Tipperary v Galway. There seems to be a lot of people tipping Tipperary and I would love for it to happen, but I think their good progress could hit some black ice here. Peter Creedon has done a lot for Tipp, they scared hell out of Cork and they have put up good wins in the back door. Colin ORiordan is just out of three years dual minor, best young talent in the country right now. But I suspect that Tipp put ijn huge preparatory work and are as good as they can be; Galways form can sometimes accelerate. I think the fact that Tipp scared Galway and Clare gave us a tough first round in Munster is vastly over-rated - thats actually the norm. Grumblings about Kerrys form against the weaker counties, who usually put up a good 45 minute battle and then fade, has been happening since I was a child and probably longer. We timed our training for peaks and troughs and the Clare game was not a peak. It would be great for football if Tipperary could beat Galway and assert themselves as a second tier power. Galway were always a first tier team but have been declining; an over-reliance for years on poor Michael Meehan and a refusal to adopt and adapt to defensive football has seen them fall way behind a Mayo that are much better organised at underage. But they are still a NFL Div Two team playing a team just promoted out of Div Four. I still think this will be a step too far, even though Tipp are travelling in the right direction. Cork v Sligo? Apologies to Pat Flanagan, a gentleman who has done great work in Kerry in his time (and will of course have Sligo flying fit), but I can only see one result. Cork were not remotely tuned in for the Munster Final and shouldnt be judged on that game - they arent great, but Kerry hit a gear Cork were totally unprepared for rather than incapable in general of combatting - I was delighted with Kerrys display, especially the Maginot line across our own forty, but our forwards will never get that kind of space again. Cork couldnt have won it but they are capable of going much closer than they did; I dont think they went balls out to win that one. Far from it. This is a better Cork team. I dont know why Colm ONeill didnt start against Kerry but it cant have been football reasons, he has been their best forward this year. I rate Brian ODriscoll very highly, always have, and he will do far better on the wing than in the corner. I wouldnt write off Damien Cahalane yet either; he is much better than his awful display against Kerry. Im deeply suspicious of Eoin Cadogan at full back, not his natural football position. Id have Michael Shields there, an absolute powerhouse monster of an athlete and well able to dominate a game from a central position, but he needs to be central. Loughrey will be fine in the corner, class footballer. Youll see a very different Aidan Walsh in midfield and, while I think Maguire is more about honest effort than sparkling talent, Fintan Goold just cant settle into a midfield role. God be with the days when I thought poor Alan Cronin was a bit of an awkward mullocker; he always did a job for them and his absence leaves a hole. They should be fine against Sligo. Without football, all we would have to talk about is the weather, economy, and world politics....all of which are kind of shite at the moment.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 13:58:20 +0000
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