Antrim Hurling

[Glensman]

Quinn injured Sail In?
Hope not.

Agree with the praise of the idea.

[sail_in]

Quinn injured Sail In?

Naw - as far as I know he's working down in Dublin full time now, that's all!

[johnneycool]

I have given them my tuppence worth, not sure it will be "aired" though.

Apart from the few posts about someones personal life which was quickly nipped in the bud this thread is one of the more rational on the discussion board with a bit of slagging but nothing out of the ordinary.

[milltown row]

Name : StayoutsidetheCasementSocialClub05 November 2008County Admin.

Such rantings from contributors of the G**B**** Forum does not warrant in my view, your measured and intelligent responses. you should really ignore these begrudgers and certainly do not permit them to even attempt to justify their supposed loyalty to our county. These persons it must be said have no valid contribution to make to our county's development. Let them rant, critisise, ridicule, lambast, defame and offend who ever they wish to via the safe haven of their devious and deceptive antics on their preciuos little forum.

Certainly do not permit them to grace the county website or guestbook with such meaningless diatribe. Their foul mouths and negativity have no place here!

The Skull and his cohorts, have started believing their own press and they do actually belive they are making some form of positive contribution to the development of Antrim Hurling. There is currently a high degree of paranoia setting in among them also, they actually believe a members of the county executive have been infiltrating their forum recently, an in fact masquerading as the couty Chairman, Dr. McSparran. you may now appreciate the level of intelligence (or lack of) you are dealing with here. Ostracise the G**B**** contributors!

there he is,  i thought we lost ya

[Minder]

Name : StayoutsidetheCasementSocialClub05 November 2008County Admin.

Such rantings from contributors of the G**B**** Forum does not warrant in my view, your measured and intelligent responses. you should really ignore these begrudgers and certainly do not permit them to even attempt to justify their supposed loyalty to our county. These persons it must be said have no valid contribution to make to our county's development. Let them rant, critisise, ridicule, lambast, defame and offend who ever they wish to via the safe haven of their devious and deceptive antics on their preciuos little forum.

Certainly do not permit them to grace the county website or guestbook with such meaningless diatribe. Their foul mouths and negativity have no place here!

The Skull and his cohorts, have started believing their own press and they do actually belive they are making some form of positive contribution to the development of Antrim Hurling. There is currently a high degree of paranoia setting in among them also, they actually believe a members of the county executive have been infiltrating their forum recently, an in fact masquerading as the couty Chairman, Dr. McSparran. you may now appreciate the level of intelligence (or lack of) you are dealing with here. Ostracise the G**B**** contributors!

there he is,  i thought we lost ya

Just noticed that Milltown, he is nothing more than a "contempible, anonymous lunatic"..........Come back Stayoutsidethesquare/Non Charlatan/Bob The Builder/Shit for Brains.......(The last two were suggestions for your next "handle")......

[antrimexile]

The Antrim hurling league is a shambles.  Cushendall treat it with contempt, as too did Ballycastle in the 1980s.  (Can anyone name who won the league betwenn 1980 and say 2000??  I can not.  Yet I know who won and lost every Co. championship final in those years. )

Antrim club players need more meaningful games, ie championship games!  Games with "intensity".
play the league off in jan + feb -like the waterford crystal/ or Leinster league that antrim won in 2008.   
Then play the championship off: as a round robin/ league format-ONLY with Antrim teams.   The Ards teams are good, however, they DO NOT help Antrim hurling!  Do you see Kilkenny being accomodating to say Carlow teams? 
The Ards teams can look to Down or the Ulster league......

Also we need an outsider as manager.  We are too bitter at club level!  Dinny Cahill did okay in 2002+2003.  Sambo was a great player, but is a hopeless manager!  We need an outsider.  In the early 1980s Offaly got - Healy from Kilkenny, reorganised the club championship, started afresh-with players who did not hate each other........
If Antrim have ambition-which i doubt!  We should approach Ger Loughnane or Tony Considine.

[JamesH]

The Antrim league was the best league for years. The divisions next year look to be fantastic with all leagues well matched, i am looking forward to the start of a competitive competition.
The County Down teams playing in our league help the quality, and lets call a spade a spade by them being in division one should spur the likes of Rossa, St Johns ,Glenariffe, to work harder, but it isn't it just presents another excuse for those clubs whose parishes are no bigger and in the case of Rossa and St Johns actually much smaller. For years we have heard about this problem but these teams and perhaps St Pauls have become yo yo teams going between div 1 & 2, is that the fault of the down clubs? NO not enough work is being done and in Glenarriffes case their age old problem of discipline let them down again. If we got rid of the Down clubs the Standard would fall greatly as there would be no meaningful relegation or promotion. this would leave only 3/4 clubs actually trying to improve leaving the rest further behind and Antrim Hurling in a far worse state than it is now.
My own club Ruairi Ogs didn't treat the competition with contemp i can assure you we fought in club all year about our performances, but we have injury's that we haven't had before any many at once hindering our team and as we are constantly told our panel isn't that big or strong. Mc Manus , Elliott, McKillop, Kearney, Scullion, Monty and Shane weren't playing in the league, we were playing kids. No league performances mean no gates mean club in large debt which in Cushendall as all over NA is not acceptable.
The leagues will work but need time and not self intrest for the greater good.

[podge]

 The Ards teams are good, however, they DO NOT help Antrim hurling!  Do you see Kilkenny being accomodating to say Carlow teams? 
The Ards teams can look to Down or the Ulster league......

Have Kilkenny and others not just accepted Antrim into the Leinster c'ship?  it would be a bit rich for Antrim gaels to be seeking improved competition at intercounty level but turning their back on the ards teams etc?  i think if you ask most hurlers in div 1 they are more than happy to have down teams in the league as they provide good competition and there tends to fewer petty squabbles going on as they are a little but detached geographically.

i agree that the leagues needs to be taken more seriously but ultimately its down the payers and the clubs- the clubs choose the structure of the leagues

[theskull1]

Can understand the basic sentiment exile, but not with your suggested solutions
We need more clubs striving towards preparing their teams better throughout all age groups and showing the ambition to want to play in the top divisions. There is no reason with the right focus that the likes of Randlestown/St Endas/Clooney Gaels/St Pauls/GNM can't step out of mediocrity and make another push towards senior hurling, but they need to show that ambition before the change will happen. Until these clubs show they are realdy and actually want Senior hurling then it would be suicide to cast the Down clubs aside (and wouldn't suggest we do that anyway). It relies on individuals within the clubs to implement but I would love to see someone at County Board level showing the right passion for the local game and implore all clubs to aim for the top and not be happy with just keeping the game alive. Sure Antrim hurling will be the better for it.

Oh.....Apologies to the nutjob who writes in green for sniping  

[Last Man]

I reckon most junior/inter clubs need to get real if they want to progress. This is a 5 to 10 year process of the best coaching available from u12s up and while current league structures can be rejigged they will only create a holding position. Clubs need to value their coaches and encourage their development as well as the players. Agree with Skull that there is a role/roles for someone to be working directly with all clubs to see how they are getting on, advise, encourage etc with Paudie Butleresque enthusiasm and not just let them tumble on with the same old mediocraty.

[Lecale2]

Expelling the Down clubs from the Antrim leagues will do nothing to improve the Antrim leagues. It will finish off hurling in Down.

[Tony Baloney]

nothing but negative, slanderous and defamatory comments to make about hurling in the county in general

How can you slander or defame hurling?! 

[antrimexile]

.
My own club Ruairi Ogs didn't treat the competition with contemp i can assure you we fought in club all year about our performances, but we have injury's that we haven't had before any many at once hindering our team and as we are constantly told our panel isn't that big or strong. Mc Manus , Elliott, McKillop, Kearney, Scullion, Monty and Shane weren't playing in the league, we were playing kids. No league performances mean no gates mean club in large debt which in Cushendall as all over NA is not acceptable.
The leagues will work but need time and not self intrest for the greater good.

One of my main points is-league games do NOT have the same "intensity" as championship!  Like i said IF the league was so important-can any one name you won the league from say 1980-1999?  ( I am very certain-nobody will be able to, BTW-the league was unfinished on a few times.)
Regarding Cushendall's long injury list: all, I think, were available for every championship game (all 3 games+ 2 in Ulster).  II take your point regarding gate receipts-but why not play the championship off -on a league format?
I feel there needs to be more CHAMPIONSHIP games; games with "intensity". 

[theskull1]

Championship on a league basis prabably helped the County's gate receipts, but had no noticeably difference to a keenly contested league game (maybe slightly better). Just the way it was. If there was better quality accross the board it may very well improve things, but the chicken can't come before the egg.

[milltown row]

a couple of questions:

would it make leagues competitive if there was a two up two down promotion/relegation fight?

would it make leagues more competitive if they were played every week, during a ten week block? (this can be facilitated by either leagues starting in March, first ten weekends hurling, then the following ten weeks football, or winter football leagues)

again would leagues be competitive if the winners were given incentives by the league sponsors be it a cash bonus of weekend away?

would leagues be more competitive if they brought in a handicap system were the elite teams start off minus the average score they normally beat teams with? (all scores available on record for the last few years)

maybe last one is dung but lets hear more improvements.  remember the clubs will be putting motions towrads the county board soon for the following year. i will be putting forward my thoughts to my secretary and county delegates