Armagh Club football & hurling

winsamsoon · July 21, 2008, 11:16:39 PM

Ok then you come on saying that you are not arrogant yet bar one of you harps guys you still cannot admit that you are no where the second best team in the county. I realise that it was corn that made the original statement but you guys didn't ever once try and make a case against it. If he had said that about my club and we were in the position the harps are in then i would have came out and said, hold on there our fella but at the moment we could not realistically be considered the second best team in the county. I don't see how you would think you would be favourites to beat the clans either. What do you base this on??It is certainly nothing that has happened this year. Considering the championship is this year then i think the most recent outings are relevant. I would hold my hands up and say that the clans at the moment are miles away from breaking any delf but we have 7 hard weeks ahead and this should bring us on drastically.
I don't think anyone is under any illusions, Cross are the best by a mile the rest are all on a par when it comes to championship, there are no easy games. To make such a sweeping statement (corn) that the harps are second best on paper is ludicrous especially when they're record over the past 15 years has been worse than so many other clubs. I would say if you started a poll asking who has been the second best team over the last 15 years??? the harps would'nt even be in the top 3 never mindsecond. It would probably read Cross (top) Dromintee (2nd) Pearse Ogs (3rd) and the rest would be competing for the scraps.

Hank Everlast · July 22, 2008, 08:35:35 AM

ARMAGH CLUB RESULTS FOR W/E SUNDAY 21 JULY 2008

Friday 18 July

ACL – Division One
Crossmaglen 2-13; Maghery 2-9
Harps 0-8; Dromintee 1-8
Clan na Gael 1-11; Killeavey 2-10
Culloville v Mullaghbawn (Abandoned)
Pearse Og v St Patrick's (Abandoned)

ACL – Division Two
Wolfe Tone v Tir na nÓg (Off)
Keady 1-9; Sarsfields 4-8
Carrickcruppen 2-10; Whitecross 1-5
Granemore 0-6; St Michael's 0-4
Silverbridge 1-11; An Port Mor 0-8
Ballymacnab v Clann Eireann (Off)

ACL – Division Three
Madden v Collegeland
Tullysaran 1-8; Ballyhegan 0-8
Lissummon 0-15; St Paul's 1-10
Crossmaglen II v Belleek (Off)
St Peter's v Clonmore (Off)
Grange v Annaghmore (Off)

ACL – Division Four
Derrynoose 2-9; Eire Og 1-7
Clady 0-8; Forkhill 1-9
Mullaghbrack 1-6; Middletown 4-9
Corrinshego 0-11; O'Hanlon's 1-9
Shane O'Neill's 2-22; Phelim Brady's 0-4

Onion Bag · July 22, 2008, 08:38:05 AM

Any updated tables Hank?

Hank Everlast · July 22, 2008, 08:41:11 AM

not yet.... but heres the fixtures

ARMAGH CLUB FIXTURES FOR W/E SATURDAY 26 JULY 2008

Wednesday 23 July

ACL – Division One (7.30)
Dromintee v St Patrick's (Stephen Murray)

ACL – Division Four (7.30)
Mullaghbrack v Dorsey Emmett's (Joe Murtagh)

Thursday 24 July

Intermediate Football Championship – 1st Round (7.30)
Culloville v Lissummon (Patrick Duffy) at Carrickcruppen

Friday 25 July

ACL – Division One (7.30)
Killeavey v Pearse Og (Barney Henry)

ACL – Division Three (7.30)
St Peter's v Crossmaglen II (Tony O'Hare)

ACL – Division Four (7.30)
Eire Og v Clady (Ger Devlin)
Forkhill v Derrynoose (Damian McConville)
Phelim Brady's v Corrinshego (Kevin Gallogly)

Saturday 26 July

Intermediate Football Championship – 1st Round (7.30)
An Port Mor v Sarsfields (Oliver Hearty) at Ballyhegan
Silverbridge v St Paul's (Jim Slevin) at Abbey Park

corn02 · July 22, 2008, 09:10:54 AM

Jesus you make one comment....

Win I do think that on paper (paper and playing is a lot different) the Harps are very strong. You look at players like Vernon, Swift, Toal and Quigley and you can see why they could be dangerous. Maybe I was jumping the gun a bit.

Onion Bag · July 22, 2008, 09:54:44 AM

Quote from: corn02 on July 22, 2008, 09:10:54 AM
Jesus you make one comment....

Win I do think that on paper (paper and playing is a lot different) the Harps are very strong. You look at players like Vernon, Swift, Toal and Quigley and you can see why they could be dangerous. Maybe I was jumping the gun a bit.

Ive seen Vernon and to be honest he hasnt exactly been very impressive, i think he is very overated, i was hearing from boys at the start of the year about this great lad from the Harps and what he was going to do, but lets be honest lads, hes not exactly up to it, maybe next week this will change i hope, thats if he gets his place

Our Nail Loney · July 22, 2008, 10:02:36 AM

Do the Harps have the worst nicknames in Armagh?? Possibly Ulster??

nashville · July 22, 2008, 10:35:33 AM

Winsam, I like how your timespan goes back 15 years in your assessment of the 2nd best team in Armagh... hold on, 2008 - 15 years = 1993, the year Clans won the first of two championships in a row...well blow me, isnt that a happy coincidence!

Of course if you were to take in, say, the last 20 years, we would find that Harps, Clans and Dromintee have all appeared in 4 Championship finals, however the fact that both Harps and Clans have won 2 of them would surely set them apart from Dromintee, no?

Now not even necessarily final success, as Dromintee have been beaten by the best team in Ulster/Ireland on those occassions, but is getting beat in the County final considered a success? I mean, does it depend on the luck of the draw? The Pearse Ogs team that reached last years county final had a bye in the 1st round, Ballymacnab in their first year in Senior in the Q-final and a Maghery team now sitting bottom of the league in the Semi-final. That Ogs team was nowhere near as good as the winners of 88 or 92, even the runners-up of 99 and 00.. surely if that is how you are going to measure success, everyone is the same until they beat Cross.

Harps were beaten by Cross in the 1st round of last years Championship by 7 points having hit 17 wides during the game. I think it is fair to say that Harps won midfield hands down that day, but you are never going to do anything against the All-Ireland champions after missing 17 attempts at a point. Harps were very unlucky to have drawn Cross in the 1st round, as I believe they would have beaten both Ballymacnab and Maghery had they drawn them on the way to a final, as would Dromintee, and indeed Clans.

So in summary, I think your statement that Harps championship form over the last 15 years (convenient) is worse than SO MANY other teams is a bit sweeping, don't you?

PS Our Nial Loney... example? I will admit, there are a few hairy ones!

Our Nail Loney · July 22, 2008, 10:50:08 AM

Chucky, Nippy, Mini and my favourite JUNGLE!!!

nashville · July 22, 2008, 11:13:22 AM

Well there are a lot of Chuckies in this land, id say we are hardly the only one with a Chucky, as for Nippy as far as I know most people called Swift get Nippy or Nipper, Mini is Collie Holmes wee brother so Mini Holmes...

As for Jungle, I haven't a bloody clue where the hell that came from!

Our Nail Loney · July 22, 2008, 11:49:36 AM

I just always get a good laugh seeing when yous boys pick out your fifteens! I would say there wud be some story behind jungle!

bubbles · July 22, 2008, 12:36:53 PM

nashville to be honest the harps are nowhere near one of the top teams in the county. what have they done in the championship and league to warrant this? catch a grip

nashville · July 22, 2008, 12:48:14 PM

Are you kidding me? Did anyone actually read my post? I think Dreamland was mentioned twice, the word fantasy once, and reality is division 2...i dont think im the one who needs to catch a grip, start reading the post before you reply.

In reality, the team Harps will probably field for their next league game will be something like

McSorley
McConville. Gill. Daly.
Chucky. Grimes. McArdle
McKinney. Smackers.
Harpo. Quigley. Ebby.
Morrisson. Kelly. McDonagh.

Missing 7/8 first team starters, not to mention the many many many more who have left the Harps since underage success e.g. I was talking to Martin McCoy and Kevin Kelly in the club after a game around 4 weeks ago, they told me that of the 30-something members of the County Armagh winning Feile Side in 2001 who travelled down south, they are the only 2 still playing. Says something about the state of affairs that 30 odd lads from just one age group can drop away. In dreamland, the Harps would certainly be the 2nd best team competing to be the best. Reality sucks.

Hank Everlast · July 22, 2008, 01:16:08 PM

Quote from: nashville on July 22, 2008, 11:13:22 AM
Well there are a lot of Chuckies in this land, id say we are hardly the only one with a Chucky, as for Nippy as far as I know most people called Swift get Nippy or Nipper, Mini is Collie Holmes wee brother so Mini Holmes...

As for Jungle, I haven't a bloody clue where the hell that came from!

and smackers and harpo were left from that list!!

brokencrossbar1 · July 22, 2008, 01:23:16 PM

Quote from: nashville on July 22, 2008, 12:48:14 PM

Missing 7/8 first team starters, not to mention the many many many more who have left the Harps since underage success e.g. I was talking to Martin McCoy and Kevin Kelly in the club after a game around 4 weeks ago, they told me that of the 30-something members of the County Armagh winning Feile Side in 2001 who travelled down south, they are the only 2 still playing. Says something about the state of affairs that 30 odd lads from just one age group can drop away. In dreamland, the Harps would certainly be the 2nd best team competing to be the best. Reality sucks.

That is dreadful Nahsville.

Of 3 Cross teams that went to the Feile Finals over the last 20 years or so the breakdown that played/play is probably something like this

1988 - 12 of us were on the senior squad for minimum 10 years, 6 are still playing.

1996 - 12 made the senior squad and 8-9 are still playing

2001 I think - about 7 of them have graduated to the senior squad.

So basically you have the core of the Cross squad is made up of those 3 teams with the likes of John D, added in. If Harps cannot do something about this then there is only one road they will go.