All Ireland contenders...

[Crete Boom]

 We could be dangerous if Horan gets the balance in our full forward line right but maybe next year we'll be when we are at the peak of our development and then we'll find out if that's good enough?Putting my neck on the line though I would have Cork and Dublin as my favourites with Donegal snapping at their heels , with us , Kerry and Kildare bringing up the rear.

[Mayo Mick]

We could be dangerous if Horan gets the balance in our full forward line right but maybe next year we'll be when we are at the peak of our development and then we'll find out if that's good enough?Putting my neck on the line though I would have Cork and Dublin as my favourites with Donegal snapping at their heels , with us , Kerry and Kildare bringing up the rear.

Have not seen anything this year that we should be too concerned about. We have as good a chance this year as next year. Have a strong feeling we will do it - probably beating Cork in the final.

[Syferus]

Form is temporary, age is permanent, so to speak.

proof of a classless irish society if it was ever needed right there.

Yeah, because pointing out that a core of Kerry players are past the ages of peak performance is ageist.

Talk about proof of a reactionary Irish society

[Rossfan]

Syferus embarrassing us again I see 
As I see it only Donegal have any hope of preventing Sam going back to one of the last 3 winners.
A lot will depend on who Kerry get in the Quarter Finals.
Then of course there's who plays well in August. The difference between the Provincials and August/September might not be quite as large as that between  League and Championship but it's still significant.
What's the Semi final line up ?
Is it Connacht v Leinster and Ulster v Munster?

[Crete Boom]

 Yep semi-final is Connacht v Leinster and Munster v Ulster

[Jinxy]

We could be dangerous if Horan gets the balance in our full forward line right but maybe next year we'll be when we are at the peak of our development and then we'll find out if that's good enough?Putting my neck on the line though I would have Cork and Dublin as my favourites with Donegal snapping at their heels , with us , Kerry and Kildare bringing up the rear.

Have not seen anything this year that we should be too concerned about. We have as good a chance this year as next year. Have a strong feeling we will do it - probably beating Cork in the final.

it's written in the stars Mick.

[Syferus]

Syferus embarrassing us again I see 
As I see it only Donegal have any hope of preventing Sam going back to one of the last 3 winners.
A lot will depend on who Kerry get in the Quarter Finals.
Then of course there's who plays well in August. The difference between the Provincials and August/September might not be quite as large as that between  League and Championship but it's still significant.
What's the Semi final line up ?
Is it Connacht v Leinster and Ulster v Munster?

Only in your mind could stating that Kildare, the obvious #6 team, would be a trouble to Kerry, the #4 or 5,  be seen as embarassing. Or are you trying to tell me the O'Se brothers' birth certs are lying?

Jesus, stop your one-man crusade.

[cadence]

Form is temporary, age is permanent, so to speak.

proof of a classless irish society if it was ever needed right there.

Yeah, because pointing out that a core of Kerry players are past the ages of peak performance is ageist.

Talk about proof of a reactionary Irish society

methinks you say too much syferus. 

i'd have to agree with you though. they're just not quite as awesome as they used to be, but they probably still have enough in them to wipe the floor with everyone else. some good new players coming through too, whatshisface, the lad that closelined the tyrone player? a decent prospect i'd say... not one for messing about.

[Syferus]

Form is temporary, age is permanent, so to speak.

proof of a classless irish society if it was ever needed right there.

Yeah, because pointing out that a core of Kerry players are past the ages of peak performance is ageist.

Talk about proof of a reactionary Irish society

methinks you say too much syferus. 

i'd have to agree with you though. they're just not quite as awesome as they used to be, but they probably still have enough in them to wipe the floor with everyone else. some good new players coming through too, whatshisface, the lad that closelined the tyrone player? a decent prospect i'd say... not one for messing about.

I don't doubt they're there or thereabouts. Even though they're on the wane this is still perhaps the second or third best team to even play the game we're talknig about. They have plenty of room to fall and still be able to knock over the hot picks. I just wonder how mentally tired they'll be come the last twenty minutes of an AI QF - they've faded in a few big games in the last twelve months, Dublin in the AI final, Mayo in the league semi, it's so hard to quantify how hungry you can really be after so much success.

If a team is within a few of Kerry near the end of a QF I'd fancy their chances to pull it out. Kerry's best hope is to front-run as much as possible and not risk getting caught in a inch-for-inch battle because that's the situation that's most likely to lay their flaws bare.

[Lecale2]

Donegal to beat Dublin in the final.

[Farrandeelin]

Donegal will win Sam this year.

[Captain Obvious]

Only once in their history have Donegal won senior All Ireland semi final and that was 20 years ago. Saying that they blew a big chance last year.

[cadence]

Form is temporary, age is permanent, so to speak.

proof of a classless irish society if it was ever needed right there.

Yeah, because pointing out that a core of Kerry players are past the ages of peak performance is ageist.

Talk about proof of a reactionary Irish society

methinks you say too much syferus. 

i'd have to agree with you though. they're just not quite as awesome as they used to be, but they probably still have enough in them to wipe the floor with everyone else. some good new players coming through too, whatshisface, the lad that closelined the tyrone player? a decent prospect i'd say... not one for messing about.

I don't doubt they're there or thereabouts. Even though they're on the wane this is still perhaps the second or third best team to even play the game we're talknig about. They have plenty of room to fall and still be able to knock over the hot picks. I just wonder how mentally tired they'll be come the last twenty minutes of an AI QF - they've faded in a few big games in the last twelve months, Dublin in the AI final, Mayo in the league semi, it's so hard to quantify how hungry you can really be after so much success.

If a team is within a few of Kerry near the end of a QF I'd fancy their chances to pull it out. Kerry's best hope is to front-run as much as possible and not risk getting caught in a inch-for-inch battle because that's the situation that's most likely to lay their flaws bare.

i know what you mean, but to my eyes, they are still tasty and we all know great teams who have been written off love proving the critics wrong. it will be over at some point, whether that is now i wouldn't be confident of, because most of them are in their prime, hovering just or even well below their 30s no? listening to gavin doing his impression of rocky (1) balboa (adrian! adrian!) at the weekend, it means a lot to them. he so looked and behaved like stallone, t'was class. kerry might just manange to blood a whole new crop of players and still keep winning it. and those that they have that are over 30, they're not doing that bad. look at sheehan. playing great stuff, lording it in midfield and slotting them over left right and centre. they'd annoy your head.

[donegal_abu]

Only once in their history have Donegal won senior All Ireland semi final and that was 20 years ago. Saying that they blew a big chance last year.

never ever understand why people talk about past statistics ? What has the last 125b years got to do with the current donegal team ? or any team. like talking about say "last 5 meeting" before a game even though the teams are different and it means nothign?!

[Syferus]

Only once in their history have Donegal won senior All Ireland semi final and that was 20 years ago. Saying that they blew a big chance last year.

never ever understand why people talk about past statistics ? What has the last 125b years got to do with the current donegal team ? or any team. like talking about say "last 5 meeting" before a game even though the teams are different and it means nothign?!

History means plenty. Ask Mayo about AI finals. Ask Roscommon about the belief they had against Sligo in 2010. Culture is what statistics can speak to at times and plenty of teams every yea let that rule their heads when it come crunch time.