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i listen to Brendan Devenney on highland radio , he said we have no power in our backs to stop Armagh . That is 100% correct and if Declan had just took over the Donegal this year or last week or soemthing i would have no complaints what so ever. But Declan has been in charge of Donegal for 4-5 years now ! i look at the physical development of Armagh , Derry and Kerry in this same period . Clifford for example has filled out into a strong man so has Sean O Shea like our own lads where thrown into battle for kerry at earlier age and needed time to develop . But when i look at Donegal from an strength and conditioning perspective i still no improvement whats so ever in fact i see decline . Look at young McCole captained DCU to a sigerson he was strong , fast and a great prospect fast forward two years to today and he has actually lost weight !! Langan , McGee , Ward all under weight for their height in fact not alone intercounty footballers physique . So my question is have we the worst strength and conditioning coach in the world ?? i imagine not ! but i imagine he very frustrated. The problem is in my opinion is our silly style of play so much running , i mean each lad must run 10-12km per game imagine what they are doing in training?! , how can you buck up with that level of cardio . The answer is ?! impossible to bulk up ! we have been training long distance runners instead of intercounty footballers Caolan Ward should go to the Olympics he has the physique for it . This style was introduce to accommodate too many small men in our team , against Armagh we had Mchugh , Mogan and Doherty all operating in our defence . In the past we have the two Mchughs , Mogan and Paddy Mcgrath all in the same team throw in Patton and we are very small outfit . For the life of me i cant understand Bonnar who was big strong brillant footballer that played in a big team. His teams are small , soft , no direction and have no edge . if i had to pick a team of my head tomorrow i would pick Patton ( stop pushing the ball and causing mayhem and stop the short kick outs its gaelic football not soccer and also work on your free kicks for a lad of his abliity his frees are very poor , he should be a serious weapon ) McMenanmin Cole Morrisson ( letterkenny ) Kiearan Gillespie ( Gweedore ) Hugh Mcfadden Mulgrew ( letterkenny ) Mcgee McConaigle Ban Gallagher Langan Tompson Conor O'Donnell Walsh Bradley Gallen Play direct simple football like we played for the first 20 minutes against Armagh and if we are not good enough than fair enough lets keep looking for new players until we find them but don't sacrifice our style of play because you will never have a team playing that rubbish i have witnessed over the past 5 years red.hugh (Donegal) - Posts: 176 - 16/06/2022 14:49:05 2425412 Link
Replying To rorysboys: "There's only a few lads making a fool of themselves on this forum, and I'm glad to tell you, your pne of them. Don't know who's the biggest idiot you low ball or the stay at home keeper. 3 people who don't go to games and have an opinion about everything ha. I'm not criticising Jim I have nothing but respect for the man, great manager, all I'm saying is we wouldn't have win all Ireland without Murphy. Surely you can see that. So sit back lad and wait for bonner to make his decision, he's under no obligation to keep fools like you happy and announce an early decision .. finally I would like to say well done to all the real genuine supporters who turned up last Sunday. There the people who have pride in there county." No the reality is we would still be searching for an all Ireland since 92 only for mcguinness came to manage us. Sadly we had Bonner and co before also, and we had the exact same issues, losing tight games and lack of belief. Even through the talent was clearly there. Thankfully good knowledgeable people like myself and the man who led us in 92 believe the decision should be made before the club championships. In order to give a new manager if one comes in to see players in action. I wouldn't call you a real supporter as you are the one saying we dont have the talent, apparently you dont even have a club. All the 2012 panel had no history of winning stuff underage, but it took a great manager to believe in them and win the all Ireland in 2012. The main word being Team, they played as a unit and won. Thats sadly what Bonner is incapable of achieving, and the proof is there over his two spells. He never had the quality to bring the best out of teams. Were tryone a exceptional great side last year, with star players everywhere, no they are not. But with exceptional fitness and shear will to won, and a belief in what they were doing, the refused to lose. We will not get that with Bonner, history has shown that in his two spells. Do the right thing Declan, walk away and give some other man a chance. And hopefully that man will have the same belief and will to win as tryone did last season. We have as much talent, we just need a leader of leaders. The keeper (Donegal) - Posts: 711 - 16/06/2022 15:03:08 2425421 Link
Replying To rorysboys: "Wee question you say tactics were disastrous in Ulster final , in hindsight now how would you have approached it. Nice simple question I asked before the game but got no reply's. If our tactics were disastrous derrys couldn't have been much better. Easy sitting back and saying it was disastrous but nobody's prepared to say how it should have been approached.." This was Donegal's 10th Ulster final out of 12 !! and they showed no confidence or experience . Our weak weak !! management team bought into all the hype about Derry and there ability to turning over teams you swear we were playing the dubs in their prime ! not a D2 team that hadn't won a ulster title in years . We were so scared to lose the ball that we were too scared play !! We needed to start quickly and impose ourselves on the game under Bonnar we are slow out of the blocks whatever mental mind block we have now . Ok .. we started slowly again and gave them a five point lead at one stage , if they were any good they would have closed the match out , the Donegal 2012 team that people are comparing Derry to would never have let that lead slip . Fair play to the lads we got the goal we needed and somehow managed to get ourselves into two point lead with 12 minutes to go ! that's a 7 point turn around , Derry were gone at that stage . One trick pony Gallagher had no answer at that stage We needed to show our experience , our confidence our arrogance and put Michael and Paddy into full forward line and attack Derry and finish them off .. what did we do ? we played murphy as a sweeper and we didnt attack the game. We did something similar under gallagher in the ulster final of 2014 against instead of attacking the finishing line we hoped and prayed it would come to us .. red.hugh (Donegal) - Posts: 176 - 16/06/2022 15:21:50 2425430 Link
Can I ask where this idea of retirements is coming from in general.. it feels like this is said year in year out about Murphy. I know he is what, 33 now? And a lot of mileage on the clock. But I would be properly shocked if he called it a day. I'd be surprised if anyone other than Neil McGee calls time to be quite honest. JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 16/06/2022 15:27:49 2425432 Link
Replying To red.hugh: "i listen to Brendan Devenney on highland radio , he said we have no power in our backs to stop Armagh . That is 100% correct and if Declan had just took over the Donegal this year or last week or soemthing i would have no complaints what so ever. But Declan has been in charge of Donegal for 4-5 years now ! i look at the physical development of Armagh , Derry and Kerry in this same period . Clifford for example has filled out into a strong man so has Sean O Shea like our own lads where thrown into battle for kerry at earlier age and needed time to develop . But when i look at Donegal from an strength and conditioning perspective i still no improvement whats so ever in fact i see decline . Look at young McCole captained DCU to a sigerson he was strong , fast and a great prospect fast forward two years to today and he has actually lost weight !! Langan , McGee , Ward all under weight for their height in fact not alone intercounty footballers physique . So my question is have we the worst strength and conditioning coach in the world ?? i imagine not ! but i imagine he very frustrated. The problem is in my opinion is our silly style of play so much running , i mean each lad must run 10-12km per game imagine what they are doing in training?! , how can you buck up with that level of cardio . The answer is ?! impossible to bulk up ! we have been training long distance runners instead of intercounty footballers Caolan Ward should go to the Olympics he has the physique for it . This style was introduce to accommodate too many small men in our team , against Armagh we had Mchugh , Mogan and Doherty all operating in our defence . In the past we have the two Mchughs , Mogan and Paddy Mcgrath all in the same team throw in Patton and we are very small outfit . For the life of me i cant understand Bonnar who was big strong brillant footballer that played in a big team. His teams are small , soft , no direction and have no edge . if i had to pick a team of my head tomorrow i would pick Patton ( stop pushing the ball and causing mayhem and stop the short kick outs its gaelic football not soccer and also work on your free kicks for a lad of his abliity his frees are very poor , he should be a serious weapon ) McMenanmin Cole Morrisson ( letterkenny ) Kiearan Gillespie ( Gweedore ) Hugh Mcfadden Mulgrew ( letterkenny ) Mcgee McConaigle Ban Gallagher Langan Tompson Conor O'Donnell Walsh Bradley Gallen Play direct simple football like we played for the first 20 minutes against Armagh and if we are not good enough than fair enough lets keep looking for new players until we find them but don't sacrifice our style of play because you will never have a team playing that rubbish i have witnessed over the past 5 years" Like a lot of others Devenney is an expert on the radio, never managed a team himself. Plus your team that you are picking tomorrow has 3 injured players in it who haven't been available this year. I guess it's easy to be an expert on here or on the radio, in the real world its a bit trickier greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 624 - 16/06/2022 15:42:24 2425433 Link
Replying To JoeSoap: "Can I ask where this idea of retirements is coming from in general.. it feels like this is said year in year out about Murphy. I know he is what, 33 now? And a lot of mileage on the clock. But I would be properly shocked if he called it a day. I'd be surprised if anyone other than Neil McGee calls time to be quite honest." age doesn't determine retirement its miles on the clock , paddy mcbearty probably due to injury has lost his pace , ryan mchugh has taken alot of hits and it shows . Neil Mcgee may actually play next year and under a good management team that play football not long distance running!! may play very well with practically after having a year off red.hugh (Donegal) - Posts: 176 - 16/06/2022 15:47:22 2425435 Link
Often wondered why Patton never takes the long range frees for Donegal? Surely he'd be better than Murphy ballooning them wide all the time? Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12295 - 16/06/2022 15:47:53 2425436 Link
Replying To The keeper: "No the reality is we would still be searching for an all Ireland since 92 only for mcguinness came to manage us. Sadly we had Bonner and co before also, and we had the exact same issues, losing tight games and lack of belief. Even through the talent was clearly there. Thankfully good knowledgeable people like myself and the man who led us in 92 believe the decision should be made before the club championships. In order to give a new manager if one comes in to see players in action. I wouldn't call you a real supporter as you are the one saying we dont have the talent, apparently you dont even have a club. All the 2012 panel had no history of winning stuff underage, but it took a great manager to believe in them and win the all Ireland in 2012. The main word being Team, they played as a unit and won. Thats sadly what Bonner is incapable of achieving, and the proof is there over his two spells. He never had the quality to bring the best out of teams. Were tryone a exceptional great side last year, with star players everywhere, no they are not. But with exceptional fitness and shear will to won, and a belief in what they were doing, the refused to lose. We will not get that with Bonner, history has shown that in his two spells. Do the right thing Declan, walk away and give some other man a chance. And hopefully that man will have the same belief and will to win as tryone did last season. We have as much talent, we just need a leader of leaders." Same old same old. Jim Mc Guinness Jim Mc Guinness. You should ring him to take over Donegal. We'll see what he says.. I am a realist supporter as well as a supporter your none of them lad.. I would love to say we'll win an all Ireland but we won't. Stop people fooling yourselves. If bonner steps down which I hope he doesn't the next man will be ridiculed too. Mc Guinness might know the teams not good enough, maybe that's why he's not interested same goes for Martin Mc Hugh . Easy talking behind a Mike go and apply for the job… we have no Murphy on the horizon I'm afraid. I think bonner should be given a 3 year contract. rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2609 - 16/06/2022 15:56:33 2425438 Link
People need to stop talking about Jim Mcguinness. He's working for Derry City and sky sports, he won't be coming back to manage Donegal. The dogs in the street know that. greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 624 - 16/06/2022 16:13:14 2425450 Link
Replying To greenfan: "Like a lot of others Devenney is an expert on the radio, never managed a team himself. Plus your team that you are picking tomorrow has 3 injured players in it who haven't been available this year. I guess it's easy to be an expert on here or on the radio, in the real world its a bit trickier" fair enough 3 lads are injuried will they available in 6-9 months when donegal is playing again yes they will .. all my other points are spot i guess red.hugh (Donegal) - Posts: 176 - 16/06/2022 16:15:31 2425453 Link
Replying To red.hugh: "age doesn't determine retirement its miles on the clock , paddy mcbearty probably due to injury has lost his pace , ryan mchugh has taken alot of hits and it shows . Neil Mcgee may actually play next year and under a good management team that play football not long distance running!! may play very well with practically after having a year off" Yeah I agree the names being touted have mileage but looking at this year I don't think any of them looked off the pace. Ryan hasn't hit the heights of his early years but still an important player and well capable at inter-county level. Paddy McBrearty without a doubt has lost something since that horrible injury but came up with key scores for us all year and was flying v Armagh before the black card shambles and getting subbed off. As for Murphy... if managed right and used properly there's no doubt in my mind he's still one of the best in the country. Whether they want to recommit is another thing I suppose in terms of mental fatigue but I would be very very very surprised if any of them called it a day. Yet it seems to get trotted out, amongst fans at least - I saw Paul Flynn for example saying he doesn't expect any retirements in terms of the playing panel. He would've been close to Murphy from their college days JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 16/06/2022 16:49:33 2425473 Link
Replying To rorysboys: "Same old same old. Jim Mc Guinness Jim Mc Guinness. You should ring him to take over Donegal. We'll see what he says.. I am a realist supporter as well as a supporter your none of them lad.. I would love to say we'll win an all Ireland but we won't. Stop people fooling yourselves. If bonner steps down which I hope he doesn't the next man will be ridiculed too. Mc Guinness might know the teams not good enough, maybe that's why he's not interested same goes for Martin Mc Hugh . Easy talking behind a Mike go and apply for the job… we have no Murphy on the horizon I'm afraid. I think bonner should be given a 3 year contract." What's your basis for rewarding him with 3 years JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 16/06/2022 16:50:07 2425475 Link
Replying To JoeSoap: "What's your basis for rewarding him with 3 years" I'm not like everybody else on this forum. I answer questions. My basis is he's better than anybody else in the county. Go outside the county say Malachi o rourke you'll be looking at big money. And with Donegal finishing off convoy the money is not there. Wee example of the county purse strings at moment when Mc Guinness was there Donegal went to Johnston house under bonner they went to an cuirt in gweedore.. big difference rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2609 - 16/06/2022 17:07:59 2425480 Link
Replying To red.hugh: "fair enough 3 lads are injuried will they available in 6-9 months when donegal is playing again yes they will .. all my other points are spot i guess" Unless u can see into the future I dunno how u can see that they will be available in 6 months time. Unfortunately I doubt Gillespie will ever play for Donegal again because of the injuries he has had, which is a pity for him and also for Donegal because he looked the real deal, a natural successor to Neil McGee at one stage. greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 624 - 16/06/2022 17:32:01 2425486 Link
Replying To rorysboys: "I'm not like everybody else on this forum. I answer questions. My basis is he's better than anybody else in the county. Go outside the county say Malachi o rourke you'll be looking at big money. And with Donegal finishing off convoy the money is not there. Wee example of the county purse strings at moment when Mc Guinness was there Donegal went to Johnston house under bonner they went to an cuirt in gweedore.. big difference" McGuinness fundraised his own money you'll find. peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1182 - 16/06/2022 17:44:11 2425489 Link
Replying To greenfan: "People need to stop talking about Jim Mcguinness. He's working for Derry City and sky sports, he won't be coming back to manage Donegal. The dogs in the street know that." We are using him as an example of what we want, no one said he would come back. Do we settle for mediocrity and stay with our current management, or will we actually try and look for the next great manager. I know what most Donegal supporter's want. Better to have tried and failed than not try at all. Rorysboys is just an uneducated and unknowledable clown that is looking more to wind up posters, and hasn't the best interests of Donegal football. The keeper (Donegal) - Posts: 711 - 16/06/2022 20:53:48 2425512 Link
is the present Donegal panel doing the right training, maybe too much running , running back and over and going nowhere, nobody able to sprint through the oposing teams defence and cause mayhem. many of the players like Langan, McGee and Ward can run all day but have no physical strenght to burst bast defences. Plenty of good Gyms and Strength and Conditioning coaches in the County, let the players spent the next few months in the gym and bulk up. Modern games need strenght and Conditioning to win the battles, same goes for Club players, too much running and no strength to finish off the job. jacktheboy (Donegal) - Posts: 475 - 16/06/2022 21:40:11 2425518 Link
Replying To Breffni40: "Often wondered why Patton never takes the long range frees for Donegal? Surely he'd be better than Murphy ballooning them wide all the time?" Like the one Patton ballooned wide in the ulster final... totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 1048 - 16/06/2022 21:58:31 2425520 Link
Replying To Sportsfanatic90: "From a neutral POV it's an absolute disgrace the booing and jeering from Armagh is totally uncalled for and humiliating. I'd have shouted for them in the past but never again in this championship I'll actually be shouting for whoever plays them, you'd swear they earned the right to jeer haven't done much ever. Croogan sledging fullback simulating you would t see Kerry Dublin at that nonsense" If you were at the game you would have seen the dirty off the ball stuff from Murphy, a man who has been an immense talent for years but whom can get away with murder, he nearly decapitated Folker with two feet in front of the linesman and nothing, from what I saw only he was booed and deservedly so imho. By the way we will miss your support! TMcC (Carlow) - Posts: 3 - 17/06/2022 08:54:47 2425532 Link
Replying To rorysboys: "I'm not like everybody else on this forum. I answer questions. My basis is he's better than anybody else in the county. Go outside the county say Malachi o rourke you'll be looking at big money. And with Donegal finishing off convoy the money is not there. Wee example of the county purse strings at moment when Mc Guinness was there Donegal went to Johnston house under bonner they went to an cuirt in gweedore.. big difference" So you give him a three year deal because there's nobody else and we're skint? Why not just wait out his current stint instead and see where we're at next year? Throwing a three year deal at him off the back of the past three years is generous, and I'm being kind. JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 17/06/2022 09:51:25 2425542 Link