http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/northern-ireland/17917205
Real blow for Down,seem to get a lot of injuries for some reason. Despite a lot of skillful nippy forwards Benny is still the go to guy for Down after all these years.
Good news for Down ahead of championship - they've a bye to the final ;)
Just read that, nasty for Benny, hope he recovers ok
Big blow for Down. They are on the soft side of the draw and may not come through now with their one class forward now ruled out.
Quote from: yellowcard on May 01, 2012, 11:18:42 PM
Big blow for Down. They are on the soft side of the draw and may not come through now with their one class forward now ruled out.
WUM
Between injuries, emigation and opt outs, how's this for a Down no-show in the championship?
Alder (Manchester)
Howard (Australia)
Bonny (Australia)
Rafferty (injured)
Murphy (?? - great game for Ballyhooland the other night)
Doyle (injured)
O'Hagan (ban g back in form with Clonduff but is he interested?)
Colgan (New Zealand)
Fitzpatrick (Australia)
Mooney (Australia)
Clarke M (Australia)
O'Reilly (disinterested??)
Murtagh (miffed?)
Coulter (injured)
Clarke J (still a loss)
Quote from: Leo on May 01, 2012, 11:59:34 PM
Between injuries, emigation and opt outs, how's this for a Down no-show in the championship?
Alder (Manchester)
Howard (Australia)
Bonny (Australia)
Rafferty (injured)
Murphy (?? - great game for Ballyhooland the other night)
Doyle (injured)
O'Hagan (ban g back in form with Clonduff but is he interested?)
Colgan (New Zealand)
Fitzpatrick (Australia)
Mooney (Australia)
Clarke M (Australia)
O'Reilly (disinterested??)
Murtagh (miffed?)
Coulter (injured)
Clarke J (still a loss)
Possibly Hughes and Gordon + McCumiskey not back yet!!
I count at least 8 players who would be first choice that probably won't start on the 3rd ofJune..
I hope Hughes can recover in time. If so I would like to see:
Hughes - Poland - Carr
McComiskey/Maginn - McConville - Laverty
But things could change from Doom very quickly. If Gordon & Doyle can recover then we could release King to Full Forward and play Dan at Midfield.
The main thing is that we must dig deep to beat Fermanagh and then there will be enough time before the semi-final or all our players, with the exception of Benny, to recover.
Benny's injury depends on how bad it is. If it is a simple fracture he will be clear to start light training in just over 8 weeks, with a full return around 4-6 weeks after that. But if requires surgery/plate fitting then it could be 12 weeks before he is able to even restart gentle movement like walking and up to another 8 weeks before resuming full training. So he could be available at earliest for an Ulster Final (if we get that far) or potentially not until All-Ireland Sunday
How old is Benny now? Sad to see him miss the championship (Unless Down get far).
Always like to see the best forwards in the country in action.
Bad news for Down was when the championship draw was made - Fear Manach Abu ;)
Quote from: sammymaguire on May 02, 2012, 01:38:23 PM
Bad news for Down was when the championship draw was made - Fear Manach Abu ;)
Aye there, a bloody long trapse to wet Ekn.
Quote from: Leo on May 01, 2012, 11:59:34 PM
Between injuries, emigation and opt outs, how's this for a Down no-show in the championship?
Alder (Manchester)
Howard (Australia)
Bonny (Australia)
Rafferty (injured)
Murphy (?? - great game for Ballyhooland the other night)
Doyle (injured)
O'Hagan (ban g back in form with Clonduff but is he interested?)
Colgan (New Zealand)
Fitzpatrick (Australia)
Mooney (Australia)
Clarke M (Australia)
O'Reilly (disinterested??)
Murtagh (miffed?)
Coulter (injured)
Clarke J (still a loss)
Are you for real with those names in bold? Either had their day or not good enough. Dont even go down that line or we could throw another 20 names on top of that
Quote from: 5 Sams on May 01, 2012, 11:56:08 PM
Quote from: yellowcard on May 01, 2012, 11:18:42 PM
Big blow for Down. They are on the soft side of the draw and may not come through now with their one class forward now ruled out.
WUM
Not at all. Just stating my opinion. I think Fermanagh could be a banana skin, you obviously beg to differ.
Anyone got the odds for this game? A wee slippy tenner could go on the boys in green.
Quote from: Dont Matter on May 02, 2012, 12:44:11 PM
How old is Benny now? Sad to see him miss the championship (Unless Down get far).
Always like to see the best forwards in the country in action.
Think he is 31. I don't hold much hope for Down this year.
he is 29
Aye I'd say hes 29 or 30. Takes a brave while to recover from that kind of thing. Could be his county season over full stop.
Quote from: yellowcard on May 03, 2012, 01:43:29 PM
Quote from: 5 Sams on May 01, 2012, 11:56:08 PM
Quote from: yellowcard on May 01, 2012, 11:18:42 PM
Big blow for Down. They are on the soft side of the draw and may not come through now with their one class forward now ruled out.
WUM
Not at all. Just stating my opinion. I think Fermanagh could be a banana skin, you obviously beg to differ.
It's the "one class forward" comment that got me. Hughes, Poland and McComiskey might beg to differ with that statement.
Quote from: 5 Sams on May 03, 2012, 06:42:11 PM
Quote from: yellowcard on May 03, 2012, 01:43:29 PM
Quote from: 5 Sams on May 01, 2012, 11:56:08 PM
Quote from: yellowcard on May 01, 2012, 11:18:42 PM
Big blow for Down. They are on the soft side of the draw and may not come through now with their one class forward now ruled out.
WUM
Not at all. Just stating my opinion. I think Fermanagh could be a banana skin, you obviously beg to differ.
It's the "one class forward" comment that got me. Hughes, Poland and McComiskey might beg to differ with that statement.
Hughes would be the only player that might come close to being considered one of the top forwards in the country and I think even that would be pushing it. He had an exceptional year in 2010 and his high energy levels and workrate made him an essential part of that team. In footballing terms though I would considee him more Brian Dooher than Peter Canavan and 'class' would be the wrong term.
In terms of mcComiskey and Poland, both of them are decent county players on their day but certainly nothing more than that. They would not be nailed on certainties to start/complete games so I don't need to elaborate.
Coulter has been one of the best forwards in Ulster/Ireland for the best part of a decade. Hughes is a diffeent type of player who has had a good 4/5 years but the others don't even come close.
Quote from: yellowcard on May 04, 2012, 12:21:03 AM
Coulter has been one of the best forwards in Ulster/Ireland for the best part of a decade. Hughes is a diffeent type of player who has had a good 4/5 years but the others don't even come close.
[/quote]
And that's the raeson this is a story.
i agree coulter has served well for Down as has Hughes, Poland, & Mc Comiskey. however, look over the past 5 years how many talented players down have lost:
liam Doyle - injury;
Martin Clark - Aussie Rules;
Dan Gordon - injury;
there are other too.
when one is injured or off the panel it allows new blood to be put in the deep end. I can't see down winning an all ireland within the next 5 years - as a minimum - as every time they seem to find a solution to a problem another one opens up.
Quote from: yellowcard on May 04, 2012, 12:21:03 AM
Quote from: 5 Sams on May 03, 2012, 06:42:11 PM
Quote from: yellowcard on May 03, 2012, 01:43:29 PM
Quote from: 5 Sams on May 01, 2012, 11:56:08 PM
Quote from: yellowcard on May 01, 2012, 11:18:42 PM
Big blow for Down. They are on the soft side of the draw and may not come through now with their one class forward now ruled out.
WUM
Not at all. Just stating my opinion. I think Fermanagh could be a banana skin, you obviously beg to differ.
It's the "one class forward" comment that got me. Hughes, Poland and McComiskey might beg to differ with that statement.
Hughes would be the only player that might come close to being considered one of the top forwards in the country and I think even that would be pushing it. He had an exceptional year in 2010 and his high energy levels and workrate made him an essential part of that team. In footballing terms though I would considee him more Brian Dooher than Peter Canavan and 'class' would be the wrong term.
In terms of mcComiskey and Poland, both of them are decent county players on their day but certainly nothing more than that. They would not be nailed on certainties to start/complete games so I don't need to elaborate.
Coulter has been one of the best forwards in Ulster/Ireland for the best part of a decade. Hughes is a diffeent type of player who has had a good 4/5 years but the others don't even come close.
Ur right, mccomiskey has an awful lot to do in order to be called a top class forward. Poland has good days surely i'm sure a decent defender could deal with him. Hughes is a runner, and is now starting to get found out. He showed up well in 2010, but when the high energy levels desert fella's like him then their goosed.
Pity for benny though, i know him and stevie Mc are big pals and it would have been great to see them play another ulster championship this summer. Hopefully for him he'll return at some stage this summer