Spillane

[haze]

Every year, Every single year. We have the same thing being said after the first few games - The quality is terrible, the standard has dropped, the matches less entertaining than  in previous years.

For goodness sake, the early games with a top side playing a much lesser side in bad weather are always rubbish, the refereeing always questionable, the entertainment always low. That is what the matches are for, to allow the better teams to progress and eventually play each other. Then the weather is better, the teams more evenly matched, and the entertainment higher.

By early July we will be watching a series of highly entertaining closely contested matches played at a high skill level.

This is a knock-out competition (with the back-door anomaly). Imagine these twits analysing the first week of Wimbledon when there are one-sided matches and lots of competitive but low standard games. They would write off each year's event as below par.

+1.

And regardless, Laois and Longford for example would never have got such exposure 10/20 years ago. All anyone would have seen would have been a highlights package with the good scores being showcased. Christ, why cant some of these pundits display the same kind of logic that many posters on here seem to have.
Tompkins article really bothered me to be honest last week. What is his problem? Can he not remember how many good games were played in last year's championship? Does he not recognise that his very own county has a set of players capable of scoring 20+ points a game? Why was there not a squeak out of him after last 2 Cork/Dublin games?

Former hurling players and pundits go out of their way to promote the game- poor games are not overanalyzed, they are just that- poor games; good games are regularly described as classics. Football pundits on the other hand seem to want to have a cut. They seem to get some sort of sick enjoyment after watching a bad game of football. Laois game was bad yesterday but big deal-  nobody died.

[panc56]

Having been at the LSFC games yesterday, I would safely guess that 50% of the wides were due to the wind.

[Fuzzman]

Spillane and him are kept separate which I don't like, it brought a bit of tension to the studio.

Yeah last year it was unreal, the tension between them. I was tuning in just to see what was gonna be said. The smile on Brolly when Down beat Kerry last year was so funny.

[Orangemac]

The football might be bad , but the quality of "punditry" is on par.
The only reason RTE retain viewing figures for GAA coverage is because they have monopoly. GAA followers do not tune in to hear Spillane , Brolly , Carney utter  worn out drival. Really think it is only a matter of time until RTE send Brolly packing as he surely put his foot in it last night , challenging Mc Stay on rules, challenging Des Cahill , obsessed with Colm O Rourke quotes , offering advice to ' rookie manager', Jim Mc Guiness and generally being anything other than an asset to the programme.

Does Brolly get tanked up before going on?
You can hear him chuckling and muttering away to himself constantly while the other pundits are talking.
He's slouched in the chair like he's going to drop off but then suddenly he'll get narky and try to pick a fight like he did with Cahill.
I really think it's time the GAA set up its own channel.

Remember one game last year thinking the same thing about Brolly. Laughing away to himself.

Last night after one of the games the 1st thing they discussed was a sending off. RTE panel seem to think they are the preliminary meeting of the disciplinry committee. People want to hear about the games and expert analysis.

Someone made the point recently about in the US where they take their TV and sport seriously that most pundits are journalists. There are a few good Sunday Tribune journalists who may be available and would be a marked improvement on most of the current lot.

[ck]

I have met both Brolly and Spillane and have to say that I liked neither of them. They are exactly those arrogant smart arses you see on TV. That of course makes for good entertainment and Irish audiences love the spark, the craic and the banter, at the expense of quality football insight. It's the real GAA people who demand quality analysis but this demand would be in a severe minority. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the banter as much as the next man but its when Spillane jomps on the band wagons that drives me mad. Shite like "Give me a rugby team for a year and I'd win an All-Ireland"... and the bollix gets away with it. Shite talk of the highest order.

Unfortunately Spillane and Brolly are here to stay, arrogant as they are, we must be subjected to their scripted nonsense all summer long. Two absolute clowns with egos is all they are.... Give me the intelligence and passion of McHugh and Burns (Little and large) any day.

[Joe Umbrella (hey)]

Lads the Sunday game pundits in my view are alright.

Spillane is a dinasaur, O'Rourke is a moran and Brolly a WUM. This mix makes for good viewing from time to time, afterall I dont particularly want to agree all the time with everything these guys say that would be too boring. Its the awful match commentators that need spruced up. I can hardly bear to listen to Carney,McStay & Co. At least the pundits have something controversal to say now and again. McStays commentary is brutal - " that was a quare blockbuster of a shot" .

Mind you Sidebottom on the BBC is just as bad. He sounds a bit like an announcer at a tractor rally on speed!

[AZOffaly]

Lads the Sunday game pundits in my view are alright.

Spillane is a dinasaur, O'Rourke is a moran and Brolly a WUM. This mix makes for good viewing from time to time, afterall I dont particularly want to agree all the time with everything these guys say that would be too boring. Its the awful match commentators that need spruced up. I can hardly bear to listen to Carney,McStay & Co. At least the pundits have something controversal to say now and again. McStays commentary is brutal - " that was a quare blockbuster of a shot" .

Mind you Sidebottom on the BBC is just as bad. He sounds a bit like an announcer at a tractor rally on speed!

I like McStay as a co-commentator. I also like Michael Duignan in the hurling as a co-commentator. Donal O'Grady is good too.

I can't listen to Martin Carney. And as for the commentators, only Darragh Moloney makes me want to listen to him, and that's only when the Dubs aren't playing.

Huge One Ger, or Nickname Marty wreck my happiness,

[muppet]

Lads the Sunday game pundits in my view are alright.

Spillane is a dinasaur, O'Rourke is a moran and Brolly a WUM. This mix makes for good viewing from time to time, afterall I dont particularly want to agree all the time with everything these guys say that would be too boring. Its the awful match commentators that need spruced up. I can hardly bear to listen to Carney,McStay & Co. At least the pundits have something controversal to say now and again. McStays commentary is brutal - " that was a quare blockbuster of a shot" .

Mind you Sidebottom on the BBC is just as bad. He sounds a bit like an announcer at a tractor rally on speed!

I like McStay as a co-commentator. I also like Michael Duignan in the hurling as a co-commentator. Donal O'Grady is good too.

I can't listen to Martin Carney. And as for the commentators, only Darragh Moloney makes me want to listen to him, and that's only when the Dubs aren't playing.

Huge One Ger, or Nickname Marty wreck my happiness,

Michael Duignan stands out imho. He like anyone can have an off day but he is usually very good. Naturally I like the two Mayo lads. I am obviously biased and know Martin to be a top man and while I don't know Kevin personally he was very helpful to a group of us off the board a few years back but I'll leave it at that.

The above though are co-commentators, it would be hard to win Strictly Come Dancing if your partner is an elephant.

[brokencrossbar1]

Kevin McStay, legend!!!!!

[CorkMan]

The first year he was was on the Sunday Game Spillane was so biased towards Kerry it made me sick.Last year he was pretty much anti-Kerry (or thats how it looked to me).Why can't he just pick one side and keep to it

[Fuzzman]

Sorry if this was discussed somewhere else but was Brolly on the panel yesterday?

I notice he wasn't on last week and wondered was it because of his behaviour with Dessie?

I'd say he's getting on a few people's nerves now.

[AQMP]

Sorry if this was discussed somewhere else but was Brolly on the panel yesterday?

I notice he wasn't on last week and wondered was it because of his behaviour with Dessie?

I'd say he's getting on a few people's nerves now.

Brolly was doing the in-studio analysis with Colm O'Rourke on the Leitrim Rossies game yesterday.

[Jinxy]

Brolly and O'Rourke work well together.
They should keep Spillane away from them.

[CorkMan]

Brolly and O'Rourke work well together.
They should keep Spillane away from them.

Forget keeping Spillane away from Brolly and O'Rourke.If I had my way he wouldn't be let anywhere near the Sunday Game full stop.

[Armaghgeddon]

Dara Ó' Cinnéide and Jarlath Burns would be a good pairing.