Firstly let me congratulate the dubs. Great team great players and well earned victory yesterday.

But i would say over all it has been a very poor championship. The divide of teams is growing and growing. And yes cluxton made reference to the money in his speech yesterday and then said it makes no difference if you dont have the players. But if you have the money to invest in the under age structures that other counties dont have then obviously it makes a huge difference.

Putting that to one side the matches this year were very poor. We didnt have a classic game at any stage this year and this was referenced in last nights sunday game where they said it was hard now adays to pick a man of the match because the game has gone structured and mechanical

i think hurling will be ok again in time because the defensive sturctures tried this year didnt work and there is still no substitute to man to man in that game as the ball moves so quick..

But for football do you not think its gone boring.. Time and time again yeaterday i watch kerry fellas grab great ball out of the air only to land and be surrounded but 3/4 dubs. He would eventually get called for over carrying.. But that means there is no benefit to fielding any more a skill that was once a great art in the game. Will it go now.???

Yet again we have a an incident from yeaterdays game with mc mahon gouging the star .. A silly thing in its self but it seems there something in every game game .. and its not the good old fashioned punch its all this sneaky cowardly stuff.. Does any one else get seriously tired of this. I think they should make the good old fashioned punch a yellow card offense and come down harder on the cynical cowardly stuff this was once a mans game id like to see it that way again.

The game has changed so much in last 10 years in comparassion to the previous 100 and i find it boring.. There is no under dog victory anymore just moral victories.. And yes it is time for a two tier structure and definitely a shake up in the championship . The gaa is loosing its luster its loosing its sense of self but most of all with the way its being played now its loosing the young people

Im from cork and when i was growing up the gaa was a religion now we a loosing people to soccer rugby basketball athletics at a serious rate. With rugby being our biggest treat

A championship match used to empty villages in years past now due to the new type of game and the standards at the game people are largely dis interested

So i ask where to from here ??? Does anyone actually agree with me?? Am i just romancing after a game that doesnt exist anymore
I miss the hard men the uncompromising full backs , the silky smooth forwards ,, the towering fetching midfielders , none of these exist any more .. to catch the ball is a disadvantage , yesterday three dubs jumped with the star when he went up. backs mark space now not people and forwards havent space to breath .

Id like to hears what you think im not attacking dublin or any team i swear but i am worried about the game i love

ritchie (Cork) - Posts: 346 - 21/09/2015 10:41:58    1789939

I think it is in a bad way to be honest. The whole punishment/appeals system is actually a complete disgrace and something we as gaa people should be ashamed of. I hate this thing where a guy getting sent off all of a sudden becomes akin to a court of law. If a guy thinks he has been punished unfairly then let him go in and speak for himself. If he is guilty then man up and take what you deserve. Anyone not adhering to this ethos and trying to pull a fast one should be made example of. The gaa would be a much better place.

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 21/09/2015 11:09:11    1789967

Lots of good points there Ritchie

I think the money is over played. Dublin have money but they are very well run. Their success is as much about hard work as money, probably more.

I think both hurling & football need to go to a tiered structure that is played on a league basis. With regard to fielding, there are subtle rules changes that would reap benefit in the game but they don't seem to be up for discussion.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6480 - 21/09/2015 11:15:48    1789974

being honest i think they should do away with bans . They can in to prevent something but they arent doing the job and its just making a mockery of the system. Not singling Connolly out and just make reference to it cuase it was the most recent one. But that was a joke he punched a fella should be straight forward but 3 appeals later he togs off. So get rid of the bans they do nothing anyway except create paper work.

ritchie (Cork) - Posts: 346 - 21/09/2015 11:19:44    1789980

I think we're in a bit of a slump. Yesterday's game was a disaster from start to finish. I think Eamon Fitz will watch it and be embarrassed by what has gone on. Kerry just hoofed the ball really into a one man full forward line with no support. That's not going to win you games. I've actually nothing against defences tactics, I think it makes the game better to be honest, who cares if a guy is able to pick out a pass to a guy who's in 20 yards of space. I want to see players who can pick a pass through a swarm of defenders and find his man, that's skill. I want it to be hard for players, I want them to have to be patient, pick their moment and then strike, it just didn't happen yesterday one bit. Kerry had a decent amount of ball in the middle of the pitch, they just launched it time and time again playing into the Dublin full back line's hands. I actually called this game badly wrong, I thought the Gooch could pick out the passes and that he'd unlock the Dublin defence and give O'Donoghue and Geaney great service. I'm not really sure what happened but I was at the game and it seemed the Kerry lads were very easy to mark. Much less of the two working in tandem, trying to create space for one another, a lot of the time it was just one or the other left isolated, holding a position inside the 21 with no one even close to being in position to support. I do think the game will get better, it has to, but it will take time. Managers aren't stupid, they see the trends and will look to better themselves to break them. That's why the Sam Maguire is so hard to retain. I see us needing better ball players at wing back. They're the lads who find themselves with time and space on the ball. If they're able to start playing the passes from deep, it will open the game up a lot, either those guys get pressed or they end up being given time to pick out their man. This is why I think it will take time though, someone will have to break the mould with the wing backs, the model at the minute is the hard running athletic wing back trying to punch holes in the oppositions defence, problem is once they punch those holes the current crop don't have the ability to take advantage of it.

As for the cynicism, I think the association only has itself to blame for that. The disciplinary structures are a joke at present at all levels. The Connolly incident is obviously the high profile example of guys being able to get away with thuggery, but it's rife throughout the game. A guy in my own club recently got sent off for head-butting a guy. It was for the reserve team in the championship which we lost and he isn't going to serve a ban until next year's reserve championship, if he even plays it. He's going to be available for the senior team's semi-final in a few weeks. That's ridiculous if you ask me. If there's no meaningful punishment for what you do on the pitch, then people are going to keep on doing what they can to get their edge. I think the GAA need to sort this out. I also don't understand the DRA, it's there apparently to stop cases being brought to court against the GAA. Do other sports have this? You never hear of it. In rugby and soccer there are often very lengthly bans dished out but the appeals always hold up, no one is ever brought to court and those are professional games where there's money on the line and someone is being restricted from carrying out his job. Why isn't it the same in our game.

Anyway rant over, I needed to get that off my chest.

Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 4225 - 21/09/2015 11:35:47    1789992

lot of talk about game in a mess and nobody interested but you could have sold this game out several times over and the whole country was watching dub v mayo. All the people who say its a mess will be back on the terraces in January, you're not likely to take up cricket instead are ye!! Plenty of GAA lads watch the premiership and I love watching the 6 nations. But also follow my team through league and championship, plenty of room for variety. Roll on next year and quit the crying. Dublin won because they are the best team in the country and won playing good football.

switec (Kildare) - Posts: 525 - 21/09/2015 11:49:09    1790006

I concede that dublin won because they were they best and offered my congrats in my opening. But the best of what ??

my comments were more the standards of the game .. Selling out an all ireland final or semi isnt a major issue the stadium only holds 83000 dublin alone has a population of 1.4 million so i dont get your point there.

But in cork we see alot of talents gaa players migrating away from the game

Regarding hurling in dublin it must be the same for them . Based on population alone it shouldnt be hard for them to put out a championship contender every year but they arent effective

And yes i will be in the stands cause that what i do but that isnt the point im making the standards this years were shocking
Awful final yesterday and yes it was watched by millions but just cause they watched it doesnt mean it wasnt awful standard

ritchie (Cork) - Posts: 346 - 21/09/2015 12:04:42    1790024

Dublin deserved winners. Mayo again the big losers, they were close, but no cigar. They gave the dubs the best game this year. It was a very poor year for football in fairness. There were a handful of good games, Dublin v Mayo game 2, Kerry v cork game 1, Donegal v Tyrone, Westmeath v Meath. Thats about it. Teams are playing akin to soccer now re tactics. A 3 point lead is a much greater lead than it used to be because of defensive tactics, and teams dont really go for it when they find themselves behind, they think that keeping their shape is the only way of reeling in such a margin while it most likely is not.

Next year will be interesting to see a few things.

1 C\n the dubs retain their title and who can get to their standard
2 Can Kerry regoup and challenge
3 How Cork can handle their capitulation this year.
4 Can mayo bounce back yet again
5 How the likes of Galway, Armagh, can make inroads
6 If Donegal are going to get back to at least a semi final place or if they are going to fade off.
7 How and if Tyrone can be the new challenger as a threat to the dubs.

The game is now a battle for space as much as a battle for the ball. There is no easy answer to how the game can look good in this respect, as if a player does get his hands on the ball, there is at least 1 man on him immediately.

To conclude, Dublin are deserved winners. They played the best football as well as being the strongest team out there. Good luck to them.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 21/09/2015 12:35:13    1790048

Wasn't a vintage year but wasn't all bad either.


Yesterdays match was exciting and it was completely understandable the amount of mistakes being made considering how dreadful the conditions were.Bernard Brogan made bucket loads of mistakes yesterday and if one of the games most skilful players is making that amount of mistakes conditions must have been pretty bad.

People have a ridiculously nostalgic view of football.If you look back through any championship season going back to the mid nineties (as far back as I can remember) there weren't a huge amount of great games in any championship season but it doesn't suit the media's narrative of constant negativity to point this out.

What do people actually expect from the championship.We have a championship which largely consists of matches between mismatched teams which reduces the competitiveness and thus the entertainment value it provides.The championship is basically like the FA cup and goes the same way, fairy dull in the early stages and then you get a few quality matches when there are no longer any mismatches.

There were plenty of enjoyable games this year.

Cork v Kerry (First match)
Tyrone v Donegal
Monaghan v Cavan
Laois v Kildare (First match)
Westmeath v Meath
The 3 All ireland semi finals.
and there were some decent qualifier matches aswell.

The only way to improve the entertainment value of the football and hurling championships (the hurling championship was even worse than the football this year) is to scrap the current system for football , divisionalise the championship and allow teams of similar abaility to play each other.Until that happens we'll have the same complaints over and over again.

The league provides more entertanment than the championship and is the secondary competition.The league should really be the primary competition.

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts: 1296 - 21/09/2015 12:49:36    1790065

Maybe time to make it 13 aside to create more space. Would also help the counties with a good core but not enough strength in depth to compete at present. Wont happen but something needs to be done to open up the space for the ones who want to play football.

ponga (Mayo) - Posts: 649 - 21/09/2015 12:55:23    1790070

Its been one of the poorest most cynical years of football championship ive witnessed, thats nothing to do with trying to devalue Dublins win far from it, they were by far the best team, actually by quite a bit and im not sure they actually hit top gear in any game this year, maybe for patches of the replay against Mayo.

The playing field needs to be levelled across the board, Dublin need to get out of Croke Park, no one talks about the seeding system in Munster which is another issue. The weaker counties should be getting more money than the more powerful, not the other way around with the caveat that they provide an in depth plan for that money. In fairness to Dublin they have made the most of the money they have gotten whereas counties like my own have wasted money hand over fist.

Scrap the blcak card system, again it favours the biggest counties with the stronger bench and in reality has cut nothing and only added confusion to the game, no shortage of cynisism this year in facts its actually increased as a result of the black card and the confusion surrounding it.

Of course the elephant in the room is the current provincial championship set up but that isnt going to change anytime soon.

tearintom (Wexford) - Posts: 1337 - 21/09/2015 13:06:44    1790082

Home. You'd swear youse had never won Sam!

plike (Kerry) - Posts: 569 - 21/09/2015 13:20:49    1790096

Let me be the first to say it , Id love a couple of away games in Leinster , it would energise our provincial championship , but its not going to happen and we all know that unfortunately .
Id love to know just what it is that lads think happens at under age , my sons on a development squad for three years , he attends a ball park of 8-10 training session in a year , plays the odd blitz and maybe 5 challenge games a year .
Weve played all the top counties and Id hardly say we've had spectacular results , people go on and on about Dublin underage and developments youd swear there was a secret factory somewhere in swords spitting out athletes conditioned and ready to go .

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 21/09/2015 15:24:40    1790177

The best team in the country won the All Ireland. Well done to the Dubs. That's pretty much the only positive thing about this years championship for me.
There is a big issue over the gap between the big sides & the rest we all know that. Too many mismatches..

... but the bigger issue by far for me is the cynicism :
the pulling, dragging, (often when the ball is 80 yards away) third man off the ball tackling, diving, gouging, the 'sledging'....not to mention the shambles that is the GAA's disciplinary problem - whether you're guilty or not is now irrelevant, it's all about can you find a loophole...
And then there's the hypocrisy of us all as fans. We're all appalled by what we see...except of course when it's someone from our county & then there's always an excuse..

I found it a thoroughly depressing year.

KildareKelly (Kildare) - Posts: 593 - 21/09/2015 20:43:37    1790402

Best team by a country mile won the all ire, we cant ask for anything more than that.
So if we had a different system would the best team still win it? Yes. Unless the system was unfair to them . So what can we do? Well firstly yes monies' should be more equal in distribution, but apart from that nothing can be done except getting our own houses in order.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 21/09/2015 21:21:17    1790432

Damothedub

I relate totally to what you say. I have a son, nephew on Dublin development squads and a daughter playing for Dublin camogie. The sheer sacrifice these make to try and advance their game. The problem is not as Ritchie says that with Dublins population we should be churning out championship contenders. People just do not get that it is not a numbers game - be it population or money. You may have a truly star juvenile player but what is the county club standard? No good producing a John Mullane if he has no team to play on.

It is hard wrok on the part of players and coaches and clubs.

As for the standard of Football I was at the Dublin Derry game in Croker and I hated what I saw when I heard people boo'ing it was music to my ears because they knew what we were looking at was muck. That said Football is evolving in transition, there is still a lot to enjoy about the gamnes. The pace, speed, power, and skill levels when it flows it is beautiful to watch.

BUT the warning signs are there, ignore at your peril. The constant barrage of negativity on the rules, the way it is played, on individual players and the crazy off-the-wall commentary on every media is battering the game.

But it is still losing its way, structures of competitions are wrong and out dated, rules are crap, tackling is a mess, card and disciplinary system just reflect the poorly written rules.

It will be interesting to see what develops over the winter.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4896 - 21/09/2015 21:49:27    1790453

Re : Time and time again yeaterday i watch kerry fellas grab great ball out of the air only to land and be surrounded but 3/4 dubs. He would eventually get called for over carrying.. But that means there is no benefit to fielding.
I still think a mark should be awarded in gaelic football but limited to a one mark allowed for a team in possession. I wouldn't want gaelic football to go the way of Aussie rules.
Tackle should be allowed on player who receives a handpass.

crikey (Australia) - Posts: 355 - 22/09/2015 12:53:39    1790656

ritchie
County: Cork
Posts: 314


So i ask where to from here ??? Does anyone actually agree with me?? Am i just romancing after a game that doesnt exist anymore
I miss the hard men the uncompromising full backs , the silky smooth forwards ,, the towering fetching midfielders , none of these exist any more .. to catch the ball is a disadvantage , yesterday three dubs jumped with the star when he went up. backs mark space now not people and forwards havent space to breath .

Id like to hears what you think im not attacking dublin or any team i swear but i am worried about the game i love

Absolutely agree with everything in this, and don't feel you should have to come across as apologetic for talking about the Dubs, I have still yet to hear the part about how playing every single game on the same field in front of sizeable home support and having multi-national corporations as your sponsor isn't an unfair advantage. All Ireland championship for most, Croke Park championship for Dublin. How can they credibly call it an AI when one team gets constant home advantage?

Secondly, at the current rate, Rugby will usurp GAA as Ireland's number one sport for a litany of reasons, chief among them a willing and abetting media which is immersing the public in all things rugby on a constant basis. In addition, factor in the massive propensity for GAA people to moan, crib, deride the game, exaggerate the negatives (ironic I know) and the average Joe taxpayer will get fed up.

Offaly, Armagh, Down, Galway, Cavan, Meath, Donegal. All counties that emerged at some point in the GAA's history to win Sam (some won it a few times). But unfortunately there is not an emerging team outside of Mayo, Kerry and Dublin that you could say will be fit to topple Dublin.

Ned_Stormcrow (Cavan) - Posts: 1071 - 22/09/2015 20:14:57    1791022