Antrim Football Thread

country bumpkin · June 20, 2015, 08:11:59 AM

Quote from: bannside on June 19, 2015, 07:08:57 PM
Surely the manager can't name the team until 3 players complete a club hurling match the night before.....and if that is true....only in Antrim.

So true, only in Antrim Bannside.....and such fully underlines our complete failures....

manballandall · June 20, 2015, 01:36:50 PM

A few changes from the Fermanagh game I believe

Pub Bore · June 20, 2015, 03:01:57 PM

According to Twtter, Burke and the 2 McGourtys dropped for playing the hurling last night

Pub Bore · June 20, 2015, 03:05:19 PM

Laois lead by 1-7 to 0-03 after 27 mins

bannside · June 20, 2015, 04:24:11 PM

Fantastic Gutsy display against a division two team. Away. Sincere congrats to all concerned. Especially Big Frank who had hard calls to make and didn't duck them.

Only query was why was Ryan Murray not down to start. One of the best in Ulster on his day.

bannside · June 20, 2015, 05:01:30 PM

Fitzy has some set on him. If you look at the player ratings from the Fermanagh match the three dropped today were amongst our best the last day. Fair play to him for making a call that was always going to make his own life much harder.

And with three of their club mates benched for playing for their club, there would always be the possibility that Chris or Pollock would side with their club mates. But they didn't and both went on to play important roles in today's historic victory. Fair play to them for being big about it and putting county first.

All in all this 35 minute spell today rescues what has been a poor season to date. Credit to all involved there will be a big support out the next day...the team have earned that much now.

Glensman · June 20, 2015, 07:56:49 PM

Quote from: hardstation on June 20, 2015, 05:04:21 PM
Listening to Fitzy after the game, he seemed supportive of the lads he dropped. Said he had to drop them but sympathised with the position they were put in and said they are still very much part of his squad and his plans. That's refreshing. Other managers would have just gassed them from the panel and not cared about the situation they were put in.

Fair play to him - seems to have a very sensible head on him. A decent draw for the next round would be magic.

Milltown Row - why did St Galls agree to move the game to last night?

brendanbelfast · June 20, 2015, 08:59:11 PM

Quote from: brendanbelfast on June 15, 2015, 12:00:41 AM
Whats 'diabolical'? an early end to the season which hasn't happened yet? Don't be an idiot. If it happens, put whatever label you want on it, but lets see how Saturday's match goes - yeah?
If such a safe bet whether Home or Away, would you be putting a significant wager on it? Idiot or not, come Sunday, I'd safely say you can put your flag, hat, flask and sat nav away for another year. Diabolical is the correct label.

Tell ya what, you put £20.OO on Antrim to win and put a tenner on Laois for me, lets see who you collect on come Monday next. Either way you cant loose!

So, does 'diabolical' still apply? Don't pre judge. There are enough people out there keen to put the boot into Antrim football, we shouldn't rush to join them.

Milltown Row2 · June 20, 2015, 10:54:01 PM

Quote from: Glensman on June 20, 2015, 07:56:49 PM
Quote from: hardstation on June 20, 2015, 05:04:21 PM
Listening to Fitzy after the game, he seemed supportive of the lads he dropped. Said he had to drop them but sympathised with the position they were put in and said they are still very much part of his squad and his plans. That's refreshing. Other managers would have just gassed them from the panel and not cared about the situation they were put in.

Fair play to him - seems to have a very sensible head on him. A decent draw for the next round would be magic.

Milltown Row - why did St Galls agree to move the game to last night?

We didn't agree ffs

country bumpkin · June 20, 2015, 11:14:17 PM

Of course the hurling should have been called off.......jeez those players were asked to decide club or county......sur I wonder would the little guy who has charge would insist a football game in which three county hurlers would proceed the day before a county hurling championship

??

Glensman · June 21, 2015, 12:54:19 AM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 20, 2015, 10:54:01 PM
Quote from: Glensman on June 20, 2015, 07:56:49 PM
Quote from: hardstation on June 20, 2015, 05:04:21 PM
Listening to Fitzy after the game, he seemed supportive of the lads he dropped. Said he had to drop them but sympathised with the position they were put in and said they are still very much part of his squad and his plans. That's refreshing. Other managers would have just gassed them from the panel and not cared about the situation they were put in.

Fair play to him - seems to have a very sensible head on him. A decent draw for the next round would be magic.

Milltown Row - why did St Galls agree to move the game to last night?

We didn't agree ffs

?! How? My (very) limited understanding of how these things work are that both teams have to consent to moving (from 6pm Saturday night like the rest of the games). Is that not the case?

bannside · June 21, 2015, 09:32:03 AM

Both teams had to agree. St Galls obviously did so and the 3 players took their own decision to represent their club. The match was between two teams at the lower end of division one hurling so was a four pointer in many respects in their bid to stay up. They knew the consequences of playing and took them. I was going to say manfully but will reserve that adjective until it is clarified that they turn up for the next county training session as usual. Hopefully they will as public opinion will kind to them if they do.

At the minute all we can safely assume is that the club asked the 3 if the game was brought forward would they make themselves available and obviously the answer was yes. If they had said no (they are 3 of their clubs best hurlers) obviously St Galls would have not agreed to play!

This opens up an important question.

Did they show a total lack of respect to their county manager and teammates or did they do what many others might/would have done by demonstrating a firm club before county principle?

No matter what way you look at this its our old friends "the county board" who created this problem by showing an intransigence towards moving the fixture to accommodate a club that was being asked to fulfil a very important league one match with their closest relegation rivals, without the services of their 3 best players.

Make no mistake, as the chair of CCC Joe Edwards has made a mistake here of monumental proportions. He assumed our county footballers would get hammered and did nothing to accommodate either St Galls or more importantly Frank Fitzsimmons. He is coming out of this debacle very badly in my book and has done his county chair aspirations no end of damage with the way he has handled this. As a very bottom line fact he has shown absolutely no regard for the ambition of county senior football.

Or just confirmed what many of us "armchair critics/keyboard warriors" have being saying for ages that this particular county management committee do not give one flying fig about our county footballers. I don't pin this blame on every member of that committee, because many of them have no interest in football to begin with. But one or two in particular who should be tried for their "crimes against Antrim Football" over this last 4 or 5 years.

Antrim footballers won yesterday in spite of them.

manballandall · June 21, 2015, 10:22:52 AM

Just to clarify a few things
St galls did agree to move the game at clooney Gaels request as they wanted to to okay the game before their feile team. So it was to accommodate clooney Gaels 4/5 weeks ago.
However this was agreed before the county game had been fixed for the Saturday .
When we realised this we asked county for it to be refixed only to be told no, various reasons given , one of which was that it was a refix which of course it wasn't .

This is a problem that we have akw says faced with having dual club players involved in county teams.
We actually get punished for promoting both codes.

However I have the upmost respect for the 3 boys involved , they knew the consequences and after training hard and sacrificing so much over the last 6 months training with the county it can't have been an easy one . Or was it? As we mustn't forget that the club is in their blood , it's their family and friends who they have grown up with, it is the club who has nurtured these guys, the county benefits from this, not the other way about .

But the bottom line is they should have never been put in that position to make a decision.

imtommygunn · June 21, 2015, 10:24:55 AM

Bs were you at the game? Any reports?

Everything seems about the county board here but let's not forget- that's one of our best wins in years and if we get a kind draw next maybe get a few more games out of this.

Bs most of us are armchair supporters but don't think you fit that category!

bannside · June 21, 2015, 10:38:26 AM

This was the sweetest win I can remember because it was totally against all the odds. It was truly of David versus Goliath proportions. Away to a division two team and we could all make a case for 10-15 players who could/should/might have been on that pitch. But the 15 who were decided enough was enough. Yesterday new heroes emerged. Paddy Mc Bride, Owen Gallagher, Niall Delargy, Dermot Mc Aleese, Paddy Mc Aleer, Jack Dowling and the redoubtable Ryan Murray all showed that they can stand up tall at this level. There should be no more talk of who wasn't there. Let those who do want to get on with it and give this new breed their head.