McKenna Cup 2024

[Rav67]

A great point. Fielding technique is something we could learn from Aussie football. You seldom see an Aussie player standing under the ball trying to make a mark. They start a run from 10-15 yards from where the ball will come down and generally take it with flying forward momentum. That's how Gaelic Footballers should be coached to do it. It's ironic that the Aussies, who don't need to do it (because they get a free mark) do it, while we who could benefit from it don't.

But what if the ball is coming right right to where you're standing?  The player is not going to be able to run back 10 yards and then forwards again to get a bit of momentum.

Certainly. I'm not disputing the original suggestion that refereeing interpretations ought to favor the man coming down with the ball.

Agreed.  Have to give the man catching a bit of leeway if we are to protect what is probably the greatest skill in our game.

[never kickt a ball]

A great point. Fielding technique is something we could learn from Aussie football. You seldom see an Aussie player standing under the ball trying to make a mark. They start a run from 10-15 yards from where the ball will come down and generally take it with flying forward momentum. That's how Gaelic Footballers should be coached to do it. It's ironic that the Aussies, who don't need to do it (because they get a free mark) do it, while we who could benefit from it don't.

But what if the ball is coming right right to where you're standing?  The player is not going to be able to run back 10 yards and then forwards again to get a bit of momentum.

Certainly. I'm not disputing the original suggestion that refereeing interpretations ought to favor the man coming down with the ball.

Agreed.  Have to give the man catching a bit of leeway if we are to protect what is probably the greatest skill in our game.

This guy seems to land stationary? Do you think this is the wrong technique?

[screenexile]

Yip! He's catching the ball too far behind himself and he isn't catching the ball at his highest point!

[Hardy]

Rav, I'm not saying it's the only way to do it. I'm saying it's the preferred way. Sure sometimes you'd have to back-pedal and try to catch it. It's just that, for a kickout, players judge where they expect the ball to fall, adjust and re-adjust and end up standing under it, clustered like ducks looking up into a tree. It would be just as easy to position yourself ten yards away from there (not hard - just look at where the other lads are  ) and time your run from there.

never kickt a ball - I agree with screenexile. He runs too far under the ball and has to reach back.

If you ever see old clips of Mick O'Connell in action you'll see what I'm on about. He'd often catch the ball running forward, taking it slightly more in front of himself than straight above and would land running.

[Croí na hÉireann]

And I don't see any problem with raising your feet above shoulder height as long as you don't foul anybody while doing it. The problem is, you'd want to be some athlete to gain that sort of height. The Aussies do it by levering themselves up on the backs of opponents. That would be a foul in GAA (though I think it's spectacular and would be great if it was allowed in our game).

See the Brick Walshs catch against Cork in the replay last year for an example of this, an exception to the norm unfortunately. Was sitting right in front of it, telly didn't do it justice...

[Leo]

There was uproar in Kerry in the 60's when Down briought an extra man into midfield to counter Mick O'Connell - it worked too!

[western exile]

So is it ironic then, that Dan Gordan suffered on Saturday night from a tactic introduced by his predecessors?   

I am not old enough to have witnessed those greats, but I hope they were not allowed to foul against the legend in the way that 3 hand tackles were allowed against Dan Gordan on Saturday night 

[never kickt a ball]

Rav, I'm not saying it's the only way to do it. I'm saying it's the preferred way. Sure sometimes you'd have to back-pedal and try to catch it. It's just that, for a kickout, players judge where they expect the ball to fall, adjust and re-adjust and end up standing under it, clustered like ducks looking up into a tree. It would be just as easy to position yourself ten yards away from there (not hard - just look at where the other lads are  ) and time your run from there.

never kickt a ball - I agree with screenexile. He runs too far under the ball and has to reach back.

If you ever see old clips of Mick O'Connell in action you'll see what I'm on about. He'd often catch the ball running forward, taking it slightly more in front of himself than straight above and would land running.

There was uproar in Kerry in the 60's when Down briought an extra man into midfield to counter Mick O'Connell - it worked too!

Some good clean fielding here chaps?

[orangeman]

Winter football at its best ! 

[bcarrier]

john hayes style lifting required.

[never kickt a ball]

Rav, I'm not saying it's the only way to do it. I'm saying it's the preferred way. Sure sometimes you'd have to back-pedal and try to catch it. It's just that, for a kickout, players judge where they expect the ball to fall, adjust and re-adjust and end up standing under it, clustered like ducks looking up into a tree. It would be just as easy to position yourself ten yards away from there (not hard - just look at where the other lads are  ) and time your run from there.

never kickt a ball - I agree with screenexile. He runs too far under the ball and has to reach back.

If you ever see old clips of Mick O'Connell in action you'll see what I'm on about. He'd often catch the ball running forward, taking it slightly more in front of himself than straight above and would land running.

There was uproar in Kerry in the 60's when Down briought an extra man into midfield to counter Mick O'Connell - it worked too!

Some good clean fielding here chaps?

There was uproar in Kerry in the 60's when Down briought an extra man into midfield to counter Mick O'Connell - it worked too!

Paddy Heaney addresses this (the skill of fielding) today in the Irish News. Can anyone post it please?

[TORGAEL]

Art of high fielding cast aside in era of pragmatist Against the Breeze
By Paddy Heaney
19/02/08


Catch 22: When the photograph on this page first appeared in print two weeks ago it made me cringe. And if you're a typical fan of gaelic football, the sight of an eight-man mass scrum in the middle of the field will probably make you feel slightly uneasy as well.
When the photograph on this page first appeared in print two weeks ago it made me cringe.

And if you're a typical fan of gaelic football, the sight of an eight-man mass scrum in the middle of the field will probably make you feel slightly uneasy as well.

This is what has become of the once glorious midfield battle. It has descended into an unsightly tag-team wrestling match.

Gone are the days when a few players contested a booming kick-out and clean catches were fairly common.

The midfield orgy in Ballybofey between Donegal and Kerry is the norm, not the exception. On the same night, I was in Healy Park to watch Tyrone play Kildare.

For the kick-outs, Lilywhites boss Kieran McGeeney deployed two forwards in the centre of the park. Afterwards McGeeney referred to the "midfield eight''.

As a former Armagh player, McGeeney is keenly aware that winning clean catches against Tyrone doesn't guarantee success in the overall duel for possession. In the 2005 All-Ireland semi-final Armagh won 11 of the game's first 12 kick-outs - but Tyrone turned over possession from eight of those.

Red Hands manager Mickey Harte has exposed much of the mythology that surrounded the midfield battle. Harte was quick to realise that while a soaring leap and fetch by Darragh O Se won the headlines, it was no more effective than Brian Dooher bursting through a posse of players to win an unglamorous breaking ball.

It's the battle for dirty ball and the ability to avoid turnovers which really dictates the territorial battle. And this is why kick-outs are now contested by half a dozen players in a chaotic melee. Winning a clean catch can actually be a disadvantage because it's easy for the opposition to surround the player with the ball and get him penalised for over-carrying.

Let me make it clear that I'm not blaming Mickey Harte for the demise of the clean catch. Like all top managers, Harte devised a gameplan around the resources at his disposal.

In the absence of a Kevin Walsh or John McDermott, Harte placed a premium on crowding midfield, effective tackling and winning loose ball.

Like the overwhelming majority of first-class managers, Harte is a pragmatist to the bone. The business of winning is more important than any regard for the beauty of the game.

Joe Kernan was exactly the same. Kernan placed a huge emphasis on the defensive formation of his team. When Armagh were in their pomp, they rarely conceded a goal, and most teams were restricted to about 10 points.

Kerry, as we know, largely copied the Tyrone and Armagh blueprint, and this has resulted in the majority of counties now playing a similar brand of football.

The blanket defence is standard practice. Half-forwards who spend most of the match defending are commonplace. A match with only one or two clean catches is par for the course.

These conservative gameplans, where the onus is placed on defence, are making gaelic football a much uglier and less inspiring spectacle.

Managers cannot be blamed, because they will always put results first and the fans' value for money a very distant second. Crossmaglen, Armagh, Tyrone, and Kerry have proved beyond question that the system works.

In this regard, gaelic football managers are no different from their soccer counterparts. The Republic of Ireland and England have just hired the services of two Italians, Fabio Capello and Giovanni Trapattoni, who prefer to play cautious, risk-free football.

The really incredible difference between the two codes is that soccer fans are far more concerned about the aesthetics of their game.

While the English FA and FAI were warmly applauded for securing the services of Capello and 'Il Trap', it was interesting to note that many soccer writers were quick to express reservations about the formulaic style of play used by the Italian pair.

These journalists were merely reflecting the views of the public. Newcastle fans effectively got rid of Sam Allardyce because they disliked the way the Magpies played under his brief reign.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich dispensed with Jose Mourinho because, we can only

presume, he got bored watching his own expensively-assembled team.

Real Madrid trumped everyone. They dispensed with the careful Capello - even though he guided them to the Spanish league title.

Imagine Tyrone fans calling for the head of Mickey Harte in the wake of the accusations of 'puke football' in 2003.

We Irish men must be the most practical sports fans in the world. Results are all we really care about.

Eamon Dunphy was vilified when he made the entirely accurate observation that Ireland's success under Jack Charlton was enjoyed by only the inhabitants of this island because we were the only people who could bear to watch the team.

Beyond these shores, the pressure exerted from fans, chairmen, and the media means there is always a responsibility on soccer managers to produce sides that play entertaining football.

Despite these pressures, those smart managers in their tailored-suits still tend to prefer their teams to take a safety-first approach. To guard against these defensive policies, FIFA has

continually changed its rules to reward attacking play.

In the past 20 years, they've stopped goalkeepers handling back-passes, banned the tackle from behind, and changed the offside law so that it greatly favours the attacker.

The GAA has made similar strides, but it's time to act again if we want to maintain some of the traditional values and thrills of gaelic football.

The GAA is now a few steps behind its brainy bainisteoiri. Gaelic football needs more goals, more clean catches, and more incentives for the football manager who dares to win, rather than those who fear to lose.

The high catch at midfield is now in danger of becoming extinct.

A new rule that would allow the likes of Dan Gordon to take four clean steps once he lands would help to protect this dying art.

The square ball, a ridiculous and utterly unenforceable rule, needs to be banned. If umpires have difficulty telling the difference between a wide and a point, how can they possibly judge if a player enters the square before the ball?

The penalty spot could also be moved to just 10 metres from the goal instead of 13. How often is a clear goal denied by conceding a penalty which is then missed?

The goalposts could also be made wider, thereby increasing the number of times the net would be rattled in a game.

Whether it's George Graham or Brian McIver, Jose Mourinho or Mickey Harte, Fabio Capello or Pat O'Shea, those wily men on the

sideline will always devise methods which, although beneficial to their team, will not necessarily enhance the game as a spectacle.

If the GAA fails to catch up with the managers we can all look forward to watching more majestic scenes like the one pictured above.

[never kickt a ball]

Brian McGuigan's interview after the Laois match

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/sol/newsid_7300000/newsid_7300200/7300209.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&news=1&bbcws=1

[never kickt a ball]

Next up for the All Ireland Champions is the McKenna Cup. Roll on January 2009! Wonder will Mickey pick any students this year?

[orangeman]

Next up for the All Ireland Champions is the McKenna Cup. Roll on January 2009! Wonder will Mickey pick any students this year?

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Wonder will the beards still be there ?