Antrim Football Thread

[JimStynes]

Absolutely right nothing will change based on this thread. But worth the conversation imo to get people talking and bring it to club reps.

The county boys missing is not an issue. They still play half a season and if that's your excuse to get relegated to 1b then it's just an excuse. Cargin won 14/15, Creggan 12/15, St Brides 11/15 all last season whilst missing boys for half the year.

And to be honest, missing county players or tightly contested games that are the difference is a much better alternative than what we currently have. A fiercely contested league that probably any 8 teams could win makes the league certainly more meaningful and attractive to supporters.

In regards to supporters who's interested in Creggan beat St Paul's or Aghohill by 30 points. A 1a, 1b every single game worth a watch imo.

It is a massive issue for a club like Aghagallon. Last couple of seasons have been a shit show but in a normal year we have about 17/18 good quality players. When you're missing 5/6 of those with the county and then a couple injuries then you're down to the bare bones at the start of the season. Some clubs will be going full tilt trying to pick up points off teams early on in the league before county men get back. I just don't really see another way around it, the seasons overlap so you're always missing county players. Teams with the bigger numbers could nearly put out 2 teams that would compete in the early stages of Div 1 so missing a few county men doesn't affect them.  I would be in favour of a 1a and 1b and that is your senior championship. If that is not an option the drop it to 10 teams in Div 1. I definitely think 16 teams in Div 1 is far too many. If that means we drop to Div 2 then that's what it is.

Listen I get you would rather have county players. But you still have half a league to fulfil with them and if you aren't picking up enough wins to stay up then the issue is not missing your county boys. Every other team is in the same boat remember. 

But for the likes of yourselves then it's even more important there is a 1a, 1b structure. Yous would be 1b and without county players you should still be able to compete with all of the other clubs.

Armagh club structure is perfect for Antrim imo.

But they're not. As I said some teams with no county players are picking up wins early on. Then the bigger teams that have 40 senior players are able to get through a league until their main 2 or 3 players are back (that is if they aren't injured from county). But as I said, the seasons overlap and I don't know how it gets sorted.

I agree with you regarding Armagh's setup and I think it would be better but their Div 1a is as meaningless as Antrim's. They also have a greater amount of teams who are competitive. Armagh also has a number of 2nd teams playing throughout the divisions which helps prop up the quality of the leagues. Clann Eireann 2nd team weren't too far away from winning the intermediate after winning the junior a few years ago. I heard the other day though that a motion has been passed to not allow second teams play in the leagues so it will be interesting how that affects things.

[SoloAndGo]

Absolutely right nothing will change based on this thread. But worth the conversation imo to get people talking and bring it to club reps.

The county boys missing is not an issue. They still play half a season and if that's your excuse to get relegated to 1b then it's just an excuse. Cargin won 14/15, Creggan 12/15, St Brides 11/15 all last season whilst missing boys for half the year.

And to be honest, missing county players or tightly contested games that are the difference is a much better alternative than what we currently have. A fiercely contested league that probably any 8 teams could win makes the league certainly more meaningful and attractive to supporters.

In regards to supporters who's interested in Creggan beat St Paul's or Aghohill by 30 points. A 1a, 1b every single game worth a watch imo.

It is a massive issue for a club like Aghagallon. Last couple of seasons have been a shit show but in a normal year we have about 17/18 good quality players. When you're missing 5/6 of those with the county and then a couple injuries then you're down to the bare bones at the start of the season. Some clubs will be going full tilt trying to pick up points off teams early on in the league before county men get back. I just don't really see another way around it, the seasons overlap so you're always missing county players. Teams with the bigger numbers could nearly put out 2 teams that would compete in the early stages of Div 1 so missing a few county men doesn't affect them.  I would be in favour of a 1a and 1b and that is your senior championship. If that is not an option the drop it to 10 teams in Div 1. I definitely think 16 teams in Div 1 is far too many. If that means we drop to Div 2 then that's what it is.

Listen I get you would rather have county players. But you still have half a league to fulfil with them and if you aren't picking up enough wins to stay up then the issue is not missing your county boys. Every other team is in the same boat remember. 

But for the likes of yourselves then it's even more important there is a 1a, 1b structure. Yous would be 1b and without county players you should still be able to compete with all of the other clubs.

Armagh club structure is perfect for Antrim imo.

But they're not. As I said some teams with no county players are picking up wins early on. Then the bigger teams that have 40 senior players are able to get through a league until their main 2 or 3 players are back (that is if they aren't injured from county). But as I said, the seasons overlap and I don't know how it gets sorted.

I agree with you regarding Armagh's setup and I think it would be better but their Div 1a is as meaningless as Antrim's. They also have a greater amount of teams who are competitive. Armagh also has a number of 2nd teams playing throughout the divisions which helps prop up the quality of the leagues. Clann Eireann 2nd team weren't too far away from winning the intermediate after winning the junior a few years ago. I heard the other day though that a motion has been passed to not allow second teams play in the leagues so it will be interesting how that affects things.

Rossa, St Pauls, St. Johns, TNN, Sarsfields, MG, Glenravel. All very mediocre teams with county players. Thats half the league. I understanding having them improves your team, but there are plenty of games with them and even without that are winnable.

Why do you think Armagh 1a is meaningless? I would disagree. The team that finished 3rd won their championship. They do have a greater amount of teams who are competitive. And another reason why our leagues should be split. The amount of meaningless games in Div 1 and Div 2 in Antrim is mad. Sarsfields won Div 2 and the only difficult games they had were both against MG.

[Deerstalker]

See in today's Irish News Kavan Keenan has pled guilty to his various offences, will he see a custodial sentence ?

[Mick Bustin]

Why do you think Armagh 1a is meaningless? I would disagree. The team that finished 3rd won their championship. They do have a greater amount of teams who are competitive. And another reason why our leagues should be split. The amount of meaningless games in Div 1 and Div 2 in Antrim is mad. Sarsfields won Div 2 and the only difficult games they had were both against MG.

Armagh 1A isn't meaningless at all, it's perfect environment for clubs pushing for a SFC, no meaningless games. Clubs seeded for the championship. Teams still had something to play for in the last few rounds, including the two teams that were relegated.

Although the clubs in their infinite wisdom voted last week to remove all 2nds teams from the all county league/championship competitions so that might impact the league structure as well as dilute the standard with 9 teams given the boot.

[paddyjohn]

See in today's Irish News Kavan Keenan has pled guilty to his various offences, will he see a custodial sentence ?

I hope so. Horrendous what he did and makes even more hard to take that he was poster boy for the county.

[SoloAndGo]

Why do you think Armagh 1a is meaningless? I would disagree. The team that finished 3rd won their championship. They do have a greater amount of teams who are competitive. And another reason why our leagues should be split. The amount of meaningless games in Div 1 and Div 2 in Antrim is mad. Sarsfields won Div 2 and the only difficult games they had were both against MG.

Armagh 1A isn't meaningless at all, it's perfect environment for clubs pushing for a SFC, no meaningless games. Clubs seeded for the championship. Teams still had something to play for in the last few rounds, including the two teams that were relegated.

Although the clubs in their infinite wisdom voted last week to remove all 2nds teams from the all county league/championship competitions so that might impact the league structure as well as dilute the standard with 9 teams given the boot.

A far better model than Antrim and one we could adopt. I actually have no issue with the 2nds teams. If they are good enough then why not? Only issue is if they play within the same league. But this would be rare.

Rumours of Antrim changing the 2nds in Hurling as a few clubs in div 3 are seconds.

[SoloAndGo]

See in today's Irish News Kavan Keenan has pled guilty to his various offences, will he see a custodial sentence ?

I hope so. Horrendous what he did and makes even more hard to take that he was poster boy for the county.

Absolutely spot on.

[JimStynes]

Why do you think Armagh 1a is meaningless? I would disagree. The team that finished 3rd won their championship. They do have a greater amount of teams who are competitive. And another reason why our leagues should be split. The amount of meaningless games in Div 1 and Div 2 in Antrim is mad. Sarsfields won Div 2 and the only difficult games they had were both against MG.

Armagh 1A isn't meaningless at all, it's perfect environment for clubs pushing for a SFC, no meaningless games. Clubs seeded for the championship. Teams still had something to play for in the last few rounds, including the two teams that were relegated.

Although the clubs in their infinite wisdom voted last week to remove all 2nds teams from the all county league/championship competitions so that might impact the league structure as well as dilute the standard with 9 teams given the boot.

I agree towards the end of the league there is more a push but that is the same in Antrim. But ask the majority of the teams in Division 1 Armagh if they're going balls to wall to win a Division 1 title they'd disagree. The CE seniors won the league a couple times with 1/4 of a team. Their goal keeper had to play outfield for most of the league. Tbf they are very fortunate that they had 3 excellent keepers to chose from. But I have watched them many times this year with 2 subs. The Peter's only started playing with 3 or 4 games to go in the league. Cross don't care about the league. Clans downed tools and got relegated. Maghery had half a team until the county men came back. The other divisions are very competitive with not much room for error. One loss early on in the league and it seems to come back to haunt teams at the end of the league so they're all must win games outside of Div 1A. I'd be interested to see what would happen if we had 2nds teams in our league. I remember playing against a very strong Cargin 2nds team for years in Division 2.

Derry league seems to be as crap as ours. Tyrone seems to be very competitive.

[Mick Bustin]

If you think teams in Armagh aren't taking Division 1A seriously then you're mistaken, considering the amount of breakthrough clubs knocking on the door. It's the perfect springboard for the business end. Killeavy are absolutely knocking their pan in to win a championship, won their first ever Division 1A title this year.

Clann Éireann only won their first EVER Division 1A title in 2023. Clans, Mullaghbawn, Harps (2022 Div1A winners), Silverbridge, all played out of their skins to try and avoid the drop. Madden, this years winners have been consistently challenging for the league, it is absolutely the perfect environment for clubs like that to kick on and win a championship.

Clann Éireann rocking up to a league match with 17 players is a bit like Cross back in the day, they have the quality and arrogance to do it.

[statto]

Why do you think Armagh 1a is meaningless? I would disagree. The team that finished 3rd won their championship. They do have a greater amount of teams who are competitive. And another reason why our leagues should be split. The amount of meaningless games in Div 1 and Div 2 in Antrim is mad. Sarsfields won Div 2 and the only difficult games they had were both against MG.

Armagh 1A isn't meaningless at all, it's perfect environment for clubs pushing for a SFC, no meaningless games. Clubs seeded for the championship. Teams still had something to play for in the last few rounds, including the two teams that were relegated.

Although the clubs in their infinite wisdom voted last week to remove all 2nds teams from the all county league/championship competitions so that might impact the league structure as well as dilute the standard with 9 teams given the boot.

I agree towards the end of the league there is more a push but that is the same in Antrim. But ask the majority of the teams in Division 1 Armagh if they're going balls to wall to win a Division 1 title they'd disagree. The CE seniors won the league a couple times with 1/4 of a team. Their goal keeper had to play outfield for most of the league. Tbf they are very fortunate that they had 3 excellent keepers to chose from. But I have watched them many times this year with 2 subs. The Peter's only started playing with 3 or 4 games to go in the league. Cross don't care about the league. Clans downed tools and got relegated. Maghery had half a team until the county men came back. The other divisions are very competitive with not much room for error. One loss early on in the league and it seems to come back to haunt teams at the end of the league so they're all must win games outside of Div 1A. I'd be interested to see what would happen if we had 2nds teams in our league. I remember playing against a very strong Cargin 2nds team for years in Division 2.

Derry league seems to be as crap as ours. Tyrone seems to be very competitive.

Clan Na Gael had two players away with county all year and a number of lads in America for the summer I don't believe that they downed tools and would have been aware that for the long term development of the team playing 1a would be beneficial. By coming in the bottom 4 of the league they also got drawn in the "group of death" and then subsequently didn't get out of the group. 

St Peters won their last three games of league and where competitive throughout and had a good championship run and will be favourites to win intermediate next year. It would have been no big shock that they were relegated from 1b as it was a very competitive division. 

[onefaircounty]

Why do you think Armagh 1a is meaningless? I would disagree. The team that finished 3rd won their championship. They do have a greater amount of teams who are competitive. And another reason why our leagues should be split. The amount of meaningless games in Div 1 and Div 2 in Antrim is mad. Sarsfields won Div 2 and the only difficult games they had were both against MG.

Armagh 1A isn't meaningless at all, it's perfect environment for clubs pushing for a SFC, no meaningless games. Clubs seeded for the championship. Teams still had something to play for in the last few rounds, including the two teams that were relegated.

Although the clubs in their infinite wisdom voted last week to remove all 2nds teams from the all county league/championship competitions so that might impact the league structure as well as dilute the standard with 9 teams given the boot.

The Peter's only started playing with 3 or 4 games to go in the league.

That's nonsense. They didn't hold back, they just started getting some positive momentum at the right time. Their main ambition this year was to stay senior, which they failed to achieve due to poor league results.

[JimStynes]

Why do you think Armagh 1a is meaningless? I would disagree. The team that finished 3rd won their championship. They do have a greater amount of teams who are competitive. And another reason why our leagues should be split. The amount of meaningless games in Div 1 and Div 2 in Antrim is mad. Sarsfields won Div 2 and the only difficult games they had were both against MG.

Armagh 1A isn't meaningless at all, it's perfect environment for clubs pushing for a SFC, no meaningless games. Clubs seeded for the championship. Teams still had something to play for in the last few rounds, including the two teams that were relegated.

Although the clubs in their infinite wisdom voted last week to remove all 2nds teams from the all county league/championship competitions so that might impact the league structure as well as dilute the standard with 9 teams given the boot.

The Peter's only started playing with 3 or 4 games to go in the league.

That's nonsense. They didn't hold back, they just started getting some positive momentum at the right time. Their main ambition this year was to stay senior, which they failed to achieve due to poor league results.

They actually got a new coach in that time period that coincided with them playing better! An Antrim coach too who they all rate very highly.  They've a few good young lads coming through so I'd be hopeful for St. Peter's but as you say that Div 1b is very competitive.

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

Why do you think Armagh 1a is meaningless? I would disagree. The team that finished 3rd won their championship. They do have a greater amount of teams who are competitive. And another reason why our leagues should be split. The amount of meaningless games in Div 1 and Div 2 in Antrim is mad. Sarsfields won Div 2 and the only difficult games they had were both against MG.

Armagh 1A isn't meaningless at all, it's perfect environment for clubs pushing for a SFC, no meaningless games. Clubs seeded for the championship. Teams still had something to play for in the last few rounds, including the two teams that were relegated.

Although the clubs in their infinite wisdom voted last week to remove all 2nds teams from the all county league/championship competitions so that might impact the league structure as well as dilute the standard with 9 teams given the boot.

A far better model than Antrim and one we could adopt. I actually have no issue with the 2nds teams. If they are good enough then why not? Only issue is if they play within the same league. But this would be rare.

Rumours of Antrim changing the 2nds in Hurling as a few clubs in div 3 are seconds.

Not sure if that would be right. there's only 2 second teams in Div3 next year which is Dunloy & Cushendall. All the rest are first team. St Brigit's will be up to Div 2 next season

Theres 14 teams in D2 of the hurling which is more than enough. Sarsfields are due to come down to D3 next year.

Again they could do some sort of change and reduce the teams down but overall its a competitive league

[Saffrongael]

Why do you think Armagh 1a is meaningless? I would disagree. The team that finished 3rd won their championship. They do have a greater amount of teams who are competitive. And another reason why our leagues should be split. The amount of meaningless games in Div 1 and Div 2 in Antrim is mad. Sarsfields won Div 2 and the only difficult games they had were both against MG.

Armagh 1A isn't meaningless at all, it's perfect environment for clubs pushing for a SFC, no meaningless games. Clubs seeded for the championship. Teams still had something to play for in the last few rounds, including the two teams that were relegated.

Although the clubs in their infinite wisdom voted last week to remove all 2nds teams from the all county league/championship competitions so that might impact the league structure as well as dilute the standard with 9 teams given the boot.

A far better model than Antrim and one we could adopt. I actually have no issue with the 2nds teams. If they are good enough then why not? Only issue is if they play within the same league. But this would be rare.

Rumours of Antrim changing the 2nds in Hurling as a few clubs in div 3 are seconds.

Not sure if that would be right. there's only 2 second teams in Div3 next year which is Dunloy & Cushendall. All the rest are first team. St Brigit's will be up to Div 2 next season

Theres 14 teams in D2 of the hurling which is more than enough. Sarsfields are due to come down to D3 next year.

Again they could do some sort of change and reduce the teams down but overall its a competitive league

St Brigids Div 3 surely ? They won Div 4

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

apologies, a typo there.