Antrim Football Thread

[Spike]

Id settle for a great manager from anywhere. Maybe we've just been picking all the wrong ones as past century and theyve all coincidentally been from west belfast.  Ho hum.

[Milltown Row2]

Id settle for a great manager from anywhere. Maybe we've just been picking all the wrong ones as past century and theyve all coincidentally been from west belfast.  Ho hum.

Put your name in the hat next time, when the Antrim fundraisers comes passing stick a couple quid in the box

[Spike]

Id settle for a great manager from anywhere. Maybe we've just been picking all the wrong ones as past century and theyve all coincidentally been from west belfast.  Ho hum.

Put your name in the hat next time, when the Antrim fundraisers comes passing stick a couple quid in the box

Already do...cant be manager though......im not from west belfast.....rules me out apparently

[Belfast GAA man]

Surely everyone can see we are at an all team low. Is it much to ask the chairman to outline his plan in some detail?
Not general statements like   Get casement opened. But here's exactly what we are going to do?

We need some hope not soundbites

[paddyjohn]

Yeah, it is very odd that over the years the vast majority of Antrim football managers have been from west Belfast clubs.
It is also very strange that over the years the vast majority of Antrim championship winners have been west Belfast clubs as well.

Funny old world.

*Belfast Select clubs 

[outinfront]

Casement is a big issue imo.  It must have a knock-on effect with participation levels.  Going to see Antrim play in the county ground would be a much more inspirational experience for younger players.  The same for club championship games hosted at Casement.  It would inspire them to think I want to play here in this 'stadium', in front of these crowds, etc etc.  Secondly I feel there are too many clubs in Belfast (different argument, I understand the pride in a club's history).  But there's clubs struggling to field teams, very few at training, etc.  Then schools, some schools with big numbers that were once MacCrory and McLarnon level are playing at C now, and in some cases struggling.  Other schools have dropped to D, E and lower.  This could be a case of chicken/egg but all are contributing factors.  Is it participation, is it coaching, is it lack of inspiration, or is it something else? What do you guys think needs addressed first? Trying to be constructive rather than going over west Belfast vs country...

[bannside]

Bogieman makes a great point about the need for creating an ethos with positivity, creativity and comradeship at the centre....if we are ever going to pull ourselves out of this ongoing cycle of mediocrity. As well as the hard work too that is also mentioned. Outinfront mentions this now too. Great.

Its obvious there must be some correlation between our divisiveness amongst ourselves and our lack of progress. There can't be a county in Ireland with so much division. The country v city divide is obvious.... SW gaels believe they have been a very poor relation for too long (rightly or wrongly) but there's a bigger divide in my opinion between Football and Hurling.

I've attended County Committee meetings just after a poor football championship performance and there is literally zero conversation or debate about it. In other counties this would be top item on the clar, with active debate for hours. In my opinion at least 50% of delegates switch off immediately. same when the topic returns about a new football manager. Honestly, many in the room feel it's a waste of time talking about it. Quite frankly the apathy starts there and then.

Belfast Gaaman makes another great point. What exactly is Ciaran Mc Cavanagh going to do, to lead and be seen to instigate a tangible programme of recovery. So far nothing, and for many of us that's an absolute priority.

I understand why Colie Donnelly didn't make this a bigger priority....his tenure had other more pressing issues to deal with....but Mc Cavanagh as a businessman should know that a vibrant senior football set up will inspire future generations much quicker than anything. With Gaelfast getting going, those kids and also the country kids too must be able to look up to our current players and aspire to follow in their footsteps.

I've long advocated a football sub committee needs to be set up to oversee a joined up approach for short medium and long term programme. To make sure every possible box is ticked, from juvenile development, coaching the coaches, marketing, budgeting, goal setting and measurement, financing etc etc. IMO a vibrant committee dedicated to making this work will start this process, which as CFCLG rightly says, could take ten years or longer.

So please Mr Mc Cavanagh, over to you.

[Spike]

Yeah, it is very odd that over the years the vast majority of Antrim football managers have been from west Belfast clubs.
It is also very strange that over the years the vast majority of Antrim championship winners have been west Belfast clubs as well.

Funny old world.

*Belfast Select clubs 

Indeed. In this last 50 years, 1 club outside of west Belfast has had Antrim championship success, winning a handful of championships. Of that handful of championships, how many were overseen by an outsider more interested in squeezing the last drop out of a club before moving on to the next on the mercenary merry-go-round?

Doesn't leave a pile of homegrown (non-west Belfast) successful managers.

Yep , 3 of the last 4 county champs are from outside west Belfast and lo and behold the current County champs and league champs are from outside west Belfast.

Equally funny is how, since the finals are mixed now between the SW and West Belfast, how more balanced the winners seem to be.

Still don't see an non-west Belfast manager being recruited though. 

The small and only modicum of success we have had in the past 70 years has been with an outside manager when we ditched the west Belfast 'jobs for the boys' model.

Funny old world

btw, this isn't an anti-west Belfast piece - the best man we can get should get the job - its a comment that in the entire history of Antrim GAA the only two non-west Belfast managers have been an Armagh man and a Derry man.  It looks and sounds unbalanced and regardless of the rights and wrongs of the appointments in the past, the optics of such are poor.

At least Lenny had a club CV, some very ropey appointments made in the not so distant past.

[Spike]

Bannside, you've maybe hit the nail on the head:

I've attended County Committee meetings just after a poor football championship performance and there is literally zero conversation or debate about it. In other counties this would be top item on the clar, with active debate for hours. In my opinion at least 50% of delegates switch off immediately. same when the topic returns about a new football manager. Honestly, many in the room feel it's a waste of time talking about it. Quite frankly the apathy starts there and then.

Perhaps acceptance of mediocrity and apathy are our worst enemies.

[imtommygunn]

To be fair I think Kevin Madden should have been given a crack(or should be at some point) but apart from him I don't think there's really anyone (that I know of anyway) and Harbison has experience at a very high level with St Galls so to be fair to him didn't not deserve a crack either. I do think SW top teams have tended to have outsiders.

I am just not convinced the players at there at the minute no matter who is in charge. MR is getting very defensive on this but he's probably right about the sets of players who are arguably the best in the county (if for arguments sake they are better than the current incumbents) are too old.

[Milltown Row2]

It's not  that I'm defensive, I'd love nothing more for the mcanns Niblock Kelly and the flipping rest to be 10 years younger but they've done their bit, not spring chicks anymore, Spike for some reason had everyone at 28! Doh!

[Spike]

Did i MR? Please get your facts right. You've the entire st galls and cargin squads as over the hill apart from mccabe.  Perhaps stick to watching hurling?

[Spike]

To be fair I think Kevin Madden should have been given a crack(or should be at some point) but apart from him I don't think there's really anyone (that I know of anyway) and Harbison has experience at a very high level with St Galls so to be fair to him didn't not deserve a crack either. I do think SW top teams have tended to have outsiders.

I am just not convinced the players at there at the minute no matter who is in charge. MR is getting very defensive on this but he's probably right about the sets of players who are arguably the best in the county (if for arguments sake they are better than the current incumbents) are too old.

Seeing as we are in Div 4, id like to know what the cut off point for being too old is? 25, 30, 35? 

Madden has won nothing of note in  his managerial career so why should he be entitled.to a crack at it?  Hiring him.is perpetuating the previous routes except he has a different postcode.  Lets get the qualified men in.

[imtommygunn]

Division 4 still requires a lot of commitment and that's harder for older guys to give. These guys are not not being picked - they aren't available unless I am mistaken?

Who are these qualified men? Do you mean outsiders?

[Spike]

You are forgetting Jody Gormley? That's probably wise in fairness.
The SW club that have won 3 of the last 4 championships have been managed by 2 different Derry men for 2? of those successes.

Who are these SW men who you feel should be getting the gig? Who is getting knocked back?
[/quote]

Forgot about jody, my bad.   Didnt he reach croke park in the TM cup final?

St galls obviously thought the outside manager route was a good option too.  Seemed to work for them.

In case you missed it, mckeever has got blew away twice now, doubt he'll be back for a third round of andytown interviews. Who'd put their name in for a job that they'll never get??  Anyways, as said previously, get the best man possible, not the bargain bucket guy....from wherever