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Galway Vs Dublin - 5 Like(s)
Great day for the GAA, proud sponsors of the Dubs!
But in all seriousness this is becoming a real bore....half the dubs didn't even bother turning up....55K for Dublin AI-semi is a brural crowd....
Mourne.Identidy (National) - 11/08/2018 19:03:18
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Down GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Is there much of a buzz back home for the Tailteann? Would have worries about this one. The odds are crazy to have Down 4/9 v Meath 7/4......while Down have definitely shown big improvements Meath are the Div.2 team and will be licking there lips at been made underdogs......the 8 goals v Laois have really skewed perceptions out there (Laois defending was very poor and ultimately a Div.4 team).....Down will still need to pull off their best performance to get over this one. I think Colm O'Rourke has always had a sore spot over Down defeating Meath in '91 so no shortage of motivation from that camp.....I'm sure Laverty and the backroom team will have the squad well prerpared mentally.....looking forward to it. Could be a cracker. Hoping for a repeat of '91 and another step forward for this group....a lot riding on this as will be tough to make the Sam Maguire next year via any other route......
Mourne.Identidy (National) - 13/07/2023 22:53:35
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Quitting The Club - 2 Like(s)
I was in a similar scenario when I was around 20 in college in Dublin doing a long & intensive course of study. Did the travelling for a couple years but just wasn't working out....started loosing my place to lads I knew I was better than but who were able to train at home even though I was training with university (in a way I can understand why management had to pick guys at home able to commit)......long & short of it I walked in frustration had a blast for a few years travelling summers, playing in London & New York, living, working & studying abroad etc.
Truth is though I gradually fell away from the game I loved......knocked around with a couple clubs around Dublin but it was never the same + hard being an outsider......by the time I did go back to my club (several years later) things had moved on and it was far too late + barely made an impression over a couple seasons (+ was well outside the loop by that stage)....
So it's a tricky one. If you have decent connections to a good club in Dublin may be worth go.....but I would say follow your heart as although I had great times and opportunities via leaving the home club I do also regret how little I played afterwards in for most of my 20's (but then that was more my own fault).....
Tis a funny one in the GAA....you can choose your friends but you can't choose your club!
Ádh mór ort.....
Mourne.Identidy (National) - 16/03/2018 18:10:44
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The Future Of Inter-County Football - 2 Like(s)
Replying To Young_gael: "Ultimately this is an issue that transcends tribalism, tradition, or squabble. Sadly this thread has relapsed into all three. Its a big, big issue and it will be realised by the masses in time." I agree with the poster above. Watching football on the Sunday Game last night was a 'canary in the coal-mine' moment imo & it's been following this trend for sometime.
That is no way meant to be disparaging to Longford & Carlow people and they deserved their wins, but the football in general from all provinces is becoming increasingly un-competitive, played in front of ever decreasing crowds. Leinster is turning into a waste-land & the apathy is spreading.
Even Dub supporters must be missing a decent challenge in Leinster. It's no fun for anyone. The GAA has contributed to all this with over concentration of funding (already much debated elsewhere) but the inequalities are too glaring to be dismissed.
There are a number of traditionally strong counties really struggling to get decent teams out. The so called 'bear-pit' of Ulster football is also on the wane. How many truly competitive matches there this year (only one so far - Monaghan v Tyrone ), maybe another 1 or 2 at the most depending on how the semi's / final goes.
Watching my own county v Antrim on Saturday night was like a poor league or challenge game in front of a paltry crowd. Something is seriously not right. How many people around the country have heard once real GAA followers saying they now rarely watch games anymore as the quality is so poor etc. The game simply wasn't designed for mass defences & it increasingly looks like some bastardized version of a sport we once knew & loved.
I see some posters from time to time wheel out the 'rose tinted glasses' argument about how the game used to be but looking at the present state of play objectively it really is in decline as a spectacle.
Some solutions perhaps:
- GAA needs to act asap to help counties that are struggling to get their act/ structures together. If this means re-allocating the Dublin coaching / funding model then so be it. The GAA can't expect all county boards to get their house in order by themselves & this may also require some counties swallowing their pride & admitting they are in need of some serious help.
- There needs to an urgent change in the rules to improve the game as a spectacle & return it to it's roots & core principles. I actually think this could be as simple as making sure all teams re-set into the traditional 15 positions for each kick-out. There is on average at least one kick-out every couple minutes in gaelic football. Allow 10-15 seconds for all players to go back to their full back/forward & half back/ forward positions before the goal keeper takes his kick-out. This will leave teams contesting the ball around the middle third & it won't give time for teams to set-up defensively as quick possession/ turnovers will dictate who is attacking / defending before they know it leading to a more fluent & open game which is something I swear we used to see on a more regular basis!
- The demands are far too high even at club level which is also taking a lot of the fun out of an AMATEUR game for players & spectators alike. This one's harder to tackle but a 'less is more' attitude is healthy. I blame much of the over training etc. on over-payed coaches justifying their brown envelopes which is frankly a cancer in the game. How many 'true' GAA people & former players are stuffing their pockets whilst running lads into the ground (not to mention diverting much needed funds from underage coaching etc)? The payment of coaches needs to be regulated (set-rates etc.) & tax-man informed so everything's above board. Let's see how many coaches opt for those 6am gym sessions if the rates are more modest?
- If the above measures were implemented we might have provincial championships worth looking at. Failing this the Ladies Football & Camogie seem to run-off Junior, Intermediate & Senior All-Ireland competitions each carrying their own prestige. This happens already in every county at club-level. Can't see why we can't have this in men's inter-county?
- I think the GAA should also be looking at pooling sponsorship. We're supposed to an egalitarian association. Not the rich get richer & the poor get poorer model.
- To be continued....
An Gael Abú
PS: GET RID OF SKY - DRIVING ELITISM & NO PLACE IN THE GAA.
Mourne.Identidy (National) - 28/05/2018 19:00:19
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Down GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Super result Saturday. It's a definite mark of progress. Credit to the management team and all the players for turning things around this year. Let's hope this trajectory continues and this group can stay together over the coming years. There's the nucleus of a bright young team there with the potential to drive Down forward. One game at a time....Good luck on Sunday.
Mourne.Identidy (National) - 20/06/2023 11:10:28
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Down Senior Footballers 2018 - 1 Like(s)
Haven't seen any of the games as living away so only going on hear-say & match reports but looks like we've left league survival behind us.....by all accounts wastefulness at home to Clare has proved very costly. Also very disappointing to see promising players (eg. Mc Govern, O'Hogan etc) opt out of the panel.....any positives from last year seem to have been lost.....A case of one step forward 2 steps back.
There are some signs that underage structures have improved, last year's u17's very good by all accounts + more competitive at minor last year.....so all is not lost but we need to be getting more out of the Senior set-up to encourage younger lads that it's worth sticking around.....have heard Eamon's man management hasn't been popular which may explain some of the fall-outs but easy to be critical from afar also given the fact he took the job when nobody wanted it.......
Here's hoping wee Pete & Louth can do us a favour next week but it's a long shot also no guarantee we'll beat Tipp so most likely Div.3 it is & let's face it, it's been coming......County Board need help outside or otherwise and/or a P45 or 2!
Mourne.Identidy (Down) - 26/03/2018 14:37:03
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Down GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Dissapointing end to what otherwise was an overall positive year. Considering Down couldn't buy a win last year, and we've been in the doldrums for a large part of the last decade there is definite signs of green shoots. 2 Ulster u20 titles in the last 3 years is also significant. I don't think anyone was expecting miracles and it is still a long road to travel for Down football to get back to the top table but at least it feels like we're pointing in the right direction at long last.
I hope the management team and players in general take the positives and put the shoulder to the wheel going forward as they have collectively clearly done this season. It's essential Down get out of Div.3 and who knows another big win or 2 in Ulster isn't beyond this group. The fact that a Div.2 team has won the Tailteann may also open the door to the Div.3 winner making it into the Sam Maguire next year (depending on Provincial draws etc).....
One observation worth making though is our continued achilles heal being a lack of physicality / power / height particular in the middle third / spine of the team. It's an area that Down have struggled in really since the likes of Ambrose Rogers, Dan Gordan and Callum King retired. I hope this will be an area of focus for the County as a whole from development squads and upwards as we seem to have a long running trend of producing good but rather small in stature players. Against better opposition this can be readily exploited as demonstrated v Armagh in Ulster and also successfully targeted by Meath last week. Anyway plenty to work on and I'm really hoping this upward trend can continue into the season ahead.
An Dún abú.
Mourne.Identidy (National) - 25/07/2023 22:11:45
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