National Forum

Donegal GAA thread

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post


Replying To The_Fridge:  "Who's the Tyrone managers out of interest? Genuine question"
Our manager is Martin Regan, born and rared in Glenties. He has been our manager while we won three Dr Maguire's in the past four years. Jealousy is a terrible thing......

Scenicparish (Donegal) - Posts: 470 - 24/06/2023 22:42:20    2488965

Link

It could have been a lot worse. What's worrying is all the players due back next year , none of them you would say are top defenders. Not unless we can mould players into man markers and work on our defence shape overall, we're in bother. We don't have players coming through, time to mould lads into man markers at this stage. The winning of the game was the seven points from play that Donnelly and Darragh Canavan hit. Gallan fought well for us and fair play to Paddy too, only back and played the 70 well.

TheRock2121 (Donegal) - Posts: 1208 - 24/06/2023 22:42:43    2488966

Link

Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "I see Rory is straight on the computer as soon as the game finished on the telly, our no1 fan lol. never misses a match,home or away,
poor enough effort this evening, carrying the ball into a Tyrone brick wall,and getting turned over, Patton had a nightmare of a game, lucky Tyrone kicked so many wides, no more fortress Ballybofey anyway."
I don't need to be on a computer lad to post on this forum.

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2607 - 24/06/2023 23:09:49    2488968

Link

Replying To rorysboys:  "Wrong again they didn't look too properly coached to me. We're going nowhere till we get a defence , that's no 1 priority. We need physical man marking defenders like Hampey and Mc namee."
Bar for analysis set lower and lower.

SurelyToGod (Donegal) - Posts: 452 - 25/06/2023 01:09:27    2488980

Link

Hopefully the right thing happens now and we get a top class management ticket in place and early, get players back on board and build for next season. Genuine thanks to O Rourke and Bradley for steadying the ship and helping mould the makings of a new team but we need a stronger number for me. Problem is I have no trust that this will happen as the same board is still in place. And therein lies our continuing issue. The same people making the same poor calls and Donegal football suffering as a result. It's extremely frustrating because out of the ashes of 2023, everyone can see an emerging team. Well done to the lads for restoring credibility but we want more than that and so do they. What happens next is very important.

Donegal_abroad (Donegal) - Posts: 1403 - 25/06/2023 08:13:48    2488993

Link

Replying To rorysboys:  "Wrong again they didn't look too properly coached to me. We're going nowhere till we get a defence , that's no 1 priority. We need physical man marking defenders like Hampey and Mc namee."
On here having a go at mgt for doing their best. Slating their coaching. Let's not forget we got tanked v armagh last year not so long ago with all the boys that are missing. There was no criticism of the coaching after that game despite that mgt team having nearly 5 years to improve players. You defended that mgt team to the bitter end.

I think this mgt have done great job way everything going on in boardroom and bringing in half a new team virtually. Only had a few months to work way players. Give the men credit roryboy instead of always being negative and slating them. Keyboard warrior stuff.

marty234 (Donegal) - Posts: 158 - 25/06/2023 08:44:47    2488998

Link

So that's that. Despite my pre-match optimism it quickly became clear that we were up against it. Patton's early mistake compounded matters, and it really was a case of trying to keep things respectable if we're being honest.

I thought Caolan McColgan was very good. He did his best taking the game to Tyrone. Gallen showed glimpses of his quality and it was good to see Paddy back, although he was clearly not up to full speed.

I thought Meyler was superb for Tyrone. He must be one of the fittest players in the country. He's a brilliant link player. Darragh Canavan was very good also, a player who is extremely difficult to pin down. Every time he got on the ball you sensed the crowd sitting up anticipating that he was going to make something happen.

Looks like O'Rourke and Bradley are gone. I hope the wheels are already in motion in terms of drawing up a list on candidates. While some people are calling for a new management team to be in place ASAP, I think it's more important getting the right management team in. How that will work I do not know given that the issues with the board remain, & the recommendations from HQ still have to be implemented.

If we are to improve I think we do need our stronger players back. Some people have said that they don't want to be there and we should just forget about them. But plenty of players from other counties take a year out and return. With a new management team there should be a clean slate. Any player good enough to play county football should be approached, and the aim should be to hit the ground running with a strong squad in 2024.

If we could add Langan, Mogan, McHugh, Shane O'Donnell, Niall O'Donnell, Aaron Doherty, Eoghan McGettigan, Ethan O'Donnell and whomever shows well in the upcoming club championships....complement them with lads like McColgan, Doherty, Curran, McGlynn etc who have shown well this year. Then I think there is a good squad there for any manager to work with.

Lastly I'd like to thank the departing management team for their efforts in difficult circumstances. The players deserve some credit too for the way they improved when it looked like the campaign would be a total write-off. We are we are. About a top 12 team. But there is hope for us. Let's hope that things behind the scenes are rectified.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9734 - 25/06/2023 09:09:46    2489002

Link

Replying To Scenicparish:  "I dont know how you could only blame the defence. The runners from deep was our downfall again. Our no 11 was so poor, front of the posts twice and missed two crucial points one in each half. You cannot give Tyrone a 1 - 3 to 0 - 1 start and hope to have any chance."
Darragh canavan. Mattie Donnelly. Mc curry. And young canavan destroyed us forget about the runners.. they won every ball that went in. To be back competing at the highest level we need players like the Mc gees and Lacey's who can mark. I was sitting beside where Darragh canavan got the ball to score that brilliant point in the second half . He won his own ball and took his man on, no need for any runners. Marty Donnelly kicked 3 points and there wasn't a hand laid on him. You were on here last week saying how great a defence we had all due to correct management. What planet are you on. I never criticise any individual I'm just saying what I'm saying this last few years we need to unearth defenders , one of the problems is we have too many small players but we don't have the big physical players who can defend and attack if needed.. in fairness to players and management we were down a lot of players but the county board must take the blame for that especially the way they operated finding a new manager. Every body wanted change but maybe some players didn't. I'm very disappointed this morning we as donegal fans deserve better than what happened this year. A few more things heads have to roll if we want lacey back, our underage teams are way off at the moment when you see a county like Monaghan in a minor final a county with half the population we have, what is wrong . Donegal football is in a bad place at the moment my hope is that a few individuals on the board will step down for the good of Donegal football if not it'll be a long time till we reach croke park again.

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2607 - 25/06/2023 09:12:43    2489004

Link

Replying To marty234:  "On here having a go at mgt for doing their best. Slating their coaching. Let's not forget we got tanked v armagh last year not so long ago with all the boys that are missing. There was no criticism of the coaching after that game despite that mgt team having nearly 5 years to improve players. You defended that mgt team to the bitter end.

I think this mgt have done great job way everything going on in boardroom and bringing in half a new team virtually. Only had a few months to work way players. Give the men credit roryboy instead of always being negative and slating them. Keyboard warrior stuff."
Having a go at management this last few year,?ha coming from a poster who slated bonner since he took over. You came out of the woodwork last week after one win so we'll not be hearing from you for another while I would say. lol. What happened that great defence you mentioned last week.

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2607 - 25/06/2023 10:14:58    2489026

Link

Couple things were obvious last night... Our players are miles behind in terms of their conditioning compared to the top teams . Some of the older players like mcfadden and Brennan need to retire, they're nowhere near inter county standard. Fair play to the younger lads, they did themselves proud with their battling.

greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 623 - 25/06/2023 11:11:04    2489049

Link

Half forward b line bad yesterday o baoill brennan thompson very poor but i hope management stay on

highdropingball (Donegal) - Posts: 111 - 25/06/2023 11:33:23    2489052

Link

Yesterday was a blessing in disguise as I'd fear what would've happened next week against a Kerry or Dublin. Tyrone could and should have won by more given the poor decisions made when goals looked inevitable. It's not all doom and gloom as Donegal have unearthed a couple of excellent prospects and if they can keep Gallen fit then you have one of the marquee forwards in the game. For any progress to be made Lacey must be reinstated at the academy asap. Followed by a clean up at board level including two of the main protagonists in all that's been negative the last 12 months especially (longer for one of them). Hopefully someone like Paul McGonigle can come in and help with the reform process. Then let's go about getting the right management in place with hopefully Jim McGuiness involved in some capacity. The tools are definitely there in Donegal. I don't buy into this we don't have defenders nonsense. That can be easily rectified with a good management team who bring good coaching and desire demanding the same hunger and desire in the players. Every player on that squad yesterday showed that by been there in the first place given everything that has gone on. There are also a couple of players who've gone stale who need that new impetus and there is no reason why Donegal cannot aspire to be genuine contenders again. There was an under 20 team who got to an Ulster final a couple of years ago with Gallen or Conor O'Donnell. Last year's side were a Luke McGlynn kick away from beating the AI winners Tyrone. Even this year's minors were potentially in the ultimate pool of death given the exploits of Monaghan and Derry who look like they'll go on and contest an AI final. However unless real change starts at the top there will be more dark days ahead.

panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2849 - 25/06/2023 12:25:20    2489061

Link

Replying To totalrecall:  "Michael Murphy made his decision last year, time to move on, other lads after a slow start now starting to take up the mantle like gallen and Connor o donnell, it doesn't matter whether we think Murphy could have played for a few more years. Time to park this hypothetical nonsense and get behind the guys who are available"
I disagree, Instead of always settling for the Status Quo, we should be looking at all possibilities, including bringing back one of our best ever forwards in a bit-part role while he is still able to contribute. I get so frustrated with the loser mentality among some Donegal fans, its a fear to dare almost.

Yesterday game to Tyrone showed that even with a depleted squad and minus a number of key players like Michael Langan, Peadar Mogan, Ryan McHugh, Niall O'Donnell, Shane O'Donnell etc, we are match for top sides.

I knew from the starting lineup yesterday that we would likely struggle. I think there are a couple of players not suited to their positions which is normally exposed when playing top sides, but this year we have a depleted squad and have unearthed a number of new players that will stand to us moving forward.

If the above mentioned players returned in 2024 and we can keep the likes of Oisin Gallen and Jason McGee fit, we can get promoted and challenge for Ulster and the All Ireland. But a lot will depend on the management team at that time.

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1332 - 25/06/2023 13:53:08    2489089

Link

Replying To panamasam:  "Yesterday was a blessing in disguise as I'd fear what would've happened next week against a Kerry or Dublin. Tyrone could and should have won by more given the poor decisions made when goals looked inevitable. It's not all doom and gloom as Donegal have unearthed a couple of excellent prospects and if they can keep Gallen fit then you have one of the marquee forwards in the game. For any progress to be made Lacey must be reinstated at the academy asap. Followed by a clean up at board level including two of the main protagonists in all that's been negative the last 12 months especially (longer for one of them). Hopefully someone like Paul McGonigle can come in and help with the reform process. Then let's go about getting the right management in place with hopefully Jim McGuiness involved in some capacity. The tools are definitely there in Donegal. I don't buy into this we don't have defenders nonsense. That can be easily rectified with a good management team who bring good coaching and desire demanding the same hunger and desire in the players. Every player on that squad yesterday showed that by been there in the first place given everything that has gone on. There are also a couple of players who've gone stale who need that new impetus and there is no reason why Donegal cannot aspire to be genuine contenders again. There was an under 20 team who got to an Ulster final a couple of years ago with Gallen or Conor O'Donnell. Last year's side were a Luke McGlynn kick away from beating the AI winners Tyrone. Even this year's minors were potentially in the ultimate pool of death given the exploits of Monaghan and Derry who look like they'll go on and contest an AI final. However unless real change starts at the top there will be more dark days ahead."
I don't think the Karl Lacey/Academy saga has anything to do with yesterday Senior football team exiting Championship, it is a separate issue due to poor handling of the Senior Management last year, which resulted in a lot of players opting out and us playing the National league with a depleted squad due to additional injuries to key players.

Its sad that Aidan O'Rourke and Paddy Bradley won't be staying on, because the last few games has shown that they corrected some issues from the Declan Bonnar era and got us performing better than expected despite missing a number of key players. The mess last summer was largely due to lack of interest in the Donegal Management job, people were not lining up for it, so I wouldn't blame the County Board fully for the delay and handling of it.

A management team needs to be in place before the County Club Championship, but we need a Management team with a clear plan/direction and idea of what they want.

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1332 - 25/06/2023 13:59:44    2489094

Link

Replying To eunans4ever:  "Jeez some amount of poaching going on around Fintown / glenties.

I hadn't intended to open up this can of worms…..

The 4 Doherty's, jack mc kelvey, the regans from Mayo , the keeper from Dublin and bringing managers in from Tyrone… some amount of outsiders brought in."
Sure your 3 best player's the O'Donnell's are half Naomh Conail men, seeing that you want to bring up every player's father that moved location this past 100 years.
The fact is, every club in the county has players who's father or mother was from a different location, or a player himself was born in a different location.

Should we have sent Michael Murphy back to mayo, by your way of thinking.
That county title won last year is getting sweeter by the minute, lol.



Hard luck to Donegal players and management.
It was a tough year for all players, management and supporters.
There definitely is a gap in conditioning and coaching with the likes of tryone and the top teams.
What we need to do now is implement and hire the right people and systems so that that gap starts to close.
I actually felt sorry for management and players yesterday, as it was not from want of effort that was lacking.
It's unfair sending out players that are clearly behind in professionalism to the slaughter, and they deserve better.
As regards the county board, it's time to deliver or do the right thing and walk away for the betterment of Donegal football.
There is endless people who have emigrated this past 100 years who would love nothing better that fund Donegal, and we have barely touched the surface due to incompetent people in these jobs.
It's time we started to get professional from top down, and if we don't, we will get left behind and the gap will get even bigger.
Our young footballers deserve better, and so do our supporters.

The keeper (Donegal) - Posts: 711 - 25/06/2023 14:02:57    2489095

Link

Hopefully the process of getting a new management team will be concluded in a matter of weeks not months. As I have said before the review was a white wash, everyone kept their jobs and it prevented a vote of no confidence in the top table at a time when emotions were running high. The academy remains as is, no change there either.

The new management team will need to be open about looking at players who could add to the panel but may not have previously featured at county level. All aspects of the team need looking at, we need competition for the goalkeeper who mixes good with bad , his decision making in big games in the last number of years has been questionable, cavan 2020, armagh 2022 and Tyrone this year. I'm not saying he should be replaced but he needs competition. Luke mcglynn. Mark curran and caolan mcmonagle will benefit from this yearIf we can get the likes of mcfadden Ferry, Ryan mchugh, mogan and langan back into the mix and find 2 or 3 others from the club championship I think we will more than hold our own in ulster and return to division 1.

totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 1046 - 25/06/2023 14:33:56    2489113

Link

Replying To rorysboys:  "Darragh canavan. Mattie Donnelly. Mc curry. And young canavan destroyed us forget about the runners.. they won every ball that went in. To be back competing at the highest level we need players like the Mc gees and Lacey's who can mark. I was sitting beside where Darragh canavan got the ball to score that brilliant point in the second half . He won his own ball and took his man on, no need for any runners. Marty Donnelly kicked 3 points and there wasn't a hand laid on him. You were on here last week saying how great a defence we had all due to correct management. What planet are you on. I never criticise any individual I'm just saying what I'm saying this last few years we need to unearth defenders , one of the problems is we have too many small players but we don't have the big physical players who can defend and attack if needed.. in fairness to players and management we were down a lot of players but the county board must take the blame for that especially the way they operated finding a new manager. Every body wanted change but maybe some players didn't. I'm very disappointed this morning we as donegal fans deserve better than what happened this year. A few more things heads have to roll if we want lacey back, our underage teams are way off at the moment when you see a county like Monaghan in a minor final a county with half the population we have, what is wrong . Donegal football is in a bad place at the moment my hope is that a few individuals on the board will step down for the good of Donegal football if not it'll be a long time till we reach croke park again."
Why do you continually target the defence? You think the goalkeeper played well yesterday? You think our midfield and 2 of our half forwards played well yesterday?
We had 3 defenders making their debut for Donegal this year, Curran, McColgan and Docherty. These lads deserve a bit of support, not constant criticism from people like yourself. They are good players but lack a bit of experience at this level. It will take a couple of years to get a panel of players in place to compete with the likes of Tyrone.
I didn't know which Tyrone team would turn up yesterday but they certainly brought their A game. Their powerful running caused us huge problems. They are a seasoned team that won an All Ireland a few years ago. They will take beating for the rest of the championship.

Scenicparish (Donegal) - Posts: 470 - 25/06/2023 15:12:09    2489125

Link

Replying To The keeper:  "Sure your 3 best player's the O'Donnell's are half Naomh Conail men, seeing that you want to bring up every player's father that moved location this past 100 years.
The fact is, every club in the county has players who's father or mother was from a different location, or a player himself was born in a different location.

Should we have sent Michael Murphy back to mayo, by your way of thinking.
That county title won last year is getting sweeter by the minute, lol.



Hard luck to Donegal players and management.
It was a tough year for all players, management and supporters.
There definitely is a gap in conditioning and coaching with the likes of tryone and the top teams.
What we need to do now is implement and hire the right people and systems so that that gap starts to close.
I actually felt sorry for management and players yesterday, as it was not from want of effort that was lacking.
It's unfair sending out players that are clearly behind in professionalism to the slaughter, and they deserve better.
As regards the county board, it's time to deliver or do the right thing and walk away for the betterment of Donegal football.
There is endless people who have emigrated this past 100 years who would love nothing better that fund Donegal, and we have barely touched the surface due to incompetent people in these jobs.
It's time we started to get professional from top down, and if we don't, we will get left behind and the gap will get even bigger.
Our young footballers deserve better, and so do our supporters."
Sadly not a hope of anyone stepping down, it doesn't matter how often they are named and shamed.....saw one of them not sitting far away from me in Newry who was all smiles after the game

totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 1046 - 25/06/2023 17:34:27    2489193

Link

Replying To Lockjaw:  "So that's that. Despite my pre-match optimism it quickly became clear that we were up against it. Patton's early mistake compounded matters, and it really was a case of trying to keep things respectable if we're being honest.

I thought Caolan McColgan was very good. He did his best taking the game to Tyrone. Gallen showed glimpses of his quality and it was good to see Paddy back, although he was clearly not up to full speed.

I thought Meyler was superb for Tyrone. He must be one of the fittest players in the country. He's a brilliant link player. Darragh Canavan was very good also, a player who is extremely difficult to pin down. Every time he got on the ball you sensed the crowd sitting up anticipating that he was going to make something happen.

Looks like O'Rourke and Bradley are gone. I hope the wheels are already in motion in terms of drawing up a list on candidates. While some people are calling for a new management team to be in place ASAP, I think it's more important getting the right management team in. How that will work I do not know given that the issues with the board remain, & the recommendations from HQ still have to be implemented.

If we are to improve I think we do need our stronger players back. Some people have said that they don't want to be there and we should just forget about them. But plenty of players from other counties take a year out and return. With a new management team there should be a clean slate. Any player good enough to play county football should be approached, and the aim should be to hit the ground running with a strong squad in 2024.

If we could add Langan, Mogan, McHugh, Shane O'Donnell, Niall O'Donnell, Aaron Doherty, Eoghan McGettigan, Ethan O'Donnell and whomever shows well in the upcoming club championships....complement them with lads like McColgan, Doherty, Curran, McGlynn etc who have shown well this year. Then I think there is a good squad there for any manager to work with.

Lastly I'd like to thank the departing management team for their efforts in difficult circumstances. The players deserve some credit too for the way they improved when it looked like the campaign would be a total write-off. We are we are. About a top 12 team. But there is hope for us. Let's hope that things behind the scenes are rectified."
Unfortunately for Donegal Lockjaw, I could see this coming from Tyrone. Was only a matter of time before things would start clicking into gear, and they left some scores behind as well. All year final passes, missed hand passes and wrong calls was letting them down. I'd still have Donegal above Armagh and Monaghan in rankings.

Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2288 - 25/06/2023 19:06:15    2489235

Link

Replying To totalrecall:  "Sadly not a hope of anyone stepping down, it doesn't matter how often they are named and shamed.....saw one of them not sitting far away from me in Newry who was all smiles after the game"
Report from the Democrat online this evening that Aidan O'Rourke has stepped away. The County board need to go and get Kevin Walsh tomorrow morning, look at the job he has done with Cork. The only other option is Mikey Harte if he'd leave Louth as he has also improved them no end.

Ulsterchamps72 (Donegal) - Posts: 103 - 25/06/2023 19:17:00    2489240

Link