Antrim Football Thread

[InnocentByStander]

Agree with that Caesar. There is an obvious upside in terms of additional quality, as the saying goes a rising tide lifts all boats.

The downside, a clatter of players who have gone through the club development system, dedicated club families over the years,  some will miss out on match selection...maybe even squad selection....and the fall out from that might not be pretty.

The Meenagh lad in midfield looks decent too, only a fool would suggest they won't be a serious threat come championship time.

There is an argument that if you are a reserve player or not a first team player then you are not really going to improve the team, if you are a first team player then you should be fighting for your position anyways, competition for places is healthy, it will always bring a team on, and its a squad game now anyways, all 5 subs should be introduced to improve the team as it gets to the end of the match.

must be a kick in teeth for other lads who will inevitably get less or no game time. Drafting in so many players from an away club is wrong and should not be permissible and sets a bad precedent. That said I still don't tho they will win a championship they have come up short in the 1/4 and group stages the last few years

Other Belfast clubs have done it for years, why is it such a big deal now?

[Milltown Row2]

Agree with that Caesar. There is an obvious upside in terms of additional quality, as the saying goes a rising tide lifts all boats.

The downside, a clatter of players who have gone through the club development system, dedicated club families over the years,  some will miss out on match selection...maybe even squad selection....and the fall out from that might not be pretty.

The Meenagh lad in midfield looks decent too, only a fool would suggest they won't be a serious threat come championship time.

There is an argument that if you are a reserve player or not a first team player then you are not really going to improve the team, if you are a first team player then you should be fighting for your position anyways, competition for places is healthy, it will always bring a team on, and its a squad game now anyways, all 5 subs should be introduced to improve the team as it gets to the end of the match.

must be a kick in teeth for other lads who will inevitably get less or no game time. Drafting in so many players from an away club is wrong and should not be permissible and sets a bad precedent. That said I still don't tho they will win a championship they have come up short in the 1/4 and group stages the last few years

Other Belfast clubs have done it for years, why is it such a big deal now?

Ah, the purest of SW clubs wouldn't be at that lark

[JimStynes]

Agree with that Caesar. There is an obvious upside in terms of additional quality, as the saying goes a rising tide lifts all boats.

The downside, a clatter of players who have gone through the club development system, dedicated club families over the years,  some will miss out on match selection...maybe even squad selection....and the fall out from that might not be pretty.

The Meenagh lad in midfield looks decent too, only a fool would suggest they won't be a serious threat come championship time.

There is an argument that if you are a reserve player or not a first team player then you are not really going to improve the team, if you are a first team player then you should be fighting for your position anyways, competition for places is healthy, it will always bring a team on, and its a squad game now anyways, all 5 subs should be introduced to improve the team as it gets to the end of the match.

must be a kick in teeth for other lads who will inevitably get less or no game time. Drafting in so many players from an away club is wrong and should not be permissible and sets a bad precedent. That said I still don't tho they will win a championship they have come up short in the 1/4 and group stages the last few years

Throw 5 county players into a team at that level and they will make some difference. Depends on all the usual factors of course (management, training, commitment etc).

St Brigid's are built on drafting players in though so not sure how big a deal it is when they get 5 transfers in. I honestly wouldn't want 5 blow ins into our club no matter how good they are, especially under a cloud of controversy that the Downey's have landed with. But they are still a new enough club and they take players into their ranks every year. Close to the student area and where young professionals settle down after Uni also contributes to this too. You hear every accent under the sun when you're down watching a match at Musgrave. They have built a serious club there in such a short space of time and they have the people about the club from every background that they're very well funded too! The envy of many of their neighbouring clubs! They're doing something right and it's only a matter of time before they start winning senior championships!

[imtommygunn]

It's not 5 county players though. It's 2 seniors and 3 underage which, while it sounds pedantic, is a big difference.

St Brigid's will eventually come good. I don't think it will be for a few years but there is just way too much coming through these boys aside.

[Hoof Hearted]

It's not 5 county players though. It's 2 seniors and 3 underage which, while it sounds pedantic, is a big difference.

St Brigid's will eventually come good. I don't think it will be for a few years but there is just way too much coming through these boys aside.

Exactly, and it's not as if they've pocketfulls of Derry SFC medals either.

[glens73]

It's not 5 county players though. It's 2 seniors and 3 underage which, while it sounds pedantic, is a big difference.

St Brigid's will eventually come good. I don't think it will be for a few years but there is just way too much coming through these boys aside.

Exactly, and it's not as if they've pocketfulls of Derry SFC medals either.

How's it got so toxic at Lavey for them all to leave? They weren't the best behaved club in the world in the 90s, has that carried on to the next generation?

[bannside]

No, don't think so.

[stiffler]

I'd still have st brids behind portglenone in the pecking order for championship success. Time will tell on whether the transfer policy pays off for them over their internally developed players.

[bannside]

If nothing else the Antrim championships have turned out really interesting. There were years there there was literally no point in training for it....and St Galls stuck in second gear until about mid August.

[paddyjohn]

St Brigids won't win a championship, bit like the Man City of Antrim GAA. 😉

[EOC1923]

If nothing else the Antrim championships have turned out really interesting. There were years there there was literally no point in training for it....and St Galls stuck in second gear until about mid August.

Bit of a piss take there, Cargin certainly fought hard in those days of St galls dominance though more often fell short managed to break their run, which instead of being 5 and 8 in a row would of been 14 in a row!.
Some exciting games in recent years surely but the same team has won it Six of the last 8 seasons which is a period of dominance in any record book.

[EOC1923]

Looking forward to this years championship myself, could be a clinker

[Milltown Row2]

If nothing else the Antrim championships have turned out really interesting. There were years there there was literally no point in training for it....and St Galls stuck in second gear until about mid August.

Bit of a piss take there, Cargin certainly fought hard in those days of St galls dominance though more often fell short managed to break their run, which instead of being 5 and 8 in a row would of been 14 in a row!.
Some exciting games in recent years surely but the same team has won it Six of the last 8 seasons which is a period of dominance in any record book.

That type of dominance usually brings an Ulster success, the johnnies and ourselves of course reached Croke, Cargin should be there next

[EOC1923]

If nothing else the Antrim championships have turned out really interesting. There were years there there was literally no point in training for it....and St Galls stuck in second gear until about mid August.

Bit of a piss take there, Cargin certainly fought hard in those days of St galls dominance though more often fell short managed to break their run, which instead of being 5 and 8 in a row would of been 14 in a row!.
Some exciting games in recent years surely but the same team has won it Six of the last 8 seasons which is a period of dominance in any record book.

That type of dominance usually brings an Ulster success, the johnnies and ourselves of course reached Croke, Cargin should be there next

Ye never know

[geezer]

That St Galls team were a different level. Always represented Antrim well in Ulster and beyond.

Cargin are a great team but can never see them winning an Ulster medal. Maybe if St Galls werent around 10 years ago when mick, tomas, justy, kobo, ts, close etc were younger they might have had a shot.