Half-way point - views so far?

[corn02]

We are about half way through the championship in terms of games.

What do you think?

Certainly been intersting with smaller teams like Down, Wexford and Wicklow shocking. Some great matches too - Down v Tyrone, Wexford v meath.

[orangeman]

Still Kerry's to lose !

[ONeill]

Nothing really new to be honest. In Munster we have Kerry/Cork final. In the West - Mayo/Galway. Dublin and Armagh are appearing in their respective deciders, so 6/8 would have been close to bookie's favourites. Fermanagh and Wexford have been surprise packets but both appeared in their league decider and have some relative form over recent years that would have them in the middle bracket of sides.

July 19th will tell a tale  - or maybe not with a chance that 8 decent sides will make it through. The 4 teams that emerge from the qualifiers to play in the quarters will be in fine fettle having avoided the fodder from recent years and could easily catch provincial winners on the hop.

[Tankie]

Probably Dublin's best chance to win in years!

[Bensars]

I cant see how you figure that. 

They are no better off than anyone else. The top 8 to 10 teams are still around.

Have visions of Dublin bottling it once again.

[wherefromreferee?]

Still Kerry's to lose !

Totally agree.  Lets not forget they beat Mayo by 13points in the '06 final, and beat Cork by 10points in the '07 final.  So with the added motivation of going for '3 in a row', its definitely Kerrys to loose.

Add in the fact that they'll want to do it for Galvin,  and sure we may as well just hand them the damn cup.

[Tankie]

I cant see how you figure that. 

They are no better off than anyone else. The top 8 to 10 teams are still around.

Have visions of Dublin bottling it once again.

I dont think they are better on paper than any of the top teams but i think its gonna be one of those years where a team that shouldnt win it could put it off. they will beat wexford in another tight game and then they are in the Q/F and god know from there if the draw falls right!

[T Fearon]

What we have learn't so far:

Tyrone are finished, and essentially won two All Ireland's because they were a one man team and that one man was able to extract crucial dubious frees in 2003 and 2005, through diving.

The expected emergence of Donegal, Monaghan and Derry to challenge Armagh's undisputed supremacy in Ulster is not materialising. Ditto for Meath re Dublin in Leinster.

Down's inferiority complex, initiated in the mid 90s, when it comes to playing Armagh, has reached  now epic proportions and they might never recover from it.

Nothing coming from the West to make anyone sit up and take notice.

Kerry remain untried and untested, as always at this time of the year.

This year Sam will be won by either Kerry or Armagh

[tyssam5]

What we have learn't so far:

Tyrone are finished, and essentially won two All Ireland's because they were a one man team and that one man was able to extract crucial dubious frees in 2003 and 2005, through diving.

The expected emergence of Donegal, Monaghan and Derry to challenge Armagh's undisputed supremacy in Ulster is not materialising. Ditto for Meath re Dublin in Leinster.

Down's inferiority complex, initiated in the mid 90s, when it comes to playing Armagh, has reached  now epic proportions and they might never recover from it.

Nothing coming from the West to make anyone sit up and take notice.

Kerry remain untried and untested, as always at this time of the year.

This year Sam will be won by either Kerry or Armagh

I see the bandwagon is gathering momentum....

[GalwayBayBoy]

This year Sam will be won by either Kerry or Armagh

Kerry it is then.

[snappiered]

What we have learn't so far:

Tyrone are finished, and essentially won two All Ireland's because they were a one man team and that one man was able to extract crucial dubious frees in 2003 and 2005, through diving.

The expected emergence of Donegal, Monaghan and Derry to challenge Armagh's undisputed supremacy in Ulster is not materialising. Ditto for Meath re Dublin in Leinster.

Down's inferiority complex, initiated in the mid 90s, when it comes to playing Armagh, has reached  now epic proportions and they might never recover from it.

Nothing coming from the West to make anyone sit up and take notice.

Kerry remain untried and untested, as always at this time of the year.

This year Sam will be won by either Kerry or Armagh

Talk about having a chip on your shoulder Fearon about Tyrone. Just because we have win twice as many All Irelands as yourselves. Get over it.

[Farrandeelin]

It's not exciting at all, this year's championship. I for one am disappointed with most of the games.

[Tankie]

It's not exciting at all, this year's championship. I for one am disappointed with most of the games.

The standard has been very poor. it is coming into knock - out season so maybe things will improve!

[Rossfan]

A lot of the early round stuff is like the early counts in an election as the mechanics of eliminating various no hopers goes on.
The real Championship starts in July with Provincial Finals giving us 4 Quarter Finalists and the Qualifiers being last chance saloon. Expect some humdingers over the last 2 weekends in July and the first 2 in August.
The peoples favourites have to be Fermanagh with Wexford as the second favourites.
Wouldnt it be only wonderful if they won Ulster and Leinster 
Unfirtunaely for the Sam as someone said above it's Kerry's to lose. But then they lost more All Irelands than anyone else so maybe they might lose this one after all 

[Bogball XV]

What we've learnt is that the current system is a shambles, 'halfway' through and half the provinces have yet to have a decent game, and everybody is still there - with the exception of the TM sides (the decision not to bring in next year's rule re these lads this year is surely one of the most ludicrous of all time).