If Mc Nulty had kept his fists down against Fermanagh in 2004 and not got sent off they might have won another one.
They were lucky to beat Dublin in 2002.

tireoghainabu (Tyrone) - Posts: 274 - 19/12/2014 12:13:10    1679485

They really were a great team during this period and perhaps should have won more than one All-Ireland. However they could not be branded as failures. They were close a number of years and unlucky to meet some really top teams like Tyrone and Kerry. If we are being harsh they maybe underachieved maybe but definitely not failures.

JimTheLegend (Donegal) - Posts: 247 - 19/12/2014 12:39:27    1679487

JimTheLegend
County: Donegal
Posts: 14

If we are being harsh they maybe underachieved maybe but definitely not failures.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If I was being harsh/honest, I'd say that McNulty himself overachieved as a footballer, and should be delighted to have one AI medal.

If McGeeney or McDonnell or McGrane felt that they deserved more, then fair enough. McNulty was a very average footballer surrounded by some brilliant players, and should be very content with having had such good fortune throughout his career. I'm sure Paddy Bradley, Declan Browne, Benny Coulter and many other corner forwards that McNulty may have marked would have been over the moon with just 1 provincial title, never mind Enda's haul.

Thomas Clarke (Tyrone) - Posts: 1002 - 19/12/2014 12:52:42    1679493

youngfella27

Another ridiculous post. Your reason why Tyrone were the better side in 08 was due to youth. Oh dear god!!

Also how you can state that Armagh were the best team in Ireland in 05? They didn't even make the final.

Tyrone clearly played the better opposition throughout that year (Down, Cavan, Cavan (replay) Armagh, Armagh (replay), Monaghan, Dublin, Dublin (replay), Armagh, Kerry). Armagh played (Fermanagh, Donegal, Donegal (replay), Derry, Tyrone, Tyrone (replay), Laois, Tyrone).

Tyrone's scoring average was 17.8 per game and they conceded 12.8. Armagh on the other hand had a scoring average of 16.1 per game and they conceded 13.8.

Also out of the 3 games that they played against Tyrone, Tyrone were the better team in two of them and the game that Armagh were slightly better they lost.

Wally (Tyrone) - Posts: 912 - 19/12/2014 12:56:16    1679495

Young fella you make every excuse and how Armagh were unlucky not to win more all Irelands yet when we tell you they were blessed to win in '02 you won't have it.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 19/12/2014 13:18:48    1679500

The 2005 saga between Tyrone and Armagh was quite strange. In both Ulster finals, Tyrone were the better team. Oisin picked the ball up off the ground and Canavan was wrongly sent off. Tyrone controlled both games but lost. The Semi final should have been won by Armagh, Mc Geeney coming off freed up Cavanagh and the rest is history as they say. I think Armagh did fail but they were lucky to win one All Ireland. Sligo could have took them in 2002, Dublin likewise and Kerry could have ran away with the final by half time. They were a good team but Tyrone and Kerry were much better in my thoughts.

222 (UK) - Posts: 694 - 19/12/2014 13:54:44    1679506

Posters if the Kerry team of the 00's said they should have won 9 titles Id of said yeah they probably should have or they should have won more cause they walked it some years to Sam , but for a team that couldn't beat Fermanagh one year and barely got over the line and only won one Sam well he's in dreamland that fella.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 19/12/2014 15:07:00    1679517

Yes, great team - really turned the whole thing professional. They were like a rugby league team in size!! Don't think McNulty meant they should have won but they were in a position to win nine. That is entirely different. Prob should have 2, could have 3 IMO.

Brolly (Monaghan) - Posts: 4472 - 19/12/2014 15:49:52    1679522

Armagh, Tyrone and Kerry made this a golden era for football. I believe in time they will be regonised for this. The state of the football championship now proves this fact. These 3 counties were that good it drove others to a new level, think of Fermanagh, Sligo, Limerick etc during this time. I do honestly believe despite the All Irelands shared out Armagh changed the shape of football, be that a good thing or not. They drove the GAA into a professional era in terms of preparation, I remember people laughing at La Manga. Instead of saying just one, I would say they got their All Ireland, a small county who had never made the breakthrough before, that is some achievement. While Tyrone had underage success the lack of respect shown by them to the All Ireland champions during a league match in Omagh a few months after Armagh's win proved how much this drove Tyrone to make the break through. Armagh had led the way and during the 3/4 years these two counties had an intense rivaly which was played out in a gripping match in 2005. There was nothing but perhaps a little bit of luck in it at the end. By 2006 I think Armagh had dipped a bit, but over them Armagh were fantastic to the GAA and fully deserved their All Ireland. They could have won more but they changed the shape of Armagh GAA never again will a team in an orange jersey fear anybody. And respect to Tyrone and Kerry and to great Galway and Meath teams at the start of that Armagh teams journey. McNulty should be proud of his achievements.

sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 19/12/2014 16:19:27    1679525

Armagh never struck me as a serious contender for the All Ireland after 2005.

They were rock solid in Ulster, but lacked the depth and versatility to challenge for another All Ireland. By 2009/2010, Tyrone were ahead of Armagh and Tyrone's back to back Ulster titles in 2009/2010 were a clear result of having no serious sustained challenge within Ulster from anybody.

Armagh had a magical combination of players between 2001 and 2005, However Armagh were unable to replenish that talent as some key men stepped down. For that short Golden period, they became a superpower in football and towered above the likes of Donegal, Derry and Down in Ulster.

While they may well become a serious player in Ulster again, I really don't see enough depth in the current side to tower above the likes of Donegal, Tyrone, Monaghan or Derry in the near future.

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 21/12/2014 18:13:57    1679692

Sam when you say the state of football now do you mean defensive football or what? Cause back then as you say there was 3 teams with a chance of winning Sam but in this era there's 4 teams capable of winning Sam (Dublin Donegal Kerry Mayo) so what exactly do you mean with the state of football now post?

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 22/12/2014 10:05:04    1679738

They didn't score enough

Completely deserved their AI title though.. they were excellent that year

They also scored a beautiful try against Dublin

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20600 - 22/12/2014 10:23:40    1679740

Wally
County: Tyrone
Posts: 114

1679495
youngfella27


Tyrone clearly played the better opposition throughout that year (Down, Cavan, Cavan (replay) Armagh, Armagh (replay), Monaghan, Dublin, Dublin (replay), Armagh, Kerry). Armagh played (Fermanagh, Donegal, Donegal (replay), Derry, Tyrone, Tyrone (replay), Laois, Tyrone).

Tyrone won 2 all irelands in 2005 by the number of games they played. That was an amazingly long season. Likewise Armagh, they played 8 games and didnt even make the final.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 22/12/2014 11:18:40    1679747

everyone has their option and they did play 10 games to get the final but that's not Armagh's fault they had replays and lost Ulster, (I did agree that Tyrone should have beaten Armagh in Ulster), but the All Ireland semi final Armagh just shaded it or another replay at the very least.

Armagh did change the way football was played at that time, made it more professional and I would say that it did tyrone the kick they needed to go on and win an All Ireland.

As I say every1 has their option!!

youngfella27 (Armagh) - Posts: 110 - 22/12/2014 12:30:57    1679759

actually youngefella u are right about replays. It shouldnt be stacked up as separate fixtures, but it is still an amazing run to the final nonetheless. There were a lot of good teams back then. I think the fact down beat them in the first round, cavan, armagh and dublin drew with tyrone says a lot about the standard back then. I remember the first game in clones where armagh and donegal drew, it was a massively close game. good times.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 22/12/2014 13:50:30    1679776

youngfella27

Are you sure that you don't mean 'everyone has their opinion'?

You keep saying that everyone has their option, but that doesn't make sense. I am sure the correct English to use is 'everyone has their opinion'.

Wally (Tyrone) - Posts: 912 - 22/12/2014 14:29:09    1679781

Donegalman,

Down did not beat Tyrone in the first round in 05. You are thinking of 08.

The only team to beat Tyrone in 05 was Armagh...in the Ulster Final.

Wally (Tyrone) - Posts: 912 - 22/12/2014 14:31:49    1679783

Wally


Tyrone absolutely hockeyed cavan in that replay in 05, so that's where the lop-sided scoring averages come from.


It's not completely off-the-wall to claim that Armagh were the best team in the country in 05 (although I'm not saying they were). I have always said that the 3 games played between the 2 teams was of a higher standard than any game I've seen before or since. The face that Tyrone won the 3rd of those by 1 point shows that Armagh were not that far away.

cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5012 - 22/12/2014 17:21:03    1679812

Clondarkindub, yeah maybe 4 counties are capable of winning an All Ireland these days. In fact I believe if a county gets a good run there arw upto 6 or 7 teams capable of winning it. Donegal with very average footballers have managed 2 finals and one of the worst Kerry teams ever have managed to win it. Dublin are strong but are massively over typed and this Dublin team would not have beaten the top 3 between 01 - 06. There are very little good games nowadays, the years between 01 - 06 a high percentage of games were intense and fantastic to watch. The media hype justified the great championship we had and it drove counties to have wonderful era's, think of Westmeath and Tipperary, Limerick and Sligo, a great Donegal and Down team who could not get silverware. Nowadays yes there are a few teams better than the rest but they are not as intense or great as the top 3 back then, it was a wonderful era for football, very average teams are getting to Quarter finals these days.

sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 23/12/2014 18:57:23    1679925

They won 7 Ulster titles in 10 years which is a phenomenal achievement in its own right and they won an all-Ireland. Most counties could only dream about reaching that level of "failure".

Gaillimh_Abu (Galway) - Posts: 996 - 27/12/2014 18:20:50    1679964