Observations from Croke Park Yesterday

[cadence]

I find it incredible that people can give out about donegals 'cynical' and 'negative' style. Where did yous pick that up from? For it hasnt been any of donegals games this year.

Yesterday was a great game to watch, and it has to be blinkers that gives this defence v purist argument. Watch the game again, and try to be neutral, and watch how many runners were taken out by kerry. Its not even a criticism of them, kerry are the benchmark, and they're an awesome team with superb players. I'm just pointing out that as a good measure of cynicism, kerry were the greater perpetrators yesterday.

Perhaps its the only way people can justify  a kerry loss, people love to proved right after all, and need to find some excuse when they're wrong. But I fail to understand how any gaa fan cant appreciate a team completely owning kerry for long periods, and i find it hard to attribute it to anything but bitterness.

Lastly, I also fail to understand how people didnt think yesterday was a great game. Imo it can only be again because their favoured team was owned, but ffs, surely sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say 'fair f**ks'. There was some cynicism from both teams, as there is from all teams in modern football, but it was workrate, teamwork, and great skill which won that game for donegal, not negativity or cynicism.

It is coy to say that Donegal are the only team to be negative or cynical but it is also coy to say that cynicism and negativity are not a huge part of Donegal's success.

Combating cynicism in the game would hurt Tyrone, Donegal, Kerry, Dublin and those dirty mead hoors most of all. It would allow a more level playing field where teams with abundant talent could compete at the top level eradicating those "hammerings" you talk about. A change in the rules would have meant the old naive Donegal could have competed with Tyrone and Armagh's cynicism of the last 10 years. Likewise Mayo, Dublin and Cork would have beaten the Kerry/Tyrone/Armagh dominance of the last 10 years.

You can't defend the way Donegal play by saying "sure it'd be great if we all played that way and we had good, tight, exciting (for the final 10 minutes) 0-05 to 0-06 matches."

wasn't actually the score, but who cares, would've taken a 0-1 to 0-0 victory.

was exciting throughout i thought. great intense game and a credit to the gaa. 

[In the Onion Bag]

Thanks be to God (whoever that might be) to have a serious thread on this board. Although I often engage in a bit of fun fishing from time to time to keep me amused. 
My thoughts on this are:

1. Donegal have moved on from the boring defensive 2011 game Jim had them playing in his experimental first year.  He has now added a potent attack to the bow and they are now a very entertaining team compared to last year.

2. They are more than entertaining, they are going to be winners and standard setters for the future (mark my words).

3. Bad disgraceful fans are an unavoidable plague in any popular sport.  Nasty People (not fans) who attach themselves to Kerry are can be found in any county.  They just don't understand the real meaning of respect nor the culture of our great games. 

They probably grow up on a diet of Celtic type support.  I heard from close friends, newcomers to the game, of  disgusting reports of Dgl fans at the Ulster final.  Its a plague and I don't know what can be done about it - perhaps there is a need for terrace self-regulation i.e let the decent fans offer to the louts a calming word to the wise.  Although I realise the potential danger in this I feel the genuine community spirit of our games will surprise and stun the louts into stopping their crap.  They need to learn that slagging is Ok but abuse is not.

Football this year has taken a stride forward and Donegal are showing the way.  I am sure others will follow.

[ONeill]

Also agree that some people are mixing up 'cynical' with defensive hard work. I'd say Kerry are a more cynical team than Donegal, in the matches Tyrone played against those two anyway.

[From the Bunker]

Thanks be to God (whoever that might be) to have a serious thread on this board. Although I often engage in a bit of fun fishing from time to time to keep me amused. 
My thoughts on this are:

1. Donegal have moved on from the boring defensive 2011 game Jim had them playing in his experimental first year.  He has now added a potent attack to the bow and they are now a very entertaining team compared to last year.

2. They are more than entertaining, they are going to be winners and standard setters for the future (mark my words).

3. Bad disgraceful fans are an unavoidable plague in any popular sport.  Nasty People (not fans) who attach themselves to Kerry are can be found in any county.  They just don't understand the real meaning of respect nor the culture of our great games. 

They probably grow up on a diet of Celtic type support.  I heard from close friends, newcomers to the game, of  disgusting reports of Dgl fans at the Ulster final.  Its a plague and I don't know what can be done about it - perhaps there is a need for terrace self-regulation i.e let the decent fans offer to the louts a calming word to the wise.  Although I realise the potential danger in this I feel the genuine community spirit of our games will surprise and stun the louts into stopping their crap.  They need to learn that slagging is Ok but abuse is not.

Football this year has taken a stride forward and Donegal are showing the way.  I am sure others will follow.

Proceed with caution. You beat a Kerry team, and that is no mean feat. But this Kerry team are not the of 2009 model or earlier. Your result against Cork will be the standard bearer for the season. I hope you do it.

[In the Onion Bag]

Thanks be to God (whoever that might be) to have a serious thread on this board. Although I often engage in a bit of fun fishing from time to time to keep me amused. 
My thoughts on this are:

1. Donegal have moved on from the boring defensive 2011 game Jim had them playing in his experimental first year.  He has now added a potent attack to the bow and they are now a very entertaining team compared to last year.

2. They are more than entertaining, they are going to be winners and standard setters for the future (mark my words).

3. Bad disgraceful fans are an unavoidable plague in any popular sport.  Nasty People (not fans) who attach themselves to Kerry are can be found in any county.  They just don't understand the real meaning of respect nor the culture of our great games. 

They probably grow up on a diet of Celtic type support.  I heard from close friends, newcomers to the game, of  disgusting reports of Dgl fans at the Ulster final.  Its a plague and I don't know what can be done about it - perhaps there is a need for terrace self-regulation i.e let the decent fans offer to the louts a calming word to the wise.  Although I realise the potential danger in this I feel the genuine community spirit of our games will surprise and stun the louts into stopping their crap.  They need to learn that slagging is Ok but abuse is not.

Football this year has taken a stride forward and Donegal are showing the way.  I am sure others will follow.

Proceed with caution. You beat a Kerry team, and that is no mean feat. But this Kerry team are not the of 2009 model or earlier. Your result against Cork will be the standard bearer for the season. I hope you do it.

I am not a "YOU".  I am a proud Down man that suffered at the end of a Dgl hammering.  I think I speak objectively.

[Aaron Boone]

Cork stuffed Kildare & really looked the part. But all the chat is about Donegal. Conor Counihan won't mind that.

[haranguerer]

Yes, but the chat is of the 'they cant, can they? variety by and large. (they can btw, and if they perform, will).

Cork will be significant favourites.

[boojangles]

It is hard to have anything but the height of respect for Jim Mc Guinness. I don't buy into this anti- football argument. He has produced a winning formula and at that level that is all that matters. Football will continue to evolve and develop. We will have some brilliant games and we will have some piss poor ones which is the way it has always been. I will be surprised if this Donegal team do not take Sam in the next 3 years, however this year it is Cork's to lose.

[imtommygunn]

That was the first time I have seen this Donegal team in the flesh and I have to say I was surprised at how they weren't cynical. Bryan Sheehan was the most cynical man on the pitch and in my view should have seen red for tactical fouling.

I doubt there's been a better defensive unit played the game than the current Donegal crop.

McGuinness is a perfectionist though and they did kick a lot of aimless ball into forwards as well as lose a lot of kickouts through purely kicking them to places with more kerry men in them. He'll want to rectify this.

Also Kerry aren't as done as people think - a few weeks ago they were world beaters. People are very quick to write teams off these days if a few players are round the 30 mark.

While Cork were good Kildare were rubbish. Johnny Doyle however was immense and was the only one willing to take it to Cork. That Kildare team has internal issues I think - they just didn't look to have the heart for it.  I was disappointed in boys like Bolton who you constantly hear loads about - didn't look interested. Cork will not win big games with Murphy in corner forward. Kelly needs to sort his discipline too - booked after about 30 seconds of coming on.

Cork and Donegal is all to play for. Cork will not get close to the same space they did again and Kissane is unlikely to get so much space ever again.

I have a wee feeling Mayo will beat Dublin. What odds a Mayo Donegal final??

[Syferus]

I think for large swathes of the match Donegal did revert back to the 2011 version, there was a few occasions where only the Kerry keeper was left in their half of the field, all 15 Donegal players being within 40 meters of their own goal. And this was the first half.

It forced Kerry to be one-dimensional for much of the match, their favoured tactic to lob (usually over-cooked) long balls to Donaghy and hoping he could control it or lay it off to a Kerry forward.

An incredibly exciting game at times but no doubt it also had plenty of basic errors by both sides. Donegal have become the masters at destroying a team's Plan A.

[From the Bunker]

It is hard to have anything but the height of respect for Jim Mc Guinness. I don't buy into this anti- football argument. He has produced a winning formula and at that level that is all that matters. Football will continue to evolve and develop. We will have some brilliant games and we will have some piss poor ones which is the way it has always been. I will be surprised if this Donegal team do not take Sam in the next 3 years, however this year it is Cork's to lose.

If Donegal are to do it this is the year, it will not get any easier next year or in three years time. They are two games away, it is a long way back next year.

Also Kerry aren't as done as people think - a few weeks ago they were world beaters. People are very quick to write teams off these days if a few players are round the 30 mark.

I actually think they are, there will be a few drop offs and the subs bench has been limited with decent players. Alot of these players have been at the Top and there is a bigger chance they won't be there next year. Another beating by Cork, another beating by a Northern team or another year going through the back door may be a bridge to far for a lot of the present group.

[royals12]

Combating cynicism in the game would hurt Tyrone, Donegal, Kerry, Dublin and those dirty mead hoors most of all.

______________

i actually think meath are one of the teams who arnt cynical at all, they could actually do with being abit cynical because it seems for a team to get far they have to be cynical now. i think its actually how laois beat us because they were cynical in protecting their lead.

[Hardy]

Can we now have a moratorium on the use of the word "cynical" in football analysis? I calculate, given its currency versus the other popular clichés, it'll be time enough to hear it again late in 2017.

[Syferus]

I don't know who were proclaiming Kerry world beaters a month ago. They beat Tyrone but they needed to show alot more for people to remove the question marks over their heads. They didn't.

[lynchbhoy]

Whilst I started out neutral for this game yesterday I found myself cheering for Kerry as I just thought Donegal's tactical approach was just frustrating to watch and they don't play a game that can swing a neutral, it's very cynical and as discussed ad nausea is designed to frustrate the opposition and by jesus did it frustrate me to watch it. The last 10 minutes was compelling but the preceding 60 minutes was rubbish to watch. Best of luck to Donegal but I hope their not looking for affirmation from the neutral because it won't be coming from many, hopefully we'll see a Cork v Mayo final.

I would also agree with DH and just to add Kerry fans are simply the most gracious in defeat and humble in victory, they have no bandwagon supporters and pound for pound are the most knowledgeable supporters in the land.

while I cant disagree with your sentiment that Donegal's style is the opposite of swashbuckling - the thought crosses my mind that you undoubtedly supported Arsenal in the 80's/90's - so I started laughing at your female-esque irrationality and inconsistency !!