You have to admire Philly McMahon's honesty in his comments about winning at all costs in the aftermath of the All-Ireland football final but has gaelic football become too cynical?

'I'd have taken my jersey off and thrown it at Rock'

Discuss.

Administrator (None) - Posts: 2274 - 29/09/2017 12:55:18    2051665

Vishred (Mayo) - Posts: 303 - 29/09/2017 13:05:42    2051669

gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 29/09/2017 13:05:57    2051670

Cynicism has always and will always be in the game to some extent, but it would help greatly if the GAA actually started enforcing its own rulebook towards the business of the season, then players may think twice. Also, the black card is no deterrent really, the ladies' system of sin-binning works better in that sense.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 29/09/2017 13:09:36    2051673

Cynical play was invented in the North , but down south theyve just taken it to another level due to superior physicality.

Right ye are then... lol

Just go and have a wee google to yourself there, will give you the key search words

Antrim Kerry 1912 semi final
Antrim Kerry 1946 semi final

Then come back and we can then delve a bit further in to your obvious underlying issues with the North.

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 29/09/2017 13:17:53    2051678

Id agree with the sin bin. Taking a black card in injury time is just the norm to get across the line. It looked awful in the final the last few mins the pulling and dragging to the ground by dublin. But thems the rules. Drag him down take your black card and collect your medal. If mayo were a bit cuter they would have got their draw by doing the same thing when it was level. If o conor was smarter he would have drove the ball inot the fella blocking his kick it would have been brought closer rather than waiting for the ref to clear him.

ritchie (Cork) - Posts: 346 - 29/09/2017 13:24:48    2051681

Not only is it becoming cynical but it seems there's no craic anymore and the players are turning into robots even at club level.

I haven't played now in a few years but there was nothing like heading for a clatter of pints after the match on a sunday with all the lads regardless of the result.
With little personal involvement now I notice those days are a thing of the past and Ive no doubt it has had an affect on the game

bumpernut (Antrim) - Posts: 1852 - 29/09/2017 14:00:49    2051697

Mayo player threw his GPS
Dublin player would throw his shirt.
Meath fans threw stones at our team bus as it came through Navan.................and we weren't even playing them lol

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13650 - 29/09/2017 14:24:24    2051704

In an age of more TV cameras, camera phones, blogs, podcasts etc etc...EVERYTHING is analysed to the finest detail.

Imagine if GAA was covered in this detail during the 1983 final, the 1996 fight, the Kerry golden years etc etc.....there was never a pure football era. In fact speaking to older people they said some of the stuff they got away with years ago wouldn't work today.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11227 - 29/09/2017 14:39:16    2051709

Ridiculous to be honest, the game is far less cynical then it used to be. I would hate for the game to get like soccer were any physical contact is a free and lads diving all over the place and you can finish the game with a hair unmoved on your head.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4445 - 29/09/2017 14:50:44    2051716

cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5010 - 29/09/2017 15:19:26    2051727

In a word , yes.

Condorman (Dublin) - Posts: 983 - 29/09/2017 16:27:37    2051747

I wonder would a simple rule change of a black card offence also resulting in a 25m free in for the opposition in injury time help?

I'm not just thinking of Dublin this year but any team defending a lead.

Laois76 (Laois) - Posts: 1270 - 29/09/2017 16:47:44    2051754

Most sports are cynical except the likes of snooker where the players actually call fouls on themselves. For whatever reason it seems to be really fashionable to bash gaelic football at the moment. It is still a brilliant game to watch when played by the evenly matched teams. OK there was some cynical stuff at the end of the All-Ireland final but you have to remember these lads have put their life on hold and trained hard all year, they are going to do almost anything to win. Hurling is just as cynical as football but nobody talks about it.

Green_Gold (Donegal) - Posts: 1873 - 29/09/2017 16:52:45    2051756

In the 1970s/80s, if a man got hit or fouled, it was a point of honour to stay on your feet and minimise the effect. You didn't want to admit you'd maybe been hurt. Nowadays, any contact in a scoring zone, and some players just hit the deck. That, and the modern habit of soloing into your marker and then collapsing. Yes, definitely much more cynical. Lot less physical though. Game is faster, which makes it much more difficult, but far fewer shoulders nowadays, and a proportion of what seem to me to be legal shoulders will get a yellow anyway.

essmac (Tyrone) - Posts: 1141 - 29/09/2017 17:21:08    2051763

Having played football in the late 50s and 60s, I believe that the game is more cynical today. In the past the game was hard; in man cases dirty but there was a certain degree of honesty in the game. The 'third-man' tackle was rife' as was the knee in the thigh leaving you with a dead leg. Striking with the fist, particularly to the kidney area rarely got called for a free. All of these could be dealt with fairly easily (and were dealt with) through rule changes.
Today most players seem to set out to con the ref in ways that are difficult to detect in the helter-skelter of the game. PLayers dive at the slightest touch; grab the arm of the tackler and roll as if they were fouled (often giving rise to bookings); block the runs of players in such a subtle and orchestrated way that it is very difficult to detect (Dublin are the master exponents of this); players shoulder tackled go down as if they were shot and roll around holding their face. There are lots more examples of what, to me, is really cynical behaviour.

neverright (Roscommon) - Posts: 1648 - 29/09/2017 19:48:01    2051791

Condorman (Dublin) - Posts: 983 - 02/10/2017 17:45:14    2052509

Maybe give a points weighting for types of fouls and rules infringements, including yellow and red and sendings off, and give 14 yard frees and possibly penalties if a team goes over a quota of foul points. It's taken from basketball but I think the only real way to stop cynical play is to give away handy scores if a team is constantly breaking the rules in a game.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7335 - 02/10/2017 19:32:01    2052541

seanie_boy (Tyrone) - Posts: 4235 - 02/10/2017 20:38:34    2052557

This idea of 14 yard or 25 yard frees is just a ridiculous notion. Imagine the kind of codology that players would start attempting. Down by two with a couple of minutes left, ball in their own half and trying to instigate or simulate an offence to get the ref to give a 14 yard free. Imagine the pressure on the ref. A non-starter of an idea.

Gavvygavgav (Dublin) - Posts: 382 - 02/10/2017 23:17:38    2052583