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Very disappointed with that Ulster result. Another nothing game for the Armagh lads to risk injury playing. It's absurd that the club semis were switched to Saturday to make way for this nonsense.

No railway cup last year & the St.Brigid's v Nemo Rangers semi final was on Saturday.

No Railway Cup, but a full programme of NFL fixtures this weekend last year. For what reason were the games switched to Saturday this weekend? It wasn't at the behest of the clubs, as there were complaints from at least one of those involved at the Saturday fixture. It wasn't for TV, as TG4 filled this afternoon's schedule with a repeat of yesterday's action. Without an obvious alternative explanation, it can only be assumed that the games were switched in an attempt to clear the way as much as possible for the interprovincial non events today.

Very disappointed with that Ulster result. Another nothing game for the Armagh lads to risk injury playing. It's absurd that the club semis were switched to Saturday to make way for this nonsense.

I'm pretty sure you miss the next game, regardless if it falls outside of the suspension time window.

Any early rumblings about Kernan's red, bcb? TG4 replays weren't very clear but I'm sure Cross had their own camera. He's put up with a lot of crap at times during his football career, would be an awful shame for him to miss out on what would probably be his biggest day of all.

Beat them in Castlebar last year and will be disheartening not to win this after the Kerry,Cork results.

Would be hesitant to read anything into last year's game. Mayo were dreadful that day, by a distance the worst team Armagh faced in last year's league. But they had a new manager on board who seemed to be playing about with a few things. Their later displays demonstrated that they were capable of much better, and I reckon their championship team would've coped with ours had we met. Wouldn't be too concerned with a defeat provided the likes of Forker and Duffy continue to show up well.

Congrats to Cross, obstinate as usual. Whatever about Clarke & McConville up front and their lauded backline, it was their midfield efforts that dictated the flow of today's game. Before McKenna's introduction they were overrun in this sector. He got them competing and they had enough class elsewhere to finish off the job. Johnny Hanratty put in a good shift too, he's a big player in this next generation Cross team. Can't see anything other than a sixth title on St. Patrick's Day. This team will push past Nemo's record by the time they're done.

Padden is a decent panel player. He's probably had spells in every line since coming on board, but it's as a roaming FF that he looks most effective. I'd like to think that there are a handful of better options for the #14 jersey, so he may be reduced to appearances from the bench going forward. He's not a bad fella to bring on and keep a hold of the ball if you're protecting a lead, as we were last weekend down in Kerry.

The team in the OP looks reasonable if we're going to be missing the two Cullyhanna boys. Kingham will probably get another run, hopefully at FF rather than midfield. Would like to see Stefan Campbell get a start after his impressive McKenna Cup displays. Rafferty will do well to hold onto his jersey, didn't do a lot in the Kerry game other than supply an excellent pass for the first goal. Have a feeling Mayo could hand us a dose of reality. After two (well, one and a half) impressive televised displays, there's little chance of them taking us lightly. McKeever and Mackin would be very big losses too given their current form.

How many of the U21 team are lining out for the seniors?  Was it 5 of the forward lines against Cork?

Under 21s to have appeared in the league thus far:

McVerry: Started both games at CF.
McKenna: Started both games at CB.
Forker: On as a sub in Cork game, started Kerry game at HF.
Rafferty: On as a sub in Cork game at CF.
Campbell: On as a sub in Cork game at FF.
McParland: On as a sub in Kerry game at HF.

Some reports have slightly exaggerated the number of U21s currently involved with the seniors, presumably including Anto Duffy and Caolan Rafferty in their figures, both of whom are one year out of U21.

Happy enough with just the two Armagh lads involved, and both would do well to pick up a wee muscle twinge or something before the weekend.

Jon Daly. Trap probably has a grudge against him too.

Some of these posters probably never heard of Daly who is one of a number of players appearing regularly for Dundee United, but none of whom is remotely international class. So yes, that helps put the Stokes nonesense in context.

In related news, Paul Heffernan's goal for Kilmarnock at the weekend places him joint second Irishman with Stokes in the SPL's goal scoring charts. Prior to moving to Kilmarnock last summer, Heffernan spent half dozen years warming subs benchs for a variety of League 1 clubs. That a player like this can then head up to the SPL at the age of 30 and start banging in the goals speaks volumes about the quality of that league and, by extention, the real value of Stokes' exploits.

AFS - Just out of curiosity, why don't you post on the Man Utd thread anymore? You were one of the more reasonable posters. I have a feeling I know why, Liverpool and Utd threads are like a zoo lately.

Same reason I wouldn't really look at any of the thread about religion or politics on here anymore. They're just full of the same boys posting the same shit on rotation.

Now that it's well established that he's fit for the league, what's stopping Everton, or some other PL club, from making a permanent move for Donovan? You'd assume he'd like to give it another proper go in Europe, and he probably has another two or three seasons in him. Is he on huge money in LA or something? Transfer fee wouldn't be that much of a stumbling block.

Jon Daly. Trap probably has a grudge against him too.

Class result. The last seven days have given real promise for this year. Whether it's the influx of new talent, Paul Grimley's return, or even the efforts of our maligned manager, there appears to be a confidence and positivity about Armagh that has been missing for long time. Still only the middle of February and all that, but, considering the age profile of the side and the fact that you could almost name a fairly decent alternate team from the lads that are yet to return, you have let a bit of excitement build. Forker, Donaghy, Mackin and Andy Mallon were excellent throughout. Brian Mallon, Vernon and Duffy had good spells, but faded out of it at times. Duffy could probably improve his decision making, some of the shots he took weren't really on. The same could be said of McVerry, but these things come with experience. Kingham looked delighted with his goal, hopefully that gets the monkey of last weekend off his back. Also nice to see Watters come on and kick a great point after a disappointing showing last time out. Pity this three week break kicks in now, would've been great to carry the buzz straight into another game next weekend.

Commentator for the Kerry game called Armagh "Antrim" tonight. Mixed up Bryan Sheehan and Killian Young. Charlie Vernon was Malachy Mackin at one stage

You could find excuses for those wee slips of the tongue, but spending the whole 70 minutes getting the Armagh keeper's name wrong is just embarrassing. He even went through a couple of wee rehearsed back stories for for a man that didn't set foot on the pitch. The #16 jersey might've been a clue if the gobshite had been paying any sort of attention.