Expectations for 2020

On the eve of 2020, I think it's appropriate to discuss what our aims and expectations should be for 2020.

We have 4 home league games. Fermanagh, Roscommon, Cavan and Westmeath.
3 away in Armagh, Laois and Clare.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind giving the fixture and teams involved that we should be getting promoted to Div.1. We have 2 of last year division 1 teams at home.

The trickiest assignment is Armagh away and even at that is stilla game we should be aiming to win. Anything less that 5 wins from 7 in the league will be a failure in that competition in my opinion.

In Leinster we meet the winners of Offaly/Carlow. Anything other than a win here is unthinkable. Let's see where it brings us after that.

I would like to see us playing to some sort of game plan or pattern, improving our defensive side whilst bringing in some fresh faces and also getting the most out of our bigger talents like Dan Flynn, Feely, Jimmy Hyland, Cribbin, Neil Flynn.

Some lads lost their way the last couple of years like Brophy & Niall Kelly I would like to think these lads have a lot lot more to offer and Jack and Co will get the most out of them.

Merry Christmas and Happy New year to all. Here's to a successful 2020.
I FUCKIN LOVES ME COUNTY I DO - Cilldara ABU

Would love to think that we get promoted but i have my doubts. Our first game is home to Fermanagh. This is a vital match in more ways than one. It will set the tone for the campaign, attitude wise, style of play, commitment (fighting to win every ball like your life depends on it), and tactical nous. As fans it also is a vital game. It needs to be a massive turn out to support Jack and the Lads and show we are willing to go all in and commit to a new chapter in Kildare Football. We are fortunate to have got a top manager and the time for excuses is now gone (shit or leave the pot time !). I think we might fall short this year but Jack's deal is 3 years so i personally don't think it's the end of the world if we don't make it this season. My prediction for promotion is Armagh and The Rossies. Ourselves and Cavan fighting it out for third spot. Happy new year to you Fionn and all on the forum.

Jesus I would be very confident of promotion at first time of asking, we have the players and manager, I would usually be a 'glass half empty' kind of guy when it comes to Kildare but it's overflowing with expectations for the coming year, cant wait for league to start.

At the risk of being labelled a naysayer before the year is a day old, I have doubts about this team's reliability to step up to the required marks for promotion
Match wise, here's how I see it going:
Fermanagh - probable win
Roscommon - loss
Cavan - possible draw, possible loss as Cavan have just come out of Div 1
Westmeath - possible win
Armagh - loss
Laois - draw
Clare - possible win but wouldn't count on it.
I'd see us landing around the 8 point mark with Roscommon and Armagh going up.

I think we'll definitely be facing Offaly in the championship and I wouldn't count any chickens there till they're hatched.

Think it may take JOC a season to put shape on the team....he's got that O in the middle, it would take JC to definitely make us shine this year.
I hope I'm totally wrong.
Happy New Year

tomoneillandhissisteranne wrote:

At the risk of being labelled a naysayer before the year is a day old, I have doubts about this team's reliability to step up to the required marks for promotion
Match wise, here's how I see it going:
Fermanagh - probable win
Roscommon - loss
Cavan - possible draw, possible loss as Cavan have just come out of Div 1
Westmeath - possible win
Armagh - loss
Laois - draw
Clare - possible win but wouldn't count on it.
I'd see us landing around the 8 point mark with Roscommon and Armagh going up.

I think we'll definitely be facing Offaly in the championship and I wouldn't count any chickens there till they're hatched.

Think it may take JOC a season to put shape on the team....he's got that O in the middle, it would take JC to definitely make us shine this year.
I hope I'm totally wrong.
Happy New Year

Snap !!!

I actually expect us to win at least 5 and possibly 6 of these matches, this is not just bravado, I think we are red hot certs for promotion, remind me at the end of April if I deserve to be embarrassed!

Back to work, back to hoping.

If we get two things sorted before the league I think we will get promoted. Defensively aggressive tackling and work rate.

No more shadowing lads only to see them get inside our 45 and pop it over uncontested.

Our work rate has been poor over the last number of years. We need to step it up a number of levels.

Get these two right and we'll improve massively. Lets be honest work rate should not need improving. Tackling probably may need a bit more time but once we make running down the middle harder that will be a good day

I wont make any predictions until I see how the first 2 league games go. If we repeat the same shadow tacking and lazy fouling which has been with us since Jason Ryan took over then we are going nowhere. However I can't believe JOC will allow that to happen as it's just not the Kerry way. I don't think he will indulge in the same excuses as the last 2 managers either.
The league is set up nicely for us to be promoted, we may not get a better chance for a few years. Time for the U21's of 2013 to realise that they are running out of time and that they should be the role models for the young lads to follow.

I think we should always be aiming to go up but Cavan are just coming down and will have another year under Mickey Graham.
Armagh away is the key game, but the poxy thing is that we could easily put it up to them and then eff up a so-called gimme.

I think that what we have missed for too long is a defined style of play. Not since the 2-2-2 up front did we set up in a definitive system.
Some days it was one thing, then rely on something from Feely, Cribbin, Flynn or Conway to take matters into their own hands.
I just want a bit of a pattern to emerge. But one that can still be tweaked when needs must.

Workrate and an edge should be a given but it's often not in many many cases, not just Kildare.
As was said if we have Kelly and Brophy upping their levels that is like two new players as well.

Super 8s are the main thing. There is a good bit of flux around too. Not sure Banty will keep Monaghan at that level so that could be up for grabs.
Roscommon are like ourselves in that you don't know what they will do...

Going on 55 minutes of today's "display" against Carlow, we'll be lucky to stay in Division 2 - woeful, inept ....the three Fs - Flat, Floundering and Fecking wojeous

We have nearly all of our best players onboard and we've done comparatively well with opt-outs bearing in mind the general carnage over the winter.

There's certainly lots of ability in the squad but there are too many question marks to be confident about promotion. Some of the main problems...

1. Massed defences – our two annihilations of Fermanagh in 2017/18 are the exceptions that prove the rule. Longford (drawn game last year), Carlow, Tyrone – all games where we looked nothing short of clueless at times. Fermanagh actually beat us last year. We have struggled badly against counter attacking teams.

2. Our own defence – all over the place. No idea what personnel or structure will be against Fermanagh. What can possibly go wrong!

3. Goalkeeper – I'm not fully convinced by Donnellan & not sure I ever will be. Does he really have the kick-out range of the top keepers? Isn't it time for Aaron O'Neill.

Even if we are competitive in all the matches, this team's fatal flaw has been their composure and decision making – or lack thereof – in tight games. Even without Daniel Flynn and Paul Cribbin, if we could just have held our heads against Meath and Fermanagh last year, we might well have been promoted.

So, I'll he holding off the promotion predictions just yet...

What do people think might be the team against Fermanagh? Apparently Fergal Conway is out although I wonder is that just mind games from O'Connor – something we could do with improving on incidentally, along with "dark arts" from defenders, who are far too gentlemanly for my liking. Haven't these guys seen Lee Keegan?

Anyway, for Fermanagh game, I'd go for something like...

O'Neill

O'Grady
Peter Kelly
Eoin Doyle

David Hyland
Shea Ryan
Kevin Flynn

Feely
Moolick

Robinson
Paul Cribbin
Conway

Neil Flynn
Dan Flynn
Jimmy Hyland

HauntedGraffiti wrote:

What do people think might be the team against Fermanagh? Apparently Fergal Conway is out although I wonder is that just mind games from O'Connor – something we could do with improving on incidentally, along with "dark arts" from defenders, who are far too gentlemanly for my liking. Haven't these guys seen Lee Keegan?

Anyway, for Fermanagh game, I'd go for something like...

O'Neill

O'Grady
Peter Kelly
Eoin Doyle

David Hyland
Shea Ryan
Kevin Flynn

Feely
Moolick

Robinson
Paul Cribbin
Conway

Neil Flynn
Dan Flynn
Jimmy Hyland

.

no chance Robinson playing in half forward line against Fermanagh
No con Kavanagh in team

No chance Conway will play against Fermanagh

If Conway’s out, think I’d play Masterson midfield with Moolick half forward. Moolick might be our most underrated player - he reminds me of Tom Parsons from Mayo. An absolute horse of a footballer who always puts in a savage shift & usually kicks a score or two. Feely always looks less pressurised when he plays as well.

Would like to see Neil Flynn put on frees this year & no messing - he’s definitely our best for me.

My team for the Fermanagh game would be
M.Donnellan
L.Healy
M.o Grady
P.Kelly
S.Ryan
K.Flynn
C.Kavanagh
K.Feely
D.Hyland
P.Cribbin
A.Tyrell
N.Flynn
J.Robinson
D.Flynn
J.Hyland

Eoin Doyle and A Masterson only back training this week. Think D.Hyland would be excellent at midfield

Welcome to the Forum Liam. Happy New Year !

My team for the Fermanagh game is whatever 15 players have and are willing to give 120% to the cause forget about their own agendas, tackle and work like crazy dogs and set the tone for the year ahead...… to me its start at back to basics and the very last thing i want to see is 'shadowing' and lads strolling off the field after barely breaking a sweat and then talking all sorts of crap after...…. its a simple game lets make it simple again please Jack and Co...…..

Moolick half forward . Do u watch the modern game ? Need serious legs to play half forward or outside 2.
He would be lost. Decent player alright but not related to a modern day half forward.

Moolick half forward . Do u watch the modern game ? Need serious legs to play half forward or outside 2.
He would be lost. Decent player alright but not related to a modern day half forward.

Masterson foot in boot

Moolick half-forward and our most underrated player? Lads, I give up

I don't know, the more I think about things the less optimistic I am getting, I think we will struggle again this year.

My expectations for 2020 are more fighting on the forum and another all-time classic meltdown if we don't get promoted.

Oh well, we need something to keep us entertained.

Re Moolick, statistically midfielders cover more ground than half-forwards, so there would actually be LESS required of him in that position. Additionally, he has played half-forward for Kildare before.

Against Mayo in 2018, Feely and Moolick were up against Diarmuid O'Connor and Aidan O'Shea, as formidable a midfield partnership as you will come across.

I'm pretty sure we won that match.

So, think before posting lads and stop embarrassing yourselves.