Messages

Speaking to a young chap in work today - county board off to a stinker with the way they have organised the Neal Carlin cup. The teams in junior must wonder what's the point at times.

How so, is it different this year? Always thought the main advantage of the district cups was giving teams competitive games leading into the league.

Magilligan team have only played dolans on 26th March so they have had no real advantage to them.. Moneymore conceded to them before the dolans game  and there game with Ardmore was to be rearranged to due a number of deaths in a couple of days but if Magilligan beat moneymore by 4 or more they would of topped the group and by 3 or more qualified for semi finals in 2nd. CB have told them they are out due to Ardmore not being able to accommodate a new date and time running out meaning they now have a further 3 week break to league starts before another competitive game. But a 4 team group which has taken 7/8 weeks to run and as much as it is a district cup them fellas are shown little respect.

It is a bit difficult to follow who did what here, but it appears some clubs were conceding games and others cancelling games and not rearranging them.

How is that the Board's fault?

A cursory glance at the Derry website shows Magilligan are down to play Ardmore tonight in their final group game.........and can still qualify for semis from what I can see.

There was a 5 team group and a 4 team group, the 5 team group have all their games completed, the 4 team group, which includes Magilligan, have a game outstanding, with a round of fixtures less, probably due to clubs postponing games with no clear plan to rearrange.

Also the first games in this competition were on 12th March which was 6 weeks ago according to my Maths, I'm not sure how you could run a 5 team group stage in substantially less time than that.

Someone who thinks this is a stinker by the county board is sorely wasted posting on Gaaboard when they should be county secretary showcasing their extraordinary administrative talents.

That game is now not being played as Magilligan told they are out as fixtures had to be done last week. It appears harsh on Magilligan who would probably see this as a chance of a cup and out of now fault do there own are now out - they offered play Friday Sunday and we're told no. A 4 team group should take 3 weeks.

Speaking to a young chap in work today - county board off to a stinker with the way they have organised the Neal Carlin cup. The teams in junior must wonder what's the point at times.

How so, is it different this year? Always thought the main advantage of the district cups was giving teams competitive games leading into the league.

Magilligan team have only played dolans on 26th March so they have had no real advantage to them.. Moneymore conceded to them before the dolans game  and there game with Ardmore was to be rearranged to due a number of deaths in a couple of days but if Magilligan beat moneymore by 4 or more they would of topped the group and by 3 or more qualified for semi finals in 2nd. CB have told them they are out due to Ardmore not being able to accommodate a new date and time running out meaning they now have a further 3 week break to league starts before another competitive game. But a 4 team group which has taken 7/8 weeks to run and as much as it is a district cup them fellas are shown little respect.

Speaking to a young chap in work today - county board off to a stinker with the way they have organised the Neal Carlin cup. The teams in junior must wonder what's the point at times.

Easy enough win today they couldn't deal with the movement of Derry. As weird an atmosphere for an ulster championship game as I can remember outside and inside the ground - felt nothing more than a league game there was no buzz about it at all. Building

Any idea when the club football will start this year?

Will it be when the county football finishes up in summer time or will leagues be played on without county men?

No idea as of yet but going by report last week on Paddy Bradley taking over at Glenullin the leagues are being restructured again this year. I know Desertmartin have applied to step up to intermediate and I am sure Glenullin will think they are to good for Junior.

As poor a championship across all levels as I can remember. Hopefully the finals this weekend will give some gloss to what has been a poor season thus far. Surely the knockout format has to return.

What is going on with the championship relegation games ?

Good ruthless performance on Saturday which we havent seen in a few years in the championship and i know Wexford were very poor but still. Smart by management to take off some big hitters and allow the squad to get some championship minutes under the belt. Mcfaul starting to really show his worth this year as well as big Conor. Shane, enda and emmett up front again very good also.

Bring on Laois.

Many making the trip down tomorrow ? looking forward to it myself hopefully build a run into these qualifiers

After seeing a couple of games it's hard to know which is worse the overall standard of Derry football, the standard of refereeing or the lack of discipline or any level of sportsmanship.  Pure dung all round.

Which matches were you at out of curiosity

Greenlough looked awful last night, grateful to have enda lynn last night as limavady tore their defence to shreds.

Also shocking at to hear the about the coleraine players being bit in their match against ballinderry - sc**bag move to bite a man.

never an excuse for biting
Usually two sides to every story. You'd have to wonder what Mullans fingers were doing in his mouth too?

Greenlough looked awful last night, grateful to have enda lynn last night as limavady tore their defence to shreds.

Also shocking at to hear the about the coleraine players being bit in their match against ballinderry - sc**bag move to bite a man.

[Division 1A]

How many teams go up/down in each division this year? Are there any play offs?

2 up, 2 down. No playoffs. Whoever finishes first in league wins it also.

Cheers.

Anyone having a guess at teams Promoted/Relegated in each division?

Division 1A
Relegated
Dungiven
Banagher


Division 1B
Promoted
Newbridge
Kilrea

Relegated
Drumsurn
Castledawson


Division 2
Promoted
Slaughtmanus
Lissan

I hope you are right in terms of your promotion choices for 1b but the loss of Michael Bateson is a huge loss for us not just in terms of ability but of leadership also.
Also Drumsun could be a bit of a dark horse this year they have a lot of good young players coming through in the Rafferty's, McHugh,Woods and Murray

Agree with your dungiven banagher + newbridge kilrea, i think Drumsurn can cause a few upsets over the year with young players coming in. Can see Limavady being relegated with possibly vale or dawson.

In division 2 i can see it being Slaughtmanus and Lissan but wouldnt rule out desertmartin either. Good to see Magilligan starting well as they have already beaten 2 relegated sides and sit top at early stage a seasoned junior team showing they can compete. Also Glack with a win over ballerin.

Can I ask what folk think of County Development squads ??  Is it right to put 13, 14, 15 year olds up above others while they are still physically developing ! Surely U17/18 is time enough ?  Let the clubs/schools develop kids at a younger age - they are doing a good job currently I believe !
With the decline of our county senior team to Div 4....  are these structures really working ?
And with our county coaching manager in Australia ... anyone know who is paying for that trip and what his remit is for this trip ??  Is it to further help these county development squads ? Bring back ideas and help Derry football improve....any thoughts ??

a lot is made of the lack of quality in the intermediate and junior levels within the county, but there is a lot of players that are quality players with the right coaching at underage could be fine county players. I don't see much being done to promote younger ones to commit to playing the game at this level especially in smaller clubs, why not trial the kerry way of regional teams competing in the senior championship giving players the chance to stand out in big crowds against the best players in the county. Coming from a small junior club myself i look at the All Ireland Junior Championship played out of 3 provinces and ask why Ulster Gaa dont look at this as a way to promote the games at this level or. I know that my chances of playing for my county at senior level is slim playing junior football but i know pulling on the Derry jersey and any level would be a privilege.

The surface in Celtic park is no longer the best in Derry. It resembled a bog in places yesterday. A fine total of 570 paid in,570. When are we going to learn. On a positive note at least we won. A fine start and a good finish but we were poor in between. But I could see signs of improvement

Interesting comment. . . which pitch in Derry do you think would have been better than Celtic Park yesterday?

Any highlights I saw of matches over the weekend the pitches were all bogs all over the place!

In terms of best surface - magilligans pitch is in brilliant shape all year round and is up there in terms of best pitches in the county