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All players need protection - but as long as spectators admire and praise all the fouling that suits their own team it wont happen.

If there was a real desire to see all the off the ball fouling, the pulling and pushing and the verbals eradicated it would be gone in a single league campaign.

Need to actually empower the linesmen and the umpires a lot more - and actully train them to a suitable level.

Longer term solution for the bigger games might actually be another official monitoring off the ball stuff.
If players realise they will get found out for it - it stops automatically.

I'd prefer to see good football being played without the fouling but until there is a real desire for that the cynicism will remain a big part of the game.

Watch the two D1 semi-finals this weekend with any degree of objectivity and it will be evident that all four teams will be involved in displays of cynicism.

I've no issue with anything being called out - it's the manner in which they do it.

I'm never sure what to make of him - its extremes of sincerity to absolute wind-up.
He can be very astute - I was always taken aback by his early comments in the Donegal v Dublin semi-final when Dublin seemed to be on top.
However, I'd agree with Mc Conville - it was always an issue when you could see him getting bored.
Says it all when Brolly was insulted by that bored comment and than made exactly the same accusation against O' Rourke.
I thought RTE should also clear out Spillane and O' Rourke but its a very broad audience they are catering to and viewer surveys may be supporting their retention.
I was always amazed no-one clobbered Joe live on air because his antics would be extremely irritating.

The argument is always presented as extremes - it's either a sole choice of the pub analysis and stories or it's all statistics.
However, the reality is we need both - the broad brush analysis and then select statistics to illuminate that.
Personally, I want the pundit to talk about what just happened but also go in depth into why it happened - what one team did to make it happen and what the other team did to stop it happening, etc. - why it works against Team A but it wont work against Team B, etc.

The other thing I have a real dislike for is the obvious bias from some of the pundits and often rank hypocrisy - you would think Meath had been a team of nuns when you hear O' Rourke talk about fouling!

I think Gough has a real set against us

I wonder if most of them do - too much baggage with the media narrative of Tyrone and bad smells, etc.

Still can't understand how Deegan allowed Harte to get repeatedly fouled in front of him in last AI semi?

Always thought Meyler was very good but the role he has been given under Harte and now D&L doesn't allow him to shine - he does a lot of unseen work.
The only thing I think he needs to improve on is keeping out of any daft verbals - we conceded a goal against Dublin with a quick line ball whilst he was distracted with some nonsense.
Speaks volumes that Harte and now D&L obviously rate him.

Tyrone just about matching Donegal but sending off changed everything - not sure what the ref thought he saw for that one.

Harsh sending off for Tyrone - second yellow.
Spoiled what was otherwise a good game.

I think Jim Mc Guinness forced a lot of teams - county and club - to give a much higher consideration of tactics in Gaelic football.

It was probably going that way anyway but he gave it a huge push on.

Even Dublin will often have 15 in their own half at various times in any game.

How other teams choose to employ the tactics is down to each individual team and manager - but I think there is too much focus on Mc Guinness tactics for men behind the ball rather than the other part which was attacking at speed and attacking in pods.

Made me chuckle when Spillane was praising Kerry for 4 players tackling 1 man - wasn't that Tyrone's puke football!

Healey Park in Omagh supposed to be re-laid and facilities upgraded in May/June - out of action then for 10 months!

Pitch condition - shocked at how long the grass was - but didn't seem to bother Galway!
Were the tactics the same as against Kerry - hold Galway to a low score against the wind and use wind advantage in second half - but we didn't seem to have the same defensive shape or intensity.
Control and passing were poor all over the pitch - gifting a few easy scores to Galway.
Lucky to survive a goal attempt in the first minute.
Having said that we missed quite a few chances ourselves - goals and points.
Kick outs were poor - don't have figures but we seemed to lose quite a few.
We seemed to have a collective off day but still came back to within 2 points with 14 men!
We tend to finish a lot of games stronger but that wasn't a possibility today!
Sendings off - probably both justified - and loss of Mc Shane had a huge impact.
Penalty tackle was a bit clumsy - Comer still had it all to do under a lot of pressure.
Galway had loads of time and space at the end to pick off easy points with absolutely no pressure.
Think Tyrone will be relieved if they can simply avoid relegation at this stage.
Mc Shane came from nowhere last year to be our go to forward - need someone else to do the same this year.
Still a lot of young players with another years experience and another years S&C.
A few players to come back in will make a difference - maybe not enough but they will make a difference.
Dryer, firmer pitches will also make a big difference.

Maybe - but have any of them actually shown signs of improvement - marginal at best?
Have Tyrone shown any signs of improvement - marginal or more?

Seems only Dublin have reason to be happy with players and management.
Last three years Tyrone have got to the semis, the final and another semi.
How does that record compare with Mayo, Donegal, Kerry, Galway, Monaghan, etc. - now all thought of as much better teams with better management?
Where does everyone think Tyrone rank in terms of players and in terms of management?
What is exactly that players are doing wrong and management doing wrong?

Declan Bogue normally talks quite sensibly and without the blinkers and he does it again on Shane Stapleton's show.
His view - only the defender should have got the yellow card.

Not sure if Kerry would have won with Clifford though - Declan Bogue also talks about Tyrone's overall tactics and how they were finishing much stronger than Kerry in the last 15.

He also talks about how the issue of the defender grappling is perceived as a Tyrone issue when the reality is that all the top teams do it - you only have to remove the blinkers and look how McShane was welcomed back yesterday off the ball, or see the treatment dished out to Harte.

Personally I would like to see all this crap dealt with by the ref, or the linesmen, or the umpires - prefer to see good football - but that will only happen when everyone calls for it and acknowledges that their own teams are as guilty as everyone else.

All for David Clifford protection, but also Dean Rock, Ryan Mc Hugh, Petey Harte, and all the others!

I do not think this can be a simple parallel drawn with Kerry's history and experience.
Even in their prime decades they didn't dominate as much as Dublin have in this decade - and in this time there have been a few more counties trying to develop, raise their own bar and compete - the fact that they are not even getting close speaks volumes.
Only that Dublin were ambushed by Mc Guinness we would already be looking at 7-in-a-row.

Kerry were a great team in those decades - just as Dublin are a great team this decade - but it felt as though the odds were not artificially stacked in Kerry's favour then - with population, financial sponsorship, club finance, travel, home advantage, grants, etc.

That's not to be bitter about the Dublin team per se - they are phenomenal to watch - but we need a few teams to be phenomenal to make the championship interesting. Watching Dublin beat the spread will quickly get boring even for the most avid fans.
Just look at the Scottish Premier League to see how it actually belittles the achievements of the winners.
Imagine if there were another three teams at any time at a similar level to Dublin and what that would do for the game.

I realise the particular issues (certainly historically) with Dublin and why the GAA wanted to fund and develop the games.
You can question the benefits of that funding and direct impact on the current team, but the infrastructure is now in place for Dublin to reap the benefits of for many years to come - combined with many of their existing natural advantages.

The question now is what message does the GAA want to deliver to the other counties - what is their strategy to level the playing field over the next ten years - not to bring Dublin down but to bring the others up?