IT'S a big game and your expectations are high. You are convinced your boys are going to give the opposition a real rattle. For weeks, you look forward to the game. The thought of the battle puts a tingle in your stomach. Then, the day itself. Your teams flops. They fail to turn up. It’s a disaster.
We’ve all been there. Some men hit the drink. Others go home and kick the dog. Talking helps. A prolonged and intensive post mortem is the most common therapy. Then, there is ‘Raymond from Lurgan’. After reading The Irish News on Monday, Raymond sent the following email:
“'Armagh Done For'” (June 15). What does that even mean? Does 'Donegal' sound like 'Done For' in some dialect? Definitely the worst attempt so far at wordplay by your headline writers. It's so pathetic I'd guess that many readers didn't even recognise what was trying to be achieved.”
[RIB] It’s okay Raymond. We understand. There, there. Just let it all out. Let it out. We can take it. If going ballistic about a headline makes you feel better, that’s all right with us. Like the song says, ‘whatever gets you through the night’. You’ll feel better after Wicklow.
‘Orangewoman’ is obviously a more stoic character than our first contributor. Despite her disappointment, she showed no desire to indulge in criticism of anyone, not even sub-editors.
She said: “All Armagh supporters are disappointed tonight but none of them will feel as bad as our players and management.
“Donegal beat Tyrone and Armagh and they will beat Derry, only because they are a fantastic team.
“Donegal are one of the few teams that can win Sam this year. There is no shame in being beaten by a team of that pedigree. Whether the gap is two points or 10 points, you are still beaten. So come on our young Orange men. It is not the end of the world.”
[RIB] You’re right. Getting beaten by Wicklow, that would be the end of the world.
‘Joe from Armagh’ had no problem accepting that Donegal deserved to win, but he had a quibble to make about Kieran McGeeney’s gameplan.
Joe wrote: “As you’d expect, I am disappointed about Sunday’s result but Donegal were the better team. I would still question Armagh’s tactics. It would appear that they tried to play Donegal at their own game which was fatal.
“Donegal invented this defensive, counter-attacking game. When Muhammad Ali fought George Foreman for the World Heavyweight Championship, he didn’t try to out slug Foreman. If he had tried that, Ali would have lost. Instead, he used his rope-a-dope strategy and when George was tired he knocked him out. Armagh needed an alternative tactic. For example, they could have put two or three big men on the edge of the square and put high balls into them.”
[RIB] Playing Donegal at their own game is not a bad idea. It worked for Monaghan. It worked for Kerry.
Armagh’s problem was that they bore no resemblance to Donegal. Think about Donegal’s goal. James Morgan was left totally isolated on Patrick McBrearty. There wasn’t a sweeper in sight. When have you ever seen a Donegal defender exposed like that? Copying Donegal can work. But the team needs to be coached how to do it.
‘Galileo from Derry’ rang to complain about the Derry county board’s fixture policy.
He said: “I would like to complain about the Derry county board. The clubs are being wrecked without their county players. The county managers are simply calling them in to do ball boys. They aren’t training them. Some clubs have 14 to 18 players missing this weekend. How are they going to play matches?
[RIB] The county board is in a difficult situation. Before last year’s League game against Longford, five players got injured while playing for their clubs. Imagine losing five players ahead of next Sunday’s semi-final against Donegal. This issue was addressed in last week’s Against the Breeze. The problem lies with the structure of the League. If senior Championship status wasn’t dependent on being in Division One, clubs would have no problem playing without their county personnel. Too much importance is attached to the League.
The GAA calendear was one of three issues addressed by ‘Tyrone Caller’
He said: “Tyrone played on the 17th of May. Their next game is on the 17th of June – a six week break.
“There should be two matches in Ulster every weekend. There are only six counties in Munster yet they have two semi-finals on the same day. The Ulster Championship could be run off in less than three months and that would provide more time for club football.
“There has been a call for two referees. One referee is bad enough. Two would only be making it worse. I don’t know any other field sport that has seven officials.
“What we do need to take away from referees is the job of time-keeping. When play stops the clock should stop. There is a lot of time being wasted and deliberately so. Take Michael Murphy’s free-kicks. He was taking about two minutes for each kick.”
‘Ciaran from Ballyholland’ reckons Brian McIver is like Mourinho. Unfortunately for Brian, the comparison was not meant as a compliment.
He wrote: “I tell you now without any shadow of a doubt that Brian McIver's behaviour on the line towards the linesman was akin to Mourinho. He took every opportunity to berate, harass and complain to the linesman and referee (when he came close).
For him and Paddy Tally, two men that were highly regarded in Down to resort to such tactics left a bitter taste in the mouth to say the least. That along with the play-acting of Enda Lynn had me totally confused altogether as I didn't then know whether we were watching Down play Derry or Tyrone!
[RIB] Easy tiger. Comparing McIver to Mourinho is one thing. Putting Derry in the same diving arena as Tyrone is totally out of line.
Frankie Fitzsimons is convinced that Antrim can beat Laois on Saturday. ‘Colm from Belfast’ doesn’t share the Antrim manager’s confidence.
He said: Frank Fitzsimons thinks Antrim can shock Laois. I'm not sure what planet he's on because against Fermanagh in Enniskillen they scored eight points. CJ McGourty scored six from frees and altogether they had about four wides. They only scored eight points against Fermanagh and he thinks we're going to go down and beat Laois. It’s pathetic to think they can get enough scores and beat Laois from playing that type of strategy.
[RIB] What’s Frank supposed to say?
There is unrest among the refereeing community. The Ulster Council’s decision to reduce Gareth McKinless’s ban to six months has not gone down well among the men in black. McKinless initially received a one-year ban after he was charged with striking a match official.
‘Ulster Referee’ wrote: Will all referees in Derry and Ulster unite against the Ulster Council after their disgraceful decision to have McKinless’s ban reduced? As a current referee in Ulster what does that tell me?
[RIB] It should tell you that the GAA’s disciplinary process is implemented by laymen and that the appeals process is conducted by lawyers. Therein lies the problem. Put a lawyer and layman into a legal battle and there is only going to be one winner – Feargal Logan!
Finally, ‘Annoyed Celt’ didn’t choose a very appropriate pseudonym. After he read Brendan Crossan’s Boot Room column, ‘Apoplectic Celt’ would have been a much more fitting title.
He wrote: “What a pile of nonsense! For Brendan Crossan to come out and state that Martin O’Neill has never landed “a really big club job” defies the facts.
“Celtic are a global institution with millions of fans worldwide. They may play in a sub-standard League but that does not diminish the size and magnitude of the club. Go to any major city in the world and you will see Celtic shirts and supporters’ clubs. How dare he in a largely nationalist read newspaper denigrate how much Celtic means to Irish people around the world. As far as I and many people like me are concerned there is no bigger club. If this is the standard of your sports reporters I think I may have to consider buying another paper instead of insulting my intelligence.”
[RIB] Brendan readily accepts that Celtic are a huge club in terms of their popularity and global following. By ‘big club’ he simply meant English clubs that would qualify for the Champions League.
