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Okay, I know that this one is a bit left of centre for most of you, but as a life long QPR fan, first game was at Loftus Road against Leeds in 1978 (Stan Bowles, Phil Parkes, Gerry Francis et al, with Leeds including future R's legend Tony Currie) I think a thread to the Superhoops should be started, especially given that one of our own, Jim Magilton, has just jumped in through the revolving door that leads to the manager's office. Much was expected of the boys from the Bush after the big buy out a few years ago but as of yet they haven't delivered, although the constant sacking of managers and the questionable appointment of others hasn't helped matters. Let's see how Jim gets on. The Championship is going to be very interesting next season, there are a lot of big names in terms of clubs and managers down there.

Someone had to start this thread. Any thoughts?

Following on from the concerns raised by the Louth contingent on here, what sort of ambitious projects have your own clubs / counties attempted in the past? Which have been successful and which haven't, which have been bizarre and which innovative?

Which players in recent times have only made in to the top because of the improvements in coaching, fitness and conditioning available to players now and who, if born in a different era, would never have achieved much in football because of a lack of real natural talent.

Any thoughts?

Reading George Orwell's "Coming Up For Air" at the moment and the main character talks about meeting his wife and the reasons why he married her. How did you board members meet your better halves and when you met them did you think you would end up with them for life? What was the moment that clinched it for you?

PS: Orwell's character also talks about how for the first three years of marriage he thought constantly about killing her, but that's a different thread for a different day !!!

On the Underdogs thread someone wrote a complete breakdown of the first Underdogs team as to what they achieved after the programme. What do the football CVs of the board users really look like? Anyone fancy submitting their own  football CV.... and let's be honest out there!

Last year Wexford lost two games in the entire season, one in the Leinster Final to Dublin and the other in an All Ireland Final to Tyrone.... this year they haven't even come close to winning one. Any thoughts?

Team of 2005 that played Kilkenny.

Anyone know how any of these faired post Underdogs?

TG4 UNDERDOGS XV: 1 - Richie O'Neill (Kilmacow, Kilkenny). 2 - Niall Corcoran (Meelick Eyrecourt, Galway) (capt), 3 - Brendan Lohan (Kilconieron, Galway), 4 - Martin Kirwan (Shanahoe, Laois). 5 - Bryon Duff (Toomevara, Tipperary), 6 - Damian Cosgrave (Monaleen, Limerick), 7 - Denis Kelly (Conahy Shamrocks, Kilkenny). 8 - Padraig Madden (Lorrha, Tipperary) (vice-capt), 9 - Richie Hennessey (Ardmore, Waterford). 10 - Mark O'Connor (Erin's Own, Cork), 11 - Nicky Jacob (St Saviours, Waterford), 12 - Michael Grace (Inistiogue, Kilkenny). 13 - Andrew McGovern (Mullinavat, Kilkenny), 14 - Ronan Hayes (Sixmilebridge, Clare), 15 - John Ryan (Portroe, Tipperary).

Substitutes: 16 - Alan Franks (Ballyskenagh, Offaly), 17 - Gerry Slattery (Kiladagan, Tipperary), 18 - Derrick Murphy (Turloughmore, Galway), 19 - Pearse Davern (Knockainey, Limerick), 20 - David Canning (Portumna, Galway), 21 - Damian O'Meara (St Oliver Plunketts, Tipperary), 22 - Garret McPhillips (Wolfe Tones, Clare), 23 - Brian Foley (Adare, Limerick), 24 - Enda Collins (Killinena, Clare), 25 - Dónal O'Reilly (Mullagh, Galway). Injured (Unfit to play): 26 - Eddie Brennan (Erin's Own, Castlecomer, Kilkenny).

Apart from the obvious players like Pierce O'Neill and Kieran Donaghy, anyone know the feats of any of the other players who have appeared on the men's version of Thh Underdogs over the past few years.

Just finished reading a book by Rob Grillo (Anoraknaphobia), a  self-confessed anorak when it comes to soccer clubs and grounds in UK. He is only interested in non-league grounds (whether still in use or not) and football at local level as well as compiling and collecting league tables from various leagues throughout the world. He and his sort will go to anything up to 300+ games a season and visit several hundred grounds in doing so, making sure to collect a programme from every ground they go to. They don't really go for the football, just the ground and the programme and are known as ground-hoppers. He documents statistics about all these clubs and various leagues and apparently there is a fairly healthy collection of these types of people in the UK and there are a multitude of web sites and forums for them. Anyone know of any similar anoraks involved in Ireland in any sports.

I have been going through a bit of a George Orwell phase at the moment and have just finished reading "The Road To Wigan Pier". An incredible insight into how things can be in real economic turmoil. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself.

I live in Brussels and all the movies in the cinema here are in original language, with French and Flemish subtitles. I went to see Che the other night, not realizing that the original language was Spanish, so I sat with my wife through 2 hours and 15 minutes of a Spanish movie with French and Flemish subtitles. My three weeks of a French course and my 20 year old O-Level Spanish weren't of much use to me. The wife loved it though as she has fluent Spanish. Longest night ever in a cinema. And to make it worse, that was only Che Part 1, there's another installment to come, I think the wife will be going on here own to that.

Wexford manager Jason Ryan has highlighted an issue that is going to become more and more significant in the GAA over the next couple of years and that is the difficulty some players will have in staying in Ireland due to the economic turmoil at the moment.
He has said that as many as six of his current panel could be out of work in the near future and the only way he will be able to stop them from leaving is by getting them new jobs.
How many other counties are going to be similarly affected and how is the GAA in general going to handle the current situation, given that the boom in the Association has coincided exactly with the boom in the Irish economy.
On top of that, where exactly are the Irish going to go when they leave Ireland, given that America is almost impossible to get into and England is in the midst of a recession as well.
Are there similar concerns in any other counties?

A few years ago ITV ran some ads in order to promote teaching and celebrities were asked to name their favourite teachers from their school days. It was a great chance to promote ordinary folk. So enough about the big guns. Who was the best coach or manager you ever played for at either school, club or county level and why?

I thought this idea might be worth a stab as a thread just to break up the Kerry / Tyrone monologue. Was looking through some old programmes the other day and came across the one for the All Ireland Minor Final of 1999 between Down and Mayo.
With both counties having large numbers contributing to this board and with the numbers of minors progressing through to senior always being far fewer than we expect, I thought we might try and take a stab at where the respective starting XVs went in their football careers and in life in general. Some are pretty obvious, others aren't.

Down.

1. John Sloan ( Attical)
2. John Clarhe (An Riocht)
3. Brendan Grant (Mayobridge)
4. Mark Doran (Longstone)
5. Brendan Kearney (Warrenpoint)
6. Liam Doyle (Liatroim)
7. Colm Murtagh (Glenn)
8. Louis Sloan (Attical)
9. Brendan Coulter (Mayobridge)
10. Damian Grady (Castlewellan)
11. Michael Walsh (Mayobridge)
12. Ronan Murtagh (Ballyholland)
13. PJ McAlinden (Burren)
14. John Fegan (Clonduff)
15. Ronan Sexton (Mayobridge)



Mayo

1.   John O'Hara (Moy Davitts)
2.   MJ Meeneghan (Tourmakeedy)
3.   Paraic Kelly (Kilmaine)
4.   John Brogan (Knockmore)
5.   Rory Keane (Ballinrobe)
6.   Paul Coady (Burrishoole)
7.   Conor Moran (Burrishoole)
8.   James Gill (Westport)
9.   Gavin Duffy (Ballina)
10.   Robert Moran (Moy Davitts)
11.   BJ Padden (Belmullet)
12.   Barry Loftus (Crossmolina)
13.   Gary Dillon (Ballintubber)
14.   Alan Dillon (Ballintubber)
15.   Eoin Gallagher (Charlestown)

We spned a lot of time slagging off the journos on this board for various reasons. How about acknowledging how the photographers can get it spot on some times. Here's my contribution.

There has been a lot of talk about the Dublin players of the 1970s and how successful they were after they had finished playing on another thread. What players (aside from the Dubs and those that have gone into the media) have had their lives tranformed by winning a Celtic Cross.

Just wondering if any of you know of any former inter-county players who have gone on to do remarkable / unusual things after they finished playing football. What guys moved overseas, what guys became successful in another field? I appreciate that a lot of inter county players are already successful in their chosen careers when they are playing, but I was curious if any of you know of any who have done anything slightly different or moved off somewhere other than Ireland or England. Media work not included.

A board like this is a fascinating place to lurk and observe the way that different people react to different topics. Here, there are so many different opinions about the GAA and each one of them is valid and worth expressing and having heard, and while you will always run the risk of being shot down for your opinion, it's still your opinion and you are entitled to it.
Despite the differences in opinions and attitudes, the one common thread that links us all together is a liking / obsession / passion  for and an involvement in the GAA, but even that comes in so many different forms as well.
Some guys here have played county football, some have been barely good enough to play for their club; some guys have an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the game throughout the country, while others barely know what goes on outside of their own parish; some guys are players, some managers, some committee members and some merely spectators; some have travelled the world and been involved in the GAA wherever they have gone, while others wouldn't even regard the efforts of the poor bucks in Wellington NZ as being worthy of  mention; some only classify a true Gael by his ability to sing  Amhran na bhFiann, quote Rule 42 backwards and converse in Irish, while others will consider anyone from anywhere who plays the sport anywhere in the world as a fellow Gael; some are bitter and twisted and full of negativity and jealousy, while others are optimistic and positive; some crave change, modernisation and development, others long for the good old days; some read and consider every persons point of view, others only consider their own point of view. No matter the make-up of the person or the background though, we are all tied into this damned Association and for most of us it looks like a life sentence. Most of us have been involved for as long as we can remember and it's a way of life, but what is it that makes you so passionate about the Association and what kind of member are you?