Antrim Football Thread

[imtommygunn]

I maybe conveyed that badly JJ. Only three clubs have a constant stream of talent coming through - Gorts, Cargin, St Galls. No-one else looks to have anything of note coming through to challenge any of those three. Yes I agree with your soccer player opinion too - used to play teams like that with half in their man united shorts and the other half in their celtic ones. Seems like a thing of the past! No one else , to my mind anyway, has enough of a stream of talent coming through to impact these three so it should just be a matter of time till Gort NaMona bypass Portglenone and Lamh Dhearg assuming that, and I think they have, they've already bypassed St Johns/St Pauls.

This to me would mean that the only three to challenge for senior / division one honours in the next few years will come from these three. It will be tough for Gort Na Mona to make a breakthrough by the "big two" but you never know if they keep at it.

Culchy the hurlers had no choice but to enter the christy ring...

[milltown row]

i think in the minor we got Rossa, games to be played the 22 August

[culchy1]

ok tommy gunn, i thought they had the choice, but you know what i'm gettin at.
playin in a lower grade doesnt make you better in the long term, it might give you short term success albeit at a lower level, but it depends on where your club sees themselves going in the future.


on another note, i feel i have to mention michael pollock's point for gorts against st pauls on friday night.
he hit an almighty sideline, stand side of pitch, very difficult shot straight over.
eye of the needle stuff, absolutely brilliant.
can only be good for the future of antrim football and to think he couldn't even make the u-21 panel!

[imtommygunn]

agreed culchy - moneyglass have already won intermediate from division one so not sure what good it's doing them. or dunloy for that matter either. maybe from dunloy's perspective they just want to win something.

have heard big reports of your man pollock but have never seen him in action. can't understand why he wasn't in u21 squad - i would suspect politics.

with boys like him, mcgourty and crozier we should have some hope for the future!

[rashCharacter]

Hold the phone here tommygun, i think your blowing things out of porportion here regarding Gort na Mona's summit past St Johns, St Pauls and the like.
A quick look at the div 1 results shows they have 3 wins Dunloy twice and Lamh Dhearg, plus they beat St Pauls in the championship, hardly earth shattering results.

Now i do think that they are a club on the up, and they may beat Portglenone in the semi but they have a lot of work to do.

[johnjoe]

TommyGunn, I know its an old chestnut, but you singled out MP, CJ and Crozier, quite rightly, all class acts.

Supports my theory  that internal politics really cost us a provincial or poss national u-21 title last year. Getting beaten by 0-13 to 0-11, in Omagh without CJ and Crozier would make you wonder would we not have been two or three points, at least a better team with them playing?

As far Mickey Pollocks omission this year, and not playing Benny Hasson midfield, well only John Mc Sparran can sort that one out!

Aw fcuk, dont get me started again!

[Maximus Marillius]

Where O' Where is Slim Shady, since cargin got beaten he has done a massive runner

[Cromagh]

John Joe are you suggesting that if a certain manager had of got staying on........taht Antrim would have won an ulster u-21 title!!!!

[imtommygunn]

Did Tyrone win it that year?? Maybe not won it but a final would have been something!!

[johnjoe]

ITG, Tyrone won Ulster, and lost by a point to Mayo in the semi. Mayo won it.

No doubt Tyrone were a good side, but Crozier and CJ played the week before, against Fermanagh, which Antrim won by twelve points.

All I`m saying, Cromagh, and its 06, not 07 Im talking about, that some of the blazers didnt do enough behind the scenes to make sure they were available against Tyrone. CJ played as captain for the minors that day, and CJ for his school in the All Ireland B colleges semi final. He scored 4 goals and 5 points that day.

Tyrone, in Omagh were always going to be difficult, but my argumemt, now supported by the way CJ and Crozier have blossomed into the stars of the senior team this year, is that their availability could/should /would have been enough to get through that day.

And after that, well we wont ever know, will we.

[milltown row]

same manager won three Senior championships and got Naomh Gal to a Ulster final were they were beaten by 3 by the loup (Derry Champions)

he was the choice everyone wanted at the time. his results have been no different than the current manager, but sure one mans hero is anothers villan.

[johnjoe]

Chamonmodo, that some name boy, where does that come from?

Cj wasnt playing minor, read my post, he was playing for his school. How hard would it have been to get one game at 11 and the other at 4pm? Sure he could have been taken off at half time in the school match, they were that far ahead.

Your other point is sound, the players definitely were well up for it. It was there for the taking.

The point I make was that there was no effort whatsoever to facilitate CJ.  Every other county board would have made an effort, except Antrims.

To say that Justy wouldnt have made the team, if he was available is an interesting point though. It is well known that 2 selectors were huge in Croziers favour, and two others, city based, including the manager, werent that impressed with him. It is also well known that it caused huge dissention in the camp in the few days leading up to the match, particularly with MEADE getting the vacant jersey, prompted by his clubmate, club manager selector,in an unbelievable show of St Johns nepotism.

As I say again, we`ll never know, but sure, so what!

It was only our best chance of an Ulster or national football title.

[Glensman]

Its gone boys...the Under 21 saga was debated on here till people were blue in the face.
What ifs etc?

The talent in that team now has to be harnessed and arguably Jody is trying to do just that.
Crozier, Mick McCann, CJ (though he won't get a break I'd say) etc need to be looked after and then be able to give Div 4 a real rattle next year and then we move on from there. One step at a time.
By regurgitating the Under 21 debate you're taking a couple of steps back.

Manipulating fixtures sets a very dangerous precedent but I agree that in the right circumstances a bit of sense should be used.

[johnjoe]

Glensman, it does no harm whatsoever to remind ourselves, that we have a great group of young players coming through. That we could/ should/would have won last years U -21 title, IS  actually something we need to keep highlighting. Outside the county, well, maybe no one will believe it, but that group of players know themselves what happened, and the most annoying thing about it was, it wasnt lost on the field. It was lost in officialdom. Thats the sad part!

I agree, we must move on, and its good to know there are real talents out there. There can be no argument our current 19-23 age group is the strongest we have ever had.

In fact, I think its fair to ask the question, would we have beated Derry at Casement with a fit  Michael Magill and Sean Kelly, as well as Dougan and big Benny on fron the start? As for Kevin Mc Gourty.......

Its another "dont know", but it definitely has to be said those players would have made some difference.

As you say, its up to Jody to bring it all together, and he needs all our support to do this.

[imtommygunn]

IFC:
Dunloy    Ardoyne    Ballymena   19/08/2007   14:30   Thomas Close      
All Saints    Tir na Nog    Ahoghill   19/08/2007   17:30   Alex Trainor      
Glenavy    Glenravel    Ahoghill   19/08/2007   19:00   Gerard Mc Kiernan

Any predictions??

Dunloy by 8

Ballymena by 6

Glenravel by 1