Leinster Championship 2020

[BennyCake]

The last 2 posts are pretty daft.

That's a really intelligent and well thought out post. You must have spent hours working out how to get it just right.

If Laois and Dublin were club sides they'd never meet as the standard between them is so big. Laois would play teams of a similar standard until they improved to a similar standard as Dublin. It's not a coincidence that the league is now more important to some teams than the championship as they are playing teams of a similar standard on a regular basis.

As long as the championship remains in its current format you'll see mismatches in every province and one sided beatings that benefit no one.

Like Div 3 Cork beating Div 1 Kerry? Or Div 1 Donegal destroying Armagh, who'll be in Div 1 next season?

Mismatches will always be there, even among Div 1 teams. Should we just let the top 2 or 3 teams play for Sam then?

[seafoid]

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/kevin-mcstay-if-dublin-win-six-will-the-gaa-see-it-as-a-problem-1.4020060
Dublin therefore know they are athletically better conditioned than the other teams. That gives you an enormous weapon in any ball sport. So on Saturday night, Dublin went after the likes of David Clifford and Moran and they took them on tours of the park. They tested their aerobic capacity. They want to empty them of gas. It is no coincidence that Kerry stopped scoring in the last 15 minutes of both finals. It is Dublin's movement off the ball that staggers me. They have a near sadistic appetite for punishing running. And they tackle hard so you will be sore and sucking for oxygen when you get up. Again and again. Look at the domination of the All-Blacks. It is built on physical supremacy. It is built on pace and power. That is what Dublin are about now.

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/kevin-mcstay-no-hiding-mayo-s-many-mistakes-against-dublin-1.3984163

I was interested in their game management after Lee Keegan's goal. I noticed that they there was a signal given and they went into a hand-passing drill back and forth to take the sting out of the game after that score.
Any bit of rebellion that Mayo may have had was drained out by this couple of minutes of patient recycling. This was only the 52nd minute. The 12 points in 12 minutes is over: they have the game won and they can control the tempo and just see it out. They were not about to get sucked into one of those helter-skelter closing finishes with which Mayo nearly caught them before

[Rossfan]

Does Benny Cake's County (Tyrone?) have all the Clubs in one Championship?

[dublin7]

The last 2 posts are pretty daft.

That's a really intelligent and well thought out post. You must have spent hours working out how to get it just right.

If Laois and Dublin were club sides they'd never meet as the standard between them is so big. Laois would play teams of a similar standard until they improved to a similar standard as Dublin. It's not a coincidence that the league is now more important to some teams than the championship as they are playing teams of a similar standard on a regular basis.

As long as the championship remains in its current format you'll see mismatches in every province and one sided beatings that benefit no one.

Like Div 3 Cork beating Div 1 Kerry? Or Div 1 Donegal destroying Armagh, who'll be in Div 1 next season?

Mismatches will always be there, even among Div 1 teams. Should we just let the top 2 or 3 teams play for Sam then?

It would nice for teams going out to play knowing they have a chance of victory or winning a trophy or competing with teams of similar standard. It works at club level.

I imagine Leitrim got great delight in winning Div 4 in the league a few years ago as that was a realistic and achieveable goal as well a as trophy/medal for the players. Days like that are what players remember and enjoy not getting hammered on an annual basis in the Connaught championship by Galway or Mayo

[Rossfan]

Leitrim brought at least 5 or 6,000 to that D4 Final.
Their hurlers won the Lory Meagher cup a couple of months after and had one hell of a celebration after.
Manys a Laythrumite were at their first ever hurling match that day.

[thejuice]

I'm so sick of hearing about Dublin's advantages and unfairness etc. As long as we go up Croker with gods honest intentions to kick seven shades out of them I'll be happy. Well turn them over sooner or later. If it takes longer so be it. We just have to keep making ourselves better and doing things right. And when the day comes and we beat them and hopefully go on to lift Sam it'll be some of the sweetest days of my life, adding that to memories of 87, 88, 91, 96 and 99.

You didn't win Sam in 1991. You Meath hoors  are as bad as those cute Kerry hoors, claiming All Ireland's you didn't actually win 

No, but we won the 4 in a row with the Dubs.

[BennyCake]

The last 2 posts are pretty daft.

That's a really intelligent and well thought out post. You must have spent hours working out how to get it just right.

If Laois and Dublin were club sides they'd never meet as the standard between them is so big. Laois would play teams of a similar standard until they improved to a similar standard as Dublin. It's not a coincidence that the league is now more important to some teams than the championship as they are playing teams of a similar standard on a regular basis.

As long as the championship remains in its current format you'll see mismatches in every province and one sided beatings that benefit no one.

Like Div 3 Cork beating Div 1 Kerry? Or Div 1 Donegal destroying Armagh, who'll be in Div 1 next season?

Mismatches will always be there, even among Div 1 teams. Should we just let the top 2 or 3 teams play for Sam then?

It would nice for teams going out to play knowing they have a chance of victory or winning a trophy or competing with teams of similar standard. It works at club level.

I imagine Leitrim got great delight in winning Div 4 in the league a few years ago as that was a realistic and achieveable goal as well a as trophy/medal for the players. Days like that are what players remember and enjoy not getting hammered on an annual basis in the Connaught championship by Galway or Mayo

Have you not watched the last 6 years of the AI championship??? In case you haven't; even the big teams of Div 1 have  continually been steamrolled by Dublin. The teams from 2nd downward have no chance of competing

[BennyCake]

I'm so sick of hearing about Dublin's advantages and unfairness etc. As long as we go up Croker with gods honest intentions to kick seven shades out of them I'll be happy. Well turn them over sooner or later. If it takes longer so be it. We just have to keep making ourselves better and doing things right. And when the day comes and we beat them and hopefully go on to lift Sam it'll be some of the sweetest days of my life, adding that to memories of 87, 88, 91, 96 and 99.

You didn't win Sam in 1991. You Meath hoors  are as bad as those cute Kerry hoors, claiming All Ireland's you didn't actually win 

No, but we won the 4 in a row with the Dubs.

Fair enough. They were great occasions.

[mup]

Well done Laois, its not easy score 7 points in 75 odd minutes against Dublin. You'd have think Dublin are favourites after that win. They really are unbeatable at home.

It's great having a strong Dublin in the GAA.

One of the things about pro US sport is that the regulators ensure competitions are competitive.  It's a pity football isn't.

Is that your excuse for Galway's performance today?

Galway lost by a point today, in what is usually a competitive fixture. When either team lose their is an annoyance at a referee decision. a mistake by one or more of our players or a controversial decision.

The Dublin issue is above all that. All the cards are stacked in their favour.  By heavily loading Dublin GAA with advantages the GAA have destroyed the Leinster Championship for nearly 2 Decades and we are now heading for a decade of ruin in the AI Championship.

Last decade has some of the best games/finals in the history of the GAA so to claim the Dubs have ruined the AI championship takes some serious levels of bitterness (even for a Mayo fan) The championship structures are doing far more to ruin the championship than anything Dublin do.

They were great finals because you won everyone you were in and never looked like losing any of them. You are so heavily loaded with advantages games like today have become really embarrassing. Today was even painful for the the commentators and even worse for the analysis's. Even Dessie Farrell does not know what to say in his post-match interview.

I packed in my season ticket in 2017! You can't continue following something like this anymore.

You are writing things that people don't want to hear. It doesn't matter how many different ways you might write it you will always be accused of being bitter and a troll. So just be quiet and accept the football championship as it is.

For the record I was a die-hard follower of my county. I haven't been to a game in 7 or 8 years now. I saw what was coming and got out. I'm ashamed to say I was watching the golf yesterday. I feel better for it.

[dublin7]

It's amazing how all these threads turn into dubs bashing.

What do Meath fans think ahead of Saturday night? They should have won the league game in Parnell Park. They're not afraid to go for goal when they get a chance

[mup]

It's amazing how all these threads turn into dubs bashing.

What do Meath fans think ahead of Saturday night? They should have won the league game in Parnell Park. They're not afraid to go for goal when they get a chance

How very Donald Trump of you.

[dublin7]

This is the Leinster championship thread.

My bad for getting sick of the usual Dublin are the evil empire set on destroying everything and everyone in their path and asking a question about football and the Leinster Final

[Gmac]

This is the Leinster championship thread.

My bad for getting sick of the usual Dublin are the evil empire set on destroying everything and everyone in their path and asking a question about football and the Leinster Final

to me Dublin have some great footballers but it's their strength in the tackle and their unbelievable conditioning that allows them to wallop Laois and the Westmeaths of football, how many times did Laois have a slight opening and the ball carrier got a slap from a dub the ball is turned over and it's an easy score down the field , strength and conditioning is what all the lower counties should be starting with for a panel of thirty , no point having nice ball players or getting 15 men behind the ball when you are getting blown out in the tackle .

[The Hill is Blue]

This is the Leinster championship thread.

My bad for getting sick of the usual Dublin are the evil empire set on destroying everything and everyone in their path and asking a question about football and the Leinster Final

to me Dublin have some great footballers but it's their strength in the tackle and their unbelievable conditioning that allows them to wallop Laois and the Westmeaths of football, how many times did Laois have a slight opening and the ball carrier got a slap from a dub the ball is turned over and it's an easy score down the field , strength and conditioning is what all the lower counties should be starting with for a panel of thirty , no point having nice ball players or getting 15 men behind the ball when you are getting blown out in the tackle .

I'd go along with all of Gmac's comments above and I'd add to that the strength of Dublin's bench (e.g. Cormac Costello's contribution on Sunday last). In addition for ten years now Dublin have been developing and evolving a process on and off the field which everyone on the team understands and buys into. Bernard Brogan describes the evolution of the process in his autobiography.

Next weekend we'll see how Meath measure up to the challenge. Their swashbuckling approach so far has been refreshing and they'll come out like demons on Saturday. I think Dublin will win but Meath will not go down without a hell of a fight.

[From the Bunker]

This is the Leinster championship thread.

My bad for getting sick of the usual Dublin are the evil empire set on destroying everything and everyone in their path and asking a question about football and the Leinster Final

to me Dublin have some great footballers but it's their strength in the tackle and their unbelievable conditioning that allows them to wallop Laois and the Westmeaths of football, how many times did Laois have a slight opening and the ball carrier got a slap from a dub the ball is turned over and it's an easy score down the field , strength and conditioning is what all the lower counties should be starting with for a panel of thirty , no point having nice ball players or getting 15 men behind the ball when you are getting blown out in the tackle .

I'd go along with all of Gmac's comments above and I'd add to that the strength of Dublin's bench (e.g. Cormac Costello's contribution on Sunday last). In addition for ten years now Dublin have been developing and evolving a process on and off the field which everyone on the team understands and buys into. Bernard Brogan describes the evolution of the process in his autobiography.

Next weekend we'll see how Meath measure up to the challenge. Their swashbuckling approach so far has been refreshing and they'll come out like demons on Saturday. I think Dublin will win but Meath will not go down without a hell of a fight.

You'd have to hope Meath get more than 4 points in the Final this year?  6 points would be an improvement of 50%, but may be beyond them.  Then again Laois got 7 this year and Westmeath got 11.

Cluxton 1/25 to get his Leinster medal number 16.  How did they come up with them odds?