Muineacháin v An Dún 5ú Meitheamh Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship

[babarino]

A few weeks out...Monaghan will be favourites but the Aristocrats will be going to Clones thinking that they'll upset the odds. The league game showed there's is no gulf in class between the two sides. The Down attack caused the Monaghan defence a lot of problems and Down won most of the primary possession in midfield.

Monaghan will need to be on top of their game to win this.

[armaghniac]

Monaghan will need to be on top of their game turn up to win this.

Fixed that for you.

[seafoid]

22 years since an Dun won Ulster. Very long time.
6 other counties have won it in the meantime.

Monaghan have 16 Ulsters. Down have 12.  But Monaghan have no Sams.
And they only have one forward.

[Il Bomber Destro]

It's as low an ebb as I can ever remember Down football, the quality players from years gone by have called it a day, their other good players who can still offer a bit are not putting themselves forward, they've been a rabble at underage over the past 10 years, a host of withdrawals leading up to the Championship, a pitiful league campaign.

Hard to see past anything other than a Monaghan win.

[seafoid]

What is the problem in down anyway ? There was a decent team a few years ago
Is there anything happening underage ?

[Brick Tamlin]

Who the f**k had to go and start this thread to remind everyone else how sh!te we are at present.
Monaghan with a comfortable win.

[Mourne Rover]

Il Bomber Destro may think that Down have been a `rabble' at underage level over the last ten years but we actually won back to back Ulster u21 championships in 2008 and 2009. The 2009 side included many of the players who won the All Ireland minor title four years previously and only lost out to a goal with practically the last kick of the game when two points up in injury time against Cork in the u21 final. Down minors also made the All Ireland semi final in 2009. We are well aware how far off the pace we have been in recent seasons but our decline has taken place much more recently than suggested in the earlier post.

[Brick Tamlin]

sooooooooooo, we haven't been shite for the last 10 years, rather only shite for the last 8 years.
Well that changes everything.
Monaghan wont have a look-in.

[ardtole]

We were in an all ireland final six years ago.

[Brick Tamlin]

A freak season admittedly where things clicked and key personnel performed.
So we have been shite for 7 of the last 8 years. Happy?

[Mourne Rover]

Wrong again Brick. We made the final qualifying round in 2008, beating the eventual AI champions Tyrone on the way, and got to the AI final in 2010. We were in a final qualifier in 2011, an Ulster final and an AI quarter final in 2012, drew away to Tyrone in in 2014 and got promotion to D1 just over a year ago. For a number of well documented reasons, we have been in freefall for the last 12 months. However, claiming that we have been useless for almost a decade ignores the solid record of some decent sides and and provides a completely confused view of what we need to do next.

[5 Sams]

Wrong again Brick. We made the final qualifying round in 2008, beating the eventual AI champions Tyrone on the way, and got to the AI final in 2010. We were in a final qualifier in 2011, an Ulster final and an AI quarter final in 2012, drew away to Tyrone in in 2014 and got promotion to D1 just over a year ago. For a number of well documented reasons, we have been in freefall for the last 12 months. However, claiming that we have been useless for almost a decade ignores the solid record of some decent sides and and provides a completely confused view of what we need to do next.

Dunno who you are Mourne Rover but you have summed up what has been in my head...to be fair I couldn't be arsed posting it. Fair play. Pretty good summary. I too think we will give the Farney a good rattle.

[thewobbler]

Wrong again Brick. We made the final qualifying round in 2008, beating the eventual AI champions Tyrone on the way, and got to the AI final in 2010. We were in a final qualifier in 2011, an Ulster final and an AI quarter final in 2012, drew away to Tyrone in in 2014 and got promotion to D1 just over a year ago. For a number of well documented reasons, we have been in freefall for the last 12 months. However, claiming that we have been useless for almost a decade ignores the solid record of some decent sides and and provides a completely confused view of what we need to do next.

Dunno who you are Mourne Rover but you have summed up what has been in my head...to be fair I couldn't be arsed posting it. Fair play. Pretty good summary. I too think we will give the Farney a good rattle.

I too reckon we could put out 15 players that give Monaghan their fill of it.

But, the past few seasons at minor, 21 and senior level all point to a common trend, that when our heads go down, it usually results in utter capitulation. When opponents go up a gear, we go into reverse. As such, the most likely result for Down is a tanking. That's not being disloyal, that's just looking at the numbers.

---

Likely involvement in both 2010 AI final and 2016 SFC: Kevin McKernan, Mark Poland.

Likely involvement in both 2009 u21 final and 2016 SFC: Joe Murphy, Conor Maginn, Paul Devlin.

2009 minor team and 2016 SFC: Darragh O'Hanlon, maybe David McKibbin if he's on the panel.

Not much pushing on from the noughties, unfortunately.

[Boycey]

This thread was on the 3rd page with no comments for over a fortnight is the interest in this game that bad?

Monaghan seem to have a full bill of health although having been at the club game where McGinn got injured a couple of weeks back I'd be surprised if he was in contention.

[Orior]

What are the chances of Down meeting Armagh in the qualifiers?