Messages

what salary are we currently paying CEO Dessie would anyone know?

Ah here now, you can't be going and asking that, its market sensitive information.

How exactly is it market sensitive information? What would be the negative consequences for the GPA and the GAA if everyone knew how much Dessie was carrying home? The only one it has potential to have negative consequences for is Dessie.

Overall I call big hairy bollox on the notion of it being commercially sensitive marker information - that's the standard line when someone is getting paid way over the odds for a handy number and claiming stupid loadsamoney expenses - basically it's a case of Dessie not wanting everyone to know just how much he is coining in in terms of his wage packet, alongside the junkets and the expenses.

Feck it I'm almost tempted to set up a Gaelic Club Players Association, shout and moan about Croke Park for a bit about them being useless,so I can get bought off to go inside the tent and end up with my own little GAA kingdom and a tasty salary - of course I'll have some of the ordinary decent lads do a bit of charity work (that they would probably be doing anyway) so that I can use that as an excuse if anyone complains about me.

[Plenty of ball to be played yet.]

What's the senior club draw in ulster now?

Think its

St Eunans  v Glen's willy  [Eunans a point up at HT]
winner plays Roslea
Omagh v (Roslea or St Eunans  v Glenswilly) in one semi

Cavan Gaels or Slaughtneil
winner plays Clontibret in other semi

Plenty of ball to be played yet.

Clontibret will fancy it now.

Leinster quarters next weekend and both Munster and Connacht down to the semi final stage, so things are beginning to get interesting.

I presume they have floodlights on in Donegal since the 2nd half is only starting now

What's the senior club draw in ulster now?

Think its

St Eunans  v Glen's willy  [Eunans a point up at HT]
winner plays Roslea
Omagh v (Roslea or St Eunans  v Glenswilly) in one semi

Cavan Gaels or Slaughtneil
winner plays Clontibret in other semi

Plenty of ball to be played yet.

Clontibret will fancy it now.

Based on today Omagh will have a say in things.

Depends on whether Omagh play like they did in the first half or in the second half.

Surely that has to be played on a neutral island?

Get a big feckoff oil tanker and have the game played on that midway between the 2 islands.

What's the senior club draw in ulster now?

Think its

St Eunans  v Glen's willy  [Eunans a point up at HT]
winner plays Roslea
Omagh v (Roslea or St Eunans  v Glenswilly) in one semi

Cavan Gaels or Slaughtneil
winner plays Clontibret in other semi

We haven't entered a Junior team for the last few years

This puts me in mind of a stat I saw somewhere that something close to a 1/3 of the Kerry squad this year had played junior football for Kerry before graduating to the senior team.

I think any county this is serious about competing at the top level of football is missing a trick by not having a junior team as from that stat it's looks to be a very good tool for developing players

Anyone know why Ulster counties don't have a junior competition? And why Dublin don't enter the junior competition?

I agree with you, and I think Kerry have a lot of things right in terms of their approach to club competitions. The Divisional Championships are great.

But just in relation to the leagues been taken seriously. They are, but there's a bit of a paradox. Clubs play without county players, which obviously can have an effect on results, and finally I've seen bizarre behaviour before games where teams agree to 'give the points', in scenarios where one club needs the points for promotion/relegation and the other one is already safe. That to me also mitigates the seriousness of the league.

So you've got the County Championship as the most important competition, club championship next (i Presume?) and then Divisional Championships - all those are knock-out and all are presumably more important than the league, so why is the league taken all that seriously [does it affect anything? is there much of a correlation between a team doing well in the league and having success in the othr competitions? do county players take any part in the league.] Why do teams do deals given it would be the least important competition - would clubs be that bothered?

Shane Ward appointed as Senior, Junior and U21 manager in Laythrum.
I've heard of double jobbin but that's squeezin the last drop out of him.

There seems to be a bit of the double jobbin going on all right. In the smaller counties especially you can see why the county board would like the idea.

I think the following is the current state of play

Antrim - Frank Fitzsimons
Armagh - Kieran McGeeney
Carlow - Turlough O'Brien
Cavan - Terry Hyland
Clare - Colm Collins
Cork - Brian Cuthbert
Derry - Brian McIver
Down - Jim Corry
Dublin - Jim Gavin
Fermanagh - Pete McGrath
Galway - Kevin Walsh
Kerry - Eamonn Fitzmaurice
Kildare - Jason Ryan
Laois - Tomás Ó Flatharta
Leitrim - Shane Ward
Limerick - John Brudair
London - Paul Coggins
Longford - Jack Sheedy
Louth - Colin Kelly
Mayo - Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes
Meath - Mick O'Dowd
Monaghan - Malachy O'Rourke
New York - Ian Galvin
Offaly - Pat Flanagan
Roscommon - John Evans
Sligo - Niall Carew
Tyrone - Mickey Harte
Waterford - Tom McGlinchey
Wicklow - Johnny Magee


Donegal – Annoucement expected soon
Tipperary - Is Peter Creedon still manager?
Westmeath – anyone know anything?   
Wexford – anyone know anything?   


As far as I'm aware all the following are teachers (or retired teachers) which is a hell of a lot as there are a serious number I don't have the first clue what they do as the day-job so odds are good there could well be a fair few more.

Brian Cuthbert
Brian McIver
Eamonn Fitzmaurice
Jason Ryan
Malachy O'Rourke
Mickey Harte
Shane Ward
Pete McGrath

On the positive side , they managed to survive the relegation play-off this year.

However the fact that the only team they beat besides Kerry this year was Antrim twice (and they did lose to Antrim as well) shows where they are.

That's a long way back from the serious competitors.

Do you two hands lads know each other  ?
Link to story here.
http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/hurling/2014/1030/655755-corks-walsh-chooses-hurling-over-football/

It's good news for hurling fans anyway.

"Twohands!!! to Two_Hands_FFS, no relation, Two_Hands_FFS to Twohands!!!, still no relation"

Seems like Cuthbert has said there will be no dual players next year - wonder how long it will be before the others decide.

We may well lose, but it certainly isn't a weak panel.

Well Paddypower have Oz as 4/9 favourites to win so I think you are among the minority with this opinion.

Eh? That has everything to do with Australia being at home as well as naming a team that actually contains some of their best professional athletes. We could name your idea of a strong team and the odds would be much the same.

Should have explained better - the Ozzie odds were about evens prior to the Irish squad being named, even though the Oz squad was named a bit back.

So basically since the Irish squad was named, the Ozzie odds have halfed, which indicates that a lot of people were quicker off the maker than I was at getting money on the Ozzies.

We may well lose, but it certainly isn't a weak panel.

Well Paddypower have Oz as 4/9 favourites to win so I think you are among the minority with this opinion.

Most players love it. Only a few absentees that don't have pressing club concerns that prevent them from featuring.

Pull the other one.

It's an open secret that a significant amount of players have little to no interest in the international rules games.

I wouldnt be surprised if Early got somewhere in the region of 50+ "thanks, but no thanks" replies from players.

Surprising there is only one Dub on the panel! What about MDMcA or Brogan or even Cluxton? Did they not make themselves available?

I'd say there would be a fierce number of lads from all over the country who didnt make themselves available for a number of reasons
1)injury
2)risk of injury
3)no real interest
4)not wanting to travel all the way to Oz for just one game
5)not wanting to use limited holiday time off work
6)not wanting/or being able to take time off university
7)club commitments

As such I really wouldnt be getting any bit concerned about the makeup of the squad