Is Pat McEnaney overrated??

[nrico2006]

No harm to any referee, but if they can't spot a fella jumping up and fisting the ball in the square (in a clear case like yesterday's) then they shouldn't be refereeing.  So this craic that its the linesmans fault doesn't wash.  They should have definitely spotted it, but so should PME.

[Throw ball]

Doesn't really matter now as that is probably his las big match in Croker! Thought he had a poor game by his own standards yesterday but was still one of the best.

[Farrandeelin]

Of course Prat McEnaney's over-rated.

[Barney]

Ye will be crying for Pat when Gerry Kinnevey gets the whistle for the Final!

Car crash television ahead for us neutrals!

[moysider]

I hope to meet Pat McEneaney sometime.

As for Gerry Kinneavey. I think the misery should be shared about evenly. Not fair he should destroy just a few counties summer. I hope he gets the final.

[pintsofguinness]

I hope to meet Pat McEneaney sometime.

As for Gerry Kinneavey. I think the misery should be shared about evenly. Not fair he should destroy just a few counties summer. I hope he gets the final.

why?

[moysider]

I hope to meet Pat McEneaney sometime.

As for Gerry Kinneavey. I think the misery should be shared about evenly. Not fair he should destroy just a few counties summer. I hope he gets the final.

why?

Why not? Seems like a nice fella.

[Roashter]

While I believe he is a good ref, I do think that he is over-rated, and this is due in large part to RTE continually telling us he is the best in the land.

He reffed one of the Cork v Kerry games this year and I thought he was terrible that day.
Lets not forget that it was him who sent off Liam McHale in the infamous Meath v Mayo All-Ireland final, and my belief is that McHale got sent off simply because he stood out from his team mates given that he was tall & tanned.

Like any referee he has made mistakes, but to be fair to him he is one of the better referees.

[Main Street]

He reffed one of the Cork v Kerry games this year and I thought he was terrible that day.

I think you would have to judge his refereeing of the Cork Kerry game in comparison to how other refs did with that fixture.
Also bear in mind he had a top ref on the sideline,  yards away from an incident, who got it wrong over the Canty card offense.

If the ref is to use his umpires then some responsibility can be delegated. Here based on the blatant enough square ball, some are saying that the ref can not delegate, he has to make every decision and get everything right. I'd say that it is an absolute impossibility  even for our top refs, to achieve consistency of performance  in hotly contested championship games with teams at the top of their game, going helter skelter at Croke Park. Imagine a soccer ref who could not depend on his assistants for offside calls, it would be chaotic.
Our refs need proper assistance to do their job in these games and make the decisions they are capable of, if that is the expectation.

The main argument against having 2 refs, one in each half, is that the refs have their own interpretation of how the game can proceed. McEnaney usually gives the advantage to the player in possession surrounded by the swarm, whilst other refs blow in favour of the swarm.
In effect, having two refs might be a tad confusing to the proceedings. Allowing a few video replay calls in the latter stages of the championship  to each team, is a doable change.  Or we can just accept that one man can not possibly get every decision right.

[LilySavage]

No best ref by a mile Ive seen. Will be a big loss. His umpires let him down on Sunday but he did ok himself. Understands the game, lets it flow.

[JUst retired]

They should have stuck with the rule tried earlier this year, where a player could enter the square after the ball was kicked. If as happened the ball was kicked high in and dropping down,when did it enter the square? on a high dropping kick a player could enter the square and still not commit a foul. What I am trying to say is, if the ball is say 30 mtrs in the air and dropping the player can surely go for it and be in there when it is within playing distance.
This would be hard for a ref and umpires to determine as they can`t watch the high dropping ball and where the player is at the same time.
I hope I have`nt gone too far off topic.

[Club Rossa]

Totally overrated.

[Banana Man]

lads i'm not a referee but i did referee an underage game one time when the ref didn't weigh in and I can tell you it was no picnic and it was a midtable end of season u12 game - I'll admit it too i missed a lot of stuff

now imagine an all ireland senior semi final in croker with 60k plus fan screaming at ya - i think he is the best around and tries to be fair

referees are like priests i reckon - it takes a rare breed of a man to do it!

[mrenergizer]

The best ref in Ulster by a country mile and probably in Ireland too. PITY he didnt get the final

[cogito]

This topic is stupid.

If Kieran Donaghy has one bad game is he over-rated? Give me a break.. I mean who would bother their whole being a ref in this day and age. Ref's are scrutinised more than ever, yet still have the same help they had 20 years ago - the human eye.

How many mistakes do you think happened 20 years ago and went unnoticed because of the lack of action replay's. I mean until we adapt and come up with a tecnology system that suits our game we are going to have to accept mistakes will be made - just like they have always been.

I was at the game myself on Sunday. And yeah, when he scored it I thought to myself 'that might have been a square ball' but I wasn't 100% sure. McEnaney clearly wasn't fully decided, because he went into the umpire who had already put up the flag, so how can you disallow a goal if you are not 100% sure he was in the square.

Do we expect ref's to give penalties unless they are 100% sure there is a trip?