Dubs v Westmeath 25 June

[AZOffaly]

This is promotion of the Dublin brand, not the GAA. Send us down a couple of quid

[Hound]

Mayo, Kerry and Tyrone have a long list of sponsors/partners too. And many of their players also get the use of sponsored cars.  And they take the odd day off before matches too!
Do Dublin have the most sponsors? Yes. Because we have the best supporters I'd say, who lump money into all those brands who support our beloved Boys in Blue

[Syferus]

Mayo, Kerry and Tyrone have a long list of sponsors/partners too. And many of their players also get the use of sponsored cars.  And they take the odd day off before matches too!
Do Dublin have the most sponsors? Yes. Because we have the best supporters I'd say, who lump money into all those brands who support our beloved Boys in Blue

What? You think counties like Tyrone or Mayo have anything like the cash of Dublin? Mayo has been swimming in debt trying to keep up lately.

This genuinely feels like talking to cult members. There's a red line no Dublin supporter seems willing to cross because they think this lopsided system is of benefit to them.

[Buttofthehill]

Speaking of red lines...

No one from outside  seems able to accept that at the moment Dublin have a batch of players that are once in a lifetime talented.

The fact that Aer Lingus sponsors them doesnt make Cluxton the player he is.

The likes of him and a few others will never come around again.

They will (started already) fade and whats coming down the line is no where near as special - Kildare are already beating Dublin at underage.

[Hound]

Mayo, Kerry and Tyrone have a long list of sponsors/partners too. And many of their players also get the use of sponsored cars.  And they take the odd day off before matches too!
Do Dublin have the most sponsors? Yes. Because we have the best supporters I'd say, who lump money into all those brands who support our beloved Boys in Blue

What? You think counties like Tyrone or Mayo have anything like the cash of Dublin? Mayo has been swimming in debt trying to keep up lately.

This genuinely feels like talking to cult members. There's a red line no Dublin supporter seems willing to cross because they think this lopsided system is of benefit to them.

What I'm saying is Kerry, Mayo and Tyrone prepare their senior intercounty football team really well and it would be very rare they want for anything. They get all the gear they need, all the meals they need, all the necessary physio etc and trips overseas.
Appreciate they may have harder commutes to training, but its hardly Dublin's fault that some lads find they have to move county to find suitable work.

[Syferus]

Speaking of red lines...

No one from outside  seems able to accept that at the moment Dublin have a batch of players that are once in a lifetime talented.

The fact that Aer Lingus sponsors them doesnt make Cluxton the player he is.

The likes of him and a few others will never come around again.

They will (started already) fade and whats coming down the line is no where near as special - Kildare are already beating Dublin at underage.

This Dublin team are products of excellent coaching and all the benefits having every resource on your doorstep brings. There is no once in a lifetime bullshit involved. You have a population of 1.3 million to draw from - there's always going to be exceptional talents every single year and when the CB is being granted cash up their holes from the GAA and thirsty sponsors for coaching so few ever fall through the cracks. It doesn't hurt that the dedication to be an elite footballer in Dublin requires far less travelling either.

Our lads have to make four hour round trips to training twice or three times a week after work - are you seriously telling me Dublin's advantages aren't what has wrapped the system completely?

Cluxton isn't even that special a goalkeeper or shot stopper btw, he's just good at those things. His 'gift' is the most teachable skill a goalkeeper has - seeing the field well and kicking accurately. The next man up will be coached obsessively by the most expensive coaches and psychologists in the country to do the exact same when the time comes and no one in their right minds should expect much of a drop off when he retires.

[Taylor]

Mayo, Kerry and Tyrone have a long list of sponsors/partners too. And many of their players also get the use of sponsored cars.  And they take the odd day off before matches too!
Do Dublin have the most sponsors? Yes. Because we have the best supporters I'd say, who lump money into all those brands who support our beloved Boys in Blue

What? You think counties like Tyrone or Mayo have anything like the cash of Dublin? Mayo has been swimming in debt trying to keep up lately.

This genuinely feels like talking to cult members. There's a red line no Dublin supporter seems willing to cross because they think this lopsided system is of benefit to them.

What I'm saying is Kerry, Mayo and Tyrone prepare their senior intercounty football team really well and it would be very rare they want for anything. They get all the gear they need, all the meals they need, all the necessary physio etc and trips overseas.
Appreciate they may have harder commutes to training, but its hardly Dublin's fault that some lads find they have to move county to find suitable work.

Some of the jobs your boys have can hardly be classified as jobs.

No rush to training, resting before training, short commute because they have access to world class facilities - all these things mean they have a huge advantage.

Add to this being able to have the week off work in the lead up to big games.

It is almost embarrassing some Dubs are afraid to say it like it is. Its all 'whatabouttery'. The facts dont lie

[Hound]

I'd love to know, for example, what proportion of coaching Con O'Callaghan received from paid coaches versus volunteer coaches in his GAA life to date. I'd say it's less than 5%.

In my club, while its been up for discussion, we've always decided to fork out the 50% required to pay to get the paid coach in. In our club, he looks after the academy and goes round all the primary schools in the area to help out with PE and to encourage lads/lassies to join the GAA club. He'll look after a team now and again when they are struggling to find a parent to mentor - these tend to be weaker teams in the club. (We've had 3 in my time, one absolutely useless who only wanted to be involved with U16/U18 and no interest in youngers kids, one "hardcase" who could only talk in expletives when he got excited and the current one seems decent. None of them Dubs incidentally).

For the elite players who join Dublin development panels, it's all volunteer coaches, mostly ex-inter county players as far as I know. When my lad was with them (for a very short time a few years ago!) it was Declan Lally and David Henry.

So my guess would be if you add up all the coaching hours Con has received it'd be something like 5%/95% between paid/unpaid, and perhaps closer to 1%/99%. A signficant portion of volunteer coaches in most clubs would be non-Dubs too, especially on the hurling side.

[Fuzzman]

Don't forget the AFL scouts and how lots of counties lose their best young players to Tadg Kennelly and Co.
Tyrone have young Conor McKenna out playing for the Essendon first team now and seems to be really stepping up to the 'mark'. He would be a huge addition to the Tyrone team at the moment but of course there wasn't much benefits for him to decide to stay. Whereas Dublin had both McCaffrey and Kilkenny go over for a trial but they decided not to stay. Is it any coincidence that non of the Dublin squad have chosen to go play AFL?

Does anyone on here know exactly what benefits the Dublin players are currently receiving.
Yes we know about the free car but does that include petrol?
We heard they get food but to what extent? Do they actually get food delivered to them each week or from Linwoods their food sponsor? Do they not have to buy any of their own food?
Do they get free clothes from their clothing partners? Sportswear from Lifestyle sports and smart casual from Benetti?
Do they all have a constant supply of Ballygowan water to their homes as athletes drink more water than the rest of us.

I'm genuinely asking these questions as in what are the day to day benefits from having all these sponsors.

If they do get a lot of these things, then you can see why some argue they really are professional sports people as they may not receive an income from Dublin GAA but if most of their day to day expenses are being covered then they are going to have a lot more disposable income.

Does anyone know do Tyrone, Mayo, Kerry or Donegal get food and drinks provided to them from week to week?

How many Mayo, Kerry, Donegal & Galway lads travel from Dublin back home for training each week?
I think Tyrone have McCarron(maybe Kildare now) and Tiernan McCann.

[AZOffaly]

Sure Hound, if all the coaching money makes no difference, give it back so others can use it. I know for a fact it would make a difference to us.

[Hound]

Some of the jobs your boys have can hardly be classified as jobs.

No rush to training, resting before training, short commute because they have access to world class facilities - all these things mean they have a huge advantage.

Add to this being able to have the week off work in the lead up to big games.

It is almost embarrassing some Dubs are afraid to say it like it is. Its all 'whatabouttery'. The facts dont lie

I thought you'd back-tracked from your silly claim that all the players get a week off work before a game? What is your issue re Dubs and jobs??!!

Apart from generally not wanting to work outside the county we were born, I guarantee you that we are no different from any intercounty team, that there's a high proportion of students and teachers. And like in every single county, there'll be lads who get jobs as sales reps, because someone in charge is a fan or thinks that this "name" will sell their product.

But Paddy Andews is a share dealer/stock broker. Cian O'Sullivan a qualified chartered accountant with a big firm in the city. Denis Bastick is Head of Business Development at EBS. You think they're all paid their big bucks because they wear a blue jersey and they can just turn up whenever the feel like it? And take a week off before every game!!

Jack McCaffrey is a doctor or on his way to being one. Bernard Brogan, Philly Mac and Kev Mac are running their own businesses.  All the jobs are up on the dublin gaa website. As I said, it would probably be very similar to other county teams.

[Syferus]

Some of the jobs your boys have can hardly be classified as jobs.

No rush to training, resting before training, short commute because they have access to world class facilities - all these things mean they have a huge advantage.

Add to this being able to have the week off work in the lead up to big games.

It is almost embarrassing some Dubs are afraid to say it like it is. Its all 'whatabouttery'. The facts dont lie

I thought you'd back-tracked from your silly claim that all the players get a week off work before a game? What is your issue re Dubs and jobs??!!

Apart from generally not wanting to work outside the county we were born, I guarantee you that we are no different from any intercounty team, that there's a high proportion of students and teachers. And like in every single county, there'll be lads who get jobs as sales reps, because someone in charge is a fan or thinks that this "name" will sell their product.

But Paddy Andews is a share dealer/stock broker. Cian O'Sullivan a qualified chartered accountant with a big firm in the city. Denis Bastick is Head of Business Development at EBS. You think they're all paid their big bucks because they wear a blue jersey and they can just turn up whenever the feel like it? And take a week off before every game!!

Jack McCaffrey is a doctor or on his way to being one. Bernard Brogan, Philly Mac and Kev Mac are running their own businesses.  All the jobs are up on the dublin gaa website. As I said, it would probably be very similar to other county teams.

Do all the other teams get to work in the same town their team trains in?

[Taylor]

Some of the jobs your boys have can hardly be classified as jobs.

No rush to training, resting before training, short commute because they have access to world class facilities - all these things mean they have a huge advantage.

Add to this being able to have the week off work in the lead up to big games.

It is almost embarrassing some Dubs are afraid to say it like it is. Its all 'whatabouttery'. The facts dont lie

I thought you'd back-tracked from your silly claim that all the players get a week off work before a game? What is your issue re Dubs and jobs??!!

Apart from generally not wanting to work outside the county we were born, I guarantee you that we are no different from any intercounty team, that there's a high proportion of students and teachers. And like in every single county, there'll be lads who get jobs as sales reps, because someone in charge is a fan or thinks that this "name" will sell their product.

But Paddy Andews is a share dealer/stock broker. Cian O'Sullivan a qualified chartered accountant with a big firm in the city. Denis Bastick is Head of Business Development at EBS. You think they're all paid their big bucks because they wear a blue jersey and they can just turn up whenever the feel like it? And take a week off before every game!!

Jack McCaffrey is a doctor or on his way to being one. Bernard Brogan, Philly Mac and Kev Mac are running their own businesses.  All the jobs are up on the dublin gaa website. As I said, it would probably be very similar to other county teams.

Big games - hound - big games.
Westmeath would hardly qualify as a big game now. (no dis-respect intended)

Did many of the Dublin squad workthe week  before the AIF or the replay? Nope. Because they were all paid to take time off.

Are you saying this is not an advantage?

[AZOffaly]

Why are we having a go at the Dubs working in Dublin? That's one of the perks about being the capital city. I'd say most of the Cork lads work in Cork, and a fair few of the Limerick lads work in Limerick.

There are always going to be advantages associated with Dublin. Population, facilities, jobs. That's just a fact of life and it's part of the spice of culchies taking on the Dubs. It's the additional advantages the GAA have conferred that I don't like. No need for them.

[Hound]

Sure Hound, if all the coaching money makes no difference, give it back so others can use it. I know for a fact it would make a difference to us.

My experience is the coaching money goes on the opposite to the elite end. Maybe its not the same in most clubs, but I doubt it. It goes to increasing participation. In my club it's mainly focused on hurling and girls, because our participation at the football is good already.

I 100% agree that such coaches should be available across the country. But I would also say it would cause a lot of rows in clubs as to whether it's worth it even at 50%! You are not guaranteed to get a good coach.

I presume every county has the coaching courses? Where Dads and Moms are encouraged to sign up for coaching courses to improve their skills as coaches and that these are free or nominal fees? They are much better. Train the trainers.