanley plenty of problems. Quinlivan is still young and learning but another loss. Galway should win this game however it hard to see them getting past round 2 with few leaders on their current side.

InchicoreDude

TriggerLivesOn wrote: »

James Kavanagh has accepted an invitation to joint the county panel! Hopes to join if Galway beat Tipperary!

you really have to wonder why he would want to play for Galway at the moment....

Every match Armstrong goes out in seems to be a make-or-(mostly)-break game for him. Swiftly running out of chances now surely.

Very true. But I think this is the real make or break year for him. He is the most experienced forward in that forward line along with Meehan. So he HAS to do something this weekend. And I think he might.

Always_Running

Syferus wrote: »

Forget about those Tipp lads, what about yer minors? Mayo in the Theater of Tears on Sunday.

Looks a good Galway side and one everyone fancies to account for Mayo.

John Donnellan has Mayo favourites
http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/61888/galway-minors-up-against-favourites-mayo-

MaroonAndGreen

Do ye lads think Shane Walsh is worth a start for Galway seniors?

Is he really all that good?

Hulk Hands

MaroonAndGreen wrote: »

Do ye lads think Shane Walsh is worth a start for Galway seniors?

Is he really all that good?

He's an excellent prospect but he's what, 18/19? Probably not ready to start just yet. He should be given a run in next years national league providing there's no obstacles (exams etc)

Syferus

Always_Running wrote: »

John Donnellan has Mayo favourites
http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/61888/galway-minors-up-against-favourites-mayo-

LOL.

I'm sorry John but anyone following the minor grade this year knows Galway are the healthy favourites going into this one.

Sometimes managers descend from playing the poor mouth into total fantasy. I want to bet at whatever bookies John Donnellan is going to, though they probably won't be in business very long. You have to imagine the Mayo minors had a good chuckle at Donnellan trying so transparently to shift the favourites tag.

PP's outright for the minor AI (no Connacht minor odds, even though they have them for every other province): Galway 7/1, Mayo 9/1. Boyle Sports have match odds: Galway 8/15, Mayo 7/4.

It's within reason that Mayo could well win, but they ain't the favourites.

Stanza2

A win is a win I suppose ! Not great first half but much better second

Diabhal Beag

Have to say yer man on Galway Bay after the match was a right aul tit. People were texting in that Galway weren't good enough against a poor team, which is a fair point if you watched the match, and he completely dismissed the points.

Right result but you have to consider that the opposition was poor. They had 3 good goal chances and didn't take them. That said they were never out of the game completely, which says a lot when Galway were 9 points ahead in the second half at one stage. Cummins just can't convert goal chances at all.

But anyways on to the positives. Although he could have had two goals to his name I felt Cummins really added an awful lot as an outlet in the forwards in the two halves. He tore the Tipp backs apart at times. Meehan had arguably his best Galway game since Kerry 08. There was a lovely ball in from him in the first half that ended up as nothing when it could have been a goal. Army was very good. He plays very defensively so I think it'd be harsh for people to complain about him not being up to it. He did have one bad piece of glory in the second that was blocked. Outside of the usual 3 who play well in the forwards I was impressed with John O'Brien. He threw himself about and was an absolute workhorse. Farragher was good in the first 15 minutes or so and I believe he got the goal so fair play. Hehir was just there really. On a bad day you'd give out about how he has Tom Flynn-esque quiet spells. O'Donnell really cleaned about in that second. His running game was better than usual. Good to see. Conroy was very good too. Kinda focused more on GO'D though so I might have missed some of play. Conor Doherty warranted his inclusion. He had a good spell there in the second were he was moved to half forward and he just breezed past the tired Tipp backs. Hanley wasn't tested much but was happy with his performance considering he wasn't 100%. Kelly was good and Breathnach made a lovely save at a time when it felt that Tipp were going to burst the net with goals. Sice was fine.

I did worry that the subs coming on led to a big slide in handy frees conceded and goal chances. Martin took a selfish shot where the angle was literally impossible. The first half with the wind was embarrassing when they didn't figure out the wind direction.

Maybe a bit negative there but I'm very happy that they've overcome Tipp. A good home draw could see us get to R3 but thankfully the qualifier curse is over.

One last point: the cheer when the result of the hurling was announced was hilarious. Biggest cheer of the night.

porterbelly

Complete waste of time that game

Why not throw in Adrian Varley, Shane Walsh, Cathal Mulryan and Tom Flynn from the start and get them championship experience. If we lose so what, we're not going to go much further.

Reverting to type and playing the likes of Greg Higgins, Gary O Donnell and Sean Armstrong achieves what? They've shown they're not up to it year after year against any team half decent. So what did we learn?

Who cares if they're only 19/20 and slightly built. They need to be exposed to senior championship football and get used to it. They're the future of Galway football.

Syferus

porterbelly wrote: »

Complete waste of time that game

Why not throw in Adrian Varley, Shane Walsh, Cathal Mulryan and Tom Flynn from the start and get them championship experience. If we lose so what, we're not going to go much further.

Reverting to type and playing the likes of Greg Higgins, Gary O Donnell and Sean Armstrong achieves what? They've shown they're not up to it year after year against any team half decent. So what did we learn?

Who cares if they're only 19/20 and slightly built. They need to be exposed to senior championship football and get used to it. They're the future of Galway football.

Exposed would be the right word.

Throwing a rope around a bunch of U21s and parachuting them into a team is a recipe for disaster, both for the senior team and for those players' mental states.

Varley, Burke and Mulryan should have seen much more work in the league, but you simply can't just throw that many players at a problem and hope good things happen.

Where would Donegal be if McGuiness turfed out McGee, Gallagher, Kavanagh and McFadden for 'failing so many times'? A good manager elevates everyone on the panel, not just the kids.

Hulk Hands

porterbelly wrote: »

Complete waste of time that game

Why not throw in Adrian Varley, Shane Walsh, Cathal Mulryan and Tom Flynn from the start and get them championship experience. If we lose so what, we're not going to go much further.

Reverting to type and playing the likes of Greg Higgins, Gary O Donnell and Sean Armstrong achieves what? They've shown they're not up to it year after year against any team half decent. So what did we learn?

Who cares if they're only 19/20 and slightly built. They need to be exposed to senior championship football and get used to it. They're the future of Galway football.

Achieves plenty when you consider that O'Donnell and Armstrong were two of our best players yesterday, and we could well have been out of the championship without them.

Stanza2

Thought that Armstrong did really well yesterday, especially considering the slating that he has been getting since the Mayo game. In fact I thought that the team as a whole came out fighting in the second half. They were under pressure before the game after the Mayo performance, but more so at half time when it did not look good. They are not going to win anything with this team, but they do represent the county and there was some hard hits going in from the Tipp lads with some bad off the ball incidents, even the bench had a few words with their opposite numbers! No one can say that they don't care.

Thought that we lacked midfield dominance big time, defence will be tested against better opposition. Love seeing Meehan play even if I think that he is not the player of old, he gives everything that his body allows him to. Hehir is never a corner forward in a month of Sundays. Cummins is a player that they have to build around, keep his confidence up, yes he missed some goal chances, but he sets scores up as well as takes points from play better than anyone, with speed like that he will always cause problems. When a goal or two goes in he will be top drawer. Still need to keep building towards that 2011 U21 team being dominant, it will take a few years.

Best moment of the match without doubt was the Killkenny hurling announcement, it was great.

Stanza2

Stanza2 wrote: »

Still need to keep building towards that 2011 U21 team being dominant, it will take a few years.

I think we've seen enough from that team to take it the majority of them aren't up to winning at senior.

Tbh that wasn't a great All Ireland they won in comparison to this years.
They played an open game against Cavan that was over as a contest in no time.
This years team won an extremely tough final, lads were putting their bodies on the line late in the game(on such things games are won or lost) to win frees when Cork were coming.

I'd have higher hopes for taking 4/5 from this years than 2011.

Hulk Hands

The real final that year was the semi against a very good cork side. I thought it was a very good side and I think Forde, Duane, Cummins at least will make good senior players. The two midfielders from this year were also on that side

Stanza2

The Cork team that Galway beat in the semi's in 2011 were touted as one of the best ever, they had 3-4 players who had won a senior All Ireland the year before and included an all star in their midfield, they had beaten Kerry by 20 odd points in the Munster final. The Cavan team that Galway beat in the final might not have been the best but a few of their lads have progressed to good senior players this year, they are a county moving forward. The 2011 team was a good team and they along with this years U21 team should give us some good players within the next few years

fearruanua

am i correct in saying that we now face one of the provincial semi final losers?
Clare
Waterford
Kildare
Wexford
Leitrim
Roscommon
Cavan
Down

porterbelly

Hulk Hands wrote: »

Achieves plenty when you consider that O'Donnell and Armstrong were two of our best players yesterday, and we could well have been out of the championship without them.

Armstrong will go missing when the chips are down, that's a guarantee

O Donnell left massive holes through the middle which better teams will punish us for

Syferus

Galway's minors were undone by an unholy amount of soft goals. Looked better point scorers than Mayo but to concede five goals in any game is as good as writing your own headstone. Eoin McCormack looks a talent.

InchicoreDude

fearruanua wrote: »

am i correct in saying that we now face one of the provincial semi final losers?
Clare
Waterford
Kildare
Wexford
Leitrim
Roscommon
Cavan
Down

Yes. It is somewhat strange that the 'qualifier' side of the draw is probably stronger than the provinical semis this year. I think Galway have a chance against all those teams except Down (and probably Kildare too).

Armstrong will go missing when the chips are down, that's a guarantee

O Donnell left massive holes through the middle which better teams will punish us for

Who are your alternatives? Keith Kelly at number 6 failed. According to Mulholland, Duane was injured for yesterdays game. So who would you have played at number 6?

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

fearruanua wrote: »

am i correct in saying that we now face one of the provincial semi final losers?
Clare
Waterford
Kildare
Wexford
Leitrim
Roscommon
Cavan
Down

Yeah, we only need to avoid Kildare and Down. I think we'd take any of the other teams at home. Cavan and Wexford I'd rate at a similar enough level, as for the other 4, yes please!!