Ulster finals 2022-25 Rankings

[onefineday]

I wanted to run a poll to assess people's views on the ulster finals as per above.  All incredibly tense and competitive games obviously, two penalty shootouts and the other two were one kick away from being penalty shootouts.

I'm interested because, whilst I'm generally in favour of the rule changes and had been calling for them for years on here, I'm getting increasingly nauseated by the "you'd never have seen a game like this last year" and "Jim Gavin and the FRC, the saviours of football" etc etc which seems to be the narrative we hear time and again on every media outlet and woe betide anyone who mentions that whilst there were some awful games in the past 5 years (and the 100 before it), there were also a few classics.
By and large competitive games are decent viewing and hold spectator interest (Derry v Kerry 2024 quarter final a notable exception).  So my own opinion is that while the rules have certainly contributed to a better season, so has a levelling of the playing field overall.  What I suspect the rules may have done is lifted the floor in terms of how poor games can be as viewing spectacles and this is something which might become more apparent as we move into club championship time of year.

[The Trap]

Good post onefineday.......you almost have to turn the commentary off now to watch a game.

Sure the club games at the start of the year were great games so don't have to look too far back.

Anyway with the press momentum behind it we have to accept the vast majority of these rules come in and the sport will have changed forever.

I just hope the arc is not maintained as most of the game is now played around it and the scoring changes are alien to the game we are supposed to be trying to get back to.

If that was a compromise to be made I could accept everything else even though some others are not to my liking.

[lurganblue]

I voted for last year's final.  I thought that was an exhibition in score taking.

[Armagh18]

I voted for last year's final.  I thought that was an exhibition in score taking.

Me too, though this year wasn't far behind, brilliant game. (Less impressive scores though)

[trileacman]

Derry Armagh I didn't have a clear favourite going in to it but the way McGuigan played that day and the beating he took off the Armagh backs but still kept scoring was exceptional. Thought it was a great game.

[onefineday]

I voted for last year's final.  I thought that was an exhibition in score taking.

Me too, though this year wasn't far behind, brilliant game. (Less impressive scores though)

My personal favourite was Derry v Donegal in 22, but that was really more about the context and the occasion. There were certainly some passages of very lateral play in that game. I haven't actually voted yet as I can make arguments for each of the last three years. Mcguigan in 23 was absolutely immense, last year's scoring and this year, the performance of conaty and perhaps the fact that Armagh trailed by 7 twice (iirc) and clawed it back both times, with no panic.
We have to attribute that inability to kill a game to the new rules and probably as good a reason as any to keep the new kickout rules, which I wasn't a fan of initially.

[Truthsayer]

A fantastic weekend of football. Sup it up... we aren't going back. Football has been saved #hailhail