my honest opinion of the 2009 championship.

right well after alot of the so called big guns have played at least one championship game we have had a little peak at where the big teams are at. whos playing well? what talent has been found during the cold, dark days of the winter? who's team is getting too old? too slow? no fight? well here is what i think of it all anyway.

Tyrone well they had an unconvincing win over armagh to date and a semi-final outing against derry to look forward to, so job done so far but in my opinion they are the team to beat. some questioned there hunger or fight to win back to back alll- irelands, while they showed against Armagh that they where not 100% sharp yet ( which IMO accounted for there wides tally in first half) they showed a lot of fight when armagh where putting it up to them and with SON back and mulligan looking fitter than at any other time in his life they will be hard stopped!!!

Kerry oh what a come down!!!!! not near fit enough, not near sharp enough, a mid-field that is just not mobile enough and a distincted lack of a game plan once plan a of hoofing it diagonally into the big two was gone.!!! now the big question is through the back-door can they come back with a new approach, a new style? big ask but i got the impression that the game on saturday ment far more to cork than kerry. should be an interesting summer for kerry fans!!!

Cork there the all-ireland champions elect if you listen to some people after there supper shpwing on saturday, and yes it was by far the best display of the championship by any team. they are fast, big, mobile can score can defend. on the basis of saturday they are the best team in ireland right now!!! and you know what they are!! but, they are flying and that i think will be there big down fall. it is so hard to keep that going for the entire summer and september!!! there hitting there peak right now, while all other teams are building slowly getting ready for august cork are peaking now very dangerous thing to do. and i think that is one of the reasons why they willl nbot win the all-ireland this year.

Galway alot of peoples third best team in the country, how good are they really? hard to tell after an easy win over london to date we will know far more about how good they really are after the connaught semi final against Sligo in a couple of weeks. all has gone quiet over in galway lately which smacks to me of them traing hard and building a head of steam. will they do anything of note this year? will they finally get a mid-field capable of holing their own against the best? will they get mean to win? all will be revealed soon with galway.

Dublin the most analysed team in ireland, everybody has an opinion on the dubs. how good are they? are they choakers? are the posers? can they finally win the big one? hard to say on the first round showing against meath. lets be honest if they where even a little sharper in front of goal they would of hammered meath. they didnt but still can they come back? i dont know to be honest. i was disappointed with gilroy in his selection i dont understand why you would give a rookie full back a start and then put a rookie corner back beside him? always protect your full back, he did not do that. they will beat a poor westmeath side to get to a provincial showdown with kildare and then we will see what they are made of..............,.,..............

so far my pick for the all-ireland ????? tyrone

My take:

Kerry
No they team they were and no longer the bench mark, when you look at them closely they are made up with a few superstars and a lot of average players and when those Superstars have an off day or are injured it's easy to break the kingdom down. I think they will have an early exit this year- they could pick up a bad draw in the qualifiers.

Dublin
Nothing special about this Dublin team, their shining hope of a breakthrough this year; Davoren had his season cruelly cut short. Will inevitable make a Leinster final against a lacklustre Westmeath but Kildare will be waiting for them with Kildare tactical plan and manager Dublin won't make it 5 in a row.

Tyrone
Well, they are the bench mark really aren't they. Classy footballers, good game plan and tactically minded manager. Almost certain to make an All Ireland final preferably via the back door.... :8 Complacency will be a key factor in their retention of Sam if they can avoid it, they are half way there.

Galway
Sorry everyone has been bumming and blowing a lot about Galway recently saying they are a good team with good players but have no actual evidence to say why Galway are among the favourites. It's fair to say they will stroll to another Connaght title, but what then? If they meet Kerry again in the 1/4 finals will they crumble again? They have quite a poor midfield and rely too much on Meehan and Joyce. A good team to watch who play nice football but I can't see them having a major say in the championship.

Cork
Tyrone biggest threat, they have shown over the course of 2 games they are head and shoulders above Kerry, they have everything needed to win Sam, talent, size, strength and hunger, they have played second fiddle to Kerry for too long if the draw keeps them apart I can see a Cork/Tyrone final.

Derry
My beloved county. We have had a lot of bad press recently some of it deserved some of it hypocritical but now we know were we stand in the proceedings. That aside we have a Ulster Semi-final to look forward to in 6 days time. Semifinal have been the Achilles heel of Derry football since 2000 just not being able to push to the final, as it would happen we get paired on the difficult side of the draw and meet reigning All Ireland champions in the Semi. Most people outside Derry think Tyrone will run away with it, however Derry people know how talented some of the individuals in this team are and with the two Bradley's able to run most defences ragged it's hard to write us off. Derry's main aim is the Anglo-Celt and anything else is a bonus.

Monaghan
Down but by no means out, I hope Tommy Freeman gets his ban reduced rumour has it if he doesn't he may emigrate to find work. It would be a shame for a talented player like him to miss out. Monaghan still have Finlay, Woods and Corey all able to take a score. The next Monaghan game could be the making of them, if they can learn to work without Tommy then they can do serious damage when they have him. I can see them making qualifiers round 2 then drawing Kerry...3 time lucky?!?!?

Armagh
Weren't a million miles away from a lacklustre Tyrone, can hold their own I would say with any team outside Division One. If they get a hand draw they could still be about come August. Not a team many will want to meet in the Qualifiers

Meath
My second county Lost narrowly to a poor Dublin team in a match had their been proper injury time I believe they would have won. Might get a good draw and have another wean of days out but that's the height of it I think!

Kildare
Will probably win Leinster and have a good chance of making the Semis if they don't draw Cork, Kerry or Tyrone in the 1/4 finals.

Mayo
Will be the same old story I think, Mayo are always talked up only to crash and burn spectacularly. Sorry Essie and the Mayo lads, I just don't think their is enough desire in this Mayo team to do the business, they just seem to be lacking something.

That's just my take on things, don't hate me!!

Tyrone

All Ireland champions and a possible Ulster final on the horizon. They will definitely want to take a scalp out of Derry and have the lastest bragging rights over their neighbours. If it is the end of Dooher I can see that being a huge blow for them. Tyrone need stability as shown against Armagh, if they dont have that things can go badly.

Kerry

Showed grip and determination in the first match against Cork and I for one am not fooled by them in the least. People who are writing them off already are foolish. They lost Munster last year and reached the final, they lost Munster 2 years ago and won. Kerry now have the chance to play against top teams in the qualifier while Cork have an easy run.

Cork

Likely to be Munster champions. Beat Kerry off the pitch the other day but are Cork that good or are Kerry being sly? They might have beaten last years All Ireland finalists but now they dont have much competition - Nobody to flex their muscles against whereas Kerry have. If Cork meet a big team then im afraid it is goodbye for them purely because they wont play a highly skilled team untill the last 8.

Dublin

Playing badly but still winning. After last weeks performance I cant see them winnng Leinster. Kildare are just taking Leinster in their stride and are playing suitable opposition. Dublin are seriously lagging behind what could be their Leinster final opponents. Dublin are definitely in the last chance saloon, if they dont win Leinster they could meet a tough team in the qualifiers and that could be it for them.

Armagh

Really didnt expect Armagh to come back at Tyrone the way they did, especially at 8 points down. Mickey Harte might have blamed it on complatency, but then you have to ask yourself what was Armagh in the first half? The only thing that seperated Armagh and Tyrone is Tyrone's experience. At one point Armagh were 8 points down, they brought it back down to 2. Once again the management got the decisions wrong, they should have brought Henderson on - who by the way has already scored 6-14 this year and only all but 2 points from play, he would have caused havoc with Clarke up front. Armagh are only going to get stronger from now on and a very young team that will be able to play in the hot weather come summer if they are there.

Galway

Cant really say much about them, they just seem to be one of those teams that can take it to the big boys, not exactly hard to get out of Connacht and should dispose of Mayo with ease.

Derry

As much as it pains me to say it, if Tyrone want Ulster this year they will get it as they are miles ahead of any team in Ulster. Derry are certainly capable of beating them but they are going to have to get some decent ball in to the forward line. Both teams are going to have to defend to their best. For Derry their main aim is Ulster, its the same for every Ulster team except Armagh and Tyrone but Derry are in it still and are in the best position they are ever going to be in, break Tyrone and its almost theirs.

Mayo

Agree with Bright Oak on her analysis.

Kildare

Dublin's challengers for this year, Kildare are almost at the same level as Dublin and might become the kingpins of Leinster football in a few weeks time. Leinster is the only piece of silverware they have a realistic chance of winning unless they are hiding what they are truely capable of!

Tyrone
Still the team to beat. I expect a big performance on Sunday and I imagine MH knows that they can relax the intensity for the next game if they win this one (no disrespect to Cavan or Antrim!). Have had some slurs about winning All Ireland from back-door so I’d imagine all are driven by thoughts of an Ulster win on way to back-to-back titles. Expect them to beat Derry well.

Derry – see above. Do not impress me much. I expect them to be in the qualifiers after next week.

Cork
Very impressive and are not the team of recent times that can beat Kerry in Munster but not in Croker. Mobile, extremely fit, very big, good full forward line, some stand-out players and play a high tempo game. I actually think their style would give Tyrone huge problems and would love to see the two teams meet this year – it could be the Final! Cork are real live contenders.

Kerry
Not impressed – carrying a few players over the years and are not getting away with it like they used to. Forward division very poor at the moment and Gooch right off his game. Galvin a liability and even if they get injured players back they are still short of Cork and Tyrone.

Mayo
No idea until maybe next week.

Galway
No idea until next game or even Connaught Final.

Dublin
A lot of stuff to be fixed and I am already beginning to doubt those on the sideline …. Can’t judge on Meath performance.

Kildare
Beat less than ordinary Offaly and struggled against an out of sorts Wexford team and suddenly they will be Leinster champions. Whatever ……

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Kildare
Beat less than ordinary Offaly and struggled against an out of sorts Wexford team and suddenly they will be Leinster champions. Whatever ……

In what way did they struggle against Wexford? At no point in the game did they look like losing. Dublin were extremerly poor the other week you have openly admitted it on here. Kildare are getting better and unless Dublin show that they are capable of playing in their next match they arent going to be Leinster champions. Meath might await them in the qualifiers and thats going to be a dangerous game for Dublin.

Administrator wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Kildare
Beat less than ordinary Offaly and struggled against an out of sorts Wexford team and suddenly they will be Leinster champions. Whatever ……

In what way did they struggle against Wexford? At no point in the game did they look like losing. Dublin were extremerly poor the other week you have openly admitted it on here. Kildare are getting better and unless Dublin show that they are capable of playing in their next match they arent going to be Leinster champions. Meath might await them in the qualifiers and thats going to be a dangerous game for Dublin.

Disagree. As has been proved in recent years Dublin - even playing badly - are still able to beat anyone in Leinster. When they click they annihilate teams - look at scores v Wex, Offaly, Louth, Laois etc in recent years. People are constantly saying how poor Leinster is - I am saying that beating Offaly and Wexford is no barometer. Dublin were admittedly poor and surely will up it a gear from here on - if not Kildare could cause them trouble.

i think it's too early for any detailed analysis most teams have only one game under their belt and that is not enough to gauge their progress for the remainder of the championship.

An interesting observation though is Cork have come out of the blocks all guns blazing and posters are saying they are peaking too early.

Dublin play just alright beat Meath in the process have plenty of room for improvement and yet posters are writing off their hopes as well.

Seems to me like teams cant win

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

Administrator wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Kildare
Beat less than ordinary Offaly and struggled against an out of sorts Wexford team and suddenly they will be Leinster champions. Whatever ……

In what way did they struggle against Wexford? At no point in the game did they look like losing. Dublin were extremerly poor the other week you have openly admitted it on here. Kildare are getting better and unless Dublin show that they are capable of playing in their next match they arent going to be Leinster champions. Meath might await them in the qualifiers and thats going to be a dangerous game for Dublin.

Disagree. As has been proved in recent years Dublin - even playing badly - are still able to beat anyone in Leinster. When they click they annihilate teams - look at scores v Wex, Offaly, Louth, Laois etc in recent years. People are constantly saying how poor Leinster is - I am saying that beating Offaly and Wexford is no barometer. Dublin were admittedly poor and surely will up it a gear from here on - if not Kildare could cause them trouble.

Havent you just showed how poor Leinster is if Dublin are able to beat any team in Leinster even when playing badly?

IMO I dont think Leinster is a poor province, however the supposed big game between Dublin and Meath was an awful game especially compared to the other 2 big rivals in Armagh and Tyrone and Kerry and Cork. It is second to Ulster but miles ahead of Munster and Connacht.

Administrator wrote:Havent you just showed how poor Leinster is if Dublin are able to beat any team in Leinster even when playing badly?

IMO I dont think Leinster is a poor province, however the supposed big game between Dublin and Meath was an awful game especially compared to the other 2 big rivals in Armagh and Tyrone and Kerry and Cork. It is second to Ulster but miles ahead of Munster and Connacht.

Well thats what people from other provinces tell us year after year (especially one!) - never mind the fact that the likes of Wexford who Dublin hammer in the final go on to beat the Ulster champions and the team that knocked out the ultimate All Ireland winners in their province!

People lazily call Dublin Meath the big 2 - but Meath haven't been at the races for years. Cork Kerry and Mayo Galway are the only 2 constant provincial rivalries - other two are interchangeable but with Dublin the constant in Leinster.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

Administrator wrote:Havent you just showed how poor Leinster is if Dublin are able to beat any team in Leinster even when playing badly?

IMO I dont think Leinster is a poor province, however the supposed big game between Dublin and Meath was an awful game especially compared to the other 2 big rivals in Armagh and Tyrone and Kerry and Cork. It is second to Ulster but miles ahead of Munster and Connacht.

Well thats what people from other provinces tell us year after year (especially one!) - never mind the fact that the likes of Wexford who Dublin hammer in the final go on to beat the Ulster champions and the team that knocked out the ultimate All Ireland winners in their province!

People lazily call Dublin Meath the big 2 - but Meath haven't been at the races for years. Cork Kerry and Mayo Galway are the only 2 constant provincial rivalries - other two are interchangeable but with Dublin the constant in Leinster.

Well Jayo thats also is a lazy way to look at it too...Wexford beat The Ulster champions, yet Wexford and Dublin both get beaten by Tyrone who were knocked out by Down and then Down were knocked out by Armagh so its always going to go around in a huge circle if you look at it like that.

Administrator wrote:
Well Jayo thats also is a lazy way to look at it too...Wexford beat The Ulster champions, yet Wexford and Dublin both get beaten by Tyrone who were knocked out by Down and then Down were knocked out by Armagh so its always going to go around in a huge circle if you look at it like that.

Point taken - just going for a lie down after reading that ....... feel a ... bit ... dizzy ..

Administrator wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Kildare
Beat less than ordinary Offaly and struggled against an out of sorts Wexford team and suddenly they will be Leinster champions. Whatever ……

In what way did they struggle against Wexford? At no point in the game did they look like losing. Dublin were extremerly poor the other week you have openly admitted it on here. Kildare are getting better and unless Dublin show that they are capable of playing in their next match they arent going to be Leinster champions. Meath might await them in the qualifiers and thats going to be a dangerous game for Dublin.

what game where you looking at. admittly wexford were poor and did not deserve to win when we got our act together especially in the first half after our terrible start we ran Kildare ragged.
Then Kildare proceed to dominate for the entire second half.
both no way are hey even going to come close to the dubs, think a lot of ye are in cloud cuckoo land when it comes to making statements on dublin

Lads, whatever the roundabout of 'who beat who' last year says, I think Jayo is right in his assessment of the Leinster Championship.

Sorry Admin, but I suspect you are wearing orange-tinted glasses when assessing Kildare, much as you were with a rosy forecast for a very average Armagh side, who were comfortably beaten by a cruising Tyrone.

I didn't see Kildare them play Offaly, but against Wexford I thought that they looked a side completely reliant on Dermot Earley. Dublin, for all their flaws (and there are plenty) have a stronger set of players, and they should prove too fast and too good for them on Leinster Final day.

JimWexford wrote:no way are hey even going to come close to the dubs, think a lot of ye are in cloud cuckoo land when it comes to making statements on dublin

Some of them just won't listen Jim .........

As each day passes I am coming round to the Dubs. They are not a great side, but who is?

Kerry need to get fit, get a mid field and a few defenders, Cork need composure, Tyrone are a machine and if one piece is missing (Dooher) who knows, and that leaves Galway and mayo who may not have the belief at the later stages.

Stranger things have happened.

Thomas Clarke wrote:Lads, whatever the roundabout of 'who beat who' last year says, I think Jayo is right in his assessment of the Leinster Championship.

Sorry Admin, but I suspect you are wearing orange-tinted glasses when assessing Kildare, much as you were with a rosy forecast for a very average Armagh side, who were comfortably beaten by a cruising Tyrone.

I didn't see Kildare them play Offaly, but against Wexford I thought that they looked a side completely reliant on Dermot Earley. Dublin, for all their flaws (and there are plenty) have a stronger set of players, and they should prove too fast and too good for them on Leinster Final day.

Rose tinted glasses on when assessing Kildare - I think not, Dublin cant handle the so called Northern style of play McGeeney is bringing that to Kildare. You were comfortably beating Armagh by 8 points but then Armagh got their act together remember, one kick of the ball seperated us from Tyrone and you just beat what you call 'a very average Armagh side'.

If Armagh get a team like Monaghan in the qualifiers it will show us where we really stand. Im quietly confident the team has it in them to do some damage. Sam is beyond us for the next couple of seasons thats for sure.

I'm sorry everyone but I'm not buying into the hype about Cork or Kildare.
Cork put in a decent performance against a very tired looking Kerry team. They went the first 10 minutes of the first half without scoring. They had a decent lead at half time but they came out in the second half and let Kerry come back into it and even equalise before they got going again (another 10 minute drought)
Should Kerry be written off in June? Have Cork peaked too early? Time will tell.

As for Kildare, in their games against Offaly and Wexford, they raced into an early lead - scoring early goals in each game and then they sit back and take their foot off the gas allowing the opposition come back into it. Then when a scare is imminent, they perk back up again, put another few scores on the board and then back off again.

Tyrone while not convincing, did beat Armagh and Cork did beat Kerry so by virtue of the teams that they have beaten, they are looking best so far but as the cliché goes, theres no silverware handed out in June.

JimWexford wrote:

Administrator wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Kildare
Beat less than ordinary Offaly and struggled against an out of sorts Wexford team and suddenly they will be Leinster champions. Whatever ……

In what way did they struggle against Wexford? At no point in the game did they look like losing. Dublin were extremerly poor the other week you have openly admitted it on here. Kildare are getting better and unless Dublin show that they are capable of playing in their next match they arent going to be Leinster champions. Meath might await them in the qualifiers and thats going to be a dangerous game for Dublin.

what game where you looking at. admittly wexford were poor and did not deserve to win when we got our act together especially in the first half after our terrible start we ran Kildare ragged.
Then Kildare proceed to dominate for the entire second half.
both no way are hey even going to come close to the dubs, think a lot of ye are in cloud cuckoo land when it comes to making statements on dublin

Wexford out played Kildare for the final 15-20 minutes of the first half. They levelled the game but didnt take the lead. 15-20 minutes of a match dosent win matches, like you said Kildare dominated the second half.

As for Dublin, like I said unless they produce the goods before the final, I cant see them winning it is a fair analysis. Youre only as good as your last game.

Laois to stuff the "flour-bags" in the Leinster S/F. Kildare, average as ever, will struggle against a physically tougher and more mobile Laois outfit.

GAA-Fan wrote:
Rose tinted glasses on when assessing Kildare - I think not, Dublin cant handle the so called Northern style of play McGeeney is bringing that to Kildare. You were comfortably beating Armagh by 8 points but then Armagh got their act together remember, one kick of the ball seperated us from Tyrone and you just beat what you call 'a very average Armagh side'.

If Armagh get a team like Monaghan in the qualifiers it will show us where we really stand. Im quietly confident the team has it in them to do some damage. Sam is beyond us for the next couple of seasons thats for sure.

Ok, firstly, what do you mean Dublin can't handle the Northern style? Tyrone are the only Ulster team to beat Dublin in the Championship in years, so perhaps you mean they struggle with Tyrone. Kildare are not Tyrone, and I'd be very confident that Dublin will beat them.

And as for Armagh v Tyrone, each to their own, but the game that i watched was not close. Tyrone won by 3 points, but never looked like losing. Tyrone had much more left in the tank, and have much more scope for improving than Armagh. An all-ireland quarter final would be a great achievement for Armagh this year, but I couldn't see them getting any further.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

GAA-Fan wrote:
Rose tinted glasses on when assessing Kildare - I think not, Dublin cant handle the so called Northern style of play McGeeney is bringing that to Kildare. You were comfortably beating Armagh by 8 points but then Armagh got their act together remember, one kick of the ball seperated us from Tyrone and you just beat what you call 'a very average Armagh side'.

If Armagh get a team like Monaghan in the qualifiers it will show us where we really stand. Im quietly confident the team has it in them to do some damage. Sam is beyond us for the next couple of seasons thats for sure.

Ok, firstly, what do you mean Dublin can't handle the Northern style? Tyrone are the only Ulster team to beat Dublin in the Championship in years, so perhaps you mean they struggle with Tyrone. Kildare are not Tyrone, and I'd be very confident that Dublin will beat them.

And as for Armagh v Tyrone, each to their own, but the game that i watched was not close. Tyrone won by 3 points, but never looked like losing. Tyrone had much more left in the tank, and have much more scope for improving than Armagh. An all-ireland quarter final would be a great achievement for Armagh this year, but I couldn't see them getting any further.

The pyshicallity, is what they cannot match. Last time Dublin beat Armagh was in 1999, and McGeeney is making Kildare in to what Armagh were. Forgive me for not thinking that Dublin are probarbly not going to win Leinster but like I said in a previous post, You are only as good as your last game.

I agree, Tyrone have got more scope to improve but I honestly think it was down to experience and Armagh seriously lack experience and give that 3 or 4 seasons and hopefully we will be back to being contenders. I really am hoping that we get a team like Monaghan as any other Armagh fan im in the dark as to what this team is like. I am a realist and know that Sam is beyond us we have the ability but not the experience unfortunately.

Boxtyeater wrote:Laois to stuff the "flour-bags" in the Leinster S/F. Kildare, average as ever, will struggle against a physically tougher and more mobile Laois outfit.

I dunno Boxty - I was at that game yesterday and Laois were fit - but Louth looked anything but! Laois still have a few small lads (Ross M, Tierney) and some of their bigger lads haven't much mate either!

If Kildare win Leinster, it will go to show how poor Leinster is. They are average. If the Dubs don't beat them off Croke Park, it will be some upset. Laois will test Kildare before that anyway.

And on Dublin vs Westmeath, well the Dublin weakness is the full-back line. Now a lot of people seem to think, Westmeath have no forwards. Wrong! Glennon is the best full-forward in Ireland (helps if he is 100% fit though), and after all the things I heard about Lynam, I was suitably impressed and Wilson is an ace talisman too. If Westmeath can get possession into them, they will do damage. The trouble yesterday was that the half-forward line was playing so deep that they couldn't get it into the FF line. If Michael Ennis is back fit, that will be a huge boost, throw him in their in the half-forwards. He'll cover ground. Westmeath will stop Dublin from playing, it will be a lot closer than the League. Still I'd say Dublin will win Leinster now the main opposition is out of the way.

The Dubs will win Leinster, and maybe Sam.

Bright-Oak wrote:My take:
Meath
My second county Lost narrowly to a poor Dublin team in a match had their been proper injury time I believe they would have won. Might get a good draw and have another wean of days out but that's the height of it I think! WILL IN ALL LIKELIHOOD WALK TO THEIR EIGHTH ALL-IRELAND.


That's just my take on things, don't hate me!!

How could we hate you? We you.

You were the only one to predict how good Meath were.