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Donegal GAA thread

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Replying To CCFabu: "Absolutely agree with you Green_Gold, those scores are pretty impressive from a defensive point of view with all the caveats of teams getting up to speed in the league. But teams are putting up more scores against other teams as far as I can see. I think defensively we are ok, not perfect but ok considering, whereas we are really struggling for scores" We are struggling for scores because the defenders coming from deep are unable to score and can be ignored by the opposition.That means our scorers can be crowded out.For the life of me I cannot understand how a county footballer is unable to put the ball over the bar from 20 yards whether they are tight marking defenders or not.Examples of what we need are defenders like Tom O'Sullivan and Sean Kelly.If Some of our boys they were 5 yards out they would turn back. If you cannot be accurate with a target of 7 yards you haven't much chance of delivering a good long foot pass.Football is still about good skills ie accurate kicking,good hands,good ball control in tight situations and not doing something that is really annoying like kicking the ball in front of you when trying to lift it. gunman (Donegal) - Posts: 1149 - 07/03/2023 14:08:14 2462547 Link
Replying To CCFabu: "Absolutely agree with you Green_Gold, those scores are pretty impressive from a defensive point of view with all the caveats of teams getting up to speed in the league. But teams are putting up more scores against other teams as far as I can see. I think defensively we are ok, not perfect but ok considering, whereas we are really struggling for scores" I agree that the scores conceded in four of the five games weren't huge in the course of 70 minutes, but I think you have to look at them in the context of the majority of them being cagey games where we controlled possession of the ball for long periods. The Monaghan game was a complete failure. In my opinion, we aren't getting the scores because we are not attacking as quickly as other teams. I hope this is just down to fitness, either because we were later starting, or that we are currently doing gruelling sessions during the week. The only ones who know the answer to this are the players and management, and they are unlikely to tell anyone. SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 777 - 07/03/2023 14:27:38 2462552 Link
Replying To peiledoir20: "Strange that Lacey's own club mate is the main point of contact. I take it he didn't walk in support." He is in as games manager for 7 month period in a paid role. U want him to go on the brew? ryan (Donegal) - Posts: 748 - 07/03/2023 14:59:43 2462562 Link
I wonder has the defensive style of the last decade or so stalled our development of true inside forwards? We have lots of wing back/wing forward type players. We once produced ruthless finishers like Sweeney, Devenney, McFadden, McBrearty, Murphy etc. With Paddy out injured we have Gallen and Brennan as "established" players who could be classed as corner forwards/finishers. Bradley-Walsh and McGroddy have been used very sparingly. I think Kane Barrett was in the squad last weekend but didn't feature. The troubling thing is that anyone good enough is up in the squad as it is. I can't think of too many who have been overlooked. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9759 - 07/03/2023 15:59:11 2462578 Link
Replying To peiledoir20: "Strange that Lacey's own club mate is the main point of contact. I take it he didn't walk in support." As far as I know, he is paid by the county board. Are you expecting him to give up a paid job? What are your thoughts on the academy? How do we go forward from here? We need to get it back up and running again soon and can't just leave it for months. Could an interim head be put in place in the meantime? I am thinking someone who could persuade the coaches to come back. Green_Gold (Donegal) - Posts: 1906 - 07/03/2023 16:06:44 2462580 Link
Replying To Green_Gold: "As far as I know, he is paid by the county board. Are you expecting him to give up a paid job? What are your thoughts on the academy? How do we go forward from here? We need to get it back up and running again soon and can't just leave it for months. Could an interim head be put in place in the meantime? I am thinking someone who could persuade the coaches to come back." I agree with you that it needs to get back up and running, it's the young players that are missing out. Sadly, for whatever reason (as he never went into any great detail) Lacey doesn't look like he will be coming back so things have to move on and get back up and running again. Your guess is a good as mine about who the best person to drive that is but it must be done sustainably. peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1198 - 07/03/2023 16:56:32 2462596 Link
Replying To ryan: "He is in as games manager for 7 month period in a paid role. U want him to go on the brew?" A seven month period seems very short? How did that come about? peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1198 - 07/03/2023 16:59:11 2462598 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "I wonder has the defensive style of the last decade or so stalled our development of true inside forwards? We have lots of wing back/wing forward type players. We once produced ruthless finishers like Sweeney, Devenney, McFadden, McBrearty, Murphy etc. With Paddy out injured we have Gallen and Brennan as "established" players who could be classed as corner forwards/finishers. Bradley-Walsh and McGroddy have been used very sparingly. I think Kane Barrett was in the squad last weekend but didn't feature. The troubling thing is that anyone good enough is up in the squad as it is. I can't think of too many who have been overlooked." It is a good while since Gallen made his debut but in reality with injuries he has only played a handful games at this level since he made his debut..He is still very inexperienced but I think if he gets a clear run at it he will be a good player for us going forward.I would have liked to have seen Kieran Tobin given a chance at the back and we haven't seen much of McGroddy since the Kerry game.. gunman (Donegal) - Posts: 1149 - 07/03/2023 17:21:28 2462604 Link
Replying To Green_Gold: "As far as I know, he is paid by the county board. Are you expecting him to give up a paid job? What are your thoughts on the academy? How do we go forward from here? We need to get it back up and running again soon and can't just leave it for months. Could an interim head be put in place in the meantime? I am thinking someone who could persuade the coaches to come back." No one is going to take the gig as interim. Maybe Maxi, he seems to be the choice when no one else is willing to take a job. The academy is gone for this year ... It needs to be back up and running Next year or Donegal football will fall behind the rest of Ulster. There is only one way Lacey comes back next year and that is if the whole county board goes next year. I don't know the specifics of what went on but it is clear that he won't come back whilst the current executive are in place. As I said before, the young players are the losers here.... KerrymanStuckInDonegal (Kerry) - Posts: 271 - 07/03/2023 17:27:46 2462609 Link
Replying To Green_Gold: "As far as I know, he is paid by the county board. Are you expecting him to give up a paid job? What are your thoughts on the academy? How do we go forward from here? We need to get it back up and running again soon and can't just leave it for months. Could an interim head be put in place in the meantime? I am thinking someone who could persuade the coaches to come back." The coaches will not be coming back after the way they have been treated with rumours floating around by the county board. ryan (Donegal) - Posts: 748 - 07/03/2023 18:25:32 2462627 Link
Replying To eunans4ever: "It still amazes me how people still fall for this wide open spaces of croke park thing. The pitch dimensions are the same as Ballybofey and O Donnell park in letterkenny." Hi eunans4ever" pitch dimensions have been well covered on other forums. Rookie mistake by therock2121 AudiMan (Donegal) - Posts: 683 - 07/03/2023 20:45:44 2462646 Link
Replying To KerrymanStuckInDonegal: "Ulster Football is actually in the best shape it has been since the early 90's. Last Ten years it was Donegal Tyrone and Monaghan dominating. The decade before that it was Tyrone and Armagh dominating. Now you have three very strong teams, Derry, Armagh, Tyrone. Three teams slightly below in Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan. Down are showing signs of recovery as are Fermanagh. Ulster always was and will be the toughest province and this year I think is going to be the most competitive yet. Fancy a Derry / Armagh final that will be tactical and methodical, which means everyone outside of those two counties will slate the game as rubbish" Ulster is probably at its most competitive since the 2000's, but only Tyrone and Donegal have reached multiple All Ireland finals in the last 10-11 seasons and actually won All Ireland titles in that period, so while competitive, not at the level of the early to mid 90's. Derry are looking strong, but I'm not sure they are All Ireland winning level yet. For all the hype, they drew with a wobbly Donegal side in the Ulster final and only pulled away in injury time with a 2 point win, although it was a huge deal for them to get over the line in Ulster after such a long period, but Galway later dismantled them in Croke Park and it raised a lot of questions. Rory Gallagher was ratified as Derry Manager in September 2019, this is his 4th season with them and last season's well deserved Ulster title definitely got everyone in Derry fully behind him now, so this is a big season for him to show he can take them to the next level. I have doubts over this Armagh team, I could see a very determined and talented Cavan catching them in Breffni in Ulster later this year. They are a solid physical team who transition well, but a depleted and lacklustre Donegal side could have taken them last Saturday night. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1340 - 08/03/2023 09:13:36 2462663 Link
Replying To ryan: "The coaches will not be coming back after the way they have been treated with rumours floating around by the county board." There was a mass public walk out by the coaches and a statement by Karl Lacey before the County board muttered a word. Now I don't know the details of the dispute or issues, nor do I have links to either side of this dispute, but I think its unfair to tarnish the County Board with blame for this. The County Board are the supreme GAA authority within the County, the Academy and everyone else ultimately answer to them, and the County Board then answer to the Clubs. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1340 - 08/03/2023 10:05:59 2462674 Link
Just to update anyone who didn't know the executive refused to answer any questions on Monday night. The full time coaches in the county are to run the academy under the rules and guidance of the coaching officer. TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8384 - 08/03/2023 10:20:52 2462681 Link
Replying To Commodore: "There was a mass public walk out by the coaches and a statement by Karl Lacey before the County board muttered a word. Now I don't know the details of the dispute or issues, nor do I have links to either side of this dispute, but I think its unfair to tarnish the County Board with blame for this. The County Board are the supreme GAA authority within the County, the Academy and everyone else ultimately answer to them, and the County Board then answer to the Clubs." They don't answer to anyone that's the whole point. They refused to release information when requested by Karl Lacey who was disputing some of their claims. And they refused to take any questions from club delegates on this matter, and refused point blank again on Monday night. So when you say the county board answer to the clubs, they really don't. TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8384 - 08/03/2023 10:31:08 2462685 Link
Replying To Commodore: "There was a mass public walk out by the coaches and a statement by Karl Lacey before the County board muttered a word. Now I don't know the details of the dispute or issues, nor do I have links to either side of this dispute, but I think its unfair to tarnish the County Board with blame for this. The County Board are the supreme GAA authority within the County, the Academy and everyone else ultimately answer to them, and the County Board then answer to the Clubs." Brendan Devenney delivered the most balanced synopsis of those whole sorry message lastnight on Off the Ball. Well worth a listen. peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1198 - 08/03/2023 10:46:24 2462691 Link
Replying To TheFlaker: "They don't answer to anyone that's the whole point. They refused to release information when requested by Karl Lacey who was disputing some of their claims. And they refused to take any questions from club delegates on this matter, and refused point blank again on Monday night. So when you say the county board answer to the clubs, they really don't." Hi TheFlaker: Time for Croker to step in and see what's happening. If there's chips to fall let them fall. AudiMan (Donegal) - Posts: 683 - 08/03/2023 11:24:26 2462706 Link
Replying To peiledoir20: "Brendan Devenney delivered the most balanced synopsis of those whole sorry message lastnight on Off the Ball. Well worth a listen." Check out this podcast Donegal academy crisis \| Coaching brain drain \| League strugglers \| BRENDAN DEVENNEY by OTB GAA on GoLoud app https://link.goloudplayer.com/s/pGGzFWrylk7L There's the link. SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 777 - 08/03/2023 11:48:04 2462720 Link
Brendan who joined Portadown rather than give full commitment to Donegal.Now that tells it all. neutral (None) - Posts: 358 - 08/03/2023 12:56:33 2462743 Link
I don't know how anyone takes Devenney seriously. A bit like Mortimer from my own county, a super footballer in his day but a bit of a header outside of that. No wonder himself and Wooly Parkinson love chatting tom each other. TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8384 - 08/03/2023 13:03:02 2462745 Link