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Not sure. Maybe they're in Philadelphia! Seems like all decent young Donegal footballers are spending their summer there. A great way to spend a summer playing ball in the States. Not sure how the transfer situation works these days. I'm sure their clubs will be keen to have them back & eligible for club championship back home.
Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9510 - 30/06/2022 15:16:00 2428853 Link 0 |
Yeah the players you mentioned are all quality players, I think a few of them could break into the Senior team next season, but the Club Championship might unearth a few others too, hopefully it does. An option that is probably overlooked is Benny McLaughlin from Malin, considered to be one of the best wing forwards in the County, I'm not sure why he hasn't previously been a part of the Donegal setup, maybe personal reasons or work commitments etc, Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1193 - 30/06/2022 15:22:20 2428856 Link 0 |
Was he not in under Jim or Rory. Maybe the brother but didn't really cut it, if my memory serves me.
rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2553 - 30/06/2022 15:31:52 2428859 Link 0 |
I think some of the freshening up is not necessarily about an introduction of a whole host of new players. The current donegal set up have been good at introducing players. Typically it tends to be a player and year and that's plenty satisfactory. Think shane o'donnell, brendan mccole, peadar mogan, mcff since 2019. It's hard to believe that if oisin farrah got a run at full match fitness he'd have broken through fully. Aaran doherty and Conor o'donnell got game time this year and will get another go next year. Rory o'donnell made his debut as did caolan mccolgan and Jamie grant. These lads as well as one or two more from the under 20s will get a chance next year though it could take a few years to fully bed in. Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 780 - 30/06/2022 15:36:49 2428861 Link 2 |
can i ask , of the new players mention what height and strength are they ? we lack power especially in our defense . red.hugh (Donegal) - Posts: 176 - 30/06/2022 16:10:33 2428868 Link 0 |
Big tall boys like Paddy McGrath and Frank McGlynn and heavy boys like Martin Shovlin,
gunman (Donegal) - Posts: 1121 - 30/06/2022 17:32:27 2428889 Link 0 |
Have you any new players lad that could make a difference. Be interesting to hear you seem to be well up on your gaa ??
rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2553 - 30/06/2022 20:27:40 2428908 Link 0 |
So scoring a goal against as you say against a very average division 4 team should guarantee you a place on the Donegal team. You never fail to disappoint lad. My old granny is 80 and she knows more about football than. You do. Comedy gold would sum it up."]Haha the same boy that raves about our current management team and is looking to offer them an extension after getting beat by that same division 4 team in a comedy gold performance not so long ago. You not see his performances in league as well roryboy. I guess you and our mgt are looking through the same glasses lol
marty234 (Donegal) - Posts: 158 - 30/06/2022 20:42:01 2428910 Link 0 |
Conor O'Donnell isn't good enough for a Championship starting spot right now, he needs more time to develop his game, but definitely has the raw potential to become a great future player. I noticed his impact was magnified in games where he was still relatively unknown, where the opposition weren't paying attention to him and giving him a free reign. However in games where he was getting attention, his influence was diminished. Running in to tap in a goal is welcome, but you have to also look at performance for the total time on the pitch, and while Conor is definitely a up and coming star, I think he needs more time and needs to work on his game more."]interesting selection i say all your impact subs would then all retire and you soon be joining very average cavan in division 3"]Are you going to keep him until he is a pensioner?. Looking at some of our individual performances this year with some major loyalty being shown to these individuals. I think o Donnell has been very unlucky not to start. marty234 (Donegal) - Posts: 158 - 30/06/2022 20:45:29 2428911 Link 0 |
I don't think ever did, I heard he was contacted, but opted not to join the panel years ago due to work/family commitments at the time. A lot of players and coaches rank him highly and believe he is a better wing forward than many players in the current setup. Obviously that means nothing unless he joins up and shows what he can do, but it would be interesting to see if management gave him a shot and he is interested this time. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1193 - 01/07/2022 08:09:19 2428923 Link 0 |
You must know him lad, if you know he's interested. Not much previous managers could do if he wudnt commit. Another thing huge step up from playing div 2 football to making it at county level.. you'll probably mention Ryan Bradley but players like that don't come around too often..
rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2553 - 01/07/2022 09:50:05 2428932 Link 0 |
So scoring a goal against as you say against a very average division 4 team should guarantee you a place on the Donegal team. You never fail to disappoint lad. My old granny is 80 and she knows more about football than. You do. Comedy gold would sum it up."]Haha the same boy that raves about our current management team and is looking to offer them an extension after getting beat by that same division 4 team in a comedy gold performance not so long ago. You not see his performances in league as well roryboy. I guess you and our mgt are looking through the same glasses lol"]You keep coming up with the solutions lad. Would love to know what level if any you played at, going by your knowledge it's probably the latter. Ha,
rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2553 - 01/07/2022 09:53:18 2428935 Link 0 |
I don't think snobbery against players operating outside Div1 is helpful. Plenty of good intermediate and even junior club players have represented the county with distinction over the years. If you're good enough it shouldn't matter what club you're from.
Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9510 - 01/07/2022 11:47:03 2428966 Link 1 |
I didn't mean to come across as belittling players from smaller clubs. Far from it alot of our great players have come from smaller clubs. In fairness to our last few managers they have played a lot of these players ie, Mc menamin. Mc gonagle. C o donnell, David Walsh, etc.. but this Mc Laughlin boy from malin must be in his mid 20s because I don't recall him playing on any of our underage county teams this last 7 or 8 years.. at that age it's very hard to come in with s&c etc.
rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2553 - 01/07/2022 14:59:20 2429019 Link 0 |
Not talking silly, everyone has their right to a view and I respect that. But I just don't buy the idea that the players aren't good enough. It's a cop out for me and it's a way of excusing almost anything. In 2010, we had a pretty abysmal year and within 2 years were All Ireland champions. I always believe the players are in Donegal. We have really only awakened as a proper force since the McGuinness era, before that we were always talented but the structures weren't really in place. The McGuinness era was a culture shift and badly needed. The problem is that we have pretty much reverted back full circle again. I don't see why management needs more than 5 years and why it needs constant defending at this point, sorry I just don't get that. It's a shame that Declan hasn't read the room and clearly next week's meeting with McGrath means he is staying on, as it wouldn't be made public knowledge in advance if he was being asked to step aside. Again, I'm at pains to say most people in the county have massive respect for Declan and all he has given in service to Donegal football, but sometimes it's time to face actual reality. Donegal_abroad (Donegal) - Posts: 1383 - 01/07/2022 17:02:35 2429065 Link 0 |
Fair enough. I think S&C is a small bit overblown to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I know that in order to play county football you need to be flying fit and explosive power is important for sure. But I think somewhere along the way some management teams forget the most important ingedient of all and that's actual footballing ability. If there are players within the county good enough footballing wise to play county I wouldn't be dismissing them because they haven't a huge block of S&C done.
Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9510 - 01/07/2022 17:22:13 2429068 Link 0 |
No I honestly don't know him or any of the Malin players personally. I don't know what the reasoning was for him turning down an invite to County setup, I heard he was invited a few years ago, possibly during Rory Gallagher's time, but I'm not sure when and by who. I don't know if he ever played underage either, but he is definitely rated highly.
Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1193 - 01/07/2022 21:09:21 2429106 Link 0 |
Yeah I would agree, but I think he was maybe referring to players who never featured at minor or U21/U20 for County, like its probably rare for someone to make the jump into the Senior panel at a later time. In Kerry I heard years ago that they divide the County into 4 regions and the best players from all clubs in each region get a run out and they have selected players for Kerry Seniors from lower divisions based on those performances, so there is always the potential to unearth a gem here or there. It might not happen very often, but still that one player could make a big difference. Maybe we should try something similar to Kerry, see if anyone stands out. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1193 - 01/07/2022 21:14:55 2429109 Link 0 |
Yeah me neither, I don't know much about him in terms of his history or age etc, but people who I consider to have a keen eye for players with talent reckon he is the business, like he has the tools and quality needed to play for Donegal. But who knows, maybe he has no interest or maybe Donegal selectors don't really agree, I'm sure they would approach anyone who makes the team stronger. I mentioned in my post to Lockjaw that its probably very hard to break through into the Donegal seniors if the player hasn't featured at underage every. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1193 - 01/07/2022 21:20:12 2429110 Link 0 |
Are you going to keep him until he is a pensioner?. Looking at some of our individual performances this year with some major loyalty being shown to these individuals. I think o Donnell has been very unlucky not to start. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1193 - 01/07/2022 21:25:48 2429112 Link 0 |