Offaly v Kildare

In fairness Crofter I think Cribbin and the rest did try to play with the same intensity against Dublin. They were blown out of the water by the opposition who were a lot stronger, faster and better conditioned than us.

I agree that the panel is looking very thin at the moment. Most people would agree that Moolick should be starting but I can't really see many realistic options for the backs or forwards on the bench. Hopefully Fogarty will be available for the next day as he has played well in the championship so far and he was missed yesterday. I wonder if Peter Kelly is close to playing again?

Depending on the draw, we could get Longford in the next round and Westmeath the round after so there is still a chance of progression. Who knows, we could be back in an All-Ireland quarter final and Jason could be the new messiah! (joking)

We'll have to differ on the intensity question. I didn't see Doyle playing with the same maniacal desire to boss his man against Dublin and yesterday was a lesson in what that intensity can look like. It wasn't just that he played better - he was absolutely determined not to give his man an inch. That was what was needed against Dublin from all 15 on the field and it was noticeably absent. Not saying it was there from everyone yesterday either, particularly in the first quarter.

Peter Kelly togged out yesterday so that's a positive at least.

I agree we could get to a Quarter Final but I don't see it happening unless we draw both Longford and Westmeath. Two more Leinster teams. All that would prove is we are among the top 3 in Leinster which is where we should be with the resources available. We could do a job on Fermanagh or Antrim as they are among Ulster's weakest (probably their two weakest).

A slight fear is we do sneak into a QF beating teams we should be beating and Ryan gets a reprieve from the County Board. Only a slight fear as surely even the CB can see the monumental damnage his term in change has done?

i agree with crofter that we lost our composure completely in the 2nd half,when offaly got within a pt of us. i felt had they got level with us at that stage, the wheels would have fallen off bigtime. some of the wides were terrible at that stage as if the panic button had already been pressed. fionn dowling had a very bad wide when bolton was clear on goal, waiting for a simple pass. offaly missed at least 3 chances to get level before bolton put us 2 up. when were bringing on the likes of mickey conway and hughie lynch, it is a sure sign how thin our squad is as neither are no where near championship pace. as for moolick, i think its a joke how he cant get a start, when everyone in the county can see he should be one of the 1st names on the teamsheet. its exactly what happened in newry last yr, when a black card worked in our favour, with smith coming on and making a huge impact, just like moolick did yesterday. were not as bad as were showing, but ryan simply hasnt a clue!

Crofter wrote:

We'll have to differ on the intensity question. I didn't see Doyle playing with the same maniacal desire to boss his man against Dublin and yesterday was a lesson in what that intensity can look like. It wasn't just that he played better - he was absolutely determined not to give his man an inch. That was what was needed against Dublin from all 15 on the field and it was noticeably absent.

Surely though the quality of the opposition has to come into it somewhere? There can only be one winner from a 50/50 duel so surely the likes of Graham Guilfoyle and Conor McNamee are easier to get the better of than Paul Flynn and MacCauley. I agree we'll have to differ on this one.

It would be nice to get a home draw tomorrow as we haven't played in Newbridge in the championship for a while. If we avoided Roscommon, I think we'd have a decent chance of progressing. Probably only delaying the inevitable but we can always dream...

Reichenhall why is that an insult and what does amateur have to do with it? I'm presuming you think because they aren't paid, no negatives can be said about their footballing skills or performance. Which begs the question, why are you on an amateur sport forum?

JR cant do right for wrong it seems..Laughable that manager getting abuse for taking off a chap who was having a nightmare.

HauntedGraffiti wrote:

Hyland and Mulhall walk out, Fogarty disappears without trace, Flynn goes to America but is apparently spotted in Tullamore - when The X Files returns they should do an episode based on the Kildare squad.

what about the saving of jason ryan the movie

We won't be back in Newbridge anyway. GAA making up rules as we go alone. No home and away, rather at discretion of CCCCCCCCCCCCC. Likely back to Tullamore regardless of opposition methinks.

Are you sure it couldn't be in Newbridge Tommy? I think Round 3 qualifiers are home and away rather than neutral venues. I know we had to play Limerick in Portlaoise in 2012 because Newbridge wasn't deemed suitable but we played Louth and Tyrone at home in 2013. The numbers following Kildare are down a lot this year so I wouldn't have thought it should be a problem.

TK - I think the no home and away system only applies to the SHC draw tomorrow - the wording is not very clear so can't be 100% certain.

http://www.hoganstand.com/Kildare/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=240400

I'm not sure about how anyone else feels about this but all this coming and going is something you always associate with a crap county, something we were not normally but now our level is that in Division 3 and lads defecting, etc comes with that.
Just so many little stories filtering out is not things being done right and the lads inside who are bursting their holes should get plenty of respect for it. we can talk all the shite but that attitude is NOT a given when things start to come apart at the seams.
Doyle and P Cribbin are lads like that and they are having their best year in a white jersey IMO.

On a connected side note. I am annoyed a bit how Flynn was handled. There were reports of him going away but no mention of an injury or an operation. Like if he wasn't right then he might have fancied going off and trying to play at a lower level and travel. I know he clearly told the lads he was going to the US but a bit of background would have saved him some grief.

frist team out has a home

Apologies, long week, first team at home..

Well done you guys & best wishes v Longford,,,,,,,,,

Very magnanimous Kelf. Must be hard watching Offaly in both codes at the moment considering such a successful county in relatively recent times. Only way is up !

Sure is hard, Crofter, but I watched both in the Fifties when we were at a similar level to what we are now............. Now after 42 years in Kildare I have 2 counties to support !!!

.. so double the heart ache then Kelf

TommyKeegan wrote:

Reichenhall why is that an insult and what does amateur have to do with it? I'm presuming you think because they aren't paid, no negatives can be said about their footballing skills or performance. Which begs the question, why are you on an amateur sport forum?

Ah Tommy on the contrary,your'e presuming wrong, i'm all for constructive critisism up to a point but "devoid of football brains"goes beyond that, in my book anyway!!!

I'm baffled by your last question,some might say that my original post would suggest that i am on the side of the amateur sportsman...........so what better forum to be on then ?