Antrim Football Thread

[milltown raver]

Well hardstateion known Sean Kelly as i do, the thought of getting beat by Cavan would never have crossed his mind, and as i seen on Sunday night when the rest of the team were out getting drunk having a laugh about getting beat, Sean Kelly was nowhere to be seen, as he seen nothing funny about last sunday.
If he had of decided to go to america would people be so harsh, if his heart wasnt 100% in the tommy murphy cup then fair play to him for having the balls to stand up and say so, lets not forget noones even sure if this Tommy Cooper cup is even going to happen, as already wicklow and sligo have said they arent going to take part in it, which leaves Antrim, Waterford Kilkenny and london. Now if you think this is going to help improve antrim football in any way then fair play, but i can just imagine the intense sessions the county footballers will be doing before these matches  . You can be sure that with 10 minutes to go on sunday that Sean Kelly and some like him still believed, but unfortunately alot of there teammates didnt.

[ONeill]

It looks like Jody is losing the faith of the panel and perhaps should cut his losses and move on, for the sake of his own management career. He probably believes he can't do that right now as it'll look bad on the CV, but it may get worse.

I'm told that Jody's mate, Paddy Heaney, slated Kelly during the talk-show last night. I'm also told he made the comment that Antrim have progressed with Jody Gormley in charge. I'm sorry Paddy but that's just sycophantic bullshit. Antrim are at a low, low ebb. They bombed towards the end of their league campaign - look at the teams who beat them. In the championship they played the second worst side in Ulster on their home patch, conceded 1-19 and lost by 5. Progress?

As for Sean Kelly, I don't know what happened there but I know some who do and they'll just intimate that there is a serious fall-out between both parties. I know what Hardstation means and his black-and-white approach is an ethos that is admirable. You play for your county no matter what. However, I'm led to believe things have broken down so badly that Kelly had no option but to quit. For Heaney to slate Kelly in public is scandalous and his relationship with Gormley has compromised his position as a neutral journalist. That's a great pity.

I'm also told that Fergal Logan made the remark to Heaney that the story 'broke' very quickly.

Gormley's philosophy is one that is needed in Antrim but he didn't seem to apply the same standards to all players. I'm told that Terry O'Neill was informed he'd lost his starting place a few days before the Cavan game due to a missed training session or two. However, another player appeared on the side before him despite missing a host of sessions, and even training with the county hurlers on the morning of the match. Gormley is also working within the confines of a poor county set-up and is probably honest in his endeavours. I just feel he's a little green for this job. Tactically too he may have been a little too adventurous.

I don't want to become some else's mouthpiece and have serious reservations about the mindset of many involved with the Antrim county sides. But you hear stories from those you trust. Madden wrote about a lack of self belief. I disagree. That's one thing they have in abundance in Antrim. It's just misdirected and too many have too much to say without having the success at that level to back it up. In one way, the St Gall's success is a double-edged sword. However, they just need to look at Crossmaglen. The McEntees have club titles galore but will take nothing for granted at county level. I know players put in individual work, train many nights a week and are dedicated to playing the game. But which county doesn't boast a plethora of sides with those qualities. It's that little bit extra - call it team bonding, a togetherness, a mission to succeed, a realisation that you are the privileged few good enough to represent the masses on the field. That seems to be seriously lacking.

[aontroim]

Getting back to the club scene for a brief moment 

U21 Football C'ship Results

Creggan Kickhams 1-12 v 1-9 Glenavy
Aghagallon 0-6 v 2-15 Cargin
St. Brigids B 2-6 v 0-15 St. Galls
St. Endas 1-6 v 1-10 St. Pauls
Glenravel 0-5 v 2-18 Moneyglass
Aldergrove 1-14v 1-15 Ahoghill

Think the 1/4 Finals are;

Creggan v St. Pauls
B'mena/Sarsfields v Ahoghill
Cargin v Moneyglass
St. Gall's v St. Teresas/Rossa

[KIDDO 4]

NOdiscipline. No pride. No commitment. No quick fix answers for the attitude of the four players that have betrayed the football dreams of Antrim. The analysis of the current state of Antrim football by CJ McGourty is brutal in its intensity.

What is even more shocking is his indictment of the alcohol abuse prior to a vital promotion match. The defeat that followed has kept Antrim stuck in the bottom tier of football for a second successive season. They have, McGourty insists, let down their teammates, the manager Jody Gormley and the longsuffering Antrim supporters.

McGourty claims the four players spent the evening before the last league match against Waterford drinking in Belfast's Botanic Inn. They did so behind the backs of their manager and the rest of the squad. The next day they turned out for Antrim.

McGourty says that had they been tested they would have failed a breathalyser test.

On the pitch after the match Gormley expressed his bafflement at the abject performances of the Botanic Four.

He was left stunned when another player, who had been tipped off about the pre-match booze blitz, explained the real reason for the performances.

The issue was raised at a players' meeting in the week before the championship clash with Cavan last Sunday. But the damage had been done.

McGourty doesn't pull any punches when summing up his view of the state of Antrim football. The anger is matched by the frustration. On a personal basis he questions whether it is worthwhile keeping alive the hope that Antrim football might change during his career. There are other options. County hurling is one, playing professional soccer is another. The immediate plan, however, is to travel to the States. All last week the phone calls came with the offers.

There had been no plans made to answer those calls.

Last Sunday against Cavan changed things. The game turned out to be another routine first round defeat in the Ulster championship.

McGourty's superb scoring contribution of 1-4 didn't count. Just two victories in the last quarter of a century is an appalling indictment.

The lack of depth in Antrim is a factor. But the situation regarding Kevin McGourty is one that CJ McGourty believes comes into the blunder category. The circumstances surrounding the exclusion of his elder brother from the squad are complex.

"Look, I know that at times Kevin is his own worst enemy.

He is not always the easiest person to work with. But last Sunday the star man on the pitch was Seanie Johnston.

When he announced after last season's championship loss to Down that he was going to play in America the response from his manager was that it was the end of Johnston's county career.

"But in the end common sense prevailed and Cavan got the benefit. Johnston is a great player and he was allowed to show it at Casement Park. So how can we afford to be without a Kevin McGourty? He is one of the top players in the country. He would get his place on any team. This is not a brother arguing the case for his brother. It is being rational.

"It is the supporters that have been let down by all of this. There was criticism about the lack of numbers in Casement last Sunday. But, like everybody else, the Antrim fans had heard about the drinking incident. But why should they have been expected to pay up to £20 a ticket to watch some players wearing the county colours when they knew they shouldn't have been there?

"They knew there were four guys on the pitch that had no pride in being Antrim players. If they had then they wouldn't have been playing at the end of our league campaign still hungover from the night before. They were the ones that ruined our promotion chances. They were the ones that put us under pressure."

The responsibility to change attitudes, McGourty argues, rests with the county board.

He has praise for the underage coaching focus. "There is good work being done at primary school level. The investment in a centre of excellence can pay dividends. It will be tough and it will take time. But a start has been made in helping the kids make a different future."

The present poses a different challenge for McGourty.

Along with three other St Gall's teammates he has now pulled out of Antrim's Tommy Murphy Cup campaign. He is prepared for the flak. The county's exit from the Ulster championship was a factor in his departure but it wasn't the only element. McGourty wants to be able to look forward to a different future.

"At 20 years of age I don't want to spend the next ten years waking up on a Monday morning and feeling ashamed of another championship failure. I don't want to keep talking about what might have been."

Attempts to contact members of the Antrim county board proved unsuccessful yesterday.

Checking out: CJ McGourty has left the Antrim panel   Sunday Tribune.

[aontroim]

Thats a brutal piece of journalism that will cause no end of hassle for the young prodigy, and of course the 4 pissheads he refers to.

[Minder]

Is CJ the new voice of Antrim football,picking up the torch from the brother

[Gold]

who are the 4?

[Our Nail Loney]

Fair play to him for coming out and saying it

[bannside]

Was wondering how long it would take for the shit to hit the fan. Lets just say that I was informed re the drinking exploits of the Botanic Four early enough the next day to persuade me to not bother going to the must win league game.

Player power at its worst, I am afraid, and my clear information from reliable sources reveal a much worse problem.

Seems the players wanted rid of Jody from well back, and a decent finish would secure him another year.

Now lets just reflect that maybe Sean Kelly did not wish to be part and parcel of this charade, and captain of a squad that a large percentage of players could not maintain the level of committment he was prepared to give.

A few interesting days ahead of us.....and lets hope the full lid dosent come off this story!!









 

[Our Nail Loney]

f**k it get the lid off, who were the players!!

[imtommygunn]

St Brigids beat Cargin in the league today! I'd assume that to be without Joe Brolly too as he was on Sunday game duty... St Johns took a fair hiding from Portglenone - things looking good for them in the football.

Moneyglass were beat, and beat well, by Glenavy in division 2 too.

[Harps 21]

Was reading back a page there, what's this about the "close relationship" between Jody and Paddy Heaney of IN fame?  What's the story there?

[Minder]

I was down seeing the clowns in St Galls this evening, will do wonders for their beautiful playing surface..........

[ONeill]

Just roll the whole ball up and start again.

Renamed, repackaged. New colours.

[ONeill]

County Chairman Responds to Recent Press Speculation
25 May 2008
Antrim County Chairman John McSparran has responded to several recent press articles which have speculated on various matters following the County footballers exit from the Ulster Championship last Sunday.

In Thursday's Andersonstown News, prominent St Gall's member Sean McGourty called for the appointment of a full-time "Director of football" to oversee the development of the game in the county.  In the article, McGourty stated that Antrim football was "on its knees" and that a "root and branch revolution" was needed to begin the process of changing the fortunes for football in the County. While the treasurer of Ulster Colleges GAA Council welcomed the county's Strategic Plan published in 2006, he felt that this was all very well, but that "words needed to be turned into action". "I can't say that in the 18 months since the Strategic Plan was published, that I have felt anything like a mild tremor, never mind a revolution about where we are going in terms of Gaelic Football".

Defending the Antrim County Board's progress on the Strategic Plan, McSparran said that an audit was completed at the end of 2007 to measure progress or otherwise, on those issues that the Plan highlighted that needed addressed in the short-term. We have published the Strategic Plan and this audit on our website and I am certain that any objective assessment of the work that has been done would clearly indicate that considerable progress has been made. The recent announcement and publication of Antrim's plans to build a Centre of Excellence are the most obvious example of this. However, far more has been achieved that people all too easily forget. Let's remember where we were at the beginning of 2006 and where we have come in the last 2 years. We now have an excellent website rated as one of the top two GAA sites in the country by Media giants, Setanta. Within the website, we have an excellent results and fixtures service supported by the fact that over 40,000 hits are registered by the site each month. Club fixtures are infinitely better organised than previously, much improved facilities are available to county teams albeit temporarily as this is one of the primary reasons for developing a Centre of Excellence.  We have generated funds to assist in delivering the objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan, something that this county has not done since Casement Park was constructed in the 1950s.  I could highlight plenty of other things as evidence of progress, but instead I would invite Sean and any other interested parties to take a look at this audit and then consider if there isn't "even a tremor" in terms of progress being made.

However, the Glens GP was anxious to point out that he didn't disagree with much of what McGourty was calling for. In terms of a Director for Football, McSparran stated that as part of Ulster Council's ongoing modernisation programme, a full-time "Coaching and Games Development Officer" post should be appointed before the end of the summer.  "This would not be specifically for football, but provided the right person is appointed then I don't see this as differing much from what Sean or Tommy Lyons is suggesting."

McSparran also pointed out that currently there are coaches going into any school that that has requested this. "For the past couple of years, I think this has been helpful, but I am not certain it is the most effective thing we can do. We are currently reviewing all our full or part-time coaching positions. Much of this is dependent on the issues that will be raised when the Strategic Plan designed to specifically address problems in Belfast is produced. We have already made several presentations to the HDC in Croke Park and we have been advised that considerable resources will be made available to us to develop hurling in the county. We have been invited to do the same at the National Coaching and Games Development Committee by the chairman of that committee, Uachtaran-tofa Christy Cooney.  Sean is probably like me and many members of the County Management team in that we are all impatient to see things happen more quickly. However, with the impending appointment of a full-time County Secretary, I believe that we will be better able to deliver things more quickly than volunteers are currently capable of doing. I agree entirely with Sean that our focus must be on the younger generation and in schools".

McSparran sounded a note of warning though. "Developing football, or hurling for that matter should not be considered as the sole responsibility of the County board. Clubs have probably a more important role to play here than County officials. Just last week in another newspaper column,  a vociferous critic of Antrim lamented the fact that there were up to 20 clubs based along the same road in Belfast, yet little was being done in many of these clubs to promote the development of Gaelic Games in a meaningful way. While I believe that there may be some merit in some of what was said, this does not realistically reflect the fact that many clubs in Belfast are struggling for a multitude of reasons. There is sterling work going on within many of these clubs and those people do not deserve to be categorized as "failing" the Association. We must not forget that Belfast is still suffering from a legacy of 30 years of strife, many clubs are struggling financially and many have no facilities, either of their own or provided by the statutory authorities."

"That's why the Belfast Strategic Work Group chaired by County Secretary Jim Murray, is currently drafting a Strategic Plan for Belfast". Assisted by Ulster Council with representatives from the Down County board, schools and the media, it is anticipated this Plan will be ready for publication in the next couple of months. "I am disappointed that some of our clubs failed to send representatives to a well advertised meeting for them to have an input into this. Nevertheless, we had sufficient enough input from those that were present that we have a basis to move on". 

The County Chairman stated that there is a limit as to what County Board, Ulster Council or Croke Park officials can do.  "This is not a Belfast-specific problem. Far too much apathy exists throughout the county with too few willing to share in the responsibility of moving the county forward. We must not allow ourselves to be deflected by the merchants of doom and gloom. It's only too easy for the cloak-and-dagger critics on various websites etc to promote negativity and hopelessness and therefore dissuade those that might be interested in doing something constructive to move this county forward.  I know that those currently involved in the County Management Committee are determined to do what they can to continue with the work that is ongoing. They will not be burdened by the under-achievement of the past or the habitual critics who revel in defeat and despair".

McSparran challenged the current County Management Committee's critics. "How many of them are actively involved with their clubs in any role that promotes development? How many are contributing in any meaningful way to the task of moving this county into a new era of genuine hope and ultimately success? How many of them have dug deep into their pockets to support the various financial initiatives being organised that support both their club and their county? I applaud Sean McGourty for raising the matters he has done in an open and honest way. Debate and discussion is healthy and we must encourage this in ways where positive developments can be effected. As Sean says though, "actions speak louder than words". Let us support the efforts currently being made by getting involved with coaching or refereeing or even just by digging deep in our pockets to buy a Saffron Sweep ticket".

Asked about the decision of 4 players to withdraw from the County football panel, McSparran expressed disappointment that these players could not see the season through. "I know that the Tommy Murphy Cup is not exactly the most prestigious of competitions. However, the reality is that, we are where we are. No-one in Antrim football could possibly think that the Tommy Murphy Cup is not good enough for them. We find ourselves in this situation entirely through our failure to gain promotion. Well, that's done and dusted and we have an obligation to compete in the Tommy Murphy Cup".

Not only would the County lose much needed finance by not competing in this competition, but the players would forfeit any financial rewards that would accrue as a result of the recently approved Players Expenses Scheme. "I have been given indications that most of our players would have considered pooling this money together to support a team holiday or something similar, prior to the beginning of next season. Those players that have withdrawn now will have excluded themselves from benefiting from this because of the rules set down outlining how they would qualify for these expenses. Consequently this has implications for the rest of the squad should they decide to pool these resources, for whatever purpose and I think this will have a bearing on next year's preparations".

That aside, McSparran believes that the Tommy Murphy Cup is a useful competition for Antrim football for various reasons. "Tipperary won this cup a couple years ago and look at where they are now. Wicklow won it last year and this year they have now won their first championship match in over 100 years.  I believe our footballers are under-achieving, but we have got to learn how to win important matches. If that means stepping down a grade, then so be it. It's not that long ago that Fermanagh were ranked as low as us. They won an All Ireland 'B' as far as I can remember, and their recent results only demonstrate how much this has stood to them. We have got to learn to walk before we can run and I would appeal to those players to reconsider this decision. There will not be any collective training for the next few weeks and while I can understand the players' disappointment with the Cavan match, they are not alone in this regard. I believe there is still time for these players to change their minds and I would urge them not to miss out on what could be the first step on a long road to much greater success".