Tyrone County Football and Hurling

[SkillfulBill]

Question : At which point do the good people of Tyrone realise they are worshiping a false god Mickey Harte a singularly destroyed Tyrone forward play for a generation time this guy was gone. Tyrone will never be a real threat for Sam under the current leadership. Harte has out stayed his welcome by at least 10 years. I can't see a panel of all star players coming along to save the guys legacy.  The reality is he was a mediocre manager with an exceptional bunch of players at the right time who was given too much credit and for some reason  has built up a cult following he never deserved. It is time some people realise Peter Stevie Brian sean and co won those All Ireland's not Mickey.

We won the all Ireland in 2008 so....

semantics  get a life and think for yourself he won 3 All Ireland's with an exceptional bunch of players who won him all Ireland's at minor and u21 level as well. engage the brain please and don't bore me with sheepish thinking.

to be fair Harte also played a big part in those successes but is long past time to let go... need fresh coach he's been left way behind

That is my point had he been as smart and switched on as his legion of fans think he is he would have preserved his legacy instead of making the Sean Boylan mistake of staying on beyond his usefullness. The longer he stays in place the harder it will be for Tyrone to get back to the top again.

[Thebigdog]

Unfortunately and rather depressingly Harte has three more years thanks to the wisdom of the lunatic county board. This man is not gonna walk away from this prestigious job for it gives him the profile and celebrity he craves. To think this is happening to our great and proud is nothing short of disgusting. Only the players can remedy this situation now and make a move on Harte. Here's hoping.

[WT4E]

As a neutral at the game tonight a few things were apparent.

The groundswell in Tyrone are not particularly happy with Harte and want a change.

Lee Brennan is a quality footballer and i'm baffled as to why he hasn't featured on a serious level the past few years.

Tyrone don't have enough leaders in the team. Mattie and Peter Harte wouldwalk on to any team in Ireland but went missing in the second half. They should watch James McCarthy and take a leaf out of his book.

They aren't a million miles away but I personally think they need a change!

Would agree with u on matty but peter harte performs admirably considering nearly every team concentrate on giving him special attention. I think it was jim mcguinness who first picked him out for this as he realised hes the player that makes the team tick!

[tyroneman]

Harte and the 2003-8 teams are inextricably linked and we should be extremely thankful that we experienced a glorious period of county football.

That being said it's getting more and more difficult to support his current tactics.. I can absolutely appreciate great defence but this is clearly not enough on its own against the big boys and we say something needs to change, every year. However it doesn't.

Tonight was just depressing. Dublin had 2 or 3 more gears available, with some serious heavy hitters not even playing.  I'm sure they would have loved Tyrone to have left tonight believing the gap was closing and if we keep doing what we've been doing we'll not be far away. Then come August they roll us over without breaking sweat. Again.

Unfortunately not even a 14 man Dublin could convince Harte to cut loose. All we got was the same old, same old. Forwards playing in the full back line, 14 men in their own half, key payers posted missing once again (our captain being the most obvious) and others just not good enough at this level.

Brennan was good in the first half, didn't really feature in the second bar some handy scores when Dublin had put the handbrake on. Can he be the consistent forward we need? Maybe. Will he even get the chance? Probably not.

The 2003-8 teams had clutch players. When a score was needed they stepped up. Who would you rely on in the current forward unit if the game was on the line........exactly. None of them have stepped up right across a full season. They might have one or two decent games, but against the big 3...,,,no.

McShane wore 14 and played in midfield most of the game. McAliskey started bright but was again found wanting in front of  goal, just like in the Mayo semi final. Harte flitted in and out. Wasn't an influence. Yes, he's a marked man. Every county has them. If you are that good, you can still affect proceedings.

Being undone by route 1 was very poor. Taking shots in the second half from stupid positions was also poor.

Really not sure where we go from here. A small part of me still hopes Harte has a master plan that we just haven't seen yet. Hindsight tells me he doesn't.

[Carmen Stateside]

Awful stuff second half.  Dublin picked up the pace for ten minutes at start of second half and blew Tyrone away.  13/14 wides was it for Tyrone? Hardly good enough.

You wouldn't know you weren't at the game

It was pretty obvious from the radio coverage and also predictable. And after watching it i was right.  What part did you disagree with?

[Norf Tyrone]

I might be alone here but I was reasonably happy last night. The first half was very enjoyable and I was glad to see Tyrone 'mix it up' with their tactics. They were content to play the hand pass but equally as content to ping it long into Brennan and McAliskey. The latter did alright but I thought Brennan was, maybe not excellent, but at least very good. He got out in front, gathered good ball in, and worked good angles for his score. He definitely justified a starting berth and I hope he gets a run of games now.

Tyrone actually played alright in the second half. However the basic skills badly let them down in terms of retaining the ball, shooting, shot selection and the less said about the 2nd goal the better.

There is some criticism about Tyrone's tactics, but they were a bit more pleasing in the eye than previous years. Dublin on numerous occasions had the full compliment behind the ball too. However when they turned it over they were much more comfortable and efficient with it's use. Whereas Tyrone probed and poked before blazing wide, Dublin picked out 2-4 smart passes and clipped over. They made it look easy at times.

I thought the ref was harsh on Tyrone too. When they missed a few chances in the second half heads dropped, which is a sign of a team lacking in confidence. However this was not helped by some of the soft frees that Dublin got. The ref didn't influence the result but he was harsher on Tyrone I thought and expedited the towel being thrown in.

Aside from Brennan, Niall Sludden and my man McShane had a decent evening. Sludden was a 'torture' when Dublin had the ball. However he needs to learn to make contact with his hands lower. A few times he went close to the head area when pushing back on contact. If I recall he got a red for that last year v Dublin and Dublin hitting the turf anytime he did this last night. It's obviously something they are watching for, and reacting to. Cathal I thought put in a good shift. Scores aside, he fielded well and used the ball efficiently. This was his 3rd full game in less than a week but he never faded from the game all that much despite this.

I am not really expecting Tyrone to beat arguably the finest team to play the game, but I do expect to be entertained and for them to put up a fight. The did most of this last night.

Reasons for optimism. Just about.

[Il Bomber Destro]

I might be alone here but I was reasonably happy last night. The first half was very enjoyable and I was glad to see Tyrone 'mix it up' with their tactics. They were content to play the hand pass but equally as content to ping it long into Brennan and McAliskey. The latter did alright but I thought Brennan was, maybe not excellent, but at least very good. He got out in front, gathered good ball in, and worked good angles for his score. He definitely justified a starting berth and I hope he gets a run of games now.

Tyrone actually played alright in the second half. However the basic skills badly let them down in terms of retaining the ball, shooting, shot selection and the less said about the 2nd goal the better.

There is some criticism about Tyrone's tactics, but they were a bit more pleasing in the eye than previous years. Dublin on numerous occasions had the full compliment behind the ball too. However when they turned it over they were much more comfortable and efficient with it's use. Whereas Tyrone probed and poked before blazing wide, Dublin picked out 2-4 smart passes and clipped over. They made it look easy at times.

I thought the ref was harsh on Tyrone too. When they missed a few chances in the second half heads dropped, which is a sign of a team lacking in confidence. However this was not helped by some of the soft frees that Dublin got. The ref didn't influence the result but he was harsher on Tyrone I thought and expedited the towel being thrown in.

Aside from Brennan, Niall Sludden and my man McShane had a decent evening. Sludden was a 'torture' when Dublin had the ball. However he needs to learn to make contact with his hands lower. A few times he went close to the head area when pushing back on contact. If I recall he got a red for that last year v Dublin and Dublin hitting the turf anytime he did this last night. It's obviously something they are watching for, and reacting to. Cathal I thought put in a good shift. Scores aside, he fielded well and used the ball efficiently. This was his 3rd full game in less than a week but he never faded from the game all that much despite this.

I am not really expecting Tyrone to beat arguably the finest team to play the game, but I do expect to be entertained and for them to put up a fight. The did most of this last night.

Reasons for optimism. Just about.

Would agree with this.

Was actually Bradley who got sent off against Dublin last year though.

[Norf Tyrone]

I might be alone here but I was reasonably happy last night. The first half was very enjoyable and I was glad to see Tyrone 'mix it up' with their tactics. They were content to play the hand pass but equally as content to ping it long into Brennan and McAliskey. The latter did alright but I thought Brennan was, maybe not excellent, but at least very good. He got out in front, gathered good ball in, and worked good angles for his score. He definitely justified a starting berth and I hope he gets a run of games now.

Tyrone actually played alright in the second half. However the basic skills badly let them down in terms of retaining the ball, shooting, shot selection and the less said about the 2nd goal the better.

There is some criticism about Tyrone's tactics, but they were a bit more pleasing in the eye than previous years. Dublin on numerous occasions had the full compliment behind the ball too. However when they turned it over they were much more comfortable and efficient with it's use. Whereas Tyrone probed and poked before blazing wide, Dublin picked out 2-4 smart passes and clipped over. They made it look easy at times.

I thought the ref was harsh on Tyrone too. When they missed a few chances in the second half heads dropped, which is a sign of a team lacking in confidence. However this was not helped by some of the soft frees that Dublin got. The ref didn't influence the result but he was harsher on Tyrone I thought and expedited the towel being thrown in.

Aside from Brennan, Niall Sludden and my man McShane had a decent evening. Sludden was a 'torture' when Dublin had the ball. However he needs to learn to make contact with his hands lower. A few times he went close to the head area when pushing back on contact. If I recall he got a red for that last year v Dublin and Dublin hitting the turf anytime he did this last night. It's obviously something they are watching for, and reacting to. Cathal I thought put in a good shift. Scores aside, he fielded well and used the ball efficiently. This was his 3rd full game in less than a week but he never faded from the game all that much despite this.

I am not really expecting Tyrone to beat arguably the finest team to play the game, but I do expect to be entertained and for them to put up a fight. The did most of this last night.

Reasons for optimism. Just about.

Would agree with this.

Was actually Bradley who got sent off against Dublin last year though.

You're right. Apologies. Sludden was MOTM v Dublin last year. That's where I got mixed up!

He does tackle high though. Maybe it's his height.

[sambostar]

I might be alone here but I was reasonably happy last night. The first half was very enjoyable and I was glad to see Tyrone 'mix it up' with their tactics. They were content to play the hand pass but equally as content to ping it long into Brennan and McAliskey. The latter did alright but I thought Brennan was, maybe not excellent, but at least very good. He got out in front, gathered good ball in, and worked good angles for his score. He definitely justified a starting berth and I hope he gets a run of games now.

Tyrone actually played alright in the second half. However the basic skills badly let them down in terms of retaining the ball, shooting, shot selection and the less said about the 2nd goal the better.

There is some criticism about Tyrone's tactics, but they were a bit more pleasing in the eye than previous years. Dublin on numerous occasions had the full compliment behind the ball too. However when they turned it over they were much more comfortable and efficient with it's use. Whereas Tyrone probed and poked before blazing wide, Dublin picked out 2-4 smart passes and clipped over. They made it look easy at times.

I thought the ref was harsh on Tyrone too. When they missed a few chances in the second half heads dropped, which is a sign of a team lacking in confidence. However this was not helped by some of the soft frees that Dublin got. The ref didn't influence the result but he was harsher on Tyrone I thought and expedited the towel being thrown in.

Aside from Brennan, Niall Sludden and my man McShane had a decent evening. Sludden was a 'torture' when Dublin had the ball. However he needs to learn to make contact with his hands lower. A few times he went close to the head area when pushing back on contact. If I recall he got a red for that last year v Dublin and Dublin hitting the turf anytime he did this last night. It's obviously something they are watching for, and reacting to. Cathal I thought put in a good shift. Scores aside, he fielded well and used the ball efficiently. This was his 3rd full game in less than a week but he never faded from the game all that much despite this.

I am not really expecting Tyrone to beat arguably the finest team to play the game, but I do expect to be entertained and for them to put up a fight. The did most of this last night.

Reasons for optimism. Just about.

I'd broadly agree. Was at the game & thought 1st half was good with quick accurate kick-passing into the FF line causing the Dubs problems. You can't say Tyrone don't have forwards, when the ball went in Brennan & McAliskey could win it, beat their man & score. Unfortunately Brennan missed a couple of decent chances & Tyrone should have been further ahead at HT.

But then the 2nd half tactics seemed to revert back to last years rubbish. I think 2 kick-passes went in & both were lapped up by the Dublin sweeper. It was back to the slow ponderous hand-passing & then a hail-Mary effort for a score. That's why there's so many wides.

The free-taking is still unreliable. Brennan missed 1 1st half & McAliskey 2nd half that Rock would put over in his sleep. And McAliskey is not clinical enough when he has a goal-chance on

Dublin are a class act though, have go-to men when they need a score e.g. McCarthy or McMenamen. Also their bench contributed 1-3, hard to see how they can be stopped

[redzone]

Surely you could see that Dublin has 13 men back in the second half when we had the ball. Plus the wind picked up considerably resulting in a running game. It was great effort and hopefully stevie can get the forward line more effectively working.
On the Dublin players, it's only when you see them up close how physically big they are. There smallest player Kilkenny probably is the same size as our biggest.
Any way if we meet them later on the year I think we can take them. Provided we keep with only one man dropping back

[BennyHarp]

I think it was clear enough in the first half yesterday that Tyrone were trying to move the ball quicker into the ff line and it was reaping rewards. Dubs counteracted this in the second half and had a few more men funnelling back. We aren't far enough down the road of developing a different style to be the finished article, but at least there was some positive signs. When pressure was applied when the game was in the balance,  we appeared to revert to type, which is hardly surprising given how ingrained the style is. I think people may have to be patient with this team because if we are shifting strategies, which yesterday suggested at times, then we may have to accept a few bad results along the way.

[Norf Tyrone]

I think it was clear enough in the first half yesterday that Tyrone were trying to move the ball quicker into the ff line and it was reaping rewards. Dubs counteracted this in the second half and had a few more men funnelling back. We aren't far enough down the road of developing a different style to be the finished article, but at least there was some positive signs. When pressure was applied when the game was in the balance,  we appeared to revert to type, which is hardly surprising given how ingrained the style is. I think people may have to be patient with this team because if we are shifting strategies, which yesterday suggested at times, then we may have to accept a few bad results along the way.

Agree with the changing strategy thing. Also as we lack confidence, I think we tend to revert back to 'do what we always do' when things aren't working.
One point of note is that Tyrone's quick ball in the first half forced Dublin to retreat more men back to cover. This freed up space around the 45s and wings, hence a lot of our missed shots came from there. Again, this is something that can be improved.

[BennyHarp]

I think it was clear enough in the first half yesterday that Tyrone were trying to move the ball quicker into the ff line and it was reaping rewards. Dubs counteracted this in the second half and had a few more men funnelling back. We aren't far enough down the road of developing a different style to be the finished article, but at least there was some positive signs. When pressure was applied when the game was in the balance,  we appeared to revert to type, which is hardly surprising given how ingrained the style is. I think people may have to be patient with this team because if we are shifting strategies, which yesterday suggested at times, then we may have to accept a few bad results along the way.

Agree with the changing strategy thing. Also as we lack confidence, I think we tend to revert back to 'do what we always do' when things aren't working.
One point of note is that Tyrone's quick ball in the first half forced Dublin to retreat more men back to cover. This freed up space around the 45s and wings, hence a lot of our missed shots came from there. Again, this is something that can be improved.

We just need to work on getting our better shooters in the ball in those situations. Last night at various stages we had Hampsey, McNamee, McClure and McCarron taking pot shots from distance when we should have the confidence and patience to work Donnelly, Harte or Brennan into those areas. All work in progress but I think there was enough last night to see there was some semblance of a change in approach.

[In hiding]

Surely you could see that Dublin has 13 men back in the second half when we had the ball. Plus the wind picked up considerably resulting in a running game. It was great effort and hopefully stevie can get the forward line more effectively working.
On the Dublin players, it's only when you see them up close how physically big they are. There smallest player Kilkenny probably is the same size as our biggest.
Any way if we meet them later on the year I think we can take them. Provided we keep with only one man dropping back

[/b]

Aye there's loads of good reasons why you should think that

[trileacman]

Dublin put 15 men behind the ball on 3-4 occasions in that match and 14 behind it on another 6-7 times. There's no great difference in how the two teams played, just Dublin were better at it. This idea that Dublin are a team with 6 forwards up the pitch all the time is a complete lie, repeated often enough that it's now become the truth.

When you're better than teams you'll put up big scores against them, thsts why we put a run on Armagh, down, Donegal and Derry last year.