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Having read back through these threads I am aghast at the apologist mentality that is so myopic that SF posters fail to grasp the enormity of human damgae caused by paedophila

Time to re-open this topic after "proper" game of football yesterday.
Out with the blanket, the negativity, the Jordanstown-led "win win " philosophy that has emasculated a simple game that, at its pure honest best, is enthralling.
Back to the Future, I hope.

Leo - I think quality players and hunger will always win out over strategy.

In 2012 Donegal had hunger, strategy & quality players operating at their peak. In 2013 their quality players were operating at a lower level and the hunger was understandably less. Their strategy was still there (as evident against ourselves) although as commentators pointed out the achilles heal to it was the opposing team getting the early lead.

I think this year we had enough strategy and hunger (we should after nearly 20 years!) but we lack the super quality needed at All Ireland level in a good few positions.

Only getting to this now, but some merit in what you say.
However I do not like our strategy and believe we should accept that our "quality" players are not suited to it.

Olive Hawkes, 60, Omagh
Jolene Marlow, 17, Omagh
Deborah Anne Cartwright, 20, Omagh
Mary Grimes, 66, Beragh, County Tyrone
Her daughter, Avril Monaghan, 30, Aughadarra, County Tyrone
Avril Monaghan's baby daughter, Maura,
18 months, Aughadarra, County Tyrone
Sean McLaughlin, 12, Buncrana, County Donegal
James Barker, 12, Buncrana, County Donegal
Oran Doherty, 8, Buncrana, County Donegal
Geraldine Breslin, 43, Omagh
Brenda Logue, 17, Omagh
Philomena Skelton, 49, Drumquin, County Tyrone
Gareth Conway, 18, Carrickmore, County Tyrone
Breda Devine, 20 months, Donemana, County Tyrone
Lorraine Wilson, 15, Omagh
Samantha McFarland, 17, Omagh
Julia Hughes, 21, Omagh
Elizabeth Rush, 57, Omagh
Rocio Abad Ramos, 23, Madrid, Spain
Fernando Blasco Baselga, 12, Madrid, Spain
Esther Gibson, 36, Beragh, County Tyrone
Ann McCombe, 48, Omagh
Veda Short, 56, Gortaclare, Beragh, County Tyrone
Aidan Gallagher, 21, Omagh
Alan Radford, 16, Omagh
Fred White, 60, Omagh
His son Bryan White, 27, Omagh
Brian McCrory, 54, Omagh
Sean McGrath, 61, Omagh. Died three weeks after the blast.

God rest them all..
and thank you for providing a simple stark list that brings dramatially home the awful darkness that still stalks this town and country..

Thats fair enough Raven and good to hear they are being 'catered' for in that respect.

I can't understand how there isn't enough gear for the Development Squads as a mate of mine was picking up the championship ticket in the county office a few weeks back and he told me the place was coming down with bags, shorts, socks, water, juice etc.  So what are they doing with all this stuff if the lads aren't getting it.?  There is nothing worse than turning up for a match in a mish/mash of gear when your opponents look immaculate.  Even worse at a blitz like this when numerous county teams will be there as well.

There was talk of Club Down wanting to help kit out the development squads. What happened to that?

Brilliant brilliant player.
Cynical fouler?
Yes.
It is the DNA of this Tyrone era.
Are we only noticing this now?

An utter bollox like Bertie

In fairness how many of the current Mayo panel have the rugged jaw and sweeping hair of INDA

Anyone who likens Kenny to Bertie is a total tool. And how many of the 70,000 booed may require some smarter analysis than the previous poster appears to heave exercised.
I live in this country, I am suffering the pain, as are most of my family,  but I know who caused it from the two fore mentioned leaders - and he was not from Mayo.
We are a blinkered nation, and our urge to follow the mob is disturbing and pathetic.

wobbler

I was just asking the questions and at least you took them onn fairl as opppposed to other posters.
For "thon other wans" who think I'm a smart-ass -  no I dont have the answers - I just asked the questions!!
They haven't been answered.

At the minute there is too much emphasis on copying templates of teams gone by. You are never going to be able to find out exactly each step teams such as  dublin, donegal and tyrone went through.  Surely a good county board and management team should have a strategy of their own and enough belief in it to see it through.

Boys oh boys if ever a post wa worth re-opening this is it.

After our dismal "Donegal-style" outing in this year's championship and Donegal's more dismal exit today, the need for a strategy of our own has never been more obvious.

Who has the belief and leadership to see it through? There is no new Maurice Hayes in sight.

Met this man anumber of times, totally beautiful, entertaining, honest & yet self-depricating gentleman. God rest a true Irish gentleman.

Reflections on the Championship ...

We sold our soul and took the Donegal game to Donegal ...
and stilll got bate!

We went back to Derry on our journey through the qualifiers (!!) - and still got bate...

Meanwhile Derry surrendered to a youthful Cavan -  who were in turn batted aside by Kerry, like a mild irritant.

Donegal were turned over by Monaghan - who in turn couldn't stand the heat of an indifferent Tyrone team....

At the back door Donegal were blown to the winds by Mayo ....

And there are still people in Down who think we have made progress and that no changes should be made?

The silence on this issue within the county is baffling.

C'mon, laoislad, are you serious?  You complain about "16 [soon to be 17] pages of drivel" but seem to have no compunction about contributing to the 1,475 pages of discussion about Liverpool FC, which you're undoubtedly entitled to.

Surely this is the perfect venue for a discussion about not only the conduct and views of a TV analyst but, more importantly, the very rules of Gaelic football itself and by extension the game's integrity. 

Most of us, I'm sure, have done what Cavanagh did, but that doesn't mean it enhances the game.  The penalty should be a straight red, not a yellow.

As for Brolly, he lost his cool and once more displayed an anti-Tyrone bias, hardly the epitome of professionalism, but at least he had something of consequence to say, which is more than can be said of platitudinous sidekicks.

Let the discussion continue.  I want to hear people's opinions about the direction the game's taking.

As an Ulsterman let me be quite clear that I believe the "cynical/tactical/professional" approach to the (ahem!) tackle began with Armagh and was "enhanced" by Tyrone over recent years, blithely ignored by the TV and Radio pundits who have fawned on the new messiahs of Gaelic football who manage these teams. Neer did I think I would come to the defence of Brolly but at last one of these pundits has come off the fence and called it like it is.

Wonderful footballer and athlete as he is, it's is all too sad to see traits in the DNA of the modern footballer in these teams that betray all that is good about his game with such downright dirty play. To get a man of the match award into the bargain tells us all what a cesspit of unsporting "professonalism" has been foisted upon us by the false prophets of "Ulster" football.

Far from being "anti-northern", the RTE media have propogated the myth to the extent that a dire Donegal team, propelled by a 'win at all costs' mantra last year, were lauded as a paragon of that same "professional" extremisism - and as an Ulsterman, but more importanatly as a GAA man, and as a sportsman, thank God they were tanked today, and pray, please pray, that Mayo will do the same to this dire Tyrone outfit                                           

Dick Clerkin of Monaghan said on RTE radio tonight that he had sent a text to James McCartan thanking him for the blueprint on how to beat Donegal. It's pretty clear that we would have won in Breffni if all the straightforward chances which fell to our overlapping defenders, and were missed, had gone to forwards instead. It's equally likely that on, yesterday's form, Monaghan would have beaten us in the final anyway, but at least we would still have been in the competition. James may well conclude that we are not so far off the pace and will hopefully stay in his post.

The fact of the matter is that we did not beat Donegal - and you are probably right that we would not have beaten Monaghan either. With due respect to Dick Clerkin - a solid county player over many years - this "bluprint" is just sticky plaster over the sore of negativity and it is time to get back to playing real football with an expectation of winning rather than a fear of losing. Wee James always put a smile on my face in his playing days - now he is surrounded by the psychologists and scientists of the game, the verve has gone - and we still lose!!

Let's not put a tooth in this.
One point in the second half - and that from a free. One point from play in 70 minutes.
When is the last time the great Benny Coulter raised a green flag for Down?
This is a Down team that has betrayed all that is good about Down football and its reputation for forward play. This has been coming for a couple of years now and it is an abomination, utterly unwatchable and at the same time abysmally failing to get results.
The game should be about putting your best foot forward, play to your strengths - how these "scientists" of the game have dragged us all into utterly negative mediocrity is appalling.
Down football has sold its soul to this science and we are the poorer for it - and still OUT of the championship with barley a whimper.
Meanwhile our much vaunted forwards are toiling in the dark depths of our own "blanket-cum-sweeper" system that is the football equivalent of a snuff movie

Gatland got it right, leave our myopia out of it.
Great win.