I have only questions here and no answers for the prospects in 2026.
If Jack O Connor goes (he more or less said so on TV) does Cian O Neill become available, would geezers Kildare connections be a pull there.Should Tony McEntee be brought into the fold .
Who are the best man for man defenders in the county , you need markers now a bit of old fashioned defenders who don’t have to run up the pitch as much anymore with the four back , your full back line is about markers .
We need to mix up our play with more kicking in as well , Murnin was the ideal target man this year but we didn’t try enough ball in ,hopefully we play a more hybrid game , sure you can run but in the end you can’t chase down a Kerry now if they get a lead. Donegal got found out in Croke Park , they were lucky they got quite mediocre teams in the run to the final , they should of kicked the ball into Murphy more as it was clear he didn’t have the legs ,Kerry realised this any short kick out was beside him and they would just brush past him with speed .
Ulster should be wide open Donegal ,Tyrone and ourselves three favs with Derry in the mix as well , Donegal will probably get another year out of Murphy but that may backfire , McBreaty is clearly finished , Gallen is hit and miss , Tyrone have young lads to come in but will they make the step up , they are small up front and McCurry needs to come back from a bad year .
For ourselves lots of questions, Soupy and Grugan are among possible retirees, Murnin and Forker may be considering it as well . The Grugan role is so important ‘ Paudie Clifford’ showed that yesterday this could be the most important position on the pitch , the quarterback. is Rian the man for this and will we get a full season from him next year . How do we use Oisin Conaty speed and scoring ability to full affect.
Should we try Ethan outfield and have another ball winner , it was interesting the keepers never came across the half way line once in the final in play .
I have to say but Kerry will be hard stopped next year if they stay fit , Galway’s reaction will be one to watch , They must be shaking there heads after watching Meath v Donegal , Dublin likely to be under Ger Brennan will probably be to reliable on Con O Callaghan .
It’s highly possible for us to get to a semi final next year and who knows what can happen then , The groups are gone so after the provincials the 8 finalists play the top 8 other teams , with the 8 winners playing for a place in the quarter , so 2 wins and your in a quarter final , not a fan of the change but we will see how it goes . Will getting to a final give you an advantage , probably not , you could lose a quarter final , get a Clare or Tipp but it’s hard to know , anyway I’m sure we would like to win an Ulster it’s being far to long .
All will be revealed….
By the way I don’t care what anyone says but the championship should run at least until the end of the summer , it’s just not right to be over in July .
. Not in this lifetime.................
