Antrim Hurling

[btdtgtt]

as a paddies man, i dont think we are ready for divi 1 and it would do us more harm than good to go up. promotions and relegations should be decided on the pitch and not in the murky committee rooms in casement. rossa and oisins were the 2 best teams and deserve to go up. teams like us lamhs, galls etc dont deserve to  because we didnt earn it on the field. the constant messing with league structures is part of the problem we could all name a few clubs which could pull a few moves in the county convention to save their skins if they end up in the bottom 2 places. it negates any point in working harder to save your own skin or to accept that maybe you just arent good enough for the division and accept whats coming and work hard to get back

Except it was only supposed the be one up so oisins in fact have not earned it on the pitch.

As for those questions skull - the answers are entirely subjective and some clubs below the big3 or in div2 might be better placed long term than teams currently  above them in the league.

Also on ur dual clubs point - I don't want to jump from my Rossa to galls bandwagon but this is a sore point with me.
Infrastructure should assist dual clubs not hinder them. Well for single code club (half a club) to pontificate and ignore the wholistic job bèing done by dual clubs particularly by the opportunities they give juveniles.
Mr2 raised the point of single code clubs but until such times dual clubs must be supported however possible - fact is they are not.

[btdtgtt]

Doesn't look like it.

[Gizzy15]

Relegated or not this has to be viewed by all sides at the same angle no matter NA or SA.

At underage the SA teams seem to win, but only two of them and  at senior NA seems to win, only 1/2 of them. I did say on this board or predict that changes would be made, but I think that the changes would be better suited to underage level.

Our seniors or county senior team will not come on leaps and bounds from a league structure but at  under age level we might. The best in NA come up against the best in SA once a year at underage. Generally there are two good teams at least in both boards and an all county league would mean them meeting each other twice at least during a season. If the quality was higher through juvenile then no one gets complaicent come senior as happens with many teams.

Just a thought

[oisinog]

btdtgtt you think there is some big conspiry going on here.

Have you heard any concrete facts on what is going to happen to the leagues?

Have you seen any of the proposals set out by the focus group or any counter proposals set out by any clubs?

The proper facts will be set out at a county meeting when the clubs have an opportunity to vote on what is the best for the leagues.

As gizzly said it would be better to look at the underage leagues and structures  and make them more competitive as this is where the future of Antrim hurling is

[theskull1]

Travelling times and costs are factors tha cannot be ignored when it comes to underage.

[thegladiator]

i was aware that only 1 team was due to go up, but they were the 2 best teams. i think putting 4 up would be a waste of time for the teams at the top and middle sections of the league. realistically rossa and oisins would only have to win 2 games to maintain status. given that would be against us and the other lamb to he slaughter, it doesnt do muchfor anybody and give little incentive to most teams in the league to go at it hard and as a result increase the competitiveness and standard in the league. creating a competitive league structure is fundamental to developing our game at all levels. for me, underage all county leagues are a must. south antrim board have proved over the last 20 years the best way NOT to run games and leagues.its a complete joke as to some of the stunts that have been pulled for the benefit of some clubs and not for the benefit of gaa in he SA area. wgat about playing u12& 14 teams playing on the same day at the same venue to save travel expenses for an all county league eg sarsfieldsv dunloy at both groups back to back on a saturday afternoon. think everybody would benefit

The desire for change has to come from the clubs. sadly,  i think many of them are happy with the status quo of 2-3 competitive games a year in the championship and thats it.  that isnt going to develop many players to compete at decent inter-county level.

[btdtgtt]

btdtgtt you think there is some big conspiry going on here.

Have you heard any concrete facts on what is going to happen to the leagues?
There are not any! Its all still in the mix obviously until after conventions so nobody has "concrete facts"
Have you seen any of the proposals set out by the focus group or any counter proposals set out by any clubs?
Yes
The proper facts will be set out at a county meeting when the clubs have an opportunity to vote on what is the best for the leagues.

As gizzly said it would be better to look at the underage leagues and structures  and make them more competitive as this is where the future of Antrim hurling is

I agree.
Underage structures also need looked to - SA teams playing in NA leagues is just stupid - these should be all county leagues as Gladiator says. (altho Gladiator you did beat Rossa this year so your post was a bit negative there on you prospects)
I understand you money/time problem Skull but come on, lets get over this! How much do we want progress if we keep putting obstacles in the way.
Maybe Dunsilly might help - I would much rather it was bunged with kids every saturday and sunday than preserved for county panels.

[thegladiator]

btdtgtt you think there is some big conspiry going on here.

Have you heard any concrete facts on what is going to happen to the leagues?
There are not any! Its all still in the mix obviously until after conventions so nobody has "concrete facts"
Have you seen any of the proposals set out by the focus group or any counter proposals set out by any clubs?
Yes
The proper facts will be set out at a county meeting when the clubs have an opportunity to vote on what is the best for the leagues.

As gizzly said it would be better to look at the underage leagues and structures  and make them more competitive as this is where the future of Antrim hurling is

I agree.
Underage structures also need looked to - SA teams playing in NA leagues is just stupid - these should be all county leagues as Gladiator says. (altho Gladiator you did beat Rossa this year so your post was a bit negative there on you prospects)
I understand you money/time problem Skull but come on, lets get over this! How much do we want progress if we keep putting obstacles in the way.
Maybe Dunsilly might help - I would much rather it was bunged with kids every saturday and sunday than preserved for county panels.

i didnt mean to be negative, just being realistic. there would only be 2 possibly 3 games we would be competitive in. again  this wont help us to develop. we had many close games in d2 this year  won some, lost some. but the points were up for grabs til the last few minutes. last minute frees to win games, defending a lead, coming back to win games from the dead. i think these type of scenarios will help our lads develop as hurlers rather than get pasted by cushendall by 25 points etc.

[Milltown Row2]

btdtgtt you think there is some big conspiry going on here.

Have you heard any concrete facts on what is going to happen to the leagues?
There are not any! Its all still in the mix obviously until after conventions so nobody has "concrete facts"
Have you seen any of the proposals set out by the focus group or any counter proposals set out by any clubs?
Yes
The proper facts will be set out at a county meeting when the clubs have an opportunity to vote on what is the best for the leagues.

As gizzly said it would be better to look at the underage leagues and structures  and make them more competitive as this is where the future of Antrim hurling is

I agree.
Underage structures also need looked to - SA teams playing in NA leagues is just stupid - these should be all county leagues as Gladiator says. (altho Gladiator you did beat Rossa this year so your post was a bit negative there on you prospects)
I understand you money/time problem Skull but come on, lets get over this! How much do we want progress if we keep putting obstacles in the way.
Maybe Dunsilly might help - I would much rather it was bunged with kids every saturday and sunday than preserved for county panels.

i didnt mean to be negative, just being realistic. there would only be 2 possibly 3 games we would be competitive in. again  this wont help us to develop. we had many close games in d2 this year  won some, lost some. but the points were up for grabs til the last few minutes. last minute frees to win games, defending a lead, coming back to win games from the dead. i think these type of scenarios will help our lads develop as hurlers rather than get pasted by cushendall by 25 points etc.

You beat us twice last year and I'd be confident of our team giving Cushendall a competitive game.

[btdtgtt]

Oisin Og I forgot to answer your question on "conspiracy"

It is a hard fact that leage re-structures inevitably and always favour NA teams at the expense of City teams.

This year IF the structures are changed it will allow and extra Glens teams up - had this been done in previous year it would have brought a city team up - but surprise surprise this didnt happen.

The previous re-structure (suggested by a glens team) resulted in 4 teams relegated. Lo and Behold three of these were from the city! This despite teams playing without county players (Galls footballers & rossa hurlers) because they believed they were safe from relegation.

Unfortunately I am old enough to I beleive remember restructures resulted in both Ballycastle & Loughiel surviving in Div1 despite their league positions.

These are just facts. Make of it what you will.

[oisinog]

btdtgtt any changes that happen would not have happened without the clubs voteing for it. There are not enough North antrim clubs to carry a majority vote so any time there has been a change in the league set up there was support from the Belfast clubs.

Attitudes of South Antrim against North Antrim also does not help the situation in Antrim they need to do away with these divisional boards and the county board take charge and run the competitions

I dont support the changes as I though division 1 and 2 ran well. They do need to look at the lower leagues as there may be a problem there.

[Milltown Row2]

btdtgtt any changes that happen would not have happened without the clubs voteing for it. There are not enough North antrim clubs to carry a majority vote so any time there has been a change in the league set up there was support from the Belfast clubs.

Attitudes of South Antrim against North Antrim also does not help the situation in Antrim they need to do away with these divisional boards and the county board take charge and run the competitions

I dont support the changes as I though division 1 and 2 ran well. They do need to look at the lower leagues as there may be a problem there.

Would you support two up two down in the leagues?

[btdtgtt]

btdtgtt any changes that happen would not have happened without the clubs voteing for it. There are not enough North antrim clubs to carry a majority vote so any time there has been a change in the league set up there was support from the Belfast clubs.
Not at all - dont forget the vots of the clubs not directly affected - and many of these just follow what the perceived big clubs want.

Attitudes of South Antrim against North Antrim also does not help the situation in Antrim they need to do away with these divisional boards and the county board take charge and run the competitions
Completely agree about divisional boards - juveniles and all should be all county. Doing away with the boards does not necessarily mean an end to localised tournaments like blitzes or feis. I am not sure what you mean by south antrim attitudes - obviously I am biased but I think the chip on the shoulder with regard to hurling being seen as the preserve of the glens is there for good reason

I dont support the changes as I though division 1 and 2 ran well. They do need to look at the lower leagues as there may be a problem there.
I wouldnt necessarily disagree with you on that one. Like I said before I can see both sides to the re-structure debate. I think the real challenge is not about how many teams are in the divisions - but how to make every match meaningful. Personally I would like league and championship linked via seeding - and MR2 suggested a half way split.

[thegladiator]

btdtgtt you think there is some big conspiry going on here.

Have you heard any concrete facts on what is going to happen to the leagues?
There are not any! Its all still in the mix obviously until after conventions so nobody has "concrete facts"
Have you seen any of the proposals set out by the focus group or any counter proposals set out by any clubs?
Yes
The proper facts will be set out at a county meeting when the clubs have an opportunity to vote on what is the best for the leagues.

As gizzly said it would be better to look at the underage leagues and structures  and make them more competitive as this is where the future of Antrim hurling is

I agree.
Underage structures also need looked to - SA teams playing in NA leagues is just stupid - these should be all county leagues as Gladiator says. (altho Gladiator you did beat Rossa this year so your post was a bit negative there on you prospects)
I understand you money/time problem Skull but come on, lets get over this! How much do we want progress if we keep putting obstacles in the way.
Maybe Dunsilly might help - I would much rather it was bunged with kids every saturday and sunday than preserved for county panels.

i didnt mean to be negative, just being realistic. there would only be 2 possibly 3 games we would be competitive in. again  this wont help us to develop. we had many close games in d2 this year  won some, lost some. but the points were up for grabs til the last few minutes. last minute frees to win games, defending a lead, coming back to win games from the dead. i think these type of scenarios will help our lads develop as hurlers rather than get pasted by cushendall by 25 points etc.

You beat us twice last year and I'd be confident of our team giving Cushendall a competitive game.

i was just using the dall as an example to illustrate my point. galls may be able to raise their game to push cushendall in a championship game once a year or a league game that they arent bothered about. our championship form over the last 15 years tells me that we would struggle to raise it to compete on a regula basis as we have regularly fallen to teams from lower divisions on many occassions, creggan, st teresas etc. at this time we arent battle hardened enough to expect to compete at this level. hopefully we will  over the next 5 years, but i feel that at theminute it would do more harm than good to oyr young team

[manballandall]

Is that the view of your manager also ?