Ulster Championship 2026

[Armagh18]

I don't think I even want to go to the Ulster final if it's going to be Derry v Armagh.
Those big Armagh games are essentially just big student parties. At the 2023 final the hill was full of young women covered in make up and wearing skimpy outfits who spent the full game flirting with the young men with bowl hair cuts.
If I have to stand on the hill with Armagh fans again I would rather not go at all.

Cry more.

[gallsman]

McGuinness takes Gallen off quite a lot. He had a bad injury at end of '24 season and is just back from another injury. Commentary team were speculating if it was precautionary.

[imtommygunn]

I don't think , for whatever reason, he's as effective with Murphy there.

[Armagh18]

I don't think , for whatever reason, he's as effective with Murphy there.

Streaky sort of a player, can be unplayable at times then other times can drift in and out of games but when he's on it he's fantastic.

[maldini]

Guinness was arguably better than Murdock for me yesterday
Murdock was immense but thought Guinness did even more

[gallsman]

I don't think , for whatever reason, he's as effective with Murphy there.

No doubt about it. He was an All Star and unplayable in '24. Last year with Murphy back he was doing way, way more donkey work further out the field playing the role of a link man quite a bit.

[Dougal Maguire]

I don't think I even want to go to the Ulster final if it's going to be Derry v Armagh.
Those big Armagh games are essentially just big student parties. At the 2023 final the hill was full of young women covered in make up and wearing skimpy outfits who spent the full game flirting with the young men with bowl hair cuts.
If I have to stand on the hill with Armagh fans again I would rather not go at all.

So you can't stand among the Armagh fans in Clones and you can't sit among the Derry City in the Brandywell or Celtic Park.  I'm intrigued to know what supporters you can stand or sit beside

[snoopdog]

Travelled to Letterkenny yesterday in hope of a good performance and to stay with Donegal for as long as possible.  That performance by Doen was off the charts. I was at every league game and they were never as direct as they were yesterday. And the plaudits for Mooney wow what a performance by a man who hasnt kocked a ball all year for Down.  Byt everyone of the team and the subs were magnificent. Rooney never scored a goal for Down until yesterday and he shouldve jad 3. 
Did Donegal under prepare for Down? Does Jim ever undee prepare. Lost 1 UC game in 21. Conceded 4 goals in total in that timeframe. ?
The conditions helped Downs running game. Hoping for a sunny dry Clones on Sunday. It will be hard to reach that intensity again but momentum is a big thing. Maybe the trip to Killarney last weekend fpr a friendly gave them belief.
Whatever happens next sunday there are a lot of happy Down people this morning , we domt get that too often these days. Thats what its all about. The unexpected and the reason why you keep going, for special occasions like yesterday.

[Armagh18]

Travelled to Letterkenny yesterday in hope of a good performance and to stay with Donegal for as long as possible.  That performance by Doen was off the charts. I was at every league game and they were never as direct as they were yesterday. And the plaudits for Mooney wow what a performance by a man who hasnt kocked a ball all year for Down.  Byt everyone of the team and the subs were magnificent. Rooney never scored a goal for Down until yesterday and he shouldve jad 3. 
Did Donegal under prepare for Down? Does Jim ever undee prepare. Lost 1 UC game in 21. Conceded 4 goals in total in that timeframe. ?
The conditions helped Downs running game. Hoping for a sunny dry Clones on Sunday. It will be hard to reach that intensity again but momentum is a big thing. Maybe the trip to Killarney last weekend fpr a friendly gave them belief.
Whatever happens next sunday there are a lot of happy Down people this morning , we domt get that too often these days. Thats what its all about. The unexpected and the reason why you keep going, for special occasions like yesterday.

Unreal and fair play to Laverty he has them fully bought in and believing, nearly getting the same feeling I was about Armagh a few years ago now that they're very close to the big boys and doing something special, they've ran Armagh, Galway and Donegal close over the last few years, would be a real shame for them to be in the Tailteann this year. Hoping we can stop them in their tracks on Sunday.

[TyroneTam]

Donegal are the masters of the short handpass running game. It's a precision game plan that needs everything to go right and can be devastating when it does go right.

If it's off or the shooting boots aren't there Donegal really are relatively average. There's zero evidence of them having any form of Plan B and that will be their undoing again this year.

[JoG2]

I don't think , for whatever reason, he's as effective with Murphy there.

Streaky sort of a player, can be unplayable at times then other times can drift in and out of games but when he's on it he's fantastic.

Watch a Donegal game, Gallen is a superb / accurate forward, look how many times he passes the ball off in a shooting position, that's clearly a call from the line, and he's not the only one, far from out (is Shane O'Donnell allowed to shoot?)...will not help with the confidence levels. It's a case of over complicating something that isn't complicated for players at an elite level

[square_ball]

Donegal are the masters of the short handpass running game. It's a precision game plan that needs everything to go right and can be devastating when it does go right.

If it's off or the shooting boots aren't there Donegal really are relatively average. There's zero evidence of them having any form of Plan B and that will be their undoing again this year.

Do many teams have a plan B?

[cavanmaniac]

Even with the conventional wisdom on the Ulster championship being a minefield, yesterday's game was truly one for the ages. It will be hard for Down to replicate that intensity but Armagh often seem to play to the level of their opponent and if it's tight near the finish, and the Mourne men retain the self belief and confidence they so evidently had in bucketfulls yesterday, another victory isn't out of the question.

The other semi is equally close. Up until they met Cavan's obliging paper tigers, the Farney were having an awful season and one victory might not be enough to shake off that baggage. For all that they were very deserving winners overall, they left a shit-rabble incoherent opponent in the game until quite late in the day, whose marquee forward in Lynch missed about 2-6 that could otherwise have put a very different complexion on things, and whereas Cavan have been defending all season like it's genteel tag-football or some sort of line dancing, Derry are unlikely to afford them such generosity. I think the Oak Leafers will shade it.

[TyroneTam]

Donegal are the masters of the short handpass running game. It's a precision game plan that needs everything to go right and can be devastating when it does go right.

If it's off or the shooting boots aren't there Donegal really are relatively average. There's zero evidence of them having any form of Plan B and that will be their undoing again this year.

Do many teams have a plan B?

Maybe not a radically different game plan but ive watched Donegal minors, u20s and seniors this year and no other county plays with such a rigid system. Fair play to them for the adherence to a way of playing but their lack of diversity, I feel, makes them unlikely to win all Irelands.

[square_ball]

Donegal are the masters of the short handpass running game. It's a precision game plan that needs everything to go right and can be devastating when it does go right.

If it's off or the shooting boots aren't there Donegal really are relatively average. There's zero evidence of them having any form of Plan B and that will be their undoing again this year.

Do many teams have a plan B?

Maybe not a radically different game plan but ive watched Donegal minors, u20s and seniors this year and no other county plays with such a rigid system. Fair play to them for the adherence to a way of playing but their lack of diversity, I feel, makes them unlikely to win all Irelands.

Fair enough analysis. Their U20s on Wednesday night were absolute poison to watch. Once Tyrone went ahead, it was game over as they didn't know how to do anything different other than hand pass around the arc which they done for the previous 55 minutes.

You'd think O'Donnell and Gallen would thrive on the odd quick ball kicked in after a turnover.