Messages

I like big Mc Glinchey as an out and out fielder. He wouldnt have a great engine, thats been his downfall, but could play the big full forward role, catch and supply, IF COACHED. Thats the bit you mightnt be taking into consideration, Pebble.

Incidentally I saw a very good midfield performance from him two weeks ago in the league, and in my memory bank from a few short years ago recall him and Benny lording it against all comers at u-21, in midfield.

Stand on the edge of the square and pump in a hundred balls night after night at training. Field and supply, field and supply, field and supply. At 6 feet 6 with hands to match I am certain he could fulfil that role.

As I said before we cant continue to carry twelve 5 feet 8`s any more, and MUST change our dinky basketball style that has failed us for decades. And Fcukin well stick big Benny in there too. At least it might represent some kind of GAME PLAN.

Minder, footballs full of opinions and i think Shaws a his best would be a big asset. Dont think we should debate the issue though, enough said already on the player. Jody couldnt find a way of working with him, maybe a better man management style might have got more mileage. But I dont claim to know the player that well personally, maybe theres no working with him at all. On his best form that Ive seen though, he would make most top inter county sides, if selection was based on ability.

Hoof, I wouldnt be working overtime to conceal my identity, PM me with your details and I`ll reciprocate. Theres a quare word for a Sunday morning! At any C`ship matches over the weekend?

Take your point Minder, O Se and Mc Geeney been there, done it etc etc.

Make no mistake though, Mc Gourty can play football, and would almost certainly make an Armagh or Kerry if he put his very best foot forward. We havent too many of that calibre in Antrim, and its unfortunate that Jody/Kevin couldnt get it on.

Dont know the ins and outs of why it broke down, no doubt Mc Gourty crossed the line, but it was the same line Busby and Stein had to deal with, if you can see the relevance of the point I am trying to make.

I dont know if Mc Gourty can be managed, maybe not, but I would suggest that a respected management team, like Moran and McGuckin, for example, might hold his attention longer and get the best out of the player. Having said that I think the only person to put things right is Mc Gourty himself, and I am confident he would put his best foot forward for the right management team. He`s a clever enough person to know that he shouldnt completely piss away a great talent he has been given.

Whoops, meant Jack O Connor, not Pat O Se, in above post. Pat O Se we need to get Dara a lot fitter than he looked in the league final to get the best out of him. Thought he blew up a bit and faded last fifteen/twenty.

But Kerry arnt wound up in May, and they will be a totally different poposition in Sept.

Not correct Blasmere. But a good man manager might get the best out of the player you mean.

Personally i think a mc gort giving his all would be an asset, and a different managerial approach might work.

Begs the question, should a manager treat All players equally, or would a really good manager go the extra mile to facilitate one or two who need a bit of extra attention.

Would say that all successful managers would have had a few primas, but sometimes those prmas can be the difference. Cant imagine Graham Geraghty or Joe Brolly would be easy characters in a dressing room, and I can think of loads more, but they have the medals in their pocket, and their managers did the business because they found the formulae to work with the large egos

Pat O Shea in his autobiography knew his biggest obstacle would be the handling of Darragh O Se, the man who controlled the dressing room. He found a method. He won back to back all Irelands.

Likewise, Joe Kernan knew the secret to keep Geezer onboard, and he in turn kept the players in check. Mc Geeney didnt like the way his pal Grimley was shafted, and the rot had set in and big Joe was on borrowed time.

I`d get Mc Gort onside, find him a role, and allow him a bit of scope to assist with the persuit of excellence he craves. ( A bit of reverse psychology).

Maybe there would be no working with the man at all, but Id say a good manager would find a way. Both would know where the line was drawn, and maybe it would need drawn in a different place to others. The same as two of the greatest soccer managers of all time, Busby v Best, and Jock Stein v Jimmy Johnstone.

Oh, and yes, they were both instrumental in winning the coveted European Cup, and allowed their managers to pass into folklore.

And then theres Jody!

Not so sure the players arnt there Minder. Maybe not in terms of winning national titles, but we should be punching a lot higher with the players we do have.

We have more players than ever featuring prominently at Sigerson level, six or seven at least, and a few years ago we had nowhere near this.

St Galls should have won an all ireland club title, a bit of stage fright beat them, but they completely outplayed Nemo and Salthill.

Id say the right management team would bring this Antrim squad on a long way. But it would have to be leadership that has proved itself, not a rookie experiment, plucked on a whim, but one the players would give their full respect to.

Plus the fact that our whole style of Basketball/Football has to change. We need a completely different style, and Id say get Kevin Mc Glinchey and Benny Hasson on the edge of the square, and pump them in long and hard, with a couple of tidy forwards playing off them.

My Antrim team would be completely different to the one that poses for same at present.

Wild craic this thread is recently, not!

Antrim football in deep depression. Ok theres times it has been bad, very bad even, but the whole thing has hit rock bottom as far as I can see.

Any ideas out there how we can pick things up?

Max, busy today, just getting a chance to respond.

I have to agree that the club SHOULD be the basis for proper coaching. Also CSC point that at times CD squads actually hamper what you are trying to do at club level.

I cant imagine Max that too many potentially goodplayers in Bellaghy slip through the net. Thats because your structures are good now, and as a club you worked hard to put these structures in place.

However in Antrim we wouldnt have that many clubs really doing the development thing properly. An earlier poster named four or five, and if there are a couple more that would be the height of it. Truthfully I wouldnt be worried about a decent prospect getting a good education at half a dozen clubs, and now include Glenavy in that bracket too. But few of these would be on the scale of Ballinderry, Bellaghy, Kilrea or Magherafelt for example.

If the county dev squads are badly organised, then there is no benefit to them at all. But if they are run properly, on a systemised basis, with individual sessions dedicated to all the basic and relevant skills of the game, where there is enjoyment, reward and status, then I think that quite a few individuals would benefit from them.

Where they can be assessed for the stronger/weaker parts of their game, introducing strength and conditioning where appropriate.

In conclusion I see the proper resources being put in to making this a priority, where the county can take outright responsibility for the proper development of its potentially elite, rather than leave that huge responsibility to a handful of clubs who are still a long way off the four Derry clubs you would have dealings with or against.

And on another note, with the opening of Croke park, and the extra money for urban development, and Antrim now obviously the weak link in Ulster, how hard would it be to put a FULL TIME coach into three or four of our larger schools. These coaches to be employed not by Antrim, but by Ulster.

A strong Antrim would be a massive lift for the game in Ulster, with massive crowds sure to get behind any successful senior team.

Some good points there.

Agree with O Neill, the lack of any worthwhile juvenile development is by far our biggest problem. Saffron Sam may disagree, but I think Mc Sparran has been a very good leader, my only fear is that he will either get disillusioned, or burnt out, whichever comes first.

Dont want to sound parochial here, but I think North Antrim has a decent juvenile set up, and the hurling people there have stood up and made it happen.

The South West are in the process of putting together a decent development squad, for football, and I would have an insight on how they will drive on with this over the summer. They have a squad session on Saturday, and every club that has players good enough will have them present. They have a nice mixture of coaching and games lined up, witha view of doing really well at the next Ulster blitz at the start of August. Their itinerary has a start, a middle and an end, and has the full support of the SW executive.

To me the WEAK link is the city. What has the South Antrim committee there doing to promote the PROPER develoment of young players. Lets call a spade a spade here. The Belfast area is lagging well behind in both football and hurling development. For the sake of a better Antrim, it needs to get its act together.

Speaking of the boul Jonny Joe, whatever became of him? 

TommyGun, youre a bit too clever right now!

I have no intention of naming the players in public, but they are well known to those that matter. PWTW, I`d like to think it was down to one surprise c`ship starter, plus a hurler which is not relevant in this particular case.

Sorry, but I`m talking an absolute bottom line minimum of six who took part in the action, and I didnt say they were ALL in the Bot.

Someone else might put the meat on the bones, but those in the know have the details. A total absolute disgrace no matter what way you look at it!

Jody wouldnt have any real top inter club management experience, due largely to the fact that he is still young enough to be playing himself for his club. His achievement at the Abbey was creditable, no doubt about that.

My own contacts, at the highest level, who worked close up with him when he was involved with Down, have always clouded my view. There were no tears spilt when he left, lets put it that way. Having said that I have not once in his two years made any negative comment about him on this forum or otherwise. I preferred to give him space to work his magic, and prove me wrong.

Even now I dont wish to get into a complete check list of where and how he failed, but any manager will be judged on the following, and this is only part of the story. Good man management, variation of training, a gameplan, consistency in disciplinary matters, motivation/mental/psychological, team bonding/team spirit, etc etc.

Its not for me to score the checklist, but I know for sure the dressing room is well and truly gone. Do I personally think Jody should go? Definitely yes. A good enough fitness coach, a nice enough fella, but under no circumstances should he be given longer to use my county as a place to serve his apprenticeship. Suit a decent club division two team in Derry or Down. For a few quid!

Nag, the captains job is to lead by example, which Sean Kelly has always done. It is not his job to pick the team. In this case the management knew of the pre match booze up and I emphasize the Bot four were not the only ones drinking that night.

The management could have dealt with one or two, but six or seven drinking was too much for them to discipline, esp as they had culled the panel a few weeks earlier.

I can only imagine how disgusted S.Kelly was at their behaviour, but what were his choices? Should he have walked at that stage? You say he should have stood up and demanded the culprits should be thrown out. Now what sort of a hullaballoo would that have caused, a few weeks before the c`ship?

Instead he bottled down and gave the c`ship his best shot, but the team spirit was in rags, and in the end his choice was made easy with the diabolical, lifeless, and gutless second half display.

Sean Kelly has tough choices to make regarding the rest of his inter county career, but I would suggest tougher choices await Dr Mc Sparran, who has done nothing wrong in his tenure to date, and more importantly Jody Gormley who has now been fully exposed at this level.

Raver, agree wholeheartedly about Sean Kelly. He was geting abuse here last week for supposedly deserting a sinking ship, some even questioning his loyalty to the county.

The real reason is coming out gradually in stages, and lets say the "Bot four" arnt the only culprits.

Sean Kelly has been a total role model to all, throughout a long and distinguished career with QUB, St Galls, and Antrim.

At this stage of his career, all he would have asked for was a sensible level of committment from ALL concerned, to drive on and secure promotion, and give the c`ship a big push.

Things must have been very bad for Kel to make that decision, and must have been horrified when the details were leaked to the press. Despite this, he has maintained a dignified silence, citing "personal"reasons, rather than take the high profile route to public shown by CJ.

Kelly is an Antrim man to the core, and a proud one at that, and hugely respected throughout Ulster. Its up to others now to step up to the plate, and demonstrate to Sean Kelly that there is something worthwhile for him to return to.

One hundred per cent behind you Kel.

Question. Is Antrim football currently in its worst ever state? Does anyone ever remember things AS bad?

Our seniors have not progressed one inch, and if Paddy Heaney, or any other, wants to outline his clear reasons for taking the opposite view, then lets have them!

Not only have our seniors stagnated, but Jody must also be held accountable for a shambles of an under twentyone set up as well.

The minors had, it must be said, a very middling season, although they showed some balls at least against a good Cavan minor team.

Working on down the list, and our sixteens were obviously the weakest team at a recent inter county blitz tournament run by Ulster Council, and to make matters worse, a few weeks later our under fifteens from the city were well beaten in all their games also!

On the plus side, Antrim sides on the Mc Larnon cup, and the Loch an Uir, very admirable and well done, but still grade B conpetition.

Its going to be a long long road, but it can be done, but some tough calls need to be made, and soon!