Antrim Football Thread

Started by theskull1, November 09, 2006, 11:48:40 PM

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JimStynes

Great result for St. Ronan's College today and a very proud day for Aghagallon. 9 panel members and 6 played (5 started) a very important role in the McCrory Cup victory today.  Creggan had a good representation today as well. A day they will remember for the rest of their lives.

stiffler

Must bode well for the future of Antrim football having almost a full 15 between the 2 panels today.
GAABoard Fantasy Cheltenham Competition- Most winners 2009

BrendanAntrim

so does anyone think that Carlow can beat Laois and open up a potential route to promotion for us? I think they can, but two away wins for us in a row would be a big ask.

BrendanAntrim

On another note; why is the support for our football team so poor at league games? It has never been great from memory but around 2010 / 2011 we were getting decent crowds for league games. Yesterday Carlow had more supporters than Antrim in Corrigan. I know the clash with the hurlers played a part. But 2 years ago we played Wicklow away to secure promotion, we had won every game prior to that one so we were in the exact situation Carlow were in yesterday. Now Wicklow isn't a million miles away. Apart from players families I would say there was about 20 Antrim supporters at that game. Any thoughts?

country bumpkin

Quote from: BrendanAntrim on March 19, 2018, 10:52:07 PM
On another note; why is the support for our football team so poor at league games? It has never been great from memory but around 2010 / 2011 we were getting decent crowds for league games. Yesterday Carlow had more supporters than Antrim in Corrigan. I know the clash with the hurlers played a part. But 2 years ago we played Wicklow away to secure promotion, we had won every game prior to that one so we were in the exact situation Carlow were in yesterday. Now Wicklow isn't a million miles away. Apart from players families I would say there was about 20 Antrim supporters at that game. Any thoughts?
Yep......made the same comment following the Leitrim visit and such observation was kicked into touch by your good self.
Wonder why the game was switched from the original venue... ???

BrendanAntrim

Cant recall that exactly but I think you claimed that we were outnumbered by Leitrim supporters which wasn't the case that day. We were outnumbered on Sunday last.

bit of banter

Id be more worried about the performance of our team than the crowd. We ripped into fitzy and adams that we were too defensive and had no system of play. Then lenny gets appointed and we heard about better systems of play, better conditioned players and kickout strategy. Could anyone really say they have seen evidence of any of these and the guys are training 5 days a week. Carlow were better all over the park and deserved the win but we are not fit by any means ( cj is in shocking condition ), kerrs kickouts have only 1 pattern (long) and we got back in numbers but couldnt get out when we won the ball. I think we are honestly playing at our level and until we have alot of personel changes we will stay in div 4 for a while. Last year we were very competative all year pushing armagh and longford for 60 mins and we had a few dismissed and both these teams are looking at promotion to div 2. Nows the time to get rid of players who dont want to commit to the lifestyle of a county player regardless of their supposed talent and build a new young hungry and committed squad who see playing for antrim as a privilage not a hassle. I believe we do have the talent but were not committing to them and going back to the old. The carlow supporters were laughing at some players conditions throughout the match.
The usual guys are very quiet about this performance are they now realising we mighten have the mix of players or management they were all upbeat about earlier in the year when we were playing the weakest teams in the league.

Catch and Kick

Quote from: bit of banter on March 20, 2018, 09:47:51 PM
Id be more worried about the performance of our team than the crowd. We ripped into fitzy and adams that we were too defensive and had no system of play. Then lenny gets appointed and we heard about better systems of play, better conditioned players and kickout strategy. Could anyone really say they have seen evidence of any of these and the guys are training 5 days a week. Carlow were better all over the park and deserved the win but we are not fit by any means ( cj is in shocking condition ), kerrs kickouts have only 1 pattern (long) and we got back in numbers but couldnt get out when we won the ball. I think we are honestly playing at our level and until we have alot of personel changes we will stay in div 4 for a while. Last year we were very competative all year pushing armagh and longford for 60 mins and we had a few dismissed and both these teams are looking at promotion to div 2. Nows the time to get rid of players who dont want to commit to the lifestyle of a county player regardless of their supposed talent and build a new young hungry and committed squad who see playing for antrim as a privilage not a hassle. I believe we do have the talent but were not committing to them and going back to the old. The carlow supporters were laughing at some players conditions throughout the match.
The usual guys are very quiet about this performance are they now realising we mighten have the mix of players or management they were all upbeat about earlier in the year when we were playing the weakest teams in the league.
Thought Antrim were unlucky last year to make the drop but they look lukewarm in the games i've seen. Leaders on the field are lacking. Thought kickout was very poor and Carlow closed it down very well.

bannside

#14618
There's a lot of truth in what Catch & Kick says tbh. Quite a few of his points cannot really be countered. The kick out stats need to be better and if we do not have arguably Lennys first choice midfield (MMK and SB) then why do our kick outs still land on top of the two Carlow giants especially Brendan Murphy.

Maybe I'm trying too hard to remain optimistic because there genuinely is a lot of very honest work going on that I know of, but I do honestly believe that Carlow are a hugely improved team  this year and yet, we played middling at times and still were one score off them at the end.

We put three into the keepers hands in the first half when scores were vital and the referee gave Carlow two or three very soft frees in scorable positions to keep them in the ascendancy. ( These things usually balance themselves out but on Sunday I didn't see evidence of that).

In the absence of both of Lennys first choice midfielders, we also had to play without the services of Ryan Murray and Paddy Mc Bride for most of the game. Unquestionably this dented our scoring threat.

Overall it was a day that turned out as most people feared. It dosent make us a bad team all of a sudden and at full strength we would most likely have got the result. Football can do that to you, and the challenge is to remain as positive as possible under the circumstances.

In the meantime maybe the panel needs freshened up a bit (as many countys do between league and championship) but that's Lennys call. There is a lot of quality missing up front from what would be considered our better type forwards in the county. Maybe there is good reason why they can't commit but think Niblock Tomas Billy Joe Burns Owen Gallagher etc...feel free to add to that list. 

Especially in light that one or two dropouts from the existing panel are likely. As i say thats Lennys call and Im sure he is aware of the options himself, whether he intends to go down that route or not is his call.

bit of banter

Y mention Billy joe burns ? he is without doubt one of the best gaelic footballers in Antrim but is a signed irish league player who hasnt ever looked like hes had an interest in Antrim simply because hes under contract with Crusaders. Again niblock and tomas were good servants to Antrim but they have had their time. Where are the young players throughout the county that need to get blooded for the future. We r in div 4 and thats the best place to get new talent involved and learn their trade. I really think were sending out a bad message to our young lads when cj can continue leading our line in the condition hes in. Yound lads hungry and with a drive to play for Antrim are sitting on the bench watching. Time to rewrite the script and have a long term plan to introduce new talent with all the attributes of a county footballer not just the ability to kick the odd free. Div 4 should be our level for a while now lets use it to our advantage for the long term.

bannside

Down brought in Connaire Harrison from Warrenpoint Town to do all the mid summer damage last year against Armagh, so everything is doable if a way can be found. Look I know it's a wild card....even more so because BJ is getting married this summer too. But I didn't see a more impressive forward in Antrim football during the 6 weeks he was able to give it to his club last year, and fit as a fiddle with all the skills too.

But as I said Lenny will have his own ideas about who else is in his plans and Im sure he has plenty of inside advisors on the issue.

Bit of Banter is making a case to introduce a lot of new blood but the way I look at it is IF Kevin Niblock (No matter what age he is) is still the best dirty ball winner we have.....and if he would be up for a few months participation, then I'd be banging his door down. But that's only one opinion and Im certain many others will disagree. (Look maybe he is gone for good injury wise,  but the last I heard he was going rightly with the soccer).

Question? Would you take a few experienced old hands (We all know the names) and have a good rattle at Down, or would you introduce half a dozen nineteen or twenty year olds and give them a touch of experience for the future?

Maybe there is no right answer!

Or does Lenny stick with those who gave committment from day one and make everyone realise there are no short cuts. Just interested to hear some thoughts on the matter.

bit of banter

Short term gain for long term loss is what we will get going back to the few older hands your talking about and lets not forget they took us to div 4. Bringing those guys back now will set a tone for experienced players to miss the hard graft of early season training and long trips away in the league to then drop in to the squad during championship time when the suns at their backs and look like saviours. Class way to knock a young lads confidence after putting in months of hard work. If lads dont commit from day 1 they should not be considered. Carlow have taken 33 years to get out of the basement i cant see us taking anywhere near that time to build a new Antrim team of skillful, committed,hardworking and lifestyle living county footballers. We already have a few just nowhere near enough.

bannside

I totally do get the reason why a squad should not be interrupted during a season, letting a few old hands back in for the sunny days and all that. And yes it would sent out poor signals to the lads who put the hard graft in all year. No problem with that.

In the meantime the focus must be on beating Limerick on Sunday and the further loss  to injury of our best player last Sunday (imo) won't help in that regard.






themac_23

I think the nature of IC football now doesn't allow for long term planning, it's the here and now. The cycles of good teams is very short so I would be inclined to pick the best players available and if that's billy joe burns then so be it. How often do we see good 20/21 year olds come in play well and then due to work or uni commitnemets they have to opt out. Pick the best players in the county who will commit for the remainder of the season, then dust ourselves down and go again.

bannside

#14624
I speak to a lot of people who agree with this line of thinking.

Then again, the traditionalists will say look if they can't commit 5 nights a week for 9 months of the year, then we can do without them.

Given that any player will not peak (both physically and football wise) until their mid twenties, you will come to the conclusion that after 5 or six years of this gruel, (because it can be) sacrifices, falling out with girlfriends, losing out on job promotion prospects, not being able to go on holidays with your mates, etc etc.......well most talented 19/20 year olds will be truly scundered by the time this new group has developed to its optimum.

And the way the fixture list is screwed up the county player will hardly set eyes on his club mates so he can be expected to be called a glory hunting county b......., given that most clubs dont really give a damn about how the county is doing.

There a no easy solution unfortunately. Bringing back half a dozen old hands for the championship and having a crack at beating Down might win a match but in the process would piss a lot of people off too, and would be counter productive in the medium term.

Then again......it's a results based business. You really can't win!