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Gaelic Football when played between 2 good teams is about momentum for the winners.  Either team let loose will destroy the other in their spell.The referee did not let tyrone take advantage of the momentum and dominance  and kept Mayo in touch, this was not reciprocated later in the game. I heard the term arrogance being used to describe the performance.  It was as if his mind was made up as to what was to happen before it happened and there was to be no changing.  Hence the Mayo free when they could have had a goal, but bear in mind Tyrone had stopped.  A different referee and O Shea was off the field also.  But back to the game and what Tyrone could have done to win it..
The loss of Stevie O Neill and Harte was ultimately disastrous.  Despite some nice points.  The work rate from the full forward line wasnt up to scratch hence the opening point from play after 32mins - ironically young Coney improved this but the game was over. 
Tyrone were carrying 6 - 7 subs in their programme who would have been more or less making their debut had they been brought into action, in other words they probably shouldnt have been there or we should have seen more that them over the year.  I wonder what some of the lads on their last legs think of this idea of giving them bench experience for next year.  Next year is a never never.  Tyrone have got to few enough semifinals to have this attitude.  There are a number of footballers who need to thanked and let go, they have been injured perennially over the last few years and are now starting to look like they are a poor investment in time, focus and physio bills - sometimes the body just isnt fit for county demands and management need to look at this.. Tyrone need to pick proven fit men for their panel next year.  The onus should be on footballers to prove their strength and athletic capability for the rigours of a season.  I feel our management could communicate better with clubs going forward and guys should rehabilitate with their clubs until they are fit to return for their county.    Sean Cavanagh must also be made captain - I think he has earned it more than anyone. 
I sincerely hope Mayo push on now.  They still start games weak and had Tyrone been allowed to push further in front the result would have been the same as last years final. .  I fear that Mayo are still a confidence team and that can be fragile enough at times particularly when they are on front of goals They must work on that.  They are a class act in full flow, but they will not get kind punditry or refereeing V Dubs or Kerry.  I also fear that their best team isnt starting and there are no room for passengers on and off the field.  Their supporters are a class act and iits up to the team to deliver for them.  Horan has the makings of an ai winning manager, I hope they do it and I will be there to cheer them on, having seen them beat in 6 finals previously, I swore I would never go back but this year might be different.   On a lesser note I watched on as a so called steward giving dogs abuse to Tyrone fans in front of me being totally unprofessional and antagonising, totally buying the rte line, and instead of doing his job creating a potential problem.  This will be the ultimate legacy of rte punditry - a lack of respect for Tyrone football people.  Amongst other things do these guys get paid? What happens when the steward at some point gets a well deserved slap for their auld guff.   
Finally it was a decent season for Tyrone football. No silverware but a top 4 finish and it was highly enjoyable, as Tyrone folk we thank our management and players for their hard work, and new plans can be hatched in time.   

All told I think Mickey and the management team will be delighted with their progress this season. We are in a rebuilding process after all. An excellent league showing built confidence for a good championship run. The Donegal defeat was a kick in the teeth but analysis of the stats would have shown we were more than competitive and a six point loss wasn't a reflection on that. As for the championship I think a quarter final berth was the aim.....the fact we reached the semi was a bonus and the experience gained from that for the majority of the lads can't be bought. Things rarely go as planned during games....the injury to Harte was a massive blow as he was an important cog in the wheel for us.....Stevie going off less so given he was replaced by Ronan who in my opinion should have had much more game time this season to bring him on, despite the fact he was returning from serious injury. I would expect one or two more retirements now from the older players. Yesterday's game will have demonstrated that we can be as competitive as any team in the country, and that you can have all the fancy footballers in the world but 99 times out of 100 hunger, steel and stubbornness will win the day. Some of the less experienced lads will know that now. I thought the two best players on the pitch for us yesterday were Colm and McGinley.... We are short a couple of players and I'm sure there will be new faces on the panel come the new year. A year ahead of where I thought we would be...another 2 and we will be challenging in finals and not semis!

I think Joe went OTT but there is no doubting the fact he's right!!

Mickey Harte always talks about how good our games are and how much better the GAA is than everyone else. Talking about Hypocrisy and there's your answer. Mickey Harte and Cavanagh are 2 of our games role models and should be held to a higher standard than diving and systematic fouling!

The defence by Tyronies on here is " but everyone else does it" I will point you to the reply my Mother used for years "if everyone jumped off a bridge would you do it too?"

Yes others are at it but Tyrone the longest and that's ten years of Cavanagh getting lads booked and sent off with his diving and Harte pretending his team don't engage in the dark arts when he's had McMenamim, Gormley and Cavanagh on his teams for years.

Joe should stand up for our games as Mickey Harte doesn't seem to want to bar his outrage at the International Rules. Joe always played the game in the spirit it was intended so he's as well placed as anyone to stand up for what's right!

thats a fairly contentious post there - final line about Joe always playing the game in the right spirit just lets you down. alot.

Absolutely correct.....there was no one better than Joe Brolly at the old pull down the defender and buy a free for yourself than himself. Cheating? Take a look at Derry v Tyrone in 2006.....Raymond Mulgrew was systematically kicked and pulled up and down the pitch in the first half constantly....and Joe loved it

Possibly the best individual performance I've ever seen in Croke Park. Probably the best by a midfielder. I think it's worth a thread of its own, if only as a token of resistance to the apostles of negativity who want to focus on individual misdemeanours and the ridiculous hype over what people said about what happened in a match, rather than on the match itself.

i remember him playing in the minor final against tyrone a few years ago and he looked an awesome player. he has taken a few years to really realise that potential at senior level, but his performance yesterday was pure class.

From said minor final....I believe that's him....underneath McKenna...
https://ssl.utvinternet.com/sportingvisions/imgdir/252241121/322271.jpg

That looks like the best Mayo team i seen in my time, going back to 1990, some of the older mayo hands would be fit to give a better opinion

For all our all Ireland final losses, '96 was the only year where we were the best team in the country.
I think this team is probably better than that but and this isn't soft chat but I still think Dublin are better than us.

However this is very satisfying

4-12 from a team that has no marquee forwards is some return, about time people realised COC is in the same league as Gooch and BBrogan etc

As I said elsewhere on the boards after attending the donegal v laois match.....donegal are going to get an awful tanking and Mayo are the team to do it. Unfortunately my own county are next....

Joe had no problems celebrating in 2006 when Derry beat Tyrone in Omagh. If you watch the game you will see some of the most cynical tackles and play of the previous 15 years. The Tyrone players were simply not allowed to play, and Sean Cavanagh was pulled to the ground at every sign of danger.

Joe was dancing in the stands afterwards and had no problems with the Derry style of play, which at the end of the day won them the game.

Maybe Joe should go back and have a look at that game and his comments about it afterwards before he launches another personal attack.

An excellent example of Joe's ridiculous hypocrisy. That game was equal if not worse than any 'tactics' Tyrone employ. We all know Joe fires out controversial analysis and to stir the pot and raise his profile and I would normally take it with a large pinch of salt. The personal digs/insults of Sean and Mickey go way beyond the pale and, in actual fact, would make me think far less of the man Joe Brolly rather than SC.

I wonder if the exact same situation had arisen back in the 93 AIF and Derry had lost the game because of it, would Joe have gone up to that player and said, 'Well done me oul mucker....you did the right thing....'

In the case of what Cavanagh has done though, it is something that I do genuinely believe most players would do. (Remember Cluxton versus ourselves in 2006). The rules may not punish it enough for our tastes, I wouldn't argue with that, but I also believe that if Cavanagh was going to be sent off for that yesterday, he'd still have done it.

As I mentioned in the Tyrone/Monaghan game thread, a number of years back my old school was playing St. Ciaran's Clara in an All-Ireland U16 semi-final with the game deep into injury time with Clara leading by two points, one of our players is through on goal with the ball and a Clara defender in desperation pulled him down just outside the penalty area. He got sent off for the tackle but his sacrifice was enough for St. Ciaran's to win the game and then onwards to winning the All-Ireland Junior Football VS title. It was a risk that paid off even if our supporters were annoyed to hell by the cynicism of it.

Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing-the result.

The standard of the Dublin vs Cork game has already been ridiculously higher than the dross that was this game.

Glad to see a poor Monaghan team dumped out and Mayo to do the business on Tyrone in the semi final.

It's that good you are on here complaining about another match   

And exactly the same scoreline at half time as the negative, boring dross served up by the northerners.......Mmmmmmm??

I read that article earlier today and felt that Monaghan were a durty shower of so and so's and that he never liked playing them as they always had nothing to lose and could take you out of it very handy. He was probably glad to see Donegal getting some of their own medicine.

Playing in Croke park is more than likely play some part in Monaghan's mindset. By the sounds of it there is gonna be a very large crowd although a lot of the Dubs won't be in til late as usual.
I would expect they won't play as well as they did in the Ulster final but the question is will they even have to?
You would imagine Sean Cav won't get as much space this time and could even be man marked the whole game.

Agreed.....someone else will have to step up to the plate. I would love to see Mark Donnelly drive forward more and get the scores he was getting during the national league. Is he playing a different role or is it just a matter of being watched more tightly? He certainly isn't the scoring threat he was.

Mayo's to lose I think. Despite being a proud Tyrone man I've seen a lot of Donegal this year. They had a crap McKenna Cup.....a crap national league resulting in relegation....and then a win over Tyrone in Ulster which had them labelled as a better side than last year!!! Down gave them bother....a game I attended.....Monaghan played them off the pitch. The question was were they caught on the hop....over confident etc....or were Monaghan really that good. Well.....I was at Carrick last night and I have to say Donegal were as poor there as in the Ulster final.....shot shy, over elaborating, heavy legged. I have a suspicion they are due an awful tanking and Mayo are the team to do it.
As for my own county...delighted to be in the quarters....as much as I could have hoped for....also delighted with the draw v Monaghan.....could go either way with no clear favourite. I expect it to be the tightest of the four games.

So were Laois just awful then?

pretty much!!

Mayo's to lose I think. Despite being a proud Tyrone man I've seen a lot of Donegal this year. They had a crap McKenna Cup.....a crap national league resulting in relegation....and then a win over Tyrone in Ulster which had them labelled as a better side than last year!!! Down gave them bother....a game I attended.....Monaghan played them off the pitch. The question was were they caught on the hop....over confident etc....or were Monaghan really that good. Well.....I was at Carrick last night and I have to say Donegal were as poor there as in the Ulster final.....shot shy, over elaborating, heavy legged. I have a suspicion they are due an awful tanking and Mayo are the team to do it.
As for my own county...delighted to be in the quarters....as much as I could have hoped for....also delighted with the draw v Monaghan.....could go either way with no clear favourite. I expect it to be the tightest of the four games.

This may be the game to start Cassidy and then replace him, rather than the other way round. I feel we will need to be ahead at half time.

I agree....if Cassidy was fully fit he would have started games long before now given his solid performances when he has come on.