Donegal GAA Discussion Thread

dog_pig

doc_17 wrote: »

I'd say it was he was struggling to make an impact? I thought he carried the ball into the tackle too often and struggled to put his stamp on things.

If that was the case then there were 4 or 5 who should have went before him. Found the substitution fairly bizarre; I don't think the midfield was helped at all with that change.

Redsoxfan

dog_pig wrote:

If that was the case then there were 4 or 5 who should have went before him. Found the substitution fairly bizarre; I don't think the midfield was helped at all with that change.

Agreed, if anything, we needed his height at midfield.

But who are any of us to question Rory Gallagher?

Redsoxfan

charlie14 wrote:

Seeing as it`s J McGs idea, last thing our two resident tactical genius`s will consider I imagine.

Neither of them can read.

charlie14

dog_pig wrote: »

If that was the case then there were 4 or 5 who should have went before him. Found the substitution fairly bizarre; I don't think the midfield was helped at all with that change.

As you say, bizarre. We were getting murdered at midfield from our own poor kick-outs so what the thinking on Lacey is anybodies guess.
Mc Elhinney should have been the switch, or even take off a forward and leave Mc Gee there as well.
It actually looks as if Gallagher believed the problem was starting with our half back line and didn`t even see it was coming from no kick-out strategy other than lump it down the middle where we were getting annihilated.

Nidgeweasel

Remeber when the meeja used to say that Gallagher was the brains behind the McGuinness era:D

Don2012

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

Remeber when the meeja used to say that Gallagher was the brains behind the McGuinness era:D

Lol!

Nidgeweasel

A nice insight from Brains himself.

Good skill, not good stats, is what appeals to donegal manager Rory Gallagher.

He has injected youthful promise into the county’s senior football team this year, and carrying one of the smallest back-room teams in the game, Gallagher prefers to focus on what he can see with the naked eye.

“The first thing I as a coach and we as a management team look for is skillful footballers who make good decisions,” he said.

“A lot is made of tactics,but there are so many split-second decisions that have to be made, whether it is without the ball or with the ball.

“If it is a counter attack you have a decision to make, if you are facing a team that has set-up against your kick-out, you have a decision to make as to where to go.

“ You can point things out afterwards on the training pitch, you call illustrate the rights and wrongs with post match video analysis but you have to trust those players and the best players don’t need a whole lot of guidance that way. They know the right thing to do.”

Gallagher will trust his players to do the right thing more often than not in today’s Ulster semi-final clash against Mickey Harte’s Tyrone at Clones.

Fine margins will determine the outcome and Gallagher won’t need to turn around to a row of ‘experts’ with clipboards sitting behind him to find out what’s happening.

If the GAA has become over dependent on stats for guidance, then the Donegal boss is certainly bucking the trend. Gallagher explained: “Every week we get asked do we want space for our stats team and I have to explain that we don’t have one!”

“We carry a small backroom team.

“We keep our own stats within the management team during a game. We don’t carry a separate stats team.

“I generally think as a coach it should be something that you should be able to see with your eye.

“You can tell when a player is working hard. I have seen players produce the best GPS stats in games without actually really contributing to a football match.

“Footballers come first and foremost - athleticism is part of it but we are not really interested in GPS figures for games.”

Rory Gallagher and Maxi Curran.

It's beyond a joke.

Redsoxfan

Just read one of the replies in the other thread "What now for Donegal" or something.

Jebus wept.

Jayop

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

A nice insight from Brains himself.




Rory Gallagher and Maxi Curran.

It's beyond a joke.

I caught the first half of that Nua GAA show last night and it's quite astounding that a top tier county like Donegal isn't making use of modern statistical technology. There's loads you can't see watching a game on the sideline.

Nidgeweasel

"We're 10 points down again Rory".

-**** I dunno Maxi hi. I mean.... wait I know why don't we change the corner back?

"Great idea boss - here sure will I go on another run across the pitch hey?"

- Eh.... yeah do... and sure tell Michael to drop a bit deeper or something I dunno. Kieran Gillespie... get warmed up and go in for Eamonn Doc.

harpsman

Dissapointing day on Sunday. As soon as I saw the forecast I was worried- we always seem to struggle on hot days. Maybe its a coincidence or maybe our style of play is particularly labour intensive and works better on a cold day.

I was at the end Tyrone were warming up at pre-match and I was struck by how well built they were. Mattie Donnelly, Harte, McCann etc going round w big chests and arms on them. Even Mark Bradley, though not tall was very well built. Alot of the Donegal boys looked very slight in comparison. Given that these guys can all run and play a bit its not surprising there was such a gulf in physicality. I think you can get away with one or 2 very light guys not the no. Donegal had on Sunday. Donnellys first point illustrated the issue- swatted Eoin McHugh aside before kicking under no pressure.

From reading the posts on here people, and Jim, have an issue with the tactics the team played. Defensively we obviously lacked any intensity but I dont think that was planned as Jim is suggesting. I dont think any manager sends out a team with instructions to stand off the opposition- not that im saying the management has no responsibility when it happens. Sunday reminded me of the first 20 minutes of the game in 2011 when we stood off and allowed Tyrone to kick points from 40 yards at will.

In "attack" we seem to have the same plan to essentially continue doing preplanned handpass moves like a rugby team to create scoring chances- only problem is as soon as you come up against any kind of organised defence they just stand in a line 40 yards out and allow you to go over and back until they pick their moment to strip you of the ball. I couldnt make the Monaghan game last year but I cant figure out how they let us score 17 points-maybe the subsequent defeat to Longford showed they werent right last year. Its obviously horrible to watch and ineffective against decent opposition. The thing is we were equally horrible to watch under Jim against teams who matched our tactics-just we were able to grind out wins.

Re the manager-is he anywhere near as good as Jim?- no. Is he a great manager?- No. Is he a terrible coach and manager?- no. In his term we've finished top 4 in div 1 3 times, gotten to 2 UFs, 2 QFs, beaten Tyrone, Armagh, Derry, Galway, Fermanagh, Monaghan, Cork and Antrim. Thats not a bad record. On the downside they couldnt get over the line in 2 winnable UFs and were pretty bad in both QFs. So while the players available are a good bit inferior to what Jim had I still feel Jim would have won at least one of those finals and had us more competitive in the qfs. At the end of the day Gallagher has been around the block a while now between under age, club and county and the evidence would suggest that hes just not going to be a top manager. Question is if hes gone whos going to take over thats better? Declan Bonner?

Think it was McHugh on bbc on Sunday who was saying that alot of people jumped on the bandwagon during the McGuinness era who dont really understand the sport and think that Donegal should be winning Ulsters and contesting all-irelands every year and id have to agree with him. Its not easy keeping up with the 3/4 top teams in the country and Donegal dont have a divine right to be up there every year. We might have to accept a step backwards while we rebuild with whatever manager.

Nidgeweasel

harpsman wrote: »

Think it was McHugh on bbc on Sunday who was saying that alot of people jumped on the bandwagon during the McGuinness era who dont really understand the sport and think that Donegal should be winning Ulsters and contesting all-irelands every year and id have to agree with him. Its not easy keeping up with the 3/4 top teams in the country and Donegal dont have a divine right to be up there every year. We might have to accept a step backwards while we rebuild with whatever manager.

Wee Martin is up Rory's arse. So I wouldn't listen that closely to his views on the manager.

He's right in a broader sense of course about glory hunters or however you'd call it.

I don't 'expect' Donegal to win anything - I don't think any of us do. Been watching Donegal long enough to know that. None of this changes the fact that the manager is a turkey.

2015/2016 he had the benefit of the fumes from the McGuinness era. Now it's his 'team' and yes our league form surpassed any expectations but he's failed miserably once again in a big game in championship and hasn't given us one reason that we could look and say "yeah he's got them motoring alright there". We'll be knocked out and he'll hide behind the 'inexperience.... time angle' and nobody really had any expectation anyway so there won't be mass hysteria. But it isn't addressing the elephant in the room - that he's shíte.

I think he's probably a decent coach. But he's not a manager. AND he's from Fermanagh which should be grounds enough for exile.

harpsman

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

Wee Martin is up Rory's arse. So I wouldn't listen that closely to his views on the manager.

He's right in a broader sense of course about glory hunters or however you'd call it.

I don't 'expect' Donegal to win anything - I don't think any of us do. Been watching Donegal long enough to know that. None of this changes the fact that the manager is a turkey.

2015/2016 he had the benefit of the fumes from the McGuinness era. Now it's his 'team' and yes our league form surpassed any expectations but he's failed miserably once again in a big game in championship and hasn't given us one reason that we could look and say "yeah he's got them motoring alright there". We'll be knocked out and he'll hide behind the 'inexperience.... time angle' and nobody really had any expectation anyway so there won't be mass hysteria. But it isn't addressing the elephant in the room - that he's shíte.

I think he's probably a decent coach. But he's not a manager. AND he's from Fermanagh which should be grounds enough for exile.

Not suggesting anyone on here is a bandwagon jumper-particularly you sados who post every week:eek:.

I broadly agree with you that he benifitted from McGs work in 1st 2 years and that we're not going anywhere too fast with him-and I was somebody who was willing to give him a chance. Dont agree that hes totally clueless though-if that were true things would have gone more pear shaped than they have.

Point is-who do you want to replace him? Cos there definitely are worse managers out there.

Nidgeweasel

harpsman wrote: »

Not suggesting anyone on here is a bandwagon jumper-particularly you sados who post every week:eek:.

I broadly agree with you that he benifitted from McGs work in 1st 2 years and that we're not going anywhere too fast with him-and I was somebody who was willing to give him a chance. Dont agree that hes totally clueless though-if that were true things would have gone more pear shaped than they have.

Point is-who do you want to replace him? Cos there definitely are worse managers out there.

We had a serious squad though with experienced players though who had been around the block and knew how to win.

I'd be worried about the damage he could do long term you know with an inexperienced team that will take a few years to develop.

Of course, who do you get is a problem. There is nothing else there internally in my opinion. Is that a reason to stick with him? I'm not sure.

I just feel we'll be having this discussion again next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.

Don2012

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

We had a serious squad though with experienced players though who had been around the block and knew how to win.

I'd be worried about the damage he could do long term you know with an inexperienced team that will take a few years to develop.

Of course, who do you get is a problem. There is nothing else there internally in my opinion. Is that a reason to stick with him? I'm not sure.

I just feel we'll be having this discussion again next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.

I agree. I am fearful the longer he stays the more damage he could do. If he is still manager this time 3 years from now, alot of our brilliant players will not get the chance to win another Ulster or another All-Ireland under him! I just can't see it. The greats like Murphy is 28 this year, N McGee and McGlynn 31, Lacey 32 for example could win more medals under a different manager but it will feel like their talent is being wasted if he is still here in 3 years time.

The new guns need proper leadership and I feel they're not getting it from Rory. I don't mean to be harsh but sunday was a hard pill to swallow and we are going nowhere with him. I followed them during the good and bad times and I watched them change as a team when mcguinness took over, they had the belief and confidence in themselves that they were as good as any of the top teams in the country. Sadly I don't see that belief anymore.

charlie14

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

We had a serious squad though with experienced players though who had been around the block and knew how to win.

I'd be worried about the damage he could do long term you know with an inexperienced team that will take a few years to develop.

Of course, who do you get is a problem. There is nothing else there internally in my opinion. Is that a reason to stick with him? I'm not sure.

I just feel we'll be having this discussion again next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.

I have followed Donegal for too many years now to have expectations of beating any and every team we meet.
Over confidence is not something that lends itself to anyone that has followed Donegal football for anything more than the proverbial wet week.
What I do expect is at least a manager that can operate on something more that with just a plan A and can identify where problems are arising during a game and take action.
Gallagher for me has nothing from day 1 other than plan A, and with some of the bizarre substitutions (or lack off) not just Sunday, but in his two previous years, it really looks as if he cannot even see what is going on.
Perhaps he is a decent coach, but even that I doubt when you see the damage kick outs into the middle, which we persisted with on Sunday, were causing, but he is no inter-county manager.
I have no idea who should replace him, but leaving him there is going to totally drain the confidence of players, and could very quickly get us back to the state we were in 2010.

The Assistinator

harpsman wrote: »

Not suggesting anyone on here is a bandwagon jumper-particularly you sados who post every week:eek:.

I broadly agree with you that he benifitted from McGs work in 1st 2 years and that we're not going anywhere too fast with him-and I was somebody who was willing to give him a chance. Dont agree that hes totally clueless though-if that were true things would have gone more pear shaped than they have.

Point is-who do you want to replace him? Cos there definitely are worse managers out there.

Kinda get what your saying as someone who has been going to most games for the last twenty years, here's the but when mcguinness came in he had to get rid of this inferiority complex that Donegal teams have always had and make the players believe they are as good as any other team in the country and it worked brilliantly and he used every piece of technology he could find to help his team in anyway.
Look it worked we beat Kerry cork and mayo in the one year we beat the "unbeatable" Dublin in 14 if that was any other time before mcguinness took over we would not have achieved this because of this inferiority complex in us.

Rory on the other hand does not he is quoted as saying in the build up to the Tyrone game that he doesn't believe in gps and the likes and skill beats any other attribute and that the best players know when to change kickouts and the like, well how did that go for us on Sunday. He is a manager that the county board want there not sure why maybe cheap, not going against them the same way Jim did but one thing s for sure if he doesn't go very soon I fear he will do more damage to them young boys and any chance they have of becoming a big team.
As for Martin mc Hugh any twat that called the gooch a one trick pony doesn't deserve to be taking serious and nobody I know thinks we should be winning ulsters and AI every year people only want to see us not been so naive.

Not that one

Really wish RG would have allowed other keepers more game time during Mc Kenna Cup and League.
MAMG restarts are very poor, seems to have difficilty in finding wings without telegraphing his intentions.
Also need a kid with a bag of balls to cover the basics of having a ball near the post ready for immediate re-start.

Good shot stopping on the 1 on 1's on Sunday but id trust the other 2 in those positions also.

Credit to Tyrones midfield generally and the man marking Murphy. He had a great day on anything 50/50.

We were probably naive placing so much hope on 2 young midfielders and expecting Murphy to dominate his man and do a covering job for others. We would have been rubbing our hands in expectation in 2012 if Gallagher/Kavanagh/Bradley were facing rookies.

Id still aim to let the same team (or close to it) start again - perhaps Gillespie or Ward for Eamonn Doherty.
Is Frank Mc Glynn better on the wing rather than central position in order to drive/drift forward with most effect?

Looking ahead, will Longford play defensively and if not, are our players being coached to attack at pace or are we pre-programmed to drift over and back the 45 as soon as a Longford defender stands his ground.

My hopes for Longford game:
Our midfield get 50% posession from both sets of kickouts.
Our keeper speeds up and varies kickout strategy.
Hoping for an pacey offensive approach once we leave our own 45m and not stalling on opponents 45/55m.
Hoping for one defender to be aware of the spaces in defence to stop the pop pass over the defensive line across the 45 that opens us for goals.

charlie14

Not that one wrote: »

Really wish RG would have allowed other keepers more game time during Mc Kenna Cup and League.
MAMG restarts are very poor, seems to have difficilty in finding wings without telegraphing his intentions.
Also need a kid with a bag of balls to cover the basics of having a ball near the post ready for immediate re-start.

Good shot stopping on the 1 on 1's on Sunday but id trust the other 2 in those positions also.

Credit to Tyrones midfield generally and the man marking Murphy. He had a great day on anything 50/50.

We were probably naive placing so much hope on 2 young midfielders and expecting Murphy to dominate his man and do a covering job for others. We would have been rubbing our hands in expectation in 2012 if Gallagher/Kavanagh/Bradley were facing rookies.

Id still aim to let the same team (or close to it) start again - perhaps Gillespie or Ward for Eamonn Doherty.
Is Frank Mc Glynn better on the wing rather than central position in order to drive/drift forward with most effect?

Looking ahead, will Longford play defensively and if not, are our players being coached to attack at pace or are we pre-programmed to drift over and back the 45 as soon as a Longford defender stands his ground.

My hopes for Longford game:
Our midfield get 50% posession from both sets of kickouts.
Our keeper speeds up and varies kickout strategy.
Hoping for an pacey offensive approach once we leave our own 45m and not stalling on opponents 45/55m.
Hoping for one defender to be aware of the spaces in defence to stop the pop pass over the defensive line across the 45 that opens us for goals.

My hopes for the Longford game would be the same as your good self.

Where I can see two problems though are :
1, There has been no change in the kickout strategy in the past two years even though the problem has been obvious over that time, so hoping it will be sorted in two weeks is a long stretch.
2. That pop ball over the defensive line and diagonal balls into that space were used to good effect by Antrim first half round one in Ballybofey.
It was an obvious problem and was even mentioned here by myself and others that we were not the only ones that saw it and it needed to be sorted before meeting Tyrone, and was not.

Some have mentioned here that while Gallagher may not be a good manager, he may be a good coach.
Neither of 1 and 2 would support that imo.

Stoner

charlie14 wrote:

Some have mentioned here that while Gallagher may not be a good manager, he may be a good coach. Neither of 1 and 2 would support that imo.

You'd still have to wonder why McGuinness had him on the books though. He was always the same, he'd big opinions that he shared with the media and from the line when McGuinness was in charge too. I know there was some separation but there was unity too.


You'd often hear about Donegal that they always had the footballers, but that they had some head cases too, you'd hear that McGuinness's best achievement was getting them all out on the same day and playing together.
In that light regardless of tactical skill etc it might be that getting everyone that is good enough to play, playing is particularly important from a Donegal point of view.

Yet there did appear to be something different this year, some new lads, with the right build, mobility and skills etc it was very disappointing to see that fall apart last week.

Never mind the possibility that Murphy seems to have potentially flopped completely. So how was that talent managed? I might earn no favours here but he's a shadow of the player he was. He's not scoring the distance points he use to and he looks the wrong build and shape for a midfield role too. There's that side of things too, the training and shaping of lads, Murphy should have a home now and train and get his body right for it, I assume someone has their arm around him?

Anyway it does appear as if the players are still in the county (to a degree anyway) but they are certainly not playing or set up to get the most of their talents.

dog_pig

Stoner wrote: »

Never mind the possibility that Murphy seems to have potentially flopped completely. So how was that talent managed? I might earn no favours here but he's a shadow of the player he was. He's not scoring the distance points he use to and he looks the wrong build and shape for a midfield role too.

Possibility, seems, potentially, completely. Come on if you really think that he's "flopped completely" then just say that instead of fannying around for God's sake.

I don't know how much you've seen of him this season but he certainly had been in good form up to last Sunday, and his current build looks more suited to the midfield role than it did previously. He's also scored long range points in both championship games so far.

I'm not denying that there may be a coaching or utilisation issue, but I find it hard to justify the idea that he's now somehow a complete flop.

Stoner

dog_pig wrote:

I'm not denying that there may be a coaching or utilisation issue, but I find it hard to justify the idea that he's now somehow a complete flop.

He was a top three player a few years ago though, he'd set a huge standard for himself.

He'll obviously play wherever he's asked and do what's best for the team. But he's not the animal he was under McGuinness he doesn't need the attention he once did.

charlie14

Stoner wrote: »

You'd still have to wonder why McGuinness had him on the books though. He was always the same, he'd big opinions that he shared with the media and from the line when McGuinness was in charge too. I know there was some separation but there was unity too.


You'd often hear about Donegal that they always had the footballers, but that they had some head cases too, you'd hear that McGuinness's best achievement was getting them all out on the same day and playing together.
In that light regardless of tactical skill etc it might be that getting everyone that is good enough to play, playing is particularly important from a Donegal point of view.

Yet there did appear to be something different this year, some new lads, with the right build, mobility and skills etc it was very disappointing to see that fall apart last week.

Never mind the possibility that Murphy seems to have potentially flopped completely. So how was that talent managed? I might earn no favours here but he's a shadow of the player he was. He's not scoring the distance points he use to and he looks the wrong build and shape for a midfield role too. There's that side of things too, the training and shaping of lads, Murphy should have a home now and train and get his body right for it, I assume someone has their arm around him?

Anyway it does appear as if the players are still in the county (to a degree anyway) but they are certainly not playing or set up to get the most of their talents.

" Murphy seems to have potentially flopped completely......He`s not scoring the distance points he use to..." Lol.

Michael Murphy may not have had one off his better days Sunday, but you may have missed he kicked two 45s and a monster of a point in the first half. He also kicked points from free and play from distance for sport in round 1 and throughout the league so I would look on your "flopped" as just mischief making for whatever your reason.
I would look on Sunday as nothing more than Harte doing a JMcG on us as we did to them by targeting Sean Cavanagh 2011 to break Tyrone, and our management didn`t see it coming or do anything about it when it was obvious that was Tyrone`s plan.
We kept kicking restarts to where Tyrone wanted and rather than add some help to Murphy in midfield, Gallagher took off a midfielder and introduced a 5`11" back and further played into Tyrone`s hands.

As to why Jim had Gallagher there in the first place, I would be more inclined to go with Jim`s explanation at the time than any of the credit Gallagher has given himself in the meantime.
He was there because he had a encyclopedian knowledge of other counties footballers strengths and weaknesses.

Stoner

charlie14 wrote:

Michael Murphy may not have had one off his better days Sunday, but you may have missed he kicked two 45s and a monster of a point in the first half. He also kicked points from free and play from distance for sport in round 1 and throughout the league so I would look on your "flopped" as just mischief making for whatever your reason..

I'm not mischief making at all. I'm a fan of his, I'd watch a game just because he was playing,
ok flopped was the wrong word

I've seen him play about 4 times only this year

It seems I'm wrong so as you guys have seen more games. I considered him better than Connelly, Gooch etc four years ago. He'd a rare ability to break a tackle and imo was a far more dangerous player in the games I saw him playing a few years ago than the he's was in the games I saw him play this year. However I wouldn't have the exposure to him that you'd have.

charlie14

Stoner wrote: »

I'm not mischief making at all. I'm a fan of his, I'd watch a game just because he was playing,
ok flopped was the wrong word

I've seen him play about 4 times only this year

It seems I'm wrong so as you guys have seen more games. I considered him better than Connelly, Gooch etc four years ago. He'd a rare ability to break a tackle and imo was a far more dangerous player in the games I saw him playing a few years ago than the he's was in the games I saw him play this year. However I wouldn't have the exposure to him that you'd have.

The problem is that in comparing him on Sunday or indeed this year, on previous years is not on a like for like basis.
Your view of him in the past is when he was playing as an out and out full forward or when he rotated in and out as a full forward.
This year he is being used as a midfielder. I accept that with the retirements, especially of his club mate Neil Gallagher, and our lack of a kick out strategy since Paul Durkans departure, there is a case can be made for him being there on a most needs basis, but to judge him in his natural position as an out and out full forward, then to me at least he is the outstanding full forward of his generation.
There isn`t a full back line in the country that aren`t sleeping a lot more content in their beds with him now out at midfield.

Jayop

I can tell you with absolute certainty that seeing Murphy anywhere other than in the forward line is brilliant to see when he's lining out against you. He's been the best forward in the country for probably 5+ years now and while he's an adequate player in the middle he's wasted there.

Nidgeweasel

For me Murphy and Connolly are the two best footballers in the country. I think they're out on their own to be honest. You've boys like McManus who are excellent but those two are in a different class.

I actually think Murphy is in noticeably better shape and is fitter this year than he has been in a while. The problem is he's being asked to be all things at once and the quality around him has dropped.

I think I said on these pages about February/March time that it was obvious to me that we can no longer play him inside as he is too badly needed out the field. I don't think Donegal with the lack of a plan and the departures can push him inside and let the rest get on with it as it were. It is a clear case of robbing Peter to pay Paul but in the likes of Ulster especially we just can't get away with it.

Goes without saying that he is at his best left inside on the edge of the square. I'd love to see him in there but I don't think we will.

Jayop

He was absolutely busting his balls in the second half trying to do everything himself but it wasn't possible and he just ran out of steam in the end.

charlie14

Jayop wrote: »

He was absolutely busting his balls in the second half trying to do everything himself but it wasn't possible and he just ran out of steam in the end.

If anything the lad is too committed to the cause. My fear is that with him seemingly being expected to be chief fireman putting out all fires that arise by the present management, is going to burn the man out football wise physically and mentally long before it should.

charlie14

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

For me Murphy and Connolly are the two best footballers in the country. I think they're out on their own to be honest. You've boys like McManus who are excellent but those two are in a different class.

I actually think Murphy is in noticeably better shape and is fitter this year than he has been in a while. The problem is he's being asked to be all things at once and the quality around him has dropped.

I think I said on these pages about February/March time that it was obvious to me that we can no longer play him inside as he is too badly needed out the field. I don't think Donegal with the lack of a plan and the departures can push him inside and let the rest get on with it as it were. It is a clear case of robbing Peter to pay Paul but in the likes of Ulster especially we just can't get away with it.

Goes without saying that he is at his best left inside on the edge of the square. I'd love to see him in there but I don't think we will.

Connolly has all the skills, but I would be willing to wager that given the choice between him and Murphy, Jim Gavin would opt for Murphy every time.
Not only would I rate Murphy ahead of Connolly vision wise, but with Murphy Gavin wouldn`t have to worry about being down to 14 men from the throw in because of a bout of petulance.
That alone as a team player has Murphy head and shoulders over Connolly.