Kildare v westmeath

Why was the All Ireland semi final 2010 a sell out? Same venue,ticket prices higher!!!

Jim you love being contrary for the sake of it. No one is disputing that more people go to Kildare games when we're going well. We're just saying that 30 euro is too much, the venue is inappropriate and that these two factors turn a lot of people off going.
While we're at it, the 2010 AI semi wasn't a sell out, or anything like it.

Paul cribben. Dan Flynn both unavailable for Westmeath due injured, Niall Kelly Keith cribben both available for match

Ohtoohtobe wrote:

Jim you love being contrary for the sake of it. No one is disputing that more people go to Kildare games when we're going well. We're just saying that 30 euro is too much, the venue is inappropriate and that these two factors turn a lot of people off going.
While we're at it, the 2010 AI semi wasn't a sell out, or anything like it.

Contrary........sorry for making an alternative point. I agree with a lot of what's said btw but im just putting a different point across. Is that ok with you or do you want me to call you first so make sure if it's do that I make a point.

While we're at it I'll say it again. I don't think the main reason people are not following kildare is the venue or the ticket price (it is a factor) but I think the main reason is people don't believe they are going to do anything.

Ohtoohtobe wrote:

While we're at it, the 2010 AI semi wasn't a sell out, or anything like it.

Correct and right .. 60 odd thousand I'd say.

I have to agree that there is no fun in going up to Croker these days - the wexford game gate and atmosphere was depressing (to put it mildly). We are basically becoming show openers for the Dubs at this stage.

The thoughts of going up Sunday week doesn't exactly inspire enthusiasm - lose and it's an all too familiar walk down Jones's road getting abused and ridiculed by Dublin fuckwits, win and that dreaded walk is merely postponed for a fortnight.

But I'm ever the optimist (although recent games are really testing this) and I can't believe we are as bad as we displayed against Clare and Wexford. I will go Sunday week, in the hope we put in a performance worthy of a Leinster final meeting with Dublin, and hope and pray that we can put in a performance against said fuckwits.

fone wrote:

Paul cribben.  Dan Flynn both unavailable for Westmeath due injured, Niall Kelly  Keith cribben both available for match

They're 2 massive losses, leaves us seriously lacking in pace around the middle. Think we'll win but don't expect it to be pretty. Absolute joke of a gap from our first game to this . No respect for the players at all from the GAA

This game will be very much 50-50. I am worried now.

I'd probably make us underdogs now. Cribbin and Flynn in particular give us a directness that we sorely lack without them. Feely is still something of an unknown quantity at this level but he's a loss given our lack of midfield options.

Potential team:
Donnellan, P Kelly, Hyland, Lyons, Doyle, Conway, Houlihan, Moolick, O'Neill, M O'Flaherty, E O'Flaherty, Bolton, N Kelly, Smith, N Flynn.

If we make it into a dogfight we'll need O'Flaherty, Kelly, Flynn and Smith to bring their shooting boots because chances will be at a premium.

http://www.gaa.ie/football/news/feely-cribbin-and-flynn-ruled-out-for-kildare/

Not good , not good at all. Cribbin's injury in particular sounds pretty worrying. Doesn't sound like Nially Kelly will be able to make too much of an impact either

Is it worth our while getting to a final and getting a hammering assuming the dubs beat Meath?
I would always think its better to get there but getting a pasting like we did against Kerry can have a serious affect on players

Based on what I have seen so far and the injuries to key players we are no where near ready to play Dublin. It would probably be better for us to lose and get a few decent games against lesser teams than Dublin. The same applies to the rest of Leinster also apart from Meath who still believe they can win but that is based on tradition rather than form.
It'a poor reflection on the state of football in the province.

murof wrote:

Based on what I have seen so far  and the injuries to key players we are no where near ready to play Dublin. It would probably be better for us to lose and get a few decent games against lesser teams than Dublin. The same applies to the rest of Leinster also apart from Meath who still believe they can win but that is based on tradition rather than form.
It'a  poor reflection on the state of football in the province.

I don't know how to reply to your comment murof. I'm not sure if im angry or sad or depressed to be honest. Maybe a combination of all 3. Is this what we've become? Are we afraid of Dublin? Like holy fcuk....sure maybe we should just scrap our senior team then we'd never be beaten!!!!!

I don't know what to say to i really dont. I'm going back to bed.

Without a doubt it is getting harder against the 'Juggernaut' that is Dublin Gaa, in Leinster terms anyway.  

Up to a few years ago we were at least reasonably competitive at club level in Leinster but now that the Dubs are now taking these competitions more serious again that success has started to slow down.  

The worrying thing for me is that we are constantly bemoaning the fact that this lad and that lad is injured etc but these lads, while they hopefully might have the potential to succeed at a high level, have done nothing major at senior county level yet and being a good club player in Kildare is only the start, there is a long way the go after that to be a top class inter county player.

Terrible question to ask but here goes: how many of the current Kildare panel would make the first 20 players on a Dublin panel.

This is in no way disrespectful to any Kildare footballer but unfortunately once more these players are being ' tied up with the inter county panel' and playing little or no competitive football again this year.

Hopefully Cian's 3 year plan will bring us forward and I certainly hope it does but we will just have to 'wait and see' however if players are not playing regularly for their clubs and Kildare are not improving then I think this plan might struggle to materialise.

Nfl div 1 final. Dublin beat kerry by 11 points.. last weekend kerry beat clare by 12 points pulling up.. hard to be optimistic should we reach the leinster final.

was at Westmeath v offaly game they played good diagonal ball into heslin who won eight of the ten played in to him in first half conellon is the link player and kieran martin drives at opposition sharry plays a linking role and is very good at long range frees westmeath created no goal chance in that game

Sorry to upset you Jim, but we were very close to Dublin in 09 and 10 and have slipped way behind them since. Look up the scores for our last 4 matches, 2 league and 2 Leinster against Dublin. Someone else can add up the aggregate scores for both sides.
What have you seen this year to have hope that we can be competitive now?

Any idea of a team yet ... is it possible to go and look at them training?

I believe training has been moved to the County pitch now and are closed sessions.

I wonder if Larry Stanley is available for selection. Could use his high jump expertise at midfield!!

That s a pitty. I was going to go and have a look at training.

I have this strange feeling in my waters (no smart remarks, please, it's not an infection) that either we'll lose a dogfight by something like 1.8 to 0.10 or we'll win at a canter - and, of course, the former is the more likely scenario! But still ....

I am very worried more so by the 5 weeks gap as much as anything else. Very worried at the moment.

Hopefully the 3 recent games will have brought the players on as in how to play the new system. Having said that we are missing some of our most important players and it'll be interesting to see the starting team.

First post on here...moved to Naas a few years ago and have been following the fortunes of Kildare GAA since...unfortunately my first game was the Leinster final last year so hoping for better this Sunday.
Do there tend to be specific pubs that Kildare fans go to pre match?

Huge lack of interest in this and I don't think its just about the €30 ticket price.  Supporters expectations are very low.

I won't be that surprised if we don't win on Sunday, in a way it doesn't really matter whether we do or don't win as I think it will be the run through the qualifiers, letting the lads play a series of competitive matches close together that will show what progress Cian has made with this Kildare team.

PS Just to add to the sense of tumbleweed blowing through the place -only two users online -on the wednesday before a Leinster. Semi