Messages

Why is Donal O'hare not playing for Down?

Maybe ask some of your prominent friends in the East?

We don't hear the going on of the traditional liberal elite clubs in the south of the county. He would be some additional even if just for frees.

Jesus, your starting to sound like Jamie Bryson with your liberal elite.

He's starting to sound like Down Jim

Some people on here need to have a word with themselves.

We've a Down team very much in rebuild mode, not helped with the farce of the delay in appointing a manager. They came up against a Roscommon side that many of you are saying "are hardly world beaters" but they've been in four Connacht finals in a row 2016-19, winning two of those in a province with very good Mayo and Galway sides, and had just dropped out of Division 1 last season. While that doesn't make them "world beaters", they are much more established as a team and further along in their progress.

How about some of you get behind the team for a change instead of waiting with the pitchforks?

100% spot on! There wasnt many who put their name forward to take the job on, people need to give the team and management a bit of time. A lot of Down fans needs to be more realistic with their ambitions also, minor and u21/20 results have been brutal for 15 years  or so bar last year. We get one decent team through and boys think they will  turn the senior team around.
Going forward hopefully Barry O Hagan back, along with the Kilcoo boys, Daniel Guinness should hopefully be fit to start and Corey Quinn. That will definitely improve the team. Any word if McCrickard is able to committee? Some ask travelling from Cork tho.

Ed the management fell into the job, as James always does, and takes his friend's in with him.  So none of this rubbish  they stepped up, they getting well paid

The biggest surprise for me, was that people on here actually fought we would beat Roscommon. Can someone tell me what Aiden o rourke has achieved in the game as a coach/manager?

Oh my god could Mark Doran be any further up Kilcoos behind??? Listened to that load of balls podcast earlier and oh my good - talk about putting yourself into the window to manage them at some stage - sweet lord..

Johnny don't know what's worse, u think Doran would be even be considered by kilcoo, or someone actually listens to them idiots on a load of balls

Kingdom looking for new management team

Is Bernie Ruane not with them again?

He's away

I'm really not sure why points are retained for what is in effect a separate competition. But apart from that gripe it makes for one very exciting season.

So you think that a team who finishes in 5th after the first round had 10 points should start the second round of fixtures with a team who has zero points Clubs have not thought this true properly and trust me there will be a lot of complaints about this format. When the league starts there will be a raft of Down seniors who are fringe players who will leave the panel if they are starred. Down senior team is always hampered by the senior leagues.  If you make the league final you will have played a team 4 times before the start of the championship. Familiarity breeds contempt.

Sometimes I wonder what sort of clowns vote for these things.

The problem here Truth is with perspective, and whether you believe it's one competition or multiple competitions. I believe it's the latter, except it's been infected by the former.

——

For over a decade after the starred system came into Down football, the leagues operated like this:

- 12 teams per division (with d4 usually smaller)

- Top 4 round robin playoffs for titles / promotion.

- Bottom 4 round robin playoffs for relegation.

And throughout this time, never once did anyone ever suggest, "maybe everyone should start the playoffs with their league points carried over". Do you know why? Because it would have been batshit mad to do so. They wouldn't have been playoffs. Half the games wouldn't even have been played due to foregone conclusions.

——

Personally, I believe that when we choose to split a season and create new leagues based on positions at a point in time, it is not a continuation of a competition. It's the creation of a new one.

This belief is compounded by the simple, inarguable fact that the principle of starred games only worked successfully in tandem with playoffs, as it meant that although clubs with heavy county commitments would likely suffer during the season, that they would at least have a full-squad opportunity to retain their league status.

We all know that long Down summer is unlikely this year. But the availability of players is going to be sore point for a few clubs.

I do get what you are saying and I fully agree that the availability of the players is going to be massive and will hurt a lot of clubs. Take Gilmore out of St Johns forward line for example, holy christ. Is it fair to penalize Clonduff for having 4 or 5 county players?
The correct thing was to play the full league,
They should have played a lot of Fridays and Mondays. The players love games and it would be better playing a Monday night game than to run around Castlewellan lake.
The fairest thing would have been a full league. This is not a fair system and I fear it could hamper our county squad.

How many starred games is there ?

 Congratulations kilcoo.
Down what can you say, poor team poor management.

Well Burren seem to have bigger numbers at all levels compared to most. The Belfast teams don't generally stand out in reserve football
Burren
Kilcoo
Mayobridge
Clonduff

Would all contest division 3

When was the last time Clonduff have won a reserve title of any description? The other 3 would have strong enough squads to compete in Division 3 and 4 but that's would be as far as they would get. I would like to see it happen for a year to see how it would pan out, If you play 1 minute of division 1 football then you are ruled out of division 4 football. It would be a mixture of seconds and thirds players.

They wouldn't count outside Div 4,

Good Afternoon All.
Anyone hear from a reliable source or know when the Down Football Leagues are scheduled to start in 2022??

Looking at the NFL fixtures they end on 27th March so I would say Leagues would start the next week on 3rd April (Sunday). With a stacked league fixture in top divisions there'll be a need to get games played. Reserve Leagues possibly starting the beginning of March as per pre-covid years.

Of course this is all a theory and up to what restrictions are in place due to COVID.

Down play Monaghan on April 30th in the SFC.

Will be a break for that weekend I would suspect though and a starred fixture - perhaps something like below (Best option I can think off, but open to others suggestions)

Round 1

1st-3rd April

Round 2

8th-10th April

Round 3 (Easter Monday Fixtures)

18th April

Round 4

22nd April (Starred Games)


Ulster Match vs Monaghan (30th April)

Round 5 - 6th May etc

I think you will find split season means no county men available for clubs until your own county finished up

Any word of who else is involved in backroom team?

Dan
Eoin
Charlie pat

Burren
An RIOCHT
Finn

Kilcoo
Burren

Bryansford

An RIOCHT
Annaclone

Dromara

Aughlisnafin
Dundrum

Glenn
Clonduff
Burren
Kilcoo

Rostrevor
Loughinisland

Annaclone
Darragh Cross
An RIOCHT
Liatriom

Bright
St John's

Aughlisnafin
East BELFAST
Dundrum
DRUMANESS

Blame the management again when I just said NMA took us to a very high level?
I didn't blame management
I said players sensed that things didn't go to a higher level
The reason you take in a manager is to try get the players to a higher level than the previous manager
Truth u said on the 4th that you fancied Clonduff for the Frank O Hare cup and a few posts later tipped Kilcoo Burren for the final
Now i think what you say will be taken with a pinch

Maybe it's the fault of the players? Did they commit enough?

Player's definitely didn't commit fully, but the management played them.

CPN
Carryduff
Glenn
Mayobridge

Saval
St Paul's
D Cross
Drumgath