Time for Joe to go??

[From the Bunker]

Translated they underachieved.

To say that any team that won their County's first All Ireland underachieved, after the run that they had, is fatuous at best.

They were the most feared team in Ireland for nearly 10 years, and while winning their first and so far only Sam Maguire is what they will be remembered for, 7 Ulster championships in 10 years is a feat only matched by Down (starting in '59) in the modern era. Though to be fair, I don't see Cavan's 29 wins in 41 years (from 1915) being beaten anytime soon...

In Fairness the back door came at the worst time for Armagh. Can you imagine how much more they would have won if there had been a front door only?

[Bensars]

Translated they underachieved.

To say that any team that won their County's first All Ireland underachieved, after the run that they had, is fatuous at best.

They were the most feared team in Ireland for nearly 10 years, and while winning their first and so far only Sam Maguire is what they will be remembered for, 7 Ulster championships in 10 years is a feat only matched by Down (starting in '59) in the modern era. Though to be fair, I don't see Cavan's 29 wins in 41 years (from 1915) being beaten anytime soon...

You have just confirmed the fact they underachieved ! "The most feared team in Ireland for nearly 10 years", 1 All ireland in that period of so called dominance is underachiveing.

[ardtole]

I wonder will Joe criticise Fergal Doherty for deserting Derry the last couple of years, similar to his article on Eoin Bradley recently? Fergal was in the past one of Brollys poster boys, I doubt he will get the same distasteful treatment that Bradley was subjected to recently.

[blewuporstuffed]

I wonder will Joe criticise Fergal Doherty for deserting Derry the last couple of years, similar to his article on Eoin Bradley recently? Fergal was in the past one of Brollys poster boys, I doubt he will get the same distasteful treatment that Bradley was subjected to recently.

Paddy heaney wrote a good response piece to brollys criticism in the IN there last week.

Bradley is entitled to opt out if he wants, but likewise, mcivor is fully entitled to say, thats fine, but youa re either out or your in, no coming back for the championship

[ONeill]

Joe's attempt at sarcasm:

Brolly: Bradley's loyalty in the face of adversity

"Coleraine, Coleraine,
Together standing tall,
Shoulder to Shoulder,
We'll answer Coleraine's Call,
We'll answer Coleraine's Call"
(with apologies to Phil Coulter)

Eoin Bradley's decision to turn his back on Derry to stand shoulder to shoulder with his Coleraine team mates in their battle against relegation, will come as no surprise to those who know the man.

The easy decision would have been to spurn the Bannsiders. Currently languishing second bottom in the Irish League table, it would have been entirely understandable if Eoin had walked away from them and rejoined the Derry squad.

He could easily have gone back and played with the lads he has played with since he was a boy, from the clubs who have nurtured him and his old team mates since they were knee high. But instead, Eoin has made the hard decision. These were his own words on Tuesday to the BBC's Tommy Niblock (He'll read anything if it's on the auto-cue, and I mean anything).
"I want to stay and give the Coleraine lads a hand."

So, when the ball is thrown in on the 1st February for Derry's first sell-out Division One game against Tyrone at home, Eoin will be in the trenches with his Coleraine brothers, toiling in front of three men, a cocker spaniel and Jackie Fullerton.
As he said himself to Tommy on the Beeb, "It won't work out with Derry, but what can I do?"

As Eoin went on to explain he's thinking of, "Building a house next year," and the, "Few shillings," he's getting from Coleraine will come in handy.

As he put it – flashing a broad grin, "Money makes the world go around."

A word of warning: £100 a week pre-tax won't go far, so the new house will have to be built with ingenuity and a lot of self-help. Maybe the Coleraine soccer community will come up and give him a hand with it, in the way that the Glenullin GAA community row in behind any neighbour who falls on hard times.

His new Coleraine comrades need only travel to the Glen and look at the club's state of the art facilities to see how the self help philosophy works in practice.

The new house can be insulated with bales of sheep wool, and running water can be diverted from the mountain streams. It sounds like a project that might be a worthy subject for Grand Designs.

It is all too easy to poke fun. But as his father Baker might put it, 'What the f*** has Derry ever done for our Eoin?'

In 2011, he was absolutely flying in the Ulster championship. In the semi-final we cut poor Armagh to pieces, with Eoin putting on an electrifying show. Suddenly, he was the hottest property in the game, the name on everyone's lips. Then, in an in-house game the week before the final, disaster struck. He went down for a ball and his cruciate went. As his previous team mates rushed in to help, he looked up and made the immortal remark, "That's the end of the f***ing All-Star."

Which puts me in mind of a story I was told in Knockmore club in Mayo a few weeks before last year's All-Ireland final about ex-Mayo star Conor Mortimer. The self-styled Supermort – he has this tattooed on his arm in the manner of the Superman crest and colours – had played well against the Dubs in the All-Ireland semi-final that year.

The next day, one of the Knockmore lads rang him to congratulate him and wish him well in the final.

"Ah yeah thanks," he replied "That's the lump of copper in the bag anyway."

When Tommy asked him if he'd play for Derry in the future, he said, "If there's no soccer on I don't see why not."

But just as Derry hopes were beginning to rise, he added, "Hopefully I'll go on to bigger and better things with Coleraine."

It is not all gloom and doom however. Eoin has – and you may think this typical of the man – kindly offered to turn out for Derry in the first round of the championship against Donegal. An offer which for some reason known only to himself, manager Brian McIver has refused.

Gaels all over the country have been making fun of Derry and sniggering at Eoin this week. Others have laughed at Irish League soccer. Even some of his Derry team mates have privately expressed anger and annoyance at Eoin's decision.

To them, I say this: Next time you are in the huddle after a gruelling session in the hail at Owenbeg, exhausted and feeling sorry for yourselves, take a long hard look at your team mates and ask yourselves one simple question: How many of us would be prepared to do what Eoin has offered to do for his county?

Let us hope that Eoin's shining example of loyalty in the face of adversity, will inspire his Derry team mates to new heights in the coming year. Thank you Eoin!

http://gaeliclife.com/2014/01/brolly-bradleys-loyalty-in-the-face-of-adversity