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Yes Stapleton it was, big fella. Yeah bizarre decisions and I was also giving off.

I just don't see why they would be subconsciously going against us or the smaller counties. I can only speak for myself and other referees that I know personally who'd be like minded and they just blow for the fouls, and these lads have refereed me in many games and be rival clubs and have no love for my club, but they are honest and most of their calls are correct.

Maybe you change once you don the referee kit and see things differently, I get tortured at club games and they shout at me and say that was a bad call would you give it?? ffs I'm a supporter today leave me alone!!

There is nothing worse than getting a call wrong when you referee a game, you may not know it at the time but an umpire may say at half time but it's done, I wouldn't try and even it up also, very hard to stay focused when the line is giving you constant abuse. Anyways looking forward to final on Sunday, Dubs to beat the Cat's

if a referee has a perception that a certain county isn't as strong as another county then they will referee the game in a biased way
that is just human nature

humans are really designed physiologically to run a lot.

we are designed for walking.

you really need to work at your technique to prevent injuries and soreness

[In any professional sports (you know where people play/coach sports for a living and are paid to know what they are talking about) stats are key!!]

Imo "stats" are the mainstay of spoofers. If you cannot glean what is happening out on the pitch or at training with your own eyes you shouldn't be let near a team.

The main "tactic" for success imo is to have 5 or 6 lads on the subs bench as good if not better than the starting 15 .  Oh and luck plays a major part.

In any professional sports (you know where people play/coach sports for a living and are paid to know what they are talking about) stats are key!! To say that a manager "should just know from looking at the game" is bullshit and a reason why a lot of teams are behind the Dubs!!

Such nonsense. The key to success is having the best players arriving in prime condition. Even in stats heavy American sports. Anything else is at best an edge, not a reason.

watch Moneyball or read Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

Imo "stats" are the mainstay of spoofers. If you cannot glean what is happening out on the pitch or at training with your own eyes you shouldn't be let near a team.

The main "tactic" for success imo is to have 5 or 6 lads on the subs bench as good if not better than the starting 15 .  Oh and luck plays a major part.

you make your own luck
by being more organised and having all angles covered - fitness, skills, video analysis, player match ups, kickout strategieis, freetakers etc

Aiken have made a fortune on the ticket money sitting in a bank account somewhere.

For instance, at the Under 21 AI final, Dublin had 5 lads on laptops offering video analysis, stats etc for the management during the game
Roscommon had none.

Casement residents & Croke Park residents would be fairly closely linked.

Sinn Fein are lurking in the background agitating a lot of this.

prove it

I don't like sand carpet pitches tbh, they are a harder surface and need a lot more maintenance. Their purpose obviously is they drain better and can take a bit more wear but its hard to beat a natural turf pitch. Our pitch is a mixture of both, it has sand ameliorated in with the top soil. It has lateral drains as well as a 10" layer of grit and a geo fabric netting over it, personally it is too well drained but I doubt if there will ever be a game called off due to flooding. It would dry out fairly quickly during a dry spell.

To keep a pitch in good condition it will need verti drained/ground breaking/spiked aerogation whatever you want to call it twice a year, 4 -5 applications of fertiliser, cut 2-3 times per week (obviously depending on time of year and if just been fed) over or direct seeded if and when needed to parts of the pitch that's needs it, the cylinders on your mower must be sharp and someone after games to replace divots and repair the pitch.

The most important tip of the whole lot is don't fecking train  on your pitch keep it for matches only ( which our club cannot do) the training is the worst abuse of the lot on a pitch.

so developing a training area with a good surface is worth it? as in, not just for the slogging in the dirt
we're a mainly hurling club btw
but the pitch gets a lot of use by hurling, camogie, football team, underage training and games

Dublin's gameplan wouldn't work as well in smaller provincial grounds
Croke Park is well suited to them

I'm waiting for someone to really attack their kickout strategy by placing 5/6 tall mobile forwards and not allowing them any clean possession

I blame GAA employee Peter McKenna for a lot of this

He has been picking fights with the local residents and being very antagonistic over their community centre in the Irish Handball centre for the last 5 years. The GAA have deliberately run down the building (no maintenance or investment) in order to get hold of the land it sits on.
He has no goodwill amongst the locals (some of whom are involved in handball)

Simple, take a gander at the best fields in the country and ape what they do, providing that their soil is similar to yours!

most fields are now sand based.
ours is natural compacted clay and has never been reseeded

I work as a groundsman in uk. Born  and bred donegal man.
Just offering advice or help to anyone who are looking help advice about pitchcare and maintinance.
Any queries just say.
Tom

What is the best way to improve grass growth/coverage on a pitch, without digging it up?
It is a natural clay based pitch that gets very hard in the summer

thanks

Do u know what type of grass seed it is was sowed on the pitch.

Going by u saying it gets very hard it sounds like the ground is very compact. If the ground  is very compact this will be why you haven't good growth/coverage. The grass roots need air to grow and to create a good root zone which in turn makes the grass tougher and will withstand wear and tear.
You need to get some aerating done and maybe over seed it. I wouldn't roll anytime in the immediate future.

What maintinace takes place on the pitch at the minute. Apart from grass cutting anything else.

It is natural grass as far as I know
Nothing has been done with the pitch in the last 5 years except some spiking and rolling (don't know why it was done)
We don't really do maintenance on it as it is a very well drained field
there is no bare patches or anything, we'd like to improve the grass surface etc

surely as a PE teacher he'd have a background in training teams and coaching?

aye 20 odd years ago maybe, not now.

why so?

surely as a PE teacher he'd have a background in training teams and coaching?

I work as a groundsman in uk. Born  and bred donegal man.
Just offering advice or help to anyone who are looking help advice about pitchcare and maintinance.
Any queries just say.
Tom

What is the best way to improve grass growth/coverage on a pitch, without digging it up?
It is a natural clay based pitch that gets very hard in the summer

thanks