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There's an article about Dougan and his job in Irish examiner or times or something today. It sounds like he travels a lot with his work. I couldn't read it as it's behind a paywall.

Cahair and the Irish News online have it as well yesterday about him only coming back in July and traveling and working for a few months. Also a few of the other lads being away and only coming back about then. It shows that O'Rourke has trust in lads to keep in half decent shape and come back and do the hard yards when it really matters. Warnock in another Irish news interview last week said that they are not being run into the ground early on in the year. By the time the important time in the season comes round a lot of lads just want it all to be over to get a break is is his view on training. Probably a good few clubs have lads flogged at this time of the year thinking that's what they need to do to compete with Glen in September/October time.

With the absence of the Glen players and the possible unavailability of the not fully recovered Odhran Lynch, Padraig McGrogan and Gareth McKinless from long term injuries, it will be interesting to see what Mickey Harte's first Derry selection for the McKenna Cup opener will be against Cavan on January 3rd. Perhaps it could be along the following lines.
                       Ryan Scullion
Paul McNeill           Chrissy McKaigue           Conor McCluskey
Shea Downey            Eoin McEvoy                Conor Doherty
               Dan Higgins       Brendan Rogers
Niall Toner            Lorcan Murray              Paul Cassidy
Enda Downey            Shane McGuigan             Niall Loughlin

Subs: Peter Stuart,Marty Bradley,Diarmuid Baker, Padraig Cassidy, Declan Cassidy,Mark Doherty, Oisin McWilliams(if fit), Ben McCarron, Matthew Downey, Cahir McMonagle, Niall O'Donnell

McKenna should be a chance to give some other lads a chamce to show what they can offer. If they don't now they are unlikely to in the league. What have the Downeys done at club level recently to warrant starting or even be in the squad in front of others. Hopefully Harte will not care what the surname is or what club you are from.

The game in Owenbeg on Sunday is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Ref pushed and linesman assulted. Maybe Ulster will come down hard when Derry would usually brush these things under the carpet. The result and behaviour sums up the level of a lot of Junior football in Derry.

Well done to Glen and Magherafelt but most of the football that is being played is brutal stuff to watch. That Newbridge score just shows all that is wrong. No wonder there are so few top forwards in Derry with lads spending most of the game in their own half.

[a complete non runner.]

Lads I recall being at a meeting on behalf of my club at the time of the Games development strategy and divisional teams were very strongly part of it, whatever happened to it? It was promoted by the County Board, they haven't followed through on it.  I thought it was a excellent idea. Surely getting divisional teams into the senior league for a start and have their games on Wednesdays to allow junior and intermediate teams to play away in their own club league at weekends is a sensibly starting point. Its a decent pathway for developing and exposing players to a higher standard of football?

You want lads to train with their clubs twice a week & play a senior divisional game midweek and a junior / intermediate game at the weekend, along with two competing managers & the fixtures headache that would bring - a complete non runner.

That's the spirit! 

The harsh reality of the situation is the vast majority of players who will play for Derry over the next decade will come through the development squad route, if that exceptional junior player or intermediate player is to progress it will through an environment within the county setup their already part of, as opposed to any divisional team playing league football against senior clubs (midweek) who are still playing without their county players for the best part of the league season. The systems within the county are clearly now in place to do that

That's the case alright. A lot of those Kerry players have come through their minors since 2014. Clifford is a senior player based on what he did for Kerry minors not a divisional set up. All of the lads who have come into the Derry panel in the last couple of years are from the minor panels of 2015 and after. Few are now going to break into a senior panel if they have not been in that set up since they were 14 or 15..  Someone mentioned before about Devolpment squads and how its not easy to get into those if lads are not from certain clubs. They are already known from club and school games. No doubting they have been successful with 2 minor All Irelands in 3 years but there must be talent being missed if the bulk of it is from two schools and a few of the same clubs. If it's seen as a closed shop players and clubs will not get involved. The.same stuff being said about north Derry had been put forward about Inishowen and they now consistently have 2 or 3 players starting for Donegal that are from Junior and Intermediate clubs.

Unfortunately it's a fact that the county is divided. I have been to north Derry clubs who have had players in county set ups in recent years who's attitude is now luke warm to county set ups. Rightly or wrongly they see names and clubs as what determines getting into the county set ups. Yeah the stuff about schools is right. Some are not competing well at any level and they just blame the clubs. The example of our neighbours pulling players from clubs and areas with no strong schools or clubs is where Derry needs to be. They may not be doing well now but in the last 10 years and probably going forward its the right way to go. Derry are pulling from less than half the clubs most of the time and in the long run its probably not a big enough pool of players to keep at the top and win the big prize. The current defensive style of play is based on management not believing the overall quality is  there to play a more open game.

F**k me lads, what the hell is going on with your senior league. Final round of fixtures not played at the one time? How is that fair? On about fixing results !!!!

Mal McMullan tweeting results during the week but then says one final game still to be played and it features a team in the relegation picture - FFS

Then to put the tin hat on it, every team has a minimum 6 championship fixtures. Holy mother of God.

Who really give a F**k about your league?

Come and be involved in it and you will get your answer - all 16 teams give a fu*k who wins and who is relegated - seriously competitive

Plenty of games anyway. Probably helps the 'smaller clubs' with no county players as they can go at league at full tilt.

Hopefully the south Derry lads give Kerry a good rattle tomorrow.

Ah now you must be reading wee Cahir in the Irish News yesterday. There's a Bremuda triangle in south Derry according to him. Outside of that there is no football and not one decent player exists. The motivation is John Hume and the civil rights movement but. 

Great display by the minors yesterday. Fair dues to the management team for coming back in and delivering an All Ireland. A pity about the level of Derry support there compared to Monaghan. A few lads there that could possibly make the step up if they keep progressing. At that age it's still a big step straight to Senior so the U20s need to get the focus next year unlike this year where Gallagher called all the shots and then didn't given game time to a couple of those who could have helped the 20s progress. 

No promotion from junior or intermediate. Last 2 in senior play off to decide who plays Intermediate league next year but loser still plays in the senior championship next year unless they also lose the 6 v 7 game. If  the same club they will play both intermediate league and championship.  That's if clubs with clout don't complain again this year and get it changed.

I know people turn a blind eye to stuff due the success he has brought but Gallagher's carry on along the line is real arsehole stuff. Roaring down the line towards the opposing dug out especially when up against his own home county. 

Just not right that a man who has left the panel last year and hasn't been there all this year comes straight into the squad before others. So much for having to earn your place by what you do for your club and in training.

Based on the team named who has dropped off the 26

McWilliams, Baker, Johnston, M Doherty  plus anyone else playing for clubs who thinks there is fair and equal chance to get picked for a county set up. That's even putting aside what the man got up to in the States which shouldn't be just forgotten about.

Just not right that a man who has left the panel last year and hasn't been there all this year comes straight into the squad before others. So much for having to earn your place by what you do for your club and in training.

Sounds as if a few want this changed from a discussion forum to a place just to pay homage to Rory Gallagher.  For what it's worth I thinkTohill got more opportunities than many and when he got those he looked off the standard for top level county football. He's still young so maybe time yet to get there. At the end of the day it was his choice to jack it.

It's a kick in the face to some of the other subs, Cassidy or McCarron should been brought on instead of Toner. It end up a situation like J Doherty not getting any game time last year and lads leave the panel, which is already bare thin already. We got no reliable right footed free taker, plus 45 or long range frees, we one of the few teams who keeper doesn't hit them.

Yeah for all the positives of that second half Gallagher isn't showing much faith in the squad he has. Toner works hard he had a poor enough game and hardly warranted coming back on.  It could come back to bite those sort of decisions. Jack Doherty is a loss from that squad.

Were poor in general, too much going sideways with both teams playing 15 inside the 45, unlike the last day were we tried to push up more. Very tight pitch, barely won a broke ball yesterday, guys go to fist a ball with no understanding from Derry players where its been fisted too. When McGuigan double marked we don't have any real options to take on the scoring, get 2/3 men injured and we be in trouble, Bench nowhere near strong enough for the best 26 on the county.

Current Ulster Champions, its Feb, we're unbeaten in the league... You're a hard man to please WW! 

To push on to the next level the squad needs to be stronger. Derry are not pulling in from all the clubs like our neighbours. Donegal have lads from Intermediate and Junior making an impact.

Rubbish narrative! That's like saying there's a South Derry bias on the team. I'm sure you could make an argument for one or two intermediate players who aren't on the panel but could name far more deserving senior club players. Nonsense.

Yeah whatever you think yourself. There's at least a couple on the panel that are there because of their clubs and the surnames. Go and ask North Derry clubs what they think of the South Derry bias.