What has happened Ulster Football?

[lynchbhoy]

Skilful footballers will usually win out these days- not the teams that beat opponents into fear and submission.

So do you think that Armagh would have won an All-Ireland without Francie Bellew.  Imagine playing against him and me walking in and shaking his hand and saying, hello Francie, I am Tom from Laois, I hope we both have a very skilful game, enjoy and may the most skilful team win. There is a strong possibility that I would be lying on my back looking up at jet plane vapour trails before a ball even came near me foir jaysus sake.  Are you saying that Ulster teams are soley concentrating on skilful football and that is why the championship is a non event?

I dont believe the championship is a non event - I think Bud you are taking the p**s or winding folk up here !
NO team goes out to lose so they can get a better run through the qualifies.
That defies competitive logic and i think is as wrong as wrong can be from the truth !

Secondly, Francie bellew - as per your example- didnt remain on the field and become part of a successful Armagh team without being able to play football and have exceptional skill abilities like high fielding, blocking, fist passing, not giving the ball away, successful tackling (not giving away a free) etc etc etc
skill is not just defined by long range point taking, long range foot passing and support play or grea movement off the ball.
No offence Bud, but if you are blinkering your own views of what skill is within football then its no surprise why you are questioning football in general to have being become a poorer version of what it was way back when ....
but I still contend you are fishing !

[Maguire01]

It would also appear that if you left a hurling ball down on the street in Clones, not to mention Donegal all the natives would gather around it asking "What is that and if it jumped up and bit them they still would not know what it was?" 

You're right. The natives would probably recognise it as a sliotar - not a 'hurling ball'. 

Although i'm not sure of the relevance of this to a football thread.

What in the name of jaysus are you on about, you are worst than the lads patrolling the board correcting commas and dots.
Here is 58,800 pictures of a "Hurling Ball"

Okay, maybe I was being pedantic. But your comments that people wouldn't recognise a sliotar was pretty ignorant. And totally irrelevant.

[Bud Wiser]

Now there is a post and a half lynchboy and I agree with most everything in it. I fully agree that Francie Bellew had skills, I had great admiration for him as indeed I have for clubs like Crossmaglen who produced a lot more skillful players than some clubs down here and they did so under trying circumstances because of the Brits.  However, I also said at the outset that it is since the boys took up book writing and jetting around the country to manage teams outside of Ulster that the gizz has gone out of Ulster Football.  Tell me one exciting match this year that involved an Ulster team.  The ones that I watched the commentator was nearly asleep much less myself.

[Hardy]

Hardy, happy in himself going around correcting apostrophes

Your nuts

Exactly. I think you'll find that refers to a part of your anatomy other than your mind.

Since you were winding me up about my devotion to apostrophes, I was just doing a little rewind in return.

[lynchbhoy]

Now there is a post and a half lynchboy and I agree with most everything in it. I fully agree that Francie Bellew had skills, I had great admiration for him as indeed I have for clubs like Crossmaglen who produced a lot more skillful players than some clubs down here and they did so under trying circumstances because of the Brits.  However, I also said at the outset that it is since the boys took up book writing and jetting around the country to manage teams outside of Ulster that the gizz has gone out of Ulster Football.  Tell me one exciting match this year that involved an Ulster team.  The ones that I watched the commentator was nearly asleep much less myself.

depends on what you are looking for in football Bud.
If you want a scorefest with tit for tat scores and cliffhanger ending with all skills displayed and wonderful high fielding and end to end type fayre - you will be disappointed in most CHAMPIONSHIP games - not just in Ulster.

OK for a decade or so - maybe longer , any Ulster side could defeat the game favourites - indeed it was often to be expected !
However this is not normal for football and Ulster has now replicated this norm from other provinces (and indeed other sports) in its results.
Maybe you are thinking Ulster football have gone down because Tyrone are so far ahead of everyone?
The other 8 counties are still capable of beating each other on their day (yes Cavan folk this includes you too).
But Tyrone - well they have turned the ulster championship into a replica of the munster championship prior to recent few seasons of Cork resurgence- where Kerry enjoyed total dominence up until then.

Back to the football - I enjoyed all the ulster championship games I watched - maybe not the results of the Derry game, but it did have most of the skills and drama (until Derry invariable stopped playing) desired in a championship match.
Monaghans games were underlined with all out attacking and huge scoring performances up until they were shut down by tyrone. Antrim once they allowed their opponents to rack up a lead then played with gaye abandon and flowing attack. Donegal obv played within themselves and conspired to throw away games despite of all the good things they did. Down built and built and fell at one point as expected with a young team - but the hunger and confidence they showed is ominous. Armagh are a season behind Down in rebuilding I think.
Tyrone were efficient in matches until they shut down and destroyed the farney boys, but you were waiting for this tactical trap from Harte.
I enjoyed the high scoring, the hard dogged defending, the 100% commitment and effort (even from Derry though they might not seem to have in each second half), the points scoring, the emergence of new superb players - monaghans darren hughes, tyrones mccarron, Downs clarke x 2, armaghs clarke jr etc etc
whats not to like when watching football.
even if its 0-0 to 0-0 at half time, there must be a supreme defensive effort in there and you hav to appreciate the defenders as much as attackers and scorers normally get the plaudits.Its hard to score when a defender doesnt give you an inch!
I'll say again that I enjoyed the FOOTBALL played in all the games I saw and WHATS NOT TO LIKE and appreciate !!

[Zapatista]

There are even more skills required to take a free in hurling than there are required in an entire game of football.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lj113j2QYU&feature=PlayList&p=B2B4DD85DCF22228&playnext=1&index=6

I wasn't entirely serious.

Hitting frees is a skill not a tactic. I disagree that it is a better skill than hitting a free in football.

I heard on a radio interview over the weekend that after attending a Kilkenny training session an ex-player and now pundit said it was clear that Cody has the team working on winning the ball in the air and if it's on the ground to try and clear it or make it as difficult as possible for your opponent to pick it up. It was concluded that this was the basis to KKs success (not to mention they are pretty good at doing it). Very basic if you ask me.