All Ireland Hurling Championship 2013

[Asal Mor]

Yeah and O Donoghue has been outstanding at full-back this year for his club, Kilbeacanty, by all accounts. Very strange one. And to be fair to Kevin Hynes he's a very good midfielder.

[Onion Bag]

Well lads and lasses, was wondering is there anyone her that can help, was looking to see if i could get my hands on a couple of Hurling final tickets, was going to take the aul fella who, all the GAA he has seen in 65-66 years has never been to a big hurling match. would really appreciate some help with this, PM me

thanks

A football fan from Armagh

[mouview]

I'd agree with a lot of that . At underage it's all about the outstanding individuals who come through and we haven't really produced any since JC imo. Mind you, we've had lads who have looked exceptionalat minor and haven't progressed. When we beat Clare at minor in 2011 they had a few of their current seniors but Shane Maloney and Padraig Brehony were the outstanding players. They are only subs on the Galway team.

I also agree that we lacked pace all over the field on Sunday, especially up front. Too many big lumbering players.

Compare the major deficit in pace this year to the pace shown in last year's LF. Has t ocome down to the wrong training IMO.

All very well saying that it's wrong to change the management too often, but when they're inept then you have no choice.

[Asal Mor]

I'd agree with a lot of that . At underage it's all about the outstanding individuals who come through and we haven't really produced any since JC imo. Mind you, we've had lads who have looked exceptionalat minor and haven't progressed. When we beat Clare at minor in 2011 they had a few of their current seniors but Shane Maloney and Padraig Brehony were the outstanding players. They are only subs on the Galway team.

I also agree that we lacked pace all over the field on Sunday, especially up front. Too many big lumbering players.

Compare the major deficit in pace this year to the pace shown in last year's LF. Has t ocome down to the wrong training IMO.

All very well saying that it's wrong to change the management too often, but when they're inept then you have no choice.

Yeah, I think it's a bit of a myth that Galway are always chopping and changing the manager anyway. I think, of the last 3 managers, that Hayes got 3 years, Loughnane 2, McIntyre 3 and they all left after a very poor final year, mostly by consensus I'd say. McIntyre in particular was probably given too long.

I'd prefer to see a change. This year was a clusterfcuk from start to finish and  Cunningham's position is probably now untenable. I just can't see how the players could believe in him next year. I'm not sure the players are good enough to go all the way anyway, but if Donal O' Grady or Liam Sheedy could be brought in we'll find out and at least maximise our potential. A strong outside manager would be better able to stamp out the club rivalry pettiness that's going on. The hurling board is in heavy debt though, so might not have the resources that Sheedy or O' Grady would require for preparing a team.

[johnneycool]

I'd agree with a lot of that . At underage it's all about the outstanding individuals who come through and we haven't really produced any since JC imo. Mind you, we've had lads who have looked exceptionalat minor and haven't progressed. When we beat Clare at minor in 2011 they had a few of their current seniors but Shane Maloney and Padraig Brehony were the outstanding players. They are only subs on the Galway team.

I also agree that we lacked pace all over the field on Sunday, especially up front. Too many big lumbering players.

Compare the major deficit in pace this year to the pace shown in last year's LF. Has t ocome down to the wrong training IMO.

All very well saying that it's wrong to change the management too often, but when they're inept then you have no choice.

Yeah, I think it's a bit of a myth that Galway are always chopping and changing the manager anyway. I think, of the last 3 managers, that Hayes got 3 years, Loughnane 2, McIntyre 3 and they all left after a very poor final year, mostly by consensus I'd say. McIntyre in particular was probably given too long.

I'd prefer to see a change. This year was a clusterfcuk from start to finish and  Cunningham's position is probably now untenable. I just can't see how the players could believe in him next year. I'm not sure the players are good enough to go all the way anyway, but if Donal O' Grady or Liam Sheedy could be brought in we'll find out and at least maximise our potential. A strong outside manager would be better able to stamp out the club rivalry pettiness that's going on. The hurling board is in heavy debt though, so might not have the resources that Sheedy or O' Grady would require for preparing a team.

How does it come (in all counties I might add) that an outside manager seems to be given or require more resources than a manager appointed from within the county?
If you say that with the debt Galway hurling board have maybe Cunningham couldn't prepare as well as he'd have liked to and was hamstrung from the word go?

As the post from the Galway hurling forum would suggest (and its something hamstringing Antrim county team as well IMO) a hurler in Galway would have more chance of senior all-Ireland glory with their clubs rather than with their county. I think that's glaringly obvious.
That's bound to feed into the mental attitude of the players and hence gear themselves up for the club championship where if they win the county title are two games away from their all-Ireland medal.

How many clubs in Galway have a realistic chance of winning the Galway club championship and how may players on the county panel are from those clubs?

[johnneycool]

I'd agree with a lot of that . At underage it's all about the outstanding individuals who come through and we haven't really produced any since JC imo. Mind you, we've had lads who have looked exceptionalat minor and haven't progressed. When we beat Clare at minor in 2011 they had a few of their current seniors but Shane Maloney and Padraig Brehony were the outstanding players. They are only subs on the Galway team.

I also agree that we lacked pace all over the field on Sunday, especially up front. Too many big lumbering players.

Compare the major deficit in pace this year to the pace shown in last year's LF. Has t ocome down to the wrong training IMO.

All very well saying that it's wrong to change the management too often, but when they're inept then you have no choice.

Yeah, I think it's a bit of a myth that Galway are always chopping and changing the manager anyway. I think, of the last 3 managers, that Hayes got 3 years, Loughnane 2, McIntyre 3 and they all left after a very poor final year, mostly by consensus I'd say. McIntyre in particular was probably given too long.

I'd prefer to see a change. This year was a clusterfcuk from start to finish and  Cunningham's position is probably now untenable. I just can't see how the players could believe in him next year. I'm not sure the players are good enough to go all the way anyway, but if Donal O' Grady or Liam Sheedy could be brought in we'll find out and at least maximise our potential. A strong outside manager would be better able to stamp out the club rivalry pettiness that's going on. The hurling board is in heavy debt though, so might not have the resources that Sheedy or O' Grady would require for preparing a team.

Oh, its not so much the manager merry go round, it'd be the lack of a settled team even under the reign of the same manager in some instances, how many lads have played centre back for Galway in the last few championships? three, maybe four that I can think off, Shane Kavanagh, David Collins, Tony O'Regan, John Lee, not to mention a few other tried there during the league this year alone, Hynes made way for Moore at fullback and its not that long ago Kavanagh was also playing there. There's the centre of your defence not stabilised for any great length of time.
Any manager needs to sort those types of positions out first and work with them if they've got a weakness of one sort or the other.

[Asal Mor]

I'd agree with a lot of that . At underage it's all about the outstanding individuals who come through and we haven't really produced any since JC imo. Mind you, we've had lads who have looked exceptionalat minor and haven't progressed. When we beat Clare at minor in 2011 they had a few of their current seniors but Shane Maloney and Padraig Brehony were the outstanding players. They are only subs on the Galway team.

I also agree that we lacked pace all over the field on Sunday, especially up front. Too many big lumbering players.

Compare the major deficit in pace this year to the pace shown in last year's LF. Has t ocome down to the wrong training IMO.

All very well saying that it's wrong to change the management too often, but when they're inept then you have no choice.

Yeah, I think it's a bit of a myth that Galway are always chopping and changing the manager anyway. I think, of the last 3 managers, that Hayes got 3 years, Loughnane 2, McIntyre 3 and they all left after a very poor final year, mostly by consensus I'd say. McIntyre in particular was probably given too long.

I'd prefer to see a change. This year was a clusterfcuk from start to finish and  Cunningham's position is probably now untenable. I just can't see how the players could believe in him next year. I'm not sure the players are good enough to go all the way anyway, but if Donal O' Grady or Liam Sheedy could be brought in we'll find out and at least maximise our potential. A strong outside manager would be better able to stamp out the club rivalry pettiness that's going on. The hurling board is in heavy debt though, so might not have the resources that Sheedy or O' Grady would require for preparing a team.

How does it come (in all counties I might add) that an outside manager seems to be given or require more resources than a manager appointed from within the county?
If you say that with the debt Galway hurling board have maybe Cunningham couldn't prepare as well as he'd have liked to and was hamstrung from the word go?

As the post from the Galway hurling forum would suggest (and its something hamstringing Antrim county team as well IMO) a hurler in Galway would have more chance of senior all-Ireland glory with their clubs rather than with their county. I think that's glaringly obvious.
That's bound to feed into the mental attitude of the players and hence gear themselves up for the club championship where if they win the county title are two games away from their all-Ireland medal.

How many clubs in Galway have a realistic chance of winning the Galway club championship and how may players on the county panel are from those clubs?

No, I think Cunningham got everything he wanted and a lot of money was spent on the hurlers this year. I'm just speculating that money might be an obstacle to bringing in a big name because the hurling board has huge debts from borrowing money to purchase land before the prroperty crash. But I'm just guessing and it's still quite likely that Cunningham will be given another year in any case.

I'm a long way from home these days so I'm not an expert on the club scene johnney but it seems to be very spiteful and is carrying over into the Galway dressing room. I agree re the chopping and changing. AC used the league very badly. He simultaneously failed to try enough new players and find a settled team. I suppose you'd have to say in his defence that the players completely failed to perform and he's just another in a long line of managers to experience a total breakdown of the team - Hayes '06, Loughnane ' 08 and McIntyre '11 were all equally bad years and each manager seemed genuinely puzzled about why the team performed so badly.

None of those managers are in the class of a Sheedy or an O' Grady so maybe one of those boys could find the answer to the riddle. It's also possible that we are just not good enough. Only Joe and Damien Hayes perform consistently in big championship games and most of our lads have had way more bad games at this level than good. Galway people never seem to draw the conclusion that we're not good enough but that might be the simple answer to why we keep flopping.

[mouview]

A major fault this year I thought was that management didn't recognise and address the glaring weaknesses shown in the last year's replay in particular. The uncertainty in central positions allied to a loss of form of a number of players was very evident in that match and nothing has been done this year to improve that. This year's poor performance was no surprise, I'm only surprised that some think that it is.

[johnneycool]

Interesting article on DJ Carey in the independent..

http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/whatever-happens-in-my-private-life-stays-there-because-i-keep-it-that-way-29471043.html

I never knew he'd a few clots in the head and whilst there's no proof it came from belts to the head whilst hurling its something that would need watched as just because everyone now wears helmets getting a thump on the head can cause issues later on..

[Asal Mor]

Interesting article on DJ Carey in the independent..

http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/whatever-happens-in-my-private-life-stays-there-because-i-keep-it-that-way-29471043.html

I never knew he'd a few clots in the head and whilst there's no proof it came from belts to the head whilst hurling its something that would need watched as just because everyone now wears helmets getting a thump on the head can cause issues later on..

Interesting article. In spite of all the head injuries he sustained he still seems to think the Horgan sending-off was too harsh. I didn't realise the head was still so vulnerable when you wear a helmet.

He's right too, that it's a game for athletes now. I don't think that's such a great thing. Skill is secondary to speed, strength and fitness now. That's what I liked about the shinty games against Scotland. When you can't handle the ball, skill is more important than speed. Hurling is more exciting than ever to watch, but if you're not blessed with pace, you probably won't make it at inter-county level, no matter how much you work on your skills. I think that's a pity.

[Ash Smoker]

Interesting article on DJ Carey in the independent..

http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/whatever-happens-in-my-private-life-stays-there-because-i-keep-it-that-way-29471043.html

I never knew he'd a few clots in the head and whilst there's no proof it came from belts to the head whilst hurling its something that would need watched as just because everyone now wears helmets getting a thump on the head can cause issues later on..

A few times I've had less than mature team mates think it was grand to hit me a playful smack on the head when I put on the helmet.
You definitely feel it for a while afterwards.

[johnneycool]

Interesting article on DJ Carey in the independent..

http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/whatever-happens-in-my-private-life-stays-there-because-i-keep-it-that-way-29471043.html

I never knew he'd a few clots in the head and whilst there's no proof it came from belts to the head whilst hurling its something that would need watched as just because everyone now wears helmets getting a thump on the head can cause issues later on..

Interesting article. In spite of all the head injuries he sustained he still seems to think the Horgan sending-off was too harsh. I didn't realise the head was still so vulnerable when you wear a helmet.

He's right too, that it's a game for athletes now. I don't think that's such a great thing. Skill is secondary to speed, strength and fitness now. That's what I liked about the shinty games against Scotland. When you can't handle the ball, skill is more important than speed. Hurling is more exciting than ever to watch, but if you're not blessed with pace, you probably won't make it at inter-county level, no matter how much you work on your skills. I think that's a pity.

Whilst athletes will dominate the middle third of a team I still think there's a need for skill based hurlers in the forwards even if they have the quick burst. Shefflin nor Joe Canning are blessed with speed.

[Asal Mor]

Yeah, they're no slouches though. Look at Eoin Kelly of Tipp as an example. A genius who dominated most games he played in his prime, but he's lost his pace now and can't make an impact on games. Or in Galway, where Andy Smyth is, probably rightly,  deemed a more effective midfielder than Ger Farragher. Smyth is a good hurler with lots of pace and aggression but Farragher is in a different class skillwise. That's just sport I suppose.  Le Tissier never made it at international level and the Gooch sometimes gets swamped by blanket defences.  Skill can't always overcome brute force but it's a beautiful thing when it does.

My favorite hurler before JC was John Troy. He used to give those amazing flick passes to set up his team mates for scores and  I don't have the writing skills to describe how classy he was. I just feel, in both hurling and football, that the artists are getting less and less space to do their thing. It's all pace, pace, pace now. But hey, it's still brilliant to watch.

[johnneycool]

Yeah, they're no slouches though. Look at Eoin Kelly of Tipp as an example. A genius who dominated most games he played in his prime, but he's lost his pace now and can't make an impact on games. Or in Galway, where Andy Smyth is, probably rightly,  deemed a more effective midfielder than Ger Farragher. Smyth is a good hurler with lots of pace and aggression but Farragher is in a different class skillwise. That's just sport I suppose.  Le Tissier never made it at international level and the Gooch sometimes gets swamped by blanket defences.  Skill can't always overcome brute force but it's a beautiful thing when it does.

My favorite hurler before JC was John Troy. He used to give those amazing flick passes to set up his team mates for scores and  I don't have the writing skills to describe how classy he was. I just feel, in both hurling and football, that the artists are getting less and less space to do their thing. It's all pace, pace, pace now. But hey, it's still brilliant to watch.

certainly John Troy wouldn't get a look in in the modern game, he'd be given a fitness regime of some sorts or other, be weighted, measured, timed, poked and prodded, then discarded.

His hurling was sublime and quick as lightning even if his feet weren't, he'd do things others just wouldn't see or attempt, those things can't be coached and to an extent decision making is now coached out of teams as Tony McEntee's article in the examiner alludes to even if he's talking about football.
A lot of that holds true in hurling as well, if it can't be measured then its not worth doing and that's sad. Some of the greatest hurling games were off the cuff stuff where teams went at it hammer and tongs, toe to toe, best team wins stuff, not who played who as a sweeper, two man full forward lines, loss of possessions etc, etc. I still find the modern  stuff exciting and interesting as there are some very talented hurlers out there, but it seems more is made of the coach, his sports psychologist, the fitness guru, the backroom team and all that. If John Allen and the Limerick set up were to up sticks and move to Down to a man/woman, we'd be a bit better, but we'd still be shíte.

[fearglasmor]

From Joe Dooley on the RTE website.

In my time as Offaly Manager, our mantra always was that we would be as well prepared as we could be to take advantage of any dip in form by Kilkenny who were playing at a different level.

Am I being naive or is this attitude a recipe for perennial failure. At any level the first thing you need is self belief but if you start off by believing the oppostition play at a different level then you are at nothing.

I would have thought the mantra should always be "we are every bit as good as those fuggers". Even if its not true, believing it will generate an extra  ?% of performance.