McKenna Cup 2024
- Thread starter Ed Ricketts
- Start date
Agree - I thought we would have seen the likes of these players….
When do they get to impress then????
Armaghball
Well-Known Member
Does it even count as silverware its a couple of glorified friendlies. Best of luck to the young lads and hopefully a few can put their hands up and be able to offer something to the squad at the business end.
Mixed emotions about this. Great to see young talent getting an opportunity but there’s potential for this to be a disaster.
McGuiness played a fairly strong team against Roscommon before Christmas and if he takes the same approach tomorrow night we could be in for a pasting.
Could be doing with a bit more experience there to help out, few boys on the bench arent fit for senior club football yet never mind inter county.
Not my intention to sound so negative, just how I see it. In fact, I’d be more inclined to purchase it now online to see how the new faces get on
McGuiness played a fairly strong team against Roscommon before Christmas and if he takes the same approach tomorrow night we could be in for a pasting.
Could be doing with a bit more experience there to help out, few boys on the bench arent fit for senior club football yet never mind inter county.
Not my intention to sound so negative, just how I see it. In fact, I’d be more inclined to purchase it now online to see how the new faces get on
Armagh_paul
Well-Known Member
If McGuinness names a strong team and we name a very inexperienced team this could be a massive hammering - that does nothing for morale regardless of how serious the competition is.
northarmaghgael
Active Member
That team named to play tomorrow is an insult to fans that travel length and breadth of the country.
I’m all for giving young fellas a run out and trying experimental line ups, but is that not what behind closed doors challenge games are for?
I’m all for giving young fellas a run out and trying experimental line ups, but is that not what behind closed doors challenge games are for?
William Of Orange
Well-Known Member
JoeH
Well-Known Member
Why is it an insult? If they put out a strong team there would be complaints.
These guys would be the next players coming in. Closed door challenges are one thing. A competitive game is something different.
The McKenna cup is a pre season competition - the business starts 27th January.
Good luck to all involved and safe travels
northarmaghgael
Active Member
I’m not saying we play our 15 that played against Monaghan in last years QF but regardless, who would complain if we did put out a strong team?
Having played senior football for the guts of 15 years, it is much easier to blend younger players into a team that has a balance of experience/inexperience, not just throwing 14 debutants into the mix and hope for the best.
For context, Donegal have named their team, 7 out of the 15 are regular starters ..
But these players aren’t the next thing coming in. From what I understand of a panel of 40 only 5/6 of these are on the panel/trialling. The rest u20.
Why not play mcconville kearns young McMullan magill in nets, o Neill from belleek, mccambridge Oisin o Neill conaty grimley etc.. I could go on
These players above training all year to probably not play at all this year now
Armaghball
Well-Known Member
I would probably complain if likes of Grugan Soupy Forker Murnin etc were playing. Keep them lads wrapped in cotton wool as we need them fit come business end. Personally I would have liked to see more experience even lads like TK, O’Hanlon, O O’Neill Shields etc who hadnt played much last year through injury and even likes of Cian McConville and Justin Kieran that have been on the panel a couple of years now but not played a whole lot.
To say it’s an insult to supporters though i totally disagree. There’ll be 15 lads plus subs who’ve slogged away for the past however many weeks and have obviously done enough to show management that they might be able to add something to the panel down the line, either later this year or in years to come.
Any supporter worth his salt will back any man thats pulling on the orange jersey 100%. All the best to lads and management and safe travels to the ejits going up the road to support lol
I would think the senior lads are delighted they dont have to trapse uo to ballybofey on a shite January midweek night after a days work for a game of zero importance thats basically a dressed up challenge game. Our players arent machines and if the management want to give them a better balance than the fixture co ordinators then i say fair play to them. Will make no difference to how we start the league at the end of January
I agree with a few comments here, I don't think it's a disgrace to name that team, but I do fear what this will do to this young teams confidence if they get hammered, this is already a team not winning at under 20 level, but maybe a decent display will build confidence, I would of liked to see more of maybe Ciaran Higgins, conaty, mcconville, a few of the fringe lads, but I am glad to not see the likes of the 09 minor lads and the guys over 30 as these lads have slogged for years and would like to see them saved for championship football, I hope these lads play well and I will be watching
Armaghball
Well-Known Member
Look best of luck to them and they’ll go out and give it their all but I’m sure the lads themselves and management aren’t stupid, it’ll be boys against men in most cases and most likely a big win for Donegal.
Result doesn’t matter a shite you wouldn’t think. Be about how lads get on in a semi competitive game against a strong opponent, will they throw they towels in or put in a shift for the full 70 would be what I’d be looking for and would guess management will be too.
It’s not a competition, it’s a few pre season friendlies
Patrick-Armagh
Well-Known Member
It's certainly a strange team when you consider the teams we've lined out in the past for the McKenna Cup. If five or six players who've played senior county football before, were in the team, even if they were fringe players, along with nine or ten new comers, you'd think that would make a bit more sense. Needless to say this could be a bit of drubbing. I don't understand why management would expose a young team to that. Hopefully we'll see some good performances from a few players that will give us options going forward.
I am baffled by this selection.
Regardless of who is in the wider panel, there are fringe players who need games to be able to push. We have a number of guys in no man's land now who seem to basically just operate as squad players with no option to ever see game time other than the talked about in house games or closed door challenge games.
The team named has players who don't start for their club senior teams but yet are being trusted to start a senior inter county match. Regardless of what your stance on the selection, surely you need to be starting for your club senior side before starting for the county senior team, regardless of the competition etc. I would be fairly confident that if you asked the fringe players who aren't getting a chance they would bite your arm off for a start.
If Armagh don't want to treat the competition seriously then don't enter it, stick with in house games and challenge games but don't make a mockery of it.
Regardless of who is in the wider panel, there are fringe players who need games to be able to push. We have a number of guys in no man's land now who seem to basically just operate as squad players with no option to ever see game time other than the talked about in house games or closed door challenge games.
The team named has players who don't start for their club senior teams but yet are being trusted to start a senior inter county match. Regardless of what your stance on the selection, surely you need to be starting for your club senior side before starting for the county senior team, regardless of the competition etc. I would be fairly confident that if you asked the fringe players who aren't getting a chance they would bite your arm off for a start.
If Armagh don't want to treat the competition seriously then don't enter it, stick with in house games and challenge games but don't make a mockery of it.