From what people have seen... Who will start at midfield? Seems to be very competitive this year if all are fit. Think we will profit well from the Mark. Well will benefit us more than hinder us I think. So we've
1. Moran
2. Maher
3. Sheehan
4. Barry
5. Barry O'Sullivan
6. Brendan O'Sullivan
7ish Donaghy
That's a serious midfield imo.. Hear a lot of talk about Griffin out half back line..Has he ever played there with Kerry, personally think could be an interesting move. What about Morley in at FB as well has that ever been tried.
Moran and Jack barry would be my preferred combination. Moran's fielding and ability to lead the team are vital. In the absence of Johnny Buckley a physical presence is needed in midfield. Moran still needs to find his best form though in my opinion. This might be due to things being tried in training or the fact that they have to build those telepathic links that one needs these days as a midfielder. The more Moran plays, the more he will know where players will be without even seeing and them, and the more the players around him will instinctively know where he is going to place the ball. He looks very fit already so with lots of training still to be done before the championship starts I am sure any doubts that I currently have had about Moran will disappear.
Maher is a great fielder, but I think we need more mobility in midfield and a man that can run at teams. Kerry are vulnerable to teams running at them so why can't we do the same to them that they do to us. Jack Barry is one of those that can do that.
Sheehan looked incredibly fit when he came on and I can't remember a time he looked fitter. Talking to the man he seems more focused than ever.
I hope we will see him in some role during the season, if only it is as a supersub.
Barry O'Sullivan hasn't had enough experience so far to nail down a spot, but again is a good midfield option. With only limited subs allowed and black cards a threat to all counties the players on the bench need to be utility players. Can Barry O'Sullivan play at intercounty level in the half forwards or half backs?
Brendan O'Sullivan, Marc Griffin and Donaghy are three players that might do well at midfield and in other positions. I would like to think Eamon, and every other manager in Ireland, would prefer to have players on the bench that can play more than one position. That way if we lose two midfielders or two half forwards we still have options.
For the very same reason Murphy and Lyne are vital to the team.
Might as well keep going now. Keepers
1. Kealy
2. Kelly
3. Murphy
Who will Fitz play in goals...Murphy seems to have a lot of supporters but he won't play till end of league or at all...Hard one to choose again.
With all due respect to Kealy and Kelly we need either one to improve a lot or find a different goalkeeper.
Crokes' Shane Murphy is not available currently, but wasn't the McGrath cup the time to try out Murphy in one or two games? Will Shane Ryan be given a chance after the U21 championship is over? It is difficult to change goalkeepers midseason and it has cost Mayo an All Ireland.
Kick out strategies have to be trained and players should know what the keeper is going to do. We can't build that link without giving the keeper some game time.
With three tough games coming up and then the championship our chance to try a different keeper has gone. I don't we can suddenly bring in Murphy or Ryan halfway during the season.
Both Kelly and Kealy are struggling at the moment with their kickouts, under the high ball and shot stopping. Kelly and Kealy had some good saves, but the core attributes aren't there at the moment. Whether it is the team not training the kickouts or the keepers not being good enough, I don't know. We're not at training so we don't know what is happening in training.
Kerry players are not moving during the kickout and they don't seem to know where the ball will go. That is something that will come when they play more games with that keeper. We have had a lot of new players in the backs and midfield that haven't been playing many games with Kelly or Kealy so they might not know exactly what either one is going to do. We have seen both Kelly and Kealy hesitant kicking it out, not being sure where to place the ball.
A system of codes like in rugby lineouts is very easily introduced and practiced. Kickouts, and the winning of kickouts, has become such an important factor in football these days that it is unacceptable to just kick the ball long and hope the midfielders can win it. Games are won and lost by kick out strategies.
Going short means the opposition will immediately put pressure on the backs and are immediately in goal territory when they turn over the ball.
Going short can only be done when the keeper is very accurate placing the ball and finds his man all the time. It is what Donegal failed to do in 2014 and what won us an All Ireland. Going short puts a lot of pressure on keepers and it is a very risky strategy.
Kickouts need to be taken a lot quicker too as the opposition should have no chance at all to figure out where the ball goes. During a kick out players should be moving and knowing where they should go. They need to know where the keeper is going to place the ball.
The most successful teams know exactly where the kickout will go and have two scenarios based on whether the ball is won or not. Tyrone and Dublin, and in less obvious ways Donegal, Mayo and Monaghan, create most of their scores directly from kickouts. When we go long and the ball is won by the opposition we should immediately know what to do and stop the loss of possession resulting in a score for the opposition. We are currently not doing that. We seem to know what to do when the ball is won, but when we lose it or the opposition win that breaking ball we seem to scramble back without a certain plan.
Having an excellent full forward line means you can play ball in there quickly and creates goals. Both Kealy and Kelly seem to struggle currently under the high ball and other counties will identify and use that.
Then Conor Geaney/Savage how have they played so far...We won't know about them till August..
To me Savage is sure to be on the panel. If not starting he should be on the bench. He can play a number of different positions in the forwards making him more valuable.
Conor Geaney hasn't shown enough, or given enough time to show what he can do to be on the bench or a starter. He will probably stay with the panel, but I wouldn't expect him to start.
I know Dublin are flying and were flying last year but a fit JOD and a fit Johnny Buckley would have surely have made a difference. Don't think Kerry are as far off Dublin as people suggest. I know probably wrong time to say it when they are going for 32 games winning streak...Fitzmaurice just needs to get us motoring again...
James is a vital player for us and seems to be getting back to form. It is vital that he does for Kerry to have any chance at all. Buckley too is a key player. We are badly missing a player like him that can win the breaking ball and accurately kick pass. He can make his physicality work for us, something we've been missing in the league, and he can kick points from further out. Buckley's best attribute though is what he shows with Dr. Crokes and that is finding the full forward line with a quick pass. He can also run the ball in, but we need to get more ball to the full forward line. If Buckley can get the ball to James and Geaney more often than we are doing now we will get more scores as well. For all our failings at the moment we are getting high scores.
Questions he has to figure out..
1. Goalkeeper Position
2. FB Role
3. Midfield Partnership
4. Murphy Role
5. Donaghy and Gooch Roles? supersubs?
1. Kelly or Kealy to me
2. Young seems to be in that role at the moment, with maybe Foley coming back in after the U21 championship. Jonathan Lyne came on for Young in the Roscommon game meaning we had no more fullback. Would Gavin Crowley not have been a better option, given that he played full back at minor and U21 level? What is the point of having him on the bench if he never gets any time on the ball? Why have Cathal Ó Lúing on the bench, another player with experience at full back, if he's not getting any time at all?
3. Barry and Moran for me with some utility players on the bench
4. The trickiest one of all. I think back to Right Half back would be his best position.
5. Donaghy is needed for his leadership and his passion, but I wouldn't take of a midfielder or Geaney for him. I think he is best used as a super sub of the bench. Like a roaming full forward/midfielder. The role that causes most problems for the opposition is when Donaghy goes roaming and uses his quick hands to set up scores for others. Gooch too should be a super sub at this point. We can't afford to not look at the future as we would be caught if we don't have a replacement ready for when the Gooch does retire. His footballing brain will always be there and he can still very accurately kick pass and kick points. He can play a number of forward positions so he would be a great person to spring of the bench
My team would be
1. Kealy
2. Enright
3. Young
4. Begley
5. Murphy
6. Crowley
7. Morley
8. Moran
9. Barry
10. D.Walsh
11. Gooch
12. Johnny Buckley
13. JOD
14. Donaghy
15. Geaney
I know nearly exactly same team as last year but think this could be the best team..
I would go with:
1. Kealy
2. Shanahan
3. Young/Foley
4. Begley
5. Murphy/Lyne
6. Crowley/Griffin
7. Morley
8. Moran
9. Barry
10. Kevin McCarthy/Darran
11. Savage/Murphy/Darran (I'd love to see Darran play a similar role at CHF like Declan O'Sullivan did) His pace running through the middle could do real damage to any team
12. Johnny Buckley
13. JOD
14. Geaney
15. Keane