Nothing can beat Dublin - Westmeath from last summer.

...well maybe the game against Wicklow a few weeks previous to it can!

Roscommon - Mayo, Derry - Monaghan (x2), Kerry - Meath are some of many dishonourable mentions from last year AND they didn't have the excuse of new rules.

JuanVeron (Westmeath) - Posts: 1866 - 16/05/2010 21:22:59    649034

liathroidboy
County: Mayo
Posts: 365

648889 Even the most biased Brolly couldnt put any shine on that nonsense- lads if that was the first round of the McKenna Cup it would still be disgraceful- there isnt an average team between Derry and Armagh- if its not puke what is it? It was hillarious Brolly could only talk about Tyrone cause he had nothing to say about these two non existent teams- imagine to think that these supposed footballers are training all year- what a total embarassment and this is supposed to be championship football, typical off the ball assaults, free for alls, goading im at the stage now where im asking is there one honest to god hardman in Ulster football- alas their isnt Sean Cavanagh would be the nearest and we all know what he makes of Mickey Hartes portfolios on opposition players and their personal circumstances


the above is possibly the worst post ever in HS history

all the cliches no sublety nonsense



It's interesting that people judge games in the Football championship in the way they do. Every game can't have freeflowing football that would be boring. Junior games can often be very exciting, but as the stakes get higher tactics and strategies come more into games which makes them more intriguing. So if you want to see similar styles open football every time then you are watching the wrong sport.

ochonlir (Cavan) - Posts: 4343 - 16/05/2010 21:32:41    649053

It was bad , thats 2 years in a row derry have had a drab ulster first round!

Lofty (Monaghan) - Posts: 727 - 16/05/2010 21:44:26    649069

It was a typical cynical dour first round Ulster clash. Terrible football to watch. Both teams going nowhere this year. Awful stuff.

kingdomfan (Kerry) - Posts: 393 - 16/05/2010 21:48:50    649074

A poor game alright but certainly not the worst game ever.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13833 - 16/05/2010 21:53:50    649083

EnolaGay
County: Tyrone
Posts: 257

649025 A poor quality game but Armagh won't care about that. Paddy O'Rourke said at the end of the game today was all about winning and that's what they did - fair play to them. Should be a tasty encounter with Monaghan next


Tasty as in what? 100 frees, no more than 30 seconds uninterrupted play? It will be the same as yesterday although in fairness to Monaghan after the even worse game they had last year against Derry they played open football in the second game but got beat! So god knows what lesson they will draw from that!! And I'm not slagging Ulster specifically. All football is of the same pattern when you have evenly enough matched teams. Dublin/Meath last year was pathetic to watch especially after seeing a hurling match immediately before it. Let's face it, a good football game at this level now is a rarity. Yes, the rules are in some part to blame but it is the tactics and attitudes of teams that produce the sort of desperate stuff people are having to endure.

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 17/05/2010 08:40:29    649115

Agree ist was a poor game but a Mayo man saying it was the worst game ever is like getting lectured on fidelity by Tiger Woods. I've flushed a few bob down the drain at those All Ireland finals that were over by half time.

RoverTin (Derry) - Posts: 228 - 17/05/2010 08:47:54    649117

OakGael
County: Derry
Posts: 23

648957 I see the anti Ulster football has raised it's head again. As Joe Brolly put it to Pat Spillane there is two teams in Munster Kerry n Cork and the rest are no where near competin. Connacht you have Galway n Mayo albeit possibly Sligo, Leinster you have the Dubs, Kildare n Meath. Now in Ulster at the start of the season you have Derry, Armagh, Donegal, Tyrone, Down and Monaghan all realistic Ulster Championship contenders. Now you explain to me how you are going to get opena and attractive championship matches in Ulster. It's a dog eat dog scenario and believe me it frustrates the hell out of me aswell. I've stuck by Derrry through the good times and the bad and I will continue to do so as I take pride in following my county and believe me it hurts like hell sitting here listening and reading through the post match analysis and there is nothing constructive or positive being said about your county.

The way forward is an open draw and you get whoever comes your away. In Ulster the teams are getting too familiar with each other and it destroying the championship.


Is that a sign of strength or weakness?

Con (Louth) - Posts: 511 - 17/05/2010 09:12:44    649141

Looking through the stats in the Irish News today and I was astounded to see that Andy Mallon didn't have a yellow card- assumed he had go one. I also found it laughable that the Sunday Game gave him man of the man considering he was possibly the most persistent clinical fouler on the pitch.

Interesting quote from Kevin Madden;

'The irony of Eoin Bradleys sending off is that he was unquestionably the most fouled man on the pitch yesterday. Time and again he was cynically stopped with tactical fouling. My gripe isn't with Armagh who did what they had to do and got away with it, more more with a referee happy to punish a rash moment of petulance but not an orchestrated period of cynicism'

Fr.Ted.Crilly (Derry) - Posts: 449 - 17/05/2010 09:35:53    649162

god i feel sorry for the derry posters on here finally the game that puts the paddy bradley debate to bed, he once again contributed his mighty couple of points to make him top marksman ever in ulster without a medal to his name.very disappointing display and eoin bradley didnt do much either some of the rest of the derry lads must be throwing the head at those two and wondering are they team players at all. all looks a bit pointless and im sure theres a few headaches in derryland today. still keep the chins up it might be the making of derry to go on a mighty run against longford tipp and carlow in the qualifiers.

reddoctor (Tyrone) - Posts: 1241 - 17/05/2010 10:04:43    649188

I actually thought it was a decent enough game. It was pretty typical of a championship opener where both teams were afraid to lose. The RTE panel completely over-reacted, particularly Spillane. The biggest problem was the lack of space: no amount of tinkering about with the rules will solve that one, as teams get fitter and more tactical. What might work, though, would be a reduction to 13 a side leading to more open football, rewarding skill and pace, and making the blanket defence more difficult t implement.

football first (None) - Posts: 1259 - 17/05/2010 10:28:02    649215

reddoctor

You have been belittling Paddy Bradley on this forum for the best part of 2 years, did he steal your girlfriend at Clubland one night or something? Catch yourself on, Paddy Bradley is one of the best players in Ulster history but unfortunately for him Derry are just ***** as a team. Its a crying shame that a man of his capabilities has not managed to attain an Ulster medal. I feel sorry for him, but you just feel the need to mock him. Grow up, and don't be so bitter.

Fr.Ted.Crilly (Derry) - Posts: 449 - 17/05/2010 10:38:15    649235

The ref can take some blame for that game. He blew up everything in the first 10 minutes. Seriously that rule change has to be one of the most ridiculous decisions the competitions committee has taken. Nothing wrong with the old hand pass rule. If they were going to change a rule why not the picking the ball of the ground rule. I noticed about 5 times on the first half alone that the ball was blatently picked off the ground.

Cmills Fan. (Antrim) - Posts: 508 - 17/05/2010 10:55:16    649259

had thi misfortune of being at the game yesterday. and i think i agree with a lot of what has already been said on here. it didnt feel like a championship game from the stands either. there was no buzz about the place. in fairness to armagh they did make it tough for derry to score when they played with 6 full backs and 6 half backs, but they were able to break forward and get some scores from that. it was as bad a derry performance as ive seen. as for dc, he has always said it was the cahmpionship that counted not the league, and yesterday looked very much like a league game, and a poor one at that.

pig.ignorant (Derry) - Posts: 655 - 17/05/2010 11:03:00    649271

Can anyone remember the first game of the ulster championship last year - derry v monaghan - brutal game aswell.

monaghan were subjected to the harshish critism for the entire year afterwards for the display that happened that day from all angles of the media and innocent little derry were totally not to blame. Imagine!!!

now we are 12months on, first game of championship again, derry in first game again, and what do we get a brutal game of football, typical derry style, no game plan, if the bradleys cant win it then lets get dirty, ill discipline, average footballers, plan for game had they one??, stop the other team playing at all costs, derry fans?? well if anyone has ever being to a derry match in celtic park they can answer that...

armagh on the other looked a well balanced team, capable of anything this year with a lucky run, looked like they wanted to play ball at all times, some fantastic players. glad to see them winning, just a pity they didnt hammer the oak leaf off the field

bigman1 (Monaghan) - Posts: 24 - 17/05/2010 11:12:12    649283

Good point, Father Ted Crilly,
Much easier for a ref to spot those type of incidents so players get punished which is fair enough. The Linesmen who are refs aswell seriously need to get more vocal and indicate to the ref whats going on with cynical defending outside the rules. When 3 men are around a player the ref can't see everything. The new handpass is definitely going to lead to even more of this as the player in possession won't be able to play the ball correctly, will have to drop the ball or give away a foul. Its going to be a long Hot Summer.

ninjasmyth (Louth) - Posts: 754 - 17/05/2010 11:20:00    649299

bigman1

It wasn't a dirty game, clinical maybe but not dirty and thuggish as you seem to suggest anyone who watched it will tell you that, it was a dour defensive affair.. Serious you Monaghan people are laughable it was over a year ago! Get over it.

Fr.Ted.Crilly (Derry) - Posts: 449 - 17/05/2010 11:45:29    649339

Yesterday's match in Celtic Park and the procession in Thurles perfectly illustrate why the Provincial championships are no longer relevant or appealing as a spectacle. What is the point in 6/7 months training when most teams know well that there summer ends after 2 matches? And for many mediocre teams, the fear of losing or not performing on the day inhibits them from giving it a real go as seen in derry. And the occasional flash in the pan result once in a blue moon is no justification for keeping the provincials. If the GAA are serious about providing an attractive product to appeal to an audience now spoiled for choice with other sports, then new blood with fresh ideas and less nonsense is required. This is nothing new or ground breaking but is a matter of urgency:

1.Provincial competitions perhaps used instead of National league as a good start to the year with a bit of local passion
2.8 groups of four teams competing in a Champs Lge style draw for championship. For the first year, positions in the National League can be used to seed the teams in bowls 1-4, one from each bowl making the group
3.Games played on Sat evenings at the same time meaning no teams know what result is required beforehand
4.To avoid pointless bottom of the table games, make teams seeding for next years draw be based on where they finish within their group this year. This gives weaker teams an incentive to keep going as they might finish 3rd and have a slightly easier group next year. It also guarantees everyone at least 3 matches
5. Top 2 qualify to a knock out stage......simple

At the moment, our best GAA players spend about 90% of time training and about 10% playing high quality matches.This is all wrong and leads to the type of fear and cynicism we witnessed yesterday in Celtic Park. I feel sorry for excellent footballers who probably feel like throwing their hat at it this morning and heading to America before the Summer has even started. Rugby made sweeping changes to its administration and its surge in popularity speaks for itself!

dermthegerm (Monaghan) - Posts: 10 - 17/05/2010 12:04:54    649369

tomaoo7
County: Dublin
Posts: 5247

648908 One of the Worst ive seen worser...

To all those anti-ulster whingers spouting the same cliched nonsense year in year out, the above is the intellect of your peers. Congratulations, you must be so proud.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12452 - 17/05/2010 12:07:38    649375

says alot about the quality of the game when that's the best you can offer Bref...

nok02 (USA) - Posts: 534 - 17/05/2010 12:20:35    649407