Messages

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GAA Discussion / Re: NFL Division 1 2023

« on: March 29, 2023, 09:00:15 PM »

NO NO Armagh coach Ciarán McKeever makes jaw-dropping prediction that 2023 could potentially be last ever Ulster Championship

Beginning of the end of the Ulster championship is what he's saying. He was brought in by Ulster GAA chiefs to launch their province championship and I'd say they are delighted they chose him as he did nothing but talk down the importance of the Ulster championship.  Two things stood out 1) it can be still important in the terms of group seeding 2) Armagh winning Ulster would be boost after relegation yet he doesn't think so and with such mindset it's not hard to see why Armagh haven't reached or won Ulster final since 2008.

He also said in that interview that Armagh had not changed anything tactically for this years League campaign so I’d take what he said with a massive pinch of salt.

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GAA Discussion / Re: NFL Division 1 2023

« on: March 29, 2023, 06:04:45 PM »

I'd be surprised if Donegal get past Down in the first round. The repercussions of this years shenanigans will not be solved in a few short weeks and may affect Donegal football for years to come.

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GAA Discussion / Re: NFL Division 1 2023

« on: March 29, 2023, 09:04:04 AM »

Is that the big title that nobody cares about anymore.Back 10/15yrs ago, it might meant something, but with the Championship now on top of the league, it's importance is greatly diminished. I rather beat Fermanagh in Ulster than beat, Dublin in a Div 2 final.

I think there should be a 2 week gap before champioship, that much we can agree on. However I don't think teams were as prepared for the League as they were 10/15 years ago. Due to the condensed season and the seedings link between League and championship, teams now have to hit the ground running in the League (apart from Kerry and Dublin who can still aim to peak later in the summer). So it probably has more merit then winning it back then did.

A division 2 title is a different situation especially since Derry won an Ulster title last season and therefore a secondary League title wouldn't hold anywhere near the same appeal. Derry aren't aiming to be the 9th best team in Ireland, they are aiming to be number one. But I was talking specifically about a division 1 title.   

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GAA Discussion / Re: NFL Division 1 2023

« on: March 28, 2023, 09:51:27 PM »

Can't see Mayo going remotely full tilt especially after the way last years final affected them in the championship. With Roscommon the week after, I be putting out a limited team.

So you think they should prioritise a provincial first round match over a national final and the chance to win a trophy just in case Galway might inflict a morale crushing defeat? I just don’t get that mindset.

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GAA Discussion / Re: NFL Division 1 2023

« on: March 28, 2023, 06:02:33 PM »

Attitude in the widest possible sense, league should have been targeted as very very winnable.

I don't think it wasn't that we didn't target it, we just fell short due to negative unsuitable tactics, an inability to close games out and injuries to some key players. Donaghy even said as much after the Galway match when he said that they'd hoped to be in a position travelling to Omagh knowing that a win there would guarantee them a League final. The Galway result ended that aspiration though. The margins were very fine but it was a missed opportunity nonetheless. I don't think Armagh will win an All Ireland but could have won a League title.

Unfortunately Armagh are some way short of being serious contenders at the moment. Last years run has maybe given us false hope. There are different opinions on the reasons for this. There is probably enough talent, not withstanding the age of forker, soupy and some others. perhaps a different voice is needed?

Serious contenders for Sam? Yes, probably. I would say that Kerry are out in front and after that only Galway, Dublin and possibly Mayo (though the jury is still out on them) can win it. A bit behind that you have Tyrone, Derry, ourselves and Roscommon all of whom could reach a semi final depending on the draw. However we can realistically still hope to win an Ulster title. It depends on how we recover mentally from the blow of relegation, how many injuries we get cleared up and whether management can get us back playing to a similar tactical gameplan to last summer. Management can control the mental recovery and tactical adjustments required but after that we could do with the return of a few players from injury. Morgan, Oisin O'Neill, Crealey and Murnin being the most important of those as we still have a huge deficiency in midfield. I don't know if any or all of these will be fit for an Ulster campaign but there are big question marks over Morgan and O'Neill at least.     

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General discussion / Re: Who’s Been Cancelled??

« on: March 28, 2023, 04:48:15 PM »

Just watched the interview and Hannon was just doing his job, there are enough lapdogs working in the media we certainly don't need any more. Kelly Harrington should have seen it as a great opportunity to get her viewpoint across but instead she sounded evasive and has now made it a much bigger issue than it needed to be. If she is anti immigration then she should have at least had the courage of her convictions to back up her views. 

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GAA Discussion / Re: NFL Division 1 2023

« on: March 28, 2023, 02:25:36 PM »

Attitude in the widest possible sense, league should have been targeted as very very winnable.

I don't think it wasn't that we didn't target it, we just fell short due to negative unsuitable tactics, an inability to close games out and injuries to some key players. Donaghy even said as much after the Galway match when he said that they'd hoped to be in a position travelling to Omagh knowing that a win there would guarantee them a League final. The Galway result ended that aspiration though. The margins were very fine but it was a missed opportunity nonetheless. I don't think Armagh will win an All Ireland but could have won a League title.   

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GAA Discussion / Re: NFL Division 1 2023

« on: March 27, 2023, 04:46:42 PM »

It won't be talked up as such but in my opinion a division one league title for either Galway or Mayo would be a bigger achievement than winning a Connacht title. It has all of the best teams in Ireland playing each other over a 2 month period and its a national title. But just watch both counties say that they aren't too bothered about this game in the build up to it.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Armagh, an even bigger mess

« on: March 27, 2023, 12:04:41 PM »

We are not in a mess. However we had a relatively poor League campaign and I'd be worried that relegation is the start of a downward decline since we have a lot of players around the 30 mark for whom time is running out. In terms of the short term though (this years championship) it's not a complete disaster but you do wonder what the actual plan is as we have lost some of our identity during this years League and despite the denials I don't think morale can be that great after yesterdays relegation.

However I'm still hopeful that if we throw off the shackles that we will have a productive summer and get to an Ulster final at least given that we are in the easier half. But Cavan away from home could be a tricky match. Despite our relegation I still think we are a top 6 side around the same level as Tyrone, Roscommon, Derry but we need to make more use of our best players strengths rather than being too obsessed with stats, defence and team structure. I'd be a bit worried that management are still trying to overthink the gameplan after this length of time in charge. The supporters will respond in kind if they are given something to cheer but the last few months have not been good in that respect.     

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GAA Discussion / Re: NFL Division 1 2023

« on: March 26, 2023, 05:26:26 PM »

Just watching the Armagh game there, that's a very bad hit by the Armagh fullback, straight frontal shoulder at head high. Amazed it wasn't red, maybe more on the fact the impact swung Kennedy head bck rather than the shoulder.

If your full back hadn’t made the hit there you’d be asking questions off him. It looked bad as both players were travelling at speed but once he’d committed he couldn’t exactly pull out it was just unfortunate for Kennedy to be on the receiving end of it.

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GAA Discussion / Re: NFL Division 1 2023

« on: March 26, 2023, 04:38:28 PM »

It was a decent game in Omagh today, plenty of mistakes by both sides but at least there was little of the backways sideways crap that we had become accustomed to as Armagh fans throughout this years League. Mayo done Monaghan a huge favour by rolling over and getting their tummies tickled and there was little chance that Tyrone would do the same for us. Tyrone played the game like it was an All Ireland final even though they had nothing at stake but Armagh only have ourselves to blame after playing negative turgid stuff for much of the League. It was always going to be difficult today without our best player and then losing Murnin also in in the first half.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Ulster U20 Championship 2023

« on: March 26, 2023, 12:42:08 PM »

Why are Armagh so poor at underage? They haven't challenged for a thing in the past decade +. Rarely reaching even semi-finals.

Since the All Ireland minor success of 2009 the record has been shocking at both underage grades. I’d say you could count on 2 hands the number of games we’ve won since then. I can’t answer the question of why but whatever we’re doing isn’t working.

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GAA Discussion / Re: NFL Division 1 2023

« on: March 24, 2023, 11:59:16 AM »

I'd be fearful that if Mayo put out an entirely new starting 15 that Monaghan may well get the result they need in Castlebar. The fact that they have requested a Saturday date for the League final would indicate to me that this is a distinct possibility. I still think that a Mayo 2nd string could get a result but I wouldn't be overly confident either. We just have to take care of our own business in Omagh and as the game creeps closer I am quietly confident that the recent criticism, the fact that survival is on the line and the sight of a Tyrone jersey will be enough to fire us up and get the result we need to render the Mayo match irrelevant.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Gaelic football is crap- and needs to change ASAP

« on: March 23, 2023, 12:05:09 PM »

I watched 10 minutes of Monaghan and Tyrone and switched it over. Genuinely couldn’t be arsed watching Monaghans slow build up, passing the ball across the pitch and back, constantly afraid or unable to slice a pass into the forwards. The outcome looked inevitable within minutes, Tyrone with everyone back, then breaking up field when Monaghan give it away and nick a score.  Boring predictable shite .

Football has become a game that is very difficult to attract a neutral, I struggle to watch games that ive no dog in the fight and anyone I talk to seems to be the same. Hurling still has the appeal that you can watch a game between 2 top teams and it keeps you interested, football not so much.

I don't necessarily agree.
In hurling, unless you are watching some of the top teams, the games can be a really hard watch.
In soccer, the whole approach is to pass the ball around the back and mf to find a gap to attack. No-one seems to complain about those games being boring, rather the skill levels of the players are revered.

Looking back to football of the 90's and to a lesser extent the 00's, football was more dynamic and more attack centred and yes, it can be argued more exciting and a more attractive prospect for the neutral. But the skill levels of players I believe are no-where near the levels of today and the fitness levels now are at stratospheric levels in comparison.

In football today, the top teams are still exciting to watch. The skill levels and fitness levels allow for those moments of brilliance which are enabled by the defensive foundation and approach. I personally find that fascinating to watch.
We still get some real score fests, but generally they are between teams that don't have the same level of players/management/tactics and most importantly finance and so the defensive abilities are not as good as the top 3-4 teams.

Only my opinion and I'm sure others will completely disagree. For me it's the progression of the game in terms of tactics and skills.
20 years ago we would not have enivisaged the way the game is today and I'd imagine in 20 years time it will have evolved again into something unrecognisable to todays players/fans.
It doesn't make it worse, just different and one thing for sure is that if nothing changed, it would become stale and boring and we'd have Kerry/Dublin winning every year and the rest of us would be sitting back dreaming of better days.

I'm not sure how the evolution of the game would change that particular outcome as it is fairly clear that the best resourced counties are those who advantage the most. Kerry and Dublin have literally won every League and championship title in the last decade apart from one Mayo League and one Tyrone championship!

You also make the point that skill and fitness levels have never been higher and that's possibly true which is down to the level of coaching invested in players from they are 5/6 years of age. But then again it depends on how you define skill and what you want the game to look like. I'd prefer to watch more of a kicking game where players are able to get their heads up and execute a long pass into an inside forward. Also to watch players that are able to kick scores from 40 metres out and forwards that are able to take their men on one on one and bear down on goal. More one on one duels for possession and less zonal marking to cover space. However all of those skills have become less important at the expense of possession and risk free football. GPS and possession based stats are the name of the game now. I'm sure there are coaching types who enjoy those type of hand passing possession based matches where they are able to have more control of the players movements and tactical positioning but imo it does nothing for the spectacle. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.     

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GAA Discussion / Re: Donegal - A mess

« on: March 23, 2023, 11:07:00 AM »

Jimmy McGuinness complained last week that he offered his services but was ignored. He now needs to put his money where his mouth is and step up at a time of crisis.

If he offered his services to manage Donegal then it begs the question what exactly have the last 8 years or so been all about for him. He went down the painstaking route of serving an apprenticeship as a soccer coach in order to get his pro licence but yet has now seemingly walked away from the sport. You would imagine that a League of Ireland club at least would have taken a punt on him by this stage or is that dream now over for him.

He didn't though. He offered to mentor Kav and Lacey as he and his family are about and will be until the summer. He was never coming in to manage with soccer commitments.. That's both in print and podcast

Fair enough, I presumed him offering his services was to manage the county senior team. What soccer commitments has he got?