Messages

I have to wish Armagh good luck tomorrow but I think they will struggle.Despite all the "Hardest la Manga" stuff, I think Donegal have more powerful men ( power being strength and speed).Francie will be sorely missed and his leadership was clearly absent when we(Down) should have got a draw in Cross.Teams seem to come in waves and , I have to admit, a fine Armagh side have hit the shore while Donegal have the lads from the Guinness ad at their peak.

Arrived back from Athens at 6 am this morning
My experience was positive up until Inzaghi's elbow intervened but anyway.
Craic was good in Athens but a lot of people were getting drunk- the singing in the squares was good fun but there was an element of aggression/racism fairly common among groups of English males. Don't think it is fair to suggest Liverpool fans are that different from other clubs but we did hear people planning to 'storm' the gates- ironically, the same people were burning the Sun and calling for Justice for the 96. Mind you the vast ( ie 95%)majority of supporters were excellent- courteous, knowledgable and funny -also, LFC has thousands of supporter from all over the world who clearly enjoyed being part of the LFC family.While I have been a supporter for many years I have to admit I don't feel part of a 'family' as I did in 91, 94 etc in Dublin.
We arrived at the stadium 3 hours before kick-off and the organisation was not good- they should let the Germans organise such things.Despite the presence of thousands of organisers and even more heavily armed macho riot police there was a lack of co-ordination and leadership.We proceeded to the entry area identified on the ticket only to be re-directed to another area 500 metres away.When we got there we were told to go back to where we had come from. We were then re-directed to a completely different area which involved a further walk of almost a kilometre.Now we were OK but we met families with elderly supporters and young children.The queues were badly managed and you could pick up a sense of real aggression against all the LFC supporters- the police were up for a confrontation and almost provoking anyone who they thought was  a trouble-maker. It took over an hour from arriving at the cordon to getting to our seats- an elderly man beside us arrived after the kick-off and told us of the tear-gas and he claimed it was indiscriminate- with the delays he said a lot of fans started to worry about missing the start and started to push -not good but understandable and throw in drink to get a potentially lethal cocktail.
As for the game, I was also surprised at how bad AC were. Eamon Dunphy's 'real deal' Kaka was largely anonymous but equally for all our possession, you couldn't see a goal coming from open play. To concede before H/T is always a bad one and some of our players were clearly nervous ( the usually wonderful Agger in particular). I thought the game was ideal for Bellamy but I will always respect Rafa's judgement and I agree with Laoislad on who should go in the summer ( including Bellamy)- we need someone with the confidence of Paul Mc Comiskey , who can come on and bring something extra to break down well-organised defences.The sentamentalist in me was pleased for Maldini- he has always been a great role-model and super player- but still disappointing.
The transport arrangements after were equally shambolic.On the specially arranged buses our driver did not know where the airport was - true!- and when he got there with our assistance he dropped us in the wrong area.Another bus had to be summonsed after 45 minutes. The colour coded pen system broke down immediately and as a result you had up to 5,000 people in disorganised queues, no public address system, a poor marquee with no facilities and , after getting through this- the same number of people on the edge of the runway at 3am local time with no information/facilities -people who were tired, grumpy and in some cases, drunk - it was amazing there wasn't more trouble or accidents so credit to the restraint of the supporters who really were treated like animals.It was so shambolic that 2 men managed to get on to our plane despite admitting they were booked on to a flight to Lverpool- eventually they were booted off.
Don't know if I will do many more day-trips to European finals unless Down are in them- however, the day in Athens, stadium and occasion were excellent-pity about the result.

As no-one has picked up on 5ive times can I assume we are the only GAA men/women there ? If the weather, pitch, determination and result are the same as Pairc Esler it will be worth getting up at 2.30am on Wednesday to be at Aldergove for 3.30 and arrive back at 5.30am ( or up to 8 hours later) on Thursday. If antone has tips on what to do when we arrive in Athens ( aprt from the obvious) I'd be grateful.

Rover, time you were in bed.Mind you, your analysis is spot on, as always. Any chance of a choc-ice ?

Corn 02 - why did it have to be neutral ? Down were away in the preliminary round so therefore had earned a home tie.The date it was played was already a concession to Monaghan.I understand the Monaghan management didn't want to play at Newry but it would have been the right thing to do. I was talking to the father of a player who had to leave the senior game early. We also had a double bill at Casement for the Hurlers. Setting that aside, well done to Monaghan.

Stranworst, would also be interested in your sources. Ross and DJ are men of their word- a lot of posters thought the named team wouldn't start last week but they did. In a 70 minute amateur game you are going to see substitutions. League attenders will confirm McGuigan is comfortable in a Down shirt.Apart from Big James, we were impressed with his covering and distribution- only one mistake against Kildare.He won't need us to tell him about last week and DJ was well placed to read it. John Clarke is a strong fit footballer who can take a score when his confidence is up. Jackie is bigger than Mc Crickard so gets the nod. Mc Govern is  a grafter and Daniel will be a key man on Sunday if they double up on Benny. So I think the same 15 is fair enough. They have shown they are not afraid to act and I confidently expect a 4 point win with Mc Comiskey getting 25 minutes and recording those winning 4 points !

Best thing on TV since the 94 All-Ireland final. God help anyone who gives the plot away !

As us Down wans are dominating this debate I think we should discuss Cavan a bit and recognise their role in an open game .Firstly, Breffni really is a magnificent setting and we could have done with a bigger support.Secondly the Publicans, supporters and guards were very hospitable.Cavan town is a true GAA town and they would respect our tradition more than most.Thirdly, the game was largely free from gamesmanship- I didn't see the 'dive' from one of the Reillys but there was hardly a dirty tackle and I saw nothing off the ball.Can you imagine Tyrone, Armagh or even Donegal defenders allowing Benny/Daniel/Mc Cumiskey that time? Paul Brady is a great athlete and while it was big ask ,neither he nor Hannon(?)  resorted to dirt against Benny.Fourthly it was great to see a big man like Mc Cabe doing what he does best and clearly enjoying it.While he may have blatantly pushed Adrian Scullion for two of the goals in 2004 he is an honest big hallion who belongs to a bygone era .Fifthly they have a helluva player in Ronan Flanagan and I look forward to the Marshes.
Wobbler's team is pretty sound but I would stick with Mickey, agree that there is still a place for Mc Guigan and possibly Clarke. The second midfield position is a challenge. Jackie is a poor man's Mc Cabe( the calf as opposed to the Bull) but Paul Murphy is small ( 5 11 according to the programme) and as the VG photo in today's IN showed, Jackie was all over the Bull like a rash. I would give Jackie a start but Murphy is an excellent option if things are tight ( which they will be).First home USFC game since Aontroim in 99 I believe.
Finally, great to get the team on Thursday, see two managers make rational and inspirational decisions and recognise that love them or hate them, the meeja animal has to be fed- it's good for players to see that their managers are showing real leadership.Up Down

Well, from a Down point of view, a good day out and we would have settled for a win and draw if truth be told.
Fair play to Seanie Devlin's young fella for his free taking and the captain Digney is a James Colgan type captain- will the Monaghan game be the warm-up at Newry ?It was listed for Cross on Saturday but surely sense will prevail with the Ulster Council...but then again!
The Seniors stepped up a gear and I have a different view than most posters. We know that the defence is makeshift- that's why Ross was man enough to ask Grant back- but I saw a lot of honest endeavour. Mc Guigan was unbelievably niave to allow Jason inside him twice in the first half- the basic rule of defending is to stay goalside -but rather than respond to some 'supporters' and haul him off, Ross reassured him and he had a good second half. Rooney was a good leader but is light and did do the Keystone bit a couple of times- he now knows championship needs 70 minutes concentration. Daniel is limited but he's the corner-back for these games- all hands/knees/elbows and forwards hate it.Rony Murtagh was a strong contender for MOM- no cramp problems for him-Grant was a good link man and marked their play-maker Mc Keever well while Clarkey was off the pace and a brave and correct decision to replace him with Cole( suggest this came over the ear-piece!)who is our top defender.
Dan was excellent-  Pangurban,cannot agrree with you at all- he may have lost possession a couple of times but he got through serious work, caught some great ball and remember his partner is a division 3 player.Jackie spoiled McCabe and probably worth another start although Paul Murphy was excellent. Sexton confirmed amallon's predictions- hungry and reads Benny perfectly.Aidan Carr looks the part in every aspect bar confidence- if he played with some more conviction he could lead the line like Greg used to-but he needs to believe in himself to lift the performance.James Mc Govern was average- a lot of work but Kearney looked a lot livelier. Benny back to his best, Packie solid if unspectacular and Daniel has got his bad game out of the system.The management was excellent- all 4 substitutions worked out and were based on careful analysis rather than head-staggers.I would start Cole, move Daniel to RHF and start Mc Comiskey. Mickey should retain the number one shirt- one mistake but VG kick-outs- but Benny won't get the same space so Daniel, Packy and Mc Comiskey must make use of the extra space that will be there.5ive Times- get the daytrip to Athens- we need all supporters in Newry!

Would anyone know anyone who has booked flights to Athens for the final and is not going now ( presumably Chelsea/Man United fans) ?If so please pm me asap.

Well done J70 and all the Donegal people- you were the best team in the league and deserved it. What about the injury to Ciaran Bonner ?I think I saw him in the celebrations so hopefully he is OK- at one stage the physio put him in the recovery position so it looked bad.He's a first cousin of a good friend of mine and I've met him a couple of times - mad for football. He got a lot of bad press for the blind-side tackle on the Fermanagh player last year but he plays a very physical game- like Toye and Kavangh , they cover some ground- I thought Kavanagh could have come on sooner although delighted for Adrian Sweeney. Was Devennney injured or just took off ?Anyway, the game in Ballybofey will be a hum-dinger- is it live ?Should be - the pick of the first round games anywhere

Drumgath must be heading straight to Division 2.Big win for Bredagh- makes us think we may have played 2 of the best teams so there's hope yet for Bob Mc Cartney's boys !

St Pauls lost their second game away to Bredagh by 7 or 8 points. We were 2 down at half-time but did well in the first 20 of the second half and were still 2 down when their sub got a goal with his first touch. Bredagh seem faster than last year- we are still missing a few and were unlucky to have a man sent off for a second yellow.

It was 7 quid in. Antrim were second best. I have an interest on the team and Gormley seems to be committed but this was a lot worse than Wicklow.

Did everything but score- 3rd place is dicey. Cannot see any joy from Barcelona.