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Shane Heavron is undoubtedly a very talented footballer and a brilliant penalty taker. However I think it was Shane's own decision to leave the panel as he felt that he was not getting enough game time. The counter argument apparently was that he did not have the work rate for modern football. I do not know how accurate that assessment  is because I did not see enough of him playing for Derry.

He is 29 now SO THIS WILL BE VERY MUCH A MAKE OR BREAK YEAR IF HE WANTS TO SERIOUSLY BE CONSIDERED FOR THE SENIOR COUNTY PANEL.

Anybody see other possible recruits for Senior call ups?Are Cahir McMonagle and Peter McCullagh possibles in this regard? Of course Ryan Dougan and Jack Doherty would be decided assets if they declared themselves available. Anybody know if Matthew and Enda Downey are fit again?

 "Youse boys know nathin" about football!!" Derry v Tyrone and Mayo v Armagh in All - Ireland semi finals. Final to have same pairings as 2003!

 Regarding yesterdays game versus Monaghan let us get the negatives out of the way first. Derry in the last two games have been well below par both in the Ulster final and  yesterday. When you take into account that practically the same small panel of players have played seventeen high intensity games from the start of the McKenna Cup, through the League, the Ulster Championship and yesterday it is inevitable that the side can not always perform to the same high level.

Last year they peaked at the Ulster final. This year they peaked at the semi final stage  simply because they had to play at a higher level this year earlier in order to achieve their objective of reaching Division One which they duly did.They had to go to extra time and a penalty shoot out in order to win back to back Ulster titles this year. That fact alone and the management upheaval was obviously a further physical and mental strain on the players.

So the dip in form was inevitable but when you consider their magnificent fight back from being three points down in the last minute to even go temporarily ahead shows the innate fighting spirit and resilience of this team. So all is not yet lost.

True there were other negative factors at play in last night's game. First of all the refereeing was of a very low standard..Throughout the game Derry's central players in particular were continually held off the ball when the kick outs were being taken.  This was a crafty and unfair Monaghan tactic to disrupt Derry from transitioning the ball quickly  to their attacking players.Secondly three diabolical decisions were given against Derry when they were in an advantageous position.They were denied a scoreable free and on two other occasions when Derry should have been awarded frees the decision incredibly went the other way.Finally Moaghan's fifth "point" was clearly wide .

On the Derry debit side three of our players gave away unnecessary frees for which we were duly punished. Our greatest faux paus, however, was to push up too far when Monaghan had possession and leave Monaghan to easily score five points from distance. Grant it they were great points but our central defensive marking which allowed Bannigan , McCarthy and company to score at will was very poor. Three players in particular were very slack and unobservant in this regard.This brings me to another couple of problems. In the modern game the top counties have good long distance dead ball kickers. Unfortunately, we only have the magnificent Shane McGuigan for the short and medium right - sided kicks and Niall Toner for the  short left-sided kicks. Two long distance free kicks at least are scored in every top game.

Three of our defenders and three of our starting forwards have not been playing particularly well in their current roles. Maybe the time has come to revise and freshen up our current structure going forward. I strongly believe that the intelligent ball -winning  and definite scoring prowess of Lachlan Murray has to be utilised from the beginning, that Padraig Cassidy should start and if Oisin McWilliams and Matthew Downey are going to be injured for the long term  management will have to seriously consider recalling Emmett Bradley to join Ray McCarron as subs who will be called upon for meaningful substitute time.

Undoubtedly players should be given plenty of rest time in between playing matches for the rest of the season and hopefully the rehabbing Matthew and Oisin will be able to take their places on the bench very soon. That last ten minutes of inspirational play last night should be a strong signal for both management and players that they are basically on the right track but will have to take into consideration some of the points made above.

 Re Derry v Monaghan game I think that Derry management and team must treat this game with the greatest respect as Monaghan have nothing to lose and will use all types of tactics both fair and off the radar to try and upset Derry's normal pattern of play.
In addition they will probably have McAnespie back and he caused a lot of problems last year.

To answer Wildweasel's query concerning the absence of the name Downey being introduced as a playing substitute it depends which one is he referring to, Shea or Matthew. Shea  was injured at the start of this championship campaign as was Matthew. It would appear to me that by the time they had fully recovered they had lost out in the pecking order to Padraig Cassidy/Benny Heron and Lachlan Murray when it came to bringing on substitutes.

As far as I can gather none of our U20 Senior squad players really distinguished themselves in the Ulster U20 final.

One criticism I have of the present management is that they are very reluctant to bring on  subs at any stage of a game. Let us hope that factor  along  with such a small squad will not come back to haunt us. I would dread a scenario where any one of  Glass, Rogers,McGuigan, McCluskey or Ethan Doherty got injured.

Wildweasel 74's comment regarding Derry having a small panel is correct as is his statement that Patrick Kearney,  Lorcan McWilliams , Liam McGoldrick and others presumably like Jack Doherty especially are good enough to be on the current panel. However to the best of my knowledge all of the above were originally on the panel but were not willing to give the necessary commitment and left voluntarily. Therefore one cannot blame anyone including Rory Gallagher for that scenario.

 When properly analysing yesterday's game against Dublin  all Derry supporters and indeed management team need to go no further than replay Peter Canavan's excellent and accurate summary of the game itself on the  League Sunday programme last night and Cathair O'Kane's equally pertinent observations in today's Irish News.

  For the successful implementation of any team system one has to depend on the performance and availability of certain key players. Derry's seven  key players, in my opinion, are Chrissy McKaigue, Conor McCluskey, Padraig McGrogan,Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers, Ethan Doherty and Shane McGuigan.The most important of these seven is Conor Glass  because he links, covers back nd co-ordinates all defensive and offensive movements.

Yesterday Chrissy was absent, Conor Glass was gone for most of the second half and was actually injured when the first goal,  which was actually a square ball, was scored. In addition because of the enforced absence of Eoin McEvoy, Derry had to withdraw Ethan Doherty from the forward line to the half back line. This meant that a vital cog in Derry's attacking movement was missing. Thus two of the seven  key players were absent for the whole of the second half and a third had to play a different role.

So it was no wonder that Derry were not able to play their normal well structured game. Of course Derry would be  a much better team if we had two more skilful inside pacy  forwards who could break tackles and score at will off either foot! But most counties do not possess these endangered species of players and to the best of my knowledge Derry have no one yet in the county of that ilk. Instead of going for low percentage goal shots yesterday as we did on four occasions and similarly attempts for points from poor positions, might I suggest that Paul Cassidy who admittedly can play anywhere be given a more forward attacking role off the left hand side and that Niall Loughlin who can score from distance be switched out to a more traditional half forward role. He puts in tremendous defensive shifts so I think that if he was brought out the field on a more permanent basis it would give him the opportunity to score from further out and boost his confidence.

Finally it is good to have Ciaran McFaul back and his inclusion into the squad should be a huge plus.If I were Rory Gallager I would be knocking on the door of a few other Glen players, especially Emmett Bradley who did such trojan work last year. Hopefully Conor Glass recovers fully and quickly and that Rory Gallagher has a full hand and more to pick from for the Fermanagh championship game next Saturday week. Doire Abú.

 To answer Wildweasel 74's query as to the size of the current Derry panel I reckon  that there are now  around  thirty players at maximum on the squad.  ie if you count the rehabbing Enda Downey plus Mark Doherty, Kevin Johnston and Diarmuid Baker all of whom were on the field with the team and subs before the Dublin game in Celtic Park.

If Derry beat Clare, I would expect that a lot of the current substitutes would get meaningful game time against Cork and that those still eligible at U20 county level would get more training   time with their own age group colleagues. After all that side won the equivalent All Ireland at minor level and should be given a chance to do the same at U20 level. I am referring to Eoin McEvoy, Mark Doherty, Matthew Downey, Niall O'Donnell and Lachlan Murray.

Re yesterday's game. As everyone has said Derry were poor in the first half. I think that the main reason for this was that in the previous League games the reason that Derry won rather comfortably  was because those previous opponents were of a much inferior quality to Dublin.

Having played at a higher level for so many years Dublin  brought a much more intense and faster physical and mental application to the game. In the first half Derry were ultra cautious, stood off Dublin and allowed them to transition very quickly. Thus Dublin controlled the first half.

However, Derry rectified this problem at half time and were much  more intense in the whole of the second half. What made the biggest change was the introduction of Gareth McKinless   after half time. His repertoire of skills changed the course of the game. He was able to run at the Dublin defence, break the tackle  and pressurise the whole defence. Thus the monotonous predictability of interplay which Derry had persisted with in the first half was gone. It must also be emphasised that bringing on both Oisin McWilliams and Lachlan Murray also added variety and most importantly scoring power to the Derry attack. The end result of this was that we had a magnificent second half spectacle resulting in a brilliant, though somewhat lucky win.

To quote another good poster friend what a team we would have if we had Ciaran McFaul,Calum Brown, Jack Doherty and a fit Enda Downey on the panel. They would add much greater strength and depth to the squad. Getting back to the first half Derry misssed three easy frees, an open goal, had two bad wides as against Dublin's two . This highlights another weakness in the side . That is scoring accuracy especially an absence of right footed freetakers and long distance freetakers. Anyhow congratulations to all players and the management on out upward trajectory. It is fun going to see Derry games now. To see all seats gone in Celtic Park yesterday at 4.15pm was a very welcome change from only a few years ago. Rory Gallagher has definitely been the catalyst for all of that. He has maximised the huge potential of some marvellous talented individuals into a very good team.

  Re  several comments by some Posters that not all of Derry's best players are on the current panel that is technically correct but all of the best  players who want to play for the County are on the panel. That is the same in every County every year

Nevertheless, it must be said that Rory Gallagher has really maximised the talent available to him. One could make a strong case for the inclusion of Jack Doherty, Danny Tallon, Michael McEvoy, Patrick Kearney, Lorcan McWilliams and Karl McKaigue, especially the first two. However, the first five left previous panels of their own volition and Karl it appears is not available and apparently Emmett Bradley now also falls into the latter category.

True, it would be ideal if we could unearth another outstanding midfielder, a commanding central defensive player and  two brillianlt scoring forwards who could win their own ball and score with either foot but I  am afraid they do not exist in the County in any division.

I would like to congratulate all of the seven Derry players who have received All-Star nominations.Each of them is fully deserving of this honour. I think that we have to go back to 1993 to find a greater number of players nominated.

Seeing that we won the All - Ireland that year, the present total is indicative of the new high esteem in which Derry football is held. All players and the management team, under the astute leadership of Rory Gallagher, have contributed immensely to this upturn in the fortunes of Derry football.

In addition it is a wonderful tribute to Ethan Doherty to see that he has also been nominated as Young Player of the Year. Giving that the latter award is voted on by only the current inter county panels it must help Ethan's chance of deservedly achieving the highest accolade of all. He is the essence of an ideal team player who always knows when to take a man on or give an astute pass. The number of telling "assists" that he made in every game was truly immense and decisive in many cases.Doire Abú.

Just after watching a brilliant cameo of one of Derry's greatest and definitely one of Ulster's most courageous - ever goalkeepers, Patsy Gormley who has just passed on. May he Rest in Peace.The Claudy man was  a pioneer during his era of always taking the kick out. Up to that time very often  one of the full back line was entrusted with the kick outs. For a man who only had full vision in one eye, he had a great sense of anticipation and wonderful positioning skills.The cameo is taken from  film footage of the 1958 All Ireland final between Dublin and  Derry.

Having enjoyed Derry's many superb performances in winning the Ulster final this year and the forwards showing such enterprising play against Clare in the quarter final, I was very hopeful of Derry going a step better next year, provided  two presently talented exiled players would be available to the management.

Now with that possibility being exceedingly doubtful, it would appear that we will have to unearth more new middle third high - catching ball winners and scoring,ball-winning  forwards in this year's club championship if our ultimate dream is to become a reality.Have any posters seen such talent in any of the games in the group stages?

The media are having a field day not only in speculating as  to who will manage which county,   but almost more importantly,  what will be the identity of their various back room teams. Going by the successful teams of the recent past, that means at least a full time group of 20 people per county plus an auxiliary part time staff of 4 to 6 others.To me this is a runaway expensive train which will further separate the top 6 or 7 larger counties who can easily attract large sponsorship from the rest of the counties.

How that imbalance can be rectified I do not know but it is certainly an inherent inequality regarding the future fairness of the competitiveness of our annual All Ireland championships in both hurling and football. It should be addressed with a sense of urgency by ALL GAA STAKEHOLDERS.

An interesting aside in all of this speculation is how often the same names keep recurring when it comes to selecting back room staff..Some one has decided that Donie Buckey  is the best football coach in the country and maybe he is. He has already been an integral part of Mayo,Kerry and Monaghan back room teams. A few weeks ago he was linked with Tomas O'Sé to take over Offaly. Now the latter has pulled out of that and we immediately find Donie linked to Mayo with Kevin McStay as well as with Colm O'Rourke,Eamon Fitzmaurice and Meath.

I think the availability of a large amount of expenses plays a central role as to who goes where. It is in this area that I believe financial control of such appointments should be under the direct Control of the GAA Management Committee with a clear transparent,accounting procedure in place. If this were done, maybe we could start to treat all of our counties equally and fairly. After all the players of Fermanagh,Leitrim,Longford and Carlow train as hard as the Kerrys, Dublins,Galways and yrones of this world but thereafter the chasm of inequality becomes wider and bigger each year.

It is true to say that Dermot McNicholl has one of the most impressive careers at underage level in the history of Gaelic football.He was born in November 1965 and thus it is accurate to say that he was a 14 year old when he played for Derry minors in the All - Ireland minor final of 1980. He played FOUR YEARS AT MINOR LEVEL, 1980-1983 inclusively.In the latter year he captained Derry  to the All-Ireland Minor title.

 When fully analysing Derry's Senior performances this year, there is only one definite conclusion. It has been a very successful one.Their League position was really consolidated and only for a combination of unfair decisions, in the Roscommon game, they would have been promoted to Division One.

They performed magnificently in all three Ulster Championship games against teak, tough opposition and emerged victorious Anglo Celt winners for the first time in 24 years.The combined skills and dedication of all the players, inspired by an equally dedicated and imaginative  management team, under the genius that is Rory Gallagher, saw to that.

In the All Ireland quarter final, against Clare, we saw an insight into the attacking skills that this team can perform when they reach the next level of their development.
In order to progress to that necessary level, I am sure that both players and management know that they have to evolve to a situation where they can not only   cope with long kick outs but use them to their advantage.This will require at least four other  different players to complement the aerial skills of Conor Glass and the current cameo appearances of Emmett Bradley in that sector.

We will need these four others to maximise a middle third which requires tall,high fielding ,fast,athletic midfielders with vision, spread across the centre of the pitch from one sideline to the other. In addition much tweaking needs to be done by our present half backs and half forwards to win breaking ball. At present we are weak at that.If maximised properly this is the most effective sector to lauch our forward strategies.

To make this necessary strategy effective, we need to use different players. If a committed  Ciaran McFaul were to return with the possibility of Callum Brown coming home  from Australia and the coaching of Oisin McWilliams and Anton Tohill to improve their aerial skills they, along with Conor Glass and an ever present Emmett Bradley, would greatly enhance our long kick out strategy.

This is a must if we are to bring this talented team onto the next level ie to be really cmpetitive against the Galways,Dublins and Kerrys of this world. The advent of the fit  Downeys,Lachlan Murray and the inclusion of one of the aforementioned middle third players in the full forward line  should greatly improve the opportunities for Shane McGuigan, Niall Loughlin ( he needs to be used more often in an advanced  scoring position),Benny Heron and Paul Cassidy to score more.

To do that properly,however, Rory Gallagher needs to give more meaningful game time  to more of the Derry substitutes. Just one further comment on the fact that a lot of Derry's main players were not at their best on Saturday last.There are two reasons for that. First of all defensively Galway brilliantly mirrored Derry's defensive strategies, thus reducing their normal effectiveness. It is also true that there was a crucial footblock on Paul Cassidy, a trip on Benny Heron, Hawkeye disallowed a legitimate Conor Glass point  and a blow into the stomach of Gareth McKinless when Derry were very much in the ascendancy.If these mistakes had been rectified and the resultant frees had been converted, this would have given Derry an extra four points at the interval.

Secondly, in my humble opinion, there was another reason why Derry were easily overturned for 2-4 of Galway's scores. Unlike Galway, Derry had three difficult provincial games which took their physical and mental toll, mainly because of the constant robotic nature of how Derry played in all those games,albeit successfully. In the long term being able to match a short kick out strategy with a long kick out strategy will be less physically and mentally  demanding on the players and hopefully much more rewarding on the scoreboard. I firmly believe that if the foregoing tweaks and adjustments were implemented with all of the  above mentioned players in situ, Chrissy McKaigue will be climbing the podiumto to claim the  Sam Maguire Cup within the next few years.

In the meantime, a big thank you to all the players and Management for bringing Derry's biggest ever cohort of supporters to follow  the County.It is hard to believe that over 70,000 supporters in total, over all the games, have left the Oak Leaf  County  team since only a few hundred turned up to watch the first home National League game just over five and a half months ago. Doire ABU!!

As I have said in a previous post the whole Derry Senior football panel deserve the highest praise for their magnificent victory in this yeasr's Ulster final.There were leaders all over the pitchbut we should reserve special commendation for the four more experienced players who have had more than their continuous fair share of ups and downs,mainly the latter over the  last seven or eight years.However despite the constant set backs they still continued to wear the jersey on a regular basis and did so on a wholly committed basis.I refer of course to Chrissy McKaigue, Brendan Rogers, Benny Heron and Emmett Bradley..Chrissy has been an outstandind on field general as well as a fantastic man marker  who has continually sacrificed his own game for the collective good of the team ethos.Brendan Rogers  has simply been outstanding and hius