Down Club Hurling & Football

[mournerambler]

to talk about martin clarke starting in the championship next year is crazy, surely he will need a season of games under his belt before the selectors make the decision to include him.

Sorry stiff breeze but your way of the mark there in my opinion, Martin Clarke is probably going to be Down's next Greg Blaney & you want to leave him in the stand for a year scratching his arse while the likes of John Boyle for example take up a place on the panel & all they are doing is dirtying a jersey!!!!

[stiff breeze]

Wise up Stiff Beeze. Talk of Marty Clark needing a year to re-adjust to Gaelic Football is laughable.  Isn't it lucky for Kerry that Jack O'Connor wasn't so naive when it came to selecting Tagdh Kenelly after 9 years away!! Marty Clark came back after a year to star in An Riocht's league success. He is going to be a Down great- hopefully we can build a team  that brings him success in the next 4-5 years as miracles don't happen overnight.

Alot of the views of marty clarke are based on his performances for the minors and under 21s. county Seniors is a big step up. good luck to marty but i still think he should be selected (as should all county players) on what they have performed recently which is clearly not the case. New down manager in but same old selection system in place.

[norabeag]

Wise up Stiff Beeze. Talk of Marty Clark needing a year to re-adjust to Gaelic Football is laughable.  Isn't it lucky for Kerry that Jack O'Connor wasn't so naive when it came to selecting Tagdh Kenelly after 9 years away!! Marty Clark came back after a year to star in An Riocht's league success. He is going to be a Down great- hopefully we can build a team  that brings him success in the next 4-5 years as miracles don't happen overnight.

Alot of the views of marty clarke are based on his performances for the minors and under 21s. county Seniors is a big step up. good luck to marty but i still think he should be selected (as should all county players) on what they have performed recently which is clearly not the case. New down manager in but same old selection system in place.

Stiff Breeze Time for a stiff drink me thinks. Talk of winning All Irelands etc is nonsense but to suggest he might not be up to County Football is laughable

[mournerambler]

Wise up Stiff Beeze. Talk of Marty Clark needing a year to re-adjust to Gaelic Football is laughable.  Isn't it lucky for Kerry that Jack O'Connor wasn't so naive when it came to selecting Tagdh Kenelly after 9 years away!! Marty Clark came back after a year to star in An Riocht's league success. He is going to be a Down great- hopefully we can build a team  that brings him success in the next 4-5 years as miracles don't happen overnight.

Alot of the views of marty clarke are based on his performances for the minors and under 21s. county Seniors is a big step up. good luck to marty but i still think he should be selected (as should all county players) on what they have performed recently which is clearly not the case. New down manager in but same old selection system in place.

You are talking complete & utter bollicks there stiff breeze, you say senior gaelic football is a big step-up........... well hello, the lad has spent the last 3 years as a professional Aussie rules player & surpassed all expectations that were placed on his young shoulders in adopting to the oval ball, he is in peak physical condition with a natural ability to play high quality gaelic football for fun, so in my opinion your points of view just don't stack up, when you in a hole stop digging!

[stiff breeze]

clearly he isnt in peak physical condition when he hasnt played for collingwood for a while. young reilly from loughinisland is going to oz by all accounts and Imo he wouldnt have been the saviour of down football so the fact that clarke has played aussie rules for a year and a half counts for f all. different games.

[Pangurban]

Marty Clarke is a good footballer and worthy of inclusion in Co.panel if fully fit, but to elevate him to saviour or even star status at this stage, is just plain ridiculous

[Long Ball]

Look Stiff Breeze and Pangurban, get real. Marty Clark is a gifted Gaelic footballer, the best prospect since Benny Coulter. He will walk onto the Down tean and rightly so. He is a class act and as the saying goes- class is permanent

[True Blue]

to talk about martin clarke starting in the championship next year is crazy, surely he will need a season of games under his belt before the selectors make the decision to include him.

Sorry stiff breeze but your way of the mark there in my opinion, Martin Clarke is probably going to be Down's next Greg Blaney & you want to leave him in the stand for a year scratching his arse while the likes of John Boyle for example take up a place on the panel & all they are doing is dirtying a jersey!!!!

mournerambler i take your insult of john boyle as being very nasty and short sighted. john got very few chances last season and when he did start in the nfl he may not have been the best player on the park for down but he was far from the worst and didnt let them down either. played both defence and forward throuhout the year and ok i may have my blue point sunglasses on but to say all he did was dirty a jersey is complete crap. dont get me wrong cant wait to see marty clarke back in the down jersey but to single out boyler as keeping boys of the panel while having played on a point team with very few points this year, he was the leading light on that team and i would say if you asked anybody who had to mark him they had a torrid hour.

[fairplay]

  John Boyle is a great Club player but definetly not County material.He would struggle to get on the Mayobridge team
when they were Co Champions last year.

[stiff breeze]

its the fact that our county management has practically said there is a down jersey waitin for marty that has bothered me. how would the likes of micky walsh who is having a great season feel if clarke got a place in the squad instead of him on merit?

[dundrumite]

its the fact that our county management has practically said there is a down jersey waitin for marty that has bothered me. how would the likes of micky walsh who is having a great season feel if clarke got a place in the squad instead of him on merit?

Stiff breeze, I would imagine the way the selection process Will work will be that Clarke will be given a trial (for the point of fairness) based upon the talent he has shown as possibly THE best minor of recent times. In addition as pointed out he was a professional athlete in the AFL and in between times he came back to help An Riocht secure a league title, with a tally of 2-1 in the league final. If he impresses at these trials ( as I have a sneaky suspicion he may) then he will be included in the panel.
James is a smart enough man and will know( as even Jim Wells could probably tell ya) that Marty Clarke is one of the top 30s footballers on Down based on the above points. When the papers asked him about Marty Clarke in relation to Down football, he stated it was "a boost" (as it is)." HOPEFULLY we can integrate him into Down football fairly quickly.... he's not going to solve all our problems hes only 21 and needs time."
I thought he dealt with the expectation and hype fairly well. If he fulfilled your wishes and came out and stated that Marty is not guaranteed his place on the panel, it would make him look mildly insane. It certainly as other posters I am sure would back me up on provoke more of a reaction than his hints that Marty will be included in the panel. 

[Niall Quinn]

I'm expecting big things of him as a teacher.

[Mid Down Gael]

Kilcoo just after beating Rostrevor in Down under 16 championship final. Great display with Darragh Ohanlon and Ryan Johnston superb. Thats the intermediate ladies and Down Under 16s for our club. Good luck to our thirds against Kilclief seconds in reserve simi final tomorrow.

[TORGAEL]

Aghaderg failed to field v Drumgath today.

[Long Ball]

Loughinisland 3-10
Castlewellan 3-10
Any other results?