Senior championship 2022 & 2023

[armaghlad]

No one wants the group stages back at championship and I hazard a guess no one wants relegation through championship.

The current setup makes it more “achievable” for clubs to rise up through the divisions. That’s the appeal for me - think clubs like Annaghmore, Forkhill, even Cruppen this year getting a stint at senior football. Annaghmore in the space of a couple of years went from Junior to Senior and stayed a good 7/8 years.

The SFC is as open as it has been for years and the IFC is a minefield. Change for the sake of change won’t necessarily improve standards.

 

[Armaghball]

No one wants the group stages back at championship and I hazard a guess no one wants relegation through championship.

The current setup makes it more “achievable” for clubs to rise up through the divisions. That’s the appeal for me - think clubs like Annaghmore, Forkhill, even Cruppen this year getting a stint at senior football. Annaghmore in the space of a couple of years went from Junior to Senior and stayed a good 7/8 years.

The SFC is as open as it has been for years and the IFC is a minefield. Change for the sake of change won’t necessarily improve standards.

Yeah I agree.

The only drawback of our current system is the competitiveness of our junior and intermediate winners in ulster where we’ve barely won a game in years. Realistically a lot of the teams in 1B are probably closer to a lot of the better intermediate teams than the better senior oned, likewise a lot of the 2B teams are closer to junior standard than the top of intermediate.

Having said all that I wouldn’t be tinkering with our systems whatsoever as I feel as though there is as close to perfect set up as we are going to get

 

[JoeH]

We have to remember that counties are to reduce their senior and intermediate teams to 16 from next year onwards.
Ultimately Armaghs system works and given the short window in which to play games it's the only system that works

 

[bcb1]

Yeah I agree.

The only drawback of our current system is the competitiveness of our junior and intermediate winners in ulster where we’ve barely won a game in years. Realistically a lot of the teams in 1B are probably closer to a lot of the better intermediate teams than the better senior oned, likewise a lot of the 2B teams are closer to junior standard than the top of intermediate.

Having said all that I wouldn’t be tinkering with our systems whatsoever as I feel as though there is as close to perfect set up as we are going to get

We have never been consistently competitive at Ulster at any level, senior, intermediate or junior apart from ourselves obviously and historically Clan na Gael. I have coached in a number of counties and Armagh are a at a lower level than Derry, Donegal, Tyrone and Monaghan and probably on a or with Down.

 

[armaghlad]

We have never been consistently competitive at Ulster at any level, senior, intermediate or junior apart from ourselves obviously and historically Clan na Gael. I have coached in a number of counties and Armagh are a at a lower level than Derry, Donegal, Tyrone and Monaghan and probably on a or with Down.

Derry are an anomaly as they almost always seem to have a top elite club side on the go… Glen look to be taking up that mantle, it was Slaughtneil before them, Ballinderry before them, Bellaghy, Lavey etc. They also have less clubs than Armagh, as do Donegal and Monaghan. If Armagh had less clubs, maybe we’d be competing more. We seem to have a surplus of clubs that are lower Intermediate/Junior standard, compared to say a county like Tyrone who seem to have a surplus of teams that are lower Senior/higher Intermediate standard.

At senior level I don’t think Armagh is a million miles off what is in the other counties, what we lack is a top club or two that really set the standard for others to try and match, a bit like Tyrone who I feel haven’t any real standout clubs.

 

[bcb1]

Would agree with @armaghlad about the surplus of clubs. From a sustainability point of view I reckon 36 clubs split evenly is enough with a proper reserve competition. Have said this for many years. Who do you get rid of though? An amalgamation for instance of O Hanlons and Lissummon makes sense but would the clubs agree? Newtown and Whitecross? Keady and Derrynoose? Where to start and where to stop…..

 

[Joe]

Would agree with @armaghlad about the surplus of clubs. From a sustainability point of view I reckon 36 clubs split evenly is enough with a proper reserve competition. Have said this for many years. Who do you get rid of though? An amalgamation for instance of O Hanlons and Lissummon makes sense but would the clubs agree? Newtown and Whitecross? Keady and Derrynoose? Where to start and where to stop…..

Peters and clann eireann

 

[PatMustard]

Derry are an anomaly as they almost always seem to have a top elite club side on the go… Glen look to be taking up that mantle, it was Slaughtneil before them, Ballinderry before them, Bellaghy, Lavey etc. They also have less clubs than Armagh, as do Donegal and Monaghan. If Armagh had less clubs, maybe we’d be competing more. We seem to have a surplus of clubs that are lower Intermediate/Junior standard, compared to say a county like Tyrone who seem to have a surplus of teams that are lower Senior/higher Intermediate standard.

At senior level I don’t think Armagh is a million miles off what is in the other counties, what we lack is a top club or two that really set the standard for others to try and match, a bit like Tyrone who I feel haven’t any real standout clubs.

When Cross were winning countless county, provincial and All Ireland titles , people complained that it wasn’t good for Armagh football.

Now that we’ve had 4 different winners of the senior championship in the last 6 years, and the playing field seems to be levelling, you want to see a club dominating again?

No disrespect to Cross. They have been a phenomenally successful club side, but nobody was able to live with them for a long time, and that wasn’t good for Armagh club football either.

 

[jpowell100]

When Cross were winning countless county, provincial and All Ireland titles , people complained that it wasn’t good for Armagh football.

Now that we’ve had 4 different winners of the senior championship in the last 6 years, and the playing field seems to be levelling, you want to see a club dominating again?

No disrespect to Cross. They have been a phenomenally successful club side, but nobody was able to live with them for a long time, and that wasn’t good for Armagh club football either.

With all due respect to Cross, I think it’s levelled off because they aren’t maybe quite as strong as they were at one time, not necessarily because others have improved a huge amount.

 

[armaghlad]

When Cross were winning countless county, provincial and All Ireland titles , people complained that it wasn’t good for Armagh football.

Now that we’ve had 4 different winners of the senior championship in the last 6 years, and the playing field seems to be levelling, you want to see a club dominating again?

No disrespect to Cross. They have been a phenomenally successful club side, but nobody was able to live with them for a long time, and that wasn’t good for Armagh club football either.

Think Eunans/Naomh Conaill, Kilcoo/Burren, Cargin/Creggan, Glen/Slaughtneil, Cushendall/Dunloy… if you’ve 2 or even better 3 clubs that set the bar at a certain level others will strive to reach that. Cross were phenomenal when they dominated but they’re not at that level anymore.

 

[PatMustard]

With all due respect to Cross, I think it’s levelled off because they aren’t maybe quite as strong as they were at one time, not necessarily because others have improved a huge amount.

Maybe so, but winning championships brings confidence. We had that air of confidence even moreso after our AI win in 2002.

Maghery had it after they made their breakthrough, as have the Clann Eireann lads I noticed this year while with the county side.

PS. Be careful what you say about Cross. Remember Benny Tierney created a monster back in 1995! (Ask your Da’s)

 

[PatMustard]

Think Eunans/Naomh Conaill, Kilcoo/Burren, Cargin/Creggan, Glen/Slaughtneil, Cushendall/Dunloy… if you’ve 2 or even better 3 clubs that set the bar at a certain level others will strive to reach that. Cross were phenomenal when they dominated but they’re not at that level anymore.

Yes, and think Tyrone. 10 or 11 teams capable of winning their senior championship. Yes, they have struggled in the Ulster club, but they do alright on the county front (unfortunately).

I personally think if we had 10 or 11 teams seriously capable of winning senior, it would be a great for club and county football.

 

[jpowell100]

Maybe so, but winning championships brings confidence. We had that air of confidence even moreso after our AI win in 2002.

Maghery had it after they made their breakthrough, as have the Clann Eireann lads I noticed this year while with the county side.

PS. Be careful what you say about Cross. Remember Benny Tierney created a monster back in 1995! (Ask your Da’s)

Yeah I know what you mean. Maghery in particular seem to have that confidence that they can actually beat Cross, unlike a lot of teams over the last 25 years or so. I hope Cross get back to winning ulsters and all Irelands very soon because that can only help us as a county

 

[bcb1]

The difference 20-25 years ago when we were dominating Armagh and also winning Ulsters and All Irelands is that we were being pushed to our very best in Armagh. Dromintee, Clans, Mullaghbawn, Pearse Ogs, Harps, all were pushing us very hard. We had to be at our peak in Armagh from 1996 onwards. As a consequence it had a massive impact on the county team as the quality in clubs reflected onto the county team. Our run then in the early 2010’s didn’t have the same challenges in Armagh that we had, and this was reflective on the county team. The position now should be beneficial to the county but I’d agree that a good run at Ulster by ourselves or whoever wins it this year will hopefully raise the bar within the county again

 

[KilleavyGael]

Nobody is saying that Down football is of as good a standard as Tyrone for example, despite them having the current AI champions. I was in Newry last week for the Kilcoo - Mayobridge game and it was terrible.

Have also been to more or less every SFC game in Armagh this year and I can tell you the standard and competitiveness is far better with us.

A good and competitive county championship where 4+ teams have a good chance of winning is a brilliant advertisement for any county. Provincial success tends to come when a team (think Cross once upon a time, Slaughtneil recently and Kilcoo now) has stamed their dominance on a county and can almost plan from January for a provincial tilt. So having a load of Ulster / AI titles is no real reflection on a county at the end of the day

 

[armaghlad]

Yes, and think Tyrone. 10 or 11 teams capable of winning their senior championship. Yes, they have struggled in the Ulster club, but they do alright on the county front (unfortunately).

I personally think if we had 10 or 11 teams seriously capable of winning senior, it would be a great for club and county football.

Tyrone football is good but it’s nothing special. Their clubs make zero impact at provincial level, they’ve literally done nothing in 20 years. I also don’t think their county success is a direct result of their club infrastructure and more to do with their underage coaching, schools football and general culture within the county.

 

[huggy2002]

anybody know whats going on with Armagh TV, paid for the game earlier and their is a cpountdown timer saying 23 hours more until the game starts, not sure what is going on, anybody else having issues

 

[Mootz]

£10 to watch the game on ArmaghTV is a complete robbery.

 

[ragingbull]

Nothing wrong on myself

 

[ragingbull]