Morg gone Fuels

[heffo]

The bottom line is, no sponsor no matter how generous should be allowed to demand that any county board consult him on the matters Hughie was looking to be consulted on.

Correct

[Cold tea]

Maybe they should look elsewhere for Sponsorship.

[haranguerer]

But I knew I'd seen somewhere about this "rule"
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/gaa/gaa-armaghs-groundbreaking-name-deal-15155956.html
"Under GAA rules, grounds cannot be named after a living person and Hugh Morgan is the current owner of the Morgan Group.
However Croke Park officials are believed to have accepted that the company is named after Hugh Morgan's late father."

That sentence is a paradox, or in laymans terms, a load of bollocks. Its named after the company, which is a seperate entity, and which the reporter seems to acknowledge by saying they accepted the company is named after the father - as its a company in the first place, why does it matter who it was named after and if they're living or dead??! Stupid journalist

[Abble]

The main thing for me, is why in under fek would the county board accept naming of its historical county ground after someone of his reputation for a start. a man who has done nothing for the game in my view, (apart from putting in his 100,000s). if someone (sponsor) thinks he has that high an authority within a certain sport, club/county because they sponsor it then something is very very wrong.

I've seen it at club level though, some bucko sponsors a club, next thing you might see the son getting a jersey, as handy as you like, at all levels. various persuasions are at play and the same can be seen at county level also in many different aspects.

There are some dark arts at play with various sponsors and before getting involved with the likes, you need strong people at the helm to ward them off from most matters. Because envelopes are getting handed over left, right and centre some people though will fall for it and the next thing is, that sponsor thinks they're half running the show !

there is a whole can of worms behind this though and its been brewing, hopefully with Morgan out of the way now, things can move on and certain players from the same neck of the woods as Morgan are also prepared to move on. Hopefully now also, Grimley can take better control, i dont think he's the type to be walked over easily, so hopefully he (and his team) can pull the whole thing together again and Armagh can start making major progress

[Cold tea]

The main thing for me, is why in under fek would the county board accept naming of its historical county ground after someone of his reputation for a start. a man who has done nothing for the game in my view, (apart from putting in his 100,000s). if someone (sponsor) thinks he has that high an authority within a certain sport, club/county because they sponsor it then something is very very wrong.

I've seen it at club level though, some bucko sponsors a club, next thing you might see the son getting a jersey, as handy as you like, at all levels. various persuasions are at play and the same can be seen at county level also in many different aspects.

There are some dark arts at play with various sponsors and before getting involved with the likes, you need strong people at the helm to ward them off from most matters. Because envelopes are getting handed over left, right and centre some people though will fall for it and the next thing is, that sponsor thinks they're half running the show !

there is a whole can of worms behind this though and its been brewing, hopefully with Morgan out of the way now, things can move on and certain players from the same neck of the woods as Morgan are also prepared to move on. Hopefully now also, Grimley can take better control, i dont think he's the type to be walked over easily, so hopefully he (and his team) can pull the whole thing together again and Armagh can start making major progress

Doesn't have to be the sponsor, committee members son's, chairman's son - it's all too common place.

[lawnseed]

well fuk that.. i'm going to have to buy at least four new jerseys now. great chance to hit the o'neills shop the old ones will be on the bargain rail. anyway hughie hughie.. this guys money is certainly making waves first he scuppers the fans favourite as manager doing kildare a favour then he sabotages a presidential candidate doing the whole country a favour.. and now he throws the dummy out and does armagh a favour? or does he have a point peter mc donnell was a very poor manager, paddy o rourke did what every down man has wanted to do for nearly a hundred years.. finish armagh. some of the decisions taken by our county board certainly havent covered them in glory. like the rugby coach contract. hughies tantrum comes at a time when something needs to happen. i see grimeys panel in the paper the monaghan man is still in the picture unless something serious has happened since the summer then we still dont have a midfield! i'm not sure that pouring money into armagh at the moment would be sound business practice especially if its not making you happy. maybe down will let him carry the minors footballs for a few hundred thousand he still sponsors them i take it

[Armamike]

The only fault i'd have with the county board in the whole dealings is that they responded. I'd have said nothing

There is an argument alright for saying nothing.

However, given the bitter and personal nature of the original statement and the specific allegations made, I feel that on balance it was better to respond. And for what it's worth, the response was masterful. Succinct, without emotion and entirely professional. The high moral ground has been taken and the potential for a very public, messy spat has been avoided.

And reading through this thread, boy have there have been one or two nails which have been smashed firmly on the head in posts made today!!   

+1
If Hugh Morgan had orange blood running through his veins then he wouldn't have made this statement.  The county board had to reply in the face of his statement but did so in a dignified manner and I'm sure they'll leave it at that.  It was common knowledge that Hughie was too involved in stuff he shouldn't have been and the strong personalities at the head of the county board probably decided enough was enough (rightly so).  In fairness a lot of time and energy is put into the underage structures within the county producing highly competitive minor teams for the last number of years.

Totally agree with these sentiments.  Morgan put a lot into Armagh football over the years but he also got a lot out of it - it was a 2 way thing. Sponsorship is about raising the company profile and getting a long term financial return from that increased exposure. It's also about putting something back to the local community.  I don't know much about Hughie's business but i'd say there's a fair chance his business gained a lot from his association with the county team over the years. 
Regardless of that, he shot himself in the foot with that statement. The running of the county team and the development of football in the county is not within his remit as a sponsor and the County Board were right to make that clear in their statement.  Where he's coming from anyway - anyone who knows anything about Armagh football knows the good work that has been going on for a few years now at underage and the plans for development that are in place.

[DuffleKing]

Whilst i'm delighted that this long overdue move has been made, i'm not in agreement with much else in terms of the view on development work in recent years.

The academy initiative - and attempt to professionalise and link the whole development chain - is an exciting proxspect. very exciting if run properly. however the "work done in recent years at underage" is non existent and this has to be reversed. the development suads and particularly the coaching at minor & under twenty one has been inept and we may reap that particular whirlwind in the medium term.

[5 Sams]

Whilst i'm delighted that this long overdue move has been made, i'm not in agreement with much else in terms of the view on development work in recent years.

The academy initiative - and attempt to professionalise and link the whole development chain - is an exciting proxspect. very exciting if run properly. however the "work done in recent years at underage" is non existent and this has to be reversed. the development suads and particularly the coaching at minor & under twenty one has been inept and we may reap that particular whirlwind in the medium term.

The new sponsors might fund a few spelling lessons for youse boys while they're at it

[Armamike]

Whilst i'm delighted that this long overdue move has been made, i'm not in agreement with much else in terms of the view on development work in recent years.

The academy initiative - and attempt to professionalise and link the whole development chain - is an exciting proxspect. very exciting if run properly. however the "work done in recent years at underage" is non existent and this has to be reversed. the development suads and particularly the coaching at minor & under twenty one has been inept and we may reap that particular whirlwind in the medium term.

Are you talking about the strategy/structures or the implementation? Two different things.  Morgan seemed to be having a go at the CB for no strategy.  The CB has introduced development squads and other structures and initiatives over the years and more recently the academy initiative etc.  For Morgan to say there has been no strategy is simply not true.

[DuffleKing]

There has been no strategy save keeping the show on the road.

The approach to our county minors in isolation is a good example. Given the depth of coaching talent in the county, the level and capability of the people put in place to develop these players has been poor. There has also been no structure to the skills & playing development of players under the guidance of county coaches from 14 to 19.

[bennydorano]

Have the Development squads from U14s been done away with?

[DuffleKing]

There are two u14 development squads under the academy umbrella - north and south regions

[bennydorano]

Am I missing something? What's ur gripe then?

[DuffleKing]

My gripe is what has gone on for the last 4 years. It's been less than poor. As i said above, the new academy and the attempt at some joined up thinking and and the potential of adding quality coaching input is very exciting from where we are now.