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Gavin Barry has been outstanding every time I have seen him for Mayobridge. but it's wrong to suggest that he only got a short run in the league for Down. He started against Tyrone in the 2005 USC, but unfortunately it did not work. Bringing him back three years later is not out of the question but we already have quite a few fast and light corner backs. What we need to find is a full back who is physically strong enough to hold the defence together.

I honestly do not see what we have to lose by experimenting with someone like Paul Murphy or even Ambrose, because every other alternative we have tried over the last couple of years has been found wanting.

McArdle looked OK in the McKenna Cup and at the start of the league but seemed to lose confidence and has been either replaced or left out in the last 3/4 games. Murney looked the obvious candidate after the Ulster u21 championship but struggled against Kildare in the AI semi and lacks senior experience. McCartan has the experience but not the size. McGovern, Howard and Cole are corner backs who could only switch to the middle in an emergency. Rooney was tried last summer and looked much more comfortable further out the field. Grant has been dropped from the squad twice in the last year and will hardly want to come back. Scullion has retired and was fairly ordinary last summer anyway.

Using our full back from the last championship match of 2007 (Meath) is also not an option. In case anyone has forgotten, that was John Clarke.

Gavin Barry is a talented player who was simply not big enough when he was previously given an extended run at county level. It's a bit hard to believe that we have 12 defenders who are better than Brendan Grant, but he has probably not done himself justice in a Down jersey over recent years. Michael Walsh also has the ability but has often failed to deliver in big games. I don't think the fact that all three are from the same club has anything to do with it. Conor Garvey's case is fairly straightforward - he did something stupid and will have to take his punishment.

DownFanatic's team for Omagh is worth talking about but, even with an extra defender, the full back line is too small and none of the half back line are markers. Cole is a natural corner back and could only play at no 3 in an emergency. There has been talk about trying Murphy there, and, if he is fully fit, he is at the very least worth a look in a challenge game. McCartan is also on the small side, but, for a one-off game, has the experience to provide an option. I agree with Rafferty in the corner but McGovern is also probably not big enough.

The four halfbacks DF suggests are all fine going forward, but I suspect they would be taken apart by a decent half-forward line. McGuigan's man got four points from play in the Fermanagh game, and Murtagh is a natural attacker. I think we could get away with Doyle and Carr as wing backs but we would need someone physically stronger in the middle. Rooney had a couple of decent championship games last summer and might be the best bet.

Ambose has been struggling but did well against Fermanagh and might get the nod with Dan for midfield. The extra player I would try between the half backs and midfield is Sexton, as he can cover space, win breaking ball and push up for scores as well.

That would leave Murtagh and Hughes as wing forwards with possibly McKernan,who is capable of improving, in the middle and Benny and Clarke as the two-man full forward line. Starting McComiskey would be a risk against Tyrone, and he would have more impact coming off the bench when some gaps open up.

This gives a line-up of McVeigh; Rafferty, Murphy, Cole; Carr, Rooney, Doyle; Gordon, Rogers; Hughes, McKernan, Murtagh; Clarke, Coulter and Sexton. There are plenty of uncertainties there, but there is also plenty of pace on the wings and some height at 6,8,9 and 11.

I watched a Down player with genuine All Star quality today - unfortunately it was the repeat of Mickey Linden on the TG4 Laochra Gael. Another bad sign is that everyone else seems to be too depressed to post on the Fermanagh game. We didn't actually play that badly, but, as we all know, collectively we cannot defend and we are particularly vulnerable to a simple thump down the middle.

We were four points up with four minutes to go, and then shipped 1-3 without reply against opponents who had already been promoted and had little to play for. Going into the Ulster championship, we are still no better than seventh out of nine in the province.

McVeigh did well, with good kick-outs and several fine saves. He had no chance with the goal, after blocking the first shot, and is a certain starter n Omagh. Howard is one of several defenders who are OK in possession but poor tacklers. McGovern, before he was injured, and McGuigan are much the same, although Cole improved in the second half.
Doyle is a fine player who is not a natural centre half and might be better at wing back. Carr had another good game and will probably start in the championship.

Gordon was probably our MoM, while Turley was reasonable before he got booked. Ambrose scored two fine points and might still be Dan's best partner. Murtagh was dreadful in the first half but bounced back with two great scores after the break, while Sexton and Kearney were fairly ordinary. Clarke and Coulter were both good. O'Hanlon did well when he came on, although he seemed to be caught out for their goal, while McComiskey looked the part as usual.

It's really back to the drawing board for our defence, and the back six for Tyrone are total guesswork at this stage. 

Disappointing outcome at Navan for the u21s, as, although Kildare are a decent side, we could still have won but for the poor defending which led to their goal. We were slow to react when the ball went down the left wing, Murney got turned inside and McAllister was beaten at his near post. The frustrating thing was that we were in complete control at the time, with a four-point lead which looked as though it might be five or six by the break.

Digney and Garvey have both been good in the previous games but they struggled badly today. It was amazing that Digney was not replaced, while Garvey should have got a straight red for dropping his knee on a Kildare player. Duffin and Hanna did well, but our midfield tired in the second half. McComiskey was tightly marked but still kicked a couple of fine points from play, while Brannigan and McKernan also looked the part.

It's difficult to see too many u21s making an impact with the seniors this summer. Murney certainly did not look the answer to our problems at full back, although Duffin or Colgan could be worth a look at half back. McKernan is in the frame for CHF, but McComiskey might be better coming off the bench.

The Limerick player seemed to be sent off for very little, but then he ran on throwing punches after the final whistle and could have got another red card. The referee was pretty dreadful anyway, and stuck firmly to the unwritten rule that every decision must be given to the against the team which is in the lead.

Lynch is a limited enough player, but the physical side of his game could help what is a fairly lightweight Down side. I would certainly try Murphy at full back, but he might be more useful as an extra defender pushing up to support the midfield. We don't have much to lose at this stage.

The scoreline tells the story from Newry today, as yet again we ran up a decent total but still managed to concede 1-15 against fairly ordinary opposition. The most frustrating aspect was that we were 11 pts up in the middle of the second half and looking as though we could wipe out our scoring difference with Wexford. However, we urgently needed some fresh legs when Limerick came back at us and it was astonishing that not a single sub appeared until the last three or four minutes. By that stage, Limerick had cut our lead to four points and were playing like winners. They pushed too many men up, and Clarke hit them with a goal on the break, but changes at midfield and up front could have killed the game much earlier.

It seems that the experiment with McArdle at full back is over, as he did not feature, but our entire full back line, while decent players, were far too small today. Carr was probably MoM and Doyle, despite the doubts over his defensive abilities, also drove forward well. There can be no guarentee that he will cope with a fully fit McGuigan on June 8, but he is still just about the best bet for the position. McGuigan is yet another wing haf who is fine pushing up but stuggles at the back. Gordon had a reasonable game in the middle, although Turley, who wore 32, was in and out.

I thought McKernan was OK, although he ran out of steam and with an AI u21 semi next week he was crying out to be replaced in the third quarter. Hughes, apart from his goal, looked a shadow of the player who terrorised opponents earlier in the year, and Sexton works exceptionally hard but has to stay on the wings. Kearney was ordinary, but Coulter and Clarke were both good. Coulter made two goals and Clarke scored the other two. The subs came on too late to make any difference, apart from Lynch, who made quite an impact without touching the ball.

All the options we have so far tried at the back in terms of both tactics and personnel have been found wanting, so we cannot have much optimism for the summer. Murney will probably get a run at full back, but,while he has the ability, he is probably not big enough. Colgan has leadership qualities but lacks pace. Does anyone think there is any point in trying out Ambrose at the back, even in a challenge game ? He has no experience there, but at least he has some height and pace.

Despite everything, I still think we can give Tyrone a decent game in Omagh. Whether we are capable of winning two consecutive matches in either the Ulster championship or the qualifiers is another thing entirely.

Goldenyears is quite right to highlight the fickle nature of Down supporters, but I would question the suggestion that extra defenders will transform our season. In that system, you need physically strong, exceptionally fit and totally confident players to retain possession at the back and wait for colleagues to appear in supporting positions. I'm not at all sure too many members of the Down squad match that description.

It's also definitely wrong to say that Derry did not play defensively in the u21 final. They pulled 14 players back as soon as they took the lead in the second half and still lost the game.

According to the GAA master fixture list, the semis are on Saturday, April 19, and the final is on Saturday, May 3. There is no word about venues yet, but you would expect Navan to get the nod for Down v Kildare. There are several possible options for Kerry v Roscommon/Mayo.

Didn't make it to the game, but, barring a miracle, it's another season in division three for us. Wexford have a 15-point scoring difference advantage, so we need to win our last two matches by big margins and hope that Wexford lose heavily in their last fixture (which I think is at home to Louth), but it's effectively over.

Realistically, our league form has been unconvincing. The three games we won against Sligo, Louth and Longford might all have gone the other way, so we could just as easily have been in a relegation struggle at this stage. I think we still need one more point to be completely safe.

We have clearly improved from last year, but we always look vulnerable when the pressure is on. While Tyrone are not going particularly well, we probably needed promotion under our belt to travel to Omagh with real confidence.

Ross sounded fairly downcast on the radio after today's game, and the next few weeks will be a real test of his management capabilities.

St Malachy's hammered Bandon of Cork. I think it finished 1-12 to 0-5. They looked very impressive in the TG4 coverage, and apparently most of the team is eligible again next year. After the St Columban's win last year, the Abbey's Hogan Cup success in 2006 and the emergence of St Louis, the standard in our schools looks good.

The booking was in the final minute of injury time, and stopped a Derry attack. He passed for the Timmy Hanna pt and the Ryan Kelly goal in the space of five mins, so it was not a bad sub.

It was a fine performance by the u21s today, and it worth pointing out that it was a very well managed squad. I think this was the seventh time Pete McGrath has taken a Down side to an Ulster final (following the minors of 86 and 87, and the seniors of 91, 94, 96 and 99) and his fifth success overall. By any standards, this is a fantastic record. He is now looking for his his fifth all Ireland, and I would not rule it out at all.

The rest of the management team, Liam Murphy, Mickey Linden and Paddy Hardy, also played their part, as Down finished the game strongly and again made the right substitutions along the way. Packy Downey apparently did not attend the final trial, and was initially left out, but was brought back today on the management's terms and made a huge impact in the closing stages (particularly on the Derry full back in injury time).

The only concern I would have was the disastrous third quarter, when we started as though the game was already won and nearly through it away against what was obviously a talented Derry team.

Our 2005 minors were involved in a series of tight finishes in the Ulster championship and then won the three games in the AI series by large margins. We have since lost Marty Clarke to Australia and Peter Fitzpatrick to a long-term injury, so we cannot look beyond the AI semi, which I think is against the Leinster champions (Kildare/Wexford), but there is a spirit about this team will which take some stopping.

Another nail-biter at Casement today before Down just about edged it. There was a gale-force wind blowing towards the motorway end,  and both sides were far better against the breeze. Down played against the wind in the first half, defended well and broke away for two brilliant goals from Garvey, who got Mo M, and McComiskey. The McComiskey goal was almost the last kick of the half, and left us three up at the break and looking like certainties for the title.

However, we lost our way badly and Derry came back at us like a very fine side. After their goal, it was anyone's game. We steadied when Packy Downey came on, and his cross at the end was punched to the net by Ryan Kelly. I think we just about deserved it, but we have plenty to do if we are going to go any further.

Brilliant idea from Wobbller about sending Bredagh to Antrim. Carryduff would obviously have to go as well, and St Michael's could switch to Armagh. When they build the bridge at Narrowwater, it would be very handy for the Point to play in Louth.. Pretty soon Wobbller might never have to travel to an away game anywhere.