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I've set back and watched the comments on here and it's no wonder Derry are in the situation there in!
They have a fella from moneymore, yes moneymore incharge of fixtures,my god!!
We have a fella who is the manager because the big names pointed out what they wanred/needed till try and get the team out off div 3,and county board said no!!
Damien will not get three years,poor fella being led up the path, laughing stock in Ulster at the moment.
How many teams in Ireland actually fear play the likes of Fermanagh!!!that's how far we have falling because off a board who hasn't a clue!

You realy is a scullywug!

The tactics didnt work; we got on top of Dublin last 10mins but it was all playing 1 on 1;  and just got the better of them; mainly through the mcwilliam brothers and big brown! no 11 scored 6 from play and if he wasnt such a greedy bollix missing 3 or 4 when other players were in better position we been beat!

Christ, you even moan in a victory over the Dubs!

May be, but he is correct. But for greed, Dublin would have had two/three goals by halftime. I saw very little in way of tactics from Derry yesterday, no continuity even in who was taking the frees. Sometimes it was under age stuff, I will take this one, please! 

Wishing the derry management and players all the best for the coming season. Really do believe we will have a good one and first thing we can achieve is promotion from division3. Thought we were going to be light for the first few games but just after seeing team selection for sunday and i must say that is a very strong first 15 plus a few subs that will make a big difference. Have no doubt we will beat westmeath pretty handly and push on for a few bigger games which will decide our fate in the league. So again good luck to all involved and i hope we start were we left off last year when we could and should have beaten mayo down in mayo in the all ireland qualifiers.if we play like that no-one will beat us in the league. doire abu

Got it completely wrong, really thought we would start the season well. Maybe the less said the better on the performance. We should be winning games like this.

Question for you. Why "should we be winning games like this"? 

The most disheartening is that I saw no development of a system of play in either McKenna Cup games or today. Very individual.  Few kick out options, even in club football you will have 4/5 players, at least, making runs or dummy runs.  At times today there may have been one player only making a meaningful run or none.  If the lack of any real strategy to get primary possession continues, there will be some fun when we meet a better team than Westmeath.

We actually getting worse! Michael Bateson aside who had a great game!

Took his two points well but needs to learn to tackle without fouling, as does McFaul, Mooney and McGoldrick.  Kielt very silly to get involved for his second yellow when we had an extra man.

Wishing the derry management and players all the best for the coming season. Really do believe we will have a good one and first thing we can achieve is promotion from division3. Thought we were going to be light for the first few games but just after seeing team selection for sunday and i must say that is a very strong first 15 plus a few subs that will make a big difference. Have no doubt we will beat westmeath pretty handly and push on for a few bigger games which will decide our fate in the league. So again good luck to all involved and i hope we start were we left off last year when we could and should have beaten mayo down in mayo in the all ireland qualifiers.if we play like that no-one will beat us in the league. doire abu

And that is the end of the "handy" win theory!

Wishing the derry management and players all the best for the coming season. Really do believe we will have a good one and first thing we can achieve is promotion from division3. Thought we were going to be light for the first few games but just after seeing team selection for sunday and i must say that is a very strong first 15 plus a few subs that will make a big difference. Have no doubt we will beat westmeath pretty handly and push on for a few bigger games which will decide our fate in the league. So again good luck to all involved and i hope we start were we left off last year when we could and should have beaten mayo down in mayo in the all ireland qualifiers.if we play like that no-one will beat us in the league. doire abu

Are you happy enough with Kevin Johnston at fullback? How do you feel he did in the last game he played for Derry at fullback?

Firstly it is fair for everyone to be concerned about the massive break in the middle of the summer to facilitate the county players. a real kick in the teeth for the ordinary club player. This will especially affect division 2 and 3 where there are a small representation of players in the county panel. The restructuring of the leagues however provides a real exciting league campaign for the incoming season. In my opinion the league has become stale in the past number of seasons.  For this incoming season every game is do or die. As for the leagues starting in 2019.. Division one and two will be hugely competitive.

Fancy a read?!
http://www.gaa.ie/news/county-boards-told-put-clubs-ahead-inter-county-managers/

Lenny is clearly a CB man or a big supporter of their approach as any club man can clearly see how our club football is being dismantled.

I personally feel clubs should take a stand and make a statement to our county board, maybe something as simple as boycott the Larkin Cup this season to see if they get the message, if the same shite is in situ next season boycott the league. How else can it be turned around, talking isn't working as no one is listening

Maybe club members should boycott County games until the county board starts listening.  Its risky though, as no one may notice, given that i believe this is already happening with the attendances at these games.

What clubs should do is gain what other clubs are doing in other counties and petition the CPA to see what they think.

Maybe a general club strike throughout the country could be the way to operate?

A strike and a boycott?! That should ensure a lot of football?! 

Good fair at CP tonight. We were behind from about the 3rd minute until Endaonion bagged. He was excellent again tonight. McFaul, McAtamaney had good games. Young McCluskey was solid before going off injured. McEvoy again was good, carried the ball into the tackle a couple of times but the McKenna is the place to learn. The jury is out with McGoldrick at 3, superb footballer, position wise a bit off kilter but it's a specialised position. Will come good I'd say

Did O'Hanlon get the line at the end? He could have been shown 3 red cards! Some going for one player

Would it be 4 / 5 years since Mick Bateson played county? Good to have him back.

Lynn is a fantastic footballer but was it not Niall Toner who scored the crucial goal? Derry defence completely at sea in the first quarter, kick outs poor, 3 over the sideline, Down could have had 2 more goals. Needed extra man back to steady the ship. A few players out of depth and position but they did turn the game around so fair play to them. McFaul and to an extent McAtamaney need to get the temperament sorted. O'Hanlon came on to act the thug - it didn't work v Slaughtneil and glad it backfired again tonight.

My last memory of Bateson for Derry was indeed v Monaghan in Celtic Park and a cheap, late, dirty slap from Dick Clerkin, no surprise there.

Toner started instead of Brown, who did not feature!  Derry 1-6/0-8 up at halftime, against the breeze, Lynn with the goal. Kielt (1-2), McGoldrick and McAtamney all came on at halftime, Lynch (0-2) later and all were needed to secure the win against 14 men for most of second half, Rory Brennan got a straight red. Ruairí Mooney was impressive on the night, very strong and athletic with good vision. Coney worked hard throughout and does a lot of unseen, unselfish work. Defensive weakness shown up in second half with three goals, one from Tallon, and there could have been 3 more! No new scoring threats up front and midfield is still a big concern. Overall deserved the win and looked very mobile at times but against a county team at least 6 of the starting 15 tonight will be out of their depth. Final score: Derry 2-14 UUJ 3-10.

Recently I did an unscientific survey amongst GAA friends, in five different counties in the four provinces,to find out if their current County manager had all the best players in their specific county at their disposal for the forthcoming League and championship. With the exception of Division One League teams(which is a salutary lesson in itself) all of them had at least a minimum of six players and a maximum of twelve players absent for a variety of reasons.At least four of the players in each case would have been certainties to have been on the starting 15.

In the case of Derry, between players who are unavailable owing to a variety  of personal circumstances and three who did not make the "managerial cut," you could come up with a total of ten.In my opinion three of these would be serious contenders for starting positions.
So according to my "research" Derry are no better or no worse off than at least 24 other counties in terms of the number of their best players available.

Therefore there is no point in any of us whinging over spilled milk. Let us all get behind all the players who are training so diligently at present and management and wish them all the best as they represent our county of Derry with pride,determination and full-blooded effort in 2018 and beyond.Let the days of negative innuendo and constant sniping from the sidelines be but a distant memory. Doire Abu.

Your analysis is certainly unscientific but your optimism is always admirable. However you have based your "research" on a false premise so your "result" will always be inaccurate. An interesting 3 matches in 8 days ahead, there should be more evidence available by the 10th.

Anyone care to explain why Damian Heavron has been excluded from the panel, very poor from of Mc Erlaine on this one. What has Heavron done previously with Barton last year to warrant such treatment. I am surprised there hasn't been more made of this considering the guy is one of our best players, especially as we have a seriously young panel who need all the help they can get.

On the surface it's a bizarre omission but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. We'll have to see how Derry progress through the season and I'd say Damien has a gameplan in mind for the players he's picked. As a Rossa man I've mixed feelings but it should make us stronger having Danny and Emmett available all year and having a point to prove.

He would need to have a better gameplan than he had for the minor final. Heavron will be a huge loss in my opinion, great football brain and vision.  Both Emmett and Ryan would be very useful options in Division 3 football in January/February and would add a physical presence. Return of some more experienced players balances things a wee bit but getting up from Division 3 is by no means an easy task with the panel available.

What a county we live in. Derry had a terrible record at minor until Damian came in.He has won 2 Ulster titles and got to an All Ireland minor final,something which looked so out of reach until his appointment and yet you can only see the negative. Granted we got hammered,but don't slate the man before the season starts.

Read the post. I did not slate the man, I questioned the game plan for the minor final - the main reason the game was over as a contest so early.  How do you think we will do in Division 3 with the players available?

Anyone care to explain why Damian Heavron has been excluded from the panel, very poor from of Mc Erlaine on this one. What has Heavron done previously with Barton last year to warrant such treatment. I am surprised there hasn't been more made of this considering the guy is one of our best players, especially as we have a seriously young panel who need all the help they can get.

On the surface it's a bizarre omission but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. We'll have to see how Derry progress through the season and I'd say Damien has a gameplan in mind for the players he's picked. As a Rossa man I've mixed feelings but it should make us stronger having Danny and Emmett available all year and having a point to prove.

He would need to have a better gameplan than he had for the minor final. Heavron will be a huge loss in my opinion, great football brain and vision.  Both Emmett and Ryan would be very useful options in Division 3 football in January/February and would add a physical presence. Return of some more experienced players balances things a wee bit but getting up from Division 3 is by no means an easy task with the panel available.

His record with the minor team was excellent overall so it would be harsh just to judge him on the final where a brilliant kerry team hit their peak.

The warning signs were there in the quarterfinal v Sligo so lessons were not learnt.  Then not having a plan A never mind a plan B for David Clifford is worrying.  What is his record like with senior teams?

Anyone care to explain why Damian Heavron has been excluded from the panel, very poor from of Mc Erlaine on this one. What has Heavron done previously with Barton last year to warrant such treatment. I am surprised there hasn't been more made of this considering the guy is one of our best players, especially as we have a seriously young panel who need all the help they can get.

On the surface it's a bizarre omission but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. We'll have to see how Derry progress through the season and I'd say Damien has a gameplan in mind for the players he's picked. As a Rossa man I've mixed feelings but it should make us stronger having Danny and Emmett available all year and having a point to prove.

He would need to have a better gameplan than he had for the minor final. Heavron will be a huge loss in my opinion, great football brain and vision.  Both Emmett and Ryan would be very useful options in Division 3 football in January/February and would add a physical presence. Return of some more experienced players balances things a wee bit but getting up from Division 3 is by no means an easy task with the panel available.