Messages

White Elephant. Cost is ridiculous

+1

+2 Absolute waste of money. Should be spread between the other County Grounds with Antrim getting the bulk. No need for a white elephant. 

I remember being in the old Cusack in 1993. The noise in it was unreal with the upper deck being practically on top of the lower.

I've coached both Gaelic Football (u7.5) and Soccer (u11) teams for three years now and I think the GoGames model is superb. I think commentators are getting carried away by making winning and losing the issue. Of course kids know when they've won or lost a game whether it's officially competitive or not. The challenge is game time and ensuring that every child gets exposure to the ball in games which is much harder to do in tournaments than GoGames.

No child should be considered a 'write off' and the progress that I've seen from kids in both sports getting steady runs of games is great which wouldn't be happening otherwise. My kids also play hurling and their club is hosting an u11.5 tournament tomorrow with each club only fielding one team. For my sons team not all players have been invited to attend which has caused unnecessary ill feeling. My older son has also played in football/hurling u9.5 and u11.5 tournaments where any player could attend but there was seven or eight subs and very limited playing time which also causes ill feeling. I refereed a tournament final as a neutral last year and the abuse I was getting from both sides was ridiculous, pathetic and a terrible example to the boys on the field. I've also been invited to take my u7.5 team to tournaments which is beyond laughable.

On the other side of the coin, my soccer team play competitive 9v9 matches every week and in tournaments like the Foyle Cup. It's competitive but much better organised than the off-the-cuff tournaments run by a lot of GAA clubs that are too short in both time and land. While soccer is competitive you can register as many teams as you have players, providing you have enough coaches. But I think the GoGames model is better, proven by the fact that the drop off rate from soccer around the age of 12-14 is much greater.

In short, for the kids, every game is 'competitive' and there's nothing wrong with that but it's well covered by the GoGames model. Tournaments tend to become more about the coaches and parents. When there is a tournament, they need to be well organised so that all players in attendance actually play and they should be at u12/u11.5 only and certainly not at the younger age groups.

Guys. Any tips for a stag in Sligo. Places to stay / things to do?

I wouldn't bother. Bouncers in Sligo don't let stag parties through the doors.

Aye but human welfare isn't or shouldn't be measured by GDP not that governments really care about that. Its just one component towards it. I suppose western countries will need a strong GDP to accommodate the 200 million people who will be displaced as a result of climate change.

The amazon is probably one of the few areas of the world that is of such international importance that there must be a case for the UN to take control of it. Should an area of land that is so important in terms of our planets future really be owned by one country? Every country is subject to having a rogue government which Brazil has at the moment and if oil fields are important enough to go to war over then surely the Amazon is worth fighting for more?

If the world cup in 1990 doesn't count the it was the outbreak of the first Gulf War. I think I was 6 or 7. Locally it was the Shankhill bomb and a picture of a wee girl that was murdered in it has never left me. Then a week later the Rising Sun shooting which my mum grew up beside and knew five of the people murdered.

[if you aren't irritated by this then you aren't an Irish Nationalist]

It is a bit trivial.

Trying to boycott a massive and genuinely awesome open source project like Wikipedia because of a few rogue issues you have with it is a very north of Ireland response to a problem.

I urged Irish nationalists to boycott wikipedia, if you aren't irritated by this then you aren't an Irish Nationalist.

Lol. 

See Paddy Campbell appointed as u-17 manager.
Hope he will not subject young players the puke football he has subjected the 3 club teams to managed.
F Muldoon and R Rocks were v good forwards, hopefully they will have a big say.

When he managed Slaughtmanus it was soul destroying for the players. It was at least 13 men behind the ball and no kick passing allowed. I remember him subbing a player who was having a good game for kick passing (and that's no lie). A disgraceful decision by the County Board to put this type of coach in charge of our best underage talent.

Dunphy was tongue in cheek. Anyone offended by that is definitely too sensitive which a lot of northern nationalists definitely are. This is the first I heard of the other comment.

Probably Tyrones greatest all round player of my lifetime and a giant on the field. Up there with the very best of the last 20 years. Great servant to the game.

Of course he did. It wasn't him who put out the statement but he obviously bitched about it! It was hilarious, the schoolyard bully moaning to the teacher.

You are simply putting you own slant on something and wishing that had happened - like I said, small minded.

How did it get out then?

I recall a number of matches against Armagh where I've seen drunken Armagh fans goad Derry people about everything they could think of on and off the pitch for the duration of games. Means nothing as far as this thread is concerned. This thread is about Ciaran McKeever as a player, not Armagh and my comments are my own and not meant to represent Derry. The reaction to my opinion just shows how parochial and small minded Armagh people are.

Armagh produced plenty of good tough and clean defenders over the years that I have great admiration for like McGeeny and the McNulties. McKeever was just a thug who chatted shite and then cried wolf when he took a bit of sledging himself.

Ironic really - the fact that you accuse McKeever as someone who 'cried wolf' really does show you up as someone who is indeed 'small minded'.

McKeever never said a word about the sledging incident, despite the fact he was the recipient of the sledging. The issue was raised by Armagh officials, but sure why let the truth get in the way of your own small minded agenda.

Of course he did. It wasn't him who put out the statement but he obviously bitched about it! It was hilarious, the schoolyard bully moaning to the teacher. 

I recall a league trip to Derry in the glory years.The abuse meted out by the natives to the Armagh players and management was vile.I cannot recall worse anywhere at anytime,and I remember Joe Kernan going public about it on TV and the press after the game.

I recall a number of matches against Armagh where I've seen drunken Armagh fans goad Derry people about everything they could think of on and off the pitch for the duration of games. Means nothing as far as this thread is concerned. This thread is about Ciaran McKeever as a player, not Armagh and my comments are my own and not meant to represent Derry. The reaction to my opinion just shows how parochial and small minded Armagh people are.

Armagh produced plenty of good tough and clean defenders over the years that I have great admiration for like McGeeny and the McNulties. McKeever was just a thug who chatted shite and then cried wolf when he took a bit of sledging himself.

I don't see anything wrong with a bit of a thread for a lad who has given huge service to Armagh. He's also been a bit of a cult hero there, and surely it's no skin off your nose if his retirement is remarked upon?

Recent threads like this have been for players like Thomás O'Sé and Colm Cooper. No skin off my nose at all but if it's a player who was controversial like him and also average at All-Ireland level then a bit of criticism should also be expected.

He might well be a decent fella off the pitch and good with kids locally but for a young defender watching on TV I think the way he conducted himself was a poor role model.