Who do you CONSIDER the dirtiest team in Ulster in the last 20 years?

[magpie seanie]

5 Sams I've said it before and I'll say it again but that picture does not tell the story.  Still photos are notorious for misinformation.  It does not mention the hospital pass that Coulter gave Linden nor the fact that Linden was turning round as he met Francie and was wide open.  It was a frontal shoulder but no raised elbow or anything like that.  As you can clearly see Francie has his arm neatly tucked by his side and is the perfect shape for a shoulder charge.  It was off line but not the worst,  it was the pass and Linden's movement left himself vulnerable.

I'm sorry BC1 but the challenge was indefensible because there was zero chance of connecting side to side or shoulder to shoulder. Francie might have been, ahem, unlucky, to connect with the face rather than the chest but it was designed to take the man out. Zero attempt to play the ball, only interested in the man (and as you correctly pointed out the ball to Linden was not fantastic so he could have made a play on it). He would have been sin binned or possibly even red carded for that in rugby for heavens sake. It was reckless, he was out of control.

You're not alone in your assessment and indeed many times I've seen lads booked for this they go ballistic with the ref, pointing at their shoulder as if you can just go round hitting lads with your shoulder as you please.

[east down gael]

he tried the same 'tackle' on coulter maybe five or ten minutes after.

[brokencrossbar1]

You know if Eoin Woods or Brendan Grant had the same chance to do that to Oisin they would have done it in a heart beat, or if they didn't I would ask questions why not.

[Green Fields]

You know if Eoin Woods or Brendan Grant had the same chance to do that to Oisin they would have done it in a heart beat, or if they didn't I would ask questions why not.

Great ambassador for GAA, take the man out if you can irrespective of the physical repercussions on the opponent.

[Puckoon]

Tyrone definitely.

Winners need dirt and Tyrone had 2 players in defence prepared to do whatever it took. I don't think Armagh were particularly dirty. Stupidly clumsy but not dirty.

How did this get over looked!?

[Green Fields]

I think most people ignore O'Neill now - hence all the different users he posts as - craves the attention, sure let him at it.

[brokencrossbar1]

I think most people ignore O'Neill now - hence all the different users he posts as - craves the attention, sure let him at it.

I take it you're one of his latest inventions?

[Green Fields]

Whatever he is he doesn't appear to condone physical violence to win a match.

[Fuzzman]

On a serious note
Do you agree that it usually the teams that get to semi finals and finals tend to have an "edge" to them and that if you are too nice you get left behind. Of course the opposite can be said too.

Cork, Meath, Dublin and Kerry back in the 70s & 80s where prime examples of being able to mix the rough with the nice football.
Kilkenny are the same in hurling. No angels.

[J70]

A couple of years outside the parameter but the Derry and Donegal teams in the 1993 Ulster Final were surely as dirty as it gets .  Pure filth !!

Well, they were playing in a literal swamp that day! :p

Seriously though, there was a bit of bad blood in there too. Derry were a bit dismissive of Donegal and felt that we had taken THEIR AI title in '92, catching them on the hop in the Ulster final. There was a nasty league quarter final in the spring of '93, where Donegal won by a point but lost Tommy Ryan to a McKeever inflicted broken jaw. It was well known too that Coleman didn't exactly like McEniff. And McGilligan and Molloy weren't best pals either!

[tonto1888]

Tonto, are you under 40?

I can say that Ricey and Gormley was dirty as was a few others back in the 90s like Paul "Bootsie" Donnelly.

It will be interesting to see do Derry become a bit more "Physical" and dare I use the word cynical under Barton?
As Jim McGuinness showed Donegal that being a nice team gets you nowhere and how you have to mix the good football with the rough stuff to get to the top table.

I'm 35 mate. I mentioned ricey being dirty but I tell ye what, I'd have had him in orange no problem. Sometimes I don't think we were dirty enough

[bridgegael]

You know if Eoin Woods or Brendan Grant had the same chance to do that to Oisin they would have done it in a heart beat, or if they didn't I would ask questions why not.

Great ambassador for GAA, take the man out if you can irrespective of the physical repercussions on the opponent.

Maybe you don't like to hear it, buts it's true,  as bc1 says our fullback would have been expected to do the same that day. 

[southofnorth]

5 Sams I've said it before and I'll say it again but that picture does not tell the story.  Still photos are notorious for misinformation.  It does not mention the hospital pass that Coulter gave Linden nor the fact that Linden was turning round as he met Francie and was wide open.  It was a frontal shoulder but no raised elbow or anything like that.  As you can clearly see Francie has his arm neatly tucked by his side and is the perfect shape for a shoulder charge.  It was off line but not the worst,  it was the pass and Linden's movement left himself vulnerable.

I'm sorry BC1 but the challenge was indefensible because there was zero chance of connecting side to side or shoulder to shoulder. Francie might have been, ahem, unlucky, to connect with the face rather than the chest but it was designed to take the man out. Zero attempt to play the ball, only interested in the man (and as you correctly pointed out the ball to Linden was not fantastic so he could have made a play on it). He would have been sin binned or possibly even red carded for that in rugby for heavens sake. It was reckless, he was out of control.

You're not alone in your assessment and indeed many times I've seen lads booked for this they go ballistic with the ref, pointing at their shoulder as if you can just go round hitting lads with your shoulder as you please.

I don't believe it was indefensible.  There's no doubt, Francie was never going to play the ball but he made a career out of timing hard hits and occasional late ones!  Something that seems to be overlooked in that tackle was that Stephen Kernan played a big part.  Aside from the (aptly named) hospital pass from Coulter, Kernan reached over McAlinden's shoulder and pulled him back which left him wide open, turning him into Francie's hit.