National League Division 2

Right lads and lassies. Decided to make a new thread for this. Week 1 is a tough assignment given today's show. Meath will be dogged and tough, even if they are not going well. I hope we will have improved somewhat by the time this game comes around......

First match is the most important. It sets the tone for the rest of the league. You win and thoughts turn positive and you contemplate promotion. Lose and the dark clouds roll in and the dreaded r word gets thrown about.

There are no standout teams. Probably Galway are the best of the lot. But everyone will drop points at some stage. 9 points will most likely get you up, 5 will keep you up. Home games need winning. If we stay up I'll gladly take that and be happy.

Only points I can possibly see is picking up on the road is meath or down. If we fall flat against Meath it could be a long league . Fermanagh Clare and Cork at home . I wouldn't be confident against any of them .

I remember some nightmare trips to Derry several years ago pre McGeeney. I think we are back at that kind of level again . I predict 4-6 points and it being a dogfight near the bottom

Donnellan
O'Grady
Kelly
Lyons
Conway
Doyle
Byrne
Feely
Dowling
Hartley/Leper
N Kelly
P Cribbin
McCormack
D Flynn
N Flynn

Young forward line, but without EOF we are one short in the half forwards. I'd go all in and give Hartley a go. Did well in the other games and is a better option than playing Conway out of position. Leper may be worth a shot but his legs have gone and he can't do what he used to.
Moolick hasn't the pace for a full game and is a good option to bring on. Hurley may be a prospect for an introduction and Chris Healy could possibly go in when needed and move Dan Flynn back out the field if a change was required.

Not going to say promotion hopes gone if we lose but by Christ could we use the morale boost at this stage.

Rex wrote:

Donnellan
O'Grady
Kelly
Lyons
Conway
Doyle
Byrne
Feely
Dowling
Hartley/Leper
N Kelly
P Cribbin
McCormack
D Flynn
N Flynn

Young forward line, but without EOF we are one short in the half forwards. I'd go all in and give Hartley a go. Did well in the other games and is a better option than playing Conway out of position. Leper may be worth a shot but his legs have gone and he can't do what he used to.
Moolick hasn't the pace for a full game and is a good option to bring on. Hurley may be a prospect for an introduction and Chris Healy could possibly go in when needed and move Dan Flynn back out the field if a change was required.

Be surprised to see 6 forwards start - we just don't have enough good defenders to start with only 6 back there, I'd be hoping for something along the lines of -

Donnellan

Lyons O'Grady P.Kelly

Doyle

O'Donaghue Conway J Byrne

Feeley Dowling

Cribben N. Kelly D. Flynn

N Flynn B.McCormack

Kildare won't win a game in the league. We don't have any great players. When you 4 JTB lads on the team it says it all really. Couldn't even beat Dubs junior D's.

February 5 Meath v Kildare @2pm
February 13 Kildare v cork @2pm
February 26 Derry v Kildare @2pm
March 1 Kildare v Longford u21
March 5. Kildare v Fermanagh @ 2pm
March 15. U21 semifinals
March 18 Down v kildare @ 7pm
March 26 Kildare v Clare @ 3.15pm
March 29. Leinster u21 final
April. 2 Galway v Kildare @2pm

God only knows how O Neill will motivate, instill belief into the players after yesterday but below is the team I would go with in Navan,

Donnellan

Mick O'Grady
Shea Ryan (we need to add some semblance of a physical presence to our full back line, it is not his best position by any stretch)
David Hyland/Ollie Lyons

Johnny Byrne
Eoin Doyle
Cian O Donoghue

Kevin Feely
Fergal Conway

Paul Cribben
Conor Hartley
Dan Flynn

Neill Flynn
Niall Kelly
Ben McCormack

Both Conor Hartley and Paul Cribben have played a little bit of football as defenders so could drop back when we lose possession

My prediction - we open with a win against Meath but it cannot overcome the everlasting gloom of the O'Byrne Cup. Also going to be a wet summer.

Apparently Meath are considering fielding an U16 development squad so hopefully we'll be alright.

I'd go with:
1 Donnellan
2 P Kelly (close call between him and O'Grady)
3 Ryan (might as well try him there now - if it goes well it liberates Hyland to play his best position)
4 Lyons
5 Byrne
6 Hyland
7 Doyle
8 Cribbin (need more mobility in midfield)
9 Feely
10 Hartley (I'd see Sherry as the more natural choice here long term - anyone know if he's training with the seniors yet?)
11 Conway (extra defender/break winner/counter attacker)
12 D Flynn (again, just put him in his natural position)
13 N Flynn
14 McCormack (but we need Eoghan Flats back)
15 N Kelly

Would like to add Hurley to the team as well but time will tell whether he hits form this season.

Donnellan- shoe in
O'Grady- will improve after missing all last year
D Hyland- class footballer. will develop similar to mick foley
Kelly- due a big perfromance
Lyons- Best postion is wing back
Doyle- best defender we have
Byrne- is playin well at the moment
P Cribbin- needs a big game
Dowling- showed in patches what he can do at midfield. needs time
D Flynn navans width will suit him down to the ground
N Kelly- most creative footballer we have
Conway- 3rde midfielder
C McNally- play as half forward
McCormack- two man inside forward line
N Flynn two man inside forward line

Don't understand what Tommy Moolick has done wrong to be left out of many people's 15 altogether. I realise he lacks some mobility but has Feely got any more?  I don't think so. Moolick is a workhorse who chips in with goals at one end and adds a physical presence at the other. I can see the attraction of sticking with Dowling around the middle but I would keep Moo beside him and either put Feely on the bench or find another role for him. Feely has been a huge disappointment since coming back. Started well and looked like he had the ability and mentality to be a real leader but has since gone into his shell and just looks as lost as the rest of them now.

I don't believe Cian will move too far away from the team that started against Dublin's under-14's however which was close to full strength, depressingly.  Lyons for M.Hyland, Moolick will come in and perhaps K.Cribbin drops out with Conway moving back into half back.

Crofter wrote:

Feely has been a huge disappointment since coming back.

I think that's very harsh. He's been away from football a long time so it's a bit much to expect him to come in and be our saviour after a year. I thought he was good against Mayo last year and in other games too. Someone suggested playing him at full-back which mightn't be a bad shout seeing as he plays there for DCU and is a good fielder/reader of the game. David Hyland is a good footballer but I don't his defending is good enough for full-back. I'd like to see Conway back at midfield where he did well for us last year and Conor Hartley come in at wing forward. This is the team I'd go for:

Donnellan
O'Grady/P Kelly Feely Lyons
D Hyland Doyle Byrne
Moolick Conway
Hartley N Kelly P Cribbin
N Flynn D Flynn McCormack

I do wonder sometimes whether I just totally misread the abilities of some of these players from their underage and club performances. Feely I thought had the potential to be a dominant midfielder in the Lynch / Buckley / Hayes / McEntee mould. Serious leadership material.

Similarly, Hyland looked to me like a really top defender and, again, a proper leader. But against teams like the Dubs they just seem to freeze in the worst tradition of Kildare teams over the years. Eoin Doyle seems to be the only one who consistently pushes himself.

Not writing the others off at all btw but I mean, can they actually do it in crunch situations? And if so, when? We'll find out I guess.

I don't get what people see in Ollie Lyons. I think he is a poor defender who goes on 1 or 2 bursts up the field but thats about it. I agree with Crofter on Feely it was said by some he was they next Dermot Earley.

JohnnyC wrote:

Crofter wrote:

Feely has been a huge disappointment since coming back.

I think that's very harsh. He's been away from football a long time so it's a bit much to expect him to come in and be our saviour after a year. I thought he was good against Mayo last year and in other games too. Someone suggested playing him at full-back which mightn't be a bad shout seeing as he plays there for DCU and is a good fielder/reader of the game. David Hyland is a good footballer but I don't his defending is good enough for full-back. I'd like to see Conway back at midfield where he did well for us last year and Conor Hartley come in at wing forward. This is the team I'd go for:

Donnellan
O'Grady/P Kelly Feely Lyons
D Hyland Doyle Byrne
Moolick Conway
Hartley N Kelly P Cribbin
N Flynn D Flynn McCormack

I didn't say I thought he was going to be our saviour - just a leader. You need a few. Maybe I was a tad harsh with that comment though. When he came in for his first game he was vocal, telling people what to do and generally looked like he was going to be a midfield "boss". I thought he went into his shell after that as he struggled with his own form. I think a year is a reasonable time to adjust so let's hope he performs well in the league. I haven't given up hope. I would also think he could be good at FB although whether he's going to be fast enough for the smaller, nippier full forward I doubt. I agree on Hyland. I don't really understand why he is so highly rated as I don't think he's at all "sticky" enough. Maybe would be better as a half back. Conway to midfield is a reasonable call, or helping Doyle out on the HB line. Not so sure about Hartley yet - he wouldn't have struck me as senior material in the under-21's last year but has done reasonably well in the OBC. Hard worker. May be worth a try in Navan.

jim wrote:

I don't get what people see in Ollie Lyons.  I think he is a poor defender who goes on 1 or 2 bursts up the field but thats about it. I agree with Crofter on Feely it  was said by some he was they next Dermot Earley.

Think he's a tighter marker than the likes of Hyland but perhaps has gone back a bit on that front over the last couple of years. The bursts up the field are a good asset to have though as we have some lack of pace around the team. Ollie on his game can open up the field by taking a couple of lads out of the game quickly. Can't think of many other players we have who can do that. P.Cribbin and Dan Flynn, maybe Cotse are others who can.

Donnellan
P Kelly O'Grady Lyons
K Cribbin Doyle Byrne
Feely P Cribbin
D Flynn Conway C McNally
N Flynn N Kelly McCormack

I'd go with the above. More mobility in the team. Conway to drop back and N Kelly to roam around and get involved more.

Hurley would be a massive boost if was in the right shape. As good a footballer as Ive seen on his day

jim wrote:

I don't get what people see in Ollie Lyons.  I think he is a poor defender who goes on 1 or 2 bursts up the field but thats about it. I agree with Crofter on Feely it  was said by some he was they next Dermot Earley.

He's the best defender we've had over the last few years. He's probably the highest scoring corner back Kildare have ever had and always keeps his man out of the game. What else can a corner back do

What's opinion on Neil Flynn? He can go from brutal to top class in the space of a few plays. For all the good scores he gets, on Sunday he gave away an ocean of ball.

To hold his place and progress to fulfill his potential he needs to cut out the errors and work on being consistent. Think this comes with confidence and physical and mental endurance.

I said it before. We are at Division 2 standard at best. I do not think we have much chance of promotion this year on the panel we have and the lack of cohesion we have shown in last 2 years.. We need to develop the spine of the team. Goalie, Full Back, Centre Back, Mid field, Centre forward and full forward. Eoin Doyle has not been too bad at centre back but against limited opposition.

Would be good to win our home games and perform well away.

Maybe I am being harsh but no team in division 2 will fear us thats for sure.

Westside wrote:

jim wrote:

I don't get what people see in Ollie Lyons.  I think he is a poor defender who goes on 1 or 2 bursts up the field but thats about it. I agree with Crofter on Feely it  was said by some he was they next Dermot Earley.

He's the best defender we've had over the last few years. He's probably the highest scoring corner back Kildare have ever had and always keeps his man out of the game. What else can a corner back do

Watch him closely he's actually a poor defender he might be one of the teams best defenders but he's still poor. He flatters to deceive. Makes little darting runs hand passes sidewords and stops. Watch him the next time.