Ulster Championship 2020

[An Watcher]

Valid point from mcconville there. Why should the semi finals be in croker. Take them to a wet n windy athletic grounds or portlaoise

[clawaddy]

Brilliant day for gaelic football. Great to see the raw emotion which has been missing these last few years. If this was any other year Donegal, Tyrone, Cork ,Kerry etc would have another chance and the stronger teams would survive. Hopefully this will put an end to the back door and the B championship

[RedHand88]

Cavan Dublin should be in Navan

Tipp Mayo should be in Salthill

Guaranteed they'll both be at Croke Park though.

At the very least Dublin will be forced out of their home dressing home at Croke Park against "An Cabhan", right??
Ath Cliath will have to take the second changing room.

[sid waddell]

As memorable an afternoon of Gaelic football as I can remember, it was as earth shattering as FA Cup semi-final day 1990, perhaps the last afternoon of Gaelic football that made anything like this sort of impact was the time Kerry and Tyrone were taken out by Down and Dublin in 2010

And certain people said the public didn't care about the county game (hello Joe)

They may have to re-evaluate their stance now

The 1920 All-Ireland semi-final between Dublin and Cavan was in Navan

I'd be happy enough with that again

I think there's an argument to say that the county season should move back to later in the year on a permanent basis, have it from say August onwards with the finals at the end of October or even into November

Play the club championships from April until July

That way the club championships still get the long evenings and decent ground and also serve as a genuine proving ground for county teams - and cut back on the all consuming county training scene

[thewobbler]

The reason for it is that it will look better on TV. It has better lightning, better camera angles, and a better surface than anywhere else.

It's hard to argue with that reasoning.

[Cunny Funt]

Congrats to Cavan. Guts, passion and pure belief to end their Ulster famine.  Mickey Graham deserves all the praise he's getting. Learnt from the last 3 Ulster championship games and got his team to produce a top 70 minutes performance today in truth they really should have beaten Donegal by more and they learnt loads from last year's 5 point Ulster final defeat.

They are now in bonus territory and the Cavan posters on here who had no faith after league relegation should be very proud of their team tonight.

[PMG1]

Fair play to Mickey Graham, he has the ability to turn out a determined team even if the raw materials are not superior on paper.

Will Cavan still be playing in the 2nd tier next year? (if they don't get promoted or make an Ulster final)

The concept of the second tier hasn't really done well this weekend.
There are 8 or 10 complete also rans, there are another 20 teams that compete among themselves, and Dublin.

The second tier makes no difference to what happened today, teams only enter the second tier after they exit their provincial championship so both Cavan and Tipp would have still been able to do what they done today

[sid waddell]

The reason for it is that it will look better on TV. It has better lightning, better camera angles, and a better surface than anywhere else.

It's hard to argue with that reasoning.

Looking better on TV is very much in the eye of the beholder

Armagh is a great winter venue, the Athletic Grounds has a nice ambience, the surface was good, and it looked very well on television today, as did Pairc Ui Chaoimh yesterday and today

I think a smaller ground looks better empty than Croke Park does - even with crowds, Croke Park requires a minimum of 50k to not feel lonely

Maybe they could even hold the final in Armagh - if NI allows crowds in - and something like 1,000 people attended the play off at Windsor Park last week, why not hold it in there and let at least a few hundred in

[thewobbler]

The reason for it is that it will look better on TV. It has better lightning, better camera angles, and a better surface than anywhere else.

It's hard to argue with that reasoning.

Looking better on TV is very much in the eye of the beholder

Armagh is a great winter venue, the Athletic Grounds has a nice ambience, the surface was good, and it looked very well on television today, as did Pairc Ui Chaoimh yesterday and today

I think a smaller ground looks better empty than Croke Park does - even with crowds, Croke Park requires a minimum of 50k to not feel lonely

Maybe they could even hold the final in Armagh - if NI allows crowds in - and something like 1,000 people attended the play off at Windsor Park last week, why not hold it in there and let at least a few hundred in

It's really not Sid.

You might find Armagh pretty. But Croke Park has innumerable fixed cameras, overhead cameras and Hawkeye.

It will provide a better visual experience for the tv viewer.

[Rossfan]

Well done Cavan.
Great to see one of the old traditional Counties doing the job.
Ye'll hardly be too worried about th'oul relegation now!

[balladmaker]

Armagh must have taken more out of Donegal last week than we realised 😊

Seriously though, fair play Cavan, team of 2020 so far, some team spirit, a well deserved Ulster! 

[yellowcard]

There is something more atmospheric about a game played under floodlights. Moreso with fans but it also looks visually better. Same applies in soccer.

Logic would dictate that the semi finals be held at neutral venues but I suspect the GAA sponsors and marketing men will have their say. Let's hope not.

[bannside]

The campaign to bring the Dubs out of Croker must continue, especially this year when the capacity to hold a large audience cannot be used.  Half way venue between the competing finalists.

[sid waddell]

The reason for it is that it will look better on TV. It has better lightning, better camera angles, and a better surface than anywhere else.

It's hard to argue with that reasoning.

Looking better on TV is very much in the eye of the beholder

Armagh is a great winter venue, the Athletic Grounds has a nice ambience, the surface was good, and it looked very well on television today, as did Pairc Ui Chaoimh yesterday and today

I think a smaller ground looks better empty than Croke Park does - even with crowds, Croke Park requires a minimum of 50k to not feel lonely

Maybe they could even hold the final in Armagh - if NI allows crowds in - and something like 1,000 people attended the play off at Windsor Park last week, why not hold it in there and let at least a few hundred in

It's really not Sid.

You might find Armagh pretty. But Croke Park has innumerable fixed cameras, overhead cameras and Hawkeye.

It will provide a better visual experience for the tv viewer.

Well I'm a TV viewer and would beg to disagree

I suspect many others would too

There is something crushing and soulless about an empty Croke Park that isn't there to the same extent at a venue like Armagh

Also given that there are no corporate commitments to fulfil there is no need for Croke Park for this match

As a Dub, I say level the playing field and give Cavan the neutral venue

[larryin89]

The campaign to bring the Dubs out of Croker must continue, especially this year when the capacity to hold a large audience cannot be used.  Half way venue between the competing finalists.

100% and to hell with the rubbish spouted about players wanting to play in croke park , that's mostly in the context of the big day and big crowd .

No crowds no reason for dubs to have advantage