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Emmet McMahon is right. A good player. Clare have some tidy forwards. Eoin Cleary played for UL a few years ago

Emmett should be a key player for Clare in coming years. Not sure if Eoin in UL. He in guards now. His twin brother Conor definitely went to UL.

Eoin was in LIT , but left after first year to join AGS. Conor won Fitzgibbon with UL, when doing masters. Hurled with NUIG for undergrad.

Its a strange one because football in Antrim we are at best a div 3 team but mainly div 4 for so many years, WE got to one Ulster final in over 50 years but its still a big deal here with me club teams that hurling.. I can't work that out other than its an easier sport to play 

Much the same here in Laois - we're currently division 4 in football and Division 1 in hurling, but the county board is still very skewed towards football. And that's despite the fact that the hurling county finals bring in bigger attendances. In terms of clubs/ playing numbers, it's probably about 60 football:40 hurling. Part of it might be that football's more widely played nationally, and there's always a chance- if you get fit enough and are determined enough - that you can make strides. With hurling, it's more like baby steps up intercounty the pecking order.

Similar dynamic in Westmeath. These counties have much much smaller populations than the top hurling counties (Kilkenny excepted). And unlike Kilkenny are splitting their resources across two games. Westmeath is a genuine duel county - in that it actually has duel players. Almost every member of the county hurling panel plays club football , and most at senior level. This is not the case in Galway for example, where it is effectively two different counties from a GAA perspective.
Bottom line is, player numbers are not there. And there are not (and realistically never will be) the resources to change that dramatically. It's a numbers game ; population and money.

I'd be worried if I was a Chelsea fan. Spending all this money. It's not a viable financial model. In a year or two they could find themselves doing a Leeds if the owner gets fed up. This is were there should be proper safeguards but City have got away with it and looks like Chelsea will as well.

The problem that the more recently successful teams (often referred to as the big 6 😏) are having is that the premier league pie has got so big that almost every team in the division can pack their squads with top class players. Yet, there are still just 4 champions league spots. When you've built your business model on being in the champions league every year , then you've got a problem.

I can never understand how these big clubs get caught up in this Transfer deadline day hype.
If you want a player why not sign him the first week of the transfer window, why leave it so late, sometimes it comes down to the last few hours. Why all the panic on the last day when you have a whole month to do business.

I work in technology sales. Last week of the financial year is the biggest. When all parties involved in a negotiation know that there is a deadline , then there will be incentive for one side to ensure it goes to the last minute in order to draw the maximum concessions.

Seems to be a lot here who have no idea what it's like to have ties to more than one club. Fair enough if it's just the one for you, all the power to you, but many of us have one or both parents from somewhere else. You may have grown up going to club games for more than one club, some might go to more than one county. Very rich to assume you know what is in a fellas head about what means home to him when he has likely been between both their whole life.

For McCarron, his family is steeped in Scotstown, through his Dad and Grandfather. He's moving to live in the area by all accounts. This is as cut and dry a case as you'll see and is something we just need to deal with. It's ok for someone to have a tie to another club and move there. Just because you might not understand it, doesn't mean it's wrong.

Yeah I can identify with this. I spent all my playing years with my home club, and never considered transferring, even though I lived in Dublin from 21.
However I have huge grá for my father's club, which are in a different province entirely. He brought me to many games as a kid , and they were (and still are) very successful. So a link and bond is created. I think I would have been very proud to have played for them. Any other club in the country , not so much.

Yeah, they spend all that money for nothing, GAA will call a replay, Glen will turn up, Crokes don't, and I then fine them as standard, for not full filling a fixture. GAA played Leinster Finals, semi at Croke Park when they could been played elsewhere in Leinster. Big clubs seem to do what they want, and the GAA hoped Glen just disappear, and continue as normal. Just like all the sending off's which occur, and men get off cause our Gareth Brooks GAA fabs/high brass are counting the money and not addressing the rule book which needed addressed as far back as, 2004 after The Westmeath midfielder took out a court injunction to play against Derry.

Laois. He played the quarter against Derry subsequently. But played in the Leinster final too.

[if he brings them up]

So the Obafemi move looks like it's on. You kinda forget he is only 22 and he if he brings them up and keeps the head down he will be a Premier League striker next year.

Pretty sure they are as good as up already.

[They won't be the slightest bit annoyed. They'll look around the clubhouse at lads they've known since 5 years of age]

They won't be the slightest bit annoyed. They'll look around the clubhouse at lads they've known since 5 years of age, who are now all Ireland champions. They won't even consider the "why".

LMFAO

Look, if it makes you feel better to tell yourself that the members of KC will see this in someway as a hollow victory, then tell yourself that. We can all look from the outside and see that this transfer was a nonsense. We can also make an assessment and say that they wouldn't even have got out of Dublin without this transfer (given that they beat NF by skin of their teeth).
However I can tell you that the members of KC won't give a single damn, and they won't even hear these arguments. They'll be in their own little euphoric bubble. And, they will think exactly as I stated above.

It actually struck me at the end of the game how chaotic KC's attempts to get subs on was. As neutrals we commented that it was unusual at the time. Also commented that KC had literally everyone back. They got stung last year and were being really stretched by Glen. Their management will have come to the conclusion that they were vulnerable at the end of games. Taking in all these factors, the current in-depth prep and "win-at-all " costs mentality of top teams, it would be a master stroke to try to get extra bodies in the defence at the end . Repelling Glen's final attacks were helped by the crowding , not just physically but the Visual deterrent of numbers back defending and lack of space . Whether this was an incredibly cynical tactic or by accident , it must be seen to be penalised or now many others  will be at it, especially when only the referee officiating . Tbf to KC management another explanation for the chaos could be the rush to get players on the field to keep them sweet with a bit of AI game-time , as they lost their place to "tribesman" Shane Walsh.
I hesitate to be critical of KC as they operate a brilliant club in a challenging environment, but this must be a hollow victory for most club stalwarts. On reflection, They'll be annoyed, no doubt , that it looks like their all-ireland would never have happened if they hadn't have pulled in the second best player in Ireland for a few months. Despite the cries of "Noice peno, ShaneO" , he's not one of their own , and the genuine KC gaels will have their heads in their hands this morning , wondering if it was all worth it.
Not wanting to take away from the great work being done in KC, but the Shane Walsh fiasco dominated the conversation amongst everyone I talked to about the match .."not a good look".
It's no consolation to Glen , but without Shane Walsh , and just 15 opposition players on the pitch they would have been AI champs, by some distance .
Regarding the extra players, if there isn't a rule to heavily penalise this, there should be.

Do you honestly believe that the clubmen of KC will have looked at this win and be annoyed? They seemed very happy at the final whistle

They won't be the slightest bit annoyed. They'll look around the clubhouse at lads they've known since 5 years of age , who are now all Ireland champions. They won't even consider the "why".

Don't think he was sarcastic this week.

That was a message to the fans tonight. The next wave.

Thought he was bang on with his message to his players and fans.

He's railing against their comfortable attitude which will be their undoing players especially and home fans expecting the win, just because who they are, but with no fire or passion they'll get caught out like they have in a few games recently.

Prawn sandwich brigade

In fairness to City they have always had 35k hardcore fans, but have obviously now gained lots of hangers on and new fans spending their time taking selfies at matches

I remember when they were in the old Third Division. It's not that long ago.
Chelsea were the same. An old club with success in the past who were bought by a billionaire and turned into a superpower.

Team moved up and down the leagues far more frequently when there was less money involved.
Villa went from 3rd division to league and European Champions inside 10 years, back down to 2nd division within another 5, and then 2nd place in division 1 three years later (1990).

Will Westmeath suffer from the same malaise that affected Cavan and Tipp in 2021 after Championship successes? Cavan are in a perfect position to test them Sunday week.

It would be a surprise.

Not a huge one. This Westmeath team didn't peak in 2022 - don't let the Tailteann Cup fool you. They wouldn't have been in that competition if they hadn't lost at home to Longford in the league.
The key players are the same ones that made back to back Leinster finals in 2015 & 2016. Backboned by a superb u21 group from 2010. Heslin was the youngest member of that u21 team , and is 30 now. There isn't a sufficient volume of quality coming behind to be anything better than Div 3.
Will possibly get up this year, but would most likely come straight back down , and stay down for quite some time.

I think every county championship should be straight knockout for counties with less than 16 teams you could use league positions to get byes or seeds so league becomes meaningful.

Yes , fewer games of significance , that's exactly what players want.

There more teams play senior championship in Leitrim and Fermanagh, (10) than in Kerry with more than twice the teams. Something is  wrong there. If Kerry club fball so good how come they don't win the All - Ireland club so often in a weak club province at Senior level where only the winners of Cork are serious rivals.

I agree the system should be looked at however to be fair Kerry's internal system produces players for inter county level. As for the club scene the senior club championship is very competitive at provincial level, but Kerry clubs have won the senior All Ireland and usually compete.

For all the talk of Kerry's system questions should be asked how Tyrone can produce so many junior and intermediate provincial, All Ireland champions or All Ireland finalists yet never have a club bar one in the past that genuinely competes at senior level.

That says to me there must be clubs in Tyrone that are graded lower than they would be in most other counties.

As someone said in another thread, Tyrone is one of the fairest systems I know of. Top 1/3 of teams are senior, next 1/3 are intermediate, bottom 1/3 junior

I think it just shows how competitive Tyrone club football is from top to bottom.

Isn't the Tyrone senior championship straight knock out? Which is quite unusual these days. Makes it way more difficult for a strong team to win a few back to back. A quick google tells me 8 different winner in the past 10 years. Dominance in ones own county is usually required in order to do well at provincial level. Certainly in Leinster (which I'm more familiar with) this is the case. I can only think of Ballymun in the last 20 years who have won Leinster following their first county title as a team. Maybe Brigid's too. Non-Dublin you're looking at Ferbane in 1986 as the last time it was done.

Giggs seemed to have better players around him when he was playing with Wales, but they were never near qualification. Mark Hughes,Ian Rush, Gary Speed, Neville Southhall.

Bale was outstanding in the qualifiers and at Euro 16. He led them to Euro 20 and the World Cup. He had a poor World Cup maybe the retirement was on his mind before then

They were near enough for USA 94. Still had a shot going in to last game , but lost at home to Romania.

Very few Kerry clubs have won the all-Ireland

More Kerry clubs have won the all Ireland than any other county. It would however be true to say that Kerry clubs have not won many all Irelands in total. Nemo alone have more than all of Kerry combined.