Kilkenny GAA Thread Part 2 **MOD NOTE POST 1***

brookville

Village87 wrote: »

In fairness Blanchfield played well the year the bridge won the Intermediate for the club and played well last year v Waterford in the semi final and Tipp in the final both Senior.

Farrell is way ahead of Shane Walsh from Tullaroan, Eddie Brennan looking after him there, not right

I know lads will agree and disagree but I was shocked not to see farrell on the panel for the dublin match I thought he'd be worth his place on the panel.
I was told mossy keoghan is hurling well for the intermediates there playing wexford at home this day week

danganabu

JJs Left Hand wrote: »

Some fair amount of bollocks talked in this thread about bias while lads spout their own version of it.

See this is the rubbish the rest of us in the 'normal' counties have to put up with on a regular basis, it's amazing that when a county is totally dominant and winning everything there isn't a single concern or eyebrow raised and every team and panel selected is perfect, but when a few results start to go the other way, suddenly its all a jobs for the boys outfit, club bias and nepotism and all the rest of the tinfoil hat conspiracy theories!

Welcome to the dark side

tbiggertycome

danganabu wrote: »

See this is the rubbish the rest of us in the 'normal' counties have to put up with on a regular basis, it's amazing that when a county is totally dominant and winning everything there isn't a single concern or eyebrow raised and every team and panel selected is perfect, but when a few results start to go the other way, suddenly its all a jobs for the boys outfit, club bias and nepotism and all the rest of the tinfoil hat conspiracy theories!

Welcome to the dark side

Totally agree when results don't go your way then the conspiracy theories are given oxygen and are harder to refute. Amazingly these U21's have had the results going their way and still the management are being run down.

I know someone involved in the U21 set up this year and I have heard a fair amount about how their going and I would have asked many of the same questions posed here and to be honest the simple answer is normally the correct one. The lads that have been mentioned above as potential starters are all in contention for a starting place but for one reason or another their not playing or on the panel the main reason is their not hurling as well in training as the lads that are picked ahead of them. Shane Walsh for instance has surprised all those involved with the U21's he was asked to come in and give it a go but he seriously impressed all year in training having some scintillating games in both training and challenges. As a result he gets to start. Andy Gaffney a club mate of mine apparently is training well but not as well as the lads ahead of him. Young Farrell to be honest sounds like he must have had lads pouring honey in his ear telling him he should be starting but those people who weren't seeing him train for the county, either that or he needs to grow up others were picked ahead of him on merit and sadly he doesn't seem to be able to handle that.

How would we have the management pick the team if not on fitness levels and training performance? Isn't that what Cody has been lauded for, for year's. Should they not pay any heed to what they see every night and pick the team by asking everyone for their opinion on seeing some of these lads play loads and others a handful of times in their life?

We may not agree with certain calls and I would love more Boro men involved but every time I've asked why they are or aren't, the answer is very simple. They may be going well but there's someone else going better at the minute. The management are best placed to make the call they've seen them all more than us this year they know they're fitness levels, their form, their gelling with other players around them.

Our U21's seem to have a weight on their shoulders from last year's humiliation. They were nervous the first day and like wise in the first half the last day. I would hope they can cut loose this evening and show what their really made of if the forwards click like they can we should win but Wexford are a big tough and good team so we'll see how it goes but I would be hopeful of a solid win. Hope everyone that's free this evening goes to the Park to support them as Wexford will bring a crowd.

JimTreacy

Village87 wrote: »

Alan Murphy the same, offers little only frees

Are you talking to yourself now replying to quote from yourself who would be the best hurler around is it A ANOTHER it seems to be, the likes of Blanchfield , Morrissey , met them up in D,C,U, one evening in May getting ready to come down for training sure these lads have exams other pressures on them.

dubcat51

Important to win tonite and get a bandwagon effect going.minors 21s and seniors still standing.between these 3 teams we have serious talent and I would urge everyone to get behind them.

paulie gaultieri

Leahy starting in place of Shane Walsh

paulie gaultieri

Very encouraging first half hopefully the lads can drive on now. Definite red card

kksaints

Good score. 17 points by half time is an impressive strike rate.

Nickindublin

Well done to Kk U21 team tonight and to the Minors on Sunday for winning their respective Leinster titles. Really impressed with the U21 team tonight. Scored some lovely points. Richie Leahy impressed for me and surely has to be involved from the bench on Saturday.

JJs Left Hand

Thought that was a really good performance. Still some poor wides and disappointing we didn't get a goal but some lovely hurling played throughout the game.

kksaints

Very good win and good to see a large amount of scores after the rather poor performances by the forwards against Dublin and Westmeath.

dastardly00

Great win for the U-21 team tonight. Well done to all the players, management & backroom staff.

The red card, which was 100% the correct decision, obviously had a massive impact on the game. But things were looking positive for KK prior to that.

A goal would have been nice, and some of the wides were poor, but overall it was a fantastic performance and one that I was not expecting.

Seniors beat Limerick and minors & U-21s both win Leinster all within a few days. Roll on this Saturday :cool:

dubcat51

Missed the game tonite ,do tg4 show replays or have a player does anyone know. Anyone hot a report on the game?

randd1

Good win, very impressive. 30 points in a 60 minute game is some scoring no matter the circumstances, and we had plenty of wides on top of that. Just the one goal chance though, brilliantly improvised and a great save to prevent it.

Defensively we were fairly sound, looked solid and we got great cover and support from midfield. The only downside was pace-wise, Wexford ran through us a few times in the second half and we looked uneasy, but they weren't going to breach our defence a man down. It's something to work on.

The biggest plus for me though was the movement of the ball, the interplay and the forward movement. Our forwards were fluid, not static, and made some great runs all evening. Good tracking back too. Passing was good, diagonal ball, long ball, short passing, high ball, low fast ball, it really helped the forwards, it was good, inventive hurling.

Congratulations to the lads, it was a top performance.

Congrats to the management too, they took a lot of flack after last year, and now they've delivered our first title in this grade for 5 years. Well done to them too.

droppingball

Good performance from the lads, they seemed to play without a nervousness that hung over them for the first two games.

Billy Ryan an Richie Leahy had great games. Good week so far, if we win Saturday it will have been an excellent week and a great boost

dubcat51

Outside of leahy and ryan who stood out.also how did john donnelly play.

dastardly00

dubcat51 wrote: »

Missed the game tonite ,do tg4 show replays or have a player does anyone know. Anyone hot a report on the game?

TG4 will have the full programme on their player. Not sure though how soon it will be available.

v3ttel

Nice to read some praise for the 21s here for once. Hopefully people are now realising that there are some seriously talented players in that team.

Leahy, Scanlon, Cleere, Morrissey were all outstanding with Delaney, Lyng and Ryan & Mullen not far behind. They really looked in control well before the red card. There were some top class scores and good interplay. I've said it a few times here but we need those some of those lads on the bench for the seniors to give us real options.

Only two weeks ago, lads here we're trying to rip up coaching structures in the county. Fast forward a couple of weeks....the U21s and Minors are Leinster champions and the seniors have a good shot against Waterford. I wonder how many will be repeating those calls now if the seniors make it 4 from 4 for the week? There is talent coming through.

brookville

Well done to all involved tonight it was a hugely important win from a group we hope will backbone our senior team in the next few years.
We looked much better from the off and the sending off probably killed the match as a contest.
Our backs looked generally comfortable but I'm sure management will be disgusted to give away that cheap goal.Mullen was the pick of the backs he was excellent and certainly looks to have a bright future,scanlon also impressed at mf which is good because we all know the potential he has and morrissey is improving with every game but leahy and ryan were the 2 standout men up front both were very good.Alan Murphy knows he can do better while hopefully things come right for blanch,it's not going right for him at the moment but he doesn't need lads on here slating him either.
Overall it's being a great week for our hurlers and footballers and nice to see a good home support and people getting tickets for Saturday after the game this win will hopefully give our lads a lift and maybe leahy or ryan might make the bench saturday

Cornerback1

Super performance. 30pts is some shooting but it was the spread of scorers that pleased me. Loads of lads got on the scoresheet which will boost their confidence.

John Donnelly, Liam B and Alan Murphy came off in second half but can't remember who else.

Wexford battled gamely but with man down and down on scoreboard it was always going to be tough. In saying that, before man was sent off (rush of blood on Leahy) we were always in control and were playing really well. It didn't help Wexford obviously but in the first 18mins, KK were playing very well.

I wouldn't worry about goals when we can hit 30 points!!

Cornerback1

Super performance. 30pts is some shooting but it was the spread of scorers that pleased me. Loads of lads got on the scoresheet which will boost their confidence.

John Donnelly, Liam B and Alan Murphy came off in second half but can't remember who else.

Wexford battled gamely but with man down and down on scoreboard it was always going to be tough. In saying that, before man was sent off (rush of blood on Leahy) we were always in control and were playing really well. It didn't help Wexford obviously but in the first 18mins, KK were playing very well.

I wouldn't worry about goals when we can hit 30 points!!

greenspurs

Would any of the U21s get a call up for Saturday night ??

Comerman

brookville wrote: »

while hopefully things come right for blanch,it's not going right for him at the moment but he doesn't need lads on here slating him either.

I think that's part of Blanch's issue, he seemed to panic and overthink on the ball and it's possibly down to pressure to perform, maybe some on here should give up the bitchin' and get behind those that need "supporters"

brookville

Comerman wrote: »

I think that's part of Blanch's issue, he seemed to panic and overthink on the ball and it's possibly down to pressure to perform, maybe some on here should give up the bitchin' and get behind those that need "supporters"

Agreed it's 5 years since we won a leinster final we should be congratulating the lads and I'm sure they know they'll have to improve but there getting better with each match.
Its a pity mullen and ryan didn't see game time during the league

dastardly00

greenspurs wrote: »

Would any of the U21s get a call up for Saturday night ??

Well Blanchfield was subbed off after 43 minutes so read into that what you will

Village87

dastardly00 wrote: »

Well Blanchfield was subbed off after 43 minutes so read into that what you will

Leahy is an outstanding talent. Surely in the reckoning for the weekend. Blanchfield out of form at present but the man has had a hectic few years, he will come good.

Billy Ryan will be on the bench hopefully for Saturday.

Other forwards such as Donnelly and Morrissey did well but still a good bit off senior Intercounty speed

Alan Murphy doeskin really offer much from play, be lucky to hold his place on the u21 team next day out

greenspurs

Village87 wrote: »

Leahy is an outstanding talent. Surely in the reckoning for the weekend. Blanchfield out of form at present but the man has had a hectic few years, he will come good.

Billy Ryan will be on the bench hopefully for Saturday.

Other forwards such as Donnelly and Morrissey did well but still a good bit off senior Intercounty speed

Alan Murphy doeskin really offer much from play, be lucky to hold his place on the u21 team next day out

Cleere played well also.....
Surely worth a sot on the bench, and maybe an appearance if an impact sub is needed... ?

Ceist_Beag

That last point from Cleere was great wasn't it - the shrug, planting the feet and just slapping it over the bar, looked great. He hit a lovely pass earlier too, across field to Morrissey I think it was. He certainly has talent, no doubt about that.

dirkmeister

Blanchfield looks like a lad short on confidence. That goal chance in the first half summed up how he's hurling lately.

Leahy is a right operator, very impressed with Scanlon and Darren Mullen also.
Jason Cleere looked like a senior hurler last night.

This team look to be growing in confidence as the games go on, fair play to whoever beats them.

It's an ideal confidence boost for the entire county before Saturday.

Hawkeye6

Michael Fennelly’s performance versus Limerick vindicates my post from last week regarding midfield. It was not so much his physicality which people get carried away with, but more his positioning in front of the two half lines as required and not out on the side line that much either. Combine this with his drive to move the ball quickly out of the rucks, not always to the right target but more often than not it did open up the play either by his indiscriminate pull or his physical drive to burst away. He wasn’t there to win pucks out much, but more to mop up the mess from rucks. It is one solution to the midfield conundrum. However, he is just one man and only a short term solution to the overall midfield problem in Kilkenny. Who is the next great Kilkenny midfielder? As some people pointed out Paddy Deegan did very well on the ball, but his positioning and getting on the ball left a lot to be desired. The good news is that we have players that can be coached to be midfielders, but that takes time and if we believe in club at all, the most of that has to come from the club and therein lies the underlying issue for Kilkenny hurling at the moment.

The biggest win of the weekend has barely got a mention here or anywhere else and that is the Kilkenny Junior footballers winning the British Championship and qualifying for the All-Ireland semi-final versus Meath on 22 July in probably Nowlan Park. Many posters have noted the Kilkenny club hurling championship standard has been slipping over the last few years. Veteran Martin Comerford was the star of last year in a year when very few stood out consistently. Is it a coincidence that Kilkenny clubs have ignored their football responsibilities hugely in the same period of reducing quality in the hurling championship locally? More walk overs, less entries, both at adult and underage. Is there a definite link?

Hurling has moved on again, whether Kilkenny people like it or not. The average hurler playing around the middle of the field covers about 8km in an inter county match. Both Galway and Wexford both showed that the game is starting to copy football with wing backs poaching goals and even corner backs in Wexford’s case getting up the field to get scores. The game has moved on and Movement is the name of the game, not just the forwards as often portrayed by posters here. The hurling skills are the same and yes Kilkenny are good enough at the skills, but the actual position of corner forward or corner back is now gone once the ball is thrown in. (Yes it will cause fierce problems for a lot of club coaches who take off the corner forwards no matter what or where the issue is). In Kilkenny, clubs now have too many guys coaching club teams who are stuck in their ways. Some moving from club to club. The cone is like a pillar of worship, not only on the training ground but for the pre-match. I was disappointed to see Kilkenny minors had way more cones laid out for their warm up than their Dublin counterparts with their array of colourful cones, I was sure they were for the Dubs. The result of cones is that players train to target the ball at the cone (sorry player) standing at the cone. Maybe we could get moving cones. Too many club coaches from Under-14 to adult are either not experienced enough, not willing to embrace change or stuck in their ways. Many club coaches are doing it the way they were trained during the Celtic Tiger when cones were plentiful. The Tiger is gone but we must remember that when the Kilkenny club scene is strong, we produce top class inter county players. We need the clubs to change and modernise coaching (yet again)

The skills of movement and high fielding used in football are particularly necessary now in hurling as is the ability not to get pigeon holed into a corner back or corner forward. Even in the aftermath of the Limerick win, we had a poster blaming Cody (btw he’ll be delighted at getting blamed for a win) and not offering alternative Managements (still). The ultimate blame lies with the clubs and their coaches. The same clubs don’t want the responsibility of developing players. They complain about development squads who only have the players for less than a dozen sessions a year and forget they have all the players for about five times that amount and more. They stop players from playing Gaelic Football and wonder why they have no movement on the field and nobody prepared to jump high like Tommy Walsh used to do or Lee Chin (a dual player) did against Kilkenny. Instead we have lads who just put their hurl in the air and pray the ball hits the hurl. Even the great Kilkenny team of the seventies were a powerful set of footballers who knew howo to attack the ball.

Another curse of the club training session is the portable juvenile goals. We haven’t thirty players so let’s shorten the pitch and play like twelve year olds. Then we wonder why we haven’t players who cannot deliver long pinpoint passes to a moving colleague and a quality ball that a forward might enjoy and conversely we have players who love to give short 10 yard tippy tappy bounce along the ground passes, many of them across the field, some even backwards. It’s awful stuff when transported to the inter county game.

Rather than focussing on the issues of the county team, why not go down to your club, count the cones, look at the juvenile goals and watch the movement and the high fielding on the shortened pitch in the match, if there is even a match in the session. See for yourself if what I am saying is true or is your club one of the exceptions. Then walk over to the coach and ask him… Why?

Like everyone else, I was happy with last night. It’s a work in progress. The Leinster results of our Under-21’s and Minors show talks of Kilkenny demise are well exaggerated. But patience is needed to carry it through to senior again. It is not a given that we will win All-Ireland seniors every year, but we will be competitive. My only disappointments were the lack of goal creation against a team of 14 players that we were obviously better than and still no sign of midfield dominance. Pat Lyng spent a lot of time out on the sideline. Scanlon scored lovely points in space but little or nothing was won in the tight. Wexford won a lot of breaking ball in the middle, especially their number 8. But then again it confirms what I have been saying.