2017 Ulster Senior Football Championships kindly sponsored by Cicero_Dandi

[gilgamboa]

@GeoffreyBoycott

Why are you sticking your noes into a discussion between myself and @Bandage into the difficulty of sorting out the logistics of attending sporting events?

I think the lads mother in law has arrived he has been on here since 7 am without a break. He barely had time to eat the traditional philipinno meal she prepared. I think he is due to bath her shortly so he might be gone for an hour

[Sidney]

@Spidey

Down are all swagger jagger. BBC coverage was class. Marty and Oisin duking away after the game.

The word “swagger” shall heretofore be applied to Down football in the way “mushrooms” is to Cork hurling, “Yerra” is to Kerry football, “passion” is to Wexford hurling and “chokers” is to Mayo football.

[anon61956325]

I’m here on the jacks with a dose of the trots , which is very apt as until tonight the Ulster championship had been pure scutter… But a bit like my shite, that game just exploded from the start, much to everyone’s relief…let’s hope the final is a classic.

[Elvis_Brandenberg_Kr]

Down are the old-time religion of the Ulster Championship. Was up there a couple of times for League games and a sounder bunch you wouldn’t meet.

Delighted for them. Up Down.

[Sidney]

This is how Down football entered the Athletic Grounds this evening.

This is was Down football’s attitude during the match:

This is how Down football left the Athletic Grounds this evening:

https://media.tenor.com/images/44e6605ed01c85f1c1e091d23e9e0f34/tenor.gif

This is how Down football reacted to the doubters:

https://m.popkey.co/eacfdb/3GJkq.gif

[caoimhaoin]

I can’t find your post on the subject or predicting this result. You might throw it up.

[Batigol]

Christ he’s an annoying cunt

[Nembo_Kid]

@Nembo_Kid

The whole basis for your hyping of Monaghan this year seems to be Jack McCarron having a good league campaign. He’s been on the Monaghan panel for a while now and has talent but he has done nothing at Championship level, in fact, he has been very subdued so far in both his outings, managing just 1 point from player over the two games against Fermanagh and Cavan.

McCarron looks like the classic case of a winter footballer. No pace for when the ground firms up and struggles as a result.

[caoimhaoin]

He was out for 2 years with knee and hamstring issues.

Didn’t see the game but the considered opinion of unbiased people seems to be “exciting, but poor/average quality”. Tyrone will hammer Down was the prediction. Which says it all

[anon61956325]

It wasn’t as cynical as other games which provided a decent spectacle - Down getting a decent lead made Monagahan come out and force it obviously … thought they got some soft frees and Down tired also… They will trouble Tyrone but they won’t have enough for 70 mins.

[Nembo_Kid]

The considered opinion of unbiased viewers was that it was one of the best game in years and best game to date in the Championship this year. That is what the unbiased opinion of people was.

You were bigging this Monaghan team up on the basis of McCarron having a good league campaign, I think it’s clear to see you are completely clueless on football given your read on the Ulster teams.

[thedancingbaby]

Unbiased here mate. Excellent game. One of the best in years. Don’t think it’s fair to have a pop at @caoimhaoin though. He said he thought Monaghan are better than Down and they are. The beauty of sport is that there are upsets now and again. If there wasn’t we would all be millionaires.

[Nembo_Kid]

@Sidney

Please post the best Ulster GAA XV at this present time.

Mine would be:

1. Morgan (Tyrone)
2. Walshe (Monaghan)
3. McNamee (Tyrone)
4. McCarron (Tyrone)
5. McCann (Tyrone)
6. McKaigue (Derry)
7. Mooney (Down
8. C Cavanagh (Tyrone)
9. McKiernan (Cavan)
10. Harte (Tyrone)
11. Sludden (Tyrone)
12. Ryan McHugh (Donegal)
13. Donnelly (Tyrone)
14. Murphy (Donegal)
15. McManus (Monaghan)

Subs:
16) Beggan (Monaghan)
17) Clarke (Cavan)
18) Morgan (Armagh)
19) Heavron (Derry)
20) O’Connell (Monaghan)
21) McKernan (Down)
22) Donnelly (Fermanagh)
23) McBrearty (Donegal)
24) S Cavanagh (Tyrone)
25) Clarke (Armagh)
26) McVeety (Cavan)

[Nembo_Kid]

He said Monaghan were streets ahead of Down. He also said that Monaghan and Donegal were a level above Tyrone.

Tyrone blitzed Donegal last week and Monaghan were then knocked out by a side he claimed they were streets ahead.

He’s a very poor reader of the game.

[Sidney]

That’s a fine selection.

I’d have Kevin McKernan at midfield instead of Gearoid McKiernan but McKiernan is a great player too and would walk into any other provincial selection were he from another province.

Karl O’Connell would also be knocking on the door for selection but again it’s difficult to see who’d you’d leave out for him.

The Cughes brothers from Monaghan would surely be worth squad places at least.

Odhran MacNiallais is not currently playing inter-county football but that doesn’t necessarily rule him out of an all-Ulster team.

With quality like that in such abundance it’s easy to see why Ulster nearly always win the Railway Cup.

[thedancingbaby]

Monaghan beat Down by 19 points last year. They were streets ahead. It was some turn around by Down and great credit goes to them and Eamon Burns in particular even if Monaghan were slightly complacent last night.

Tyrone were always the team to beat in Ulster and it looks like they will win it. I watched the Donegal game in full on Thursday and while it is difficult to make a proper judgement when you know the result already, it seemed they had one of those rare days where everything they kicked went over. That won’t happen every day.

I still have them behind Mayo, Dublin and Kerry in the race for Sam.

[Nembo_Kid]

Were and are. Thye’re two different things, pal.

Down were very impressive against Armagh a few weeks ago and people should have taken note of that performance. I didn’t expect Down to win but I didn’t think it was going to be a trouncing.

The signs aren’t good for Mayo right now, they’ve been wrote off a bit for the last few years but the legs seem to be going on a few important players for them and the side is aging. I think they have a massive task on their hands this year - the qualifiers are a dangerous path too as they discovered against Fermanagh last year.

[thedancingbaby]

The signs were similar for Mayo this time last year and they should have won the All Ireland. They will still have a massive say in my opinion. If they are to beaten, I will be surprised if it’s by a team other than Dublin or Kerry.

[Nembo_Kid]

They’re a year older now, not much fresh blood has came in from 2011.

Diarmuid O’Connor, Patrick Durcan and Harrison are the only players to make any sort of impact since then.

There is lots of signs of the rot setting in some key players, Higgins, Boyle, Seamus O’Shea all look like their legs have gone. It’s 6 years on now since 2011.

Mayo (SF v Kerry): R Hennelly; T Cunniffe, G Cafferkey, K Higgins; R Feeney, D Vaughan, T Mortimer; A O’Shea, S O’Shea; K McLoughlin, A Dillon, A Moran; E Varley, A Freeman, C O’Connor.

10 of that team is still on the road now. It’s an old team with not too many signs of much coming through so you’d have to think their best chances have came and passed. They’re falling behind now. Tyrone are moving forward, Kerry are moving forward. Sides like Kildare and Galway are taking strides forward as are others such as Down and Armagh. Donegal have already started their transition. I think it will be a fairly convincing victory for Kerry in the QF this year which will be the death knell for this Mayo side.

If their minds aren’t right for Derry either next week then a pretty poor Derry outfit could well be the end of it.

[Julio_Geordio]

@Bandage

Jacqui’s improving all the time as a sport broadcaster. She was good on the Euro 2016 highlights show last summer and she was enthusiastic, probing and informed tonight. Much better than Lyster or Cahill anyway.

TBF to her at least she has some knowledge of sport unlike most of her colleagues male & female alike.