All-Ireland SFC Semi-Final - Dublin -v- Kerry

dats_right

And so it begins...

Oasis_Dublin

Not for another two weeks I think

ProudDUB

Gonna be a looooooonnnnnng two weeks !

cocoman

If ye win who would ye prefer to play? Mayo or Tyrone?

ProudDUB

I think it will be Mayo, but I'd prefer if it was Tyrone.

The_Kew_Tour

Never write off Kerry, but on form its Dublin by 4-6 points for me.

Amprodude

It will be close and expecting a repeat of 2009 from Kerry. The question is can Dublin use their advantages of pace and fitness to burn out Kerry? We wait and see.

Poor_old_gill

Amprodude wrote: »

It will be close and expecting a repeat of 2009 from Kerry. The question is can Dublin use their advantages of pace and fitness to burn out Kerry? We wait and see.

You think that Kerry will win by close to 20 points??

Always_Running

Watching the last few games Dublin are missing plenty of goal opportunities and are also giving away plenty scoring opportunities. Kerry are better defensively than any side they have faced so far and their forward line will hardly miss the chances that Meath,Cork did.

Slight shock on the cards Kerry by 2.

Stinicker

Kerry to win and the words of the pundits the Monday morning after will be shock and awe, write off the Kingdom at your peril!

The_Kew_Tour

Kerry have been very quiet all summer it has to be said.

Thats when they are most dangerous.

Still think Dublin will win. Home support advantage too.

klairondavis

Kerry are well used to playing in Croke Park and having most of the crowd against them. They thrive in that environment if anything.

Amprodude

klairondavis wrote: »

Kerry are well used to playing in Croke Park and having most of the crowd against them. They thrive in that environment if anything.

Well the team has to be good enough also. I hope Dublin dont freeze but i dont expect them to play their best football against Kerry which i would be worried about. Unknown Kerry are lethal.

Amprodude

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

You think that Kerry will win by close to 20 points??

If they turn on the style they very well could.

I just dont trust Dublin to deliver against Kerry.

Poor_old_gill

Amprodude wrote: »

If they turn on the style they very well could.

I just dont trust Dublin to deliver against Kerry.

I will bet you any amount of money that Kerry will not win by a margin of more than 10 points!

This thread seems to be the 'lets play not over-hype Dublin as it may affect them' thread.
They wont pay much heed to what's on a forum so there's no need.

All this stuff about a quiet Kerry is idiotic aswell, as if it is some kind of tactic! Kerry obviously have an outside chance but are a poor incarnation of the team from 2 years ago which lost to Dublin.
It is a previously very strong Kerry team in terminal decline coupled with some very good young players who aren't there yet.

Dublin will win by about 4 points as too much would have to go Kerry's way.

I find all the talk of Kerry "coming in under the radar" to be laughable- how can anyone come in under the radar to a semi-final especially a team that was in the final only 2 years ago.

DoctaDee

Ah who cares the winners will be only cannon fodder for Mayo anyways :rolleyes:

Moneymaker

Don't think Kerry have shown their hand yet to be honest.

I'm confident, but cautious. It's never so simple as turn up and win when its Dublin and Kerry.

keane2097

All depends on Dublin really. Dublin have literally missed about five good goal chances per game in the Championship this year. Kerry are better in defence than Cork but I still expect Dublin to create plenty of goal chances. If they continue to have a dire output on that front it will be very close, if they manage to put a few of them away it won't.

Oasis_Dublin

keane2097 wrote: »

All depends on Dublin really. Dublin have literally missed about five good goal chances per game in the Championship this year. Kerry are better in defence than Cork but I still expect Dublin to create plenty of goal chances. If they continue to have a dire output on that front it will be very close, if they manage to put a few of them away it won't.

I think that's a pretty good assessment of the game. Kerry should win midfield, and I definitely think that the Dublin defence can leak goals. Kerry will do what Meath did and attempt to rile up Dublin's loose cannons (Connolly and Brennan).

Dublin's attack should be able to create chances though. Bernard Brogan has been criticised in the Championship this year, but he is winning plenty of possession. He just needs to get his confidence up a bit in terms of shooting.

corny

Kerry will need to hit the net more than twice to win i'd imagine. With their attackers and our defenders thats not as far fetched as you might think. Having said that, Dublins far greater mobility and energy around the park should win the match. Dublin by 4.

DoctaDee

Pretty much agree with all thats gone before here. I think Dublin will do what they have been doing so far- score a lot but cough up a lot of chances too. My fear from a Dublin perspective would be that the Kerry forward line will take a lot more of their chances than Meath or Cork did. I don't know whether Fitzmaurice will play Donaghy on the edge of the square or not and hit the long ball in - O'Carroll is well equipped to deal with that ploy as he never really seeks to catch the ball rather break it out. The concern I'd have from the Cork match is the over reliance on the corner backs - Cooper/O'Brien to tidy up the breaking ball, where previously the half backs were detailed to do so. This to my mind would be the primary area Gooch Sullys x2 and Walsh will look to bag the goals from.

The flow of the game I feel will be dictated by the start Kerry make - if like in their previous games they get an early jump and settle into a defensive mode to protect 5-7 points the writing is on the wall. Lessons learned from the 2011 final and some of the negative tactics borrowed from other teams will ensure that Dublin wont be allowed get up a head of steam. If Kerry can get to 50 mins with a decent advantage and use their replacements astutely, they'll win. The Dublin game isn't set up for long range points against a packed defence and I feel a motivated and hardworking defensive plan will win out for the kingdom.

On the other hand if Dublin can convert 50% of their goal chances which on average number 5-8 a game - and there's no reason to think they wont exploit a few gaps in Kerrys defence, they are an unstoppable force in open play. So if the game remains an open affair and Kerry need to keep players in attacking areas Dublin may well repeat the handout given in Killarney in February. Ta

seligehgit

I am expecting Dublin to win by a few points.

Ed Winchester

One of these days Bernard Brogan will click and Dublin will start converting a few of the umpteen goal chances they create every match. It might happen against Kerry, it might not. But it is coming IMO. I fancy Dublin to win by 4/5 points.

keane2097

Ed Winchester wrote: »

One of these days Bernard Brogan will click and Dublin will start converting a few of the umpteen goal chances they create every match. It might happen against Kerry, it might not. But it is coming IMO. I fancy Dublin to win by 4/5 points.

Not convinced by that. Think he played above himself in 2010. He's been pretty solidly in the mediocre camp for two years now that even the odd massive performance wouldn't make me think he's all that good. At some stage we have to match the level of performance with our perception of how good a player he's meant to be. Personally thought he should have been dropped pretty early on this year, Dublin's forwards on the bench are way too good to be putting up with passengers.

Ed Winchester

keane2097 wrote: »

Not convinced by that. Think he played above himself in 2010. He's been pretty solidly in the mediocre camp for two years now that even the odd massive performance wouldn't make me think he's all that good. At some stage we have to match the level of performance with our perception of how good a player he's meant to be. Personally thought he should have been dropped pretty early on this year, Dublin's forwards on the bench are way too good to be putting up with passengers.

I have to disagree. Berno is one of the best forwards in the country. He's playing a different game this year on Gavins instruction. He's working a lot harder for the team than ever before. Plus he's having a little bit of a confidence crisis when shooting. But class is permanent. I've no doubt in my mind at all that he'll be back shooting the lights out again.

Poor_old_gill

Ed Winchester wrote: »

I have to disagree. Berno is one of the best forwards in the country. He's playing a different game this year on Gavins instruction. He's working a lot harder for the team than ever before. Plus he's having a little bit of a confidence crisis when shooting. But class is permanent. I've no doubt in my mind at all that he'll be back shooting the lights out again.

How long does a player need to be having a crisis of confidence for people to realise that maybe he isn't that good. I would have thought that 2 seasons would be sufficient.

There are much bigger threats in the Dublin forward line that Brogan

DoctaDee

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

How long does a player need to be having a crisis of confidence for people to realise that maybe he isn't that good. I would have thought that 2 seasons would be sufficient.

There are much bigger threats in the Dublin forward line that Brogan

We're bolloxed so ... I take it we're no longer a 1 man team then ? Tired listening to these diverse opinions of either he's an ordinary player or we're a one man team .. and him opening supermarkets is effecting his form

Ed Winchester

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

How long does a player need to be having a crisis of confidence for people to realise that maybe he isn't that good. I would have thought that 2 seasons would be sufficient.

There are much bigger threats in the Dublin forward line that Brogan

I just can't agree. The guy is phenomenal.

Poor_old_gill

DoctaDee wrote: »

We're bolloxed so ... I take it we're no longer a 1 man team then ? Tired listening to these diverse opinions of either he's an ordinary player or we're a one man team .. and him opening supermarkets is effecting his form

Who says that Dublin are a one man team?

MDM
Cluxton
Flynn
Mannion
O Sullivan
McCarthy
Kilkenny
Brennan

There are a list of players who are easily more important to Dublin than Brogan- there's probably more

Also I think you mentioning supermarkets is trivialising the situation- the GAA has tried to up it's media profile greatly in the last few years and Brogan has been pushed as the poster boy of this. It clearly has affected his performances as they dwindled a ridiculous amount in the last couple of years, so its reasonable to assume that he has let the media attention go to his head.

Poor_old_gill

Ed Winchester wrote: »

I just can't agree. The guy is phenomenal.

He can be very good when he hits form, like the majority of other intercounty forwards.
When did he last play phenomenally?

He has been mediocre for 2 years now- that's not a drop in form- he had a run where he put in some very good performances but he has reverted to the mean now and to be honest he is struggling to keep his place in the Dublin team

DoctaDee

You don't have to do too much searching thru the forums to find countless "opinions" of BB being the 1 man team ... stop BB stop Dublin is the old chestnut. I'd agree that they're far from a 1 man tean FWIW. I don't know whether you and others post regarding BB to illicit some response from Dubs - but anyone down in Killarney last February will understand that Bernard was far from being an ordinary player

I've previously posted this year that they should consider dropping BB, as his performances were poor and his play was detracting from the overall teamwork ... but that doesn't judge him in any respects as an ordinary player