Ulster Senior Football Club Championship 2011

[Throw ball]

Agree 100% Benny.

[nrico2006]

How much in this weekend?

[whiskeysteve]

of course cross are cynical and dirty. any man who says otherwise couldnt be taken seriously. minor things like a cross man briefly stopping to celebrate their goal in the face of a Galls man on the ground the last day out would also stick in the mind.

but they also have awesome discipline that is reinforced by the complete confidence of being an outstanding team. the players rarely feel desperate enough to warrant a 2nd yellow, etc

[get up there]

of course cross are cynical and dirty. any man who says otherwise couldnt be taken seriously. minor things like a cross man briefly stopping to celebrate their goal in the face of a Galls man on the ground the last day out would also stick in the mind.

but they also have awesome discipline that is reinforced by the complete confidence of being an outstanding team. the players rarely feel desperate enough to warrant a 2nd yellow, etc

i don't think being cynical and dirty won them 5 all irelands and 8 ulsters, you have to take these stats seriously

[bennydorano]

of course cross are cynical and dirty. any man who says otherwise couldnt be taken seriously. minor things like a cross man briefly stopping to celebrate their goal in the face of a Galls man on the ground the last day out would also stick in the mind.

I assume that's a retort to me?  If you actually read what I wrote I said I reckon they operate at a different level (county level) where cynicism and that type of tactical play are a given, I wasn't suggesting they dont have a cycnical streak, just that it really is overstated.  The fact that some people see this as an impediment or a negative is also amusing - Kerry are continually the biggest shower of cycnical hoors in the land, hasn't done them any harm.

(I'm not from Cross and have plenty of ambivalent feelings towards the shower )

[whiskeysteve]

of course cross are cynical and dirty. any man who says otherwise couldnt be taken seriously. minor things like a cross man briefly stopping to celebrate their goal in the face of a Galls man on the ground the last day out would also stick in the mind.

but they also have awesome discipline that is reinforced by the complete confidence of being an outstanding team. the players rarely feel desperate enough to warrant a 2nd yellow, etc

i don't think being cynical and dirty won them 5 all irelands and 8 ulsters, you have to take these stats seriously

Above all else they have had and still have a great number of exceptional footballers with exceptional character. Beneath that there is a cynical streak that has contributed to those stats at certain points down the road.

benny I don't think we are diagreeing, all I would say is that it may well be 'county' level but its still cynicism and dirt and just because its executed in a hell of a lot cuter fashion than what we see from some of the lesser muck savage clubs every county possesses doesn't necessarily make it any more admirable.

And I would also echo that the way Cross implement it with great discipline (bit of a paradox) - it definitely gives them an advantage more often than not.

I wouldn't label it as one of their qualities to be admired, but I would definitely describe it as one of their strengths to be acknowledged.

driven, skillful, athletic, cynical/dirty, etc. They are not mutually exclusive and they are the strengths of a great team.

[brokencrossbar1]

Jaysus you'd swear we were the only ones who ever played on the edge! . Just because we can do it better than others doesn't mean that others don't. Also this team is in the ha'penny place when it comes to 'playing on the edge'. Thank f**k the culture of discussion boards wasn't popular in the late 90s, we would have been torn to shreds!!!!!

[Hoof Hearted]

every great team plays "on the edge "

it's the difference between winning and losing. Ballinderry were the best team in Ireland nigh on 10 years ago. Do you think they had 15 men with halo's playing ??

Jealousy is a wonderful thing. In 1997, the whole of the north would have backed Cross in their AI campaign. Now there is a lot of jealousy and bitterness towards them. I will back Bderry on Sunday, cause as i have said before i have friends and family there.

I know not one person personally in Crossmaglen but if Cross win, i hope they go on and win the AI. Best club side ever in ireland. 

[Milltown Row2]

Better than Nemo?

[Applesisapples]

every great team plays "on the edge "

it's the difference between winning and losing. Ballinderry were the best team in Ireland nigh on 10 years ago. Do you think they had 15 men with halo's playing ??

Jealousy is a wonderful thing. In 1997, the whole of the north would have backed Cross in their AI campaign. Now there is a lot of jealousy and bitterness towards them. I will back Bderry on Sunday, cause as i have said before i have friends and family there.

I know not one person personally in Crossmaglen but if Cross win, i hope they go on and win the AI. Best club side ever in ireland.

+1 Well said.

[Hoof Hearted]

Better than Nemo?

probably, they have a more competitive provincial cship to negotiate

[FERDIE]

every great team plays "on the edge "it's the difference between winning and losing. Ballinderry were the best team in Ireland nigh on 10 years ago. Do you think they had 15 men with halo's playing ??

Jealousy is a wonderful thing. In 1997, the whole of the north would have backed Cross in their AI campaign. Now there is a lot of jealousy and bitterness towards them. I will back Bderry on Sunday, cause as i have said before i have friends and family there.

I know not one person personally in Crossmaglen but if Cross win, i hope they go on and win the AI. Best club side ever in ireland.

Could someone explain to me in a little more detail, what playing on the edge is.

Are the rules not the same for every team.

[orangeman]

Hope our neighbours can topple the best team of all time tomorrow. Good luck Ballinderry.

[imtommygunn]

On the topic of cynical play etc of cross I was talking to an old guy in the stand at their last game about cross, how they play etc.

We're antrim men who no reason to have any bias against them by the way...

His comment to me was that he found it very hard to like crossmaglen. His reason being was that he reckoned they always "targetted" the key player on the opposition team to either a) get sent off or b) take them out.

His reference point was Mickey Linden from years ago but Sean Kelly got quite a bit of treatment the last day too. CJ wouldn't need much "treatment" to get him wound up anyway but Kelly wouldn't be likely to get sent off and did appear to be targetted with a lot of late hits after he released. Aaron Cunningham's one stands out but there were a few more.

Muldoon / Gilligan would be the key ones tomorrow. I await with interest to see if they're "targeted".

Another guy's comment on the way out was that cross didn't play football for ten minutes against st galls as they were just up to dirty tricks for that time. Then they started playing and ten minutes later the game was over.

[Applesisapples]

Playing on the edge is more often used in rugby, Southern Hemisphere teams are renound for playing on the edge of off side at the ruck/breakdown and refs from the SH are more inclined to let this go, it is that grey area between off and on and gives an advantage. In gaelic it is on the edge of legal, in all probablility a foul but the ref lets it go to keep the game flowing. I have watched Cross quite a bit ove the years including the St Galls match this year. Someone else said they play like a county team and that is as accurate a description as you can get. Certainly the speed and interchange in the Cross match made the preceeding Intermediate match look like drying paint. I didn't think Cross were dirty they played hard as an County team would. The only real bad tackle from them was the Hannratty one. Aaron Cunniham actually pulled out of the tackle that everyone is taliking about and the St Galls player went downvery easy. I had a great view of it.