I suppose Tyrone footballers are better than what a lot of people give them credit for, me included. They cannot play the game they do without gifted individuals. However if the Gaelic Football equivalent of Cryuff is to be taken as a Giles/Purcell/Moran per se, then I think all of Tyrone's players fall short. Maybe Benjyyy is right, the role of a playmaker is not such a neccessity in Gaelic Football. Re-reading my other post, then perhaps mediocre was a harsh choice of word. McMahon/Dooher/Mulligan/Penrose, fine footballers in their own right but far from The Absolute Cream.

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 21/07/2010 21:43:10    718739

And by the way, slightly controversial perhaps, but what would the last decade have been like without Tyrone...how many All-Irelands would Kerry have won in a row? Wouldnt have been good for the GAA.

MichaelO (Tyrone) - Posts: 820 - 21/07/2010 21:46:40    718744

Menat to say that the role of a playmaker is not an absolute neccessity in Tyrone's version of Total Football.

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 21/07/2010 21:49:20    718750

What is total football?

Total Football's tactical success depends largely on the adaptability of each footballer within the team, in particular the ability to quickly switch positions depending on the on-field situation. The theory requires players to be comfortable in multiple positions; hence, it places high technical and physical demands on them.

I have heard most commentators and pundits make numerous references to Tyrone's ability to do the above, therefore it would make sense then that Tyrone play a bastardised version of this concept. Simples

omaghredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 3656 - 21/07/2010 21:49:21    718751

When Cork ran at them last year they couldnt hack it.......So how can they be a good team.Everybody else is so poor it makes Tyrone look good..They are average and effective at their win at all costs football......Personaly id rather watch paint dry

richiej (UK) - Posts: 1430 - 21/07/2010 21:51:58    718755

When Cork ran at them last year they couldnt hack it.......So how can they be a good team.

Great logic. Suppose Kerry can't be a good team cos they lost to Tyrone a few times...suppose Cork are rubbish because they've been beaten in two all-ireland finals by Kerry. Makes a lot of sense.

MichaelO (Tyrone) - Posts: 820 - 21/07/2010 21:54:58    718760

richiej
County: UK
Posts: 362

718755 When Cork ran at them last year they couldnt hack it.......So how can they be a good team.Everybody else is so poor it makes Tyrone look good..They are average and effective at their win at all costs football......Personaly id rather watch paint dry

So in one game they get beat and they can't hack it? How bad are Cork then that they can't beat Kerry when it matters. What is the problem there? Average means that they are virtually the same as everyone else. Can you name me the teams that have beaten Kerry in Croke Park this past ten years? I think that your spending too much time watching paint dry and the fumes are getting to you

omaghredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 3656 - 21/07/2010 21:58:27    718767

Why is it that Tyrone supporters keep pressing on these issues of greatness? How come you never hear Kerry people harping on about how great they were? I hardly ever hear Kerry claiming team of the decade or how great past or present teams were, why because they dont have to. Cork have produced some mighty teams in 80'90s, never hear them shouting about it either. In my humble opinion this Tyrone hang up that they have is a realization that they know deep down they are not as naturally gifted as some of the greater teams but if they keep forcing the issue a bit like their style of football really we will be bullied into thinking they are.

None of us here can say we seen all the team of the Millennium play but we have all heard the stories from generations, we have read about the great Mick O Connell, we have seen Sheehy, we have heard the song of the gallant John Joe et etc. Hand on heart from the knowledge you have gathered could you replace any of them players with any Tyrone player of last 10 yrs?

51longago (Mayo) - Posts: 2981 - 21/07/2010 21:59:34    718770

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/kingdom-give-rival-finalists-a-real-kicking-in-handpass-stakes-2267907.html

This article must be some kinda mistake.

MichaelO (Tyrone) - Posts: 820 - 22/07/2010 08:07:06    718780

Tyrone play a horrible brand of football but for some daft reason they are let....they've won how many AI's???? dont think it the number they have won and the manner in which they won them is ANYTHING to get carried away with....I certainly dont enjoy watchin them play, its far from attractive. Yet as a Neutral watchin the likes of Kerry, Cork, etc.....Im on the edge of me seat.....

Mollymalone (Dublin) - Posts: 1137 - 22/07/2010 09:28:52    718823

Funniest part of this thread was when someone compared Dooher to Cruyff! Its like comparing Dirk Kuyt to Zidane

jafallon (Galway) - Posts: 489 - 22/07/2010 09:36:03    718827

Omaghredhand......The tread here is about total football not abt who beat Kerry this past 10 years.. The football that Tyrone play is effective in winning games but not easy on the eye..When Down hit the bigtime in the 90s they played with a swagger, skill, lovely direct football..They never got involved in this pathetic puke football that Tyrone need to play in order to grind out win at all cost results..They have dragged football into the gutter with their style of play. if one could call it style.Unfortunely other teams have copied them. But finaly we will see the true Tyrone in the latter stages of the Championship when their negative out of date tactis get exposed by Cork AGAIN just like they did last year

richiej (UK) - Posts: 1430 - 22/07/2010 09:45:38    718836

So waht lads 3 all Irelands, we aren't worried, bitter little men

redhanddefender (Tyrone) - Posts: 913 - 22/07/2010 10:14:23    718867

richiej, couldent agree more with ye.......Ye can never deny both Cork and Kerry are out and out Gaelic footballers, play proper open fast flowing gaelic football as we all know it...not this carry-on of 3 or 4 players swarming around a man...its pathetic, it just gauls me havin to listen to some of our Gaelic Greats on the Sunday game ravin about them...they can also play very dirty and yet its describled as just being "physical". Yet when others play like that its not described as "physical". The likes of Down & Monaghan are Ulster but play lovely football....yet sadly they dont have the Ulster of AI titles....

Mollymalone (Dublin) - Posts: 1137 - 22/07/2010 10:25:55    718876

Very interesting, MichaelO: two things in particular - of the 8 provincial finalists, Kerry use most handpasses and secondly, the amount of handpassing in the provincial finals has decreased compared to 2009. Certainly the article explodes some of the myths doing the rounds here.

football first (None) - Posts: 1259 - 22/07/2010 10:27:01    718878

I think Tyrone play some of the most skillful and exciting football of all teams when they want to. But they are a bit like a chameleon, they change their colour based on the opposition and when they play the other Northern teams they play some terrible football.

ColinWex (Wexford) - Posts: 901 - 22/07/2010 11:20:03    718952

This is a very good thread Benjyyy. On the subject of Cork, I remember one Tyrone poster on here, writing of his fear just before the semi-final last year. The height and strength of the Rebels concerned him most. Lo and behold, Tyrone come out and are completely out-run and out-muscled by a much more athletic Cork side. Interesting that the Meath team of 2007 and the Down team of 2008 were also too much of a physical presence in the middle-third of the pitch for Tyrone. Why do Tyrone struggle against these type of teams or perhaps its just a co-incidence? Probably completely unrelated but maybe also worth pointing out is that Holland lost two World Cup Finals to West Germany and Argentina. Two sides with fearsome reputations for getting in the opposition faces and grinding a result. Is this the key to out-foxing Total Football in both Soccer and Gaelic Football?

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 22/07/2010 18:16:09    719771