Galway GAA discussion thread

Happyilylost

donnem33 wrote:

Anyone know what the story will be now with Concannon? Surely because it is a different competition and grade it won't affect him?

Doesn't affect him.

Diabhal Beag

Tipp by far and away the better side but as stupid as it was that kick to the bollocks is the most I've laughed in a long time watching hurling.

Happyilylost

Diabhal Beag wrote:

Tipp by far and away the better side but as stupid as it was that kick to the bollocks is the most I've laughed in a long time watching hurling.

Galway lads seemed to have an issue with that area tonight.

meriwether

Happyilylost wrote: »

Galway lads seemed to have an issue with that area tonight.

Tipp guys have very, very attractive groins, and we just can't keep our feet or hurleys off them.

vid36

What changes will the management make for Saturday?What changes would you like to see? I would like to see Michael Daly at 11 , but given his fitness issues,I would not be surprised if we start with a third midfielder.

Pogue eile

donnem33 wrote: »

Thought it was a strange decision taking off Blehene, he had been winning a lot of possession even if the end product didn't always work out.

The kick to the balls aside that was the worst decision of the night, pure madness and he had McGrath in all sorts of bother. It smacked of a pre-game decision and they hadn't the brains to change their mind.

Diabhal Beag

Pogue eile wrote: »

The kick to the balls aside that was the worst decision of the night, pure madness and he had McGrath in all sorts of bother. It smacked of a pre-game decision and they hadn't the brains to change their mind.

Blehane, Cooney and Fahy were hitting wides for fun all night and in fairness they came within 3 once they brought on Canning and Scotes Punter himself.

donnem33

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Blehane, Cooney and Fahy were hitting wides for fun all night and in fairness they came within 3 once they brought on Canning and Scotes Punter himself.

The big change that brought them back into the game was pushing Greaslish forward and Coyne made a significant difference too. Canning didn't do anything imo apart from put McGrath under savage pressure when ended up with McGrath tipping the ball into his own net

Amprodude

the more i think about this game the more I believe Galway will dismantle Limerick rather comfortably. I think if the Galway unit can get going they are going to be too much for Limerick. Limerick i believe can be turned inside out by that Galway forward line. Galway to retain Liam and win it with a bit to spare.

Sycamore Tree

Is it me or is there an extreme lack of interest in the semi-final tomorrow?
I mean we rarely get to football semi-finals but nobody seems to be talking about it.

spurshero

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

Is it me or is there an extreme lack of interest in the semi-final tomorrow?
I mean we rarely get to football semi-finals but nobody seems to be talking about it.

I think there’s 2 main reasons . The first been that the hurling is muchmore preferable and better to watch . The second is simple after last week nobody gives us a chance tomo . I’m going up but being honest it’s more in pure hope and the fact we’re in first semi in 17 years more then confidence . Having said all that we have played some nice football and had good results this year so ya never know. Anyway best of luck to the lads once they leave it all on the pitch and we will see where that takes us

westcork67

Galway football supporters are a fickle bunch - there is about 4-5k hardcore and that is it - I don't believe there is much if any belief in the county that they can turn over Dublin and hence the indifference - yet if they get to the final there will be hordes grabbing the tickets!

Personally I think they have a right good chance of putting it up to Dublin - on the assumption that the Monaghan performance was down to a small lack of focus and effort. They have performed well all year and don't see them turning into a bad team overnight - They need to maintain their discipline especially in the FB line, and they need to transition to attack much more quickly - Dublin turnover in Galway half is the only chance you have of catching them, however it is of no value if you dont get the ball into the attacking area quicker than they can reset their defensive structures - no risk taking = no reward tomorrow

djPSB

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

Is it me or is there an extreme lack of interest in the semi-final tomorrow?
I mean we rarely get to football semi-finals but nobody seems to be talking about it.

There seems to be very little interest in either game. Not just in Galway, Nationally there is very little coverage in the media on either game.

Football championship hasn't taken off at all this year.

aidan24326

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

Is it me or is there an extreme lack of interest in the semi-final tomorrow?
I mean we rarely get to football semi-finals but nobody seems to be talking about it.

Definitely not much talk about it alright, and I think there's a few reasons for that:
-Overshadowed by the hurling final for Galway supporters
-No-one gives Galway much of a chance against Dublin
-The drab performance against Monaghan has dampened enthusiasm
-Dublin supporters are becoming spoiled with winning everything and truth be told most of them expect Dublin to win comfortably on Saturday. Some will be holding off for the final.

The crowd for this one could be down considerably on what you'd normally expect, even this morning you could go online and get pretty good tickets, fairly central, so they're obviously not selling all that well.

aidan24326

djPSB wrote: »

There seems to be very little interest in either game. Not just in Galway, Nationally there is very little coverage in the media on either game.

Football championship hasn't taken off at all this year.

It's being hurt by Dublin's dominance as much as by negative tactics. That's not Dublin's fault of course but it's never good for any competition to have one team so far ahead.

You only have to look at how the hurling has become so much more competitive and exciting since Kilkenny's total dominance ended, now you have 8 teams with hardly a puck of a ball between any of them, and Dublin not too far behind. It makes for a much better spectacle than watching one juggernaut crush all opposition year after year.

spurshero

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

Is it me or is there an extreme lack of interest in the semi-final tomorrow?
I mean we rarely get to football semi-finals but nobody seems to be talking about it.

aidan24326 wrote: »

It's being hurt by Dublin's dominance as much as by negative tactics. That's not Dublin's fault of course but it's never good for any competition to have one team so far ahead.

You only have to look at how the hurling has become so much more competitive and exciting since Kilkenny's total dominance ended, now you have 8 teams with hardly a puck of a ball between any of them, and Dublin not too far behind. It makes for a much better spectacle than watching one juggernaut crush all opposition year after year.

That’s a very good point in fairness

djPSB

aidan24326 wrote: »

It's being hurt by Dublin's dominance as much as by negative tactics. That's not Dublin's fault of course but it's never good for any competition to have one team so far ahead.

You only have to look at how the hurling has become so much more competitive and exciting since Kilkenny's total dominance ended, now you have 8 teams with hardly a puck of a ball between any of them, and Dublin not too far behind. It makes for a much better spectacle than watching one juggernaut crush all opposition year after year.

Is it a case of Dublin being so far ahead or are the rest just so far behind.

The standard of the chasing teams just seems to have fallen off a cliff compared to say the 90s and 00s.

Galway had a must stronger team than now.

Kerry were a different animal than now. Cooper, Moynihan, O'Ses etc.

Meath were a good outfit with top players like Giles, Geraghty, Fay etc.

Cork were always thereabouts.

Armagh with McGeeney, McConnville, McDonnell etc. were a top team.

Tyrone were excellent with Canavan, Mulligan, Cavnagh, O'Neill etc.

Dublin aside, none of the other 3 semi finalists are anywhere those teams.

Mayo were always there and to be fair are a massive loss to the semi finals this year.

Perhaps it's because more emphasis has been put on physical attributes rather than skill and when teams get to the latter stages now they just don't have the footballers to compete at that level.

flatty

spurshero wrote: »

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

Is it me or is there an extreme lack of interest in the semi-final tomorrow?
I mean we rarely get to football semi-finals but nobody seems to be talking about it.

I think there’s 2 main reasons . The first been that the hurling is muchmore preferable and better to watch . The second is simple after last week nobody gives us a chance tomo . I’m going up but being honest it’s more in pure hope and the fact we’re in first semi in 17 years more then confidence . Having said all that we have played some nice football and had good results this year so ya never know. Anyway best of luck to the lads once they leave it all on the pitch and we will see where that takes us

If I was in the country I'd go for sure. I love those games over the years where no one much travels, and the team is up against it, but deep down you have that glimmer of hope, and you know that no matter what, you've 25 lads who will give it absolutely all they have.
I would LOVE to be going.

aidan24326

djPSB wrote: »

Is it a case of Dublin being so far ahead or are the rest just so far behind.

In fairness yes I think that has something to do with it also. Dublin aside, the standard of the other 3 semi finalists isn't amazing, and then you have the likes of Meath and Cork who have gone way down compared to former glories.

This is the best Galway team that we've had in the last 15 years though, and I hope they can do themselves justice on Saturday. Be a pity to go out with a whimper now after a year where they've surpassed expectations up to this point.

ClanofLams

I give Galway a chance tomorrow. It’s well set up for them in a way - no one gives them a prayer so there’s no pressure. It will be a lot closer than most predict and Galway’s experience of winning tight games all season should stand to them as will the bench that can usually be trusted upon to make a big impact.

Sycamore Tree

Galway were 11/2 earlier in the week.

testtech05

Paddy power was giving 6/1 today.

Diabhal Beag

We're in bonus territory for this year for sure going into tomorrow. Granted we had a very good league but Derry got to a final not long back and Rossies were a top 4 league team at one stage so you take it with a pinch of salt.

I hear it took a bit of convincing last year after the Kerry loss to convince the current management to stick around but in fairness they've proven their worth. Are they taking us that next level? I personally don't think so, and tactically in the heat of battle they can make some poor decisions (or lack of decision-making), but they definitely built on Mulholland's work and turned us into a respectable side. I have no issues with how we set out the tactics but we're still missing a couple of natural backs although the conveyor belt has lads like Mulkerrin not too far off so the future looks bright.

Hope anybody on the fence about going up to Croker decides to make the trip up. We'll be badly outnumbered but the lads deserve your support. We haven't been this far into the championship in a very long time. We lost to Antrim in a qualifier in 2012. We're playing the 3-in-a-row AI champs in a semi final in 2018. Let's back these boys till the final whistle.

Ya never know, we might even be talking about Michael Daly firing us into an All Ireland Final

threeball

The structure of the championship this year hasn't helped. The super 8s were a damp squib and killed any momentum in the championship. That has translated to a lack of interest in the football.
It's not just the Galway game. No one outside Tyrone and monaghan has any interest in that game bar watching on the day.
Overall Padraic Duffys brainchild has proven to be an out and out failure.

Martina1991

djPSB wrote:

Is it a case of Dublin being so far ahead or are the rest just so far behind.

- Won the final by a free in 2017
- Won the final by a point after a replay in 2016.
- Beaten by Kerry in the league final 2017
- Beaten by Monaghan in the league this year.

Dominant yes, winning being the key word but Dublin can be caught.

washman3

Amprodude wrote: »

the more i think about this game the more I believe Galway will dismantle Limerick rather comfortably. I think if the Galway unit can get going they are going to be too much for Limerick. Limerick i believe can be turned inside out by that Galway forward line. Galway to retain Liam and win it with a bit to spare.

Would you advocate a change in the system next year to avoid potentially one-sided finals like this year.? Is there some way that teams like Limerick shouldn't be given such a soft run to a final.? Should there be some kind of seeding system where in order to reach the final teams should have to beat the best.?

muddle84

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

We're in bonus territory for this year for sure going into tomorrow. Granted we had a very good league but Derry got to a final not long back and Rossies were a top 4 league team at one stage so you take it with a pinch of salt.

I hear it took a bit of convincing last year after the Kerry loss to convince the current management to stick around but in fairness they've proven their worth. Are they taking us that next level? I personally don't think so, and tactically in the heat of battle they can make some poor decisions (or lack of decision-making), but they definitely built on Mulholland's work and turned us into a respectable side. I have no issues with how we set out the tactics but we're still missing a couple of natural backs although the conveyor belt has lads like Mulkerrin not too far off so the future looks bright.

Hope anybody on the fence about going up to Croker decides to make the trip up. We'll be badly outnumbered but the lads deserve your support. We haven't been this far into the championship in a very long time. We lost to Antrim in a qualifier in 2012. We're playing the 3-in-a-row AI champs in a semi final in 2018. Let's back these boys till the final whistle.

Ya never know, we might even be talking about Michael Daly firing us into an All Ireland Final

Fair play to you! I dont understand why any Galway fan wouldnt have this outlook when you look back at the ending you had last year. Best of luck to the Galway team tomorrow and i hope they get the support they deserve after a brilliant year so far! From a mayo man!

Always_Running

threeball wrote: »

The structure of the championship this year hasn't helped. The super 8s were a damp squib and killed any momentum in the championship. That has translated to a lack of interest in the football.
It's not just the Galway game. No one outside Tyrone and monaghan has any interest in that game bar watching on the day.
Overall Padraic Duffys brainchild has proven to be an out and out failure.

I don't think Pad Duffy overly cared if it was a success or failure. He and his pals at HQ had to come up with a solution on the falling attendances and this new format of more games equals more money. He is also was responsible for getting rid of good U21 AI championship and replaced it with a diluted version that few had much interest in. Had no time for him and his bluff talk just a pity he didn't step down sooner.

mattser

Hard luck Galway

Utopia Parkway

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

Is it me or is there an extreme lack of interest in the semi-final tomorrow?
I mean we rarely get to football semi-finals but nobody seems to be talking about it.

Think everyone expects Dublin to win fairly handy. Might be different it it was v Tyrone.

Know a fair few people who are giving the football a miss as they are going to the hurling final instead.

Galway fans get a lot of stick but probably no other county demands so much from it's fans in terms of the amount of games to go to. People will eventually pick and choose as money is not limitless.