Messages

First half was absolutely brutal. Full back line was ripped to shreds & as others have mentioned, sweeper didn't work at all. Midfield was also struggling very badly. Wexford have 3-4 very good forwards & to be honest they were taking our rookies to the cleaners. That said the defence was under the cosh, losing mid-field & the ball coming straight back after it was going into the forwards didn't help. AT half time, there certainly was a mood of doom & gloom.

All that said, credit where credit is due, the lads performed brilliantly in the second half & if they hadn't kicked so many wides, should have actually won. Grimley made 3-4 very good substitutions which had a massive impact on the game. Mc Parlands goals were worth the entrance fee, & Mc Keever was fantastic.

That said, I would worry about a lack of pace & physical strength in the side, particularly around midfield upwards. There seems to be no pattern to our forward play. I would love to see someone like oisin mc conville taken on board to construct an attacking unit.

Once we get the likes of Hanratty, Vernon, A Kernan, J Clarke etc back into the side, we'll not be in too bad a shape... Certainly enough to give Cavan a run for their money.

Theres going to be a lot of nights like this, the young lads are learning and are going to make mistakes... give them a chance!!

Keep the faith

Its an amateur sport, if he wants to travel then good luck to him. Hes young, why tie yourself to a country in deep recession for what in all honestly will be for 3-4 games max Armaghs involvement in next years championship, that said he will be a huge loss to the county, our only real top class forward. The championship will be the poorer if hes not there, as the lad is a genius. I for one travel to Armagh/Cross matches just to watch him play...

Really enjoyable game yesterday, both teams deserve credit for serving up an exciting match, but loads of incident & skill, playyed should I add in a tough but sportmanlike manner.

From an Armagh point of view, while disappointed I was very heartened by the display, i saw more yesterday than say our performance against Down last year. More in regard to new players blooding and actually producing the good in a high level game. I though Rafferty, forker & Duffy can all be proud of their championship debuts. That said, i'll say it again, Jamie clarke is worth the admission fee alone, a delight....

Thought big Toner did well in the middle considering he has played no ball all year, Malachy had a poor game by his standards. Mc Keever was wasted in the FB line, we really missed him at CHB. Dyas was probably Armaghs best player in the first half. For all the endeavor, I think Tyrone just shaded it and deserved to win, they just have a couple of more experienced and accurate forwards at the present moment in time...

If Mc Parland, Hanratty & Vernon come into the team, I can see us giving the qualifers a quere rattle....

Tyrone, seem a bit short this year, I still fancy Donegal to win the Ulster...

Check out any book by Karin Slaughter if you like gritty crime novels

All the best in your retirement Stevie, a true great & a fantastic servant to Armagh... Pure class

Just finished The Phantom, the latest Harry Hole thriller by Jo Nesbo. Very good with a shock twist at the end.

I see Martin Scorsese is set to direct a film version of The Snowman!

I finished the Phantom last night, excellent... check out Headhunters as well, also being made into a movie

ALso lads, my cousin had his first novel published, its actually very good

http://www.amazon.co.uk/After-Lockout-Darran-McCann/dp/0007429479/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333642772&sr=8-1

I tuned into Matt Cooper yesterday hoping to hear a glowing review of the AICF and what do him and Martin Carney spend the whole time talking about - Mayo v Dublin, absolutely scandalous, so little respect for a wonderful team and competition - Jesus the media is so Dublin centric its unbelievable

A Forker perhaps? Also Brian Mallon has shown good form this year, better than he ever has, like Mackin I think he has made his case. It will be interesting to see if S. Kernan gets the call.

Aye A.Forker

My Preferred Team for Championship

P Hearty (I Know I Know)
A Mallon (Best man marker we have),
B donaghy (best League Performer),
D Mc Kenna (bar Dublin has been consistent & Steady)
A kernan (Shoe in),
C Mckeever (Shoe in),
Dyas (Would give in 30 mins)
C Vernon (Good engine, contribution very much under estimated),
Hanratty (Will need his style of play against tyrone)
S Forker (Best forward in League this year),
M Mackin (Shoe in),
A Duffy (Position might be under threat of Mc Donnell comes back)
J Clarke (Shoe in),
Mc Parland (Needs to be given a chance) ,
Rafferty (Needs to be given a chance)

Subs S & A Kernan, R Clarke etc...

Watch Moneyball the other night, absolutely excellent, really enjoyed it. Also watched Tin Tin, surprisingly good also

Fantastic game played on saturday night in front of a huge crowd, really great atmosphere, i love those games being played under lights. I have to say credit must go to both teams for putting in hugely committed performances. I think some Down fans are being a bit overly critical of their players, i thought they were very unlucky to not get at least a draw, some of their forward player was very good, poland is a fantastic player, as is coulter. Though they did seem to drift across the patch a lot in their attacks. From an Armagh perspective I was delighted, very much under strength the lads gave every thing. Brian Mallon was v good as was stevenson & rafferty. With Mc Parland, clarke etc to come back, we have a much better options in the forwards now than 12 months ago. I must say, Donaghy was absolutely outstanding, indeed the full back line with andy & decky was very solid. Half backs would concern me and mid friled is probably our weakest position at present. Charlie tried hard, but it was clear he was not fully fit. Best wishes to young Carragher, I was right beside it. sickening.

I got back about 7.30 last night, traffic was very light due to a very sparse support from Armagh yesterday. I was sitting in the middle of the cusack & could only place a handful of fans, though there seemed to be a couple of hundred over in the hogan.

We were simply destroyed yesterday, Dublin actually took their foot off the pedal for the second half, so it could have been a lot worse. Mid field was absolutely destroyed, Kingdom & Lavery simply don't have it at this level. I think people who criticize Charlie Vernon should take a look and see what happens when he is not there, I know at times his play can be frustrating but like the mc entees before him he does all the hard graft that goes unseen.

Losing mid field completely put us under pressure all the time, the backs must have been exhausted yesterday, the dubs were coming at them in droves. The whole FB line played poorly, Donaghy especially. Ciaran Mc Keever had a poor game also, & I just do not see what Dyas brings to the team. Paul Duffy was not up to the pace of the game & I don'tsee how he is keeping his position at the moment, then again who is there to come in. Up front we were clueless again, small players bringing the ball into the tackle, no free taker and poor shot selections. Forker, Mallon & Rafferty especially showed good play in patches. Mal Mackin had a poor game also. Not many positives at all to be honest, it was quite embarrassing being there.I think it shows our real lack in depth and current level to be honest, that said with the cross players, vernon, mc donnell & maybe toner & clarke to return it could be a very different animal come the championship.

To be honest when the team shows up like that, i don't know what the management can actually do on the side line, they took off both mid fielders, Dyas etc... so made the right decisions. Every time i watch moriarity I am on edge, hes a walking red card.

Bad Bad day at the office, In all my years following Armagh, this was by far the worst performance I have witnessed.

I was at the game yesterday, there was a guy videoing it beside me, looked formal enough.

I have to say, I really enjoyed the game, it was a joy to watch, some great scores & pieces of sublime skill, i remarked to my mate, how good gaelic football is to watch and what it can be when you take the cynical side of the chamionship out of it. Peter Harte is some player, that fella is going to be a great, i don't know how we are going to mark him in the first round, he is a joy to watch. Cooney made a tit of himself yesterday, Darren Hughes got a great dig back at him during his acceptance speech. Good crowd and entertainment all round

I can see the suspensions being quashed on appeal, there was'nt a punch thrown - handbags

I firmly believe Grimley has made a difference in terms of attitude & preparation. I actually think he & POR make a good team. To be honest I have a lot of time for POR, I think some very poor defending & decision making from supposedly experienced players really let him down last year (Especially in Omagh) One thing i will say, the team has always played with a fair degree of heart under O Rourke, for example even though they were poor against Wicklow they really gave everything, despite form & limitations to get the draw last year. Again this year after a dreadful first half against Cork, they really caome out and gave their all in the second half.

As good a performance as it was against Kerry, one has to admit Kerrys attitude and appetite would also have to come into questons. I think alot of the new yound players are still finding their feet, you can see that they are starting to find a bit of a balance between defence and attack.

I have been really impressed with Forker, & I think anto duffy has been v good, though he needs to score more. Vernon & Mackin are forming a good partnership & its good to see Donaghy regaining some form. We may not win anything this year, but when Jamie, Haratty & Kernan's come back I think we have the making of a useful team who will put it up to anyone...

Looking forward to the rest of the season... if we beat Mayo we are in with a great chance of keeping our division 1 status.....