Antrim Hurling

[imtommygunn]

Well if Antrim were at the level they were at we'd all be a lot happier. Look at the strides Dublin are making. If we were to move to Leinster it should be for minor etc too.

We are learning nothing, absolutely nothing, in Ulster. The only learning point we have had this year were the league and that trophy we won - I can't for the life of me mind the name of it now. I don't see what we have learnt in Ulster. What we learn from here on in well we'll wait and see.

[Minder]

Its not as if we are not getting top level competition,we have been in Division 1 on and off for 25yrs,im not sure we have learnt much there bar the odd result. Its too much of a cop out to just say move to Leinster. A more pressing need is to get a strong domestic league with competitive,intense matches at regular intervals.

[Saffron exile]

Amazed that there has been no comment about the captain of the team Sean Delargy getting married and missing possibly the only two All Ireland Hurling championship games v Galway and prob Waterford due to a 2 week honeymoon.
I'll make little comment other than to suggest that this epitomises why Antrim hurling is going nowhere at senior inter-county level. this wouldn't happen in a Rackard Cup county in the 26 never mind one of the top counties from Munster or Leinster. Should be possible to arrange your personal life around the inter-county scene or else give up pretending to have some sort of commitment to your county.

[theskull1]

Yeah......should have been using the down game to prepare a team for the Waterford & Galway matches. If Sean won't be there then it's saying to me that the management didn't feel that they could beat Down without him.

[Two Hands FFS]

Fair enough maybe the management maybe should have tried someone else in the Ulster Championship instead of Sean...similar to what Paddy Richmond last year but to say Sean isnt commited to the county team is a joke & a disgrace IMHO. He trains hard & doesnt mess about( drinking etc).

I think we should move down to Leinster from Minor up....even a 3-5 year trial. We're not improving where we are so whats to lose??

[theskull1]

Agree TH FFS. Sean Delargy puts the effort in and I for one wouldn't begrudge him for making his plans to suit himself for once.

I have to laugh though when people think that going into leinster will magically improve the standard of hurling in Antrim. Yes it will give us better games to prepare for at County level but if the competition and coaching standards aren't right at club level then we'll still fall short year on year. Sure Dublin have been in leinster for a few years more than us so why have they been in the wilderness for years and are only starting to become a serious hurling side now? Because they've played in Leinster all these years  I don't think so. Dublin have been working solidly on their coaching structures and standards for a good few years now and are only starting to see the results of these efforts (I really hope they develop as a hurling county). Yes we would benefit from playing in Leinster ONLY IF the ground work has been done inside the county beforehand. We shouldn't abdicate the control of the standards of our game to either the County Management or the particular Provincial competition we play in. It starts from the ground up and needs many people to play a part in improving the thing.

[youngfella]

Jaysus its like big brother in here! I dont know what the solution is, but I no to be antrim manager is a thankless task. Anyway, What does the club championship start? Whos looking the fav at the minute? any dark horses?

[Last Man]

We had a few U12s from our club down in Dublin yesterday as part of a greater Belfast select team. They were beaten by the Dubs by something like 4.07 to 1.01. Granted our fellas hadn't played together before and maybe the Dublin team has done but it was apparent that they were much further on than us in terms of their hurling development. Agree with Skull, the benchmarks will have to be looked at at this level and take it from there.
I would say Loughgiel and St.Johns are the only clubs that are taking an analytical approach to juvenile coaching but unless the rest of Antrim is brought with them then all their work will be for nothing. Maybe they will have to move to Leinster as well.

[milltown row]

from a belfast point of view, Gorts are also doing the ground work in hurling, but it's keeping them thats the problem in Belfast and i'm sure in North Antrim till they reach seniors.

[Last Man]

I know what you are saying Milltown but I think we have relied on this cop out for too long in Antrim. I coach at juvenile level and the average standard of hurling is poor. I see too many kids not holding their stick properly to lift a ball, swapping hands over, poor footwork to name a few. Coaching are letting these kids down by letting them develop bad habits and just get a team out and as for them drifting away at minor, I feel it is the job of a good coach and willing assistants to make sure they make their minors feel valued and loyal to their club. Granted none of this is easy to sorted given that so much is being done by so few.

[Glensman]

Saffron Exile
Paddy Richmond is the captain of the team.
Wedding plans are made a year or more in advance, Sean Delargy wasn't in a position to be able to judge exactly when the matches would be. He trains as hard as any man, harder than most and with that sacrifices will no doubt have been made in relation to his fiance, soon to be wife. Some things (very very few) are more important than hurling.

I don't want to appear to be a White Knight for certain people (defending Sean Delargy and then on the Antrim football site another player) but on a personal level those two player epitomise what we need more of and ALSO it should be about the bigger picture. 1 man being away and we should have a ready replacement to come in...do we?!
It would suggest bigger issues than 2 players making plans.
On one level it doesn't show much foresight by W&S not to play Kettle for example instead with Delargy being away...on another they are judged on results and the temptation is always there to put out what you feel is your best team.

It brings another question I suppose which is relevant to Antrim and notably this year.
Where do you draw the line with players? Do you give them alot of rope to hang themselves with (god knows some don't need much) or do you not give them the freedom to do so.
I remember last year our manager asked us for our holiday plans in about April...I was like "This is a bit mad"...but it became pretty clear that he was just using a little bit of foresight to prepare, which became very necessary.

It does become your life...you are planning months in advance about a couple of dates. Now I wouldn't change it but to look at it from the other side we must be looked at in a strange light...one guy is getting married and one guy is taking a break from football to work in America for a break from uni.
(getting paid for play in America is another level of this debate).

[Glensman]

Ok so they think that Graffin, McGarry, Delargy is their best full back line.

What would you do? You are being villified from a lot of directions (none more so that this board) and its not actually clear on what level you are being judged.
You know that you HAVE to win the Ulster championship, no question whatsoever.
Do you pick you best starting line up available at the time or do you plan ahead?

If we are being frank this year would be remembered more so for NOT winning the Ulster championship that for the Galway/Waterford results. Hopefully those are good results...
Its a bloody tough one and I know I wouldn't necessarily like to be making the decision but if I was in agreement about what I thought was my best line up with my joint manager I'd use I'd probably go for it.

Not a superb comparator but its all I can do - Man Utd playing in a league decider one week and a champions league final the week after...Evra (left back as well, see where I am going) is on international duty for the champions league final on the second week. He has been one of your most consistent, dedicated defenders this year. Has trained hard all year and due to circumstances beyond his control do you take away that opportunity of playing in the league decider because you are playing an important match a week later.
You think Ferguson, the most ruthless of them all, would do that?

He served his county well, played well all year (in my opinion) led the team to the Walsh Cup (a high point of the year) - do you deny him an Ulster Championship start?

We won it...just...lets move on and bloody get behind them.

How good would it bloody be if we beat (or ran close) both/either of Galway/Waterford.

[the colonel]

Think this relates to Dunloy V Ballycastle last night

It has come to our attention that managers of our inter-county teams are experiencing difficulty in organising meaningful training sessions due to rearranged club fixtures being organised in direct conflict with scheduled training times.

This is making preparation of our teams extremely difficult and is a matter of extreme frustration. Extensive negotiations between all our county managers and CCC occurred at the beginning of the year to ensure minimal disruption to club activity and particularly to facilitate county players being available to their clubs, for virtually all of their league matches. Generally these discussions have prevented any substantial disruption to club activity because of our county team commitments.

It is therefore extremely frustrating that we find clubs are now rearranging fixtures, particularly Ulster fixtures and that these arrangements directly clash with inter-county training schedules.

Consequently and in accordance with Rule 118, we must now rule that senior inter-county players will not be available for any club fixtures for 13 days prior to an inter-county championship game. We have little doubt that clubs will insist that this Rule is implemented prior to club championship games.

We have no objection to clubs playing any fixture in this time-frame, provided they are aware that inter-county players will not be available for these games. However, if we learn of a situation where an inter-county player is pressurised by his club to play any such fixture, we will either postpone this fixture if it is an Antrim fixture, or we will insist that Ulster Council refuse to sanction the playing of such a fixture should it be under their control.

We would remind clubs that any fixture that is not sanctioned by the appropriate governing body is not covered for insurance purposes.

We regret that we have been forced into issuing this directive, but it is clear that our attempts to act in good faith are not being reciprocated. Our county senior hurlers are about to face the two most important matches of the season within the next 3 weeks and we have a responsibility to ensure that every effort is taken to allow for optimal preparation for these games.


Seamus O'Muiri Runai

Sean MacSparain Cathaoirleach

[theskull1]

In fairness both teams should have played without their County men last night as it was an UHL match and each had plenty of bodies along the line.

[Minder]

The only thing Johnny Ping enjoys more than a pair of wrap around shades is a press release