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This site is making the over projection of a Derry v Armagh final. I rather literally take it one game at a time, this Saturday could see us out on our ass very handy,

I was listening to Damian Cassidy on Highland Radio and he made the point that Derry are usually terrible in the Championship after winning the D1 league. Loads of examples of first round defeats, the last one being Fermanagh in 2008 after beating Kerry to win the league. Different era's and all, and we've never had a team as consistent as this one but food for thought.

Does Rodgers get the credit he deserves?

He's been immense for Derry the past 3 years.

He has outperformed Glass (and Glass has been good) without getting the same credit always pops up with big scores too.

Glass has probably been better than him this year so far though. Rodgers was quiet enough until the league final but again had  a massive game when it mattered.

He was nominated for player of the year last year. That's plenty of credit. I'd say if you asked most Derry fans after the all Ireland semi, they'd pick Rogers over Glass. Glass has been better this year but definite signs that Rogers is coming into form the past couple of games.

Awful game.
Fermanagh had their chances of goals but either miskicked, took the wrong option or just messed it up.
Armagh deserved winners - but goals aside, they didn't look overly impressive.
Missed a lot of frees. Didnt look fluid, should have scored more points from play given the way Fermanagh just kind of stopped. If I was from Armagh I'd be worried enough.

Jarly Og lucky to stay on the pitch imo.

Goals aside...not impressive (they won by over 10 points)

If you were from Armagh what would you be worried about? Down...seriously? Do you think their "supporters " will stay on beyond half time.. unlike last year.

Derry...of course we'd be worried..they're a top 3 team standing between us and a first Ulster title in nearly 20 years...and they've improved since last year.

Was Jarly's the only bad tackle in the game?

The 2nd half was a draw. Yes the game was already won, but the better sides would just keep going and rack up a cricket score.
For what it's worth, Armagh should beat Down and I've no doubt they'll give who ever they play in Ulster Final a game of it. But for me, they're not yet playing at the level you'd expect of a team with ambitions to win Ulster. It still might come...but against a Fermanagh side that were beaten 20 mins in you'd have expected them to pull away in the 2nd half. That's the worrying bit for Armagh in my view.

I agree with this. Armagh struggled to score points yesterday. It is often useful look at the number of scores for a slightly different analysis and a total of 14 scores isn't a great return against a very limited Fermanagh team. Armagh also got the bounce off the ball yesterday with both Jarly Og's goal and McKay's save. About time we got the rub of the green but no use in saying luck didn't play a part.

Down will be lying in the long grass waiting and ready to ambush Armagh. They are the complete underdog going into this game. They beat Antrim playing rubbish and I'd say they're nicely poised. Unlike Fermanagh, they are on the way up and need this win to get into Sam.

Armagh should win even with a middling performance, but Lavery will not let Down play with the same tactical naïveté as Fermanagh. Down will be stronger in the tackle and if they get the bounce of the ball they can spring a surprise.

I was surprised to hear Ryan McCloskey and others talking up the potential of a shock Fermanagh win this weekend. Thought that was highly unlikely. However, I can't understand why anyone is writing off Down!

People are writing off Down because they were brutal in the league final and not much better v a very depleted Antrim. I can't see them getting within 5 points of Armagh.

He wrote an article the week before the league final saying it would be a success if Derry get within 6 points of this amazing Dublin team. Since then he's made a few comments that it's only the league. Then on his podcast last week he said he'll support those Derry lads no matter what as they are giving everything for the jersey, it's just Mickey Harte he doesn't like, but a few months ago he was saying no Derry player is good enough to start the Dublin team. The quality just isn't there and processed football can only get you so far.

From a football point of view he wants nothing more than Dublin to hammer everyone and he can then somehow link it to Pat Gilroy.

As a Dungiven man I find it very hard to listen to him these days. He is a walking contradiction. He's not stupid and I suppose he is staying relevant as we are talking about him so he's probably achieving what he set out to do.

Some mental gymnastics being employed on this thread when it comes to 'peaking'. It seems that whenever a team wins a few games that it was down to them specifically targeting those games above all others. And when they lose it was down to them timing their 'peak'. All done with the benefit of hindsight or no inside knowledge of their training programmes.

These top county teams are so meticulously prepared now that I don't believe any side has any significant advantage over each other in terms of fitness or S & C programmes. Most of these lads now maintain a very good general level of conditioning all year round. If there are smaller advantages they will be found tactically or in other areas. But the primary advantage will still remain the quality of player available, nothing to do with peaks.       

Yep.
When Dublin beat Derry in celtic park Derry and Mickey Harte had bottled it, and feared Dublin. When they  trounced Tyrone, they were the real deal.
Everything they done was calculated and fluid. They were the masters of the game and everyone else were to be also rans.
They didn't beat Derry and suddenly it was all about the players that were not playing, but nobody will  identify   the players to be replaced.
Dublin will only improve and Derry were playing at their limit.
As in all matters the narrative must suit the bias.

I see Colm Boyle saying that today as well. Derry couldn't beat the dubs at 70%. The week before he tipped the dubs to win comfortably and now he's quoting the players missing. Dublin's biggest fans in the media are often the former Mayo players. I think by bigging up the Dubs it helps build up their team who could never beat them

You men are some craic...you have Derry v Armagh in the final with Derry winning pulling up...

Armagh will be lucky to get out of Brewster Park next weekend and if they're lucky enough to win that they more than likely will play Down who always give Armagh their fill of it and if that match was in Newry i'd not be over confident going there with our record. Derry will have 2 really hard games to get to the final and as much as they're a great team I believe we have seen their full hand over the last while where other teams are not or have not been at full throttle yet or injured players due back. Derry are good but I still put Dublin and Kerry above them come July time and Ulster teams may well catch them on the hop too, they're not as good as everyone is making them out to be...A couple of aging players with some miles in the legs and a great man marker for McGuigan can go a long way to beating them.

Another cliché, showing their hand because they played well. Did Dublin show their hand when they beat Kerry by 10 points. I've heard people say Dublin aren't fully at it yet but the week before people were going to hand them Sam in March. As for aging players, i'd argue our age profile is very good. McKaigue obviously is old but he looks in great form this season. Rogers, McKinless and McFaul around 29 and the rest of the team are all early to mid 20s.

Don't expect Derry to win Ulster, no idea who will tho.

A fully fit Tyrone would have to be in with a shout, they have serious players, think it would be madness for Derry to go full throttle in Ulster if they want to lift Sam.

Can someone tell me how you don't go 'full throttle' for a championship match. The GAA is full of cliché's like this. Does Mickey tell the lads to take it easy vs Donegal in Celtic park? Does he rest key players so they are fit for the group stage in 2 months time?

The chances are Derry won't win Sam, they maybe have a 25% chance with the bookies, so you keep trying to win everything you can in my view. I'd say most Derry fans will be annoyed if they aren't in another Ulster final.

Key moment, bar the very soft penalty, was the Derry lad going for goal from a tight enough angle instead of tapping over and putting them in a probable unassailable 4 point lead.

Agreed. Hear the likes of James O'Donaghue saying if the goals on you have to go for it. No you dont and thats an example of why. Goes for goal from a silly angle instead of taking the simple point and putting Derry 4 points clear. He's only young and he had a brilliant game so hopefully he'll learn

Ryan O'Toole v Tyrone, went for the jugular and won the game for his county at the death. That's the kind of fearless risk we want to see more of?

Not really comparable. Monaghan needed the goal as they were behind. Derry did not.

There is much talk about the better players Dublin have to bring back in.
Fitsimmons , Mc Carthy, Mc Caffrey.
Which is all well and good, but what weak/poor players are being dropped to accommodate them?
When Dublin beat a 2nd team from Tyrone we were told that Dublin had no weak links at all.

Yeah exactly, this was meant to be the new Dublin, the team that beat a full strength Kerry by 10 points.  I don't think Fitzsimmons improves them - a lot of hype last year because Clifford kept hitting wides. McCaffrey isn't a starter or even near it anymore. Cluxton is about 45. McCarthy might start but he wasn't the same player last year as he was in previous years (despite his all star) so remains to be seen how he comes back this year. They are all legends of the game but at some point you have to accept they aren't as good as they once were.

Derry will win ulster and they will win it with a bit to spare

There won't be a kick of a ball in any game between Donegal, Armagh and Derry. Look at the last 2 ulster finals both went to ET. Can maybe say the same about Tyrone depending on what Tyrone shows up.

Should Derry risk injuries and try to win Ulster or opt out to be ready or the big prize ?

You want the top seed. Lose it and you could be in a group with Kerry or Dublin which means a preliminary quarter final is more likely and we all know how those teams struggled last year with games week on week

Watching the D1 final must have been vexing for Armagh fans.

Derry have closed the gap on Dublin and Kerry, by pressing hard and taking control of momentum where possible.

Armagh, with better forwards than Derry, are getting further away each year, seemingly paralysed by a fear of taking a game by the horns and building up leads.

Surely at this stage we can finally agree that Armagh do not have better forwards than Derry. It was an argument 2 years ago but not now.

he's so attacking in everything he does.

Is he really? Most of the time he just takes and gives a handpass. You almost never see him attack the way someone like Rafferty (or even Morgan) does.

Forward kick passing was very good today. He's a goalkeeper, not an outfield player in goals

Small booting mccloskey deserves a ban. Dirty act.

Agree. I still think lynch a potential weakness. Kerry, I think, knew this last year.

Still would fancy Dublin too. Mccaffrey off the bench kills teams and he is a huge miss as much as anyone. Derry will put it up to anyone but a loss in ulster would set them back so they need to navigate that first.

Whelo is right, there'll be serious words in the Dublin camp over that nonsense at the end. Having just lost Fenton, going another man down with a chance of ref playing on was crazy.

Don't understand why so many are clamouring for a square ball. Do people genuinely not know the rule?!

Lynch for me is a bit of a particular worry for Derry going forward. He doesn't look comfortable on the ball out the field when he's under anything resembling pressure. Normally he's just linking play with nobody near him but if there's an opponent close and he has to carry it past someone he looks vulnerable. Flapped badly at the ball coming in that gifted Basquel the goal and then for the equaliser he was in no mans land once the second chance came in.

Dublin will still rightly be favourites and McCarthy in particular will be crucial to have back. If all their big guns are firing, still not sure anyone will live with them but knock one or two of them off their stride and they're simply not the same team at all. Con, dives aside, was largely unseen all day and Kilkenny and Fenton were both very quiet.

Lynch getting a bit of stick but I thought he'd a good game aside from the first goal. I love Lynch, he takes risks all the time, sometimes makes mistakes but it's water off a ducks back and he goes again. His kickouts were brilliant, he's so attacking in everything he does and having watched Derry without him we are a much better team with him.  Scullion did well in his absence but is a more traditional keeper.

Can we assume Dublin defence be much tighter in the championship? Derry could/should have 5 goals..

Can imagine so as they won't be retaining the All Ireland be defending in the manner they have done today. 

Unless there are retirements, the defensive line has McCaffrey, McCarthy, Gannon, Fitzsimons and Cluxton all to return.

Dublin are missing the old guard. In the build up the media said this team would wipe the floor with everyone. Now they are beat they are missing x y or z. McCaffrey isn't a starter now. McCarthy, cluxton and Fitzsimmons maybe but they are old and will they be an improvement and they haven't played a tap all year.