Jamie Clarke,the GAA's answer to Stephen Ireland?

[T Fearon]

No,they abandoned ship after the first game of the C'ship because they didn't see any hope after the Cavan defeat.Jamie isn't even hanging around for the first game,he's given up on the team before a ball has been kicked.Even worse than Mc Kenna and Co

[BennyCake]

No,they abandoned ship after the first game of the C'ship because they didn't see any hope after the Cavan defeat.Jamie isn't even hanging around for the first game,he's given up on the team before a ball has been kicked.Even worse than Mc Kenna and Co

McKenna & Co left to earn a few quid playing football in the states. That's what annoyed people.

[Throw ball]

I read somewhere that Jamie Clarke had started the last 21 championship games for Armagh. Considering the amount of games Armagh usually have that is some record for someone so young.

For what it is worth I would compare Jamie leaving to Grugan. He could not commit last year but has been recalled this year when he can.

[rrhf]

Paul grimley and joe Kernan are irreplaceable

[imtommygunn]

No,they abandoned ship after the first game of the C'ship because they didn't see any hope after the Cavan defeat.Jamie isn't even hanging around for the first game,he's given up on the team before a ball has been kicked.Even worse than Mc Kenna and Co

You keep making assumptions that he isn't going to be about as he doesn't think armagh have a good chance of doing well. You talk about implications where there are none and perceptions where the perceptions are yours and only yours. You have no idea.

About as ludicrous as the rest of your threads.

You read too many tabloids i think.

[rionach 4]

As an Armagh man I find a lot of this difficult to read . Tony, I had the pleasure of knowing and playing alongside your late brother, an absolute gentleman. It's a pity that you bring this debate up and I readily acknowledge your wind-up credentials and if I have fallen into the trap then so be it. What Jamie Clarke decides to do with his own life, in his own time and with his own money is a matter for Jamie Clarke and most certainly no-one else. I like you am gutted that he isn't playing. Like you I feel that the best players in armagh are not playing for their county ,be it not asked , be it not wanting to or be it retired, thats life . In my own club we have had a bellyfull of it . If only he would, could, or in your case with Jamie, should , i have heard it all. Let's get over it and get on.

On the subject of
Keiran McGeeney , the manager , all this talk about his money etc is frustrating. I was at the county convention I studied in detail the financial report . I brought it back to the club etc etc and any to be truthful no delegates complained and all parts were queried as i am sure happens in every other county, so give that one a rest.
As for the argument that Cross would beat many county sides, that remains to be seen and when Cross play in the first round of the county senior football championship in Ulster i'll give my verdict then.
As for Cross, the club team, I like many in my county, would prefer a change and a greater challenge at the top and I'm sure Cross would be the first to admit they would prefer a tougher challenge but it's up to the clubs to come up to scratch It aint Crossmaglen's problem No argument there.
The problem with county training etc and huge comittment six nights a week training or whatever, is that it's a double edged sword. While on the one hand we have managers and coaches pushing players to the limit we have players expecting to be pushed further etc . Many managers fall on the sword of , look at what theyr'e doing . Look at the coaches they have . I have heard in the past from a number of players . we're not being trained coached or prepared to the same level as other more successful teams . I had this chat with members of a great bunch of lads from leitrim .They complained that they hadn't the financial resources  to compete and many were literally pissed of and with drawing from the county.
In the past in Armagh some withdrew from the county squad as they felt they were getting better coaching and S&C with their club.  The demand also comes from players not just coaches. The players in some cases are as demanding as well as coaches( and in many cases quite rightly so) and this is driving the whole scenario skyward.
I know of one great club in Tyrone whose players complained that the lack of lighting on one of their training pitches was crucial in their failure to compete in the top four . Rightly or wrongly the club are out selling tickets to remedy this . To those players at club level it's inches as well. Coaches drive hard but so to do players and probably rightly so.

Good luck Cross on the 13th  I'll be there to support the team as an Armagh man first and foremost and Tony if I see Jamie I'll tell him you were asking about him and make sure he sends you a postcard.

Do you genuinely think that Kieran McGeeney is not being paid to be the Armagh manager? If you do you are the only Armagh fan (and I include Kieran McGeeney in this) who thinks that.

The county board nor no club pay any money towards the payment of Keiran McGeeney and if you know how he is paid ,please enlightened us dim folk. My club and countless others pay their fees to the county board .  Where the money goes is there in black and white . Have a look sometime.  Is Keiran McGeeney doing it free ,not likely , Is he gathereing his own funds, most likely . Does it cost the clubs, no it doesn't anymore than it would cost any manager no matter who he was to manage Armagh. 

[T Fearon]

Just as happened in 2013,abandoning the Armagh county team for any other reason than injury,a dire family situation or economic need,should carry sanctions,and not lead to the automatic recall to the panel when the player decides to make himself available.

To do otherwise is an insult to the players who show continuous commitment

[BennyHarp]

Just as happened in 2013,abandoning the Armagh county team for any other reason than injury,a dire family situation or economic need,should carry sanctions,and not lead to the automatic recall to the panel when the player decides to make himself available.

To do otherwise is an insult to the players who show continuous commitment

Maybe each county should set up a panel which scrutinises the choices made by the players on the county team. This panel will have full access to their private emails and all the players private correspondences, financial records and of course health records. When a player suggests he no longer can commit to play county football the panel can look at all the evidence and decide whether or not to sanction the decision. This decision and all related evidence will then be made public in order to satisfy the crusiosity of the long suffering supporters, some of which, turn up once a week to support their team. Of course, when a player is dropped off a panel at the whim of the manager.....it's tough shit and he's quickly forgotten about! 

[tonto1888]

I can't see Jamie riding this crisis out much longer. It's pretty clear McGeeney & the Armagh fans want this man back.

If course we want him back, he's our best player. But most of us wish him well on his travels and will welcome him back if and and when he decides to recommit

[smelmoth]

Just as happened in 2013,abandoning the Armagh county team for any other reason than injury,a dire family situation or economic need,should carry sanctions,and not lead to the automatic recall to the panel when the player decides to make himself available.

To do otherwise is an insult to the players who show continuous commitment

Sanctions? Like decades of the rossary? Make him recite the Sorrowful Mysteries or the Ludicrous Mysteries or something like that

[smelmoth]

As an Armagh man I find a lot of this difficult to read . Tony, I had the pleasure of knowing and playing alongside your late brother, an absolute gentleman. It's a pity that you bring this debate up and I readily acknowledge your wind-up credentials and if I have fallen into the trap then so be it. What Jamie Clarke decides to do with his own life, in his own time and with his own money is a matter for Jamie Clarke and most certainly no-one else. I like you am gutted that he isn't playing. Like you I feel that the best players in armagh are not playing for their county ,be it not asked , be it not wanting to or be it retired, thats life . In my own club we have had a bellyfull of it . If only he would, could, or in your case with Jamie, should , i have heard it all. Let's get over it and get on.

On the subject of
Keiran McGeeney , the manager , all this talk about his money etc is frustrating. I was at the county convention I studied in detail the financial report . I brought it back to the club etc etc and any to be truthful no delegates complained and all parts were queried as i am sure happens in every other county, so give that one a rest.
As for the argument that Cross would beat many county sides, that remains to be seen and when Cross play in the first round of the county senior football championship in Ulster i'll give my verdict then.
As for Cross, the club team, I like many in my county, would prefer a change and a greater challenge at the top and I'm sure Cross would be the first to admit they would prefer a tougher challenge but it's up to the clubs to come up to scratch It aint Crossmaglen's problem No argument there.
The problem with county training etc and huge comittment six nights a week training or whatever, is that it's a double edged sword. While on the one hand we have managers and coaches pushing players to the limit we have players expecting to be pushed further etc . Many managers fall on the sword of , look at what theyr'e doing . Look at the coaches they have . I have heard in the past from a number of players . we're not being trained coached or prepared to the same level as other more successful teams . I had this chat with members of a great bunch of lads from leitrim .They complained that they hadn't the financial resources  to compete and many were literally pissed of and with drawing from the county.
In the past in Armagh some withdrew from the county squad as they felt they were getting better coaching and S&C with their club.  The demand also comes from players not just coaches. The players in some cases are as demanding as well as coaches( and in many cases quite rightly so) and this is driving the whole scenario skyward.
I know of one great club in Tyrone whose players complained that the lack of lighting on one of their training pitches was crucial in their failure to compete in the top four . Rightly or wrongly the club are out selling tickets to remedy this . To those players at club level it's inches as well. Coaches drive hard but so to do players and probably rightly so.

Good luck Cross on the 13th  I'll be there to support the team as an Armagh man first and foremost and Tony if I see Jamie I'll tell him you were asking about him and make sure he sends you a postcard.

Do you genuinely think that Kieran McGeeney is not being paid to be the Armagh manager? If you do you are the only Armagh fan (and I include Kieran McGeeney in this) who thinks that.

The county board nor no club pay any money towards the payment of Keiran McGeeney and if you know how he is paid ,please enlightened us dim folk. My club and countless others pay their fees to the county board .  Where the money goes is there in black and white . Have a look sometime.  Is Keiran McGeeney doing it free ,not likely , Is he gathereing his own funds, most likely . Does it cost the clubs, no it doesn't anymore than it would cost any manager no matter who he was to manage Armagh.

Did anyonne ever say he was paid by the clubs pr the board? It was you who reference looking in the county board's annual report whe of course nobody would expect to see a trace of a whiff of inkling of a trace of a payment there. It would be bit like concluding that there was no collusion between the RUS and paramilitaries because you ask the RUC and they said no and there was no record of it in an official report.

You say yourself that McGeeney is unlikely to be doing it for free. Why do you say that and do you think it is acceptable?

[rionach 4]

As an Armagh man I find a lot of this difficult to read . Tony, I had the pleasure of knowing and playing alongside your late brother, an absolute gentleman. It's a pity that you bring this debate up and I readily acknowledge your wind-up credentials and if I have fallen into the trap then so be it. What Jamie Clarke decides to do with his own life, in his own time and with his own money is a matter for Jamie Clarke and most certainly no-one else. I like you am gutted that he isn't playing. Like you I feel that the best players in armagh are not playing for their county ,be it not asked , be it not wanting to or be it retired, thats life . In my own club we have had a bellyfull of it . If only he would, could, or in your case with Jamie, should , i have heard it all. Let's get over it and get on.

On the subject of
Keiran McGeeney , the manager , all this talk about his money etc is frustrating. I was at the county convention I studied in detail the financial report . I brought it back to the club etc etc and any to be truthful no delegates complained and all parts were queried as i am sure happens in every other county, so give that one a rest.
As for the argument that Cross would beat many county sides, that remains to be seen and when Cross play in the first round of the county senior football championship in Ulster i'll give my verdict then.
As for Cross, the club team, I like many in my county, would prefer a change and a greater challenge at the top and I'm sure Cross would be the first to admit they would prefer a tougher challenge but it's up to the clubs to come up to scratch It aint Crossmaglen's problem No argument there.
The problem with county training etc and huge comittment six nights a week training or whatever, is that it's a double edged sword. While on the one hand we have managers and coaches pushing players to the limit we have players expecting to be pushed further etc . Many managers fall on the sword of , look at what theyr'e doing . Look at the coaches they have . I have heard in the past from a number of players . we're not being trained coached or prepared to the same level as other more successful teams . I had this chat with members of a great bunch of lads from leitrim .They complained that they hadn't the financial resources  to compete and many were literally pissed of and with drawing from the county.
In the past in Armagh some withdrew from the county squad as they felt they were getting better coaching and S&C with their club.  The demand also comes from players not just coaches. The players in some cases are as demanding as well as coaches( and in many cases quite rightly so) and this is driving the whole scenario skyward.
I know of one great club in Tyrone whose players complained that the lack of lighting on one of their training pitches was crucial in their failure to compete in the top four . Rightly or wrongly the club are out selling tickets to remedy this . To those players at club level it's inches as well. Coaches drive hard but so to do players and probably rightly so.

Good luck Cross on the 13th  I'll be there to support the team as an Armagh man first and foremost and Tony if I see Jamie I'll tell him you were asking about him and make sure he sends you a postcard.

Do you genuinely think that Kieran McGeeney is not being paid to be the Armagh manager? If you do you are the only Armagh fan (and I include Kieran McGeeney in this) who thinks that.

The county board nor no club pay any money towards the payment of Keiran McGeeney and if you know how he is paid ,please enlightened us dim folk. My club and countless others pay their fees to the county board .  Where the money goes is there in black and white . Have a look sometime.  Is Keiran McGeeney doing it free ,not likely , Is he gathereing his own funds, most likely . Does it cost the clubs, no it doesn't anymore than it would cost any manager no matter who he was to manage Armagh.

Did anyonne ever say he was paid by the clubs pr the board? It was you who reference looking in the county board's annual report whe of course nobody would expect to see a trace of a whiff of inkling of a trace of a payment there. It would be bit like concluding that there was no collusion between the RUS and paramilitaries because you ask the RUC and they said no and there was no record of it in an official report.

You say yourself that McGeeney is unlikely to be doing it for free. Why do you say that and do you think it is acceptable?
I say that because the situation is the same in many clubs and counties. Armagh are no different. McGeeney allegedly got huge sums of money from Kildare . While everybody talked about it nobody could say how much etc etc . By the time he left Kildare he was buying a house in the Bahamas according to some.If McGeeney has worked out some deal with individuals etc I mighn't like it, it's contrary to the ethos of the GAA and all that  but he is no different than many others. The clubs and the county board are not being financially hit albeit in a roundabout way. The same was said about Joe Kernan. If we believe other counties and clubs up and down the country aren't doing the same well then I refer you to your analogy.

[smelmoth]

Its not just the ethos of the organisation its actually the rules of the organisation.

If a large number of people are openly flouting both the rules and a core element of the ethos of the organisation what do you think the organisation should do?

[rionach 4]

Its not just the ethos of the organisation its actually the rules of the organisation.

If a large number of people are openly flouting both the rules and a core element of the ethos of the organisation what do you think the organisation should do?

I know it's the rules and believe it or not I am not arguing with you. It happens and is happening? The Gaa can try all they want and probably do but like the supposedly closed season the rule is the easy part, the policing of it the harder. Like those in cars driving on the red diesel or not declaring all incomes, brown envelopes , magnets on the electricity metres to name but a few . All against the rules but like managers being paid, it happens. The bottom line is , we can all speculate as to who is being paid and how much they are being paid, by whom and when. Rumour had it McGeeney was getting a fortune in Kildare. I am sure there are those in Armagh and outside who think he is getting a fortune with the Orchard county. I don't know, nor will I, or you for that matter ,ever find out exactly but as far as I am concerned my club doesn't pay for him. Anyway it's probably of the topic of the thread and I respect your opinion on it. 

[LCohen]

Its not just the ethos of the organisation its actually the rules of the organisation.

If a large number of people are openly flouting both the rules and a core element of the ethos of the organisation what do you think the organisation should do?

I know it's the rules and believe it or not I am not arguing with you. It happens and is happening? The Gaa can try all they want and probably do but like the supposedly closed season the rule is the easy part, the policing of it the harder. Like those in cars driving on the red diesel or not declaring all incomes, brown envelopes , magnets on the electricity metres to name but a few . All against the rules but like managers being paid, it happens. The bottom line is , we can all speculate as to who is being paid and how much they are being paid, by whom and when. Rumour had it McGeeney was getting a fortune in Kildare. I am sure there are those in Armagh and outside who think he is getting a fortune with the Orchard county. I don't know, nor will I, or you for that matter ,ever find out exactly but as far as I am concerned my club doesn't pay for him. Anyway it's probably of the topic of the thread and I respect your opinion on it.

Do you really think the GAA are doing everything they can to stop this? Its pure hypocrisy by the ruke makers/enforcers and those organising the payments and taking th payments.