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If enough club reps voted to oust the current secretary , he has to go, Armagh did something similar a few years ago when it was thought a full time secretary was not needed, I would to check but something tells me the payment of the county secretary's considerable salary is part funded if not fully funded by our county, if that's the case it's inconceivable that a secretary could carry on without the backing of the clubs.

Any one up for county secretary post, certainly need a replacement , out with the old in with the new, you would have to get the hilltown mafia on your side, then onward to county convention, has to happen sooner than later, c v to compete with current holder of post would need to include , hardworking but clueless, interfering attitude with little football experience and a little experience in business might also help.
So a new secretary , county executive and senior manger , not much to ask for , I wish it was xmas or carlsberg dabbled in such things.

Open question, regardless of past Down involvement in a playing capacity and irrespective of age and current occupation what do the posters/readers on this forum would make for a decent appointment with a realistic chance of success, for what it's worth , here's what I think should be on the c v

1. Previous senior team management experience with a degree of success
2.A good understanding of the underage structures within Down football, the development squads and schools teams.
3.A hefty set of swingers because he has to not only get the best players out, he has to contend with club managers and secretaries who are self centred at best and then the county executive who up to now have caused this county to fail miserably on and of the field and to compound matters he either tells Sean og to stay at home or get him a tracksuit as he is ire on the pitch than some of the players.
4. Lastly but not least he must be able to provide success on a shoe string budget because we have little or know money to splash about.
That's leaves me to think it has to be an inward appointment, I know of several clubs in Down who have appointment from within and aren't doing too bad.
Suggestions on a postcard , please send to ———————-

Brick , your post smacks of a big ego with a lot of arrogance, I believe like you that fundamental change is required at the county executive, for too long we have been tumbling from one disaster to another culminating in div 3 league football and a swift exit from the championship, several quality names have been suggested and you have dismissed them without offering a viable alternative, as a county we have called upon everyone bar the kit man from the 90 s to lead us and bar 2010 it has not worked.
I'm reading about sleeping giants, why we are failing but when someone offers a proven candidate like Micky Moran , what happens, the suggestion is rubbished, at least someone is thinking outside the box, we need a leader with a proven track record, would be a nice change from ex footballers from successful down teams with no record of success at any managerial level, check Eamonn Burns or ConorDeegans record, anyone who takes the post of Down manager must have a record of success , Micky Moran fits the bill but don't saddle him with a back room team of wanna be s.

It's up to us what we do about it, quote with regards to our forthcoming stay in div 3, personally I think we can get promoted at first time of asking but we need right panel of players, no more histrionics from players good enough to represent their county, no more inward thinking from clubs who would rather have their players save themselves for club championship campaigns, it's going to take a new management team with balls and the skill of seasoned diplomat , any nominations because Eamonn has tried and failed (again), Deegan is not the answer , so who's up for the job.

Show me a good loser and I will show you a loser, that sums up the reign of Eamonn Burns, may the lord above help us if he gets an extension or Deegan gets the post, if we haven't got the players now we need a management put in place that will plan for the future and our clubs have to encourage their better players to play for their county and as supporters we have to have patience , other choice is more of the same, the odd good league result , we should get a few in div 3 , a false hope come championship and another walloping in the first round proper, time for a radical reason think on how to make it better.

There's the problem Dubh , there have been guys selected onto the panel and never given a chance, putting subs on with 5 mins to go is insulting to those players, there are equal if not better payers in league football, we will see in the club championship who these are, Eamonn s first task should have been to invite them into the panel, he's made 3 changes from team that played against Donegal, he could have made a few more, big Turley is sadly past his best , the modern running game doesn't suit him, Flynn or McKibben for him,if he is fit start Ryan Johnston around the middle of the field, let's see a Down team run at pace with the ball, go toe to toe with Cavan , no blanket defences , as always we have to keep the faith, see several interesting results, Castlewellan revival continues, Loughinisland still unbeaten ( are there any players there ), Saul win again as do Teccounaght, not long to championship .

Dubh you may get your bag packed for the men in the whites coming, because your either clueless or deranged if you think Eamonn Burns has finally got his team selection right.

Read team, Eamonn has given players chance to redeem themselves, very noble , I expect to be beaten by 5 Pts , hopefully that will end this managers tenure, disastrous appointment from the start, there is no positives I can see, I sincerely as a life long Down supporter hope I'm wrong but I can't see any other result other than defeat.Why isn't more of the panel been given a chance , if they are not good enough why are they there in the first place?

A panel of 3-5 people with footballing background should be appointed to source the candidates for the job and then those people should be presented to the club representatives for ratification, I take your point that the executive put a lot of time and effort but if they get an individual vote it means their clubs in effect get two votes.
However as been seen in the past the executive vote as one , they follow and have followed the secretary in the past and that means that block vote can mean the appointment of someone or the sacking of another which has previously happened.

Yes, someone who has a proven track record , successful and would be a bonus if he could communicate with players.
Eamonn would have been proposed by the county executive , presented to clubs and then voted in.What annoys me is why does the executive have individual votes on deciding who is appointed because this can cause friction similar to what occurred with the appointment of Jim MCCorry when the clubs voted overwhelmingly to appoint him , only for Sean og and co at the top table to vote against his appointment, thus distorting the picture, but that's all in the past and maybe it's the Down Way, which is definitely not the away of many other counties.
Another question , is Sean og still paid by the Ilster council or Croke Park , I overheard he's now our responsibility - not good if we are looking value for money!

Conor Deegans appointment if it's true will be a disaster, he lost that match against Derry when all who were present would have said it was impossible to lose, managerial experience in Down was without success and similar can be said of his spell on Dublin club football.However this could be another example of Sean og stating We have got our man, statement he used when Eamonn Burns was appointed, we are fast running out of candidates from the 1991-1994 era.
In case some of the contributors on here haven't noticed, good players don't always make good managers and to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of madness.
So out with the old and in with the new, Sean og, Eamonn and Conor bye bye!

Ulsterman you must watch very little football, Harrison is a decent enough player with a suspect temperament, watch Ryan oHare twice this year , twice he disappointed  and him not being on county panel is his choice, I personally don't think club managers rest players for the championship , they probably play what's available to them.
I personally can't wait for Aug as there may be a few upsets or closer games than you think, on paper it should be a walk in the park for the top six in div 1 but take a closer look and old rivalries from the past are there and maybe it's not so straight forward , for what it's wirth Kilcoo for Senior because they use a tried and trusted formula that up to now no one can beat.
Intermediate - Darragh Cross , hard to beat and have several decent players, depends on holidays etc who they have available
Junior - Ardglass , sentimental pick , but have several talented players , could be their year
Finally Sean og , Eamonn and Conor Deegan should all go , put a new team in place before club championships to let them see what's out there.

Eamonn should go once this campaign is over, brought nothing to the table, confirmed club managerial success - zero
Conor Deegan - similar success as Eamonn, how he lost that match against Derry is so puzzling,I seen many bad managerial decisions in my lifetime but his is in the top three.
Might as well go for a treble, Sean og , you have done your best , you have run this county into the ground, financially,reputation and relations within and outside the county, do the honourable thing and step aside.
Who replaces Eamonn and Conor, my suggestion is Paddy Tally , he knows the players and Down football so would be a perfect choice.