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Lots of ifs and buts and possibilities fellas but the simple reality is that Down are as good as the league position of the division they are in.
Sure theres probably very little between the teams of both divison 2 and 3 but that does'nt matter a dam if you are stuck in either division. Only the teams in divison one are really good enough these days to win an Ulster title let alone anything else.

Our biggest issue seems to be the inability to produce midfielders. Since the days of Ambrose, Dan, Callum King (almost 10years ago!) only Peter Turley was a consistant proper midfielder. Why is this?

Nearly every county seem to have the standard 6ft 2 plus midfielders that can field a ball and use their physicality around the middle. We simply will not race up through the divisions or win anything continuing to bypass midfield.

And btw I'm not having a go at those who have played there in recent years. Donnelly is a decent midfielder but has had his injury problems and similarly Flynn has'nt played enough. The likes of McKernan, Mooney and Poland are all very good footballers but not tall enough and would probably be the first to say themeselves that they aren't midfielders.

Donal Bell is back at the helm in Teconnaught this season and although probably in the wrong division they are unbeaten so far.

Does anyone know the statistics for our results as a county in the Ulster championship for the last 5 years for minor, senior and under 21 (add in the new under 17/20 grades also)?

There are bound to be very few counties in any province with worse records of the last 5 years (we could go back much further)

I was in attendance at the East Down Under 8 superblitz at RGU on Saturday. Hundreds of children (one source stated 450 kids), great organisation, passionate coaches, loads of wonderful talent on show. Anyone looking in from outside the county would say that we are probably a real force. I'm sure its the same in South Down and all the way up through the age groups throughout the county.

We are not a county of poor footballing standards but why does it seem that way when all our county teams perform at championship level?

As for people mentioning the likes of Jim McGuinness - they need to understand that the County do not have the finances for someone from outside the county. I believe that Poacher seriously needs to be considered as an integral part of the next management. He may not have won much but he has experience of being part of a limited but obviously improved county team in Carlow whilst he has been around schools football and division one football in Down for years now - knowing every player inside out.

In any case regardless of who the next manager is that comes in they will need to get the Kilcoo contingent on board. Unbelievable that not one magpie started yesterday.

Looking at our players it will be massively disappointing if we get relegated as we are good enough to remain in Division Two and need to stay there at least if there is to be any hope of provincial honours for this relatively young team. In all the matches so far only Cork have outplayed us but as Armagh can testify there is no place for hard luck nowadays in league football.

The bigger problem remains in Down though that we seem to lose too many good players each year from the panel and never get our strongest players within the county lining up together. For whatever reason our best players end up leaving year in year out for whatever reason.   

Lads we haven't yet had the pre Clones drive to Ulster final discussion yet!

So what way is everyone going because every way I've tried is a complete bollix. I had it in my head that if I was to go again (heading from outside Downpatrick) I would try going to Ballygawley then onto Fivemiletown and Clones but on this occasion it will be a car park with Tyrone wans.

It will probably be Newtownhamilton, Castleblayney, Ballybay. Any other ways?

 

My word.....Coaching days now, so thats the mark of a good manager?

Everyone is talking about who is going to replace the manager but he hasn't gone yet lads. God only knows what the County Board will do anyway after the bizzare decisions around the management ousting/appointing in the last 18 months.

The only hope is that the minors and Under 21s can make a major improvement on previous years. We finally get a home championship game and against our greatest rivals (soon to be replaced by Antrim) and we should be chomping at the bit but instead its all about hoping that we won't get a hammering.

I loathe to criticise the input of volunteers and amateur players but we must have one of the worst Senior County Football setups in the country and as harsh as this sounds it is backed up by results and the fact that there are a lot of players who will not commit. 


   

Just a reminder that there were at least 4 Downpatrick men on the panel on Saturday.

At present there are about 7 soccer teams in Downpatrick? That's nearly impossible for one Gaa club to compete with. A point was made that people in "Downpatrick were not pulling their weight" which is bollocks. I'm not in anyway associated with the RGU but I do know like most clubs in the county that there is much work going on at underage (an All Ireland was won last weekend) but whilst in the likes of Kilcoo, Clonduff or Burren for talksake there are young men sitting in the dugout as subs on a Friday night chomping at the bit to come on and play a part in Downpatrick a young sub may be thinking that its a better idea to play soccer on a Saturday instead were getting a full 90 minutes of playing and enjoyment is highly likely.

As someone from a neighbouring club that is only my opinion btw as we have had a similar problem and I honestly don't know what numbers the RGU are getting turning out at senior level but one thing for sure is that the soccer saturation in and around the town does have an effect. I imagine its similar in Newry too, the overlap in soccer and GAA seasons too is getting bigger now due to how all sports are becoming more organised. The soccer season runs until the end of May and Pre-season seems to start again in late July.

   

In our heart of hearts we all knew this was coming but how the boys just gave up was so depressing. At least under wee James there was always fight in us but to simply give up is just not on. The debate for some time now is that it all stems from the County board and their inadequacies. A small part of me yesterday evening was relieved in a strange way because I felt that the disaster that was always in the post had finally arrived and that this would now be a watershed moment, a turning point. it surely can't get any worse?

Watching the Sunday game last night was bizarre in that Thomas O Se when commenting on Down and the weaker footballing counties in general made the point that equivalent competitions like the lesser hurling format would be good so "that teams wouldn't be getting thumped by 19 points and would get a day out in Croke pk" For F$ck sake we contested an All Ireland Final 6 years ago and this is where we are at now!!

Also the point made by wobbler that the current county players don't stand out in club football is bang on. Club football in Down also has become hard to watch and the optimism that comes with a decent minor or under 21 side or rising star from either appears to be no more. 

No the Athletic Grounds in Armagh

To start blaming the schools is ludicrous.

We have had so many all Ireland winners in the past who attended schools in Downpatrick which have never had the greatest success. But anyway its all about the Newry schools and a couple of the great GAA schools based in ........Kilkeel.

The Irish News tweeting this morning that Mooney has quit the panel. You wouldn't know for sure if its actually true.

Why do the best players in the county not want to play for Down?

[Reporter:]

Well hes hardly gonna come out and say he was on the tear last week & had to leave him out.
Nobody associated with Down should be in the papers at the minute, least not the players.
Read enough oul cr@p from the same boys this last few years to sicken yer hole. Its embarrassing.
If its not Big Arthur, its McKernan, Poland or Mooney. Add in the weekly columns from other fellas and it just makes ye cringe.

Its not the players fault to be fair.

Up until a couple of days ago Brick I would have agreed with you as it became a particular gripe of mine but in defence of the players its the stupid same questions being asked by reporters over and over. I was/am sick of the same "everything is great this could be our year nonsense" but I watched an interview recently and came to the conclusion of what else can players say?

All interviews seem to go like this:

Reporter: So you have a new manager what has he brought to the panel?

Player: Ah he's been great, he's a great talker and he's brought a different approach to the whole set-up, I really like what he's got to say so far.

Actual answer should/could be: I don't know yet he's only been here five minutes but he's brought a different approach because he's not an actual clone of our previous manger. He's a decent talker I suppose because he wouldn't be in management if he was a wee bit shy around the boys here. To be honest ask me after the summer.


Reporter: So, the new manager has brought in some new faces, how are they getting on ?

Player: They've been great so far and have brought in a freshness. They are pushing the older fellas really hard and places are going to be hard to come by.

Actual answer should/could be: Ah well a new manager, new players, its hardly a surprise. To be honest most of them probably won't be here in the summer but at this time of year the squad is a wee bit thin. They'll probably need to get some of those younger ones onto a weights programme they are far too light.


Reporter: So, you are in division 1 this year and a lot of people are writing yous off?

Player: Yeah well we got promoted on merit last year and earned the right to be here, there's lots of good players in Down you know and we are feeling optimistic about getting a result against whoever in the next match.

Actual Answer should/could be: Yeah, well we couldn't beat Wexford last year so I can see how people maybe think we will struggle against the likes of Kerry and Dublin. People say we have good footballers in the county but if you ask someone from Sligo are there any good footballers in Sligo then they'll tell you yes indeed there are. 

Reporter: Whats the spirit like in the camp?

Player: Well its great, it hasn't been better everyone is getting on really well.

Actual answer should/could be: Not great there are too many off playing university football at the minute and sure it hasn't been the same craic since your big fella that told all the jokes has left the panel. We aren't allowed to drink pints anymore and that doesn't help.

Reporter: You hav'nt won an Ulster title in a while how do you see your chances in the summer?

Player: Well we are all confident we can bring an Ulster title back here, its been far too long now but there are a lot of good players in this county.

Actual answer should/could be: Really, we hav'nt won an Ulster title in a while? No shit, we'd love to win an Ulster title in fact I'd give my right arm for one but ask me in the fu&king summer its still snowing here!   





The players will always be optimistic about winning matches and titles as that's what they train for. Any negativity in an interview would be damaging to the player and maybe even the panel.  They get asked the same questions over and over and then the answer becomes a headline 'Down player says this can be the year'  'Down player says Down can do well in division 1'

Its not just in Down, but how many headlines or article have you seen that say "new faces in Donegal/Dublin/Kerry bring a freshness" ?

The only alternative is to ban the players from making interviews which is hardly fair.

Some of the comments are disgraceful.

What gives people the right to come on here and make such personal comments about people they don't even know?

Sure Saturday night was hard to watch and there may be a couple of more games like this to sit through but come the summer if we beat Monaghan then not one of us will give a flying f$ck about what happens in this league campaign. At the minute the new management will be trying out new players and that will take time. A Sunny day in Clones is a world apart from a shitty cold night in Newry. We have four months to try and get a competitive side together for the Championship, there will be a couple of old heads that might come back and then we will have a different side. Donegal have a team of All Ireland winners and Allstars whilst some of the Down lads were making debuts.

Give the new regime time ffs.

Rubbish,

It varies much more depending on the size of the club, its membership, clubhouse facilities etc. 70k - 90k is too specific.

A big club in Dublin is a world apart from a small rural club with few teams and limited facilities. 

I'd imagine any club person with access on this information won't be forthcoming so lets not open a can of worms here.......


The main problem is people power as people bring in the money:

If a club are unable to attract people then you are going to struggle not just with playing numbers (across the age groups) but also fundraisers, volunteers, members who contribute to fundraising, membership fees, etc.