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Great performance today lads fair play to yas... Nice draw for quarter final and possibly the dubs in the semi.

[McParland would obviously be something of a gamble]

McParland would obviously be something of a gamble, as he has never played championship football, but his league form would suggest that he is worth the risk. McKernan's ability is not in question, but MDG must be in a very small minority of Down supporters who would place him at centre half back after everything we have seen from him over recent months. A spell in a free role at the back, or even as a ball winner at wing half forward, might do wonders for his confidence and equally importantly his concentration.

Lads i honestly dont c him bieng a gamble at all - it tipperary we are playing for gods sake not cork or kerry... I think Mckernan has been tried in quite a few positions at this stage without good results in most... he is on a fine thread to stay in team.  O'Hagan is unlucky to lose out on my team selected - but just feel it stime to spice the thing up a bit and let a few different lads in there.  Rooney is a gone at this stage and has failed to deliver since 2010 - he not even playing well for burren at min - move on and let the younger lads in.

My Team for sat:

B Mc veigh
D Mc Cartan
D Gordon
A Brannigan
N Mc Parland
L Doyle
C Garvey
A Rodgers
k King
C Maginn
M Poland
K Mckernan
C Laverty
B Coulter
D OHare

Let Mc Kernan roam back in to CHb and let Doyler float bout the place like he did in the early part of the league.  Three clever footballers in the full forward line should get a good amount of scores with Maginn and Poland pulling the strings in the half forward line.
Any thoughts???

I feel your being very hard on the county players and GAA coaches. I was at the Bridge cul camp and they coaching the kids got was first class and I feel we are privileged to have this in the county. They promote our games and coach on a limited timescale and even players such as Benny, Dan McCarten and Conor Laverty all coached The Bridge, Burren and Kilcoo primary school teams this year due to the lack of male teachers in the schools.
I feel that some secondary schools are not putting in as much effort as others. St Colmans , St Columbans , St Louis and St Malachys are all doing sterling work but the likes of Downpatrick , St Josephs and the Abbey  could be doing better. I remember playing Downpatrick at McRory level and this is were they should be at a regular basis.Also St Marks also are not as dominant since Barney McAleenan retired and the kids don't seem to have the same skill levels!
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Yeah fair play to the lads givin of their time to go back to their primary schools to take them esp dan mc cartan - the other two are coaches and get paid to do so.  Some of the cul camps are decent - but i know that my wee lad wasn inspired by the county players at all.  Asked who had attended last tuesday the response i got was - ah the county players had to go to the canal court for a recovery session in the pool as they have a big game at the weekend.  That is a joke.  the players need recovery that much is granted - but in their own time please - they are finished the cul camps at 2.30 and have the whole evening to do as they please.  Its such a big thing for children to meet their heroes - they should make themselves available for that.  Yeah the coaching in some schools is unquestioned.  Violet Hill in the last few years is a credit - they have super facilities and use them to the max.  some schools leave a lot to be desired with the facilities they have.  The right people need to be in place in order for the coaching to be effective and this is probably the biggest problen in some schools.

[But all that interest and money arrived on the crest of the 2003-2008 success]

The problem with development squads is inherent in itself.

If a youngster is actually good enough to deserve a place in a development squad, he's probably playing/training at two juvenile age groups and two school age groups already (before soccer, rugby, golf, whatever). He's already getting coached until it's coming out of his ears, and it's most likely coaching in at least two different directions.

Yes Tyrone have got coaching systems coming out of their ears. But all that interest and money arrived on the crest of  the 2003-2008 success, and while Tyrone undoubtedly have the best prepared juvenile teams in the history of the game, there's been little evidence (so far) that it's delivering the players they need to compete at the highest level of senior football. Their record since 2008 at senior level has been no better than Down's.

You can coach til you're blue in the face, but it takes a few moons to align to produce a vintage of McGuigan, Gormley, O'Neill, Cavanagh, McAnallen, Mulligan, Jordan and McMenamin.

I've no doubt someone will now bring up the Crossmaglen blueprint. Well, ponder this. The Crossmaglen team of the mid nineties was built on size, the team of the mid 2000s was based around power, the current crop is based around mobility. Your man Gregory might be a brilliant underage coach, and might engender an amazing desire in those he coaches, but the tactics, systems and styles of Crossmaglen seniors in the past 20 years are not something that's taught at juvenile level. If it's not tactical appreciation, I cannot for the life of me see what a development squad can do for an under-14 player that their school teachers will not.

Well we won quite a bit in the ninities - there was money out there and where has it gone? We are miles behind other counties without so much as a training centre or centre of excellence for players to develop.  Who are these teachers that get so much from their players.  It seems that when the abbey, violet hill and downpatrick schools are not doing well in the colleges competitions - noone else gets mentioned.  St louis got some paper talk when they appeared in two finals but now there is no word of them anymore.  That man Gregory you mention up in cross has no more control over teams than the man on the moon.  We played them in challenge games and they always end up in a row caus he has no control over his feens.  their underage blueprint is nothing til do with their senior one.  Seniors is a whole different ball game up there and if they get one or two players each year they are happy enough with that.  Clubs here cant afford to do that - unless you are burren or kilcoo that is.

If you want to watch athletes, then the Olympics is the place for you, i would prefer to see Footballers in Croker. To even talk about strength development for underage players is absolutely ludicrous.

Tyrone do it and are reaping the rewards... If it is good enough for them - it is good enough for us i feel.  Also the reason why the development squads dont work in this county is that club managers and mentors tell their players not to attend them.  They want their players for themselves and noone else.  I know in my own club they are actively against the development squads and encourage the players not to attend and have even gone so far as organising training at the exact time on a sat the development squads train.  I was at a recent training session up in mid ulster sports arena and they took the Tyrone u15 squad in to work with. Oh my god - 54 players all kitted out in tyrone gear with bags and everything.  The players were put through their paces by the various coaches in attendance.  when they were done with us they were taken to the hall in the arena and put through a schedule of body weight exercises - pressups, situps, chinups etc and this lasted a further 50 mins.  This indoor session was taken by Ryan Mellon - coaching officer and Conor Gormley - current player and coaching officer.  There were no questions asked by the players nor parents who dropped them off and came to pick them up.  Whilst the lads were awaiting their lift i asked a few of them what they thought of the development squad - the answer i got 90% of the time was - i love it and this is what i have to do to get to play for Tyrone seniors - so i will do what ever it takes.  In Down - we do not get that level simply because the interest aint there, it aint pushed by the clubs, some clubs send players because they are such and such wee lad and he is a good man about the club - the wee lad aint up to standard - there are millions of reasons why it dont work.  Our county players need to take a more active role with these squads to tell the young lads what to expect at senior level and prepare them for that.  the players we have acting as coaches in primary schools and indeed with cul camps show no enthusiasm for their job and indeed at the first cul camp of the year were not involved with the youngsters at all.  this is a disgrace - why are the gaa paying them and they dont do thier job.

Disappointing defeat yesterday but no time to feel sorry, let's get back at it and beat tipp and see what happens after that. We are an average side but on any given day these lads can pull of big results. A tipp victory and a hopeful quarter final against Mayo and you never no what can happen. But if we meet cork or Dublin we may say farewell.
Thought it was a disgrace to ask 3 panelists, recent call ups I must add, to make their own way to clones yesterday as there was apparently not enough room on the bus. That must gave them 3 some confidence going forward. Joke.

This is an absolute disgrace.  Why take players along to training and then not to the game - i bet there were some dignatries on the bus that are no more needed than the man in the moon.  Water carriers etc on the bus and no need for it.  Let them get taken to the game by car - but god forbid the secretaries son was to be out of the picture and not on the bus to the big game. Joke.  Im not surprised gerard mc cartan has left the panel to be honest - good honest player for club and county but gets treated unfairly to say the least.  He is a much better player than niall brannigan from kilcoo - but jerome will prob have Aaron and daryl on the panel soon enough too and maybe go back for mark and Janine as well.  People talk about family loyalty on this board through James - Jerome has his fair share of family playing too.  I honestly think the lads will beat Tipp and then as someone said if we got maybe mayo we could end up in a semi final.  Think the other 3 provincial champions might be step too far this year to be honest.  Big dan also retiring this year from intercounty.  Hard to replace...

Rumour has it that Kevin Mc Kernan is lining out in midfield on sunday and King is dropping to the bench... this would be interesting ploy - but he dont mark a player anyhow so no great loss defensively... Liam Doyle to also start and drop back in a sweeper role..

I think Crossmaglen are a very good side and get the most out of the talent at their disposal for sure - but they are not world beaters.  They are beatable on any given day - but noone has the balls in armagh to do whats necessary to beat them.  Yeah there are young and not so young who tweet all the time - but he is the one who said it after the way he treated the county set up when he was there - bit of a joke i feel.  Tony Mac was inexperienced when he took the cross job and it hasn worked out too bad for them.  3 in a row would be some achievement - but is there a lack of b***s here to take the top job when offered?

Some craic in the last few days from the men from crossmaglen... Aaron Cunningham tweeting that there was a divide between the cross players and county management... i think in fairness to paddy o'r he gave quite a few lads their chance from that club - a.c included.  He was in the panel last year and when in the championship in july - instead of playing with his county - he pissed off on holidays.  then this year before cross are crowned all ireland champions he does an interview stating that he will need time off before joining the county setup... some pup aaron some pup.  played three games in 2012 and needed time off... dont make me laugh. And good oul oisin... The man who was in with the armagh set up last year if im not mistaken.  Didnt make much of a hand of it yourself big lad.  You should stick to managing those wee teams in the lower divisions of monaghan til get your experience.  All this talk of Tony Mc Entee - a man that has a county title handed to him every year as an amalgamation of all other teams wouldn beat cross - they have til win maybe one tough game in ulster and then one in the all ireland series.  But credit him - caus thats what he is doing i suppose.  One thing for sure if he was in charge - i bet the cross players would be training with their county in Jan and Feb and not the bull shit we are seeing now.

Tyrone team:

Packy McConnell
A McCrory
Justy McMahon
Dermy Carlin
C McCarron
Conor Gormley
S O'Neill
Joe McMahon
C Cavanagh
R McNabb
Mark Donnelly
P Harte
Penrose
SoN
Mugsy

Dermy and Sean O'Neill would be the standout surprises in that 15. I suppose McNabb starting too if you were to believe Paddy Heaney in todays IN. His insider info on Kingham starting for Armagh is probably bollix as well.

Interesting team selected there... glad to see P Harte playing as a forward though as he gave Kernan a torrid time there last year.  this guy Mc Nabb is a good player and i see everyone second guessing who will go where and play in what role - Tyrone are the masters of every player being good on the ball - so no matter where they line out - they wont stay there for the duration.  Players pop up allover the place.  Mc Meniman used to score regularly, Mc Mahon scored a goal in the corresponding fixture last year and he lined out full back..  these players will go where the game takes them.  I just hope we get over Monaghan in next round and Tyrone get to the final to play us.  We owe yas one from 03...

There are a few strange choices in the championship squad for the year ahead.... IS that lad Shane Harrisson from Glasdrumman in as a keeper or an outfield player? Is his brother Connaire not worth a shout for his scoring exploits alone?? Costello? Anton Mc Ardle - is he not injured long term??  All the rave reviews about Gough at the start of the season and his transfer causing ruffled feathers among Armagh people - why has he not made it??

County team are on a training weekend apparently - thats why the games are off....
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Seriously, is this the reason why hundreds of footballers were left kicking their heals this weekend.  In every other county the club games continue irrespective of what tthe county team are doing.  Let the county men go on their training weekend, no problem, but give the ordinary club man a game.  The leagues on started a few weeks back and already there is a two week break.  Divisions 3 & 4 are nearly half way through and we are only in the first week in May.  Who dreams up this madness?
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I agree that the club games should still go ahead despite the county players being on training weekend.  Most of the clubs are used to playing without them anyhow at this time of year.  the county players need time to get their heads around the forthcoming championship game.  But let the other players at it... Hundreds of players from all divisions are left with nothing when games should and could have been played without bother...

Why is there now no games until 18 may?

May day weekend then that Croke Park initiative for promoting the Championship on Fri 11th I think.

No games because its Mayday weekend?? are you for real.   
Next thing is there will be a closed weekend for the Queens Jubilee FFS

I'm just guessing, probably wrong!

County team are on a training weekend apparently - thats why the games are off....

dont make me laugh - Clonduff with a limited panel  any club that can field 3 senior football teams and hurling doesnt have a limited panel. Will be interesting to see if Tony Wilson can cut it at the highest level, he was quite successful with Banbridge but this is a bigger test

Limited interms of quality not quantity.  And i bet if you check all these panels of players they are fielding - there is a serious crossover of players between both codes and on their seniors/seconds and seconds/thirds.