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The state of the nation

     


1

KERRY High Point Humiliating their neighbours in an All Ireland final, doesn't get better than that.

Low Point The first 60 minutes against Monaghan.

What nextWith the first question after the presentation this year being who's going to stop them next year, just need to keep momentum and hope Darragh O Se hangs about.

2

DUBLIN High Point Came out of a tight game (Meath) and proved beyond doubt they are well ahead of the rest bar one.

Low Point Knowing there's a team they cannot beat out there no matter how well they play.

What next Another Leinster and an All Ireland final but this team is destined never to go all the way.

3

TYRONE High Point Knowing Armagh are fading and regardless of the quality still in Ulster, they are the team to beat up north.

Low Point Conceding 1-13 against an inferior side in the quarter-final.

What next Win Ulster again and get at Kerry.

4

MONAGHAN High Point So many. Getting over Derry, trouncing Donegal, proving they can compete with the best when running two of the top three teams in the country to the wire.

Low Point Not finishing off one of those heavyweights when they had them on the ropes.

What nextNeed to win an Ulster or reach an All Ireland semi-final to prove it wasn't a once off.

5

DERRY High Point Got the hardest draw in each of the qualifying rounds and managed to end an era in Armagh, Mayo and Laois football along the way.

Low PointNot going it the easy way and missing out on an Ulster final.

What nextMake up for that low point by becoming Ulster's number two.

6

CORK High Point Demolition of Meath was their one impressive outing in the championship.

Low Point The All Ireland final showed they were only there because of the championship structure.

What next Nicholas Murphy is hoping Darragh calls it a day, Daniel Goulding needs to get his chance and having complained about Sligo's hand-passing style, they need to get away from it themselves and learn how to deliver ball.

7

MEATH High Point Suddenly becoming contenders, as proved against Dublin and Tyrone.

Low Point Failing to show up against Cork.

What next Having three would-be All Stars, they should be challenging for Leinster next season and winning it the season after.

8

DONEGAL High Point A league victory that promised so much.

Low Point A battering against Tyrone that saw them lose all momentum and a manager.

What next Try not to be like so many other Donegal teams and let all the hard work go to waste.

9

LAOIS High Point None. Missed out on a league semi-final, a provincial title and last eight of the All Ireland.

Low Point Having been pushed into a hole by Dublin, they finally had the dirt shovelled in on top of them this time around in the Leinster final.

What next Try and stay as Leinster's number two, although it's hard to see.

10

GALWAY High PointMayo win aside, will not take anything from '07.

Low Point Young guns again failed to produce while old heads are past it.

What next Liam Sammon has said there won't be a clearout. He's already made his first mistake.

11

MAYO High Point Not being on their knees in front of the entire country this year.

Low Point Galway. As poor as they were against Derry, had they won that opening game chances are they'd have been in the last eight as provincial winners.

What next They're still saturated in talent and now John O'Mahony has gotten comfortable in the Dail, he'll have plenty of time to turn them around and get them back to the last four.

12

ARMAGH High Point As much as they were written off, it still took an illegal goal for Donegal to overcome them.

Low Point Losing to Derry saw the end of a wonderful era as well as the end of Joe and Kieran.

What next Patience. They aren't going to be challenging for a few years but things must remain stable for now as rebuilding work takes place.

13

SLIGO High Point If you missed it, you missed the emotional highpoint of the summer.

Low Point In hindsight they should have been there or thereabouts against Cork.

Losing like that to an average team picked away a little at the gloss.

What next Won't win Connacht again but another last eight appearance . . .

however hard that is to see . . . would constitute another great year.

14

LOUTH High PointWinning in both Kildare and Limerick after an average Leinster campaign.

Low PointThe behaviour of seven panel members who walked away after defeat to Wexford.

What next Firstly, those that walked cannot be brought back. Secondly, as entertaining as the back door has proven to be for them, they now need to make moves in Leinster, get to the last four there and hope for some luck.

15

FERMANAGH High Point Coming back from the worst league campaign in the country to run Tyrone and Meath to a kick of a ball.

Low PointHitting the post in Navan in the dying seconds, signalling the end for Charlie Mulgrew.

What next A decent league is a must if they are to compete in Ulster and regain the heights of a few seasons back.

16

WEXFORD High Point Ciaran Lyng. A brilliant season from a player with huge potential.

Low Point Losing to Fermanagh in an atrocious qualifer.

What next This crop has yet to reach a Leinster final. That has to be their aim although it's getting more and more unlikely with the passing of time.

17

KILDARE High Point A last-four spot in the league that promised a revival in the county's football.

Low Point Pulling out of 50-50 tackles against Meath, turning their back on the play against Louth in the dying moments.

What next If Kieran McGeeney does come in there may be a Roy Keane-style clearout although it's hard to see them winning Leinster in the near future.

18

WESTMEATH High Point Getting back at Longford in the qualifiers.

19

LEITRIM High Point Hanging with cooler kids and looking good.

20

ROSCOMMON High Point League.

Low Point Championship.

21

LONGFORD High Point The way in which they beat Westmeath in the season-opening game will have been cause for many diverted journeys through Mullingar, Moate, Athlonef 22 DOWN High Point As bad a season as they had, they must remember they were only a goal off the team ranked at number four.

Low Point Losing to Longford having held a five-point lead five minutes into the Leinster championship.

What nextNeed to get back to a Leinster semi-final before the energy from '04 completely evaporates.

Low PointHaving taken Donegal to extratime, they needed to cause a huge upset.

They didn't.

What next Look next door to Sligo and realise while it's unlikely, it's possible . . .

especially if they get teams to Carrick.

What next Badly need to get to a Connacht final although it's hard to see them getting many better chances than this year.

Low Point Competed against Laois in a game they might have won.

What next In Brian Kavanagh they have the highest-scoring footballer in Ireland, a man who averaged 7.6 point per game this year. He needs support and a Leinster quarter-final win.

Low Point They were beaten by better teams in the championship but the league campaign was so poor, they gave themselves no chance of a good summer.

What nextGet confidence back. Their All Ireland minor-winning side must be nurtured so they can get out of the basement.

23

CAVAN High Point None.

Low Point Not beating Down in the drawn encounter.

What next Must win a game in Ulster next year although they are getting perilously close to be the worst of the nine.

24

LIMERICK High Point Having the hurlers to watch all summer.

Low Point Allowing Cork to march over them in the Gaelic Grounds.

What nextMust stop the rot, which probably involves Kerry and Cork being on the other side of the Munster draw.

25

OFFALY High Point Having chances to run Dublin even closer than five points.

Low Point The league. Being a Division Four side ended up ruining their season.

What next Chances are the Tommy Murphy Cup will be scrapped, and besides they'll get promoted from Division Four.

Capable of being a top 16 team, especially if the full-forward line can find its 2006 levels.

26

WICKLOW High Point Seeing their fans celebrate not just a win but a trophy in Croke Park. And you thought it would never happen.

Low Point Really should have thrashed Louth in their first meeting but losing that saga did them no harm in the end.

What next If they don't win a game in Leinster next year, 2007 will have been for nothing. Need to reach Division Three as well.

27

ANTRIM High Point The first 69 minutes of the Tommy Murphy final.

Low PointThe last minute of the Tommy Murphy final.

What next If they were in any other province they'd fancy winning a game via a decent draw but in Ulster, unless they come out next to Cavan, it's hard to be hopeful despite their exciting young set of forwards and an exciting young manager.

28

WATERFORD High Point Clare. And how we might have known given John 'Jackson' Kiely's efforts.

Low Point Got their television game against the All Ireland champions and froze. They were never going to beat Kerry but they are a better team than they showed that day.

What next Are now ranked fourth in Munster. They need to keep it that way when they come across Clare or Tipp in the league.

29

CLARE High Point Perhaps Paidi leaving?

Low PointWaterford game and the stories that emerged about the build up.

What next Have to look to the future, although even that is bleak.

30

TIPPERARY High Point As ever, Declan Browne but he must be fed up of hearing that year after year.

Low PointDeclan Browne's intercounty retirement.

What nextNothing to get excited about.

Must aim to top Munster's second tier next year.

31

LONDON High Point Best championship performance in a while and had Dessie Dolan snr looking worried for some time in Ruislip.

Low Point Ending that game with 13.

What nextHope they don't get Galway or Mayo in next year's championship.

32

CARLOW High Point 1944.

Low Point Oh, where to start?

Players not showing up for training.

Managers walking. County board always in a fire-fight. Brendan Murphy going to the Sydney Swans.

Thomas Walsh going to Wicklow.

What next Keep this year's minor team that reached a Leinster final interested and build on that.

33

NEW YORK High Point Their new synthetic pitch.

Low Point Having fewer to play on it given the dwindling numbers of clubs.

What next Shoot the Celtic Tiger.

34

KILKENNY High Point Playing in the Tommy Murphy Cup.

Low Point Living in a hurling dictatorship.

What next Head to Congress with a motion to ban all hurling.




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