Jaysus hill give the lad some credit.
Also he is going over to play with Sunderland.

Most likely play a challenge game for their U21/Reserves, so the swap is quite even.

I think it's a great idea. Would be great to see more episodes with more recently retired players.

GAAHattrick (Dublin) - Posts: 278 - 20/02/2015 11:08:11    1695241

hill16no1man- Its not all the same as playing soccer. Back in the day in London we had a guy called Mick Flanagan, ex professional soccer player and capped 3 times for England B, train our hurling team. He was a damn good trainer and brought a different approach to our training methods. He togged out for our junior football team without any prior practice. His skill level was plain to see and I am sure with some practice and familiarity with the 'physical' side of things he could have been very effective.

I believe he scored a point from play. We let him take a couple of frees, in those days they were taken off the ground. He just couldn't get the knack of rising the ball to go over the bar. His whole football career, as a striker, was to keep the ball below the bar. Even up at training he couldn't manage the free off the ground.

Glensboy (Antrim) - Posts: 290 - 20/02/2015 14:33:22    1695328

calm down ladies
im not having a go at the guy
im reacting to the opening post
as if bentley has done something remarkable and shown gaa fitness levels up
he went to a club team and played a challenege game
hardly the same as an inter county set up
its all a tv show id rather ramseys kitchen nightmares for entertainment

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 21/02/2015 09:22:11    1695428

Lol fair enough belclare. maybe not the most relevant thread ever created on Hoganstand, and the comparisons were silly, but it does show that in some departments, GAA players are indeed in the same league as the pros.

joncarter (Galway) - Posts: 2692 - 21/02/2015 14:40:16    1695477

joncarter

inter county players would be all round fitter than soccer or rugby players
as you have to take into account football in particular has to marry strength speed and stamina
soccer is more about speed and ball work with very little strength work done
rugby has morphed into an anarobic training as they are more like body builders than athletes
paul o connell couldnt run 100 metres without falling over himself
so taking all aspects of athletic fitness into account a gaelic footballer has the most array

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 21/02/2015 17:05:30    1695521

Dont disagree with that hill.
i said in the op that GAA players arent as fit as the pros, but maybe i was being unfair. From an all round point of view theyd be well able to hold their own.
id like to see it put to the test.

joncarter (Galway) - Posts: 2692 - 21/02/2015 17:13:32    1695522

Didn't the Irish sports council have a testing day last year in which jack McCaffrey was classed the fittest from a range of sports personal

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 21/02/2015 18:22:57    1695544

different kind of fitness would imagine..soccer lot of it is about being sharp and very quick feet..would definitely say gaa players are fitter than both as required to do lot more in the sport and bigger field of play also...most professional soccer players would be very capable of playing gaelic football though as the sports are quite interlinked..basketball especially these days would be similar

fabio8 (USA) - Posts: 2182 - 21/02/2015 18:36:49    1695556

you can always spot a soccer play on a gaelic football pitch
they try to take too much out of the ball
and whince out of 50 50 balls

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 22/02/2015 20:57:15    1695814

Alot of people will not believe this but League of ireland soccer players are on average fitter than intercounty gaa players. Philly McMahon (Shamrock Rovers Fitness coach) will tell you that

11jm11 (Kildare) - Posts: 366 - 23/02/2015 09:25:57    1695858

Our own club at home had a well know Irish League (and former League of Ireland) player come for off season training with the club in June/July a couple of seasons back. After the first training he was at he wasn't back and I was speaking to him a while later to see what the craic was - he said he couldn't believe the level of training that was done in the 1 1/2 hr session for an amateur sport and that it was beyond their own training levels and he admitted he struggled. That wasn't even Intercounty level of training either!

Was there not also a top County player in the early 90s who went over for rehabilitation to England and was in with a lot of the top soccer players and left them all for dead in the sessions they were doing? Remember hearing something about it at the time and the soccer lads couldn't get over the fitness levels for a sport where they didn't even get paid.

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 23/02/2015 10:45:23    1695890

11jim11

haha thats laughable
phily mcmahon himself is alround way fitter than any league of ireland player
you should see the level he is at himself
only paul flynn I have seen fitter

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 23/02/2015 13:58:42    1695971

Why is it laughable?

Like it or not, LOI players are professionals so they are always going to have the edge. I have no interest in soccer myself and was also surprised to hear that gaa players performed worse than the Shamrock rovers lads on the same fitness tests

11jm11 (Kildare) - Posts: 366 - 23/02/2015 14:49:35    1695992

As far as I know Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers are the only professional teams in the League of Ireland, the rest are part-timers. I have to admire some of them that are that dedicated that they get paid a few quid during the season and sign on and look for work during the off season, not an easy life. You would expect full time professional sportspeople to be fitter than amateurs but sure it depends on the level of sport each are playing. Unfortunately fitness has taken more importance than skills these days. Strength and conditioning targets are the norm. The great Jimmy Keaveny must have a chuckle sometimes at some of the super athletes playing for some counties that break through three tackles and pit the ball wide from 10 yards. He was sheer class when he got in range.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7346 - 23/02/2015 16:54:24    1696043

11jm11
County: Kildare
Posts: 41

1695992
Why is it laughable?

Like it or not, LOI players are professionals so they are always going to have the edge. I have no interest in soccer myself and was also surprised to hear that gaa players performed worse than the Shamrock rovers lads on the same fitness tests

because i know first hand.
because somebody is professional means absolutly nothing
rugby players are professional so you must think they are all round fitter too haha
fitness can be broken down into a few categories
what type of fitness tests were done ? and what gaa players were put forward for this?
as if you done a strnegth fitness test between a rugby and a soccer player a rugby player would be ahead
but if you did a speed test between both you would have the opposite result
so it depends on what tests are done which determine results
and the point i made was in an overall fitness context taking all elements gaa inter county players would be fittest
im a personal trainer myself and I know full well I am way fitter than league of ireland players
yet im only a club level gaa player,because the word professional is put in front of something
you should never assume they are more skillfull more athletic and so on
all it means is they get paid for doing what they do.
theres plenty of trainers who aget paid to teach fitness but are nowhere near aerobic or anaerobic levels you would think
because they get paid

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 23/02/2015 17:36:19    1696062

he is only on the wind up hill..half the league of ireland players arent even professionals...nobody could take a point like that seriously

fabio8 (USA) - Posts: 2182 - 23/02/2015 20:33:16    1696137

Why would i bother making something up? I seen the thread and decided to add my bit. If you do want to believe me thats fine but I'm telling you now, Philly McMahon ( Dublin Footballer and SRFC Fitness Coach) does the same fitness tests with Dublin and SRFC and the soccer lads outperformed the Dublin lads. Im not posting again on the matter.

11jm11 (Kildare) - Posts: 366 - 23/02/2015 21:24:47    1696160

have you any proof to substantiate your claims?..wind up

fabio8 (USA) - Posts: 2182 - 23/02/2015 21:42:35    1696172

ah the problem being philly mcmahon doesnt train the dublin footballers
martin kennedy does

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 24/02/2015 10:11:09    1696225

hill16no1man
ah the problem being philly mcmahon doesnt train the dublin footballers
martin kennedy does

In fairness, it is conceivable that they do the same fitness test. He doesn't have to be running the thing to see the results. Gaa people tend to poo-poo the fitness levels of soccer players, yet central midfielders run time and a half what any gaa player does, that has been proven over and over. Now they do another 20 minutes in a game, but even taking that into account, they are still running more.

Also, to claim soccer players don't use strength is complete nonsense.

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 24/02/2015 10:28:31    1696233