you would swear the final the year before was much better..it was awful..2011 while dramatic was also a poor final..we havent had a good final in a while really

fabio8 (USA) - Posts: 2182 - 04/02/2015 21:59:50    1690249

Ideally: we'd all love every game we watch to be two evenly matched teams who play man to man football with great dauls and displays of skill for all to see.

Realistically: even 'the good oul days' only had one or two classic games per season and the rest wouldnt merit another look. 'Football the way it should be played' benefits about two or three counties at most while the rest have to play lambs to the slaughter.

A pundit or anyone else for that matter is living in fantasy land if they expect every game in the calender to be a cracker, that's never been the case, so deal with reality first and foremost. Secondly, teams should be hailed not ridiculed for finding a way within the rules to beat or stay competitive with a skilfully superior team. There are soccer managers who play defensive tactics at even the biggest clubs and get hailed as a genius for bringing success. Reality still needs to set in for some..

SaffronDon (Antrim) - Posts: 2386 - 05/02/2015 09:28:58    1690274

Lockjaw
Spillane going on about "how the cream rose to the top" (apparently he said that on the Sunday Game, although I haven't seen it) just illustrates how blinkered he is. As someone mentioned earlier he has spent over a decade chastising Ulster teams for their approach but when his own Kerry side adopt the same tactics all of a sudden he can't see the forest for the trees. Laughable really.

Let's be fair now. Kerry didn't do what donegal or tyrone did, there was obvious differences. Their system was a fair bit more dynamic - you didn't see 3 lads sprinting back into the defence as soon as the ball was thrown in.

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 05/02/2015 09:53:06    1690282

I would agree with Muckross somewhat. I've played in conditions up here where even soloing was a challenge.

Watching the Derry game the other day I thought that while Donegal kept possession with hand passing at times, it was mainly when the job was done and to demoralise Derry. Don't forget we have the option of flinging it in to Murphy who tends to cause havoc in and around the small square. Also, Paddy McBrearty won some great ball from kicked passes.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9154 - 05/02/2015 10:07:20    1690287

Fair enough Master but you'd have to agree that Kerry's tactics on the day were a long way away from the romantic total football Spillane tends to espouse.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9154 - 05/02/2015 10:46:44    1690310

muckross have you ever been to club football in dublin?
we were the last county i reckon to have clubs own their own grounds
It was only in the mid 00tys most clubs got their own grounds
and some senior clubs like raheny still play in corporation parks.
and legend92 you will get a wind anywhere depending on the surroundings of a pitch
take croabh chirann ground off the n32 which is a field on its own with no cover
it could be a lovely day leaving the house but when you get their you will always have a wind blowing across that pitch
which when ever i took a free there you could aim for the corner flag to bend it back in but still end up wide the opposite side.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 05/02/2015 10:52:45    1690314

i think some people think dublin exists only in the middle of the city
we do have a coast that runs along side clubs from balbriggan to dalkey
(or bray depending what year they decide to play in dublin or wicklow)

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 05/02/2015 10:56:59    1690319

I don't know whether it is entirely down to conditions or not, but I suppose it has had a huge bearing on how Donegal football has developed down through the years. I know it is more efficient to handpass the ball from one end to another in places like Gweedore, where conditions and pitch location determine how the game has to be played. And there are a lot of other pitches along the west coast of Donegal like this, where Donegal football has traditionally been strongest.

The handpass has always dominated Donegal's style of play, more so than any other county in the country. It's been like this long long before Jim came on board and established his defensive foundation. How many times has the Sunday game lambasted Donegal's 'overuse' of the handpass over the last 20 years! It seems to become part of a players psyche from a very young age, even at U-12 leavel.

I remember Colm O Rourke condemning Donegal's use of the handpass a good few years back about 05/06. He said that he handpass was bred into the Donegal players and couldn't understand that even in 1992, and more so in 1990 when Meath beat Donegal, even though we had the best full forward line in the country at the time in Tony & Manus Boyle and Declan Bonner, we'd still spend all day handpassing the ball out the field and not let it in to them!!

HandballRef (Donegal) - Posts: 520 - 05/02/2015 12:05:30    1690345

Maybe lockjaw, although I would say that the ethos is similar, i.e. JOD coming out the field and playing a completely different role, to me, is total football.

But you have to be careful not to punish the Kerry team because of spillane. Kerry isn't spillane and spillane isn't Kerry.

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 05/02/2015 12:17:37    1690347

True. Fitzmaurice is his own man. Would what you're saying though not be the same with regard to Michael Murphy? Donegal are often heavily critisised for not keeping Murphy at FF. He's probably one of the most influential players we have when played out the field however, a playmaker if you will. I've often said if we had two Michael Murphy's it would be very interesting!

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9154 - 05/02/2015 13:00:24    1690360

Spillane never gave the great Tyrone team any praise and even now likes to throw little digs at Mickey Harte in his newspaper column.Tyrone 03-08 did play a defensive game but never got the praise for attacking football.McGuigan,O'Neill & Mulligan in their prime were class acts.They played a great counter attacking game with Jordan,Gormley,McMenamin popping up regularly on the scoreboard.Donegal similar never got any praise for their attacking football.They cleaned the Dubs off the park capalising on Dublin naviety but also producing a masterclass of attacking football.

HughHunt24 (Cork) - Posts: 841 - 05/02/2015 13:04:36    1690363

Craobh ground out there is windy and cold all the time Hillman!

And on top of that you would have the likes of Mes Amis engaged in recreating "Great Medieval Battles" on your ass :-)

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 05/02/2015 13:26:32    1690372

themaster, the semi-final last year down in Limerick, Kerry consistently fouled of the ball, played puke football, had 2 or 3 men pulling and dragging aidan o shea all day, and no foul given, donaghy went down like a sack of spuds if ya breathed on him. I dont wanna hear anything else about Kerry being purists of football, they were very negative and cynical as much as any of the northern teams which spillane described as puke football. Fair play to Mc Stay for showing the bias of the refeeing decisions that day. It should also be noted that Tommy Walsh implemented the notorius Tadhg Kennelly treatment on Vaughan when he came on. What was done about this? Nothing. Right in front of Deegan, we needed the mayo bull out there against tommy walsh. Maigh Eo Abu.

saddam (Mayo) - Posts: 414 - 05/02/2015 14:02:06    1690385

Yeah a championship match up later in the year pitting big Tommy Walsh against big O'Shea would be worth watching!

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9154 - 05/02/2015 14:16:45    1690387

05/02/2015 14:02:06
saddam
County: Mayo
Posts: 280

1690385 themaster, the semi-final last year down in Limerick, Kerry consistently fouled of the ball, played puke football, had 2 or 3 men pulling and dragging aidan o shea all day, and no foul given, donaghy went down like a sack of spuds if ya breathed on him. I dont wanna hear anything else about Kerry being purists of football, they were very negative and cynical as much as any of the northern teams which spillane described as puke football. Fair play to Mc Stay for showing the bias of the refeeing decisions that day. It should also be noted that Tommy Walsh implemented the notorius Tadhg Kennelly treatment on Vaughan when he came on. What was done about this? Nothing. Right in front of Deegan, we needed the mayo bull out there against tommy walsh. Maigh Eo Abu.

kerry have always done the dark arts but do it very cleverly.Spillane never highlights that though he no problem when comes to Ulster opposistion.Tadgh Kenneally took out Nicholas Muprhy in 09 final. if Sean Cavanagh done that to David Moran there would be murder.

HughHunt24 (Cork) - Posts: 841 - 05/02/2015 14:59:16    1690403

hurlingdub
yeah haha but id rather a windy reinatcment of the battle of the boyne
than a secluded take your life in your hands trip to pope john paul park or the boogies.
the donegal boyos wouldnt be handpassing the ball too much there haha

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 05/02/2015 15:06:09    1690407

well said lockjaw and hugh

saddam (Mayo) - Posts: 414 - 05/02/2015 15:09:22    1690408

05/02/2015 14:16:45
Lockjaw
County: Donegal
Posts: 3740

1690387 Yeah a championship match up later in the year pitting big Tommy Walsh against big O'Shea would be worth watching!

Walsh and Moran against the O'Shea brothers would be some battle

HughHunt24 (Cork) - Posts: 841 - 05/02/2015 15:30:36    1690418

Walsh and Moran against the O'Shea brothers would be some battle
Only if the respective pairs stayed inside their own 21 yard line to create additional defensive cover meaning they never come within 90 yards of their opponent. That would lead to a really intriguing tactical battle - the last thing we want is the 4 of them going man-to-man around the middle of the field as that type of stuff is awfully dull and naieve!

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 05/02/2015 15:43:59    1690425

hill
I have no doubt that it can get windy in Dublin every now & again.

However pitches on the west coast, & many of them are quite literally on the coast beside the sea, are constantly buffeted by on shore winds. Coastal areas also get a lot more rain, put the two together & open attractive football is not viable.

I'm not making a huge deal of this but the natural inclination is to solo & short pass when conditions are not good. When it is the norm week in week out then you adapt your style to suit & it becomes ingrained over time.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 05/02/2015 16:37:54    1690446