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A quote from squareball in the Tyrone v Kerry thread.
Can anyone seriously disagree?

I believe that the current Dublin team is by some distance the best we have ever seen. The Kerry 4 in a row team had to play 3 games a year to win the All Ireland. This Dublin team play a minimum of six games a year.

Because of Dublin the Leinster championship is a zombie competition. Attendances reflect this.
We have now reached the stage where the All Ireland is as bad. (Perhaps Kerry will pull off the shock of the century but I doubt it)

The scary thing for the rest of the country is that even if they do win a historic 5 in a row is there anything to suggest the juggernaut wont keep on rolling. They seem to be able to loose quality players and replace them with ease. They have the resources (both playing and financial) to keep going.

Even if a team does come along to beat them, the odds are so stacked in their favour that they will be virtually unstoppable.
The GAA as an organisation, which greeted the rise of the Dubs as its saviour must be getting nervous about the impact of their uninterrupted success and its impact on attendances and hence finances. The Dublin fans are so used to success that they dont turn up for lesser games.

What can the GAA do?

Short Term.....
According to an excellent article by Sean McGoldrick on Sportsjoe Dublin received £15.4million more than any other county over the 10 years to 2017.
A good start would be to put a freeze on all central funding to Dublin would be a start. Long term i somehow doubt this would even scratch the surface of evening out the playing field.

Long Term....
It has been suggested that Dublin be split in 2 or even 3. Would this work?
According to Wikipedia Dublin county has a population of 1,187,176
By way of comparison Leitrim has a population of 32,044, Connacht has a population of 550,742
Even if Dublin were divided in 2 it would dwarf every other county bar Cork, Antrim and Down.

Is it time to look at the very structure of top level competition?




 

I can't get to the game on Sat. night
I have Apple TV  but not Sky.
I can pay Apple a teener and watch Sky sports ( did this to watch a premier league match for the young fellow). That was not pay per view though.
So what I want to know is if I pay a teener on Saturday will the game be blocked?
Any body know what the story is?

Thanks in advance.

Wanted to post this in a seperate thread from the Armagh v Dublin thread.

Many Orchard fans in a knee jerk reaction to Saturday are talking about the All Ireland Minors  from last year.

Too small
Too light
Too young

For Gods sake let them play a year or 2 at U21 first.

Look how many of the 92 Minors were at their best in...2002

Give the lads time to mature, and who knows?

Agaist my better judgement I watched the " highlights" on RTE last night, and then listened to the sage views of Kieran Whelan and Anthony Tohill.
They and the smug presener(Des Cahill?) pontificated on how poor the game at Celtic park was, citing the number of stoppages as evidence.
When will we ever learn to differentiate between technical frees and physical frees?
I cant be bothered to watch the video and count but I'd hazard a guess that between 1/3 and 1/2 of the frees were for technical offences( illegal hand pass/ foul lift/ overcarrying).
Then on at least 3 occaisons when a quick free was taken the ref called back the play.hardly going to lead to an open and flowing game

Did someone in power at Croke Park look at the new rules in the league and think which ones would make the game more attractive to watch.....and then ditch them all?
Yesterdays game cried out for "the mark", but instead we got the bunch tackle.
You makes the rules ya gotta live with the consequences

It has to be a fix.
It has to be a fix.
It has to be a fix.
It has to be a fix.
It's a fix.
You know it's a fix as well as I do.
Everyone knows it's a fix.
And I used to think that Wrestling was fixed!!!!!!!

Whilst I am unaware of the logic behind the call for a boycott of the Dublin v Tyrone game, I do agree that we fans are poorly treated.
The "facilities" are a disgrace at most provincial grounds and even Croke Park leaves a lot to be desired.
Is it too much to ask in 2009 for a drop of hot water to wash your hands?

 

I suppose I should consider myself lucky that I've always gotten seat tickets for Clones, but if the stuff on the Armagh v Fermanagh Ulster Final thread is true( and I do'nt doubt the honesty of the posters) then it is very very serious.
One of the wonderful things about our games is that you can take all the familly.We might slag each other rotten on here and at work/school/pub/wherever but God forbid we had an incident like Hillsborough/Bradford/Ibrox, no matter who was invloved.

I suspect that the powers that be in the GAA read or are made aware of these forums.

A Message to them

GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER. 

Anyone know anywhere where an eejit who let his Mrs. book the summer holiday might watch the game on Sunday near St Jean de Monts.Anywhere within 50 miles that would be showing it would be fine.
Really need to have the info before I go as we fly on ....Sunday morning.

Any help really would be appreciated.

Thanks

Any new faces from within your own county who you reckon will really step up this year and make a name for themselves.

In Armagh I reckon Charlie Vernon or Tony Kernan are the 2 best prospects.

I'd be interested to know if the suggestions are up and coming county minors/u21's or just great club players due a chance at a higher level. 

Can anyone who is opposed to the "grants for players" pleas answer the following questions.

(1) Do you believe that top GAA players should be out of pocket for represnting their county?
(2) Do you object to top administrators in the GAA being paid six figure salaries?
(3) Can the GAA afford to "pay" top players?
(4) Do you think we should treat our top players less well than the FAI or IFA or IRFU?
If you answer yes to 4 please explain why
(5) Do our top players train less or give less commitment than an IFA or FAI player?

If you think its Ok to pay administrators but not players please explain why

On another thread someone has asked what rule we would like to see changed.
I did'nt want to stray off topic so started this thread.
Would it be an idea to have the ref miked up like they do in Rugby so that we could get some indication as to why they are making the decisions they do?

Listened to the 5 o'clock news on Radio Ulster.On the day that is in it I was'nt surprised that the news was dominated by the flooding.
I waited for the sports news and their tribute to Eamon Coleman.I naievly thought it would be the lead story.The tragic death of a highly successful player and manager.Oh no the lead item was some hoo hah over the milk cup(a kiddies soccer tournament)
Bound to be second item...not a bit of it.A N.i select will play Everton in a pre season friendly
On and on it went.We had a lengthy piece on the death of a well known cyclist from the Ards area.With all due respect I had never heard of the man and I'm sure 95% of the population have'nt either. 
NOT SO MUCH AS A SINGLE WORD ON THE DEATH OF EAMON COLEMAN.
I cant help wondering if David Jeffrey had died would it not have even merrited a mention?
I shall be writing to the Sports editor at the BBC to register my disgust as a license payer.I stronly urge any Northern GAA board members to do likewise.

 

With appologies to Christy Moore ....

I'm an ordinary fan
Nothin special nothin grand
I pay my dough
and watch them when I can

Now they say that Donegall
have a ground thats not too small
So when the whistle blows
Tough luck thats the way it goes
Chances are I'll be at H-O-M-E

Now I never miss a game God knows we've shared some pain
For thirty years I supported them best I can
Now on a sunny summers day on the 27th of May it seems so easy to forget
Loyalty through bad times and through good
The Ulster council says "too bad" for all your money that we've had
"If you think we give a *** about you , you must be mad"

And so condemned I stand just an ordinary fan
Like thousands beside me all at home
Sure cant I watch it on T.V it'll be on R.T.E
God knows what the team are goin to do
Now that we are faced with this disgrace
10 000 Armagh Fans cast aside
And as long as I live Innever will forgive
You took away my chance to see the game and you're to blame
Youre to blame, Youre to blame