Messages

I seriously don't get the celebration of being gallant losers, sure aren't we just great we nearly won a game against our hated rivals but all is good, we played some nice football, if Caolan and Rory hadn't got sent off and with a wee bit of luck we could have won but it's grand we'll take being second best. But hey, we have a(n extremely well paid) genius over us who has us really going places. I think some of you need to wake up and smell the coffee. We're still in Division 3 when we couldn't get over the line against an average Louth team and people think we have made progress this year.

Tally did a brilliant job tactically

Brilliant tactics???

The long ball in was working and we got scores being direct but failed to consistently do this. Havern and Harrison wouldn't stay inside where they were dangerous and an option for a direct ball in.
Linked to above point was the lack of presence in FF line to hit a man with so often while building attacks, not even a highball in.
Kevin Mc Kernan on Rian O'Neill, what was that about?
Transition was pedestrian until late on in the game when we went for it and see the difference that it made - let the players play FFS.
Failed to push up on kickouts giving Armagh easy possession to come at us.
Kickouts haven't changed much since the league and cost against a very dominant Armagh midfield going long and trying to win the break ball. It didn't work during the league and we had similar results yesterday.
Sub keeper has trained twice with Down after only be called into the panel last weekend. WTF
Even with 15 behind the ball we were still so open at the back and Armagh got through us far too easy too often.
Poor tackling led to so many frees being given away but poor free taking from Armagh helped us stay in touch.
We had a panel of over 40 for most of the year but yesterday there was little confidence in the panel options when putting players back on who were taken off for playing bad. Where was the player development since October working with a genius?
Putting Conor Poland back on at full back
Turnovers and decision making poor throughout
Constantly carrying the ball into the tackle and coughing up easy possession against a more physical and organised team.
Inability to pick up runners at us with slack/poor/non existent marking.
Lack of a defensive plan when we went 3 points up in the 2nd period of extra time to close the game out and our manager is a defensive guru.

Tally proved his capabilitiies today and, with the players buying into his approach, some heartening progress is definitely on the cards.

Players buying into his approach? 15 behind the ball, put everyone on one side of the pitch, kick it out and hope to get the break, pass sideways constantly but don't worry about going forward, drop to the 50 after your team scores, put the same men back on even though you have taken them off for not playing well, just a few of the genius approach from our manager. How can you say that progress is on the cards, we have made little progress this year? Just about beating very poor teams in Carlow and Sligo in the last few minutes of games, choking when we had the game by the throat yesterday. If was someone on the bench yesterday, seeing men go back on who had played poorly and been taken off I would have to wonder why I would go back to training this week. Here's hoping for London in the qualifiers, or maybe not. Let's see your heartening progress in the qualifiers Mourne Rover.

It was a complete shitshow at times yesterday, like the league at times but keep up your positivity if you want but it's not for me.

Ryan Mallon came on and was then taken off. Was this tactical or was he injured?
If it was the former then I think that could be the last we will see of him in the red and black

He was taken off because of his inability to lift the ball but rather chose to put his toe in it, a decision which ended up with the ball in our net within 20 seconds. Head down and run hard is all he has ever been about with very poor decision making throw in, I'm sure Armagh would have rather he had stayed on as he offered nothing.

FFS Lotto get off the fence, would you?

You trying to be funny?

Tally is more than capable of shaking up the team that finished the league.

Shame he hadn't given them a bit of a shake before the league finished.

Seriously for a man with such a reputation for being a 'players manager' I'm yet to hear many positive comments about him as a man manager, well apart from his 'love child' Kevin Mc Kernan. Players walking away wouldn't indicate that he is as special as he thinks he is. He has replaced Mark Reid with the Burren sub goalkeeper, what the hell is that all about? I hear there were 5 Carryduff players leading the show against Donegal in Tullylish last week and with total respect to Carryduff, if we are relying on some of those players to beat Armagh then we have very little chance. We have a very average defence, inadequate midfield, I don't include Mooney in that as he is not a midfielder, with an extremely impotent forward line who play in the defence most of the time during games anyway. I read where Tally thinks he is not an overly defensive manager, well I beg to differ and having watched Down play in the league with 12-14 players behind the ball for the majority of games he strikes me as setting a team up very defensively. God help us as I can't see anything other than an Armagh win, I sincerely hope I am wrong though.

Mediocrity competing with the only 3 teams that have won championships this past 20 years? You have not a clue what you are talking about. CPN rubbing shoulders with Kilcoo Burren and Mayobridge is mediocre? How do you work that out?

Ah man, stop before you embarrass yourself and St Peters any further. You would also be better getting your facts right as you can often be left looking like an ass.

Lotto u mug how are we not a top 4 club? Top 4 and semi final of the championship would suggest we are unless you have some other treason as to why we are not? At this present time CPN are in the top 4. Might change next year but we are

No treason at all, you have proved me wrong. I hope you have another successful year being satisfied with mediocrity.

Classy response, poor sign when you have to resort to insults.

Did you know call him delusional? And you now seek the moral high ground, that's a bit rich.

His logic does stack up. Who else would replace CPN in the 4?

Sweet f**k.

Finished joint second in the league with Mayobridge
Semi final of championship
League
1 Burren
2 Mayobridge
2 CPN
4 Kilcoo

Championship
Semi final
CPN V Kilcoo
Mayobridge v Burren

What is delusional about that you muppet?
Come up with some shite excuse but CPN are now a top 4 club in Down until someone can move us.

Classy response, poor sign when you have to resort to insults.

Your compelling evidence from last year makes it clear that Warrenpoint are now a Top 4 club in Down, how wrong I have been. I hope you had a big night celebrating your joint second in the league 

[big 4]

Yes but the manner Kilcoo beat teams out the gate winning it then beating Downpatrick by 30 points. They deserve some credit for winning it. Can't see past the big 4 again for the semi finals
Burren
Kilcoo
CPN
Mayobridge

What are you on, you are having some serious delusions here?

Very disappointing finish to the Minor game yesterday. Up by 4 points going into the last 10 minutes and ended up being beaten by 3. Some outstanding talent in the Down squad and with a star studded management team, we really should have been getting over the line against Monaghan. Also very disappointing that they couldn't even send a representative to the official launch of the Minor Championship during the week where every other county apart from Down had someone there. Poor form.

I see an unnamed Carlow Selector (but apparently has previous form ) was involved in nasty behaviour after their defeat to Laois on Sunday.
Maybe Croke Park can do what Down failed to do over the years.

That's an all time low, even for this individual. It was all over here http://gaaboard.com/board/index.php?topic=28867.405 on Sunday

[Sean og is overseeing this shitshow on 50 grand a year.]

Agree why was Donnelly not put in for Flynn in the middle

He's not 100% fit yet.

Cleaned out in the middle of the park yet again, this time by a player from the Westerns, who play in the lowest division in county Louth, but we didn't even try to change the kick out strategy until mid way through the second half. I may just stick pins in my eyes instead of watching the Armagh game.

Two positives from today's games, we won't have to pay those inflated prices into Div2 games next year and Sean og is overseeing this shitshow on 50 grand a year.

After today there is another man on much more than 50 grand overseeing a much bigger shit show on the field.

I take your point about unearthing new forwards. It's some step up from club to county football and we should have looked at other options in the league. They have alot to do and this sideways football is not what we are used to. If it beats Armagh, I'll take it.

If I were to have a stab at the starting 15 for Armagh id go with this;

Reid (Burns has done ok in nets but dont fancy a club midfielder doing nets for the county)
O'Hagan
Wells
Collins
Laverty
Flanagan
Guinness

Donnelly
McKernan

Mooney
Maginn
R Johnston
O'Hare
Harrison
J Johnston

Probably completely left field to what Tally will pick tbh. Anyone know whats happened to the Loughinisland players on the panel, thought both McClements done well in McKenna cup yet no sign of them on the league panel

Nanderson, what would the basis for picking some of these individuals to play against Armagh, past/current performances or potential? O Hagan is the only one I would agree with in defence but you're putting a man who got 1.1 from WHB in the corner, when he is one of the best attacking players we have. All Mc Kernan can do is sweep, he's not a midfielder and doesn't like marking. Mooney and R Johnston could blow teams away on their own but are inconsistent, this current system doesn't suit Maginn and Harrison, O'Hare is still a top forward, J Johnston shouldn't even be starting for Kilcoo never mind Down.

This juvenile kick out strategy has been the same since the start of the Mc Kenna Cup. Surely we have the players and the management to have other options on restarts. It's either ignorance or arrogance to continue with this and not have other options when it clearly doesn't work against physically bigger teams. Some of our performances today were just awful and we lacked leaders, apart from Darren O'Hagan, for long periods of the game. If you were picking a team from today for Armagh how many from today would start? We have alot of work to do but at the minute I really fear for the Armagh game.