Yew tree i never used it as an excuse, i basically was questioning in my original post about this Demise .. Define it? i used the rugby as an example as a choice for kids in the schools in Galway to play, and the highest percentage of players in the Connacht squad are Galway men.
In Mayo ye have a good inter county football team which is in my opinion why ye have great support, Hurling is weak, You cant compare Galway Utd to Castlebar Celtic!! If a kid is going to school in Ballina the first ball we will be kicking will be a football, then a Rugby ball.. In Galway , it could be anything from A ball, a hurl, a soccer ball or a rugby ball. Thats why i qustion people saying there is a demise.. For a county with such diversity our record at All Ireland level is quiet good..

Belclare1 (Galway) - Posts: 1626 - 13/04/2016 10:58:31    1845014

You also have to factor in the general lifestyle in a student city like Galway, which has been the demise of any number of very talented young hurlers first and foremost and footballers. Kids of a college going age realise they'll have a better time out enjoying themselves than slaving away in early mornings. It can't be compared to somewhere like Ballina or Castlebar where the option is usually to get serious about the game or get out of there

jafallon (Galway) - Posts: 489 - 13/04/2016 12:21:11    1845089

Belclare - If you look back I personally don't believe Galway are in decline or demise. It is about a right group coming along with a good management and making the most of it, like ye did in 98-2001. Sadly for us, we have yet to do that our end.

jafallon - to somewhere like Ballina or Castlebar where the option is usually to get serious about the game or get out of there So kds who stay in Mayo get serious...or get out? I don't understand that as Mayo players and club players, go to college and come home at weekend's for traning/games, same as everybody else.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11232 - 13/04/2016 12:42:44    1845104

we're just not producing good enough players at senior level, there's nothing more mysterious in it than that. Why we're not producing them is a whole other post but we're not and that's the bottom line. There isn't a single Galway player that would make the Dublin or Kerry teams right now, and not many that would get on the Mayo team either. Truth is Galway had a few years in the sun during O'Mahony's reign but that's all we've had since the 60s/early 70s. For a county with the population we have it's strange that we have underachieved so much in both codes, hurling especially when you consider the conveyor belt of underage talent. How do Kerry produce class footballers year after year after year? You think they're gone away and before you know it the next crop are rolling off the production line. Galway might get a bit closer to Mayo this year but if we do that will be more down to a slight decline in Mayo I think. Either way we wouldn't keep it kicked out to Dublin at the moment and I'd fear a tanking if we played Kerry too. We'd be competitive against almost all of the rest though (Mayo on a good might be an exception) and would beat a lot of them, so I guess talk of a decline depends on what you're comparing with. Yes it's a decline compared to the glory days of 98-01 but not compared to the majority of Galway football history.

aidangalway (Galway) - Posts: 648 - 13/04/2016 15:01:40    1845211

Galway footballers drew 3 league games this year, if they had won 1 or 2 games, they would be in the top division, someone might confirm the draws. Galway have some really good players, I think they might win a provincial title in the next year or two. I always thought they played attractive football, and hope they make the breakthrough.

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1745 - 17/04/2016 11:37:19    1846345

Galway footballers drew 3 league games this year, if they had won 1 or 2 games, they would be in the top division, someone might confirm the draws. Galway have some really good players, I think they might win a provincial title in the next year or two. I always thought they played attractive football, and hope they make the breakthrough.

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1745 - 17/04/2016 11:42:15    1846346

Galway footballers drew 3 league games this year, if they had won 1 or 2 games, they would be in the top division, someone might confirm the draws. Galway have some really good players, I think they might win a provincial title in the next year or two. I always thought they played attractive football, and hope they make the breakthrough.

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1745 - 17/04/2016 11:47:51    1846351

Jafallon - I think that's pretty inaccurate and not near true .

It's much tougher for young guys from say Donegal , Mayo , Kerry or basically any county that has not got a major university .

If anything - players who live at home are monitored and have an advantage . No actually they have a massive advantage .

I know from our own county ( I'm sure other rural counties are the same ) it used to be difficult to get guys home for training and most managers would have to keep an eye on their social lives.

It's a big transition moving away from home .

TheRightStuff (Donegal) - Posts: 1688 - 17/04/2016 12:16:26    1846359

Within 10 years Galway will win an All Ireland football title.

galwayford (Galway) - Posts: 2520 - 17/04/2016 21:31:00    1846558

Galway Senior Intercounty football has been in a bad place for the last 7 or 8 years. They are slowly improving in last 2 years but I still think they are a long way from winning a Connacht title. They seem to keep persisting with players who have proven themselves not to be good enough

pdempsey (Mayo) - Posts: 1313 - 18/04/2016 09:46:39    1846612

Within 10 years Galway will win an All Ireland football title.

galwayford (Galway) - Posts:484 - 17/04/2016 21:31:00

Just out of interest, what's your rationale for that prediction? Is it because Galway teams have won a couple of U-21 titles in the past five years?

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 18/04/2016 10:47:52    1846665

Gleebo, I hope not. From the 2007 minor winning side only 2 currently on the panel. A few more from the 2011 u21 winning side and a few more again from the 2013 u21 winning side. The numbers ate fine really. Its how they are being integrated I guess. In fairness things can change for the better (or w0rse) pretty quickly but a sweeping statement like that from galwayford has no current basis unfortunately. Of course I could be proven wrong.

kiloughter (Galway) - Posts: 1946 - 18/04/2016 12:21:34    1846732

TheRightStuff while you may have a point in relation to the Ja Fallon post. However football by and large is the only show in town in Donegal, Mayo and Kerry (I know soccer at junior level is big but it is in most counties anyhow) Donegal, Mayo and Kerry will always have a large pick and the disadvantage you propose is pretty much nullified with having a dominant sport. Counties with cities are likely to proportionally lose a far greater potential player pick for a number of reasons.

kiloughter (Galway) - Posts: 1946 - 18/04/2016 12:29:28    1846738

kiloughter - you are correct but lets take a look at population so.

Galway total: 250,653
Galway City: 75,529
Take the city out and yo still have 175,124 of a non city population.
Mayo 130,638

Galway have more football clubs than Mayo and I guess have a bigger playing population.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11232 - 18/04/2016 15:09:01    1846869

Forget the doom and gloom. 2016 will be Mayo's year. And 2020 will be Roscommon's.

galwayford (Galway) - Posts: 2520 - 18/04/2016 15:43:26    1846896

galwayford - Maybe Liam and Sam will come West this year ;) - both teams have put extra focus and pressure on themselves anyway.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11232 - 18/04/2016 15:59:22    1846909

TheRightStuff while you may have a point in relation to the Ja Fallon post. However football by and large is the only show in town in Donegal, Mayo and Kerry (I know soccer at junior level is big but it is in most counties anyhow) Donegal, Mayo and Kerry will always have a large pick and the disadvantage you propose is pretty much nullified with having a dominant sport. Counties with cities are likely to proportionally lose a far greater potential player pick for a number of reasons.

kiloughter (Galway) - Posts:876

I think it boils down to playing numbers if we are to draw a comparative Kiloughter.

As you know , soccer is massive in the North West. Derry City is basically in Co. Donegal ( parts of it obviously ) and soccer is bigger game there. Soccer is also much bigger than GAA in most parts of north Donegal. There is also Finn Harps and Sligo Rovers. There are also 38,000 of our friends who belong to a different religion , of whom the vast majority do not know who Michael Murphy is.

Numerous brilliant GAA players move to soccer up here and do not come back.

Plus Galway was always a big town/city .

Do not get me wrong by the way. The future is probably as bright if not better than ours.

I wouldnt call Galways situation a demise either. It is a great GAA county and no doubt will be back at the top table soon.

TheRightStuff (Donegal) - Posts: 1688 - 18/04/2016 16:11:34    1846918

Yew I am not sure about the stat that Galway have more football clubs than Mayo. Yes we have more GAA clubs with only either football or hurling but not necessarily both. If you use the Connacht GAA website as an indicator I would argue Mayo have a greater number of football clubs playing at the higher grades but the website does not break this down. Also a few parishes in Galway close to the Galway/Dublin railway line are the most likely dual clubs in the county where players are competing between 2 GAA codes either within the same club or between 2 clubs (1 hurling and 1 football) within the same parish. This is not really the case in Donegal, Mayo and Kerry (apart from the extreme north of that county).

TheRightStuff I do acknowledge the soccer thing in Donegal but it is not exactly redundant down here and rugby (of which there is very little in the Northwest) is ramping up down here at the rate of knots. The conundrum will always remain I guess that the highly populated areas will struggle for the hearts and minds of participants because of choice among other things while the lower populated areas don't really have the choice issue but in fairness may suffer from lack of numbers in the first place.

kiloughter (Galway) - Posts: 1946 - 20/04/2016 11:04:02    1847520

Yes Galway are a traditional football county who always played well when they got to Croke Park & most posters from outside Galway are reminiscing on past exploits & skilled players such as Ja Fallon, Padraig Joyce & Michael Donnellan, those & others deserve their plaudits. However there has been a slow demise of Galway football. For those of us who know the following is a litany of mismanagement, Floodlights in Pearse Stadium debacle, Google it & see how long it's going on & questions over signed traffic management plans & designated park & ride parking. Fixtures Masterplan that is never adhered to, in fact this month saw finals from 2015 played. Club coaches & players never know when they will be out & games going from Feb till Dec for all year in year out. Financial mismanagement, millions spent on Mountain South now only worth €7k per acre leading to €220,000 plus per annum in servicing the debt. The latest saga is clubs being told they could be levied to help pay it. The number of Senior teams where the Board over the years caved into challenges from clubs who were to be relegated leading to too many teams. The absolute farce in relation to boundaries with clubs in Galway City, some lads are on their fourth club. Children who live 5 miles outside a particular parish playing with that club & not their local club. It makes a mockery of Gaa rules. Some play football with one club & even though their club has hurling play with a rival hurling club. The Development Squads are possibly the biggest area of question. No development plan, structures or records, no continuity of management, even teams sent off to play with only one man in charge totally against all guidelines. Talented players are discarded for athletes who can run all day. Endless series of trials & cuts, no development. Boys put forward by their clubs not even getting trials, some getting 30 mins, not even the decency to tell boys dropped just told if you don't get a text your gone. The politics in selecting managers & players for these squads defies belief. Regularly lads can train for months to see a lad who played soccer all year come straight into a squad. The ammount of players, parents, coaches, supporters, sponsors who have got so disillusioned with those who retain power by musical chairs & allow no new blood or ideas, has overseen an exodus of people. Slow demise is right & those that have left usually move into some other sport & in Galway City, soccer, rugby & athletics are well organised & reaping the benefit of the demise.

moc.dna (Galway) - Posts: 1212 - 20/04/2016 14:34:15    1847636

Galway footballers drew 3 league games this year, if they had won 1 or 2 games, they would be in the top division, someone might confirm the draws. Galway have some really good players, I think they might win a provincial title in the next year or two. I always thought they played attractive football, and hope they make the breakthrough.

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1745 - 21/04/2016 11:02:43    1847873