Messages

Has there been invitations for applications or will county management sort it out?

Just heard there was a vacancy. How was it sorted last time?? Was it the steering committee that organised it? They might do so again.. surely Francie Poland from Mayobridge would have to be considered? Has led Bridge u15s to league and championship last year and already has u17 league in the bag with a group that are mostly u17 again next year. Him and Michael Walsh (S&C) seem to be working well together. And hearing Caolan Mooney talking about Walsh - he seems to be the ticket at the minute.

Is Micheal Walsh not with the RGU?

Has stepped away from match day involvement. Probably due to wanting the minor job.

I see teams in division 1 leagues have started at zero points again.. is that a mistake?

Crazy that a team that gets relegated could end up with more points than a team in the top 4. Race to stay up wide open with only 2 points between 5th and 9th.

Crazy indeed but this was voted in by ALL the clubs, no point blaming anyone but CLUBS

Sorry can you point out where I was blaming anyone here?

Crazy that a team that gets relegated could end up with more points than a team in the top 4. Race to stay up wide open with only 2 points between 5th and 9th.

If clonduff and Loughinisland both win do clonduff not take 4th spot on head to head?

I would agree that the league and championship format in Down is good. However I would say that if the championship went back to a straight knockout format it could potentially open it up a bit more and give other clubs a better chance of winning it. Anyone is beatable in a one off game especially in the earlier stages. I realise that the revenue the multiple games bring in and giving lads extra games will make this unlikely to happen anytime soon. Would anyone agree?

Fresh start and fresh approach required in down. If there's to be a new management team in next year which I feel there should be, the 40 best footballers in down need to make up the panel. The logistics and likelihood of that happening however are a lot easier said than done! The lack of player buy in is worrying and the reasons behind this is something which needs to be seriously addressed for positive change to happen. Time will tell.

Is James gone? Source?

Is it time for a new County Board in Down? Both Derry and Louth have went down this road in recent years and it has clearly paid off.

Wouldn't read into the whole player bust up thing too much. It's common place in teams especially when things aren't going well. Maybe these players care more than they are being given credit for and the quality to play division 2 football just isn't there at the minute. On another note, has there been a few players that have left the panel in recent weeks? Seems to be some noticeable absences.

Is under 20 game being streamed anywhere?

[No time for personal insults at all. Shameful]

No time for personal insults at all. Shameful

No personal insults given - just opinion.

Would division 3 be so bad for us? I realise we are a proud county and all that goes with that but let's be honest no silverware of note in over 25 years at senior level is a poor return particularly when it doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon. Division 3, get young players on board, develop them, play Tailtean cup and get as far as possible to bring confidence to a group of players. We are sadly lacking that at present.
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You named names and talking about players and their fathers attitude?

3 x Johnstones, Kane, McEvoy, Dylan Ward, Ceilum Doherty not fit to play county football?

There's no difference in Derry and Down regarding player turnover. Derry haven't had the same group of players for anywhere near 8 years.

From 2006-2016 only Carlow (101) used more footballers than Derry (98) in that period. Down used 78 players in the same period. In 2016 & 2017 Derry used 71 players alone.

Derry played Leitrim in January 2020 in a league game, they last played Leitrim in 2017 before that, only 1 player played for Derry in both the 2017 & 2020 games.

9 of Derry's starting 15 in the 2019 Ulster defeat to Tyrone are not on this years Derry panel. Nor are 4 of the 6 subs used that day.

Gallagher is in his 3rd year now with Derry. You could argue they've had a consistent panel in that time - this was made much easier because of the last 2 short/Covid effected short seasons. And even still, Armagh beat Derry in Gallagher's first ulster championship match in 2020, 6 players used by Derry that day are no longer on the county panel.

You're argument there was complete muck! If Down appointed McGuinness, Laverty & Co, had 6 or 7 Kilcoo committing, and started training 4-6 weeks before Down did this year, you would be at the opposite end of the division 2 table. Derry got it wrong for years and ended up in division 4. If they hadn't of got a top manager in & didn't have Slaughtneil players(Rodgers, McKaigue, Cassidy, McGuigan) committing they'd be in the exact same place. The lessons are there.

3 Johnston's - absolutely not. Ryan is not county level and the young buck has an attitude bigger than his dad (if that's possible) and that's coming directly from a Kilcoo player. Dylan Ward - absolutely not. Can nullify a county player here n there in club games but when surrounded by county players he don't count.
Some players are unbelievable for their club but that don't make them automatic county players. Ward was tried and it didn't work.
So ur saying the Slaughtneil players are the mainstays - they won their first championship in a while in 2014 - that's 8 years ago you clown and makes my "muck" argument all the more true. These lads have stuck with the county process for a sustained period and now are getting their rewards. Oh and by the way why are they so important anyhow - they ain't the current champions in their county nor won't be for the next while.. Getting a "top manager" in - in a recent podcast even Gallagher himself admitted he got lucky with covid saving his job.
Laverty/McGuinness didn't get the job - they didn't start 6/7 weeks before they did - MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE..
Remember this board is about opinions - you have an obvious love in with Kilcoo players but they are far from the answer we are looking for..

No time for personal insults at all. Shameful

Every county squad had a high turnover. It goes with the territory. The lifestyle it demands, is rarely rewarding on a team level, so it then has to be rewarding on a personal level. And watching football from the bench is rarely rewarding on a personal level.

All this just becomes more obvious when your county in struggling.

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The split season - which to be fair I was fully in favour of - is only going to heighten this problem. We don't yet know how forceful Down Senior Mgt are going to be in terms of their grip on players the club season. But I would harbour a guess that they (along with all other second tier managers) could kill the Tailteann before it starts, should they pull rank. There will be counties in Ireland who will struggle to gather up a 26 for that competition should it face off heavily against club football.

Another reason for why lads are leaving the panel is maybe due to how they are being treated while they are on it. In some cases lads get told services are no longer required very early on before being given much of a chance or don't even get a phone call to let them know. Good man management is key and maybe in the past and even present this is something that is lacking in Down football and other counties...Just a thought!

What way is the u19 competition going? I see RGU did not field yesterday. I suppose the Armagh clubs filled in a hole for the team who could not field but I cannot see anyone beating Burren.

A big week for us and I really hope and I think we can beat Offally. Team selection will be massive but I think if we get the right team out we should do it.

It is excellent to see the hurlers doing well. Fair play to Ronan and the boys.

In relation to the PR, some people like to have a moan against volunteers for no reason. Down GAA PR is really good and is run by a good group of volunteers. I have no doubt they will be glad of more help from the likes of lotto, mourne red and Ed.

Too busy playing and coaching Truth - maybe if you got out of the eateries in East Down you'd be able help your own club out and get Ballykinlar off its hole.

Ex Dundrum and now Loughinisland player and coaching guru??

Who's this then?

Mr Mourne Red there