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[Was the basis of the 91 and 94 senior teams.]

John Flynn getting the community spirit award was the highlight for me, but I really enjoyed the show overall.
  That was a super Down minor team in 87. Was the basis of the 91 and 94 senior teams.

In what regard?

If you look at both the management and players of that 87 minor team i think most Down supporters will agree they were pivotal in the later senior successes.
      Down had been starved of success with only a single AI minor title in 1977, an AI U21 in 1979 and a national league senior title in 1981. A lot of those players involved in 77,79,81 were reaching the twilight of their careers the likes of Paddy O Rourke, Liam Austin, Ambrose Sr etc and hadnt seen any real county senior success. 
      Pete McGrath  was the manager of that minor team and he and his selector Barney Treanor went on to manage/select the 91/94 teams.
    Often forgotten is Dan McCartan's role. He was a selector back in 87 and he provided a link back to the 1979 u21 All ireland Down team who he managed and also to the senior 1981 team who he managed to the national league title.  He was involved as the Down minor manager before Pete took the job.
      He would have provided the link back to Ambrose sr, Liam Austin, Paddy O Rourke, Mickey Linden, Greg Blaney, his own Son Mark and a host of others that won the senior in 91.
    Between the three of them what with Saint Colmans as well, there were very few of the 1991 panel that werent coached/managed by Pete, Dan or Barney.
    Of course the 87 team itself included a number of key players for the winning 91 and 94 teams including James mcCartan, Connor Deegan and Micheal Magill and a number of other players who made the county seniors during that period including Geoffrey Breen, Collie Burns and Cathal Murray.

Dan McCartan made a huge contribution as a player and mentor ; however, it was 1983, not 81,  when Down won the League, and brother James was the manager.
A good show on Friday but hopefully we won't have to listen to Joe the blow again

[Card only at the gate]

Wholesome content.
The GAA was built on principles of volunteerism, humility, amateur status, desire to express our Irishness, community identity and so on. 

Obviously it will evolve with the times and great things are still happening everyday such as the All Stars teams which are springing up in clubs across the country and are amazing.

But:
Threatening SuperMacs?
Journeymen coaches scouring the country for their next small club and fifty quid a night?
Card only at the gate?
Banning charity advertising?
Casement Park debacle?
Games behind paywalls?

That's just off the top of my head. Basically there's a lot of corporate thinking has crept into the organisation that's undermining the core principles and that is wrong in my book. 

Card only at the gate is a positive step forward; unfortunately I know of clubs (and counties) where gate receipts were well short of what they should have been. While some people may not have cards , society in general requires their use more and more, so the GAA is merely reflecting that development.

Did Darragh Cross win their appeal to the DRA? What division will they play in ?

The best bit of yesterday for Liverpool fans was seeing Guardiola trying to humiliate Grealish. Pep has every right to manage as he sees fit but that was a show for the cameras, and was about power and control rather than instruction. Maybe there's some underlying resentment about his fee or his behaviour after winning the European Cup, but this was pathetic from the Spaniard. Grealish is a brilliant player and while I was disappointed he chose England, he had every right to, and he seems like a decent lad. For his self-respect he should leave- unless Pep beats him to it.

Armagh have the players but they don't have the management. The inability to cope under pressure time after time must be frustrating; especially when it's the same issue time after time.

Claire Hanna is the most articulate and effective politician in the six counties. Far from being tied in knors I thought she was clear on The View. She put manners on Jim Alister a few weeks ago and has been principled and consistent over Gaza. Of course she is seeking to maximise her vote in South Belfast- what would you expect?

It's an unfortunate turn of affairs but I think a lot of people 'piling on' here don't have even half the story and some are just deliberately creating division. I have no connection with any of the clubs involved but, reading the statement today, it appears the County board were in a no-win situation. I know this is a discussion board but when tensions are high it is best to stick to facts and opinions rather than speculation/half-truths/ 'I hear that...'. There are individuals here who give their best for their clubs and county; they don't need the abuse that some have fired ( especially on X/twitter).
Anyway, the county board and stewards/volunteers did a great job in hosting the three football finals, as did Down GAA TV, apart from not enough introduction time for the JFC final. Pairc Esler was in some condition, the programme was excellent and the commitment from all six teams was serious. I thought all the referees, linesmen and umpires did well too, which has got lost in the noise since. It was good to see the successful ladies team honoured and I wish Drumaness, Liatraoim and Kilcoo success in Ulster ( even though I disagree with Kilcoo's decision to go to the DRA over a referee appointment).

So SF,SDLP and even the DUP have called on the BBC to review their handling of the Nolan fiasco.
I would have thought that Doug Beattie and the UUP would have responded given that Nolan crucified Beattie with his usual sanctimonious hypocrisy; how could you have put those jokes on social media Doug?

However the most disappointing thing has been the silence from Alliance.
Sitting on the fence waiting to see what way the wind is blowing.
Things are either right or wrong Naomi. You have failed the leadership test.

Is anyone else beginning to think the Irish News have dropped a clanger with at least part of this?

No

While there's no comparison (apart from both being very well and over paid), I still think it highly shocking that Turbridy gets dropped by RTE over the pay scandal and Nolan kept his job at BBC despite sending unsolicited, explicit images to staff.

Afaic Nolan was doing a spoof about a potential (controversial?)  interviewee, nobody in their right mind could interpret that image of obese Nolan in braces as explicit (implied sexually explicit). For sure Nolan is an ugly biased shock jock who gives unlimited platform to DUP et al primevalists. However that picture he sent out might be a lot of things but the last thing it is, is him sending a sexually explicit image of himself to the staff or even having the remote intention to do so.

Main Street, have you been on holidays where there's no wifi or are you too tight to buy the Irish News?

Geezer is too emotional to be a good manager. This leads him to make poor decisions and this spreads to the players. Mind you questions should also be asked of the Psychologist; presumably he's not in performance related payment.
Cian  McConville would have made a difference yesterday.

In James we trust. He never let us down on the field of battle and did a good job as manager of the senior team. He and his back room team have my full support .

It's a bit of a worry alright to be managerless at this stage but things will work out.
One thought  I have is that Jim McGuinness hasn't covered himself in too much glory from this affair.
Like most people on this board I was absolutely amazed that the group charged with appointing the manager managed to keep it under wraps for so long. Both they and the McGuinness Laverty Clarke ticket successfully kept Schtum right up until the County final weekend when everyone I spoke to had heard the names in the frames. When the Irish News ran the story a few days later we were all upbeat so if it's true that McGuinness walked because the story was out, he confirmed that he really is unbelievably thin skinned.Kevin Cassidy had a point.
So while he was a successful coach he's a prickly character and if he can't handle this issue God knows what he would have been like if he had  a real crisis to deal with.

And what point are you making?

I presume he is making the point that posters are having a go at the selection panel, the county board and club delegates but McGuinness has questions to answer. He has admitted talking to counties so was a gun for hire yet ran away just because people knew about it.
As a result we don't have a manager weeks before the season starts again.

Firstly, Ger Connery has been chairman and vice chairman of the East Down Board for last number of years so if you don't know him, you know very little about Down GAA.
Secondly, fair play to the committee appointing the next county manager for not leaking the names in the frame. However, time to make the appointment unless the man really has a focus on other matters.
Thirdly, two disappointing games yesterday but the strongest two teams have emerged for the final.
Ballyholland always play on the edge but yesterday they were well over it- and deserve to be called out for an over-aggressive approach. They play up that persecution complex and it doesn't serve them well- Kilcoo don't need a second invitation for a rumble and both sidelines deserve criticism for crossing the line. Bad role models for the many young supporters at the game.
Was so disappointed that the Yellas didn't make it over the line in the second game. They mightn't get a better chance with the current crop of senior players although their future is bright. The TV coverage and the commentators caught the shoulder-charge on Liam Kerr well; every single Burren man would have done the same and it was within the rules, unlike the John Small effort in the All Ireland semi-final. McCorry was out of order having a go at Sharvin at half-time and as some posters have noted, it does have an impact on referees.While Sharvin got that one right I think he was wrong to disallow the Clonduff goal so McCorry will think his half-time efforts paid off.
The final will be tight and Kerr is a huge loss; with Dabs back, momentum has swung to the Magpies.

Clonduff looked good tonight- but I think CPN have had a poor championship. Mulholland was a fine footballer but is very limited as a manager and not clear what added value Polie is bringing.
The Carrs, McConvilles, Brannigans and O'Hagans are super footballers and when you add in young talent like Brown and Close they are likely to be there or there abouts. Thanks to the excellent coverage from Down GAA TV ( the action replays and post match interviews have really improved things but the streaming from anywhere beyond Newry and Newcastle is problematic) we are all able to get a perspective on the main contenders behind Kilcoo; from what I've seen the order is Burren,Clonduff, Mayobridge, RGU,Carryduff, Ballyholland, Glenn, Castlewellan of the surviving teams.
Let's hope the Down management team pay for their bundles over the next three weekends.