Down Club Hurling & Football

[charlieTully]

JC, I was addressing Imagine not asking you to imagine, but it's great to hear you boys indulge in a bit player poaching also!

I wouldn't be too au fait with the parish boundaries Imagine but there must be a club in Tullycarnet because who else would own the Go Games posts at the side of the Hanwood 3G soccer pitch? ☺

You're taking the proverbial p-ss here.You know fine well there is no GAA Club in Tullycarnet. I suppose you're going to say there may be a Club in Hillsborough or maybe there is one in Rathriland or maybe one in Ballynahinch or even one in Ballybeen or Dromore.

Rathfriland is in Drumgath Parish......half the team are from the town

Rathfriland erins own won a senior championship back in 1937 if my memory serves me correct. County Board meetings were held in the town at the turn of the last century. It's a town with a long standing history in Down gaa.

[Lecale Gael]

Where's that Ron Burgundy meme when you need it?

the "well that escalated quickly " one ?

[Lecale Gael]

Burns confirms Dan Gordon not making himself available for Down

now we know and can move on.. on that one

[SHEEDY]

Burns confirms Dan Gordon not making himself available for Down

now we know and can move on.. on that one

we could do with 3 or 4 dan gordons. be a shame if we dont see him back in a down jersey.

[Line Ball]

No Down men were used on the beaten UUJ team yesterday.Says a lot about both the current Down Team's calibre of player
and the merry go round of professional players attending 3rd level colleges at present.

Definitely says alot about our current standing, who exactly would have been in contention?  Not much craic here at the minute.  I cannot remember so much apathy both here and even worse when you talk to your mates about it, actually it would depress you talking about it.  We are only 2 games into the season but boy are we in a low place. Eamonn really is on a beaten docket here but I hope for his sake he can maintain a credible league and championship campaign though it doesn't help when our better players will not make themselves available.  I would have more time for those who will train and slog it out on the pitch rather than those who will/have taken the easy option of jumping ship.  We are a proud county but I think you will find that somewhere about our boots at present 

[No1]

Holywood, Newtownards and Bangor dominating the county draw tonight. They do say money goes to money..........

[imagine]

Holywood, Newtownards and Bangor dominating the county draw tonight. They do say money goes to money..........

I'll let others judge your post

[PAULD123]

Burns confirms Dan Gordon not making himself available for Down

now we know and can move on.. on that one

Very disappointing but totally expected. But isn't the key question why wouldn't he want to be part of the Down team? Sadly the answers are fairly obvious. We play a football style that is no fun for anyone. Secondly the training demands are significant.

The more training the more expenses so it pays to have lots of sessions, but that also is drain on players time. A former All-Ireland winner commented to me recently that the game is increasingly only going to be played by teachers and students under the age of 30. as they are the only people that can give up that time commitment.

Asking someone like Dan to give up his family life with young children 3-5 days per week and then go out and play a game structured around fear (fear to attack, fear to shoot, fear to pass long, fear to take on a man) is understandably unattractive.

[Gaa for life]

I would have more time for those who will train and slog it out on the pitch rather than those who will/have taken the easy option of jumping ship.

you mean you have more time for a few young lads with no ties playing senior football to a man who has chosen to have a life with his young family after 11/12 years of service to our county senior team? says a lot really

[charlieTully]

Burns confirms Dan Gordon not making himself available for Down

now we know and can move on.. on that one

Very disappointing but totally expected. But isn't the key question why wouldn't he want to be part of the Down team? Sadly the answers are fairly obvious. We play a football style that is no fun for anyone. Secondly the training demands are significant.

The more training the more expenses so it pays to have lots of sessions, but that also is drain on players time. A former All-Ireland winner commented to me recently that the game is increasingly only going to be played by teachers and students under the age of 30. as they are the only people that can give up that time commitment.

Asking someone like Dan to give up his family life with young children 3-5 days per week and then go out and play a game structured around fear (fear to attack, fear to shoot, fear to pass long, fear to take on a man) is understandably unattractive.

the lack of leeway shown to his club last year may also be a factor.

[cut the crap]

Isn't it typical of some so called Down fans who come on here to give an opinion on here about something they know nothing about. This is supposed to be a forum to discuss Down football and not to criticise Dan Gordon.The man for whatever reason has decided enough is enough, he has given great service to Down , let's remember that.
The same man will still play for his club , the same club that the CCC shafted this year over the play off game, that may have contributed to his decision but it won't have been the only reason for stepping back from county football, it's time for the criticism to stop and move on.

[Mike Tyson]

Isn't it typical of some so called Down fans who come on here to give an opinion on here about something they know nothing about. This is supposed to be a forum to discuss Down football and not to criticise Dan Gordon.The man for whatever reason has decided enough is enough, he has given great service to Down , let's remember that.
The same man will still play for his club , the same club that the CCC shafted this year over the play off game, that may have contributed to his decision but it won't have been the only reason for stepping back from county football, it's time for the criticism to stop and move on.

I'm in no way criticising DG. Just posting a potential reason for his non return. He has been one of our main men for years. It's not unreasonable to mention him on a discussion board pertaining to down gaa as long as there is no personal abuse against him. I have it from a very very reliable source that he said he would never wear a down jersey again after the way his club were treated last year.

Spot on. Any chances of him going back were ended after the scenario surrounding the play off game. He's made his decision and Down will now have to move on and look at alternative options.

Any word on Benny? Is he back with squad yet?

[Lecale Gael]

Isn't it typical of some so called Down fans who come on here to give an opinion on here about something they know nothing about. This is supposed to be a forum to discuss Down football and not to criticise Dan Gordon.The man for whatever reason has decided enough is enough, he has given great service to Down , let's remember that.
The same man will still play for his club , the same club that the CCC shafted this year over the play off game, that may have contributed to his decision but it won't have been the only reason for stepping back from county football, it's time for the criticism to stop and move on.

you may have actually contradicted yourself there 

[Aristo 60]

Looking fwd to Sunday afternoon now. Feel like I haven't seen the County in 100 years.

What are people thinking about this one?

I see gaa.ie have a headline "Big Guns back for Kerry this weekend". Just as well, we wouldn't want the Dublin media saying that we bet a weakened outfit!   

[Aristo 60]

The full text:

Kerry manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice expects to have a number of his heavy hitters available to him for the Kingdom's Allianz Football League game against Down in Newry on Sunday afternoon.

The Allianz Football League returns this weekend after two weekends off, and Kerry need a win in the Marshes, having lost their opening two games to Dublin and Roscommon respectively.

Colm Cooper, Marc Ó Sé, Kieran Donaghy and Bryan Sheehan are all in line to feature, while Fitzmaurice hopes to include Aidan Walsh and Denis Daly (St Mary's) and Templenoe duo Tadhg Morley and Gavin Crowley in his plans, that quartet having starred in their clubs' All-Ireland Intermediate and Junior wins earlier this month.

"Obviously we have no team picked yet and we will have to see how the football goes this week," Fitzmaurice said at his media briefing on Monday evening in Tralee. "But Marc ó Sé is back in the reckoning, Colm Cooper is back in the mix, as is Kieran Donaghy."

"Peter Crowley is also back in the reckoning but it's possibly a week or two too soon for him. Bryan Sheehan, Aidan Walsh and Denis Daly from the St Mary's team that won the All-Ireland Intermediate club, as well as the Templenoe pair of Tadhg Morley and Gavin Crowley are all back in and they will strengthen our hand."

Kerry are still without a galaxy of stars though, James O'Donoghue, Paul Geaney and Anthony Maher all still on the absentee list.