Quote from: ranch on April 16, 2024, 09:58:12 AMQuote from: David McKeown on April 15, 2024, 11:25:06 PMQuote from: yellowcard on April 15, 2024, 10:04:42 PMArmagh have shown glimpses of the 2022 championship form this year but I'd still be worried that they will slip back into last years negative mindset when faced with better opposition. The same thing happened in the League final again when the stakes were heightened and the fear of losing took over.
The Ulster final, should we get there, could well be the defining game of the season because they won't be winning an All Ireland title. For a lot of those players it's probably the last chance saloon to try and win meaningful silverware.
Is it meaningful silverware?
It definitely is, anybody who says otherwise is deluding themselves.
Maybe I am but it's certainly not the trophy it was. A top 8/10 County should be competing for the provincial title on an annual basis. It will be nice to win and if Armagh won I would celebrate but offer me an Ulster title or an All Ireland semi final spot it would be a tough call. I'd definitely take an all Ireland final birth over it.
I know the exact numbers of all Irelands won by every county in Ulster. I know how many all Irelands Galway, Mayo, Kerry, Cork, Dublin and Meath have won. I don't know how many provincials they have.
In the days of straight knock out it definitely was meaningful to win it. Now I'm less convinced and it doesn't help that one of the proposed changes to the calendar is to make the provincials the pre season competition