Well we now have a manager in place and to me the only choice the county board could make. He knows the players well , age wise is not too far apart from the players and has the experience of being on the sideline on All Ireland final day.
Just hope too many of the panel don't retire ( I don't think so) and hope to see him bring in a few new faces. To me , all in all a good nights work by the county board.
What do people think of the appointment, especially people outside of Donegal
So I do wish Rory and the other two appointments plus all the players and anyone connected with the county the very best of luck.
With a three year appointment plus an option of one let's hope SAM arrives back in the county within that time :::: First Fermanagh man to manage an All Ireland winning team.

SamOnErrigal (Donegal) - Posts: 1427 - 01/11/2014 09:33:08    1668790

For Donegal i think that is a great appointment. More or less continuinity which will keep some borderline retirees going for another year or two.
Just wonder will he want to make his imprint on the team and be more attacking that say Jim was rather than say go with the same tactics and get the jibe sure that is jim's team anyway

woops (Kerry) - Posts: 2073 - 01/11/2014 10:36:03    1668796

Good news, and it is great that the county board did the right thing announcing him asap.

There wont be as many retirements as there could have been a month ago. But it will be interesting to see if certain lads start when they were brought from the bench this year and vice versa. It will also be interesting to see who is blooded in in the league.

We have a great year ahead of us. Gud luck to Gallagher and his team!

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 01/11/2014 10:38:56    1668797

Great appt by Donegal. Makes loads of sense.
I think Mayo have made a major boo boo going with a system that has never worked in the GAA, but Donegal have kept the show on the road with Rory, and this in my eyes makes them a favourite again for next year with Dublin and Kerry

The best of luck to Rory and Donegal

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 01/11/2014 10:56:21    1668799

I think the general view from anyone I've been talking to is that Donegal were an ordinary team made extra ordinary by one talented manager who got everyone "on-side" and bought into what he was trying to achieve. Will Gallagher have the same effect? I have my doubts somewhat.

People in Donegal can say that the future is bright considering what your minors done this year (and rightly so, they were a fine outfit) but underage success is no guarnatee for any future senior success. Take us for example, we have 4 All Ireland U21 titles since 2002 and we aren't any closer to winning an All Ireland since then (in fact we've fallen further behind in the pecking order).

ahsure. (Galway) - Posts: 1569 - 01/11/2014 11:05:17    1668802

woops
County: Kerry
Posts: 1136

1668796
For Donegal i think that is a great appointment. More or less continuinity which will keep some borderline retirees going for another year or two.
Just wonder will he want to make his imprint on the team and be more attacking that say Jim was rather than say go with the same tactics and get the jibe sure that is jim's team anyway

Very good point woops.

There is a big difference between the 2 men that has emerged already. Rory Gallagher said last night that he wants to sit down and talk with the clubs about getting a balance between club and county next year. That is something different. I think that because he has managed a club team during donegals run this year, he knows what this issue is like on the ground as opposed to reading it on a paper.

But as for changing the style of play from what JMG has bread into the lads, I dont think so. We heard a lot about how JMG said that every game is different and there is a different approach used, but the reality is that if you use a system, that there is little difference on a given day other than various degrees of how deep you play. For Rory gallagher to change a system that has been in situ for so long, and successfully for so long would be a very big gamble. The real challenge that he faces is perhaps a selection issue. New players v older players. Starting v subs.

I think he will do very well.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 01/11/2014 11:10:55    1668804

Tough to know what to think.

I know this sounds strange but I think that he is coming into a much much tougher situation than McGuinness was when he took over. Can't help but think of the words poisoned chalice

When McGuinness took over he was taking over a squad that had clearly underachieved. The 3 defeats in a row in Ulster would have stung and they were probably were primed for a situation where they were willing to buy in to a new approach. The squad was probably close to the optimum point in terms of the age profile of the squad.

People will look at the squad that Gallagher has taken over and say there is a serious core of lads there who have won an All-Ireland, won 3 Ulsters and have been in the another final. However the problem is a lot of the key lads over the last 4 years are very close to the exit door - you can have a few older lads in an intercounty squad but when the serious core of the team is the older guys that's a recipe for disaster. People will look at the minors and say - well Donegal's minors got to the final this year but nowadays there is a massive gulf between minor football and senior intercounty football, unless a player is a serious physical freak. It will be interesting to see how many of the lads on the Donegal minor panel make their intercounty debut before Gallagher initial 3 year term is up. Even with the Donegal U21s getting to the last 2 Ulster finals - people will look at that and say that those teams should provide a serious amount of players - However the better players fromthose teams like McBrearty, McHugh, MacNiallias and O'Connor are already involved with the seniors - sure there will be others who will come through but the fact that the better prospects are already involved shows that in a sense the cream of those teams have already been harvested.

The big thing is that expectations are way way higher - the fact that the scoreline in this year's final was only 3 points and the way the game went, really wont help Gallagher in terms of expectations for next year. Folk will say - Donegal only lost the final by 3 points, and Durkan pretty much gifted them a goal and we hit the post at the end. All this might be true but it also discounts the whole area of how bad Kerry were in terms of their shooting throughout. The fact that a team who ghot 4 points from 23 efforts in terms of shooting for points says far more about how poor the final was by both sides. Normally in finals at least one of the sides will play well, but in this case both sides played poorly an Kerry's shooting could only be described as awful but they still won.
Under Jimmy in terms of championship DOnegal won in 2012, lost the final this year, lost the semi to the team who won in 2011 and even in the miserable year of 2013, lost to the side that lost the final. That's big hitter championship form which I think even Jim would have trouble maintaining for 3 more years.

It will be very interesting to see if Donegal remain as defensive as they were under Jim - it will be very interesting to see what Murphy's role is especially. Fun times ahead - the club championship is grand and all but I cant wait for the proper business to begin again.

besidetheditch (Dublin) - Posts: 81 - 01/11/2014 11:27:04    1668809

I don't think there will be much of a hangover from this appointment - it was probably the one Donegal people wanted? (Correct me if wrong). Nobody has more respect for Jimmy McGuinness and his methods than myself but the way he's left and how he's done it I think will remove any problems for Gallagher, I don't think there is any lasting issues, no points to prove or unfinished business - although I do believe he'll be back in the future at some stage.

I said earlier in the year that this move has been in the pipeline for awhile, people think that McGuinness and Gallagher fell out and loved to make an issue of it-what was really happening was that Jimmy knew this was the last year, indeed he's always said he needed 4 years to do his work - in an interview recently with Colm Parkinson he talked of the Olympic cycle and he knew Gallagher needed more experience to succeed him and that he has now with Kilcar and the u21s - where he can start to mould his own team now.

Gallagher will actually have some advantages that Jim never had, he'll have the two McHugh's who he'll obviously know very well - If McFadden retires, which he might well do it could be the start of McBrearty in full forward with O'Connor perhaps playing off him. He's getting Donegal at a great time, there is so many more options now for the county and as alluded to before there's the minor team coming through also.

The one down point probably for Gallagher is that he has Tyrone first - Donegal will be expected to beat Tyrone as they have for the past number of years so he's in a no win situation there really but if it doesn't go his way the media will have a field day on him.

GetOverTheBar (Tyrone) - Posts: 1388 - 01/11/2014 12:24:59    1668818

He seems to have the backing of the people of Donegal. I'd imagine ye'll be one of 4 Ulster All-Ireland quarter-finalists next year. Ye're province's more competitive strength and the qualifiers opens up this possibility.

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 7823 - 01/11/2014 12:42:16    1668821

I think Rory will want to leave his own imprint on this team i have
a feeling he is going to make a change on how they setup Mcguinness plan
was successful to a degree if you keep doing the same thing you are only
going to get the same answer. IM sure all the Kilcar boys will be back on
the team and they all should have been there for this year Championship
i think not starting Mcbrearty backfired on Jim he is one of the best fowards
around and Mchugh was a huge loss interesting times ahead for Donegal

wfkerry (USA) - Posts: 933 - 01/11/2014 14:24:51    1668833

Best thing that could have happened considering the sizable loss of Jim McGuinness, I'm sure a lot of Donegal fans feared for the worse when that news broke, at least this way they'll be able to continue in their mode!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8586 - 01/11/2014 15:26:17    1668840

Glad an appointment has been made and the uncertainty put to bed...........

But I gotta be honest here, whilst he would have been my choice of the four known applicants, however i do feel it was a safe bet by the county board, I would liked if we really went for a John Mc Entee or a Peter Canavan of this world, this is an extremely important appointment for Donegal football and i just feel we should have went with something a little different....... This is nothing personal against Rory gallagher and I hope he proves me wrong but I have my doubts about the appointment................

ben1977 (Donegal) - Posts: 364 - 01/11/2014 19:17:32    1668895

A very good appointment by Donegal county board , and I can see Donegal doing very well next year with Gallagher at the helm, he knows the players and he knows the system so it should be a pretty semeless transision .

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 01/11/2014 21:35:55    1668936

Rory Gallagher was always the most likely to take over, no shock in his appointment.

He will bring with him the same level of S&C and Tactical awareness that Jim McGuinness brought. I don't think he will alter the style of football too much, as the system itself is very effective if you have the right players on the field. The biggest change he will bring, is likely in personnel.

I expect Colm McFadden to be replaced by Paddy McBrearty, and Mark McHugh to be back starting alongside his brother Ryan.

Personally I believe McGuinness real gift was his the effects of his sports psychology on talented players who for years had failed to win. Donegal have consistently produced talented footballers, but for years were unable to harness it. Jim McGuinness brought a culture of discipline from which the end product was "winning", which in turn changed that mentality amongst the older Donegal squad and developed the younger players.

Maxi Curran and Declan Bonner have also got Donegal winning at Minor and U21 level, which means the next generation of Donegal players are coming from a winning start. So from that point of view, Rory Gallagher is taking over an experience team used to winning, and will have plenty of talent coming through that will also be used to winning.

I think they will be a dangerous proposition next season, this shake up could prove a masterstroke moving forward.

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 02/11/2014 18:27:02    1669072

where does the man actually live? He played for Fermanagh and Cavan, club football with St.Galls (Belfast) another club team in Dublin and now back with Donegal. Must clock up some mileage wherever he's based!

SaffronDon (Antrim) - Posts: 2385 - 02/11/2014 18:36:25    1669100

SaffronDon
County: Antrim
Posts: 75

1669100
where does the man actually live? He played for Fermanagh and Cavan, club football with St.Galls (Belfast) another club team in Dublin and now back with Donegal. Must clock up some mileage wherever he's based!

I think he has been living in Donegal for years now, I heard he works as a business manager in Killybegs. Kilcar is only a short distance from Killybegs, so perhaps he lives there since he linked up with the Kilcar club.

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 02/11/2014 18:47:35    1669104

yes he lives in killybegs.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 02/11/2014 19:13:25    1669115

legendzxix
County: Kerry
Posts: 4051

1668821
He seems to have the backing of the people of Donegal. I'd imagine ye'll be one of 4 Ulster All-Ireland quarter-finalists next year. Ye're province's more competitive strength and the qualifiers opens up this possibility.

Will we be "difficult opponents" for the Kingdom should our paths cross?!? :P

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9116 - 03/11/2014 11:49:07    1669285

The last thing we should be worried about is beyond the league. I think that it is a big oppertunity to get the ball rolling again, and hopefully stay up in division 1. We have to be worried about the scores of the county finals yesterday. There is not enough ambition being shown in our forward line and we will have to use our resources properly next year. The days of the blanket are now numbered unless you can mix it up with something else, ie scoring forwards, preferably from play.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 03/11/2014 13:11:42    1669329

Lets be honest here he's taking over a sinking ship he's not going to change anything and Donegal more than any other contender needs changes to be made, he'll keep all the same aging players cause he's no choice and he'll keep the same blanket defence counter attack football that is not going to work next year cause Dublin have shown what not to do against Donegal and kerry have shown exactly what to do.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 04/11/2014 09:24:48    1669530