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I'd say Paddy is suffering from the same thing that most GAA followers suffer at this time of year - there is so little happening that you're stuck for conversation points.

The quality of his column has dwindled a bit over the years, but that's the nature of the beast. When he started writing Against the Breeze, to fill in the quieter weeks he could call upon a wealth of general GAA topics and ideas that he had stockpiled over the years. Those quieter weeks produced many of his best articles as they were ideas that were probably fermenting for months.

But a stockpile like that is always going to dry up at some stage. If you've no stockpile and very few topical issues worth discussing, it's going to be to difficult to write a interesting column. Yet Heaney still does much better than most in this regard.

Let's not forget that the Ulster intercounty scene is hardly bursting with personalities to explore, and that players and managers at that level are more than likely to close up shop if a rigorous examination of their weaknesses or faults is undertaken. As the Irish News relies on strong relations with players and managers to sell papers on the back of their GAA coverage, controversy of this nature I'd say is avoided at all costs.  

Star Spnagler - I wouldn't be so sure about your Omagh roads theory. One of the longest trips I've ever had home from a game was from Healy Park in 2005, and there was only 16k at that game. Clones gets a lot of stick for its roads, but it also holds crowds twice the size of anywhere else in Ulster bar Casement. This doesn't mean it could handle a 50% hike in attendance by any means though.

I'm 100% behind any move to get the Ulster Final back to Clones and keep it there. I'd also love to see money being ploughed in to put a cover over the terraced stands. But I really don't want another 15,000 people travelling in and out of this town on match days.

6th Sam - I'm a big fan of the play-off system.

It's occasionally cruel on teams who deserved to stay up/go up on league performances, but I've always been of the opinion that if, for example, you aren't fit to come out on top against the 3 other best teams in Division II, well then you aren't fit for Division I and in fact would only bring the standard down if you went up.

The normal league system puts an order on things, but it's the play-offs that really sort the wheat from the chaff. Everybody wants the reward of promotion, but in my opinion teams are better off playing at their natural level.

Secondly, it does keep things interesting right up to the end of the league. In Division II, only Ballymartin had nothing to play for in the last fortnight, and at that they still pulled off a great result in beating Downpatrick. If teams have nothing to play for, the league falls apart. Teams don't show, and when they do show, they've nothing to play for, so games turn into poor challenge games. Without play-offs, a team could quite conceivably be midtable all season, but with the luck of the draw could meet six teams in their last six games with nothing to play for, and storm to the top as a result. This doesn't make them the best team in the league. It doesn't make them deserving of promotion.

Thirdly, there is simply no way Down football could ever function properly again without play-offs. Teams have now got used to fielding without their county players and are prepared to do so in the knowledge that they will not be penalised too heavily for doing so. To reverse this commonsense approach, which allows club football to proceed amicably throughout the summer months, would be sheer madness.


Re the Championship. Let's be honest - in any given year, there are less than a handful of clubs in each of the Championships that can actually win the thing. This is just common sense talking. Don't get me wrong, as it approaches, everyone gets pumped up for the Championship and minds start to wander towards throughts of glory -  but for the majority of clubs, it is only a distraction, and deep down (in many cases, very much up front) they know it's just not going to be their year. This isn't county football, where the league is pigeonholed into the shitty weather months. League football is played on summer's days and for most clubs, improving league peformances is what really counts.

1. Why your user name - One of my longstanding nicknames.
2. Favourite all time game - Not too original here, Down vs Derry 1994.
3. Favourite all time player from your county - Greg Blaney, with Barry Breen a close second.
4. Favourite other poster on gaaboard.com. - I'd have a lot of time for the Down hardcore. Outside my own county, I'd rather read stuff from people who can tend to look at the bigger picture. The likes of Hardy, Uladh and BCB1 spring to mind. O'Neill too, when he's not winding.  
5. Things you'd like to see change on the site. - Not a lot to be honest. I've no time for things like the Word Association Thread, but that's a small bugbear.
6. Player from another county you admire. - Currently it would be Brian McGuigan. In the past, Ja Fallon and Anthony Tohill.
7. Dual players. Should they be allowed do both (why/ why not) - I'd worry about the sanity of anyone who tries to take both seriously. The best years of your life shouldn't be spent entirely running up and down fields.
8. Dublin Hurling, IS there hope? *question for dubs - To be honest, I don't care.
9. Best Moment of the year? - Beating An Riocht in the play-offs (club stuff)
10. Worst moment of the year? - Sligo. Possibly the worst moment ever in Down GAA.
11. Breasts or bum? - Depends on how it fits on the full package.
12. Breaking ball or park live? - Breaking Ball
13. (Situation) Cork v Meath (if from Meath Cavan V Dublin) in an All-ireland final. You have to shout for one or your head will explode. What do you do? *question for dubs - Meath. Their team of the late 80s was inspiring.
14. DJ Or Eoin Kelly  - Eoin Kelly.
15. What  your own county needs to do to win Sam next year? - A centre-half back, a midfielder, a settled team and a hefty dose of tactical appreciation.
16. How do you stop (legally, Meath lads) Kieran Donaghy - Destroy Kerry at midfield and cut off the supply. If you do this, it would take a hell of a confident manager to leave Donaghy in the full-forward line.
17. Hopes for 2007. - I'd like to see Down play at Croke Park in the Championship again.
18. Who will win Sam in 2007. - Only Kerry and Tyrone will count.
19. Who will win Liam in 2007. - It's Cork's turn.
20. Your Gaaboard resolution for 2007. - Take things a little less seriously. Humour and all that.

1) Hypocrisy
2) Political correctness
3) People who get 'caught' in box junctions
4) Lidl
5) Rip off Ireland
6) People buying houses as investments
7) GAA zealots
8) Cyclists who feel the highway code does not apply to them
9) Radio 1 (UK)
10) Peppers - red, green and yellow.

Brick, I don't get that attitude at all. If players have attended trials, they should be the first to know whether they made it or not. Especially fellas that were asked to come back for second or third trials. Either that or a press release should be sent out before anyone is notified. Nobody should find out they have been dropped through rumours on the grapevine.

Re Mullingar, I went down there for the under-21 final last year and was impressed with the place. It's the perfect size for a county ground, with an ample stand, and the spectators are right on top of the pitch. 

Mullingar. About 2 hrs from Newry. Maybe less with a good run.

I was wondering when this would finally make it's way to the new board.

I understand that this is meant to taken light-heartedly, but still:

1) Extremes will always exist. But they are narrowing.
2) Ryan-er.
3) In both cases, it means more to the fans than the players.
4) How many GAA fans does it take to change a lightbulb? One, but 30,000 to follow him onto the pitch.
5) The first part may still be true, but the second is fading to memory at a rate of knots
6) But Dennis Wise would kick him repeatedly in the ankles.
7) I'll give you this one. But as shirt numbers and positions no longer correlate in GAA, we both bow down to rugby.
8 ) We shouldn't laugh at a sport that applies sensible rules on equipment.
9) Yes, that's why the 16 first round provincial ties are all played on the one weekend.
10) UCD anyone?
11) No segregation, but a stong anti-ulster current
12) One swallow doesn't make a summer.
13) TG4 Gold for you my friend.
14) There are atrocious matches to watch in both codes.
15) If Cora Staunton passed me on the street I wouldn't know her. Or any other Ladies GAA player for that matter. And I'd like to think of myself as a reasonably knowledgeable Gael.
16) There are mascots, ballboys and ballgirls at every single premiership game.
17) Alan Green.
18) If a spectator ever jumped a ref in soccer, I'd like to think the crowd would hammer the shite out him.
19) Brian McGuigan tripped over Greg McCartan's leg when his team were gettig destroyed. Tyrone won the All-Ireland.
20) People always want more GAA. Until  they watch play-off games in December and wonder why they bother.
21) GAA players retire, play a bit of junior, then go and screw their neighbouring clubs for imparting their knowledge of the game in a managerial position.
22) Rural England is really quite similar. you don't find big championship matches in either.
23) Most players would rather get back to their own club or town drink with their own for all that.
24) Any big stadium anywhere in the world when your team is playing in a big game.
25) Finally, we come to one truism.  Long may it continue.

GY - Kerr didn't play down there. On our patch he didn't touch the ball in the first half (not his fault, we ruined them at midfield), but he scored four from play in the second half. From what i saw that day he's very quick with the ball in hand and runs good angles.

You really can't please GAA fans. Mickey Harte has built a tactical system previously unseen in Gaelic Games. He had a look at the players at his disposal and built a system that got the absolute best out of them. He has since tweaked, modfified and improved the original plan, sometimes to get more out of it, other times to adjust to the changes in his panel. When put in place, this system at worst it is effective. At it's best it is nothing short of sublime. It has played a huge part in delivering two All-Irelands to a county that previously had none, a county renonwned for choking. Some of the football Tyrone played in those triumphs was nothing short of exceptional.

Yet Fuzzman wants to throw it out the window and go back to lumping the ball blindly forward. I do despair.

great man? great player maybe.

To be honest, I'd rather Liatroim won. Annaclone are a right enough side, and would surely be in contention to go straight back up, but with their main men available Liatroim would be capable of going unbeaten in Division II. The second tier is going to be competitive enough next year without having 11 sides vying for second place only.

I'd favour leagues of 10 teams myself GY, with 4 teams making the promotion and relegation play-offs in each division. Aside from tightening up the standards, this would give every team something to play for in every game. It would help relieve fixture congestion too. Some clubs would have an issue with lost revenue from losing 2 home games from their calendar, but as 80% of the clubs would be involved in play-offs at the end of the season, which always attract bigger crowds than normal games, some arrangement could be made between the competing clubs and the host club for splitting the gate money at play-offs games - which should more than compensate.

Any team actually progressing through the leagues under this system should be fit for the next tier, as they'll have to be able to beat teams of a similar standard to the higher tier just to get there.

Once you get past Division III, another arrangement would have to be put in place to sort out the uneven (and occasionally variable) number of teams left. I would suggest splitting Division IV into two sections, as close as possible to geographical lines to cut down on travelling times. The top two teams in each section would meet each other in round-robin Division IV promotion play-offs, with the top two sides then progressing into Division III. Every year, the two sections of Division IV would require a slight reshuffle depending on what part of the county the relegated teams come from. As both sections carry an equal weight, it really just would come down to geography. Complaints about the strength of one section compared to the other are neutered by the fact that the two best sides overall progress to Division III.

Based on league position this year, that would give us divisions something along the lines of:

Div 1: Kilcoo, Longstone, Mayobridge, Burren, Clonduff, Loughinisland, Rostrevor, Castlewellan, Bryansford, Liatroim.
Div 2: Annaclone, Shamrocks, An Riocht, Warrenpoint, Atticall, Ballyholland, Saval, Downpatrick, Ballymartin, Glassdrumman.
Div 3: Kilclief, Carryduff, Saul, Glenn, Darragh Cross, Clann na Banna, Drumgath, Ardglass, Tullylish, Dundrum. 
Div 4 North: Teconnaught, Bright, Drumaness, Bredagh, St Paul's, Ballykinlar, Killyleagh
Div 4 South: Mitchels, Bosco, Aghaderg, St Michael's, St John's, Dromara, Aughlisnafin

Bensars, sorry I thought the title of this thread was "most naturally talented", not players who made it to the top through hard work and effort. If that makes me come across as a self appointed know it all, so be it.

The most naturally talented players I've seen have all been mentioned on this thread. In no particular order: Ja Fallon, Kieran McDonald, Colm Cooper, Maurice Fitzgerald, Peter Canavan, Greg Blaney, Brian McGuigan, James McCartan, Diarmuid Marsden, Padraig Joyce, Oisin McConville, Eamon O'Hara, Colm O'Rourke, Larry Tompkins, Martin McHugh, Pat Spillane, Michael Donnellan.

Other players who made me go 'wow', but I wouldn't quite put in the league of those above include Greg McCartan, Anthony Tohill, Mickey Linden, Trevor Giles, Darragh O Se, Ray McCarron, Tommy Dowd, Ger Houlihan, Joe Brolly, Tony Boyle, Bernie Flynn, Paddy Bradley, Dessie Dolan, Declan Brown, Mattie Forde, Raymie Gallagher, Dermot McCabe,  Sean Cavanagh.

Don't mean to speak ill of the dead Bensars, but what McAnallen achieved in the game was testimony to hard work, intelligence and application, and not natural talent. To even mention him in the same thread as players like Canavan or Blaney is wrong.

And quite where you plucked Seamus Downey out of, I just don't know.