All Ireland series

Seamy

Seamy

Well-Known Member
Similar to some of the other posters on the forum the last few days, some of the social media comments I've seen are absolutely laughable.

The constant 'Need to stop playing it backwards', 'why is Cian McConville not starting?', 'McGeeney needs to go'. It's draining. I will never claim to be a footballing genius but rule one of playing against a blanket of 15 is patience and ball retention. These heroes that think we should go all guns blazing on attack will see very quicklu how many counter attacks we're caught out on as a result. And then the rhetoric will change to 'Armagh's backs are shite'. The Dubs tried it in 2014 against Donegal and got well overturned. Fact of the matter is it's the style most teams are playing with so we've to fall in with it too.

I think we'll see a few changes the next day. I imagine Soupy will start from the bench, possibly even Jarly Óg too. I expect Paddy Burns in the first 15 and possibly Morgan to be on the bench. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Hall either. They're all changes I'd welcome and think we need. Donnelly, McCurry and Canavan was causing problems the other day and a man marker like Burns of Morgan could have definitely curtailed it somewhat.

Seperately, a few great posts here too from Lemallon and others. When the chips are down, there's plenty who get behind the squad and management and similarly there's plenty behind you lads who've had your struggles too. We might disagree on plenty of things but we're all Armagh.
 
C

cailín beag88

Well-Known Member
Lemallon said:
The reason why people love and watch sport very often is because of its ability to drive u to emotional extremes. You experience devastating lows and the memory of them makes the highs all the more thrilling and exhilarating.

As an Armagh supporter of over 40 years I don’t believe I’ve gone through the emotional spectrum as much previously as I have since Saturday evening. Sitting in the stand at 11-5 I was resigned and depressed. We looked utterly defeated and demoralised. I said to my neighbour. We are going to get beaten by 10 plus. It’s going to get nasty. Then gradually we pulled our way back into it. Got it down to 5/4/3. For people who weren’t there it’s hard to describe but I think during that short time frame the area of the stand I was in was one of the loudest I’ve ever experienced as an armagh supporter. I truly believe the team were helped by this noise and support. It was inspiring to me never mind those on the field.

Amazingly one of the loudest cheers came not from a score but an amazing catch by Ethan from a kickout. At that stage it looked like the comeback was on and the stand almost felt like it was shaking. At the final whistle I felt proud. Armagh had shown an amazing amount of heart and no little skill to never give up in a match where if wouid have been easier to fold and say we have a few days yet to rectify things.
Rory Grugan Jason Duffy and Andrew Murnin especially decided they were going to dig deep and do everything they could for their county.
I walked out of the ground with a slight pep and felt Armagh had the best supporters in Ireland.

As u do I started flicking through social media for post game reaction. Facebook first. My mood turned. Under the armagh gaa final score post the comments were building. Management a joke, performance a disgrace, defensive shite etc etc. I thought Jesus, it wasn’t that bad was it.
Then on here. The same if not worse. Absolutely brutal attacks on the team but more venomous ones on the manager. Some were constructive but many were personal, vindictive and alll cowardly. I posted straight away in the car on the way home and called people gutless fools. This was wrong. It was done in rage and I apologise for it.
I signed off and determined I wasn’t reading any more because I knew what annoyance the posts were going to cause. I haven’t been on since but the general social media atmosphere has been impossible to avoid. It has been toxic and has saddened me deeply. Having a large fan base always means you will attract the polar opposite type of fan, the best and the worst and the past two days has really demonstrated that. I’ve gone from the highest high to the lowest low in my estimation of the Armagh fan.

Before anyone calls me a McGeeney fan boy, those that actually know me will know this is 100 percent not the case. Many times since 2015 I’ve felt and verbally expressed the opinion that Kieran has had long enough in the role. I’ve felt we have not exploited the talents of the players we’ve had sufficiently for his position to be justified. However I do believe the last two days has seen the criticism rise to a level of unacceptable personal abuse.
I’ve witnessed online how it is affecting family members of his and it’s very very wrong. People need to think how their words can affect the emotional stability of others before they type.

I can safely say the Armagh football team brings me the most happiness and joy in my life. Maybe that says more about my life but so be it lol. I’m 48, never married with no children. My mother and father who have passed away loved football and it has transferred to me. The past two years in division 1, the Galway q final and the likes of Donegal in clones last year and even extra time v Derry a few weeks ago have been amazing. I’m lucky to have this team to keep me wanting to be alive.

This is why the last two days have made me so so sad. The overwhelming negativity and vitriol has been so unnecessary. Criticise all you want, I do plenty of it but please do it with a level of restraint and consideration for others. We still have at least one more game to go. I feel down now but my god I’ll be in Breffni praying for a win as much as I ever have.

Many apologies for the long post. Insomnia can lead to rants lol. For anyone who has reached the end thanks for indulging in my personal therapy
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This is best thing I've read in days.. thanks for this, here I am crying on a Monday night
 
JoeH

JoeH

Well-Known Member
ragingbull said:
Ciaron O’Hanlon and Oisin O’Neill back in training
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I really like the way the media report what's going on in training when, I assume, they're not there. If they're coming back from injury then surely they'd be at training doing rehab or whatever
Parts of the media in this country are getting more sensationalist
 
O

Orchard Apples

Member
William Of Orange said:
Don't know why probably a one game ban take it and mover on ?
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Exactly, unless there's footage to show otherwise it looks to be clear red. Honestly think this has been a long time coming...given a one match ban from a clear red in dongeal last year and got off from that on a technicality. Have to learn a lesson at some stage (hopefully!).
 
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