It’s hard to know where to start with all of this. The game, the atmosphere, the experience has been talked to death. The better team won and that’s without doubt but we could have won also. Penalties an absolute lottery but until there is anything else they are what we have.
The melee and gouging….the parties involved in how the melee started should be punished. I believe CP will have to make a point and punish both sides here but will they? I suspect given the narrative being driven that Armagh will get heavier punishment, rightly or wrongly. Tiarnán Kelly will get a heavy ban though anything beyond 6 months is excessive in my opinion. Look at what happened in previous gouging cases and then add some on as an aggravating factor given that he was not part of the match day squad. He should have been in the stands and that’s something that the GAA as a whole need to look at. The issue of the teams going into the same tunnel is a red herring. Responsibility for actions needs to be driven. Players, managers, officials all have a responsibility to act accordingly. Respect is not there and that’s probably increased by the tribal nature of the sport. This isn’t Armagh alone and is not recent either but something needs to change.
Where to now for Armagh? People will point to the wins against Donegal and Tyrone and say it was a good year. If you look though at the year it’s played 11 between league and championship won 5, drew 1, lost 5. Beat Dublin who were on their holidays, Tyrone twice who were very poor, Kildare in the league who were relegated and are pretty poor and Donegal in a very good performance (albeit they looked like they were out on their feet). For all the seeming improvements we are as far away from a trophy as we have ever been in my opinion. People will point to injuries etc and they did play a factor but I genuinely don’t see a team that has an identity, a structured plan. It’s very much off the hoof and hope for the best. Maybe that’s all that we can do but I suspect it’s not. I think the best players more or less from the county are on the squad but I don’t believe that the best is being brought out of them for a variety of reasons. Geezer will get another year and probably deserves it but that doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do. I personally feel he has brought this team as far as he is capable of doing, kinda like the 2 Brian’s in 2001, but now is time for change before the opportunity you a lost. There are too many good players there to miss another year.
Few comments on the game:
1. Agree that Galway deserved to win it. Armagh didn't bring the same intensity to this match that they brought to the Tyrone and Donegal games. Despite pressure on the short-kickouts, we had no turnovers. I lost count of the number of times that Kealan Molloy was able to easily get away from the tackler. At the back, it felt like we weren't able to get a hand on Galway. Perhaps it was the extra room in Croke Park, maybe Galway moved the ball better, but we didn't get hands on enough. The intensity of the previous games wasn't there at times I felt.
2. Game management - Why we allowed Galway the short-kick out in extra time after Jemar Hall's point, I don't know. They were able to work the ball into scorable positions all day long and we should have been contesting possession.
3. The row - This suited Galway and was the last thing we needed going in after recovering from a 6 point deficit. Galway should have been going in deflated, but instead I'll bet they were pumped by the time the fighting was over. We have a tendancy to get involved in these pointless rows even though they are not in our interest. The one in Donegal in the NFL was completely stupid given the Championship match around the corner. Same on Sunday. At some stage, management and co. board have to take responsibility for this. It will be easy now for other teams to target Armagh given this developing reputation.
4. Goalkeeper - On one score, I am somewhat pleased for McGeeney - the success of the Rafferty experiment. The GK position was an issue throughout his tenure and it feels like he has went full circle following the massive (and unfair) criticism he took for starting Paul Courtney in nets in 2016. He stuck to his principles and found someone to do the job the way he wanted.
5. The Future - The manner of the defeat at the weekend sets them up well going into a new season - not unlike the defeats between 1999-2001, when they weren't that far away. We will watch how Galway get on with interest. Kind of agree with you about McGeeney, but unlike the 2 Brians period, there isn't an obvious successor. We have a lot of talent at our disposal, but some of our vital cogs (Campbell (31), Grugan(31), Morgan(31), Forker (30) Shields (33)) are getting on. Given the lack of underage success and injuries, who knows if they will be replaced with players of equal quality? Will Campbell be able to have another year like this one? I therefore see Armagh having a short window of about 2 years to achieve any kind of success. Co. Board facing a very difficult decision about McGeeney's future and my instinct is that he will be given another year. Honestly have no idea whether or not that is the right thing to do.
5. As a supporter, bringing young kids to the game, (melees excepted) it's been a memorable year. Brings back memories of 1993 when we took Tyrone's scalp, had a famous, chaotic comeback and had serious building support. While there was no silverware, and that is the ultimate benchmark, it is great to see us playing really attractive football in the top Division and competing at the top level. It remains to be seen whether we can push on, but I'd say there are many supporters from across Ireland that would take the season that Armagh just had. [EDIT] At the end of the day, I go to football matches to be entertained. It is some time since I got the entertainment value that I got in Dublin on Sunday.
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