Brolly and Spillane Etc

Tyrone Dreamer · June 12, 2012, 10:59:18 PM

I cannot believe the gaa are sitting back and letting RTE drag the name of the game through the muck. They say they're worried about attendances, well its hard not to believe the constant attacks from Brolly and Spillane for self gain are doing the games image significant harm. Both of them know exactly what they want to say before every game and throw it out no matter how good or bad the game is. This was evidenced by there attack on the Longford Wexford game which given the standings off both teams was a decent game.

I don't think there is another sport in the world analysed by the pundits in a similar way to gaelic football. No match is analysed on its own merit instead a series of generalisations about the game and comparisons to 30 given years ago are made. Its ridiculous that these guys get paid for it.

For the last few months Brolly has had it in for Tyrone as evidenced by his attack on the team for being a bunch of divers in a recent newspaper article. I'm not sure where is current hate for Tyrone has come from considering during the period in which all his examples came from he was a huge fan of the team and constantly sung their praises in the media. On Sunday he was determined to continue with the attack no matter what happened during the game.

As it happened it turned out to be a very good game of football but Brolly didn't care as he was more interested in point scoring on who can be the most controversial negative pundit. At half time he said Colm Cavanagh made the most wonderful of dive that his brother would have been proud off. Having been at the game and watched it since I'm still not sure what he was talking about. At full time he was again on about Tyrone diving to win 2 frees to win the game. He was more interested in this than the wonderful points scored by Harte and O'Neill. As it happens neither free was a dive - Gormley was took down round the neck and there was no question it was a free and Donnellys was a clear cut free to. He also accused Mark Donnelly of wasting time with cramp. I'm no expert with cramp and I'm not sure if Brolly is but to me the lad didn't look like someone that was acting. Maybe Joe knows better though.

He also said it was a typical boring boring Tyrone performance and compared it to George Grahams Arsenal who liked to defend 1 - 0 leads. Given that the final score was 0-19 to 1-13 this makes no sense what so ever. Instead of focusing on the fact that Tyrone scored 12 or 13 points from play including some brilliant scores spread across 8 players he tried to make snide remarks. I was actually shocked on Sunday how open Tyrone were at the back. This allowed Jamie Clarke to pull off some wonderful scores which Brolly would have been safer focusing on.

I know I've defended Tyrone here but it is more an example of the nonsense these guys are coming out with every week against various counties and there insistence in finding negatives in every game even when they are far outweighed by the positives. The gaa has to act now and tackle this issue head on. The games and the players deserve better, especially coming from their so called own.

The Boy Wonder · June 12, 2012, 11:33:47 PM

I think the most genuine GAA followers take Brolly and Spillane with a pinch of salt. There was some great football last weekend - Sligo's display on Saturday and in particular the first half of Armagh-Tyrone. I was also impressed with Joe McQuillan's refereeing although he was a bit harsh on Dyas - I think red cards should be the very last resort for blatantly dirty or deliberately dangerous play.

J70 · June 12, 2012, 11:45:54 PM

Christ, between Brolly and Spillane and McHugh, is there a county from the north who doesn't think the media is against them?!!

I only saw a little of Sunday's game, but right at the end, one of the Tyrone forwards went to ground very, very easily to win a free in front of the goal when he all he got was a slight tug on the arm.

Puckoon · June 13, 2012, 12:15:50 AM

Does that not sit well because you believe it to be diving, and Donegal wouldn't be caught dead at that...?

Or because there was a forward infront of goal (at the end of the game no less) and Donegal wouldn't be caught dead at that...?

Throw ball · June 13, 2012, 12:37:32 AM

Tyrone Dreamer just because you disagree with the opinions does not mean they are not allowed to be expressed. I actually found Tony Davis agreeing with every decision the referee made more annoying. An odd explanation of why might help his co commentating.

Jinxy · June 13, 2012, 12:51:56 AM

He's full of odd explanations.

Denn Forever · June 13, 2012, 10:33:17 AM

I have to say that when games are bad, I enjoy the panto.

reddgnhand · June 13, 2012, 10:34:23 AM

Quote from: Take Your Points on June 13, 2012, 12:18:49 AM
Quote from: J70 on June 12, 2012, 11:45:54 PM

I only saw a little of Sunday's game, but right at the end, one of the Tyrone forwards went to ground very, very easily to win a free in front of the goal when he all he got was a slight tug on the arm.

And one fell down clutching his face and needing medical attention before he managed to get to his feet, o this occasion he didn't even get a tug on his arm. All in front of the referee and he couldn't even book him for playacting because if he thought it was a genuine injury then the offender would have been booked. If referees don't tackle this behaviour soon it will ruin the game. This incident is an example of inaction and there were others where the referee just waved on play but took no action on the playacter.

The other issue in the Tyrone Armagh game was the halting of the game with supposed injuries and both teams were guilty. It is time that the game continues unless there is a serious injury, not just someone looking for a quick spray on the side or back or leg or a bit of cramp as we saw on Sunday. Gamesmanship is a game killer.

Who and when? TYP any opinion on how Armagh played P Harte. Finn Mo spent most of the game with his back to the ball and no doubt if S Cavanagh had of been fit he would have got the same treatment.

Wee Roddy · June 13, 2012, 10:39:39 AM

Take Your Points, I take it ou are talking about Petey Harte and Finnian Incident. It happened right in front of me. Moriarty done a hand off to Hartes throat which beleive me can be quite sore. It isnt clear on television but i had a first hand view like those round me. One Tyrone clown was looking Moriarty sent off for it. I think he probably meant to stop his run with a hand off in the chest area and just got the timing wrong. The reality is if he had of been caught on the face or the chest it would not have been sore but the old Adams apple can be a sore one!

tbrick18 · June 13, 2012, 11:24:33 AM

Joe says it as he sees it.....whilst I wouldnt agree about it being a boring game (I thought it was a good match) I do agree with the comments about diving, tyrone seem to have it ingrained into them to dive at the first opportunity and the Cavanaghs are probably the biggest culprits (though Dooher and wee petie were the masters of the art). Armagh on the other hand maybe dont dive as much, but they engage in a lot more of the off the ball stuff, in particular 3rd man tackles.

Personally I'd like to see us incorporate a bit more of this underhandedness into our game, we might do a bit better if we did. As the late Mr. Coleman once said, "nice boys win nathin".

Joe's a legend....

J70 · June 13, 2012, 11:31:27 AM

Quote from: Puckoon on June 13, 2012, 12:15:50 AM
Does that not sit well because you believe it to be diving, and Donegal wouldn't be caught dead at that...?

Or because there was a forward infront of goal (at the end of the game no less) and Donegal wouldn't be caught dead at that...?

Not like you to be so sensitive Puckoon!

Not really a judgement on my part. I'm sure Donegal men occasionally go down easily for frees as well, as do all plenty of other counties, although I would hope that it is not something that is encouraged or happens regularly. I thought Marty Boyle was a disgrace against Dublin last year and, along with the admissions of Kevin Cassidy about the whole incident to get Diarmuid Connolly sent off, it was a very embarrassing and shameful moment for Donegal football. As is my opinion on soccer though, I think blatant diving and cheating should be retrospectively punished.

I was merely pointing out, that at least in the little bit of the game I saw, that the judgement of the panelists on Tyrone men going down very easily for frees was correct, at least in part.

EC Unique · June 13, 2012, 11:42:08 AM

J70, you are obviously an imformed fan of football. You say you only seen the last few minutes of Sunday's game. Might I suggest you get a copy of it and watch it all. It will be refreshing for you after watching Donegal for the last 18 months.

the Deel Rover · June 13, 2012, 11:58:06 AM

As a neutral i thought Sunday's game between Armagh and Tyrone was a great game of football really enjoyed it . As for brolly and co complete tits the lot of them . I was going to watch the 1/2 time analysis on sunday when Michael Lyster said news just in it's a draw between Carlow and Meath, Brolly then made some smart arsed comment about Banty, started to get excited about some old story from his past which he told as only he can, the quicker he speaks the more he salivates. I just left the room and came back when the pleb had finished his rant

Whishtup · June 13, 2012, 12:06:39 PM

The way this thread has developed is a clear example of how pundits can steer discourse in a certain direction. After every game, the fans of the losing team always have grievances, some justified, some not-I for one have been guilty of getting caught up in post-match dummy spitting on several occasions-that's natural enough. If I were an Armagh fan, I might say that a few decisions might have went differently.
However, that game was played in good spirits in a professional manner. The free near the end where Donnelly was travelling at speed was a free on any day and I recall the Armagh player-was it Mallon?-being raging at himself and clearly saying "Why did I do that?" to himself as he walked away. Any player travelling at speed only needs the slightest of touches to send him over-if he tries to stay up, he does a chicken dance and runs into other defenders. If the tackle is legitimate, he loses the ball. Tyrone are relatively small and light and travel at speed so they are going to pick up these frees.
Very little time was wasted over the cramp incident-after that player could be seen to be hobbling to the subs bench.
The Dyas sending off is a no-brainer. I for one was happy to see the two-handed rugby-type spoiling tackle punished harshly and hope that this continues throughout the championship as it was rife and unpunished last year.
The only thing debatable was the shout for an Armagh Penalty-a good case only spoiled by Carlin's determination to play on with the ball.
I remember a time when people used to say that wee Peter and Dooher should lie down a bit more and stop gettin themselves kilt. I'd say they took that advice and it paid off. However, this is a very different Tyrone team who fear nobody and I for one was impressed with their 'get on with it' attitude on Sunday-opting to try and take the quick free instead of tearing the ass out of it.
The only thing about Brolly's rants on Sunday is that it was so off-the-mark that he actually done himself more harm than Tyrone. I think Brolly does liven it up at times but that was just ridiculous.

J OGorman · June 13, 2012, 12:24:03 PM

Quote from: Whishtup on June 13, 2012, 12:06:39 PM
The way this thread has developed is a clear example of how pundits can steer discourse in a certain direction. After every game, the fans of the losing team always have grievances, some justified, some not-I for one have been guilty of getting caught up in post-match dummy spitting on several occasions-that's natural enough. If I were an Armagh fan, I might say that a few decisions might have went differently.
However, that game was played in good spirits in a professional manner. The free near the end where Donnelly was travelling at speed was a free on any day and I recall the Armagh player-was it Mallon?-being raging at himself and clearly saying "Why did I do that?" to himself as he walked away. Any player travelling at speed only needs the slightest of touches to send him over-if he tries to stay up, he does a chicken dance and runs into other defenders. If the tackle is legitimate, he loses the ball. Tyrone are relatively small and light and travel at speed so they are going to pick up these frees.
Very little time was wasted over the cramp incident-after that player could be seen to be hobbling to the subs bench.
The Dyas sending off is a no-brainer. I for one was happy to see the two-handed rugby-type spoiling tackle punished harshly and hope that this continues throughout the championship as it was rife and unpunished last year.
The only thing debatable was the shout for an Armagh Penalty-a good case only spoiled by Carlin's determination to play on with the ball.
I remember a time when people used to say that wee Peter and Dooher should lie down a bit more and stop gettin themselves kilt. I'd say they took that advice and it paid off. However, this is a very different Tyrone team who fear nobody and I for one was impressed with their 'get on with it' attitude on Sunday-opting to try and take the quick free instead of tearing the ass out of it.
The only thing about Brolly's rants on Sunday is that it was so off-the-mark that he actually done himself more harm than Tyrone. I think Brolly does liven it up at times but that was just ridiculous.

players throwing themselves to ground to win a free is right on the mark. More power to whatever pundit keeps mentioning it. Its a fecking major blight on the game. The first half on Sunday @ the athletic grounds was absolutely brilliant. Fast, hard-hiting, 15 men marking 15 men for the most part. The 2nd half started with Tyrone men throwing themselves to the ground, I counted 4 in the first 10 mins of the 2nd half. Its fierce hard to watch, esp when the culprits continuously get away with it.