GAA 1970's vs GAA 2000's

[sligeach]

Scenario.

The best Gaelic footballers from the 2000's through the use of a time machine developed by a mayo farmer as a way to go back in time and drink cheap guinness, travel back to 1970 and face the best Gaelic footballers of that era.

My prediction -> The slaughter that would ensue would make the International rules fights look timid. 1970's footballers to batter the living shite out of the team today both in pure physicality and skill.

Of course the referee will be from the 1970's too

Seriously though ... why is gaelic football getting so timid compared to yesteryear ? It seems any good fair hits are punished and it also seems that compared to the lads 30 years ago we're all a crowd of pansies.

I always say that compared to our fathers we're weak soft f**kers and after watching some old matches lately I have to say I am 100% right

[Zulu]

I disagree, the best 15 current footballers would beat a best of the 70's team with a bit to spare IMO. They are faster, stronger, fitter, use the ball better, are generally better footballers, tackle better and are tacticly astute, it would be no contest I'd say.

[Tyrone Dreamer]

I think it would be fair to say that their are a lot more teams capable of competing now than back in the 70's.

[DUBSFORSAM1]

I disagree, the best 15 current footballers would beat a best of the 70's team with a bit to spare IMO. They are faster, stronger, fitter, use the ball better, are generally better footballers, tackle better and are tacticly astute, it would be no contest I'd say.

The only reason they would win would be due to fitness levels and this could probably be equalised up by the physical aspect whereby players from today would spend so much time falling over whinging and when they aren't getting frees for tiny pushes or dragging someone down they would struggle.

[sligeach]

The only reason they would win would be due to fitness levels and this could probably be equalised up by the physical aspect whereby players from today would spend so much time falling over whinging and when they aren't getting frees for tiny pushes or dragging someone down they would struggle.

Exactly.

I mean theres no comparison to days players for physicality ? Look at this clip.

http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=mc9VY7BKKCw

The first tackle on Ned would have been a red card today.

Now THATS football. Rough, tough but fair. Not this falling over shite and crying about it for 10 minutes.

Just grab the ball and give proper shoulders and fight your way through.

The players from 2000 wouldn't last the physicality, they'd be trampled into the ground.

Oh and by the way. Anyone else think the quality of the kicking was far better then it is now ?

[pedro]

I mean theres no comparison to days players for physicality ? Look at this clip.
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=mc9VY7BKKCw
The first tackle on Ned would have been a red card today.
Now THATS football. Rough, tough but fair. Not this falling over shite and crying about it for 10 minutes.  Just grab the ball and give proper shoulders and fight your way through.
The players from 2000 wouldn't last the physicality, they'd be trampled into the ground.
Oh and by the way. Anyone else think the quality of the kicking was far better then it is now ?

Proper shoulders? There wasn't a proper shoulder in that hold clip! I suppose you think its good that an amateur players would go out to decapitate someone like that. People have to go to work the next day. That kind of cowardly act was atrocious when the Aussies tried to do it!

I firmly believe that, despite all the negativity around our games (most of it coming from the media who complain about every single game), the players are a lot better. And there's no way the players were more skillfull then, would you have seen the likes of Mulligan's goal in the 70's? People say the kicking was a lot better, but they didn't even try to kick the ball into space. It was just a matter of catching the ball, turning and kicking it as log and hard int he general direction of the other goals. hardly much skill in that?

[Maximus Marillius]

The deciding factor in all of this would be the ref...as usual. If it was ref from the 70s doing the game...todays team would get beaten by a small margin...if it was one of todays ref , todays team would win a land slide with only 8 players from the 70s team remaining on the pitch at the end of the game

[DUBSFORSAM1]

Pedro -Its unlikely a goal like Mulligans would have been scored but that is mainly due to the fact that hard physcial tackling has been removed from the game totally to try and make it nearly non contact...As for saying that sort of thing was cowardly there is nothing wrong with some serious hitting of hte guy with the ball etc....far more cowardly is the diving and cheating that takes place today...

[Jinxy]

The only reason they would win would be due to fitness levels and this could probably be equalised up by the physical aspect whereby players from today would spend so much time falling over whinging and when they aren't getting frees for tiny pushes or dragging someone down they would struggle.

Exactly.

I mean theres no comparison to days players for physicality ? Look at this clip.

http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=mc9VY7BKKCw

The first tackle on Ned would have been a red card today.

Now THATS football. Rough, tough but fair. Not this falling over shite and crying about it for 10 minutes.

Just grab the ball and give proper shoulders and fight your way through.

The players from 2000 wouldn't last the physicality, they'd be trampled into the ground.

Oh and by the way. Anyone else think the quality of the kicking was far better then it is now ?

No. The amount of aimless ballooning that was done was unreal. The 90's were the golden age of gaelic football as a tough, exciting, honest, skillful sport. But football now is still way ahead of the caveman stuff of the 70's.

[sligeach]

The deciding factor in all of this would be the ref...as usual. If it was ref from the 70s doing the game...todays team would get beaten by a small margin...if it was one of todays ref , todays team would win a land slide with only 8 players from the 70s team remaining on the pitch at the end of the game

Are you sure about that small margin ? man some of the play from these old matches I am watching is excellent. High fielding, great kicking, great team work up and down the field.

Fair enough though you have a point.

[johnpower]

Who would pick the teams ?.Heffo\O Dwyer versius Big Joe ,Mickey Harte ,Jack O Conner .  Micko would have an insight on both eras

[pedro]

Pedro -Its unlikely a goal like Mulligans would have been scored but that is mainly due to the fact that hard physcial tackling has been removed from the game totally to try and make it nearly non contact...As for saying that sort of thing was cowardly there is nothing wrong with some serious hitting of hte guy with the ball etc....far more cowardly is the diving and cheating that takes place today...

trust me, I love seeing the likes of Bellew, Fay or our own Colin Goss putting a man on his hole (fairly) when he's coming through the middle. 90% of the time it lifts the crowd more than a score and gives great cenouragement to a team. However, in the Mickey Ned/Sean Doc clip, Mickey Ned was cleaned out with two tackles to the head. That is not tough, hard football. That is thuggery. I can't understand how people reckon these were 'real men' when very often they made no proper attempts to tackle fairly. That's not to say that referees have completely turned it on its head with their blowing of every single tackle, fair or otherwise. The players, too, have to take their fair share responsibility too though.

All in all, I refuse to believe that football in the 70s were better. Technically, IMO, the footballers of today are miles ahead, they are stronger, fitter, more tactically aware and are far, far cleverer on the ball. It's the same in any sport, it evolves so much that the way we kick the ball, catch it etc. changes. You wouldn't have seen the same type of player playing at the top level in soccer in the 70s as we do now.

[Zulu]

Those trying to advocate the 70's should bear in mind that the pace of the game has increased significantly I'd wager most of the players of the 70's would struggle with the pace at which skills must be executed today. While I certainly hope the physicality of football is once again allowed flourish, football players are now far more skillful IMO.

[time ticking away]

ability never changes - fitness does...... but so does physicality.........  no idea who would win but sean o neill would be a star in any era

[Denn Forever]

The Naughties would win but I would prefer to watch the Seventies (as long as they were not hand passing goals.  Jesus I hate that).