Yeah, well that was a good Kildare side, particularly the '97 and '98 squads. I think a lot of neutrals got behind Galway precisely because O'Mahony was championing a more direct style in contrast to Kildare.

It's gas but Micko is actually one of the latest GAA celebrities to advocate a switch to a 13-a-side format. It certainly wouldn't be the end of the hand-passing game, some teams may not have the talent to exploit the extra space but I guarantee you, try that Kildare style in a 13-a-side match and you'll be going nowhere fast.

Googan (Meath) - Posts: 105 - 15/11/2009 23:54:04    484618

13-a-side is the only way to go

wingwonder (UK) - Posts: 535 - 16/11/2009 02:39:27    484674

Googan, O'Mahoney may have been championing a more direct style of play prior to the 1998 final however the stats will show that Galway handpassed the ball more often than Kildare in that particular All Ireland final and won it.

mugsys_barber (Tyrone) - Posts: 2160 - 16/11/2009 09:10:46    484705

Well, I wouldn't doubt that, Meath found the going very tough against that Kildare team even though the direct ball tactic had always reaped dividends for Boylan's teams but this goes back to my original point: If the safe option is there teams will always seek it out, particularly when the stakes are as high as they are in championship football.

When pure footballing sides like Kerry and Galway start investing so much time and effort into perfecting the hand-pass then you know that there is an imbalance in the game that has to be addressed and I maintain that Kerry right now are the best short-passing team in the country. They mix it up when necessary and have some lovely foot-passers in Tomas O'Se and Galvin but watching the performance against Dublin it was clear to me that they had taken the handpass to another level. A fussier referee would have interpreted it as a foul on at least a couple of occasions. Kildare and Galway in '98 just wouldn't compare to that set-up.

There was an interesting interview with Liam McHale a few years back where he enthused on the prospect of seeing 13-a-side inter-county football being played. He had played that format in New York and described it as 'a real treat', where the extra space allows footballers to express themselves that bit more. We've been treated to performances by some real play-makers in recent years, I'm thinking McDonald, Giles, McGeeney and Dooher, (among others) but wouldn't you rather watching them carving defences open in 13-a-side games?

Googan (Meath) - Posts: 105 - 18/11/2009 23:46:32    487898

lads its back to the old saying

"FOOTBALL IS A GAME FOR LADS THAT CANT PLAY HURLING"

58ANDCOUNTING (Galway) - Posts: 16 - 18/11/2009 23:56:04    487911

Theres not too much wrong with the game the problem is Pat himself. Did ya see the proposal a few weeks back and his new scoring system!!

datsrite (Sligo) - Posts: 473 - 19/11/2009 00:15:29    487925

Puddersthecat
County: Kilkenny
Posts: 347

482575 Well said Pat. When do you ever see great kicks or great solo runs anymore.

Answer:-
Sean Cavanagh in full flight.

watching (Tyrone) - Posts: 853 - 19/11/2009 09:46:04    488046

58ANDCOUNTING
County: Galway
Posts: 13

get back in your biscuit tin would ya, which of the two games has by far the superior championship? plus, plenty of people play both, quite successfully too.

frankthetank (Meath) - Posts: 134 - 19/11/2009 12:00:12    488175

The standard of football now is far better than twenty to thirty years ago kicking and catching then.

Dellboypolecat (Tyrone) - Posts: 15069 - 19/11/2009 14:23:23    488328

I'd totally agree with most posters here highlighting the improvement in footballing standards over the past two decades. I'm quite happy to see the back of the tight shorts and side-burns era of football, and it's Kerry/Dublin duopoly.

We've got a good championship at the moment. Gaelic football is potentially one of the greatest field games in the world but that potential is being held back by a deep-rooted culture of cynical fouling and an overdependence on the hand-pass. Force teams to rely on the foot-pass more and you'll see the game come closer to realising it's potential. Just because hurling is run along 15-a-side formats does not mean that football has to follow suit. The pitch dimensions are the same but the patterns of play differ greatly.

There was a secondary school from Donegal a few years back that entered a group into the Young Scientist's Exhibition project and the subject they delved into was one close to my heart: a comparative study of 15-a-side football matches against 13-a-side. The results showed that not only was the enjoyment level of the spectators heightened during 13-a-side games but there were significantly less fouls committed. If a bunch of teenagers can see this and draw some sensible conclusions as to how football can be improved why can't the GAA?

Googan (Meath) - Posts: 105 - 19/11/2009 17:41:48    488676

Football was a lot better 20 years ago. Tougher men and harder tackles. All you hear now is Hamstrings this and hamstrings that after a match. They would have been lucky to get a HAM Sandwich after a match 20 30 years ago.

SAMMYTHEBULL (Galway) - Posts: 1646 - 20/11/2009 00:10:57    489098