Antrim Football Thread

[bannside]

Interesting point. Ten of that Longford team that started yesterday played on the their team that put Monaghan out of last year's All Ireland qualifiers!

I really hope our county officers now do acknowledge the serious potential that exists if they can help raise the bar now in terms of their own expectations.

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

i would love to share the sentiments here after ydays result but the truth is we are where we deserve to be. Bad luck doesnt lose you matches each time, its down to the players and decisions made on the line during the game.

Hurling in Antrim had to accept its lot and build from where it was. We were not good enough to compete in Div 1 and therefore 2a was where we deserved to be, regardless of how many great clubs we had in the county.

Im as disappointed as the next person that we have been relegated, im not a die hard football man but i still support my county regardless. But we are where we deserve to be. We talk about being close to Louth etc but they have been promoted again. Clearly we arent close to them if were at the bottom and them at the top.

Theres undoubted talent in the county but its no use unless it translates into senior footballers on the pitch.

[BrendanAntrim]

I didn't see as many football games this year as in previous years, but following results and reading reports it was clear the boys were unlucky not to take something from the away games to the top 3 sides. But as yesterday approached it did come down to that one game - win and stay up, and we didn't do that. And we should have done.

For a large period of the second half we had two extra men, yet Longford were still winning all their own kickouts. We had enough payers in the half back line to play a 5 a side match. We weren't offensive enough and that was what plaqued us last year in our 2 championship games. 

15 should beat 13, all day long.

A very depressing outcome to the league campaign.

[bannside]

Depressing is the word Brendan. The decision makers along the line will be pondering hard if they played their cards right when we had 2 extra men.  Instead of going for the jugular and pushing up we continued with the ultra safe option of packing our defence, and once again it proved our downfall.

Why are we showing teams so much respect. We got into a brilliant position yesterday but fear from opening up and playing football held us back. What would have been wrong with throwing Seamus Mc Garry on the last fifteen minutes with his speed and eye for a score? Or throwing Sean Mc Veigh on midfield where we got cleaned out all day and pushing Matt Fitz or CJ up the pitch to their more natural forward positions?

[Spike]

We are full of hard luck stories throughout the league campaign but at the end of the day, when the league status was on the line and you cant beat a team with 13 men at home then I'm sorry but hard luck and bad luck doesn't cut it for me. 

Regardless of the players (and looking back at last years league final and championship run) there is complete ineptitude of how to manage a game. The Fermanagh and Louth games last year showed how naïve we still are.    We can have all the 'potential' players getting minutes etc etc but until these kids AND the senior players learn some game intelligence (and I don't mean just killing a game when you're 5 points up and ten mins to play) then yo-yoing between Div 4 & will be all we are fit for.  Sounds depressing I know but for how many years are we going to look for these hard luck stories and actually start looking at the problem and start educating our footballers properly.

[BrendanAntrim]

We are full of hard luck stories throughout the league campaign but at the end of the day, when the league status was on the line and you cant beat a team with 13 men at home then I'm sorry but hard luck and bad luck doesn't cut it for me. 

Regardless of the players (and looking back at last years league final and championship run) there is complete ineptitude of how to manage a game. The Fermanagh and Louth games last year showed how naïve we still are.    We can have all the 'potential' players getting minutes etc etc but until these kids AND the senior players learn some game intelligence (and I don't mean just killing a game when you're 5 points up and ten mins to play) then yo-yoing between Div 4 & will be all we are fit for.  Sounds depressing I know but for how many years are we going to look for these hard luck stories and actually start looking at the problem and start educating our footballers properly.

i can't disagree with much of that.

[Milltown Row2]

Some serious amount of keyboard managers about, amazing the effort thats put in to talking about a match after its happened and how we could have won the game, I'm surprised the application forms are not over spilling every year when the post is available....

70 minutes goes in a blink of an eye, the amount of instructions being sent out to the team and the players actually carrying out these instructions is two different things, wasnt at the game so cant comment but Ive been involved in managment and the amount of times players take on a defensive role when trying to hold on to a lead is criminal....

That said if it was a case of holding on, then we've had a negative look on these things in the past so its something we need to improve on, the confidence to let the players push forward and express themselves more instead of stiffling defensive tactics (which is very common in Ulster)

As a manager you panic also, this may have been the case and had the desired result had have come about nothing would have been said and the posts would have been about making the panel stronger for next year and looking forward to championship with a sense of achievement, as it is the lads will feel disappointed and dejected after that.....

[paddyjohn]

Some serious amount of keyboard managers about, amazing the effort thats put in to talking about a match after its happened and how we could have won the game, I'm surprised the application forms are not over spilling every year when the post is available....

70 minutes goes in a blink of an eye, the amount of instructions being sent out to the team and the players actually carrying out these instructions is two different things, wasnt at the game so cant comment but Ive been involved in managment and the amount of times players take on a defensive role when trying to hold on to a lead is criminal....

That said if it was a case of holding on, then we've had a negative look on these things in the past so its something we need to improve on, the confidence to let the players push forward and express themselves more instead of stiffling defensive tactics (which is very common in Ulster)

As a manager you panic also, this may have been the case and had the desired result had have come about nothing would have been said and the posts would have been about making the panel stronger for next year and looking forward to championship with a sense of achievement, as it is the lads will feel disappointed and dejected after that.....

Never one to agree with you mate, but a sensible post.

I wasn't at the game on Sunday as previously said as my better half was working. I've heard mixed reports from people who were at it and I have to say most of it was positive.

[BrendanAntrim]

Some serious amount of keyboard managers about, amazing the effort thats put in to talking about a match after its happened and how we could have won the game, I'm surprised the application forms are not over spilling every year when the post is available....

70 minutes goes in a blink of an eye, the amount of instructions being sent out to the team and the players actually carrying out these instructions is two different things, wasnt at the game so cant comment but Ive been involved in managment and the amount of times players take on a defensive role when trying to hold on to a lead is criminal....

That said if it was a case of holding on, then we've had a negative look on these things in the past so its something we need to improve on, the confidence to let the players push forward and express themselves more instead of stiffling defensive tactics (which is very common in Ulster)

We weren't holding onto a lead, we only got into the lead in the 6th minute of injury time. Prior to that we needed to score to get the lead. We were holding onto a defecit.

[Spike]

Of course we're all Keyboard managers on here!! Do you think Mickey Harte is on the Tyrone page bleating on about the county board???! of course not - we're on  here to give our opinions and all are valid.

In the last four important games Antrim have played in they have been found wanting in the management both on the line and on the pitch.   The Louth and Fermanagh games were particularly shocking tactically (I would go as far to say THE worst I have ever seen) but I was hoping a new season and much reflection would have made them wiser. 

At intercounty level, a 13 man team with so much time remaining in the game should not leave the pitch with a victory unless they have built a huge lead.  Remember these are our best and brightest footballers so wheres the leader and brains of this team?   No one is saying Antrim should be competing with Kerry and Dublin but surely a comfortable existence in Div 3 should be the absolute minimum aim of this group of players.

[paddyjohn]

Of course we're all Keyboard managers on here!! Do you think Mickey Harte is on the Tyrone page bleating on about the county board???! of course not - we're on  here to give our opinions and all are valid.

In the last four important games Antrim have played in they have been found wanting in the management both on the line and on the pitch.   The Louth and Fermanagh games were particularly shocking tactically (I would go as far to say THE worst I have ever seen) but I was hoping a new season and much reflection would have made them wiser. 

At intercounty level, a 13 man team with so much time remaining in the game should not leave the pitch with a victory unless they have built a huge lead.  Remember these are our best and brightest footballers so wheres the leader and brains of this team?   No one is saying Antrim should be competing with Kerry and Dublin but surely a comfortable existence in Div 3 should be the absolute minimum aim of this group of players.

Did you watch of Frank Dawsons reign?

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

didnt get to the game on sunday due to commitments with our camogs but im one of the keyboard managers. Look i take no please in maoning about my own county. I wanted them to win badly to maintain that hard worked status of Div3 football but sadly we were not good enough.

Antrim is the team everyone wants in the ulster draw each time. were the weakest of the 9 counties and constantly punching above our weight until the qualifiers where we get a decent chance to win a game against someone on our level. Anything after that is a bonus.

I take no joy at all in saying it but Div4 is our standard for the time being.

[Spike]

Frank's tenure was indeed abysmal but even he didn't play a match deliberately allowing the opposition a free forward.    
Frank has the meagre and unforgiveable excuse that he obviously hadn't seen an Antrim Club match in 20 years - the current incumbents don't even have that to fall back on. 

We seem to be totally reliant on luck getting us through games..........problem is we don't seem to be very lucky!

[Milltown Row2]

Frank's tenure was indeed abysmal but even he didn't play a match deliberately allowing the opposition a free forward.    
Frank has the meagre and unforgiveable excuse that he obviously hadn't seen an Antrim Club match in 20 years - the current incumbents don't even have that to fall back on. 

We seem to be totally reliant on luck getting us through games..........problem is we don't seem to be very lucky!

Look as said already we are where we are with the players we've got who'll commit to the squad, tactics aside we are limited slightly with personal and squad size, as that's just what is available ..

there seems to be a need to throw the managers out at every defeat or season.... we could looked at a series of incidents throughout the season were players have made mistakes that cost Antrim the match, not one call in here or anywhere else to have those players chopped, but hey ho the managers are fair game

[BrendanAntrim]

Not sure anyone has mentioned 'throwing out the managers'. And how can we forget Frank Dawson's championship match v Monaghan, where the team was set up solely to ensure a 'not too bad' defeat, which was what we got that day. It was appalling.