Naturally when I thought about starting this new thread I thought to myself is it worth the hassle as no doubt I'll get loads of shit thrown back in my face about Tyrone and players like Ricey, Gormley and more recently Justin McMahon.
I did say Tyrone have their fair share of players who do things that are illegal and very hard to watch in the game and I agree that Justin McMahon has changed his game to become a spoiler sometimes, especially on players like Murphy from Donegal. I can not condemn it but what I'm saying is too many of us accept it and you can see on here not one person has agreed and said yes something should be done about it.
This is the point I'm trying to make. Too many, including the officials just think Ah sure it's fair enough. Nobody is getting badly injured and as there is a pair of them at it then let them sort it out themselves.
There are rules there that are not being applied and if the ref was to black or yellow card every time he saw it then it would soon stop. The linesmen and umpires are probably more to blame actually as most of it happens off the ball as the forward is making a run into space.
For those who questioned do I think it's just defenders who use this tactic. To be honest yes I think it is as it is their job to stop the forward from playing well and scoring. Forwards want to get the ball in their hands and so often try to make a run into space to get a score, however, they will sometimes react in the same way if their man is doing it to them and getting away with it then they will no doubt try to do the same in retaliation and so we saw Connolly pulling Keegan and others down as well.
What's disappointing for me is most people's response here has been sure he's not the only one doing it and he didn't invent it and you can't judge as Tyrone are the same etc etc
Lee Keegan might not have invented it but he's taken it to another level and for the most part getting away with it, as did Justy McMahon on Murphy a few years ago. Keegan seems to be doing it all the time now yet nothing seems to be done about it as far as I can see.
A simple question for those who are defending it.
Do you think what he's doing is fair enough?
Do you think it is legal?
Do you think that it is usually Keegan who starts it or have you saw Connolly start it first?
How would you feel if AOS was dragged down like that every time he made a run?
Macdanger, you ask is it just backs who foul and get the better of their man or all backs that foul.
Yet another silly question to try to defend his actions. We all know full well what we're talking about here. Players who have no intention of trying to defend legitimately and just focus all their attention on stopping their man from making runs off the ball when the ref isn't maybe watching him.
As someone said maybe it's about the personalities involved here. Connolly is seen by many as a non very likeable character who was charged with CBH or something to that affect. He's a Dub and so most neutrals want to see Mayo beat them and taking Connolly "out of the game" certainly will help them win the All Ireland.
As Il Bomber Destro said, it's amazing how many people defend the dark arts for some counties yet for others it his highlighted on national media. The furore over the Sean Cavanagh rugby tackle which was a once off event yet here is something that has been going on over several matches that most seem to say "Ah it's not that bad".
I have seen Connolly launch s preemptive strike, if you follow me. Just don't have the video to hand so I| can't give you the exact details but in the AI final in 2012, there was a stoppage somewhere and the camera switched to Connolly and Keegan, isolated from the rest. Clear as day, Connolly was standing behind his man and jabbing him with fingers in the back of the neck. Keegan was attempting to drive him away by jabbing backwards with his elbow. All the while, Connolly was saying something to his man and I don't think he was asking him to come for a few pints after the game.
That's the only time I saw Connolly getting his retaliation in first but I can't say I saw much of what Keegan has done either. All dark arts practitioners seem to be expert at their job and they have to be when there is tv coverage with action replays and the likes.
I think Aidan O'Shea gets at least as much stick as Connolly does and he has both Cooper and McMahon hanging out of him all the time. That doesn't excuse Keegan but it does put the issue in perspective.
Tyrone are nowhere near as dirty as Kerry or Dublin. Mickey's men are only amateurs where it comes to sneaky fouling. After the league final this year, Dublin spent a lot of time moaning about the referee and the amount of Kerry transgressions he ignored. Last time they met, it was Eamonn Fitzmaurice who was doing the howling. He spoke of Doheny being 'pillaged and raped' repeatedly while the ref did sweet FA about it.
Bottom line is that any team that wants to go anywhere won't be too fussed with the rules if they can get by through fair or foul means.
