Donegal v Kerry - 2025 All-Ireland Football Final

[Duine Inteacht Eile]

Donegal for me. This "best result for Gaelic football" notion is nauseating.

[Captain Obvious]

Most neutrals will want to see Kerry win the final. It'll  be the best result for gaelic football and hopefully will add another into the coffin of the old game. 

You'll need to elaborate a little further as to how and why Kerry winning 39th Senior All Ireland title is the best result for gaelic football.

"Old game" is gone I'd focus on the present and hope it's a good quality contest on Sunday which would be improvement on the majority of knock out games in this years championship.

[JPO]

In years to come hopefully the game will return back to something similar to football and the basketball type of game Donegal and many other teams play will just be a bad dream. I recently witnessed an under 10 training session where  one of the players was told off for kicking the ball. This how deep the poison has spread.

[Truthsayer]

In years to come hopefully the game will return back to something similar to football and the basketball type of game Donegal and many other teams play will just be a bad dream. I recently witnessed an under 10 training session where  one of the players was told off for kicking the ball. This how deep the poison has spread.

File under: 'things that didn't happen'

[Duine Inteacht Eile]

In years to come hopefully the game will return back to something similar to football and the basketball type of game Donegal and many other teams play will just be a bad dream. I recently witnessed an under 10 training session where  one of the players was told off for kicking the ball. This how deep the poison has spread.

Pat Spillane cringes when he looks back on his "Puke football" comments and openly admits that he just didn't like Kerry being beaten so he started blaming stuff.
This is similar. When Kerry teams of yesteryear hand passed the ball up the field when others didn't and beat all in front of them, it was innovative, skill, craft, typical Kerry class. When a team like Donegal do something that works for them, they've ruined football.
And people fall for this nonsense.

[lenny]

Definitely looking forward to this one as it's hard to call. The football has generally been really good this year apart from the semifinals. With the hurling final being poor enough I think we're set for a great football final. I honestly can't call this one, Donegal will definitely have a plan for clifford and kerry will try to nullify murphy.

[AustinPowers]

Spillane led the  charge about last years All Ireland final. It was as if these new rules  were drastically needed just because we had  a very cagey final.  And  he spoke about the seagull being the most  interesting thing on the day.  A lot of finals stink the place out. Had Kerry won  last year's final I doubt he'd  have said that.  So like 2003, maybe it was sour grapes  that Kerry didn't win it

Fitzmaurice supposedly  carried out an absolute tactical masterclass in 2014. It was probably the worst final in  living memory but  it was  this "tactical masterclass" because Kerry won it. In reality,  a bad kick out decided the game. With  Donegal hitting the post late on to draw it.

So, like Duine  said above,  certain years are  viewed through different  coloured glasses , depending on the winner

[rodney trotter]

Papa Durcan's howler was the difference in 2014.

[JPO]

Of course Spillane views football through green and gold glasses but most people I know who have played the game and still love football want to see Kerry win for footballs sake. Kerry arent going to kick the ball into a packed defence for Donegal to turn them over and  hit them on the counter and lose the final because of it. They may may have to get down into the gutter and mirror Donegal's muck.    .

[imtommygunn]

That is how Kerry won in 2014 - mirrored Donegal and mcguinness struggled to deal with it tactically. (Only time he has ever struggled might I add).

Donegal aren't exactly the enemy of football. Still play some good stuff.

[JPO]

The rules had to be changed because of the way Donegal played. The disease spread throughout the country    Thats how bad it was. They arent much different today

[Duine Inteacht Eile]

Such a mind boggling lazy narrative.

[Truthsayer]

The rules had to be changed because of the way Donegal played. The disease spread throughout the country    Thats how bad it was. They arent much different today

The rules were changed because of how all the teams were playing, right through club football as well. It was dire. No doubt McGuinness had a huge influence in introducing that.
Not sure that they aren't much different today. With the rules is it even possible to play like that now?
Have you a clue what you're talking about? 

[DaleCooper]

The problem was never really the rules per se but the Runaway "professionalism". When people have so much invested financially and otherwise, risk management becomes the mantra.

The new rules create a degree of respite & maybe the way to win will be to play to the rules strengths.

However if Donegal win playing precisely like the Dubs did then will it be bad? Scoring percentage points with large range of scorers?

No one wants to tackle the "professionalism" because there's too many benefiting. God I love the amateur game!

[JPO]

There are hundreds of thousands made every year from coaching, managers, trainers, etc. Backroom staff? Listen to the analysists in the media. All getting paid to explain to us how complicated the modern game is. Of course its all bullshit. These parasites make a lot of money from this and it has ruined  our game