The State Of Gaelic Football

[rrhf]

Dublin were cap last night and we're set up to stand off derry. The sheer lack of intensity from the so called better team is the problem.   They need to force the game. Instead Dublin who don't have any system and will be filleted accordingly in the championship by kerry let derry dictate the game.

[ha ha derry]

Allow only one player to tackle the player in possession.

[BennyHarp]

What utopia are we chasing here? A game where every match is 3-20 to 2-23? The simple fact is that defensive tactics will always be implemented by weaker teams to make them competitive. This, in my mind is better than watching the Dubs trim everyone by 25 points. We tried changing the rules last year and it has lead to even more defensive play as teams are retreating even further to mark space rather than tackle and crucially they can easily run from deep safe in the knowledge that their runs won't get checked. The better teams will figure this out and the game will move on, we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg in tactics in Gaelic football and the basis of these tactics is to keep your team in the game and maybe knick a win. Hopefully tactics will evolve to embrace better forward play.

The "utopia" is one where the teams with the better skill level wins the overwhelming majority of games.

If that means that the weaker teams get beaten comprehensively then so be it.

It takes very little in the way of actual skill to be a defender in a blanket.

The key attribute necessary for a defender in a blanket system is the ability to run for 70 minutes.

I doubt there is anyone who wants to do away with defending completely, however the current rules mean that limited teams who play defensively have too high a chance of grinding out a result.

That's not what sport is about! Just because you have better players doesn't mean we should adapt the rules so you win? Wise up! It takes a hell of a lot of skill to score against the packed defence and that pressurised aspect is much more intriguing than watching teams steam rollering other teams. I hate watching high scoring games where both teams hardly lay a finger on each other, anyone can score if given time and space.

[larryin89]

Allow only one player to tackle the player in possession.

Two max and problem solved , natural footballers will be able to express themselves and show their skills and the gym monkeys won't be as sought after.

[Mario]

I watched one of the so called best games ever on tg4 recently, Derry v down in 94, I was actually laughing at times at how terrible some of the football was, for its time it was a brilliant game but when compared to today's game the tactics were so naive, basically keeper launches it down the middle, possession is won and it is hoofed into the full forward line where a forward and a defender scrap to win a 50 50 ball.

Is this the utopia we want to return to? Sure it was exciting but very primitive. I don't mind defensive football it's just another tactic a team can deploy.  Gaelic is one of the few sports were possession and keeping the ball is frowned upon. If you want a game with no tactics were you can score from anywhere and forwards scrap for 50 50 balls watch hurling.

[Johnnybegood]

If a player receives a ball from a short kick out inside his own 45 he has to kick it until it crosses the 45.

[Dangleberrys]

13 a side has the possibility of bridging the gap between best teams and worst teams, making it more competitive and SHOULD encourage quick attacking football due to the extra space

[INDIANA]

Dublin were cap last night and we're set up to stand off derry. The sheer lack of intensity from the so called better team is the problem.   They need to force the game. Instead Dublin who don't have any system and will be filleted accordingly in the championship by kerry let derry dictate the game.

Bullshit kerry haven't beaten us since 2009. I'd be more worried whether Tyrone will win an AI inside the next 25 years if I were you.

This is all Tyrone have to offer to Gaelic Football now. 15 trained monkeys to stand in one half of the field.

As I said in another thread let Ulster set up their own association playing this sort of rubbish and let the rest of us concentrate on playing Gaelic Football.

I was a defender myself but man marking as a skill now seems to be irrelevant in the modern game.

[Wildweasel74]

Were we not talking a few years ago how to make lesser teams more competitive, JmcG found the way and its been copied, would Donegal have been in 2 all-irelands if they didn't play this way not a chance, Cork trimmed the life out of them the year before they tired to play defensive

[larryin89]

Dublin were cap last night and we're set up to stand off derry. The sheer lack of intensity from the so called better team is the problem.   They need to force the game. Instead Dublin who don't have any system and will be filleted accordingly in the championship by kerry let derry dictate the game.

Bullshit kerry haven't beaten us since 2009. I'd be more worried whether Tyrone will win an AI inside the next 25 years if I were you.

This is all Tyrone have to offer to Gaelic Football now. 15 trained monkeys to stand in one half of the field.

As I said in another thread let Ulster set up their own association playing this sort of rubbish and let the rest of us concentrate on playing Gaelic Football.

I was a defender myself but man marking as a skill now seems to be irrelevant in the modern game.

+1

[Lar Naparka]

I watched one of the so called best games ever on tg4 recently, Derry v down in 94, I was actually laughing at times at how terrible some of the football was, for its time it was a brilliant game but when compared to today's game the tactics were so naive, basically keeper launches it down the middle, possession is won and it is hoofed into the full forward line where a forward and a defender scrap to win a 50 50 ball.

Is this the utopia we want to return to? Sure it was exciting but very primitive. I don't mind defensive football it's just another tactic a team can deploy.  Gaelic is one of the few sports were possession and keeping the ball is frowned upon. If you want a game with no tactics were you can score from anywhere and forwards scrap for 50 50 balls watch hurling.

It was pretty awful to watch but probably great fun to play in and there's the nub of the problem.

(People who long for the good ol' days of catch and kick are only deluding themselves. Even in the era when Kerry and Dublin changed the face of Gaelic football for ever, the standard of play and general sportsmanship were truly appalling.)

Anyone who doubts me should check this incident out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc9VY7BKKCw



Players nowadays don't go out to enjoy themselves, they go out to win and to do so at all costs.The pressures on them from fans, management, media, sponsors and just about everywhere else that you can think of is unreal.

It's an amateur game on that players don't get paid but it's a truly professional in every other aspect.

Okay, so defensive tactics are the order of the day because many if not most managements believe that such a strategy gives them a better chance of winning that any other approach they might adopt.

Unless and until somebody comes along with a way to unlock a mass defense, teams will be quite happy to grind out 0-1 to 0-0 results all season long as long as they score that solitary point. 

As I see it, the game is in a continuous state of evolution and the days of the massed defenses will end when someone devises a better way to improve a team's chances of winning, No rocket science involved.   

[smelmoth]

13 a side has the possibility of bridging the gap between best teams and worst teams, making it more competitive and SHOULD encourage quick attacking football due to the extra space

13 aside will just encourage more carrying the ball through the hand and more selections based on capacity to run rather than the wider skills of the game. A backward step.

No back passes in your own half. Interesting idea. The direct benefit of getting the ball moving forward is obvious. The indirect benefit of teams pressing higher up the pitch and therefore keeping men forward instead of retreating as soon as possession is conceded is potentially greater.

Bright, progressive coaches will be set a more intriguing challenge and will embrace it. Dull, one trick ponies will struggle. Good.

[Sidney]

I watched one of the so called best games ever on tg4 recently, Derry v down in 94, I was actually laughing at times at how terrible some of the football was, for its time it was a brilliant game but when compared to today's game the tactics were so naive, basically keeper launches it down the middle, possession is won and it is hoofed into the full forward line where a forward and a defender scrap to win a 50 50 ball.

Is this the utopia we want to return to? Sure it was exciting but very primitive. I don't mind defensive football it's just another tactic a team can deploy.  Gaelic is one of the few sports were possession and keeping the ball is frowned upon. If you want a game with no tactics were you can score from anywhere and forwards scrap for 50 50 balls watch hurling.

What a tragedy for Gaelic football it would be if we regressed to seeing more matches like Derry v  Down in 1994 instead of the wonderful, attractive modern day football epitomised by matches like Dublin v Derry last night.

[Dangleberrys]

13 a side has the possibility of bridging the gap between best teams and worst teams, making it more competitive and SHOULD encourage quick attacking football due to the extra space

13 aside will just encourage more carrying the ball through the hand and more selections based on capacity to run rather than the wider skills of the game. A backward step.

I disagree
More space means more likely to bring the foot back to football.

[thewobbler]

The one rule change I would like to see more than any other is that if anyone proposes a rule change without exploring its consequences, they should be hit over the head 25 times with a wet fish.

Increasing the worth of a goal would only invite two major negatives: 1. Teams doing everything they can to protect the square, and 2. an increased number of games won the the less deserving side who fluke a couple of goals.

Removing backwards passing is utterly insane. When you tackle someone and dispossess them, you should be able to accrue that advantage any way you choose. There are umpteen scenarios in football where not being able to then play the balls backwards to a runner would actually see you at a disadvantage, as holding onto the ball is the same as a turkey shoot. So why dispossess in the first place? Also there'd be referees battered all across the country for interpreting a sideways pass as either backwards or not at crucial stages of the game.

As for anyone intent on adding sequence interruption rules (e.g. limit on hand passes, or force people to kick possession over 45s), all I can is the type of you would ruin sport. If you think Gaelic football is hard on the eye now, imagine it with a further litany of stoppages for something which is not a technical, aggressive or dissenting action.

Reducing the teams to 13 a side is the most horrible idea of all. Gaelic football is no fun to play - even at Junior B level - unless you're fit and creating more space on the field would make playing the game beyond unattractive for anyone who is slow or unfit. You miss the old days of big full backs and long balls? Well you'd never see either again.

So again, I ask, don't just shout ideas. Consider them before you speak of them. Every action has a reaction.