National Football League 2016 Discussion

Hammer Archer

So the shadow boxing of the pre season provincial championships is done. The first proper competitive games of 2016 begin on Saturday and we may as well have a thread to discuss them.
(All fixture times are Sunday January 31st at 2pm unless stated)

Div 1 odds & fixtures
Dublin evens
Mayo 9/2
Cork 5/1
Kerry 15/2
Donegal 9/1
Monaghan 11/1
Roscommon 20/1
Down 33/1

Dublin v Kerry, Croke Park, Saturday @ 7pm
Down v Donegal, Páirc Esler, Saturday @ 7pm
Cork v Mayo, Páirc Uí Rinn
Roscommon v Monaghan, Kiltoom

Div 2 odds & fixtures
Tyrone 6/4
Derry 4/1
Galway 4/1
Armagh 8/1
Cavan 8/1
Meath 10/1
Laois 14/1
Fermanagh 20/1

Derry v Fermanagh, Celtic Park, 2.15pm
Meath v Armagh, Pairc Tailteann
Tyrone v Cavan, Healy Park
Laois v Galway, O'Moore Park

Div 3 odds & fixtures
Kildare 5/6
Westmeath 4/1
Tipperary 15/2
Longford 10/1
Clare 11/1
Sligo 12/1
Offaly 12/1
Limerick 22/1

Clare v Sligo, Miltown Malbay
Limerick v Tipperary, Kilmallock
Offaly v Longford, O'Connor Park
Westmeath v Kildare, Cusack Park

Div 4 odds and fixtures
Wexford 15/8
Antrim 2/1
Louth 4/1
Wicklow 15/2
Leitrim 9/1
Waterford 14/1
Carlow 25/1
London 66/1

Louth v London, Gaelic Grounds, 1pm
Carlow v Antrim, Netwatch Cullen Park
Wexford v Leitrim, Bellefield
Wicklow v Waterford, Aughrim

Tickets to all games will be available at the respective grounds.
You can also pre-purchase tickets at selected Super Valu and Centra stores.
Adult tickets for Division 1 and 2 games purchased in these stores before midnight on the day before the game are only €10. Tickets to Division 1 and 2 games purchased on the day will cost the full €15.
Adult tickets to Division 3 and 4 games are €10.

So how does everyone feel about their county's chances?
For Meath, I feel last season was our best chance at promotion. This season's division 2 is a lot stronger than last year's with 4 Ulster teams added from Divisions 1 and 3. We finished 3rd last season with our loss in Dr. Hyde Park to Roscommon the difference between going up and staying where we are.
I feel we could very well go down this season. With 4 away games, the retirements of the likes of Stephen Bray and Kevin Reilly and our best midfielder Conor Gillespie still injured, I think survival is the best we can hope for. On a brighter note for us, long time absentee Cillian O'Sullivan returned with some promising performances during the O'Byrne Cup having been injured for the best part of 2 years. Also, Meath will be able to call on Ratoath and Curraha players after both were knocked out of their respective All Ireland Club championships by Kerry opposition last weekend.

Overall, I see Dublin making it 34 in a row in Division 1.
Can't look past Tyrone in Division 2. Think Galway will join them in promotion.
Kildare will surely come straight back up from Division 3 along with Westmeath.
Louth looked decent in the O'Byrne Cup and I fancy them and Antrim to go up to Division 3.

Fr Tod Umptious

Two years ago I suggested here that Dublin would be better off scarifying the league for the sake of winning back to back championships.

I'd argue the same again now, they could use the league to learn and prepare.

I also think that Roscommon will surprise many and stay up.

I have no idea what Cork will he like.

Kerry under Fitzmaurice have flerted with relegation most years and may do so again this time. They need to blood new players at the back to take over from Marc O Se and AOM, that may not be easy.
Then again they may get to the playoffs, over the last few years the difference between relegation and a SF has been very little.

Mayo should finish mid table as they have a tough enough schedule and a few injuries, but like Kerry it could go either way.

I think 2 of the 3 nordies are going down.

As for Div 2 Galway would want to man up and do something with their under 21 success, I thought they would get prompted last her but in the end were not far off relegation.

PressRun

Think Mayo will have a fairly mediocre league. With some players recovering from injuries and other young ones being blooded, it's all going to be a bit experimental and I could see a couple of losses.

seligehgit

I think Mayo will struggle greatly in the league this year.I'd be very happy if we settled for mid table mediocrity but with the crazy list of injuries and absentees a relegation battle is a real possibility.

We have a very tough opening to the league campaign which doesn't help our cause.

DoctaDee

Hammer Archer wrote: »

.............
Overall, I see Dublin making it 3 in a row in Division 1.
......

:rolleyes: .. Wouldn't be a proper Royal if you gave us our due

Gael85

DoctaDee wrote: »

:rolleyes: .. Wouldn't be a proper Royal if you gave us our due

Are Dublin not going for 4 in a row in Division 1?

PressRun

seligehgit wrote: »

We have a very tough opening to the league campaign which doesn't help our cause.

Yeah, I can really see us struggling down in Cork on Sunday. I'd be thrilled to get something from it, but it looks like they're fielding quite a strong team.

Hammer Archer

DoctaDee wrote: »

:rolleyes: .. Wouldn't be a proper Royal if you gave us our due

Ye saw nothin y'hear?

iDave

Developed a sudden bout of preseason optimism today. Amazing what an O'Byrne Cup can do for you.
Think I'll stick with my prediction of Meath getting relegated.

Nice to have live GAA back on the TV to distract from boring 'transfer gossip' talk.

Hammer Archer

iDave wrote: »

Developed a sudden bout of preseason optimism today. Amazing what an O'Byrne Cup can do for you.
Think I'll stick with my prediction of Meath getting relegated.

Probably for the best. Last time we won the O'Byrne Cup we got relegated.

iDave

3 convincing wins for Donegal Dublin and Cork.
Roscommon must be gutted. I'd imagine that game was a preseason target for 2 points.

Bonniedog

The way Gavin uses the league to try out players and systems, with the momentum building towards the Summer, Dublin could win the league again almost by default! Seem to be starting from a higher base this year with the likes of Philly, Fenton, Brogan, sure to make appearances by March and Michael Darragh back after the club championship. Hard to see at this stage that Dublin in June will look much different than Dublin last September, other than Mannion in for Flynn, and a rejigging of the backs with Small as the no. 6.

Only team I can see winning league besides Dublin are Cork, and maybe Donegal. Mayo and Kerry are clearly not going to be putting out anything close to their full teams, and will be happy enough to survive. Roscommon will be up for it and will take a couple of scalps and maybe stay up. Down are terrible and will be going back to Two. Monaghan are the wild card. Had great league last year but some feel it cost them in the championship. They don't have a huge pool and the likes of Clerkin are coming close to the end. So do they have another tip off the league, or do they keep their powder dry until summer? I suspect the latter.

DoctaDee

iDave wrote: »

3 convincing wins for Donegal Dublin and Cork.
Roscommon must be gutted. I'd imagine that game was a preseason target for 2 points.

Yeah watched the Ros game on TG4. The gale blowing down the pitch sorta skewed the perception of the match, but I thought Roscommon were better with the wind and better against the wind, but still lost They've a good setup as a defensive unit and fast counter attacking with their outballs into Kilbride and Cregg being fairly impressive - Murtaghs stupid black card and the goalkeepers mistake were the turning points .. fine margins between a deserved win and a choker of a loss..........

Boom__Boom

DoctaDee wrote: »

Yeah watched the Ros game on TG4. The gale blowing down the pitch sorta skewed the perception of the match, but I thought Roscommon were better with the wind and better against the wind, but still lost They've a good setup as a defensive unit and fast counter attacking with their outballs into Kilbride and Cregg being fairly impressive - Murtaghs stupid black card and the goalkeepers mistake were the turning points .. fine margins between a deserved win and a choker of a loss..........

Can't remember who said it but yesterday's result for Roscommon really reminded me of the manager of a team promoted from Division 2 who said that the difference between Division 1 and Division 2 was that teams in Division 1 were far more likely to punish any mistakes.

shrewdness

DoctaDee wrote: »

iDave wrote: »

3 convincing wins for Donegal Dublin and Cork.
Roscommon must be gutted. I'd imagine that game was a preseason target for 2 points.

Yeah watched the Ros game on TG4. The gale blowing down the pitch sorta skewed the perception of the match, but I thought Roscommon were better with the wind and better against the wind, but still lost They've a good setup as a defensive unit and fast counter attacking with their outballs into Kilbride and Cregg being fairly impressive - Murtaghs stupid black card and the goalkeepers mistake were the turning points .. fine margins between a deserved win and a choker of a loss..........

Monaghan scored more with the wind, that was the difference in the end really. Roscommon did slightly better against the wind but only just. Yes the Roscommon keeper made the mistake which ultimately sealed their fate, but Monaghan had been growing stronger through the second half and showed their experience and they didn't panic and kept plugging away. Could have edged in front a bit earlier in fact only for some wides.

Roscommon very unlucky not to get something out of it given the lead they had but as others say, this is the difference when you get to Division 1. Mistakes that you'd get away with in the lower divisions get punished in the top flight, and ultimately could be the difference between relegation and staying up.

K-9

Boom__Boom wrote: »

Can't remember who said it but yesterday's result for Roscommon really reminded me of the manager of a team promoted from Division 2 who said that the difference between Division 1 and Division 2 was that teams in Division 1 were far more likely to punish any mistakes.

McStay actually said that yeaterday. Cliche but true when you look at the difference in quality between the 2 divisions.

Hard to see Down or Roscommon having a chance to stay up
now.

ProudDUB

shrewdness wrote: »

Monaghan scored more with the wind, that was the difference in the end really. Roscommon did slightly better against the wind but only just. Yes the Roscommon keeper made the mistake which ultimately sealed their fate, but Monaghan had been growing stronger through the second half and showed their experience and they didn't panic and kept plugging away. Could have edged in front a bit earlier in fact only for some wides.

Roscommon very unlucky not to get something out of it given the lead they had but as others say, this is the difference when you get to Division 1. Mistakes that you'd get away with in the lower divisions get punished in the top flight, and ultimately could be the difference between relegation and staying up.

The marquee forwards in Div 1 make a big difference too. As Uncle Pat keeps on telling us, over and over on the Sunday Game. :rolleyes:

You can think you're the madra's liathroidi for keeping the the other sides poster boy quiet for 69 minutes, but one lapse in concentration & he has the ball in the back of the net in jig time.

It's a gutting way to lose a game, but hopefully they'll learn from it. Div 1 needs an injection of fresh blood and not just the same 8-12 counties going up and down all the time.

DoctaDee

I didn't see the Down game, but I'm guessing the scoreboard doesn't lie. I'd definitely give Roscommon a fighting chance as the depleted squads and poor showing of Kerry & Mayo should give them a cause for concern

K-9

As Kerry have shown, they'll just bring out the big guns if needs be. The home games are crucial though especially against a team they'd see as possible relegation rivals.

Down were poor, the saved penalty and some needless frees given away in the first half didn't help.

Hammer Archer

If Cross make the club final I think Armagh are in big trouble with the players they have at the moment. Played with a gale in the first half and were only ahead thanks to some stupid mistakes from us. Then failed to get anywhere close to scoring in the second half.

If Crossmaglen make the final, the only games their players will be available to Armagh will be away to Tyrone and home to Derry. Could be a surprise immediate return to Division 3 if the rest of their players don't improve.

Obviously didn't see any other division 2 games but I'm still sticking with Tyrone and Galway to get promoted with Derry not far behind. We were quite poor yesterday albeit without Graham Reilly.

Utopia Parkway

Hammer Archer wrote: »

If Cross make the club final I think Armagh are in big trouble with the players they have at the moment. Played with a gale in the first half and were only ahead thanks to some stupid mistakes from us. Then failed to get anywhere close to scoring in the second half.

If Crossmaglen make the final, the only games their players will be available to Armagh will be away to Tyrone and home to Derry. Could be a surprise immediate return to Division 3 if the rest of their players don't improve.

Obviously didn't see any other division 2 games but I'm still sticking with Tyrone and Galway to get promoted with Derry not far behind. We were quite poor yesterday albeit without Graham Reilly.

I would not be that confident of us (Galway) getting promoted. We have a lot of players missing for the league and had an entire full-back line and goalkeeper making their debuts against Laois yesterday. Now in fairness they won the game well but Laois look like they could go down to division 3 this season if they keep up that level of performance. Maybe if Galway can beat Tyrone next weekend I might change my mind but I think Tyrone will go up. Maybe Derry to join them as they are usually a good league outfit.

Boom__Boom

Hammer Archer wrote: »

If Cross make the club final I think Armagh are in big trouble with the players they have at the moment. Played with a gale in the first half and were only ahead thanks to some stupid mistakes from us. Then failed to get anywhere close to scoring in the second half.

If Crossmaglen make the final, the only games their players will be available to Armagh will be away to Tyrone and home to Derry. Could be a surprise immediate return to Division 3 if the rest of their players don't improve.

You wonder at what stage McGeeney would come under pressure - So far under his reign, Armagh's championship record is a win over Wicklow and two losses to Donegal and Galway and the manner of their promotion from Division 3 wasn't exactly that impressive.

I'd imagine they will be fairly desperate to get the 2 points against Laois as the various games against all their other Ulster neighbours are likely to be competitive enough and I'd imagine they really won't want to be facing into their last 2 games against Tyrone and Derry looking for points.