Waterford vs Limerick, Thurles

[Zulu]

Brick wasn't doing it at midfield, are you mad? He was one of the best midfielders in the country over the past number of years, I'd say one thing if there was obvious replacements but there isn't. Davy is a bluffer and everyone knows it.

[highorlow]

What did the crowd do to Davy Fitz today?

I heard an interview with him on the radio, he was giving out like f..k but it wasn't clear what he was giving out about?

[orangeman]

Brick wasn't doing it at midfield, are you mad? He was one of the best midfielders in the country over the past number of years, I'd say one thing if there was obvious replacements but there isn't. Davy is a bluffer and everyone knows it.

Davy was like a Messiah last year. What's happened ? Will there be another late night meeting called this week ? Is Gerald available ?

[Zulu]

Davy was like a Messiah last year. What's happened ?

No he wasn't and many people in Waterford were never happy about his appointment or his performance last year. Waterford got to the AI semi final without by beating Offaly and Wexford and were lucky to do so, especially against Wexford. Davy is a spoofer of the highest order and most Waterford GAA folk want him gone.

[orangeman]

Davy was like a Messiah last year. What's happened ?

No he wasn't and many people in Waterford were never happy about his appointment or his performance last year. Waterford got to the AI semi final without by beating Offaly and Wexford and were lucky to do so, especially against Wexford. Davy is a spoofer of the highest order and most Waterford GAA folk want him gone.

It might not be entirely due to his managerial / coaching ability. Did Waterford lose their trainer there recently ? 

[orangeman]

Davy was like a Messiah last year. What's happened ?

No he wasn't and many people in Waterford were never happy about his appointment or his performance last year. Waterford got to the AI semi final without by beating Offaly and Wexford and were lucky to do so, especially against Wexford. Davy is a spoofer of the highest order and most Waterford GAA folk want him gone.

I think you'll find hundreds of pictures of Davy being carried shoulder high round Croke Park after beating Tipp last year. I saw it myself.

But then again I seen Gerald being shouldered around Thurles last summer as well.

[awfulynice]

Hurling is dying because not enough people are willing to put the effort in to coach properly or as players to train properly, Gaelic and soccer are much easier to pick up to a semi respectable level and that is why more people play them than hurling, nothing to do with what pundits say on TV.

I wouldnt agree that hurling is dieing, in fact it is probably becoming more competitive now than it ever was. The simple fact is that we have a monopoly of Kilkenny in hurling at the moment, if you took them out of the championship it would be a toss up between 7 - 8 counties for the all ireland imo with a lot of teams being in with a shout of winning an all ireland...that was never the case even in the "golden" nineties. Kilkenny are just way too good at the moment, but im sure their mantle will slip eventually, Henry Shefflin turned 30 so may not have much left in the tank, missing a player of his calibre could knock them from invincible to very good and it could happen in the space of a year or two. Also then look at the emergence of tipp / galway / dublin all looking competitive, there are some positive aspects aswell.

You are correct in saying that it is easier to get a football team to be competitive than a hurling team.You only have to look at mick o dwyer and what he has done in about 4 or 5 different counties in his career.

BUT there is great work being done at underage and senior level, in my own county offaly, the clubs to the north who traditionally were football players are taking to hurling in a  big way and have become very competitive in the last 4-5 years, if they continue to progress it will undoubtedly improve the club championship and the county team. At underage level developement teams have been set up in most counties now, also hurling is being started at U-8 level which has never happened before, all this will pay off in 10 - 15 years and i foresee a bright future for hurling.


On todays game, it was bad but in fairness it was a monsoon so I will reserve judgement on the standard until i see the replay.

[imtommygunn]

The demise of hurling being touted on this thread is a bit premature.

Being honest Waterford and Limerick are two teams who are half decent but not brilliant. Also Waterford are heavily reliant on a select number of key players and without them firing they're an ok, but not great, team.  Waterford are aging too. Limerick still couldn't beat them so obviously they're not great either.

In the coming months there should be enough games to reignite things.

I wouldn't expect munster to be great from now on  as Tipp should be too strong but Leinster's two semi finals should be good. (Well assuming Galway challenge KK which I think they will).

I'd also expect a lot of good games to come in qualifiers between Galway, Cork, Kilkenny and Tipp who would be the big four.

Teams like Dublin, Wexford Offaly Waterford and Limerick playing each other will also provide good games. Oh yeah and I forgot about Clare too.

[Reillers]

One bad game, ok, well one terrible game and what, suddenly the worlds ending? The sport's dead? Because of one shitty game in crap conditions. No need to hit the panic buttons just yet.
Whatever about Limerick, who were in the AI final 2 seasons ago, but we all know Waterford are better then that. Both teams are much better then that and the replay can only be better, and I think that if there's anything to take from this game then it's the fact that they both get to go out again and try and put some respectibility to their names again because really, you can't get much worse then that.

But if Cork U21 team can preform like they did this season against Tipp, and have before, with no structures, no nothing, then there's hope for anyone.

Cork and Tipp will always be there, as will Galway and KK, then you've got Limerick Waterford and Clare, Waterford are always there or there abouts with Cork and Tipp and have been right up there for the last few seasons, and then the other 2, who's form changes season to season but one of the 2 manage to put in a decent enough season every year.

One bad game means nothing. And hopefully when they play again next time, it'll be a good game and wont have us almost in tears because of the boredom, and will stop us from declaring the end of the world.

[INDIANA]

Can't agree at all . Waterford have little or nothing coming through to replace the current crop Reillers- you should know that.
Limerick hurling is decimated by Munster rugby. Again little or nothing coming through.
Clare- similar to the above but I'd fancy Clare to beat either of them as their players have a couple of years left.
The provincial championships are dead in the water -its time to recognise the fact and move on. If the Munster championship was still so good- why is it 4 years since Liam made a visit past Urlingford?

[EddieMerx]

Why do people always say Galway are in the top 4??? seriously what have they done for nearly 20 years to be warranted as contenders?

So we might have some competitive games but a junior match can be competitive it still doesn't mean the quality is good. Hurling is dying whether we like to believe it or not. Honestly outside of KK, Tipp and Cork who has a hope of winning an All Ireland in the next 10 years?

[Reillers]

Can't agree at all . Waterford have little or nothing coming through to replace the current crop Reillers- you should know that.
Limerick hurling is decimated by Munster rugby. Again little or nothing coming through.
Clare- similar to the above but I'd fancy Clare to beat either of them as their players have a couple of years left.
The provincial championships are dead in the water -its time to recognise the fact and move on. If the Munster championship was still so good- why is it 4 years since Liam made a visit past Urlingford?

They've nothing coming through, but I didn't say they had, I said Cork and Tipp will always be there.
The current Waterford team they have now is better then what they showed on the day against Limerick.
Munster is Munster, you don't get rid of Munster, not much better days out, Leinster means nothing to Leinster but it still means something down here.

And what exactly do you propuse because going by you're talk there's Cork Tipp, KK, Galway and that's it and everyone else is about 5 levels bellow, we can saw well done to the likes of Dublin and the rest of them for improving and such every season, but the reality is that they're still all another level bellow the 4 I named up there.
And by going with that talk there's 4 teams who'd compete, and even then we know that's not true, because there's 3 and there's Kilkenny.
Going by what's said there then IC hurling sounds pretty dead to me, and I know it's not.

[INDIANA]

The problem is that we are in danger of losing some of the traditional counties over the next 3-4 years and probably gain one non-traditional county in Dublin. And I don't mean dublin are going to be winning all-irelands but I think they will get to being very competitive with most teams in about 3 years. The problem is I think we're going to lose the likes of Limerick hurling and Clare are in danger as well. Waterford are trying to arrest the slode at underage but they've been so poor at underage for years now- they really are starting at square 1. Munster rugby is killing Limerick hurling.
The idea was to get the likes of Dublin strong and maintain the currrent counties - not lose some of them which we're in danger of doing. Down the scale a bit the likes of Antrim and Laois are in terrible trouble as well. What is the Gaa doing to help these counties?
Hurling is now greater in participation numbers at all levels but at the highest level its struggling.
But look at Westmeath for example- doing terrific work at underage- beat offaly at minor level a few weeks back and the leinster council won't even let them into the Leinster senior championship. Carlow beat Antrim and  nearly beat Offaly this year and again- same old story. No entry to the leinster championship. How can the game ever develop with that sort of attitude.
Wexford and Offaly have arrested the slide at underage and are now back at a competitve level at senior. Some of the sides in Munster have to do the same. Otherwise we're going to lose them. When was the last time a Waterford underage side was seen in Croke Park bar De La Salle who were backboned by kilkenny players

[awfulynice]

The problem is that we are in danger of losing some of the traditional counties over the next 3-4 years and probably gain one non-traditional county in Dublin. And I don't mean dublin are going to be winning all-irelands but I think they will get to being very competitive with most teams in about 3 years. The problem is I think we're going to lose the likes of Limerick hurling and Clare are in danger as well. Waterford are trying to arrest the slode at underage but they've been so poor at underage for years now- they really are starting at square 1. Munster rugby is killing Limerick hurling.
The idea was to get the likes of Dublin strong and maintain the currrent counties - not lose some of them which we're in danger of doing. Down the scale a bit the likes of Antrim and Laois are in terrible trouble as well. What is the Gaa doing to help these counties?
Hurling is now greater in participation numbers at all levels but at the highest level its struggling.
But look at Westmeath for example- doing terrific work at underage- beat offaly at minor level a few weeks back and the leinster council won't even let them into the Leinster senior championship. Carlow beat Antrim and  nearly beat Offaly this year and again- same old story. No entry to the leinster championship. How can the game ever develop with that sort of attitude.
Wexford and Offaly have arrested the slide at underage and are now back at a competitve level at senior. Some of the sides in Munster have to do the same. Otherwise we're going to lose them. When was the last time a Waterford underage side was seen in Croke Park bar De La Salle who were backboned by kilkenny players

In fairness saying Clare is a traditional hurling county is incorrect. There are probably only three traditional hurling counties. Cork, Tipperary & Kilkenny. Galway came on the scene in the seventies / eighties, Offaly broke through in the eighties, Clare broke through in the nineties. Waterford in the naughties. Wexford & Limerick were always competitive i suppose but werent as succesful as the other three. The simple fact is look at the titles..there has been what 125 all ireland titles since the GAA started give or take, and of the 125 about 90 are shared between Cork, Tipp & KK. So looking at the history, hurling is actually growing rather than dieing in the last few years.

So if you really look at it, hurling is becoming more competitive with the emergence of Dublin. As has been stated before Westmeath beat Offaly in the minor, and Offaly came close to beating KK in the U21 this year and have been competitive the last few years so there should be players coming through. The nineties were seen as a golden era in hurling as Offaly,Clare,Wexford,KK,Tipp & Cork all won all irelands which hadnt happened in any other decade before...we have to face facts we are looking at an exceptional KK hurling team at the moment and until they are knocked off their pedastel there wont be a competitive championship.

[EddieMerx]

I think I would be of the same opinion as Indy here. Limerick, Clare and Waterford I would have serious concerns for. I just can't remember them doing anything for a while now in underage. If KK give Galway a beating of 6 points or more then it could spell another shocking year in the hurling championship.

The standard of all the second tier counties has slipped at a level below what it has been for a longtime. I think the fact that Westmeath and Carlow are now challenging some of the bigger names is due to standards slipping back more so that Carlow and Westmeath becoming really good.