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And Co Finals at Christmas?

County finals in Antrim are played in the middle of October, that hasn't changed with the compressed calendar

Rossfan is in denial regarding this fact, same with all counties.
Mayo out on July 1, last round on group club championship games on September 15th.  Final Mid October.

[Guiney]

It will be a difficult approach I feel, tactically do Derry stick with cautious defensive early approach and take advantages of counter attacking Kerry?

Or do they say, f**k it, let's go out and die with our boots on and unlock the chains?

Derry will definitely go with the cautious defensive approach. In fact, i think they go back to the tactics that served them well in 2022. Ultra defensive, intense, counter attacking. All 15 within their own 45. 2023 has saw them commit bodies further forward, but this approach will be cast aside on Sunday.
Glass in particular will have to maintain a position quite close to his full back line. Derry will be susceptible to direct high ball into Guiney and D Clifford.

Have Derry senior footballers ever beaten Kerry in a championship match in their history?

Who?

McKaigue and McEvoy not to mention Rogers in an emergency - are more than big enough and hairy enough to deal with high ball you would think? If any ball breaks there will be 27 Derry men on it also..

I think Clifford & Geaney would have a significant advantage aerially over McEvoy & McKaigue myself. Lets see.

Shur poor ol Paul is so old he can't jump much at this stage and David is struggling for form.

Ye may as well just concede the game and save yourselves the cost of a ticket. No point showing up for what's sure to be a walk over for Derry 

You do know at this point that he is the WUM with about 10 different names.

Darragh Moloney and Michael Duignan are the best RTE commentating team by a mile.
I wish they would also do Football games.
no talking over each other and no Bulls*it.

tremendous game, Q how were there only 3 mins additional time, farcical should have been 6 or 7 with all the injuries, hawk eye etc.
Who makes that decision and what is it based off.

And Co Finals Christmas Eve.....

? how many county championships will have began by mid August,  my guess would be Zero to three.
Everyone in the country knows that.
Most club players are gone traveling for the summer. The All-ireland should be played Mid August full stop.
By mid July, there would be only 4 teams left, by first Sunday of August, there would only be two.
Biggest winners, soccer and Sky sports. Gaa are hading them August and September on a platter. This year thrown in Rugby World Cup  and you will not have a word about GAA from July 31st to almost November. But yet, County teams and supporters are expected to go to three games in three weekends.
There will never be Irish media coverage of any early round club championship games, and again to remind you, very very few club managers want the club championship to begin before September, as most all third level students are gone, and the same for recent graduates.

Hurling Semi final attendance last year.

39,626 Clare v Kilkenny
52,215 Limerick v Galway

We'll see how those figures compares this weekend for the same semi final matches.

A double  header in Croke Park would  nearly cover that  crowd

Didn't the Hurling  semi  finals used to be double headers  back in the  90's?

It should be a double header, is there anything worse from a marketing/ atmosphere than having an All-Ireland semi final in a stadium that is less than half full.
I was there on the Saturday last year, zero atmosphere. Clare's wides didn't help but still.

The sense of entitlement from these execs and the absolute smugness and disdain they have with respect to questions they are being asked is on another level.

Totally agree, they come  across as somewhat aloof. Not living in the country,  is that a job they are appointed to or do they have to apply for it, and is it one of those jobs for life deals.
Listening to their accents, doesn't seem like too many of them would have a difficult commute to the office.

WUM are in full force on most blogs, I suppose school must be out in Kerry.
Mod's do every genuine supporter/blogger a favor and cut it out.

I think a trainful of Armagh supporters on the way to a match in Dublin would make a great play. With every 5 minutes an inspirational snippet by Benny Durano followed by fast music. For about an hour. With the train breaking down in Dundalk. And then a Tyrone voice every 2 minutes pointing out the weaknesses on the rest of the  way to Dublin.

Boarding a train for Dublin at Newry, when it's early morning, you are stone cold sober and you find it full of the Portadown/Lurgan Buckfast brigade on full charge. It's the stuff of nightmares. It's that awful, they should use it for rehabilitating prisoners.

The Lurgan ones have to get drunk to travel thru Portydown and then to bare the smell of diesel in Newry when the South Armagh fuel launderers get on the train...

All winding/joking aside it can be awful on that train if you're beside or close to drunk teenagers shouting and getting on. I'm not much of a drinker and very rarely take a drink but my last experience on the trains last year was actually a pleasant one but we were lucky to be on a carriage with older ones enjoying a beer and a bit of Elvis singing even broke out but I have been on the opposite end of that standing for 2 hours on a train with bampots everywhere...mixed bag really.

That is really a crazy situation would drive me batshit crazy. Now in my 50's, I still like a pint as much as any man or woman. However, drinking before a game just never appealed to me, still doesn't.
I want all my faculties in place, and I have zero desire to be bursting to take a piss during a game.
When I was younger, we never did that, you were just so happy to get to a game, possibly the money was not around either, it was either have a few pints before or after.
As for booing at free takers, I also hate that, classless.

Very difficult to know where Dublin are at so just so difficult to predict and can Mayo put back to back performances together.

Those kick out stats will have alarmed McStay especially considering so many were contested but on the flip side they managed to win despite only winning 12 out of 37 kick-outs.

very valid point, we have been badly beaten in the middle third for three straight games.
Cannot see how that can be resolved in a week. Who knows.

I think he was down with this stomach bug that apparently ran through half the squad before the cork game .

Considering how Diarmuid O Connor played that day, I could see that has some credence.
For a man that literally runs himself into the ground every time he puts that Mayo jersey on, he was standing with his hands on his his knees 20 mins in, also got badly caught in the build up to that Cork goal.

I'd guess that there will be around 40K on the Saturday and 50K on the Sunday. There will be plenty of seats available and not that many will stay for the duration of 2 full matches

55-60k Saturday, Armagh Tyrone Monaghan have great supporters, Kerry might bring 2k. 1k which will live in Dublin.
70k-75k Sunday. Mayo will bring 30k Dublin 35k, Derry 10k Cork 500

Mc Carthy says there may be a draw for the semi-finals.

Bit mad that.

Tis mad alright , Ted

So , in  what scenario would there  NOT be a draw?

Exactly, seems like a stupid statement.

[That and getting destroyed at midfield.]

Mad game of football.

Galway similar to Roscommon yesterday. Too much interest in systems, shapes and damage protection. A lack of positive intent and it cost them dearly.

Mayo looked like they were going to motor ahead 10 mins into second half but they fell victim to the same fear of losing. That and getting destroyed at midfield.

No matter who Mayo draw next they need Ruane back. Galway probably bigger than any team they might face in a QF, but I don't think I've ever seen a Mayo team so comprehensively slaughtered at midfield. They also need do put Eoin McLaughlin on ice somewhere. He seems like a genuinely brilliant lad, but he's the living embodiment of Donal Vaughan and Mayo don't need that self exploding disadvantage going to Croke Park.

In the first half you mean

Tyrone Kerry
Monaghan Armagh
Dublin Mayo
Cork Derry

Best draw for neutrals

Can you please switch
Mayo to V Derry at least if we lose, I will not begrudge Derry a win.
Two Derry men  that sit behind me in Croke Park have roared for Mayo for the last six or seven years.