I do blame management - players will react to provocation - but they should nor have been in that situation. I'm afraid our manement has been found lacking
Allianz Football League 2022 Division 1
- Thread starter Diarmi
- Start date
Armagh_paul
Well-Known Member
They are not responsible for how players react in a melee. Management can forewarn them and tell them not to get involved but Rian took a swing at a player (be it forearm, punch etc) and he knew what he was doing.
Armaghball
Well-Known Member
Haven’t seen anything outside of forums.
Geezersleftfoot
Active Member
Aye. Nothing yet but we need to prepare for playing without him
The Dark Knight
Active Member
Big Time need Oisin O’Neill, Turbo & Ross fit for ballybofey now if we’ve any chance. Could be chances for the above 3 to flourish given the suspensions
MrMaguire2002
Well-Known Member
Straight from the horse's mouth.
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Armagh_paul
Well-Known Member
I am hoping this is an April Fools prank that Crossmaglen folk are playing on the rest of the county and they thought it would be funny to carry on with it 
Diarmi
Well-Known Member
Did he not tell you whether it was because of the appeal then?
Peter grimes
Well-Known Member
I would be a little more sanguine than that.
Ross has bagfuls of potential. But to say he has to play for us to stand a chance is to overstate the position. He clearly would be an addition and let’s hope he gets over his injuries.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Turbitt start and Duffy held in reserve. Big roles for both though and a step up to championship intensity.
Oisin would be a massive addition in the deeper role that Rian has occupied.
Sheridan has hardly sparkled this year but he has done a role for us in the past and it’s Ciaran Mackin’s defensive work and engine that we will need to replace. Sheridan or a defender like Connaire Mackin or Conor O’Neill would be good options. Allows Grimley to he held in reserve.
Soupy’s cameos have been invaluable and the bench will be weakened but still key.
We still have our keeper and defensive positions not impacted by suspensions. The depth we have is largely in forward positions.
Ballybofey is there to be contested. If it turns out not to be our day then we have a strong contingent coming back for the qualifiers. Maybe play Donegal again at some stage. Chins up
Armagh_paul
Well-Known Member
I hate stuff like this. I get it has become a part of the game but for me it is worse than the melee's in some respects. There is no doubt stuff that has gone on before it but its horrible to watch
Mickey Gormley
Active Member
I guess cos the appeals process hasnt completed yet?
Armaghniac
Well-Known Member
Are you saying that management told the team that if there was a melee for them all to pile in and get themselves suspended?
Players on the pitch have to take responsibility for their own behaviour, not only in this case but in things like slabbering and getting frees moved up to make a score a certainty.
No - read earlier posts.
By picking the team that they did, they gave the opportunity to Donegal to create a situation and a melee which enticed the Armagh players in - and now apparently we have 3 or 4 key players not available. The wise thing would have been to play a reserve side in that last league match thereby avoiding the above danger. Also, the chances were that Mayo would beat Kildare anyway and therefore even a win for Armagh would not have qualified us for a league final. But management picked a relatively strong team - and then put Rian and Grugan on too!
In my book - poor management decisions and Donegal have been smarter than us.
MrMaguire2002
Well-Known Member
I fully support McGeeney. Always have. But I couldn't agree more.
Mickey Gormley
Active Member
Sure even if rian was a sub there's a chance he would still have reacted and got banned
Peter grimes
Well-Known Member
It’s possible, just, at a stretch to blame management for not preparing for something premeditated by Donegal. But it is a stretch. A right old stretch.
The idea that the players banned should have been at home wrapped in cotton wool is just not sensible
The idea that the players banned should have been at home wrapped in cotton wool is just not sensible
The other side of that coin is that we have played weaker selections in the past on the last day of the league, notably against Sligo and Wexford, where we found it hard to bounce back effectively come Championship, so hindsight can be a wonderful thing.
Jungle_King
Member
It’s on RTÉ sport now