Antrim Football Thread

[Spike]

Lots of Pros and Cons about an All County League. from a quality standpoint it is undoubtedly better but the premier issue is usually logistics and trying to get 20 kids who cannot drive a vehicle, up and down the county numerous times over a season.  perhaps the best way is a compromise with an 'end of league' round robin in August.  The July break seems to work well.   Was the cancellation of numerous matches one of the reasons St Enda's shifted over to the South West?   

All kids need football and how best to accommodate that needs looked at.  no point in having two teams if the good players in Team 1 come and go as they please into the weaker team.  The win at all costs mentality is detrimental to player development.  Kids wont improve and are more likely to quit if they are not getting game time

[EOC1923]

I would go back to South West and South Antrim leagues. There was definitely less games conceded in the past. An all county Championship in the last month of the season to finish.

[Milltown Row2]

I would go back to South West and South Antrim leagues. There was definitely less games conceded in the past. An all county Championship in the last month of the season to finish.

I agree.. ever since we went all county the Belfast teams have been poor at senior 

[erinsboy]

I think it needs to go back to divisional boards.All county as far as I'm aware was to help the city teams get more games as there was to many games not fulfilled,but that has now crept into the all county leagues so in helping one problem it has created another where there wasn't one before.It can't be of benefit if everyone doesn't benefit .

[barnish oggie]

Cargin under-15s endured another 'failure to field' night .....all county juvenile competition is a failed enterprise IMO.....

There were 20 teams playing last night... wouldn't say that's a failure, games shouldn't be conceded they should be rearranged..

Unfortunately you just run out of time to get fixtures rearranged.

We have had a rubbish summer with games for our u15s, where we had 3 games cancelled in July due to other teams not fielding.

I appreciate that it is that time of the year with holidays etc, but last night St Teresas to their credit travelled up to us with 13 players and their coaches said it was more important to get the lads a game rather than not bothering because they didn't have the full compliment of players.

Worst this summer was St Paul's, who were at home for our game at the end of June so that wasn't likely affected by holidays.

We travelled up there with 16 players to be told that none of them were there as they had all travelled to their Div 1 game in Aghagallon.

They didn't even have the decency to tell us they weren't going to be there before we travelled, the coaches weren't even there, it was their u11s hurling coach told us as they had the pitch booked for the time our game was to be on.

They never bothered to field for our home fixture either. Why have 2 teams if you don't want to give them all games just when you don't think the result is going to be favourable?

Is the point not about getting the weaker players games???

O'Donnells didn't field in either game against us either which was a pity as we'd never played them before at this age.

Lamh Dhearg didn't travel to us either although they at least tried to reschedule.

So you end up with too many games to be refixed as they all need played before championship.

Plus for every refix, you need a referee to reschedule and i am sure you know that doesn't always suit.

Looking at the Div  table, I do feel for those Cargin players, as with all of those games cancelled they have likely cost themselves a stab at the league win.

No sympathy for you, yous entered an u15 Div3 league when you should have been in div 2. A wee handy league title for the coaches. Teams are not fielding to you because they are fed up with this . Div three is a very weak league for clubs doing brilliantly to get a team out, Tir na nog should not be in it.

I have explained this before but you seem to have a preconception, so it seems there is no talking to you as you don't listen.

Is your club in div 3? Just curious if you actually know what you are on about or not. You don't seem to want to say who your club is so hard to tell what the agenda is.

St Pauls B team and O'Donnells are the only ones to have not fielded in either game and by all accounts talking to other managers, O'Ds destroyed everyone last year in Div 3.

So they are maybe like us in that they are strong one year and weak the next.

We have had games this year where we have just about had enough to field but we always do.

The only difference between us and those "doing brilliantly to get a team out" is that when we have low numbers available we still have a strong spine of a team for div 3.

If we had put our team out from last night against a div 2 team we'd have been hammered as there were 4 lads in the 16 who only started playing football in the last 18 months.

I didn't have any input into what league we were put in but i know that when the coach was asked about it, the option of being either Div 2 or Div 3 was submitted by the club and it was likely a toss up between us and Rossa to keep the numbers even and they put Rossa in Div 2 and us in 3.

It was the same in feile when the county(gaelfast possibly) put us in div 4 of that without asking us, when if asked we would have went to div 3.

But it was based on previous years in which we were weaker.

Next year if we are in Div 2 we would struggle, like last year when we lost every game at u15 and the u13s won i think 3 games all year and it will be those same teams at u15 and u17.

But sure you knew that seeing as you are an expert on tnn league placings every year.

And f**k all about a handy league title. You really think coaches care about winning div 3??. It is all about the players and them progressing so that's a daft thing to say.

The only one worth winning is Div 1 and we aren't there.

[country bumpkin]

Cannot recall many failure to fields in the S West Juvenile comps...the answer always was when a plea to postponement was received the curt reply when John O'Boyle was league secretary.....'either play or pack'....i e field or concede.....few conessions..
.

[Milltown Row2]

Can't remember anyone mentioning SW teams failing to field when it was divisional, but cool story

[paddyjohn]

I also remember being at convention on year and hearing that 3 outta 16 fixtures were completed at South Antrim Un16 level. Also the reason why St Endas wanted out of the South Antrim juvenile leagues was lack of game time and development.

We could go round in circles all year on this.

[Milltown Row2]

I also remember being at convention on year and hearing that 3 outta 16 fixtures were completed at South Antrim Un16 level. Also the reason why St Endas wanted out of the South Antrim juvenile leagues was lack of game time and development.

We could go round in circles all year on this.

Yeah I'm surprised with how successful SW is they only have 2 winners on about 40 odd years

[country bumpkin]

Ní neart go cur le chéile.

Been about a long time.....a unified Antrim?

A pipe dream.....

[Lár na páirce 1]

SFC predictions round 1
Creggan v
Lamh Dhearg-home win by 6/7
St John's v St Galls-home win by 1
Moneyglass v ahoghill-draw
Casements v N Brid-home by 10+
St Mary's v Gort na Mon-away win by 2
Cargin v St Endas-home win by 1

[imtommygunn]

SFC predictions round 1
Creggan v
Lamh Dhearg-home win by 4
St John's v St Galls-home win by 3
Moneyglass v ahoghill-away by 2
Casements v N Brid-home by 5
St Mary's v Gort na Mon- home by 6
Cargin v St Endas-home win by 8

[bannside]

Lar you're good craic to be fair.

[imtommygunn]

Glenavy beating ballymena in ballymena would be very unexpected. Other intermediate games seemed to go mainly as expected.

[breakingball]

Glenavy beating ballymena in ballymena would be very unexpected. Other intermediate games seemed to go mainly as expected.

A surprise surely. Also expected dunloy to beat sarsfields too. By the looks of things Dunloy had 7 or 8 9f their hurlers playing.