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Donegal GAA thread

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Replying To rorysboys:  "Take off your blinkers lads, our decline has started with the decline of Murphy. Surely it's not hard to see that. Why has this last 11 years been so successful because of the emergence of a brilliant young player. Yea we always have good players and still have but Murphy was the player that glued it all together. A leader who every player looked up to."
He hasn't been used to his full potential since 2014. And in no way am I suggesting that he should be left in at full forward and ball just kicked in aimlessly at him, that would be just amateur hour. However, an abiding memory for me is Michael against Galway in 2017 in Markievicz Park, as our last defender. We've seen the same thing on too many occasions since. If used correctly, I don't believe that Michael at 32 could not be as dangerous as he was at 22.

SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 763 - 18/06/2022 13:05:18    2425742

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Replying To Mayonman:  "Lads ye have some quality players. Lots of teams play counter attack but the difference with ye is ye take zero risks. Its all too safe. Rarely quick foot passes up the field. Carry and hand pass to someone in the loop or if the shoulder.

Wouldn't take a lot to make ye a force. Just a few tweaks."
I'll take that from an outside viewpoint. I think we have strong players Patton, McMenamin, McCole, McFadden, McGee,McGonagle, O'Donnell, Murphy, McBrearty, McHugh, Gallen, Mogan etc, I think we need to bring in a few and Nathan Boyle comes to mind. Could either of your countymen Kevin Walsh or Kevin O'Brien(Corofin) bring us up a level if given the job?

Ulsterchamps72 (Donegal) - Posts: 103 - 18/06/2022 14:33:02    2425765

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Replying To gunman:  "It is amazing that the county chairman ,county board and the football management team are all sub standard and all the players are faultless and being held back."
Exactly must be great to be a player these days. It's never there fault. We have a good set up in convoy which most counties would be proud of. This project was done because we had good people, who worked hard to get the finances in, not by people who sit back and do nothing for there clubs not alone there county..

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2609 - 18/06/2022 16:04:38    2425805

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Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "If we are going to change the management team the sooner Declan steps down and we start the process of selecting a new manager the better before the club Championship starts.
Has anyone heard from Declan since the Armagh game?"
Do you think bonner is going to rush his decision for people like you. The balls in bonners court, he's earned the right to take time with his decision.

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2609 - 18/06/2022 16:06:56    2425807

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Replying To Ulsterchamps72:  "I'll take that from an outside viewpoint. I think we have strong players Patton, McMenamin, McCole, McFadden, McGee,McGonagle, O'Donnell, Murphy, McBrearty, McHugh, Gallen, Mogan etc, I think we need to bring in a few and Nathan Boyle comes to mind. Could either of your countymen Kevin Walsh or Kevin O'Brien(Corofin) bring us up a level if given the job?"
Those two managers you mentioned play a totally different brand of football.
Kevin Walsh plays blanket defense football. There are mixed opinions in galway about his brand of football as it goes against the traditional galway style.
Corofin play the traditional kick passing game but like other teams they have tweaked this with an extra defender playing as sweeper.

Gumball (Donegal) - Posts: 34 - 18/06/2022 16:08:33    2425809

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Replying To rorysboys:  "Take off your blinkers lads, our decline has started with the decline of Murphy. Surely it's not hard to see that. Why has this last 11 years been so successful because of the emergence of a brilliant young player. Yea we always have good players and still have but Murphy was the player that glued it all together. A leader who every player looked up to."
You'll do anything at all to avoid attributing responsibility to management won't you? At least you're acknowledging that the past five seasons haven't been good enough, even if you are trying to deflect the blame.

greatpoint (USA) - Posts: 436 - 18/06/2022 16:33:12    2425815

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Replying To rorysboys:  "Do you think bonner is going to rush his decision for people like you. The balls in bonners court, he's earned the right to take time with his decision."
If he stays on will he bring his fellow clubman McDyer into the squad?

peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1182 - 18/06/2022 16:34:57    2425817

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Replying To greatpoint:  "You'll do anything at all to avoid attributing responsibility to management won't you? At least you're acknowledging that the past five seasons haven't been good enough, even if you are trying to deflect the blame."
Why do you even care what he thinks.
I have stopped as he clearly doesn't know what he's talking about.

Gumball (Donegal) - Posts: 34 - 18/06/2022 17:17:01    2425829

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Replying To greatpoint:  "A good run of it? Will you come on.

Knocked out of the Super 8s due to poor performances after winning Ulster in 2018 & 2019. In three season since then, the team has gone backwards. That's the reality of the past five years."
I meant that he has been given a fair crack at it.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9741 - 18/06/2022 18:01:49    2425853

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Replying To Ulsterchamps_32:  "Some of the stuff here is really throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Even though donegal have not won much at underage level over the last few years they've still being very competitive. That under 20 team lost one game on extra time to the eventual all ireland champions, who were really smarting for their defeat in Letterkenny. They were clearly in the the top 2/3 teams in the country this year.

Donegal were the third best minor team this year in ulster and lost of penalties.

Donegal have a perfectly good centre of excellence. Down, armagh and cavan have pretty much nothing at the minute. The centre of excellence in mayo is the connacht and nothing to do with mayo. It's debatable whether AstroTurf pitches are actually that good for you. It will have the third pitch and have the money to finish off the car park. It's something to be really proud of instead of criticising. The county board did have the house draw that is the key funding in finishing it off.

Again they've introduced the s&c coach and the academy with one of best ever footballers involved and its still criticism. They created the link with lyit and they've been very competitive in sigerson with pretty much a full donegal team. Again something that is very progressive. They've land to develop their own facilities and hopefully that will happen soon.

This doesn't mean everything is right and mistakes are made by them. The club football, particularly the senior club final has been so tough to watch. I really hope it improves this year but if it doesn't and gaa don't look at the rules then maybe club chairman's, supporters and even players need to be having a word with managers to demand something better. And if clubs are happy enough with boring sideways, backways, possession based football with no risks and no kicking then how can we suddenly start lambasting the county when they do the same. One of the ironic things is that apart from this year they played plenty progressive football in the non covid years. If people want to see real change it starts at the club first. The administration to the county comes through the clubs and based on the level of criticism it would much easier to just not get involved."
Just to respond to a couple of your points;

I'm not criticising the County Boards commercial decisions at all, in fact I think they are doing quite well in that regard. Yes, the house draw was very successful, and we signed other sponsorship deals which are certainly good business. The Centre of Excellence will when finished be a fantastic facility, and you rightly question the 3G pitches, i dont think they are ideal at all. But they are all business decisions.

Without labouring the point, I believe that the County Boards decisions around management appointments have been a let down. Personally speaking, I would've given Declan a one year extension last summer, he deserved another shot, but the way it was conducted left a lot to be desired. Why go through the phoney process of advertising the job in the first place when you have already made up your mind. It leads to apathy.

Finally, I was at both underage games this year, and the minors and the 20's had Tyrone beaten, but as they approached the finishing line they both imploded. We have developed a fear at underage level of the Tyrone jersey, and I'm afraid that fear is going to spread.

SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 763 - 18/06/2022 19:30:15    2425873

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Replying To peiledoir20:  "If he stays on will he bring his fellow clubman McDyer into the squad?"
What you mean lad. Bit confused here.

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2609 - 18/06/2022 19:54:54    2425881

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Replying To rorysboys:  "Do you think bonner is going to rush his decision for people like you. The balls in bonners court, he's earned the right to take time with his decision."
For the good of the county team if Declan is going to resign he should just get on with it and let them start looking for a new manager.
I can't see how he continue now, he seems like a beaten docket to me at this stage, he has had more than a fair chance and we haven't progressed in fact we have regressed.
Surely there must be men anxious to get a crack at this job? with the panel and potential this county has it would be a young managers dream to have a go at winning something with this sqaud.
You are always harping on about fans going to matches rory, the fans are there but they need a team to follow, the fans have voted with their feet lately, surely that's obvious even to Bonners biggest fanboy?

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3175 - 18/06/2022 20:42:15    2425904

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Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "For the good of the county team if Declan is going to resign he should just get on with it and let them start looking for a new manager.
I can't see how he continue now, he seems like a beaten docket to me at this stage, he has had more than a fair chance and we haven't progressed in fact we have regressed.
Surely there must be men anxious to get a crack at this job? with the panel and potential this county has it would be a young managers dream to have a go at winning something with this sqaud.
You are always harping on about fans going to matches rory, the fans are there but they need a team to follow, the fans have voted with their feet lately, surely that's obvious even to Bonners biggest fanboy?"
There not fans, the real fans are the hardcore fans bonner mentioned in his column yesterday. As for the rest of yous keep thinking there's an all Ireland in this team. As I said before yous don't deserve a team to support yous are only fair weather supporters I don't care who comes back to me. That's all yous are and the players know that too..

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2609 - 18/06/2022 21:18:07    2425926

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Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "For the good of the county team if Declan is going to resign he should just get on with it and let them start looking for a new manager.
I can't see how he continue now, he seems like a beaten docket to me at this stage, he has had more than a fair chance and we haven't progressed in fact we have regressed.
Surely there must be men anxious to get a crack at this job? with the panel and potential this county has it would be a young managers dream to have a go at winning something with this sqaud.
You are always harping on about fans going to matches rory, the fans are there but they need a team to follow, the fans have voted with their feet lately, surely that's obvious even to Bonners biggest fanboy?"
Apologies for going on a tangent TírChonaill. How many more years do you think will Michael Murphy continue playing for Donegal? Would him being player manager to succeed Declan Bonner ever be an option? Murphy surely has the respect of everyone in Donegal and much further afield and has said it's a job that interests him in the future. Not knowing anything about Donegal football politics other than the county board, seemingly, hampered McGuinness's efforts in 2013,but would Michael Murphy be a viable option to take the job?

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7926 - 19/06/2022 10:14:24    2425984

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Replying To SouthOfTheGap:  "Just to respond to a couple of your points;

I'm not criticising the County Boards commercial decisions at all, in fact I think they are doing quite well in that regard. Yes, the house draw was very successful, and we signed other sponsorship deals which are certainly good business. The Centre of Excellence will when finished be a fantastic facility, and you rightly question the 3G pitches, i dont think they are ideal at all. But they are all business decisions.

Without labouring the point, I believe that the County Boards decisions around management appointments have been a let down. Personally speaking, I would've given Declan a one year extension last summer, he deserved another shot, but the way it was conducted left a lot to be desired. Why go through the phoney process of advertising the job in the first place when you have already made up your mind. It leads to apathy.

Finally, I was at both underage games this year, and the minors and the 20's had Tyrone beaten, but as they approached the finishing line they both imploded. We have developed a fear at underage level of the Tyrone jersey, and I'm afraid that fear is going to spread."
I suppose my overall point that everything is not terrible the way some people seem to think it is. It doesn't mean it couldn't be better and fair point on the reappointment process. Why not have made it as transparent and as fair as possible. It would have probably ended in a similar enough place. Because for all the huffing and puffing there is not much of a queue of high quality managers about. Managing an intercounty team is a huge commitment and don't think donegal want a "modern" manager to play all defensive, passive, possession football. The kind of football derry are playing or the eunans vs glen ulster quarter final.

On the underage matches I'm mentioned before minor should still be under 18 and the gaa in their wisdom have made it too competitive too young and not sure talking about implosion is really fair at that age. In saying that they'd all be disappointed about not closing it out. Though in extra time they were second best and showed great fortitude to get it to penalties.
The under 20s played second fiddle for a good chunk ot the match but when they got back into it they probably should have won. They did though hit the last 3 points from and 2 in injury time to get it to et. They also went two points up in et. That wasn't implosion. They ultimately ended up conceding too many goals and couldn't manage mcglennan and that lost them the game.
Overall we do though seem a bit in awe of their structures and underage teams and that should not be the case.

Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 803 - 19/06/2022 10:26:45    2425992

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I've brought this up before.

The Donegal GAA website is terrible.
Look at the sites from other counties.

You may not concur with me.

Of all the 32 counties the Donegal GAA site would not be in the top 30.

It is shocking.

Wrong results on it.

The league tables.

You would needed 5 minutes to get to study them and establish the findings on the table.

The site is not clear on matters.
Its not friendly for someone browsing it.

I'd say I'm certain people from all over country go on your site as well as others,as I do.

I'd say their visit to it would be once and once only.
I keep looking at it because I'm interested in Realt na Mara, Aodh Ruadh and Naomh Brid.

Just look at other county sites.

I'm honesty not been bias.
Look at the Leitrim site.

Do you agree with the poor quality of your site.

leitrimforsam (Leitrim) - Posts: 85 - 19/06/2022 10:35:24    2425997

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Replying To leitrimforsam:  "I've brought this up before.

The Donegal GAA website is terrible.
Look at the sites from other counties.

You may not concur with me.

Of all the 32 counties the Donegal GAA site would not be in the top 30.

It is shocking.

Wrong results on it.

The league tables.

You would needed 5 minutes to get to study them and establish the findings on the table.

The site is not clear on matters.
Its not friendly for someone browsing it.

I'd say I'm certain people from all over country go on your site as well as others,as I do.

I'd say their visit to it would be once and once only.
I keep looking at it because I'm interested in Realt na Mara, Aodh Ruadh and Naomh Brid.

Just look at other county sites.

I'm honesty not been bias.
Look at the Leitrim site.

Do you agree with the poor quality of your site."
Incase your not aware, there are bigger issues in Donegal GAA at the current time than the website. You are right though It is shocking.

KerrymanStuckInDonegal (Kerry) - Posts: 269 - 19/06/2022 11:37:32    2426009

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Replying To GreenandRed:  "Apologies for going on a tangent TírChonaill. How many more years do you think will Michael Murphy continue playing for Donegal? Would him being player manager to succeed Declan Bonner ever be an option? Murphy surely has the respect of everyone in Donegal and much further afield and has said it's a job that interests him in the future. Not knowing anything about Donegal football politics other than the county board, seemingly, hampered McGuinness's efforts in 2013,but would Michael Murphy be a viable option to take the job?"
I think definitely sometime in the future a lot of people up here are expecting Michael to manage the team, I don't know if it's too soon at this stage, I'm not a massive fan of the player-manager thing myself.
If he did decide to go for it now I think he'd have the full backing of most people in Donegal GAA.
He has massive influence on the team as it is and just the fact that he's on the field seems to settle fellas down, I think he has a few years left in him yet no problem provided he stays injury free, I think expecting him to cover every blade of grass is unrealistic now and as many have posted here ad nauseum he should spend more time at FF and give us the option to vary our attack.

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3175 - 19/06/2022 12:05:26    2426017

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Replying To leitrimforsam:  "I've brought this up before.

The Donegal GAA website is terrible.
Look at the sites from other counties.

You may not concur with me.

Of all the 32 counties the Donegal GAA site would not be in the top 30.

It is shocking.

Wrong results on it.

The league tables.

You would needed 5 minutes to get to study them and establish the findings on the table.

The site is not clear on matters.
Its not friendly for someone browsing it.

I'd say I'm certain people from all over country go on your site as well as others,as I do.

I'd say their visit to it would be once and once only.
I keep looking at it because I'm interested in Realt na Mara, Aodh Ruadh and Naomh Brid.

Just look at other county sites.

I'm honesty not been bias.
Look at the Leitrim site.

Do you agree with the poor quality of your site."
Unbelievably poor.

gunman (Donegal) - Posts: 1145 - 19/06/2022 12:13:47    2426021

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "I meant that he has been given a fair crack at it."
My apologies. For what it's worth, I don't disagree with anything else you said.

greatpoint (USA) - Posts: 436 - 19/06/2022 15:32:17    2426085

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