Derry Club Football & Hurling original

[Wildweasel74]

That pitch is a disgrace!

[OakLeaf]

That pitch is a disgrace!

It's a shocker. Surely there's better pitches available for an All Ireland semi final? Slaughtneil not playing brilliant yet, but still well in it.

[Wildweasel74]

That Galway team dirty outfit!

[OakLeaf]

Aye, and lot of high tackles and high hurls. Could be a Red in the second half.

[tbrick18]

Had we a manager of Rory Gallagher calibre back then? Not one made any worthwhile progress outside the county outside Moran. I remember winning the National League, played well agsinst Donegal, bad game against Fermanagh, drop 6/7 players for qualfier with Monaghan,mind boggling

Not one manager who was at the required level - Crozier, McIver, Cassidy, Barton, McErlain were all very disappointing in how they managed and in particular their in-game management skills. Crozier in particular.
John Brennan probably was the closest to getting a tune out of the players available but then got hit with the double loss of the Bradleys for an Ulster final which we could have won against a Donegal side the blagged a penalty. Donegal going on to win the AI the following year. Brennan never really managed to hit the same heights again after that.

McIver was disappointing as manager, then when he was given a full time paid role by county board things just went bad to worse with us ultimately landing in Div4.
McErlain's single biggest achievement was getting Meenagh on board to sort out our defence, resulting in a promotion to Div3 and laying the groundwork for Gallagher.

In my opinion we had the footballers in the 00's but not the County Board or managerial appointments to pull it all together. Gallagher was the first manager we had since Eamon Coleman who was the right fit for Derry imo.

Meenagh I hope will be up there too.

[tbrick18]

Hard lines to Slaughtneil yesterday, never really seemed to get going but still a great achievement to get to that level consistently for what seems a lifetime.
That pitch was a joke though

[Ryan O]

Have alot of sympathy for Slaughneil yesterday after watching that. They looked way off the standard of Loughrea who bar a miracle I don't think will be fit for Ballygunner.

Ulster hurling is dire at the minute and it doesn't help Slaughneil trying to compete at all, realistically they haven't had a decent competitive game since All Ireland Semi final in 2024. St Johns done great winning Antrim but were miles off Slaughneil standard.

Antrim championship is competitive but its a competitive poor standard, once these teams go to Croke Park everything goes to a speed they can't cope with. The hurling gaels of Ulster constantly say they aren't getting the help, I love to ask what they want? Surely its up to the clubs to raise the standard if they wany to compete.

[Real Talk]

We are doing our best at Club level Hurling .... we could be doing with a Further Ed College that specialise in Hurling but where would the players come from    With the benefit of hindsight maybe the Derry County or Antrim County Boards should have concentrated a long term project in Derry City or Belfast to develop the game ... but sure Kilkenny can't field a County football team .... so all credit to the Ulster Counties that have done their best to keep the game alive

[Link]

Have alot of sympathy for Slaughneil yesterday after watching that. They looked way off the standard of Loughrea who bar a miracle I don't think will be fit for Ballygunner.

Ulster hurling is dire at the minute and it doesn't help Slaughneil trying to compete at all, realistically they haven't had a decent competitive game since All Ireland Semi final in 2024. St Johns done great winning Antrim but were miles off Slaughneil standard.

Antrim championship is competitive but its a competitive poor standard, once these teams go to Croke Park everything goes to a speed they can't cope with. The hurling gaels of Ulster constantly say they aren't getting the help, I love to ask what they want? Surely its up to the clubs to raise the standard if they wany to compete.

Harsh on Portaferry who were well in the contest until they conceded a goal after a very fortunate rebound.

[Wildweasel74]

I always think the different between Ulster teams and down south is stickwork, they seems to have higher skill levels with the hurl, quicker with passing and shooting early.

[Ryan O]

Have alot of sympathy for Slaughneil yesterday after watching that. They looked way off the standard of Loughrea who bar a miracle I don't think will be fit for Ballygunner.

Ulster hurling is dire at the minute and it doesn't help Slaughneil trying to compete at all, realistically they haven't had a decent competitive game since All Ireland Semi final in 2024. St Johns done great winning Antrim but were miles off Slaughneil standard.

Antrim championship is competitive but its a competitive poor standard, once these teams go to Croke Park everything goes to a speed they can't cope with. The hurling gaels of Ulster constantly say they aren't getting the help, I love to ask what they want? Surely its up to the clubs to raise the standard if they wany to compete.

Harsh on Portaferry who were well in the contest until they conceded a goal after a very fortunate rebound.

Not sure if its harsh, realistically its 3 counties competing and nobody from Down has won it since 2014, hard luck stories can't be sold for a decade.

This is during a period when I don't think Antrim or Down football has ever been worse. It can't be argued that their loyalties are directed elsewhere.

Whats glaringly obviously when Ulster hurling meets Munster or Leinster is the speed and power that their game is played at and I'm not talking about stick speed. Surely if they can't a very least match physicality you'd have to question how committed they are to closing the gap!

[zapped]

The harsh reality is that only a very small number of people in Ulster are interested in hurling. That is evident in the number of clubs, the playing numbers, the people attending the games and the media coverage. They don't even have an Ulster SHC anymore. Nobody is interested. Slaughtneil are now winning Ulster championships at a canter & they spend most of the year concentrating on football. It has turned into a joke.

Hurling people always ask for more money and complain the official bodies aren't doing enough to promote the game. It comes to the point you're just throwing good money after bad. Hurling is a niche sport which has an incredibly high skill level as a barrier to entry but an incredibly low athleticism level. Learning to hit the ball 70 yards can't be considered a 'sport' or fun. I send my kids to one of our newest clubs but it is an absolute pain to get them to go. I wouldn't mind but the membership for a primary school child is over £100.

How can it be fixed? It can't. Not in Ulster anyway.

[giveherlong]

The harsh reality is that only a very small number of people in Ulster are interested in hurling. That is evident in the number of clubs, the playing numbers, the people attending the games and the media coverage. They don't even have an Ulster SHC anymore. Nobody is interested. Slaughtneil are now winning Ulster championships at a canter & they spend most of the year concentrating on football. It has turned into a joke.

Hurling people always ask for more money and complain the official bodies aren't doing enough to promote the game. It comes to the point you're just throwing good money after bad. Hurling is a niche sport which has an incredibly high skill level as a barrier to entry but an incredibly low athleticism level. Learning to hit the ball 70 yards can't be considered a 'sport' or fun. I send my kids to one of our newest clubs but it is an absolute pain to get them to go. I wouldn't mind but the membership for a primary school child is over £100.

How can it be fixed? It can't. Not in Ulster anyway.

Only way to fix it is right down at club level and school level at fundamentals, Nursery, Go Games. If the work isn't being put in there forget about it. Then clear player pathways from there to your underage teams

[Derry Man]

Have alot of sympathy for Slaughneil yesterday after watching that. They looked way off the standard of Loughrea who bar a miracle I don't think will be fit for Ballygunner.

Ulster hurling is dire at the minute and it doesn't help Slaughneil trying to compete at all, realistically they haven't had a decent competitive game since All Ireland Semi final in 2024. St Johns done great winning Antrim but were miles off Slaughneil standard.

Antrim championship is competitive but its a competitive poor standard, once these teams go to Croke Park everything goes to a speed they can't cope with. The hurling gaels of Ulster constantly say they aren't getting the help, I love to ask what they want? Surely its up to the clubs to raise the standard if they wany to compete.

Dunloy beat St Thomas in Croke park 3 years ago. Ulster clubs are competing, yesterday was an outlier in recent results, Loughrea are no bad team and won't be far away from Ballygunner   

[Ryan O]

Have alot of sympathy for Slaughneil yesterday after watching that. They looked way off the standard of Loughrea who bar a miracle I don't think will be fit for Ballygunner.

Ulster hurling is dire at the minute and it doesn't help Slaughneil trying to compete at all, realistically they haven't had a decent competitive game since All Ireland Semi final in 2024. St Johns done great winning Antrim but were miles off Slaughneil standard.

Antrim championship is competitive but its a competitive poor standard, once these teams go to Croke Park everything goes to a speed they can't cope with. The hurling gaels of Ulster constantly say they aren't getting the help, I love to ask what they want? Surely its up to the clubs to raise the standard if they wany to compete.

Dunloy beat St Thomas in Croke park 3 years ago. Ulster clubs are competing, yesterday was an outlier in recent results, Loughrea are no bad team and won't be far away from Ballygunner   

They aren't competing, yes there are results that push against the norm but overall Ulster teams are well behind in standard.
Athletic grounds is probably the best place for football in the country but for fast free flowing hurling its a disaster.
The pitch is too tight and the game turns into a hacking match. Yes this may create excitement but All Irelands are won on big pitches where the ball moves fast.
I thought Slaughneil would beat Loughrea on Sunday based mainly off it was in Parnell Park thats another bog hole, once Loughrea matched they're intensity they were up against it.
Loughrea manager said before throw in "we have to match them for dirty ball" after that everyone knew it wasn't going to be a hurling classic.

Personally don't see this massive push that hurling folk claim they are doing, coaching seminars throughout the country  are full of underage coaches/managers doing everything they can to improve football, and the standard continues to rise. Social media is full of analysis, stats, drills, advice and 90% is all football based. Why do the hurling coaches/ enthusiasts not do the same?
Instead of saying they aren't getting the support needed perhaps it might be time to look internally.