Down Club Hurling & Football

[goldenyears]

Banker Johnson is neither gifted or smart on the ball. I agree with Wobbler - he looks to have the physical tools ie tall + rangy.
If he adds some bulk he will be one to look at. I would say he has a chance longer term as a full back.

Saw him 2 yrs ago as a cub give Rony Murtagh all he wanted in a club champ'ship game when Tullylish were a div3 side.
I saw him last Sunday get taken off in a releg playoff game + thought he was brutal.
Altho he may have been injured (didn't look it tho)

[downjim]

who would be favourites for the under 20's???

FFS are still here?

Since when did you become a Mod you A%%%hole!!!
Are you not watching Liverpool??
Anyway i heard Clonduff are useful while Burren still have a fair amount of last years ULSTER winning side

[EagleLord]

Feck, hes still here. How was your dom perignon?

[wavesofTORRES]

Yep im afraid so,Clownjim is still here!!!!  Couple of points- Liverpool decided to give the Champs. lg a miss this season and after last sat. nite one would have thought  you'd learn to engage your brain before your keyboard . a decent club like Burren wouldnt have you collecting jam jars around the pitch  so imagine the embarrassment their members must feel at having to read some of the  juvenile drivel you come out with. Speak for your own club-Newry (Shamrocks, Mitchels, Bosco, whoever).

[DownFanatic]

These trials are being held to appease the lower league clubs who normally complain every year that their star player doesn't get a chance with the county team.

[EagleLord]

Clownjim, nice, that'l stick! Downfannatic, spot on, no doubt there will be rants during next year all the same anyway!

[banker]

Banker Johnson is neither gifted or smart on the ball. I agree with Wobbler - he looks to have the physical tools ie tall + rangy.
If he adds some bulk he will be one to look at. I would say he has a chance longer term as a full back.

Saw him 2 yrs ago as a cub give Rony Murtagh all he wanted in a club champ'ship game when Tullylish were a div3 side.
I saw him last Sunday get taken off in a releg playoff game + thought he was brutal.
Altho he may have been injured (didn't look it tho)

For those who were at the county final you could see that Johnson give Benny McArdle a roasting. A player who many believed would have played full back for Down until Dan Gordon excelled in this position. Johnson we have to remember is still a very young player. Only 21/22. He picked up an injury against Lisnaskea in the Ulster championship and was not able to feature against Kilclief and was nowhere near fully fit against shamrocks but just wanted to risk the injury for his team in this game. Although John McAreavey is an excellent player and that could never been doubted people are saying that John has been the main man for Tullylish this year well Johnson played a bigger role in Tullylish's success this year more than John both two quality players that many others believe to be county material. They deserve their opportunity to show what they are worth in the McKenna cup and League at least before people can say they are not county potential.

[When We Win]

Chris Killen, Luke Howard, Darren O'Hagan and John McAreavey would be my 4, although there were a couple of teams that i didn't get to watch this year and Burren were one of them so i can't comment on any of their players.

Laverty, Alder and Jason Brown could be on the fringes of the Down Panel, with a few run outs in the league but i wouldn't start any of them in the heat of championship battle.
In truth there aren't many places up for grabs as i think its a pretty strong county squad with plenty of competition for places.

Apres Match, i saw Darragh Cross play a couple of times this year - in castewellan against the Clone, and in Glassdrumman, and 3 times last season as well. Maybe i caught you on a bad day but the day in question in Castewellan most of your team were better boxers than footballers! 

Chief - I am not saying that any of the Darragh players are ready to walk in to the county set-up but if players as previously mentioned are on the squad then tey should be there.

In Castlewellan against the clone, Darragh Cross were terrible. However even playing badly they still only managed to lose by a score and kicked themselves out of it. Annaclone, even with strong county players couldnt play in the second half. They registered one point from about 4 attacks. They beat Drumgath, Attical, Glassdrumman this year and there was one forward in particular looked well worth a trail and that was young Miskelly.

I think these players need to be watches as stated previously, several times a year and possibly worked on over several weeks to see if they can make it as they have further more work to do to get to tough competitive level of fitness. It is easier for division one players as they have the benefit of superb trainers, something lower divions dont usually (but not always).

Would be interesting to see three select division 3 , 2 & 1 teams which has been worked on for a month under county guidance, play each other to see the gap in standard if it exists. I would say there is very little between them all.

[When We Win]

I'm not so sure Mourne Rover.
Finishing top of the league might prove you're better than Division III standard. But it's on winning the play-offs - when the best teams in your division have full squads and are chomping at the bit - that means you're reading for Division II.

You have just contradicted yourself - if finishing top of the league makes you better than Division III standard, what does it make you?

Too many people in Down football place too much of an emphasis on league placings. .

Hardly. This team finished first. A place in the playoff final is a less than paltry reward for a team that has shown the effort, dedication and consistency to finish top.

I would reconfigure the end of season play-offs a little so that the team which finished higher is always at home (regardless of whether it's roun-robin, semi, or final). This would be a suitable reward for a consistent season and might push teams a bit harder during the end of league dead rubbers.
But being good at beating Division III standard teams does not a Division II team make.

I'm not against play-offs, but the team finishing top should automatically go up. Not only rewarding the most consistent team in the league, it will also mean that another team will have the chance to compete for promotion.

I know our club has been involved in a few of these situations over the years but i do not see why even in the current system the first placed team goes up. then  Second and third play off and the winner plays the winner of the relegation battle from the division above. If the lower division team win then they deserve to be up a division.

Personally i think that there was better teams this year in division 3 than at the bottom two thirds of division 2. There really isnt much between them.

[Hospitalpass]

Banker, are you still tryin to claim your not from tullylish? 

[Down Follower]

Chris Killen, Luke Howard, Darren O'Hagan and John McAreavey would be my 4, although there were a couple of teams that i didn't get to watch this year and Burren were one of them so i can't comment on any of their players.

Laverty, Alder and Jason Brown could be on the fringes of the Down Panel, with a few run outs in the league but i wouldn't start any of them in the heat of championship battle.
In truth there aren't many places up for grabs as i think its a pretty strong county squad with plenty of competition for places.

Apres Match, i saw Darragh Cross play a couple of times this year - in castewellan against the Clone, and in Glassdrumman, and 3 times last season as well. Maybe i caught you on a bad day but the day in question in Castewellan most of your team were better boxers than footballers! 

Chief - I am not saying that any of the Darragh players are ready to walk in to the county set-up but if players as previously mentioned are on the squad then tey should be there.

In Castlewellan against the clone, Darragh Cross were terrible. However even playing badly they still only managed to lose by a score and kicked themselves out of it. Annaclone, even with strong county players couldnt play in the second half. They registered one point from about 4 attacks. They beat Drumgath, Attical, Glassdrumman this year and there was one forward in particular looked well worth a trail and that was young Miskelly.

I think these players need to be watches as stated previously, several times a year and possibly worked on over several weeks to see if they can make it as they have further more work to do to get to tough competitive level of fitness. It is easier for division one players as they have the benefit of superb trainers, something lower divions dont usually (but not always).

Would be interesting to see three select division 3 , 2 & 1 teams which has been worked on for a month under county guidance, play each other to see the gap in standard if it exists. I would say there is very little between them all.

Now this is the best idea i have come across here for some time.

[The Chief]

Chris Killen, Luke Howard, Darren O'Hagan and John McAreavey would be my 4, although there were a couple of teams that i didn't get to watch this year and Burren were one of them so i can't comment on any of their players.

Laverty, Alder and Jason Brown could be on the fringes of the Down Panel, with a few run outs in the league but i wouldn't start any of them in the heat of championship battle.
In truth there aren't many places up for grabs as i think its a pretty strong county squad with plenty of competition for places.

Apres Match, i saw Darragh Cross play a couple of times this year - in castewellan against the Clone, and in Glassdrumman, and 3 times last season as well. Maybe i caught you on a bad day but the day in question in Castewellan most of your team were better boxers than footballers! 

Chief - I am not saying that any of the Darragh players are ready to walk in to the county set-up but if players as previously mentioned are on the squad then tey should be there.

In Castlewellan against the clone, Darragh Cross were terrible. However even playing badly they still only managed to lose by a score and kicked themselves out of it. Annaclone, even with strong county players couldnt play in the second half. They registered one point from about 4 attacks. They beat Drumgath, Attical, Glassdrumman this year and there was one forward in particular looked well worth a trail and that was young Miskelly.

I think these players need to be watches as stated previously, several times a year and possibly worked on over several weeks to see if they can make it as they have further more work to do to get to tough competitive level of fitness. It is easier for division one players as they have the benefit of superb trainers, something lower divions dont usually (but not always).

Would be interesting to see three select division 3 , 2 & 1 teams which has been worked on for a month under county guidance, play each other to see the gap in standard if it exists. I would say there is very little between them all.

Your probably right WWW - some of the players trialled would have been no better than a few of Darragh Cross players, my main gripe was that the vast majority of those at the trials are not and will never be county standard, but as was already been said on here you need to get 30 to make it worthwhile and you need to appease the smaller clubs to make it be shown that everyone is getting a fair crack at it.
My main point was that very few players at the trials will be on the panel come next February or March

Miskelly has been a regular scorer over the years going on reports i read in the lMourne Observer - but on this day against Annaclone he didn't stand out at all. In truth the McArdles ran the show and you could see they were a cut above the rest in what was a poor spectacle

as for your last point what exactly do u mean? are you saying if - for example Bryansford, Loughinisland and Carryduff are each trained by county coaches for a month, and then played each other they would all be close games??
i think not

[6th sam]

I'm not so sure Mourne Rover.
Finishing top of the league might prove you're better than Division III standard. But it's on winning the play-offs - when the best teams in your division have full squads and are chomping at the bit - that means you're reading for Division II.

You have just contradicted yourself - if finishing top of the league makes you better than Division III standard, what does it make you?

Too many people in Down football place too much of an emphasis on league placings. .

Hardly. This team finished first. A place in the playoff final is a less than paltry reward for a team that has shown the effort, dedication and consistency to finish top.

I would reconfigure the end of season play-offs a little so that the team which finished higher is always at home (regardless of whether it's roun-robin, semi, or final). This would be a suitable reward for a consistent season and might push teams a bit harder during the end of league dead rubbers.
But being good at beating Division III standard teams does not a Division II team make.

I'm not against play-offs, but the team finishing top should automatically go up. Not only rewarding the most consistent team in the league, it will also mean that another team will have the chance to compete for promotion.

I know our club has been involved in a few of these situations over the years but i do not see why even in the current system the first placed team goes up. then  Second and third play off and the winner plays the winner of the relegation battle from the division above. If the lower division team win then they deserve to be up a division.

Personally i think that there was better teams this year in division 3 than at the bottom two thirds of division 2. There really isnt much between them.

I think our system has improved gradually over the years and certainly we remain the envy of most other counties regarding our club structures.From next year onwards 1st placed team goes up.2nd and 3rd then playoff.This is an improvement on the old playoffs when midtable teams could end up in bottom 4,or top 4.The result being that every league game is like a final, and the championship becomes diluted.I disagree with your suggestion re playing teams from league above,as quite conceivably promotion contenders could become unstuck via injuries etc in a once-off game.The league should be just that.Promotion should be the reward for teams showing they are a cut above their opponents in that league and deserve a crack at a higher level.The 2nd/3rd playoffs are necessary to prevent discrimination against a club having to play matches without county men.Taking 4th position out of the playoff places is fair enough,as if a team is not capable of making top 3 (even without county men for much of the season),they are unlikely to be able to consistently compete in the league above(when they still be without their county men).
We got to an All-Ireland final,and yet our internal club games were all completed by mid november...hats off to Sean Rooney,for his excellent work on this!
Next year the system will be even better,with the amendments to the playoffs.Personally I would prefer only 3 divisions in Down,and an extended championship structure,with flexibility in the system to allow club football to proceed,when the county teams get a good run-but given the relative success of the current system,we are unlikely to see change.

[2 out of 2]

re: down jim

As member of burren club and a keen supporter and after just returning from short holiday, I feel that I'd like to restore respect amongst fellow gaaboard members to my own club. Firstly congrats to mayobridge on league success, they are a very good team, have been this long time and I believe they will continue to be, by no means are we (burren) the finished article YET, I believe we are improving, but bryansford, killcoo and hilltown are doing likewise and on any given day each team can be of equal quality which can only be healthy for down football and reflects the pool of talent at wee james disposal. Perhaps, when any of these sides gets that coveted ulster senior title, one can begin to crow, until then it might be better to keep quiet, we came close this year I believe, but close AINT good enough! I suspect downjim might just be trying to ruffle a few feathers and create a tense reaction, if so he has gotten his gains but as a club member would just like to seperate his 'less intellectual' comments from our great club. ok, rant over 

[guevara]

The Trials are a PR exercise & nothing else.....
Unless you have a Div 4 or Div 3 player roasting a Div 1 player then in truth they are just there to make up the numbers.
Every year the same arguments persist about who should be on it & who shouldn't. I'm sure every County is the same. What people have to realise is that in football there is a lot of politics involved. Burrens contingent last year was greatly helped by the fact that James McCartan was an ex-player from that club. Playing for Burren helped certain fellas make that squad when perhaps otherwise they wouldn't have been anywhere near it. This isn't a go at Burren, if you've 2 players of similar ability & 1 plays for Kilcoo & other for Tullylish you can bet your last penny who will be the one on it.

I said the exact same last year regarding Anton McArdle, Paul Devlin etc... they should be nowhere near the panel until they warrant a place on it...end of! There is too much bullshit about "blooding them in" or "being one for the future" In my opinion its a cop out for the bigger clubs to justify having boys on the panel who in some cases dint even start regular for their club.
At 18 - 21 years of age these boys need to be testing themselves regularly against Senior teams in Div 1-4 not making up the numbers in training matches at Pairc Esler.
By all means if there is a young player who is one of the best players in his division then I'm all for him being on the County Panel but players on it have to warrant their place. There are too many passengers (even on last years panel) who are happy enough to remain just that.
Goldenyears your argument regarding "player gossip" being a key factor is also quite naive....boys will look after their mates & friends. Of course there will be a bit of banter between panelists about who is playing well but to suggest that if a guy is playing well he will definitely get his chance is not always the case.
Fellas like Colm Kearney (Bryansford) Brian Cole (Rostrevor) Jason Brown (Hilltown) Gareth Johnson (Tullylish) John Boyle (Warrenpoint) and others had all been playing well for their respective clubs last year but couldn't make a McKenna Cup Squad which in reality consisted of quite a few who shouldn't have been anywhere near it.
Until a fairer system of selection is developed the same pointless arguments will crop up every year. A suggestion might be Selectors actually going to watch games outside Div 1 & seeing what else is on offer, who's playing well & who is consistent.