National Football League 2024

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Chipaway

Member
Difficult to be negative about this campaign so far. We were poor against louth and lucky to get the points but were mostly impressive in the last two games. Leinster football is alarmingly poor so the Donegal match will show us exactly where we're at. I think we should go all out for the win as this team has never had a winning culture or habit so personally I would be desperate to go through the league campaign (including a final) with a 100% win record. A win on Sunday should almost guarantee promotion

It was great to see connaire mackin play last week. He's like a lot of our lads in the fact that he seems to be unavailable so often. He certainly won't be dropped for this Sunday. As has been noted, our kickout will be under pressure this week so will be interesting to see how we get on.

We've used 27 players in the three league matches so far and still haven't seen:
- e.rafferty
- j.morgan, c.comiskey, c.o'hanlon (hoping he can still make an impact at county level)
- n.grimley
- r.o'neill, j.kieran

There are a few others as well you could add. Management have built a strong panel but the difficult job will be narrowing down our strongest 15 - 20.
 
W

Wide ball

Well-Known Member
Chipaway said:
Difficult to be negative about this campaign so far. We were poor against louth and lucky to get the points but were mostly impressive in the last two games. Leinster football is alarmingly poor so the Donegal match will show us exactly where we're at. I think we should go all out for the win as this team has never had a winning culture or habit so personally I would be desperate to go through the league campaign (including a final) with a 100% win record. A win on Sunday should almost guarantee promotion

It was great to see connaire mackin play last week. He's like a lot of our lads in the fact that he seems to be unavailable so often. He certainly won't be dropped for this Sunday. As has been noted, our kickout will be under pressure this week so will be interesting to see how we get on.

We've used 27 players in the three league matches so far and still haven't seen:
- e.rafferty
- j.morgan, c.comiskey, c.o'hanlon (hoping he can still make an impact at county level)
- n.grimley
- r.o'neill, j.kieran

There are a few others as well you could add. Management have built a strong panel but the difficult job will be narrowing down our strongest 15 - 20.
Click to expand...
Good post. Haven't seen mcpartlan or mcquillan either we definitely have a big squad but a fair few getting up in age
 
P

Patrick-Armagh

Well-Known Member
This is going to be a tight game and a real test. Neither team will want to show too much, but they also want to win and get promotion in the bag as soon as possible. This will allow some older players to get a rest and some other squad members to get a game and stake a claim before Championship. I imagine that Donegal will push up very hard on our kick out and it's going to be the first real test for Blaine Hughes. It's also going to be test for our ball winners at midfield. I don't remember a dominant display from them recently and Donegal have some giants in that area. Kick outs has been an area that I feel we could do better in in the bigger games, especially when you see how clinical the best teams are at them. Both teams have scored well the last few matches, so hopefully it won't be a bore fest, with negative lateral passing that goes nowhere.
 
B

Bringyourboots

Well-Known Member
I said when we dropped to division 2 that it created an opportunity to develop and cement a winning mentality. Something that we could use to get us over the line in the too many and too painful near misses of recent years. To me that makes Sunday a must win. If we really expect to be considered as contenders then we must put that pressure on ourselves and then deliver.

The campaign so far has gone according to plan. Not at the level some might want but good enough for me. We were expected to win all the games - we have; blood new players- we have; work on varying tactics - we have. These realities may not be sufficient to satisfy everyone but the right performance and required results have been delivered so far.

Last week we choked Kildare before they had a chance to get a foothold in the game - the best example of game management we have shown in a while. Do not underestimate that performance. This week we must put the pretenders back in their box and deflate their rising confidence. This result and then going on to get to and win a division 2 title is vital.

Is it the end of the world if we lose? No but it would be a dent to our ambitions and where we feel we should be.

Last year we groaned when McElroy replaced Turbitt because we seen a "scoring " forward taken out. This time the role of McElroy/Hall or whomever that is in winning kickouts and linking play will be vital as an alternative to the domineering midfielder that unfortunately we don't have. As long as sufficient scoring forwards remain in the lineup.

I admit to, but don't apologise, for putting some pressure on the team and management. I think it is merited at this time and would serve us well later in the season. We can't have designs on being a top team without that expectation.

Looking forward to Sunday and a real test which I believe we can pass with flying colours. It has the potential to create a sense of optimism for when spring turns to summer.

Best of luck to the squad and management.
 
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