Antrim Football Thread

[Stillwater2]

Agrove vs Sarsfields match abandoned with 15 minutes to play, serious injury to one of the Sarsfields lads.

Agrove were 1 up with the Paddies clawing it back from 8 down.

[bannside]

Agree with that Caesar. There is an obvious upside in terms of additional quality, as the saying goes a rising tide lifts all boats.

The downside, a clatter of players who have gone through the club development system, dedicated club families over the years,  some will miss out on match selection...maybe even squad selection....and the fall out from that might not be pretty.

The Meenagh lad in midfield looks decent too, only a fool would suggest they won't be a serious threat come championship time.

[InnocentByStander]

Agree with that Caesar. There is an obvious upside in terms of additional quality, as the saying goes a rising tide lifts all boats.

The downside, a clatter of players who have gone through the club development system, dedicated club families over the years,  some will miss out on match selection...maybe even squad selection....and the fall out from that might not be pretty.

The Meenagh lad in midfield looks decent too, only a fool would suggest they won't be a serious threat come championship time.

I will believe it when I see it.

[imtommygunn]

Yeah I would say even if they are very good then it's a bit early. It'll still be the same teams come championship time bar a big surprise.

[Milltown Row2]

Agree with that Caesar. There is an obvious upside in terms of additional quality, as the saying goes a rising tide lifts all boats.

The downside, a clatter of players who have gone through the club development system, dedicated club families over the years,  some will miss out on match selection...maybe even squad selection....and the fall out from that might not be pretty.

The Meenagh lad in midfield looks decent too, only a fool would suggest they won't be a serious threat come championship time.

There is an argument that if you are a reserve player or not a first team player then you are not really going to improve the team, if you are a first team player then you should be fighting for your position anyways, competition for places is healthy, it will always bring a team on, and its a squad game now anyways, all 5 subs should be introduced to improve the team as it gets to the end of the match.

[Saul goodman]

Agree with that Caesar. There is an obvious upside in terms of additional quality, as the saying goes a rising tide lifts all boats.

The downside, a clatter of players who have gone through the club development system, dedicated club families over the years,  some will miss out on match selection...maybe even squad selection....and the fall out from that might not be pretty.

The Meenagh lad in midfield looks decent too, only a fool would suggest they won't be a serious threat come championship time.

There is an argument that if you are a reserve player or not a first team player then you are not really going to improve the team, if you are a first team player then you should be fighting for your position anyways, competition for places is healthy, it will always bring a team on, and its a squad game now anyways, all 5 subs should be introduced to improve the team as it gets to the end of the match.

must be a kick in teeth for other lads who will inevitably get less or no game time. Drafting in so many players from an away club is wrong and should not be permissible and sets a bad precedent. That said I still don't tho they will win a championship they have come up short in the 1/4 and group stages the last few years

[InnocentByStander]

Agree with that Caesar. There is an obvious upside in terms of additional quality, as the saying goes a rising tide lifts all boats.

The downside, a clatter of players who have gone through the club development system, dedicated club families over the years,  some will miss out on match selection...maybe even squad selection....and the fall out from that might not be pretty.

The Meenagh lad in midfield looks decent too, only a fool would suggest they won't be a serious threat come championship time.

There is an argument that if you are a reserve player or not a first team player then you are not really going to improve the team, if you are a first team player then you should be fighting for your position anyways, competition for places is healthy, it will always bring a team on, and its a squad game now anyways, all 5 subs should be introduced to improve the team as it gets to the end of the match.

must be a kick in teeth for other lads who will inevitably get less or no game time. Drafting in so many players from an away club is wrong and should not be permissible and sets a bad precedent. That said I still don't tho they will win a championship they have come up short in the 1/4 and group stages the last few years

Other Belfast clubs have done it for years, why is it such a big deal now?

[Milltown Row2]

Agree with that Caesar. There is an obvious upside in terms of additional quality, as the saying goes a rising tide lifts all boats.

The downside, a clatter of players who have gone through the club development system, dedicated club families over the years,  some will miss out on match selection...maybe even squad selection....and the fall out from that might not be pretty.

The Meenagh lad in midfield looks decent too, only a fool would suggest they won't be a serious threat come championship time.

There is an argument that if you are a reserve player or not a first team player then you are not really going to improve the team, if you are a first team player then you should be fighting for your position anyways, competition for places is healthy, it will always bring a team on, and its a squad game now anyways, all 5 subs should be introduced to improve the team as it gets to the end of the match.

must be a kick in teeth for other lads who will inevitably get less or no game time. Drafting in so many players from an away club is wrong and should not be permissible and sets a bad precedent. That said I still don't tho they will win a championship they have come up short in the 1/4 and group stages the last few years

Other Belfast clubs have done it for years, why is it such a big deal now?

Ah, the purest of SW clubs wouldn't be at that lark

[JimStynes]

Agree with that Caesar. There is an obvious upside in terms of additional quality, as the saying goes a rising tide lifts all boats.

The downside, a clatter of players who have gone through the club development system, dedicated club families over the years,  some will miss out on match selection...maybe even squad selection....and the fall out from that might not be pretty.

The Meenagh lad in midfield looks decent too, only a fool would suggest they won't be a serious threat come championship time.

There is an argument that if you are a reserve player or not a first team player then you are not really going to improve the team, if you are a first team player then you should be fighting for your position anyways, competition for places is healthy, it will always bring a team on, and its a squad game now anyways, all 5 subs should be introduced to improve the team as it gets to the end of the match.

must be a kick in teeth for other lads who will inevitably get less or no game time. Drafting in so many players from an away club is wrong and should not be permissible and sets a bad precedent. That said I still don't tho they will win a championship they have come up short in the 1/4 and group stages the last few years

Throw 5 county players into a team at that level and they will make some difference. Depends on all the usual factors of course (management, training, commitment etc).

St Brigid's are built on drafting players in though so not sure how big a deal it is when they get 5 transfers in. I honestly wouldn't want 5 blow ins into our club no matter how good they are, especially under a cloud of controversy that the Downey's have landed with. But they are still a new enough club and they take players into their ranks every year. Close to the student area and where young professionals settle down after Uni also contributes to this too. You hear every accent under the sun when you're down watching a match at Musgrave. They have built a serious club there in such a short space of time and they have the people about the club from every background that they're very well funded too! The envy of many of their neighbouring clubs! They're doing something right and it's only a matter of time before they start winning senior championships!

[imtommygunn]

It's not 5 county players though. It's 2 seniors and 3 underage which, while it sounds pedantic, is a big difference.

St Brigid's will eventually come good. I don't think it will be for a few years but there is just way too much coming through these boys aside.

[Hoof Hearted]

It's not 5 county players though. It's 2 seniors and 3 underage which, while it sounds pedantic, is a big difference.

St Brigid's will eventually come good. I don't think it will be for a few years but there is just way too much coming through these boys aside.

Exactly, and it's not as if they've pocketfulls of Derry SFC medals either.

[glens73]

It's not 5 county players though. It's 2 seniors and 3 underage which, while it sounds pedantic, is a big difference.

St Brigid's will eventually come good. I don't think it will be for a few years but there is just way too much coming through these boys aside.

Exactly, and it's not as if they've pocketfulls of Derry SFC medals either.

How's it got so toxic at Lavey for them all to leave? They weren't the best behaved club in the world in the 90s, has that carried on to the next generation?

[bannside]

No, don't think so.

[stiffler]

I'd still have st brids behind portglenone in the pecking order for championship success. Time will tell on whether the transfer policy pays off for them over their internally developed players.

[bannside]

If nothing else the Antrim championships have turned out really interesting. There were years there there was literally no point in training for it....and St Galls stuck in second gear until about mid August.