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[Roscommon]

Roscommon They've some fierce passionate GAA people and I am married into the community now so they would be my second county - I'd pretty much like to see them beat anyone bar Offaly. However it can be a little grating when they don't appreciate how much of a head start it is to start in Connacht. That provincial title a few years ago had an awful lot of sunshine supporters going on about how great they were, when they beat feck all to win it. Yes they've had some good minor teams too, but it's a big help when you're in a province where quite regularly you've to do feck all, or at most win one game, to reach the last eight.

Every county has sunshine supporters our 2010 title win was the same as Mayo did last year with wins over Sligo,Leitrim however Mayo weren't 4/1 to win the Connacht final and went into that game having been relegated to div 4.

The routes to winning provincial title or last 12 is no different than Cork,Kerry,Galway or Mayo have over the years & in fairness it take a lot more for us to win provincial title than any of those sides. Whatever about senior football underage football in Connacht has been as strong as it has for decades for example no back door in the U21 championship but ourselves and Mayo would have got very close to winning the AI title last April IMO.

As for the minors well we bet the pick of leinster this year lost by 3 to the AI winners Mayo and by two points v Tyrone so a bit more credit to work we have been doing at underage level wouldn't go astray either.

At underage it's been clear for a decade or more that Connacht is one of the most competitive provinces. All three top teams in Connacht harbour genuine AI ambitions most years now and the record of Connacht teams in the AI series speaks for itself.

I've no problems giving credit to good teams, or to good players, and Roscommon have had several of those in recent years, certainly including this group, which was a good panel that was very well managed. However it has been frustrating over the last few years to watch some Roscommon teams that player for player, were no better or worse than Offaly sides, have to do feck all to get to the latter stages. Then one good win, and suddenly you're in Croke Park, or you've a provincial title. Usually in Leinster it'll take three good wins over competent opposition to win a title, sometimes more. For example Longford's underage teams have been a match for Roscommon more often than not over the past few seasons, yet they've a lot less silverware to show for it.

Just out of curiosity, why have ye to do more than Galway or Mayo to win the same competition? That makes no sense, I can't get my head around what you're even trying to say there.

We are at much lower base than Galway or Mayo it would be much tougher for them if they were at our level and we were at theirs. For example our odds for senior Connacht championship next year won't be much different than Sligos next year but well behind the top two.

Apart from pre-season games where we play 2nd string sides we haven't faced Longford in any underage championship games recently & i don't know much about quality of Offaly underage players but what i do know is we have been a match for most of best underage sides both as team and player for player.

They did beat us in the Fr. Manning Cup final at home last year but that was two days after we played Sligo in the Ted Webb Shield so it was hardly a fair reflection on the two sides.

Longford did well at U21 this year but even then we had Galway dead and buried and they comfortably beat Kildare, the team Longford lost to in the Leinster final. Longford have made progress but in terms of non fat cat counties (in terms of football) making strides at underage Tipp, Cavan and ourselves would be top of the pile with counties like Longford a step behind that pace at the moment.

Underage has become very competitive in the last decade and if anything provides a better spectacle for the sport itself than senior where money starts to warp competitiveness even further.

On an unrelated matter whatever happened to the peroxide bombshell, Mark Vaughan, that used to play for Dublin a few years back? Is he still playing ball?

Sure there's plenty of fellas in Dublin not even near the county panel that'd be starting for many counties. Any chance Ted Furman has a Rossie granny?

[Roscommon]

Roscommon They've some fierce passionate GAA people and I am married into the community now so they would be my second county - I'd pretty much like to see them beat anyone bar Offaly. However it can be a little grating when they don't appreciate how much of a head start it is to start in Connacht. That provincial title a few years ago had an awful lot of sunshine supporters going on about how great they were, when they beat feck all to win it. Yes they've had some good minor teams too, but it's a big help when you're in a province where quite regularly you've to do feck all, or at most win one game, to reach the last eight.

Every county has sunshine supporters our 2010 title win was the same as Mayo did last year with wins over Sligo,Leitrim however Mayo weren't 4/1 to win the Connacht final and went into that game having been relegated to div 4.

The routes to winning provincial title or last 12 is no different than Cork,Kerry,Galway or Mayo have over the years & in fairness it take a lot more for us to win provincial title than any of those sides. Whatever about senior football underage football in Connacht has been as strong as it has for decades for example no back door in the U21 championship but ourselves and Mayo would have got very close to winning the AI title last April IMO.

As for the minors well we bet the pick of leinster this year lost by 3 to the AI winners Mayo and by two points v Tyrone so a bit more credit to work we have been doing at underage level wouldn't go astray either.

At underage it's been clear for a decade or more that Connacht is one of the most competitive provinces. All three top teams in Connacht harbour genuine AI ambitions most years now and the record of Connacht teams in the AI series speaks for itself.

How could you pollute my thread so, Joe?

C'mon Anto and Carlo.

Mayo - Ah, sure I know too many of them to get too upset by them winning against anyone but ourselves and Sligo. Maybe Leitrim on a good day. Supporters need professional counselling after all the trauma, though. The magic sums and Ballagh don't help relations but sure the feckers are Connacht-men too, just about.

Galway - Born in the getto of Ballinasloe, so I was. Given some of my earliest memories were of them beating us in 1998 and wrecking our party in 2001 I'd have them below Mayo on the like-ability scale. Still want them to stream-roll all the infidels from other provinces, though. Except Kildare. Dermot said they're good lads.

Sligo - Relations reached a low point in 2010 with the novelty that was Sligo confidence being derailed by typical aristocratic Roscommon football but in general we share similar grievances with Mayo for stealing our towns and a reciprocal support network when facing Connacht's fat cats.

Leitrim - These pip-squeaks hate us for some reason, probably because of our beautiful (and intelligent) women, our superbly breed Aberdeen Angus cattle and our prowess on the football field. We're big enough to be able to support our little brothers, when they're not playing London.

Westmeath - Croi. Dessie Dolan v. Brigids 2012. Enough said.

Longford - I really liked them until they started beating us in the league.

Offaly - The dah knows Damien Martin well and he's mad craic. No hate visible but then I'm in the trenches of the Connacht heartland and not on the Leinster boarder

Of the matches I was at - Brigids-Cross, Brigids-Ballymun, Connacht U21 final, London-Leitrim (x2), Ros-Kildare at minor and Dublin-Kerry will live long in the memory. The U21 Connacht final for the wrong reasons, but you couldn't fault the effort the lads gave.

Brigids-Ballymun was an amazing game of football.

[( although it is NOT EVER reciprocated)]

Ye know my county.
Neighbours - Galway - NO except v Kerry or Dublin
Mayowestros - as per Galway
Sligo - yes except v Laythrum
Laythrum - Yes ( although it is NOT EVER reciprocated)
Longford - Yes - although that "Little Mayo" sh1te they were at last week might make me change
Westmeath - yes except v Sligo/Laythrum or Longford
Offaly - as per Westmeath.

Why do the Lovelies hate us so?

[Nearly bounced a lad in Kavanaghs after the match from Longford]

Ballinaman was about to film one of those traveller-style youtube videos just for O'Neill.
"Ya dirty rotten, Tyrone b*stard!"

Not far off...

Ye are good lads in fairness(Oneill included)and I don't mind knowledgeable criticism Ala Dinny Breen ( who was bang on money ) IMO.

It's the f**king pricks who don't have a clue coming out with the same old bullshit. Nearly bounced a lad in Kavanaghs after the match from Longford (apologies ShamrockShore).

I hope it wasn't one of the Nevins!

ha, would have been a good bout with the form I was in.

DB, you need to need to calm down, horse.

A trip to sunny South Roscommon to see the Green and Red reigning as senior All-Ireland champions is just the tonic for a day like this. I'm sure I can pull a few strings and get Cake to meet you in Jimmy Murray's in Knockcroghery (which means Hanging Hill or Execution Hill) for a half dozen.

In all seriousness, even I feel a little sick after that. No team or county deserves this.

[Love to know who the "few people " are]

Isn't this Gavin lad a bit of an arrogant so-and-so? It could be a toxic mixture if Dublin go into their traditional late-season tailspin.

Very humble fella. Don't know where you're getting that.

What Roscommon would do for a late season tailspin.

If you though the comment was false you wouldn't be trying to distract from it 

Heard from a few people that Gavin isn't a particularly humble guy. I also remember some of the u21 media stuff from earlier in the year and there always was a hint of arrogance to his interviews.

We'll see, arrogance is no barrier to good management, as Jimmy, Jacko and McGeeney have shown lately.

Love to know who the "few people " are. He had to work very hard to make the best of himself as a player as he wouldn't have been as gifted as some of his counterparts. His managerial style is very similar. Should do well considering he knows the underage scene well. We got a bit carried away with the off-field stuff in the last year and I think Gavin will rein that back in quite a lot.

My only concerns are is that I wouldn't have let go some of the people he did because the team could end up little experience on it which for me isn't always a good thing. You can never say all underage players will definitely make it at this level.

We've lost the best u21 in Ireland in Ciaran kilkenny who is a once in a generation type player and he was head and shoulders above the remaining u21's . Hopefully some of the others will step up.

As would i love to know. Gavin spoke highly of us before & after the final more than i can say about some of so called experts. I think he's a perfect replacement for Gilroy & should carry on the good work already done. Will Dean Rock get more of look in having played under him in 2010?. Will be also interesting to see how Dublin U21s fare without Gavin.

Ahem. Guys, no need to rush to send me apologies, we've got all winter.

[Ballaghaderreen]

"Going Home to Mayo,
Winter, 1949"

Leaving behind us the alien, foreign city of Dublin
My father drove through the night in an old Ford Anglia,
His five-year-old son in the seat beside him,
The rexine seat of red leatherette,
And a yellow moon peered in through the windscreen.
'Daddy, Daddy,' I cried, 'Pass out the moon,'
But no matter how hard he drove he could not pass out the moon.
Each town we passed through was another milestone
And their names were magic passwords into eternity:
Kilcock, Kinnegad, Strokestown, Elphin,
Tarmonbarry, Tulsk, Ballaghaderreen, Ballavarry;
Now we were in Mayo and the next stop was Turlough,
The village of Turlough in the heartland of Mayo,
And my father's mother's house, all oil-lamps and women,
And my bedroom over the public bar below,
And in the morning cattle-cries and c**k-crows:
Life's seemingly seamless garment gorgeously rent
By their screeches and bellowings. And in the evenings
I walked with my father in the high grass down by the river
Talking with him – an unheard-of thing in the city.

But home was not home and the moon could be no more outflanked
Than the daylight nightmare of Dublin city:
Back down along the canal we chugged into the city
And each lock-gate tolled our mutual doom;
And railings and palings and asphalt and traffic-lights,
And blocks after blocks of so-called 'new' tenements –
Thousands of crosses of loneliness planted
In the narrowing grave of the life of the father;
In the wide, wide cemetery of the boy's childhood.

At least you choose someone who knew what's what.

[LOL Jordan wouldnt lace O Haras boots ffs,]

Did ye hear the sh1te from O'Hara - "great game of football " etc
Is it gone like SKY TV - every pundit has to repeat the propoganda of the official position as adopted by RTE??

If you skytv pc shite talk listen to paul earley on commentary, the amount of cliched BS that came from him during the minor match was cringeful.

Drop O'Hara for Philly Jordan, a man who has the medals to back up his opinions. How O'Hara though yesterday was a classic is beyond me!

LOL Jordan wouldnt lace O Haras boots ffs, ohara was limited by covering for other passengers around him, how many passengers had tyrone? sure he beat ye by himself in 2002 if you remember. Not OHaras fault he was from Sligo and stayed loyal but shows his character.

I really enjoyed it, it was a strange classic imo. And anytime mayo lose an AI final is a classic to Sligo people tbf.

good lord

Little Boyler for PotY.

Where was he today?

Maybe he met a better unit?

Dublin's Midfield has been consistently underrated all year. Once the QFs came around, we were expected to lose every game in the middle.  Well, it might be time to admit that McAuley, O'sullivan, and Bastick in the second half is actually an excellent unit, capable of living with the best of them.

1v1 contesting a high ball they would have stood little chance. It was more about Cluxton than the midfielders yesterday, and AOS being so loose in his marking. Dublin's midfield remains one of their two big weaknesses.

Same as hurling, your free-taker aiming for the roof of the net. Meehan managed it against Cork this year. Any sort of pre-programmed moves are pointless because there's no way you can hope to carry a ball through 12-15 men in the square and get a worthwhile chance.