Tyrone v Armagh - Ulster Championship 2009

[tyroneboi]

Man quit the tyrone panel over the weekend there and not a word bout it hardly

Was on UTV Live tonight about Peter Donnelly.  Very much a fringe player and that's probably the reason he's decided to quit.  He's still only a cub so we might not have seen the last of him in a Tyrone shirt

Donnelly would be 26 now or at least not too far away from it. I would say its the last we will see of him in a Tyrone shirt. Mickey Harte obviously values him as a good man to have in the squad though or he wouldnt be trying to persuade him not to go. Still he retires with 2 All Ireland medals in his back pocket so not a bad return!

[ardmhachaabu]

Apart from Toal - who are the really big losses?  Out of the people who left of their own accord or were dropped by management who could have had a big impact on our performances in the Championship?

I agree though that the trend of walk outs is worrying and something needs to be done asap to address the disgruntlement of players.

McGrane, McKeever and Bellew also, plus at least one of the people rumoured to have quit the panel today.

[pintsofguinness]

Does anyone know what the actual issues in the camp are?

I have a lot of time for McDonnell but if the problem is with him then he's probably best to step aside (though it's probably too late for that now) especially as it's not just one or two that have issues, but maybe that's unfair and there's another side to the story.

[ardmhachaabu]

Have heard a few rumours by text but that's about it...

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Saw Ricky Nixon in the lobby of the hotel in Castlebar at the weekend, where he was going over the terms and conditions (quite audibly) with one of the Mayo lads (not 100% certain who it was, so won't name names). This is from the Independent of two days ago:

Nixon confident downturn will entice starlets to AFL

By colm keys

Tuesday April 14 2009

AFL recruitment agent Ricky Nixon believes the economic downturn in this country will make his programme to draw Gaelic footballers to Australia more attractive in the years ahead.

Nixon was back in Dublin yesterday putting 23 of the best young Gaelic footballers through a series of tests on behalf of five clubs. Geelong, St Kilda, Richmond, Kangaroos and Brisbane all had scouts present for the communal testing under the banner of Nixon's Flying Start recruitment agency. Unlike last summer, when the last series of tests were carried out at the Breaffy House Resort in Castlebar, the names of those present were kept confidential.

But it is understood that among the players present were Kerry's Barry John Walsh -- brother of Tommy -- Derry's James Kielt and Armagh pair Charlie Vernon and David McKenna. However Tommy Walsh -- who has been described by Nixon as one of the best talents he has ever seen -- wasn't present, which will be a sigh of relief for Kerry. Walsh spent 10 days on trial with St Kilda last December but has since cooled on the idea of going to Australia.

tests

Nixon hosted the camp in the Coolmine sports complex yesterday where the players present engaged in a host of kicking, fitness and psychological tests. He said there was an issue of "sensitivity" about releasing the names of those who were involved because of pressure from clubs and counties. "The names of those present will be kept confidential by me because there is obviously politics and sensitivities involved," said Nixon.

Nixon did reveal, however, that many of those who were in Mayo last August had returned and had improved their results in the eight months since the last camp. "They have shown improvement out of sight," he said. "We gave them skills programmes and clearly they have seen the benefits of that."  Nixon predicted that between three and five potential recruits will be signed up by the five clubs on international rookie contracts later this season as a result of those improvements. "Last year there were five who went out on trial on our programme and one (Conor Meredith of Laois) got contracted. This year we would expect between five and 10 to go out with up to five being signed. Conor played his first game last week and I was speaking to the Kangaroos (North Melbourne) coach who was surprised how well he played," he said. "He's similar to Michael Quinn (Longford) who has made a big impression at Essendon and has adapted very well."

Nixon has tried to cajole the GAA on his plans and met the GAA president Nickey Brennan and director general Paraic Duffy to brief them on what he was doing. But now he says he is pressing on with his camps and doesn't want to engage in any "slanging matches" with the association.  "If the GAA want to talk to me again then I'd be happy to listen. But I've made my points to them. I'm not here to convince young players not to play Gaelic football. I'm here to convince them to play AFL." Nixon believes the sharp economic downturn in Ireland could be "favourable" towards more players making the leap when the offers come  "Ireland clearly isn't the same place as it was even this time 12 months ago. There are clear employment concerns here. I'm not saying Australia is immune from the global crisis but what I would say is that professional sport may not be such a bad option for some of these players," he said.

The involvement in the exercise of Vernon, who has been impressive for Armagh throughout the league campaign, is somewhat against the grain given that he is 23 years of age.  There is greater concern in Armagh that McKenna, the 20-year-old Crossmaglen midfielder, may be a bigger target. McKenna has not been with Armagh since Crossmaglen's All-Ireland club final defeat to Kilmacud Crokes. Antrim pair Thomas McCann and Niall McKeever are still thought to be on Flying Start's radar.

Nixon attended the Mayo/Tyrone final-round league game in Castlebar but declined to reveal what the source of his interest there was. Under the Flying Start programme, the five listed clubs are understood to have paid AUS$30,000 (€16,500) each for involvement. An Irish recruitment manager has been employed as part of the scheme. At present there are eight Irish recruits on the books of AFL clubs -- Colm Begley, Martin Clarke, Kevin Dyas, Quinn, Brendan Murphy, Setanta O hAilpin, Meredith and Pearse Hanley -- down two since the return of Tadhg Kennelly and Aisake O hAilpin over the winter.

[Shortso79]

PM me please

Cheers

[Doire abú]

Man quit the tyrone panel over the weekend there and not a word bout it hardly

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/8001072.stm

Someone pm me as well please!

[David McKeown]

Can I get a pm too

[ONeill]

I'm hearing some fella Hollywood.

[Doire abú]

Houlie has retired from County Football.
No statement as of yet.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/low/northern_ireland/1136789.stm

There ye go!

[aroundincircles]

Some body said that the shinners sold the four green fields........

[aroundincircles]

Some body said that the shinners sold the four green fields........

Nah, they ploughed them in the middle of the night.

and then sold them

[aroundincircles]

Peter canavan gone too a fall out with mulligans hair dresser. When peter asked him to stick a bit on and he refused!!!

[gander]

Who has left the Armagh Camp now?  Can someone post it or PM me, cheers.

[pearseog]

i heard from the most reliable of sources that the armagh squad gave peter mcdonell a vote of no confidence at training last week. this was initiated by the marty orourke and thats why he didn't play in cork. a lot of the issues seem to be about a particilar player in the squad. all of you will notice that the vast majority quitting the panel are forwards. il let you work out who these players have an issue with.