I saw Jason Sherlock and Shane Ryan having a few midweek beers in Flannery's a few years ago. Was during Pillar's reign, mid-championship and they were, by a big margin, the two most sober customers in there! Where's the harm in a few pints once the work is done?

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7359 - 05/12/2015 19:52:09    1811602

I would say Brolly's article on certain counties where he mentions this ban and that instance, are based on counties which have had notorious problems with 'discipline'. Rory Kavanagh's book has a few great tales of this from the old Donegal - I don't see the problem in any man/men going on the pints after a win - my own club are teammates think nothing of it and done right, it actually helps bond the players. Unfortunately it's always the negatives which get the media attention in this country.

Over training in the GAA to me, is and continues to be a myth - the players are spread thin, no doubt about it and they do work hard on training pitches. But it's the GAA HQ screwing them out of the money they deserve, less is more when players are at that elite level - if they can get a few quid to cut down the hours of work even that would be something. Rest is imperative in sport - GAA players do not get it.

I think a lot of it these days is myth and Chinese whispers, this team doing this at 7am....that team doing that etc. Look they are all doing Olympic Lifting, squatting and dead lifting. There is no secret anymore, football is based on leg power anyone with any thoughts on the game now knows the days of the bulky upper body are over - even look at the AFL players came over a few weeks ago, they are seriously drained down now as the game evolves once more and they have a definitive tackle in their sport.

GetOverTheBar (Tyrone) - Posts: 1388 - 07/12/2015 13:43:11    1811805

It is hard to imagine how a team of players who start training in December can be that much fitter or prepared than a team who start in January or February come championship in May. Also the ridiculous amount of training players do for club and county to only play a handful of meaningful games is utter madness. Our club started training last December and the players seemed to be fed up of football by March and then despite being as fit as anyone else we only managed one championship win. I personally think that if a player is enjoying their football and morale is high then they will play better football than if they have been flogged training for months. The GAA schedule needs a lot of work to it, very few other amateur and most professional sporting organisations around the world have games playing all year round, their needs to be an off season for club and county.

LakemenAbu (Westmeath) - Posts: 134 - 07/12/2015 13:17:13    1811811