Messages

[Sligo believed per the fixture plan that if they lost v Roscommon they were away to Galway in the semi final]

The venue decision only serves to confirm again all our suspicions about the provincial body and how it is run, and for whom. A bit unfair too that this game wasn't played this evening or tomorrow evening, giving teams who played last Friday and extra day or two to recover. Could have been the same for both teams of course had the pairing worked out differently, but it did seem to tell at times last night. Of course neither of these things would excuse the defending for the Mayo goals, but that's where the self-inflicted part comes in again.

I agree that Sligo should have had home advantage for finishing 2nd but surely this is something that should have been agreed up front. I'm not sure about the conspiracy theories though, isn't it the case that if Sligo won, ye would have had home advantage against Galway despite them finishing top?

http://connachtgaa.ie/news/connacht-minor-championship/

Note the home team in the semi-final pairing.

I've no axe to grind with either county as I'm not even from Connaught but this is the scéal I've heard. The fixtures for all Connaught Championships went out last December and stated, as per the link above, that 2nd had home advantage in the u17 semi final. These fixtures were circulated on a couple of more occasions with exact same format. Sligo believed per the fixture plan that if they lost v Roscommon they were away to Galway in the semi final. It seems that this fixtures plan, which was circulated by Connaught council several times, had in fact not been ratified and this came to light at the fixtures meeting last Saturday. Sounds like someone was keeping that information up their sleeve in case it was needed.....

believed wrong so as would have been at home to Galway and as said already more of a incentive to beat Galway at second time of asking.

Last year had no semi final just the top two in the group reached the final. If that format wasn't changed it would be a Sligo v Galway final and played in Markievicz Park  now as last year Roscommon who finished 2nd in table had home advantage for the final as they played Galway in Tuam in the group game.

You seem to have misunderstood what I posted. If Sligo had lost they'd have finished 3rd in the group. Galway would have been 2nd. Per the fixtures plan, this would have meant Sligo v Galway in Tuam as the 2nd place team is clearly denoted to have home advantage. That's what I've been told and it stacks up.

If what you're saying about there not being a semi final last year is true, and the new fixtures plan wasn't ratified, then it should have been straight through to a Sligo v Galway final in Markievicz Park with no semi final.

By right the team that finished 2nd in the group should be getting home advantage for a semi final/play off but that wasn't case in this years format. (2nd place Galway v 3rd place Sligo would be played in Markievicz Park)

It seems Sligo management misunderstood the situation when in hindsight they should have rested players for their final group game.

Can I ask you - did you click on the link posted by someone above? I must not be communicating this very well or you're simply ingonring the facts.

[Sligo believed per the fixture plan that if they lost v Roscommon they were away to Galway in the semi final]

The venue decision only serves to confirm again all our suspicions about the provincial body and how it is run, and for whom. A bit unfair too that this game wasn't played this evening or tomorrow evening, giving teams who played last Friday and extra day or two to recover. Could have been the same for both teams of course had the pairing worked out differently, but it did seem to tell at times last night. Of course neither of these things would excuse the defending for the Mayo goals, but that's where the self-inflicted part comes in again.

I agree that Sligo should have had home advantage for finishing 2nd but surely this is something that should have been agreed up front. I'm not sure about the conspiracy theories though, isn't it the case that if Sligo won, ye would have had home advantage against Galway despite them finishing top?

http://connachtgaa.ie/news/connacht-minor-championship/

Note the home team in the semi-final pairing.

I've no axe to grind with either county as I'm not even from Connaught but this is the scéal I've heard. The fixtures for all Connaught Championships went out last December and stated, as per the link above, that 2nd had home advantage in the u17 semi final. These fixtures were circulated on a couple of more occasions with exact same format. Sligo believed per the fixture plan that if they lost v Roscommon they were away to Galway in the semi final. It seems that this fixtures plan, which was circulated by Connaught council several times, had in fact not been ratified and this came to light at the fixtures meeting last Saturday. Sounds like someone was keeping that information up their sleeve in case it was needed.....

believed wrong so as would have been at home to Galway and as said already more of a incentive to beat Galway at second time of asking.

Last year had no semi final just the top two in the group reached the final. If that format wasn't changed it would be a Sligo v Galway final and played in Markievicz Park  now as last year Roscommon who finished 2nd in table had home advantage for the final as they played Galway in Tuam in the group game.

You seem to have misunderstood what I posted. If Sligo had lost they'd have finished 3rd in the group. Galway would have been 2nd. Per the fixtures plan, this would have meant Sligo v Galway in Tuam as the 2nd place team is clearly denoted to have home advantage. That's what I've been told and it stacks up.

If what you're saying about there not being a semi final last year is true, and the new fixtures plan wasn't ratified, then it should have been straight through to a Sligo v Galway final in Markievicz Park with no semi final.

The venue decision only serves to confirm again all our suspicions about the provincial body and how it is run, and for whom. A bit unfair too that this game wasn't played this evening or tomorrow evening, giving teams who played last Friday and extra day or two to recover. Could have been the same for both teams of course had the pairing worked out differently, but it did seem to tell at times last night. Of course neither of these things would excuse the defending for the Mayo goals, but that's where the self-inflicted part comes in again.

I agree that Sligo should have had home advantage for finishing 2nd but surely this is something that should have been agreed up front. I'm not sure about the conspiracy theories though, isn't it the case that if Sligo won, ye would have had home advantage against Galway despite them finishing top?

http://connachtgaa.ie/news/connacht-minor-championship/

Note the home team in the semi-final pairing.

I've no axe to grind with either county as I'm not even from Connaught but this is the scéal I've heard. The fixtures for all Connaught Championships went out last December and stated, as per the link above, that 2nd had home advantage in the u17 semi final. These fixtures were circulated on a couple of more occasions with exact same format. Sligo believed per the fixture plan that if they lost v Roscommon they were away to Galway in the semi final. It seems that this fixtures plan, which was circulated by Connaught council several times, had in fact not been ratified and this came to light at the fixtures meeting last Saturday. Sounds like someone was keeping that information up their sleeve in case it was needed.....

As always when discussions turn to rules I'm very much in the camp of implementing the current rules properly before we go for more radical ideas. The steps rule and handpass rule are abused 100's of times in every game giving a massive advantage to the player in possession. Enforcing these two rules alone would make it much more difficult to retain possession which I think most would agree is the root of the problems with gaelic football.

On the other ideas:

Shot clock - I wouldn't be in favour of this....Brokencrossbar outlined the negatives earlier and I'd concur with most of that.

Restriction of players within the 45 - this could be a good idea. Lineman's main objective should be policing this (one linesman to be on each 45)....not worrying about who the ball hit last on the way out. 95% of line balls are obvious anyway. Breach of this - free from the top of the D AND possibly retain possession after the shot is taken.

13 a side - I think this is a case of a sledgehammer when a scalpel is needed. I'd only entertain it as a last resort.

Restriction of consecutive handpasses - handpassing isn't always a bad thing....many examples of fantastic goals scored after moves involving multiple handpasses. Again a blunt instrument to fix a nuanced problem so I'd be against unless all else fails.

Dublin - it's unfortunate that everyone is obsessed by Dublin and whether rule chages will suit them or curb them and using that as reason to support or not. My feeling is no matter what rule changes you make, Dublin will probably adapt quicker than the rest. I also think some posts that criticised Dublin's style of play are way off the mark. Dublin adjust to who they are playing and are brilliant at it. If you play a blanket defence....they'll pick it apart and then keep possession (some of what Sherlock has brought to their forward play from basketball is really interesting....McManamon along the end line springs to mind). If you go toe to toe with you they'll relish that challenge also. They're not a great team because of their tactics - they're a great team because they can adapt to any tactics. Obviously laden down with talent and a huge support structure but seriously well coached.

[On Galway's style i think a few people forget where Galway was before Walsh arrived, He has won a few Connacht titles for them after a barren spell, led them to All Ireland semi final and NFL final. The jury is out if they will succeed much more with a offensive minded manager.]

It's just selective nonsense really , all three teams a million miles from Dublin and Kerry I suspect starting to widen the gap of the chasing pack also as number two. Galway possibly have potential but under Walsh they will not succeed . His style is ridiculous with such an abundance of skillful attacking footballers.

How are Galway "million miles" from Kerry? they beat them twice last year and only lost by one point at the weekend in a game that could have went either way and Mayo are well capable of beating Kerry in a few weeks.

On Galway's style i think a few people forget where Galway was before Walsh arrived, He has won a few Connacht titles for them after a barren spell, led them to All Ireland semi final and NFL final. The jury is out if they will succeed much more with a offensive minded manager.

List me all the teams that have won All Ireland's playing this style? I'll save you the bother - it's one. Also the number of times a team playing this style have beaten Dublin. And the likelyhood of this happening again is very remote. Its a scandal with the attacking players Galway have a more balanced approach can't be taken but that's what you get with poor coaches - the easy way out.

[The age-grade change is an absolute disaster.]

I would guess most college exams are over so you must mean leaving certs, I suppose? I think for the overall greater good of the association as a whole a few 18 year olds missing some U20 intercounty league games isn't the end of the world. There's no perfect world but this is a positive step towards freeing up more time for clubs. Sad to hear of teams training already but not surprising. I just hope the association is vigilant in tackling breaches of rules and sticks to their guns. No challenge games must be stuck to ridigly as well.

With the minor championship changed to U17 the U20 competition was meant to be the age group for 18 year olds to play in. Missing out because those at the top schedule the U20 competitions during exams is wrong and a number missed out on the championship last year because of exams.

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From helping out with the club, I'm reliably informed that it would be better if the grades remained the same, in terms of lads doing exams. Most people who sit exams are u19, while junior certs would be u16, whereas previously u19 would be the first year of u21, and u16 generally didn't come into the reckoning with minor, now nearly half a minor team would be u16, and a good few u20s would be u19. The age-grade change is an absolute disaster.

I couldn't agree more. It's a nonsense in my eyes. They were all set to bring in is as mandatory at club level at congress but must have got negative feedback because it was withdrawn. They'll have everything lined up to ram it through at a special congress later on this year no doubt.

I would guess most college exams are over so you must mean leaving certs, I suppose? I think for the overall greater good of the association as a whole a few 18 year olds missing some U20 intercounty league games isn't the end of the world. There's no perfect world but this is a positive step towards freeing up more time for clubs. Sad to hear of teams training already but not surprising. I just hope the association is vigilant in tackling breaches of rules and sticks to their guns. No challenge games must be stuck to ridigly as well.

It's just so duplicitous that the US et al are talking shit about how they are worried for democracy in Venezuela, there are hundreds of countries out there in much worse shape, with much worse regimes they don't give a f**k about, plenty of them are considered allies.

Well said.

Yes and no. The socialists have fcuked it up. I think Chavez was well intentioned and initially did a lot of good for those whpo needed it thre most. However corruption seeped in and things have just got worse under Maduro. Don't think the change will improve things but it will give the US back control of Venezuela's oil....which is the answer to your main question.

You know with all the talk of rules the highlights and games I saw over the weekend confirmend what I've always thought. If we can't enforce the rules about the basics of the game then we've no business tinkering with other rules. Reape's goal for Mayo - took at least a dozen steps before playing the ball, turning and shooting. None of the commentators on Eir said a word during the game or during the analysis. Neither did Gooch or Mr Rules himself on RTE last night. Everyone just accepts it now.

The handpass is another one. I would say that 30-40% (and perhaps more) of handpasses are fouls. Lads are just throwing the ball.

Proper enforcement of these two rules would change the game for the better in my view.

I think it's potentially a big issue and seems to me the GAA is doing little or no planning for it. In fact they actually seem to be pushing on with a massive change to underage grades at the exact same time which strikes me as complete lunacy. Personally I feel this is a disappointing move by soccer and one which will guarantee everyone loses except rugby. Again I think a double standard exists....if the GAA decided to move into another sports traditional territory/calendar there would be an outcry about it. I don't think that's paranoia.

Joanne Cantwell was 100% right last night - how anyone would think otherwise is mind boggling to me. She told him several times and in his own self absorbed arrogance he just completely ignored her and went off ranting again about the rules. He added nothing last night. Sometimes he does add a lot. Sometimes he does write excellently but a lot of the time it's the same old crap how he knows and the authorities are idiots. Maybe if he was more consistent and able to work with (and listen to) others then he might be listened to.

Sports facilities are never a waste of time or a waste of money. I'd say due to its location, Mayo teams probably do get the biggest benefit - Mayo club games played there I understand??? I think though that most clubs in the province would have used it at some point and it's obviously well utilised by schools and colleges etc. I think some people in Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon mainly were moe concerned about their own county centres and would have preferred the money to go to those projects instead. Sligo seem to have gotten over that anyway - their centre of excellence looks really good.

I firmly believe though that a subsidised floodlighting programme for clubs in counties that are a good distance from Dublin (most of Connacht for example) would be a worthwhile programme that Connacht GAA should look at.

Forgiving is one thing. And I'd guess as a man of faith Harte has forgiven those who have wronged him. However - it doesn't mean he has to forget about it and partake in and assist their business. Forgiveness doesn't imply you have to befriend the person you forgive.

Personally - I'd always be more wary of people who have done me wrong in the past. A few in particular, while I'd wish them no ill will, I'd be quite happy if I never laid eyes on them or had to speak to them again. I think that's a quite reasonable position no matter what you believe.

If Tyrone win, the Sunday Game panel that evening will solely consist of match highlights and the panel picking daft 'end of season' awards.

Ya, will really miss the yahooing and the "sure it wasn't me, it was the rest of the lads made my job east..." - cutting edge insight. Hopefully when they show the highlights we get the crucial team running out and supports shots that add so much.