Offaly Forum



Popular Posts from faithful4ever

Click on the subject to bring you to the county where the message was originally posted 


Has The Sport Gone Too Soft And Are Commentators Now Being Muzzled? - 3 Like(s)
Yesterday's crunch game between Cork and Clare led to a golden moment with Anto Daly at half time when he clearly enjoyed the outburst from Clare joint-manager Gerry O'Connor after he pushes Cork's Daniel Kearney to the ground with Anto calling it a passionate outburst that Clare probably needed at that point. Let me start by saying that I do not exactly condone the actions of Gerry but can also see how frustrating it must be to be an official on a sideline during such a high pressure and tense affair and when an altercation is breaking out with players near / on the sideline it would be hard not to get involved.

The part I found most interesting was when Daly initially made his comments he was quickly curtailed by Joanne and Daly (comically) quipped "look i will toe the party line and say that this is not acceptable (paraphrasing here)... but still enjoyed the outburst and the impact it seamed to have on the crowd. Something else that caught my attention was Daly's sudden change of tune when the presenters returned from a commercial break. Clearly someone got onto Daly and told him to change his tune (albeit he only party done so).

Obviously the older generations are going to be more inclined to agree with me when i say that the game has gone quite soft, with cards flying everywhere and managers and backroom team staff being sent from the sidelines for virtually any kind of dissent lately. And it now clearly seams that those in the commentary box are being held to a specific tune in this regard by either the GAA or RTE.

Interested to know the general GAA community's opinion on this.

faithful4ever (National) - 17/06/2019 15:49:30

Has The Sport Gone Too Soft And Are Commentators Now Being Muzzled? - 2 Like(s)

Replying To thelongridge:  "We have to get on with the present rules. Daly's comments were not acceptable, and it was right he retracted at the break. What is it about Clare mentors and match officials/ opposition players?.
Gerry O'Connor's actions were totally wrong.

Eddie Brennan on The Sunday Game that night was right in stating attacks by team mentors/officials are never acceptable."
Ah come on, he pushed the player in the heat of the moment. "Attack" is a very very strong word to use in this instance. If we keep going the way we are going, Gaelic Games will become riddled with diving, play acting and all that nonsense that makes soccer so unbearable to watch these days.

Granted, he shouldnt have done it, but he did, he will be punished, get on with it! If a player commits a cynical foul on the field and it leads to a score / prevents a score and the team wins, the commentators always say that the foul was "well timed" or the player "took one for the team". The player is generally still punished in accordance with the rules and the commentators give their opinion on the matter and thats it. How can this instance be viewed as being any different? The official was punished by being sent to the stands and will likely receive a ban but it could be argued that it riled the players and crowd up which ultimately benefited the team.

Sean Kavanagh definitely shouldnt have dragged Conor McManus down back in 2013. Plenty of pundits said he done the right thing (or at least that they would have done the same thing) while others (such as brolly) were furious at the cynical nature of it. Why then, should commentators like Daly be muzzled for giving his opinion on this controversial matter??? Commentators should have absolute freedom of speech until such speech offends law or is derogatorily personal in nature and Daly's comments were neither.

I would beg the GAA to please not let the sports that i love conform to the snowflake nature of my generation...

faithful4ever (National) - 20/06/2019 12:08:36

Open Letter To R.T.E. - 1 Like(s)

Replying To DermotTrellis:  "Can I point out that it is a satirical letter?"
Pretty sure that is lost on a lot of people Dermo

faithful4ever (National) - 18/06/2019 11:49:34

Has The Sport Gone Too Soft And Are Commentators Now Being Muzzled? - 1 Like(s)

Replying To GreenandRed:  "Discussion is just that but McStay must be muzzled? He's not a greyhound! I think Buff Egan is right. The Sunday Game and that era of punditry means little to our youth. They should lighten up a bit. Good analysis and a bit of craic would do no harm. It's like a wake some nights."
I agree on the "lighten up" bit! Although im from the younger generation (but im going to refrain from being specific on my age for obvious reasons) and there's nothing more enjoyable than listening to Brolly and Spillane goad each other in a heated discussion but yet still hit vital points of argument. It perfectly combines proper analysis of tactics and key battles with light-hearted (albeit not always light-hearted) banter which is enjoyable, engaging and doesnt bore the S*** out of the audience. The sky sports punditry can be sleep-inducing to listen to at times!

I dont exactly condone violence by officials but good god football and hurling has gone so soft in the past 10 years. its painful to see a referee never take the whistle out of his mouth rather than just letting the game flow. And with punditry, the commentators are all different and have their own opinions. Let them speak and let the other commentators who disagree with them, do so and make it a proper 2 sided affair. I couldnt get over Daly's sudden change of tune after the commercial break, it was blatantly obvious someone had got on to him to retract his statement (although i love how he only half retracted it haha).

faithful4ever (National) - 20/06/2019 10:58:29

"Just Not Enough Good Men" - Brolly on Mayo - 1 Like(s)

Replying To Pope_Benedict:  "I think Brolly's article is being taken out of context here, possibly because people haven't bothered to read the article, And in fairness, why would you read it? Three minutes you won't get back, and all that malarkey.

I was surprised when I did read it, because the 'good men' reference in the article specifically relates to the squad's issues with managerial teams, in particular Connelly & Holmes. That was the context of the 'manliness' criticism in the article, as opposed to any slur against the Mayo players on field manliness.

Brolly was tending more to question the squad's 'moral manliness' off the field, as opposed to their physical manliness on the field of play. When you've given away your kidneys, you are fully qualified to do this."
I was thinking this all the while reading this thread. And as far as the Mayo squad and managers are concerned, I totally agree with Brolly in that regard. Their ability and willingness to blame managers for their own failings on the pitch is unrivaled in the GAA realm.

Did Brolly go too far, no! i dont think he did at all! He is a sports pundit and if he doesnt speak his mind and be frank about his opinions he will be boring. Does he sensationalise at times, of course, thats part and parcel of the job. Also, it should be highlighted the Brolly did not tar all the Mayo players with the same brush and he mentioned that there were honorable players on the team. However, you can guarantee there will be some of the players calling for Horan's head in the coming weeks. Many of whom will be doing so in an attempt to take the focus away from their own performance on Sunday.

Just to clarify, nobody can say Mayo played particularly bad and no player stood out as having a shocker of a performance. The reality is that they were beaten well by a far superior team. Unlike 2016 and 2017, "bottle" cannot be blamed for Sunday's performance. The simple fact is that Dublin were by far the better team!

faithful4ever (National) - 13/08/2019 16:27:53