Down Club Hurling & Football

[washed_up]

Good luck to CPN today in the Ulster Final!

[Dubh driocht]

Well done to the Point- a much needed boost for Down football- first provincial men's football title since when ?

As for the County panel goings on, it's a hard one to call. Mc Corry will be his own man and most successful managers have to be single minded- we didn't put him into that job to be a consensus builder but rather to get results. I can see why he would want to put his stamp on things as he will be virtually unsackable for probably the first two years so can afford to lay down the law with experienced players. However, I don't think we can do without some of these men . Dan Gordon is one of the best ever Down footballers who doesn't have either an All Ireland or an All Star. Kalum King does the important things well and brings physical presence to a relatively small team. Dan Mc Cartan is still one of our better defenders. Marty Clarke is a supreme talent in a squad of mediocrity. I accept injuries have taken their toll on Ambrose but, when fit, he the complete footballer. Liam Doyle has had no luck with injuries so probably is time to quit and enough has been said about Benny.
My view is that there must be a way to accommodate at least half of these men otherwise it will be a tough 2015.

[Shamrocks Gaelp]

Fair play to Ross McGarry with a man of the match performance today, and fair play to the poit with a good win

[Mourne Rover]

Congratulations to Warrenpoint, the first Down side to win an Ulster club title since Leitrim, also in the IFC, back in 1998. It was ten years before that when Burren won our last senior club title and no Down team has ever even made the final of the JFC. While our record has been dismal, the Point must have a decent chance of going further this time. Hopefully their county players will be treated with a bit of flexibility.

[washed_up]

Congratulations to CPN on their great win,they really took over in the last ten or twelve minutes,and at least one inspired substution set them on the way to victory-WELL DONE!!

[charlieTully]

it was looking a bit nervous for a while in the second but closed it out in good style, congrats to CPN and Bernie Ruane, true hoop. 

[gaamann]

Rearranged leagues is it all about money? If format had been in place last season a few big clubs would be playing second division football and their gate receipts would really take a hit some clubs gona regret voting this in.

[elk]

mc garry took some abuse today and still hit some outstanding scores. has matured into a very good forward.

[supersub]

Rearranged leagues is it all about money? If format had been in place last season a few big clubs would be playing second division football and their gate receipts would really take a hit some clubs gona regret voting this in.

The Championship is all about money - the leagues were all about the County team.

16 team league has less games and more dead rubbers and less people going. 12 teams home and away much better - even if it means a few go down!

[speculative]

"Insanity doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result- Albert Einstein

I think the abilities and attributes of our more "experienced" players have been wildly exaggerated. These lads were all decent footballers but hardly World beaters (Benny and possibly Gordon exceptions). I've made my views on King known on this forum before and he proved me right with his two displays v Mayobridge at the end of last season. Rodgers was decent but he's basically been a sick note since 2010. All the rest were average at best throughout their careers on the inter-county scene bar one freak season when the moons, planets, stars, galaxies and universe all aligned for us to reach an AI Final.

The point is this, the aim now for McCorry is to build a team that might be in a position to challenge for an Ulster title in 3 years. These guys have tried before (at their peak) but have unfortunately not succeeded. What makes you think during their twilight years they may do something that has never really looked likely? Give younger lads a chance, and hopefully McCorry can try and build a team around them.

Side note, congrats to The Point and Ross McGarry, proving that he may have the bottle for it after all.

[supersub]

"Insanity doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result- Albert Einstein

I think the abilities and attributes of our more "experienced" players have been wildly exaggerated. These lads were all decent footballers but hardly World beaters (Benny and possibly Gordon exceptions). I've made my views on King known on this forum before and he proved me right with his two displays v Mayobridge at the end of last season. Rodgers was decent but he's basically been a sick note since 2010. All the rest were average at best throughout their careers on the inter-county scene bar one freak season when the moons, planets, stars, galaxies and universe all aligned for us to reach an AI Final.

The point is this, the aim now for McCorry is to build a team that might be in a position to challenge for an Ulster title in 3 years. These guys have tried before (at their peak) but have unfortunately not succeeded. What makes you think during their twilight years they may do something that has never really looked likely? Give younger lads a chance, and hopefully McCorry can try and build a team around them.

Side note, congrats to The Point and Ross McGarry, proving that he may have the bottle for it after all.

Indeed well done to them, good to see a Down team competing at All Ireland level now! I see he had another stormer indeed, doubt anything will be proved until next season however going by some of the reaction on here previously!!

[Pangurban]

Fair enough assessment speculative, but what is it that leads you believe Mc Corry is the Man capable of producing a winning team. Certainly nothing in his CV to date, other than Co. Championships with Kilcoo, whom my Granny could have succeeded with given the poor standard of Club football in Down at present.

[Mourne Rover]

Speculative's claim that Ambrose has been `a sick note since 2010' is totally unfair. He has certainly had a series of injuries but he still played championship football during each of the last four summers. He was excellent during our run to the Ulster final in 2012 and produced fine displays against Derry and Donegal in the 2013 USC. King has been a mainstay of the team since 2010, and we have a repeated tendency to collapse at midfield when he is unavailable. If both of them, and big Dan, are really gone, there are not too many obvious candidates to replace them in the same position.

McKernan can play there, but he is usually more effective at half back, and Turley is also basically a defender. While Toner may improve, the county final indicated that he has some way to go. We have to bring in plenty of younger faces but hardened and reliable midfielders are hard to find, and there have not been too many obvious candidates in our recent minor and u21 sides.

[PAULD123]

It's unfair to say that anyone could have won three championships with Kilcoo. Firstly I don't even think the statement is valid to begin with. There are only 3 quality sides in Down but there are three of them. Secondly and more importantly, it is not that he won the championships it is more about how they won them. His Kilcoo side totally outclassed the rest of the best of the county by some margin. maybe your granny would win most of her games in charge of Kilcoo but I doubt she would win a county final by 11 points against Burren.

Whether he is the man to revive the fortunes of the county still is something we wait to see. But it is unfair to imply he has done nothing to earn the chance.

One thing I do think though is that he will need Marty Clarke if we are to have any realistic chance in Ulster

[speculative]

Speculative's claim that Ambrose has been `a sick note since 2010' is totally unfair. He has certainly had a series of injuries but he still played championship football during each of the last four summers. He was excellent during our run to the Ulster final in 2012 and produced fine displays against Derry and Donegal in the 2013 USC. King has been a mainstay of the team since 2010, and we have a repeated tendency to collapse at midfield when he is unavailable. If both of them, and big Dan, are really gone, there are not too many obvious candidates to replace them in the same position.

McKernan can play there, but he is usually more effective at half back, and Turley is also basically a defender. While Toner may improve, the county final indicated that he has some way to go. We have to bring in plenty of younger faces but hardened and reliable midfielders are hard to find, and there have not been too many obvious candidates in our recent minor and u21 sides.

I agree, the one place we are definitely lacking in is in midfield, but we have been for years. Getting outclassed in midfield in 2010 ultimately led to Down losing that AI Final. The Minor and U21 teams recently haven't thrown up too many superstars for that sector either but the point is that if we throw in a few of the younger lads we may see them thrive in that position. It's not about next season, it's about 2/3 seasons down the line.