It'll be tighter than many on here thinkGood april fools.............
It'll be tighter than many on here thinkGood april fools.............
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.It'll be tighter than many on here think
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.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.
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).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.
And may well come to regret thatDerry 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.
Have you tried to get a pitch for training or challenge match the last while ?Also did anyone else find McGeeneys comment about pitches being unavailable bizarre?
Not really tbh. What pitch in the country is in good nick at the minute/has lights?Also did anyone else find McGeeneys comment about pitches being unavailable bizarre?
As if there wasn't enough stats people about the place.. I taught that was Denis Hollywood's job..Stats supposedly
Many counties have 2 if not 3 people working on stats/gpsAs if there wasn't enough stats people about the place.. I taught that was Denis Hollywood's job..
View attachment 1551Not a fan of Wooly, but he perfectly caught my sentiments here……