Longford Football (& Hurling) Thread

[North Longford]

I suppose seeing as I was at the game I may as well comment.
The game in general was very poor in my opinion. Longford were that bad it was hard to believe. At least half of the Fermanagh first half scores came from a Longford player giving away possession in his own half including the goal in the first minute.
There was no life to the team whatsoever.
The amazing thing was 1 that they were only 3 points down at half time and 2 that they had gotten back to a point with only a minute to go considering they had played nearly 20 minutes with 13 (they actually played better with 13 than 15!! which was still shite).
The 2 sendings off were deserved and were the height of stupidity particularly the second one.
On a individual basis I'll just comment on a few.
Dermot brady was behind his man from start to finish and I don't think won a single ball on his man.
Declan Reilly is completed wasted at corner back and I thought didn't look interested yesterday although he was down injured for a couple of minutes early on which might have contributed.
Arthur 'OConnor isnt good enough to be an intercounty CHB
Liam Keenan was mostly very poor although improved a bit as the game went on.
Paddy Dowd was attrocious from beginning to end. Playing CHF he managed to pass the ball directly to a Fermanagh man for a point on his own 21 early in the game and gradually got worse from there
David Barden looked far more like scoring (which he did twice) as a half back than a half forward
Declan Farrell just won't score enough despite how hard he works. Kicked a couple of poor efforts and then to avoid shooting (which was probably the right thing to do the way things were going) was passing what looked like nothing balls to fella's standing beside him. There did actually come 2 points of some of these passes but a lad with any confidence at all would probably kick the ball over the bar himself.
Francis McGee has this role going out the field when he's made his name at the edge of the square. He doesn't work hard enough or win enough loose ball to do this and his undoubted threat closer to the goals is lost.
Paul Barden was almost non existent.
Brain Kavanagh worked very hard but was mostly being marked by 2 players and needs more help.

And then to the incident that just turned me off the game completely.
I nor no one beside me could understand why Enda Farrell was taken off after 15 minutes. He wasn't even in the top 10 worst players on the Longford team at that point. He had 2 minutes earlier dropped a ball he was reversing back under and it just looked like it was any excuse to get him off. If ever a lads confidence is going to be destroyed then Demsey et al are going about it the right.

Anyway as Mr. Pain on the Cavan page says...................rant over!

[Shamrock Shore]

Jazes

Not even a crumb of comfort can be detected from you NL.

I am off to Newry on Sat week for the game v Down. Not travelling in confidence now.

Were all the players hungover from the hooley in Cashel (Martin Skelly new Leinster vice chair)

[North Longford]

The only crumb is that they were only beaten by a goal playing brutally. The performance was about 25% of the Dublin one. But I suppose how fermanagh do in subsequent games will tell a lot.
Don't know what sort of traiing they are doing but so many of them just looked dead on their feet from early on. Just grasping at straws with that one i think.

[North Longford]

Any sign of a team for tomorrow......or have we 15 available.
My sadistic 5 year old wants to go (and bring his 3 year old brother)!!!..............thinking of ironing all me clothes instead before standing out the back of the house naked for a couple of hours just to feel what a real March wind is all about.
Anyway don't hold much hope. I see Benny is back. One of our giant corner backs in for a long 70 minutes.

[LaurelEye]

Any sign of a team for tomorrow......or have we 15 available.
My sadistic 5 year old wants to go (and bring his 3 year old brother)!!!..............thinking of ironing all me clothes instead before standing out the back of the house naked for a couple of hours just to feel what a real March wind is all about.

Too late to follow our county stars' leads and get a ticket out to warmer climes?

Anyway don't hold much hope. I see Benny is back. One of our giant corner backs in for a long 70 minutes.

No word yet that I can see. Luke fluting on on the radio yesterday about the great fighting spirit they had in the Fermanagh game - dunno if he meant Masterson and Mulligan 

[Billys Boots]

I hope, and intend, to be about a thousand miles away by the time this disaster ensues, though I'd appreciate if one of ye could text me the result please.

[Mhic Easmuint]

Full details and you your ticket online at: http://antrim.gaa.ie/saffron-sweep-2008/

Feel free to ask questions on the main thread.

[North Longford]

Vandalism in Ballinalee
I see someone has gone to great efforts to remove some fantastic signage from high up a tree on the Longford road out of Bal.
The said signage was an offering a wholehearteded good luck to the Colmcille GAA club for the forthcoming championship from one of its neighbouring clubs but amazingly said signage is now no longer in situ.
I don't know what the world is coming too when such gestures of peace and friendship just can't be left where they're put
I suppose it's a reflection on the youth of today

[LaurelEye]

Vandalism in Ballinalee
I see someone has gone to great efforts to remove some fantastic signage from high up a tree on the Longford road out of Bal.
The said signage was an offering a wholehearteded good luck to the Colmcille GAA club for the forthcoming championship from one of its neighbouring clubs but amazingly said signage is now no longer in situ.
I don't know what the world is coming too when such gestures of peace and friendship just can't be left where they're put
I suppose it's a reflection on the youth of today

Boo. Hiss.

Perhaps they took it down in case anyone got any ideas about the first round of this year's Championship

[Shamrock Shore]

Well.

That's that then.

The knives are being sharpened.

Glad I didn't travel. Auld Shamrock said Longford today were a joke - and a bad one at that.

Will someone please think of the children.

[pedro]

Well.

That's that then.

The knives are being sharpened.

Glad I didn't travel. Auld Shamrock said Longford today were a joke - and a bad one at that.

Will someone please think of the children.

Was thinking that myself SS. From the body language and attitude from the players I guess that Dempsey ha stayed a year or two too long?

[LaurelEye]

Well.

That's that then.

The knives are being sharpened.

Glad I didn't travel. Auld Shamrock said Longford today were a joke - and a bad one at that.

Will someone please think of the children.

Was thinking that myself SS. From the body language and attitude from the players I guess that Dempsey ha stayed a year or two too long?

Hmm.

I remember being told two years ago by one current player that Dempsey was "the worst manager that [he]'d ever encountered at club or county level" (and that would have included one or two right doozies). I was told this after one or two catastrophic League performances (Ballyshannon being the nadir). But then there was a transformation for the Championship game against Dublin, and although it would have been touch-and-go in that match's immediate aftermath, things were kept going on the qualifier run all the way to Killarney, and Dempsey (along with Rowley) was safe for the following year.

Last year, the League form was mediocre (only avoiding Division 4 on the last day of the League). However, we had the win over Westmeath in Pearse Park and a match in Portlaoise that we should have won but didn't. The warning signs were on display by the time of the Westmeath rematch in Cusack Park and Rowley's departure in its wake. There were definitely no signs of life from the team on that day and it was embarrassing to stand on the terrace looking at it.  The outgoing County Executive, though, managed to fix things to get Dempsey reappointed for this year, without having any discussion among the clubs.

This year has gone from a narrow defeat in the O'Byrne Cup final all the way down to yesterday's shambles. Dempsey should definitely be given the pearl-handled revolver (or its Carrickedmond equivalent) and told to do the decent thing ASAP. I do not want to hear him on the radio again moaning about how tough Division 3 is or the injustice of the Cooper Cup (a topic some of us warned about at the time). I don't want to hear anything further about him in connection with Longford, full stop. Let him build his media career elsewhere and at someone else's expense. Let somebody else - from within the county - try and turn this thing round enough in the next couple of weeks to save us from utter damnation.

Having said that, a good many of our county panellists need to take a good, long, hard look at themselves. Too many seem to be coasting on their 2006 reputations. There were a few brave attempts yesterday - I heard the names McDonnell, Reilly and Mulligan being mentioned favourably - but a lot of them don't seem to be trying very hard.

[Shamrock Shore]

The situation is probably beyond repair at the moment. I cannot see anything but 0 points in the last two games.

Agree totally with Laurel's views. However I cannot think of a man within the county to take over the reigns. Anyone in mind or is it a case of ABL?

[LaurelEye]

The situation is probably beyond repair at the moment. I cannot see anything but 0 points in the last two games.

Agree totally with Laurel's views. However I cannot think of a man within the county to take over the reigns. Anyone in mind or is it a case of ABL?

Offhand:

Declan Rowley to return (he seemed to be the work end of last year's management team, as opposed to the hot air and radio end)
Seán Hagan (Dromard - await sharp intake of breath from Billy and NL, but he has won a Co Championship with Kiltubrid in Leitrim)
Ciarán Fox (Seán Connollys - brought an unfancied and unremarkable team to the brink of a Senior final last year)

Else we're left with Eugene McCormack and Martin Skelly (presuming he can spare the time from organising the Longford Rose of Tralee ).

Wouldn't see any of the above as being long-term solutions, at least for the moment - but we need something short-term (certainly before the Sligo match) before the thing disintegrates altogether.

[AZOffaly]

It's said that if Larry Cunningham plays The Londford Weaver on the ancient ivory trumpet of Londfordia, a hero will ride in on a trusty white steed and save the day.

Eugene McGee anyone??