Hard to compete with Donegal’s professionalism and money, bad for the game?

[BluestackBoy]

I strongly suspect Donegal will not be a top four team come the end of the year. They have only one truly outstanding footballer in Karl Lacey, and I think teams will be better prepared to counteract their dull system this year.

McGuinness leaving ended any genuine All-Ireland hopes for this bunch of players.

Stallion...yer toot. Lacey, the McGees,  Murphy, McBrearty, McNelis  (no idea the irish spelling), Gallagher, Mcgrath. ...all top class players

In saying that, I don't think they'll be as competitive this

I strongly suspect Donegal will not be a top four team come the end of the year. They have only one truly outstanding footballer in Karl Lacey, and I think teams will be better prepared to counteract their dull system this year.

McGuinness leaving ended any genuine All-Ireland hopes for this bunch of players.

Stallion...yer toot. Lacey, the McGees,  Murphy, McBrearty, McNelis  (no idea the irish spelling), Gallagher, Mcgrath. ...all top class players

In saying that, I don't think they'll be as competitive this year.

the mcgees are rubbish,catch ureself on. McGrath worse again. isn't that why mcguiness introduced this system because of the poor quality players in defense. lacey is deadly as is murh and mcneilis.mcbearty and Gallagher are pretty good also. but a bit of honesty at least.id go as far to say that paddy McGrath is the worst c back in county football

The McGees rubbish, McGrath, the worst corner back in county football??

I give up, I just give up.

[BluestackBoy]

Karl Lacey at 30 years of age giving up work to concentrate on playing an amateur sport is just plain ridiculous.

Mindboggling. WIth an AI medal already secured Karl should be looking at the realities of life and getting a career for himself

I think that's Lacey's business, to me is says that he sees real possibilities for this team & since he is back to full fitness for the first time in two years he wants to give it everything for six months.

To me, what one of the finest footballers in the country is doing is totally admirable & in contrast to the mendacity & greed that characterises most sport today.

The fact that his selflessness is being criticised here says more about the posters involved than it says about Lacey.

Its amateur sport no matter what way it's dressed up. When the crowd stops cheering you're just another ex-county footballer.
If you've no career no number of all ireland medals is going to get you one. It's his business entirely but it's utterly bananas in my view. Its another example of the association out of control.

Who says he'll have no career?

Nobody knows better than he does about what life will be like after he retires, which I suspect may well be this year, but he is going to give it one last rattle now that he has regained full fitness.

It's not as if he is dedicating the next ten years to football & leaving his family to starve in a rain swepped hovel on the side of a mountain. They are fully behind him & trust me when I say that Karl will do alright when he decides to leave football behind & take up a career.

As for the comment about the association being "out of control", that's just ludicrous. Lacey is just one of many students taking a bit of time out having finished his studies not to mention the many unemployed lads who train full time because of their circumstances. It's got nothing to do with the association and it's none of their business.

[BluestackBoy]

Karl Lacey at 30 years of age giving up work to concentrate on playing an amateur sport is just plain ridiculous.

Mindboggling. WIth an AI medal already secured Karl should be looking at the realities of life and getting a career for himself

I think that's Lacey's business, to me is says that he sees real possibilities for this team & since he is back to full fitness for the first time in two years he wants to give it everything for six months.

To me, what one of the finest footballers in the country is doing is totally admirable & in contrast to the mendacity & greed that characterises most sport today.

The fact that his selflessness is being criticised here says more about the posters involved than it says about Lacey.

Its amateur sport no matter what way it's dressed up. When the crowd stops cheering you're just another ex-county footballer.
If you've no career no number of all ireland medals is going to get you one. It's his business entirely but it's utterly bananas in my view. Its another example of the association out of control.

Its the logical conclusion of where the sport is headed though - professional players in every meaningful way except the payment side. If we are to step back, its going to have to be imposed from above the individual counties.

I can see why he has decided to do it though. The traveling some of these players have to do is ludicrous (Anthony Thompson was coming over from London for the league games this spring FFS, while Durcan finally cracked and left Four Masters for Ballyboden recently). Lacey also has a young family. Presumably his circumstances are such that he can afford it. And its only for a few months, assuming he's not going to remain unemployed for the sake of Four Masters later in the year. Not much difference, to me, than someone taking a year out to travel the world. Lacey is a wee bit different because of his age, but he'd been working earlier in his 20s.

The GAA needs to step the county scene back and accept it for what it is. High level amateur sport.

There is no economy in a professional game unless people want to have a 5-6 team conference.

There are club teams training twice a day all over the country - which is absolutely barmy.

This monastic existence practiced by GAA Teams isn't even mirrored by full time professional athletes.

I'm tired of listening to the 1% arguments and the inches speeches. Its complete bollocks and always has been.

For 90% of the counties they could 1% everything they do in a season and they'll still end up exiting at exactly the same stage.

I don't disagree with what your general point, but I fail to see how it could be made happen.

[LeoMc]

Karl Lacey at 30 years of age giving up work to concentrate on playing an amateur sport is just plain ridiculous.

Mindboggling. WIth an AI medal already secured Karl should be looking at the realities of life and getting a career for himself

I think that's Lacey's business, to me is says that he sees real possibilities for this team & since he is back to full fitness for the first time in two years he wants to give it everything for six months.

To me, what one of the finest footballers in the country is doing is totally admirable & in contrast to the mendacity & greed that characterises most sport today.

The fact that his selflessness is being criticised here says more about the posters involved than it says about Lacey.

Its amateur sport no matter what way it's dressed up. When the crowd stops cheering you're just another ex-county footballer.
If you've no career no number of all ireland medals is going to get you one. It's his business entirely but it's utterly bananas in my view. Its another example of the association out of control.

Its the logical conclusion of where the sport is headed though - professional players in every meaningful way except the payment side. If we are to step back, its going to have to be imposed from above the individual counties.

I can see why he has decided to do it though. The traveling some of these players have to do is ludicrous (Anthony Thompson was coming over from London for the league games this spring FFS, while Durcan finally cracked and left Four Masters for Ballyboden recently). Lacey also has a young family. Presumably his circumstances are such that he can afford it. And its only for a few months, assuming he's not going to remain unemployed for the sake of Four Masters later in the year. Not much difference, to me, than someone taking a year out to travel the world. Lacey is a wee bit different because of his age, but he'd been working earlier in his 20s.

The GAA needs to step the county scene back and accept it for what it is. High level amateur sport.

There is no economy in a professional game unless people want to have a 5-6 team conference.

There are club teams training twice a day all over the country - which is absolutely barmy.

This monastic existence practiced by GAA Teams isn't even mirrored by full time professional athletes.

I'm tired of listening to the 1% arguments and the inches speeches. Its complete bollocks and always has been.

For 90% of the counties they could 1% everything they do in a season and they'll still end up exiting at exactly the same stage.

I would say there are plenty of swimmers, runners, triathletes, boxers, many of them nominally amateur who might not agree with you but you are right we do need to remember it is an amateur sport.

[The Aristocrat]

Karl Lacey is 31 in September, the arguments saying he's a student taking some time off is nonsense unless he is Van Wilder, he obviously is getting some financial backing from somewhere, not all players can afford to become full time professionals. He might be marking a guy in championship who just worked a full week in a busy job when Lacey is strolling out of bed at 11am etc.

[LeoMc]

Karl Lacey is 31 in September, the arguments saying he's a student taking some time off is nonsense unless he is Van Wilder, he obviously is getting some financial backing from somewhere, not all players can afford to become full time professionals. He might be marking a guy in championship who just worked a full week in a busy job when Lacey is strolling out of bed at 11am etc.

And he might be marking a student who gets out of bed at 11:00 or a Teacher who gets every summer off.
Maybe we should ban unemployed players as they would have an unfair advantage and have separate White collar and blue collar leagues?

[The Aristocrat]

Karl Lacey is 31 in September, the arguments saying he's a student taking some time off is nonsense unless he is Van Wilder, he obviously is getting some financial backing from somewhere, not all players can afford to become full time professionals. He might be marking a guy in championship who just worked a full week in a busy job when Lacey is strolling out of bed at 11am etc.

And he might be marking a student who gets out of bed at 11:00 or a Teacher who gets every summer off.
Maybe we should ban unemployed players as they would have an unfair advantage and have separate White collar and blue collar leagues?

That's a fair point Leo, but in relation to Lacey setting a precedent for future players is my concern here but its a small issue compared to the private helicopter scenario.

[LeoMc]

Karl Lacey is 31 in September, the arguments saying he's a student taking some time off is nonsense unless he is Van Wilder, he obviously is getting some financial backing from somewhere, not all players can afford to become full time professionals. He might be marking a guy in championship who just worked a full week in a busy job when Lacey is strolling out of bed at 11am etc.

And he might be marking a student who gets out of bed at 11:00 or a Teacher who gets every summer off.
Maybe we should ban unemployed players as they would have an unfair advantage and have separate White collar and blue collar leagues?

That's a fair point Leo, but in relation to Lacey setting a precedent for future players is my concern here but its a small issue compared to the private helicopter scenario.

I would have the same concerns. Players should be looked after and the demands of the game require significant sacrifices but we need to be wary of the slide towards professionalism. How it is policed I do not know as I can see Laceys motivations (perhaps one last chance to reach the pinnacle of his sport) for not looking for a job until this season is out of the way.

The original differentiations between amateurism and professionalism in many sports were simply that the amateurs were gentlemen of leisure who could afford to pursue their chosen sport for the love of the game and whose Corinthian ideals would not be sullied by monetary considerations.

[BluestackBoy]

Concerns about helicopters, fellas putting careers on hold, training camps & lying in bed are all very well, but how do you enforce change.

Do we have spies hiding behind bushes, drones flying over houses to see what times fellas get out of bed at?

Do we ban players leaving their counties in case they might congregate for a training camp or match players on the field according to their employment status?

There are times when you just have to mind your own business & let others mind theirs.

[INDIANA]

Karl Lacey at 30 years of age giving up work to concentrate on playing an amateur sport is just plain ridiculous.

Mindboggling. WIth an AI medal already secured Karl should be looking at the realities of life and getting a career for himself

I think that's Lacey's business, to me is says that he sees real possibilities for this team & since he is back to full fitness for the first time in two years he wants to give it everything for six months.

To me, what one of the finest footballers in the country is doing is totally admirable & in contrast to the mendacity & greed that characterises most sport today.

The fact that his selflessness is being criticised here says more about the posters involved than it says about Lacey.

Its amateur sport no matter what way it's dressed up. When the crowd stops cheering you're just another ex-county footballer.
If you've no career no number of all ireland medals is going to get you one. It's his business entirely but it's utterly bananas in my view. Its another example of the association out of control.

Its the logical conclusion of where the sport is headed though - professional players in every meaningful way except the payment side. If we are to step back, its going to have to be imposed from above the individual counties.

I can see why he has decided to do it though. The traveling some of these players have to do is ludicrous (Anthony Thompson was coming over from London for the league games this spring FFS, while Durcan finally cracked and left Four Masters for Ballyboden recently). Lacey also has a young family. Presumably his circumstances are such that he can afford it. And its only for a few months, assuming he's not going to remain unemployed for the sake of Four Masters later in the year. Not much difference, to me, than someone taking a year out to travel the world. Lacey is a wee bit different because of his age, but he'd been working earlier in his 20s.

The GAA needs to step the county scene back and accept it for what it is. High level amateur sport.

There is no economy in a professional game unless people want to have a 5-6 team conference.

There are club teams training twice a day all over the country - which is absolutely barmy.

This monastic existence practiced by GAA Teams isn't even mirrored by full time professional athletes.

I'm tired of listening to the 1% arguments and the inches speeches. Its complete bollocks and always has been.

For 90% of the counties they could 1% everything they do in a season and they'll still end up exiting at exactly the same stage.

I would say there are plenty of swimmers, runners, triathletes, boxers, many of them nominally amateur who might not agree with you but you are right we do need to remember it is an amateur sport.

They are not amateurs. Most of Ireland's Olympic boxers are professional athletes earning decent money on the circuit now as the rules for amateur boxing has changed . Swimmers are supported by the sports council . Our players arent

Karl Lacey's problem isn't the fact he is taking time out . The problem is the training regimes are so out of control you need to be a full time pro athlete at 30 to sustain it. He obviously can't recover properly while working.

And I'll bet any money from what I've been told about done gals training regime it's fitness and conditioning that is driving the issue. It's only the tip of the iceberg. Most inter county players outside teachers don't have a real career because you can't have one to sustain a professional lifestyle

[INDIANA]

Concerns about helicopters, fellas putting careers on hold, training camps & lying in bed are all very well, but how do you enforce change.

Do we have spies hiding behind bushes, drones flying over houses to see what times fellas get out of bed at?

Do we ban players leaving their counties in case they might congregate for a training camp or match players on the field according to their employment status?

There are times when you just have to mind your own business & let others mind theirs.

Please don't ever run for elected office within the GAA. It's frightening to think someone of your mindset might end up there.

Plenty can be done. The GAA owns the brand so it can decide what happens . And the first thing is to completely regulate the coaching and management of teams. All managers/ coaches should be made complete coaching courses before they are let near a team. Even in my club half of them haven't a clue. And a lot of that drives these stupid training regimes.

[illdecide]

How Donegal train and how many times they train is nothing to do with anyone outside of their camp. What Karl Lacey does with his life/career is only his business...if he's getting bank rolled for a season to train like a professional then good luck to him that he's in the position to do so. As far as i'm concerned the only thing that I care about is how my County are progressing and not a hoot about Donegal do I give. The clearly feel this is their last year or two at the top and they want one last hurray at it, every other county would do the same.

as for their ability...Donegal have some exceptional players and should be there or there abouts come August/September but it will have to be thru the back door as you guys aren't getting out of Armagh without a defeat

[INDIANA]

How Donegal train and how many times they train is nothing to do with anyone outside of their camp. What Karl Lacey does with his life/career is only his business...if he's getting bank rolled for a season to train like a professional then good luck to him that he's in the position to do so. As far as i'm concerned the only thing that I care about is how my County are progressing and not a hoot about Donegal do I give. The clearly feel this is their last year or two at the top and they want one last hurray at it, every other county would do the same.

as for their ability...Donegal have some exceptional players and should be there or there abouts come August/September but it will have to be thru the back door as you guys aren't getting out of Armagh without a defeat

If he's being bankrolled he's a professional athlete. So it's not just a case of nobody's business. Who's paying tax on it ? Ah I see it's just similar to all the other under the counter payments in the GAA that's been brushed under the carpet . With the attitudes here it's not hard to see why.
And that's why it's an association in denial and disarray . It's rugby union pre-professionalism with none of the revenue and none of the global appeal
a shambles

[illdecide]

How Donegal train and how many times they train is nothing to do with anyone outside of their camp. What Karl Lacey does with his life/career is only his business...if he's getting bank rolled for a season to train like a professional then good luck to him that he's in the position to do so. As far as i'm concerned the only thing that I care about is how my County are progressing and not a hoot about Donegal do I give. The clearly feel this is their last year or two at the top and they want one last hurray at it, every other county would do the same.

as for their ability...Donegal have some exceptional players and should be there or there abouts come August/September but it will have to be thru the back door as you guys aren't getting out of Armagh without a defeat

If he's being bankrolled he's a professional athlete. So it's not just a case of nobody's business. Who's paying tax on it ? Ah I see it's just similar to all the other under the counter payments in the GAA that's been brushed under the carpet . With the attitudes here it's not hard to see why.
And that's why it's an association in denial and disarray . It's rugby union pre-professionalism with none of the revenue and none of the global appeal
a shambles

It goes on in every county in Ireland, there is only a few elite that get it. why worry about it...worry about your own county which I know aren't whiter than white either

[J70]

Karl Lacey is 31 in September, the arguments saying he's a student taking some time off is nonsense unless he is Van Wilder, he obviously is getting some financial backing from somewhere, not all players can afford to become full time professionals. He might be marking a guy in championship who just worked a full week in a busy job when Lacey is strolling out of bed at 11am etc.

And he might be marking a student who gets out of bed at 11:00 or a Teacher who gets every summer off.
Maybe we should ban unemployed players as they would have an unfair advantage and have separate White collar and blue collar leagues?

That's a fair point Leo, but in relation to Lacey setting a precedent for future players is my concern here but its a small issue compared to the private helicopter scenario.

Why is the helicopter such a concern?

It's not as if boys are being flown up and down from Dublin a few nights a week all summer.

If someone wants to foot the bill when they reach an AI final, there's nothing wrong with that. Takes away a wee bit of the geographical disadvantage, nothing else.