Antrim Football Thread

[belfastsaff]

i

i know conor small didn't want to join up with this years panel because he didn't enjoy it last year - cant blame the lad he's only a cub

I believe he will be spending the summer stateside. However if I was the manager next year I'd be getting him onside

I don't believe that's the reason he didn't join up doesn't go away until the end of June, Antrim's season will be over by then.

[Spike]

Now if you has any sense or knew me at all, i'm far from being 'the yes sir, no sir, two bags full sir' type of guy

You keep saying this yet back up their methodology every year despite the guaranteed repeat of failure (!)

The lads didnt committ, they were asked, there was trials, the season starts every year and they never bothered becuse of the reasons you stated.. the best players Antrim have are the ones that made themselves available for selection, now I don't know how smart you are but you can't drag people to a county set up, either they want to or they can't (or won't cause they threw their toys out of the pram).. Begging as a manager to get players to play for the county isnt a good look, now if you ever get the chance to manage team, begging players to play for it won't gain you any respect..

But they did call them, and begged them and detailed out what the set up would be and what would happen......and what would happen was exactly the same rubbish that was served up every year so the players said 'no thanks'.  Why would any intelligent person, who already went through repeated years of farce sign up to more??  Sometimes you just have to say 'no more' and this year was the one where players finally did it en masse. They didn't throw their toys out, or huff. They just politely and respectfully said 'No.'


[i]The knives have been out for a while,
I actually think they have been given an easy ride following the promotion failure.


Antrim failing to win a first round match in Ulster (Unless you are in your 80's) away from home to a team a couple div's above us isnt the shock that you make it, yes we could have played better and tactically it didnt work out but do you actually think had the Dad's army team played we'd have won the match?


Dads army? men ranging from late teens, early twenties to early thirties?? Are they good enough? yes.  are they fit enough? yes.  Who is going to guide the younger players?? you need the old hands on the teams and in the squads to help develop the younger ones.

I know he's your clubman and you feel the need to defend him (commendable) but just admit the tactics were a joke (as in so bad other gaa men are poking fun at antrim).   Was it a shock to get beat by down? of course not. The manner & size of the defeat? yes.  Devalues the Ulster championship when such ties are played out.  Would we have won? Debateable, but we COULD have given ourselves a possibility have winning. For starters we would have got out of Div 4 this year so confidence would have been higher. Better quality players, using their superior skills and attributes would certainly have made a system/tactic/game management more malleable and achievable.


The top of the tree isnt the problem, its the roots that need sorting out, only then will the tree blossom!! [/i]

Any gardener will tell you that if the roots are damaged, the tree hasn't long to follow. Any builder will tell you that if the foundations are fecked, then the house is fecked.  Antrim needs a major refurbishment.  A serious outreach, educational and promotional programme needs to be enacted. Theres no pride in Antrim football any more and its the responsibility of those at the top to get the pride back.  They are accountable, elected stakeholders. The buck stops with them.

[Milltown Row2]

They didnt want to play  because as you stated from the start, he wasn't their target... That's not Lenny's fault, he applied (unlike yourself) and is prepared to put in the hard yards (unlike yourself) and take the flack (unlike yourself, hidding behind a screen)

Playing with the deck he has is down to the players not wanting to give it a go, and some did huff, they decided that they wanted someone else and voted with their feet, the good Antrim men that they are..

Whether he is a clubman or not, I wouldnt have been lambasting any manager who lost to Down, Armagh had a All Ireland winning captain looking after them with tons of experience of managing other teams plus a huge amount of talent at his disposal and they failed miserably to Fermanagh, who have limited clubs to pick from...

As for the dads army, you mentioned Magil and McCann, both in their 30's, great players that they are, but maybe not because they thought it was the same old same old, they probably are just tired, training three nights a week and trying to play games for the club also... its a huge ask..

Should Lenny walk away and Jim Gavin were to pick up the post, would that make Antrim a better team? the same failings will appear..

Its been mentioned numerous times.. its got to start with schools, clubs and then the set up from Antrim, tracking development and look at results and ensuring targets are set and met.... Money is the thing, but in your head (for some reason) you think that all of what you have said comes cheap, well it's not that simple.. I know nothing about the Antrim set up really, other than the Referee committee or CCC I have limited knowledge of the workings of my club let alone the effort required to run a county set up, in a dual county to boot..

Maybe you could maybe put a plan in place that will cover that, the county would certainly jump at that as they obviously sit around all day on their hands

Oh no wait, its far better to snipe/bully/ridicule on the internet 

[toby47]

i know conor small didn't want to join up with this years panel because he didn't enjoy it last year - cant blame the lad he's only a cub

I believe he will be spending the summer stateside. However if I was the manager next year I'd be getting him onside

What if he wants to go to the States next year?

When young players go to the states for the summer it usually goes one of two ways.

'it's something I always wanted to try and it was the best summer of my life, glad I done it' Is the usual outcome with it being seen as 'ticked off the bucket list' and head down, committed to football again the next summer.

The very odd player will make a habit of going out 2 or three summers, but not many do.

I would try get him involved again early on next winter and try get him into the 1st mindset where its done but time to focus on club/county again. however you can hold a player back so if he wants to go next year again there's not much you can do.

[toby47]

i

i know conor small didn't want to join up with this years panel because he didn't enjoy it last year - cant blame the lad he's only a cub

I believe he will be spending the summer stateside. However if I was the manager next year I'd be getting him onside

I don't believe that's the reason he didn't join up doesn't go away until the end of June, Antrim's season will be over by then.

He leaves next week

[Spike]

They didnt want to play  because as you stated from the start, he wasn't their target... That's not Lenny's fault, he applied (unlike yourself) and is prepared to put in the hard yards (unlike yourself) and take the flack (unlike yourself, hidding behind a screen)

Says the man with the MR2 moniker. Who said they didn't want to play? They thought it was a waste of time....which it has indeed been shown to be the case and vindicated their perceptions. Lenny has to shoulder blame here too - he is the man with the wretched plan. If I showed up at an on the fence player's door with a half assed plan for the year, promising him more of the same,  trying to persuade him to join up, id fully expect him to say 'no thanks'.

I didn't apply because I'm not from West Belfast so I would have been automatically ruled out of the job.  I wouldn't have been the cheapest either which also rules me out of the job.  I would have wanted a backroom team, would have had experts to call on, would have wanted to take training outside Belfast, into suitable facilities and played our matches outside of Corrigan park which, yet again, would have ruled me out of the job.


Playing with the deck he has is down to the players not wanting to give it a go, and some did huff, they decided that they wanted someone else and voted with their feet, the good Antrim men that they are..

Yes, they are good Antrim men, who left their blood and sweat on many football pitches around Ireland for Antrim.  They just aren't stupid Antrim Men.

Whether he is a clubman or not, I wouldnt have been lambasting any manager who lost to Down, Armagh had a All Ireland winning captain looking after them with tons of experience of managing other teams plus a huge amount of talent at his disposal and they failed miserably to Fermanagh, who have limited clubs to pick from...

You don't see the irony of mentioning Fermanagh, a team with limited clubs and yet outperforms Antrim year after year???   No one is lambasting Lenny for getting beat by Down. He is being lambasted for his farcical game plan. And its his own fault anyway, for if he had prepared his set up correctly, the stay away stars would have turned up so my pity for him is limited. But sure you'll always defend him anyway.

As for the dads army, you mentioned Magil and McCann, both in their 30's, great players that they are, but maybe not because they thought it was the same old same old, they probably are just tired, training three nights a week and trying to play games for the club also... its a huge ask..

I didn't mention Magill and McCann?? Try reading the posts. 

Should Lenny walk away and Jim Gavin were to pick up the post, would that make Antrim a better team? the same failings will appear..

If Jim Gavin turned up tomorrow then yes, Antrim would be a better team. Better prepared, better tactics and set up for the future. Lenny is Groundhog Day. Substitute the name Lenny for Frank/Fitzy/Gearoid/Micky/Brian etc etc etc.  Its the same old same old.

Its been mentioned numerous times.. its got to start with schools, clubs and then the set up from Antrim, tracking development and look at results and ensuring targets are set and met.... Money is the thing, but in your head (for some reason) you think that all of what you have said comes cheap, well it's not that simple.. I know nothing about the Antrim set up really, other than the Referee committee or CCC I have limited knowledge of the workings of my club let alone the effort required to run a county set up, in a dual county to boot..

All good stuff, but as with everything in Antrim, you would be quicker to put your written suggestions into the bin at your own house rather than posting it to Antrim Board and letting them put it into their own bin. It takes effort, alongside money, and strategic planning. Antrim lack all three.   Antrim board take the easy way out...every.......single.........time.   Antrim are in such a dire place they need another shadow committee to hold them to account.

Maybe you could maybe put a plan in place that will cover that, the county would certainly jump at that as they obviously sit around all day on their hands

Yes, they obviously do sit around, perhaps waiting on the all Ireland tickets and a good free feed at the ulster final. Football and Hurling progress appears to be at the bottom of their to do lists.

Oh no wait, its far better to snipe/bully/ridicule on the internet 

If you prefer I could appear as a complete Simpleton and say the county board, establishment and manager are doing a good job, Lenny is blameless, Lenny is fighting the good fight and blindly defend everything they do despite glaring evidence to the contrary.

Regardless, Antrim in a poor state. Money or no.

[Milltown Row2]

So just avoid the question of how you think they will generate this Antrim county to a standard you'd be happy with? And please put in where the funds will allocated and used.. good man, no rush

[Spike]

Aww but you didnt answer any of my questions? Fairs fair.

Ive plenty of time to write such a thesis, we'll still be discussing this in 10 years time as nothing at all will have changed. You can even refer to your own posts from last year, and the year before that....and so on etc etc

Make sure the boys give you a pat on the head and a treat now for sticking up for lenny. Good boy. You may even get a county final.out of it   

[Milltown Row2]

Aww but you didnt answer any of my questions? Fairs fair.

Ive plenty of time to write such a thesis, we'll still be discussing this in 10 years time as nothing at all will have changed. You can even refer to your own posts from last year, and the year before that....and so on etc etc

Make sure the boys give you a pat on the head and a treat now for sticking up for lenny. Good boy. You may even get a county final.out of it   

Yeah there ya go, just what i thought, a barfly, an ex disgruntled z team player with an axe to grind, comes into the AGM at the end when all the positions are filled then complains! credit to your club no doubt

[Spike]

Aww but you didnt answer any of my questions? Fairs fair.

Ive plenty of time to write such a thesis, we'll still be discussing this in 10 years time as nothing at all will have changed. You can even refer to your own posts from last year, and the year before that....and so on etc etc

Make sure the boys give you a pat on the head and a treat now for sticking up for lenny. Good boy. You may even get a county final.out of it   

Yeah there ya go, just what i thought, a barfly, an ex disgruntled z team player with an axe to grind, comes into the AGM at the end when all the positions are filled then complains! credit to your club no doubt

Ah, the last bastion of the vanquished ........ personal insults.

One of those is true .....but I'm not telling you which one!

I'll lighten the mood with an old rehashed joke MR2 seeing as you're in bad form:


Lenny Harbinson walks into a bank on the Andersonstown Road. He walks up to the teller and says: "I'd like to withdraw £5,000 please".

The teller replies "Certainly sir! All I need is to see some identification." Lenny, taken aback, replies "This is really embarrassing. But I don't have any I.D. on me. But I'm Lenny Harbinson. You can ask anybody around here. They will tell you who I am." The teller replies sternly "I know who you are sir, I'm a St Galls man too. But I still need some sort of proof of identification. My bosses will ask for it. I'm sorry."

Bemused, Lenny asks "is there really nothing you can do?" The teller says "Well. There is one thing. A number of years ago we had this same situation with CJ McGourty. CJ came in without any form of I.D. to prove who he was. So he said he would prove it by doing something an impostor couldn't possibly do. He set a football down in the street outside. He then proceeded to kick it as hard as he possibly could. He kicked the ball so far, so accurately, into the bin he had pointed at, that we knew it had to be him." Lenny replies: "Interesting. Were there any other cases?"

The teller smiles and replies: "Yes actually. Not two months ago we had Ryan Murray in. Same problem again. So Ryan proceeds to hand toe with both feet, sprints so quickly around the room he was a blur, goes on to do a number of tricks, and we knew it absolutely had to be him.

"So Sir, is there anything you could do to prove to us who you are?" the teller asks.

Lenny stops to think for a minute. He shakes his head and replies "I can't think of anything at all. I'm not sure if there's a solution here. Honestly, I'm drawing a blank..."

The teller asks "Will that be large or small notes sir?"

[Milltown Row2]

I believe you were giving the sly digs first with your 'Theres a good boy' comment.. but sure your personal insults on a discussion board about Antrim managers are ok 

[JimStynes]

Can't wait until the county talk is over and we can get back on track with the country v city slagging.

[Milltown Row2]

Can't wait until the county talk is over and we can get back on track with the country v city slagging.

Piss aff! Fecking Armagh ones on now 

[JimStynes]

Can't wait until the county talk is over and we can get back on track with the country v city slagging.

Piss aff! Fecking Armagh ones on now 

We can pick Down as well ya know. Good win for us on Saturday night against Antrim.

[ManInBlackandGreen]

Refreshing Spike.... Chapeau!!