You know the Drill
These are the lads who know best,

So lets hear what they have to say!, Very insightful altogether!

Nicky McDonnell, Naomh Martin.

Standard of the Championship this year and would you change the format?

I can’t comment to much on the standard because the only games I was at were the games I was playing in which weren’t great to be honest !

I think if the county board put more emphasis on club football in the county , this in turn would benefit the county team and also benefit the standard of club football. the lack of regard for the club players is  poor, take fixtures for example , they just make them up as they go along . Part  of the format I would change is the relegation play off, I think whichever team  gets relegated  in the senior league should automatically drop to intermediate league  & champo . only the 12 teams in the senior league play senior champo & no team gets relegated from the champo, whichever team wins intermediate league , goes straight into Senior league / champo.

2.Key Players Battle/Battles for you on Sunday?

Not sure how they’ll line out but I’d love to see califf go head to head with keenan , that would be crucial for clogher, if califf broke 50/50 with keenan , they’ve every chance . Liam Shevlin is for me a very under rated player , if Clogher can get a twist out of him, id play him in a central position & get him to take the game to the pats  . Whoever picks up Paddy Keenan, this will be the key battle end of !

and finally
3.Who will win and why?

From playing the two teams in the group stages , id have to fancy the pats , don’t know what it is about them , there just so focused , stick to the game plan & most of all very  hard to beat . Kelly should adopt Eamon Fitzmaurice’s game plan against Donegal , play them at their own game ,defend in numbers,  frustrate them & stay in the game for the last 10 mins , this is the only way I can see a Clogher win to be honest . I don’t think Kelly will adopt this game plan so that is why I can see the pats win by a few points to spare .

Ben Rogan O’Raghallaighs

1- championship standard has being around the same as previous years, each year you have the surprises and the disappointments;

This year the surprises being the Gaels and Clogher and the disappointments being the O’ Connells and ourselves.

Format of the championship is fine with me, we don’t have enough senior teams to mix it up so i think it’s going to be the same for years to come.

One thing I would change about the championship is the grounds being chosen for double headers and the big games, some just aren’t good enough for them,  like CastleBellingham. But we all know why that gets picked!!

2- Key players/battles.

I would say the game will be won around the middle of the field. whoever plays there for Clogher will have to try and stop paddy K and that’s a near impossible task the way he’s being playing this year.

so I’d say Clogher will clog up that area to try and stop paddy’s influence.

Up top, Pepi smith will have to kick a big score if Clogher are to win!

3- Winner

I want to say Clogherhead! as the old gaffer CK is out there now and have a couple of good mates on the team but, it’s hard to see them beaten the Pats, they have being the best team this year we played against. So, if I was betting I would go for Pats by 4/5 points but hoping I’m wrong and Clogher will win big Joe!

Jim McEneaney, Geraldines.

1. I like the championship format. Both group games feel like championship football. It’s the lack of other football surrounding it that can be frustrating. I think something has to be done with the league to give a lot more football. Play everyone home and away on a Friday/Saturday evening or something so that lads still have their weekend and the guarantee of football each week. I think it would allow the league to continue despite county football and help improve the standard of club football. Lads just want to play matches and that’s not happening.

2. Key battles on Sunday: 

Michael McKeown,Mattock Rgrs

David McComish, Dundalk Gaels

1. Standard of the Championship this year and would you change the format?

I thought the standard was quite similar to other years but it’s hard to compare the standard between years. I suppose if you take the Pats/Blues match, which was the fixture as the previous year, you would have to say that it didn’t reach quite the same levels of excitement or perhaps intensity as the previous year. Game plans and tactics seem to be at the heart of more discussions about football this year than the skills you see on show in games. There is the odd occasion when people take note of great individual/team displays but these moments of magic are being pushed out by the collective effort.

I like the current format as it gives teams the opportunity to play knock-out style games in group matches even if they are not that by name. The only problem I would have is the two (with the possibility of more) league matches left to play after the championship has finished up. This, I would imagine, is a major anti-climax for the majority of teams after the disappointment of being knocked out of the main competition.

2.Key Players Battle/Battles for you on Sunday?

and finally
Key match-ups for me on Sunday will be Paddy/Peach in midfield and Danny/Pop in the Pats forward line. Both sets of players are key in what makes each team tick. Peach was very consistent with his place kicking and fielding in both games against us and will have to add to this with a serious work rate to try cancel out Paddy Keenan’s potential dominance in the final. Pop was also very good in the two semi-finals, the second game in particular. He will have his hands full in keeping Daniel off the ball as he acts as the link between the Pats’ blanket defence and attack.

3.Who will win and why?

I think it’s going to be tighter than the last time they met but I can’t see the Pats being bet. They are very good at what they do and have proven that all year. They have been comfortably winning in the league and produced a great team performance to see off the Blues in the semi’s. The Dreadnoughts have the ability to penetrate the Pats’ defence but they will have to take their chances if they are to make a game of it. It will be an interesting game to watch I’m sure. Wishing I was part of it more than ever!

Richard Brennan,Cooley K’hams.

I have mixed views on if I would change the format, good thing is teams get more games but then teams like the Dreadnots win 2 games and they are in a final! (Not sour grapes I swear :P) Hard one to call really.

Tight game for 35/40 minutes but the Pats to win by 6 or more.

Alan Kirk, Ardee St Mary’s

Championship format: I have to say I think the championship format in the county does seem to actually work,! The only frustrating point is, you have to wait till July to play your 1st championship game!
The standard in the games I’ve seen/played in was good. Plus there’s plenty of young talent out there to put on the Louth Jersey next year.

The final: the big battle you would imagine will be Paddy Keenan and James Califf.
Califf will have ta be on top of his game to stop Keenan because as we all know, everything goes through him.
A.Williams and D.O’Connor plus I’d imagine Dessie will pick up Pepe which is always a good battle.

Who will win?: I love ta see the Dreadnots win as a neutral and having trained under Colin Kelly he will defo have something up his sleeve for d pats. But, I reckon the Pats will still have too much in the end.
Pats by4/5

Colm Judge, Newtown Blues

1) I haven’t been at too many games so can’t judge but the general consensus is that it has been a fairly average championship, with very few standout games. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the current format but maybe to change things up a bit they could try a knockout format with a backdoor element !


2) Obviously whoever comes out on top around the middle will have a big say on the pattern in which the game will take and ultimately the verdict. Around the middle third the pats will be physically stronger but clogher will try and combat this by using their pace. For me the pats key man is Danny O’Connor, he is their main ball winner and outlet. He has an eye for goal and the pats mid field and half forwards  look to run off him from deep, Id expect Pop or Anthony Williams to pick him up. The winner of this tussle will have a big bearing on the result. Up front for clogher,  Peter Kirwan is one to watch out for. His scoring return probably should be better but he’s a very good team player, he’s good on the ball, has pace and is not afraid to go into the danger zone! He could be picked up by Ray Finnegan and that should be an interesting match up.


3) The last time these two sides met in the final in 2012, the Pats were streets ahead of clogher, this is not the case anymore. Since then the gap has closed significantly, clogher have improved and in my opinion the pats have gone back. The pats have been the best team in the county over the last 10 years and with alot of the same personnel its only natural that they’re not as strong as they once were. Clogher are a fit and pacey outfit, they’ll not be as naive as they were two years ago. Due to the Pats recent tradition and know how I wont be surprised in the slightest if they win, but im   going with a Clogher win! 

There you have it….
Pats 7 Dreadnots 1 Draw 1 
The players have spoken.

Really enjoyed that, the best I’ve ever done.
Thanks to all the lads some serious footballing brains out there.

Tagged as: dreadnots, GAA, louth gaa, louthandproud.com, newtown blues, Paddy keenan, st marys Ardee