Messages

Which Antrim players would get in Armagh's 26?

At the moment probably none on 1st 15. Might be the odd close call. Your man might be in contention for the FF slot and Turbo moved to the corner but given he missed out on a year or 2 of inter County S&C he might not be at the level yet and would need to serve a year or 2 getting to the level. Might get 1 or 2 on the bench.

Most of that Armagh team bar 1 or 2 have 3, 4, 5 plus years of high level conditioning,  a couple of years Div 1 experience.

Do we have players who could be developed to get on the team YES

5 or 6 with a few years high level conditioning, development. tactical discipline etc would be very strong contenders. Might not start but would be close

Good luck to the 2 schools in Mclarnon cup semi finals today and tomorrow. Would be good to have 2 really competitive performances.
Has the Antrim Schools competition ignited a little more interest and led to more competitive performances across the ulster colleges competitions

Flanker have you ever criticised a player before? Been plenty on here and is this the first time you've jumped in to defend criticism?

I'm sure I have been critical of players at times. Your probably going to dig something out of a post somewhere where I have criticised a player. As I mentioned it is just an opinion based on what I have seen. I thought it was overly harsh. He has always played at a very high grade/level of football which needs to be considered when making judgement.but we can all have opinions and agree to disagree.

[fitness]

Am I the only one who wasn't that impressed with Cargin against Glen. I watched it twice and felt that Cargin weren't anywhere near their best. They should have attacked more and went after the game. Nearly felt like that they were trying to stay in it rather than go and win it!

Totally agree. 2 shots in 1st half makes Jimmy McGuinness' Donegal of 2011 look attacking....but for missed 1 on 1s and shlt after shot from Glen kicked wide under little pressure Cargin could've been blown out of it. Catching marks and not even looking to kick it  forward was destined for a slow death

Cargin could have had more of a go and should have done. Can't win a fight by ducking away from shots, you have to throw a dig

Forwards were poor...only Kobo (unbelievable footballer), O neill and Bradley when he came on were fit to break lines...which is what you need at this level

The young lads need put on serious weight programmes to maximise potential, and really punch at that level, especially Shivers who is a tall man and has the time on his side to add power and fitness to a game reliant on natural talent at present

Last 4 in Ulster is some achievement,  just feel they will be gutted they didn't have a real go

Is it a lack of fitness or just a lack of a desire to work?

Late in the second half he lost the ball in the right corner and just watched his man break away with the ball without making any effort to tackle.

Incredibly talented but looks so lazy, so hopefully it is just fitness and with improvement on that he steps up, as he would be a great addition to the county team if he had a higher work rate.

Barnish that's a pretty cheap shot.

In case you hadn't noticed he was one of the better performers in the Tailtean Cup defeat to Leitrim.

In case you hadn't noticed he was being used as a target for kickouts in the first half against the wind competing quite sucessfully in an area with an all star midfielder and some other serious operators. (Part of a reasonably successful kick out strategy).
He was then being used as a target inside, so late in the second half against a hard running, well conditioned opposition in an ulster senior club semi final you might understand that the legs might not do what the head might want them to do.

You might be better focusing your efforts on some of those underage C teams developing talent, discipline and conditioning as I don't think there are any plans for a D league.

Like a broken record you.

Funny you never seem to put your own contributions to any club on here.

Easier to mouth off about some perceived mindset in my club, without stating anything about your club or what you contribute to them.

Hardly a cheap shot but then again, it seems you only post to have a cheap shot in the first place.

Maybe you username is a misspelling and you should replace the first two letters with one.

I have seen Pat play more than just that match and as I said earlier, an incredible talent, there are many in this country could only wish to have feet like his and his physical attributes.

I, and others I have spoken to, just feel that he comes across as lazy at times.

Maybe when you see the work rate of the likes of Tomas beside him, who has a good few years on him, then it reflects badly on him.

My opinion, and that of others as I say, and we are perfectly entitled to have that opinion until we see evidence to the contrary.

But then sure didn't the great Maurice Fitz get the same reputation and he wasn't a bad footballer!

Not mouthing of Barnish just trying to highlight and draw attention to the level the lad is playing at and where he is being judged

Is it a lack of fitness or just a lack of a desire to work?

Incredibly talented but looks so lazy

Have seen him play loads of times. Most of the time at a very high grade of football making a significant contribution. Couple of Minor championships, Couple of Senior championships, A MACrory Cup winner, Antrim Senior County panelist and I'm sure loads of other things as well.

Just thought it was very harsh comment from someone involved in coaching on a lad with a big frame who will physically mature a little later than a 5 10 / 5 11 type guy..

He is not doing 2 bad for a guy that has a bit of developing ahead of him.

Just an opinion. Will agree to disagree on it

[fitness]

Am I the only one who wasn't that impressed with Cargin against Glen. I watched it twice and felt that Cargin weren't anywhere near their best. They should have attacked more and went after the game. Nearly felt like that they were trying to stay in it rather than go and win it!

Totally agree. 2 shots in 1st half makes Jimmy McGuinness' Donegal of 2011 look attacking....but for missed 1 on 1s and shlt after shot from Glen kicked wide under little pressure Cargin could've been blown out of it. Catching marks and not even looking to kick it  forward was destined for a slow death

Cargin could have had more of a go and should have done. Can't win a fight by ducking away from shots, you have to throw a dig

Forwards were poor...only Kobo (unbelievable footballer), O neill and Bradley when he came on were fit to break lines...which is what you need at this level

The young lads need put on serious weight programmes to maximise potential, and really punch at that level, especially Shivers who is a tall man and has the time on his side to add power and fitness to a game reliant on natural talent at present

Last 4 in Ulster is some achievement,  just feel they will be gutted they didn't have a real go

Is it a lack of fitness or just a lack of a desire to work?

Late in the second half he lost the ball in the right corner and just watched his man break away with the ball without making any effort to tackle.

Incredibly talented but looks so lazy, so hopefully it is just fitness and with improvement on that he steps up, as he would be a great addition to the county team if he had a higher work rate.

Barnish that's a pretty cheap shot.

In case you hadn't noticed he was one of the better performers in the Tailtean Cup defeat to Leitrim.

In case you hadn't noticed he was being used as a target for kickouts in the first half against the wind competing quite sucessfully in an area with an all star midfielder and some other serious operators. (Part of a reasonably successful kick out strategy).
He was then being used as a target inside, so late in the second half against a hard running, well conditioned opposition in an ulster senior club semi final you might understand that the legs might not do what the head might want them to do.

You might be better focusing your efforts on some of those underage C teams developing talent, discipline and conditioning as I don't think there are any plans for a D league.

Can we put the club football away for a few months and slag off the county team and county board instead.

Nothing wrong with the county board.

2 great managers at senior level and alls good.

Is the football panel in the public domain as yet PJ.....?

Haven't saw it as yet. Hoping for some new faces!

Who would you like to see given an opportunity?

Also why 4th. Joint 3rd. Glass half full 

ITG I think the glass is more than half full already 

Newsflash from the school bus at Ballygawley roundabout

Errigal Ciaran laying claim to joint 3rd place as Glen only beat them by 4 points. Their legal team feel they have a strong case based on back of the school bus logic.

CB had better head for the Tyrone page and put those pesky upstarts back in their box

So you are still at school.......?

I am but I'm on the yellow and white bus.. It was those big boys on the blue and white bus that were talking about it Just thought I would give you the heads up in case you found it on social media and got upset. Better to be prepared

So you have mates in Glenties.....yep terrified of them .

No idea what that is about. Don't know anyone from Glenties.

Just having a bit of fun at the back of the school bus type logic

Also why 4th. Joint 3rd. Glass half full 

ITG I think the glass is more than half full already 

Newsflash from the school bus at Ballygawley roundabout

Errigal Ciaran laying claim to joint 3rd place as Glen only beat them by 4 points. Their legal team feel they have a strong case based on back of the school bus logic.

CB had better head for the Tyrone page and put those pesky upstarts back in their box

So you are still at school.......?

I am but I'm on the yellow and white bus.. It was those big boys on the blue and white bus that were talking about it Just thought I would give you the heads up in case you found it on social media and got upset. Better to be prepared

Also why 4th. Joint 3rd. Glass half full 

ITG I think the glass is more than half full already 

Newsflash from the school bus at Ballygawley roundabout

Errigal Ciaran laying claim to joint 3rd place as Glen only beat them by 4 points. Their legal team feel they have a strong case based on back of the school bus logic.

CB had better head for the Tyrone page and put those pesky upstarts back in their box

Great to see the St Brigids V Moneyglass U20 game got played last night.

Productive night for St.Brigids got 4 points last night, 2 against MG  and 2 from Cargin , to win the league ! Actually played 1 game ! Utter nonsense

With 12 under 20s on senior side and several starters.....there was no way Cargin were taking that fixture.surely Brigid's will not claim the title...?

The Bot was rocking last night and an all dayer in the Hatfield today🤣🤣

On the plus side BS you can get all the flags and bunting ordered early as we can say for sure you're for the final. Keep a lid on the hype now..

Sure they can just keep the bunting and flags up from the Og Sport win and parade

The double is on or would you call it a 1 and a 1/2

concerning that it is so easily done.   we always hear from the clubs about the issues with fixtures but seemingly it suits some to do as they please.

Would starting on - 6 points in the following years league be enough of a deterrent. Would put most teams bar the top handful in a tricky enough spot.
Reserve leagues will always be difficult to manage though

So the problem I see within all those hugely well equipped posters on this board in tactical awareness combined with a huge wealth of coaching experience can look within their own club and excuse the lack of silverware within.
And indeed, in most cases no glimpse of such on the horizon.

Jesus does indeed weep....

CB if you measure everything in silverware then the vast majority of teams will be failures most of the time.

As a county we are unlikely to see silverware anytime soon.

Nobody said we had a thriving club scene

It doesn't mean we shouldn't have an expectation of maximising the potential of what we have.

You watch and report on plenty of games. You will see setups that are maximising potential and plenty that aren't.

I'm sure you can see the difference.

There was a clear coaching deficit in the setup which highlights the importance of the full management team.

It is over now but it may draw attention to the importance of the backroom teams and supporting cast in future management teams as well

Time to move on

The Management had virtually everyone of the top 40 odd players in Antrim available to them. There was virtually no one who made themselves unavailable from the outset. Some weren't selected, some after year 1 retired, some didn't make themselves available, some were dropped & some dropped out throughout the year. Part of management is to mould what you have into a cohesive unit greater than the sum of the parts. Get buy into your philosophy and systems of play. Improve and develop players. Out of the 40 odd we ended up with around 20 plus 5 or 6 under 20's for the final game.

How did we end up with around 20 out of the 40/45 that were originally available or drafted in @ the start of year 2.
Can anyone name 3 or 4 players who you would say developed a reasonable amount over the 2 years?
Can anyone identify an area of our play that showed marked improvement?
From what I could see we had most of our better players available at the begining (not always the case for Antrim managers) got fitter and beat the teams around us and a few above. There isn't a huge difference between the top half of division 4 and the bottom half of Div 3. We played most of the weaker Div 3 teams at the start of the league and picked up points. When we hit the slightly stronger teams it really exposed our setup. We basically didn't have one and didn't know how to deal with teams who were well setup.
Credit for getting out of Div 4 and staying in Div 3. However there was no sign of the building blocks and basics being put in place to move on.
At the end we ended up with half a squad who looked like they were rounded up on the morning of the game

3 years ago we played Derry in a Div 4 league game in Corrigan, where aided by a dubious call by the ref (we should have had a penalty when he gave a 14 yard free for a technical foul by keeper), Derry won by a point. We know what has happened since then.

So what's the difference? Don't think Derry have introduced a big number of new players, in fact RG has stated that the fewer personnel changes the better. They did get Conor Glass back and he has made a difference. Is it primarily the manager (management team), attitude, training methods, commitment? Like, they have gone from Div 4 to Ulster champions. In same period our progress has been limited and in championship terms, non existent.

Very frustrating. I was glad for them yesterday but still, very frustrating.

In the main a combination of 2 things

Derry had been addressing their underage pipeline which consistently produced very competitive squads for a few years prior to this and since
Ulster (Minors), Ulster U20's, 3/4 Macrory Cups, All Ireland Minor, Ulster minor club, probably lots more & there or thereabouts in lots of others as well.

In that time We have.............

Both teams changed there management/coaching setup

One got a modern day tactically aware setup maximising what they have into a cohesive force much stronger than the sum of the parts

We got a setup that in the end looked like a gather up

Derry get 2 out of 2 Result 2022 Ulster Senior Title

We get 0 out of 2 Result Knocked out by mid table Div 4 team


Challenge is to get both parts right and bring it together