Antrim Football Thread

[Tyrdub]

Only having a laugh! Honestly if anyone has seen any of our championship games, (with the exception of first St Brigid's game) they would be predicting Lamh Dherg all day long. I will be going in hope not expectation.

Do I smell a touch of Cute Hoorism here?

None cuter than yourself Tyrdub, good to see you back after such a long absence 

Thanks lad, have to say I missed it and am enjoying every bit of it

[imtommygunn]

Good win for aghagallon. Didn't see what the red card was for but I think aghagllon maybe just about deserved it.

[stiffler]

Well done Aghagallon, first ever minor championship for the club. League and championship double, great achievement.

[bannside]

Superb achievement for Aghagallon. Another small parish punching way above its weight. Congratulations.

[EOC1923]

Superb achievement for Aghagallon. Another small parish punching way above its
I am splitting hairs BS but I work with a guy from a neighbouring parish, its a big area with a large population. They are also doing serious work up there to get better.
Fully deserved title for Aghagallon defintely a coming force in Antrim football. Expect them to be in Antrims top 2-3 teams soon. Its inevitable.

[JimStynes]

Superb achievement for Aghagallon. Another small parish punching way above its
I am splitting hairs BS but I work with a guy from a neighbouring parish, its a big area with a large population. They are also doing serious work up there to get better.
Fully deserved title for Aghagallon defintely a coming force in Antrim football. Expect them to be in Antrims top 2-3 teams soon. Its inevitable.

Brilliant achievement by the lads today. Rewards all the great work being done over the years. In the terms of the population, we have about 250 primary school children and some go to Lurgan schools as well, so we are definitely getting bigger. The main advantage we have is our lads progress a lot when they start McCrory football with St. Ronan's. Between us and Clann Eireann we probably have had the most representatives on those school teams over the past 30 years. The challenge is now getting these lads through to senior.

[bannside]

The numbers are higher than I thought, but it's all about the hard work that's going on. Aghagallon building a conveyor belt of talent there, where Gaelic football is central to the community. Definitely looking for a seat at Antrim's top table


It's been a long road back to that level for St Paul's, that should also be given credit. It won't happen without serious work at club juvenile level.That's where success is built, nowhere else. There are no short cuts to success!

[Sportacus]

Two good teams. End to end.   Makes you wonder why the county minors were so  poor.

[Sportacus]

Fair enough. St Paul's are starting to put it together at underage and Aghagallon have had a pipeline going for last 6 or 7 years.  Both will only be good for Antrim.  Sad to see big clubs like St John's playing with amalgamations at minor.  If all clubs were going strong it would count for something.  And as someone said earlier, need more players in the county playing MacRory.  I'd still love to see a combined Belfast Colleges team. 

[EOC1923]

Two good teams. End to end.   Makes you wonder why the county minors were so  poor.

Dont like going in too hard on a volunteer, but they had a completely incompetent manager taking the Antrim minors. Out of his depth. Noticeable improvement incoming with Paul McErlane and Barry Burns taking over in 2022.

[bannside]

Club under 8/10/12. If that's being well done the rest will follow...and don't rely on anything at school or county. If by some miracle that happens, that's a bonus.

[ck]

Club under 8/10/12. If that's being well done the rest will follow...and don't rely on anything at school or county. If by some miracle that happens, that's a bonus.

Well said Bannside. The McRory cup theory is a red herring. Plenty of successful counties don't play in high level schools competitions. The work done in a players first 6-10 years of playing in his/her club is where it's at along with the quality of the coaching and the coaches and of course the family support. These are what make quality players, not the McRory Cup!

[Sportacus]

Lads you're very dismissive.  MacRory Cup football further improves players, there's very little doubt about that.  Very few players in Antrim get the opportunity.  That can't be a good thing.

[JimStynes]

Club under 8/10/12. If that's being well done the rest will follow...and don't rely on anything at school or county. If by some miracle that happens, that's a bonus.

It's all important and at that age you can get children interested and into the club. Good primary school football and regular games etc is vital. If children aren't playing games and not enjoying they tell soon quit and go find something else to do. However, in my opinion it's the schools football around the age of 15-18 that really elevates some players to the next level. They're playing with the best footballers around the local area and playing against some of the best players in Ulster on a regular basis. Some of those McCrory teams will have a better setup than most county minor teams and they're very difficult to get your place on the panel. Of course the club also needs to be doing their bit as well and providing good coaching on top of all this.

[Calm Down]

Forget MacRory cups etc lads if we can't get the basics right from U10 on

if the quality in the final yesterday was reflective of the best in Antrim then the future is far from bright