Armagh v Fermanagh

[stew]

I thought we deserved the points, I was warned before I got there the the standard of refereeing was atrocious and that was proven correct, he was worth about four points to Fermanagh and took plenty of stick for being brutal.

Charlie Vernon was immense in the second half, I would have preferred to have him play further up the park but himself and Campbell were the pick of the bunch.

Findon was awful, lazy as sin and should have been yanked 20 minutes in.

I was shocked that neither side used the width of the park much, everything was tight and Fermanagh have a tendency to throw the ball not fist it, strange.

[Jinxy]

I agree about Mckeever .
Had no business getting involved.

It'll say that on his gravestone.

[ardchieftain]

All McKeever done was hit the Fermanagh number 4's fist with his face.

Anyway, vital win and with the division being so tight now, it's all to play for.

[bennydorano]

to corrigan waving to the crowd when he scored his free which would only have got them a draw!

He's probably too young to remember Mark Gallagher giving it some back in 93, but it was the first thing I thought of when he did it!

[smelmoth]

Poor game in terms of quality but plenty of excitement especially towards the end.

We have huge problems and it seems obvious to me that McGeeney is front an centre of these problems. Last year was pure shite and there was a need to to get the ball forward more quickly. This revelation to McHeeney has only served to reveal a new fact - he hasn't the first clue of how to go about an attack strategy.

Fermanagh predictably played with a packed defense. Packed enough to deter Armagh from hitting anything forward early. This cannot have been a surprise to Armagh so whatever played out was going to be whatever we see as our best chance of unpicking this basic defensive set up. Our plan was to turn side ways, fanny about, allow Fermanagh to get even more back and the look up to find a pass and attempt to hit 30 seconds after we had declined to hit it in more favourable conditions. When has this tactic ever worked?

Serious question. The thing any set of fans cannot tolerate is players not trying. Well can someone explain why management persisting with tactics that don't not work, and will not beat anybody decent is any better than players not giving their all??

We get all this guff about McGeeney is a born leader and will get players "running through walls". Its absolute drivel. The reality is he is getting the basics wrong. Findon is a big lad and has the ability to win primary ball in midfield. But the only clean catch he won in the entire game was a hop ball and he threw that down resulting in a free against (maybe he thinks he is Devon Toner). The reason for this this is that he continues to try to break ball instead of trying to win it clean. Armagh's return from breaking ball was close to zero. Yet we kept kicking it at him (no short kick out even though Fermanagh dropped off on numerous occasions), he kept trying to break it and we kept losing it out. The side line are not generating variation, are not getting Findon to make the obvious change and then substitute Findon's midfield partner (who was one of out better performers).   

Its very clear where are playing limitations should leave us but its equally clear that we are not performing at that level. We have yet to play a decent side this year in the league. 6 points was achievable. I accept that there are tougher tasks ahead

[FermGael]

As a fermanagh man one of the things I noticed was how quick the Armagh crowd were to get on their teams back even when they were well in control in the first 20 minutes.

[smelmoth]

As a fermanagh man one of the things I noticed was how quick the Armagh crowd were to get on their teams back even when they were well in control in the first 20 minutes.

Any wonder?

Honestly don't think it is directed at the players. There is one or two there that most would not think are at the required level or the best available but that aside the frustration is with the tactics not the players. Last night was a case in point in that the player's dug in and the crowd were with them to the end but its hard to watch some of the stuff we are at

[FermGael]

Think the fans are being hard on McGeeney.
He is working with a limited panel imo that is not a patch on the Armagh team of 10 years ago.
You talk about your midfielder but imo if he went to compete for clean ball with Fermanaghs Eoin Donnelly he wouldn't have  a chance.  He's one of the best in ulster

Armagh were patient at times and it worked especially in the first 20 minutes.
When they kicked aimless ball they were turned over with ease.
If you have watched the game back the majority of Armagh scores came when they were patient, kept the ball and worked it around until they got an opening. 
The winner came from that

[Orior]

Could Andrew Murnin not do a job in midfield for Armagh?

[tonto1888]

Could Andrew Murnin not do a job in midfield for Armagh?

would he not be a bit small for midfield?

[Applesisapples]

At the end of the day McGeeney really owes Armagh nothing from his contribution as a player, as a manager he must stand or fall on results. The essence of good management is recognising your own shortcomings as a coach, tactician or trainer and bringing people with those skills in. I don't know the answer to these issues for Armagh but as a fan it is frustrating. One thing is for certain Mcgeeney will always give his all for Armagh.

One thing is for certain, you aren't quite sure what you're saying!

What I'm saying is whilst McGeeney owes us nothing he still has to be held responsible for results, he needs to recognise his own strengths and weaknesses and address the weakness through his back room team. When it comes to management past glory's count for nothing. Having said that he is doing his best and should not have to take some of the stick being handed out.

[Applesisapples]

Reflecting on the match I thought how I feel Cormac Reilly is normally one of the better referees. However, media coverage of the match will probably highlight 'unsavoury incidents' that took place. Now neither team can feel proud of their part but personally I feel that Reilly needs to explain to players before the game how he is going to referee the blanket tackle. There were numerous incidents last night were he gave decisions one way and then when a similar incident happened shortly after he gave it another way. This led to frustration among the players and more confrontation. I know at this time of the year the heavy pitches lead to more such incidents but it is unsightly. Blowing the whistle a bit earlier might calm things down a bit.

You've summed it up perfectly he was very inconsistent.

[general_lee]

Could Andrew Murnin not do a job in midfield for Armagh?

would he not be a bit small for midfield?

he's too injury prone

[onefaircounty]

. Findon is a big lad and has the ability to win primary ball in midfield. But the only clean catch he won in the entire game was a hop ball and he threw that down resulting in a free against (maybe he thinks he is Devon Toner). The reason for this this is that he continues to try to break ball instead of trying to win it clean.

Findon has never, ever been regarded as someone who can win his own primary ball. Maybe because he's a big lad you have thought that, but at no stage has he ever been regarded as someone who is well equipped to do it.

Right on break ball though, we have been getting hammered on that front for years now.

[bennydorano]

Eh?? That is some ridiculous statement to make. He didn't become an IC Midfielder at 19/20 yrs of age because he was a good spoiler, he's more than capable of winning his own ball.