Messages

It'll be Cavan, Fermanagh or Derry - probably Cavan. 

Can someone confirm this because a pearse og man assured me it was Gospel last night, that all Div 1 and top 4 Div2 this year will contest the senior championship next year.

Has to be passed as a rule - but I agree.  However there is one issue with this.  I can see teams "throwing" games to ensure they are in a lower championship.  This would only work if they re-introduced some sort of relegation/promotion system that ensured all teams were competitive to the end.  Oh wait - they tried that and useless club delegates voted it out because it didn't happen in their day - average age 73.5

Ballymacnab, and hes a clown,

He is a good decent referee who does it fairly

great piece of marketing by paddy power - I wonder how many extra bets they've taken after this episode and how many new "punters" they've signed up.  Don't worry - a bookie doesn't make a mistake

4th or 5th best in Ulster? Who are the 3 or 4 teams between Tyrone and Monaghan?

Based on league & championship success this year:
Tyrone - only because they won Ulster - poor League
Armagh - good league, won Div 2 final, poor  championship
Down - topped div 2 league - championship - could see them go above Armagh
Antrim - did well in the League - ok championship
Monaghan - poor league, points difference to keep them up, two ok championship match's and then fell apart

no point talking about the rest really.

Derry
Fermanagh
Cavan
Donegal

As Schkite says, no hunger, no pace, and the one trick pony was well and truly stopped.

What legacy? Everyone in Armagh knows Paul grimley was the brains behind the operation and Joe was the motivator and if the truth be told i reckon Joe cost Armagh at least one other all ireland if not two. Galway might not win anything under Joe but they'll sure as hell be out a few Euro before it's all over

+1 - WHAT LEGACY are we talking about?

Monaghan have now been shown for what they really are - dirty, dirty players who constantly punch when tackling, hit after the ball and try everything to bring the other team down to their level.
Thankfully they are now gone.  Good riddance as they have been a disgrace to football and how Rory Woods and the Mones ever finish match's I'll never know.  The one trick pony is finished - the Banty can go and roost and Monaghan can rightfully take their place as being 4th or 5th best in Ulster.
I confidently predict they will be easily relegated next year from Division one - and the slide will continue from there to bottom of Division 2.  They have no underage worth talking about coming through.
The only player worth his place on any other team is Paul Finlay.

nothing has happened to Ulster Football that ain't happening anywhere else - what we are seeing is the demise of championships.  This is all to do with the back-door system now engrained in players and coaches minds - we have a second chance.
Lets go back to the old way - knock out championship.  So what if players train hard blah blah blah - if your good enough you'll win.  SIMPLE.

Surely Cavan's problems stem much further than the county team.  When was the last time Cavan won an Ulster minor or U-21 title?  Are there development squads in Cavan at U-15, 16, 17?  When level are coach's at ?  Are clubs now ensuring that their coach's are level 1 and attend coaching courses?  When was the lat time time a Cavan Club won an Ulster title? and when before that?
Other counties are reaping the rewards of better and much improved under-age structure so that players that come through to inter-county level are fitter, stronger, more rounded players who are coached by excellent coachs outside of their club.
Looking in from the outside Cavan have no direction, no rudder.  OF course the county team is the shop window but if the stuff being put in the window is seriously flawed...... 
Cork are an exceptional team and it will take a physical team full of MEN who can play football to beat them.  How Kerry beat them I don't know but it will take some team to beat them to stop them winning Sam this year.
If it was me I wouldn't look outside the county for the manager, but I would look outside for backroom staff.  Remove the dead wood, clear out and start with last years U-21's and build on them because, quite frankly, can it get any worse?

It would be far better if those involved came forward, identified themselves and apologised for their hooligan antics.  Name and shame

BTW umpires at these games are trained.  The ref can't pick four friends and bring them down the road.  They have to be pre-approved and trained.  I haven't seen any of what happened yet but what is most worrying are the pitch invasion stories.
There are 10's of thousands week in, week out at soccer match's (over 84,000 at the world cup final tonight) and yet they don't invade.  In todays match programme (Fermanagh v. Armagh) Sean Cavanagh talks about his experiences of pitch invasions from a players point of view. 
We all need to cop ourselves on from here on in from the smallest club unit through to county boards and drive home the directive - no pitch invasions before someone gets killed - be they a player, official or supporter.
The rules are very clear about how goals can be scored and you can not throw the ball over the line BUT if you are in possession of the ball and fall you can play the ball and score provided the ball is within your vicinity.  You can't fall down and play the ball that you were not on possession of.
So I'll see it later and then make my own mind up.  Unfortunately there is no recourse in 99.9999% of games to reverse a scoreline - no matter how unkind it may appear.  Does anyone have the stats on the game?  Wides, shots for both teams???

Watching the match at the moment - Dublins number 14 looks handy.  But the standard of football overall is ok - weather is playing havoc.  One thing - why wasn't the two match's played in Parnell Park?  Would have made for better atmosphere. 

It has been widely recognised that Joe lost more All-Irelands for Armagh due to bad management.  He had a great club team at Crossmaglen who didn't need much managing. 
Galway were poor and have been most of the season.  Surely there must be better managers in Galways and Big Joe can move home again and take over Cavan.

  Quite clearly Cavan football is not up to scratch and to get a hammering like today at inter-county level is brutal and no good to anyone.

Cavan need a complete clear-out, partnered with a strong development county - Tyrone for example - and get their problems sorted out. 

Armagh have to announce a team to allow the programme to be printed - whether its right or not is irrelevant.

I suspect one of two things tomorrow - Armagh to get so badly beaten that Armagh management step down and that the crisis that has hit the camp over the past 2 months is revealed.
OR
the makeshift team win a game that Donegal will be wondering how they ever lost it and the Armagh team move on to the next round where they will probably draw Down.

Either way the pampering, the sucking up to etc... to the players has to stop.  Apart from wiping their arse's everything else is done for them.  So its payback time by the players to their county, clubs and followers.  Stand up, be counted and play for each other.