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Football in Kilkenny whats the point?

  • 29-02-2012 10:04pm
    #1
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,243 ✭✭✭


    A Kilkenny football team took another hammering tonight. Cadbury Leinster U21FC FT: Louth 6-35 Kilkenny 0-2. The Cats had no substitutes after 11 of their panel failed to turn up tonight.

    Now the useal ''theres no interest'' ''why dont other teams promote hurling'' for me is not good enough.

    Why are county boards all over the country put under pressure to promote hurling yet this can constantly happen in Kilkenny?


«13

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,416 ✭✭✭Jimmy Iovine


    Do Louth have an U-21 hurling team? If they were to meet then that scoreline would be easily beaten by Kilkenny.

    From my experience there are some great players in the country primary schools. The problem is that most of those players are also good at hurling. Once they hit a certain age the choice is pretty easy as to which sport to pursue.

    Some decent players in the city as well and again hurling takes over.

    I couldn't really tell you who is to blame. The county board is probably top of the list though.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 11,465 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hammer Archer


    This topic comes up pretty much every year at this stage.
    I think the main problem is that the gap between Kilkenny and the next worst teams (the likes of London, Leitrim etc.) is so astronomical that even if they do improve they'll still be beaten by 10 or 15 points every game.
    Meanwhile in hurling, there are several teams who are equally poor so it is easy to have some sort of competitiveness at all levels in hurling.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,929 ✭✭✭JaMarcus Hustle


    We scored 2 points? Sweet, love a good welcome home parade.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,939 ✭✭✭ballsymchugh


    i've got some friends that played hurling for longford, and the effort they put in over the years was outstanding. they may have gotten nowhere, but they were a great bunch from u16 up through all the ranks to senior, and put everything into every minute they played and trained.
    11 of the panel not showing up is just disgraceful. it's worse than club junior hurling in london where the selectors and managers sometimes fill in the gaps.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    look i suppose im against their policy too and i do think they should try a bit harder if for just the sake of the poor lads that have to tog out, but there is other counties who dont promote hurling in fairness. Argument has really been done to death and i accept that things are the way they are and wont change in the near future.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,925 ✭✭✭aidan24326


    Can people stop bringing up hurling? It's irrelevant in this context.

    Look we all know that the likes of Wicklow and Louth and Tyrone will never be winning a hurling All-Ireland and maybe not even a Christy Ring Cup but at least these teams are competitive within their own sphere. They make some effort at their own lowly level.

    Kilkenny football seems a futile excercise at this stage. I mean why bother entering a team at all if you're not going to put some bit of effort into it?

    Last year their U-21s lost to Meath by 6-25 to 0-00. This year 6-35 to 0-02. I don't know why any lad would even want to play.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,117 ✭✭✭✭MrJoeSoap


    The main issue for people here isn't that Kilkenny are so shocking at football, but that they are so good at hurling and so bad at football. Cavan no longer field an intercounty hurling team (for the next couple of years anyway) but Kilkenny will always be picked out and laughed at for their awful results in football. If Kilkenny were an average or poor hurling county then people would approach it as 'how could they improve?' but instead the attitude is more 'how dare they?'.

    Why not look at the bigger issues, like why would 20 or more counties lose by a similar or worse score line to Kilkenny in a hurling game?


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,177 ✭✭✭MickySticks


    One lad from Louth scored 3-19 :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,607 ✭✭✭sgarvan


    Kilkenny field a football team at all levels so that the county board can avail of all available grants to them.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,184 ✭✭✭✭Pighead


    One lad from Louth scored 3-19 :D
    Don't think so. Pretty sure Cathal Bellew top scored with 1-5. Scores were well spread with fourteen different scorers.

    People being a bit harsh on Kilkenny. They came up against a juggernaut last night. Louth U21's are a force of nature that cannot be stopped. Peter Fitzpatrick should seriously consider ditching teh senior panel and replacing them with the U21's.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,416 ✭✭✭Jimmy Iovine


    aidan24326 wrote: »
    Can people stop bringing up hurling? It's irrelevant in this context.

    How is it? Kilkenny will be beaten by almost every other team in the country, we're not denying that. Fact remains that almost every other team in the country would be beaten by Kilkenny in hurling across all age groups.

    Where is Kerry's hurling team? How are they getting on?
    aidan24326 wrote: »
    Look we all know that the likes of Wicklow and Louth and Tyrone will never be winning a hurling All-Ireland and maybe not even a Christy Ring Cup but at least these teams are competitive within their own sphere. They make some effort at their own lowly level.

    Don't forget that Kilkenny has a smaller population than all three of them counties. Tyrone has double the population of Kilkenny. Again I ask how are they getting on at the hurling? Do they have a team?
    aidan24326 wrote: »
    Last year their U-21s lost to Meath by 6-25 to 0-00. This year 6-35 to 0-02. I don't know why any lad would even want to play.

    I'll say it again, if Kilkenny played Meath or Louth in hurling you can be sure that the score would be the same in favour of Kilkenny.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,939 ✭✭✭ballsymchugh


    I'll say it again, if Kilkenny played Meath or Louth in hurling you can be sure that the score would be the same in favour of Kilkenny.

    maybe so, but you can be guaranteed that a full panel would show up.
    whether they're good or not doesn't bug me, but the complete lack of commitment.
    i said the same last year when cavan pulled out of senior hurling. surely there's 20 players that would like to represent their county at anything??


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,729 ✭✭✭Pride Fighter



    Where is Kerry's hurling team? How are they getting on?



    It is actually getting on quite well. Made huge strides in the past 10 years.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,416 ✭✭✭Jimmy Iovine


    It is actually getting on quite well. Made huge strides in the past 10 years.

    Good to hear I suppose. My internet was down as I typed that post so I couldn't check.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,028 ✭✭✭TheMilkyPirate


    Are they really that bad? 2 points over the course of 70 minutes. My own club senior team would score more than that.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,304 ✭✭✭Martin567


    aidan24326 wrote: »
    Can people stop bringing up hurling? It's irrelevant in this context.

    Look we all know that the likes of Wicklow and Louth and Tyrone will never be winning a hurling All-Ireland and maybe not even a Christy Ring Cup but at least these teams are competitive within their own sphere. They make some effort at their own lowly level.

    I really feel like banging my head against a brick wall at the complete inanity of the above argument.

    The reason the weak hurling teams are competitive at their own level is because there are at least 10 (probably more) teams which are at the comparative level as the Kilkenny footballers. It's easier to make an effort when there are a few teams they could actually hope to beat. If you forced any of these teams to play against Div 1 or Div 2 hurling teams, I doubt if they would continue to put in the same effort.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 159 ✭✭breffni666


    This is precisely why football needs to go down the hurling route. There is now Senior (McCarthy) Intermediate (Ring) Junior (Rackard) and Junior 2/B (Meagher) for hurling. Everyone knows their level and is expected to compete at that level. Its not perfect but its better than having the sh**e kicked out of you week after week with no benchmark to work towards. Here in Cavan we are sh**te at hurling and have pulled the senior side but maybe in 10 years we could COMPETE for a Meagher Cup. Football needs to do the same. Too many deluded counties who have no hope of Provincial honours in the next 20 years never mind All Ireland success. If the Hurling model was used for football then counties could measure their improvement in a Championship setting. Hard luck Kilkenny football, we feel your pain as we know when noone gives a sh**te. Its up to yourselves but a little help would go a long way. Should have been in a B competition in the first place but the suits like to say they played all the fixtures regardless of the scores.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 11,465 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hammer Archer


    Ha. This thread was created almost a year to the day the previous thread on Kilkenny football was created. Amazingly, the last one got nearly 300 posts.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 4,145 Mod ✭✭✭✭bruschi


    breffni666 wrote: »
    This is precisely why football needs to go down the hurling route. There is now Senior (McCarthy) Intermediate (Ring) Junior (Rackard) and Junior 2/B (Meagher) for hurling. Everyone knows their level and is expected to compete at that level. Its not perfect but its better than having the sh**e kicked out of you week after week with no benchmark to work towards. Here in Cavan we are sh**te at hurling and have pulled the senior side but maybe in 10 years we could COMPETE for a Meagher Cup. Football needs to do the same. Too many deluded counties who have no hope of Provincial honours in the next 20 years never mind All Ireland success. If the Hurling model was used for football then counties could measure their improvement in a Championship setting. Hard luck Kilkenny football, we feel your pain as we know when noone gives a sh**te. Its up to yourselves but a little help would go a long way. Should have been in a B competition in the first place but the suits like to say they played all the fixtures regardless of the scores.

    could you propose what teams should be in a 'B' championship in football.

    Or anyone else for that matter.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,243 ✭✭✭lala88


    How is it? Kilkenny will be beaten by almost every other team in the country, we're not denying that. Fact remains that almost every other team in the country would be beaten by Kilkenny in hurling across all age groups.

    Where is Kerry's hurling team? How are they getting on?



    Don't forget that Kilkenny has a smaller population than all three of them counties. Tyrone has double the population of Kilkenny. Again I ask how are they getting on at the hurling? Do they have a team?



    I'll say it again, if Kilkenny played Meath or Louth in hurling you can be sure that the score would be the same in favour of Kilkenny.

    Kerry have been one of the most improved teams in the last 3/4 years. Tyrone are also doing quite well the last few years.

    Kilkenny playing Meath or Louth in hurling has nothing to do with this


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,851 ✭✭✭Mountainlad


    To be fair, there are no other football teams at Kilkenny's level. They get anihilated by every team in Division 4 of the football league. The gulf between teams in Division 4 and teams in Division 1 in football is nowhere near as big as it is in hurling. It would be completely unfair and unmanageable to divide up the Football All-Ireland into different divisions. You see different teams every year competing stronger than others.

    How would you base the division? Limerick are in Division 4 yet they compete strongly in the championship regularly. Wicklow have improved immesely in the championship in recent years. You might say ''fine we'll put them in the main competition'' but that could be viewed as being unfair by the other teams in Division 4 and in my view rightly so.

    I do agree that their is rank hypocrasy though for some of the criticism Kilkenny footballers get, and I thinkit stems from the fact the hurlers are so glorified. People maybe get a bit annoyed that they are always hearing about their hurlers and so decide to say ''well they don't play any other sports''. True enough the focus is on hurling, but I think it's a lack of respect towards these footballers to be constantly having a go at them when some counties (Cavan for example) have altogether quit by pulling their team out of the hurling competitions last year.

    It is up to them of course to stop this, as the only way it'll recede is if they improve and I guess there's just not enough people driving for it at the moment.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,174 ✭✭✭hardybuck


    breffni666 wrote: »
    This is precisely why football needs to go down the hurling route. There is now Senior (McCarthy) Intermediate (Ring) Junior (Rackard) and Junior 2/B (Meagher) for hurling. Everyone knows their level and is expected to compete at that level. Its not perfect but its better than having the sh**e kicked out of you week after week with no benchmark to work towards. Here in Cavan we are sh**te at hurling and have pulled the senior side but maybe in 10 years we could COMPETE for a Meagher Cup. Football needs to do the same. Too many deluded counties who have no hope of Provincial honours in the next 20 years never mind All Ireland success. If the Hurling model was used for football then counties could measure their improvement in a Championship setting. Hard luck Kilkenny football, we feel your pain as we know when noone gives a sh**te. Its up to yourselves but a little help would go a long way. Should have been in a B competition in the first place but the suits like to say they played all the fixtures regardless of the scores.

    Disagree with the move towards a football version of the Rackard, Meagher. Look at teams who are in Division 4 of the League. Last year Roscommon were down there while still being Connacht champions. This year Limerick are down there - they got to the All Ireland quarter finals last year, and I'm sure Fermanagh will have ambitions to do well this year with Canavan coming in. I think the bulk of the Munster interpro team this year were from Div 4 counties.

    Kilkenny have themselves to blame for this situation. The attitude to the sport in the county is awful, but again to rake up the hurling situation - you'll get a similar attidude in many strong football counties. I know huge amounts of footballers and football fans who have never attended a game of hurling even.

    I think that the GAA should put a team of high profile semi retired coaches together and target not only Kilkenny, but other areas in that region. Despite very good strides made by Tipp, Waterford and Wexford, there are still large areas of those counties where football is treated with total contempt.

    If you could get the likes of Sean Boylan, Mick O'Dwyer, Paidi O'Se, Joe Kernan, John O'Mahony etc. going in once a month to offer advice and raise the profile slightly, it would be hugely beneficial.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,304 ✭✭✭Martin567


    breffni666 wrote: »
    This is precisely why football needs to go down the hurling route. There is now Senior (McCarthy) Intermediate (Ring) Junior (Rackard) and Junior 2/B (Meagher) for hurling. Everyone knows their level and is expected to compete at that level. Its not perfect but its better than having the sh**e kicked out of you week after week with no benchmark to work towards. Here in Cavan we are sh**te at hurling and have pulled the senior side but maybe in 10 years we could COMPETE for a Meagher Cup. Football needs to do the same. Too many deluded counties who have no hope of Provincial honours in the next 20 years never mind All Ireland success. If the Hurling model was used for football then counties could measure their improvement in a Championship setting. Hard luck Kilkenny football, we feel your pain as we know when noone gives a sh**te. Its up to yourselves but a little help would go a long way. Should have been in a B competition in the first place but the suits like to say they played all the fixtures regardless of the scores.

    In theory this makes perfect sense but the problem still exists as to who would Kilkenny play against. The Tommy Murphy Cup was abandoned a few years ago due to lack of interest from the teams who never challenge for a provincial title.

    Apart from Kilkenny, the gap between Div 1 & Div 4 in football does not compare with the same gap in hurling. This fact is continually ignored by those who spout irrelevant nonsense about the weaker hurling teams competing "at their own level".


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,243 ✭✭✭lala88


    MrJoeSoap wrote: »
    The main issue for people here isn't that Kilkenny are so shocking at football, but that they are so good at hurling and so bad at football. Cavan no longer field an intercounty hurling team (for the next couple of years anyway) but Kilkenny will always be picked out and laughed at for their awful results in football. If Kilkenny were an average or poor hurling county then people would approach it as 'how could they improve?' but instead the attitude is more 'how dare they?'.

    Why not look at the bigger issues, like why would 20 or more counties lose by a similar or worse score line to Kilkenny in a hurling game?

    If you ask me the fact they have had so much seccess at hurling means they can turn a blind eye to football and just say sure what can we do if people dont have the interest


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,851 ✭✭✭Mountainlad


    lala88 wrote: »
    Kerry have been one of the most improved teams in the last 3/4 years. Tyrone are also doing quite well the last few years.

    Kilkenny playing Meath or Louth in hurling has nothing to do with this

    Comparatively, Tyrone are as far away from the Kilkenny hurlers as the Kilkenny footballers are from the Tyrone footballers.

    To be fair to Kerry they are a young improving team with a few quality hurlers that could be playing on top tier county teams, but they still are a good way below anyone in Division 1B.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,008 ✭✭✭kksaints


    hardybuck wrote: »
    Disagree with the move towards a football version of the Rackard, Meagher. Look at teams who are in Division 4 of the League. Last year Roscommon were down there while still being Connacht champions. This year Limerick are down there - they got to the All Ireland quarter finals last year, and I'm sure Fermanagh will have ambitions to do well this year with Canavan coming in. I think the bulk of the Munster interpro team this year were from Div 4 counties.

    Kilkenny have themselves to blame for this situation. The attitude to the sport in the county is awful, but again to rake up the hurling situation - you'll get a similar attidude in many strong football counties. I know huge amounts of footballers and football fans who have never attended a game of hurling even.

    I think that the GAA should put a team of high profile semi retired coaches together and target not only Kilkenny, but other areas in that region. Despite very good strides made by Tipp, Waterford and Wexford, there are still large areas of those counties where football is created with total contempt.

    If you could get the likes of Sean Boylan, Mick O'Dwyer, Paidi O'Se, Joe Kernan, John O'Mahony etc. going in once a month to offer advice and raise the profile slightly, it would be hugely beneficial.

    Wexford have gotten to the Leinster Football final twice in the the last few years and are a better team then their Hurlers at this stage. Also isnt there areas of some Ulster countries where there is no Hurling Clubs. Remember hearing some thing about Down only having 3 or 4 hurling clubs at one stage. So Im not particularly sure what you are on about here. That problem exists in most counties.

    Kilkenny's main problem is just the large amount of interest in hurling dominates everyother sport. Kilkenny used to have a LOI team gone now. Kilkenny also used to have a AIL rugby team also gone. There just isnt enough interest in football to keep a competitive team. While hopefully it changes soon I cant see it happening. Doubt bringing in external coaches would raise the profile enough either.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,174 ✭✭✭hardybuck


    kksaints wrote: »
    Wexford have gotten to the Leinster Football final twice in the the last few years and are a better team then their Hurlers at this stage. Also isnt there areas of some Ulster countries where there is no Hurling Clubs. Remember hearing some thing about Down only having 3 or 4 hurling clubs at one stage. So Im not particularly sure what you are on about here. That problem exists in most counties.

    Kilkenny's main problem is just the large amount of interest in hurling dominates everyother sport. Kilkenny used to have a LOI team gone now. Kilkenny also used to have a AIL rugby team also gone. There just isnt enough interest in football to keep a competitive team. While hopefully it changes soon I cant see it happening. Doubt bringing in external coaches would raise the profile enough either.

    Tipp just won a minor All Ireland in football and in many areas people wouldn't go across the road to watch a game, and when Wexford played in Leinster finals many parts of the county barely took notice. Thats what I'm going on about.

    Kilkenny's LOI team went out of business. As with nearly every LOI club they were supported by a benefactor, and could not pay their way. I can remember Kilkenny RFC reaching a couple of play-offs to reach the AIL about 10 years ago, nothing more. This is irrevelant anyway.

    While I admire the passion for hurling there, I hate how much disrespect they show football.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,304 ✭✭✭Martin567


    hardybuck wrote: »
    Tipp just won a minor All Ireland in football and in many areas people wouldn't go across the road to watch a game, and when Wexford played in Leinster finals many parts of the county barely took notice. Thats what I'm going on about.

    While I admire the passion for hurling there, I hate how much disrespect they show football.

    Tipperary & Wexford do have parts of the county (however small) which are predominantly football areas. This is where the football teams are mainly drawn from.

    Imagine trying to maintain competitive football teams in Tipp or Wexford from those parts of each county you referred to above. This is the situation which exists in Kilkenny as there is not a single parish in Co Kilkenny where football could be considered the number 1 sport.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 4,145 Mod ✭✭✭✭bruschi


    Martin567 wrote: »
    Tipperary & Wexford do have parts of the county (however small) which are predominantly football areas. This is where the football teams are mainly drawn from.

    Imagine trying to maintain competitive football teams in Tipp or Wexford from those parts of each county you referred to above. This is the situation which exists in Kilkenny as there is not a single parish in Co Kilkenny where football could be considered the number 1 sport.

    There are only a couple of clubs in Wexford who concentrate only on football. but there would be more hurling only clubs, which is what I think the point was about. A lot of the county players, especially at underage, play both, and there is a divide simmering for a few years now in Wexford over dual players. Many of the county football team come from clubs who are holding their own at hurling, and a lot of them would be on their clubs first 15 too.

    Just for arguments sake, of the 12 senior football clubs, there are 5 senior, 6 intermediate and 1 junior hurling teams

    Of the 12 senior hurling clubs, there are 5 senior, 3 intermediate and 2 junior, with 2 not having any team at all in football.

    hurling is still considered No1 in Wexford though, no matter what the results or what it may look like from outside.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,925 ✭✭✭aidan24326


    Martin567 wrote: »
    I really feel like banging my head against a brick wall at the complete inanity of the above argument.

    The reason the weak hurling teams are competitive at their own level is because there are at least 10 (probably more) teams which are at the comparative level as the Kilkenny footballers. It's easier to make an effort when there are a few teams they could actually hope to beat. If you forced any of these teams to play against Div 1 or Div 2 hurling teams, I doubt if they would continue to put in the same effort.


    Bang away. There is nothing 'inane' about what I said. I merely said let's leave hurling out of it. This is about the Kilkenny footballers and why they continue to be so woefully bad.

    This argument that Kilkenny would wallop Tyrone/Louth/Longford etc in hurling is a stupid and pointless one. We know KK would destroy those teams and it would be a total mismatch.

    But Kilkenny footballer are routinely being annihilated by weak division 4 opposition. Even the likes of Leitrim and Carlow tend to beat them by 20 points or more. It's not exactly Kerry and Dublin they're up against. The issue is that they're so hopelessly out of their depth even at the lowly level they play in. Any decent club team would put up a more respectable show, which only proves that it's not taken seriously and no effort is put into it.

    No-one expects Kilkenny footballers to be winning promotion or anything, but it surely wouldn't take too much effort to at least get to a level where they weren't being hammered off the pitch every week.


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 16,193 Mod ✭✭✭✭adrian522


    The bottom line here is that no one cares about football in Kilkenny, I certainly don't.

    I, like may people would sooner put all my effort into making a junior B hurling team over senior inter county football. I think this is borne out by a load of players not showing up for the match. I think that for even a low level club hurling match in Kilkenny that would be unthinkable.

    The unfortunate truth for football fans around the country who want to see Kilkenny get respectable results is that people in Kilkenny are just not interested in this sport.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,304 ✭✭✭Martin567


    aidan24326 wrote: »
    Bang away. There is nothing 'inane' about what I said. I merely said let's leave hurling out of it. This is about the Kilkenny footballers and why they continue to be so woefully bad.

    I'm afraid my head has now gone right through that wall. The 'inane' part of your argument was plain to see in the second paragraph of your original post.

    No-one is disputing the fact that Kilkenny are woefully bad at football. We're just annoyed at being singled out by those, like yourself, who refuse to accept that there are a dozen counties equally woefully bad at hurling. Once you accept that obvious fact, there is no need to single out Kilkenny any longer.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,117 ✭✭✭✭MrJoeSoap


    Ha. This thread was created almost a year to the day the previous thread on Kilkenny football was created. Amazingly, the last one got nearly 300 posts.

    Funny how there were no threads started after the O'Byrne Shield game against Meath in January...

    http://www.examiner.ie/breakingnews/sport/meath-beat-kilkenny-in-obyrne-shield-489494.html


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,416 ✭✭✭Jimmy Iovine


    lala88 wrote: »
    Kilkenny playing Meath or Louth in hurling has nothing to do with this

    Maybe not but the success we have found in hurling has clearly been at the expense of football. Maybe that's a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view.

    Personally I have absolutely no interest in football. Likewise I've met guys from Louth, Westmeath and Meath who have even less of an interest in hurling.

    They ask me why we put no effort into football. If I ask them the same about hurling they have no comeback.

    I asked my dad about it there and, like me, he was embarrassed. He's into his 60s and he says he has never seen a decent Kilkenny football team, and his memory for these things is very sharp.

    I hope that the county board are equally embarrassed by this result. Hopefully they do something to stop even further embarrassment in the next match.

    The problem is when the kids get to 14/15. They are then dragged into development squads and whatnot. Invariably the best footballers are also the best hurlers. There are some fantastic footballers coming up through the ranks. Unfortunately when they reach a certain age they'll get a call to play county for the hurling team. No child in his right mind is going to turn down that opportunity.

    There needs to be a better system in place to encourage the growth of underage teams that will eventually lead to an improvement with the senior team. That's not going to happen overnight but hopefully something will be done about it.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 11,465 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hammer Archer


    MrJoeSoap wrote: »
    Funny how there were no threads started after the O'Byrne Shield game against Meath in January...

    http://www.examiner.ie/breakingnews/sport/meath-beat-kilkenny-in-obyrne-shield-489494.html
    Did you have to bring that up? :(
    Any chance I could use the "It was a professional performance" line? Might look up some of the excuses Steve Staunton used after the San Marino game.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,117 ✭✭✭✭MrJoeSoap


    Did you have to bring that up? :(
    Any chance I could use the "It was a professional performance" line? Might look up some of the excuses Steve Staunton used after the San Marino game.

    How dare you sully the good name of Steve Staunton by mentioning him in the same line as that Meath performance? :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,184 ✭✭✭✭Pighead


    Kilkenny vice-chairman Tom Duggan not impressed with Louth. Thinks they should have went easy on them at the end of the match. Loser Talk!

    “If we were playing them in hurling, we wouldn’t go to town on Louth as they did on us. Up to the 60th minute, they were still going for goals. Only for the effectiveness of our goalkeeper, we could’ve been down by an awful lot more.”


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 4,145 Mod ✭✭✭✭bruschi


    adrian522 wrote: »
    The bottom line here is that no one cares about football in Kilkenny, I certainly don't.

    I, like may people would sooner put all my effort into making a junior B hurling team over senior inter county football. I think this is borne out by a load of players not showing up for the match. I think that for even a low level club hurling match in Kilkenny that would be unthinkable.

    The unfortunate truth for football fans around the country who want to see Kilkenny get respectable results is that people in Kilkenny are just not interested in this sport.

    that is perfectly reasonable.

    now if only your county board would stop fielding teams just so the paperwork is put through and funding is still being sent to Kilkenny. Be interesting to see how much of an effort is made then if the funding is cut when no teams are being put out.


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 16,193 Mod ✭✭✭✭adrian522


    I'm sure the funding is pretty limited to be fair, don't enter the championship, only the league, I haven't seen any numbers but I doubt it's any significant amount.

    Edit: I'm sure the county board would be only too happy to stop fielding football teams, my understanding is that it is pressure from outside the county is the reason they still do and not anything about getting additional funding.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 42 bcb1


    I don't see why Kilkenny should put any more effort into football than they currently do. They are primarily a hurling county. They have limited resources/interest in playing football. They fulfill the fixtures and that is about as much as can be expected. I haven't heard any complaints from Kilkenny footballers about their treatment so they must be satisfied with what is happening or at least realise the position they are in. For good sake, in my own club the argument could be very easily made that we should become a dual club as there are the numbers tehre and it is our responsibility. It was tried a number of years ago. A pile of money was spent on gear for the school kids to play hurling, it lasted about 3 weeks. I really don't see how people have any right to tell Kilkenny how to run their house, it is their own business and they shoudl be let at it, no one here is taking any harm from it.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,706 ✭✭✭premierstone


    Pighead wrote: »
    Kilkenny vice-chairman Tom Duggan not impressed with Louth. Thinks they should have went easy on them at the end of the match. Loser Talk!

    “If we were playing them in hurling, we wouldn’t go to town on Louth as they did on us. Up to the 60th minute, they were still going for goals. Only for the effectiveness of our goalkeeper, we could’ve been down by an awful lot more.”

    Fcuk me that is patethic, do you think Coady would ease off in a hurling match if the roles were reverseed, like hell he would.

    Just to those who suggested that if KK were helped more and had outside coaches etc, they would improve, dont agree at all the only way any county improves is if they want to and KK dont and thats fine it is their choice.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 11,465 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hammer Archer


    MrJoeSoap wrote: »
    How dare you sully the good name of Steve Staunton by mentioning him in the same line as that Meath performance? :D
    To be fair Kilkenny have higher population than San Marino :pac:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,506 ✭✭✭✭dastardly00


    Why are so many people from other counties so interested in the Kilkenny football team? :confused:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,706 ✭✭✭premierstone


    Why are so many people from other counties so interested in the Kilkenny football team? :confused:

    Why are KK people so defensive on the subject, there is no other county that takes such regular hammerings without any sign of improvement, of course people will pass comment, just as they have passed comment on the fact that the KK hurling team is the greatest of all time, didnt hear you complaining about peoples interest in that. Cake and eat it comes to mind!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 255 ✭✭mooonpie


    Why are so many people from other counties so interested in the Kilkenny football team? :confused:
    Interest in weak footballers over weak hurlers?
    While the Tier-4 hurling counties would get destroyed by Tier-1 counties, they are for the most part competitive within their tier. Kilkenny footballers aren't.

    Interest specifically in Kilkenny football?
    Because the hurlers are so good! There must be players in the county that can't and won't get a look in at senior level hurling, but could still give football a decent lash.

    That and I guess everybody loves a good underdog story.
    Why are KK people so defensive on the subject, there is no other county that takes such regular hammerings without any sign of improvement,
    This is where hurling has to be mentioned in the argument though.
    The reason there's no improvement is there's such a big gap to bridge to become competitive. If you've to make a choice at minor level or earlier, you're going to play the sport that gives you the most chance of success. Kilkenny footballers have no peers to compete against, at least not at senior grade.
    Compare this to hurling where weaker counties can still aim to win against their peers. It may take the same time to reach the top tier as it'll take Kilkenny footballers, but they have a chance at success in the short-term.
    of course people will pass comment, just as they have passed comment on the fact that the KK hurling team is the greatest of all time, didnt hear you complaining about peoples interest in that. Cake and eat it comes to mind!
    In fairness ya don't hear people talking about the state of Roscommon or Mayo hurling after the footballers win provincial titles. There is a double standard at play


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 42 bcb1


    I think the clarification should really be made here that this is u21 football. I would ask what would the chances be for, say Leitrim u21 hurlers, against Kilkenny hurlers? Or even against say Wexford u21 hurlers?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,506 ✭✭✭✭dastardly00


    Why are KK people so defensive on the subject, there is no other county that takes such regular hammerings without any sign of improvement, of course people will pass comment.....

    To be honest, I don't think the KK people on here are that defensive on the subject of our football team getting hammered. There is no disputing that they get absolutely hammered nearly every time they take to the field. I'm not going to argue with anyone that our county football team is very very poor.

    But what tends to be an irritation is that alot of people seem to leap at the chance to make a comment in order to get a quick cheap shot in. Are people that envious of our success in hurling? If KK were a middle of a road hurling team, would this thread even exist? Would it be a topic of conversation with people from other counties? Perhaps those questions should have been in my opening post.

    The core group of lads who regularly take to the field and play football for the county do so because they enjoy playing the sport. But, they like hurling way more than football. And so they put a junior B hurling match, or even a hurling training session before football. What's wrong with that? IMO hurling is a far more exciting sport than football. It's even more exciting than soccer and rugby. Why would you want to play other sports when you can play the sport that you love the most. It doesn't matter at all if you're not going to be the next Henry Shefflin or even get near the senior panel.
    ....... just as they have passed comment on the fact that the KK hurling team is the greatest of all time, didnt hear you complaining about peoples interest in that. Cake and eat it comes to mind!

    That doesn't make sense at all. Firstly, why would KK people complain about other people passing comment about their success :confused: Secondly, there will always be more interest in, and comments made about successful teams than weak teams. Do the guys in the soccer forum chat about how bad Bradford City FC are doing in the N-Power League 2? Nope, they prefer to discuss how good Manchester City are doing this season.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27,349 ✭✭✭✭super_furry


    Listening to Off the Ball tonight and they claimed that the reason those 11 players didn't turn up was because there had been no training sessions orgainsed in the build-up to the game.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 159 ✭✭breffni666


    bruschi wrote: »
    could you propose what teams should be in a 'B' championship in football.

    Or anyone else for that matter.

    Ulster; Cavan, Fermanagh.
    Leinster; Kilkenny, Carlow, Wicklow, Longford, Louth
    Connaught; Leitrim, London, New York.
    Munster; Clare, Waterford.
    There is not a hope in hell of ANY of these counties winning anything of note in the near future so put them together in a championship. There are another 10 counties above them who will make league finals or provincial deciders but it would be 50/50 as to weather they would make a breakthrough and then there are the 10 or so at the top table every year or most years. They have the championship they deserve.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,506 ✭✭✭✭dastardly00


    Interest in weak footballers over weak hurlers?
    While the Tier-4 hurling counties would get destroyed by Tier-1 counties, they are for the most part competitive within their tier. Kilkenny footballers aren't.

    Interest specifically in Kilkenny football?
    Because the hurlers are so good! There must be players in the county that can't and won't get a look in at senior level hurling, but could still give football a decent lash.

    That and I guess everybody loves a good underdog story.

    I was referring to the bolded bit above. You've basically answered my own question, in that a lot of people from other counties are only interested in the state of Kilkenny football because we are so successful at hurling.
    But it doesn't matter to KK people if they aren't going to get a look in at senior level hurling, they still want to go outside and puck the ball around. That's just the way it is down here.


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