Messages

LBJ tried his best to lose the game.

When on form one of the best to ever play the game. When not on form he must be a complete nightmare to play with and his place on the court has to be questioned

Flynn like many ex-players turned journalists/pundits are trying to cause controversy/talk shite to remain relevant and ultimately earn more ££££

A nonsense story with the Mayo fans rightly taking umbrage about the targeting of one of their players.

Imagine if he actually starts a few games this year - some column inches then

How many of these type of guys are actually on the 'list'?

It must be massive and where do you even start to monitor all of them - nightmare scenario.

Is really must be a needle in a haystack and someone will always slip through.

Born and raised in Britain by immigrant parents - will raise the question again of allowing immigrants in - too late now with many already radicalised.

Heartbreaking

United missed out on CL last year on goal difference, finishing 5th.

Goal difference and just 66 points is all that Manchester City needed to finish 4th last season. Manchester United are currently on 65 points with two games to play and can't reach the top four anymore which suggests the average Premier league has improved this season.

Howso?
Surely this means the gap between the best and the rest has gotten bigger rather than the average PL improved>

Reports Utd are going to buy Keane back from Burnley for a £23m loss.

That makes it over £110m loss 2 players they got shot off and are taking back

Would Klopp have done any better if he was in charge if Utd this season?

what does what county Managers wanting him on their team have to do with whether he was a thug or not as though they are arbiters of Morals within the GAA. Its pretty obvious that many managers would be willing to do almost anything in order for their team to win and the Failure of some posters to be able to differentiate between a football foul and a cynical head stamp, knee drop  , finger break etc only encourages this behaviour

Well exactly, you are expanding on the point I was making, managers are not moral guardians of the game which is why every single one of them would pick a player of Ricey's potential every time for their team. You say 'managers would be willing to do almost anything in order for their team to win' as if that's a bad thing lol.

And this board isn't the moral guardian of the game either despite the massively overly inflated opinion some posters have of it's importance in the whole Gaa scheme of things.

not over inflated, this is a forum to express our opinions on the state of the game and performances. A lot of people here would share your view but then have a breaking point such as the Cavanagh incident and every goes moral all of a sudden .
when something  is wrong it should be called wrong. but equally not all wrong carry the same weight and they are some nasty dangerous players out there who need to be Called out.

]
you do have a point all cynical fouls are the same really BUT  Cavanagh's tackle was just so blatant with absolutely no other possible outcome other than a foul and free kick ,whereas with a body check the ref may see it as part of the rough and tumble of the game even a punch often ends up in a 'HOP Ball'
Connolly in the league final thought he could get away with an off the ball haul down but  Cavanagh' showed a complete disrespect for the laws and spirit of the game and I think that's why it sticks in the craw more than some other incidents .
and of course the bollix brolly histrionics made it seem like he had shot someone

Watch the last 5mins of any tight championship game and you will see any number of tackles like Sean's or sometimes worse.

Easy to shoot down a big name

[You say 'managers would be willing to do almost anything in order for their team to win' as if that's a bad thing lol.]

what does what county Managers wanting him on their team have to do with whether he was a thug or not as though they are arbiters of Morals within the GAA. Its pretty obvious that many managers would be willing to do almost anything in order for their team to win and the Failure of some posters to be able to differentiate between a football foul and a cynical head stamp, knee drop  , finger break etc only encourages this behaviour

Well exactly, you are expanding on the point I was making, managers are not moral guardians of the game which is why every single one of them would pick a player of Ricey's potential every time for their team. You say 'managers would be willing to do almost anything in order for their team to win' as if that's a bad thing lol.

And this board isn't the moral guardian of the game either despite the massively overly inflated opinion some posters have of it's importance in the whole Gaa scheme of things.

It is a bad thing. The win at any cost mentality means managers such as Mickey Harte happily select, defend and possibly even encourage players who engage in despicable behaviour.

Some people are happy with this situation because it means they might win something. Personally I find it abhorrent.

Poor Mickey gets it again.

You would think Tyrone were the dirtiest team of all team and we were the only purveyors of the dark arts.

High profile teams always get a worse press

Tyrone are certainly not the only purveyors of the dark arts. I was merely using Harte as an example since he is a high profile manager who seems to condone inexcusable behaviour from his players.

How do you know he does that?

A good manager will always protect his players outwardly - behind closed doors you have no idea what he says

[the step up from strong club set ups to improving a division 3 team is not a huge one]

he is no Messiah, but he is not a criminal either

He's a very naughty boy though!!!

The big concern I have with Geezer is not just him but the whole management structure. There is ongoing work with levels of mediocrity that will hold the county back. There is talent in Armagh, some really serious talent but there is no one at the helm or close to it who has any knowledge or experience of managing a team to real success. What is needed to be a good player is vastly different to what is needed to be a good manager. As it stands the county risks wasting another generation of talent like they have over the last 20 years because they do not have the right people and structures in place.

There could be some truth in what you say but then the solution to what you query maybe doesn't lie in cross. The word you left out was "county" success. The difference now between club and county football has never been more pronounced and if your logic is to be applied, Armagh need to head hunt Malachy O'Rourke, Jim McGuinness or Mickey Harte.

Is it possible that what armagh lack is a a Donal murtagh, Packie mcconville or Gareth O'Neill influencing teams and player development? Tim Gregory maybe?

If there was any indication that this would translate into immediate or medium term success we could all embrace it, however the evidence really isn't there.

For example, the hostility previously and ongoing emanating from some parts of the county against Peter McDonnell is startling when you consider that he has won county and provincial club titles as well as bringing all Ireland U21 and Ulster senior titles to armagh.

You're right but the reality is that there are limited amounts of successful internet county managers that are available. The county is at a low base and to my mind the step up from strong club set ups to improving a division 3 team is not a huge one.

I also agree with you that the ire shown to Peter McDonnell when he was manager was wrong and from what I heard it was very deliberate and driven by a few individuals within the county set up which in turn had a big influence on a wider scale.

It is a huge step up. Make no mistake.

While Cross are a credit to say it is not a big step up to county level is way off the mark.
Perhaps Division 4 teams like London etc are like Cross but Div 3 teams is miles apart from a club team

The bizarre spectacle of my fellow Liverpool supporters attempting to downplay Liverpool's top 4 prospects despite it being a near certainty continues.

The only certainty is that Liverpool fans will act the Bollix on their travels and then play the Hillsborough card to get a bit of sympathy

Bit much that. All clubs have fans that act the bollix.

Anyhows - 4th place a certainty now. Utd will get whopped by the Yids and Arsenal couldnt string 3 wins together

A really horrible game.
Whilst the result is what Utd wanted any fan is bound to be disgusted at how that team are playing.

MS puts it very well.

How many million did Maureen spend? And he ends up playing that trash last night 

Oisin has the big RTE gig now so he is gone.

What is the other McEntee doing now? Hard to believe if he isnt involved with someone.

Dont know much about ONeill managing but he produces good players anyway.

From the outside looking in the players there dont seem to be good enough to be at the top table but a top 12 should be within their grasp.

I'll be attending this game, my first Championship game in 5 years. I'm looking forward to it but we won't have a hope in hell.

I am looking forward to this game as well but probably for entire different reasons.

Tyrone by 8+.

Expect it to start of tight but in the last 20 odd mins I cannot see you being able to stop us at all

[You say 'managers would be willing to do almost anything in order for their team to win' as if that's a bad thing lol.]

what does what county Managers wanting him on their team have to do with whether he was a thug or not as though they are arbiters of Morals within the GAA. Its pretty obvious that many managers would be willing to do almost anything in order for their team to win and the Failure of some posters to be able to differentiate between a football foul and a cynical head stamp, knee drop  , finger break etc only encourages this behaviour

Well exactly, you are expanding on the point I was making, managers are not moral guardians of the game which is why every single one of them would pick a player of Ricey's potential every time for their team. You say 'managers would be willing to do almost anything in order for their team to win' as if that's a bad thing lol.

And this board isn't the moral guardian of the game either despite the massively overly inflated opinion some posters have of it's importance in the whole Gaa scheme of things.

It is a bad thing. The win at any cost mentality means managers such as Mickey Harte happily select, defend and possibly even encourage players who engage in despicable behaviour.

Some people are happy with this situation because it means they might win something. Personally I find it abhorrent.

Poor Mickey gets it again.

You would think Tyrone were the dirtiest team of all team and we were the only purveyors of the dark arts.

High profile teams always get a worse press

Given the poor standards of the teams around them Liverpool will fall across the line into 4th

Liverpool deserve some credit for their improvement as they are 12 points better off now after 36 games than this time last year.  With Man United putting all of their eggs in the one Europa league basket the only danger left to Liverpool falling out of the top 4 now is Arsenal.

Southampton,Stoke away and Sunderland,Everton at home if Arsenal win all 4 games they will end up with 75 points. Liverpool are currently on 70 points and will have to win both remaining games to keep Arsenal at bay.

To be realistic Arsenal will likely slip up in at least one of their remaining 4 games meaning Liverpool will only need to win one more match or two draws.

The problem with finishing 4th instead of 3rd is a play off round to get into the champions league and Roma,Villarreal and Ajax were all knocked out at the play off stage this season.

If Arsenal are to drop points it will be in one of their next two games( hopefully in both!) they will beat Sunderland handy and I can't see Everton wanting to do Liverpool a favour so they will beat them also. Hopefully Southampton put in the same workrate against them like they did against Liverpool.
Stoke away isn't easy for them either.

I still wouldn't rule out Man United either. The United fans can say they aren't all they want but they are very much still in the top 4 race imo. It may be better off from a Liverpool perspective if United did get to the Europa League final as this would take priority for them. If they are knocked out they could still make 4th imo.
I think Arsenal will find a way to do it though. It wouldn't surprise me to see them win all their remaining games and I don't think Liverpool will win both of theirs.

The Utd manager has ruled them out by resting the players for Arsenal game and effectively throwing it to save players but you wouldnt rule them out. Right so 

Arsenal will drop points somewhere along the line so in reality Klopp needs 3 points from last 2 games against connon fodder. Would have taken that at beginning of season for sure