Tyrone County Football and Hurling

[HokeyPokey]

TBH I did expect more Tyrone supporters at the Dublin game. New manager, quarter-final and nothing like playing the Dubs.. memories of those great quarter-final occasions in 2005.. but wasn't like that at all. Dubs didn't bring same numbers as those days either.
Drawn game '05 when Dublin got the goal before half-time, I never heard noise like it in Croke Park.

I remember sitting in the middle of the Hogan and the noise when they went in at half time was probably the loadest I remember in Croker.

[NotedObserver]

TBH I did expect more Tyrone supporters at the Dublin game. New manager, quarter-final and nothing like playing the Dubs.. memories of those great quarter-final occasions in 2005.. but wasn't like that at all. Dubs didn't bring same numbers as those days either.
Drawn game '05 when Dublin got the goal before half-time, I never heard noise like it in Croke Park.

I remember sitting in the middle of the Hogan and the noise when they went in at half time was probably the loadest I remember in Croker.

They made a comeback in the replay. They hit 4/5 in a row and the noise was incredible. Conal keaney got a few scores

[GAA Club Fan]

Not sure I can give too many answers to the support question. A few theories;

- I think Tyrone fans lost the habit of going in the later days of Harte, and then we'd covid. Sometimes going to these things is a habit.
- The Tyrone Club scene is very active. There have been games every week more or less which takes a lot of the focus. When our game ends at the weekend, thoughts immediately turn to the next big game, and that's usually the club game. In other counties the club season can bypass people. If Tyrone was out once every 3 x weeks you have a chance to build that hype and get momentum among the support which is no longer the case.
- Tyrone used to be hated, Spillane, RTE, Southeners etc. I think that got the juices going. Us against the world. We are probably not hated enough.
- I think the team lack personality a bit. Mugsy, Ricey, etc. They are all a bit samey character wise now.
- The County does not have an all county identity anymore. Dooher, O'Neill, McShane, McNamee all represented N Tyrone for example. There is no representation there any more so we're probably losing something there too.
- I find the young ones don't drink as much. In the past it was bus trips and a bit of craic. That would have brought a huge number of young ones who had no interest in the GAA. Again, the fact that there are Club games on top of County games is probably a hindrance. A young club player will not bother with the game so he can be ready for the club. That stops him/her and 1/2 pals. Again, the CCC have lots of games to fit in to a short window with the starred system so it's a hard square to circle.

[smort]

Not sure I can give too many answers to the support question. A few theories;

- I think Tyrone fans lost the habit of going in the later days of Harte, and then we'd covid. Sometimes going to these things is a habit.
- The Tyrone Club scene is very active. There have been games every week more or less which takes a lot of the focus. When our game ends at the weekend, thoughts immediately turn to the next big game, and that's usually the club game. In other counties the club season can bypass people. If Tyrone was out once every 3 x weeks you have a chance to build that hype and get momentum among the support which is no longer the case.
- Tyrone used to be hated, Spillane, RTE, Southeners etc. I think that got the juices going. Us against the world. We are probably not hated enough.
- I think the team lack personality a bit. Mugsy, Ricey, etc. They are all a bit samey character wise now.
- The County does not have an all county identity anymore. Dooher, O'Neill, McShane, McNamee all represented N Tyrone for example. There is no representation there any more so we're probably losing something there too.
- I find the young ones don't drink as much. In the past it was bus trips and a bit of craic. That would have brought a huge number of young ones who had no interest in the GAA. Again, the fact that there are Club games on top of County games is probably a hindrance. A young club player will not bother with the game so he can be ready for the club. That stops him/her and 1/2 pals. Again, the CCC have lots of games to fit in to a short window with the starred system so it's a hard square to circle.

Good post

A sensible new poster, haven't seen one of them in the Tyrone forums in a while

[ONARAGGATIP]

Not sure I can give too many answers to the support question. A few theories;

- I think Tyrone fans lost the habit of going in the later days of Harte, and then we'd covid. Sometimes going to these things is a habit.
- The Tyrone Club scene is very active. There have been games every week more or less which takes a lot of the focus. When our game ends at the weekend, thoughts immediately turn to the next big game, and that's usually the club game. In other counties the club season can bypass people. If Tyrone was out once every 3 x weeks you have a chance to build that hype and get momentum among the support which is no longer the case.
- Tyrone used to be hated, Spillane, RTE, Southeners etc. I think that got the juices going. Us against the world. We are probably not hated enough.
- I think the team lack personality a bit. Mugsy, Ricey, etc. They are all a bit samey character wise now.
- The County does not have an all county identity anymore. Dooher, O'Neill, McShane, McNamee all represented N Tyrone for example. There is no representation there any more so we're probably losing something there too.
- I find the young ones don't drink as much. In the past it was bus trips and a bit of craic. That would have brought a huge number of young ones who had no interest in the GAA. Again, the fact that there are Club games on top of County games is probably a hindrance. A young club player will not bother with the game so he can be ready for the club. That stops him/her and 1/2 pals. Again, the CCC have lots of games to fit in to a short window with the starred system so it's a hard square to circle.

Good post

A sensible new poster, haven't seen one of them in the Tyrone forums in a while

So to summarise you used to have a load of young drunk kids following you like armagh recently now you don't. But no doubt they will be back for the semi. Which everyone knows you have zero chance of winning.

[RoundBall]

Not sure I can give too many answers to the support question. A few theories;

- I think Tyrone fans lost the habit of going in the later days of Harte, and then we'd covid. Sometimes going to these things is a habit.
- The Tyrone Club scene is very active. There have been games every week more or less which takes a lot of the focus. When our game ends at the weekend, thoughts immediately turn to the next big game, and that's usually the club game. In other counties the club season can bypass people. If Tyrone was out once every 3 x weeks you have a chance to build that hype and get momentum among the support which is no longer the case.
- Tyrone used to be hated, Spillane, RTE, Southeners etc. I think that got the juices going. Us against the world. We are probably not hated enough.
- I think the team lack personality a bit. Mugsy, Ricey, etc. They are all a bit samey character wise now.
- The County does not have an all county identity anymore. Dooher, O'Neill, McShane, McNamee all represented N Tyrone for example. There is no representation there any more so we're probably losing something there too.
- I find the young ones don't drink as much. In the past it was bus trips and a bit of craic. That would have brought a huge number of young ones who had no interest in the GAA. Again, the fact that there are Club games on top of County games is probably a hindrance. A young club player will not bother with the game so he can be ready for the club. That stops him/her and 1/2 pals. Again, the CCC have lots of games to fit in to a short window with the starred system so it's a hard square to circle.

Good post

A sensible new poster, haven't seen one of them in the Tyrone forums in a while

So to summarise you used to have a load of young drunk kids following you like armagh recently now you don't. But no doubt they will be back for the semi. Which everyone knows you have zero chance of winning.

More chance of winning it than Down have anyway 😂

[NotedObserver]

Was quite surprising to see Michael Oneill coming in on Saturday as he hasn't seen much game time. Was he injured? did see he was released to club for a few games.
What's the thoughts on Seanie O'Donnell? Looks a bit small at times but does pick up loose ball and carries at pace

[trileacman]

Poor county support is not just limited to us though. I agree there was a drop-off after 2018 but bar 2 exceptions all county support is in the doldrums.

Mayo kept up a brilliant county support up until the 2021 AI. Their support has really collapsed since then back to everyone else's level. Kerry, given how successful they've been this few years have only a slightly better support than us. The Dubs now bring a poor crowd, given their huge population and their previously big support. Derry's have/had their best team for 30 years lately and their support is even worse than ours. Donegal bring a good crowd and Armagh are the only big attenders left in the game. Their support is a credit to them but lets be honest, they are the only county side who you could say are well-supported.

I think the broad collapse is down to 5 things:

-uncompetitive matches, the Division 1 elite hammering the lesser teams destroyed a lot of casual interest in both the big counties and the rest.
-stale matches, not unique to Tyrone or their previous management. Dublin's 6 in a row team was a dire watch. The only entertaining team of the last 10 years was Mayo.
-the sanitisation of the game. There's no longer melees or red cards in games, players don't square up to each other as much, there's less dirty hits. Probably all for the better for the players but for spectators it doesn't get the crowds going.
-the increased fitness and conformity of players. County players all resemble each other now, drink and socialise a lot less and try quite hard to conform to a inoffensive stereotype for fear they'll give their opponents some kind of perceived motivational advantage. Plus coaches like McGuinness have beaten all the initiative and risk-taking out of them. The physical demands on them now mean they are now much less likely to have hobbies outside football or interesting careers.
-finally the split season, ditching of the previous underage structures and county football being played in poorer early season weather. A Ulster Championship through the heat of summer was a great event, warm Ulster final days in Clones brought out great colour.

I really don't think its about money or anything Tyrone county board does. Premiership and international soccer is very expensive to follow and watch with it's paywalls and ticket prices. Likewise Rugby is full of price gougers trying to screw as much money as possible out of a bog-standard product yet both are very popular in Ireland.

[trileacman]

Was quite surprising to see Michael Oneill coming in on Saturday as he hasn't seen much game time. Was he injured? did see he was released to club for a few games.
What's the thoughts on Seanie O'Donnell? Looks a bit small at times but does pick up loose ball and carries at pace

Not just saying this because of the club connection but I thought Daly and O'Donnell were excellent in the 2nd half. Their work rate and tracking isn't apparent on the TV but they got through a world of work and never seemed to tire, certainly not in the way Harte, McGeary or Donnelly tired. I know Meyler has a big reputation built up from years of tireless hard work but I think O'Donnell has shown that he can be a more than capable replacement for him. Meyler is probably a stickier man-marker than Seanie but Seanie has more pace than Meyler does.

Was surprised by O'Neills inclusion too. The management do a lot of chopping and changing to the 26, which I suppose keeps the squad happy but I'd prefer at this stage of the season to have subs with more experience of Croker and big games. In 2021 we'd Patsy, Bradley, T. McCann, Ben, McShane and Paul Donaghy on the bench.

[trileacman]

Not sure I can give too many answers to the support question. A few theories;

- I think Tyrone fans lost the habit of going in the later days of Harte, and then we'd covid. Sometimes going to these things is a habit.
- The Tyrone Club scene is very active. There have been games every week more or less which takes a lot of the focus. When our game ends at the weekend, thoughts immediately turn to the next big game, and that's usually the club game. In other counties the club season can bypass people. If Tyrone was out once every 3 x weeks you have a chance to build that hype and get momentum among the support which is no longer the case.
- Tyrone used to be hated, Spillane, RTE, Southeners etc. I think that got the juices going. Us against the world. We are probably not hated enough.
- I think the team lack personality a bit. Mugsy, Ricey, etc. They are all a bit samey character wise now.
- The County does not have an all county identity anymore. Dooher, O'Neill, McShane, McNamee all represented N Tyrone for example. There is no representation there any more so we're probably losing something there too.
- I find the young ones don't drink as much. In the past it was bus trips and a bit of craic. That would have brought a huge number of young ones who had no interest in the GAA. Again, the fact that there are Club games on top of County games is probably a hindrance. A young club player will not bother with the game so he can be ready for the club. That stops him/her and 1/2 pals. Again, the CCC have lots of games to fit in to a short window with the starred system so it's a hard square to circle.

Good point about the county representation too. The dominance of Div 1 teams in the squad is a problem. We previously had a much much broader representation of small clubs on the squad. Dooher, O'Neill, Gourley, McGee(when lough were a DIV 2 side, McCrossan, etc.

[tiempo]

Was quite surprising to see Michael Oneill coming in on Saturday as he hasn't seen much game time. Was he injured? did see he was released to club for a few games.
What's the thoughts on Seanie O'Donnell? Looks a bit small at times but does pick up loose ball and carries at pace

Seanie O'Donnell is the closest thing we have to Ryan McHugh, i'm saying that as a huge compliment, really glad he's back starting again

Meyler has a long road ahead to get the sharpness of 2021/22 back, it might not even happen but kudos to him for making it this far

Would like to see Clarke start the next day, think he's the pick of the 3 corner back options

If McKernan is back and 100% I feel it's there for the taking, it'll be much more difficult without him

[NotedObserver]

Was quite surprising to see Michael Oneill coming in on Saturday as he hasn't seen much game time. Was he injured? did see he was released to club for a few games.
What's the thoughts on Seanie O'Donnell? Looks a bit small at times but does pick up loose ball and carries at pace

Seanie O'Donnell is the closest thing we have to Ryan McHugh, i'm saying that as a huge compliment, really glad he's back starting again

Meyler has a long road ahead to get the sharpness of 2021/22 back, it might not even happen but kudos to him for making it this far

Would like to see Clarke start the next day, think he's the pick of the 3 corner back options

If McKernan is back and 100% I feel it's there for the taking, it'll be much more difficult without him

Clarke v unlucky not to be starting and has had good cameos in last 2 games as well. More of and out and out defender than Devlin but to be fair he's acquitted himself well

[Jim Bob]

Was quite surprising to see Michael Oneill coming in on Saturday as he hasn't seen much game time. Was he injured? did see he was released to club for a few games.
What's the thoughts on Seanie O'Donnell? Looks a bit small at times but does pick up loose ball and carries at pace

Seanie O'Donnell is the closest thing we have to Ryan McHugh, i'm saying that as a huge compliment, really glad he's back starting again

Meyler has a long road ahead to get the sharpness of 2021/22 back, it might not even happen but kudos to him for making it this far

Would like to see Clarke start the next day, think he's the pick of the 3 corner back options

If McKernan is back and 100% I feel it's there for the taking, it'll be much more difficult without him

Mckernan progressing well.
I expect him to feature in semifinal.
We need him

[tyrone08]

Thoughts on moving mattie closer to goal and starting sparky. Mattie has the physical presence missing in forward line and sparky has the speed and movement.

Would allow us to end with our strongest team on the pitch.

Also option of rotating kennedy or conn into forwards for a few long balls throughout the match.

[tiempo]

Thoughts on moving mattie closer to goal and starting sparky. Mattie has the physical presence missing in forward line and sparky has the speed and movement.

Would allow us to end with our strongest team on the pitch.

Also option of rotating kennedy or conn into forwards for a few long balls throughout the match.

Can't see it, Matty at 11 seems the order of the day with Dazzler and Darragh inside, they definitely start with that

Interesting one for me is whether Petey Harte starts or held in reserve, I'd be inclined to start him