Down Club Hurling & Football

[Lloyd p]

Fact is, there are people that have been being paid high salaries over a long period of time in the county to put the correct structures in place and to deliver progress and inevitably success and it hasn’t happened. If this was a PLC what would happen here?

[Johnnysboys]

Fact is, there are people that have been being paid high salaries over a long period of time in the county to put the correct structures in place and to deliver progress and inevitably success and it hasn’t happened. If this was a PLC what would happen here?

I’d say these people are tied to contracts though and it’s not easy to get shot of staff who have them. But I think like in every single job out there - there should be accountability for their pay - that’s not necessarily winning all irelands - but we should definitely be seeing progress - we are not seeing that at present.

[Truth hurts]

I would like to see us cast the net wider for development squads. Give more u15 and 16s a chance to train in a high performance environment with access to gyms etc. Instead of carting 40 boys to Downpatrick on a Saturday morning we should have subsidiary's in the North, South, East and West of the county. We will have a better chance of unearthing county players.

[Hard2Listen2]

The bottom line is that every player starts & finishes with his club.
If we are not producing players it is not the fault of development squads, schools, the county board or anyone else.
Players need to be better coached at all age levels in their clubs, everything after that is a bonus or additional.
Look at your club’s coaching structure & strategy & at the people you have coaching your young players. If these are lacking then ask how you can improve them.
There is no silver bullet. It starts with hard work & dedication from club volunteers.

[downtothecore]

Agree but it does help if good quality management setups are in place.

[Lotto]

I would like to see us cast the net wider for development squads. Give more u15 and 16s a chance to train in a high performance environment with access to gyms etc. Instead of carting 40 boys to Downpatrick on a Saturday morning we should have subsidiary's in the North, South, East and West of the county. We will have a better chance of unearthing county players.

For lads to be given the chance to train at a high level within Down, we obviously need high performance coaches to deliver at this standard. This just isn't happening in our County and never has. Where are these gyms for lads to have access to, great reports with what Aaron Brannigan was doing but he is only one man. BTW, it's not a case of unearthing talent but developing and nuturing our next generation.

[Lecale Gael]

Down v Longford tonight.
Looks an experimental team so prob realise even if we win both games we will still miss out on promotion.
Good to see McElroy back from injury. Havern at midfield is worth a look.
Think there will be a couple of switches before throw in though.

[ardtole]

Havern hasn't been as effective in the full forward role since Barry O'Hagan got injured. Up until then they had developed a promising understanding, it was a huge turning point in our season so far.

[SHEEDY]

Todays earlier results in division 3 mean Down can't be promoted even if we win the last 2 games

[downtothecore]

Our slim chance of promotion is gone now after fermanaghs victory.

[Johnnysboys]

A horrible injury sustained by Mark Walsh - let’s hope he can make a full recovery. A strange performance tonight - looked really good at times but decidedly average at other times. Are we any closer to a championship team/panel at this stage?

[snoopdog]

Sometimes we look no different from other years. Still afraid to take a shot at the posts from distance. Longford scored some magnificent points from distance last night. Dreadful injury not really sure what happened. Did he land badly. Championship 6 weeks away it's a big ask for this team to get past Donegal

[downtothecore]

Bad injury to Mark Walsh. He will be missed in the setup. I wish him a speedy recovery.

[Ed Hardy]

Didn't see what happened to Walsh, was at the far side but obviously knew it wasn't good with the delay and bringing the medics on. Hopefully it's nothing long term? Wish him quick recovery.

6 weeks now to prepare for Donegal. By looks of it there are still plenty of positions up for grabs. Any idea if few of the injured players will be back in contention for it? McCabe, Guinness, Annett, S Johnson, Donnelly, and who ever else I've missed out.
 

[Truth hurts]

Best wishes to Walsh, a massive loss to Ballyholland for division 2.
A dead match the other night after the news that we couldn't get promoted. We have become a bit predictable and haven't kicked on since the start of the league. Donegal should be a big target though and a run in the championship is needed. Still good signs from the camp and everyone is putting the shoulder to the wheel. Murdock and Magill will now play u20 which will be some boost to them versus Tyrone.
A good response from the minors after the hammering last week too.