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I seen somewhere that the last 11 times an Ulster county won the all Ireland only one of them won the Ulster championship the following year (Tyrone 2009). I think the last time before that was down in 1962.

Makes you think how hard it was particularly back when it was straight knockout for an Ulster county to reach the all Ireland semi finals compared to the likes of Kerry who could have beat Waterford and limerick to reach it.

We might poke fun at Derrys demise at senior level but what the he'll are they doing at underage level absolute conveyor belt of top class teams. Big win again tonight.

Derry have to be one of the most successful counties in Ireland in recent times at underage and school level. But it must be head scratching for Derry folk why that can't seem to carry into the senior team. Especially when you look at other Ulster counties like Donegal, Armagh and Monaghan who haven't been as successful at underage level but more successful at senior.

Derry have won 2 of 4 (including 2025 which we can't win) Ulster Championships and a National Football League.
Armagh haven't won Ulster since 2008, and Monaghan since 2015.
Armagh have the All-Ireland, Donegal have an Ulster Championship in the same timeframe.
Armagh fans would I imagine take their All Ireland ahead of all Derry's wins and Donegal fans are certainly more optimistic of the future.
But between the three counties you mention Derry could be considered the most successful over the recent period so I am not sure it makes your argument that underage success "can't seem to carry into the senior team".

In fairness I maybe didn't word it right but I wasn't claiming Derry were less successful than those 3 counties, I meant those counties have been more successful at senior level than youth level. While Derry have been very strong at youth level but haven't matched that success at senior.

[not running to Saudi just for the money.]

Good to see players with something to offer still wanting to do it on the big stage and not running to Saudi just for the money.

I'm sure he'll be well looked after by Liverpool all the same but overall I'd be very surprised if he's not down considerable money. Fair play to Liverpool too for not panic signing stupid deals (if that's in-fact what they've done) just because of all the media noise.

He's on £480,000 a week... some sacrifice not running off the Saudi   

He's out of contract. With a signing on bonus, wages and no taxes I'd say whatever offer he got in Saudi would dwarf that.

 It's still roughly a £50m contract of course but it's over 2 years and he's a proven player. Gives Liverpool some breathing room to find a replacement. You don't want to be handing out too many of those type of contracts, a very dangerous long term strategy. But in the overall context he's an exception and has probably earned it.

We live in different worlds if you think a footballer has 'earned' £480,000 a week and would be justified in leaving to get more money. It's obscene.
How would you even begin to spend that extra money he'd get?

People here love to throw the boot in at soccer players about wages. Do you know how many of the top 100 paid sportsmen in the world are soccer players? Just 12.

36 are basketballers, 22 are NFL, and 11 of the top 100 are b loody baseball players. Rory McIlroy makes a more lucrative living than any Premier League player. And nobody mentions any of them being overpaid.

They're all overpaid.. it's this narrative that he didn't take a more lucrative offer... and players on that sort of money negotiating for pay rises 

Of course it's obscene but that's the type of money in the game. If it doesn't go to players, who should it go to? At least they put their bodies on the line and pay taxes. If the clubs kept the bulk of it, it would just be siphoned offshore someway.

In a perfect world it should filter down to grassroots, local communities and to player welfare and education for the ones who don't make it, but we don't live in a perfect world.

Good to see players with something to offer still wanting to do it on the big stage and not running to Saudi just for the money.

I'm sure he'll be well looked after by Liverpool all the same but overall I'd be very surprised if he's not down considerable money. Fair play to Liverpool too for not panic signing stupid deals (if that's in-fact what they've done) just because of all the media noise.

He's on £480,000 a week... some sacrifice not running off the Saudi   

He's out of contract. With a signing on bonus, wages and no taxes I'd say whatever offer he got in Saudi would dwarf that.

 It's still roughly a £50m contract of course but it's over 2 years and he's a proven player. Gives Liverpool some breathing room to find a replacement. You don't want to be handing out too many of those type of contracts, a very dangerous long term strategy. But in the overall context he's an exception and has probably earned it.

We live in different worlds if you think a footballer has 'earned' £480,000 a week and would be justified in leaving to get more money. It's obscene.
How would you even begin to spend that extra money he'd get?

I always laugh when people make these comments about footballers being paid too much. Are those same people suggesting that extra money would be more deserving in the clubs billionaire owners pocket? 

We might poke fun at Derrys demise at senior level but what the he'll are they doing at underage level absolute conveyor belt of top class teams. Big win again tonight.

Derry have to be one of the most successful counties in Ireland in recent times at underage and school level. But it must be head scratching for Derry folk why that can't seem to carry into the senior team. Especially when you look at other Ulster counties like Donegal, Armagh and Monaghan who haven't been as successful at underage level but more successful at senior.

That success at minor level is only very recent. It's not too long ago we went about 12 seasons without winning a match at minor level.

I know their all Ireland minor titles have been fairly recent but have won 3 of the last 5. They've won 5 of the last 10 Ulster minor championships and Derry schools have won 7 of the last 12 mac Rory cups. When you also take into account their successful club teams during that period it surely asks the question.

superb result for them last night. Cant see why they don't go on to win it now

Certainly have a good chance but the likes of PSG, Barca and Inter might have something to say.

There is no hope unfortunately, up again the All-Ireland champions game likely be over before halftime. Still think Armagh stronger than Donegal at the minute.

While I do believe Armagh will be right up there come the business end of the season but find it astonishing how you'd think Donegal don't

Armagh had a man send off, its game over under the existing rules, Donegal were at home. I seen Donegal last week and Armagh a few weeks b4 that. I think Armagh got the stronger panel.

When you seen Donegal last week was that the first time you watched them this year? Was that Armagh game you seen a few weeks back when they beat a 14 man Derry who were already relegated? Or the game before that when they lost to mayo?

We might poke fun at Derrys demise at senior level but what the he'll are they doing at underage level absolute conveyor belt of top class teams. Big win again tonight.

Derry have to be one of the most successful counties in Ireland in recent times at underage and school level. But it must be head scratching for Derry folk why that can't seem to carry into the senior team. Especially when you look at other Ulster counties like Donegal, Armagh and Monaghan who haven't been as successful at underage level but more successful at senior.

How much would it take to take the seniors away to Portugal?  50k at least..... What did we We build a center of excellence for?

How much would it take to take the seniors away to Portugal?  50k at least..... What did we We build a center of excellence for?

Why do people book to go on holidays to Portugal or Spain for a week when they could just head up to Garvaghy for the week instead.

All joking,banter, poor mouthing aside. It's the worst Liverpool team to ever win a league title in lowest quality Premier league season ever.

Potentially the worst team to win a league since Leeds in 1992.

It's mad that the current richest and biggest league in the world with 3 recent champions league winners and filled with world class players has just all of a sudden become low quality.

Some people might say Leicester or Blackburn won it was poor quality. Or some might think it was when united dominated it when the Spanish and Italian leagues were seen as superior leagues. But no when the most successful club in the country win it when's its the biggest and richest league in the world then it's clearly because the quality must be poor.

All joking,banter, poor mouthing aside. It's the worst Liverpool team to ever win a league title in lowest quality Premier league season ever.

Have to love the fume from the likes of yourself. The 6th place team are competing for the champions league, the 2 favourites for the Europa league are both in the bottom half. But apparently the quality is shite and was far better in the early 00s when united or Arsenal would win a title with around 80 points and weren't able to compete for the champions league against Italian or Spanish teams.

Why is it that when city won 4 leagues in a row the quality of the league wasn't questioned. But when Liverpool win its because the quality of the league is poor?

Donegal have a formidable look about them but Derry have been disappointing. RG had the midas touch with the Derry lads and he gaz not been adequately replaced.

Despite what the media would lead you to believe they were actually a great watch under RG.

Scored some great counter attacking scores

If you aren't a Kerry or Dublin and you don't have an elite manager then you may forget about it. As Cahair said in article  in IN during week it's more important than any underage success.

Kerry have won 1 all Ireland in the last 10 years. The only one they won was when coached by paddy tally. Harte and Tally brought Tyrone their first all Ireland and Harte ended up winning 3 with them. If that doesn't qualify them as elite then I'd love to know what would.

Harte left that Derry team totally clueless and demorilised; bless him! .. to think two years ago they were All Ireland material.

People talk as if Derry were the best team in the country before Harte took over. They haven't got further than a semi final since 1993. Harte took over and won them their first national title in 16 years.

Which is more plausible? The last 2 managers who have won multiple all Irelands and been successful with several other counties are the reason stopping Derry winning Sam or would it be that Derry just aren't as good as the Derry natives think?

I wonder if Poacher was being paid per game would he have made the same decision. He probably thought if he played a weakened team and got hammered it may look bad on him and effect his chances of getting a better job after Leitrim. There's a reason he can't get a job in Ulster, the bookmakers in Leitrim would understand.

in any other year fianna would walk div2 but they've the rahillys and eglish maybe moy to contend with
will be interesting at top of div2 this season

Would they have walked it vs clonoe in 2023? Or in 2022 when Galbally, Eglish, edendork and Pomeroy were there? Trillick and Dungannon struggled to get promoted before going on to win the O'neill cup. Many people seem to underestimate how competitive division 2 is. I wouldn't be surprised if both Coalisland and clonoe will still be playing intermediate football next year. And with their youth teams playing grade 2/3 football they could be at that level for a while.

Chatting to a lad there, says there's a lot of good things going on in Augher at the minute, alot of new sturctures being put in place at youth level, so keep an eye out for Augher in the next few years, think if they can out of the depths of hell in Junior they can really push on.

Ok Fabrizo.. Second post and its on the Tyrone board while your first being on the Antrim board. Clearly unaware of the recent happenings in Augher lol. Mckenna (the prince of Augher) a club he dragged to win a few championships has left his club years ago due to the amalgamation of primary schools targeting protestants to join. Now McKenna hopes and begs people to forget his success as he would much rather be known as Donaghmore man than an Augher man. So i suggest you go and find a different county & club to write about. Bullsh!t nonsense has taken this board by storm, really hope the moderators of this board can find away to minimise this sh1t.

This is coming from a man who pretended to be a stewartstown man when he first started posting then switched to clonoe before being outed as a Donaghmore man. I'm sure McKenna is begging for people to forget about those championship medals he won as he hates being the only man in Donaghmore that's won something. Luckily the other side of the parish aren't allergic to winning trophies. One has already done it but it will be interesting to see how many more of those youth county players in Donaghmore over the next few years will transfer to Galbally or Dungannon for a chance to win something.