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Just saw the ticket prices for the Ulster championship - £20 for a seated ticket isn't that bad, is it?

I play senior football, I travel to every Derry game, I take an underage team in the club, I would go out on a Wednesday night to watch the under-16s training and I wouldn't waste my time watching the disaster that is the International Rules.  Just look at the tackle on Benny Coulter a couple of years ago.  It's alright for the Aussies who can sit in the house and undergo months of rehab and get paid for it, but there's a big difference between amateur and professional.  As advanced as our games have become, the players are not as physical as their Australian counterparts and inevitably get bullied, resulting in the last few hammerings we've taken in the series.

Is this man for real?  That's so bad it's laughable.  Almost.  He is blaming the fitness of players for destroying the game?  Well pardon the players for busting their balls in search of an All-Ireland, maybe they should all lie in the house until the 2nd week of April and then go out and kickabout and hope they win.

F**k me.

The point a lot of people seem to miss is that 3 months is not that long a suspension.  You can get a three match ban for being sent off twice for any reason in a year.  Now take for example the player who is sent off one for dissent, cursing at the ref, whatever, and then sent off for striking.  He'll get three months for a repeat infraction.  Are you telling me that's on the same level as striking the notepad from the ref's hand?  It's not.  In relative terms, the six month suspension is right.  But in the grand scheme of things, six months is undoubtedly a bit harsh.  The whole disciplinary system needs a drastic overhaul and the DRA needs to be disbanded.  I think with all the money the GAA are spending on bits and pieces, they could pay to bin the rulebook and write a completely new one from scratch.  Preferably one that contains the advantage rule 

I haven't missed a senior club game since I started playing for them four years ago, meaning having to take days off work, reorganise shifts, work nights, et al.  I don't take summer holidays (prefer the winter anyway, me tells the wife  )...I was adult club secretary from I was 16 until I was 19, then work meant I had to drop it, I'm now the underage secretary and PRO. I go to all county football and hurling matches.  It pished out of the heavens last night and I was one of about ten people standing watching a match.  Then I went to training.  Even my ma washes the jerseys  but I love it.  People complain about playing too much but when I'm 40, I know it'll break my heart to stand behind the wire (or inside it, whatever) and watch.  Nothing beats the feeling of pride when you're on the pitch at the final whistle in a championship final.

And to the man whose sister is getting married - football first, family second 

well unless the copy n paste button didn't work, i woudn't think so!

[You'd think us Derry folk would be immune to heartbreak by now. Eight times in as many years, the Oak Leaf fans have stepped back into their cars and headed back down the road with the same thoughts running through their heads, the same tears in their eyes, the same insatiable hunger in their bellies.]

Away from the Dubs for a minute (who gives a fook about the Dubs?), this is the view of the match from the local paper in Derry (taken from a different source though, f**ked if I'm retyping it all!), I wouldn't be a wile fan of the writer (if you read previous posts, you should be able to guess  who it is  ) but I think this sums it up pretty well...

Ps it's a bit long, you don't need to read all the fluffy shit.  Actually, probably best not to read most of it....

You'd think us Derry folk would be immune to heartbreak by now.  Eight times in as many years, the Oak Leaf fans have stepped back into their cars and headed back down the road with the same thoughts running through their heads, the same tears in their eyes, the same insatiable hunger in their bellies.
But, even after all that time, it still hurts the same.  The same questions are still asked, year on year.  From Casement, from Clones, from Croker, it doesn't matter. The drive home after a semi-final defeat has become an annual routine.

It will have stung the players and fans alike on Sunday night, but the poison will truly be swallowed when Fermanagh's stars rip out on to the Clones pitch on Ulster final day, seeking their first ever provincial crown.

It's a day that the Ernesiders deserve.  Ten years without an Ulster title feels like a long, long time in Derry.  Imagine how a lifetime of that feels in places like Tempo, Roslea, Derrylin and Teemore.  Only the coldest, bitterest of hearts could have begrudged Fermanagh their win amid the joyous scenes of those green-clad souls who stormed on to the pitch to rejoice with their heroes at the final whistle. 

And, to a man, there were far more heroes in green than there were in red and white.  1982 is the last time they were involved at the climax of the nation's most competitive provincial championship.  The picture of the '82 side hangs proudly on the wall in Brewster Park.  But they won nothing.

There is of course no guarantee that the class of '08 will win anything either.  But Armagh or Down better be well prepared.  Because Fermanagh will be.  They were simply much better than Derry on Saturday evening.  They had 15 men on the one wavelength.  As soon as they lost possession, 13 men funnelled back behind the ball.  They played two, sometimes three, sweepers in front of the Bradley brothers.  They won almost every single ball at midfield.  Even when they went down to 14 men after Peter Sherry was sent off for a second yellow card, they still looked as though they had three men spare.

Derry, in comparison, looked devoid of a way to demolish the green wall in front of the Fermanagh goal.  It was frustrating to watch as countless times, Mark Lynch or Conleith Gilligan picked the ball up ten yards inside their own half.  When they looked up, all they saw was green.  Green grass, green shirts, and nowhere to go.  Against the wind in the second half, the Derry half-forwards were withdrawn so far that when they got the ball, they had two options – run into a cul de sac with it, or try to play an impossible 60-yard pass over the heads of six Fermanagh defenders into the arms of Paddy or Eoin Bradley.

It was only when the younger of the Glenullin men got the ball in his hands that Derry really threatened, and that wasn't nearly often enough.  Raw pace complimented by brute strength.  Peter Sherry was left clutching thin air, staring at the number 15 on the back of Eoin's jersey as he ripped viciously through to drill home a simply brilliant goal after 12 minutes.

Things were rosy beneath the overcast skies at that stage.  After Ryan Keenan had opened the scoring for Fermanagh from a free, Michael McIver found rare space 25 yards out to equalise before Bradley junior cut in and swung over off his left foot from a similar distance.

Then came his goal, which relied too on a lovely pass played in front of him by blood sub Barry McGoldrick.  The rest was all Bradley's own work.

To say that the defining moment came five minutes later, just after Paddy Bradley had swung over his first of the darkening evening, wouldn't be much of an overstatement.  Maybe a wee bit, but not much.

The penalty award itself looked a bit suspect as Niall McCusker was tackled in the square by Martin McGrath, whose shoulder charge earned him a yellow card (one of too many handed out by the petty Syl Doyle, who didn't do much in the way of improving the game).

But aren't the undeserved ones always missed?  Those with long memories will have pictured Ronan Gallagher pawing away Paddy Bradley's penalty in a McKenna Cup game at the start of the season.  This time he faced Conleith Gilligan.  This time the penalty went the other way, high towards the 'keeper's right, but Gallagher's strong right arm turned it brilliantly away for a 45' which the Shamrocks man did well to compose himself for before stroking it casually over.

And so began the fightback.  A moment that might have killed the game as a contest became a great source of inspiration for the Ernemen.

Their domination at midfield started to tell.  There was one single clean catch made by a Derry player from a kickout down the middle (Gerard O'Kane and Michael McIver grabbed one each on the wings), with McGrath and Murphy just beating everything down to their alert half-forward line, who snapped up break after break after break.

Roving wing backs Tommy McElroy and Damien Kelly grabbed much needed points before Derry pushed the self-destruct button, with Francis McEldowney surrendering possession and Kevin McCloy lifting it off the ground to give Ryan Keenan a simple free that made the score 1-04 to 0-05.

Paddy Bradley swung it back Derry's way with an absolutely brilliant score from the right wing off his right boot, but the half-time margin was reduced to two thanks to another Keenan free after he, McCloy and McEldowney had all been booked.
For the first 20 minutes of the second half, Derry couldn't get the ball out of their own half.  They put 13 men behind the ball, just as Fermanagh had done, except the runners weren't there and they were losing the ball by the time they got to halfway, bottled up in a slightly more advanced sea of green.

But it took the dramatic introduction of All-Star full-back Barry Owens to turn the game.  Not at full-back, but at full-forward he came in for James Sherry and within thirty seconds, he had the same fans who had roared him back on to the field after his lengthy absence in raptures.  A dropping ball came too close to Gillis, who had earlier made a fantastic save from Eamon Maguire, to allow the 'keeper a running jump at it and Owens slipped away from McCloy to take advantage of the 'keeper's standing start by rising to punch into the roof of the net with his first touch.

The next score told its own story.  A 50-50 ball.  Marty McGrath simply wanted it more.  He grabbed it, strode down the right wing and curled over the equaliser.  1-08 to 1-06.  After Donegal, this was another real test of character.  Only this was a failed test.
Eamon Maguire (wearing his third clean jersey of the day, each with a different number) extended the Fermanagh lead to a goal and you could see it slipping away from Derry.  Again.

Ryan Keenan scored from the right wing after Conleith Gilligan surrendered possession deep in his own territory, but the Ballinderry man did slot over a free to keep his side in contention as the last five minutes rolled around.

Maguire opened the four point lead again before Raymond Wilkinson, brought in for Joe Diver, pointed twice to set up a nail-biting finale.

Derry smothered the Fermanagh attempts to walk the ball out of defence, winning a free on the wing which Paddy Bradley was told would be the last kick.  He dropped it in and, with arms and legs flailing and the ball three yards from the packed net, Syl Doyle's whistle sparked chaotic Fermanagh celebrations that wouldn't have looked out of place at Croke Park on All-Ireland final day.
But it's Ulster final day they'll be worried about.  They, with Armagh or Down, will be the ones with butterflies in the stomachs on July 13.  They could face the long disappointed drive home again.  Or they could finally, after more than a century, lift the Anglo Celt Cup and write their names into the history books.

But whatever happens, at least they won't be watching it on TV and waiting to find out where the Qualifiers will take them.  Again.

DERRY: Barry Gillis; Kevin McGuckin, Kevin McCloy, Francis McEldowney; Gerard O'Kane, Niall McCusker, Michael McIver (0-01); James Conway, Joe Diver; Mark Lynch, Paul Murphy, Enda Muldoon; Conleith Gilligan (0-02, 1f, 1 45'), Paddy Bradley (0-03, 1f), Eoin Bradley (1-01)
SUBS USED: Barry McGoldrick for E Muldoon (Blood sub, 7, reversed 22), Michael McGoldrick for F McEldowney (HT), Patsy Bradley for P Murphy (45), Paul Cartin for M McIver (58), Colin Devlin for M Lynch (63), Raymond Wilkinson (0-02) for Joe Diver (68)

FERMANAGH: Ronan Gallagher; Shane Goan, Shane McDermott, Peter Sherry; Damien Kelly (0-01), Ryan McCluskey, Tommy McElroy (0-01); Martin McGrath (0-01), Mark Murphy; Ciaran McElroy, James Sherry, Ryan Keenan (0-04, 3f); Eamon Maguire (0-02), Liam McBarron (0-01), Mark Little (0-01)
SUBS USED: Shane McCabe for E Maguire (Blood sub, 4, reversed 20), Shane McCabe for E Maguire (Blood sub, 35, reversed HT), Shane McCabe for L McBarron (41), Barry Owens for J Sherry (53), Shane Lyons for T McElroy (71)

REFEREE: Syl Doyle (Wexford)

  Ten years.  We thought the wait was over after 10 years.  If Conleith Gilligan scores the penalty, it probably is over.  But that's far from pinning the blame on Gilligan.  Fermanagh were excellent, they cannot be faulted.  They were superbly well drilled, they won 90% of the ball at midfield.  Their half-forwards and even their inside forwards worked so incredibly hard to get back when they lost the ball.

Derry didn't do enough with the wind in the first half to win it.  The wind was savage but Fermanagh's gameplan worked to perfection.  Someone said on here 1-10 to 0-05 in the last three quarters was fair, I'd agree completely.  Derry never got out of their own half for the first 20 minutes of the second half.  They never got out of second gear.  While some will compare it to Monaghan last year, it's more like the Donegal defeat at Clones in '05 for me.  Wet, miserable old evening, off the back of a brilliant opening round win and completely outplayed.

O'Rourke had Fermanagh so well drilled they made Derry look like headless chickens.  There was no gameplan.  I felt sorry for Mark Lynch.  He in particular was being forced to drop deep and when he got possession (which was often enough), he was being left with 70 yards of space and five green shirts before he could see either of the Bradleys - what was he supposed to do?

Diver and Conway will be blamed no doubt, but how many clean catches did Fermanagh take?  Derry's half-backs were sleeping.  Fermanagh's half-forwards just stood in front of them on kickouts and waited for the ball to be broken down, grabbing 90% of them.

Up front, Derry only ever looked threatening when Eoin Bradley got the ball.  Paddy never figured, because the possession coming his way was snapped up long before it ever got there.  Eoin's goal was superb, great pace and strength.  He should have been brought out to half-forward for the second half, because Derry needed someone to run with the ball and take the pressure off.  Paul Murphy never got a kick again, can't understand why his club form isn't being reproduced.

The referee was abysmal but he certainly didn't beat Derry.  All said, Fermanagh were thoroughly deserving winners.  I genuinely hope they go on and win Ulster now because the way their fans celebrated after the match showed how much it means to them.  They made most of the atmospher and swamped the players at the final whistle.

Suppose our ten years looks short in comparison 

I'm there! Everyone else supporting Croatia on the back of them beating England, aye? 

I'd love to post a couple of articles by crap local journos in Derry but I can't be arsed to rewrite them and they aren't on the net

Edit - found one opening paragraph from a match report, what is this about?

Walking down the Lonemoor Road, through Free Derry Corner, beneath the murals and back on to Foyle Street, I knew how it felt to be certifiably mad.  But I could take some comfort at least in the fact that there were around 30 other Derry folk out there who felt the same after taking a beating from the arctic conditions and a beating from Down. 

Can you send a link with the story?

http://www.derrypost.com/2008/03/11/hinphey-leaves-derry-hurling-panel/

I see today from our local paper that Liam Hinphey, one of the few dual players left in Ulster, has quit the Derry hurling panel.  This is a huge blow for Derry hurling, with the keeper having injured his shoulder as well.  I think it's time something was done about the stream of dual players quitting one or the other - what about limiting inter-county teams to two nights' training a week?  Something has to be done because the best hurlers in Derry aren't playing hurling, and I'm sure it's the same in other smaller counties.

Where is this thread going? Why doesn't everybody list the journos from their local rags in each county and then those that write for nationals and we can decide/ rip to shreads/ who is the best/worse or those that even stoke up a response.
Still think Brendan Murphy pictures in the Irish News are classic. Nothing to do with anything but if you havent noticed his pix before, you will the next time you look in the Irish News and everytime after.

Our rags are - Mid Ulster (Seamus Mullan), Derry Journal (same, if they bother with ga!), Derry Post (Chris McCann & Cahir OKane) and Bernie Mullan writes a fair bit for most of them...most Derry people would tend to have an opinion on most of them!

No ziggy, follow this thread closely and you'll learn the entire anatomical history of cats 

We're glad in Derry that we now have journalists, all we've had for the past 40 years is the Mid Ulster and its waffly reports, 8000 words on a 0-03 to 0-03 draw....but all is rosy with our new wee paper, the derry post....Chris Mccann is doing a fine job since he left the gaelic life...