CORK V KERRY MUNSTER ALL IRELAND SENIOR FINAL

[From the Bunker]

They were lucky against Monaghan....... very lucky.

Yeah, they were lucky against Cork in the Munster final as well and you seen what happened when they met today!

[MacDanger]

The biggest difference between Kerry and most other teams is their sheer intensity in 50/50 situations. Any ball that is anywhere close to being there for the taking, a Kerry player is straight in on it with 100% committment. Why other teams seem to lack this I don't know.

Obviously having Gooch, D O'Se etc, also helps, but despite having 35 AIs in the bag, they seem so much hungrier than other teams.

[Bogball XV]

Lucky ??
Getting the last 3 scores  
I think you'll find it takes more than luck.

It was very fortuitous that Coldrick decided not to bother implementing many of the rules (unlike today, when he was just unbelievably shite), that allowed Kerry to retain possession and win the game.
As for how good they are, hard to say, they certainly have some players who will go down in the annals of the game as greats - The 3 O'Se's, The Gooch (what a player), Donaghy (fast getting there), O'Sullivan (is this the same guy who played last year?).  But at the same time, Kerry people I know were talking about how poor they were prior to the Longford game last August.
But bar the Tyrone and Armagh finals, which they lost, they have not been involved in a good final, it's obviously not their fault, but I would like to think that there are a lot of sides out there who would give them better games than Mayo and Cork have managed.  It is really time this ridicukous provincial system was abolished, that can't help, it seems that Kerry are able to peak around late August after a nice slow build up, it's probably why Cork have been able to get close to them in Munster these past few years. 

[Farrandeelin]

So what can be done to stop Kerry? People say that the Munster Championship is a shootout between Kery and Cork every year, but what about Connacht as well. It generally is between Mayo and Galway and the two of us haven't made the same impact on the AI Championship at all. It's going to be hard for Kerry to do three in a row, but can anyone stop them?

[ziggysego]

It's early days yet to be asking if anyone can stop Kerry. Sure, the well the best team in the country by miles this year, but next year is a new year. A lot of teams will regroup and will be back next year. Not too many will have a realistic chance of meeting the challenge from Kerry, but there will be teams that can and maybe will.

[marty88]

I think Kerry can be stopped next year. Id say there will be maybe five teams challenging next year.

Poor attendance from Cork today I though, Kerry completely out numbered them

[From the Bunker]

I think Kerry can be stopped next year. Id say there will be maybe five teams challenging next year.

Poor attendance from Cork today I though, Kerry completely out numbered them

Cork people are not stupid most of them would have remembered getting hammered outside of Munster over the last couple of years. The media tried to hype the game all week saying Cork would give them a game. Look Mayo people were the same in 2006, most just turned up in (extreme) hope. Unlike Cork, Mayo do not have a hurling team to fall back on!

[thebuzz]

"Never worry about the score j70. they were stuffed and they know it"

As far as Kerry are concerned 2005 is a distant memory and water under the bridge. They have two all Irelands since that and are easily the best team in Ireland. It is really unbelievable how they sustain that hunger. I was sure that Cork would beat them today but after fifteen or twenty minutes I couldn't see anything to back that theory up. Everyone is always saying it's a disadvantage to win your province but Kerry got past all the obstacles in their way once again.

[sligeach]

The real all-ireland was between Kerry and Monaghan. Dublin were poor and kerry should have beaten them by a lot more.

[David McKeown]

As impressed as I was by Kerry in a footballing sense today I have to say I was disgusted by their tactics in relation to officials in the first half.  The number of times 2 or 3 and sometimes more players at least surrounded an official was unreal.  To me it seemed like they were trying to intimidate the officials and whats worse it seemed to work.

Also can some one tell me when we changed the rules for striking to become a yellow card offence.

The minor game I though was excellent but a few things struck me about it.  Firstly Derry got a 21 free in the second half then the midfield turned round and appeared to scream at the man who fouled him.  Ref booked him for it and hopped the ball, first time i had seen that.  Also thinking about I reckon had the shot from the Galway number 5 not been incorrectly ruled wide then Derry would have won.  Galway wouldnt have been looking for goals and Derry might have been more attacking.  I suppose well never know but that Derry minor team have had no luck with disputed wides the year.

[Shamrock Shore]

Gooch up there with the best I've seen playing - Keavney, Sheehey, Egan, Matt Connor, Bernard Flynn.

A class act and a hero to young fellas everywhere.

Compare him to the soccer and rugby metrosexuals and you will understand why thy the GAA is the our premier sporting organisation.

Cork were muck - they know that - they will be back stronger next year.

However Kerry will simply up-the-ante and are shoo-ins for a 3-in-the-row

[paddypastit]

They were lucky against Monaghan....... very lucky.

So were Tyrone.

As impressed as I was by Kerry in a footballing sense today I have to say I was disgusted by their tactics in relation to officials in the first half.  The number of times 2 or 3 and sometimes more players at least surrounded an official was unreal.

That coming from a Tyrone man is rich in the extreme. The red glare may be clouding your view but some of the rest of us haven't forgotten the diving, the imaginary cards being waved at opponents, the yapping at refs and the baiting of opponents.

Kerry did nothing different today to any team in a similar position in the last six - eight years.  It's not necessarily pretty, or [pleasant, or what you'd teach the kids but it is part of the way the game is played at that level, and not just at AIF, and funny it is only ever a problem if it is somebody else doing it

[Jinxy]

As impressed as I was by Kerry in a footballing sense today I have to say I was disgusted by their tactics in relation to officials in the first half.  The number of times 2 or 3 and sometimes more players at least surrounded an official was unreal.  To me it seemed like they were trying to intimidate the officials and whats worse it seemed to work.

Also can some one tell me when we changed the rules for striking to become a yellow card offence.

The minor game I though was excellent but a few things struck me about it.  Firstly Derry got a 21 free in the second half then the midfield turned round and appeared to scream at the man who fouled him.  Ref booked him for it and hopped the ball, first time i had seen that.  Also thinking about I reckon had the shot from the Galway number 5 not been incorrectly ruled wide then Derry would have won.  Galway wouldnt have been looking for goals and Derry might have been more attacking.  I suppose well never know but that Derry minor team have had no luck with disputed wides the year.

Thats an odd way of looking at it. Derry lost because Galway had a legitimate point waved wide?

[Kerry1980]

If Cork are the 2nd best team in Ireland

They're not.
Dublin are the 2nd best side in the country and there's a bit of daylight between them and the rest.

[Barney]

Fair play to Kerry, another AI, and this won without even getting out of second gear all year.

They are a country mile ahead of everybody. Even against Dublin when they wanted they were able to tear them to shreads. They cruised through the year up until then.

Delighted that Cork got their cummupence. The dire style of football they played all year is not beneficial to their talents. Still they are like the rest of us fighting for that chance of getting a September thrashing from the Kingdom.