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I think we should have enough to get past Longford in a tight game. O'Hare's fitness is key and McArdle would be a good addition to the defence for his experience alone, even if he only had a half in him. Another day out will likely be our lot.

As for this idea that Marty Clarke should have lifted the phone to invite himself back onto the panel, surely management invite the players onto the panel and not the other way around? Should we all give Burns a ring to offer our services? Too many stubborn people now who don't want to lose face. I'd say every other county would have him on the panel, Dublin and Kerry included.

Another strange one regarding Davidson. It seems that the door has been firmly closed for some time now on bringing anybody into the panel other than those who were initially considered during the mckenna cup or league. If that is the case it is incredibly short sighted of the management. Longford will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of playing us and who knows how many other players may walk between now and then.

So you don't think there are players in Down that are better Footballers than those on view last Sunday? Here is a few....... John Boyle Warrenpoint, Liam Bagnall Glenn, Kevin Anderson Annaclone, Shaun Parr Rostrevor (Coming back from Injury)Johnny Parr Rostrevor, Robbie White Ballyholland & that is just a few.
Granted a few of the above have been involved at some stage but they are better FOOTBALLERS than a lot of that team on Sunday. If you disagree go and watch the League games.

There is a belief within our County that if you were on the County last year but play crap all year then you deserve to be on it again the following year to be given a chance. This is part of the problem, loyalty to those who continue to deliver poor performances year in year out.
If Alan Davidson played for Burren/Kilcoo/Mayobridge he wouldve been on the County at least two years ago. Another missed opportunity by the looks of it.

I wouldn't disagree that white and probably shaun parr are potentially better footballers than many of those who played on Sunday, not sure about the rest having seen them play in the past although perhaps you get to more league football matches than I do. If you look again at my earlier posts you will see that the main issue in my eyes is the sheer number of quality footballers who are not available or currently on the panel and who could be if things were done differently, so we seem to be in agreement on that. However if you're suggesting that the players you name should replace the likes of mckernan we really are losing the run of ourselves. Who exactly do you consider worth keeping then?

Another strange one regarding Davidson. It seems that the door has been firmly closed for some time now on bringing anybody into the panel other than those who were initially considered during the mckenna cup or league. If that is the case it is incredibly short sighted of the management. Longford will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of playing us and who knows how many other players may walk between now and then.

Guevara the main problem with McKernan in my eyes is that he has had to move position so many times to try and plug the gaps left by others who are not available for whatever reason. Down aren't getting the best of him as a result and he looks like a player short on confidence. He is being used as a sweeper far too often instead of being more attack minded. Think of Celtic park three years ago and his performance when he was given the freedom to attack.

Benny would be far from the saviour of Down football at this stage but as I've already said, the value of having a Benny Coulter, Joe McMahon or Dick Clerkin about the place can't be underestimated. He may be a shadow of the player he once was but that doesn't mean he couldn't have an impact if asked.

New to the forum folks, looking a bit of advice. I've been running on and off for 4-5 years now, started to get knee pain and a scan showed that it's patellar tendonitis. Basically I want to get back to running as the one target I have is to complete the Dublin Marathon having completed Belfast twice  and was wondering if anyone has advice to speed up the process? I've been told to cycle but it seems to be flaring up rather than helping, to hit the weights to strengthen the leg muscles which I have been doing.

Would be interesting to find out whether Alan Davidson was approached, could simply be that he wouldn't consider Down as an option and that he would only play for Antrim. Cathal Arnold is a very good player and would certainly deserve a call up.  Surely there will be a few additions to the panel considering the number of players who walked away after the league and last week.

Well folks, new member, here's my take on things. By my reckoning you could count up to 23 players who are not available at the minute after the latest withdrawals;

Benny coulter, Conor laverty, Paul mccomiskey, Peter fitzpatrick, Dan gordon, Conor garvey, Niall madine, Arthur mcconville, Niall mcparland, Declan rooney, Jerome johnstone, Ryan johnstone, Caolan mooney, Martin clarke, James colgan, Jamie o'reilly, Kevin duffin, Niall branigan, Kalum king, Danny savage, Ryan Boyle, Luke Howard, Packie Downey.

Now there are the likes of James Colgan and Jamie O'Reilly but I included them as they are examples of players who were allowed to drift away. Colgan watched an all ireland final from the bench in which we were being cleaned out in midfield and he should have been thrown in. He barely featured after that. O'Reilly was a serious talent and perhaps more could have been done to keep him involved. Obviously some other players are injured but the rest could all have been involved with better man management. Look at the contrast with Monaghan's approach regarding Finlay and Clerkin, Donegal with Kavanagh, Tyrone with Joe McMahon. They understand the value of having these guys about. Perhaps the current management and indeed the previous management have been too worried about putting the noses of some players out of joint by taking the experienced lads back in around March or April, instead of everyone realising that it would be in the best interests of down football. Management should be able to get people to buy into that approach. I have to say that the argument that we need to forget about the older players and build for the future doen't stand up anymore. Quite simply, the best players in the county should be there regardless of age. Kerry have lads at 36 years of age chomping at the bit and bringing the younger players on. Management need to reflect, man up and ask Clarke, Gordon, Laverty and anyone else who is an option to return to training this week. If others don't like it then they shouldn't be there in the first place.