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Interesting start to our senior leagues this weekend, Cant help but feel some clubs will treat the league with serious contempt this year due to the zero relegation in division one. Ballyholland, Longstone, Saval and these other small clubs who regularly flirt with relegation, what is their motivation now this year???

Result of the night goes to the mighty men from Burren, a previous poster hit the nail on the head, the bridge are finished and have been for some time, while the men from St Marys could be set to dominate our game for the foreseeable future which will help extend their underage recruitment even further outside their parish 

we should win comfortably by at least 7 or 8 points, Mc Kernan being dropped is long long over due

:-[pete mc grath was picked out of sentement rather than sense. he is yessterd;s hero.

Pete has nothing to do with the U21s!!!!!!

As for the management I think the comments about the 2009 minors and Hogan cup teams success are very valid. It shows the difference a good manager makes and it appears we do not have one. Cathal Murray is as much responsible for the St Colman's success as Mooney, McCartan, Gough...... It is a pity Murray is not involved in the county setup.

It shows that it is not simply having a good set of players but also being able to form a team out of them. Sadly that has not been the result for the last few years.

Mc Grath has nothing to do with it your right, he s too busy making a shambles of the minors! Could someone please explain how boys like Collins and Mc Grath get these posts, should they become vacant should there not be some sort of interview process and try to get the best people for the job.

As for your Murray comments Pauld123, dont make me laugh, everyone knows Mussen did all the work up there and was totally responsible for the success along with having an exceptional team where they plucked the best players from all around other schools in Down, think its time for someone with a track record at this age like Sean Ward from Burren possibly.

The shock victory for Mayo over Dublin (12 points) means very simply that we must avoid defeat next week to Laois by 2 points or more to avoid relegation.

If we lose by more than two points we will be relegated if Armagh wins or loses (bar an absoloute massacre for Dublin or Mayo by more than 25 points)

If Armagh draw then we are safe so long as we don't lose by by eleven.

If we win then we are guaranteed to be in a semi-final.

It really is a time for the lads to show some character.

You have too much time on your hands 

I certainly think that POR has to go at the end of the season barring an Ulster title/AI semi-final appearance.

Why should he go?  He has made the team punch well above its weight at times and he can't be expected to make a silk purse from a pig's ear.

He has also brought some humiliating defeats to Armagh since he took over (Monaghan, Derry and Dublin).

And what managers havent brought humiliating defeats to their teams? It happens the best of them, do Dublin get shot of Pat Gilroy now? Dont talk crap POR has worked under some extreme circumstances and with the "Down Man" tag hanging over him and he has done nothing but his best for Armagh. Who do you suggest as manager next year?

[we cant afford to have a group of players retire and have no one there to take their place . This happened before after Pete]

We only had 3 subs on the bench who were forwards Benny, O Reilly and Arthur . Would like to see Murtagh back on the panel even for the subs role he played in 2010 . He has experience of the big days and will battle hard . As for Anton and O Reilly and probaly Arthur also these lads are the future as Paul says they need time to adopt and are not going to be the finished article straight but they need the experience at the top level . They also need to be involved in the training to gain the correct conditioning and weight training for the long term benefit . I for one commend James for giving youth a chance although it doesnt always work out but we cant afford to have a group of players retire and have no one there to take their place . This happened before after Pete and we are still rebuilding because alot of lads never got the chance to develop they were threw in at the deep end and expected to perform

This didnt happen before under Mc Graths rein - that was a totally different problem altogether, Mc Graths problem was he held on too long to players who were clearly well past their best and didnt give youth a chance at all and missed out on a whole generation of player, Mc Cartan meanwhile is too concerned with a different type of loyalty, a family loyalty, getting rid of guys like Murtagh who have been around for years and werent good enough is however a positive move... Bringing in guys from an U21 team like O Reilly, Mc Ardle etc... who failed to even win a game at their own level isnt a great move - we are not good enough and the sooner people realise that then the less shit talk there ll be on here...

their all at it - and some coaches and managers are worse than players, in Armagh qualifier game v Tyrone last year a member of Armagh backroom team give Sean Cavanagh an awful mouthful! Armagh can get off their high horse - crying the wee innocent victims. Their as bad as anyone if not worse

Finally would I be right in saying that the much maligned POR outsmarted and outwitted James and co last night.  The armagh forwards seemed to get an awful lot more space than the down forwards!!!

Totally agree here whitegoodman and I think credit where credit is due, both Paddy O Rourke and Sean O Hare deserve a lot of credit and its obvious their knowledge of Down players from their previous stint in charge of our seniors and U21s has helped here.

Looking at the tables though, a win against Laois and its top 4 for us.

Any word on free entry for Season Ticket holders?

There is nothing free in the GAA 

would you stay loyal to those that showed the spirit and fight to beat down or would you bring them straight back in?? Tricky one as most of the cross lads will probably be partying for a few days win or lose. Its a must win game though, am I right in saying Armagh could actually still make the top 4?