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Looking Towards Football 2027

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Replying To Shearer: "Question is...........can 2027 or any other year to come ever live up to 2026?" Why not? It should be a very competitive championship with several teams being realistic contenders, which hasnt always been the case. Seniorleague (Galway) - Posts: 353 - 24/09/2026 20:29:24 2694937 Link
2027 is Mayo's to lose. Donegal and Galway will be under the most pressure. Dublin once they get back to Croke Park for the quarter finals will always be dangerous in their home league ground at the business end of the championship. Armagh, Kerry and Tyrone will be among the top 7 contenders. legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 10082 - 24/09/2026 22:15:07 2694943 Link
Replying To Gaa_lover: "I don't believe your theory on teams focusing on certain competitions. Donegal the same as all 8 Division 1 teams had a focus on retaining their status Monaghan and Dublin the two that fell through the trap door In Connacht Roscommon Galway and Mayo all had the focus in winning the Nestor Cup. The semi-final exit allowed Mayo to reset and drop players. A number of teams including had a focus on winning Ulster. Louth most certainly had a focus to remain their Leinster title but like Mayo had to reset that focus. Dublin focus was on find some form. They were truly awful in Division 1in Leinster and v Louth in the All-Ireland series then suddenly clicked into life v Donegal still daftness they got 5 all star nominations." It was very obvious in the league that Donegal and Kerry were going after div 1 win - Kerry always do becasue they usually need a league final for decent competition (as none available in Munster). Donegal had what looked like a reasonable Ulster draw so went of the league, thinking they had a nice break to a tough Ulster match. Donegal got cought out by Down and didnt change their approach - which led to their demise. Armagh had the tough route in Ulster and had nothing left in the tank later in Kerry. Tyrone ignore the league aiming for Armagh - it didnt work - but things improved as they got players back. Monaghan ignored the league to target Ulster - but eventuall ran out of legs in the All Ireland Galway, Roscommon and Mayo eased off in the league to be ready for Connacht. Mayo got badly done and reset their style of play and personnel. Galway and Roscommon trucked on but ran out of gas. Dublin were dire until all their allstarts returned for the All Ireland series. Louth were too conservative until they learned from their Dublin beating. Meath focused on the league and had nothing left after that. Cork were the same as Meath. Kerry just couldnt get all their players back in time. The lesson for all teams seeking SAM is to experiment in league and provincial championship but stay focused on having everyone fit and firing for June and July - its an 8 week season that counts - the rest is just practice. If your building from a low base - go target the league or provincials - there will be scope for progress there. tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 2055 - 29/09/2026 09:51:29 2695444 Link
Replying To tirawleybaron: "It was very obvious in the league that Donegal and Kerry were going after div 1 win - Kerry always do becasue they usually need a league final for decent competition (as none available in Munster). Donegal had what looked like a reasonable Ulster draw so went of the league, thinking they had a nice break to a tough Ulster match. Donegal got cought out by Down and didnt change their approach - which led to their demise. Armagh had the tough route in Ulster and had nothing left in the tank later in Kerry. Tyrone ignore the league aiming for Armagh - it didnt work - but things improved as they got players back. Monaghan ignored the league to target Ulster - but eventuall ran out of legs in the All Ireland Galway, Roscommon and Mayo eased off in the league to be ready for Connacht. Mayo got badly done and reset their style of play and personnel. Galway and Roscommon trucked on but ran out of gas. Dublin were dire until all their allstarts returned for the All Ireland series. Louth were too conservative until they learned from their Dublin beating. Meath focused on the league and had nothing left after that. Cork were the same as Meath. Kerry just couldnt get all their players back in time. The lesson for all teams seeking SAM is to experiment in league and provincial championship but stay focused on having everyone fit and firing for June and July - its an 8 week season that counts - the rest is just practice. If your building from a low base - go target the league or provincials - there will be scope for progress there." Last 2 paragraphs - you have it well summed up! Seanfan (Roscommon) - Posts: 954 - 29/09/2026 11:05:49 2695456 Link
Replying To Square_B: "Probably would have to pay to see Sam, imagine that." Well, what other way will you see it in Leitrim? ORIELMAN85 (Monaghan) - Posts: 1250 - 29/09/2026 13:48:52 2695502 Link
Replying To tirawleybaron: "It was very obvious in the league that Donegal and Kerry were going after div 1 win - Kerry always do becasue they usually need a league final for decent competition (as none available in Munster). Donegal had what looked like a reasonable Ulster draw so went of the league, thinking they had a nice break to a tough Ulster match. Donegal got cought out by Down and didnt change their approach - which led to their demise. Armagh had the tough route in Ulster and had nothing left in the tank later in Kerry. Tyrone ignore the league aiming for Armagh - it didnt work - but things improved as they got players back. Monaghan ignored the league to target Ulster - but eventuall ran out of legs in the All Ireland Galway, Roscommon and Mayo eased off in the league to be ready for Connacht. Mayo got badly done and reset their style of play and personnel. Galway and Roscommon trucked on but ran out of gas. Dublin were dire until all their allstarts returned for the All Ireland series. Louth were too conservative until they learned from their Dublin beating. Meath focused on the league and had nothing left after that. Cork were the same as Meath. Kerry just couldnt get all their players back in time. The lesson for all teams seeking SAM is to experiment in league and provincial championship but stay focused on having everyone fit and firing for June and July - its an 8 week season that counts - the rest is just practice. If your building from a low base - go target the league or provincials - there will be scope for progress there." There is so much wrong with that analysis. Where do you even start? Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6214 - 30/09/2026 01:14:29 2695625 Link
There's only 5 contenders for 2027 the rest are pretenders. Kerry Armagh Galway Donegal Tyrone Mayo won't do it again. Louth Dublin Roscommon Cork Monaghan Derry Meath all a long way off winning Sam Farneyarmy2013 (Monaghan) - Posts: 81 - 30/09/2026 21:43:06 2695736 Link
Replying To Farneyarmy2013: "There's only 5 contenders for 2027 the rest are pretenders. Kerry Armagh Galway Donegal Tyrone Mayo won't do it again. Louth Dublin Roscommon Cork Monaghan Derry Meath all a long way off winning Sam" Very disrespectful to say the current champions aren't contenders. We may not win it but we will be in the shake up. Many people seem to forget only Kerry have been in more finals than Mayo in the last 35 years (Mayo and Dublin joint 2nd on final appearances) Tyrone are a distant third, so we aren't going anywhere. Some of the commentary recently seems to suggest Mayo are a flash in the pan…we aren't. yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 12286 - 30/09/2026 23:38:47 2695748 Link
Replying To Farneyarmy2013: "There's only 5 contenders for 2027 the rest are pretenders. Kerry Armagh Galway Donegal Tyrone Mayo won't do it again. Louth Dublin Roscommon Cork Monaghan Derry Meath all a long way off winning Sam" How you have Galway as a contender and not Mayo is strange. Our last two years have ended with poor defeats at the quarter-final stage. The teams who beat us lost their next match, in Meath's case by a cricket score. That's not the form of contenders. If a lot goes right, could we go further? I think we could, but there's a lot to be done. Dublin were incredibly unlucky not to make the final this year. They outplayed Kerry in the semi-final and some very odd decisions and wastefulness cost them. Looking at most metrics in that game, the team with Dublin's stats would normally have won with a bit to spare. How the draw pans out, availability and fitness of key players, along with a heap of other variables will have a bearing on how teams do. WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 3087 - 01/10/2026 12:18:41 2695794 Link
Replying To Farneyarmy2013: "There's only 5 contenders for 2027 the rest are pretenders. Kerry Armagh Galway Donegal Tyrone Mayo won't do it again. Louth Dublin Roscommon Cork Monaghan Derry Meath all a long way off winning Sam" Bizarre how Mayo wouldn't be a contender. I agree that I can't see a realistic winner from Louth Dublin Roscommon Cork Monaghan Derry Meath. Hard to gauge Dublin again, can they get to the final stages without Kilkenny and if Con and Scully are injured or can't maintain their performance levels? FullOfPorter (Roscommon) - Posts: 601 - 01/10/2026 13:06:28 2695800 Link
Replying To WanPintWin: "How you have Galway as a contender and not Mayo is strange. Our last two years have ended with poor defeats at the quarter-final stage. The teams who beat us lost their next match, in Meath's case by a cricket score. That's not the form of contenders. If a lot goes right, could we go further? I think we could, but there's a lot to be done. Dublin were incredibly unlucky not to make the final this year. They outplayed Kerry in the semi-final and some very odd decisions and wastefulness cost them. Looking at most metrics in that game, the team with Dublin's stats would normally have won with a bit to spare. How the draw pans out, availability and fitness of key players, along with a heap of other variables will have a bearing on how teams do." 100% Btw I think the appointment of EF is an excellent one. I have a lot of time for him as a coach. Hopefully he can get ye over the line for Sam. Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 5297 - 01/10/2026 13:29:00 2695804 Link
Yes Mayo won Sam, but did they beat Wicklow along the way ?? Nope. sponger (Wicklow) - Posts: 3052 - 01/10/2026 14:51:20 2695815 Link
Replying To tirawleybaron: "It was very obvious in the league that Donegal and Kerry were going after div 1 win - Kerry always do becasue they usually need a league final for decent competition (as none available in Munster). Donegal had what looked like a reasonable Ulster draw so went of the league, thinking they had a nice break to a tough Ulster match. Donegal got cought out by Down and didnt change their approach - which led to their demise. Armagh had the tough route in Ulster and had nothing left in the tank later in Kerry. Tyrone ignore the league aiming for Armagh - it didnt work - but things improved as they got players back. Monaghan ignored the league to target Ulster - but eventuall ran out of legs in the All Ireland Galway, Roscommon and Mayo eased off in the league to be ready for Connacht. Mayo got badly done and reset their style of play and personnel. Galway and Roscommon trucked on but ran out of gas. Dublin were dire until all their allstarts returned for the All Ireland series. Louth were too conservative until they learned from their Dublin beating. Meath focused on the league and had nothing left after that. Cork were the same as Meath. Kerry just couldnt get all their players back in time. The lesson for all teams seeking SAM is to experiment in league and provincial championship but stay focused on having everyone fit and firing for June and July - its an 8 week season that counts - the rest is just practice. If your building from a low base - go target the league or provincials - there will be scope for progress there." I still don't believe in your theory on teams focusing on certain competitions especially Division 1 teams. For years Division 1 has been used for experimenting with new players and styles of play main objective has always been to avoid the drop the higher you finish or reach the final a bonus. Once the provincial championships become that way an experiment ground and it could happen in 2027 then the days of full houses at finals will be over. Arguably the most important competition for Division 3 and 4 teams is the league as they look for progress and develop the same goes for teams in the bottom half of Division 2 as they look to avoid the Tailteann Cup. The powers to be choosing to use the league as trial run for yet more new rules is a disrespect to the league competition and those teams. Didn't have it in 2025,2026 and don't believe we'll have 7 teams in 2027 good enough to challenge or be a strong contenders. Anyone not think Mayo won't be contenders must be based on a hang over? That remains to be seen as a neutral hopefully once it gets to the last 4 we don't have any mis-matches as we seen with Louth,Meath. That happens when you have few genuine challengers for Sam Maguire. Gaa_lover (USA) - Posts: 4087 - 01/10/2026 15:10:30 2695817 Link
Replying To yew_tree: "Very disrespectful to say the current champions aren't contenders. We may not win it but we will be in the shake up. Many people seem to forget only Kerry have been in more finals than Mayo in the last 35 years (Mayo and Dublin joint 2nd on final appearances) Tyrone are a distant third, so we aren't going anywhere. Some of the commentary recently seems to suggest Mayo are a flash in the pan…we aren't." I agree,cant discount Mayo and they will be in the business end of the championship but with Cobi in (Australia)and the fact that the famine is over will be hard to get up to the hunger levels again.Nothing will top this year for Mayo and will be interesting to see how Mayo handle the pressure of been a favourite because this year they went right in under the radar.Most people were backing Louth to beat them in the semi and then Kerry raging favourites in the final.Meath could have easily knocked Mayo out in castlebar but in fairness Mayo came on leaps after that.Dont think yee will do back to back but that somewhere every other teams wants to be so enjoy. Proudroyal (Meath) - Posts: 427 - 01/10/2026 15:44:27 2695829 Link
Replying To Proudroyal: "I agree,cant discount Mayo and they will be in the business end of the championship but with Cobi in (Australia)and the fact that the famine is over will be hard to get up to the hunger levels again.Nothing will top this year for Mayo and will be interesting to see how Mayo handle the pressure of been a favourite because this year they went right in under the radar.Most people were backing Louth to beat them in the semi and then Kerry raging favourites in the final.Meath could have easily knocked Mayo out in castlebar but in fairness Mayo came on leaps after that.Dont think yee will do back to back but that somewhere every other teams wants to be so enjoy." I don't particularly think we'll do back to back, its so hard to achieve but to say we're not a contender is crazy. The wait is over so whether it be 2027 or not any Mayo team in a final can now just play it on it's merita rather than having the weight of history on their shoulders. otgarom (Mayo) - Posts: 20 - 01/10/2026 16:37:11 2695840 Link
Replying To Proudroyal: "I agree,cant discount Mayo and they will be in the business end of the championship but with Cobi in (Australia)and the fact that the famine is over will be hard to get up to the hunger levels again.Nothing will top this year for Mayo and will be interesting to see how Mayo handle the pressure of been a favourite because this year they went right in under the radar.Most people were backing Louth to beat them in the semi and then Kerry raging favourites in the final.Meath could have easily knocked Mayo out in castlebar but in fairness Mayo came on leaps after that.Dont think yee will do back to back but that somewhere every other teams wants to be so enjoy." "Most people were backing Louth to beat them" Anyone clued in wasn't backing Louth and the bookies and punters had Mayo clear favourites to win. The manner they won meant they didn't go under the radar into the final but it appears Kerry did little or no research and homework on Mayo Drax_the_destroyer (UK) - Posts: 986 - 01/10/2026 17:20:33 2695846 Link