County Manager Merry go round

[joemamas]

I guess the secrets out on McEntee not being that good. 

McEntee had Carrabine and Murphy in their prime in Div4 and still struggled to get us out. Why because he mixed their talent with some very poor players. One of worst player evaluations I seen was David Phillips starting for us and then putting him on Cox in championship. I found it very hard to take this management seriously after that, then similar mistakes happened over and over even this year. I asked people on the county board face to face to how that can happen and was just advised he is a great lad. That's when I knew personality was way too important of a factor in the evaluation process. It was a free pass the first few years with McEntee according to them.

Keane the coach wasn't long putting our underage players in their place if they came into the set up with too much confidence and trying to put them down. I have been told they would find fault in them a lot quicker than older players.

It took them until this year to see Kilcoyne and McNamara weren't good enough to take us to next level. Only 4.5 years of developing low ceiling players whilst oddly not selecting younger ones which I knew and many others did were of more value to invest in.

The main reason some underage players are struggling to breakthrough is some of the them aren't big personalities. They need to be managed differently and this management failed badly in this regard especially with those more sensitive ones who left the panel.

McEntee has some good facets. He is very organised and structured and nice. But those are the easiest criteria for a manager and min expectation. His communication was poor and he comes across awful dour in his media interviews. Not inspiring at all. He looked lost on the line which is why he probably moved to the stands although that will be played as having a better view.

The county board batten down the hatches to protect McEntee or was it to protect criticism from themselves.

This management failed to inspire the Sligo public as shown in the lack of support in the seniors. We all saw our potential at the u20 final where a huge Sligo crowd showed up.

McEntee talked of how nice everyone in Sligo was to him and how well he was treated. Everyone should treat people with respect but we are far too nice in Sligo. Roscommon people were waiting for Maughan outside the dressing room in 06 comes to mind. They and many other successful counties would never have tolerated what this management achieved over 5 years. Keane in 7 years has only really brought back to where he started. No progress. Davy Burkes job is in jeopardy after getting Roscommon back to Division 1, that would never happen in Sligo where mediocrity is accepted. I wont miss McEntee or Keane but I will give him credit for resigning and saving us time.

The Fermanagh performance showcased where this management brought us, couldn't beat a team ranked around 21. Fermanagh a county who haven't had near the underage success we have had are beating us and spending way more time in Div2 last few years.

Going forward I don't want a nice manager who is just organised and gets on with County Board. The county board need to hold our managers more accountable. They ultimately work for us but it is a collaboration.

I want a winner, a manager with a Aura who exudes belief but backs it up with tactical knowledge. A manager that can see the patterns in the game. I always felt McEntee was blind to seeing the patterns of games which is why no matter what he made the same subs and the same time. Never knew how to change momentum or enhance it. A manager who can evaluate players on ability and potential and can develop them faster.

We need someone of substance who can inspire and bring the whole county with him. Has to carry the belief. This set of players, can they believe they will win Connacht in the last minute of game 1pt down to get the 2pter, that kinda of pressure when the opposition are pushing up on us. Can we hold on to the lead late on with a Connacht title on the line. This team haven't faced that kinda of pressure at senior in long time. In fairness in 07 we didn't handle it great but was just about enough.

3 year look ahead targets,

Division 2 and maintain
Beat 1 of the top 3 in Connacht and competitive against all of them - hammerings not accepted
Sam Maguire qualification and last 16
Lower age profile of team
Improve pace of team
Improve kickout %
Improve goal chance concession etc..

We have to find 4 players that can start and excel, Dillon Walsh, Tommy Ross and Ronan Niland are not projects and should be going straight into the squad next year if fit. Casserly and Conlon need to be given chances. Luke Marren needs to be brought and James Donlon. Both need county conditioning. Midfielders of size need to be targeted. Keaney and Banks brought in. Most importantly Keelan Harte in goals needs to approached. I'd like to see Sheridan and Byrne in. Carrabine comes back hopefully. You don't take a year out if you rate the management and our chances.

Lastly  - local candidates,

Gerry McGowan - waiting in the wings
Eamon O Hara - with Boyle
Kevin Johnstone - not sure, was with Corofin in 2024
Paul Henry - unattached

Hopefully we can poach Luke Bree back from Offaly

Outside of Sligo candidates

Mickey Harte- proven record of bringing through underage, we are closer than Offaly, he is working with Bree right now. Look what he started in Louth when he took over the same time as McEntee and how much quicker their progress was.

excellent in depth analysis for folks outside the county.
At the same time, you wonder if Sligo did not spill the ball in last year in the final minutes V Galway, what would his legacy be. Probably would still be manager. Fine margins.
Anyway, it would be great to see my neighbors make it back to the top table or at least D2.

[Rossfan]

Our man rumoured to be staying (not a reliable source though)

[sligoman]

I guess the secrets out on McEntee not being that good. 

McEntee had Carrabine and Murphy in their prime in Div4 and still struggled to get us out. Why because he mixed their talent with some very poor players. One of worst player evaluations I seen was David Phillips starting for us and then putting him on Cox in championship. I found it very hard to take this management seriously after that, then similar mistakes happened over and over even this year. I asked people on the county board face to face to how that can happen and was just advised he is a great lad. That's when I knew personality was way too important of a factor in the evaluation process. It was a free pass the first few years with McEntee according to them.

Keane the coach wasn't long putting our underage players in their place if they came into the set up with too much confidence and trying to put them down. I have been told they would find fault in them a lot quicker than older players.

It took them until this year to see Kilcoyne and McNamara weren't good enough to take us to next level. Only 4.5 years of developing low ceiling players whilst oddly not selecting younger ones which I knew and many others did were of more value to invest in.

The main reason some underage players are struggling to breakthrough is some of the them aren't big personalities. They need to be managed differently and this management failed badly in this regard especially with those more sensitive ones who left the panel.

McEntee has some good facets. He is very organised and structured and nice. But those are the easiest criteria for a manager and min expectation. His communication was poor and he comes across awful dour in his media interviews. Not inspiring at all. He looked lost on the line which is why he probably moved to the stands although that will be played as having a better view.

The county board batten down the hatches to protect McEntee or was it to protect criticism from themselves.

This management failed to inspire the Sligo public as shown in the lack of support in the seniors. We all saw our potential at the u20 final where a huge Sligo crowd showed up.

McEntee talked of how nice everyone in Sligo was to him and how well he was treated. Everyone should treat people with respect but we are far too nice in Sligo. Roscommon people were waiting for Maughan outside the dressing room in 06 comes to mind. They and many other successful counties would never have tolerated what this management achieved over 5 years. Keane in 7 years has only really brought back to where he started. No progress. Davy Burkes job is in jeopardy after getting Roscommon back to Division 1, that would never happen in Sligo where mediocrity is accepted. I wont miss McEntee or Keane but I will give him credit for resigning and saving us time.

The Fermanagh performance showcased where this management brought us, couldn't beat a team ranked around 21. Fermanagh a county who haven't had near the underage success we have had are beating us and spending way more time in Div2 last few years.

Going forward I don't want a nice manager who is just organised and gets on with County Board. The county board need to hold our managers more accountable. They ultimately work for us but it is a collaboration.

I want a winner, a manager with a Aura who exudes belief but backs it up with tactical knowledge. A manager that can see the patterns in the game. I always felt McEntee was blind to seeing the patterns of games which is why no matter what he made the same subs and the same time. Never knew how to change momentum or enhance it. A manager who can evaluate players on ability and potential and can develop them faster.

We need someone of substance who can inspire and bring the whole county with him. Has to carry the belief. This set of players, can they believe they will win Connacht in the last minute of game 1pt down to get the 2pter, that kinda of pressure when the opposition are pushing up on us. Can we hold on to the lead late on with a Connacht title on the line. This team haven't faced that kinda of pressure at senior in long time. In fairness in 07 we didn't handle it great but was just about enough.

3 year look ahead targets,

Division 2 and maintain
Beat 1 of the top 3 in Connacht and competitive against all of them - hammerings not accepted
Sam Maguire qualification and last 16
Lower age profile of team
Improve pace of team
Improve kickout %
Improve goal chance concession etc..

We have to find 4 players that can start and excel, Dillon Walsh, Tommy Ross and Ronan Niland are not projects and should be going straight into the squad next year if fit. Casserly and Conlon need to be given chances. Luke Marren needs to be brought and James Donlon. Both need county conditioning. Midfielders of size need to be targeted. Keaney and Banks brought in. Most importantly Keelan Harte in goals needs to approached. I'd like to see Sheridan and Byrne in. Carrabine comes back hopefully. You don't take a year out if you rate the management and our chances.

Lastly  - local candidates,

Gerry McGowan - waiting in the wings
Eamon O Hara - with Boyle
Kevin Johnstone - not sure, was with Corofin in 2024
Paul Henry - unattached

Hopefully we can poach Luke Bree back from Offaly

Outside of Sligo candidates

Mickey Harte- proven record of bringing through underage, we are closer than Offaly, he is working with Bree right now. Look what he started in Louth when he took over the same time as McEntee and how much quicker their progress was.

Don't agree with much of this at all. I think it is riddled with inaccuracies and delusion.

On the basis of the 5 years in charge of Sligo, McEntee has done an extremely good job with Sligo, he has raised the profile of the county and made us competitive. You speak of huge underage success. We won 2 Connacht U20s and a minor title with more or less the same group of players. It's going to take a good 2-3 more years before those players are at the physical level required for senior intercounty football. We don't have an intercounty midfielder in the whole county. We are stuck with playing a light half back who is just out of u20 and a half forward as our midfield. The squad is mainly comprised of a minor side who were hammered by Galway in a minor final replay over 10 years ago.

There is no doubt we have regressed significantly this year. The new rules and our slow adaptation to them is a key issue, the loss of our best player in Carrabine another. Our keeper is a significant weakness and the biggest issue presently is a complete lack of size around the middle of the pitch. We simply don't have anyone who can play intercounty midfield at All Ireland level. They are the reasons we are stuck in Tailteann.

For me Fermanagh just looked a better team with better players Saturday, maybe that's the reality. They have players who have won Hogan Cups where Summerhill have failed. Sligo would have had no underage success either if they were in Ulster.

We were very unlucky in Tailteann last couple of years, we pushed both Cavan and Down to the wire in semi finals where they were heavy favourites. We very nearly pulled off our greatest result in decades at home to Galway last year. If you think that.

There are valid criticisms of McEntee, how he handled the new rules this year, sticking with a keeper who is not worth it, keeping Spillane on the bench too late into games but the level you seem to think Sligo football is currently at is delusional. Go to club games up and down the county and you'll see the best players in the county are on the panel and bar one or two questionable picks the best players are playing when fit.

The Fermanagh midfield savaged us Saturday.

O'Connor is one of our best players and he struggles to get a starting spot for his club side in Dublin. I think that sums up your delusion of where we are at now.

[SLIGONIAN]

I guess the secrets out on McEntee not being that good. 

McEntee had Carrabine and Murphy in their prime in Div4 and still struggled to get us out. Why because he mixed their talent with some very poor players. One of worst player evaluations I seen was David Phillips starting for us and then putting him on Cox in championship. I found it very hard to take this management seriously after that, then similar mistakes happened over and over even this year. I asked people on the county board face to face to how that can happen and was just advised he is a great lad. That's when I knew personality was way too important of a factor in the evaluation process. It was a free pass the first few years with McEntee according to them.

Keane the coach wasn't long putting our underage players in their place if they came into the set up with too much confidence and trying to put them down. I have been told they would find fault in them a lot quicker than older players.

It took them until this year to see Kilcoyne and McNamara weren't good enough to take us to next level. Only 4.5 years of developing low ceiling players whilst oddly not selecting younger ones which I knew and many others did were of more value to invest in.

The main reason some underage players are struggling to breakthrough is some of the them aren't big personalities. They need to be managed differently and this management failed badly in this regard especially with those more sensitive ones who left the panel.

McEntee has some good facets. He is very organised and structured and nice. But those are the easiest criteria for a manager and min expectation. His communication was poor and he comes across awful dour in his media interviews. Not inspiring at all. He looked lost on the line which is why he probably moved to the stands although that will be played as having a better view.

The county board batten down the hatches to protect McEntee or was it to protect criticism from themselves.

This management failed to inspire the Sligo public as shown in the lack of support in the seniors. We all saw our potential at the u20 final where a huge Sligo crowd showed up.

McEntee talked of how nice everyone in Sligo was to him and how well he was treated. Everyone should treat people with respect but we are far too nice in Sligo. Roscommon people were waiting for Maughan outside the dressing room in 06 comes to mind. They and many other successful counties would never have tolerated what this management achieved over 5 years. Keane in 7 years has only really brought back to where he started. No progress. Davy Burkes job is in jeopardy after getting Roscommon back to Division 1, that would never happen in Sligo where mediocrity is accepted. I wont miss McEntee or Keane but I will give him credit for resigning and saving us time.

The Fermanagh performance showcased where this management brought us, couldn't beat a team ranked around 21. Fermanagh a county who haven't had near the underage success we have had are beating us and spending way more time in Div2 last few years.

Going forward I don't want a nice manager who is just organised and gets on with County Board. The county board need to hold our managers more accountable. They ultimately work for us but it is a collaboration.

I want a winner, a manager with a Aura who exudes belief but backs it up with tactical knowledge. A manager that can see the patterns in the game. I always felt McEntee was blind to seeing the patterns of games which is why no matter what he made the same subs and the same time. Never knew how to change momentum or enhance it. A manager who can evaluate players on ability and potential and can develop them faster.

We need someone of substance who can inspire and bring the whole county with him. Has to carry the belief. This set of players, can they believe they will win Connacht in the last minute of game 1pt down to get the 2pter, that kinda of pressure when the opposition are pushing up on us. Can we hold on to the lead late on with a Connacht title on the line. This team haven't faced that kinda of pressure at senior in long time. In fairness in 07 we didn't handle it great but was just about enough.

3 year look ahead targets,

Division 2 and maintain
Beat 1 of the top 3 in Connacht and competitive against all of them - hammerings not accepted
Sam Maguire qualification and last 16
Lower age profile of team
Improve pace of team
Improve kickout %
Improve goal chance concession etc..

We have to find 4 players that can start and excel, Dillon Walsh, Tommy Ross and Ronan Niland are not projects and should be going straight into the squad next year if fit. Casserly and Conlon need to be given chances. Luke Marren needs to be brought and James Donlon. Both need county conditioning. Midfielders of size need to be targeted. Keaney and Banks brought in. Most importantly Keelan Harte in goals needs to approached. I'd like to see Sheridan and Byrne in. Carrabine comes back hopefully. You don't take a year out if you rate the management and our chances.

Lastly  - local candidates,

Gerry McGowan - waiting in the wings
Eamon O Hara - with Boyle
Kevin Johnstone - not sure, was with Corofin in 2024
Paul Henry - unattached

Hopefully we can poach Luke Bree back from Offaly

Outside of Sligo candidates

Mickey Harte- proven record of bringing through underage, we are closer than Offaly, he is working with Bree right now. Look what he started in Louth when he took over the same time as McEntee and how much quicker their progress was.

Don't agree with much of this at all. I think it is riddled with inaccuracies and delusion.

On the basis of the 5 years in charge of Sligo, McEntee has done an extremely good job with Sligo, he has raised the profile of the county and made us competitive. You speak of huge underage success. We won 2 Connacht U20s and a minor title with more or less the same group of players. It's going to take a good 2-3 more years before those players are at the physical level required for senior intercounty football. We don't have an intercounty midfielder in the whole county. We are stuck with playing a light half back who is just out of u20 and a half forward as our midfield. The squad is mainly comprised of a minor side who were hammered by Galway in a minor final replay over 10 years ago.

There is no doubt we have regressed significantly this year. The new rules and our slow adaptation to them is a key issue, the loss of our best player in Carrabine another. Our keeper is a significant weakness and the biggest issue presently is a complete lack of size around the middle of the pitch. We simply don't have anyone who can play intercounty midfield at All Ireland level. They are the reasons we are stuck in Tailteann.

For me Fermanagh just looked a better team with better players Saturday, maybe that's the reality. They have players who have won Hogan Cups where Summerhill have failed. Sligo would have had no underage success either if they were in Ulster.

We were very unlucky in Tailteann last couple of years, we pushed both Cavan and Down to the wire in semi finals where they were heavy favourites. We very nearly pulled off our greatest result in decades at home to Galway last year. If you think that.

There are valid criticisms of McEntee, how he handled the new rules this year, sticking with a keeper who is not worth it, keeping Spillane on the bench too late into games but the level you seem to think Sligo football is currently at is delusional. Go to club games up and down the county and you'll see the best players in the county are on the panel and bar one or two questionable picks the best players are playing when fit.

The Fermanagh midfield savaged us Saturday.

O'Connor is one of our best players and he struggles to get a starting spot for his club side in Dublin. I think that sums up your delusion of where we are at now.

You speak of delusions and inaccuracies, how did the 2015 minors do in the 2017 u21, they brought Galway to extra time in the Connacht final did they not? In 2015 they beat Roscommon and ran Galway to draw.

Then you say, the back to back Connacht champion players have to wait another 2 or 3 years for a chance because of they are not ready physically now. Absolute rubbish, that will make those players 25/26 years old and 4 or 5 years without competitive county football. No player is going to wait 5 or 6 years for a chance and will only regress with just training.

If McEntee didn't put our worst man marker on Havern in the 1st half we would have beaten Down. Not unlucky.

Your post is just full of negativity and demonstrates a lack of belief. I won't apologize for being ambitious in a county full of small minded individuals. That's always been the problem in Sligo. The underage success has raised the profile of Sligo and their impact on the squad was inevitable. McEntee slowed progress with loyalty to some low ceiling players and progress was made which was inevitable with the likes of Canice etc.. coming through. What progress are we talking to mid table Division 3 and morale victories to below par Mayo and Galway. Not beating a top 20 team in 5 years. That's extremely good to you with the calibre of underage players coming through. I don't agree at all.

The fact of the matter is the support for the Sligo seniors was low throughout McEntee's tenure because not many really believed in him except for the CB who were not objective. Even McEntee himself said we should be getting promoted from Division 3 this year and winning Tailtean cup. He said it himself. Was he delusional. Limerick and Wicklow are in the semi finals.

It's just so weird how protective some in Sligo are in terms of McEntee, its like they have some attachment to how people view McEntee's tenure that they have to defend it at all costs. 

[sligoman]

You speak of delusions and inaccuracies, how did the 2015 minors do in the 2017 u21, they brought Galway to extra time in the Connacht final did they not? In 2015 they beat Roscommon and ran Galway to draw.

Then you say, the back to back Connacht champion players have to wait another 2 or 3 years for a chance because of they are not ready physically now. Absolute rubbish, that will make those players 25/26 years old and 4 or 5 years without competitive county football. No player is going to wait 5 or 6 years for a chance and will only regress with just training.

If McEntee didn't put our worst man marker on Havern in the 1st half we would have beaten Down. Not unlucky.

Your post is just full of negativity and demonstrates a lack of belief. I won't apologize for being ambitious in a county full of small minded individuals. That's always been the problem in Sligo. The underage success has raised the profile of Sligo and their impact on the squad was inevitable. McEntee slowed progress with loyalty to some low ceiling players and progress was made which was inevitable with the likes of Canice etc.. coming through. What progress are we talking to mid table Division 3 and morale victories to below par Mayo and Galway. Not beating a top 20 team in 5 years. That's extremely good to you with the calibre of underage players coming through. I don't agree at all.

The fact of the matter is the support for the Sligo seniors was low throughout McEntee's tenure because not many really believed in him except for the CB who were not objective. Even McEntee himself said we should be getting promoted from Division 3 this year and winning Tailtean cup. He said it himself. Was he delusional. Limerick and Wicklow are in the semi finals.

It's just so weird how protective some in Sligo are in terms of McEntee, its like they have some attachment to how people view McEntee's tenure that they have to defend it at all costs. 

I speak of delusions and accuracy. You are saying we should be one of the top teams in the country but we should be nowhere near it. We finally seem to have got our act somewhat together at underage but the results at minor level are tapering off again. We are a Division 3 team, we are at our level. We are not a significantly better team than Fermanagh, we are in and around their level.

You are just utterly deluded and clearly don't understand the modern game. I'll give you loads of examples. Offaly won an u20 title 4 years ago now with a far more talented side than Sligo IMO. We haven't produced players of the quality of Egan, Bryant or O'Neill for me. They have. Its only this year those players have made their mark at senior level. They are a couple of years ahead of our u20 teams in progression. They were knocked out last week in the Tailteann, also played Div 3 football this year, and finished 3 points ahead of us in the league. We're not ahead of Offaly, we're not ahead of Kildare. We won't be ahead of any Division 2 side next year, we won't be ahead of Down or Westmeath next year either. They are all ahead of us. If we finish ahead of them we will have exceeded expectations.

I'd say we are at a similar level to Clare/Fermanagh but our midfield issues but us at a significant disadvantage and the new rules have only served to make our main weaknees an even bigger one.

Down are miles above us. Once again, you are deluded at the level of football in Sligo presently. Clearly you go nowhere near the club game which to its credit has improved in that last couple of years, we don't have players of the quality of Havern, Murdoch, Guinness, Kerr, Magill etc. The fact that we ran them so close last year was testament to the management, not something to beat them with. It's clear you have an agenda here.

Tyrone have won 3 of the last 4 AI U20 championships. They had an All Ireland winning side in 2021. They had only 3 players from those 4 teams starting in last weekends gams as far as I can tell. They have a solitary AI QF appearance in that time, they have not made an Ulster final in that time. We had Lavin and Mulligan starting on Saturday, I was at the game, both looked miles off the physicality needed at this level. Mulligan was bullied by the Fermanagh midfielder all game. We have to be patient with these lads as it takes a lot of time to get up to this level. I can recall us getting absolutely wiped out in midfield and on kickouts in two meetings with Kildare at u20 level in 2022 and 2023. That was at u20 level against u20 players, now you expect those u20 lplayers who struggled to win a kickout battle under the old rules to be able to compete and win against established senior players just shows how deluded you are.

I asked you who our midfield should be next year. Can you name me a genuine midfield prospect in the county. I don't see one there.

You shouldn't apologise for being ambitous, you should apologise delusional. You are living on cloud cuckoo land. We should aim to improve, we should aim to be targetting promotion next year and winning a Tailteann but the way you hype up Sligo as one of the most talented teams in the country is delusional. We are at the level we are at for a reason. You are extremely disrepectful to the likes of the other Tailteann teams that have best us in recent years. All of them have  much better records at senior level than we have had in that time.

Putting huge expectations on these lads will not help them one bit, it will straddle them. The new manager should be tasked with growing and improving the side as McEntee clearly demonstrated in his first 4 years, quite a good chance we will have Down and Westmeath and maybe another big side along with them in the Tailteann and Div 3 next season. I can't see us toppling them in a big game all things being equal and both sides being at their best.

You never told me who you think our midfield pairing should be next season either.

[SLIGONIAN]

You speak of delusions and inaccuracies, how did the 2015 minors do in the 2017 u21, they brought Galway to extra time in the Connacht final did they not? In 2015 they beat Roscommon and ran Galway to draw.

Then you say, the back to back Connacht champion players have to wait another 2 or 3 years for a chance because of they are not ready physically now. Absolute rubbish, that will make those players 25/26 years old and 4 or 5 years without competitive county football. No player is going to wait 5 or 6 years for a chance and will only regress with just training.

If McEntee didn't put our worst man marker on Havern in the 1st half we would have beaten Down. Not unlucky.

Your post is just full of negativity and demonstrates a lack of belief. I won't apologize for being ambitious in a county full of small minded individuals. That's always been the problem in Sligo. The underage success has raised the profile of Sligo and their impact on the squad was inevitable. McEntee slowed progress with loyalty to some low ceiling players and progress was made which was inevitable with the likes of Canice etc.. coming through. What progress are we talking to mid table Division 3 and morale victories to below par Mayo and Galway. Not beating a top 20 team in 5 years. That's extremely good to you with the calibre of underage players coming through. I don't agree at all.

The fact of the matter is the support for the Sligo seniors was low throughout McEntee's tenure because not many really believed in him except for the CB who were not objective. Even McEntee himself said we should be getting promoted from Division 3 this year and winning Tailtean cup. He said it himself. Was he delusional. Limerick and Wicklow are in the semi finals.

It's just so weird how protective some in Sligo are in terms of McEntee, its like they have some attachment to how people view McEntee's tenure that they have to defend it at all costs. 

I speak of delusions and accuracy. You are saying we should be one of the top teams in the country but we should be nowhere near it. We finally seem to have got our act somewhat together at underage but the results at minor level are tapering off again. We are a Division 3 team, we are at our level. We are not a significantly better team than Fermanagh, we are in and around their level.

You are just utterly deluded and clearly don't understand the modern game. I'll give you loads of examples. Offaly won an u20 title 4 years ago now with a far more talented side than Sligo IMO. We haven't produced players of the quality of Egan, Bryant or O'Neill for me. They have. Its only this year those players have made their mark at senior level. They are a couple of years ahead of our u20 teams in progression. They were knocked out last week in the Tailteann, also played Div 3 football this year, and finished 3 points ahead of us in the league. We're not ahead of Offaly, we're not ahead of Kildare. We won't be ahead of any Division 2 side next year, we won't be ahead of Down or Westmeath next year either. They are all ahead of us. If we finish ahead of them we will have exceeded expectations.

I'd say we are at a similar level to Clare/Fermanagh but our midfield issues but us at a significant disadvantage and the new rules have only served to make our main weaknees an even bigger one.

Down are miles above us. Once again, you are deluded at the level of football in Sligo presently. Clearly you go nowhere near the club game which to its credit has improved in that last couple of years, we don't have players of the quality of Havern, Murdoch, Guinness, Kerr, Magill etc. The fact that we ran them so close last year was testament to the management, not something to beat them with. It's clear you have an agenda here.

Tyrone have won 3 of the last 4 AI U20 championships. They had an All Ireland winning side in 2021. They had only 3 players from those 4 teams starting in last weekends gams as far as I can tell. They have a solitary AI QF appearance in that time, they have not made an Ulster final in that time. We had Lavin and Mulligan starting on Saturday, I was at the game, both looked miles off the physicality needed at this level. Mulligan was bullied by the Fermanagh midfielder all game. We have to be patient with these lads as it takes a lot of time to get up to this level. I can recall us getting absolutely wiped out in midfield and on kickouts in two meetings with Kildare at u20 level in 2022 and 2023. That was at u20 level against u20 players, now you expect those u20 lplayers who struggled to win a kickout battle under the old rules to be able to compete and win against established senior players just shows how deluded you are.

I asked you who our midfield should be next year. Can you name me a genuine midfield prospect in the county. I don't see one there.

You shouldn't apologise for being ambitous, you should apologise delusional. You are living on cloud cuckoo land. We should aim to improve, we should aim to be targetting promotion next year and winning a Tailteann but the way you hype up Sligo as one of the most talented teams in the country is delusional. We are at the level we are at for a reason. You are extremely disrepectful to the likes of the other Tailteann teams that have best us in recent years. All of them have  much better records at senior level than we have had in that time.

Putting huge expectations on these lads will not help them one bit, it will straddle them. The new manager should be tasked with growing and improving the side as McEntee clearly demonstrated in his first 4 years, quite a good chance we will have Down and Westmeath and maybe another big side along with them in the Tailteann and Div 3 next season. I can't see us toppling them in a big game all things being equal and both sides being at their best.

You never told me who you think our midfield pairing should be next season either.

What is my agenda? Fermanagh should have beaten Down in Ulster, I watched that game and you say we are Fermanagh's level. Westmeath just lost to Limerick and Wicklow. I agree they are good and Down have kicked on but both are beatable on their day. Its not delusional, you are just being small minded and you sound like you are part of the McEntee clique within Sligo county board. They use the same rhetoric and paranoia around agenda's. How is it disrespectful to other teams or a huge expectation to target division 2 within 3 years. Give me a break and maybe dream a little.

[sligoman]

What is my agenda? Fermanagh should have beaten Down in Ulster, I watched that game and you say we are Fermanagh's level. Westmeath just lost to Limerick and Wicklow. I agree they are good and Down have kicked on but both are beatable on their day. Its not delusional, you are just being small minded and you sound like you are part of the McEntee clique within Sligo county board. They use the same rhetoric and paranoia around agenda's. How is it disrespectful to other teams or a huge expectation to target division 2 within 3 years. Give me a break and maybe dream a little.

Your agenda is that you blame McEntee for Sligo not consistently punching above their weight, in fact you want to blame him for holding us back and ruining the team. That is utterly delusional. We were a car crash when we took over. We had zero underage success in decades when he took over. He took us from Div 4 where we had been for years and couldn't get out of back to Div 3 where we have consolidated our position. He took us from hidings to Galway and Mayo to being competitive with them. He was very unlucky to not make a couple of Tailteann finals, you blame McEntee for not getting over the line yet credit the players for all the good performances and progression in the last few years. Do you blame Nathan Mullen for us not making a Tailteann Cup final last year for a rush of blood to the head when were on top in the pivotal stages or is that McEntee's fault too?

The arrogance and disrespect you show for other teams at our level like Fermanagh (who have actually operated at a higher level than us in recent years) is something I really hope our new manager doesn't feed through our players. If we go in thinking we are better than other teams we will regress, we all know Sligo football has suffered the most in recent years when smoke has been blown up our holes. Countless times in the 90s where we would turn in a big performance against a Mayo or Galway or Roscommon one game and then fall flat the next game out. The times we have been at our best have been when we have outworked our opponents and that's what small couunties like Sligo need to do, we will always have to work harder.

You think a new manager will solve it all but that's your delusion. The main reason for regression this year aside from the loss of Carrabine and injuries are the fact that the new rules have had a serious negative impact on us. Kickouts have to go long now and the bottom line is we do not have any big powerful fielders over 6ft1 in the county. I've asked you three times to name the mdifield pairing that will take us out of Div 3 and you haven't responded yet. Maybe you don't understand the new rules that well but when you don't have the players to win ball from the restarts our defence will be under massive pressure and our forwards will be starved of service. So please tell us our midfield pairing next year?

McEntee has done a huge job developing this side, he has brought on guys like O'Connor, Mullen, Carrabine, Cummins, McNamara and Lyons hugely in his time. We have regressed this year and the time is right to call it a day, arguably last year was probably a better time. The new manager now has big boots to fill, I wonder who you will blame if we regress next year? We have a strong base here in terms of age, Murphy being the only outfield player over 30 I think so with all your whinging and revisionism who do you end up blaming next season if Sligo can't beat a Galway/Mayo/Roscommon in Connacht or Sligo can't get out of Div 3 and if Sligo can't get to a Tailteann final? Does it mean you were just exercising a personal agenda all that time?

[Armagh18]

Would McConville to Mayo be a runner next year? Doing a decent job with Wicklow and was in for the Mayo job before if I remember rightly.

[rodney trotter]

Would McConville to Mayo be a runner next year? Doing a decent job with Wicklow and was in for the Mayo job before if I remember rightly.

He was in the backroom team  https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40941167.html

Wicklow missed out on Promotion in Division 4 . A decent run in the Tailtean Cup. I don't think its enough to get a Division 1 Job. Maybe winning the Tailtean outright would help.

[SLIGONIAN]

What is my agenda? Fermanagh should have beaten Down in Ulster, I watched that game and you say we are Fermanagh's level. Westmeath just lost to Limerick and Wicklow. I agree they are good and Down have kicked on but both are beatable on their day. Its not delusional, you are just being small minded and you sound like you are part of the McEntee clique within Sligo county board. They use the same rhetoric and paranoia around agenda's. How is it disrespectful to other teams or a huge expectation to target division 2 within 3 years. Give me a break and maybe dream a little.

Your agenda is that you blame McEntee for Sligo not consistently punching above their weight, in fact you want to blame him for holding us back and ruining the team. That is utterly delusional. We were a car crash when we took over. We had zero underage success in decades when he took over. He took us from Div 4 where we had been for years and couldn't get out of back to Div 3 where we have consolidated our position. He took us from hidings to Galway and Mayo to being competitive with them. He was very unlucky to not make a couple of Tailteann finals, you blame McEntee for not getting over the line yet credit the players for all the good performances and progression in the last few years. Do you blame Nathan Mullen for us not making a Tailteann Cup final last year for a rush of blood to the head when were on top in the pivotal stages or is that McEntee's fault too?

The arrogance and disrespect you show for other teams at our level like Fermanagh (who have actually operated at a higher level than us in recent years) is something I really hope our new manager doesn't feed through our players. If we go in thinking we are better than other teams we will regress, we all know Sligo football has suffered the most in recent years when smoke has been blown up our holes. Countless times in the 90s where we would turn in a big performance against a Mayo or Galway or Roscommon one game and then fall flat the next game out. The times we have been at our best have been when we have outworked our opponents and that's what small couunties like Sligo need to do, we will always have to work harder.

You think a new manager will solve it all but that's your delusion. The main reason for regression this year aside from the loss of Carrabine and injuries are the fact that the new rules have had a serious negative impact on us. Kickouts have to go long now and the bottom line is we do not have any big powerful fielders over 6ft1 in the county. I've asked you three times to name the mdifield pairing that will take us out of Div 3 and you haven't responded yet. Maybe you don't understand the new rules that well but when you don't have the players to win ball from the restarts our defence will be under massive pressure and our forwards will be starved of service. So please tell us our midfield pairing next year?

McEntee has done a huge job developing this side, he has brought on guys like O'Connor, Mullen, Carrabine, Cummins, McNamara and Lyons hugely in his time. We have regressed this year and the time is right to call it a day, arguably last year was probably a better time. The new manager now has big boots to fill, I wonder who you will blame if we regress next year? We have a strong base here in terms of age, Murphy being the only outfield player over 30 I think so with all your whinging and revisionism who do you end up blaming next season if Sligo can't beat a Galway/Mayo/Roscommon in Connacht or Sligo can't get out of Div 3 and if Sligo can't get to a Tailteann final? Does it mean you were just exercising a personal agenda all that time?

We were in Division 3 in 2018 and 2019 and Division 4 for 1 year before he arrived, not years. We were never a Division 4 team but he struggled to get us out. He had nothing to do with our underage success. Your obsession with defending McEntee is weird.

My Agenda is wanting what's best for Sligo. I believe McEntee was holding us back with very slow progress because he was far too conservative and loyal with his selections. He disregarded players coming through that were never given a proper chance that were better. He regularly got match ups and tactics wrong. His lack of adaptability was exposed with the new rules. I certainly wont miss him or Keane. I am allowed to have my opinion.

I have made my point and we have derailed this thread enough but feel free to have the last word.