McKenna Cup 2024

[J70]

Anyone remember, without looking it up, who won the McKenna Cup last year? Or who was in the final?

[Angelo]

One would presume Bonner thought long and hard about which players he wanted to include in the McKenna Cup with a view to their potential as proper squad members. Naturally a lot of those lads are also going to be on college teams. Are you suggesting that he alter those plans and include non-college players he is less interested in on the off-chance that he might have a semi-final fixture to fulfill? It's a meaningless pre-season tournament, not the World Cup.

The exact same as most counties but Donegal seem to be the only one unwilling to fulfill a fixture. He's made a big scene of throwing his toys out of the pram, if it's not the World Cup then why has he shown such overt displays of petulance?

[bannside]

What the hell are you on about? Bonnars done nothing wrong here. Give me one reason why Bonnar might have the remotest interest in fulfilling a fixture without any resemblance of his team to play Mayo in two weeks in a game that matters at least a little bit. Plus, its Murphy calling the shots here or at least trying too!

[J70]

One would presume Bonner thought long and hard about which players he wanted to include in the McKenna Cup with a view to their potential as proper squad members. Naturally a lot of those lads are also going to be on college teams. Are you suggesting that he alter those plans and include non-college players he is less interested in on the off-chance that he might have a semi-final fixture to fulfill? It's a meaningless pre-season tournament, not the World Cup.

The exact same as most counties but Donegal seem to be the only one unwilling to fulfill a fixture. He's made a big scene of throwing his toys out of the pram, if it's not the World Cup then why has he shown such overt displays of petulance?

Evidently not the same as most counties as the other semi-finalists can field teams the same day as the Sigerson.

And what petulance and big scenes are you talking about? We know some of you Tyrone boys dislike Bonner, but you're being a wee bit over-sensitive here. He withdrew from a tournament no one cares about as it didn't work for his squad plans. It's not the end of the world. At worst, Monaghan will go into the final a bit more refreshed than the other finalist.

[Angelo]

Bonner already stated 13 are on Sigerson Duty. McGloone had a long year with his Club. Why would they flog him in Mckenna Cup.? McBrearty is away travelling and will miss the League. Jason Mc Gee will miss the league too, through injury. Oisin Gallen injured also .

So what?

Tyrone have similar numbers on Sigerson duty at the minute, as do Mayo, as do Galway etc.

The following players haven't featured yet for Tyrone - Harte, Hampsey, Cavanagh, Meyler, McNamee, R Donnelly, Bradley, HP McGeary.

Harry Loughran, Declan McClure and Mattie Donnelly are currently injured.

So that's about 20 players that Tyrone could be without this weekend, they will still field a team though.

It looks on the face of it to be amateurish from Bonner not to have a squad for this and embarrassing that he has thrown his toys out of the pram when he should have been planning for it.

Bonner requested that the Mckenna Cup game be moved to next Wednesday,  but Ulster Council refused.  It's a pre season competition, but it's run like its the All Ireland.

Bonner was more making a stance then anything else about fixture congestion. They just cram in games without much thought.

So he's worried about player welfare yet he wanted to add another game in a short space of time for those players to play in? He should have planned without his Sigerson players for this weekend, like every other county did.

[Angelo]

One would presume Bonner thought long and hard about which players he wanted to include in the McKenna Cup with a view to their potential as proper squad members. Naturally a lot of those lads are also going to be on college teams. Are you suggesting that he alter those plans and include non-college players he is less interested in on the off-chance that he might have a semi-final fixture to fulfill? It's a meaningless pre-season tournament, not the World Cup.

The exact same as most counties but Donegal seem to be the only one unwilling to fulfill a fixture. He's made a big scene of throwing his toys out of the pram, if it's not the World Cup then why has he shown such overt displays of petulance?

Evidently not the same as most counties as the other semi-finalists can field teams the same day as the Sigerson.

And what petulance and big scenes are you talking about? We know some of you Tyrone boys dislike Bonner, but you're being a wee bit over-sensitive here. He withdrew from a tournament no one cares about as it didn't work for his squad plans. It's not the end of the world. At worst, Monaghan will go into the final a bit more refreshed than the other finalist.

Evidently they can field because they planned without unavailable players and Donegal planned on playing with unavailable players.

He made a big scene of pulling out from a tournament and bizarrely stood behind player welfare as a reason for it when he wanted to add an extra midweek game into the mix for those players involved.

[greatpoint]

The exact same as most counties but Donegal seem to be the only one unwilling to fulfill a fixture. He's made a big scene of throwing his toys out of the pram, if it's not the World Cup then why has he shown such overt displays of petulance?

It looks on the face of it to be amateurish from Bonner not to have a squad for this and embarrassing that he has thrown his toys out of the pram when he should have been planning for it.

The problem seems to be that Declan Bonner picked a squad for the McKenna Cup which would struggle to field a team, why didn't he give players a run out who could play games? Donegal could field a team if they wanted but Bonner has thrown his toys out of the pram.

Instead he has gone and thrown his toys out of the pram. It's embarrassing.

It's utterly embarrassing for a county of Donegal's size not to be able to field a team.

It's Declan Bonner throwing his toys out of the pram and not for the first time.

These circumstances are not unique to Donegal yet they are the only county who have thrown their toys out of the pram and not fulfilled a fixture.

Bonner must be running an extremely amateur setup if he hadn't assembled a squad that could compete in the McKenna Cup, no wonder a good few regulars have walked again in the past few years.

Monaghan and Down will have similar numbers, the difference seems to be that Declan Bonner made a huge **** up of his McKenna Cup squad. It's a bad sign that you can't muster 20 lads to tog out for the weekend.

Donegal have thrown their toys out of the pram.

Is everything alright pet? Anything you want to tell us?

[Angelo]

The exact same as most counties but Donegal seem to be the only one unwilling to fulfill a fixture. He's made a big scene of throwing his toys out of the pram, if it's not the World Cup then why has he shown such overt displays of petulance?

It looks on the face of it to be amateurish from Bonner not to have a squad for this and embarrassing that he has thrown his toys out of the pram when he should have been planning for it.

The problem seems to be that Declan Bonner picked a squad for the McKenna Cup which would struggle to field a team, why didn't he give players a run out who could play games? Donegal could field a team if they wanted but Bonner has thrown his toys out of the pram.

Instead he has gone and thrown his toys out of the pram. It's embarrassing.

It's utterly embarrassing for a county of Donegal's size not to be able to field a team.

It's Declan Bonner throwing his toys out of the pram and not for the first time.

These circumstances are not unique to Donegal yet they are the only county who have thrown their toys out of the pram and not fulfilled a fixture.

Bonner must be running an extremely amateur setup if he hadn't assembled a squad that could compete in the McKenna Cup, no wonder a good few regulars have walked again in the past few years.

Monaghan and Down will have similar numbers, the difference seems to be that Declan Bonner made a huge **** up of his McKenna Cup squad. It's a bad sign that you can't muster 20 lads to tog out for the weekend.

Donegal have thrown their toys out of the pram.

Is everything alright pet? Anything you want to tell us?

You threw your toys out of the pram, Declan.

[J70]

One would presume Bonner thought long and hard about which players he wanted to include in the McKenna Cup with a view to their potential as proper squad members. Naturally a lot of those lads are also going to be on college teams. Are you suggesting that he alter those plans and include non-college players he is less interested in on the off-chance that he might have a semi-final fixture to fulfill? It's a meaningless pre-season tournament, not the World Cup.

The exact same as most counties but Donegal seem to be the only one unwilling to fulfill a fixture. He's made a big scene of throwing his toys out of the pram, if it's not the World Cup then why has he shown such overt displays of petulance?

Evidently not the same as most counties as the other semi-finalists can field teams the same day as the Sigerson.

And what petulance and big scenes are you talking about? We know some of you Tyrone boys dislike Bonner, but you're being a wee bit over-sensitive here. He withdrew from a tournament no one cares about as it didn't work for his squad plans. It's not the end of the world. At worst, Monaghan will go into the final a bit more refreshed than the other finalist.

Evidently they can field because they planned without unavailable players and Donegal planned on playing with unavailable players.

He made a big scene of pulling out from a tournament and bizarrely stood behind player welfare as a reason for it when he wanted to add an extra midweek game into the mix for those players involved.

Clearly Donegal didn't give much, if any, consideration to making the semi. Not disputing that at all. I just don't see the problem with that. Its a pre-season tournament for looking at potential players. not a competition worth taking seriously on its own merits.

The player welfare comments from the county board press comment ARE a bit puzzling, although MAYBE a couple of days might have helped the flu victims recover. It would be nice if the Donegal county board is starting to see the light in that respect though.

But how exactly is pulling out of the tournament making a big scene on Bonner's part? What would you have had them do? Just say nothing and not show up on the night?

[J70]

The exact same as most counties but Donegal seem to be the only one unwilling to fulfill a fixture. He's made a big scene of throwing his toys out of the pram, if it's not the World Cup then why has he shown such overt displays of petulance?

It looks on the face of it to be amateurish from Bonner not to have a squad for this and embarrassing that he has thrown his toys out of the pram when he should have been planning for it.

The problem seems to be that Declan Bonner picked a squad for the McKenna Cup which would struggle to field a team, why didn't he give players a run out who could play games? Donegal could field a team if they wanted but Bonner has thrown his toys out of the pram.

Instead he has gone and thrown his toys out of the pram. It's embarrassing.

It's utterly embarrassing for a county of Donegal's size not to be able to field a team.

It's Declan Bonner throwing his toys out of the pram and not for the first time.

These circumstances are not unique to Donegal yet they are the only county who have thrown their toys out of the pram and not fulfilled a fixture.

Bonner must be running an extremely amateur setup if he hadn't assembled a squad that could compete in the McKenna Cup, no wonder a good few regulars have walked again in the past few years.

Monaghan and Down will have similar numbers, the difference seems to be that Declan Bonner made a huge **** up of his McKenna Cup squad. It's a bad sign that you can't muster 20 lads to tog out for the weekend.

Donegal have thrown their toys out of the pram.

Is everything alright pet? Anything you want to tell us?

[Angelo]

One would presume Bonner thought long and hard about which players he wanted to include in the McKenna Cup with a view to their potential as proper squad members. Naturally a lot of those lads are also going to be on college teams. Are you suggesting that he alter those plans and include non-college players he is less interested in on the off-chance that he might have a semi-final fixture to fulfill? It's a meaningless pre-season tournament, not the World Cup.

The exact same as most counties but Donegal seem to be the only one unwilling to fulfill a fixture. He's made a big scene of throwing his toys out of the pram, if it's not the World Cup then why has he shown such overt displays of petulance?

Evidently not the same as most counties as the other semi-finalists can field teams the same day as the Sigerson.

And what petulance and big scenes are you talking about? We know some of you Tyrone boys dislike Bonner, but you're being a wee bit over-sensitive here. He withdrew from a tournament no one cares about as it didn't work for his squad plans. It's not the end of the world. At worst, Monaghan will go into the final a bit more refreshed than the other finalist.

Evidently they can field because they planned without unavailable players and Donegal planned on playing with unavailable players.

He made a big scene of pulling out from a tournament and bizarrely stood behind player welfare as a reason for it when he wanted to add an extra midweek game into the mix for those players involved.

Clearly Donegal didn't give much, if any, consideration to making the semi. Not disputing that at all. I just don't see the problem with that. Its a pre-season tournament for looking at potential players. not a competition worth taking seriously on its own merits.

The player welfare comments from the county board press comment ARE a bit puzzling, although MAYBE a couple of days might have helped the flu victims recover. It would be nice if the Donegal county board is starting to see the light in that respect though.

But how exactly is pulling out of the tournament making a big scene on Bonner's part? What would you have had them do? Just say nothing and not show up on the night?

He had been bleating for the past week about it then withdrew his team. It's an embarrassment and when you consider it's a county with Donegal's pick and quality that has taken this decision it is even moreso. It has shown the competition enormous disrespect and I think the Ulster Council should suspend Donegal from taking part next year.

[J70]

One would presume Bonner thought long and hard about which players he wanted to include in the McKenna Cup with a view to their potential as proper squad members. Naturally a lot of those lads are also going to be on college teams. Are you suggesting that he alter those plans and include non-college players he is less interested in on the off-chance that he might have a semi-final fixture to fulfill? It's a meaningless pre-season tournament, not the World Cup.

The exact same as most counties but Donegal seem to be the only one unwilling to fulfill a fixture. He's made a big scene of throwing his toys out of the pram, if it's not the World Cup then why has he shown such overt displays of petulance?

Evidently not the same as most counties as the other semi-finalists can field teams the same day as the Sigerson.

And what petulance and big scenes are you talking about? We know some of you Tyrone boys dislike Bonner, but you're being a wee bit over-sensitive here. He withdrew from a tournament no one cares about as it didn't work for his squad plans. It's not the end of the world. At worst, Monaghan will go into the final a bit more refreshed than the other finalist.

Evidently they can field because they planned without unavailable players and Donegal planned on playing with unavailable players.

He made a big scene of pulling out from a tournament and bizarrely stood behind player welfare as a reason for it when he wanted to add an extra midweek game into the mix for those players involved.

Clearly Donegal didn't give much, if any, consideration to making the semi. Not disputing that at all. I just don't see the problem with that. Its a pre-season tournament for looking at potential players. not a competition worth taking seriously on its own merits.

The player welfare comments from the county board press comment ARE a bit puzzling, although MAYBE a couple of days might have helped the flu victims recover. It would be nice if the Donegal county board is starting to see the light in that respect though.

But how exactly is pulling out of the tournament making a big scene on Bonner's part? What would you have had them do? Just say nothing and not show up on the night?

He had been bleating for the past week about it then withdrew his team. It's an embarrassment and when you consider it's a county with Donegal's pick and quality that has taken this decision it is even moreso. It has shown the competition enormous disrespect and I think the Ulster Council should suspend Donegal from taking part next year.

As a Donegal man, I'm not in the slightest bit embarrassed. Why should I be embarrassed because the demands of the Sigerson and the McKenna Cups were at odds in terms of the development plans for the Donegal squad for this season? A county team is not Liverpool FC, able to call on a full-time professional youth team to fullfil a fixture in the event of a scheduling conflict.
And the competition is not a person or entity owed respect. Its a pre-season kick-about for the county teams, nothing more. Some take it seriously some years, some never take it seriously. If the Ulster Council want to punish Donegal by barring them next year, I doubt if many will lose sleep over it.

[Angelo]

One would presume Bonner thought long and hard about which players he wanted to include in the McKenna Cup with a view to their potential as proper squad members. Naturally a lot of those lads are also going to be on college teams. Are you suggesting that he alter those plans and include non-college players he is less interested in on the off-chance that he might have a semi-final fixture to fulfill? It's a meaningless pre-season tournament, not the World Cup.

The exact same as most counties but Donegal seem to be the only one unwilling to fulfill a fixture. He's made a big scene of throwing his toys out of the pram, if it's not the World Cup then why has he shown such overt displays of petulance?

Evidently not the same as most counties as the other semi-finalists can field teams the same day as the Sigerson.

And what petulance and big scenes are you talking about? We know some of you Tyrone boys dislike Bonner, but you're being a wee bit over-sensitive here. He withdrew from a tournament no one cares about as it didn't work for his squad plans. It's not the end of the world. At worst, Monaghan will go into the final a bit more refreshed than the other finalist.

Evidently they can field because they planned without unavailable players and Donegal planned on playing with unavailable players.

He made a big scene of pulling out from a tournament and bizarrely stood behind player welfare as a reason for it when he wanted to add an extra midweek game into the mix for those players involved.

Clearly Donegal didn't give much, if any, consideration to making the semi. Not disputing that at all. I just don't see the problem with that. Its a pre-season tournament for looking at potential players. not a competition worth taking seriously on its own merits.

The player welfare comments from the county board press comment ARE a bit puzzling, although MAYBE a couple of days might have helped the flu victims recover. It would be nice if the Donegal county board is starting to see the light in that respect though.

But how exactly is pulling out of the tournament making a big scene on Bonner's part? What would you have had them do? Just say nothing and not show up on the night?

He had been bleating for the past week about it then withdrew his team. It's an embarrassment and when you consider it's a county with Donegal's pick and quality that has taken this decision it is even moreso. It has shown the competition enormous disrespect and I think the Ulster Council should suspend Donegal from taking part next year.

As a Donegal man, I'm not in the slightest bit embarrassed. Why should I be embarrassed because the demands of the Sigerson and the McKenna Cups were at odds in terms of the development plans for the Donegal squad for this season? A county team is not Liverpool FC, able to call on a full-time professional youth team to fullfil a fixture in the event of a scheduling conflict.
And the competition is not a person or entity owed respect. Its a pre-season kick-about for the county teams, nothing more. Some take it seriously some years, some never take it seriously. If the Ulster Council want to punish Donegal by barring them next year, I doubt if many will lose sleep over it.

You should be, it's embarrassing. If the Ulster Council punish Donegal and they certainly should, then Bonner will be the first man bleating about not having a warm up competition next year to look at players, assuming he is still in the job.

Every other county has the same issues as Donegal, they're still fulfilling their fixtures, this was something Donegal were aware of before they entered competition, the fixture list was set in stone. They should not have entered the competition if they felt this was going to be an issue.

It's not a scheduling conflict, the McKenna Cup has always had university involvement and those universities have generally had first choice on the county players. He then threw his toys out of the pram when he didn't get his way and gave a contradictory excuse as his reason. The guy is a grade A idiot and he has history too.

[Angelo]

Bonner was more making a stance then anything else about fixture congestion. They just cram in games without much thought.

He's making a stand about fixture congestion by requesting they add another midweek game for the players impacted into the calendar?

Square that one off for me please.

[J70]

One would presume Bonner thought long and hard about which players he wanted to include in the McKenna Cup with a view to their potential as proper squad members. Naturally a lot of those lads are also going to be on college teams. Are you suggesting that he alter those plans and include non-college players he is less interested in on the off-chance that he might have a semi-final fixture to fulfill? It's a meaningless pre-season tournament, not the World Cup.

The exact same as most counties but Donegal seem to be the only one unwilling to fulfill a fixture. He's made a big scene of throwing his toys out of the pram, if it's not the World Cup then why has he shown such overt displays of petulance?

Evidently not the same as most counties as the other semi-finalists can field teams the same day as the Sigerson.

And what petulance and big scenes are you talking about? We know some of you Tyrone boys dislike Bonner, but you're being a wee bit over-sensitive here. He withdrew from a tournament no one cares about as it didn't work for his squad plans. It's not the end of the world. At worst, Monaghan will go into the final a bit more refreshed than the other finalist.

Evidently they can field because they planned without unavailable players and Donegal planned on playing with unavailable players.

He made a big scene of pulling out from a tournament and bizarrely stood behind player welfare as a reason for it when he wanted to add an extra midweek game into the mix for those players involved.

Clearly Donegal didn't give much, if any, consideration to making the semi. Not disputing that at all. I just don't see the problem with that. Its a pre-season tournament for looking at potential players. not a competition worth taking seriously on its own merits.

The player welfare comments from the county board press comment ARE a bit puzzling, although MAYBE a couple of days might have helped the flu victims recover. It would be nice if the Donegal county board is starting to see the light in that respect though.

But how exactly is pulling out of the tournament making a big scene on Bonner's part? What would you have had them do? Just say nothing and not show up on the night?

He had been bleating for the past week about it then withdrew his team. It's an embarrassment and when you consider it's a county with Donegal's pick and quality that has taken this decision it is even moreso. It has shown the competition enormous disrespect and I think the Ulster Council should suspend Donegal from taking part next year.

As a Donegal man, I'm not in the slightest bit embarrassed. Why should I be embarrassed because the demands of the Sigerson and the McKenna Cups were at odds in terms of the development plans for the Donegal squad for this season? A county team is not Liverpool FC, able to call on a full-time professional youth team to fullfil a fixture in the event of a scheduling conflict.
And the competition is not a person or entity owed respect. Its a pre-season kick-about for the county teams, nothing more. Some take it seriously some years, some never take it seriously. If the Ulster Council want to punish Donegal by barring them next year, I doubt if many will lose sleep over it.

You should be, it's embarrassing. If the Ulster Council punish Donegal and they certainly should, then Bonner will be the first man bleating about not having a warm up competition next year to look at players, assuming he is still in the job.

Every other county has the same issues as Donegal, they're still fulfilling their fixtures, this was something Donegal were aware of before they entered competition, the fixture list was set in stone. They should not have entered the competition if they felt this was going to be an issue.

It's not a scheduling conflict, the McKenna Cup has always had university involvement and those universities have generally had first choice on the county players. He then threw his toys out of the pram when he didn't get his way and gave a contradictory excuse as his reason. The guy is a grade A idiot and he has history too.

Tyrone boys have history too. The rest of us have moved on. Maybe youse should do the same and stop overreacting to Bonner every time he opens his mouth.

Of course it's a scheduling conflict exacerbated by the flu and injuries. Other years are irrelevant. Bonner filled out his squad this year in such a way that it turned out to be a problem the way things unfolded. If Monaghan had scored their last minute penalty, this wouldn't have come up as Donegal would be out. The idea that Bonner should unnecessarily call players he doesn't want into the squad and waste their and his own time, just in case Donegal made the semi-final of the McKenna Cup, a warm-up tournament in January, is laughable.