DUBLIN V ARMAGH sat 17th @ 5.00pm croke park

[eireogatron]

MOR will win break ball surely, but he will also kick 90% of that possession straight back to the opposition - he is well known for it.

Such silly exaggerations do nothing for your argument.

aye dead on AFS. The man is well known for wasting ball. Why dont you get on your wee search engine and provide the statistics for it, I know you're dying to. I didnt realise a flippant remark about percentages, meant to merely highlight the point would be of such relevance to you.

God forbid the use of hyperbole in the deeply scientific argument that is MOR's inter county career.  I trust you will never, or have never exagerrated slightly in an argument to highlight your point? If you have, get yourself down to confession immediately, if not sooner.... DAMN! I'VE USED HYPERBOLE AGAIN!!!

[The Konica]

Thanks AFS, I thought he was alot older.

I also think Aghdavoyle, to say "if mor had been injury free this summer armagh's development curve would have been a lot steeper." is nonsense. You can't say one player would make that much of a difference and certainly not Martin O'Rourke.

Actually my concern with Martin O'Rourke was none of those points - I always thought he lacked the pace and fitness for full games and often lost his man and couldn't track back or mark. Which would be a concern in Croker above all places.

I do agree he's a cute, intelligent, tough player who wins dirty ball many don't, but I always (well recent years) saw him as a weak link to be honest that the opposition could exploit.

[Armaghgeddon]

Mackin makes me think - Christ it is MOR all over again.

[eireogatron]

PS, MOR is 30 according to the match program.

I thought he was slightly older myself, I wonder if hes done a bit of number fiddling ha ha?

[you take er!]

I think that while MOR is not the answer to all out ills at HF, he could certainly do a job coming in at some stage. ok he mightn't have the radar for a good pass like John mac or even his own brother Aidan but he is experienced can win dirty ball and also get under the skin of opponents would be good if that sector needed 'shaking up' a little. As regards how good he is....i dont think you can be ona a county panel for 9 years and not have some footballing ability...he does have his limits though.

[naka]

really fancy armagh to do the biz tomorrow but feel that they will struggle to progress any further after that

Why?? - You'd have to fancy their chances v Limerick, Louth, Roscommon/Sligo!!

Tyrone wouldn't want to mee Armagh either!!

actually think they would struggle against louth, limerick or monaghan, ok would probably beat Roscommon but hey thats not a great feat nowadays

[Aghdavoyle]

Obviously we're both entitled to our opinion and mine would be very different from yours. there's a misguided belief among a lot of our younger contributers - and those who just don't know any better - that we need our 15 most skillful footballers on  the pitch and that there is some sort of development plan to be followed to "build" a team. the reality of intercounty football is that you put the best players on the field to win matches, whether they're 18, 40 or 28. you put players in position to do jobs. playing lads like feeney (and ak for that matter) in the half forward line is poor judgement.

Brian mallon is a fantastic footballer and a strong lad who'll win ball when its near him. he won't, however, go looking for work or win ball beyond his comfort zone.

The blinkers with mor in our own county regarding mor is astonishing, given that most counties in the country search high and low for that type of player.

mate, I'm 28 years old and not some pup who has watched 5 games and thinks he knows it all - I've been around the block a few times & I am well aware that we need horses for courses.

MOR will win break ball surely, but he will also kick 90% of that possession straight back to the opposition - he is well known for it. He is good at winning a free kick around the middle of the park, but is also as adept at giving these frees away and getting referees backs up. He has had his day and I dont think he should be anywhere near the line up. Counties do look for his "type" of player - but they would like one with some actual footballing ability as well as brute strength á la Dooher, McEntee etc - who can pick a pass or a score when they recycle the ball.

Agreed, B Mallon is a good player but to say he doesnt work or win dirty ball is an absolute joke! Watch the Derry match again and come back to me. He never stops running and has a knack of finding an orange jersey with a pass rather than an opposition one - see the first 15 mins against Monaghan as an example.

If you want a player who wins break ball, by all means pick MOR. If you want a player who wins break ball and then uses it properly, dont.

OF course you are entitled to hold that opinion, but i wouldn't subscribe to it. Don't know where the giving the ball line came from - must be from his poor shooting but it's certainly not true. in fact he's probably among the best distributers of direct ball in the county. then again i only watch him playing club football weekly and i don't know maybe.

not wanting to labour the brian mallon issue but he does not work at a sustained level and is not fit enough to play in the half forward line for me. The contributer who used mor's fitness and tracking back as an issue is having a laugh. in fact, the complete opposite of reality. there is not a harder worker for any team and in his career he has consistently been used to stifle the most attacking wing backs the opposition have.

A half forward to win us enough ball to win a game and use it well out of mor, swift, feeney, hanratty, mackin, kernan, vernon? mor top of that list for me but for other roles, swift, vernon and kernan have other strengths. this can be viewed as a superficial argument but armagh's lack of steel and work rate in this area has cost dearly this year.

By the way, replying to your post doen't make me your mate - you have to work much harder for that. and don't be so insecure as to outline your age and credentials to qualify your posts. we can judge the posts on their merits.

[drici]

Gilroy sticks to his young guns

Friday July 16 2010

THE Dubs have gone with a novel approach for tomorrow's Croke Park showdown with Armagh -- they're sticking with an unchanged team!

After all the flux of recent weeks, during which Pat Gilroy has torn up several struggling team sheets and started again, the Dublin boss now feels sufficiently confident to name an unchanged starting 15 for the round three qualifier at GAA HQ (throw-in 5.00pm).

That means no change in the full-back line that again struggled at times against Tipperary last Saturday; no place at midfield for Eamon Fennell, whose build-up has again been hampered by a hip injury; and no recall either for Bryan Cullen.

Erstwhile centre-back Cullen was thought to be pushing strongly for a place at wing-forward, given that both Paul Flynn and Niall Corkery struggled on the flanks against Tipp.

Instead, when Gilroy announced his team at a press conference in DCU this morning, the selection offered a ringing endorsement to the team that started the round-two qualifier six days ago.

The most relieved party, apart from Flynn and Corkery, is likely to be Kevin McManamon who has been given another chance to nail down the No 15 jersey.

McManamon was replaced after 43 minutes against Tipperary, Conal Keaney coming on and converting three left-footed frees in the process. However, Keaney must again be satisfied with a bench role, having lost his starting place in the aftermath of Dublin's crushing defeat to Meath in the Leinster semi-finals.

Fennell sat out training on Tuesday night and is again held in reserve, despite putting in a solid 35-minute shift against Tipp. In his absence, management stick with a midfield pairing of Ross McConnell and Michael Darragh MacAuley, who hugely impressed on his full SFC debut.

Another debutant who caught the eye last weekend, Eoghan O'Gara, also retains his place at full-forward.

Meanwhile, the GAA grapevine is again suggesting that we'll have another sub 30,000 crowd for tomorrow's Croke Park
double-header, starting with the Dublin hurlers against Antrim at 3.00pm.

Only 22,084 turned up for last weekend's double-bill, constituting the lowest Croker crowd involving the Dublin footballers in recent memory except for really old people who might remember back longer.

DUBLIN(SFC v Armagh) P Cullen:  G O'Driscoll S Doherty R Kelleher:  T Drumm K Moran P O'Neill:  B Mullins B Brogan:  A O'Toole T Hanahoe D Hickey:  B Doyle J Keaveney J McCarthy.

[illdecide]

I can't believe the Dubs are staying away in such big numbers, when the draw first came out i was excited as nothing compares to playing the Dubs in croke Park with a full house but now with the small crowd it just won't have the same atmosphere. Although i suppose if I'm gonna be critical about supporters Armagh's has dwindled big time over the last 5 years.

[Aghdavoyle]

Keavney will take holding

[BerfArmagh]

crowds are well down this year, people just can't afford it. I think the GAA have really slipped up this year. I went to the fermanagh match last sunday and they were looking £18 for the seated stand (which is uncovered) ridiclous, that kind of craic just sickens people.... Qualifiers whould be a tenner in, end of

[ardchieftain]

Just picked up 2 tickets for hill 16 there, then Patrick Og tells me i got the 9th and 10th hill tickets sold in the county.
This is going to be an experience.

Lavery mustn't be fit enough to start, aye ? Decent lineup though.
I won't make a prediction but i just hope we play with no fear.

Really looking forward to it and the hurling as well. Hope Antrim put up a decent show.

[armaghniac]

There was a time when Armagh would have brought most of 22,000 to a game like this, our support has declined almost as much as the Dubs. There is a class of Dub supporter that isn't too interested in the GAA but who likes the buzz of the big crowd and these have stayed away.

[Oraisteach]

All right, lads, anyone know what radio station is carrying the match?

Don't understand so much confidence.  We got eaten alive by Monaghan, beat a Donegal team that played like juveniles, and Fermanagh, with all due respect, are much weaker than they once were.

Who's the ref?

[Armaghgeddon]

All right, lads, anyone know what radio station is carrying the match?

Don't understand so much confidence.  We got eaten alive by Monaghan, beat a Donegal team that played like juveniles, and Fermanagh, with all due respect, are much weaker than they once were.

Who's the ref?

Joe McQuillan [Cavan]