Messages

Previous to that, Derry's shooting was brutal. How many did they kick into the keeper's hands? It's shocking at that level. Do they not do shooting at training? - doesn't look like it from today's show.

It was a trait of Mickey's Tyrone teams in the last few years, so many shots dropping short. And interesting too after the 2021 AI Tyrone players saying they now had a freedom to shoot and weren't inhibited as they had been previously. Micro management isn't a good thing.

People saying again Tyrone folk are ungrateful to Mickey. I'm hugely grateful to him for his immense contribution to Tyrone GAA. That doesn't mean he's free from scrutiny. He stayed on a few years too long and ultimately held Tyrone back. As for Louth, that was a good gig for both parties. An underachieving county got a big name figurehead to get behind and he made some notable gains but handy gains, they were potentially much better than their initial situation suggested. The big task was going to be keeping it going and trying to progress further when they got to something like their natural level. Didn't really get to see that properly with Mickey.

Said a few times that Mickey in his last decade with Tyrone struggled to get the right attacking balance and to win big games. In that respect it was an interesting appointment for a Derry team trying to get the balance between attack and defence right and to win big games. It became even more interesting when McGuinness went back to Donegal then got that win over Derry, given McGuinness basically broke Mickey the previous decade. Lots of questions with the appointment and still waiting for conclusive answers.

Tyrone should have had that won much earlier but it was impressive that they didn't let the missed opportunities then Kerry's late mini revival get to them. Kept the heads and finished the job. McElhom rightfully getting lots of plaudits but so many excellent players in that team. Plenty hope for Tyrone football for the next few years.

Neither of teams deserve to win.

The very least thing anyone should do sport is try to win.

Neither team tried to win that game.

Sport ruining c***ts, one and all.

That's a bizarre take. Both teams knackered.

Sorry to tell you fella, but if you think there's any glory gained from what happened in the last 10 mins of normal time, or in part of extra time, then you're institutionalised.

Sorry to tell you fella,  if you didn't think that was a high quality exciting game of football maybe you should consider a different pastime

It was exciting due to it being close but it wasn't high quality. Armagh must have been 20+ minutes without scoring before full time and into extra time? Then after getting another shot and building a wee lead still couldn't get over the line. Donegal looked scared to take shots on at times when the game was there for them. After the high of the Derry game they haven't got back to the same level. But fair play to them, an Ulster title nobody would have expected not so long ago. But high quality, far from it.

Never a free there

Incredible dive, throwback to South American soccer teams in the 80s

Think Tyrone will take a fair bit out of that despite the defeat, far better performance and didn't disappear out of the game as it went on as they have been. Great experience for the younger lads and plenty to build on for the weeks ahead.

Congratulations to Donegal. I'd expect them to win Ulster.

[Hard to plan for every single player to get a black card, of all the ones to get one Hampsey probably be the most damaging (Mattie too).]

No issue with players being blooded, transition years, need to gain experience...all that stuff....fine...

But surely you should be able to see a plan, a system, some kind of tactics beyond the basic, something to give these players a structure to develop in ...

What does that even mean? Lost their way when Hampsey went off on the black card... need to look at that. They were the much better side.

What that means is exactly what it says. It's great to see new players get brought in and given a meaningful taste of league and championship.

There is also a lot of talent there, which means we can go on scoring sprees and look fantastic for periods. All good. So the raw ingredients are there.

What is not evident is a system or structured gameplay to compete with Dublin/Kerry/Derry (and McGuiness back means Donegal are also a much diffeent prospect).

There is zero consistency in the team, from quarter to quarter, never mind game to game.

Maybe I just dont see/understand the current tactics as well as others and I would be delighted to be proved wrong.

Nah you've still lost me. Maybe I'm not up to speed with gameplans. You mention Derry, they were a shambles at the weekend. Kerry scraped past Cork. I've must have a simpler outlook. Tyrone went away from home and beat a side just beat Monaghan. Things went badly awry on the black card and need to look at why. Sitting in Breffini Park yesterday wat I saw was Tyrone were the much better team and when it was 15 v 15 Cavan wouldn't have won if we were there to next Tuesday. Next up... Donegal.

You don't think going a man down and how to cope with it is an element that the management should have dealt with in training? I would be asking serious questions about why we opened up so quickly during those 10 mins. That re-organisation lies with management imo.

Def needs reviewed: they know that. Hard to plan for every single player to get a black card, of all the ones to get one Hampsey probably be the most damaging (Mattie too). I see the glass half full not half empty: 9 players made championship debut. When it went back to 15 v 15 was never in doubt. To go to Cavan and be hauled back like that and win showed great character.
Maybe I don't have your expectations of a team in transition. Reality check: They won't be beating Kerry or Dublin no more than Derry or Donegal will...
 

a club team management would have that angle covered. A black card happens regular in games so it needs to be handled irrespective of who the player carded is.....basic stuff for all teams. Delegation, planning and proper instruction sorts that out easily

I am like yourself and try to take the positives from it (9 debutants, great first 30 minutes) but how can we let a black card derail us is concerning. The real positive was that most of them debutants were on the pitch in the crucial closing stages of ET when the game was in the melting pot.

Hard to know what to expect next week....if we deliver then we could win but it is the total inconsistency that is our problem - we don't know what is happening from one half to the next never mind one game to the next.

I think your over-cooking what managers can do. The problem wasn't so much the blackcard was that the player who got it had such a huge influence on the game up to then.
Derry on Saturday was a complete mess, a few weeks ago Harte being hailed as a genius.
We'll see what happens...I've more faith in the management than you obviously..
 

There is a limit to what management can do without doubt but setting up a team in a coherent fashion with a clear plan isn't too much to expect. We haven't had that the last two years, the team has been a disjointed mess. The management team basically got a free pass for that because of 2021 and that was fair enough. Once they decided to put themselves forward for another term the free pass expired for me and they don't get off with this team in transition line either. Yes there are lots of young players but they are very good young players with a very good experienced core already there. It shouldn't be asking too much after McKenna Cup and seven league games for something like a well tuned team to be emerging. Instead they went off the boil massively in the second-half with the total collapse after the (questionable) Hampsey black card very concerning. It was pretty obvious that Mattie (who was class) wasn't happy at all afterwards. I'm not expecting any titles this summer but we need to see some real evidence this management team are bringing a competitive new team together and building towards something much better than the shambles of the past two summers. Big few weeks ahead of them.

You're a hard taskmaster! 9 players played in their first county championship : ) That wouldn't beat Donegal but it didnt have to... they won. I wouldn't be inclined to hammer them... see how Sunday goes.

I'm not hammering them but I'm not judging the management team on Sunday but rather 2 seasons of underachieving when we looked like a team devoid of direction. Despite some fine individual performances in the league (and Sunday) I'm not sure we're making any great progress in that respect this year either. I hope to be proven wrong. As I said, not expecting any titles, just want to see real evidence that this is the correct management team to bring through an excellent group of young players (and blend it with the excellent core we already had).

So to sum up, nobody actually knows the entirety or precisely what happened, but everyone is certain the ref got it wrong or fucked up in order to shaft their team.

Great stuff.

I'd say Paddy Lynch has a pretty good idea. He said they were both at it and he was lucky to get a different punishment and that the game turned on the incident.

Tyrone need to deal much better with going down to 14, no doubt about that, but a shocking piece of refereeing.

[Hard to plan for every single player to get a black card, of all the ones to get one Hampsey probably be the most damaging (Mattie too).]

No issue with players being blooded, transition years, need to gain experience...all that stuff....fine...

But surely you should be able to see a plan, a system, some kind of tactics beyond the basic, something to give these players a structure to develop in ...

What does that even mean? Lost their way when Hampsey went off on the black card... need to look at that. They were the much better side.

What that means is exactly what it says. It's great to see new players get brought in and given a meaningful taste of league and championship.

There is also a lot of talent there, which means we can go on scoring sprees and look fantastic for periods. All good. So the raw ingredients are there.

What is not evident is a system or structured gameplay to compete with Dublin/Kerry/Derry (and McGuiness back means Donegal are also a much diffeent prospect).

There is zero consistency in the team, from quarter to quarter, never mind game to game.

Maybe I just dont see/understand the current tactics as well as others and I would be delighted to be proved wrong.

Nah you've still lost me. Maybe I'm not up to speed with gameplans. You mention Derry, they were a shambles at the weekend. Kerry scraped past Cork. I've must have a simpler outlook. Tyrone went away from home and beat a side just beat Monaghan. Things went badly awry on the black card and need to look at why. Sitting in Breffini Park yesterday wat I saw was Tyrone were the much better team and when it was 15 v 15 Cavan wouldn't have won if we were there to next Tuesday. Next up... Donegal.

You don't think going a man down and how to cope with it is an element that the management should have dealt with in training? I would be asking serious questions about why we opened up so quickly during those 10 mins. That re-organisation lies with management imo.

Def needs reviewed: they know that. Hard to plan for every single player to get a black card, of all the ones to get one Hampsey probably be the most damaging (Mattie too). I see the glass half full not half empty: 9 players made championship debut. When it went back to 15 v 15 was never in doubt. To go to Cavan and be hauled back like that and win showed great character.
Maybe I don't have your expectations of a team in transition. Reality check: They won't be beating Kerry or Dublin no more than Derry or Donegal will...
 

a club team management would have that angle covered. A black card happens regular in games so it needs to be handled irrespective of who the player carded is.....basic stuff for all teams. Delegation, planning and proper instruction sorts that out easily

I am like yourself and try to take the positives from it (9 debutants, great first 30 minutes) but how can we let a black card derail us is concerning. The real positive was that most of them debutants were on the pitch in the crucial closing stages of ET when the game was in the melting pot.

Hard to know what to expect next week....if we deliver then we could win but it is the total inconsistency that is our problem - we don't know what is happening from one half to the next never mind one game to the next.

I think your over-cooking what managers can do. The problem wasn't so much the blackcard was that the player who got it had such a huge influence on the game up to then.
Derry on Saturday was a complete mess, a few weeks ago Harte being hailed as a genius.
We'll see what happens...I've more faith in the management than you obviously..
 

There is a limit to what management can do without doubt but setting up a team in a coherent fashion with a clear plan isn't too much to expect. We haven't had that the last two years, the team has been a disjointed mess. The management team basically got a free pass for that because of 2021 and that was fair enough. Once they decided to put themselves forward for another term the free pass expired for me and they don't get off with this team in transition line either. Yes there are lots of young players but they are very good young players with a very good experienced core already there. It shouldn't be asking too much after McKenna Cup and seven league games for something like a well tuned team to be emerging. Instead they went off the boil massively in the second-half with the total collapse after the (questionable) Hampsey black card very concerning. It was pretty obvious that Mattie (who was class) wasn't happy at all afterwards. I'm not expecting any titles this summer but we need to see some real evidence this management team are bringing a competitive new team together and building towards something much better than the shambles of the past two summers. Big few weeks ahead of them.

Team lost its way badly again and Mattie was right to highlight that in his post match interview. All very well to say there were lots of young lads out there but this is a pattern we've seen all too often in last two championships. The game was won and Cavan should never have been allowed back into it. Lucky to get over the line and I didn't see much to suggest we'll do anything against better opposition. The team is packed with talent but lacks direction.

I didn't think it was over at half-time as Tyrone under this management team are liable to be a basket case in the second half. Happened again there, absolutely rudderless ship and lucky to get over the line in a game which should have been won by double figures. For the talent available that team is nowhere near good enough and it was good to see Mattie so angry at the end. Too late to be learning all the lessons he was talking about. They'll lose to Donegal and they'll lose to anyone half decent later on too.

Tyrone's problems go way beyond refereeing decisions but that was an erratic display. The game turned on the Hampsey black card. If he was guilty of pulling Lynch down it probably didn't help that Lynch was all over him initially. A terrible call by a ref who was influenced by the pattern of the game rather than refereeing what was actually happening.

Lynch missed a shot and Hampsey went over to let him know. Then Hampsey dragged him down. No complaints

You clearly didn't see the incident. I make no defence of Hampsey and his backchat and sadly it now seems to be very well established in the sport. But Lynch was dragging too right before they went to ground. Grim refereeing that changed the game. Further questions for Tyrone about the way they handled the aftermath of the incident.

I didn't think it was over at half-time as Tyrone under this management team are liable to be a basket case in the second half. Happened again there, absolutely rudderless ship and lucky to get over the line in a game which should have been won by double figures. For the talent available that team is nowhere near good enough and it was good to see Mattie so angry at the end. Too late to be learning all the lessons he was talking about. They'll lose to Donegal and they'll lose to anyone half decent later on too.

Tyrone's problems go way beyond refereeing decisions but that was an erratic display. The game turned on the Hampsey black card. If he was guilty of pulling Lynch down it probably didn't help that Lynch was all over him initially. A terrible call by a ref who was influenced by the pattern of the game rather than refereeing what was actually happening.

Meyler is a big miss. Always felt he was way more influential than McGeary in 2021 and he was one whose standards didn't drop in the general malaise since then. Kilpatrick will also be missed. Return of McKernan is good news however and I'm sure Mattie will provide a steadying influence wherever (and whenever) he plays.

Really not sure where Tyrone are at overall. There is a feeling among certain pundits that we're dark horses and going to be a different team in the Championship. I don't really share that confidence but I'd be very happy to be proven wrong. Good luck to the team and to the younger lads making their first Championship steps in particular.

Just one game but given Mickey's terrible record against McGuinness and his extremely patchy record in big Championship games over 15 or so years it's possibly quite significant. A hammering on home soil and concession of four goals punches quite the hole in the reputation Derry have been building. There were questions about whether or not Mickey was the right appointment for Derry and they look very pertinent after his first Championship test.

Really enjoyed that game. Thought Cavan had blown it after seeming to be in control at 1-10 to 0-10 but fair play to them, they rallied again after that with a big finish and were deserving winners. Played the conditions really well. Going to be a very tough game for Tyrone.

Monaghan pretty underwhelming but still capable of being very awkward opponents in the weeks ahead. Best wishes to Darren Hughes and hopefully injury isn't as bad as it appeared.

Great entertainment and credit to both teams. Modern game can be putrid at times but two good teams going at it like that can provide a great spectacle.

Thought Derry deserved the win overall. Dubs seemed to be playing within themselves a bit in the first half and some poor decision making cost them. Thereafter Derry were better and Dubs looked a bit rattled.

I felt there were questions for Mickey with Derry based on his last decade with Tyrone. He struggled to find the right mix between defence and attack, his micromanagement seemed to inhibit attacking players, and he couldn't win big games in Croke Park. The Championship will be where we get definitive answers but there was a lot there for Derry fans to be confident about, and that Mickey is indeed on the right track. Not so good was being 4 up in the closing stages of normal time and 3 up with seconds of extra time left and being pulled back twice. Not being able to close out games was another of the questions. But they can work on that and beating the Dubs, even if it was on pens, will do them a power of good.

Few questions for the Dubs too after that, lost their heads a bit. Felt a bit too much was made of them thrashing a very much weakened Tyrone side, and a poorly set up one at that. They'll have learned an awful lot more from today.