Where do we sit?

Where do we sit in the bigger scheme?

Beat limerick after extra time. Limerick were knocked out by Clare, who Cork hammered.
Meath clearly second best to Dublin.

Worried that our form line is not great

Dublin were way better than Meath
(Dubs went asleep when they got 10 points in front and allowed Meath get a few respectability scores at the end)

so on the formline Kildare do have a bit to do and possibly a lot.

Sligo against Mayo were very "Limerick like" pouring players back into defence so I expect them to do that again v Kildare but they dont do big scores.

Kildare have a chance if they play well and none if they play as they did v Meath & 69 mins v Limerick

Agree Kelf. I am very worried that we have made no real rogress and that when we limp into the quarter finals that we will be beaten by one of the good provincial winners. That's saying we get over Sligo.
Mayo would be our best route..

After the meath game id gladly take the position we are in now.
Two hurdles down and one to go to reach the quarters.It's going to be tough v sligo. Hopefully the game is in croker which increases our chances of a win. We are well use to playing in HQ. If we go out and play to our full potential and play the good football we all know this team are capable of. We should be able to put ourselves in a good position to reach the quarters. After that it's the luck of the draw.
If we can get over sligo (fingers crossed) would like for us to draw either Mayo or Dublin.
For some reason and its a gut feeling is that we will see that Kildare- Dublin game this year yet. A good win against sligo and we would be going into the quarters with a bit of momentum. Anything can happen on championship day and Id fancy our chances. What a dublin win would do for the confidence would be phenomenal BUT and its a big BUT we are a game away from putting our name into the hat and it's one game at a time. If we can get over sligo i believe we will take a scalp or two this year.

We sit in the last 12 of the championship. No more, no less. There's a tendency to read far too much into games these days and the whole thing is totally over analysed. Kerry were close to being dumped out by Westmeath last weekend, the consensus afterwards was that Kerry were finished. Fast forward six days and suddenly Kerry are back and are All Ireland favourites. Wexford could have beaten Dublin and then crashed out to Tipperary. Meath drew with Carlow and then beat Kildare.

Sure we were poor yesterday but we're still standing and that's what matters. One game at a time and who knows where we could end up. I don't think there is an All Ireland in this current team but it will take a huge effort to beat them as last night showed.

We are playing poorly at the moment. Analysis Is well overdone but the fact is we are playing in short snatches without putting a long spell in a game together at all. I just hope we are holding our peak fitness and performance for next weekend. Was a surprise to see the so called "best conditioned" team in the country falling down with cramp on Saturday night. We are better than we showed so far but we need to kick on now and show what we can do. The four provincial winners at the moment + Kerry look way ahead but a good performance and win next weekend and we will be back on track.

100% spot on Kickingking

the game saturday night was just what Kildare needed (even if it was bad for a heart), the worst thing going into 1/4's is a couple of games like Cavan,remember Kerry got a scare last year and almost won Sam, they got another close shave againts Westmeath and you can bet your granny they will be in the last four

I agree with the sentiments posted but hey let's not forget....Kerry are Kerry, the top of the pile in relation to all Ireland wins.
We cannot be mentioned in same breath, yet.

I am afraid that our progress has stagnated and that we will remain, albeit consistently, outside the top 4 but 5 or 6 in the country

I said after the Meath game we are in the braket of teams from 6-12 in the country, a lot loser to 6 than to 12 mind you but that hasn't changed after Saturday nor will it change ater we beat Sligo this weekend, it is only then when we come up against one of the proincial champions will we be able to measure the progress or otherwise of this Kildare team, I personally believe we are not good enough to beat any of those teams

Div 2 was very weak this year with only ourselves and Meath rmaining in the championship at the last 12 phase so our form lines are not great but I blieve we will only have to produce one massive performance to reach the semi finals and then everything will be wonderful again!!

Topcat, I totally agree. We are on the 6-12 class but cannot see our way into the top bracket. I think, even, that we have slipped this year.

Slightly of the subject folks.

I think Pat Spillane said recently that Leinster was the hardest Province to win. and he may be right in theory.

Am I alone, but Brian Cullens speech on Sunday after the Leinster Final win was borderline arrogant..,
It was like, ah well thats 7 out of the last 8 won, sure this means feck all to us now, were only really interested in Sam now, we were always going to win again Today, thanks eh eh eh Meeeaath, and Mr. Eastwood, yeahhh. sure we might put out our u21s next year to give ye all a chance. ( held up the cup barely ) handed it to the next lad ( who did the same ) and walked away.

He has a point to a certain degree. The provincial title has been demeaned in the last few years with the advent of the back door. It would seem that McGeezer doesn't rate winning a Leinster either.

Maybe I have misread it..

I was been rather sarcastic in relation to Mr Cullens speech Cal.
But your right, the importance of winning the Provincial title has probably wained considerably over the last number of years, and for the likes of Dublin, Cork and Kerry, who really have their eyes on Sam only.

Maybe its time to look at the Provinces being scrapped..

I personally would have thought winning a Leinster in the last few years would have been great for the county...and going through the front door would have been better.

I honestly don't think that the annual trek through the qualifiers and getting to the quarters in a circumvented route serves any purpose.

Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about

Winning a Leinster title would have been great for us of course, and probably most counties in Leinster.
Not so much to Dublin.

After the Drama of last week why would you want to change it. The qualifiers are great and while it would be better to win your province not everyone can.

No only Dublin, and good luck to them.
My point is the value is gone out of it for them, and yet they keep winning it.

We have been the champs of qualifiers for the last few years, but have fallen short against big guns.

No silverware to show for it. If we don't win all Ireland soon, a lot of our players will regret not winning a Leinster title..

Qualifier wins really count for nought

Dunno if this is a good point or not but maybe the fact that Dublin dont want Leinster as much as the rest of us makes the campaign actually easier for them with little pressure coming from inside the camp! Maybe thats why, apart from last year of course, they stumbled so often when the pressure hit once they got into the quarters...

Dublin are not worried about Leinster as they are so far ahead of everyone else at all grades. I did not even watch the 2nd half of the Leinster final as it was over at half time. I still think that Meath are poor and will be very easy bait for one of the provincial winners if ( and that is a big if ) they beat Laois.

However , I do not fancy them for Sam in 2012 because they do not appear to have the same hunger this year. Givebn their underage talent though , they will be around the top for a long long time.

If we beat Sligo and play a provincial winner , we will know very quickly where we sit. We will be outsiders against any of the provincial winners. I have apreference for Dublin and then Mayo but let us see what happens.

I see that the draw is on Saturday night on Radio 1 for the Q/Fs.8.30 pm I think.

If we beat Sligo we will be coming in under the radar for the Q/F for a change. Dublin and Mayo would be the best draw as Donegal and Cork are due to meet in the semi final and if we draw one then we will likely have to play the other in the semi. Seems like a pipe dream after the display last weekend but with players coming back from injury and options on the bench like Chalky, Paudie, Seanie and Fogarty we still might be able to raise our game a couple notches. What I would love to see would be a different attacking policy with lower balls delivered into Thomas who has the speed to gather them. I actually think the high ball into him is not playing to his advantage as he is too easily contained when he comes down to earth. A fully fit Leper could be a game changer.

I know it has been a scizophrenic season with Kildare so far, and its hard to know what to expect from game to game (sometimes even between games), however, the bottom line is we are still there and fighting, and after the last day we proved we will be very difficult to beat. I really do expect us to beat Sligo, but it wont be a thing of beauty.

Jaysis Sligo were atrocious. The cork game will be a benchmark now.
It's time for McGeezer to repay the investment at this stage