Messages

1

GAA Discussion / Re: Who is the most bitter after Dubs do 5 in a row

« on: September 17, 2019, 11:47:39 PM »

Topic was on prime time there this evening. Anyone with RTE1 +1 will get it at 22:30

Interesting that. The Dublin Problem has been a topic for a few years now, but with every success it becomes more prominent. Go back to 2016 and it was pretty much a subject exclusively for a few of us troglodytes on internet forums, but just three later we have regular open discourse on national television. The GAA public are slowly but surely waking up to The Problem and change is coming. Six, seven, eight - it's now a matter of when, not if, the break up happens.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Would you be in favour of a second tier?

« on: September 17, 2019, 11:02:42 PM »

If there is two tiers what is to motivate the lesser counties in the top tier?

Take Kerry, Mayo, Tyrone and possibly Donegal out of it and the Dubs will hockey every other team by double figures who are also in the top tier (they will beat those 4 mentioned teams by 5-9 points usually on any given day)

Kildare, Cavan, Roscommon, Galway etc are around 7th-10th ranked last few years. Each have been stuffed by Dublin, Kerry, Tyrone etc last few years.

Whats to motivate those players to participate in the HIGHEST tier? Never mind the lower tiers. The tankings will still take place in Tier 1.

Both correct.

If the idea is to go down this tiered route, then it needs to be done properly with three tiers. Counties around 9-16 will remain no hopers in the top tier. And counties down at 25-32/33 will remain uncompetitive in the second tier.

Two tiers is half an idea, just like most out of Croke Park.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Dublin v Kerry All Ireland Final 2019

« on: September 14, 2019, 08:37:30 PM »

Kerry will know you won't win many if any finals scoring just 0-5 in a 2nd half. What happened to the Kerry defence for the games only goal, minds still in dressing room?

So as expected Dublin win another All Ireland the only suprise was that needed two games to beat a Kerry team in transition in the final. The Dubs will win it again next year and for as good as they are it must also be acknowledged that their direct competitors aren't as good as they should be.

Very difficult to pass judgement on the quality of Dublin's opponents in the last few years. They have set the bar higher than ever before and are probably the best Gaelic football team of all time. How many great football teams in GAA history would've looked shite facing this Dublin side? Quite a few I'd imagine.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Money, Dublin and the GAA

« on: September 14, 2019, 08:19:12 PM »

Well done Dublin. 5 in a row. Best volunteers in the history of the GAA.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Dublin v Kerry All Ireland Final 2019

« on: September 14, 2019, 06:59:31 PM »

Murchan is a deadly wee player.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Dublin v Kerry All Ireland Final 2019

« on: September 14, 2019, 06:31:52 PM »

Dubs getting rid a bit again. Hands into the face from both O'Shea and Clifford now.

7

General discussion / Re: Brexit.

« on: September 11, 2019, 10:21:18 PM »

A summary of Operation Yellowhammer (it was supposed to be a report, but at five pages someone has clearly just typed a summary up) has now been published to comply with a vote passed by MPs on Monday night before the parliament was suspended.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/831199/20190802_Latest_Yellowhammer_Planning_assumptions_CDL.pdf

Yeah, it's not painting a pleasant picture.

Paragraph 18 will likely be of interests in these parts - the UK Government are pretty much admitting that they will have to actively impose a "hard border" sooner or later.

Also of note is Paragraph 5, noting that there could be electricity supply problems in NI not on the day of exit, but that the Single Energy Market could suddenly unwind, with increasing costs for consumers.

Paragraph 15 has been redacted - most likely it'll concern national security.

 

Para 15, supposedly:

Tariffs make UK petrol exports to the EU uncompetitive. Industry had plans to mitigate the impact on refinery margins and profitability, but UK government policy to set petrol import tariffs at 0% inadvertently undermines these plans. This leads to big financial losses and the closure of two refineries (which are converted to import terminals) with about 2,000 direct job losses. Resulting strike action at refineries would lead to disruptions to fuel availability for 1-2 weeks in the regions they directly supply. Government analysis of the impact of no-deal on refineries continues.

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General discussion / Re: The Official Tennis Thread

« on: September 11, 2019, 12:46:16 PM »

Federer made hay, 12 titles before Djokovic and Nadal arrived - 8 after. Since 2008 Nadal and Djokovic have won 16 slams each, Federer 8.

Perhaps there's a flip side to this, which is that Federer has done remarkably well to keep picking up slams into his late 30s against two all time greats who both have five years on him.

The age difference between Federer and the other two mean that it's impossible to make a fair comparison, as much as you'd like to try. In the end this debate is all about opinions, it can't won by stats.

Nadal already has more slams in his 30s than Federer. Djokovic has the same amount of slams in his 30s as Federer.

And neither have had to deal with a couple of all time greats with five years on them while they picked up these titles in their 30s.

There just isn't enough concurrence for a fair statistical comparison, no matter how much you try to force it.

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General discussion / Re: The Official Tennis Thread

« on: September 11, 2019, 11:18:03 AM »

Federer made hay, 12 titles before Djokovic and Nadal arrived - 8 after. Since 2008 Nadal and Djokovic have won 16 slams each, Federer 8.

Perhaps there's a flip side to this, which is that Federer has done remarkably well to keep picking up slams into his late 30s against two all time greats who both have five years on him.

The age difference between Federer and the other two mean that it's impossible to make a fair comparison, as much as you'd like to try. In the end this debate is all about opinions, it can't won by stats.

10

General discussion / Re: Man Utd Thread:

« on: September 03, 2019, 02:45:51 PM »

This 'it'll take several transfer windows to sort out the squad at United' line is a bit perplexing. What do those coming out with it actually mean? If they're on about rebuilding the squad to the point that challenging the top two for titles again is a realistic goal, then of course there's a lot of work to be done. But the immediate concern should have been with establishing the club as at least the best of the rest. And some big steps in that direction could have been made with appropriate recruitment over the course of just one transfer window, this summer.

United are short quality in midfield and attack. This was abundantly clear long before the end of last season. At least one more player should have been recruited in each of these areas. Foresight and finance should not have been issues. It has been a failure of management, at some or all levels within the club, to go into this season with such glaring squad deficiencies. Falling short of CL football again next season is now a strong prospect, which would in turn create difficulties recruiting future preferred targets, which in turn slows momentum and sees the club continue to stagnate 'two or three transfer windows' away from challenging again. United fans should be angrier about what went on this summer. The road back to the top is long, but the club could and should be further down that road by now.

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GAA Discussion / Re: This weekends predictions

« on: August 29, 2019, 07:01:54 PM »

Dublin 3-21
Kerry 1-14

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General discussion / Re: The IRISH RUGBY thread

« on: August 24, 2019, 04:57:36 PM »

Pure shite. Some amount of work to do in the next month.

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General discussion / Re: Wasps

« on: August 18, 2019, 04:41:21 AM »

Hardly seen a wasp this summer until the start of this month. Not quite overwhelmed with them yet, but as MS says above, we're now hitting the time of year where they get easily quite touchy.

Wasps - natures little b*stards. 

Put out a plate with some jam or sugary water or whatever in it. That's all they're after. The queens have stopped laying eggs, the nest social order is breaking down and they don't have to gather other insects any more to feed the new larvae. They'll all be dead soon anyway except for the overwintering queens.

An all out bender with no responsibilities before calling it a day. It'd be great to go out in the same fashion.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Attendances

« on: August 12, 2019, 09:27:43 PM »

Shockingly poor attendance. Pricing and fixture build up have to be looked at. Not many can afford to pay those prices week after week, especially if trying to bring your family.  Travel cost on top of it all too.

To be honest, I think the week after week thing is a bit of a red herring. Most people who went to the Super 8 games also went to the Semi FInal, these are relatively hardcore fans. Increased attendance at semi-finals comes from people who don't go to every county game, which brings in family members of regulars, people who attend club games, those who watch on TV and a lot of neutrals and people tenuously connected with the county. I think the poor visual quality of many games and the lack of competition is the real killer.

Costs of travel etc are no more than ever they were. As the hurling shows, if the product is good and the results unpredictable then people will turn out for the games.

Bingo. Hardcore GAA support is modest enough. It's the neutrals and the bandwagon that fill grounds.

The shite looking football has turned off the neutrals.
 
And the inevitability of Dublin has killed the bandwagon in almost all counties (except Mayo it seems - they're weird).

This year's final has the novelty of the 'drive for five' and will sell out. People should worry about what happens next, though. There's the very real likelihood of Dublin winning 7 and 8 in a half full stadium. That'll be the death of intercounty football, if it's allowed to happen as if everything is grand.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Retain the Super 8’s series?

« on: August 07, 2019, 12:00:29 AM »

What benefit is it to the sport as a whole, plyers, managers or fans to going back to the old knockout? Less games, greater predictability and lower profile for the sport and for what? I just can't understand the negativity about the super 8's when the only alternative is the old knockout system.

A 'Super 4s' would offer more games, less predictability, and a greater profile than the current knockout semi-final arrangement. But no one wants that. And no one wants in because it would be a ridiculous arrangement at such an advanced stage of the championship. Elitist, ungainly, unnecessary.

The Super 8s is a very barely more palatable situation. The sooner it's gone the better.