Westmeath 4W

WHO: Westmeath
WHAT: Qualifiers Round 1
WHERE: Cusack Park, Mullingar
WHEN: Saturday,7pm

From the outside Louth GAA looks like a business in deep trouble. A large number of unhappy employee’s fed up of their working situation and wants out.
Constant sick days (injuries) and absenteeism (American Exodus) is just a common feature and Morale is low...

And we are at an all time low.

But are we that bad, are things as bad as it seems?

Although he may have his failings as a manager, Fitzer is excellent at spin. The whole country is aware of our mass player exodus even down to our training woe’s and surely that will have permeated into the Westmeath lads head.

By doing so he has lowered the expectation on our lads and the supporters of him.

Brilliant stuff no?

Crisis, What Crisis?

Especially when you look at the facts, Look at the team that beat Westmeath the last day, only two players are completely unavailable. Derek Maguire and Liam Shevlin, who will be replaced by either JP,David Reid,Aaron Hoey in the forwards and Dessie, yes Dessie...he was away on his honeymoon the last day at full back.

Then, the major injury worries.

Of the Quintet of major doubts, Mark Brennan, Ronan Carroll and Jamie Carr will play but it is not looking good for Gerard Hoey and Paddy Keenan. Big losses, as they are our possible two player of the year candidates. nevertheless the show must go on and Ronan Greene will come in and he is more than adequate replacement then Conor Rafferty looks like he is next in line to make his first championship start.

So the team will possibly look like this

1 Gally
2Pops 3Dessie 4 Ronan Greene
5Rayzor 6Jamie Carr 7Decie
8Ronan Carroll 9Jim McEneaney
10Derek Crilly 11Conor Rafferty 12Adrian Reid
13David Reid- 14 Mark Brennan 15Darren Clarke

See not too Bad? Solid and more than capable of getting a result!

16 Joe Flanagan 17 Rory Moore 18Conor McGuiness 19 David Collier
20 Danny O’Connor 21 Mick Fanning unknown Status regards these injured?available? who knows?
22Stephen Fitzpatrick 23JP Rooney
24David McComish 25 Aaron Hoey 26 Errol Boyle
EXTENDED SQUAD: Jamie Clarke, Bernard Osbourne and Kevin Rogers

The exodus does have an effect on the squad as the Bench maybe a little thin but with lads wanting to make impression, it balances itself out.

Where we can win

After 50 plus minutes the first day in Navan, we finally figured out Pops was the right man for Denis Glennon if he does half a good job as that cameo marking job it will go along way to help us get a W.

The midfield area is always crucial, with PK possibly missing out and with Westmeath’s main midfielder John Heslin’s hampered preparation coming into the game makes the form so hard to call. Combine that with a new Keeper and style of kickouts all bets are off.

We will have to gamble though that Ronan Carroll will step up and show some leadership in that area, not to mention keep up his recent form against Westmeath.

Finally, like most games hard work beats talent, the lads know the chips are down and have the character required to raise their work rate and grind out a victory.

In what could be the last 4W of the year

Keep Plugging away lads.

Things to expect: A big, long slow traffic jam the whole way down the centre of Mullingar, Big display from Mark Brennan, Some New faces in strange places, the possible end of the fitzer era and he might even be there and most of all expect a spirited performance from our lads whatever the result.