What now for Armagh?

[pintsofguinness]

I feel this team has alot of promise and if it was coached right and was fully dedicated could do very well.

Do well in the Tommy Murphy Cup. 

I havent been this happy since Tyrone beat you in the AIF. 

That's quite sad.

[corn02]

Indeed that is true 5Times, but answerme this which squad would you rather have Armagh or Down?

[Over the Bar]

Indeed that is true 5Times, but answerme this which squad would you rather have Armagh or Down?

Hobson's choice if ever there was one! 

[ziggysego]

Indeed that is true 5Times, but answerme this which squad would you rather have Armagh or Down?

Hobson's choice if ever there was one! 

More like Sophie's Choice

[Datsun Donaghy]

Big Joe gone?? Thats the chips vans outside the Carrickdale fucked.

So the great one in a row team has eventually come to an end....the only team to win two All Irelands in the same year....their first and their last

Maybe we'll join you now 5Sams - and we'll all live in the past!
We'll watch ours on DVD and you can dust down the redundant VCR and black & white newsreel !

Armagh have to rebuild now - Down don't appear to even have a site!!

[Over the Bar]

Armagh have to rebuild now - Down don't appear to even have a site!!

they do but like the Athletic Grounds it's STPP!

[PatDaly]

Armagh definitely have bright days ahead:

2004 All-Ireland U21 Champions
P Wilson, G Smyth, F Moriarty, A Mallon; A Kernan, C McKeever, B McDonald; M Mackin, G Swift, G Loughran, S Kernan, P Toal, M McNamee, R Austin, B Mallon
2006 Ulster Senior Champions
P Hearty, A Mallon, F Bellew, E McNulty, A Kernan, C McKeever, P Duffy, K McGeeney, P McGrane, M O'Rourke, J McEntee, M Mackin, S McDonnell, R Clarke, O McConville
2007 Ulster U21 Champions
P Rogers, K Dyas, B Donaghy, M Ferris; P Kernan, K Toner, T McClelland; J Lavery, D McKenna; S Forker, P Courtney, C Vernon; K O'Rourke, J Hanratty, G O'Neill
2007 All-Ireland Club Champions
P Hearty; B McKeown, F Bellew, S McNamee; A Kernan, T McEntee, J Donaldson; D McKenna, P Kernan; M Aherne, J McEntee, J Murtagh; M McNamee, J Hanratty, O McConville

If the best 15 players are taken from these 4 winning teams and they are properly managed there simply has to be more success. Today might be the end of one era but another great one is about to begin.

[pintsofguinness]

You can pick from club teams in the rest of the county too pat.

[PatDaly]

Having players on the Armagh senior team who already know how to win at All-Ireland level and to a lesser extent at Ulster level is much better than selecting players from the lower echelons of Armagh club football

[pintsofguinness]

So we're not looking for the best 15 players in Armagh Pat but the 15 players with the most medals!

[PatDaly]

I'm not going to go down the same road as you did earlier with your disgraceful comments about Stephen Kernan. I will say I am reliably informed from people who were actually in Clones today and selecting players from the lower divsions of Armagh county football is not the way to bring success.

[bigpaul]

I feel this team has alot of promise and if it was coached right and was fully dedicated could do very well.

Do well in the Tommy Murphy Cup. 

I havent been this happy since Tyrone beat you in the AIF. 

The 'aristocrats' reduced to taking pleasure in their neighbours' misfortune! Not a lot else for them in the modern game!!!!!!

[pintsofguinness]

I'm not going to go down the same road as you did earlier with your disgraceful comments about Stephen Kernan. I will say I am reliably informed from people who were actually in Clones today and selecting players from the lower divsions of Armagh county football is not the way to bring success.

What "disgraceful" comment about Stephen Kernan was this? 
I'm not saying you go to division 4 to select your team! Your main aim to is select the best players in Armagh (some may be division 4 players) and a lot of them will probably come from the lists you put up however you cannot sit down with the names of those on 4 winning teams to pick a panel, that is ridiculous! 

[stew]

Wind yer neck in Pat Daly.

Today hopefully ushers in a new era for Armagh football, the players and panelists from 99 on can look back and know that they were part of the greatest era in Armagh football and they must know that the sacrifices they made will not be forgotten.

Marsden will probably be gone, as will Bellew, McConville and McGrane  also (although I hope he has one more year in him) and who knows what stevie will do? I hope to God he stays on but you never know. These man have been wonderful ambassadors for Armagh football and I applaud them all, on a personal level they mean the world to me and I will never forget what they accomplished for Armagh.

Joe nees to move on, he has done what he can and he has been magnificent but he is fast becoming what Pete McGrath was to down after the lustre had worn off, acrimony and controversy swirl around the big man in part because of his penchant for playing his sons before they are ready when there are better men on the line and also because he stuck with a format that didnt suit us, i.e the two man line and he was and is too conservative in his approach.

Paul Grimley is the man for the job, he takes no shit from no man and will have a ton of built in credibility with the panel, he does not play favourites and is a master tactician however Rafferty will probably get the job and he has had AI success with the U21 squad so he would be ok as well but for me the man to bring us back would be Grimley.

We have a ton of talent in the county, fresh legs are needed and young players need to be blooded but make no mistake the talent is there, we will be back knocking on the door sooner rather than later but for now we lick our wounds and reflect back on an unparralled era of accomplishment the likes of which we had never seen before.

Thanks for the memories Armagh, we have been blessed to have witnessed your heart, drive and dedication, it was one hell of a ride.

[john mcgill]

I would hope that the County Board will have successors to Big Joe lined up.  He indicated at the start of the year that this would be his last year.  I congratulate him for his success.  If he is going it has to be now.  (I suspect from his talk though, " couldn't put another team out against Armagh" etc, that he sees a future in some position)

The players, the county and the sponsors need to know who the future is and what they need to do to put Armagh back at the top.   Personally I would like to see Grimley back and Geezer on board as well.