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It's the 24th of January.

Calm down people.

This team got to the last 4 last year and ran Kerry closer than any side in the prelims, quarters or AI Final.

Indeed, and that was O'Rourke's first season after inheriting a setup which unfortunately was a bit of a shambles (and while everything was in something of a flux as everyone adapted to a pretty different game). Reaching an AI SF in such circumstances was a very solid start. Also have to allow for bedding in lots of younger players. Some good things tonight, some other things not so good, but let's see how things pan out over the next few months.

McGuinness not the genius everybody makes out. Kept with zonal marking, didn't pick up P Clifford but Kerry simply better players and alot better team. From what I see there, there's not a All-Ireland in that Donegal team.

He is a very good manager in that he rallied a disorganised mess of a squad going nowhere, galvanized them and made them one of the best sides in the game. They're still a bit short though and his tactics were off today as well.

Anti-climax of a final. Whenever Donegal threatened to get close they invariably made bad decisions when the chances were there to get it down to 3. I'm not convinced they ever had it in them to win anyway.

Unfortunate after a promising summer that we had 2 poor semis and poor final with a sanitised version of football. Plenty to ponder.

Congratulations to Kerry.

Meath starting to look out of their depth.Didnt man mark Murphy and defence in general looks wide open and not division 1 standard. Shooting way rash on it. 11 wides

They were out of their depth a long time before that to be honest. Not sure what they were thinking with all those 2 point efforts early on. Donegal were pretty average first half and still well ahead. Second half a procession. Hopefully Meath can build on their progress over the last couple of months but as it stands they are a long way off it.

Looking forward to the final!

Went pretty much as I expected, Kerry are a bit further down the line than Tyrone. From a Tyrone point of view the first 20 minutes were very good but they didn't get the scores to reflect that. And in the second half when Kerry were on top Tyrone had so many poor wides. Kerry's spell when they got all those scores in a row wasn't the same as the Armagh game, Tyrone should have kept the scoreboard ticking over at the other end to some extent. Heads went a little as the wides stacked up and decision making became questionable.

Defence was too open as it went on and but for Morgan Kerry could have had a few goals. At the same time a couple of key Kerry men were shut down very effectively. D Clifford was just fantastic, an incredible footballer.

I take it as a good year for Tyrone. The last 3 seasons were pretty farcical. O'Rourke inherited a lot of talent but a team that was a bit of a shambles. He has had a solid start and restored order but there remains a lot to do. I'd hope we won't see retirements at this stage, the old dogs are still great players and could be a big influence as the youngsters from the successful under age teams come through.

Kerry were excellent. They will take some stopping but not unbeatable. It's a case of up Donegal for me now but I wish all three remaining sides good luck.

I see Spillane is now sorry for talking down Tyrone in the noughties. He was hurt by 2003 he says and as such spoke as a Kerryman rather than an analyst. That was obvious at the time. Set the tone for too many Kerry people regarding Tyrone though. Tomas O'Se and his crass Covid joke in 2023 and all the post minor final moaners about the ref were only carrying on the tradition. A disappointment when you grew up with reverence for Kerry football. Ger O'Keefe stands out for me for speaking with class and dignity in defeat in 2005. Kerry could do with more like him.

Unfortunately I do think Kerry will have too much for Tyrone today. There are questions still about all four of the semi finalists and as such hard to be sure what's ahead but from a Tyrone point of view the team still hasn't quite clicked. That's understandable given it was a rudderless ship for three years - the new management was always going to need team to put order to it while also introducing new players (and amid unique times with new rules). There have been plenty of signs that Tyrone are making progress, but also a very poor performance against Mayo and a very mixed showing against the Dubs even in victory. The Armagh game was also up and down so we're really putting a lot on winning in Donegal, which was excellent (and manner of it in particular) but makes for a rather thin body of evidence.

Kerry have also been mixed and their body of evidence really comes from the Armagh game - but it was a powerful piece of evidence. Hard not to feel they are a bit further down the line as a team than Tyrone right now and I do believe they will win.

But we live in hope. Safe travels to all.

Tyrone would have been sick had they not won that, took a long time to get going then when they did made a mess of some huge goal chances as well as bad wides. Have to give them great credit though, still found a way and showed huge character to seize control in closing quarter when a few points down and against the wind. Mulgrew a huge influence.

Commiserations to Kerry. Some fine young players who we'll see again in the years ahead.

Media reports say his West Ham contract started on July 1st. An oversight that this wasn't sorted before - seriously doubt it would have made a big difference for West Ham to agree to push it back by a few days, particularly when he has been playing for Tyrone already for months after agreeing the West Ham move.

A big loss for Tyrone but also a real shame for the boy himself. Potentially has a great career in soccer ahead of him but playing in an All Ireland football is a special opportunity.

Dick Clerkin was right about this Armagh team.

What did he say about them?

Weakest team to ever win the AI.

They're better than the Tyrone team that won the 2021 All Ireland*

Nah, Tyrone 2021 had a tougher run and played better football. Last year's Championship overall was of a much lower standard. Indeed it was the worst quality season I can recall. Armagh deserved to win it though and their progress over the past few seasons and with a group of players who hadn't excelled at underage should be an inspiration to all. I wasn't convinced the new rules would suit them but they looked pretty good - until today. Margin of defeat actually flattered them.

Kerry looked very good. You'd have them and Donegal out in front of Tyrone and Meath at this stage.

No not sure about that.

Tyrone wouldn't have got within 10 points of Dublin. They didn't believe they could nor know how to do it. Mayo gave them a gift from heaven and they grabbed it with both hands.

Armagh were better winners.

And it hurts me to say it.

Dublin weren't very good in 2021. They were asking to be put out of their misery in Leinster but their opponents didn't realise until too late that the Dubs were there for the taking. Mayo did. I think Tyrone would have beaten them but we'll never know. But Tyrone did beat a good Kerry team (a better side than the shambolic Kerry of last summer) and the  aforementioned Mayo side.

Tyrone 2021 were a very good team, all the best parts of the Mickey Harte outfit which had been knocking at the door but freed from the strangling micromanagement. There was more improvement in them too with the right management but obviously that didn't come to pass.

Dick Clerkin was right about this Armagh team.

What did he say about them?

Weakest team to ever win the AI.

They're better than the Tyrone team that won the 2021 All Ireland*

Nah, Tyrone 2021 had a tougher run and played better football. Last year's Championship overall was of a much lower standard. Indeed it was the worst quality season I can recall. Armagh deserved to win it though and their progress over the past few seasons and with a group of players who hadn't excelled at underage should be an inspiration to all. I wasn't convinced the new rules would suit them but they looked pretty good - until today. Margin of defeat actually flattered them.

Kerry looked very good. You'd have them and Donegal out in front of Tyrone and Meath at this stage.

A win's a win! Beating the Dubs in the championship in Croke Park is huge. A brilliant day. I wouldn't get too hung up on performance. Donegal were taken apart in their first half by Monaghan... Dubs were poor yesterday had great win over Derry last round. It happens.
I'd fear no-one. Selection of Malachy O'Rourke vindicated. Was a great day out!

Agree, it was an ugly game but it won't say that in the history books. Sure the 2015 All-Ireland Final the Dubs won 0-12 to 0-9 v Kerry was a horrible game but you do think they care. Not every game is going to be a spectacle.
The most important thing about yesterday was getting the Dublin monkey off our backs after some serious hammerings from them in the last 15 years.

Agreed! Winning in Ballybofey and now beating the Dubs in Croker are both signs of real progress.

Can't gloss over the performance entirely though. McCurry had his poorest game for a long time and while Darragh got better he's still a fair bit from his best form. Has to be a concern that we're not making the most of the huge talent available in the forwards. Also very frustrating to see players time and again carrying the ball into contact or feeding teammates who are about to be swallowed up. The decision making at times was pretty grim. Thank god for the cool head, composure, leadership and drive of Mattie Donnelly.

But we're in the last four and there is much more in the team. That's not a bad place to be at all.

Strange to say we still don't know where Tyrone are after beating Dublin by 7 points in Croke Park...but despite the win that was an exasperating performance. Key men in attack in particular were way off it and some of the decision making throughout the team was really poor. Anything like that in the next game and Tyrone will have no hope.

On the flipside, beating the Dubs in Croker should bring the team on, and even more so when they'll know they were far from their best. There's much much more in that team. It was good to see Darragh more like himself as the second half progressed and McElhom and Ruairi provided a much needed lift.

Have to single out Mattie who never stopped driving the team on. What a player and what a warrior.

After so many years of Dublin domination and sheer negativity around the sport, do the supporters of the eight quarter-finalists not feel extremely privileged to be at the centre of a festival of football in a near enough sold out Croke Park this weekend?

Good times 😁

It's an interesting era with little between several teams. I think we were already in a pretty open spell post Dublin domination with no outstanding teams but it could be that the new rules have flattened the curve even further. Time will tell is it a case of there being a bit of a vacuum and also teams adjusting to new rules or are we going to see a pattern where the sport is far more open.

Looking forward to Tyrone Dublin tonight. Remains to be seen really where both teams are. Tyrone are certainly in a better place than the rudderless ship of the previous three campaigns and there have been position signs over the past few months. Fact is though they have won 3 from 5 in the Championship and 2 of those were against Cavan. The Donegal win in Ballybofey was hugely encouraging but equally the manner of the subsequent Mayo defeat raised a lot of questions. As such here we are in an AI quarter final and it's hard to know for sure what you're going to get. McKernan injury very unfortunate.

Dubs not convincing either so far but there is plenty of talent there. You have to wonder now they are in a quarter final will they go up a level or two. I can't call it at all.

Tyrone should win it. Kerry pushed all the way by a Mayo team that wouldn't be considered to have any standout players really.

Tyrone will need to play better than today, first half in particular wasn't great. The goal at the end of the half was key, took the wind right out of Roscommon's sails. Second half was comfortable enough.

He's a serious athlete but if he had won POTY in 2021 it would have been another nail in the coffin of football in its purest form.

Why don't they just do the All Stars based on GPS trackers.

Just thought some of the pics at the end of the Cavan game where a bit attention seeking.

Player gets injured comes back plays football it's a story as old as time, just get on with it .

Any suggestion his influence on 2021 was down to fitness alone is ridiculous. He shut down key men in opposition teams all the way through that run while also linking the play and contributed in attack, and bringing leadership. McGeary got the award because his contributions was more obvious - and he had a great summer - but I'd always argue Meyler's contribution was greater.

He also backed it up after 2021 in a struggling team when others dropped off badly. And now he has fought back from horrific injury problems. I've nothing but admiration for the man.

He didn't take any of those pics after the Cavan game, he simply embraced family who knew better than any of us what he had done to get back there.

Strange sporting culture at times when a man gets a hard time for striving to be as good as he can be, showing his emotions and speaking eloquently. Some people seem to feel strangely threatened by this.

Never in any danger today. Great to see Meyler back although disappointing at the same time with McKernan suffering what looked like a nasty injury. Hopefully that isn't the case.

Finishing top of the group is a great effort. The win in Ballybofey was hugely encouraging. The manner of the defeat against Mayo was worrying. As such, still hard to know where exactly we are. But it's certainly a lot better than the last two years anyway.