Messages

its good to see a buzz back in the county final.  its been quite a while since i can remember so many neutrals looking forward to the final. just hope the two teams dont freeze like the minor final recently...

i take it the minor championship matches are going to be rattled off right and quick so their final can be before the senior game?

Yeah, minor final to be played before senior. 

Harps v Clans tomorrow at 4pm in Abbey has the makings of a clinker game, there's been plenty of talk of our Seniors and minors lining out on County Final day, I hope we dont take our eye of the ball as I know the Clans fancy themselves them for this one.

1995 was our last final, beaten by Mullaghbawn.  Did beat Maghery in 1991 and St Pauls in 1989.

Good feeling to be sitting in a County Final this morning.

Undoubtedly Granemore will rue their missed chances but I thought we were more than worthy winners, part and parcel of the game is taking your chances and we certainly did that and could afford to miss a clear goal chance near the end.

Thought our victory was won at MF, Vernon and Nippy were a delight to watch.  Charlie hasn't been having a great run since his broken jaw, but he showed his class last night outfielding Toner on numerous ocassions.  Nippy also made an incredible Aussie Rules style catch during the second half.  We had a solid look about us all over the field and didn't display the nerves that could have proved costly in the Clans game, I'd say the extra game probably brought us on a fair bit.

Great credit to the management too, we were spot on tactically and I thought Granemore became very predicatable very early on.

[Going on reputations i like o'rourke. his rep is of a tactically sharp and innovative coach ahead of his time -]

McNulty, Rafferty, McAlinden, murtagh, etc. all have their strengths but there is a fair understanding out there of their weaknesses too. Going on reputations i like o'rourke. his rep is of a tactically sharp and innovative coach ahead of his time - very like McGeeney. Those who rave about him don't cite weaknesses - there will always be some - but i'd rather go with someone like that who has the potential to be very good than an ordinary appointment seen as a "safe pair of hands".

Quelle suprise.   I dont see how it would be possible for to him to become manager so soon.  Half of the panel cant stand the man from what I can gather.  Last time I saw him manage he wasn't so clever looking UUJ v QUB, comprehensively outsmarted by McGuickan, maybe we should go for big adrain.

am I the only one who thinks there must be more to this than meets the eye? Fair enough, they have been giving them craap because of the defeat  to kerry, but I would imagine the attacked people passed a few remarks back, and that this is probably what lead to the actual attacks?

That was my initial reaction as well.  I'd say the Cork individuals concerned are omitting parts of the full story.

Between 2000 and 2009 across senior, minor and u21 - heaneys criteria - Tyrone have 26 trophies to armaghs 15. Last census showed Tyrone 166k armagh 159k. Both primarily football counties. Now tell me hes not a wum

Dont buy Heaney's assertions at all, but you cant use dodgy stats to back up your argument as Armagh's percentage of Prods (for want of a better word) is significantly higher than Tyrones.

Firstly, well done to all concerned. I've noticed a few people who said they thought Rowland was vg and we had a discussion on the car on the way home about him too, I though he was poor although I do seem to be in the minority. 

Defo not the time to be delving deep into performances, there were more poor than good I thought but it's the result that counts.  Morgan, McKenna, Murnin, Carragher and Tasker were the standouts for me.  both corner backs had good games too.  Could see the same lads McVerry & possibly Grugan making a contribution to the seniors in the years to come.

Noticed the BBC had Peadar down as having scored 1-5 when it was Kevin Kelly who socred this.  Sure you didn't do the report for the beeb berf

Well done to Harps, deserving victors.  Thought we had a lot more shape than last week as we didn't try to be too clever and played to our strengths.  Clans outperformed us in MF but it didn't prove fatal.  Thought Collie Holmes going to FB during the second half made us look a lot more solid.

Poor start to both halves, was starting to get worried in the second half, but a score settled us down.  AS stated already we've 3 players to come back in and plenty of others chomping at the bit on the sideline, good situation to be in. 

Granemore gave us a couple of hidings in the league, but we'll have half a dozen or more available to us now that didn't play against them in the league.

Fcuksake i heard that too...Apparently there were 4 Harps players in the changing rooms after the match either kicked up stink or quit because of Toal playing...i'm not trying to stir things up or anything ahead of tonights game i was genuinly told that last night...

Anyway that aside i hope it's a good game of football tonight and may the best team win

It's not true, the players knew the team on the Friday before the game, so that sort of alleged grandstanding after the game doesn't make any sense. 

Anyways, dont give a f**k if it's a good game as long as the result is the right one.  We undopubtedly have the talent, it's putting it together on the day that counts.

rte quoting sean boylan as saying he is not interested( take up too much time etc) what is teh irish news up to these days

You defintley get the impression that the Irish News is making it up as it's going along, I mean Plunkett Donaghy?

Darw's meant to be at 8pm AFAIK.

Fair play to Clann Eireann, not many gave them a chance(me included), but they deserved their win. 

Regarding the sendings off, the first one was laughable, the CE midfielder was clearly fouled and it should have been a free, he did react but with a clown like Slevin in charge it wasn't suprising he got the line, didn't see the second one, but apparently he can have no complaints.  Pity for him too as he was their best forward.

Even when we were 8 or 9 points up I didn't feel we were playing well.  WE made too many positional changes to our starting and line up and the players seemed a bit a sea at times, how we were 5 pionts up at ht was a mystery.  Some changes worked well, like Peadar at ff to run the legs of the big fb, but others like Charlie at whb were mystifying, why play an intercounty midfielder there?  Thought harpo had a very good game but there is no need for him to play chf forward as he's there for breaking ball and scavenging and doesn't have to do from such a pivotal position, could do it just as well from 10 or 12.

team I'd like to see for replay
Richards
k morris, N McArdle, Gill
McCoy, holmes, McConville
Charlie & Philly McKinney
Harpo, Nippy, Ultan Lennon
Kevnign Kelly, Peadar, Joe Quigley

Clans will obviously take great heart from the game, but have to say it's ours to lose, we have far more talent, it's just getting them to play as a team.

Paddy Power has it Clans 10/11, Harps 11/10

6/5 is an attractive looking price.