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Dublin v Donegal

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Replying To Green_Gold:  "OK I have checked out the pitch sizes for both Omagh and Ballybofey and it shows someone is delusional.

Omagh: 142 m × 86 m
Ballybofey: 145 x 90 m
Croke Parl: 144.5m x 88m

Ballybofey is actually a much bigger pitch than Healy park & similar to Croke Park.

Also I seem to remember that Donegal beat Tyrone in 2011 and 2012 in Clones, or did JMcG turn up the night before and secretly shorten the pitch.

Tyrone should enjoy their Ulster Final win and not be worrying about past results against Donegal. Some times it is the case that the other team are just better than you, for example Tyrone were better than Donegal this year and deserved their win."
Ah here, you've just looked up pitch size on Wikipedia - potentially the most unreliable source of information available to mankind. If you can find a more official source for pitch sizes, I'd be perfectly willing to listen to your argument but, until then, the "facts" on which you base your argument are tenuous at best.

Kurt_Angle (Dublin) - Posts: 567 - 05/08/2016 12:13:52    1896155

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Replying To Seansy48:  "OK Ben if it's not the size of the pitch in addition to the defensive scheme in Ballybofey then what is it, because it's simply factual information that Donegal are no where near as dominant or consistent in any other ground.

I mean you undermine it all you want but across league and championship Donegal are a much better team in Ballybofey, Tyrone rule out Healy Park to the dimensions of Croke Park and low and behold they tend to play their best football in Croke Park and always have under Mickey Harte. Donegal have been frankly inept in Croke Park since 2011 the record is 7-4, the fact you managed to convert 1 run into an All Ireland has made you look much better. Let's even consider Clones since 2011 considering you've been the "dominant" force 8-3 is fairly pathetic when you bare in mind all 3 losses have been in finals and it's a 5 year period we're looking at. If you compared that to Armagh last decade it'd be silly.

So here's the kicker and ultimately my point, Donegal haven't lost a single game in Ballybofey in league or championship since Jim implemented the system not one! Even the year they were relegated they didn't lose, the worst result was a draw to Dublin. They've lost in Letterkenny and Ballyshannon so you can't say it's the fans.

So please go ahead and explain to me how Donegal can be the most dominant team in the country but only when playing at one pitch in the country, if you were so much better as a team than Tyrone that whole time then why not move the match to Clones to let more fans enjoy a day out?

You could say that was very anti-G.A.A spirit but I tell you what it did seem to help you win"
That is without doubt one of the most ridicluous posts I have ever read....it's actually funny. A 7-4 record in Croker is decent and 8-3 in Clones is very good IMO. Its betters Tyrone's record anyways in the same timeframe. Croker is 5-3 and Clones is 2-3-1 since 2011. And imagine Tyrone have an impressive 6-1 record in Omagh!! Very strange to have a better home record according to you. This thread is do with Donegal v Dublin so I'm not even sure what point you are tyring to make or why on this page??

Mobot (Donegal) - Posts: 459 - 05/08/2016 12:41:23    1896178

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I've heard it all now

Home advantage has absolutely nothing to do with pitch size, it's all to do with a player feeling comfortable and awareness of where the posts are, how the pitch feels etc. We have a great record in Ballybofey but a terrible one in Letterkenny - sure why wouldn't we make every county pitch smaller if that's all it took? No, the fact is we don't play in Letterkenny often and that home advantage isn't as much of an advantage in that situation.

There's also the psychological aspect. Turn this place into a fortress. This is our patch etc.

Can't believe I'm debating the merits of pitch size. I thought this myth was dispelled years ago. Croker feels bigger, but the dimensions aren't all that different from most provincial grounds.

JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 05/08/2016 12:44:47    1896182

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Replying To Green_Gold:  "OK I have checked out the pitch sizes for both Omagh and Ballybofey and it shows someone is delusional.

Omagh: 142 m × 86 m
Ballybofey: 145 x 90 m
Croke Parl: 144.5m x 88m

Ballybofey is actually a much bigger pitch than Healy park & similar to Croke Park.

Also I seem to remember that Donegal beat Tyrone in 2011 and 2012 in Clones, or did JMcG turn up the night before and secretly shorten the pitch.

Tyrone should enjoy their Ulster Final win and not be worrying about past results against Donegal. Some times it is the case that the other team are just better than you, for example Tyrone were better than Donegal this year and deserved their win."
Look maybe I did overstep my bounds on what's acceptable to speculate but I don't believe those measurements it takes 2 seconds to stick on any game at those pitches and notice the difference, but if you want to call me a conspiracy theorist I can take it!

To be fair I wasn't really asking why Donegal beat Tyrone all those times, it's simply because they were better all those times, but it extends well past Tyrone to every team in the country. It's not even to say Ballybofey has always been a happy hunting ground for Donegal, they lost to Down in the league in 2010...which was the last loss. Someone above has mentioned Kerry's home record there, they lost in Killarney in the league this year en route to the final.

But here the only reason I commented on the thread to begin with was to mention the ridiculous opinion you fans seem to have of "what may have been" has superman Leo McLoone entered the match, between the speculation on here and frankly on the streets, in work etc. It doesn't feel like a very clean win for us

Seansy48 (Tyrone) - Posts: 237 - 05/08/2016 14:17:13    1896249

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Replying To Mobot:  "That is without doubt one of the most ridicluous posts I have ever read....it's actually funny. A 7-4 record in Croker is decent and 8-3 in Clones is very good IMO. Its betters Tyrone's record anyways in the same timeframe. Croker is 5-3 and Clones is 2-3-1 since 2011. And imagine Tyrone have an impressive 6-1 record in Omagh!! Very strange to have a better home record according to you. This thread is do with Donegal v Dublin so I'm not even sure what point you are tyring to make or why on this page??"
Those stats are all well and good but you're talking about the golden period of your county in it's history.
2011-? Is Donegal's time but it hasn't been anywhere near as impressive Tyrone's golden period between 2003-2008 Tyrone went 7-1 in Clones losing 1 final and 13-3 in Croke Park losing no finals.

I don't think you can lose 3 finals and call yourselves dominant but that's just me.

As I said below I was simply reading the thread and the sheer amount of Donegal posters that are posting talking about "what may have been" had Leo McLoone come off the bench in the Ulster final, there's at least one who's out and out said it would have been the difference. So I'll just ask you the same question if this is Donegal Dublin why are there people talking about the Ulster final, by all means talk about Leo's use in up coming games and the effect it may have but I don't see the value in throwing it back to match that's done and dusted.

There's even a Dublin man a page back talking about how much you all seem to love this Leo fella so it's not just me who's noticed it

Seansy48 (Tyrone) - Posts: 237 - 05/08/2016 14:36:29    1896262

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Replying To Seansy48:  "Those stats are all well and good but you're talking about the golden period of your county in it's history.
2011-? Is Donegal's time but it hasn't been anywhere near as impressive Tyrone's golden period between 2003-2008 Tyrone went 7-1 in Clones losing 1 final and 13-3 in Croke Park losing no finals.

I don't think you can lose 3 finals and call yourselves dominant but that's just me.

As I said below I was simply reading the thread and the sheer amount of Donegal posters that are posting talking about "what may have been" had Leo McLoone come off the bench in the Ulster final, there's at least one who's out and out said it would have been the difference. So I'll just ask you the same question if this is Donegal Dublin why are there people talking about the Ulster final, by all means talk about Leo's use in up coming games and the effect it may have but I don't see the value in throwing it back to match that's done and dusted.

There's even a Dublin man a page back talking about how much you all seem to love this Leo fella so it's not just me who's noticed it"
I think it is fair comment for Donegal supporters to ask why one of our best players, Leo McLoone, is not being picked by the manager, or at least brought on as a sub. I don't think any supporter of any county would be happy with that. I agree that it would be stupid to suggest that Leo McLoone would definitely have won the game for Donegal. These comments are not trying to take away from Tyrone's victory but more a reflection on what we got wrong (or the manager didn't do), Tyrone won the game fair and square. Don't all supporters ask what if....when their team loses?

BTW best of luck on Saturday against Mayo, Tyrone are definitely on an upward trend and I expect this team to be challenging for the major honours for the next 5/6 years. Donegal might need to make Ballybofey even shorter to compete lol.

Green_Gold (Donegal) - Posts: 1906 - 05/08/2016 15:02:12    1896270

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Replying To Green_Gold:  "I think it is fair comment for Donegal supporters to ask why one of our best players, Leo McLoone, is not being picked by the manager, or at least brought on as a sub. I don't think any supporter of any county would be happy with that. I agree that it would be stupid to suggest that Leo McLoone would definitely have won the game for Donegal. These comments are not trying to take away from Tyrone's victory but more a reflection on what we got wrong (or the manager didn't do), Tyrone won the game fair and square. Don't all supporters ask what if....when their team loses?

BTW best of luck on Saturday against Mayo, Tyrone are definitely on an upward trend and I expect this team to be challenging for the major honours for the next 5/6 years. Donegal might need to make Ballybofey even shorter to compete lol."
Hahaha fair play to you Green-gold, I know myself I've been a bit of a ballix here.

I shouldn't paint all Donegal fans with the same brush but alot aren't as amicable as you are over it.

To me RG never stuck on McLoone as things were working out, the man's in a very very unenviable position of having to follow a legend, I bet he weighs every decision if not against what Jim would have done at least against the media and what they'll say (probably doesn't help that Jim is now the media himself). It's a massive spectre over the man, the idea that this isn't even really his team and he's a bit like the caretaker. To be honest I don't even know how you combat such a thing except trying to make RG make his own decisions despite anything Jim would have done.

The flip side is he's genuinely a bad manager at least on game day and doesn't rate McLoone for whatever reason, It should be said I rate McLoone personally and the man's broken my heart on a few days out....is it a case of the man being a bit of a maverick or does it seem to be RG messing about? I noted the lavish praise he received from JMcG in his book, would that and the childish saga between these men have anything to do with it?

Seansy48 (Tyrone) - Posts: 237 - 05/08/2016 15:21:13    1896273

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We talk about Leo and the Ulster final because that's our point of reference. It was an insanely tight game and marginal marginal things make the difference. So he might have made the difference - similarly he might have gone in hot headed and took the head off some boy and got sent off. We don't know.

But it's a gripe of mine (and I'm guessing a lot of Donegal football people) that we're always talked about in terms of aging legs and no depth, and one person in the media has been banging on and on about Thompson being brought off in the Ulster final and then brought back on as some indicator that we've no depth. Well when McLoone is sitting there and you bring Thompson back on... that's an irritant for us as supporters. It's not taking away from Tyrone's win, is it not the very nature of supporting your own team that you look at matches through that lense? Everyone I know has acknowledged Tyrone are worthy champions and stepped up to the plate when it was the most crucial part of the game. But naturally we're going to look back at what might have been for ourselves, that's how it works when games are that tight.

I'd advise you just carry on enjoying being Ulster champions and not be so worried what a Donegal man thinks of the match!

JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 05/08/2016 15:30:01    1896277

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Replying To Seansy48:  "Those stats are all well and good but you're talking about the golden period of your county in it's history.
2011-? Is Donegal's time but it hasn't been anywhere near as impressive Tyrone's golden period between 2003-2008 Tyrone went 7-1 in Clones losing 1 final and 13-3 in Croke Park losing no finals.

I don't think you can lose 3 finals and call yourselves dominant but that's just me.

As I said below I was simply reading the thread and the sheer amount of Donegal posters that are posting talking about "what may have been" had Leo McLoone come off the bench in the Ulster final, there's at least one who's out and out said it would have been the difference. So I'll just ask you the same question if this is Donegal Dublin why are there people talking about the Ulster final, by all means talk about Leo's use in up coming games and the effect it may have but I don't see the value in throwing it back to match that's done and dusted.

There's even a Dublin man a page back talking about how much you all seem to love this Leo fella so it's not just me who's noticed it"
I kind of get what you're saying apart from the "dominant" comment. I don't think any Donegal supporter thinks we are the dominant force or have been over the last 5 years. Dublin are the only team that could be considered to be a dominant force based off the amount of titles they have won over that time. You have questioned Donegal's results in finals and rightly so, we have lost 3 close finals in the last 3 years and like any close game the team that loses try to figure out where it went wrong without taking anything away from the victors. Some supports have questioned the managements use of the bench in this years Ulster final and hope that lessons have been learned for this weekends game and going by what we seen last week against Cork the signs are good. For a player like Leo McCloone, who at the age of 26/27 is in his prime, not to be used in either Monaghan game or especially in the Ulster Final made very little sense to alot if not all Donegal supporters and I for one was delighted to see him play 25mins last week.

Tyrone win the Ulster Final and were deserving winners on the day and most posts I read after the game from all supporters echoed this. It's natural for some supporters to question decisions made by a management team when a result was so close to going the other way. I rememeber Tyrone losing narrowly to Donegal in 2012 and some Tyrone supporters not being happy with Harte's loyalty to some of the older players but it was a game they could have won had Durcan not pulled off a great save to deny Penrose. The losing supporters will always have a "what may have been" attitude after a game that really could have gone either way. It's natural. The good thing from a Donegal perspective now is that we have an opportunity to get things right this weekend and try to beat the best team in the country and if we can do that and Tyrone overcome the Mayo challenge then we will only be 1 game away from a rematch......alot of if's in that sentence (;

Mobot (Donegal) - Posts: 459 - 05/08/2016 15:30:21    1896279

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Not long to wait now and will be leaving Heathrow very early tomorrow morning. Really looking forward to four great teams taking part tomorrow. Hope we have a great evenings football
Before I go to bed tonight I will play The Hills ofGlenswilly and Donegal I Love You. This will put me in the right frame of mind for the drawn out battle between 6 and 7-30 (could be xtra time) and still think Donegal can win. Also know they can get beat but that's what it is all about -- winners and losers.
Tomorrow evening the result is all that will matter and if we are on the wrong side of it -- Good luck to Dublin
But we in Donegal are so thankful for these boys , they have done us proud and what wonderful moments we shared with them. Still hoping to be in the mix for Sam on Sunday morning and wishing all the supporters a safe journey and let's have a wonderful feast of football
COME ON DONEGAL

SamOnErrigal (Donegal) - Posts: 1427 - 05/08/2016 20:53:30    1896412

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Replying To SamOnErrigal:  "Not long to wait now and will be leaving Heathrow very early tomorrow morning. Really looking forward to four great teams taking part tomorrow. Hope we have a great evenings football
Before I go to bed tonight I will play The Hills ofGlenswilly and Donegal I Love You. This will put me in the right frame of mind for the drawn out battle between 6 and 7-30 (could be xtra time) and still think Donegal can win. Also know they can get beat but that's what it is all about -- winners and losers.
Tomorrow evening the result is all that will matter and if we are on the wrong side of it -- Good luck to Dublin
But we in Donegal are so thankful for these boys , they have done us proud and what wonderful moments we shared with them. Still hoping to be in the mix for Sam on Sunday morning and wishing all the supporters a safe journey and let's have a wonderful feast of football
COME ON DONEGAL"
Fair play Sam.

seanie_boy (Tyrone) - Posts: 4235 - 05/08/2016 21:08:06    1896419

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Replying To seanie_boy:  "Fair play Sam."
James Mc passed fit. Believe it when I see it to be honest

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 05/08/2016 22:58:04    1896465

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The 4 Regions have been consistent enough since '05. There hasn't been anyone above that level consistently since '09 hence their deceptive rise.

There are question marks over Donegal. We'll only get the answers today. On form it's hard to luck past the 4 Regions advancing to the semi-finals.

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 8766 - 06/08/2016 10:52:54    1896524

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Replying To legendzxix:  "The 4 Regions have been consistent enough since '05. There hasn't been anyone above that level consistently since '09 hence their deceptive rise.

There are question marks over Donegal. We'll only get the answers today. On form it's hard to luck past the 4 Regions advancing to the semi-finals."
4 Regions....... jasus give it a rest! Its not funny. Loser

JayP (Dublin) - Posts: 1772 - 06/08/2016 11:04:30    1896530

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Replying To legendzxix:  "The 4 Regions have been consistent enough since '05. There hasn't been anyone above that level consistently since '09 hence their deceptive rise.

There are question marks over Donegal. We'll only get the answers today. On form it's hard to luck past the 4 Regions advancing to the semi-finals."
Is 'region' your word of the week?

CroiGorm (Dublin) - Posts: 1547 - 06/08/2016 11:05:08    1896532

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Replying To CroiGorm:  "Is 'region' your word of the week?"
Enjoy both games if ye are going to Croke Park! :-)

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 8766 - 06/08/2016 11:25:30    1896538

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No wind, no rain.
Feck.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 06/08/2016 11:38:06    1896544

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Best of luck to ye today donegal fans..itll be a scorcher in croker .

GGdub (Dublin) - Posts: 260 - 06/08/2016 12:14:12    1896556

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Yep already baking here. On the hill so should have a grand tan come the Dubs -Donegal game. I am not convinced either if James Mc will play but great boost if he does. I think Kevin Mc may be better suited coming off the bench giving the conditions - there will be a lot of tired bodies out there for the final 20 minutes. Would say the same for MDMA.

Good luck to everyone travelling near and far. Great for our game to have these two quality games to look forward to.

poguemahone (Dublin) - Posts: 365 - 06/08/2016 13:14:05    1896573

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Best of luck and a safe journey to all fans travelling to Croke Park today.

Up the Dubs!!!!

JayP (Dublin) - Posts: 1772 - 06/08/2016 13:18:18    1896577

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