Winning style of football

[DUBSFORSAM1]

With Mayo/Dublin etc winning games by playing open attacking football and working on winning by kicking big scores will other teams try to follow this philosophy or will they stick to the negative defensive styles???

[From the Bunker]

Mayo are a defensive team! Don't be fooled. They just defend higher up!

[DUBSFORSAM1]

Mayo are a defensive team! Don't be fooled. They just defend higher up!

like most teams do when they play man on man they defend up the pitch

[BennyHarp]

Why does everyone have to play the same way? Nothing wrong with teams playing with contrasting styles!

[under the bar]

With Mayo/Dublin etc winning games by playing open attacking football and working on winning by kicking big scores will other teams try to follow this philosophy or will they stick to the negative defensive styles???

So Dublin don't work on defending then?  Imagine that.  Thanks for letting us all know the secret to your solitary all-ireland success in the past 18 years.   

[thewobbler]

With Mayo/Dublin etc winning games by playing open attacking football and working on winning by kicking big scores will other teams try to follow this philosophy or will they stick to the negative defensive styles???

It would appear you read score lines instead of watching games.

[mc_grens]

Several times yesterday I remarked to my neighbour that there were only 2 Dublin players in Kerry's half.

The blanket defense hasn't gone away, we're simply witnessing higher levels of fitness and in the Dublin team's case bags and bags of pace meaning they can move from defence to attack with great speed.

[Jinxy]

If everyone attacks when they have the ball and defends when they don't, this isn't 'defensive' football.

[mc_grens]

Wouldn't at all say it is. The romantic notion that we're seeing a return to 15 vs 15 and no massed defense is tosh is all I'm saying.

Dublin in the first half defended deep and in numbers. What really turned the game in their favour yesterday was pressuring the Kerry half back line with 6/7 men to limit the amount of good ball flowing out of that sector. That's a massive improvement, but instead of doubling down with a sweeper in front of the full back line they're just effectively doing the same thing out the field.

The result is that turnovers, because they are happening in the opponents half instead of their own, can more readily be converted to scores.

[fearglasmor]

An awful lot of shite being thrown around after a great and hugely entertaining game of football yesterday.
Theres no rule about the number of players you need to have in either half of the field. Managers are and should be free to set up their teams in whatever way they think gives them the best chance of winning. It would be stupid to think that every team is going start playing like Dublin or Mayo when they haven't got the quality of player to do it. Its not a question of all out attack or defence just doing what best suits the players you have. Even yesterday Andrews spent a lot of time around mid field and Flynn was often back in his own defence.

What I am happy about is that Mayo and Dublin have won out playing a game that is on balance far more attractive to watch than what has been successful over the last 5 or 10 years.
I hope they continue to do it.
I think its a real pity that Tyrone especially didn't trust their players to this man on man  style of play over the last 7 years as they had players capable of playing it.

[Christmas Lights]

Styles make fights

Lets just keep football the way it is.  Those who want to go gung ho, do it and those that want to play defensively do it also.