Allianz Football League 2022 Division 1

L

Left Right Out

Member
Credit not being given to the quality of Armagh’s football. Some of it has been exquisite. Especially the foot passing and quick movement of the ball. Can the “experts” please stop the mantra that it is all conditioning. Heard that repeatedly last week and this week. No we are fit, but we are playing great stuff. And there are very few unfit county footballers!!
 
William Of Orange

William Of Orange

Well-Known Member
Left Right Out said:
Credit not being given to the quality of Armagh’s football. Some of it has been exquisite. Especially the foot passing and quick movement of the ball. Can the “experts” please stop the mantra that it is all conditioning. Heard that repeatedly last week and this week. No we are fit, but we are playing great stuff. And there are very few unfit county footballers!!
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I agree we are playing great stuff and I'm sure that if we are a few weeks ahead of the curve that the management will know to keep that level going or even cool the boys down a bit so they can pick up again for the championship , in fairness I think most commentators have been fairly complementary on the team but we cant get carried away we all need to manage our expectations and if we continue to beat The likes of Dublin and Tyrone then we going to have some great times over the next few years .

I was lucky enough to get to all the big matches in the noughties when we were so successful , it was a wonderful time , I think the time has potential to be challenging the best teams in the land but until we win the big championship games we wont know this . All I know is that its given all true fans a lift over the past number of weeks .

This forum can be quite negative about the team at times and rightly so when they deserve it , all you have to do is read the posts over the last few weeks to see the difference in peoples attitude, myself included by the way . But we also need to look at everything in context its February , Tyrone and Dublin have had mini transitions , players missing etc. , that's not our lads fault but its fact .

The best thing is that we are winning and playing a really brilliant type of Football , I think Rian O Neill could be our greatest ever player , before if we lost one or two forwards we would struggle , now we have a conveyor belt of talent .

Just on the so called Melee (which was tame enough in fairness) although Colm O'Rourke doesn't annoy me as much as he seems to do others on here however him talking about Melee's playing for Meath in the 80's/90's is like Boris giving out to somebody having a party , I do agree with the sentiment and the cards shown yesterday as a statement . If you head lock a player or if you throw someone to the ground like your in the WWE or you run in from the other end of the pitch to get involved you deserve to go . Its pure shite looking at this all the time and Dublin & Kerry were at it as well both the other night and in 2019 .

In a physical sport like Rugby they know if you put your hand on another player you could be gone and you see the discipline and control that the referees have over the players . We want hard hits and tough football , but me personally I don't want to see that going on and I have to say I thought Tyrone were definitely the aggressors and most of our lads were defending themselves , which they are entitled to do and handled it very well .
 
A

Armagh Gael

Member
I've been very encouraged by the performances of the likes of Niall Rowland and Jason Duffy. Two players who I felt had been given plenty of chances and just didn't seem to be suited to this level. Glad I'm being proved wrong. Duffy has turned into a goal poacher and rowland is just such a calming influence. Sold a Tyrone player a lovely dummy yesterday in the second half. No panic at all.
 
GAAJohn

GAAJohn

Member
Credit where credits due mc geeney deserves praise I have been a critic in the past but we have steadily improved this last number of years however this past year we have turned into a serious side with the country now taking note of us. It wasn’t long ago that lot beat us by 18 in croker and now we are coming off the back of wins against dublin and tyrone.
Bringing in donaghy has been a masterstroke his fingerprints are all over our gameplan and having his experience in the management having recently come across these top sides is key, whilst mc corry was a great servant can’t help but feel donaghy and mc keever have really helped us reach a new level and our improvement in the last two years is a testament to this
 
Armagh_paul

Armagh_paul

Well-Known Member
I am one to praise where it should be given and likewise criticise when I think it is warranted. The management have been phenomenal this year, they have addressed the concerns that have been apparent for the last few years. The defence has for now been sorted to a degree, it needs further improvements as Tyrone were getting easy points just by running into it - regardless of if Tyrone's frees were warranted or not, this is going to be exploited in the championship and needs further development. The amazing thing about defence is no other team has got it right, so if we do, it puts us in a great position for the championship. Anyway, that is the sticking point for me at the moment, great work done by management but there is going to be more needed in the coming months.

I don't know how to explain this point so sorry if I waffle but we look like a very cohesive team. There is support play, players are sticking up for each other, one player is substituted the player coming on fits in like a jigsaw. Everyone knows they play a significant role in the team and when they perform their role it allows the cogs in the machine to work effectively. We are not letting anyone throw us off our game, Tyrone tried it all day yesterday and my MOTM Burns was the target of some of these incidents. He has been on an emotional rollercoaster this week losing his grandad and throughout it all he remained composed and didn't bite, he just got on with it. Some Tyronies want to blame him for the melee but if Harte kept his hands to himself it wouldn't have happened. When the melee kicked off you could see Foker going around keeping the peace, he was like a one man UN peace keeping convoy.

The past few seasons we have been like a dog with the ball, just get it, run with it. This year we get the ball, make strides forward, stop and evaluate the situation. Pass it back to GK if it is necessary, sure Hughes can even run forward with the ball. There are very few moments where we make sloppy passes and give away possession which was frustrating to watch last year but this year I am pleased with how we use the ball. The kick passing is really getting other counties on board with our brand of football and it is something we are using to our advantage now. Some teams may try and stop this happening in the championship but we have also shown we are comfortable with the short passing game. The only concern with this, is we have to be quick on our toes and it will zap energy but maintain composure and make the room for a pass. That moves me on to teams pressing up on our kick outs. We are putting teams in a situation where they are dammed if they do and dammed when they don't. I expect teams to start pushing up on us more but this leaves hell of a lot of space for the long kick-outs and our forward lines will appreciate it.

Jemar Hall was perfect for that game, he had defenders running all over the place. Campbell came on and settled us down with a score. Love seeing him running down the pitch and kicking scores with ease, it is great to watch. O'Neill was quiet compared to last week but Hampsey still couldn't get the better of him - and that kick to McCabe for the goal was a thing of beauty. Cannot wait to see him and Oisin playing on the same pitch again. On another note, I have been thinking about the like of McQuillan, Campbell, Murnin and O'Neill I am thinking McGeeney isn't getting them up to match fitness on purpose as they might be rotated in if we are able to secure D1 status. It would make sense considering Donegal are our last NFL fixture game. We certainly do not want to be going to the NFL semi-finals/final with only 1-2 weeks to spare before we face Donegal in the championship. I know every game counts but we don't want to be picking up injuries either.
 
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Diarmi

Diarmi

Well-Known Member
Armagh_paul said:
I am one to praise where it should be given and likewise criticise when I think it is warranted. The management have been phenomenal this year, they have addressed the concerns that have been apparent for the last few years. The defence has for now been sorted to a degree, it needs further improvements as Tyrone were getting easy points just by running into it - regardless of if Tyrone's frees were warranted or not, this is going to be exploited in the championship and needs further development. The amazing thing about defence is no other team has got it right, so if we do, it puts us in a great position for the championship. Anyway, that is the sticking point for me at the moment, great work done by management but there is going to be more needed in the coming months.

I don't know how to explain this point so sorry if I waffle but we look like a very cohesive team. There is support play, players are sticking up for each other, one player is substituted the player coming on fits in like a jigsaw. Everyone knows they play a significant role in the team and when they perform their role it allows the cogs in the machine to work effectively. We are not letting anyone throw us off our game, Tyrone tried it all day yesterday and my MOTM Burns was the target of some of these incidents. He has been on an emotional rollercoaster this week losing his grandad and throughout it all he remained composed and didn't bite, he just got on with it. Some Tyronies want to blame him for the melee but if Harte kept his hands to himself it wouldn't have happened.

The past few seasons we have been like a dog with the ball, just get it, run with it. This year we get the ball, make strides forward, stop and evaluate the situation. Pass it back to GK if it is necessary, sure Hughes can even run forward with the ball. There are very few moments where we make sloppy passes and give away possession which was frustrating to watch last year but this year I am pleased with how we use the ball. The kick passing is really getting other counties on board with our brand of football and it is something we are using to our advantage now. Some teams may try and stop this happening in the championship but we have also shown we are comfortable with the short passing game. The only concern with this, is we have to be quick on our toes and it will zap energy but maintain composure and make the room for a pass. That moves me on to teams pressing up on our kick outs. We are putting teams in a situation where they are dammed if they do and dammed when they don't. I expect teams to start pushing up on us more but this leaves hell of a lot of space for the long kick-outs and our forward lines will appreciate it.
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Yes, I have noticed that when teams push up on our kick outs we see Rian, Nugent and Duffy all making runs looking for the long kick out. Rian made one exceptional catch in the latter stage of the second half and fed Soupy who landed a lovely score to put us 5 up and basically win the game.
 
William Of Orange

William Of Orange

Well-Known Member
Diarmi said:
Yes, I have noticed that when teams push up on our kick outs we see Rian, Nugent and Duffy all making runs looking for the long kick out. Rian made one exceptional catch in the latter stage of the second half and fed Soupy who landed a lovely score to put us 5 up and basically win the game.
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Yes i thought this was very telling , we were under pressure a bit and only 4 points up , he won the ball passed the ball to Stefan and a score . This was real leadership. Last year against Monaghan we lost a number of Kick outs in the closing minutes and its an excellent example of an improvement in the team .
 
A

Androim

Active Member
GAAJohn said:
Credit where credits due mc geeney deserves praise I have been a critic in the past but we have steadily improved this last number of years however this past year we have turned into a serious side with the country now taking note of us. It wasn’t long ago that lot beat us by 18 in croker and now we are coming off the back of wins against dublin and tyrone.
Bringing in donaghy has been a masterstroke his fingerprints are all over our gameplan and having his experience in the management having recently come across these top sides is key, whilst mc corry was a great servant can’t help but feel donaghy and mc keever have really helped us reach a new level and our improvement in the last two years is a testament to this
Click to expand...
By the way, love your logo!
 
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