McKenna Cup 2024

[Wide ball]

Would have thought Cian too good of a forward to play out the field he’d be wasted but very hard to pick 6 starting forwards now with the Cullyhanna lads to come back as well who’ve all been brilliant for the club.

O’Neill would want to be playing some stuff to take Murnins place who was our best player along with Forker last year.

Rafferty

Morgan
McKay
Forker

McQuillan
McCabe
Conor O’Neill

Grimley
Crealey

Grugan
Oisin O’Neill
Soupy

Duffy
Rian
Murnin

That’s a tough team to pick. Turbo, Nugent, McCambridge Jarly Og, Paddy Burns, Mackin, TK, McConville and probably more that I’m forgetting could all start there as well no problem.

If all are fit and ready I don't think anyone will have the same 15 and that speaks volumes for our depth
For me it's

Rafferty

Forker
Higgins
Morgan

Conor O'Neill
McCabe or Ciaran mackin
Oh burns

Crealy
Oisin O'Neill

Campbell
Rian O'Neill
Duffy

Turbitt
Murnin
Nugent or grugan

That team has pace and enough fetching ability, should be able to mix it up

Some bench too
Hughes
Mccambridge
Burns
Mackin
Mckay
Grimley
Mcpartlan
Mcquillan
Kelly
Mcconville

I think your shout of mcquillan at half back is a great shout as his pace from deep would be some weapon

 

[William Of Orange]

I thought that Darragh McMullen done well last night , seems to have a useful football brain and was comfortable on the ball , first time I’ve seen him will be interesting to see how he develops.

 

[Smallball]

Would prefer to see rian in midfield and oisin closer to goal. My personal opinion but can't understand why anyone has it the other way around. Rian the better athlete so more suited to the workrate of midfield than oisin

 

[ragingbull]

This team won't be far off
Rafferty
Burns
McKay
Forker
O'Neill
McCabe
Burns
Mackin
O'Neill
Grugan
Kelly
Duffy
Nugent
O'Neill
Murnin

 

[Armaghball]

Would prefer to see rian in midfield and oisin closer to goal. My personal opinion but can't understand why anyone has it the other way around. Rian the better athlete so more suited to the workrate of midfield than oisin

Think it’s because Oisin did midfield for us and Cross before his injury troubles hit. He could probably do the Con/Comer role inside, wouldn’t fancy him running at me in fullback!

 

[PatMustard]

This team won't be far off
Rafferty
Burns
McKay
Forker
O'Neill
McCabe
Burns
Mackin
O'Neill
Grugan
Kelly
Duffy
Nugent
O'Neill
Murnin

That’s too confusing with all these O’Neill’s and Burns’s.

 

[Armagh_paul]

That’s too confusing with all these O’Neill’s and Burns’s.

More to come

 

[Patrick-Armagh]

Think it’s because Oisin did midfield for us and Cross before his injury troubles hit. He could probably do the Con/Comer role inside, wouldn’t fancy him running at me in fullback!

This was one of the reasons I'd like to see him in at 14 - because of his injury problems. Midfield is so physical and you're putting serious strain on your body with high fielding and high impact collisions. You have to have a serious engine for that position too and he's probably missed out on a lot of the core conditioning work that's been built up over the last few years, that enables you to operate at that level. You'd say that he'd be hard to stop, bursting from midfield but it would be awful to see him break down again, if he ultimately doesn't have the conditioning yet for it. If he plays in closer to goals, he could be a real bull, that would be a major headache for defenders. But as was pointed out to me, Murnin was outstanding in there last season and it will take some doing to take the shirt from him. If Murnin could up his scoring in a game by a couple of points, consistently adding 6 points to the our total every game, which you want out of your full forward, we'd be flying.

As has been pointed out, we have serious depth throughout the squad. There's no way we should be Division 2 side. When you see the fire power we have, the handbrake has to be let off at some stage. For all the forward talent we have, I'd happily trade two or three of them in for two defenders in our fullback line that could lock down the oppositions most dangerous players. This is what we lack the most and which compromises the way we set up IMO. If the management were confident that we had defenders who could be left one on one with their attackers, like a Mick Fitzsimmons or Chrissy McKeague, you wouldn't have to flood so many players back. When they do turn over the ball, they have to sprint up the field to support the play. That gets exhausting after a while and is one of the reasons why we play such slow and meandering football at times, which is frustrating when you see the forwards listed here. If we could sort that out and play more confident attacking football, we'd steam roller a lot of teams.

As was said on a number of different media outlets last season, you can only get so far playing conservative football. If you want to win the biggest prizes, you have to go out and play to win. Deciding who our full forward line is or whether Rian is better at midfield or full forward or if Jarly should be at half back or midfield, won't matter, if we bring that turgid style of play, which we saw far too much of last season, into this one. The biggest one for me though is our mentality. Do we have a team of killers, that will take the game away from a team, by putting them to the sword when we are on top? Everything ultimately hinges on this. Can we get over the line when it matters most? As of yet, we haven't. Only time will tell if we can.

 

[Diarmi]

Having watched Ross McQuillan show his true potential over the past few months with us (potential that we were well aware of) has proved to me how the county structure is broken. Like Cian McConville, Ross has only had short spells playing for Armagh and has not been able to prove himself. Also like Cian, Ross's ability is well known to all Armagh supporters but only by reputation not by his on field action in an Armagh jersey. It is very difficult for any lad to make an impact when they are only getting a limited playing time and in that time they are severely scrutinised. Now that Ross has had a proper run of matches we are seeing what he can do and it is devastating. In my opinion by not letting fringe players play with their clubs is detrimental to the players in particular but also the county and clubs. Ross and Cain are probably the best examples because we are aware of their ability but there are many more who will go the most of their playing careers sitting on the bench or watching their club mates from the stand. Whilst the split season has helped to an extent it is not the answer.

 

[Diarmi]

I'm with the Oisin in FF brigade and Rian further out the field. Rian seems to be a bit of a wild horse, hard to contain and unpredictable, whereas Oisin will play a role for you. Him and Murnin inside could reek havok. His pass for McGrane's goal was absolutely amazing. The vision to see it and the precise delivery was incredible, it took out three defenders (just out of reach of their fingertips) and McGrane didn't have to break his stride, pure class.

 

[Wide ball]

This was one of the reasons I'd like to see him in at 14 - because of his injury problems. Midfield is so physical and you're putting serious strain on your body with high fielding and high impact collisions. You have to have a serious engine for that position too and he's probably missed out on a lot of the core conditioning work that's been built up over the last few years, that enables you to operate at that level. You'd say that he'd be hard to stop, bursting from midfield but it would awful to see him break down again, if he ultimately doesn't have the conditioning yet for it. If he plays in closer to goals, he could be a real bull, that would be a major headache for defenders. But as was pointed out to me, Murnin was outstanding in there last season and it will take some doing to take the shirt from him. If Murnin could up his scoring in a game by a couple of points, consistently adding 6 points to the our total every game, which you want out of your full forward, we'd be flying.

As has been pointed out, we have serious depth throughout the squad. There's no way we should be Division 2 side. When you see the fire power we have, the handbrake has to be let off at some stage. For all the forward talent we have, I'd happily trade two or three of them in for two defenders in our fullback line that could lock down the oppositions most dangerous players. This is what we lack the most and which compromises the way we set up IMO. If the management were confident that we had defenders who could be left one on one with their attackers, like a Mick Fitzsimmons or Chrissy McKeague, you wouldn't have to flood so many players back. When they do turn over the ball, they have to sprint up the field to support the play. That gets exhausting after a while and is one of the reasons why we play such slow and meandering football at times, which is frustrating when you see the forwards listed here. If we could sort that out and play more confident attacking football, we'd steam roller a lot of teams.

As was said on a number of different media outlets last season, you can only get so far playing conservative football. If you want to win the biggest prizes, you have to go out and play to win. Deciding who our full forward line is or whether Rian is better at midfield or full forward or if Jarly should be at half back or midfield, won't matter, if we bring that turgid style of play, which we saw far too much of last season, into this one. The biggest one for me though is our mentality. Do we have a team of killers, that will take the game away from a team, by putting them to the sword when we are on top? Everything ultimately hinges on this. Can we get over the line when it matters most? As of yet, we haven't. Only time will tell if we can.

Agree with alot of this, I wouldn't want Rian in midfield it Would take away from him upfront, if oisin is full forward we could have him CHF and put runners around the 2 of them or as diarmi says have a 2 man full forward line of oisin and murnin, but one thing is for sure we have plenty of options,and will have players for any situation

 

[Diarmi]

Agree with alot of this, I wouldn't want Rian in midfield it Would take away from him upfront, if oisin is full forward we could have him CHF and put runners around the 2 of them or as diarmi says have a 2 man full forward line of oisin and murnin, but one thing is for sure we have plenty of options,and will have players for any situation

The players are there, the question is are the management capable of utilising them properly?

 

[Wide ball]

The players are there, the question is are the management capable of utilising them properly?

I feel sometimes we chop and change too much in championship, I think we should do this in the league but come championship it should be best and inform players

 

[armaghtimmy]

Must say, excited seeing these teams and more so about the strength on the benches, we could have 25 lads get a starting jersey and nobody would have too many complaints (apart from the usual bed wetter's) and that can only be a good thing, healthy competition is what all top counties down the years have had and hopefully if we can avoid any big injury issues, it is possibly the best placed squad since probably 2008. Roll on the league. My only small concern is around the FB line and possible lack of pace with Morgan forker and mckay although in the modern game with defensive walls along the arc/45 this is much less exposed than years gone by... il go with;

Rafferty

Forker, Mc Kay, Paddy B

Mc Quillan, C O'Neill, Burns

Rian (Free role), Grimley, Mackin

Duffy, Grugan, Kelly

Oisin, Murnin

Subs; Blaine, Higgins, Morgan, Mcgrane, Rowland, Mc Cabe, Connaire Mackin, Mc Cambridge, Crealey, Mc Partlan, Hall, Soupy, Turbo, Nugent, Cian

Haven't even included o'hanlon, cumisky, conaty, Kierans, sheilds, and a few others who no doubt will be pushing hard.... serious depth.

Those 4 in bold could make some impact last 20 mins against tiring defences

 

[ragingbull]

 

[ragingbull]

 

[BananaMan]

I thought that Darragh McMullen done well last night , seems to have a useful football brain and was comfortable on the ball , first time I’ve seen him will be interesting to see how he develops.

A very polished and skillful footballer. Probably lacks the strength right now for real county football. What age is he?

 

[GAAGael]

Must say, excited seeing these teams and more so about the strength on the benches, we could have 25 lads get a starting jersey and nobody would have too many complaints (apart from the usual bed wetter's) and that can only be a good thing, healthy competition is what all top counties down the years have had and hopefully if we can avoid any big injury issues, it is possibly the best placed squad since probably 2008. Roll on the league. My only small concern is around the FB line and possible lack of pace with Morgan forker and mckay although in the modern game with defensive walls along the arc/45 this is much less exposed than years gone by... il go with;

Rafferty

Forker, Mc Kay, Paddy B

Mc Quillan, C O'Neill, Burns

Rian (Free role), Grimley, Mackin

Duffy, Grugan, Kelly

Oisin, Murnin

Subs; Blaine, Higgins, Morgan, Mcgrane, Rowland, Mc Cabe, Connaire Mackin, Mc Cambridge, Crealey, Mc Partlan, Hall, Soupy, Turbo, Nugent, Cian

Haven't even included o'hanlon, cumisky, conaty, Kierans, sheilds, and a few others who no doubt will be pushing hard.... serious depth.

Those 4 in bold could make some impact last 20 mins against tiring defences

I think Grugan will drop to the bench. Legs starting to go last year. Also not sure about Rowland making 26.

 

[Wide ball]

We could nearly have 2 teams in division we have that much depth,
Team 1. - Team 2.
Rafferty. - Hughes

Burns - finn
Forker. - Higgins
Mckay. - Mccambridge

C O'Neill. - Mackin
McCabe. - Rowland
Jarly og. - Shields

Crealy. - Grimley
Mackin. - Mcpartlan

Hall. - Mcquillan
Grugan. - O oneill
Campbell. - Duffy

Nugent. - Mcconville
R O'Neill. - Murnin
Turbitt. - Conaty

I'd say both those teams would do well in division 2

That's without including
Magill
Morgan
Ohanlon
Cumiskey
McElroy
Kelly
Kierans
And a few others I am sure iv forgotten

 

[armaghtimmy]

I think Grugan will drop to the bench. Legs starting to go last year. Also not sure about Rowland making 26.

You could be right on both fronts, I think Geezer likes Rowland and his kick pass abilities however. Either way, the transition from losing the likes of Grugan, soupy, forker, morgan etc doesnt seem as scary as it did a few years ago, plenty of talent there after they depart the stage