Antrim Hurling

[imtommygunn]

Again, you're missing the point. I take umbrage at this attitude of yours that thinks I get any pleasure in this sorry state of affairs. There needs to be something sorted, quickly.

I'm not missing any point. I've heard you. I take umbrage with how you make your points too.

So how do you propose we go forward? Get rid of ryan? If we do this will watson come back and how big a difference will that make?

It seems to me that the only man who can make any kind of a job of us is Dinny Cahill. I don't think we have the answer within.

[Tony Baloney]

Again, you're missing the point. I take umbrage at this attitude of yours that thinks I get any pleasure in this sorry state of affairs. There needs to be something sorted, quickly.

I'm not missing any point. I've heard you. I take umbrage with how you make your points too.

So how do you propose we go forward? Get rid of ryan? If we do this will watson come back and how big a difference will that make?

It seems to me that the only man who can make any kind of a job of us is Dinny Cahill. I don't think we have the answer within.

Put PJ in charge and 15 Shamrocks in Saffron jerseys.

[cfclg]

The very first thing Dinny Cahill done when he arrived in Antrim was he asked every club in the county to send 3/4 players who wanted to play for the county to various trials/matches. Surely any new manager should be doing this and not picking players based on what older memebers of team say/county board officials say/or because their relatives etc were good county hurlers. If 3/4 shamrocks turned up to this like everyone else and got picked then fair enough. During the club league season, any player hitting a bit of form comes in and some have to get dropped, just the same as Tipp/KK/Clare. Simples. Well that's how I would do it if I were county manager

[stibhan]

Ryan isn't the problem.

[Milltown Row2]

The very first thing Dinny Cahill done when he arrived in Antrim was he asked every club in the county to send 3/4 players who wanted to play for the county to various trials/matches. Surely any new manager should be doing this and not picking players based on what older memebers of team say/county board officials say/or because their relatives etc were good county hurlers. If 3/4 shamrocks turned up to this like everyone else and got picked then fair enough. During the club league season, any player hitting a bit of form comes in and some have to get dropped, just the same as Tipp/KK/Clare. Simples. Well that's how I would do it if I were county manager

After today's hammering the post may be available, send your CV though I think SIE might beat you to it

[Seamroga in exile]

Again, you're missing the point. I take umbrage at this attitude of yours that thinks I get any pleasure in this sorry state of affairs. There needs to be something sorted, quickly.

I'm not missing any point. I've heard you. I take umbrage with how you make your points too.

So how do you propose we go forward? Get rid of ryan? If we do this will watson come back and how big a difference will that make?

It seems to me that the only man who can make any kind of a job of us is Dinny Cahill. I don't think we have the answer within.

Put PJ in charge and 15 Shamrocks in Saffron jerseys.

well, saying as we've beat Antrim the last couple of times we've played them perhaps not a bad idea.   

However, I don't think pj would touch the Antrim post at the minute. Maybe in the future.

[Seamroga in exile]

The very first thing Dinny Cahill done when he arrived in Antrim was he asked every club in the county to send 3/4 players who wanted to play for the county to various trials/matches. Surely any new manager should be doing this and not picking players based on what older memebers of team say/county board officials say/or because their relatives etc were good county hurlers. If 3/4 shamrocks turned up to this like everyone else and got picked then fair enough. During the club league season, any player hitting a bit of form comes in and some have to get dropped, just the same as Tipp/KK/Clare. Simples. Well that's how I would do it if I were county manager

After today's hammering the post may be available, send your CV though I think SIE might beat you to it

I might even take it. 

[btdtgtt]

I think cahill's 1st year was possibly the last time we had harmony.
If our next manager is internal PJ is the only choice - I think he'd be impartial towards other clubs if people let him. But generally an outsider is needed unfortunately.

So if this year does go pear shaped?
Do Ryan & McManus get the sack as managers!

[bannside]

I was at the county discussions night at the Dunsilly in September which everyone with an opinion about County Hurling was invited.

I was impressed with the way Kevin Ryan spoke about his plans and in particularly his preparations behind the scenes which he was instigating. A lot were S&C based, and tbh it was very impressive, and a clear step up from previous years. Well organised, passionate and a view for the medium long term which had to be commended.

There weren't too many there to ask any hard questions that night, or air any grievance towards  selection policy etc. So where were you all?? Its too easy to come on here and hurl a lot of cheap shots when the team bus isn't even home yet after todays game.

As a hurling county we have slipped to mediocre division two, and its going to take a big push to get out of there. Its a 3-5 year plan at least (to be sustainable). Its clear Kevin Ryan has adopted a youth policy with an eye on peaking in two or three years, and I applaud that. This man needs to be given his head to see this through. Even at that there is still no guarantees about anything, but  for goodness sake we cant go blaming the management all the time.

We lost heavily today, and yes even I know that wasn't our strongest team on the pitch. More a bunch of kids who are being sent out to learn their trade. Maybe Ryan feels we are not division one material yet (hes 100% correct in that assessment) and a year or two where we are will bring a young dedicated squad through as a strong unit of players totally devoted to the county cause.

I think this needs to be much more applauded than scorned, even if there may be a few corrections needed here and there.

[theskull1]

I've also heard KR speak and was very impressed with his medium term plans.

Development squad investment and better coaching resource will help up our standards.

[btdtgtt]

I understand both those points of view - and not for one minute is Kevin Ryan the sole culprit of our level. After all we had failings before he arrived!

That said - I can't agree with this thing about young kids and currently developing. Senior inter county hurling is for fielding your best team at that time. We're not in the privileged position if the top counties to blood talent so need to get our strongest side out on the pitch NOW.

As for S&C I really think there is too much emphasis on this - every trainer has their own little tweaks but it's generally standard and hardly a new thing. Take that current team - you think they just started gym work recently? They've been doing it all their lives!
The bottom line is that it's what's done on the pitch with a hurl in the hand that matters.

So I for one don't look at Ryan as a scapegoat - but he's certainly no messiah and I fail to see our standards rising in relation to the other teams.

Also - this notion that by going to that meeting you advance hurling whereas the rest of us on a chat forum are negative is a bit lofty! It's just a chat forum - nobody on here claimed to have all the answers and if they did they'd probably be crucified by the murky corridors of power in Antrim county management.

[imtommygunn]

I was at the county discussions night at the Dunsilly in September which everyone with an opinion about County Hurling was invited.

I was impressed with the way Kevin Ryan spoke about his plans and in particularly his preparations behind the scenes which he was instigating. A lot were S&C based, and tbh it was very impressive, and a clear step up from previous years. Well organised, passionate and a view for the medium long term which had to be commended.

There weren't too many there to ask any hard questions that night, or air any grievance towards  selection policy etc. So where were you all?? Its too easy to come on here and hurl a lot of cheap shots when the team bus isn't even home yet after todays game.

As a hurling county we have slipped to mediocre division two, and its going to take a big push to get out of there. Its a 3-5 year plan at least (to be sustainable). Its clear Kevin Ryan has adopted a youth policy with an eye on peaking in two or three years, and I applaud that. This man needs to be given his head to see this through. Even at that there is still no guarantees about anything, but  for goodness sake we cant go blaming the management all the time.

We lost heavily today, and yes even I know that wasn't our strongest team on the pitch. More a bunch of kids who are being sent out to learn their trade. Maybe Ryan feels we are not division one material yet (hes 100% correct in that assessment) and a year or two where we are will bring a young dedicated squad through as a strong unit of players totally devoted to the county cause.

I think this needs to be much more applauded than scorned, even if there may be a few corrections needed here and there.

That's a fair enough assessment bs as usual. Ryan can not be judged based on an issue with one player. I thought he did exceptionally well in carlow and hope he has another few years with antrim yet to prove his worth. Not all rosy thus far but scope for improvement. As usual with antrim we are at that level above division 2 and below division 1 so can be tough.

Anyone who judges him on a result against limerick should look back at our results against limerick over the years. It is very rare we haven't shipped heavy defeats.

Btdtgtt i doubt some of those boys have been doing doing good s&c all their lives. In my view it's always a big downfall in our hurling. Take a physical team like limerick and they will always hurt us.

[bannside]

I agree with some of that BTD, but two quick points. The first is sustainability.

Excuse me if I use a football example. Mickey Culbert and St Galls circa 2003. He spotted a really good vintage aged 18-21 at the club, and instead of introducing them one by one, he gassed a lot of older players and gave this younger group their chance. As a unit. The result was two all ireland finals and several all ireland sevens. They came through as a group, and stayed the course as a group.

The downside of this was the pain felt by a few who missed the boat in  favour of the young bloods, but the policy paid off.

Secondly, I actually do believe that so many who spend so much time on here, and do actually care about our cause, needed to take a few hours and get to Dunsilly that night. I mean it was totally open ended. It was an open forum and that WAS the place to air some of the grievances consistently banged on here.

One last thing. I actually felt the hurling fraternity were an awful lot further forward than the football one. At least the hurlers have got a plan of sorts. Football just goes from pillar to post.

[north_antrim_hound]

ANTRIM: D Quinn; P J O'Connell, N McGarry, A Graffin; B McAuley, J Campbell, N Gethins; B McAuley, P Shields; E McCloskey, N McManus, B McFall; S McNaughton, L Watson, C Carson.
Subs used: J Kerr for O'Connell (20 mins), M Herron for Gethins (46).

Here's the Antrim team from championship  2012 with Jim Nelson helping out

Result 8-26 to 1-15 v limerick

Some people on here so full of sh.t it begets belief

Plenty of Lg players and them after winning their all Ireland

Back then limerick where not Munster champions either
prior to the leauge starting Ryan asked us to be patient

SIE you are like a broken record on this subject. So I have decided that every time you come on here and report your own county's woes with a hard to hide air of satisfaction imm going to post up previous results with bigger losing margins than today

These results will include one of the players  you think is worth going to begging to come back even if he did disclose he didn't want to play for

[Seamroga in exile]