Tyrone v Dublin - The return of the Jedi

[yellowcard]

Anyone seen the back of todays Irish news? O'Rourke has (wrongly imo) said that "Only the Dubs stand in the way of a Tyrone All Ireland title." And who said the hype was all self generated by Tyrone??

Colm O'Rourke? If Tyrone do beat Dublin I would still only rate them at 50/50 to win an AI title. However their perfected defensive system of play is tailor made for beating the Dubs and that is generally why people beleive that they are the side that is best equipped to take them down.

[RedHand88]

Anyone seen the back of todays Irish news? O'Rourke has (wrongly imo) said that "Only the Dubs stand in the way of a Tyrone All Ireland title." And who said the hype was all self generated by Tyrone??

Colm O'Rourke? If Tyrone do beat Dublin I would still only rate them at 50/50 to win an AI title. However their perfected defensive system of play is tailor made for beating the Dubs and that is generally why people beleive that they are the side that is best equipped to take them down.

Yea Colm, I cringed a bit reading it.

[clarshack]

with all the hype about Tyrone and nothing about Dublin, it's now all setup for the Dubs to give us a pasting.

[longballin]

with all the hype about Tyrone and nothing about Dublin, it's now all setup for the Dubs to give us a pasting.

Thinking the same so much hype coming out of the Tyrone camp and not a word from Dublin... eerie

[blewuporstuffed]

with all the hype about Tyrone and nothing about Dublin, it's now all setup for the Dubs to give us a pasting.

Thinking the same so much hype coming out of the Tyrone camp and not a word from Dublin... eerie

not sure i have heard much coming from either camp to be fair

[WT4E]

Well if it makes you feel any better - the dubs are uber confident. I be talking to them regular and the sentiment is generally it will be great to get a bit of a game before the final.

[Rossfan]

There were online queues for tickets for the Armagh game when they first went on sale  as well.

A guy was tellng me he sat for an hour before he gave up......More fool him

There were loads of tickets available online  on the Thursday and Friday lesding up  to the game and not bad ones either. I ll be picking mine up online on The Friday before the game and i ll not be sitting in any queue!!!

Sounds like there is going to be no more public tickets on sale (unless there are very late returns). I'm sure once the club allocations come out there will be tickets floating around though.

GAA website saying now that there will be no further public sale.

[Fuzzman]

Yeah there's a lot of hype and excitement here in the capital about the Dubs too. They are really excited about the game and feel they still have far too much for this young inexperienced Tyrone team who have no plan B or C.
They rightfully believe that we've not beaten a top 4 team in 8 years and why would they now beat possibly the best team ever. Yes they will be given that title if they win Sam this year.

Not only have they only lost 1 game in 5 years but they will have learnt so much from that one game of what to look out for when playing a team with such a defensive system. They will not be caught cold like before and so for me it will just come down to whether they take their chances from or how they keep their heads when they miss them. If long range shots start going wide from under pressure tackling then the huge Dublin support will get uneasy and restless which will feed its way onto the pitch. If the Dublin player can keep their heads and continue making those chances they will win in my eyes. However, if they start to think too much about it and become fearful to shoot under pressure then Tyrone will begin to win the psychological edge.

On the other side of the coin though. I've been to lots of Dublin games where a team is right with them up until the 20th minute and suddenly Dublin get a goal and a few quick points, the crowd go crazy and the confidence soars around all the players and they suddenly take off and play with flair and free will. The match is over at half time and obviously for me living here this is my biggest concern. Losing by a few points will be bad enough but getting a hammering would be hard to take.

[JoG2]

There are some lads quare and naive when it comes to this Connolly suspension story.
Of course he's still training with the team and playing A v B games which are by all account the toughest games they have had all year. Diarmuid will be totally ready for Sunday fitness wise and well tuned in and I first thought Gavin won't start him but I think he probably will now, despite the HUGE impact he will have on the crowd and other players to see him come in.

From the Dublinlive website
Dublin's Diarmuid Connolly has allegedly still training with the All-Ireland Champions despite his suspension.

The terms of the St. Vincent forward's ban state Connolly is barred from "all functions and privileges of the association" after being slapped with a suspension for pushing linesman Ciaran Branagan when Dublin defeated Carlow in the quarter finals of the Leinster SFC.


Reports in The Star indicate that the GAA have not got the proper resources in place to fully police the ban, meaning there is nothing stopping Connolly from continuing to train prior to his return to the field in August.

"Diarmuid is around, but not around for everything and I think he's on his own programme as well", defender Jonny Cooper told Eir Sport.

"He's involved in the training aspects, as in the on-field things. He wasn't around for the last weekend that we were training, for example.
"I don't know what he was doing, whether he was away with work or whatever. I don't know where he was.

"But then he's on his own training programme with gym-based stuff and obviously keeping up his own conditioning. He's obviously not going to get any game time if we are to progress so it's just about trying to stay up at that level."

-----------------

I read somewhere back in June or July that the lad he assaulted that time McGowans is going to sue him now for damages, some 5 years later. Connolly must be fed up with all the hysteria around him. I missed the interview with himself and Wooly Parkinson where he asked him would he not do some media or charity work or something to boost his persona but Connolly reacted negatively and said you are just judging me cause you don't know me.
Thought this was a funny article - https://www.sportsjoe.ie/gaa/calculating-diarmuid-connollys-beast-mode-in-that-frightening-photo-of-him-and-colm-cooper-95816

On another note, wondering what lads thought of Alan Brogan back in the 2000s when Tyrone played them. Did they feel he was Dublin's best player and did we target him?

Are many of ye going to the Enda McGinley tour on Sat morning? 11am in Croker museum.

Where in any GAA literature is this type of punishment mentioned and what happens if a player does train or avail of any association privileges? And, "reports in The Star indicate".... the multi-million pound GAA behemoth doesn't have a man to dander round to the Dublin training of a Tuesday night to see DC training?

[tiempo]

Do you really believe that if Jim Gavin starts Dermot Connelly that for some reason associated with this the Dubs might lose their focus? Can't fathom your logic here at all. Surely Connelly is a permanent fixture in this squad in matches and at training etc. Not like some new kid coming in out of the blue!

Furthermore would his teammates not see his inclusion as a boost, not a negative? Not getting your jist at all here.

I'd agree. SoN was thrown in for a Final and while he didn't preform great (To his level) himself the team did alright.

SoN hadn't played the entire season to that point whereas Galvin had only served a 12 week suspension. I think Kerry fell down in how they used Galvin in the final more than anything. Mickey got a contribution out of a 1 legged Canavan in 03, a well rested Galvin should've been fit to do the same in 08. I think they had to bring him in earlier than anticipated due to an injury but could be wrong? For whatever reason he just didnt get going thankfully.

[Taylor]

Like him or loathe him DC would improve any team in the country and is a definite starter in my book

[RedHand88]

Do Dublin normally name their team on a Thursday night too or are they later?

[Fuzzman]

Usually Friday or even Sat I think.

I can see Mickey bringing in Mulgrew to start and move McClure to MF in place of Conal McCann.

Enda McGinley's take last week in the Irish News.
TYRONE v Dublin in next weekend's All-Ireland SFC semi-final is one of the most tantalising clashes of the last 10 years.

One area that is really getting everyone talking is the tactical battle.

Mickey Harte, in preparation for the biggest games, always looked at both ourselves and the opposition from each other's viewpoints.

As the biggest games panned out, we rarely found ourselves wrong-footed or in a situation on the pitch we hadn't considered. It was this fostering of a whole team of tactically and situationally aware players that was one of Mickey's managerial strong points.

The Dublin match is just the sort of one Mickey will have had in the back of his mind for a few years so I can only imagine the Tyrone team's preparation will be exceptional.

There are many things to be considered. Among the biggest decisions will be regarding kick-out strategy, who and how many Dublin players need 'tagged' and Dublin's defensive approach.

In terms of kick-out strategy, Mr Cluxton has essentially revolutionised both the position and arguably the game.

To use Darragh O Se's great phrase, hammer the hammer, and Stephen Cluxton is Dublin's hammer.

Being a goalie, especially with his mental strength, he is uniquely difficult to 'hammer'. His kick-outs are almost impervious but they remain the way to both unsettle him and Dublin.

When their kick-outs are upset Dublin look a completely different team. They look vulnerable.

Teams have tried a zonal approach, but Cluxton is so accurate that even a few metres of space are enough for him to pin his man, so this strategy is almost impossible to pull off.

Similarly, with going man-to-man tight, as in a high press, the Dublin runs are so effective that, combined with Cluxton's accuracy and speed of restart, even being touch tight often isn't enough. It's also high risk as if Dublin win possession you are more exposed at the back.

A team like Tyrone, with their combination of footballing ability and athleticism – especially if they push an extra man up – can cause turnovers. The key is to realise, depending on how an attack finishes, how many men are up the pitch and where they are, and that should decide whether it is on or not.

There is nothing worse than a team trying to go high-press but because of men out of position a man is left free and they are caught in no-man's land.

Tyrone will concede many kick-outs and keep tight at the back, letting Dublin come on to them but, when they see their chance, they'll go hard on the high press.

They have the players and intelligence to do it and if they manage it once, that means lots of payers are up the pitch and they should be set up to repeat the dose and get Dublin pinned in, something they are not used to at all. That's a position from which Tyrone can make hay.

At the other end of the pitch a key Tyrone decision will revolve around who gets 'tagged' (God forbid I would sound out of touch by calling it 'marked').

The issue here is that Dublin, unlike every other team in the country, do not have 'key' forwards.

Interestingly, when people look at Tyrone they see this as a weakness. Looking at Dublin it is a reason they are so hard to stop.

Paul Mannion, Dean Rock, Paddy Andrews, Bernard Brogan, Diarmuid Connolly, Ciaran Kilkenny, Kevin McManamon, Con O'Callaghan and Eoghan O'Gara. Who do you tag? Every one is a 'shooter' in their own right, able to score from the minimal of space.

Those in the inside line, as Dublin are attacking, will always need picked up. After that Tyrone must stick to their shape and go zonal as I think if you are tagging any more than two or three players the zonal system will break down.

Dublin have a few long-range shooters so Tyrone will need to be ready to push out hard and also show their usual discipline in the tackle given Rock's conversion rate from frees. The fact that Rock hasn't scored a point from play yet is a central part of the Dublin jigsaw and demonstrates his particular value as a place kicker. In a Mexican stand-off, which this game could become, Tyrone can't afford to let him be the sniper.

Dublin's big tactical decision is over their general approach. In his first few years in charge, Jim Gavin spoke often of the Dublin style of play and sticking with Dublin traditions of playing open, attacking football.

This, of course, was lapped up by the media but was a facade. When they go defensive, as they did in their League match against Derry in 2015, somehow it is blamed on the opposition that Dublin had 13 or 15 men behind the ball.

Sunday's match poses an interesting scenario for Gavin and one that Mickey Harte has had to confront a long time ago.

Mickey always railed against any semblance of blanket defending in my time from minor right up through to senior.

In many video review sessions, fellas were slaughtered for being seen to just jog back 'to be seen to be back rather than doing anything specific'.

Everyone had to try to turn that ball over as high up the pitch as we could, quite the opposite of the blanket.

Mickey, having been foiled by the zonal tactic approach of Dublin in 2010 and famously by Jim McGuinness' Donegal on numerous occasions, was forced to change his approach.

Gavin will know that Tyrone do not carry the same danger up front as Dublin and are more reliant on counter-attacking. In this scenario, conceding the Tyrone kick-out and going defensive is a strategy that

would blunt Tyrone's primary weapon.

Dublin have the talent to outplay Tyrone in a traditional game but, if you want to stop Tyrone, Dublin would have to let the mask slip and show themselves to be a pragmatic, win first worry about the aesthetics later, type of team.

If they stick to their professed traditional attacking style, tactical vanity will have given Tyrone their chance.

As Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

Given the shifting sands that games naturally become, it will be the team able to adapt best that will win the tactical battle.

Ironically, and thankfully however, football has never been a game won on the tactics board.

Tactics will be the undercurrent, but the forgotten cliché that is 'will to win' can be the clincher. Next week I will look at why this 'cliché' is Tyrone's secret weapon and must be unleashed

[Keane]

Where in any GAA literature is this type of punishment mentioned and what happens if a player does train or avail of any association privileges? And, "reports in The Star indicate".... the multi-million pound GAA behemoth doesn't have a man to dander round to the Dublin training of a Tuesday night to see DC training?

KERRY captain Paul Galvin will escape punishment for training with the county team while serving a high profile three-month suspension.

Training ban for Galvin
The half-forward returned to training with Kerry after county officials sought clarification as to whether it was okay to do so. GAA President Nickey Brennan confirmed yesterday that Kerry did indeed seek clarification and revealed that they were told it was not Croke Park's place to guide them on such an issue.

Kerry thus applied their own interpretation of the rules regarding suspended players and informed Galvin that he could train with the county squad, but after learning of Galvin's inclusion at training, GAA Director General Paraic Duffy quickly nipped the matter in the bud and sent a letter to Kerry yesterday clarifying that Galvin was not eligible to do so.

"He has not got clearance from the GAA (to train with Kerry), no," said GAA President Nickey Brennan yesterday.

"The situation is that Kerry asked for an interpretation of a rule from Croke Park which we didn't want to give because it's not our job to do that. But having lined out, I understand he trained earlier this week, Kerry have now been informed today in writing by the Ard-Stiúrthóir that it is his belief and my belief that it's contrary to rule and he's been told not to train with Kerry."
Brennan noted that while under suspension players cannot train with their county teams, though it seems the Galvin situation will be put down to a communications error.

"What happened happened and we're not going to revisit that situation," said Brennan. "But Kerry have now been communicated with today, officially, and they have accepted that communication and I expect Kerry to do what they've been told to."

Galvin won't be taken to task for the latest development, with Brennan stating that the GAA will take no further action, leaving him eligible to play in the All-Ireland final if Kerry make it.

The Kerry captain will have to revert to training on his own, and his manager is sympathetic to Galvin's plight, agreeing that the situation would hardly have arisen if they had got the "official word from Croke Park they were seeking all along".

The problem, Kerry manager Pat O'Shea explained, was that they received "conflicting reports" back from Croke Park last week before Kerry Board chairman Jerome Conway got word that Galvin might be free to train. "Since then we got a letter stating that he wasn't able to train,'' added O'Shea. The mixed signals Kerry were getting were the result of the view — expressed by an authoritative source on Monday — that the rule governing the activities of suspended players was not crystal clear. Under the sub-heading 'Effect of a Suspension,' Rule 149 stipulates that for category 1,2 and 3 offences a player cannot take part in games (including tournament and challenge) or act as a referee, umpire, linesman or sideline official.

All other offences — including category 4, under which Galvin was dealt with — result in suspension from "all functions, privileges and competitions under the Association's control, but not from membership of the association".

Galvin might have been able to train away if Kerry had not raised the issue with Croke Park and kept his activity quiet. In the past, suspensions haven't prevented players from training with their county squads and earlier in the year, when Dublin players were serving suspensions arising out of the brawl in the NFL game against Meath in Parnell Park, there wasn't a ban on them continuing to train with the squad.

The view of one manager, expressed privately, was that the spirit of suspensions were that they were "match bans" and that officialdom didn't intervene as long as individuals didn't draw attention to their activity either by posing for photographs at training sessions or by giving media interviews.

O'Shea says the Kerry management will put together a training programme for Galvin.

"I guess that's what it has to be. He is going to have to do it on is own, which he has done over the last couple of weeks. I presume he is going to have to continue to work away on his own until the suspension is up.''

O'Shea said it was easy to empathise with Galvin in the position he now finds himself in, knowing that he will only make a return to the team if they get over the semi-final against Cork.

"More from his own psychological well-being altogether, he would need to be doing something. Obviously it would have been ideal if he was able to train with the team, but that's not the case now. He trained with us on Monday night when we thought it was okay, but unfortunately the word came today that it wasn't."

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/training-ban-for-galvin-69834.html

[Captain Obvious]

The last five meetings between these sides was two draws,two wins for Dublin by one point and a win for Tyrone by a one pont. Shouldn't come as any surprise if this game ends in a draw or a one point win on Sunday.