Antrim Football Thread

[country bumpkin]

Management have a month now to see who's doing what on the training ground and in club games. I'm sure Andy is first to know a shake up is needed, he will have been disappointed himself with the effort on Saturday past.

If I was AME I would make it clear that only those 100% up for Tailtean Cup and next years NFL squad should commit to a month of hard training. Bring in half a dozen newbies and a squad of 40, and see who wants it the most, in the training and in the in house matches. Reputations should count for diddly squat, so too should be what club you come from, or even what age you are. Should Marc Jordan at almost 30 stand aside because a good 19/20 year old has suddenly appeared?  No, if the younger ones are good enough for now then let them show it.

If any of the unavailables previously documented want to put their hand up for consideration then I can't see Andy chasing any of them, but they would need to be going there in good shape, ready to hit the ground.

It's only one opinion NSS but at the end of that I'd expect CJ, RMQ, SON and possibly CD to be well in the mix.Also Dermot Adam  & Jamie would expect yo be in contention - but I'd make it the hardest training yet and see who's standing out and wants it the most. Anybody dosent fancy it, close the door on the way out.

Can’t argue with that. Spike has reminded me, what is the state of play with
Michael and Tomas McCann? Are they returning to the panel when
recovered or are they now retired?

Cannot speak for Mick or Tomas although I do speak to them on a regular basis but I do know both have drawers full of O'Cathain cup as well as Div one league medals in company, as a plentiful haul of championship medals

You think they are gonna go in search of another award for a secondary competition....??

IMO....doubt it.

[bannside]

Kobo, Justy and James Laverty had terrific seasons last year but I suppose they are in the same boat with drawerfuls of medals too, but CB never seems to mention them despite them being a bit younger. Which is fair enough, they owe nothing and if its not for them any longer then Andy needs to throw his net a bit wider.

Which is the point I have been making all along about a team in transition. How people can't see that is beyond me! And with that in mind maybe they punched above their weight in Div 3, given they were well ahead at stages of Down and Fermanagh too.

Anyway I think all these points have been well enough covered at this point.

[country bumpkin]

Kobo, Justy and James Laverty had terrific seasons last year but I suppose they are in the same boat with drawerfuls of medals too, but CB never seems to mention them despite them being a bit younger. Which is fair enough, they owe nothing and if its not for them any longer then Andy needs to throw his net a bit wider.

Which is the point I have been making all along about a team in transition. How people can't see that is beyond me! And with that in mind maybe they punched above their weight in Div 3, given they were well ahead at stages of Down and Fermanagh too.

Anyway I think all these points have been well enough covered at this point.

Did not see any posts relative to James, Kevin, Justin, John Carron, or big Gerard either.....but guess would be a similar reply..........

Drawers full all round..........

[FrMaginn]

I wish people would stop referencing the u20 team as if they were this exceptional team.  They lost to a average donegal team who lost heavily to derry.  There hasn't been a 'decent' antrim youth team since 06 if truth be told

[Hoof Hearted]

I wish people would stop referencing the u20 team as if they were this exceptional team.  They lost to a average donegal team who lost heavily to derry.  There hasn't been a 'decent' antrim youth team since 06 if truth be told

Not sure 11 5 is considered overly heavy

[FrMaginn]

Scoring over twice what your opponents does imo is a game that's not even close.  But even if you think it isn't, my point still stands about the team being average/no better than any other recent team

[Milltown Row2]

I wish people would stop referencing the u20 team as if they were this exceptional team.  They lost to a average donegal team who lost heavily to derry.  There hasn't been a 'decent' antrim youth team since 06 if truth be told

Not sure 11 5 is considered overly heavy

How many from play?

[SaffronSports]

If we had the best 30 footballers in Antrim on a panel, the best coach around coaching them, where would we be? Our history suggests probably not much further forward than where we are now. Division 2 maybe if all the stars alligned?

[marty34]

If we had the best 30 footballers in Antrim on a panel, the best coach around coaching them, where would we be? Our history suggests probably not much further forward than where we are now. Division 2 maybe if all the stars alligned?

Antrim, as from this thread, always in trouble.

No sense of agreement.

[Newbridge Exile]

I wish people would stop referencing the u20 team as if they were this exceptional team.  They lost to a average donegal team who lost heavily to derry.  There hasn't been a 'decent' antrim youth team since 06 if truth be told

Not sure 11 5 is considered overly heavy

How many from play?

7 from 11 from play for Derry (who were without Eoin McEvoy & Lachlan Murray ), Donegal had an ultra defensive set up the whole game

[Sportacus]

If we had the best 30 footballers in Antrim on a panel, the best coach around coaching them, where would we be? Our history suggests probably not much further forward than where we are now. Division 2 maybe if all the stars alligned?

If you did all the 'system' stuff - everyone behind the ball, win it back, pass it laterally - you could be a hard to watch high Div 2.  That's what Derry have done.  With a better player base they've squeezed an Ulster title out of it which has delighted their fans but their project is going to run out of road.

[Rawhide]

What else would the purpose of the project be other than to win. D4,D3, D2 and now into D1, with an Ulster title, an All Ireland semifinal and most importantly a young team to be backboned with more quality youth coming. Wtf is your idea of a 'project'?

[realisticsaff]

What else would the purpose of the project be other than to win. D4,D3, D2 and now into D1, with an Ulster title, an All Ireland semifinal and most importantly a young team to be backboned with more quality youth coming. Wtf is your idea of a 'project'?

Play well for spells against opposition then eventually lose.

[Sportacus]

What else would the purpose of the project be other than to win. D4,D3, D2 and now into D1, with an Ulster title, an All Ireland semifinal and most importantly a young team to be backboned with more quality youth coming. Wtf is your idea of a 'project'?

I said the project is going to run out of road.  Everything that can be achieved has been achieved, congratulations on that.  But Gallagher's system will only take you so far and I predict that the star will fade as people get frustrated by the style of play and a belief that the tremendous young footballers in the county can achieve more if they were unleashed rather than locked into a robotic system.  Let's see what happens.

[imtommygunn]

No matter what though the life he has put back into Derry football is remarkable. It wasn't in a good place (at county more than club).

We have won about 4 games in 40 years in ulster(a couple of draws too) so I don't think we can turn up our noses at a "B" competition. It will be interesting to see where we go from here. Maybe it will be a disaster or maybe it won't but it's the level we should be playing at and it's the level that will give us competitive games to it'll be interesting.