Down Club Hurling & Football

[corn02]

Any one have U21 squad with clubs as well?

[DownFanatic]

Any one have U21 squad with clubs as well?

From last night:

Gavin Joyce - Ballymartin

Mark Digney - Newry Shamrocks
Niall Higgins - Annaclone
Damien Turley - Downpatrick

Conor Poland - Longstone
John Fitzpatrick - Ballymartin
Timmy Hanna - Bryansford

Michael Magee - Ardglass
Pete Fitzpatrick - Ballymartin

Eamon Toner - Burren
Conor Maginn - Bryansford
Jamie O'Reilly - Loughinisland

Paul Devlin - Kilcoo
Paul McComiskey - Dundrum
Ben O'Reilly - Loughinisland


Subs: Joe Murphy - Ballyholland, Ryan McGovern - Burren

[Joe Umbrella (hey)]

Interesting to see 8 East Down lads in the starting 15 - Would I be right in saying this would be a trend in the successful county sides down the years? Given that Doyle is injured the current senior group would only have Gordan, Howard and McComiskey from East Down as certain staters.

[Dubh driocht]

This is a good U21 team.
Decisive (and measured) sideline management could be an example to others.

Agreed.
And this team was beaten by Cavan at minor. Yet the same minor management is still in place .

[thewobbler]

Joe Umbrella - why do people like yourself persist in trying to find some sort of magical power in the imaginary line that divides our county? Such a load of nonsense I've never heard before.

[Niall Quinn]

Joe Umbrella - why do people like yourself persist in trying to find some sort of magical power in the imaginary line that divides our county? Such a load of nonsense I've never heard before.

Do you take issue with inter-county comparisons also?
Or those based on the notional little lines divvying up continental Europe?

[Downgael2008]

just a thought... if the u21's win wednesday week and end up in an all ireland semi final on the following saturday will that disrupt the commencement of the senior league s ??

[T O Hare]

Joe Umbrella - why do people like yourself persist in trying to find some sort of magical power in the imaginary line that divides our county? Such a load of nonsense I've never heard before.

I agree, but everyone knows the best footballers are from south down

[Joe Umbrella (hey)]

Joe Umbrella - why do people like yourself persist in trying to find some sort of magical power in the imaginary line that divides our county? Such a load of nonsense I've never heard before.

With lines like that maybe you want to try your hand at writing some childrens fantasy novels, a little bit dramatic don't you think?

I don't believe that there is any specific geographic divide within 'our county' nor do I persist in trying to find it - this is the first time I have mentioned it on this forum. The point I was trying to make is that I believe that football at this present time appears to be alot stronger at one part of the county than at the other end (some might refer to as east Down or South Down but that clearly puts peoples knickers into twists)which is reflected in the player representation of our senior county team and also the two top divisons of the senior league.

It only stands to sense that if there is a difference in standard of footballers from one part of 'a county' to another then the catchment area for county selection is smaller and the odds of sucess at this level are higher.      

[thewobbler]

Really, I have no idea how I interpreted the following statement so wrongly.

Would I be right in saying this would be a trend in the successful county sides down the years? Given that Doyle is injured the current senior group would only have Gordan, Howard and McComiskey from East Down as certain staters.

Anyways, dramatic or not, I do find the regular complaints of South Down bias more than a tad insulting to anyone involved in county teams. South Down has a bigger catchment area and isn't afflicted with the stickfighting disease, so it makes sense that this side of the divide would normally have the higher representation. 

[mournerambler]

Really, I have no idea how I interpreted the following statement so wrongly.

Would I be right in saying this would be a trend in the successful county sides down the years? Given that Doyle is injured the current senior group would only have Gordan, Howard and McComiskey from East Down as certain staters.

Anyways, dramatic or not, I do find the regular complaints of South Down bias more than a tad insulting to anyone involved in county teams. South Down has a bigger catchment area and isn't afflicted with the stickfighting disease, so it makes sense that this side of the divide would normally have the higher representation.  
In 1991 eight of the starting 15 were from East Down & in 1994 seven East Down men started, so how can you say that it makes sense that South Down should have the higher representation, bigger catchment areas don't neccesarily produce better gaelic footballers as we all well know.

[thewobbler]

would normally

[Mourne Rover]

I agree with Wobbler that the South Down/East Down thing is a bit tiresome,  and I really don't believe that Kilcoo for example would have more players in the senior county team if the dividing line moved a mile or so up the road.  However, the idea that South Down has a bigger catchment area is wrong. The area covered by the East Down Board has at least twice and probably closer to three times the population of its southern counterpart. Most of those are from the Protestant/Unionist tradition, and not likely to be involved in the GAA, but there are also a substantial number of people from a nationalist background in East Down who stick to soccer rather than Gaelic games. If the GAA attracted the same overall commitment in the east as it does in the south, it would not be 15 years since our last senior football provincial title.

[gorm agus bui]

would normally

much as I hate the south down east down thing, your argument does not stand up to scutiny as it is one south down club that has been dominant not the divisional area. Over the last two decades there have been more East Down clubs who have prevailed in theSFC

[corn02]

Cheers Downfanatic.