2020 league

niall1980

Well-Known Member
Cassidy should never be allowed ref a game again.how did he give a penalty for a great challenge. The player threw himself and it hit his legs. Then he tried to disallow Clarkes 20th goal for Armagh. Massive game Saturday and even a half fit Donaghy or mckay must play
I would love to see the penalty incident again. He signalled a foot block. Nobody else in the ground be it the Westmeath players or umpires or lines man saw a foot block. Don’t even want to discuss him. That said we were awful second half defensively. Cut open too easily. Happened a couple times in the first half also to be fair
 

DOUGIE

Member
I would love to see the penalty incident again. He signalled a foot block. Nobody else in the ground be it the Westmeath players or umpires or lines man saw a foot block. Don’t even want to discuss him. That said we were awful second half defensively. Cut open too easily. Happened a couple times in the first half also to be fair
I was behind the goals and it was no penalty,he later told sheridan the he was being very consistent with all his decisions
 

Applecore

Member
Baffling refereeing decisions... baffling armagh didn’t go for the win at the end instead chose to keep possession and run out the clock.

Insisting on playing a midfielder as chb is coming home to roost.
 

h754136

Active Member
That game was a microcosm of where Armagh are at currently. All of the inconsistencies on show in one 70 minute display. Lethal on the front foot, but comical when put under pressure. We can expect the same for the rest of the season, which will no doubt be equal parts exciting and frustrating. But it's difficult to see much significant progress emerging out of such volatility.

The defensive frailties are obviously at the heart of the problem. They have been there from long before this season began and probably aren't going anywhere before it ends. These frailties are the result of both tactical and personnel problems, which makes them doubly difficult to fix in the short term.

It's fair to level some criticism at the management for their tactical organisation - six years into things and they are still sending out teams lacking very basic defensive structures. Why is the middle of the defence always so open to exploitation? It's been that way for years, and any opposition with a bit of wit about them should know that there's easy pickings to be had by targeting this area. Can nothing different be tried? Or is it felt that the players are not capable of playing to a different system?

Which brings us onto the second problem, one for which the management can't be blamed. The county hasn't produced a single top quality defender in more than a decade. Why is this? It is the nature of our club game? Is it the quality of coaching in development squads & schools? Is it just the way things go, a nature cycle, and we'll have six class defenders in ten year's time but no forwards? This is something that must be discussed and tackled if we really intend to take the leap back to football's top table.

The players need to take more responsibility too. It's been a theme of this Armagh side over the last number of years to let short opposition purple patches be the losing of games. The best teams know how to put the breaks on, by fair means or foul, when the opposition runs up a head of steam. You kill time by any means, you lie down, you start handbag sessions, you resort to boring, safe lateral passing - anything that breaks the opposition momentum. The Dubs do it in a really transparent way with a raised fist signal - this is the cue for about two minutes of zero risk short, lateral passing between themselves until they have regrouped. We need some of our more experienced lads to be smarter and more influential when the opposition gets a run on us. We shouldn't be throwing away games because of a panicky ten minute spell.

On a more positive note, promotion is still just about in our own hands. Massive game in Enniskillen next weekend - Fermanagh are fighting for their summer.
 

Throwball

Well-Known Member
The long drive has given me time to throw the negative thoughts out the window !
It has to be commended that Armagh got a draw out of that. They would have got beaten by 8 or 9 in the past.
I feel our defensive frailties have much to do with our attacking attitude. Aidan Forker was in the opposition half more often than his own for example. We may have to suffer similar problems if we continue with our attacking flair - some of this was super.
Also it was impossible for an Armagh player to tackle without a free being given. That hinders defensive structure.

On a final note. The GAA has to stop the intimidation tactics of teams. Today we saw Forker yellow carded for fisting the ball out of a players hand. Yet Westmeath players targeted Armagh best performers with obvious direction without sanction. This kind of crap is happening in too many games and by too many teams.
 

Peter grimes

Well-Known Member
The long drive has given me time to throw the negative thoughts out the window !
It has to be commended that Armagh got a draw out of that. They would have got beaten by 8 or 9 in the past.
I feel our defensive frailties have much to do with our attacking attitude. Aidan Forker was in the opposition half more often than his own for example. We may have to suffer similar problems if we continue with our attacking flair - some of this was super.
Also it was impossible for an Armagh player to tackle without a free being given. That hinders defensive structure.

On a final note. The GAA has to stop the intimidation tactics of teams. Today we saw Forker yellow carded for fisting the ball out of a players hand. Yet Westmeath players targeted Armagh best performers with obvious direction without sanction. This kind of crap is happening in too many games and by too many teams.
I’ve had a long drive and a drink (in that order). Don’t know if that puts me at an advantage or not.

You might be correct on today’s refereeing but we all run the risk of orange tinted glasses. Irrespective of Cassidy’s performance tackling within the county is poor and most referees seem to know this. Our defensive issues also seem to recur in games not officiated by Cassidy. Control the controllables.

On intimidation tactics I agree with you but too many consider this to be a key part of the game these days.

On linking attacking flair to defensive frailty I think that can oversimplify things. Our key strength is our forwards who can win ball and take scores. Get it to them early. Carrying ball to them is slower, less productive offensively (opposition have time to reset) and riskier defensively (ball hangs around in opposition scoring zone leaving us vulnerable to turnovers and scoreable frees and by carrying the ball out defenders leave their defensive positions/duties).

We can keep and exploit our attacking flair by moving the ball quicker
 

cailín beag88

Well-Known Member
Will give my views on this week game in time but crucial stuff 1st,
My dad is of to Italy on Tuesday
Risk he might not get because of coronavirus, what worries me is what happens If he cant get home. I'll need a lift to next match..so who wants some great company.
Also to quote my dad watching Fermanagh play may make me worse I had the coronavirus
 

Bert

Active Member
Alternatives?

Donaghy is an outstanding 6. Whoever plays there should position themselves there and not get involved in attacking plays. Senior players must take responsibility as I don't think management are able to identify our weaknesses here
 
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