National Football League 2013

Agree with you there Fean an geata................

This is going to be hard to get right. As it stands it looks like we could have at least 5 under 21's on the senior team at the start of the chapionship. So do we just leave them off the senior team for the next 2-3 games or do we try find our best starting 15 for the summer.
Not fully sure what I would do myself but would probably go with playing some of them anyway.

The fact that both teams have essentially the same management should ensure that things are done right by all, having said that I'd leave them out this weekend and give the rest of the squad the chance to stake a claim. But everyyone should be available for the league semi the following week.

Down in 2010 was close but 1998 was the one and only time sport has made me cry.

Nor am I ashamed to admit it.

With the under 21s winning what are people thoughts on the players training with the seniors most of the time, Also I think its 7 of the starting team made debuts with the seniors, Years gone by there would be no way any of the 21s playing with the seniors until they were knocked out of the championship. I think the experience that these players gained form playing with the seniors gave them plenty of confindence to get them over the line. Again you have to credit the management for not wrapping these players up in cotton wool.

I Think the reason they've started is because they're good enough and bring a fresh dimension to the seniors, I also think that a good balance has been struck so far when using them but after Sunday every game is a biggy and its a big ask for young lads to produce the goods week after week

steviegenius wrote:

With the under 21s winning what are people thoughts on the players training with the seniors most of the time, Also I think its 7 of the starting team made debuts with the seniors, Years gone by there would be no way any of the 21s playing with the seniors until they were knocked out of the championship. I think the experience that these players gained form playing with the seniors gave them plenty of confindence to get them over the line. Again you have to credit the management for not wrapping these players up in cotton wool.

I would say going forward whoever is in charge of the Seniors is over the u21's also.

That way talent cannot go unmissed. Hopefully that is McGeeney for the next number of years.
Having won Leinster with u21's I think he deserves to be afforded the chance of bringing them through.
That is of course he still wants to be involved.
I don't think he gets enough credit for what he has achieved with Kildare.

McGeeney should be kept for as long as possible get him to sign on the dotted line straight away as long as the players want him involved just today Paul Cribbens interview with the kildare nationalist suggests the under 21s regard McGeeney very highly and i think it would be great to keep consistency there. Let him continue on as under 21 manager bring the young guns through to senior level.
What a year 2013 has been already not only did kildare keep their division 1 status in a highly competitive division 1 this year they made the semi finals with only TWO home games and pressure is off going into round 7 they can afford to give the lads that need game time and experiment to see who will be in the starting 15.
Kildare are under 21 leinster champions and have an All Ireland semi final to look forward to.
Who would have thought that at the start of the year credit to the lads, McGeeney his selectors and to all involved. A happy lilly..

Looks like I was wrong. Only 1 u/21 listed in the team for Sunday.

Connolly
Lyons
Foley
McGrillen
Bolton
P Kelly
E Doyle
Daryl Flynn
O'Neill
E O'Flaherty
Callaghan
Dan Flynn
J Doyle
O'Connor
Smith

Highball wrote:

Surely youd have to be accomodating Peter Kelly there crofter... ??

Lyons or Kelly - not sure I'd accommodate both though

lillyboy wrote:

The fact that both teams have essentially the same management should ensure that things are done right by all, having said that I'd leave them out this weekend and give the rest of the squad the chance to stake a claim. But everyyone should be available for the league semi the following week.

Six days before a rare Kildare All Ireland Semi final appearance? Not sure I'd agree with you there Lillyboy..

Fear An Geata wrote:

Looks like I was wrong. Only 1 u/21 listed in the team for Sunday.

Connolly
Lyons
Foley
McGrillen
Bolton
P Kelly
E Doyle
Daryl Flynn
O'Neill
E O'Flaherty
Callaghan
Dan Flynn
J Doyle
O'Connor
Smith

Fantastic to see Daryl back for Sunday. Surprised his young namesake is playing - would have thought he was one if the lads that could do with a break. Good to see JD and Smithie in the forwards too.

Still not a bad looking side, with the hungry talented youngsters chomping at the bit, O'byrne cup, Division 1 status retained, semi-final to come, Leinster U21 champs, All-Ireland Semi to come, good times indeed, and its still only early April. Thank you Mr. McGeeney.

no seanie johnston? great to see daryl flynn

@ Crofter, League semi finals don't come around to often either but I take your point, it is a tough call. Either way its a great position to be in.

Errmmm...at least Daryl Flynn got game time.

Semi-final against Tyrone next Sunday, most likely 2pm in Croke Park, with Dublin-Mayo at 4.

Well said taibi... Strange strange strange.

Was Peter Kelly playing half forward...I didnt make the game but heard line up was baffaling

No harm experimenting, we couldn't come lower than third, higher than third,so frankly it was no more than a trumped up challenge match. My concerns have been well highlighted but oddly are based even on games we won before today as opposed to this which was irrelevant.

Yes Peter Kelly played half forward although he interchanged with Cribben now and again. Paudie played CB (an experiment I'd wanted to see) but it was not a great success with gaping holes once more in our defence. Strange performance from Kildare but needs to be taken in context of a tough week for the under-21s and primarily the fact we didn't need to win. That said, our three defeats have been bad ones and there's little to suggest we're going to give Tyrone a shock next week. Still convinced this is a season of transition as we're just not strong enough to beat the Dubs in June and must wait for the under 21 s to mature further. Cribben at least have another all action performance (surprised he played the full game) while the introduction of the other under 21s seemed to give us a bit more energy in the second half.

In truth though we were well beaten and looked clueless against the blanket defence an unable to deal with Down's counter-attacking style. We also kicked our usual quota of at least 10 wides while I only counted one in each half for Down. JD managed to miss one from a 13 metre free and Seanie was off cue all day much to the delight of the locals.

Forgot to add I thought playing Kelly in the forwards slowed our game down way too much. He always looked to offload as he's not going to score from 35 metres is he? Mind you he did get a nosebleed at one point when he found himself catching a JD free which rebounded from the post and fair play to Peter he managed to slot it over off balance with his left.

Kelly wasn't the only one to slow things down too much, mind you. We played sideways constantly in the first half before finally delivering ball into Seanie and Smith when they were surrounded by the blanket defence. Dare I say it was crying out for Tomas Plan B O'Connor way earlier than his belated appearance.

Clueless word be the word that would sum up the performance. Clueless in Attack against Down's blanket defence.

Clueless in defence against Down's runners where no one seemed to know who's marking who.

We shipped 3 goals and it could really have been 7/8. Cribben is the only one who emerges from the game with any sort of dignity. Tom O'Connor created more goal chances for Kildare in the 5 minutes he got than Kidare manages in the 65 minutes that preceded his introduction.

The man who Willie Groome stood near every so often managed 1-03 from play.

Just a very frustrating day again.

It's only April. Championship is what matters. We were experimenting. It was a nothing game. Nothing is won in April. The League is irrelevant. No medals handed out now. No one takes the League seriously
I have heard all the excuses already. But we've shifted another heavy defeat. And questions should be asked.

Kildare's form since the break in the League is worrying, the 2 games we won we have been very fortunate to do so and we shipped 3 heavy defeats in the other games, due to the 21s success we haven't been able to pick our first choice 15 since the break so that might explain the lack of consistency in performance but really hoping for a performance next week regardless of the result.

I agree Topcat, our form has dipped since the break in the league. Is this around the time the U/21 championship started? I also recall an interview with McGeeney after the Cork win where he stated how the training would be intensifying over that 3 week break & from then on.

Our 3 losses have been bad ones, at times very bad. I believe the key to it all is the 21's. When they play, Kildare play. When they don't play, Kildare struggle.

Today dosent worry me a whole lot. I recall Tyrone stuffing us in the league stage last season & we managed to turn it around in the league final.

Today's team selection and positional changes won't happen again, Im sure of that. But what effect will the upcoming U/21 semi final effect the team selection?