Gaelic Football RIP

[BennyHarp]

Don't always like everything he has to say, but Eamonn Sweeney is spot on here!

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/brolly-and-spillanes-critics-sound-like-10yearolds-trying-to-persuade-you-one-direction-are-better-than-the-beatles-37141581.html

The gormless conformists in sensible ganseys with their incessant blather about innovation and motivation and sports psychology, who love the current game because it's as dull as they are, like to scoff at Joe Brolly and Pat Spillane's repeated assertions that modern day Gaelic football is terrible. They come out with that laughable line about the game 'evolving'. But most big football games these days really are terrible. Brolly and Spillane's critics just sound like 10-year-olds trying to persuade you One Direction are better than The Beatles because they're 'more modern'. Insisting that something is good when it's not doesn't make you a positive thinker. It makes you an eejit.

There are plenty of these eejits about here and many of them take the view they are taking because they support the teams that are currently doing well.  If their own team was out of the championship and their interest was limited to that of a neutral observer, perhaps they would develop a bit more perspective.

Christ almighty, does he get paid to write lines like that?

[APM]

You sound concerned!
Let's talk about the substance of what he is saying, rather than picking holes in his style! 

Punters paid £30 to watch Armagh and Fermanagh in Brewster Park earlier in the summer.  I can tell you, as an Armagh supporter, if you paid me £30 to go back and watch the same quality of football, except with Armagh on the winning side, I still wouldn't go - it was that bad!

[sid waddell]

Don't always like everything he has to say, but Eamonn Sweeney is spot on here!

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/brolly-and-spillanes-critics-sound-like-10yearolds-trying-to-persuade-you-one-direction-are-better-than-the-beatles-37141581.html

The gormless conformists in sensible ganseys with their incessant blather about innovation and motivation and sports psychology, who love the current game because it's as dull as they are, like to scoff at Joe Brolly and Pat Spillane's repeated assertions that modern day Gaelic football is terrible. They come out with that laughable line about the game 'evolving'. But most big football games these days really are terrible. Brolly and Spillane's critics just sound like 10-year-olds trying to persuade you One Direction are better than The Beatles because they're 'more modern'. Insisting that something is good when it's not doesn't make you a positive thinker. It makes you an eejit.

There are plenty of these eejits about here and many of them take the view they are taking because they support the teams that are currently doing well.  If their own team was out of the championship and their interest was limited to that of a neutral observer, perhaps they would develop a bit more perspective.

Eamonn is an eejit. He would have been a lot better off to stop writing about Gaelic football altogether after what he wrote about Stephen Rochford last August, if only out of sheer embarrassment at both the crassness and the inaccuracy of what he wrote.

But I guess you gotta keep those clicks coming in any way you can.

[Rossfan]

Jasus APM must have been in an executive box for that money for a 1st round game

[APM]

Jasus APM must have beenough in an executive box for that money for a 1st round game

That was the price of a ticket for the stand - f****** joke.  The GAA has lost the run of itself and is losing touch with the grassroots.  It doesn't recognise that the product it is selling is getting worse and it is raising the prices.  Ulster GAA is burying its head in the sand. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-44611174

Don't always like everything he has to say, but Eamonn Sweeney is spot on here!

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/brolly-and-spillanes-critics-sound-like-10yearolds-trying-to-persuade-you-one-direction-are-better-than-the-beatles-37141581.html

The gormless conformists in sensible ganseys with their incessant blather about innovation and motivation and sports psychology, who love the current game because it's as dull as they are, like to scoff at Joe Brolly and Pat Spillane's repeated assertions that modern day Gaelic football is terrible. They come out with that laughable line about the game 'evolving'. But most big football games these days really are terrible. Brolly and Spillane's critics just sound like 10-year-olds trying to persuade you One Direction are better than The Beatles because they're 'more modern'. Insisting that something is good when it's not doesn't make you a positive thinker. It makes you an eejit.

There are plenty of these eejits about here and many of them take the view they are taking because they support the teams that are currently doing well.  If their own team was out of the championship and their interest was limited to that of a neutral observer, perhaps they would develop a bit more perspective.

Eamonn is an eejit. He would have been a lot better off to stop writing about Gaelic football altogether after what he wrote about Stephen Rochford last August, if only out of sheer embarrassment at both the crassness and the inaccuracy of what he wrote.

But I guess you gotta keep those clicks coming in any way you can.

Sid, I was personally raging about the Rochford article and have been offended by his stuff on different occasions.  Let's talk about the substance of what he is saying. 

I have a vision of 30 years time, telling my grandkids stories about the great crowds that used to attend football matches in Croke Park.  Not unlike my da telling me about the great numbers that used to attend the Railway Cup. 

On so many levels I think we are killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

[APM]

You sound concerned!
Let's talk about the substance of what he is saying, rather than picking holes in his style! 

Punters paid £30 to watch Armagh and Fermanagh in Brewster Park earlier in the summer.  I can tell you, as an Armagh supporter, if you paid me £30 to go back and watch the same quality of football, except with Armagh on the winning side, I still wouldn't go - it was that bad!

Stop telling lies ffs. You'd be back in a flash if someone was paying you £30 to watch a game of football.

Bollocks - that was four hours of my life I'll never get back. Travelling to Enniskillen to watch what was probably the most depressing game I've ever attended and it wasn't just because of the performance of my own county.  People just sitting there half-interested in the terrace beside me, because there was nothing from either team to generate any excitement. 

[Throw ball]

You sound concerned!
Let's talk about the substance of what he is saying, rather than picking holes in his style! 

Punters paid £30 to watch Armagh and Fermanagh in Brewster Park earlier in the summer.  I can tell you, as an Armagh supporter, if you paid me £30 to go back and watch the same quality of football, except with Armagh on the winning side, I still wouldn't go - it was that bad!

Stop telling lies ffs. You'd be back in a flash if someone was paying you £30 to watch a game of football.

Bollocks - that was four hours of my life I'll never get back. Travelling to Enniskillen to watch what was probably the most depressing game I've ever attended and it wasn't just because of the performance of my own county.  People just sitting there half-interested in the terrace beside me, because there was nothing from either team to generate any excitement.

Agree 100 %. Defensive football at its worst with added diving and sledging.

I feel APM you may find a sensible discussion hard to find on this topic. Too many vested interests. I agree with you though the GAA is risking losing a great product the way football is going. I may be accused of being a fat, balding, middle aged grump but it is managers around my age who are developing these tactics.

[Kuwabatake Sanjuro]

Don't always like everything he has to say, but Eamonn Sweeney is spot on here!

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/brolly-and-spillanes-critics-sound-like-10yearolds-trying-to-persuade-you-one-direction-are-better-than-the-beatles-37141581.html

The gormless conformists in sensible ganseys with their incessant blather about innovation and motivation and sports psychology, who love the current game because it's as dull as they are, like to scoff at Joe Brolly and Pat Spillane's repeated assertions that modern day Gaelic football is terrible. They come out with that laughable line about the game 'evolving'. But most big football games these days really are terrible. Brolly and Spillane's critics just sound like 10-year-olds trying to persuade you One Direction are better than The Beatles because they're 'more modern'. Insisting that something is good when it's not doesn't make you a positive thinker. It makes you an eejit.

There are plenty of these eejits about here and many of them take the view they are taking because they support the teams that are currently doing well.  If their own team was out of the championship and their interest was limited to that of a neutral observer, perhaps they would develop a bit more perspective.

No other field sport could have produced something like the 15-minute spell near the end of last Saturday's Super 8 match when Dublin passed the ball back and forth (mainly back, not a lot of forth to be honest) without making any effort to score while Donegal made only cursory attempts to interrupt the routine.

I take it he is unaware of that Association Football game that is somewhat popular.

[APM]

Don't always like everything he has to say, but Eamonn Sweeney is spot on here!

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/brolly-and-spillanes-critics-sound-like-10yearolds-trying-to-persuade-you-one-direction-are-better-than-the-beatles-37141581.html

The gormless conformists in sensible ganseys with their incessant blather about innovation and motivation and sports psychology, who love the current game because it's as dull as they are, like to scoff at Joe Brolly and Pat Spillane's repeated assertions that modern day Gaelic football is terrible. They come out with that laughable line about the game 'evolving'. But most big football games these days really are terrible. Brolly and Spillane's critics just sound like 10-year-olds trying to persuade you One Direction are better than The Beatles because they're 'more modern'. Insisting that something is good when it's not doesn't make you a positive thinker. It makes you an eejit.

There are plenty of these eejits about here and many of them take the view they are taking because they support the teams that are currently doing well.  If their own team was out of the championship and their interest was limited to that of a neutral observer, perhaps they would develop a bit more perspective.

No other field sport could have produced something like the 15-minute spell near the end of last Saturday's Super 8 match when Dublin passed the ball back and forth (mainly back, not a lot of forth to be honest) without making any effort to score while Donegal made only cursory attempts to interrupt the routine.

I take it he is unaware of that Association Football game that is somewhat popular.

I agree, but who wants to benchmark the quality and entertainment of Gaelic Football as a spectator sport against Soccer. Would it not be preferable to measure it against football it in its prime, which for me say started in the late 80's / early 90's and last through to the end of the last decade (and I know there were some shit matches in the 90s too) - **edit** - or benchmark it against classic recent games - Kerry Mayo Semi-Final replay of 2016 in the Gaelic Grounds, even Sunday's Kerry Monaghan game.

Who wants to sing abuse at the opposing team and referee, or stupid songs about their favourite player to make up for the boring bits.  Let's minimise the boring bits!   

[Kuwabatake Sanjuro]

I do agree that something has to be done to cut down on nonconstructive possession play but any new rules need to be well thought out and trialed before full implementation. If they can come up with something as successful as the mark then fair play.

[dec]

The average number of scores per game in the Super 8s so far is 32.25

In 2001 and 2002 in the equivalent stage (quarter final and replays) the average number of scores per game was 23.5 and 27.5

If there is much more negativity now it is not showing up on the score board

[BennyHarp]

Don't always like everything he has to say, but Eamonn Sweeney is spot on here!

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/brolly-and-spillanes-critics-sound-like-10yearolds-trying-to-persuade-you-one-direction-are-better-than-the-beatles-37141581.html

The gormless conformists in sensible ganseys with their incessant blather about innovation and motivation and sports psychology, who love the current game because it's as dull as they are, like to scoff at Joe Brolly and Pat Spillane's repeated assertions that modern day Gaelic football is terrible. They come out with that laughable line about the game 'evolving'. But most big football games these days really are terrible. Brolly and Spillane's critics just sound like 10-year-olds trying to persuade you One Direction are better than The Beatles because they're 'more modern'. Insisting that something is good when it's not doesn't make you a positive thinker. It makes you an eejit.

There are plenty of these eejits about here and many of them take the view they are taking because they support the teams that are currently doing well.  If their own team was out of the championship and their interest was limited to that of a neutral observer, perhaps they would develop a bit more perspective.

No other field sport could have produced something like the 15-minute spell near the end of last Saturday's Super 8 match when Dublin passed the ball back and forth (mainly back, not a lot of forth to be honest) without making any effort to score while Donegal made only cursory attempts to interrupt the routine.

I take it he is unaware of that Association Football game that is somewhat popular.

I agree, but who wants to benchmark the quality and entertainment of Gaelic Football as a spectator sport against Soccer. Would it not be preferable to measure it against football it in its prime, which for me say started in the late 80's / early 90's and last through to the end of the last decade (and I know there were some shit matches in the 90s too) - **edit** - or benchmark it against classic recent games - Kerry Mayo Semi-Final replay of 2016 in the Gaelic Grounds, even Sunday's Kerry Monaghan game.

Who wants to sing abuse at the opposing team and referee, or stupid songs about their favourite player to make up for the boring bits.  Let's minimise the boring bits!

What exactly does this utopia football look like? What exactly are these guys looking for in the game to make it acceptable?  Gaelic football is meant to be a fuckin war of attrition, a battle and then someone wins. Entertainment is just a positive by product. People talk about modernism -  it's jokers like Sweeney who want to modernise it into an entertainment sport to be watched, whilst posting on social media and eating carrots with hummus dip, who switch to another channel when the entertainment dips for 5 mins. Go back to the roots and the lads winning a junior B final 0-2 to 0-3 after 3 field fights won't care too much about entertainment. That dumbed down quote from Sweeney is patronising in the extreme - who is his his target market with a comparison like that? It isn't the average GAA guy anyway - so maybe that tells you a little about the substance of the article.. Actually, maybe the sooner Gaelic does return to the hoof ball of the 80s and 90s the better, because believe me people will turn off and when they do we will be left with people who still love the sport for what it is and whatever form it takes and maybe those seeking a thrilling pastime may move on to something else.

[Esmarelda]

On the front page of the GAA discussion index we have:

-It's all Ulster Football's fault - Martin McHugh telling us what's wrong with modern gaelic football
-The Paudie O'Shea Cup - A discussion prompted by Joe Brolly's most recent (as far as I can keep up) criticism of modern gaelic football
-Gaelic Football RIP - self explanatory
-Super 8s - a discussion of the new format with the usual suspect nipping in every page or two to tell us it's shite.
-Rule changes needed to stop puke keep-ball - self explanatory

And these are just the current ones. The question is, which is worse; the state of the game or the incessant complaining about it?

[Kuwabatake Sanjuro]

All this a couple of days after 2 fantastic games of intercounty football.

[smelmoth]

What exactly does this utopia football look like? What exactly are these guys looking for in the game to make it acceptable?  Gaelic football is meant to be a fuckin war of attrition, a battle and then someone wins. Entertainment is a positive by product. People talk about modernism -  it's jokers like Sweeney who want to turn it into an entertainment sport to be watched whilst posting on social media and eating carrots with hummus dip, who switch to another channel when the entertainment dips for 5 mins. Go back to the roots and the lads winning a junior B final 0-2 to 0-3 after 3 field fights won't care too much about entertainment. That dumbed down quote from Sweeney is patronising in the extreme - who is his his target market with a comparison like that? It isn't the average GAA guy anyway - so maybe that tells you a little about the substance of the article.. Actually, maybe the sooner Gaelic does return to the hoof ball of the 80s and 90s the better, because believe me people will turn off and when they do we will be left with people who still love the sport for what it is and whatever form it takes and maybe those seeking a thrilling pastime may move on to something else.

Frankly bullshit

Keep ball to run down the clock, side ways handpassing between unmarked players throughout the game, uncontested short kick outs, players turning their back on the play as soon as a ball is lost and running back into defensive positions and allowing the opponents to amble up the pitch with uncontested possession, free kick restarts played backwards to restart this uncontested possession. The game is riddled with these. Explain how they are entertaining? How are they battles in a war of attrition?

Entertainment is not supposed to be a by product. It's not a holy grail either at the altar of which everything else must be sacrificed. But if entertainment is not core to the game it dies. If the audience falls away from the elite level game participation everywhere falls.

Your hummus quips don't sit well with your disapproval of patronising language. But that is something for you to reconcile

Who is arguing for hoof ball??

If you claim to love Gaelic football no matter what form it takes then that leads to 2 unavoidable conclusions.
1. You would have no difficulty with changes others might want to make to improve the entertainment and
2. Perversely you don't actually love Gaelic football at all. You just love something called Gaelic football and indeed anything called Gaelic football.

By your argument if there was a 15 a side game without sweepers playing elite level field sport aiming to outscore the opposition in goals in points in 14 1 on 1 battles and keepers hitting it long with midfielders contesting the ball aerially and separately down the road the All Ireland football final was played between the Tralee Franchise and the Dungannon franchise where 90% of the passes were hand passes, 80% of the passes were sideways or backwards and both the passer and recipient were unmarked at the point of participation, 40% of the scores were frees and the other 60% were on the break that you would be watching the second game by virtue of the fact it was called Gaelic football