Joe Brolly

[imtommygunn]

If the guy was on the Tyrone team then he probably was decent enough Indiana. Hand passing sometimes happens due to systems etc.

I don't go to too many live games but make the odd one. One of the best performances I've seen was Donegal against Kerry in 2012. They didn't make that many kick passes but the speed they broke at was phenomenal to watch. I would bet if you viewed that game you viewed it very differently...

From what I read of what you write I think you have a "traditional" view of how the game should be played and don't like deviating from that hence trying to suggest all these rule changes to bring it back to your traditional approach.

1-15 don't need to be superb kick passers either. In my view CHB, CHF and at least one of two midfielders should be your key passers. (Kick passing was actually the most under rated of Dara O'Se's qualies in my view and something that stodd him out from just being a great ball winner to a great player). Dublin have evolved it so the goalie is a key person too. (Well actually Cluxton)

Why , for example, would a corner back need to be a great kick passer?

[Keyser soze]

Has he put forward an analysis of how the blanket works?

Yes. Repeatedly[/b]

Has he put forward a tactical analysis of how to work around it?

No

Has he suggested reasons why managers are going down this route?

Yes. Its a single point but he has repeated it often enough

If you read or listen to the man you would know this. Don't let that stop you

Post up Brolly's analysis of the packed defence there when you get a chance - i'd love to read it.

In my experience, Brolly hasn't the first breeze about the game, how gameplans have developed and why. He has no understanding watching a game what teams are trying to achieve - that's patently obvious from his contributions during RTE broadcasts.

The advent of twitter has given a platform and even credibility to people who should have no input into proposing rule changes within the GAA. Given the demand for "live" news through that and other mediums now, media outlets are only too happy to make a headline out of some dramatic "look at me" quote from mediocre past players who usually have not coached at any significant level.

Reputation in my own county would place the new chairman of the rules advisory group, or whatever they're calling them this time round, at the bottom of the pile if you were nominating someone to systematically and coherently analyse the need for rule changes. Of course the mandating of this committee at all implies the need for rule changes and preordains that there will be proposals brought forward. Not a great starting point.

If there must be another review of the playing rules, and I object strongly to that pretense, then who are the best people to conduct the review?

Administrators? from what level?
managers? from what level?
coaches? from what level?
players? from what level?
non playing members?
the press / media?
former players? from what level?
spectators?

Current coaches certainly not. They've all adopted the herd mentality of abdicating their responsibilities of coaching teams instead to play like a bunch of gorillas on day release from Dublin Zoo. Throw a few bananas in a team's own half and watch their all congregate there.

Its not rocket science how to fix it. You make it sound like nuclear physics. Because you want it to be so complicated nobody will do anything about it.

The preserve of county teams currently is the handpass. You limit the handpass.

You force teams to kick the ball and contest possession man to man. Even soccer and rugby have a contest for posession. GAA largely doesn't anymore. If I pass the ball back in soccer the keeper will have to kick it long 9 times out of 10- ie a contest for possession. If I gather the ball in rugby outside the 22 I'll have to run it through a wall or kick it high to regather- in the latter case a contest for possession.

Contrast that to Gaelic football. everyone stands in their own half because keepers are allowed to kick it short and teams are also allowed multiple 2 yards hand passes all the way up until somebody fouls them.

It depends on what you want. If you want basketball there is always the NBA- if you want GAA let's see some kicking. It's laughable that it's possible to get to senior inter county football by being strong, fit and a good handpasser.

A lot of teams are against this because the two best kick-passing teams in Ireland are Dublin and Kerry.

So let's tailor the game so the only way it can be played is in a way which will be most advantageous to Dublin?? (coincidentally your team...)

That's not really how sport works...

It works by allowing the skills of the game to be shown . There are a lot of crap teams and equally crap coaches being saved by the current rules by being allowed to play a game that is so removed from what Gaelic football was envisaged it is nearly a different sport

If the footpass was removed from Gaelic Football most counties would be happy because most of them are uncomfortable kicking the ball. I watched one Tyrone player last week give 17 hand passes and no foot pass. And he probably thinks he's a good player . Ha ha

Don't spose you did the same for any of the Dublin players? From watching them previously they would have multiple players in this category every game they play. And I bet you think they're good players 

[JoG2]

Good article by Heaney

The incredible sense of entitlement within Dublin never ceases to amaze. Kerry have it but seem to pull it off with some dignity. Surely the main reason for their current bluster is that they know there's a good chance they will come unstuck again from the quarter finals on, and heaven forbid it's those dirty northerners again

[INDIANA]

Good article by Heaney

The incredible sense of entitlement within Dublin never ceases to amaze. Kerry have it but seem to pull it off with some dignity. Surely the main reason for their current bluster is that they know there's a good chance they will come unstuck again from the quarter finals on, and heaven forbid it's those dirty northerners again

. We have the games interests at heart . You only have your own petty self interest in preserving a type of football nobody wants to watch . And on a consistent basis you can't eveh deliver that

setup your own 9 team association and rename it. The rest of us will play the game of gaelic football . You won't be missed . I laugh at your sense of entitlement that you think we would miss you .

[blewuporstuffed]

Good article by Heaney

The incredible sense of entitlement within Dublin never ceases to amaze. Kerry have it but seem to pull it off with some dignity. Surely the main reason for their current bluster is that they know there's a good chance they will come unstuck again from the quarter finals on, and heaven forbid it's those dirty northerners again

. We have the games interests at heart . You only have your own petty self interest in preserving a type of football nobody wants to watch . And on a consistent basis you can't eveh deliver that

setup your own 9 team association and rename it. The rest of us will play the game of gaelic football . You won't be missed . I laugh at your sense of entitlement that you think we would miss you .

You are the one that wants the game changed 
How about you set up your own association for your own sport.
There can be no tackling allowed, kickpass only, all teams must wear sky blue, I suggest you call it 'Indianaball'

[INDIANA]

Good article by Heaney

The incredible sense of entitlement within Dublin never ceases to amaze. Kerry have it but seem to pull it off with some dignity. Surely the main reason for their current bluster is that they know there's a good chance they will come unstuck again from the quarter finals on, and heaven forbid it's those dirty northerners again

. We have the games interests at heart . You only have your own petty self interest in preserving a type of football nobody wants to watch . And on a consistent basis you can't eveh deliver that

setup your own 9 team association and rename it. The rest of us will play the game of gaelic football . You won't be missed . I laugh at your sense of entitlement that you think we would miss you .

You are the one that wants the game changed 
How about you set up your own association for your own sport.
There can be no tackling allowed, kickpass only, all teams must wear sky blue, I suggest you call it 'Indianaball'

Gaelic football has all of those things. The sport you lot play should have the term football removed. Gaelic mud wrestling would be a good name for your type of football I'm sure Benny Coulter would agree.

Feel sorry for the likes of Darren Mc Curry. He'd he appreciated better down South where accurate score taking forwards are better appreciated then the strong, fit , fast hand passing model that pervades up North .

[blewuporstuffed]

Which part is it you have a problem with, players being strong, fit, or able to handpass?
Northern football has produced as many top class forwards as anywhere else so im not sure why you keep trying to turn this into a north v south debate, when its really a debate on opposing styles.

[JoG2]

Good article by Heaney

The incredible sense of entitlement within Dublin never ceases to amaze. Kerry have it but seem to pull it off with some dignity. Surely the main reason for their current bluster is that they know there's a good chance they will come unstuck again from the quarter finals on, and heaven forbid it's those dirty northerners again

. We have the games interests at heart . You only have your own petty self interest in preserving a type of football nobody wants to watch . And on a consistent basis you can't eveh deliver that

setup your own 9 team association and rename it. The rest of us will play the game of gaelic football . You won't be missed . I laugh at your sense of entitlement that you think we would miss you .

You're a partitionist at heart. I was gonna type more but can't be bothered. The sun's shining

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

...
It depends on what you want. If you want basketball there is always the NBA- if you want GAA let's see some kicking. It's laughable that it's possible to get to senior inter county football by being strong, fit and a good handpasser.

A lot of teams are against this because the two best kick-passing teams in Ireland are Dublin and Kerry.

Very good, you've just described to a 'T' one of your own pre-eminent midfielders!

You're coming out with as much sanctimonious shite as Jim Gavin does these days Indiana, or should I say Jim?

[DuffleKing]

Laughable given that the dubs are a complete running team under galvin

[Jinxy]

In case nobody has pointed it out yet, there's a difference between not kicking the ball and not being able to kick the ball.

[DuffleKing]

As a further point of clarification, there is a difference between kicking and kick passing a ball

[easytiger95]

i think it's unfair to label the Dubs a handpassing team - I think we mix it really well. In both the All ireland winning years this decade it was all about quick transfer, and Flynn's kickpassing to the inside line is a real weapon when we're on song.

That said, I don't really see how anyone could expect Derry to suffer the same type of mauling as they did last year, when they could do something about it. There are shades of grey in the debate - I'd be completely against coaches setting out defensive systems for the sake of it, or as an ideological position. But given that I've played as a back in any team that i ever played in, whatever the sport, I'd be a great devotee of the old cliche "the game starts at nil-nil - don't let it get any worse than that". The tightening of the dubs defense gave us the platform to build the attacking game on, and it does take time to evolve. Compare the one man show that was Berno in 2010 to the more evolved attacking options in 2011, to the all out game in 2013.

I don't agree at all about Dublin entitlement. It becomes very easy for people to forget about the very real crisis of self belief that Dublin went through post 95 all the way up to 2009, and in a county our size, that counts as a real famine. But we should have a voice in the debate, as the way we won the All Ireland in 2013 sparked (scare) stories about a possible Dublin decade, and other hype about how other teams could possibly live with us. No one can convince me that this external hype wasn't a huge spur to coaches determined not to be exposed.

The irony of course was that none of it was true. Dublin did have a devastating way of playing in 2013, but they only beat Kerry in the dying seconds, and the 7 point margin was completely flattering, whilst Mayo could (should, given their first half display?) won the final.

A lot of football coaches at the moment are like Don Quixote, looking at windmills and seeing big blue giants, but 2014 has proved that there is no huge gap between the Dubs and the next four, say, top contenders. The big gap is between Division 1 and everywhere else, and because we play more lower division sides come champo than Kerry would, the hype revs up again. Not really our fault, and certainly, the "entitled" Dublin fan is usually a bandwagon jumper who knows f@~k all about the game.

As for Brolly, he is good craic, but hugely inconsistent and illogical in his crusades over the years. Two years ago he loved Donegal, before that the Dubs, before that Tyrone all for completely different footballing reasons. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and he communicates his very well, but i would baulk at the personalised nature of his comments. And his columns are syrupy, sentimental, anecdotal shite.

[INDIANA]

Laughable given that the dubs are a complete running team under galvin

They are of course thats why they scored 22 points last weekend. All of them handpassed over the bar I suppose

And you have the temerity to call me laughable.

[INDIANA]

...
It depends on what you want. If you want basketball there is always the NBA- if you want GAA let's see some kicking. It's laughable that it's possible to get to senior inter county football by being strong, fit and a good handpasser.

A lot of teams are against this because the two best kick-passing teams in Ireland are Dublin and Kerry.

Very good, you've just described to a 'T' one of your own pre-eminent midfielders!

You're coming out with as much sanctimonious shite as Jim Gavin does these days Indiana, or should I say Jim?

Sanctimonious? - You don't want a debate. You just want the status quo.  some of us aren't interested in watching this shite anymore.

You guys invented the blanket defence. Except now its not a blanket- it's a reinforced concrete wall and you've no interest in debating anything else.

If that's the case just bring in partition again for GAA purposes and you can amuse yourselves to your heart's content.