Unpopular GAA opinion - MOD Note #426

cms88

What are your unpopular GAA opinions? Can be about anything players, teams etc

One of mine is i'v never understood the hype around Peter Canavan. He was good but i never thought he was anything else

Fr Tod Umptious

Not sure how unpopular this is or whether it even belongs in this thread but here goes.

As I Mayo fans I no longer am disappointed when they lose All Ireland finals.

For the last 6 years they have supplied so much entertainment that the final result no longer matters so much.

2017 really taught me that.

Sure if they win I'll lose my mind, but for now I am grateful to be living and enjoying this era of Mayo football.

Oh yeah and on a side note, I'm not sure what is more overrated, hurling or Ulster football.

BonnieSituation

Kerry Kerry something something Kerry

LeinsterDub

All my GAA opinions are unpopular as they are expressed by a Dub and as such considered by many to be instantly wrong

TrueGael

Dublin 'GAA fans' and the cheerleaders in the Dublin media refuse to accept that they have any advantage over everyone else and any hint of a different opinion means only one thing - you are a Bitter Bleedin Culchie'

blanch152

David Clarke will always mess up a kickout in a crucial game.

Cillian O'Connor will nail a free to equalise but miss a free to win.

ProudDUB

TrueGael wrote: »

Dublin 'GAA fans' and the cheerleaders in the Dublin media refuse to accept that they have any advantage over everyone else and any hint of a different opinion means only one thing - you are a Bitter Bleedin Culchie'

Oh, we have no problem at all admitting that our devestating good looks, urbane wit, winning charm, stunning intelligence and limitless coddle recipies, give us a massive advantage over everyone else.

Slattsy

This thread isn't going to last long.

dobman88

It's fantastic to see Mayo lose year after year. Their fans full of hope all summer and heartbreak every August/September. The picture of Lee Keegan crying his eyes out after this year's final was a sight to behold

MarinersBlues

The football league is the best competition the gaa have. They should scrap the championship and make the league home and away.

Have the provincials midweek.

ProudDUB

dobman88 wrote: »

It's fantastic to see Mayo lose year after year. Their fans full of hope all summer and heartbreak every August/September. The picture of Lee Keegan crying his eyes out after this year's final was a sight to behold

Must resist the urge......:D

corny

1. I don't rate Lee Keegan as highly as everyone else.

2. I hate the clapping at predetermined times during matches. Contrived and more about showing the world you're socially concious than commemorating or making a point. (i mightn't be alone on this one)

3. Mayo are a brilliant side that in any other era would have won multiple All Irelands.

4. Acting like a scumbag is not part of the game.

5. There's no such thing as the Dublin media and most GAA media sources are blatantly anti Dublin.

Bonniedog

The clapping bit is getting a bit tiresome now. Tribute to Monty a few years ago was nice as he used travel the country to follow the footballers. Cant even recall what the last one was for.

Stoner

corny wrote:

2. I hate the clapping at predetermined times during matches. Contrived and more about showing the world you're socially concious than commemorating or making a point. (i mightn't be alone on this one)

I think in all fairness you can remove this one, the vast majority here agree

Bret Hart

blanch152 wrote: »

David Clarke will always mess up a kickout in a crucial game.

Cillian O'Connor will nail a free to equalise but miss a free to win.

Cillian is guilty of both offences.

ProudDUB

Slattsy wrote: »

This thread isn't going to last long.

I dunno. It has potential. It's always good to see sacred cows getting knocked off their pedestals & herd mentality, lazy cliches being challenged.

But yeah....if it turns into yet another thread about structures, or Dublin resources, or dem durty Nordies, or whatever Dubs and Mayo folk are squabbling about on any given day (because God knows, it's always feckin' SOMETHING, ) or black cards, or Joe Brolly's latest rant....then yeah, that'll get old in a hurry.

bobbysands81

cms88 wrote: »

What are your unpopular GAA opinions? Can be about anything players, teams etc

One of mine is i'v never understood the hype around Peter Canavan. He was good but i never thought he was anything else

Michael Dara McAuley is not a great footballer and shouldn’t be on Dublin Panel.

As for him winning Footballer of the Year??? My God...

ProudDUB

bobbysands81 wrote: »

Michael Dara McAuley is not a great footballer and shouldn’t be on Dublin Panel.

As for him winning Footballer of the Year??? My God...

He ain't the prettiest to watch in full flight & you aren't going to find many Dubs willing to argue that he is a match for Colm Cooper in the silky skills department. His best days are probably behind him too. However, he played a massive role in all 3 of the points that Cormac Costello scored off the bench in last years All Ireland final. He won the balls, made the runs and created the space that the very physically slight Costello could not do on his own. Whatever you think about watching him play, we wouldn't have won the 2016 All Ireland without McAuley & that's good enough for me.

StupidLikeAFox

Structures.

The world and their mother all have their own structure. People post their own idea here on a regular enough basis. Every year we hear the same ****. Champions league format, keep the league, scrap the league, keep the provinces, re arrange the provinces, I like Joe brollys structure, I like the Jim mcguinness structure, **** OFF WITH YOUR STRUCTURES!!!

And also this old chestnut:
"This structure does nothing for the weaker counties"

I think the super 8 system is good because we will see more games at the business end of the championship, they will also be spread around the country. How somebody thinks that messing around with a structure will prevent the bad teams going out first, and the middle teams lasting a bit longer and the top teams playing in the semI finals/ finals is beyond me. If carlow want to get to an AI final they better start working hard because no structure can or should give them an easier route than anybody else

Stoner

If we'd lost this year serious questions would be asked as to why he didn't come on.
He won the final off the bench last year feeding Costello for three points, he carried the ball up to him and gave an easy offload.

He is very very effective for Dublin, I agree he's not the most graceful, but he's the only player Dublin have with the juice for the Mayo and Kerry midfielders. He might not be as valuable to other county teams.

He's style is certainly unorthodox, but effective

https://youtu.be/8HUGMBu-rTI

Edit missed the post above with the same point in it




.

judeboy101

I can't stand mayo or mayo fans and i hope they never win the all Ireland. Now don't get me wrong, I've loads of friends from mayo, nicest people ever, but something happens to them when they get together and become collectively 'Mayo' that annoys me.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Omackeral

It's a disrespectful disgrace that Kilkenny don't field a football team.

LooseCannonUF

People who call supporters fans

DoctaDee

Slattsy wrote: »

This thread isn't going to last long.

Ah let's wait and see Slatts, I'd like to think I'll get a few cards and a ban or 2 out of it, my numbers are brutal this year

judeboy101

LooseCannonUF wrote: »

People who call supporters fans

Anyone who asked for autograph or asked for a selfie has crossed the border from supporter and entered the realm of fandom.

WesternZulu

I'm going to say something that is sacrilege in GAA - Football is a better all round game than hurling.

For some reason in the GAA it's almost accepted that football is the ugly duckling of the family and you can't say a bad word about hurling.
You'd rarely hear pundits say a game of hurling is bad, while even the best game of football will be micro-analysed in a demeaning way. As for the championships themselves, when there are so few top hurling teams of course the hurling championship will appear to be better than a 33 county football championship where at least a third of the teams can't compete.

Hurling of course is a skillful game, but is it so much more skillful than football than many would like you to believe - I'm not so sure. I'd argue once you are have the basics of both that football is harder to play. It's undeniably harder to score in football - even as a Mayo man I would be more accurate with a hurl than a football. Tactics also play a more important role in football and it's one of the most fascinating parts of the game.

I enjoy hurling but nothing riles me as much as a hurling snob.

jr86

Scrap the Provincial and All Ireland Club Series. There are already way too many matches on the calendar, leave it at County Championships only

The only thing stopping Dublin winning the next 5+ All Irelands is themselves

cms88

Another of mine is this. The championship shouldn't be changed around to suit ''weaker counties''. IMO they had their change to improve themselves with the Tommy Murphy Cup and didn't take it.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

tritium

This Dublin side is an exceptional, once in a generation bunch who win based on ability and skill.

Bonniedog

bobbysands81 wrote: »

Michael Dara McAuley is not a great footballer and shouldn’t be on Dublin Panel.

As for him winning Footballer of the Year??? My God...

Dublin would not have beaten Kerry in 2011 or 2013 had it not been for MDM. Fact!

His best days may be behind him but he is phenomenal athlete. Plays a similar role to AOS arguably - neither are good at the oul scoring! but do a lot of the "heavy lifting" that leads to scores- but I would say he has been far more valuable to Dublin than AOS to Mayo. He has been key to winning big games by putting himself on the line.

Mehapoy

Gaelic football is a made up bastardised version of soccer and rugby, made up only to entice the rural soccer and rugby teams into gaelic games...was a pity it was ever invented as we may have had decent soccer and rugby teams...hurling is an actual games with solid roots in the country

MayoAreMagic

1. Hurling is actually a poor sporting spectacle. Any sport where the main tactic of both teams is to drive it in close to the opposition scoring zone and hope you get a break in there is a very limited sport and not in fact entertaining. Northern hemisphere rugby falls into the same category. Soccer and gaelic football are better than both.

2. The famed skill required for hurling is only applicable when learning the game. Once this has been done, scoring in hurling is actually far easier than football.

3. The models developing counties should be aiming to follow are Tyrone, Mayo and Kerry rather than Dublin, as nobody can actually copy Dublin's structures because Dublin is set up completely differently to the rest.

4. Splitting Dublin would be great for the gaa, Dublin included. We'd have AI finals with 2 Dublin teams within 8 years.

5. The GAA is held back by people who are only interested in their own county winning the all Ireland and an outside body would be a great move.

6. Joe Brolly hasn't much of an idea about football.

7. Pat McEneany isn't doing a good job.

8. The black card is a good thing, the issue is it isn't working is because refs are afraid to make a mistake on big calls, and this is what needs to be addressed. The sin bin would fall on the same sword.

Bonniedog

Mehapoy wrote: »

Gaelic football is a made up bastardised version of soccer and rugby, made up only to entice the rural soccer and rugby teams into gaelic games...was a pity it was ever invented as we may have had decent soccer and rugby teams...hurling is an actual games with solid roots in the country

You might read some history old chap!

Gaelic football is based on older game called cáid which was played for hundreds of years before there was any such thing as soccer and rugby, whose own rules only predate GAA by ten years.

Most cultures have football type games and have influenced one another to some degree or other, but to claim that gaelic football is "bastardized version of soccer and rugby" is just plain historically inaccurate. In fact it could be just as easily claimed that English invaders brought cáid back to that kip


If there was no soccer then GAA might be a lot stronger in places like Louth and Wicklow.

Gael85

cms88 wrote: »

What are your unpopular GAA opinions? Can be about anything players, teams etc

One of mine is i'v never understood the hype around Peter Canavan. He was good but i never thought he was anything else

Excellent thread but have to disagree on Canavan. Carried that Tyrone on his own pre Mickey Harte era. Wouldn't have won 03-05 without him. His composure with the late free against Armagh 05 and goal against Kerry in same year were moments of class. Nearly won 95 AI on his own against Dublin.

Gambas

Token use of the Irish language and Irish nationalism no longer have any place in the GAA.

MayoAreMagic

Gael85 wrote: »

Excellent thread but have to disagree on Canavan. Carried that Tyrone on his own pre Mickey Harte era. Wouldn't have won 03-05 without him. His composure with the late free against Armagh 05 and goal against Kerry in same year were moments of class. Nearly won 95 AI on his own against Dublin.

Well true but Dublin wouldn't have won a couple of all irelands without Kevin McManamon, it doesn't mean he himself is a great player though.
The thing with Canavan that has to be factored in is the team revolved around him a lot of the time, so you have a kind of a Robbie Keane for Ireland effect going on there. He is of course a top class forward, but Id rate Sean Cavanagh higher myself.

Hammer Archer

Here we go:
Going way back, but Meath and Kildare were the best two teams in the country in 1997. Had either team won game number 1 in the three game saga, I feel they would have won the All Ireland.
Liam McHale 100% deserved to be sent off in the 1996 replay and Mayo fans should have actually criticized him for needlessly getting involved so blatantly and potentially costing them the All Ireland instead of McEnaney.

At the moment, there are quite a number of Dublin fans (mostly online) who take any sort of criticism of their team like it's a personal insult and generally resort to a sort of "I know you are, but what am I?" line of defence.
More generally, fans have become so tribal that they will spit bile at an opposition player for an offence while tying themselves in knots to defend their own players for the same offence.

The national anthem before games should be done away with unless it's before a final. People murmuring through it during an O'Byrne Cup game in January doesn't exactly show it respect.

Mod hat on (this'll probably be another unpopular opinion): Please remember that the rules still apply. No abuse of players. And don't take any opinions too personally. It's in the name of the thread: Unpopular opinions.

kilns

Mayo didnt deserve as many All Stars as they got
The fact that Mayo won 4 all stars in defence while at the same time Mayo conceded 8 goals and David Clarke was deemed to be the busiest goalkeeper of all those nominated and therefore got the goalkeeper position.  One contradicts the other.

Bonniedog

Would agree with anthem being kept for big games. Embarrassing to hear it being butchered by some 16 year old girl who doesn't even know the words.

Dicksboro players didn't even bother standing for last verse in Parnell Park! Lots of ways to insult the anthem.

MfMan

How good a player really was Shefflin? Struggling to think of more than a small few games where he made a distinct difference. Seems his presence alone got him a higher rating than he deserved. In a fit of revisionism, I'd have DJ in his pomp far ahead of him.

tastyt

Eoin kelly from tipp was a far better player than shefflin and in my opinion the best forward of the last 25 years.

Had he been born only a few miles up the road in Kilkenny I dont think theyd have lost an all Ireland in ten years

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

tastyt

Most good hurling managers could have done what brian cody did with the players he had

Martina1991

kilns wrote: »

Mayo didnt deserve as many All Stars as they got
The fact that Mayo won 4 all stars in defence while at the same time Mayo conceded 8 goals and David Clarke was deemed to be the busiest goalkeeper of all those nominated and therefore got the goalkeeper position.  One contradicts the other.

Which all stars would you take back then?

Chris Barrett has improved massively moving from corner back to making number 6 his own. He was even nominated for MOTM in the final for the amount of ball he turned over.

Keith Higgins has been consistently a top defender for years. Still has impressive pace given the fact hes over 30.

Colm Boyle had (IMO) the year of his life. Put in huge performances in every game and I think should have been nominated for POTY over Clarke.

Bonniedog

tastyt wrote: »

Eoin kelly from tipp was a far better player than shefflin and in my opinion the best forward of the last 25 years.

Had he been born only a few miles up the road in Kilkenny I dont think theyd have lost an all Ireland in ten years

Henry has scoring average of 7.5 per game to Kelly's 6.3.

I believe that answers your question!

8 compared to 6.7 in championship.

Ring's championship average was 4.7. And of course Henry won more AIs and played more games. Difficult to see how his status could be questioned.

MayoAreMagic

Martina1991 wrote: »

Which all stars would you take back then?

Chris Barrett has improved massively moving from corner back to making number 6 his own. He was even nominated for MOTM in the final for the amount of ball he turned over.

Keith Higgins has been consistently a top defender for years. Still has impressive pace given the fact hes over 30.

Colm Boyle had (IMO) the year of his life. Put in huge performances in every game and I think should have been nominated for POTY over Clarke.

Fully agree. Harrison had a great season too. While Vaughan pre-lash out was going well also.
Mayo go full on man for man a lot of the time, so the opposition will create more chances, but defenders will be more eye-catching too.

MayoAreMagic

Bonniedog wrote: »

Henry has scoring average of 7.5 per game to Kelly's 6.3.

I believe that answers your question!

8 compared to 6.7 in championship.

Ring's championship average was 4.7. And of course Henry won more AIs and played more games. Difficult to see how his status could be questioned.

Surely that depends on your team too though?
Declan Browne never kicked a point in an all Ireland final, but he was far superior to plenty that did.

cyrils foxpit

MayoAreMagic wrote: »

Surely that depends on your team too though?
Declan Browne never kicked a point in an all Ireland final, but he was far superior to plenty that did.

that makes Eoin Kellys stats look even better, when you consider for most of Kellys career he was part of the worst Tipp Team in a generation compared to Shefflin being in what is considered the greatest side of all time !!!

theoneeyedman

Martina1991 wrote: »

Which all stars would you take back then?

Chris Barrett has improved massively moving from corner back to making number 6 his own. He was even nominated for MOTM in the final for the amount of ball he turned over.

Keith Higgins has been consistently a top defender for years. Still has impressive pace given the fact hes over 30.

Colm Boyle had (IMO) the year of his life. Put in huge performances in every game and I think should have been nominated for POTY over Clarke.

Then Barrett should have been nominated at 6 not at corner back. These Mayo backs got the awards based on their attacking and not their defence, plus a fair smattering of pity voting.