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100% SO82 about those two!

Let's just say their progress has been noted! Two of our best performers in last years narrow under 20 defeat to Donegal on penalties in Ballybofey..

Add Cahir Donnelly and Johnny Hannon to the promising U20 players above, both v impressive in Cargin v Aghagallon game last night. Not a dig, but Aghagallon quite negative throughout which made Johnnys coring performance all the more impressive.

With the team they had out It's difficult to 'open' up against such a talented Cargin team away from home?

I doubt theres many more teams in the county as "deplated" as cargin are at the moment...

If we ever had a football sub committee  their first job should be to reduce division 1 to 8 teams. There are so many sub standard teams in there, at least 4 of them would be in Division 3/4 in any other county and it's doing no one any favours, them or other teams that strive for better.

Explain how having 8 teams would make the county better? A nice condescending tone from a Cargin man in his ivory tower.

8 teams playing constantly playing competitive games makes all 8 better. The other 8 teams constantly playing teams at their own level will make them better.

My post was regarding Portglenone as it was topic of recent discussion that other contributors posted about. I didnt quash anything, if Cargin proactively went and sought players as Portglenone have done then thats wrong, no matter when it happened Why on this discussion board does everything come back round to the Toome men. Theres more to Antrim county than the people from the Lough.

Everyone wants to be the best, so compare yourself to the best, at one point in time it was st galls at this point in time its Cargin.

[It's all about the work, and as Duine says, the level of apathy in some Antrim schools and clubs is appalling.]

The great thing about schools that take their GAA ethos really seriously is that the programme starts the first week in the gate at year eight.

A school that offers 8 hours a week across a mixture of training/matches/S&C/pilates/yoga/ diet and nutritional advice will produce a much better individual...than say a school that offers x2 hours a week across the same spectrum of activity.

It's basic maths.

Across 40 weeks and 7 years it's 2240 man hours versus 560 man hours.

Obviously not an exact science, but a blind man should see the difference a full on school can make to player development versus a school going through the motions.

Then do the same exercise across a progressive club versus a club taking short cuts.

It's all about the work, and as Duine says, the level of apathy in some Antrim schools and clubs is appalling.

I didn't say that.

The issue is the apathy in our communities. Gaelic football isn't a big deal in a lot of them. Kids don't really care and their parents don't value it and if that school programme was available to them they simply wouldn't go.
They struggle to buy into the couple of hours a week. They don't value it that highly.

GAA is everything in Toome and maybe thats why Cargin are so far ahead.
I agree but i think its mainly the city that has that outlook as there are many more distractions. But its exactly why Antrim will never be good. I'd say Antrim underage football isnt far off the worst in the country at the moment. Its also clear Antrim people dont care about football enough  is not cared about  by the attendances at championship matches unless its a SF or Final the attendances are usually poor. Go to Ownebeg for any group game in derry championship and its a packed house.

This group have definitely had their share of hammerings over the years, and that being the case we are all to blame. Let's not put this at the door of the management or even the players, they're out there doing their best.

Here's the ironic thing...and it's only my opinion....we could get 4 or 5 county seniors from this squad. I've seen some year groups we get a lot less than that.

Potentially Manus McCrossan and Niall Hynds would be midfield (in this team) and two Cargin seniors Conan and Conchuir Johnston were also missing yesterday.Cargins Big Charley McCann will turn into a baller before hes finished.

Tiernan McCormick has a massive future in Saffron if he can develop a bit more end product to match the flying runs.

I'm not deliberately cherry picking here, yesterday was hard to watch, but there's a batch here that need our support  not our derision.

Wise words Bannside.
The McRory Cup debate is a nonsense. Plenty of counties have very few players if any playing McRory Cup yet they compete at the top level. The issue starts and finishes with the clubs. Not enough quality players being produced. The easy answer doesn't exist. Its a numbers game along with old fashioned graft and hard work by good coaches who are in it for the long game.

Macrory football is the highest standard of football you can play at that age. Its not the be all and end all but Antrim is the county in Ulster with no school in macory football. Its not the be all and end all but certainly is a factor. But are the clubs not doing enough to make football enjoyable enough that when kids get to school they want to play? The sad factor is kids in schools in Belfast would rather play in a soccer schools cup final than a macrory.

Few eyebrow rising results yesterday. Big one being Ballymena beating johnnies in Corrigan. 

Andy must be on some money to be travelling up the country for that team...

As I started the debate id like to weigh in. Brilliant bit of goalkeeping saves the ball between the stage of dropping the ball from hand to foot, only contact made with forward is due to the forward being in motion of kicking the ball takes him into the goalkeeper. If you pause it you can see the initial contact is with the ball and doesn't touch the man until the fella's momentum takes him into the keeper. 

Its honestly incredible goalkeeping great save/block.

I see how everyone has different opinions but your reasoning for saying its a foul MR2 is wrong as there is no contact with the man until after ball is blocked/saved.

P.S Pause the video at 16 seconds

You can't pause the match though, and my initial reaction from the view on screen 'live' is foul..

If it was a touch on the ball first then yes I can say keeper made contact with the ball play on.

As for having a chat with the umpires, yeah, not problems.. The umpires have a duty too and maybe they felt it was a free also as they didn't call him in?

You can tackle the ball in the square if the keeper has it, other contact will generally result in a free

I mentioned on another thread yesterday that the main chatter in games are what the ref did, rather than the mistakes the players do during the 60 + minutes of a game, is it easier to blame the ref for a teams failings?

You are right teams do see it as an easy coup out.

Even as a supporter i do it myself at initial reaction often time goes by maybe re watch the game you look and realise it usually isn't the ref that beats you.

However i did just say M'felt can feel hard done by with the decision but didn't blame Colm for them losing.

I'll also add i think Colm is one of the top Refs in our county at the moment. Good fair ref and treats the players with respect. 

To me there's absolutely no doubt the goalie makes the save between the player dropping the ball and his foot kicking it. The angle the ball comes out tells me that for sure but the real question is did he make contact with the player before the ball. The angle is inconclusive to be honest and you're really only trusting your eyes. Personally my first viewing was no foul but I can see why there's debate.

doesn't pause the video at 16 seconds can see its all ball

As I started the debate id like to weigh in. Brilliant bit of goalkeeping saves the ball between the stage of dropping the ball from hand to foot, only contact made with forward is due to the forward being in motion of kicking the ball takes him into the goalkeeper. If you pause it you can see the initial contact is with the ball and doesn't touch the man until the fella's momentum takes him into the keeper. 

Its honestly incredible goalkeeping great save/block.

I see how everyone has different opinions but your reasoning for saying its a foul MR2 is wrong as there is no contact with the man until after ball is blocked/saved.

P.S Pause the video at 16 seconds

Magherafelt minors can feel very hard done. That pen decision was absolutely awful don't know how he's give that.

Interested to hear MR2 views

That's a pity the all star games are postponed. I was looking forward to bringing the kids to it.

I would not have been a nice experience for them considering the flooding in and around the Antrim area these past few days, roads closed all over the place last night on way home from work and it rained a good bit on top of that.

Can only imagine lads getting injured (Hightown springs to mind)

Think it will ever go ahead?

I Didnt see this as much of a surprise originally it was a joint venture by heron and Buckingham group who were also doing the new stand at Liverpool but have sense went bust.

The fact half of the venture went bust probably left a lot of Heron's plate which they maybe couldn't commit to, no major surprise to me. 

Arva stroll to a Ulster junior championship, pretends to be shocked...

An average team doesn't reach back to back Ulster club finals and potentially winning back to back.

See they just posted two other roles:

Head of recruitment and scout covering county Derry area....