McIver to be named Donegal boss

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

Who should go?

Sweeney, McFadden and Devenney for 3................

Granted Sweeney and Devenney and poss Roper are reaching their sell by dates, but McFadden (barring his anger management issues  ) is a player worth holding onto.

Hopefully McIver will use the McKenna cup to give some of the younger players a runout.

[J70]

McFadden is not dependable. One day he is unmarkable, the next he couldn't hit a barn door. He got a lot of abuse in the Monaghan game for going for points from long-distance line balls, but there are some days when that kind of stuff comes off for him. Unless there is a bit more talent coming through, and the likes of Leon Thompson, Michael Doherty and Colin Kelly make the grade, we are probably stuck with McFadden as our best option, which doesn't bode well. Stephen Griffin from St Naul's is talked about as a good prospect, but we'll have to see how he does if McIver thinks he worth a run, perhaps in the McKenna Cup.

[MrC]

This from this morning's Donegal News on the appointment.

Finding committed players is McIver's main aim

BY CHRIS MCNULTY
BRIAN McIver has vowed to find 30 men who are 'totally committed' to Donegal football as he bids to spearhead the county's bid for success over the next three years, following his installation to the hotseat on Monday night last.
Having been in charge of the senior footballers for the last two years, McIver stepped aside from the position after the Championship defeat to Monaghan and the search began for a new manager.
However, after consulting with his backroom team, a meeting was sought with the panel at which the players gave a commitment to McIver, should he decide to give it a go for another term in office.
After announcing that he was quitting, however, the search for a new man had already commenced by the time McIver opted to seek a return to the position and as such he was treated on a level footing with the other four candidates.
The Co Tyrone native, who guided Donegal to their first National title in 15 years with the National League success back in April, beat off competition from former Donegal players Charlie Mulgrew, Donal Reid and Jim McGuinness and had his name put forward for ratification at Monday night's meeting.
Despite a number of delegates speaking against his return, when the votes were cast 38 voted in his favour, six voted against while there were two abstentions. The general consensus was that now he has been installed he should get getting no less than 100% backing from the clubs.
The 'new' boss has said that it will be his first priority to ensure that discipline in the camp is sorted out once and for all. After dropping Eamon McGee and Kevin Cassidy for a period in 2006, it looked as if he had a handle on the problem that had dogged Donegal football for an eternity.
Yet, it was to raise its ugly head again in 2007. After the impressive win over Kerry at O'Donnell Park, rumours began circulating of a number of breaches in discipline. Although it was denied by McIver at the time, he noted on Monday night when speaking to members of the local media that discipline continued to be a 'big, big priority.'
"Make no mistake about it the players themselves have taken the first step in that," he commented.
"They had already discussed that issue before I met them that night. They themselves are very much aware that it has to be sorted out and our aim will be to have players who are totally committed. By that I mean in every sense of the word 'committed.
"It will be the number one priority to get a team that is totally disciplined and totally dedicated. If I don't get 30, if I am down to 24 I will accept that. 24 men who are totally committed in every facet of their preparation is designed to make them the best players in the country."
With a number of players expected to step aside from the intercounty scene, it is expected that there will be quite a few new faces in the green and gold by the time the new season comes around in January.
"There is always a trawl for new talent," he pointed out while saying that it didn't matter who they were or where they came from.
"I have no preference, I am not involved in the politics of Donegal football as in I don't care what club they're from, I don't care whether they're from the North of the county or the south of the county and I don't care what side of the gap they're from. The only priority is that they can play football and that they'll be totally committed."
McIver said that he felt totally 'disgusted' at the loss against Monaghan and also noted that he had no intention of resigning heading into that clash, stating that he had every hope that his side would have been facing Kerry.
"I felt that I myself had to make a statement and had to make a stand. For two weeks, I assure you the McIver household was very quiet. I was saying very little. I am not someone that takes defeat lightly."
That disappointing reversal was the second occasion in which Donegal suffered disappointment in the Championship, having exited Ulster thanks to a humiliating defeat against Tyrone.
"I was worried going into the Tyrone game because I felt that people didn't appreciate that there was a difference between Tyrone's style of play and Armagh's style of play. Tyrone are a much more mobile side that can kill you with ten or 15minutes of fast football whereas Armagh's game will always be tight.
"The Tyrone game I felt we got caught a bit in terms of drifting in from one big game to the other."
While there was a sense of regret on a couple of occasions in both his Championship sojourns with Donegal, his crowning glory to date has undoubtedly been the winning of the National Football League back in April of this year.
Coming into the campaign with the aim of consolidating their place in Division 1A, Donegal got into their stride and chalked up some impressive victories along the way as a semi-final meeting with Kildare was booked. This game, McIver felt, was a big one for the current crop of green and gold hopefuls.
"Whenever we went to play Kildare in the semi-final it was a big game for the progression of this particular panel. It was a big game at that time. Donegal had to be able to go into Croke Park and win matches and we did that," he said.
Of course with a place in the final sealed, there was another monkey that had to be shaken off the back. "We got into the final and all the talk was of Donegal's record in finals since '92, losing 13 consecutive finals. That became a very big game and again for the players to achieve at National level was very important."
The year didn't turn out as he would have liked however and the capitulation against Monaghan looked as if it was to be his swansong at intercounty football after saying that he would not return to manage another county.
Just over two months later, he holds the Tir Chonaill reins once more and with some valuable lessons on board from the last two years, he will be quietly confident that he and the Donegal of 2008 could make a claim for a place at the top table.
The immediate task is to finalise his backroom team with the installation of an Assistant Manager top priority. The squad will not resume training until December and then it is all systems go for the new year.
He reiterated his comments that there is a serious lack of floodlit training facilities in Donegal when he spoke following his ratification on Monday night last. Expressing the belief that so much more could be done in relation to coaching if floodlights were provided, McIver told the Donegal News that clubs should be putting their installation to the top of their respective priority lists.
"I think there is a misconception in Donegal that if you put up lights the county's going to use them," began the Donegal boss.
"Certainly the county may use them one night a week, but that still leaves you with six nights. To me, for a great percentage of the year coaching can be done under lights and it is not obviously being done."
Having been there and done that with his native clubs in Tyrone and Derry over the years, McIver knows all too well that a lot of hard-work is required and such vast pieces of infrastructure do not get installed overnight.
He believes that the work and graft would be all the more worthwhile if it would ensure proper coaching facilities are available.
"Challenges are presented in front of you and you can either talk about them or you can do something about them," he commented.
Noting that he passes clubs with impressive floodlights when he is on his way to training, McIver pointed out that it would be of a huge benefit to the clubs themselves.
"I think clubs need to get lights for their underage players to train from February, March onwards and the. Right across the county, there is a lot more coaching that can be done, but to do that you need to have the facilities in place to allow it to happen."
He hopes to introduce new talent when he resumes work in a few weeks time. He also hopes to see seeds set to ensure that a conveyor belt of talent emerges in the county.
"I do think even if it was possible for two or three clubs to work together to provide a facility in a certain area that they would use it between them for a few years," he said.
"To me, pitches have to be used a good bit of the year round, not just for the summer months or whenever you have a bit of light.  The greater percentage of coaching needs to be done in the February, March, April part of the year. Thereafter it is all football, but how do you do that if you don't have lights  to do it."
McIver is also of the view that the current fixtures situation in Donegal needs addressing and a greater emphasis must be put on ensuring that the ordinary club player is given games.
County Board vice-chairman PJ McGowan had alluded to the point at Monday night's meeting of the County Committee and manager McIver was also quick to stress the point when he spoke to the Donegal News after being installed as the new manager of the senior football team.
Presently, the Championship is run on a two-legged basis with the result that some clubs can be playing a handful of Championship games and not even make the latter stages of the competition.  A case in point would be Ardara, who played three games and didn't reach the first round - they were beaten in a Preliminary Round play-off by Aodh Ruadh - while Aodh Ruadh  played seven games and exited at the quarter-final stage.
"A lot  has changed for clubs since the backdoor system. In Donegal, before getting to a quarter final there will be up five or six weekends; in most other counties five or six weeks will get you to a county final. I do think that the structure and the league system needs to be looked at. A great percentage of club players need top be playing for a great percentage of the year as opposed to in a very confined space of time. I know for some clubs there are problems because of county men or whatever, but I think, if it was possible, games should be paired off."
He can see the point of young players who drift from the GAA to soccer, where they are given regular games.
"For the sake of two players, there is maybe 20players in a club not getting football and that can't be good," he commented.
"For a team a team in April, May, June and July, they need to be playing a great percentage of club football at that time of year, not now in October and November when pitches are heavier," he said.
"At least in soccer, players are regularly given games and I can understand why young lads drift away. That (playing regularly) needs to happen in club football."

[stephenite]

I hope the players stick to their promise - expected big things Donegal in the season just passed, they have the talent

[J70]

I hope the players stick to their promise - expected big things Donegal in the season just passed, they have the talent

We'll live in hope, but we've been down this road a few times before! It's generally ended in tears, on-field indiscipline and severe hammerings. 2006 was an exception, but there was zero expectation around that team and its cobbled-together forwards.

[orangeman]

Watch out  - Mc Ivor is coming !! with a big axe ! That was a big statement this morning - " If all I have is 24 players, then fine ! "

This man is pissed off and has been given licence to swing the axe !