The Importance of being idle (in Division 3)

A tad pessimistic or maybe realistic, either way staying in Division 3 is vital.

here’s my reasons why.

Gonna update this thread throughout the day

Age of the group
The age profile of the group is quite low. The average being 24.
I think Dessie is the only man on the panel in the thirties club with Gally not too far behind him.
At this stage in their development, they would not be equipped to cope with a relegation.
They are only starting out their inter county careers and not battle hardened for a setback like that.

Going forward

Division 3 for a team in transition is fine…they need to make mistake and in Division 3 the standard is still competitive enough without being too harsh on them.
There is a mixture of some good teams to improve their development without picking up bad habits.
Those bad habits are rife in Division 4.
The higher the standard of competition the lower the bad habits have to be.
Championship prospects

I think we can all agree that we’d take getting relegated if we beat Westmeath in the Championship.
As we know the league counts for very little at the end of the year if you have a big Championship but to prepare for Championship you need to be in those higher divisions.
So short term Division 4 would not be so bad…but we are trying to build and develop players for the future so a long term approach needs to applied solidate our Division 3 status and use it to get ready for Westmeath.

Confidence

These lads, the likes of Anthony Williams, Ryan Burns, Paddy Reilly and Eoin O’Connor will feed off a win for weeks as there will be no inbetween in an early footballers career.
The Highs will be higher than normal and the lows ultra depressing for them.
So a sense of achievement by staying in Division 3 will make a hell of a difference to their confidence as footballers.
They all have ability but we all know how far confidence can take you.
Lacking it and dropping to Division 4 would. Not. Be. good.

Appeal of the Red Jersey

Right, I did a NFL Division 3 in a Nutshell and truthfully it was hard to pick out the top players compared to Division 2 this past 3 seasons.
I was spoilt for choice. It would be an almighty struggle to be enthused in Division 4 and I’m not even a player!
Say you are an upcoming talented Louth footballer wanting to play for Louth.

Buying into it and making all these sacrifices a ‘indentured slave’ has to make to play to play county football no drinking, gym programmes and disciplined lifestyle will be harder to commit to.
This worries me the most and is key we don’t go down two seasons in a row.

Supporters interest
The impact of the Kearney brother’s with Leinster and Ireland combine that with Dundalk FC winning the League of Ireland.
Louth GAA doesn’t look the hottest prospect for a Louth Sports fan.

Success breeds Success and specifically success on the field breeds interest off it.

Also, throw in the fickleness that supporters want to be entertained as well as winning.

I think we’ll get wins in Division 3 that will be /has to be enough to keep us idle in Division 3 as I’ve painted the importance’s above.