Down Club Hurling & Football

[Ed Hardy]

Madine and Shay Mc Ardle also started for UUJ. Quite a few players from Down playing with the university this year, which is only a good thing!

[downup]

I might have missed this but is there a date out there yet for the start of the Down leagues this year?

[Leftmidfield]

Leagues begin Friday 8th April with the next match 11/4 then then 15th and 18th April so 4 matches over the 1st 2 weeks

[Gaa for life]

Leagues begin Friday 8th April with the next match 11/4 then then 15th and 18th April so 4 matches over the 1st 2 weeks

this has been the same start to the leagues for the past 10 years are so if I remember correctly. 4 games in 10days surely this is a bit much to ask. from a playing perspective 1 game every 7 days is more than enough.

standard week should be

Fri match
Sat Rest
Sun Light session
Monday Training
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday Traning
Thursday Rest
Friday Match

[thewobbler]

Leagues begin Friday 8th April with the next match 11/4 then then 15th and 18th April so 4 matches over the 1st 2 weeks

this has been the same start to the leagues for the past 10 years are so if I remember correctly. 4 games in 10days surely this is a bit much to ask. from a playing perspective 1 game every 7 days is more than enough.

standard week should be

Fri match
Sat Rest
Sun Light session
Monday Training
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday Traning
Thursday Rest
Friday Match

And in your ideal world we'd never have championship, replays, or postponements, let alone the uncertainties of a county team's progress through the qualifiers.

Starting leagues in March would, 9 times out of 10, result in postponements due to unfit pitches, which would cause havoc with refixtures later in the year.

There aren't enough weekends between April and September to run a league off one game per week.

So doubling up on a few weeks is an unfortunate necessity.

[6th sam]

Leagues begin Friday 8th April with the next match 11/4 then then 15th and 18th April so 4 matches over the 1st 2 weeks

this has been the same start to the leagues for the past 10 years are so if I remember correctly. 4 games in 10days surely this is a bit much to ask. from a playing perspective 1 game every 7 days is more than enough.

standard week should be

Fri match
Sat Rest
Sun Light session
Monday Training
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday Traning
Thursday Rest
Friday Match

And in your ideal world we'd never have championship, replays, or postponements, let alone the uncertainties of a county team's progress through the qualifiers.

Starting leagues in March would, 9 times out of 10, result in postponements due to unfit pitches, which would cause havoc with refixtures later in the year.

There aren't enough weekends between April and September to run a league off one game per week.

So doubling up on a few weeks is an unfortunate necessity.

The fixture makers don't have an easy task, and under the current format , they have no alternative but to take the opportunity to squeeze games in,  but in the case of div 3 , for example, that's nearly a quarter of the league season completed in 10 days. Your point re pitches is well made, particularly given the implication of ruined pitches at the start of the season.
I feel however that the GAA centrally should bite the bullet, and legislate to allow weekly games for club players. Allowing county players to slot in for blocks of games, or in the case of fringe players in weeks when not named in squad of 22. The current system of squeezing in as many games as possible when county players are released back to their clubs serves nobody well. Remember that minor games will also proceed during this time , leaving minor/senior players potentially  playing 7 games in two weeks( presuming their clubs aren't going to having them play reserve games as well). I understand that in rugby which is a similarly intense contact sport, there is rarely more than one game per week.
It is unrealistic to expect managers at various levels to sacrifice their success, by resting players,  so these important player welfare issues are only likely to be solved through legislation. The ban of u16s playing minor from a few years ago , is an example how legislation , effects change for all, as we are all forced to adapt . I had reservations about the implications of this rule for smaller clubs , but there is no doubt it has been positive in protecting young players .

[ardtole]

I would be in favour of starting the league fixtures at the beginning of March, that way if there are postponments, for any reason you have all summer to rearrange them. It was only a couple of years ago half the county was flooded in june, if you start the leagues later, there is much less flexibility in oct and nov if things drag on like they have done occassionaly in the past.

[thewobbler]

I think you're kind of missing the point though Ardtole.

There will be freak weather during most summers, but starting the leagues in March won't change that; it'll only ensure that there's a host more extra refixtures guaranteed every season. The main problem with March is that there's usually higher water tables, so a day of heavy rain can lie for days. So pitches can't be prepared, let alone played on. Not all pitches suffer, but as the only suitable day for fixtures is a Sunday, and every Sunday has fixtures, it only takes a handful of pitches to be unplayable every week for havoc to be caused with scheduling.

[Line Ball]

Leagues begin Friday 8th April with the next match 11/4 then then 15th and 18th April so 4 matches over the 1st 2 weeks

this has been the same start to the leagues for the past 10 years are so if I remember correctly. 4 games in 10days surely this is a bit much to ask. from a playing perspective 1 game every 7 days is more than enough.

standard week should be

Fri match
Sat Rest
Sun Light session
Monday Training
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday Traning
Thursday Rest
Friday Match

And in your ideal world we'd never have championship, replays, or postponements, let alone the uncertainties of a county team's progress through the qualifiers.

Starting leagues in March would, 9 times out of 10, result in postponements due to unfit pitches, which would cause havoc with refixtures later in the year.

There aren't enough weekends between April and September to run a league off one game per week.

So doubling up on a few weeks is an unfortunate necessity.

The fixture makers don't have an easy task, and under the current format , they have no alternative but to take the opportunity to squeeze games in,  but in the case of div 3 , for example, that's nearly a quarter of the league season completed in 10 days. Your point re pitches is well made, particularly given the implication of ruined pitches at the start of the season.
I feel however that the GAA centrally should bite the bullet, and legislate to allow weekly games for club players. Allowing county players to slot in for blocks of games, or in the case of fringe players in weeks when not named in squad of 22. The current system of squeezing in as many games as possible when county players are released back to their clubs serves nobody well. Remember that minor games will also proceed during this time , leaving minor/senior players potentially  playing 7 games in two weeks( presuming their clubs aren't going to having them play reserve games as well). I understand that in rugby which is a similarly intense contact sport, there is rarely more than one game per week.
It is unrealistic to expect managers at various levels to sacrifice their success, by resting players,  so these important player welfare issues are only likely to be solved through legislation. The ban of u16s playing minor from a few years ago , is an example how legislation , effects change for all, as we are all forced to adapt . I had reservations about the implications of this rule for smaller clubs , but there is no doubt it has been positive in protecting young players .

To use your example, it might not be an easy task to make out fixtures but how can it possibly be fair to have a quarter of the season's fixtures in the space of 2 weeks at the start of the season?  Tough yes but madness to come up with this.  Is this something similar for Div1 I wonder but with more teams it probably isn't as significant but still odd to have such a glut of games at the start of the year.

Your point about banning U.16's from playing Minors, surely you banning U.14's from playing Minors?

[6th sam]

Leagues begin Friday 8th April with the next match 11/4 then then 15th and 18th April so 4 matches over the 1st 2 weeks

this has been the same start to the leagues for the past 10 years are so if I remember correctly. 4 games in 10days surely this is a bit much to ask. from a playing perspective 1 game every 7 days is more than enough.

standard week should be

Fri match
Sat Rest
Sun Light session
Monday Training
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday Traning
Thursday Rest
Friday Match

And in your ideal world we'd never have championship, replays, or postponements, let alone the uncertainties of a county team's progress through the qualifiers.

Starting leagues in March would, 9 times out of 10, result in postponements due to unfit pitches, which would cause havoc with refixtures later in the year.

There aren't enough weekends between April and September to run a league off one game per week.

So doubling up on a few weeks is an unfortunate necessity.

The fixture makers don't have an easy task, and under the current format , they have no alternative but to take the opportunity to squeeze games in,  but in the case of div 3 , for example, that's nearly a quarter of the league season completed in 10 days. Your point re pitches is well made, particularly given the implication of ruined pitches at the start of the season.
I feel however that the GAA centrally should bite the bullet, and legislate to allow weekly games for club players. Allowing county players to slot in for blocks of games, or in the case of fringe players in weeks when not named in squad of 22. The current system of squeezing in as many games as possible when county players are released back to their clubs serves nobody well. Remember that minor games will also proceed during this time , leaving minor/senior players potentially  playing 7 games in two weeks( presuming their clubs aren't going to having them play reserve games as well). I understand that in rugby which is a similarly intense contact sport, there is rarely more than one game per week.
It is unrealistic to expect managers at various levels to sacrifice their success, by resting players,  so these important player welfare issues are only likely to be solved through legislation. The ban of u16s playing minor from a few years ago , is an example how legislation , effects change for all, as we are all forced to adapt . I had reservations about the implications of this rule for smaller clubs , but there is no doubt it has been positive in protecting young players .

To use your example, it might not be an easy task to make out fixtures but how can it possibly be fair to have a quarter of the season's fixtures in the space of 2 weeks at the start of the season?  Tough yes but madness to come up with this.  Is this something similar for Div1 I wonder but with more teams it probably isn't as significant but still odd to have such a glut of games at the start of the year.

Your point about banning U.16's from playing Minors, surely you banning U.14's from playing Minors?

Apologies, I meant the ban on u16s playing senior

[Leftmidfield]

Another defeat today by Fermanagh in the McKenna Cup. IMO best for Down were Maginn, Kane and O'Hanlon (although he was off with his free kicks - scored 2 out of 4 or 5 and opted not to shoot when in a good position). Quigley was a class apart.
He gave McGovern a torrid time.

[Mourne Rover]

No one will lose much sleep over the McKenna Cup but today was a very flat performance with Fermanagh never extended at any stage. While they has a stronger side out than we did, none of our new faces made much of an impact and even the experienced players were ordinary. The only surprise was that it was well into the second half before we used our bench, although the subs also made little difference.

There are quite a few students to return, as well as hopefully a Loughinisland contingent, and the evidence is that they will be urgently needed if we are to cope with a very demanding D1 campaign.

[Smurfy123]

Very very poor showing from today's match
Here is my thoughts for what it's worth

Kane 7-Assured under high ball,never looked troubled in front of goals but his kickouts are a major problem as they are only reaching 50 yards and putting us under a lot of pressure

Magee 7-Done well worked ball out from the back at pace and is in with a shout of starting against Donegal

McGovern-5 tried hard but got destroyed by Quigley.Got no help from our so called sweepers whatsoever

Turley-5 Poor all round and adds nothing to the Down squad

O Hanlon.-4 kick some easy frees first half but I counted 11 balls given away by him in the 40 minutes he was on the pitch.Just kicks it as hard as he can without thinking of where he is kicking it

Boyle-7 worked very hard 2 great blocks and added pace from defence to attack.Good game

Murphy-6Could not get into the game much but worked well a few times he was on the ball.Poor shot at end when the shot was never on.Will make the panel for sure

Doyle.5 no influence on the game at all.Touched the ball once in 53 minutes nit good enough for a midfielder

McKay-6Done ok.Got his hands on a few balls and battled a hard fight on his own around the middle.Good asset

O Hagen -5 poor showing from our sweeper.Sprinted back a few times and stood in no mans land instead of cutting out the supply to Quigley.His man number 5 caused serious problems throughout the game.Not county standard

Maginn-8 our best player today.Tried to make things happen but there was nobody else on the same page as him today.players inside did not make the runs he wanted.

McDermott.5 wasted to much energy running up and down the line the first half without adding cover or being and outlet for the defence.Need smart players playing at 10-12

Johnstone.-5 Csme out the field leaving 2 men inside but could not get into the game.Should have made himself available for kickouts.Game passed him by.

Dornan-5.no movement inside whatsoever.Lack of real bite going for the ball lets him down.Has talent but needs to work harder

Mooney-5 very disappointing from Caolan.poor shot selection,getting blocked down 4 times and general lack of effort let him down.Will struggle to start against Donegal

Harrison and McConville done well as subs will both start Wednesday night

All in all a very poor showing from Down today
No energy,no gameplan,no leaders,

Mourne Rover you say hopefully a Loughinisland contingent to return?Who would you be referring to?Because Dan Gordan is the only player on that team county material.

[Line Ball]

No one will lose much sleep over the McKenna Cup but today was a very flat performance with Fermanagh never extended at any stage. While they has a stronger side out than we did, none of our new faces made much of an impact and even the experienced players were ordinary. The only surprise was that it was well into the second half before we used our bench, although the subs also made little difference.

There are quite a few students to return, as well as hopefully a Loughinisland contingent, and the evidence is that they will be urgently needed if we are to cope with a very demanding D1 campaign.

Take out the Johnson's and Martin Clarke, who are these other students who have Senior County experience who will make a difference? The same question about the Loughinisland contingent but take Dan out of this as he will not be back?  After watching that crap today, this is going to be one long year.  If this is the best we have to offer, with little else to come in then I really do despair. 

The County still have yet to announce the backroom team for Eamonn Burns.  The lack of quality and experience must be the reason why there has been no big 'fan fare' about it.

[Smurfy123]

McKernan also with the Ranch

Agree with line all that today was shambolic at best
Who is our number 2?
Who is our trainer?

It's going to be a long long season