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Blanket defence taking the enjoyment out of hurling

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Fair play Seamus Callahan for saying what 90% of us all think, hurling and football is being destroyed by blanket defences it's time the powers that be do something about this cause it's brutal to watch and ruining the game we love.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 27/05/2016 13:35:03    1859316

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Replying To clondalkindub:  "Fair play Seamus Callahan for saying what 90% of us all think, hurling and football is being destroyed by blanket defences it's time the powers that be do something about this cause it's brutal to watch and ruining the game we love."
His name is Callinan and id wish Shefflin could pronounce his name correct.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 27/05/2016 13:42:19    1859319

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Replying To cuederocket:  "His name is Callinan and id wish Shefflin could pronounce his name correct."
*Callanan - how can Shefflin not call him by his proper name.After all these years he's still calling him Callaghan.Very poor punditry to not know one of our finest forwards surname.Would he like it if he was called Shellfin all the time.Sharpen up Henry!

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 27/05/2016 13:48:59    1859322

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Gaelic football in particular had a tactical awakening, which was broadly labelled the blanket defence. In reality it is following most other major team sports like soccer, Rugby and American football, and evolved into a "Tactical Systems" sport. And this will evolve further and further as time goes on.

I think too many people sit up on a high horse dreaming about glorious era's that never really existed, there were a lot of games years ago that were muck. You get the odd game that is poor to watch, but most games are as good of a quality.
It comes down to what you expect from a game, what kind of average score you expect from games.

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 27/05/2016 13:50:31    1859323

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Replying To GaryMc82:  "Gaelic football in particular had a tactical awakening, which was broadly labelled the blanket defence. In reality it is following most other major team sports like soccer, Rugby and American football, and evolved into a "Tactical Systems" sport. And this will evolve further and further as time goes on.

I think too many people sit up on a high horse dreaming about glorious era's that never really existed, there were a lot of games years ago that were muck. You get the odd game that is poor to watch, but most games are as good of a quality.
It comes down to what you expect from a game, what kind of average score you expect from games."
Maybe in football, not in hurling!

bumpernut (Antrim) - Posts: 1852 - 27/05/2016 13:58:09    1859329

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Ah Gary stop will you ffs the best player in hurling is telling you it's dirt , games were bad back in the day but we never complained about how it was being played. 15 players in their own half is muck.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 27/05/2016 14:01:34    1859334

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Why am I getting "red fingers down" the best hurler in the game said it? How can Gaelic supporters love this style it's horrible

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 27/05/2016 14:14:07    1859341

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The teams that are good at it are enjoyable to watch - Clare and Waterford.
The teams that are bad at it are extra terrible to watch - Cork and Limerick.

I don't see how the GAA can stamp it out. I can't think of any rule. Limiting hand passes in a row in hurling probably wouldn't do much.

Take Limerick v Tipp now. Limerick mgt want to play a sweeper but are wary of letting pauric maher clean up at half back like he did against cork. We might be facing the Lar Corbett type scenario of a forward marking a back which basically turns hurling on its head.

For the corks and limericks who try it and it hasn't worked, I would be be more inclined to abandon sweeper but maybe take an extra man out of full forward to play in half forward or midfield lines rather than sitting in front of the full back line. Interesting times.

hurlinspuds (Cork) - Posts: 1494 - 27/05/2016 14:18:06    1859342

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Replying To bumpernut:  "Maybe in football, not in hurling!"
I agree hurling is a faster game by its nature and there will always be more scores then football.
In football it is far easier to sit back then in hurling.
The OP is engaging in a bit of hyperbole I think.

GAA people in general are not used to teams sitting back a bit. I am surprised it did not happen sooner.
It is up to the better teams to break the defensive teams down. That is the challenge.

gormdubhgorm (Dublin) - Posts: 990 - 27/05/2016 14:33:15    1859349

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Replying To GaryMc82:  "Gaelic football in particular had a tactical awakening, which was broadly labelled the blanket defence. In reality it is following most other major team sports like soccer, Rugby and American football, and evolved into a "Tactical Systems" sport. And this will evolve further and further as time goes on.

I think too many people sit up on a high horse dreaming about glorious era's that never really existed, there were a lot of games years ago that were muck. You get the odd game that is poor to watch, but most games are as good of a quality.
It comes down to what you expect from a game, what kind of average score you expect from games."
Highly agree Gary.

I for one much prefer football nowadays.

The phrase blanket defence is a cliche now at this stage.

At the top level teams are looking to defend in numbers but then also looking to break quickly with runners and trying to get scores in before the other team regroups.

The best teams do this really well and it is a joy to watch.

The problem only really arises when you have a team not breaking quickly, you have a slow dull build up. That is shocking to watch. I see that more as a problem with teams attacking set up.

Should anything be done to reduce this tactical ploy. No I don't think it should. Let's leave the games evolve naturally. I don't think we'd have seen such great football from the likes of Dublin and Mayo over the last 5 years if they hadn't been forced into playing a more direct style to try to catch defences before they are set.

Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 4225 - 27/05/2016 15:32:41    1859372

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Replying To clondalkindub:  "Why am I getting "red fingers down" the best hurler in the game said it? How can Gaelic supporters love this style it's horrible"
Because this forum is littered with the self same comments from your good self over a period of years, dress them up differently but its the same old crap.

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 27/05/2016 15:52:33    1859378

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Nothing at all wrong with blanket defence, done properly it is a joy to watch & in football everyone, Dublin included, uses it. What is painful to watch is slow, laboured forward play.

I love watching teams who can switch from mass defence to mass attack in the blink of an eye, Dublin are the masters at the moment. Speed is what we want to see either from long kick passes or good running moves.

This obsession that a miniscule minority of posters have about mass defences is as boring as it is repetitive & plain wrong. Look at sports like American football, basketball & rugby. In each of these sports defence is a key part of the game, lauded as much as offense, & properly so.

It's time we grew up a bit & accepted that the game has changed. There will always be poor games, there always have been, but there will be enough good games to keep the mature follower happy.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 27/05/2016 17:09:19    1859408

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For many reasons including this debate I would like to see the number of consecutive handpass reduced to 1 in hurling. It just might get rid of the defensive game and may even encourage some old skills back like ground hurling and doubling in the air. I would love to see it tried out at least.

ZUL10 (Clare) - Posts: 693 - 27/05/2016 19:40:10    1859437

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Replying To MuckrossHead:  "Nothing at all wrong with blanket defence, done properly it is a joy to watch & in football everyone, Dublin included, uses it. What is painful to watch is slow, laboured forward play.

I love watching teams who can switch from mass defence to mass attack in the blink of an eye, Dublin are the masters at the moment. Speed is what we want to see either from long kick passes or good running moves.

This obsession that a miniscule minority of posters have about mass defences is as boring as it is repetitive & plain wrong. Look at sports like American football, basketball & rugby. In each of these sports defence is a key part of the game, lauded as much as offense, & properly so.

It's time we grew up a bit & accepted that the game has changed. There will always be poor games, there always have been, but there will be enough good games to keep the mature follower happy."
Hurling is not gaelic football, american

tonydoranfan (Wexford) - Posts: 550 - 27/05/2016 19:44:39    1859439

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really good posts whamm and GaryMc.

I too now prefer to watch Gaelic football. Tyrone are particularly enjoyable. Some of their scores last week were fantastic and their defending was top notch too. The problem is with slow laborious teams like Derry (and Cork too). If they want to mess about slowly going backwards and forwards then they can. It is not up to Tyrone to provide them with space to score. Tyrone managed to find plenty of space to get their scores last Sunday whilst denying Derry the same space. Excellent I would say.

Good post hurlingspuds. I agree with most of it. However, not when you say that Waterford and Clare are good to watch. I think both of these teams are dire to watch. I would say Tipp are about the only team that I enjoy watching - in my opinion they are the most skillful team around.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 27/05/2016 20:13:32    1859451

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I always chuckle reading the posters who consider themselves more mature and sophisticated because they enjoy blanket defences. For me, and I know a lot of people who think similarly, one of the great attractions of hurling and football was that within the 'war' of a 60/70 minute game there were 14 separate battles - this made it different to other team sports where you did not spend the entire game locked in battle with your direct opponent. Each individual battle could be speculated on and debated for weeks before a game with the argument on who would come out between Moynihan/Giles, Canavan/Lockhart, Lynch/Gooch, Lohan/Carey, Leahy/Finnerty etc occupying all fans minds. This now is almost a thing of the past in football and hurling seems to be moving similarly, now it's about which managers system will be most effective, making it more similar to other team sports. To lament this is not a sign of immaturity or a lack of understanding, it is simply people regretting the loss of something fairly unique that they loved about the sports. Many players also regret it because the key to an effective system is for players to stick to their role and not try anything adventurous or spontaneous, removing a lot of the creativity and enjoyment for players. It's no surprise that some of the most talented players in both codes say they no longer get the same enjoyment.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 27/05/2016 20:26:39    1859456

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Replying To clondalkindub:  "Ah Gary stop will you ffs the best player in hurling is telling you it's dirt , games were bad back in the day but we never complained about how it was being played. 15 players in their own half is muck."
I haven't used those thumb's up/down myself, must be a facebook type addition. Like I have noticed it recently, but was sort of confused of why to use it, as I normally just type a reply.

I respect the fact that he and others will feel it is ruining the game of hurling, and there is no harm expressing that view. But i fear the real issue here is Clare recently beating Kilkenny, and this issue really had more to do with that. Team's that are really successful rarely seek change to the games format or style, and those teams are made up of players and former players who feel strongly about this.

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 27/05/2016 20:29:26    1859457

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Replying To Soma:  "I always chuckle reading the posters who consider themselves more mature and sophisticated because they enjoy blanket defences. For me, and I know a lot of people who think similarly, one of the great attractions of hurling and football was that within the 'war' of a 60/70 minute game there were 14 separate battles - this made it different to other team sports where you did not spend the entire game locked in battle with your direct opponent. Each individual battle could be speculated on and debated for weeks before a game with the argument on who would come out between Moynihan/Giles, Canavan/Lockhart, Lynch/Gooch, Lohan/Carey, Leahy/Finnerty etc occupying all fans minds. This now is almost a thing of the past in football and hurling seems to be moving similarly, now it's about which managers system will be most effective, making it more similar to other team sports. To lament this is not a sign of immaturity or a lack of understanding, it is simply people regretting the loss of something fairly unique that they loved about the sports. Many players also regret it because the key to an effective system is for players to stick to their role and not try anything adventurous or spontaneous, removing a lot of the creativity and enjoyment for players. It's no surprise that some of the most talented players in both codes say they no longer get the same enjoyment."
I always chuckle at people from Kerry, who think everybody else enjoyed their years of dominance in the same way they did.

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 27/05/2016 21:06:27    1859469

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Another load of nonsense from another navel gazing, pseudo Freud wannabe. The vast majority of vintage hurling and football games shown by TG4 were complete horsesh*te. Saying something and putting 'blanket defence' in front of gets the attentions of the dopey, nodding dog brigade. The golden era of hurling and football was as truthful as The Quiet Man and Darby O'Gill.

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9702 - 27/05/2016 21:31:17    1859473

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Replying To GaryMc82:  "I always chuckle at people from Kerry, who think everybody else enjoyed their years of dominance in the same way they did."
Gary you seem to be having as much success with your geography as last Sundays score recording! Why would a Tipp hurler express his dislike of blanket defences because Clare beat Kilkenny? And I assure you I have no connection to Kerry, its just some from outside the Kingdom can recognise their achievements without bitterness or jealousy.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 27/05/2016 21:32:52    1859474

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