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Donegal GAA Discussion Thread

harpsman

Thought I d throw this up see if theres any interest.
Opinions on new backroom team,reasons for departure of old one, McGuinness claim that his players had 9 games in 11 weeks during championship season, possible new players or anything else!!

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K-9

harpsman wrote: »

Yeah. Thats the one. Fermanagh crowd were going mental but as u say it was legal.
How u all feelin bout this season. Personally im happy enough to be in div 2. Id prefer to be winning games than losing most in div1 and i think the standard is ok. Hopefully win the division and set us up for tricky trip to celtic park

Being optimistic it might suit us, still good competition, for me barring the top 4/5 teams there isn't a hell of a lot between the next 10 or so, though obviously we will miss out playing those top teams and the difference in quality and intensity they offer, even in league games. Division 1 was a very high standard last year.

For us it's a matter of getting all the lads fit and hopefully adding 1 or 2 to the panel, if we get promoted that's a bonus.

Nidgeweasel

harpsman wrote: »

Remember thompson i think against fermanagh and cork in 06 and was very nippy and dangerous. I was talkin to somebody who saw him in club champ last year and said he was brilliant. He did tap over a goal chance against cork that probably woulda won it for us. Remember bonner hittin one of the fermanagh lads a shoulder that nearly killed him. Pity hes such a tosser.
As for colin kelly he opted out in mcivers time cos he likes to go out every weekend. Guess its his own life

overshoot wrote: »

was that just after bonner had been (fairly) shouldered off the pitch himself? he came back in from the sideline, gave at least twice what he got and to make it worse, the player had never seen it coming? it was also legal but could be a completely different event, thats just the most brutal one i can remember from around that time!

harpsman wrote: »

Yeah. Thats the one. Fermanagh crowd were going mental but as u say it was legal.
How u all feelin bout this season. Personally im happy enough to be in div 2. Id prefer to be winning games than losing most in div1 and i think the standard is ok. Hopefully win the division and set us up for tricky trip to celtic park

Aye that was the one, beat them by 3.

Mark Little was the guy he clattered. If ever a buck deserved a shoulder! And there wasn't a thing wrong with that challenge, fermanagh made a meal of it and Bonner got booked after the subsequent mele after the ref had been pressurised.

Was Mulgrew managing them then?

K-9

Us long suffering Liverpool fans will get the reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHovYPNveU0

RMDrive

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

Aye that was the one, beat them by 3.

Mark Little was the guy he clattered. If ever a buck deserved a shoulder! And there wasn't a thing wrong with that challenge, fermanagh made a meal of it and Bonner got booked after the subsequent mele after the ref had been pressurised.

Was Mulgrew managing them then?

There was a poisonous atmosphere that day. The crowd had been segregated through the ticked allocations and the incident with Little happened right in front of the Fermanagh section of the stand. There were several bottles thrown onto the field by them.

IIRC Bonner had been unceremoniously sent over the sideline and had to wait for the linesman to let him back on, which he did. Little was completely unaware that Bonner had been let onto the field behind him and was unprepared for the shoulder. In fairness it was a terrible knock that he got - the neck takes all the impact when you are not braced for the shoulder. IMO that's the kind of incident that carries the most risk of serious injury - when a player is completely open and unable to protect himself. Not saying Bonner did anything wrong mind, but I was very glad that little came out of it ok.

harpsman

RMDrive wrote: »

There was a poisonous atmosphere that day. The crowd had been segregated through the ticked allocations and the incident with Little happened right in front of the Fermanagh section of the stand. There were several bottles thrown onto the field by them.

IIRC Bonner had been unceremoniously sent over the sideline and had to wait for the linesman to let him back on, which he did. Little was completely unaware that Bonner had been let onto the field behind him and was unprepared for the shoulder. In fairness it was a terrible knock that he got - the neck takes all the impact when you are not braced for the shoulder. IMO that's the kind of incident that carries the most risk of serious injury - when a player is completely open and unable to protect himself. Not saying Bonner did anything wrong mind, but I was very glad that little came out of it ok.

Agreed.Bit like the McHugh incident in Ulster final-there was no intelligent debate about the challenge,just "ah sure he was going for the ball". Again Im not sayin there was anything illegal about the challenge cos i have never seen a proper replay but I dont think "going for the ball" is good enough if its dangerous

keane2097

harpsman wrote: »

Agreed.Bit like the McHugh incident in Ulster final-there was no intelligent debate about the challenge,just "ah sure he was going for the ball". Again Im not sayin there was anything illegal about the challenge cos i have never seen a proper replay but I dont think "going for the ball" is good enough if its dangerous

The fact that of the two only McHugh did anything like "going for the ball" also seemed to pass most people by on that incident.

The Assistinator

RMDrive wrote: »

There was a poisonous atmosphere that day. The crowd had been segregated through the ticked allocations and the incident with Little happened right in front of the Fermanagh section of the stand. There were several bottles thrown onto the field by them.

IIRC Bonner had been unceremoniously sent over the sideline and had to wait for the linesman to let him back on, which he did. Little was completely unaware that Bonner had been let onto the field behind him and was unprepared for the shoulder. In fairness it was a terrible knock that he got - the neck takes all the impact when you are not braced for the shoulder. IMO that's the kind of incident that carries the most risk of serious injury - when a player is completely open and unable to protect himself. Not saying Bonner did anything wrong mind, but I was very glad that little came out of it ok.

spare a thought for poor michael doherty that day, didnt he loose most of his teeth that day

Nidgeweasel

RMDrive wrote: »

There was a poisonous atmosphere that day. The crowd had been segregated through the ticked allocations and the incident with Little happened right in front of the Fermanagh section of the stand. There were several bottles thrown onto the field by them.

IIRC Bonner had been unceremoniously sent over the sideline and had to wait for the linesman to let him back on, which he did. Little was completely unaware that Bonner had been let onto the field behind him and was unprepared for the shoulder. In fairness it was a terrible knock that he got - the neck takes all the impact when you are not braced for the shoulder. IMO that's the kind of incident that carries the most risk of serious injury - when a player is completely open and unable to protect himself. Not saying Bonner did anything wrong mind, but I was very glad that little came out of it ok.

Trust me when I say Mark Little was fine and could have played on. Fermanagh made a meal of it looking to get bonner sent off.

Poisonous is right but there's no love lost between us two especially from the early noughties. Can't remember a Donegal game with that level of segregation before or since. I enjoyed it to be fair.

From what I remember, barrybowens was superb that day for them.

harpsman

martyo wrote: »

spare a thought for poor michael doherty that day, didnt he loose most of his teeth that day

Nah-that was earlier against Derry.Scored a great goal that day.Also Paddy Campbell ended up with a retrospective ban cos Sunday Game highlighted his vinnie jones on Muldoon

Nidgeweasel

harpsman wrote: »

Nah-that was earlier against Derry.Scored a great goal that day.Also Paddy Campbell ended up with a retrospective ban cos Sunday Game highlighted his vinnie jones on Muldoon

I'd forgotten about that. They peppered us with highballs that day. I was in the corner of the stand with an incredibly bad hangover. Oh to be young!

MfMan

Anyone confirm the details about the Galway/Donegal league clash on the second week in Feb.? GAA site says it's on 8pm Sunday night - shurely shome mishtake?

Redsoxfan

MfMan wrote: »

Anyone confirm the details about the Galway/Donegal league clash on the second week in Feb.? GAA site says it's on 8pm Sunday night - shurely shome mishtake?

2pm in Salthill, Sunday 9th February.

overshoot

Teams out (poached from the donegal fb page)
1.Paul Durcan
2.Karl Lacey
3.Neil McGee
4.Ryan McHugh
5.Frank McGlynn
6.Leo McLoone
7.Anthony Thompson
8.Rory Kavanagh
9.Martin McElhinney
10.Mark McHugh
11.Dermot Molloy
12.Odhrán Mac Niallais
13.Colm McFadden
14.Michael Murphy ©
15.Darrach O’Connor
been a while since Lacey was at Full back for donegal! a few interesting selections

Nidgeweasel

overshoot wrote: »

Teams out (poached from the donegal fb page)
1.Paul Durcan
2.Karl Lacey
3.Neil McGee
4.Ryan McHugh
5.Frank McGlynn
6.Leo McLoone
7.Anthony Thompson
8.Rory Kavanagh
9.Martin McElhinney
10.Mark McHugh
11.Dermot Molloy
12.Odhrán Mac Niallais
13.Colm McFadden
14.Michael Murphy ©
15.Darrach O’Connor
been a while since Lacey was at Full back for donegal! a few interesting selections

When did Murphy become a copyrite!

Tell you what, not a big fan of Leo in at Centre Half. Interesting though as you said.

Lacey in at corner back there'll be some sleepless nights around! He was exceptional there before he moved out the field. What a player, one of the best in the country.

Redsoxfan

Assuming the team (and subs) are as named (stranger things have happened I guess....), keep in mind the following when looking at the selection:

- Neil Gallagher and David Walsh aren't fully fit
- Paddy McGrath is still working his way back from surgery
- Eamon McGee is suspended for the first two league games

So, Lacey at corner back may just be a case of necessity. Leo was played at centre back in all three McKenna Cup games. Now, a lot of talk suggests that is his best position, but from what I've heard and seen, he's not a good enough defender in that position.

If, as selections so far suggest, Leo stays at 6, it will be interesting to see what they do with Lacey. Based on everything we've seen over the years, it's highly likely that he will slot in at corner back, with Eamon McGee losing out.

But, and this is only my own view, would it make sense for Lacey to slot into the Mark McHugh role as a sweeper/playmaker and McHugh to play as a more conventional half forward? I've always felt that Lacey was wasted at corner back as he is our best footballer.

Anyway, until Paddy McGrath is fit and Eamon McGee returns from suspension, we'll continue to guess. Leo could yet end up at half forward or on the bench.

i'm happy to see MacNiallais and Jigger get a run. Maybe they won't be up to it, but now is the time to find out.

keane2097

Karl Lacey at corner back for the year would be a travesty. As big a waste as Kerry playing Marc O Se in the full back line all these years, maybe worse even considering there are decent players who could take Lacey's place back there in Eamonn McGee and Paddy McGrath.

McHugh and Lacey to both play at wing forward could be a goer though.

Redsoxfan

Reported last night that Jigger is a big doubt for today's game, which is a real pity.

Heading to Portlaoise now soon - come on Donegal we can win this too!

Nidgeweasel

Christy seems to be flying

Great to have him back.

Nidgeweasel

1-6 to 0-5 at Halftime to Donegal.

Highland have said Toye's been involved in every Donegal score. Have the wind second half, see what we do here. Seem to have been running it alot first half into the wind.

RMDrive

Good win for Donegal and great to have Christy back in action. Sounded like he had a stormer. Great also to have Hugh McFadden, McNialis and McElhinney do well too.
Laois very poor though. They'll do well to avoid relegation.

downthemiddle

RMDrive wrote: »

Good win for Donegal and great to have Christy back in action. Sounded like he had a stormer. Great also to have Hugh McFadden, McNialis and McElhinney do well too.
Laois very poor though. They'll do well to avoid relegation.

Just home from the game. Christy had his best match in years, great to see him back.
The hunger was back today and the team looked in very good shape for this time of year. Defensively we were excellent. We got forward in numbers and the transition from defence to attack was very impressive. We carved Laois open on numerous occasions and could have scored more goals. Colm Anthony's finish was worth the admission price alone.
We are still struggling to win primary ball around the middle but we were very good under the breaking ball today.
All this has to be tempered with how poor Laois were.

LilNiall

Great win today-time will tell if we are better than last year or Laois are bad but we scored well & coulda got alot more. Looking forward to Galway next week.

Saying that, Derry looked decent last night & away against them is looking a real test.

Nidgeweasel

LilNiall wrote: »

Saying that, Derry looked decent last night & away against them is looking a real test.

I was always going to be.

Might not be a bad thing.

LilNiall

Only be a good thing if we come through it. A good confident league run would set us up well hopefully.

Redsoxfan

downthemiddle wrote: »

Just home from the game. Christy had his best match in years, great to see him back.
The hunger was back today and the team looked in very good shape for this time of year. Defensively we were excellent. We got forward in numbers and the transition from defence to attack was very impressive. We carved Laois open on numerous occasions and could have scored more goals. Colm Anthony's finish was worth the admission price alone.
We are still struggling to win primary ball around the middle but we were very good under the breaking ball today.
All this has to be tempered with how poor Laois were.

Pretty much sums up my own thoughts.

While it was disappointing not to get a look at Jigger at this level, it was great to see Christy Toye back in the starting line up. And what a performance - involved in so much of what was good. Looked very frustrated at having to come off - I can imagine - some thought he'd never play for Donegal again. We're essentially getting a new player considering he wasn't involved at all last year. And make no mistake about it, half forward is a position of need.

Agree that we were poor at fielding around the middle - isn't this always the case when Big Neil is missing? McElhinney at least got through a lot of work and took his two scores well.

Speaking of midfield, it was interesting that Hugh McFadden got the call to come in ahead of Matthew Smyth, but maybe I'm reading too much into that - McFadden didn't get any game time in the McKenna Cup. I thought he played well - took scores very well, broke some ball. Don't think he's mobile enough for midfield, but he sure is talented.

MacNiallais did quite well - got the opening goal obvsiously, but will be annoyed he didn't double his tally in the second half. Still, he didn't seem to let it affect him kicking a point afterwards. Again, good to see options at half forward.

In all honesty, we could have had three or four goals. McFadden's finish was class, not quite Murphy v Queens, but impressive. I guess you credit McLoone for chipping the ball to him, but I would be critical that he very nearly lost it - he ran into trouble more than once. Not tested defensively.

I thought Anthony Thompson had a fine game, very unselfish for the MacNiallais goal.

Brick at 11? I dunno. Not for me. Right now, I'd have M McHugh, Christy and MacNiallais as our half forward line and I'd have Walsh ahead of Brick in the subs.

Refwatch - thought the ref bottled an obvious black card at the end of the first half when he showed yellow to the Laois midfielder. Frustrated both sets of supporters during the first half.

Looking at the scoreline from Navan and hearing that Meath could have had more goals, I'm pretty confident going to Salthill next weekend. Laois were pretty awful, but we seem focused and fit, which is great to see.

tl;dr? Donegal good, Laois bad.

RMDrive

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Speaking of midfield, it was interesting that Hugh McFadden got the call to come in ahead of Matthew Smyth, but maybe I'm reading too much into that - McFadden didn't get any game time in the McKenna Cup. I thought he played well - took scores very well, broke some ball. Don't think he's mobile enough for midfield, but he sure is talented.

Jim said on Highland after the game that McFadden only put himself into the reckoning in recent weeks - probably explains why we didn't see him in the McKenna.

Redsoxfan

RMDrive wrote: »

Jim said on Highland after the game that McFadden only put himself into the reckoning in recent weeks - probably explains why we didn't see him in the McKenna.

I'm pretty sure he was said to be injured, either way, good to see him get his minutes and scores today.

harpsman

Whos Jigger?

Great news bout Christy-hope he stays fit.
Havent seen McNialis yet-sounds a decent player.
An encouraging start,and hopefully we can develop a panel of at least 20 players who are up to high level intercounty standard-last year we had 1 or 2 players who were not good enough,a few injured,and and a few dreadfully out of form which left us in alot of trouble.
I think with everyone fit and hopefully playin well and the addition of Christy, McNiallis and maybe 2 others we are capable of promotion and reclaiming Ulster-agree that Derry away a big hurdle though.

Redsoxfan

harpsman wrote: »

Whos Jigger?

Darach O'Connor

harpsman

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Darach O'Connor

Ahh.Dont know much about him-feel free to fill me in.

PS was Brick Molloy playin?-hes never really fulfilled his potential.
TBH any time I see him he looks unfit and lacking in mobility.