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Well as our teaching friends traipse back to school over the coming week with heavy hearts, at least our local papers are keeping them in the public eye with stories like this from Fintona.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/claim-teacher-wrote-on-pupils-head-with-marker-probed-38428314.html

*cough!*
http://gaaboard.com/board/index.php?topic=5587.msg1921136#msg1921136

Sorry! Didn't see that.

But even by Fintona standards this is a strange one.  Incident must have occurred months ago, why only surfacing now?  What sort of brain freeze occurred with the teacher if the details of the story are true?

Never heard of a teacher writing on a child with a marker. There was a case in a neighbouring school with an ongoing building site where a teacher marked the headmaster's welly boots with large L and R to make sure he had them on the correct feet. (A Jimmy Cricket reference for those old enough to remember)

Starting my 21st year. Wanted to be an astronaut.

Best of luck!

Start of the year is always hard going to get through the crap, seemingly pointless training days but back in the classroom with the door shut you will soon be back in the groove counting down the days to Halloween.

Well as our teaching friends traipse back to school over the coming week with heavy hearts, at least our local papers are keeping them in the public eye with stories like this from Fintona.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/claim-teacher-wrote-on-pupils-head-with-marker-probed-38428314.html

[over 11 years in championship games t]

And yet Tyrone have not beaten Kerry or Mayo in over 11 years in championship games that really mattered, never mind the beatings administered by Dublin. So, on current and historical standing, Tyrone are behind Mayo and Kerry by some margin. The only debate is whether they or Donegal can be considered for the top of the next level down.

Where are you getting the 11 games from in the Championship that Mayo & Kerry have beaten Tyrone?

Edit Redhand Santa beat me to it.

Apologies. Corrected above.

[Kerry, Donegal, Mayo, Tyrone could beat each other on any given day]

Why are Mayo and Kerry "the big three"??

They form two of the three teams that have been at the top since 2008 and according to the results have been unbeaten by Tyrone in the championship since 2008.

If I was asked to back either Donegal or Mayo for 2020 I think I would favor Donegal to be honest.
These top 3 debates are a load of nonsense anyway as it's a top 1. Kerry, Donegal, Mayo, Tyrone could beat each other on any given day. They're just fighting for the right to play in the AI final and maybe get a weekend craic out of things before getting bate.

And yet Tyrone have not beaten Kerry or Mayo in over 11 championship games that really mattered, never mind the beatings administered by Dublin. So, on current and historical standing, Tyrone are behind Mayo and Kerry by some margin. The only debate is whether they or Donegal can be considered for the top of the next level down.

Gaelic life reporting that Ricey is in pole posiiton for us with a backroom team of Paul McIvor and Joe McMahon

Poor Fermanagh.

Why poor Fermanagh? I'm sure most of their supporters will be happy if they can remain in division 2 and reach another Ulster final against the odds in the foreseeable future.

This is a county that had to watch their team play division 4 football and get knocked out of the championship by London not so long ago.

How long will that status last with the trio being proposed with little or no experience of management of county teams even at underage level?

Gaelic life reporting that Ricey is in pole posiiton for us with a backroom team of Paul McIvor and Joe McMahon

Poor Fermanagh.

Why are Mayo and Kerry "the big three"??

They form two of the three teams that have been at the top since 2008 and according to the results have been unbeaten by Tyrone in the championship since 2008.

Humphries out today.

Out of state captivity but entering his own prison for life.

Isn't there talk he's off to Spain? He will probably rebuild a life.

Under EU law, does the sex offenders register transfer from Ireland to Spain?

The Tyrone record against the big three of Dublin, Kerry and Mayo since the last win in 2008 doesn't make for great reading. 

The numbers don't lie, they just need to be interpreted. Certainly the figures contradict the high opinion afforded to Tyrone by pundits and supporters alike.

Even if you follow the line that 3 players are not in the squad because of Harte, no one has named a single other player missing from the squad who stands out in club football as county grade footballers.

Therefore, general agreement that the current squad is about 90 to 95% of the best players in the county and those absent or absenting themselves are at best fringe players.

So, either the current squad are not good enough to win an All Ireland or they are as good man or man with players in Mayo, Kerry, or Dublin and lack management to reach their potential.

Most observers would agree that the current Tyrone squad has not reached a stage where the players are as good as the top 3 teams on a man for man basis. 

The statistics prove that the tactical systems being used with these players have not enabled them to beat any of the top 3 teams in their last 11 championship games.

I certainly wouldn't say we're far off if not better than Mayo, Kerry, Donegal etc but what's that really? 2 bald men fighting over a fine tooth comb, reality is that the only race that really exists is the one to get beaten by Dublin in the final. The super 8s have proven that there is not a whole pile of difference between the top 6/7 teams below Dublin.

For me Dublin are at their peak now, they're evolving and getting better every year, for a while after the 2014 disaster against Donegal they were a bit spooked by massed defences and weren't that comfortable against. Those question marks were still there before the 2017 semi against Tyrone and they just blew them away. Since then they can play it anyway and are comfortable in doing so.

I think Kerry could get massacred in the final, a lot of those guys are young and inexperienced and won't have played Dublin in a Championship game at Croke Park. I would say half of the side that started v Tryone have not done so and I think they will be in for a rude awakening. While Dublin are getting better, none of the other challengers currently are near the level of Mayo 3/4 years back.

The Kerry team will not carry any of the baggage of failure against the Dubs into the final unlike Mayo and Tyrone. So, they might well hold out longer than either of the other two semi finalists in the final.

Even if you follow the line that 3 players are not in the squad because of Harte, no one has named a single other player missing from the squad who stands out in club football as county grade footballers.

Therefore, general agreement that the current squad is about 90 to 95% of the best players in the county and those absent or absenting themselves are at best fringe players.

So, either the current squad are not good enough to win an All Ireland or they are as good man or man with players in Mayo, Kerry, or Dublin and lack management to reach their potential.

Most observers would agree that the current Tyrone squad has not reached a stage where the players are as good as the top 3 teams on a man for man basis. 

The statistics prove that the tactical systems being used with these players have not enabled them to beat any of the top 3 teams in their last 11 championship games.

They have lost them in the same fashion. With this team their mistakes are like a bus when one comes 3 or 4 seem to follow. This team cant seem to dig themselves out of it. I'm thinking about games against Kerry x 2,Mayo and to an extent Dublin last year in the AIF. Tyrone were up by 5 and had chances to extend their lead and one bad error led to another. Theres a serious problem with this team and one I dont believe the current management can fix.

Sounds exactly same as problem being experienced by English cricket team, when one falters there is a collapse that cannot be recovered even when one or two do their best to turn it around. Other sports show the same problem when there are teams dependent on a programmed system of play. Disrupt the system and you beat them if they don't have the players to adapt and lead.

For Tyrone, it can be traced back to the use of systems and over-reliance on the system, when it falters if there isn't a core of players with match winning abilities willing and able to step up then the game is lost. 

Previous winning Harte teams had such groups of players who could adapt, this one doesn't have it, Donnelly & Harte can't carry it every time. When Harte is neutralised, Donnelly & McShane are left trying alone and when the scores don't happen as in the second half they lose, no one else can step up, just do their programmed work. An unhelpful referee just made it worse but didn't take the game away.

Don't blame the players, their commitment to the system is unquestionable. The game was lost on the line.

Got one of these and found it to be very effective.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HFDGMNO/ref=dp_prsubs_1

Also useful to have a check around the house and grounds to see if you can spot their nest and call in Rentokil to do their job. Surprising where they can make a nest and over winter before attacking the next year. I had them going in and out to a roof space above a bay window through a small hole between wall and roof. Rentokil gassed them and sealed them in with the gas, no bother since.

they are not professionals. full stop. yes, there are perks that come with being an intercounty player, but they are not employees of the gaa. they are not earning great amounts of money that reflects the money they make for the organisation. therefore, they are not fair game for pundits in the same way an employee of liverpool or some such would be

It's not necessarily just about the money although that is an element. It is as much about representation and responsibility.  When a player accepts selection and pulls on the jersey it carries a certain weight of responsibility as well as honour and benefits. A consequence is the criticism from pundits and supporters. Nothing to do with this misty eyed referral as being amateurs they are immune from punditry in the media or by followers.