Dublin - great team on the eye think they could win 3 of the next 7/8 AI's

Cluxton - cluxton great goalkeeper but a bit over hyped was partial at fault for the 3 goals should have kept his defense on their toes and committed for the 1st goal where a keeper never goes for them unless 100% his kick outs in the second half were going out the middle where a blind man would see donegal were dominating. just shows when cluxton has an off day so do dublin

Full backs - ROC got quiet exposed again a great player but not in the same league as magee and the organised donegal defence but maybe could work well in a donegal unit. was exposed for the goals and in the second half donegal walked to ball straight through the heart of the dublin defense those 3 goals or the constant walking through would not have happened the other end of the field

Half back line - was terrible exposed was great going forward all year but number one job is to defend. would be surprised if the won 10% of the breaking balls in the second half a blind man could donegal were flicking the ball into that are and winning all the breaks.

Midfield - MDMA had a brillant fire 20 mins but was exposed under the high ball in the second half donegal generally were not going to catch but to dictate where to break it to and it work. donegal surprised me to have numours players of this great mans engine as well which is frightening

Half forward line - Connolly and flynn the best in the country for this position a joy to watch long may they contine. this is where this teams all ireland challanges and wins in the future will be based around.

Full forward line - BB like cluxton if he has an off day it is reflected on all the team. donegal may say he was not let have a good day he is a great player but needs to be complimented by a player in the FFL of the likes of himself. EOG is not that standard against the top team can do it against the weaker teams but that does not cut the cheese when needed. maybe kilkeeny can be the man for here

Management - i never felt dublin had a game plan like kerry and donegal do just great footballers with big engines and very physical so if they have no plan/tacitiacl A how do they cope when the running game does not work like on sunday and change to a plan B.

Donegal - Surprised me i thought they would hold the dubs but not win by this much. with JMG at the head they could challange for the next decade

Goalkeeper - Durkin all star in the bag his save was vital and his big frame put BB off for that goal chance rather than a bad pass as RTE would tell ya. his kickout were a vital part of the second half dominace

Full backs - Great unit and work effort learnt from the 2 early errors of letting the dubs in for 2 goal chances and made sure that was not going to happen again. in the final star will test them with JOD and Geaney doing their usual work.

Half Backs - FMcG and lacey all over the pitch great efforts model players may be the reason the dubs half forward line got most of their scores but the donegal scores all came from here but we all knew that beofre the match

Midfield - donegal play with 4/5 and rotate between gallagher/OMcN/Murphy/kavanagh/mcloone they defo had a plan in place of where to break the ball to and to run at pace then the second half clear evidence.

Half forwards - not the same class as the dubs but play a different system. RMcH shows you do not need to be built like an ox to play intercounty football i never expected him to play as good as he did a tip of the hat to you sir.

Full forward - worked hard and rotated well with their team, hard to see PMcB not starting the final. MM and CMcF are big day players which may worry kerry and they proved it again on the big stage

Management - jim the genius are you sure you don't want to manage leitrim that all i can say

fkm leitrim (Leitrim) - Posts: 88 - 01/09/2014 21:16:16    1646447

Dublin ran out of Ideas in the 2nd Half
Totally collapsed and lost there shape
There Subs bench was shown as being one of the waekest in the Country,When battle was drawn Dublin did not have One Player that could come on and grap the bull by its Horns
You could see from 15mins in that Donegal Began to take full control of the game and Dublin didnt Know what to do. Indeed for all the talk of Blanket Defences i thought Dublin where guilty of it at times on Sunday with only one of there own past Donegals 45 for large periods

JohnGrace1989 (Donegal) - Posts: 472 - 02/09/2014 09:21:15    1646528

Dublin are the fast track bullies of the GAA. Their monumental advantages in funding and resources make them look great, as they blitzkrieg their way through Leinster, where all they have to play against are under funded counties.

bryanadams (Kildare) - Posts: 733 - 02/09/2014 13:14:46    1646738

bryanadams
County: Kildare
Posts: 548

1646738
Dublin are the fast track bullies of the GAA. Their monumental advantages in funding and resources make them look great, as they blitzkrieg their way through Leinster, where all they have to play against are under funded counties.

I would have thought that after Sunday this argument about funding would have died a death. Donegal, Kerry & Mayo scrap away with the same funding issues as everyone else & yet they are all miles ahead of the Leinster counties.

Go figure.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 02/09/2014 13:25:34    1646758

bryanadams
County: Kildare
Posts: 548

1646738 Dublin are the fast track bullies of the GAA. Their monumental advantages in funding and resources make them look great, as they blitzkrieg their way through Leinster, where all they have to play against are under funded counties

What a load of rubbish,smaller counties than Kildare can more than put it up to Dublin,Donegal mayo etc,dry your eyes m8.

superbluedub (Dublin) - Posts: 2837 - 02/09/2014 13:45:27    1646790

alot of cheap shouts here against dublin because they lost one game!!!! we will all be feared of them come feb next year. why do yas all have a sort memory. They are an outstanding team however I do believe ther dept/subs was over rated some what, all season they didn't have to come on and change a game, and were rated as if they did.

fatfrog (Donegal) - Posts: 200 - 02/09/2014 13:54:24    1646799

It's very surprising on Dublin to lose in the fashion they did running out of ideas and getting beat out the gate by 6 points.
Especially when you consider all the advantages they have in terms of money, playing all their games at home, access to facilities surely this is a train wreck. Very poor tactically as well from Gavin. Seemed to have no homework done on Donegal.

Surprised more Dublin fans aren't giving out.

MaigheoAbu (Mayo) - Posts: 343 - 02/09/2014 13:56:09    1646801

JohnGrace1989
County: Donegal
Posts: 456

1646528 Dublin ran out of Ideas in the 2nd Half
Totally collapsed and lost there shape
There Subs bench was shown as being one of the waekest in the Country,When battle was drawn Dublin did not have One Player that could come on and grap the bull by its Horns
You could see from 15mins in that Donegal Began to take full control of the game and Dublin didnt Know what to do. Indeed for all the talk of Blanket Defences i thought Dublin where guilty of it at times on Sunday with only one of there own past Donegals 45 for large periods

Unfortunately this seems to be a trend with defending all Ireland champions(Kerry aside)
johngrace you seem to have a very short memory, MAYO 4-17 Donegal 1-10 now there was a total collapse,enjoy your victory this great game of ours changes so quickly!

superbluedub (Dublin) - Posts: 2837 - 02/09/2014 13:58:12    1646804

Muck and Super

You beat me too it.

A.

Aido69 (Dublin) - Posts: 381 - 02/09/2014 14:03:54    1646813

amazing how people judge the landscape from week to week
only last week dublin were too good they were going to dominate for the next decade
our funding should be cut, we should be split in two to make the sport competitive
now after one game we lose
we are almost inept and won terrible standard all irelands
and our subs bench is one of the weakest in the country

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 02/09/2014 14:10:29    1646819

MaigheoAbu
County: Mayo
Posts: 219

1646801 It's very surprising on Dublin to lose in the fashion they did running out of ideas and getting beat out the gate by 6 points.
Especially when you consider all the advantages they have in terms of money, playing all their games at home, access to facilities surely this is a train wreck. Very poor tactically as well from Gavin. Seemed to have no homework done on Donegal.

Surprised more Dublin fans aren't giving out.
Maybe its something to do with winning 2 all irelands 2 leagues 4 leinsters,this Dublin team/management team owes us nothing,
Horan has been found out tactically several times,maybe you should start a new thread about that?

superbluedub (Dublin) - Posts: 2837 - 02/09/2014 14:17:39    1646832

well i would hope those hill who were making such strong arguments on the merits of spilting dublin would continue to do so in spite of this defeat..otherwise it is a very poor argument...i think there are some merits to it but if you are only going to argue it when they are winning then you cant have much of an argument

fabio8 (USA) - Posts: 2182 - 02/09/2014 14:28:38    1646848

Agreed hill,

Hindsight is a great thing & as they say the victor gets to write the history.

The truth about Dublin probably lies somewhere between the hype & the gloating neither of which add a whole lot to the debate.

The truth is that Dublin are a fine side full of talented players with a good bench & a fine manager. They play a lovely style of football that is great to watch but you can't pile all your eggs into one basket & ignore basic defending. I suspect that Gavin will change things next year which will blunt the edge of the attacking a bit but this side will win All Irelands & be deserved favourites for 2015.

Make no mistake however, they are not the second coming & neither are they unbeatable.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 02/09/2014 14:29:39    1646852

fabio8

if you are only going to argue it when they are winning then you cant have much of an argument.

that is exactly the point most Dublin poster were trying to make. It only ever becomes an issue when we were winning

A.

Aido69 (Dublin) - Posts: 381 - 02/09/2014 14:50:53    1646878

Any other decade and we win the all Ireland easy, just nowadays teams play with 13 men behind the ball (fair play to them) great teams like Kerry 70's and 00's never had to worry about coming up against 13/14 man walls infront of them, it was on man on man back then and usually the best team won but that's all changed now with defensive teams.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 02/09/2014 14:56:33    1646885

superbluedub
County: Dublin

Horan has been found out tactically several times,maybe you should start a new thread about that?

***********************

Ah now - don't get your blue knickers in in a twist. Sure there are plenty of threads about mayo and James Horan. Why don't you stick to the title of this one. There's a good lad.

MaigheoAbu (Mayo) - Posts: 343 - 02/09/2014 15:04:27    1646892

superbluedub
County: Dublin
Posts: 442

1646790 bryanadams
County: Kildare
Posts: 548

1646738 Dublin are the fast track bullies of the GAA. Their monumental advantages in funding and resources make them look great, as they blitzkrieg their way through Leinster, where all they have to play against are under funded counties

What a load of rubbish,smaller counties than Kildare can more than put it up to Dublin,Donegal mayo etc,dry your eyes m8.

Now now, don't be greedy. Thankfully the process of curbing GAA funding to Dublin has already begun, mainly because it is obvious that Dublin have enough private sponsorship to self finance their operation. Better funding and division of resources among the rural counties will result in a more competitive championship, and attract more people into playing and supporting our games.

bryanadams (Kildare) - Posts: 733 - 02/09/2014 15:07:05    1646897

clondalkindub
County: Dublin
Posts: 5371

1646885
Any other decade and we win the all Ireland easy, just nowadays teams play with 13 men behind the ball (fair play to them) great teams like Kerry 70's and 00's never had to worry about coming up against 13/14 man walls infront of them, it was on man on man back then and usually the best team won but that's all changed now with defensive teams.

Not sure I go with you 100% on that clondalkin.

Dublin are no more a "traditional" team than Donegal are. Dublin's attitude has been to throw caution to the winds & push up with a very high line in the belief that they could outscore any opposition. This would not be a traditional way of playing the game where players more or less held their positions & played long balls to gain field position.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 02/09/2014 15:09:40    1646899

Assessment after the weekend:

DONEGAL - They have their hunger back again and look as determined and capable as 2012. The players who did it two years ago are fizzing again and the inner belief and confidence is running through them. They are very good footballers who play with a defensive system that is very, very effective and which is turned to attack in the blink of an eye.

KERRY - Back (did they ever go away?) as serious challengers for titles and have some cracking newer players like David Moran and James O'Donoghue to go along with a few veterans who have been through the mill. They also have a very good young manager who knows his players very well and gets them to play for him. They will only get better over the next few years.

MAYO - Sad to say that this Mayo team won't win SAM. They are very good footballers but that vital inner belief was ultimately just not there. They didn't know how to close games out the way Kerry, Dublin and Donegal could.

DUBLIN - Massive reality check on Sunday that could be a blessing in disguise. They will need to work on a defensive strategy to compliment their brilliant attacking ability. Brought down to earth after the massive over hype and shown to be mere mortals like the rest of us and not God like beings. Will bounce right back next year.

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9702 - 02/09/2014 15:15:25    1646905

It's very surprising on Dublin to lose in the fashion they did running out of ideas and getting beat out the gate by 6 points.
Especially when you consider all the advantages they have in terms of money, playing all their games at home, access to facilities surely this is a train wreck. Very poor tactically as well from Gavin. Seemed to have no homework done on Donegal.

Surprised more Dublin fans aren't giving out.

_________________________________________


Look.

In the past 2 years, We have won back to back national league titles for the first time ever, Two leinster titles, An All-Ireland, And played some really wonderful football to back it all up

On Sunday, We weren't good enough. We where beaten by a fantastic Donegal side. Probably the best Donegal side that they have produced in the long history of Donegal GAA. Tactically we where out-thought by Jim McGuinness and Donegal came down with a plan to beat Dublin, And they did. Massive credit to them.

There is no shame in any side, No matter how good they are, losing a game. When you are beaten by the better team you have to accept that and move on. The issue arises when the players dont fight. Don't show passion for the jersey. Thats the minimum any fan can expect and i saw those Dublin lads try until the very end. Okay, It didn't work out for them. But no-one here can question the attitude and the commitment all year and indeed in the past few years of this exceptionally talented group of lads. So no. I'm not in any way angry.

Also, Beat out the gate by 6 points ? With the greatest of respect to Dublin teams in years gone by, I remember we where been beaten by the likes of Tyrone by 14 points, Kerry by 17 points etc. That was beaten out the gate. Sunday was nothing in comparison. Leaving Croke Park those days, I felt winning All-Irelands was as far away as ever but with hard work and a change in attitude all round from players to management, to main guys on the county board, We got there in the end, And its thanks to that attitude that nowadays, despite defeat in a semi final, I can leave Croker after a disappointing defeat and look forward to a very promising future.

Even the very best teams in sports are beatable. Look at Barcelona, Manchester United in soccer down the years. Kerry in 08. Kilkenny aswell when going for 5 in a row. It happens. Dublin are still outstanding, It all depends on the day, And some days you just wont be good enough. Sunday was one of those days. We will rise again though.

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13650 - 02/09/2014 15:17:51    1646911