National Football League 2024

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GAAGael

Active Member
John said:
It'll be tighter than many on here think
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Derry will win - I agree they won't walk away with it. All games in Ulster are fairly close. The difference in quality between the div 1 and 2 game was huge - Dublin were flying in the latter stages of the league and Derry fairly rattled them yesterday on their home turf.
 
W

Wide ball

Well-Known Member
DooReg said:
Donegal will beat Derry. People getting carried away with the Derry v Dublin game saying it was a different level. Won’t be much in the championship between Derry & Donegal. I fancy the forgotten county myself.
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Donegal won't get close to Derry imo, Armagh played Donegal at the same shite game they love, same as Monaghan last year, Derry won't do that Derry will play their way and win comfortably imo, we are in groundhog day with Armagh in big games it feels, I have listened to a number of podcasts and all say pretty much the same thing, that Armagh deserved to lose and never play to their strengths, that Donegal team was missing 3/4 guaranteed starters and their full back line was small and not full strength, we only kicked 2 balls in, we scored 8 points in 60 minutes, it's just disgraceful, everyone knows you need to score over 17 points especially in croker park to win any big game, they said when Armagh play that slow hand pass game we always seem to lose and we are living off of the w games from 2 years ago against Tyrone and Donegal, and those games we went for the kill and finished the game early, and when we are in these tight games we bottle it, we had Derry beat twice and somehow lost, had Galway beat in the qf and somehow lost and we had Donegal beaten yesterday and yet lost again, we seem to find ways to lose these games.
 
A

Armaghball

Well-Known Member
Patrick-Armagh said:
That's a good team on paper and while there is scoring power, it just wouldn't have the legs. Can you imagine that half forward line, Oisin O'Neill or Murnin having to track the flying machines Derry have in defence all over the field? It would be a disaster. I was worried after the first game of the league when I saw McElroy and Conor O'Neill starting in attack, as it looked very negative and that game was awful. But as the league went on, O'Neill moved into the half back line (and really just had freedom to get forward) and was one of our best attacking players, while McElroy has been quietly excellent. He doesn't score much but he links everything together very well and gets through a lot of the donkey work that needs done. If that team started we wouldn't have much scoring threat to come off the bench, which all teams need.

Yesterday was a disappointing performance and one that has reminded us of our past failures. I'll take McGeeney at his word when he said there was a bug in the camp, which would go some way to explaining the lacklustre performance. But when you've seen it so often before, you do think that it's a mix of the management getting their tactics wrong and the players being mentally weak when it comes to getting over the line in big games.

Midfield is a concern. Mackin and Crealy have very good qualities that you need for the position. They cover lots of ground, have a bit of nastiness about them and never shy away from winning a dirty ball. But they don't rule the air like you want your midfield to do and they don't affect the game enough whether on the scoreboard or making telling contributions throughout the game. Niall Grimley is probably our best fielder, but hasn't played a minute of the league which just baffles me. McPartlan has been unreal for Clann na Gael and has had some promising moments for Armagh, but I'd slightly question his mobility and speed which is so crucial in that position.

Hopefully we'll see Ethan Raffery and James Morgan back in the squad for the Championship. I wouldn't be dropping Blaine Hughes as he's performed well in the league and Rafferty hasn't done anything to warrant getting his place back. Same for Morgan. But they would both be quality additions to have in the squad and bring on when necessary.

We are going to have to prepare correctly for Fermanagh because we know what way that game will go. They'll want to make it a dog fight and it won't be pretty. We'll have to be patient and make sure we take our chances. If we slowly chip away at the scoreboard, at some point the game will open up and we can start to attack with more freedom. We aren't going to win any plaudits from that game. On paper we should be beating them and if we do, people will say we should be beating a team at that level. If we struggle to beat them, people will criticise the team for getting the tactics wrong or underestimating Fermanagh. If the team go into that game, showing intent to attack and keep the scoreboard ticking over before hopefully pushing on, that's all they can do. A big two weeks ahead to get back on the road.
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Yeah good point- I’m probably just sticking the big names into my forward line there but definitely missing the Duffy/McElroy/Jemar type of half forward who’ll get up and down all day and maybe not do as much scoring but link a lot of play. (That’s why Geezer never hired me, feck).

Agree on midfield, we don’t have that Glass/Rogers/Fenton type of top midfielder who can do it all, run all day and get scores as well. Oisin O’Neill would have the ability but not sure if he has the legs for it, would have liked to see a lot more of him/Grimley/McPartlan in midfield during the league. Rian has all the attributes if he’s fit but then do we really want him so far away from goal.
 
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niall1980

Well-Known Member
GAAGael said:
Derry will win - I agree they won't walk away with it. All games in Ulster are fairly close. The difference in quality between the div 1 and 2 game was huge - Dublin were flying in the latter stages of the league and Derry fairly rattled them yesterday on their home turf.
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And may well come to regret that
 
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Peter grimes

Well-Known Member
I think it’s midfield and half forward area we need to look at. 13-15 seem settled and each of them can and do their bit around the middle.

I doubt anyone would name a team without Grugan in it. The other 4 positions are not nailed down. Strong contenders but not nailed down. Across those positions we need a blend of high fielding, the engine to get up and down, creativity and a scoring threat.

When I look at the Derry front 6 from last year and what has stayed the same, what has changed and what has improved.

Padraig Cassidy and Niall Toner were workhorse filler in last years team. Murray is a
Much better ball winner and scoring threat that Toner. McFaul’s passing is top drawer. Padraig Cassidy was just an engine. Offered nothing with the ball. These 2 players have improved Derry. Niall Louglin has improved significantly from last year. The fact that he and Murray can occupy a full back line allows McGuigan to roam out the field and offer even more that last year. He is a superb talent. Paul Cassidy had a massive club championship for Bellaghy over the previous 2 years. That didn’t quite translate into County form last year but it’s showing now. Doherty is just the same. Derry don’t have incredible depth. They won Championships with barely adequate depth. But that forced them to stick with some players and allowed them to develop. They also have incredible fitness. Playing week in week out takes little out of them because the fitness work has been done (largely during Gallagher’s regime).

We don’t have a Glass or a Rodgers but we do have depth. We need to get creativity and scoring threat in to our middle third. If they don’t have the legs then the depth can address this. Focus the subs and the rotations in that area. Soupy is a threat, both O’Neills are a threat. Duffy needs to contribute scores. Niall Grimley has scoring potential. I am not talking about loading midfield with scorers but I think we need to tweak the balance of the team towards an attacking threat.
 
M

Minerals

New Member
Armagh played in a mediocre Division 2 league and didn't know where they were at. After Sunday id firmly say they are a good but away from any silverware, it's just not in them
 
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OneofTwo

Member
I appreciate all has already been probably said but I still genuinely believe we haven't given the right range of player opportunities when required.

Midfield is clearly as issue for us yet we have Grimley (Tried and tested albeit a run of injuries etc) and Mc Partlan completely AWOL
GAAGael said:
View attachment 1551Not a fan of Wooly, but he perfectly caught my sentiments here……
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I agree. Shows you where we are at if we are agreeing with Wooly.
 
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