Down Club Hurling & Football

[Line Ball]

Some post here taken from another thread on a similar topic

So who are the front runners for the job? Anyone obvious?
James McCartan seems very popular considering he won nothing and his results were mixed to say the least. Down have been on the slide for a long time

McCorry and Dawson will be touted along with Tony McEntee but they will all cost and it is widely known that Down aren't in great nick financially.

Former minor manager Mark Turley would be an interesting choice with Mickey Linden possibly in the equation too.

What are you on about, obviously trying get John Morgan a gig back with Down?  Next thing you will be saying that Desy Kennedy and Martin Mc Garry should be selectors, top class stuff that would strike fear in any county.  As for Mickey, a great lad but just not cut out for it.

Dawson will not budge from Bryansford and his time with Antrim wasn't great so he will probably give it a while before he gives County football another go.
Mc Corry would be the best candidate but only if it is on his terms but I'm not sure if Down can give him what he wants.

Money
I'm not sure about James but previous managers received considerable, and I mean considerable expenses.  Recently the major expenses for the county 'back room' staff have been born by several well placed, supportive business men.  This should come as no surprise but everybody knows that we dont have 2d to rub together.

Future
We do not have the players at present.  The infrastructure is not there with development squads run on a joke and a prayer.  The trawl of the county, with meetings upon meetings to find another way forward rather than the 'Down Way' has proved to be ineffective.  We continually uses the goodwill of clubs for training while paying the Abbey a premium to use their facilities for the senior team.  We lack foresight, men with a plan, we lack ambition, we are going no where. 

Thanks James but I don't know where we go from here.

[PAULD123]

James did a good job overall but in the end we are back roughly only better than where he found us.

He turned around a demoralised team and made them believe. They played with enthusiasm and commitment. Before James the defending had been brutal. The defenders were left to do the job themselves without any support from the half forwards. In attack we had a team that almost looked frightened to shoot and only exercised one option – "Get it to Benny"

James changed that and we had a team that flooded back to help out. Our turnover and interception ability improved dramatically. And from that, we used it as a springboard to burst forward in attack. The ball was moved quickly through Hughes, Poland, MClarke to McComiskey, Coulter, JClarke.

But in the last year or two, things have gone almost full circle but with a sad twist. Now we again have a demoralised team lacking belief. Although this time we have a set of players that flood back to defend, but no-one is bursting forward after the turnover. They seem frightened again to take scoring chances, instead preferring the whole team to advance together and trying to overplay the ball to create a perfect shot. And sadly this year we once again ended up in a situation of "Get it to Benny"

[DownFanatic]

Some post here taken from another thread on a similar topic

So who are the front runners for the job? Anyone obvious?
James McCartan seems very popular considering he won nothing and his results were mixed to say the least. Down have been on the slide for a long time

McCorry and Dawson will be touted along with Tony McEntee but they will all cost and it is widely known that Down aren't in great nick financially.

Former minor manager Mark Turley would be an interesting choice with Mickey Linden possibly in the equation too.

What are you on about, obviously trying get John Morgan a gig back with Down?  Next thing you will be saying that Desy Kennedy and Martin Mc Garry should be selectors, top class stuff that would strike fear in any county.  As for Mickey, a great lad but just not cut out for it.

Dawson will not budge from Bryansford and his time with Antrim wasn't great so he will probably give it a while before he gives County football another go.
Mc Corry would be the best candidate but only if it is on his terms but I'm not sure if Down can give him what he wants.

Money
I'm not sure about James but previous managers received considerable, and I mean considerable expenses.  Recently the major expenses for the county 'back room' staff have been born by several well placed, supportive business men.  This should come as no surprise but everybody knows that we dont have 2d to rub together.

Future
We do not have the players at present.  The infrastructure is not there with development squads run on a joke and a prayer.  The trawl of the county, with meetings upon meetings to find another way forward rather than the 'Down Way' has proved to be ineffective.  We continually uses the goodwill of clubs for training while paying the Abbey a premium to use their facilities for the senior team.  We lack foresight, men with a plan, we lack ambition, we are going no where. 

Thanks James but I don't know where we go from here.

Turley had five relatively successful years with the minors between 05 and 09. A large number of the current squad worked under him. He's definitely a viable option and has more clout in the reckoning stakes than some of the other names being bandied about.

[speculative]

I must be dreaming, surely this is a nightmare. Some of the suggestions here for the next Down Senior Management position are borderline insanity. Poacher? Mulholland? Linden? Turley? McGrath? Is this some form of joke. Where are the merits for these men? Just because they have managed teams doesn't mean they are actually any good at it. Poacher is close to relegating Ballyholland, Mulholland's minor team gave one of the most inept performances I've seen against Tyrone, Linden, a great man but recent management record hasn't been great, Turley has to my knowledge done nothing since 2009, and McGrath, it was over 20 years ago people, let's get over it.

This ludicrous point that we couldn't attract an outside manager is unfathomable. Does anyone expect that the County Board only pay Niall Moyna a nominal fee? I personally like the look of McEntee, a man who will expect only the highest standards and is clearly willing to make the tough decisions which will be need if a clearout is required.

As I said previously, McCorry is the ONLY man within Down Football capable of taking the role, and he would be my choice, and if not him, we MUST look outside of the county, to a young, enthusiastic manager with credentials.

[redandblackareback]

Agree with a lot that's been said, don't think we have a lot of outstanding candidates within the county at present, soley based on silverware Dawson and Mc Corry on paper should be front runners and know Down footballers very well. Mulholland won't be considered because he's with the minors for at least another year, Poacher is a coach/trainer not a manager, Linden had couple of seasons with drumgath and shamrocks, where is he now? Mark Turley I don't think can even be considered?? That minor team of 05 could have won an all ireland themselves. Regardless of what I or anyone else thinks the speculation will continue for weeks if not months and knowing the inept nature of our county board we will be still be left wondering at Halloween, think maybe now is the time to break with tradition and appoint an outsider with no baggage.

[thewobbler]

It's quite apparent that there are very few standout candidates within the county. The number of Down natives under the age of 60 who have taken teams to club championship titles, or have taken a Down team, a school team, or a university team to provincial honours, really wouldn't take too long to add up.

This in itself is a good reason to look outside the county.

But the overwhelming thrust on this thread of "we must look elsewhere" seems to be inflated by some bizarre fascination that things are done better elsewhere. I'm really not so sure. Take a while to read through the various county sections in our Local GAA Section, and all you'll find are people giving off about county boards and managers. Everyone in our game, or so it seems, who is not a player or is not Jim Gavin, does not actually have something close to a clue, and is in fact holding the players back, and therefore holding our games back.

So I'm not so sure if it's essential to look for a "baggage-free" man. Whoever it is, they'll be handed all the baggage they could ever need from the off,  whether they hail from Kilclief, Kilcar or Killiney.

[whitegoodman]

I must be dreaming, surely this is a nightmare. Some of the suggestions here for the next Down Senior Management position are borderline insanity. Poacher? Mulholland? Linden? Turley? McGrath? Is this some form of joke. Where are the merits for these men? Just because they have managed teams doesn't mean they are actually any good at it. Poacher is close to relegating Ballyholland, Mulholland's minor team gave one of the most inept performances I've seen against Tyrone, Linden, a great man but recent management record hasn't been great, Turley has to my knowledge done nothing since 2009, and McGrath, it was over 20 years ago people, let's get over it.

This ludicrous point that we couldn't attract an outside manager is unfathomable. Does anyone expect that the County Board only pay Niall Moyna a nominal fee? I personally like the look of McEntee, a man who will expect only the highest standards and is clearly willing to make the tough decisions which will be need if a clearout is required.

As I said previously, McCorry is the ONLY man within Down Football capable of taking the role, and he would be my choice, and if not him, we MUST look outside of the county, to a young, enthusiastic manager with credentials.

Would tend to agree with this.  I dont really care about the baggage, its more the credentials that I would be interested in.  McCorry or McEntee for me, dont care that both are Armagh men if they are the best men for the job.

[Down Follower]

Would tend to agree with this.  I dont really care about the baggage, its more the credentials that I would be interested in.  McCorry or McEntee for me, dont care that both are Armagh men if they are the best men for the job.
[/quote]

In fairness, Jim McCorry is as close to a Down man as many a born and bred man. He is managing within Down now for the guts of 20 years! I think we should go in house and I think McCorry would qualify under this - we wouldnt even have to go the Caravan route 

[PAULD123]

There is no automatic secret to success and no guarantees that any particular manager will find the right solution. In fact maybe we are not even good enough in the first place. But you have to choose what at least looks like the best option. And McCorry certainly stands above the others in terms of team preparation and motivation. So for me he is the man we should want to try his luck.

But I was wondering is it really that simple? Kilcoo are a serious outfit. They are probably around top 10-15 teams in the country. They realistically fully believe they can win Down, Have only another maximum of two difficult games after that to finally win Ulster.

McCorry must seriously desire the chance to get that Ulster title and must believe they can. He could not be a Down manager if Kilcoo win Ulster as they would be involved in football after Christmas. Would McCorry really walk away from the chance to fulfil all his hard work?

[Oglach]

I don't think Kilcoo will be thinking of an Ulster title at this stage of the season, They must get out of their group first not to mention winning the Down Championship.
Burran, Bryansford the Bridge and a few others might have something to say.
Personally i think McCorry is head and shoulders above everyone else in Co Down in terms of training, selection, man management, professionalism and tactics.
If he does take the Down job it'll be a massive loss for us.

Kilcoo beat the Stone tonight 3:16 to 0:08. Haven't seen a black card for 3 months and we received 3 tonight.

[downjim]

Any truth in the rumours around South Down that Rostrevor played illegal players in the reserve championship at the weekend?

[charlieTully]

Any truth in the rumours around South Down that Rostrevor played illegal players in the reserve championship at the weekend?

you are a deadly man jim.

[gaamann]

Lads anyone know if this threat to void league games not played by August 31st is enforceable

[Leonardo]

It's great to see the league getting run off quickly, but it's mad that some teams are going to have to play twice a week in the build up to championship games. Also, it has to be remembered that 4 games were played in the first 2 weeks. Think there has to be a better solution, but not sure what it is. The average club player seems to be the loser. Would the club players ( not managers) prefer to play on throughout the season without the county men?

[gaamann]

Not sure what the players would think about playing without County players but this seems a bit mad players want to play every week but some teams will play 7 games in August and if they don't get out of the group stage of the championship that's their season over