Messages

Ah feck it, I'll post twice 

The most important thing to remember is that both were minors at the time, although turning 19 hardly places a period on one of the most confusing periods of your life. The incident in question took place last summer, and for the participants in question that's where it should (and by all accounts if they are left to their own devices, will) stay. No one verbal incident in the messy minefield that is pre-A Level or Leaving Cert life, no matter how harsh an utterance, should follow someone around this long or further. Plainly, I'm sure all lessons that will be learned are learned by now, and please allow them to get on with their lives.

Meanwhile, while the adults in the case may have acted with the best of intentions, this isn't senior football, and more importantly these aren't senior footballers. A duty to protect your team is absolutely secondary to your duty to protect each individual under your care, just as your desire to protect your home county from having their name sullied or sport from nefarious activities is secondary to affording privacy to children who may require it.

This is a sad thread.

I'd just like to co-sign Kevin Cassidy's comments above, and also express disappointment in the posters on page 12 whose misplaced triumphalism only reveals ignorance of the specific incident, and more importantly of the nature of cases of any nature, built on verbal evidence.

Wahoo! Is aoibhinn beatha an lad ina shuí ar an dtolg ag an am seo bliana!

Whoops! Give him the big one then and let Diarmuid O'Connor have the YFOTY award

McMahon was fantastic this year, but I've a wee childhood fear of eye-gouging so if I had a vote I'd have to throw it elsewhere 

That said, he could have been sent off for the headbutting or gouging incidents, and should probably have had a (potentially crucial) penalty given against him in the Mayo match, so I'd actually vote against Philly based on the fact that he could have caused his own team a lot of damage had any of these been called.

I'm surprised at the McCaffrey love in. It's not that he wasn't good, it's just that the other two Dublin half backs - O'Sullivan and McCarthy were outstanding, as were Kilkenny and O'Carroll.

I'd probably opt for Kilkenny as YFOTY and find it hard to separate  O'Sullivan and McCarthy for FOTY.

It would be great if "the GAA" (which after all, is you as much as it's anyone else) would sanction and support Masters football, but I'd have to agree with NAG1 in that you'd be much better served addressing and dispelling the reasons behind 'their' decision not to. Linking your argument to a current (and potentially divisive) current talking point will of course help your argument get noticed, read but also potentially quickly discarded or dismissed unless the link between the two is genuine.

I'd have to wish you all the best with your campaign though, social & informal football of all categories is something that it'd be great to see a growth in

RTÉ's coverage as Gaeilge this year was a nice touch and much appreciated. Quite enjoyed listening to the two lads, and also not listening to Canning & Carney!

Hope it returns next year. Well done all

Just like the Mayo-Down final 10 years ago when Mayo got tanked. Must be hard to watch for Tipp fans.

Tipp fans can take heart that said Mayo team still produced one of the best midfielders in the country, an AFL star and a future taoiseach!

Time added on is ridiculous.

Common enough in games

yeah, there was very little time for football in added time

congrats to dublin. not every championship is a classic, but they're all for winning

Hah, I see Hardstation that you use almost the same logic in picking a side as I do!

Best of luck to Paul Geaney & Ciarán Kilkenny 

And of course Charlie McGeever with the minors! Remember his spell at Harps well.

Do any of the Kerrymen on here know if the Donegal match is likely to be held in Tralee or Killarney?

It's pretty early to be looking for an excuse for a road trip, but sure 

Whether he is or not, he's not on it all that often though, so it usually doesn't matter.

I previously forget to mention that Dara Ó Cinnéide's a great presenter and analyst too. Doesn't hurt that his Irish is as near perfection as you'd get

Much like Off The Ball, Seó Spóirt can vary in quality depending on the guests, but it's generally more insightful and thoughtful, although it does have the benefit of a slower pace and the use of video clips. Sometimes I wonder if the lads don't get away with saying more on TG4 too!

There is some great analysis out there this year in comparison with the previous few (along with the usual shite), but the best of it's coming from recent managers - Horan on Newstalk & McGuinness in the Times. Both are fantastic.

The quality on Off The Ball varies wildly - McConville's pretty good, but I really can't get behind the Clerkin love in at all.

The self-promoters who've aimed for the media work from midway through their career generally aren't necessarily the most cerebral of lads, unfortunately.

I've always liked Maurice Deegan, but I can see the argument for Coldrick as well.

Gough is very, very fussy at times (and by all accounts very sensitive too) and can interrupt the flow of the game unnecessarily, but even he's pretty solid. The standard's not so bad.

There is one consistently awful ref, mentioned above, but the rest are decent officials who are as capable of having off days as anyone else, players included.