Dublin Hurling: Bleak Future?

Live4Ever

Ok so we are in the 1st division, but realistically who cares? The league is a warm up competition. Always has been, always will be. Nobody really cares about it. If Dublin actually won the league, beating off Tipp, KK, Galway and Waterford that would be an achievement. Barely fighting off relegation is hardly something to cheer about.

Our underage teams have been doing well the last few years. Why hasnt this resulted in a better team at senior level? Anyone who says the Dublin senior hurling team is making progress is quite frankly delusional. Antrim beat us in the championship. Antrim. Fair play to them, I'm not holding grudges but for fcuk sake you think we would be able to beat them.

I was gobsmacked when Anto Daly said he would stay another year. Deep down he knows we're ****e, but I think it's the hurling man inside him that stayed on to give it another lash. I think he is a good manager and knows his stuff. Do you reckon he is THE messiah or putting the wheels in motion for someone to take up the job at a later stage and lead us to glory?

Personally I think we need a new manager. Who is a capable manager to turn things around? Loughnane? Justin Mac? It will never happen but do you think Cody or Liam Sheedy would turn things around? Or is it more than a manager we need? Maybe Bidy Early came to Dublin back in 1995 and never left?

With our underage teams doing well each year why does the future of our senior team look as bleak as it did 10 years ago?

I'm not saying we need to win an All-Ireland next season. BUT we need to play with confidence and conviction. We bottle it every year. Golden chances against Limerick last year and Antrim this year. We blew it. I also think there are a few regulars starters who are sh*te. Tomas Brady has made more mistakes than Bertie Ahern and he still starts?!

I love Dublin and I love hurling but at this stage my morale for following them around this year is at an all time low. I just havent got it in me.

Views from other counties looking in would be appreciated.

Hill 16 is Dublin only :rolleyes:.......;)

parker kent

There are clear improvements in Dublin over the past few years. Getting to a Leinster final was a good achievement. This year was not fantastic but there is clear upward motion. An itchy trigger finger is not what the county board need, just give it time.

Edit: BTW the future of the senior team is in no way as bleak as it was 10 years ago.

bullpost

A genuine Dublin breakthrough in hurling would transform the game .
It would be great to see and I'd love someone with influence to tap Brian Cody on the shoulder and persuade him to take on the Dubs (I know it will never happen but it would be so good for the game).

Orizio

The reality is that you get to a certain point in inter-county hurling and you hit a wall, a point in which progress is very slow. Ultimately, Dublin need to be winning All-Irelands underage, or at least getting to finals for the momentum to pick up again. Otherwise ye'll be stuck in the Clare/Offaly/Limerick area not going backwards but not going forwards at the same time.

Live4Ever

bullpost wrote: »

A genuine Dublin breakthrough in hurling would transform the game .
It would be great to see and I'd love someone with influence to tap Brian Cody on the shoulder and persuade him to take on the Dubs (I know it will never happen but it would be so good for the game).

Brian is a big Dublin hurling sympathizer and has a lot of time/ respect for the few staunch jurling people in the county. Maybe a few years ago he might have considered it but I guess he will retire as the greatest hurling manager ever and not manage anyone else. And you cant really blame him!

aidan24326

OP, I think you're being a bit harsh. If you ask me Dublin is one of the very few counties where hurling actually has progressed over the last few years. I know the senior team messed up badly this year but Dublin hurling overall is on the rise. Dublin have beaten Kilkenny in both minor and U-21 level in the last couple of years, that would not have happened even a decade ago.

And the senior team have at least got to a level where they're very competitive and would not be taken lightly by anyone anymore. Dublin are now at or around the same level as traditional hurling counties like Clare and Limerick, and capable of putting it up the Galways and Corks. That in itself is a big step from where they were.

Winning All-Irelands was never going to happen overnight, and unfortunately underage success doesn't guarantee anything either, and as a Galwayman I'm very well aware of that. But if Dublin keep improving at underage the way they have been a senior Leinster breakthrough (and maybe even an All-Ireland final appearance) could be on the horizon, especially as Kilkenny may have to do a little bit of rebuilding when this team starts to break up in a couple of years. They reall can't afford any more slipups like the Antrim game though.

Live4Ever

aidan24326 wrote: »

OP, I think you're being a bit harsh. If you ask me Dublin is one of the very few counties where hurling actually has progressed over the last few years. I know the senior team messed up badly this year but Dublin hurling overall is on the rise. Dublin have beaten Kilkenny in both minor and U-21 level in the last couple of years.

And the senior team have at least got to a level where they're very competitive and would not be taken lightly by anyone anymore. Dublin are now at or around the same level as traditional hurling counties like Clare and Limerick, and capable of putting it up the Galways and Corks. That in itself is a big step from where they were.

They really can't afford any more slip ups like the Antrim game though.

True we are now on a par with Offaly/ Limerick/ Clare/ Wexford. 3 of these counties won All-Irelands in the 90's. Limerick were in an All-Ireland 3 years ago. If you ask me these counties have regressed to our level.

Whatever about the league I can't see Dublin beating a championship side Galway. Cork are certainly there for the taking with an old team etc, although on their day they can be quite competitive.

Maybe I was a bit harsh, and I'm not quite at itchy finger on the trigger level, but, at what point do you say "Ok we are making an effort here, but going nowhere. We have to change. What can we do?"

This progress has been going on for some time. If we truly were progressing we would have beaten Antrim, went onto play Cork and at the very least put them under pressure and not let them score the 2-26 Antrim did. The year previous Limerick in Semple. We were ahead the whole game and bottled it. No lesson learnt.

aidan24326

Live4Ever wrote: »

This progress has been going on for some time. If we truly were progressing we would have beaten Antrim, went onto play Cork and at the very least put them under pressure and not let them score the 2-26 Antrim did. The year previous Limerick in Semple. We were ahead the whole game and bottled it. No lesson learnt.

I know what you mean and like I said I do think Dublin can't afford any more results like that Antrim game. But Galway have a similiar problem, even if we do still have better players. Had Waterford beaten last year and blew it, had Tipp almost beaten this year and blew it again, so it's not exclusively a Dublin problem!

Whether Dublin will ever get to the level of chellenging the Tipps and Kilkennys I don't know, like Orizio said in an earlier post it's difficult to make that next step up.

sportinglegend

What I felt Daly would help Dublin with was establishing a team spirit and getting the players to believe they could compete with the traditional counties in his first year I felt he achieved this by beating Wexford putting it up to Kilkenny and giving as good as they got against Limerick. Indeed I thought when I saw the reaction of the player after the Limerick game of 09 that Dublin would drive on and put it up to anyone. Alas I was saddened to see Dublin actually regress in 2010 very poor management by Daly also who sends out his team setup exactly the same way every day and seems to be very poor using his options from the bench. He needed to be telling the players that they can challenge the Kilkennys of this world but by bringing the extra man back into defence he actually showed a lack of faith in his team to go toe to toe with Kilkenny it was crazy in my opinion and this tactic was never going to beat Kilkenny he has tried it time and time again and it has never had a win from using it against them.

Dublin's decision making can be dreadful to say the least and they also appear to be playing as individuals far too much they need to gel as a team and work together on a game play that utilizes all players and get the most from them. Looking at Kilkenny's success and Tipp's breakthrough it is often very hard to pick out the star man because so many of the team have performed excellently and this needs to be the case with Dublin.

It is my belief that Dublin need a manager who will get them playing as a team and creates a game plan that gets the players they have available to them reaching their potential. They need to think outside the box try players in new positions give some club players a chance how many club games have Daly and Co been at??

In addition to the manager they need a serious skills coach in to work on players decision making and also maybe work on game situation drills. If you look at Kilkenny they have had Martin Fogarty who is the man responsible for most of the tactics and skills used by Kilkenny and in Tipp they had Eamon O'Shea working on the same and Tommy Dunne with their 21s.

If Dublin could just do some of the above I feel they would improve greatly and become and force to reckoned with. Their is great work going on at underage and a lot of good will but I feel they lack coaches and mentors who have big time experience of hurling that can be passed down this is where counties like Kilkenny Tipp Galway and Cork have an advantage on Dublin but it wont last for long as the talent at underage in Dublin is now challenging every year for titles and holding their own against all other traditional counties.

I think the Future for Dublin could be very bright if they continue to improve and are open to listening to others.

Gingy

In fairness to Anthony Daly, I have seen him at a number of club games, and in my view is the right man for the job at the moment. Loughnane's methods are dated and Justin Mac just brings controversy wherever he goes and with no one else shout out, I'd say stick with the Daly/Stakelum duo, we're not a Premierleague soccer club who have to change managers every 2 years, Antrim was a slip up, but have faith in them for a few more years.

As for the breakthrough, we won our first Leinster Minor in 2005, these lads are still only 23, they need to be given another few years. 5 years ago, we would have loved to be on par with Clare/Limerick/Offaly/Wexford, and now we are and people are complaining, it's time to put things in perspective. I have no doubt that by the time those few minor teams and this years U21s come on of age, we will be competing seriously for Leinster (hopefully this will coincide with Kilkenny waning)

jonnybravo

Think Dublin are after making a lot of progress in the last few years but I think they are still a good few years from challenging for an All Ireland. They are still a young team based on the previous few years successful minor and u21 teams.

I think the key to Dublin hurling is their ability is to continue to churn out underage teams that consistently challenge the big teams.

Live4Ever

Gingy wrote: »

As for the breakthrough, we won our first Leinster Minor in 2005, these lads are still only 23, they need to be given another few years. 5 years ago, we would have loved to be on par with Clare/Limerick/Offaly/Wexford, and now we are and people are complaining, it's time to put things in perspective. I have no doubt that by the time those few minor teams and this years U21s come on of age, we will be competing seriously for Leinster (hopefully this will coincide with Kilkenny waning)

How many of the Tipperary team that won the all-ireland are under 23?

6, and that is only from the starting line up. Why can't our lads come of age the same as everyone else? If it is because there is a better set up in Tipperary then clearly our set up is not up to scratch.

To be fair lads, considering how well underage teams are doing we are still SO far behind. 5 years ago we would have probably lost to Antrim. How is this progress? We are still ****e.

I think it's players attitudes more than anything else. Big egos and no confidence to match.

Live4Ever

sportinglegend wrote: »

What I felt Daly would help Dublin with was establishing a team spirit and getting the players to believe they could compete with the traditional counties in his first year I felt he achieved this by beating Wexford putting it up to Kilkenny and giving as good as they got against Limerick. Indeed I thought when I saw the reaction of the player after the Limerick game of 09 that Dublin would drive on and put it up to anyone. Alas I was saddened to see Dublin actually regress in 2010 very poor management by Daly also who sends out his team setup exactly the same way every day and seems to be very poor using his options from the bench.
He needed to be telling the players that they can challenge the Kilkennys of this world but by bringing the extra man back into defence he actually showed a lack of faith in his team to go toe to toe with Kilkenny it was crazy in my opinion and this tactic was never going to beat Kilkenny he has tried it time and time again and it has never had a win from using it against them.

Dublin's decision making can be dreadful to say the least and they also appear to be playing as individuals far too much they need to gel as a team and work together on a game play that utilizes all players and get the most from them.

It is my belief that Dublin need a manager who will get them playing as a team and creates a game plan that gets the players they have available to them reaching their potential. They need to think outside the box try players in new positions give some club players a chance how many club games have Daly and Co been at??

In addition to the manager they need a serious skills coach in to work on players decision making and also maybe work on game situation drills.

Great post mate, spot on.

Paddyontherun

jonnybravo wrote: »

Think Dublin are after making a lot of progress in the last few years but I think they are still a good few years from challenging for an All Ireland. They are still a young team based on the previous few years successful minor and u21 teams.

I think the key to Dublin hurling is their ability is to continue to churn out underage teams that consistently challenge the big teams.

I agree with the above post here and wouldn't be as pessimistic about the future as OP. True, we are still a bit off all-Ireland contenders but IMO we have made huge strides in the past 5 or 6 years compared to previous decades. We have won leinster and U21 titles in recent years (including the current won which I think affected us in the Antrim Game 3 days later). The Dublin Colleges team won an ALL Ireland and Kilmacud and Castleknock have won Feiles.

I am curently managing my second juvenile team (Now U12) for the last 3 years since my previous team matured and 2nd time around I see a massive improvement in standards. There is also a large increase in numbers playing with teams such as Na Fianna, Cuala, Ballyboden getting 3 and 4 teams out weekly. If we continue this progress it is very possible that we will challenge the big teams in the near future.

ps Re Antrim game. This was a stark contrast to out performance against Clare the previous weak. I think there were 2 factors involved. 1. the u21's who had played the previous weds tired near the end and 2. the management team made too many chages when we were in control of the game. Bad day at the office but would still stick with AD for another year.

yahoo_moe

Live4Ever wrote: »

Our underage teams have been doing well the last few years ... With our underage teams doing well each year why does the future of our senior team look as bleak as it did 10 years ago?

I think you should have spent less time on italics and smilies and more time reading your post...

Seriously, you're obviously well-informed, you recognise how much work has gone in (and brought success) at underage level and yet you think things are as bleak as ten years ago? Come on.

It takes a generation (in hurling terms) to bring that through, and another generation or two until the established players at senior have been accustomed to success all the way through their careers. The Dublin seniors are very young, and the older ones have only known (relative) success recently. Wait till McCrabbe and Gough are the elder statesmen...

There's massive progress being made in Dublin and a poor year at senior level doesn't just undo everything that's gone before and is still going on at younger grades. Absolutely, I have issues with the senior management this year but that doesn't bring down the whole system.

Gingy

Live4Ever wrote: »

How many of the Tipperary team that won the all-ireland are under 23?

6, and that is only from the starting line up. Why can't our lads come of age the same as everyone else? If it is because there is a better set up in Tipperary then clearly our set up is not up to scratch.

To be fair lads, considering how well underage teams are doing we are still SO far behind. 5 years ago we would have probably lost to Antrim. How is this progress? We are still ****e.

I think it's players attitudes more than anything else. Big egos and no confidence to match.

Those 6 Tipperary lads had quality experience around them, that came from years of good structure and the awful word 'tradition', in Dublin, we are relying on the young lads to be the leaders when they are still too young.

The Antrim result was a freak. 5 years ago we would never be in the same league as Clare and Wexford and now we feel confident of beating them comfortably when we play them.

I definitely wouldn't say that the Dublin hurling team is full of big egos, the lads are grounded, especially with Daly and Stakelum involved.

aDeener

when you go through the dublin starting 15, it is no bad team. defensively there is a lot of quality. missing a couple of top quality finishers i think, which will come if the underage keeps going the way it has been

sportinglegend

aDeener wrote: »

when you go through the dublin starting 15, it is no bad team. defensively there is a lot of quality. missing a couple of top quality finishers i think, which will come if the underage keeps going the way it has been

I would agree with you here on this point there are some great talents in that panel but they don't seem to be playing as a team I find Dublin very frustrating to watch because if they seem to ignore the obvious and simple option at times. Get the basics right and get some team work going and they will begin to move in the right direction but as I alluded to in my earlier post in this thread there is still a lot of work to be done.

Jopari87

I think Dublin have been making gradual progress and, as mentioned above, are on par with the likes of Limerick, Wexford and Clare.

I think Tipp's u21s are a one off, with even Tipp supporters surprised with how young the players stepped up. So it is unfair to say the Dublin criticise the Dublin youngsters for not stepping up as it is not the norm. Limerick's 3 u21 All Irelands in a row are proof that underage success does not always equal senior success.

The next jump Dublin need to make in order to consistently compete with teams like Kilkenny can take years, so patience is needed by the supporters. Games like Antrim will happen, but I think it is only a speed bump not a step backwards. After all it was only 2007 when Tipp got knocked out by a very average Wexford team.

Mullet

The problem with dublin is consistancy. In the league we bet Tipp in Parnell Park and then the following Sunday we were awful against Offaly. The same thing happened in the Champiomship. We played well against Clare but we didnt hurl for the last 20 minutes against Antrim the following week.

If we learn from these experiences we might become a more competitive team.

Live4Ever

Gingy wrote: »

Those 6 Tipperary lads had quality experience around them, that came from years of good structure and the awful word 'tradition', in Dublin, we are relying on the young lads to be the leaders when they are still too young.

The Antrim result was a freak. 5 years ago we would never be in the same league as Clare and Wexford and now we feel confident of beating them comfortably when we play them.

Fair enough those Tipp lads are freakishly good, but it goes to show how the right set-up can really be of benefit to these young guys. Theres no reason why Dublins set-up cannot be of the same quality. Although I'm not in a position to say its good or bad because I am unfamiliar with structures that other clubs have in place.

Although I can just about accept Antrim was a slip up, they always happen.

I cant accept that we are confident of beating teams like Clare/ Wexford. Although we can probably match them on paper, there is no way I would be confident of a Dublin victory. Even when they play great it's usually a horrific second half or last 10/15 minutes. You cant deny that. I think Dublin lack an awful lot of confidence, something Daly hasn't injected into them, which given his backround is surprising.

aDeener wrote: »

when you go through the dublin starting 15, it is no bad team. defensively there is a lot of quality. missing a couple of top quality finishers i think, which will come if the underage keeps going the way it has been

We do have some staunch defenders, but IMHO Tomas Brady is a hazard. No offence to the guy but there is no way he is capable of hurling at the top level.

I'm a big hurling fan, have no interet in football. I guess I'm just getting pi**ed watching us make the same mistakes every year.

Also, does anyone else think Dublin play their best hurling in the league and the championship is a downward spiral?

- Live4ever

jonnybravo

Live4Ever wrote: »

Also, does anyone else think Dublin play their best hurling in the league and the championship is a downward spiral?

- Live4ever

I don't know if its that they play their best hurling or that other teams priority aren't the same as Dublin so they're not up to the same level of training as Dublin. Dublins priority is to stay in the League whereas the likes of KK, Tipp, Cork, Galway don't really have to worry about relegation so can concentrate on training with the championship in mind.

qwertyuiopa

Live4Ever wrote: »

Ok so we are in the 1st division, but realistically who cares? The league is a warm up competition. Always has been, always will be. Nobody really cares about it. If Dublin actually won the league, beating off Tipp, KK, Galway and Waterford that would be an achievement. Barely fighting off relegation is hardly something to cheer about.

Our underage teams have been doing well the last few years. Why hasnt this resulted in a better team at senior level? Anyone who says the Dublin senior hurling team is making progress is quite frankly delusional. Antrim beat us in the championship. Antrim. Fair play to them, I'm not holding grudges but for fcuk sake you think we would be able to beat them.

I was gobsmacked when Anto Daly said he would stay another year. Deep down he knows we're ****e, but I think it's the hurling man inside him that stayed on to give it another lash. I think he is a good manager and knows his stuff. Do you reckon he is THE messiah or putting the wheels in motion for someone to take up the job at a later stage and lead us to glory?

Personally I think we need a new manager. Who is a capable manager to turn things around? Loughnane? Justin Mac? It will never happen but do you think Cody or Liam Sheedy would turn things around? Or is it more than a manager we need? Maybe Bidy Early came to Dublin back in 1995 and never left?

With our underage teams doing well each year why does the future of our senior team look as bleak as it did 10 years ago?

I'm not saying we need to win an All-Ireland next season. BUT we need to play with confidence and conviction. We bottle it every year. Golden chances against Limerick last year and Antrim this year. We blew it. I also think there are a few regulars starters who are sh*te. Tomas Brady has made more mistakes than Bertie Ahern and he still starts?!

I love Dublin and I love hurling but at this stage my morale for following them around this year is at an all time low. I just havent got it in me.

Views from other counties looking in would be appreciated.

Hill 16 is Dublin only :rolleyes:.......;)

Just came across this thread.Im sure you're happier now anyway what with the performances of the seniors,u21s and minors.Brilliant year to be a Dublin hurling fan(ps-I was downhearted too for a while after the Antrim defeat but never lost the faith!)

DoctaDee

Wow .. does this constitute a lazarus thread ! ... a week is a long time in sport never mind 10 months

Live4Ever

qwertyuiopa wrote: »

Just came across this thread.Im sure you're happier now anyway what with the performances of the seniors,u21s and minors.Brilliant year to be a Dublin hurling fan(ps-I was downhearted too for a while after the Antrim defeat but never lost the faith!)

DoctaDee wrote: »

Wow .. does this constitute a lazarus thread ! ... a week is a long time in sport never mind 10 months

Haha ffs, I knew this thread would come back to bite me in the arse!! Well it was a COMPLETE transformation, we didn't see any of the usual Dublin crap we've seen in other years! An absolutely fantastic year for Dublin hurling, lets hope we can push on next year, win the league again, see how we fair in Leinster and maybe push for a spot in September!!

Tbh we were missing 5 starting players... on one hand fair play to the lads on Sunday, when the guys are back we will have real strenght on the bench. On the other we may have got that crucial goal with Keaney and Tracey playing.

A big clap on the back should go to the full back line. They were outstanding considering two of them wouldnt have been regular starters at the beginning of the season. Peter Kelly was awesome and deserves an All Star imo.

More like :
Dublin Hurling: Bright Future

LostBoy101

@Live4Ever: Couldn't of said it better myself!

In fairness to the OP its hard to imagine that in 12 months Dublin would go from being beaten by Antrim in 2010 to pushing the current All Ireland champions to the pin of their collar and hammering a great Kilkenny side in the league final in 2011. 2009 they showed signs of being a coming force. 2010 they got a rude awakening and 2011 they have arrived on the platform. Dublin's aims in 2012 should be to have a decent league and win leinster at the very least. Its no longer unrealistic. They are superfit and very strong men and can take wonderful points. If they can find a real goal-getter then they will be tough to beat.

The underage teams are certainly already a force

angelfire9

sportinglegend wrote: »

What I felt Daly would help Dublin with was establishing a team spirit and getting the players to believe they could compete with the traditional counties in his first year I felt he achieved this by beating Wexford putting it up to Kilkenny and giving as good as they got against Limerick. Indeed I thought when I saw the reaction of the player after the Limerick game of 09 that Dublin would drive on and put it up to anyone. Alas I was saddened to see Dublin actually regress in 2010 very poor management by Daly also who sends out his team setup exactly the same way every day and seems to be very poor using his options from the bench. He needed to be telling the players that they can challenge the Kilkennys of this world but by bringing the extra man back into defence he actually showed a lack of faith in his team to go toe to toe with Kilkenny it was crazy in my opinion and this tactic was never going to beat Kilkenny he has tried it time and time again and it has never had a win from using it against them.

Dublin's decision making can be dreadful to say the least and they also appear to be playing as individuals far too much they need to gel as a team and work together on a game play that utilizes all players and get the most from them. Looking at Kilkenny's success and Tipp's breakthrough it is often very hard to pick out the star man because so many of the team have performed excellently and this needs to be the case with Dublin.

It is my belief that Dublin need a manager who will get them playing as a team and creates a game plan that gets the players they have available to them reaching their potential. They need to think outside the box try players in new positions give some club players a chance how many club games have Daly and Co been at??

In addition to the manager they need a serious skills coach in to work on players decision making and also maybe work on game situation drills. If you look at Kilkenny they have had Martin Fogarty who is the man responsible for most of the tactics and skills used by Kilkenny and in Tipp they had Eamon O'Shea working on the same and Tommy Dunne with their 21s.

If Dublin could just do some of the above I feel they would improve greatly and become and force to reckoned with. Their is great work going on at underage and a lot of good will but I feel they lack coaches and mentors who have big time experience of hurling that can be passed down this is where counties like Kilkenny Tipp Galway and Cork have an advantage on Dublin but it wont last for long as the talent at underage in Dublin is now challenging every year for titles and holding their own against all other traditional counties.

I think the Future for Dublin could be very bright if they continue to improve and are open to listening to others.

So Dalo is a crap manager, doesn't know how to inspire a team, doesn't know how to set up a team, can't get the most out of his players, and lacks the big time experience of hurling sure what's 3 All Stars, 2 All Ireland's and 3 Munster titles between friends :rolleyes:

Pride Fighter

angelfire9 wrote: »

So Dalo is a crap manager, doesn't know how to inspire a team, doesn't know how to set up a team, can't get the most out of his players, and lacks the big time experience of hurling sure what's 3 All Stars, 2 All Ireland's and 3 Munster titles between friends :rolleyes:

Look at the date of the post. It was over a year ago, when Dublin had a bad year last year. I dont think the poster you're quoting would agree with his/her original post.

sportinglegend

angelfire9 wrote: »

So Dalo is a crap manager, doesn't know how to inspire a team, doesn't know how to set up a team, can't get the most out of his players, and lacks the big time experience of hurling sure what's 3 All Stars, 2 All Ireland's and 3 Munster titles between friends :rolleyes:

I stand by the post I made last year on what was wrong a lot of things have improved this year.

Dublin are playing much more as a team and less as individual's all credit to Daly something I felt he didn't achieve in the 2010 this has been a huge reason behind their improved success this year.

I still stand by my opinion that by sending out a team with an extra defender you are half admitting you are not as good as the opposition and I don't think this is the message a team should be getting. I think Dublin have some quality players and should just take on teams man for man.

I still think Dublin need to learn how to put teams away if they are to push on, they had Galway completely outplayed and yet could have lost if Canning had his shooting boots on, it would have been a travesty if they had lost that day and they also struggled in putting both Limerick and Offaly away. I hope they learn this and start getting goals because then I think they will push up closer to the level that Kilkenny and Tipp are at which would be great for hurling in general.

When I said they lack coaches with big time experience I actually wasn't talking about Daly who has it in bucket loads but more so the coaches working with development squads and underage in Dublin, if you look at the likes of Tipp and Kilkenny they have former county players who have serious experience and All-Ireland medals a plenty in Kilkenny's case working with the underage teams this has got to be a big plus when it comes to teaching kids small little things which help with decision making and reading the game etc.
I think if you look at the Dublin 21 teams of the last two years they have benefited hugely from the involvement of Daly and Stakelum imagine if you have more coaches like that working with the underage it would be fantastic.

Dublin are getting more things right every year and credit to them, they really need to win the Minor or U21 All-Ireland titles and better still both to help push them on again think its vital actually.

The Dublin club scene seems to be in awful state at the moment in both football and hurling and this will have to addressed quickly by the county board club players need games. A well run county championship will also help the county team I would suggest.

Fair play to Dublin this year a marked improvement on 2010 and with more progress like this year it will be interesting to see how 2012 goes for them.

Live4Ever

sportinglegend wrote: »

I stand by the post I made last year on what was wrong a lot of things have improved this year.

Dublin are playing much more as a team and less as individual's all credit to Daly something I felt he didn't achieve in the 2010 this has been a huge reason behind their improved success this year.

I still stand by my opinion that by sending out a team with an extra defender you are half admitting you are not as good as the opposition and I don't think this is the message a team should be getting. I think Dublin have some quality players and should just take on teams man for man.

I still think Dublin need to learn how to put teams away if they are to push on, they had Galway completely outplayed and yet could have lost if Canning had his shooting boots on, it would have been a travesty if they had lost that day and they also struggled in putting both Limerick and Offaly away. I hope they learn this and start getting goals because then I think they will push up closer to the level that Kilkenny and Tipp are at which would be great for hurling in general.

When I said they lack coaches with big time experience I actually wasn't talking about Daly who has it in bucket loads but more so the coaches working with development squads and underage in Dublin, if you look at the likes of Tipp and Kilkenny they have former county players who have serious experience and All-Ireland medals a plenty in Kilkenny's case working with the underage teams this has got to be a big plus when it comes to teaching kids small little things which help with decision making and reading the game etc.
I think if you look at the Dublin 21 teams of the last two years they have benefited hugely from the involvement of Daly and Stakelum imagine if you have more coaches like that working with the underage it would be fantastic.

Dublin are getting more things right every year and credit to them, they really need to win the Minor or U21 All-Ireland titles and better still both to help push them on again think its vital actually.

Fair play to Dublin this year a marked improvement on 2010 and with more progress like this year it will be interesting to see how 2012 goes for them.

True, although in the case of Tipp we were 5 men down, it wouldn't have been feasible to try and play a man-for-man game style that day, although I agree with what your saying for next year if we have a full pick.

Personally, I think our backs are fantastic and could easily play a man-for man-game.

HOWEVER, I do feel the forwards need to improve. There is a big goal scoring problem that needs to be addressed. Tbh I really don't rate Dotsy that much, he makes a lot of bad decisions, although he is passionate and gives 100% I think he could feel under pressure for his place next year.

Have to say I agree with your development point, although in the case of coaches, Dublin wasn't a strong Hurling county for a long time. KK and Tipp will always have experienced, retired intercounty hurlers at hand to train kids. I don't think there's many Dublin senior hurlers in the last 15 years who would make good coaches, they are only experienced in getting annihilated.

So far its been a great year. I can't see the minors or U21 teams being beaten either.