Donegal GAA Discussion Thread

Well, someone called Gerry Gallagher just replied to Eamon McGee on Twitter saying that it didn't happen.

Shouldn't happen regardless.

gooner99 wrote: »

Off the ball podcast....

http://offtheball.newstalk.com/player/podcasts/-/GAA_on_Off_The_Ball/199880/1/donegal_fall_flat_galway_march_on_mayo_on_the_up

I am not a great fan of Dev, but he wasn't too bad.

Went easy on Rory, granted, but I don't see any analyst/pundit/hack calling for his head anywhere. Will be interesting to see if Manus Boyle or Bonner says otherwise in his weekly column. Donal Reid will probably offer up some prayers for him. To be fair, it's rare enough to see folks other than supporters calling for managers to go in the GAA. The odd time on RTE etc but they tend to be the more controversial sorts.

Anyway, all this stuff about the league. Granted, I was only at a few games, so can only give fair comment on what I saw.

We were only ok against a shadow Dublin side on a heavy pitch. They played within themselves and we hit them with a few goals on the break. The chance was there for us to win the game and we didn't take it. Fact is, up until the first goal it was as bad a game as I had seen since Monaghan in Letterkenny.

We played well against Cavan. They were very poor from the kickout and we took advantage. Any win away from home is good for Donegal, fair enough.

We were up and down against Roscommon. Just when it looked like we were pulling away, they scored goals. Another away win, fair enough.

Mayo was very much a game of two halfs. Mayo were woeful in one and good in the other. We were ok in the first half but disappeared in the 2nd.

Can't comment too much on the Kerry, Monaghan or Tyrone performances. We beat Tyrone well but from what I saw on TV, this wasn't a game they put too much into.

So I would say that we were slightly better than expected but no more than that. I didn't buy into the hype, for me it was all about 18 June and that was a massive disappointment.

Fair enough, you want to be competitive in Division One, if only to build confidence among the younger players. But this is a team that had lost two Ulster Finals in a row and while there is transition, the fact is, we still had a fair degree of experience and talent outside of the newer players to mount more of a challenge.

I'm not normally a fan of McEniff as I find his stuff too lightwight, but I think he makes some good points here.

At least Dev calls out the nonsense of having 14 men in our own half and yet Galway were able to kick points without having any pressure applied.

But is it really as simple as being burnt out from the league? I really don't know. I thought the signs were there during the league that our defending altogether too passive.

Anyway, I won't give yer man the benefit of the doubt. Next year can only be worse if we lose to a team other than Tyrone or Monaghan in Ulster and then fail to make the Super 8s. Both feel like a possibility right now.

Ceist_Beag

I don't expect local media to call for Rorys head as it tends not to be the done thing. Bonner certainly won't do so as he is surely hoping to have another crack at it soon. The line about young lads is certainly one Rory will use as a defence but there are a number of questions that I would love to see put to him (but I know won't be).
For example, why, last year in two different matches, did you see fit to bring off a sub you had yourself introduced not that long before. Do you think that is a fair way to treat a player.
Why, in the last three matches have you dragged off Frank McGlynn, one of our leaders and most experienced players, very early in each match (half time against Longford)? Do you think he is not fit or is there more to it? Also why do you make him wear 11 - do you think he is a centre forward?
Why do you continue to pick players who have not done enough in any match to warrant a start? This is nothing personal against Eoin McHugh or Hugh McFadden but what have they done to warrant starts in the championship? Why have others who showed form (such as McElhinney) not started?
Will you continue to play Murphy in midfield next year? Do you think this is his best position for Donegal?
Would you accept that the poor discipline shown in the second half against Galway is a reflection of the frustration the players feel? Why do you think they are so frustrated?
Why has our tackling deteriorated so much from 2014? We have more players behind the ball now than we did then and yet teams are just walking through our defence. Why is that? Do you think it is exclusively down to strength and conditioning?

I'm sure others can think of more. In terms of your point about losing to a team other than Tyrone or Monaghan in Ulster and then fail to make the Super 8s RSF, I think these are more than a possibility right now. I think they are likely scenarios. We're not top 8 this year and have gradually declined since 2014. I see us losing Karl this year (no big loss on the field admittedly) and unless something is done I fear we will lose Frank and McElhinney as well. That would leave us with just the following players from 2014 (I'm not including Odhran as there is no guarantee he will come back).
Paddy McGrath, Neil McGee, Ryan & Mark, Paddy, Murphy.

When you look at that you would have to accept that we have a very new team that will take time to build. However the above questions, combined with the fact that I don't see Rory ever sending out a team with passion and hunger, lads who are ready to fight for each other, mean that putting our faith in Rory being the man to lead the rebuilding looks misjudged and we should look to address that.

I don't see us improving as a team next year as things stand so I would say we are outsiders for a top 8 next year and could well be behind Down and Armagh in the odds for Ulster when the draw is made.

Glad that accusation turned out to be untrue. Why the hell would someone spread something like that about their own fans?? Also McEniff should really have checked that out with Gerry Gallagher before going to print with it.

ArnoldJRimmer

Jayop wrote: »

Glad that accusation turned out to be untrue. Why the hell would someone spread something like that about their own fans?? Also McEniff should really have checked that out with Gerry Gallagher before going to print with it.

Unfortunately thats the way of the world these days, so many attention seekers out there who are happy to spout complete sh!te for a re-tweet or two.

Either McEniff or the Democrat should have verified before it was printed, the county's supporters are depressed enough as it is this week

ArnoldJRimmer wrote: »

Unfortunately thats the way of the world these days, so many attention seekers out there who are happy to spout complete sh!te for a re-tweet or two.

Either McEniff or the Democrat should have verified before it was printed, the county's supporters are depressed enough as it is this week

McEniff's articles are ghost written, by a proper journalist I would assume and they should have known to verify something like that. Of course it was going to get a lot of attention, but then I suppose getting a lot of attention means a lot of clicks and that's maybe all that matters.

The fact it's owned by a proper local newspaper group as opposed to the likes of the Independent would have had me thinking they would be better than that.

Nidgeweasel

Jayop wrote: »

The fact it's owned by a proper local newspaper group as opposed to the likes of the Independent would have had me thinking they would be better than that.

They are shíte.

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

They are shíte.

Honestly, I haven't looked at a copy of the Democrat in God know's how many years. I would have had more faith in them knowing they're not clickbeait BS like the Indo or any of it's regional titles like the Champion in Sligo or the Bel Tel.

ghostfacekilla

http://gaeliclife.com/2017/07/gallagher-backed-donegal-county-board/

Not surprising

Nidgeweasel

No surprise to see Cassidy backing Gallagher.

Ironic given that McGuinness "cost Donegal a couple of All Ireland's" Rory is the man though.

Wasting our time with this clown.

Nidgeweasel

Spillane laying the blame at McGuiness' feet

He's not very bright.

squareball1988

Nidgeweasel wrote:

Spillane laying the blame at McGuiness' feet

FFS. Stopped reading the Wurddled years ago. Spillane's an eejit.

Not Jim's fault we lost two Ulster U21 and two Senior Finals from 2013-2016.

downthemiddle

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

Spillane laying the blame at McGuiness' feet

He's not very bright.

You can see where he's coming from. After all Jim gave Rory a start.

Before getting rid of the spoofer.

Anyone else feel that the whole 'online abuse' issue is a smokescreen to allow the County Board to distract from the real issue?

http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/news/democrat-sport-live/262563/facebook-remove-posts-after-complaints-from-donegal-gaa-about-abusive-remarks.html#.WX4yiiRYfGg.twitter

Going back to talk of next year, while I would like to see Declan Walsh involved again, I have a feeling he is more focused on his career than committing to inter-county football.

It's not enough just to be taking the best underage players and dropping them into the Senior team. Sure, McGuinness took from his U21 team, but he also got guys like Eamon McGee, Ryan Bradley and David Walsh to commit again, and in the case of Bradley and Walsh, in completely different roles than we had seen them in previously.

I think John Haran and Declan Bonner had decent pieces this week.

[Deleted User]

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Anyone else feel that the whole 'online abuse' issue is a smokescreen to allow the County Board to distract from the real issue?

http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/news/democrat-sport-live/262563/facebook-remove-posts-after-complaints-from-donegal-gaa-about-abusive-remarks.html#.WX4yiiRYfGg.twitter

Going back to talk of next year, while I would like to see Declan Walsh involved again, I have a feeling he is more focused on his career than committing to inter-county football.

It's not enough just to be taking the best underage players and dropping them into the Senior team. Sure, McGuinness took from his U21 team, but he also got guys like Eamon McGee, Ryan Bradley and David Walsh to commit again, and in the case of Bradley and Walsh, in completely different roles than we had seen them in previously.

I think John Haran and Declan Bonner had decent pieces this week.

I haven't seen any facebook posts (possibly because I'm one of those increasingly rare creatures who don't have a facebook account!) - but I'd actually be concerned that the County Board is actually monitoring accounts, and having accounts blocked or suspended.

Fair enough, sometimes comments on social media can be OTT, but those comments from the County Board smack of censorship.

Fair enough if they want to complain about individual posts, but this business of "investigating" to find out if accounts belong to members is assuming a right to police members speech that I don't believe the GAA have any right to.

Am I the only person to find this disturbing?

charlie14

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Anyone else feel that the whole 'online abuse' issue is a smokescreen to allow the County Board to distract from the real issue?

http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/news/democrat-sport-live/262563/facebook-remove-posts-after-complaints-from-donegal-gaa-about-abusive-remarks.html#.WX4yiiRYfGg.twitter

Donegal GAA would be better served if they put their energies into monitoring what those spoofers Gallagher and Curran are doing in training and team selection rather than social media.

downthemiddle wrote: »

You can see where he's coming from. After all Jim gave Rory a start.

Before getting rid of the spoofer.

Was rory obviously being useless the reason behind Jim getting rid of him?

ghostfacekilla wrote: »

http://gaeliclife.com/2017/07/gallagher-backed-donegal-county-board/

Not surprising

This was sickening to read.

So....

Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

BonnieSituation

Just heard it there on OTB!

Even as a Dub I'm delighted... Now who is up?

So happy!

Brego888

Who'll be favourite, Declan Bonner?

I'm sure a few of you might crack open a tin tonight so cheers!

The Assistinator

Brego888 wrote: »

Who'll be favourite, Declan Bonner?

Natural progression would probably leave Declan but I have my doubts about that maybe time for an outsider again probably what is needed.
Glad Rory done the right thing tried and failed but at least that's the end of it now.

Brego888

The Assistinator wrote: »

Natural progression would probably leave Declan but I have my doubts about that maybe time for an outsider again probably what is needed.
Glad Rory done the right thing tried and failed but at least that's the end of it now.

James Horan was very strongly linked with the bookies when McGuinness left.

Stoner

Brego888 wrote:

James Horan was very strongly linked with the bookies when McGuinness left.

He's waiting for Mayo again I'd say

http://www.donegalsporthub.com/rory-gallagher-meet-county-board-officials-ahead-address-clubs-next-month/

Sounds like the players had their say!