Down Club Hurling & Football

[Walter Cronc]

With Kilcoo now All Ireland Champions the question is can anyone realistically expect to beat these men or are we set for another decade of dominance from Kilcoo? Personally can't see any team stopping them in Down for the foreseeable and not sure if this is a good or bad thing. It has to be said they have taken the whole approach to club football up to a serious level and I'm not sure many teams have the appetite to compete with it.

They definitely can be beat they've a glaring weakness in defence that if management teams planned properly could expose with good free-takers and the exploitation of the Mark Rule. The full back line doesn't have the legs and sit quite narrow so using the mark to get the ball out wide would allow teams to tip over points providing they've reliable scorers from the dead ball

McEvoy is a serious athlete at FB. Moran uses him very much like he did Rogers at Slaughtneil to break forward and create initial overlaps for Branagan x2 to thrive on. I'd agree though that the mark could be an option to exploit them. However kicking under that sustained pressure and into a wall of defenders isn't easy. I think the keeper should be targeted by teams more. In the first 10/15 minutes against us (Glen) I couldn't get over the intensity of Kilcoo. However once our boys settled they definitely began to work them out better. Is it a case of Burren & Warrenpoint being excellent teams or does familiarity with Kilcoo's style of play/knowing how to play against it ensure they push them close in the Down championship?

[thebar]

With Kilcoo now All Ireland Champions the question is can anyone realistically expect to beat these men or are we set for another decade of dominance from Kilcoo? Personally can't see any team stopping them in Down for the foreseeable and not sure if this is a good or bad thing. It has to be said they have taken the whole approach to club football up to a serious level and I'm not sure many teams have the appetite to compete with it.

Bryansford dominated
Burren dominated
Mayobridge dominated
This is Kilcoos time, it will come to an end sometime, that's just a fact of life. It's the middle of February, in two months there is a league to be played for, a new championship to be played for in August, that's only 6 months away! Teams should be excited that there is a chance to play the all Ireland champions this season. It's a free go!

Correct bud but being honest those 3 teams you named dominated for a decade before the those great teams naturally broke up due to age and had nothing coming after them at that level. Kilcoo have had a decade of dominance (more even) and as opposed to coming to an end they have just won an All Ireland with more in the tank for the future so its to simplistic to say Kilcoo's time will come to an end some time...of course it will but they aren't taking the foot of the pedal any time soon. Could they dominant for another decade? Wouldn't rule it out. 

[manwithnoplan]

With Kilcoo now All Ireland Champions the question is can anyone realistically expect to beat these men or are we set for another decade of dominance from Kilcoo? Personally can't see any team stopping them in Down for the foreseeable and not sure if this is a good or bad thing. It has to be said they have taken the whole approach to club football up to a serious level and I'm not sure many teams have the appetite to compete with it.

They definitely can be beat they've a glaring weakness in defence that if management teams planned properly could expose with good free-takers and the exploitation of the Mark Rule. The full back line doesn't have the legs and sit quite narrow so using the mark to get the ball out wide would allow teams to tip over points providing they've reliable scorers from the dead ball

It's a shame for Kilmacud you weren't along the line for them!

[Johnnysboys]

McEvoy is a serious athlete at FB. Moran uses him very much like he did Rogers at Slaughtneil to break forward and create initial overlaps for Branagan x2 to thrive on. I'd agree though that the mark could be an option to exploit them. However kicking under that sustained pressure and into a wall of defenders isn't easy. I think the keeper should be targeted by teams more. In the first 10/15 minutes against us (Glen) I couldn't get over the intensity of Kilcoo. However once our boys settled they definitely began to work them out better. Is it a case of Burren & Warrenpoint being excellent teams or does familiarity with Kilcoo's style of play/knowing how to play against it ensure they push them close in the Down championship?
[/quote]

If ur saying these two are excellent teams - Kilcoo must be off the charts. It's actually worrying for us as a county that they are winning an all Ireland 13 years after their dominance began. I spent a while today listening to Laverty's podcast with BBC. Very enjoyable I must say. Lads not drinking for years and training like the hammers of hell individually and collectively has taken them to the top. Whilst it wasn't really a surprise to me that hard work won it - what are the rest of us doing as clubs?
Speaking about my own club - there are so many personalities training underage teams that no one in their right mind wud be underage development officer and try to implement what's necessary to feed into a senior team. There would be clashes galore between football and hurling and from one manager to the next about what their teams should be doing at certain stages of development.  At senior level we have a bunch of men/boys who gripe at everything. They want to win so so bad - but are they willing to really put their lives on hold to get over the line - I don't think they are. I honestly feel this is how high the bar has now been set by Kilcoo. If your lads are not willing to make sacrifices beyond the normal training 2/3 times per week etc - they will not dine at the top table..

[Lloyd p]

With Kilcoo now All Ireland Champions the question is can anyone realistically expect to beat these men or are we set for another decade of dominance from Kilcoo? Personally can't see any team stopping them in Down for the foreseeable and not sure if this is a good or bad thing. It has to be said they have taken the whole approach to club football up to a serious level and I'm not sure many teams have the appetite to compete with it.

They definitely can be beat they've a glaring weakness in defence that if management teams planned properly could expose with good free-takers and the exploitation of the Mark Rule. The full back line doesn't have the legs and sit quite narrow so using the mark to get the ball out wide would allow teams to tip over points providing they've reliable scorers from the dead ball

It's a shame for Kilmacud you weren't along the line for them!

X2 LOL

[befair]

Is it worth 'putting your life on hold?' Football is supposed to be a hobby; young lads should be travelling the world  while they have the chance and starting their careers, older men should be putting their families first.
But once one team does it (weight training/fitness coaches/psychologists/managers being paid substantial amounts), every team has to do it and it takes the enjoyment out of the game. No wonder that many clubs are even having trouble fielding a 2nds team, when every club should be concentrating on keeping lads interested.

I absolutely respect Kilcoo's success btw; incredible spirit.

[Walter Cronc]

McEvoy is a serious athlete at FB. Moran uses him very much like he did Rogers at Slaughtneil to break forward and create initial overlaps for Branagan x2 to thrive on. I'd agree though that the mark could be an option to exploit them. However kicking under that sustained pressure and into a wall of defenders isn't easy. I think the keeper should be targeted by teams more. In the first 10/15 minutes against us (Glen) I couldn't get over the intensity of Kilcoo. However once our boys settled they definitely began to work them out better. Is it a case of Burren & Warrenpoint being excellent teams or does familiarity with Kilcoo's style of play/knowing how to play against it ensure they push them close in the Down championship?

If ur saying these two are excellent teams - Kilcoo must be off the charts. It's actually worrying for us as a county that they are winning an all Ireland 13 years after their dominance began. I spent a while today listening to Laverty's podcast with BBC. Very enjoyable I must say. Lads not drinking for years and training like the hammers of hell individually and collectively has taken them to the top. Whilst it wasn't really a surprise to me that hard work won it - what are the rest of us doing as clubs?
Speaking about my own club - there are so many personalities training underage teams that no one in their right mind wud be underage development officer and try to implement what's necessary to feed into a senior team. There would be clashes galore between football and hurling and from one manager to the next about what their teams should be doing at certain stages of development.  At senior level we have a bunch of men/boys who gripe at everything. They want to win so so bad - but are they willing to really put their lives on hold to get over the line - I don't think they are. I honestly feel this is how high the bar has now been set by Kilcoo. If your lads are not willing to make sacrifices beyond the normal training 2/3 times per week etc - they will not dine at the top table..
[/quote]

Lol I was asking were Burren n Warrenpoint excellent sides? Given they generally get so close to Kilcoo. As for their dominance I'd be surprised if it goes on another 10 years. It happened it Armagh I suppose but Derry you get lynched after a few years of winning!

[snoopdog]

Do they get so close to kilcoo though? Or do kilcoo just do enough to get past them. 
McEvoy is a serious athlete at FB. Moran uses him very much like he did Rogers at Slaughtneil to break forward and create initial overlaps for Branagan x2 to thrive on. I'd agree though that the mark could be an option to exploit them. However kicking under that sustained pressure and into a wall of defenders isn't easy. I think the keeper should be targeted by teams more. In the first 10/15 minutes against us (Glen) I couldn't get over the intensity of Kilcoo. However once our boys settled they definitely began to work them out better. Is it a case of Burren & Warrenpoint being excellent teams or does familiarity with Kilcoo's style of play/knowing how to play against it ensure they push them close in the Down championship?

If ur saying these two are excellent teams - Kilcoo must be off the charts. It's actually worrying for us as a county that they are winning an all Ireland 13 years after their dominance began. I spent a while today listening to Laverty's podcast with BBC. Very enjoyable I must say. Lads not drinking for years and training like the hammers of hell individually and collectively has taken them to the top. Whilst it wasn't really a surprise to me that hard work won it - what are the rest of us doing as clubs?
Speaking about my own club - there are so many personalities training underage teams that no one in their right mind wud be underage development officer and try to implement what's necessary to feed into a senior team. There would be clashes galore between football and hurling and from one manager to the next about what their teams should be doing at certain stages of development.  At senior level we have a bunch of men/boys who gripe at everything. They want to win so so bad - but are they willing to really put their lives on hold to get over the line - I don't think they are. I honestly feel this is how high the bar has now been set by Kilcoo. If your lads are not willing to make sacrifices beyond the normal training 2/3 times per week etc - they will not dine at the top table..

Lol I was asking were Burren n Warrenpoint excellent sides? Given they generally get so close to Kilcoo. As for their dominance I'd be surprised if it goes on another 10 years. It happened it Armagh I suppose but Derry you get lynched after a few years of winning!
[/quote]

[thewobbler]

Too much emphasis on "no fun" being the difference, on display above.

The "extra 2%" really only matters a damn if the first 98% is roughly in place. And the basic story of Kilcoo is that in the early noughties, Laverty stepped away from the county, and PD and the 2 Johnstons came of age. And just as they'd found the scoring forwards to give anyone a game, a family of raw, athletic, hugely committed defenders emerged to bolster what was already an aggressive, hard hitting rearguard.

With the greatest respect to clubs around the county, the only way most of us could compete with that was to wipe them out at midfield. And that in many ways has been the focus of Kilcoo's extra 2% for the past 4-5 years: limit the opposition's quantity of possessions by allowing both them and you to hold onto the ball for extended periods, kill any momentum the opposition gain as early as possible by any means necessary, turn the screw hard when momentum falls your way, don't fall into the trap of making the game a shootout, and don't pick up black or red cards during all of the above. There's some seriously, seriously smart and disciplined shit in how they do this so efficiently, without raising a pulse.

But here's the thing. None of it matters without forwards who can cut you in two and ensure that narrow games fall your way, and defenders who can shepherd you towards stupid decisions. The latter is coachable. The former much less so.

Will Kilcoo dominate for another 10 years? Laverty is 37. PD 32 odd. The Johnstone brothers around 30 and have an output that relies heavily on pace. Unless they've a production line of forwards coming through, Kilcoo will rejoin the pack sooner rather than later. That's just what happens to any team when their firepower declines.

[Cuan12]

Congrats Kilcoo, having read all the posts since your win I have to say that unless teams match your intensity you will stay at the top for the foreseeable future , however if the county championship returned to a straight knock out competition there would be a chance that a team could catch you cold and knock you out of the championship( remember Teconnaght beating all Ireland champions Burren), biggest shock ever, but it's unlikely to happen when our county executive insists on having a back door chance in Down. Just a thought !!!

[Targetman]

I remember Teeonnaught beating Burren, wasn't sure if they were All Ireland champions or just County champions, what year was that?

[The_big_bad_wolf]

It was 1982 that Teconnagh  beat Burren . Ballyinderry beat Burren in the Ulster final in 81

[sdg]

Kingdom looking for new management team

Is Bernie Ruane not with them again?

He's away

[Truth hurts]

Kingdom looking for new management team

Is Bernie Ruane not with them again?

He's away

A bad timeof the year to be looking for a manager.

[Truth hurts]

Darragh O'Hanlon will be joing the backroom team of the u20s, a good man to have about. Does anyone have a copy of the panel?