The Sunday Game

[ONeill]

Yeah but that isn't always a good thing.
The more aware players become of their stats, the more 'cheap' stats they might try and accrue i.e. always taking the simple, safe option might make you a legend on a spreadsheet but that's not much use if you've lost the game.

You seem to assume that the player is a much more highly intellectual being than the manager or stats man.

[Jinxy]

Aussie rules fans are always talking about players getting cheap stats.
Disposal efficiency would be one category.
Simple passes bump up your %.

[Ciarrai_thuaidh]

Look, stats can be used and conversely, abused. They might tell a tale sometimes but they often don't give viewers a clearer picture of the essence of a game. What I think would be useful though, is charts/screens to show the actual positions players took up  and runs/delivery of the ball. TSG have used hawkeye a bit last year so thats a step in the right diection at least.
Geezer has a point though on the quality of analysis overall. I just think some of the people RTE (and don't get me started on TV3) select to appear are clueless. Tony Davis is a prime example. an utter spoofer.
Aside from being an ex-player, they should be looking at people who have experience of managing/coaching at a decent level. O'Rourke has coached a fair bit, not sure about Brolly (to be fair, he can be smarmy but I think he knows the game at least), Spillane for all the spoofery and pre-prepared terrible jokes, has at least coached at senior c/ship level in Kerry. Anthony Tohill was pretty good, if a bit bland, but was got rid of. I must say, the preview of the c/ship didn't encourage me in this regard when I saw Colm Parkinson as part of the panel along with Martin McHugh. Whoever selects some of these "analysts" should be fired..but then again RTE Sport is now headed by Ryle Nugent, so expecting quality is probably expecting too much.

[Canalman]

Have  a serious dislike of stats and particularly the people who place massive reliance on them.

Give me the forward any day who kicks 4 points from say his 9 "possessions" as opposed to the guy with say 20 "possessions" and a "successful disposal " rate of say 90%.

Some amount of spoofers/charlatans imvho hiding behind stats.

However , going to contradict myself here and say that I am always interested in the champions league to see how much the players ran during the game.

If you ever want to see a game destroyed by statistics go no further than baseball.

[haranguerer]

Yeah but that isn't always a good thing.
The more aware players become of their stats, the more 'cheap' stats they might try and accrue i.e. always taking the simple, safe option might make you a legend on a spreadsheet but that's not much use if you've lost the game.

ffs - then surely if the passing success percentages are high and you lost the game, then you'd perhaps have the commonsense to say, 'right, that stats not the telling one on this occasion'. You'd look at all aspects, and work on what they show, the above scenario would  show for e.g. a lot of lateral or backward passes, so you'd look at no of forward passes, and thats where you'd identify the problem.

Stats cant be manipulated by players, they're just figures, its those presenting them that can manipulate them, and its important that the correct ones are presented. For e.g, someone who say wants to keep their shot success percentage high will turn down anythgin but certain scores, but that will be identified by looking at the number of shots he took and comparing to say possessions inside the scoring zone.

Noones gonna listen to someone representing a team thats losing saying 'look at the stats, we're doing great, it must be bad luck'. The story will be in the stats somewhere, its just extracting it.

Canalman, you already contradicted yourself in your second sentence by comparing two stats - just cos the first didnt use stats - style language doesnt make it not a stat. It seems similar to ones saying 'I've no interest in politics' - well, you must do, cos it kinda involves everything....

[Jinxy]

Be quiet Haranguerer!
We all know you want to destroy gaelic football as we know it and create a scenario whereby Seanie Johnston gets a cash bonus for every point he scores with his left foot on a windy day.

[haranguerer]

Seanie cant get paid, its an amateur game. Hes a caring sort however, and does have a charity close to his heart, so welcomes cheques on behalf of Cavan Amateur Sportstars Hospital, made out to CASH 

[ONeill]

However , going to contradict myself here and say that I am always interested in the champions league to see how much the players ran during the game.

Headless chickens can top that.

[johnneycool]

However , going to contradict myself here and say that I am always interested in the champions league to see how much the players ran during the game.

Headless chickens can top that.

I've never seen anyone substituted who's ran less km than the average, which is strange unless the goalkeeper is included in the stats!

[Jinxy]

It's not so much about distance as intensity.

[Orangemac]

Instead of reading out tweets (RTE seem to be obsessed with Twitter as Sean Gallagher knows) and features thought up by transition year students such as My Hero would it be difficult for the Sunday Game to have something like top 5 scores of the day?

[trileacman]

Thought Dolan was good with a good knowledge of the game. A mexican volleyball player with a rough grasp of Irish geography would be better than Tony Davis, a f**king bollix. Good score, game of two halves, the Barden brothers are brothers, fucks sake Tony tell us something new.

[Louth Exile]

The winter break leaves you with rosier memories of the Sunday Game than it deserves. First programme back and they remind you just how wrong they get the simple things.

Its been clear for years that genuine GAA fans don't give a shite about Dan the bollocks talking to a the handful of Deise fans who travelled down to an empty Limerick, looking at old footage of Frankie Dolan or watching a preview of the upcoming hurling, or all the other unnecesary filler that they stuff into the programme, to take away from what it should be about.

Its simple, you show a decent amount of actual hightlights from all the days games and put Davis and Mc Stay in front of a firing squad. Whoever puts this shit together needs to buy new crayons, my six year old would do a better job of putting this show together

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Must say I enjoyed the Frankie Dolan footage, those two points from the Kildare qualifier were immense. Disgrace that he didn't get an allstar that year.

[Jinxy]

Thought Dolan was good with a good knowledge of the game. A mexican volleyball player with a rough grasp of Irish geography would be better than Tony Davis, a f**king bollix. Good score, game of two halves, the Barden brothers are brothers, f**ks sake Tony tell us something new.

He reckoned John Heslin benefited enormously from his aussie rules experience.
He wasn't over there long enough to get a tan.