Football Championship 2014.....

This thread is to log your opinions, thoughts and aspirations in. Clearly many posters have their county
sub-fora, but when the Rossies are jousting with Monaghan for a place in the last 4 where do you go.

Prediction No.1. Roscommon will give Connacht a fair rattle.

Connacht Mayo are there for the taking most likely Rossies

Munster Cork look favs hard to look past them Kerry without cooper rudderless

Ulster probably toughest province Derry Monaghan Donegal Tyrone toss up who wins it,but who ever ends up going down the connacht/munster route have a good chance of reaching an all ireland final

The only team from ulster that might trouble Dublin will be Tyrone as they play at pace.


As for Leinster i guess Meath will be our biggest opponent nothing else stands out,but still a lost cause for the royals

Who will win it who knows double league champions is a bad pointer for retaining SAM  

Roscommon have been 1 and done for the last 2 years in Connaught, losing to Galway by 14 pts in 2012, and Mayo by 12 last year. Assuming that they account for Leitrim, playing Mayo in Hyde Park will help them somewhat, but it is still a big jump to see them actually win the title.

Because they do it in such a dull, workmanlike fashion, it's easy to forget that Mayo are still winning games. They made the league semi-finals, beating Cork, Kerry and Derry along the way, and they also drew with Dublin in Croke Pk. Despite their lack of development and possibly even slight decline, Mayo are still comfortably the best side in the West. They'll only be beaten if they seriously take their eye off the ball.

Nobody will seriously challenge Dubiln in Leinster. After the Dubs, Kildare have the most talented panel, but they seem to be in a bad place mentally. They are losing young lads to Australia, and there are rumblings of discontent at how their league campaign went. Westmeath are in a very similar mess, which will at least make the qtr final between them interesting should it happen.

In terms of late summer prospects, Meath have very little, and any hype about them is based solely on 2 factors:
1) Their name;
2) Their willingness to stand up to Dublin, something that the rest of Leinster never do.

The Westmeath/Louth/Kildare/Meath side of the draw could give us some good games.

Ulster will be by far the most interesting of the provincial championships and it's not remotely close. The Rossies are the only team in Connacht capable of giving Mayo a game and even then, a rout in Mayo's favour if they meet (hey some of us are on New York's side here) wouldn't be all that surprising. Hard to see past Cork in Munster and even harder to see past Dublin in Leinster. Ulster on the other hand could deliver 4 or 5 absolute cracking games. It's not close, look north.

Connacht

Mayo are established and experienced team and play under a strong organised system. You can't say that about the rest in Connacht and IMO Galway are best place to catch them on the hop, they have the pick of their 2011,2013 U-21 All Ireland winning teams they only have to beat Sligo,London to reach the final and would be massive underdogs which will suit them going into a possible Connacht final against Mayo.

Verdict Mayo

Ulster

Jarlath Burns believes any one of six teams could win this year's Ulster SFC. I don't see it myself, Derry will do well to recover from the mauling on Sunday its that last thing any side wants before the championship. Donegal are not at the level or 2011,12 the desire to succeed is simply lost by the looks of it. Cavan are a young side and i expect them to make more of impact in the qualifiers. That leaves Monaghan,Tyrone they will probably face off in the semi final and the winner should win Ulster.

Verdict  Tyrone

Leinster

Short and sweet its going to be Dublin again its harder to know who will give them a game in Leinster probably Meath again.

Verdict Dublin

Munster

Again not much to say here, seeded draw has kept the big two apart Cork will have home advantage against Kerry

Verdict Cork

The four teams that might come through the qualifiers Donegal,Kerry,Monaghan,Galway though i can't see any of them beating the provincial champions.

Likely semi finals.

Cork v Mayo - 50/50 call newish Cork team against a leg weary Mayo
Dublin v Tyrone - Tyrone will give a good account of themselves but the Dubs should have enough to prevail.

Dublin to win back to back All Ireland's first side since Kerry in 2006/07.

Big blow for Monaghan as Conor McManus appears to have suffered a bad ankle/knee injury. Looks like he could miss the whole summer.

For all the talk about predictions, injuries to the likes of McManus and Colm Cooper can completely change a side's prospects. Monaghan's odds of retaining their Ulster title have just lengthened dramatically, while their extremely outside chances of winning the AI are now gone. Very tough luck for them and the player.

Since the league final we've had some horrible luck. The results from Conor's initial scan suggest a 6-8 week recovery, not as bad as it could have been but still means he'll definitely miss our first game against Tyrone or Down. And also over the weekends club action Kieran Hughes and Paudie McKenna both broke bones in their hands. Add that to Eoin Lennon and Gavin Doogan and we have three of our most important starters, and two who would have a good chance of starting, injured. I'd like to think some miracles can be worked in the next 6 weeks but that's wishful thinking.

patk wrote:Since the league final we've had some horrible luck. The results from Conor's initial scan suggest a 6-8 week recovery, not as bad as it could have been but still means he'll definitely miss our first game against Tyrone or Down. And also over the weekends club action Kieran Hughes and Paudie McKenna both broke bones in their hands. Add that to Eoin Lennon and Gavin Doogan and we have three of our most important starters, and two who would have a good chance of starting, injured. I'd like to think some miracles can be worked in the next 6 weeks but that's wishful thinking.

Tough blows indeed, although perhaps some of them might be ready for the qtr final.

Ahead of the Down game, Colm Cavanagh and Conor McAliskey are doubtful, while Joe McMahon and Ronan McNamee are both out. Stevie O'Neill and Justin McMahon are supposedly available, although neither has kicked a ball for Tyrone this year.

We're without Fergal Clancy and Ciaran Egan to add to Mossy Beirne's loss. Clancy is a tough, busy wing forward who came back from a collar bone injury in 6 weeks only to do it again. He'd have been a starter if fully fit. Egan may not have been.
The following are nailed on to start IMO.

McCrann

Wrynn
Maguire
Brennan
Reynolds
Prior

Sweeney
Moran

Conlan
McKeon
Lowe
Beirne
Mulligan

That leaves about 2 places, most likely Wynne and young Quinn possibly. All shrouded in mystery still.

Meanwhile, the Rossies will arrive in this vehicle. Dauber says "it'd be a fine yoke for rearing suck calves".

I felt Meath had a good League campaign and I'd be hopeful for the championship ahead. Wins over Galway, Laois, Down and Louth were expected and that was how it panned out. What was admirable about the last 3 was that they were good honest matches with narrow wins for Meath. It was good to finish the campaign with good results and it was good to win those games in the fashion they were won. A win over Armagh was expected too. That was the disappointing one although it was partly explained by some poor shooting and naive defending (both of which appeared to have been addressed on the basis of subsequent games).

I think those results will have generated plenty of confidence in the Meath team. Meath are now in a position where they look the most likely to shock one of the bigger teams (i.e. Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Tyrone or Mayo). Meath are one of the counties the analysts will look to when trying to pick out a team from outside the obvious and to be honest, I think they are right to look in Meath's direction. I think we have elevated ourselves above the 4 counties listed above as well as Armagh, Kildare and Westmeath. If I was a neutral looking to get one of the favourites beaten in a big game in Croker, I would rather be with Meath than Derry or Cavan too.

Nobody in Meath wants to publicly look past Carlow but realistically everyone expects a Leinster semi-final with Kildare which nobody wants to look past publicly or privately but a lot of people are quietly confident about the possibility of another crack at the Dubs in the final.

The Leinster semi-final is will be Meath's big test. Kildare's league campaign went badly off the rails, but they showed enough in flashes to suggest that they have plenty of strong, fast young footballers. Now, perhaps too many of those same lads have one eye on Australia, or maybe they all just don't like Jason Ryan, but they do seem to be vulnerable right now.

Whether or not Meath are good enough to take advantage is another matter. I saw their league games against Down and Armagh and wasn't impressed.They have a few good players, but too many very average footballers who are high on commitment but low on skill. They were annihilated by Monaghan for the 3rd time in 12 months, suggested fundamental flaws as opposed to one-off blips in concentration.

Eamonn Wallace's injury is a blow, as he was always a threat to open things up with his pace. Without him, much will depend on the excellent Michael Newman and an improving Brian McMahon. At midfield, Shane O'Rourke is slowly regaining the form of his youth, but his injuries seem to have robbed him of a yard of pace. At the back, injuries to either Keoghan or Reilly would leave them very vulnerable.

Meath are a better looking outfit than they were 2-3 years ago, but they still look short to me. I think that Kildare have more talent in their squad, but their internal issues may open the door for an upset. Also, to be fair to the Royals, they are the only side in Leinster who wouldn't roll over for the Dubs. I'm hoping that Meath can make things interesting in the East, but it's hard to see them still going in August.

I would say Brian McMahon is the most likely of the newer faces to have a good summer. He is similar to Wallace but possibly has a little more about him when he's in tighter spaces. He's fast but doesn't need to be in space to shoot. It'll be interesting to see how far Joey Wallace can go in emulating his brother too. He's smaller than Eamonn but just as quick. These are the product of an-and-coming Ratoath club and another man from there Bobby O'Brien will also be putting himself in the hunt for some summertime championship action. You'd be hoping a couple of these kind of players will show the same kind of improvement as Eamonn Wallace did last year.

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:You'd be hoping a couple of these kind of players will show the same kind of improvement as Eamonn Wallace did last year.

And this, essentially, is the key to any county's summer projections. You hope that your older players have enough left in the tank for one last hurrah, your stars of last year continue to play to the same high levels, and that your younger players are able to take the step up.

Tyrone are also in this boat of putting faith in younger players. Our 4 main inside forwards are would barely have started a dozen championship games between them but, having seen game time this spring, you'd be hoping that they are all ready to step up and be key men. Shay McGuigan only joined the panel this year, yet he will probably be our CHF. Throw in Ciaran McGinley at RHF and you see another lad who has only 12 months of intercounty experience.

For all the talk about Tyrone's defence, it is the attack that retains the most question marks. If these lads can all make significant strides then we'll be a handful for anyone. If not, we're going nowhere for the next few years. Important year for Tyrone.

What's the story with O'Neill now TC, is he back fit again? Would he even start anyway or is he now reduced to a backup role to let the younger lads flourish?

patk wrote:What's the story with O'Neill now TC, is he back fit again? Would he even start anyway or is he now reduced to a backup role to let the younger lads flourish?

Bocerty, a fine but sadly former poster, would have been the man to give the inside track on O'Neill. In his absence, I'll report that O'Neill is apparently ready to play for this first time this year, but doesn't expect to start. I'd imagine that we'll see him come off the bench at some point, as it's important for him to get game time.

As for how much he has left, well O'Neill was superb in the league last year, showing probably his best form in 5-6 years. he'd had a long run free of injuries and it was showing. However, he injured himself warming up for the league final and, though he returned for the champoinship, was playing in painkillers all summer. He contributed virtually nothing, and really shouldn't have been on at all.

He had an operation on the same ankle a few months ago as it wouldn't heal and, if he can get back to the form he was in 14-15 months ago, he'd be a huge bonus. However, he's an injury plagued 34 year old and his best football has always come on the back of long periods without rehab, so to expect a return to that level may be fanciful. I see O'Neill as a possible bonus player who could be very useful if he is fit later in the summer, but certainly not someone to rely on. Best case scenario for Tyrone is if the younger forwards have improved sufficiently, and a fit Stevie is a bonus to compliment them off the bench.

In an attempt to draw Early_Ball_In into the conversation, I'll throw Down some reasons to be optimistic. Tyrone won their first national title in 2002 (league), heralding an era of unprecendented success within the county. However, in that time, our opening match in the championship has invariably been a struggle. Our results in the last 12 years have been:

2013: Donegal - Lost by 6
2012: Armagh - Won by 3
2011: Monaghan - Won by 2
2010: Antrim - Won by 4
2009: Armagh - Won by 3
2008: Down - Draw
2007: Fermanagh - Won by 4
2006: Derry - Lost by 6
2005: Cavan - Draw
2004: Fermanagh - Won by 4
2003: Derry - Draw
2002: Armagh - Draw

Down will set up very defensively on Sunday, so I'd expect more of the same.

Derry v Donegal on Sunday. I have to think that this game is a must win for both sides if they are to have a long summer.

Donegal will have set out their year with Celtic Park in mind, and you'd expect that to be better than they've shown so far this year. A loss, however, on the back so many disappointing performances over the last 12 months, would perhaps be the end of this side as real contenders.

Derry have made good progress, but their defeat to Dublin showed how short they remain. A loss at home to Donegal would further crush the good morale that they built over the spring, and it would be hard to see them really believing that they could re-emerge in September.

6 weeks ago, this appealed as a fascinating battle which could bring to light a real challenger for top honours, however, it now looks more like a do or die battle and will probably be played in such fashion. I'd expect it to be tight, tough and low scoring. On form, I should be tipping Derry, but something tells me that Jimmy's boys may have one last kick in them. I'll tentatively go for Donegal, mainly because their slow midfield won't find Bradley/Doherty as hot to handle as they have some other sides, and I still rate their inside forward line as one of the very best around.

*TC attempting to put challengers off the scent in the tipster comp, tip ignored, Derry win expected by this cat!

One word encapsulates the first half of Derry/Donegal.......awful!

The rate of Derry downfall in the second half has been alarming!

Little bit of a dying kick, 2 point game atm!

Bad day for the referee again, kept his cards in his pockets too long, Kielt for me was not the only black card offence of the game. Donegal blew Derry away in the first 10 of the second half and we couldn't recover from that. Nothing to fear for any of the big boys today, well done Donegal, terrible spectacle though!

bald eagle wrote: Donegal blew Derry away in the first 10 of the second half and we couldn't recover from that.

A carbon copy of the Donegal v Tyrone game last year. Donegal looked lifeless and conceded a lot of possession in the first half, yet their opponents failed to pull away. Then Donegal blitz them for 15 minutes of the second half, before again retreating into their shells. Really was like watching the same game again.

Donegal full value for their win however they aren't anywhere near the form of 2011/12 i suppose that says more about Derry than anything else. Winner of Tyrone v Monaghan should win Ulster.

Big win for Galway against last years Connacht finalists. Game was over as a contest in the opening 15 mins. Walsh,Martin.Cummins all underage All Ireland winning forwards did most of the scoring. Play Sligo next away and they don't have a good recent record against them however it should be Galway v Mayo Connacht final first since 2009.