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All Ireland Football Championship 2025

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Replying To brayballer: "Brilliant lol. I t should be Jimmys WHINING matches." Very original @brayballbag SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 851 - 21/07/2025 13:09:16 2626873 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "I don't want to be going around in circles. Donegal were the only favourites to get through the quarter finals. All the other three favourites were knocked out. That second half against a fresh Monaghan opponent was some performance." It looks like you do want to be going around in circles. Once the ball is thrown in on Sunday it makes no difference who the favourites are. GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 8181 - 21/07/2025 13:17:10 2626876 Link
Replying To brayballer: "Brilliant lol. I t should be Jimmys WHINING matches." Pathetic Scenicparish (Donegal) - Posts: 688 - 21/07/2025 13:26:57 2626880 Link
Replying To brayballer: "Brilliant lol. I t should be Jimmys WHINING matches." Are you performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year? You really should be with killer material like that. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9908 - 21/07/2025 13:37:03 2626882 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "I don't want to be going around in circles. Donegal were the only favourites to get through the quarter finals. All the other three favourites were knocked out. That second half against a fresh Monaghan opponent was some performance." I agree that it was a brilliant 2nd half performance by Donegal against Monaghan, there was a bit of good fortune around it too, as had Monaghan hit one or two of those 2 pointer attempts in the 2nd half, momentum could have easily swung the other way and it would have been a different challenge. As it happened, they missed a load of chances and Donegal took the win. As for Armagh being favourites against Kerry, that was kinda based on form running into that game, as there were question marks over Kerry following the loss to Meath and nobody was really sure what the story was. Nobody could doubt the quality Kerry have all over the field, but there was a feeling that maybe they weren't gelling with the management team or something. They have since dispelled such thinking by crushing Armagh and beat Tyrone with relative ease. Kerry are on a different level to the teams that Donegal have played so far, so its reasonable to assume we won't be getting many opportunities to run at Kerry like we did against others, Kerry midfield will be a match for Donegal and David Clifford is unstoppable if Kerry can get quality ball into him, so Donegal will face a very different set of variables in this game in comparison to what they have faced in other games so far. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1429 - 21/07/2025 13:46:07 2626889 Link
Kerry coast through an easy Munster Championship as is usually the case, and that's a big factor in why they have so many All Ireland titles as everyone knows. Their focus all year is to peak at the All Ireland final series comes down to the crunch which is fair enough, they are in top form at exactly the right time. They destroyed Armagh and Tyrone, teams we struggled to beat and rem Tyrone beat us at home in the group stage. We had a gruelling Ulster Championship to come through, I'm hoping the way the Meath game was won with us pulling up in the 2nd half and the 2 week break now will have us rested and reset for what will be a massive task on Sunday. Kerry have also had the extra days rest, all these small margins count in such a tight contest, I see Diarmuid O'Connor is back training, if he's fit to start that's a big boost for them. Kerry have massive tradition and have been in 3 of the last 4 finals, it will be all new to the vast majority of our squad, it's been 11 years since we were in a final, all these things matter, how young lads handle the big occasion can have a big influence on performance. You'd have faith in any Jim McGuinness managed team to have their heads in the game and focus 100%, that's what I thought anyway prior to the 2014 final, I know the way Kerry played that day was a big factor in that loss but we did not play like ourselves that day at all and I still feel we left that All Ireland behind us, time to right that wrong. Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3371 - 21/07/2025 14:48:46 2626914 Link
Hopefully a good quality final on Sunday for both sets of supporters and neutrals like myself to enjoy. A contest that goes down to wire and decided on fine margins. No reason why it shouldn't with two well organised teams who shouldn't be found wanting in fitness and conditioning and both have bench options to make a big impact. Good final also needed after less than great Preliminary and Quarter finals plus the one-sided semi-finals. Drax_the_destroyer (UK) - Posts: 546 - 21/07/2025 16:08:20 2626948 Link
Replying To Drax_the_destroyer: "Hopefully a good quality final on Sunday for both sets of supporters and neutrals like myself to enjoy. A contest that goes down to wire and decided on fine margins. No reason why it shouldn't with two well organised teams who shouldn't be found wanting in fitness and conditioning and both have bench options to make a big impact. Good final also needed after less than great Preliminary and Quarter finals plus the one-sided semi-finals." Has all the ingredients to be cracker. I would slightly side with Donegal - marginally. Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1746 - 21/07/2025 17:00:23 2626963 Link
Replying To avonali: "And if I'm not mistaken, the song-- penned by 2 Donegal men-- went, "JimMy's winning matches..." To quote the great Thomas Davis "a song is worth a thousand harangues" Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3371 - 21/07/2025 17:48:18 2626980 Link
Replying To avonali: "And if I'm not mistaken, the song-- penned by 2 Donegal men-- went, "JimMy's winning matches..." One from Donegal and one from Senegal. The song was actually written about a Jimmy from Senegal who used to sell watches in Lanzarote where Rory Gallagher is a resident singer. 'Jimmy's Selling Watches' He changed the lyrics in the 2012 run and it took off. So more to do with that.. Jim's was never known as Jimmy before he took over as manager Spillane, O'Rourke etc were the first to call him Jimmy McGuinness on Sunday Game But they were mixing him up with the Meath player who played around at the same time. Which says it all really. Just posting as an FYI. Al_Maguire (Donegal) - Posts: 320 - 21/07/2025 21:10:34 2627006 Link
First post in quite some time but I am struck by the lack of talk about the relative strengths of the 2 subs benches. It is a huge part of the game nowadays & Donegal seem to have a really strong bench. How does the Kerry bench look in comparison? MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5029 - 21/07/2025 22:11:55 2627010 Link
Donegal delivered a statement win against Meath. Meath have had a good year beating Dublin, winning by 9 points in Tullamore and knocking out Galway. After Kerry beat Tyrone and Meath's win in Tullamore, the Donegal v Meath winner were always going to emerge as favourites. Donegal delivered a statement win. It was emphatic. Warning received. legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9024 - 22/07/2025 08:32:21 2627024 Link
Replying To MuckrossHead: "First post in quite some time but I am struck by the lack of talk about the relative strengths of the 2 subs benches. It is a huge part of the game nowadays & Donegal seem to have a really strong bench. How does the Kerry bench look in comparison?" Fáilte ar ais mo chara! Yeah but it looks like Kerry have closed the gap a wee bit in that regard. The chat is that Diarmuid O'Connor & Paul Geaney took full part in training last weekend, plus Tom O'Sullivan might not be too far away. As for ourselves, barring any last minute calamities, and assuming the starting 15 doesn't change - we'll have the likes of McGee, McBrearty, McGonagle, O'Baoíll, McFadden-Ferry, Niall O'Donnell to come in. It's the oldest cliché ever, but I do think if ever there was a game where "it's all on the day" it's this one. The teams are so evenly matched. It could come down to moments of individual brilliance, or which ever team makes the fewest mistakes. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9908 - 22/07/2025 09:34:40 2627030 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "Donegal delivered a statement win against Meath. Meath have had a good year beating Dublin, winning by 9 points in Tullamore and knocking out Galway. After Kerry beat Tyrone and Meath's win in Tullamore, the Donegal v Meath winner were always going to emerge as favourites. Donegal delivered a statement win. It was emphatic. Warning received." Kerry are favorites, the bookies have you listed as slight favorites and a lot of pundits are giving Kerry the nod in what is expected to be a very tight game to call. After Kerry's 2nd half dominant performance against Armagh, every podcast etc for 2 weeks was talking about how Kerry are basically unbeatable if they reach that level. Then Kerry back it up with another very comfortable win over Tyrone, with David Clifford proving he cannot be marked. Also this is Kerry's 3rd All Ireland final in the last 4 years, while Donegal only have 3 players who previously played in All Ireland finals. I hope Donegal can step up to the challenge. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1429 - 22/07/2025 09:48:42 2627037 Link
Replying To Commodore: "Kerry are favorites, the bookies have you listed as slight favorites and a lot of pundits are giving Kerry the nod in what is expected to be a very tight game to call. After Kerry's 2nd half dominant performance against Armagh, every podcast etc for 2 weeks was talking about how Kerry are basically unbeatable if they reach that level. Then Kerry back it up with another very comfortable win over Tyrone, with David Clifford proving he cannot be marked. Also this is Kerry's 3rd All Ireland final in the last 4 years, while Donegal only have 3 players who previously played in All Ireland finals. I hope Donegal can step up to the challenge." Have you read the articles by Cahair O'Kane and Conor McManus? legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9024 - 22/07/2025 10:18:03 2627046 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "Donegal delivered a statement win against Meath. Meath have had a good year beating Dublin, winning by 9 points in Tullamore and knocking out Galway. After Kerry beat Tyrone and Meath's win in Tullamore, the Donegal v Meath winner were always going to emerge as favourites. Donegal delivered a statement win. It was emphatic. Warning received." Yerra, Yerra, that's not what your fellow Kerrymen are posting on the Kerry unofficial forum. They don't rate Donegal at all and can only see a Kerry win. They can't see us winning enough ball at midfield with "Diarmuid" back and are also pushing for "Paul Geaney" to start as they reckon we haven't the defenders to manage the Cliffords, Seanie Shea(as ye call him) and Geaney, one informed poster reckoned Conor O'Donnell is a poor defender! They also reference that the media have us overhyped Donegal and there are numerous posts in relation to our so called easier path to the final. This is very disrespectful our previous opponents in the Championship this year. This craic of putting the Referee under pressure in the media before the game is disappointing and there is no need for it. Ulsterchamps72 (Donegal) - Posts: 167 - 22/07/2025 10:54:08 2627061 Link
Replying To Ulsterchamps72: "Yerra, Yerra, that's not what your fellow Kerrymen are posting on the Kerry unofficial forum. They don't rate Donegal at all and can only see a Kerry win. They can't see us winning enough ball at midfield with "Diarmuid" back and are also pushing for "Paul Geaney" to start as they reckon we haven't the defenders to manage the Cliffords, Seanie Shea(as ye call him) and Geaney, one informed poster reckoned Conor O'Donnell is a poor defender! They also reference that the media have us overhyped Donegal and there are numerous posts in relation to our so called easier path to the final. This is very disrespectful our previous opponents in the Championship this year. This craic of putting the Referee under pressure in the media before the game is disappointing and there is no need for it." I'm not frequenting Donegal supporter forums! I wouldn't be reading anything into supporter confidence on either side. Betting seems influenced by one or two players and has to be taken with a pinch of salt. Have you read the articles by Cahair O'Kane and Conor McManus? Pundits have installed Donegal as favourites. legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9024 - 22/07/2025 11:56:04 2627082 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "I'm not frequenting Donegal supporter forums! I wouldn't be reading anything into supporter confidence on either side. Betting seems influenced by one or two players and has to be taken with a pinch of salt. Have you read the articles by Cahair O'Kane and Conor McManus? Pundits have installed Donegal as favourites." Yerra, yerra, the bookies, one former player, and an Ulster journalist. None of them from Donegal. Ulsterchamps72 (Donegal) - Posts: 167 - 22/07/2025 12:23:48 2627102 Link
Replying To Ulsterchamps72: "Yerra, yerra, the bookies, one former player, and an Ulster journalist. None of them from Donegal." Exactly. A neutral perspective. The neutral pundits have installed Donegal as favourites. It is what it is. legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9024 - 22/07/2025 12:29:55 2627105 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "Have you read the articles by Cahair O'Kane and Conor McManus?" No, I haven't. Cahir O'Kane has been backing Donegal since earlier this year, he has been studying how the team setup quite closely for a few months now and seems to think they have a chance of challenging for the All Ireland. However the majority of pundits find it hard to call, but when pressed, suspect Kerry might edge it. Its difficult to know this year with the new rules, harder to know where each team is at. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1429 - 22/07/2025 12:30:22 2627106 Link