Best Club Championship

[AbbeySider]

Surely the Mayo club championship is well up there...

Crossmolina
Ballina
knockmore
Ballaghadereen

[heffo]

wouldn't agree on the Dublin SFC -dominated by 4/5 premiership clubs . Standard is pretty mediocre fellas. The 4/5 teams only have 2 really competitive games now- ie against each other. The Leinster club championship is pretty poor . Any of the 4/5 above big clubs if they win dublin -would have to play really badly to lose in it, in its current state. So then you're in an all-ireland semi final.
The long run in suits the big clubs in Dublin. Often would train like professional teams for the all-ireland semi and final. Twice a day 3-4 days a week. Double sessions at weekends, training camps away - a carte blanche from the county board not to play any club fixtures till after paddys day. its not a fair refelction of the standard. Any of you in Dublin from tonight to sunday should drop into parnell to see some of it and watch the influx of foreign stars that is ruining the club game here.
Would explain our county record and Leinsters in general. I would say in counties like Kerry and Tyrone the standard is more even and as a result they get more indigenous players of a very good standard from which to pick a county side. We have a shockingly limited pool of high quality Gaelic Footballers.

Agree 100% - it was of a far higher standard 10-15 years ago - now all the top clubs backboned by imports

You're probably going to see a third winner in three years this year with a Meath and  Offaly players forming the spine of their defence.

[illdecide]

Jasus cut her a bit of slack here lads. I know what she means and she is right in what she says, Derry's senior football championship would have the highest number of quality teams in the competition than any other county in Ulster...Isn't that right Oakleafer!!!

[Oakleafer93]

Thats right Illdecide, seems I can't do nothing right on here because I'm a girl! Ah well I'll soilder on!! lol

[Katchit]

Derry is widely regarded as the best Ulster Championship in terms of overall quality.

Ballinderry leading the pack with a few teams capable of putting it up to them.

[longrunsthefox]

Aye Derry seems to be the best in Ulster. The Tyrone championship has been run off in a few weeks in recent years with the All Ireland runs and has devalued it somewhat. Is like a three week tournament in October... such is the price of winning Sam. Is very high price. I think it was  '03 Omagh played semi final draw, replay and lost final in seven days. Crazy. Last year winners Clonoe had no players on Tyrone panel which probably helped them a lot. In In 2006 after losing to Laois, county players abandoned their clubs in week leading up to club championship to play in U$A.
For obsession with Sam Maguire Cup and a big afternoon in Croke Park in September, is it worth paying the price to club championship? I think not.       

[Katchit]

Derry people love their club football more than their county, whereas Tyrone would probably be the opposite ?

[SidelineKick]

I think the variation in winners in the Derry championship makes it interesting.  In my opinion Ballinderry have the best team year in year out but the pattern over the past number of years is as follows:

2002 - Ballinderry
2003 - Loup
2004 - Slaughtneil
2005 - Bellaghy
2006 - Ballinderry
2007 - Glenullin
2008 - Ballinderry

I like the fact that there are a few teams that can win it even though on paper Ballinderry should be walking it!

[full back]

The Derry c'ship would be the most hotly contested IMHO, but at the detriment of the countys chances of winning SAM

[lynchbhoy]

The Derry c'ship would be the most hotly contested IMHO, but at the detriment of the countys chances of winning SAM

I would agree with that sentiment

Galway and mayo championships seem to have a spread of teams capable of winning it, Cork and Kerry are now more competetive than ever - with Nemo in cork no longer as dominant I believe

dublin well a couple of clubs are full of imports - maybe its no coincidence that my own (current) club have fallen down the pecking order now that they have a 'home grown' side.

Heffo I'd hope ANYONE other than the team you are tipping will win the championship !

[longrunsthefox]

Derry people love their club football more than their county, whereas Tyrone would probably be the opposite ?

This is what many think but is a bit of a generalisation. There was such an obsession in Tyrone to win Sam before 2003 and as much as we enjoy winning it again the hype never really took off last year until the end of the summer. Few Tyrone supporters went to the Dublin quarter final and I know many who are far more into club football which was destroyed last year as Tyrone went through the summer. County football caters for about 35 players here while hundreds of club players wait for their championship to conclude. Ain't the Tyrone players fault but is how it is.   

[nrico2006]

As mentioned earlier, the Tyrone SFC is more frequently being run off in bog weather.  Its of as high a standard as Derry's, I don't know where this general concensus that Derry's SFC is better than others comes from - too many people reading Martin McHughs column in the Irish Star.  Armaghs championship is looked at lighty because of Crossmaglens dominance, butthey have been run closer in their county campaign at times over the past few years than they have in the Ulster.  Tyrones championship is open every year, with the like of Killyclogher, Carrickmore, Dromore, Errigal Ciaran and Clonoe winning it over the past few years with other teams such as Omagh and Coalisland reaching finals.

[Spirit of 94]

The fact that the Derry Championship is so competitive is largely due to the fact that the clubs with any serious chance of winning it are located so close to each other.  Ballinderry, Loup, Bellaghy, Slaughtneil are all in the south Derry area. Local rivalry/ parish pride fuels the competition. Only Glenullin and Dungiven in North Derry are ever seriously considered as contenders, and they are so close to south Derry that the footballing talent has overspilled into their areas. 

[INDIANA]

If derry is so good then why is that reflected at county level? From what I've seen lads its good but its not that good. Balinderry are still a fair bit ahead of the rest year on year. The armagh county championship is not great- bar cross maybe dromintee or harps aren't bad. Forget the rest. Tyrone's is good - good even standard across 8-9 teams. kerry's is terrific -god even standard across 10 clubs- forget about divsionals.

[shark]

Cork and Kerry are now more competetive than ever - with Nemo in cork no longer as dominant I believe

Not sure about that, Nemo won their 4th in-a-row last year, and 7th this decade.  They have never been so dominant in their history!