The Sunday Game

[tbrick18]

A few comments on this diving/getting fellas black cards/yellow cards/red cards (or "getting the line" in olden days) and refs
1. The current perception of Tyrone diving started with Peter Canavan, who truly made it an art form - The growth of the perception since then, has in some individual players, been justified
Dont forget Brian Dooher, McMenamin and Philip Jordan....it always kind of annoyed me that the antics and downright cheating of these players was always overlooked. Then if you go back to the Tyrone team of the mid-90's that got to the AI Final...one of the dirtiest teams I've ever seen.

2. Pat McEnany (not sure of the spelling) was once quoted as stating that if he was ref and Peter Canavan was looking for a penalty, the tackle would have had to be heavy enough that Peter wouldn't be physically well enough after the tackle to take the penalty

3.In the dressing room at half time of the 1960 All-Ireland final the Down team were advised to be careful not "to get the line in the second half as that will be part of the Kerry strategy to win this game"

4. Aidan O'Mahoney's falling as if assassinated when Donncha O'Connor of Cork touched him on the cheek in Croke Park was as bad at play acting to get someone the line as what we saw on Saturday last

I have always admired Tyrone under Mickey Harte and over those years thought they gave as good as they got (with Canavan and Sean Cavanaugh being the exception for putting on the theatrics) but even I was shocked at the amount of it on Saturday - I could see by the end of the game that Tyrone have made it difficult for neutrals like myself to respect them even though they played great football against Monaghan
That being said, powerful people in the media, especially Pat Spillane with his "butter wouldn't melt in out mouths down here in Kerry where we only play "pure, honest, traditional, kick-pass football" have been over critical of Tyrone and their approach to football with his puke-football comments, and regrettably that sledging of his on them as a TV pundit has gained a lot of traction

Bottom line is, both teams might be practicing the dark-arts in the semi-final, but it's still a game I do not want to miss

Monaghan are a dirty side too, but they get away with it in the public domain as they are a small county trying to do the best they can with what they have available....like that somehow excuses "playing on the edge".
Kerry be at it as well as do Dublin....

[DennistheMenace]

Monaghan are a tough side and are much smarter about the 'dark arts' than Tyrone it seems. See Dick Clerkin reaction in last minute v Donegal for example.

[blewuporstuffed]

Monaghan are a tough side and are much smarter about the 'dark arts' than Tyrone it seems. See Dick Clerkin reaction in last minute v Donegal for example.

The McCann incident aside, monaghan where every bit as bad as Tyrone on Saturday, the difference is, the Sunday game when through every one of Tyrone's transgressions, highlighting them and non of Monaghans.

Maybe if after every game they went through every dive , cynical challenge or off the ball incident for EVERY county, Tyrone wouldn't look that much worse than anyone else.
Thing is though they don't (nor should they, but a bit of balance would be nice), and while Tyrone may bring some of it on themselves, this has undoubtedly coloured public perception.

[Il Bomber Destro]

On last nights show Colm O'Rourke listed instances of Tyrone misdeamours this year including the sledging v Donegal and also sledging in the Tipp U21s. Whilst acknowledging the embarrassing reactions of Tiernan McCann, I must ask, Was the actions of Darren Hughes sledging? If so, then this is the same misdemeanour bought up from weeks ago by O'Rourke to fit his argument but conveniently ignored whilst it's actually playing out on screen in front of him in the studio. What was Darren Hughes' motives for putting his hand anywhere near McCann? The clear answer is he was trying to provoke a reaction - sledging. I'm not on here to defend McCanns antics, but id ask a serious question - Would people here have been happier if McCann had responded by punching Hughes in the face? Would that have been more"manly" for Colm and his like? Would Ciaran Whelan have been calling for an apology then? What if he'd broken Hughes jaw, would that have been less of a disrepute to the game than diving? Would the "hair ruffling and sledging been mentioned on the Sunday Game had Tiernan just walked away? Well given the focus on sledging this summer it most definitely should have been discussed.

Kevin Keane boxed Murphy on the jaw in the following game and it's gently tutted at, Finlay boxed Cavanagh and nobody bats an eyelid. McCann falls over and the world caves in. Social media, The Sunday Game and all two bit journalists can't wait to get their boot into the young lad who hasn't actually caused any physical damage to another player.

I'll state again, I 100% unreservedly condemn McCann for his silly reaction but the hypocrisy, bile and biased way this has been handled by all sections of the media has been nauseating in the extreme.

Because you continually do it at every damn grade. If one of your's just boxed the head off a man or tried to needle the odd player you'd get the same reaction as other teams do. It wouldn't follow you around like a bad smell then.

You and a lot of Tyrone posters conveniently ignore the track record in the face of anecdotes of misdemeanors by other teams. No one is falling for that line but the Tyrone true believers.

Absolute horseshit.

Take the u21 final, Tyrone were the more sinned against team,  McShane was clearly targeted for attention from the get go and he didn't get any protection from the ref. Tipp were the most cynical team for 50 odd minutes of the game and there's no doubt Tyrone git very cynical in the last 10 minutes to close it out. 

Yet the fallout from that game was ridiculous, every accusation and allegation thrown our way, great young footballers and esteemed legends of the game having their names muddied because the other team couldn't take their beating.

The problem is you lads don't like a Northern team coming down here and beating you off the field in footballing terms. Bitterness has consumed you and your classless reaction to it is telling.

[WT4E]

I was thinking there when Tiernan McCann is drafting his apology for Whelan he could use the following lads apologies for ideas:

Michael Shields (Cork) v Kerry 2015
Aidan O'Shea (Mayo) v Tyrone 2013
Rory Beggan (Monaghan) v Tyrone 2015



Oh wait.......

[AZOffaly]

On last nights show Colm O'Rourke listed instances of Tyrone misdeamours this year including the sledging v Donegal and also sledging in the Tipp U21s. Whilst acknowledging the embarrassing reactions of Tiernan McCann, I must ask, Was the actions of Darren Hughes sledging? If so, then this is the same misdemeanour bought up from weeks ago by O'Rourke to fit his argument but conveniently ignored whilst it's actually playing out on screen in front of him in the studio. What was Darren Hughes' motives for putting his hand anywhere near McCann? The clear answer is he was trying to provoke a reaction - sledging. I'm not on here to defend McCanns antics, but id ask a serious question - Would people here have been happier if McCann had responded by punching Hughes in the face? Would that have been more"manly" for Colm and his like? Would Ciaran Whelan have been calling for an apology then? What if he'd broken Hughes jaw, would that have been less of a disrepute to the game than diving? Would the "hair ruffling and sledging been mentioned on the Sunday Game had Tiernan just walked away? Well given the focus on sledging this summer it most definitely should have been discussed.

Kevin Keane boxed Murphy on the jaw in the following game and it's gently tutted at, Finlay boxed Cavanagh and nobody bats an eyelid. McCann falls over and the world caves in. Social media, The Sunday Game and all two bit journalists can't wait to get their boot into the young lad who hasn't actually caused any physical damage to another player.

I'll state again, I 100% unreservedly condemn McCann for his silly reaction but the hypocrisy, bile and biased way this has been handled by all sections of the media has been nauseating in the extreme.

Because you continually do it at every damn grade. If one of your's just boxed the head off a man or tried to needle the odd player you'd get the same reaction as other teams do. It wouldn't follow you around like a bad smell then.

You and a lot of Tyrone posters conveniently ignore the track record in the face of anecdotes of misdemeanors by other teams. No one is falling for that line but the Tyrone true believers.

Absolute horseshit.

Take the u21 final, Tyrone were the more sinned against team,  McShane was clearly targeted for attention from the get go and he didn't get any protection from the ref. Tipp were the most cynical team for 50 odd minutes of the game and there's no doubt Tyrone git very cynical in the last 10 minutes to close it out. 

Yet the fallout from that game was ridiculous, every accusation and allegation thrown our way, great young footballers and esteemed legends of the game having their names muddied because the other team couldn't take their beating.

The problem is you lads don't like a Northern team coming down here and beating you off the field in footballing terms. Bitterness has consumed you and your classless reaction to it is telling.

Ah come off it. I'm on yer side here, but what you're saying there is nonsense. Apart from Stephen O'Brien's stamp on McShane, Tipp weren't in the same league, and that's without the whole yapping and girlfriend chatter.

[Il Bomber Destro]

On last nights show Colm O'Rourke listed instances of Tyrone misdeamours this year including the sledging v Donegal and also sledging in the Tipp U21s. Whilst acknowledging the embarrassing reactions of Tiernan McCann, I must ask, Was the actions of Darren Hughes sledging? If so, then this is the same misdemeanour bought up from weeks ago by O'Rourke to fit his argument but conveniently ignored whilst it's actually playing out on screen in front of him in the studio. What was Darren Hughes' motives for putting his hand anywhere near McCann? The clear answer is he was trying to provoke a reaction - sledging. I'm not on here to defend McCanns antics, but id ask a serious question - Would people here have been happier if McCann had responded by punching Hughes in the face? Would that have been more"manly" for Colm and his like? Would Ciaran Whelan have been calling for an apology then? What if he'd broken Hughes jaw, would that have been less of a disrepute to the game than diving? Would the "hair ruffling and sledging been mentioned on the Sunday Game had Tiernan just walked away? Well given the focus on sledging this summer it most definitely should have been discussed.

Kevin Keane boxed Murphy on the jaw in the following game and it's gently tutted at, Finlay boxed Cavanagh and nobody bats an eyelid. McCann falls over and the world caves in. Social media, The Sunday Game and all two bit journalists can't wait to get their boot into the young lad who hasn't actually caused any physical damage to another player.

I'll state again, I 100% unreservedly condemn McCann for his silly reaction but the hypocrisy, bile and biased way this has been handled by all sections of the media has been nauseating in the extreme.

Because you continually do it at every damn grade. If one of your's just boxed the head off a man or tried to needle the odd player you'd get the same reaction as other teams do. It wouldn't follow you around like a bad smell then.

You and a lot of Tyrone posters conveniently ignore the track record in the face of anecdotes of misdemeanors by other teams. No one is falling for that line but the Tyrone true believers.

Absolute horseshit.

Take the u21 final, Tyrone were the more sinned against team,  McShane was clearly targeted for attention from the get go and he didn't get any protection from the ref. Tipp were the most cynical team for 50 odd minutes of the game and there's no doubt Tyrone git very cynical in the last 10 minutes to close it out. 

Yet the fallout from that game was ridiculous, every accusation and allegation thrown our way, great young footballers and esteemed legends of the game having their names muddied because the other team couldn't take their beating.

The problem is you lads don't like a Northern team coming down here and beating you off the field in footballing terms. Bitterness has consumed you and your classless reaction to it is telling.

Ah come off it. I'm on yer side here, but what you're saying there is nonsense. Apart from Stephen O'Brien's stamp on McShane, Tipp weren't in the same league, and that's without the whole yapping and girlfriend chatter.

It's a fact, check the foul count.

[tbrick18]

On last nights show Colm O'Rourke listed instances of Tyrone misdeamours this year including the sledging v Donegal and also sledging in the Tipp U21s. Whilst acknowledging the embarrassing reactions of Tiernan McCann, I must ask, Was the actions of Darren Hughes sledging? If so, then this is the same misdemeanour bought up from weeks ago by O'Rourke to fit his argument but conveniently ignored whilst it's actually playing out on screen in front of him in the studio. What was Darren Hughes' motives for putting his hand anywhere near McCann? The clear answer is he was trying to provoke a reaction - sledging. I'm not on here to defend McCanns antics, but id ask a serious question - Would people here have been happier if McCann had responded by punching Hughes in the face? Would that have been more"manly" for Colm and his like? Would Ciaran Whelan have been calling for an apology then? What if he'd broken Hughes jaw, would that have been less of a disrepute to the game than diving? Would the "hair ruffling and sledging been mentioned on the Sunday Game had Tiernan just walked away? Well given the focus on sledging this summer it most definitely should have been discussed.

Kevin Keane boxed Murphy on the jaw in the following game and it's gently tutted at, Finlay boxed Cavanagh and nobody bats an eyelid. McCann falls over and the world caves in. Social media, The Sunday Game and all two bit journalists can't wait to get their boot into the young lad who hasn't actually caused any physical damage to another player.

I'll state again, I 100% unreservedly condemn McCann for his silly reaction but the hypocrisy, bile and biased way this has been handled by all sections of the media has been nauseating in the extreme.

Because you continually do it at every damn grade. If one of your's just boxed the head off a man or tried to needle the odd player you'd get the same reaction as other teams do. It wouldn't follow you around like a bad smell then.

You and a lot of Tyrone posters conveniently ignore the track record in the face of anecdotes of misdemeanors by other teams. No one is falling for that line but the Tyrone true believers.

Absolute horseshit.

Take the u21 final, Tyrone were the more sinned against team,  McShane was clearly targeted for attention from the get go and he didn't get any protection from the ref. Tipp were the most cynical team for 50 odd minutes of the game and there's no doubt Tyrone git very cynical in the last 10 minutes to close it out. 

Yet the fallout from that game was ridiculous, every accusation and allegation thrown our way, great young footballers and esteemed legends of the game having their names muddied because the other team couldn't take their beating.

The problem is you lads don't like a Northern team coming down here and beating you off the field in footballing terms. Bitterness has consumed you and your classless reaction to it is telling.

Ah come off it. I'm on yer side here, but what you're saying there is nonsense. Apart from Stephen O'Brien's stamp on McShane, Tipp weren't in the same league, and that's without the whole yapping and girlfriend chatter.

It's a fact, check the foul count.

This sort of comparison would be valid if the refereeing was in any way consistent or a half decent quality.
As it stands, a foul count is not a metric which can be used to make a comparison, IMO.

[AZOffaly]

And if foul count were used as a metric, one might be fooled into believing that the team that dived more was the less cynical. Or something.

[Il Bomber Destro]

On last nights show Colm O'Rourke listed instances of Tyrone misdeamours this year including the sledging v Donegal and also sledging in the Tipp U21s. Whilst acknowledging the embarrassing reactions of Tiernan McCann, I must ask, Was the actions of Darren Hughes sledging? If so, then this is the same misdemeanour bought up from weeks ago by O'Rourke to fit his argument but conveniently ignored whilst it's actually playing out on screen in front of him in the studio. What was Darren Hughes' motives for putting his hand anywhere near McCann? The clear answer is he was trying to provoke a reaction - sledging. I'm not on here to defend McCanns antics, but id ask a serious question - Would people here have been happier if McCann had responded by punching Hughes in the face? Would that have been more"manly" for Colm and his like? Would Ciaran Whelan have been calling for an apology then? What if he'd broken Hughes jaw, would that have been less of a disrepute to the game than diving? Would the "hair ruffling and sledging been mentioned on the Sunday Game had Tiernan just walked away? Well given the focus on sledging this summer it most definitely should have been discussed.

Kevin Keane boxed Murphy on the jaw in the following game and it's gently tutted at, Finlay boxed Cavanagh and nobody bats an eyelid. McCann falls over and the world caves in. Social media, The Sunday Game and all two bit journalists can't wait to get their boot into the young lad who hasn't actually caused any physical damage to another player.

I'll state again, I 100% unreservedly condemn McCann for his silly reaction but the hypocrisy, bile and biased way this has been handled by all sections of the media has been nauseating in the extreme.

Because you continually do it at every damn grade. If one of your's just boxed the head off a man or tried to needle the odd player you'd get the same reaction as other teams do. It wouldn't follow you around like a bad smell then.

You and a lot of Tyrone posters conveniently ignore the track record in the face of anecdotes of misdemeanors by other teams. No one is falling for that line but the Tyrone true believers.

Absolute horseshit.

Take the u21 final, Tyrone were the more sinned against team,  McShane was clearly targeted for attention from the get go and he didn't get any protection from the ref. Tipp were the most cynical team for 50 odd minutes of the game and there's no doubt Tyrone git very cynical in the last 10 minutes to close it out. 

Yet the fallout from that game was ridiculous, every accusation and allegation thrown our way, great young footballers and esteemed legends of the game having their names muddied because the other team couldn't take their beating.

The problem is you lads don't like a Northern team coming down here and beating you off the field in footballing terms. Bitterness has consumed you and your classless reaction to it is telling.

Ah come off it. I'm on yer side here, but what you're saying there is nonsense. Apart from Stephen O'Brien's stamp on McShane, Tipp weren't in the same league, and that's without the whole yapping and girlfriend chatter.

It's a fact, check the foul count.

This sort of comparison would be valid if the refereeing was in any way consistent or a half decent quality.
As it stands, a foul count is not a metric which can be used to make a comparison, IMO.

Yes and when put in context it's more explicit. Cathal McShane was targeted from the get go, he was stamped on, kicked, hit after the ball and with frontal charges for the whole 60+ minutes.

What was said and done after that match was a complete smear job on Tyrone. The reporting was one sided, biased and inflammatory.

[AZOffaly]

Bomber, I agree with you about the post match lunacy, and I know Tipp are not happy about themselves in some of the things that were said. And Stephen O'Brien's stamp was poor. And Tipperary in the senior game were the ones who went over the line, with Liam Casey's stamp being inexcusable.

However if you can't see that Tyrone are guilty of yapping, diving and cynical behaviour at various times, then you're at nothing. The sledging shite is ridiculous and there's no need for it. To me that's what sets Tyrone apart in the eyes of people. If we were measuring diving, time wasting or cynical fouling, Tyrone would be one of a number of teams in and around the same level. The media's persecution of Tyrone, far more than any other team north or south, is rooted, I think, in the name Tyrone have now for yapping. Stop that, and a lot of the heat would go off the team I think.

[Il Bomber Destro]

I never said we weren't and I wouldn't mind the criticism if it was fair, balanced and across the board. It's not though and the u21 was a prime example. We got slaughtered in the media after that final, we had our reputation tarnished, our achievement devalued and if anything we were the least guiltily party for the goings on in that match.

[AZOffaly]

But some of the carry on in the U21 final was bad. And again, no need for it. Ye have a fecking good senior team, and some savage players coming up the line. But they've gone too far, in my opinion, in trying to get an edge. Forget the chatting about lads families, and concentrate on the football. The odd dive or cynical foul there would be just exactly what every other team in the country does or has done. It's the snarling edge that puts people off.

The media are shocking full stop.

[Il Bomber Destro]

But some of the carry on in the U21 final was bad. And again, no need for it. Ye have a fecking good senior team, and some savage players coming up the line. But they've gone too far, in my opinion, in trying to get an edge. Forget the chatting about lads families, and concentrate on the football. The odd dive or cynical foul there would be just exactly what every other team in the country does or has done. It's the snarling edge that puts people off.

The media are shocking full stop.

Yes, I have no problem admitting we are not without fault but why is everything bad that happens always pinned on Tyrone even when we are the least gullilty or equally culpable party.

It's the same with Armagh last year when they had the blame pinned on them for a brawl Cavan started.

[AZOffaly]

As I said, I suspect part of the rap Tyrone are getting is related to the allegations of yapping. It puts people off. I know I hate it, and I suspect others do too.

As for Armagh and Cavan, I can't really remember who came out worst in that. I thought the suspensions were similar on both sides, and I know the lad that broke his hand was pointed out as being in the wrong.