Paddy O'Rourke named as new Armagh Manager

[rory]

Can anyone post the IN article?

[Joxer]

Can anyone post the article up?

The line for me was something like " In Four years I've won 3 County Championships,   £ Ulsters and 1 All Ireland,  The only better qualified person in the county is Joe Kernan and he is not available".

Think that sums it up really how pathetic and inept the County Board are.  To treat a man that has brought pride and honour to his club both as a player and a manager over the last decade or more to get a kick in the balls like that is a disgrace. 

Naka,  I dont think anyone would have a problem with the CB if they were upfront and honest.   Never mind the club delegates,  as half the time they dont appear to know whats going on.  Its the "inner circle" thats crooked and needs cleared out

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Of course, anything for the Armagh lads  ...

Murtagh made to feel cold by calls

By Paddy Heaney


Donal Murtagh has revealed how he went from being the number one candidate for the vacant post of Armagh manager to being left out in the cold.

And by outlining his short discussions with an unnamed individual, Murtagh has also shed some light on the events which led to Paddy O'Rourke being appointed as the new boss.

Murtagh's descent from top contender to non-runner took just "three short phone calls".

He said: "On the first call, they told me that I was one of the few men who was nominated.

"They said they might have to talk to one other candidate, and that they might go and source another candidate. I understood that. That was no problem with me whatsoever."

For the next phone call, Murtagh was asked if he would be prepared to work as assistant to another unnamed manager.

"They asked me if I might want to work with another man. I said it was difficult to say, as I didn't know who the person was," he said.

"They could force me on him, or him on me and we mightn't be compatible.

"I said I couldn't work with the man until I knew who the man was. They weren't willing to say who the man was. But I did say it was a possibility."

By the next call, Murtagh was informed that he'd been demoted and was no longer the leading candidate.

"I was told that I wasn't the number one choice any more. I was told I was a very strong number two to this man, but they wouldn't say who the man was."

After that third call, Murtagh didn't receive any more contact from the representative of the county board.

"The next thing I heard on the news was that Paddy O'Rourke got the job. That's the exact contact that I had with them," he said.

While keen not to criticise the appointment of Paddy O'Rourke, Murtagh did express some misgivings about the selection process.

"The committee obviously felt he was the best man for the job. Only time will tell.

"He [Paddy O'Rourke] has obviously managed a county team before and he was a born winner as a player.

"Obviously I hadn't managed or played anything worth talking about at county level. Maybe, that went against me. I don't know. Who knows what goes on?" said the Cross manager.

He added: "Obviously I was the most qualified man in Armagh going for the job. Joe Kernan is the only man with a better record than me, and Joe is obviously not available.

"I have won three Armagh, three Ulster, and one All-Ireland in four years, so we didn't do too bad.

"I was nominated for the position, but I didn't get an interview. I think Neil Smyth was in the same boat. He was nominated but neither of us got interviews.

"Neil busted a gut for Armagh for years. I think the least we deserved was an interview, never mind three short phone calls. But these things never seem to be done right."

[Brick Tamlin]

Posted by: DuffleKing 
1 - o'rourke is the most bitter anti armagh man you could ever meet.
he traded on being the big armagh hater in down for years. i vividly remember his tv interview circa early 2004 claiming armagh were finished and wouldn't be back for a long time. his supposed "motivational skills" are based entirely on monologues surrounding the subjects of red and black blood running through veins, glorifying the history of the down jersey and eulogising sean o'neill, james mccartan et al. The thought that we have handed over the development of our senior team and the integration of our successful minor & u21 teams to this man turns my stomach.

Duffleking your a first class gobsh*te. Unless you know the man personally i dont think your in a great position to judge what he personally thinks of Armagh. Is there something wrong with him expressing (if he even did) the OPINION that Armagh were finished and wouldnt be back for a long time. And whoever told you about the red n Black blood thing and eulogising about past players was also completely wrong. It turns my stomach to read such vile comments and pure sh*te from some posters on here. be mad at your county board, be mad at your sponsors, be mad at each other, but Paddy O Rourke is a decent gale with a fine background only trying to do the best he can. Hang him and abuse him if he fails miserably but ffs give the man a chance to prove himself. Get over yourselves.

[Joxer]

Posted by: DuffleKing 
1 - o'rourke is the most bitter anti armagh man you could ever meet.
he traded on being the big armagh hater in down for years. i vividly remember his tv interview circa early 2004 claiming armagh were finished and wouldn't be back for a long time. his supposed "motivational skills" are based entirely on monologues surrounding the subjects of red and black blood running through veins, glorifying the history of the down jersey and eulogising sean o'neill, james mccartan et al. The thought that we have handed over the development of our senior team and the integration of our successful minor & u21 teams to this man turns my stomach.

Duffleking your a first class gobsh*te. Unless you know the man personally i dont think your in a great position to judge what he personally thinks of Armagh. Is there something wrong with him expressing (if he even did) the OPINION that Armagh were finished and wouldnt be back for a long time. And whoever told you about the red n Black blood thing and eulogising about past players was also completely wrong. It turns my stomach to read such vile comments and pure sh*te from some posters on here. be mad at your county board, be mad at your sponsors, be mad at each other, but Paddy O Rourke is a decent gale with a fine background only trying to do the best he can. Hang him and abuse him if he fails miserably but ffs give the man a chance to prove himself. Get over yourselves.

So your saying he is full of wind?

[DuffleKing]

Posted by: DuffleKing 
1 - o'rourke is the most bitter anti armagh man you could ever meet.
he traded on being the big armagh hater in down for years. i vividly remember his tv interview circa early 2004 claiming armagh were finished and wouldn't be back for a long time. his supposed "motivational skills" are based entirely on monologues surrounding the subjects of red and black blood running through veins, glorifying the history of the down jersey and eulogising sean o'neill, james mccartan et al. The thought that we have handed over the development of our senior team and the integration of our successful minor & u21 teams to this man turns my stomach.

Duffleking your a first class gobsh*te. Unless you know the man personally i dont think your in a great position to judge what he personally thinks of Armagh. Is there something wrong with him expressing (if he even did) the OPINION that Armagh were finished and wouldnt be back for a long time. And whoever told you about the red n Black blood thing and eulogising about past players was also completely wrong. It turns my stomach to read such vile comments and pure sh*te from some posters on here. be mad at your county board, be mad at your sponsors, be mad at each other, but Paddy O Rourke is a decent gale with a fine background only trying to do the best he can. Hang him and abuse him if he fails miserably but ffs give the man a chance to prove himself. Get over yourselves.

His sources of motivation come directly from down players so bring it up with them. would he have lied to the players in down dressing rooms? these are the same down players who don't rate the man as a manager. being a great player and the respect that goes with it does not demand respect as a manager, that has to be earned.

he is a down gael with a down background. that earns him respect in general terms but it means nothing when he comes to armagh in my view.

also, this "doing the best he can" crap - don't talk shite. he's feathering his own nest. he's not coming to armagh for the good of armagh football. he's here because he thinks he can further his own agenda.

[Maiden1]

Paddy O'Rourke has a very good record at club management level, he won a couple of Down championships managing Burren and nearly an ulster title, then took on the Castleblaney job and won 4 or 5 county titles with them and took the scalp of Crossmaglen in the Ulster championship which is more than most managers in Armagh.  His record with Down was poor, in saying that they could have won an Ulster Championship in 2003, when they played the 2nd 1/2 of the ulster final with 14 men and Peter Canavan won a dubious penalty to get a draw.  After that it did not work out.  He also took Down under 21's to an All Ireland final.  I'm not saying it will work out with Armagh but his club management record is better than most.

[norabeag]

Posted by: DuffleKing 
1 - o'rourke is the most bitter anti armagh man you could ever meet.
he traded on being the big armagh hater in down for years. i vividly remember his tv interview circa early 2004 claiming armagh were finished and wouldn't be back for a long time. his supposed "motivational skills" are based entirely on monologues surrounding the subjects of red and black blood running through veins, glorifying the history of the down jersey and eulogising sean o'neill, james mccartan et al. The thought that we have handed over the development of our senior team and the integration of our successful minor & u21 teams to this man turns my stomach.

Duffleking your a first class gobsh*te. Unless you know the man personally i dont think your in a great position to judge what he personally thinks of Armagh. Is there something wrong with him expressing (if he even did) the OPINION that Armagh were finished and wouldnt be back for a long time. And whoever told you about the red n Black blood thing and eulogising about past players was also completely wrong. It turns my stomach to read such vile comments and pure sh*te from some posters on here. be mad at your county board, be mad at your sponsors, be mad at each other, but Paddy O Rourke is a decent gale with a fine background only trying to do the best he can. Hang him and abuse him if he fails miserably but ffs give the man a chance to prove himself. Get over yourselves.

His sources of motivation come directly from down players so bring it up with them. would he have lied to the players in down dressing rooms? these are the same down players who don't rate the man as a manager. being a great player and the respect that goes with it does not demand respect as a manager, that has to be earned.

he is a down gael with a down background. that earns him respect in general terms but it means nothing when he comes to armagh in my view.

also, this "doing the best he can" crap - don't talk shite. he's feathering his own nest. he's not coming to armagh for the good of armagh football. he's here because he thinks he can further his own agenda.

And what would that be? Do we have a cospiracy theory evolving here.?

[full back]

Paddy O'Rourke has a very good record at club management level, he won a couple of Down championships managing Burren and nearly an ulster title, then took on the Castleblaney job and won 4 or 5 county titles with them and took the scalp of Crossmaglen in the Ulster championship which is more than most managers in Armagh.  His record with Down was poor, in saying that they could have won an Ulster Championship in 2003, when they played the 2nd 1/2 of the ulster final with 14 men and Peter Canavan won a dubious penalty to get a draw.  After that it did not work out.  He also took Down under 21's to an All Ireland final.  I'm not saying it will work out with Armagh but his club management record is better than most.

Thats all fair and well if he was taking a club management position, but he is taking a county & his county management record doesnt read the best 

[naka]

duffleking your vitriol towards POR  is unfounded, we are all gaels here, ffs its a sport nothing else, my brother is anti down yet  would be over the moon if his son was on the down developement squad, greg blaney was anti armagh yet his dad played and won a medal with us,
get over it, i remember 91 & 94 when down won sam, there were  many armagh guys shouting for down those days including myself
POR is our manager and will do the best he can, we have to realise that we have a poor enough squad at presentwith some of our " senior guys" like, toner, vernon, donaghy, only youngsters, we are a good 4 years away from making a challenge

[DuffleKing]

Posted by: DuffleKing 
1 - o'rourke is the most bitter anti armagh man you could ever meet.
he traded on being the big armagh hater in down for years. i vividly remember his tv interview circa early 2004 claiming armagh were finished and wouldn't be back for a long time. his supposed "motivational skills" are based entirely on monologues surrounding the subjects of red and black blood running through veins, glorifying the history of the down jersey and eulogising sean o'neill, james mccartan et al. The thought that we have handed over the development of our senior team and the integration of our successful minor & u21 teams to this man turns my stomach.

Duffleking your a first class gobsh*te. Unless you know the man personally i dont think your in a great position to judge what he personally thinks of Armagh. Is there something wrong with him expressing (if he even did) the OPINION that Armagh were finished and wouldnt be back for a long time. And whoever told you about the red n Black blood thing and eulogising about past players was also completely wrong. It turns my stomach to read such vile comments and pure sh*te from some posters on here. be mad at your county board, be mad at your sponsors, be mad at each other, but Paddy O Rourke is a decent gale with a fine background only trying to do the best he can. Hang him and abuse him if he fails miserably but ffs give the man a chance to prove himself. Get over yourselves.

His sources of motivation come directly from down players so bring it up with them. would he have lied to the players in down dressing rooms? these are the same down players who don't rate the man as a manager. being a great player and the respect that goes with it does not demand respect as a manager, that has to be earned.

he is a down gael with a down background. that earns him respect in general terms but it means nothing when he comes to armagh in my view.

also, this "doing the best he can" crap - don't talk shite. he's feathering his own nest. he's not coming to armagh for the good of armagh football. he's here because he thinks he can further his own agenda.

And what would that be? Do we have a cospiracy theory evolving here.?

I simply meant for his own credability, considering the ridicule that he is held in within down.

he probably couldn't believe his luck being offered a job with the potential that armagh have given his own record.

[Maiden1]

Posted by: DuffleKing 
1 - o'rourke is the most bitter anti armagh man you could ever meet.
he traded on being the big armagh hater in down for years. i vividly remember his tv interview circa early 2004 claiming armagh were finished and wouldn't be back for a long time. his supposed "motivational skills" are based entirely on monologues surrounding the subjects of red and black blood running through veins, glorifying the history of the down jersey and eulogising sean o'neill, james mccartan et al. The thought that we have handed over the development of our senior team and the integration of our successful minor & u21 teams to this man turns my stomach.

Duffleking your a first class gobsh*te. Unless you know the man personally i dont think your in a great position to judge what he personally thinks of Armagh. Is there something wrong with him expressing (if he even did) the OPINION that Armagh were finished and wouldnt be back for a long time. And whoever told you about the red n Black blood thing and eulogising about past players was also completely wrong. It turns my stomach to read such vile comments and pure sh*te from some posters on here. be mad at your county board, be mad at your sponsors, be mad at each other, but Paddy O Rourke is a decent gale with a fine background only trying to do the best he can. Hang him and abuse him if he fails miserably but ffs give the man a chance to prove himself. Get over yourselves.

His sources of motivation come directly from down players so bring it up with them. would he have lied to the players in down dressing rooms? these are the same down players who don't rate the man as a manager. being a great player and the respect that goes with it does not demand respect as a manager, that has to be earned.

he is a down gael with a down background. that earns him respect in general terms but it means nothing when he comes to armagh in my view.

also, this "doing the best he can" crap - don't talk shite. he's feathering his own nest. he's not coming to armagh for the good of armagh football. he's here because he thinks he can further his own agenda.

And what would that be? Do we have a cospiracy theory evolving here.?

I simply meant for his own credability, considering the ridicule that he is held in within down.

he probably couldn't believe his luck being offered a job with the potential that armagh have given his own record.

If anything he is taking over Armagh in a similar position to Down where when he got the down job.  i.e.  A lot of the legends have retired and he has to start building again.  It won't be an easy job.

[norabeag]

Posted by: DuffleKing 
1 - o'rourke is the most bitter anti armagh man you could ever meet.
he traded on being the big armagh hater in down for years. i vividly remember his tv interview circa early 2004 claiming armagh were finished and wouldn't be back for a long time. his supposed "motivational skills" are based entirely on monologues surrounding the subjects of red and black blood running through veins, glorifying the history of the down jersey and eulogising sean o'neill, james mccartan et al. The thought that we have handed over the development of our senior team and the integration of our successful minor & u21 teams to this man turns my stomach.

Duffleking your a first class gobsh*te. Unless you know the man personally i dont think your in a great position to judge what he personally thinks of Armagh. Is there something wrong with him expressing (if he even did) the OPINION that Armagh were finished and wouldnt be back for a long time. And whoever told you about the red n Black blood thing and eulogising about past players was also completely wrong. It turns my stomach to read such vile comments and pure sh*te from some posters on here. be mad at your county board, be mad at your sponsors, be mad at each other, but Paddy O Rourke is a decent gale with a fine background only trying to do the best he can. Hang him and abuse him if he fails miserably but ffs give the man a chance to prove himself. Get over yourselves.

His sources of motivation come directly from down players so bring it up with them. would he have lied to the players in down dressing rooms? these are the same down players who don't rate the man as a manager. being a great player and the respect that goes with it does not demand respect as a manager, that has to be earned.

he is a down gael with a down background. that earns him respect in general terms but it means nothing when he comes to armagh in my view.

also, this "doing the best he can" crap - don't talk shite. he's feathering his own nest. he's not coming to armagh for the good of armagh football. he's here because he thinks he can further his own agenda.

And what would that be? Do we have a cospiracy theory evolving here.?

I simply meant for his own credability, considering the ridicule that he is held in within down.

he probably couldn't believe his luck being offered a job with the potential that armagh have given his own record.

Delusionary in the extreme. What is this potential based on?
Recent underage success is no better than some of the other Ulster counties

[mountainboii]

Posted by: DuffleKing 
1 - o'rourke is the most bitter anti armagh man you could ever meet.
he traded on being the big armagh hater in down for years. i vividly remember his tv interview circa early 2004 claiming armagh were finished and wouldn't be back for a long time. his supposed "motivational skills" are based entirely on monologues surrounding the subjects of red and black blood running through veins, glorifying the history of the down jersey and eulogising sean o'neill, james mccartan et al. The thought that we have handed over the development of our senior team and the integration of our successful minor & u21 teams to this man turns my stomach.

Duffleking your a first class gobsh*te. Unless you know the man personally i dont think your in a great position to judge what he personally thinks of Armagh. Is there something wrong with him expressing (if he even did) the OPINION that Armagh were finished and wouldnt be back for a long time. And whoever told you about the red n Black blood thing and eulogising about past players was also completely wrong. It turns my stomach to read such vile comments and pure sh*te from some posters on here. be mad at your county board, be mad at your sponsors, be mad at each other, but Paddy O Rourke is a decent gale with a fine background only trying to do the best he can. Hang him and abuse him if he fails miserably but ffs give the man a chance to prove himself. Get over yourselves.

His sources of motivation come directly from down players so bring it up with them. would he have lied to the players in down dressing rooms? these are the same down players who don't rate the man as a manager. being a great player and the respect that goes with it does not demand respect as a manager, that has to be earned.

he is a down gael with a down background. that earns him respect in general terms but it means nothing when he comes to armagh in my view.

also, this "doing the best he can" crap - don't talk shite. he's feathering his own nest. he's not coming to armagh for the good of armagh football. he's here because he thinks he can further his own agenda.

And what would that be? Do we have a cospiracy theory evolving here.?

I simply meant for his own credability, considering the ridicule that he is held in within down.

he probably couldn't believe his luck being offered a job with the potential that armagh have given his own record.

Delusionary in the extreme. What is this potential based on?
Recent underage success is no better than some of the other Ulster counties

In the history of Armagh football we've never been as consistently competitive at underage level. If we aren't optimistic about our potential now, we'll never be. The 2002 team was build on weaker foundations.

[DuffleKing]

Delusionary in the extreme. What is this potential based on?
Recent underage success is no better than some of the other Ulster counties

well my conjecture would be that there is tremendous potential in Armagh right now, never mind 2/3 years time. In mallon, donaghy, toner and McKeever we have 4 defenders at the very highest level. we have little more than potential at midfield but plenty of it in vernon, toner, o'neill and mckenna.
up front we have the best full forward in ireland in ronan clarke and another dangerous operator in Steven McDonnell.
Add to that the ball winning and work rate of martin o'rourke, running and football of aaron kernan and Kevin dyas to come back in.

that's 12 top quality operators before we even look at new blood.

If anything he is taking over Armagh in a similar position to Down where when he got the down job.  i.e.  A lot of the legends have retired and he has to start building again.  It won't be an easy job.

How'd he get on last time?