USFC Qtr Final - Armagh V Down - Athletic Grounds 28th May 7:30pm

[No1]

If I was given a ticket to see Celtic play in the European cup final on the day of a USFC quarter final I probably would go.

I'd say you are safe enough for a while yet!   

[snoopdog]

Anyone know if Down have a new Jersey out for the championship. I see the current one can be bought on o'neills for 25 USD.
Armagh the same i think

[naka]

down getting a new jersey( 1 may i think) dont know about armagh but dont think so

[BerfArmagh]

The closer this game gets, the more worried I am about it. I am hearing from a few reliable heads that all is not well in the camp, indeed there was a serious row after the galway game..... lets just say Ciaran Mc Keever was'nt injured the last day out...

[Armaghgael]

The closer this game gets, the more worried I am about it. I am hearing from a few reliable heads that all is not well in the camp, indeed there was a serious row after the galway game..... lets just say Ciaran Mc Keever was'nt injured the last day out...

He must have been when he said it himself in the Gaeliclife yesterday

[BerfArmagh]

if my memory serves me correct, a lot of the fermanagh players painted a similar picture in gaelic life before the disputes committee were called in

[dodgy umpire]

The closer this game gets, the more worried I am about it. I am hearing from a few reliable heads that all is not well in the camp, indeed there was a serious row after the galway game..... lets just say Ciaran Mc Keever was'nt injured the last day out...

Likewise. The same guy also said Down would win easily so perhaps its all part of a strategy ....

[mackers]

The closer this game gets, the more worried I am about it. I am hearing from a few reliable heads that all is not well in the camp, indeed there was a serious row after the galway game..... lets just say Ciaran Mc Keever was'nt injured the last day out...

Ciaran was definitely injured the last day out............he has a knee ligament injury........think he's very lucky.........could've been a very serious injury. You'll have to check your sources Berf.

[Armaghgael]

Heres hoping its all bullsh**t

Armagh will be waiting in the long grass mark my words

[BerfArmagh]

Alright Mackers i'll take your word for it, i hope your right

[PAULD123]

Of course anything can happen in chamiponship football but to assess a match in advance you have to exclude the flukes and unlikely events that change a game and instead look at form. Trying to be objective (not a wind up like I have previously enjoyed) I think you would have to say:

Down are in a pretty good position. A good league, A settled team, Problems identified and addressed, a clear team strategy. On the downside we seem to lack a killer instinct, Ambrose is clearly not on schedule, we haven't been capable of creating and converting easy chances, we are quite naive at times in our decision making.

Armagh have no settled team, there doesn't seem to be game plan, POR does not seem to be sending out a message that he has a plan, Ronan Clarke who has been cited like a saviour is unlikley to make it, the league was iffy (survival secured is good but only by head-head not points) Armagh fans are clearly not happy with their performances, problems appear to being excerbated not rectified. On the plus side Armagh have won a lot previously and know what it takes to win, they seem to be better at converting scoring chances.

so on balance I think it is reasonable to make Down favorites. Regardless of the painful argument of who has the better players, Down are performing better now and I really believe that in football alone we will be the better team. But once again it comes down to who will score the most and though we have put in better performances, I think if both teams get the same number of chances then Armagh are likely to win.

I think Down will get more chances by having a larger share of posessesion and so I expect us to win - but anything can happen

[naka]

The closer this game gets, the more worried I am about it. I am hearing from a few reliable heads that all is not well in the camp, indeed there was a serious row after the galway game..... lets just say Ciaran Mc Keever was'nt injured the last day out...

this is untrue--mc keever was/is injured

[borderfox]

Of course anything can happen in chamiponship football but to assess a match in advance you have to exclude the flukes and unlikely events that change a game and instead look at form. Trying to be objective (not a wind up like I have previously enjoyed) I think you would have to say:

Down are in a pretty good position. A good league, A settled team, Problems identified and addressed, a clear team strategy. On the downside we seem to lack a killer instinct, Ambrose is clearly not on schedule, we haven't been capable of creating and converting easy chances, we are quite naive at times in our decision making.

Armagh have no settled team, there doesn't seem to be game plan, POR does not seem to be sending out a message that he has a plan, Ronan Clarke who has been cited like a saviour is unlikley to make it, the league was iffy (survival secured is good but only by head-head not points) Armagh fans are clearly not happy with their performances, problems appear to being excerbated not rectified. On the plus side Armagh have won a lot previously and know what it takes to win, they seem to be better at converting scoring chances.

so on balance I think it is reasonable to make Down favorites. Regardless of the painful argument of who has the better players, Down are performing better now and I really believe that in football alone we will be the better team. But once again it comes down to who will score the most and though we have put in better performances, I think if both teams get the same number of chances then Armagh are likely to win.

I think Down will get more chances by having a larger share of posessesion and so I expect us to win - but anything can happen

Indeed your right anything could happen, although I have to say at this moment in time the game is Downs to lose. Id make it 70/30 in Downs favour.

[Applesisapples]

Aaah we should by pass Down and go straight to the first round qualifiers, sure there is no point in showing up.

[bennydorano]

Down are in a pretty good position. A good league, A settled team, Problems identified and addressed, a clear team strategy. On the downside we seem to lack a killer instinct, Ambrose is clearly not on schedule, we haven't been capable of creating and converting easy chances, we are quite naive at times in our decision making.

I'd dare say Wee James would hit you a slap if he heard stuff like that.  You may remember on a different thread I stated I thought Down were pretty average at FB, CHB, MF and CHF, how have you identified and addressed these problems (or even better for us if you dont think problems exist there)?  What have you got different from last year?  You would appear to me to be weaker than at the end of last summer.

IMO Down have the simplest of game plans - everyones a defender when they lose the ball and then breaking at speed from defence, because they are lightening fast on the break it masks how defensive they really are - our gameplan isn't a million miles away from what they do, it's just that we look terribly ponderous in comparison. If we were to adopt a gameplan of complete knavery in stopping them in their tracks in their own HB line/MF area and their attacking prowess would be immediately neutralised at source, giving our defenders the time to flood back. I would earmark Danny Hughes for special attention, never mind Marty Clarke, I'd imagine Dyas(or Andy Mallon) is best equipped for the job.  Nippy HF's would be better utilised in a game like this rather than the MF'ers we've largely been using.

Our MF performances this year and in the Marshes in particular should give us confidence, we need to be demons in the break ball stakes thou, that's were most of their attacks begin. I know Down people are pinning a lot on the return of Ambrose to MF, but from what I've been consistently hearing he wont be playing too much ball this year due to his health (not knee).

If we had Ronan clarke, Jamie and Stevie in the FF line I would be extremely confident of victory, I think it's safe to say RC wont be anywhere near the team by the end of May. I thought the tactic of rotating Nippy and Brian Mallon in and out of FF in the Marshes was an effective tactic and kept the Down defence in a constant state of uncertainty until Stevie more or less was the only forward we had there.

There's nearly always one (or 2) suprise inclusions (and omissions) in the first championship team of the year, I'd expect this year to be no different. The panel certainly looks stronger than it did during Winter/early Spring - plenty to be hopeful about.