Wooly’s Joe.ie GAA hour

Dots1982

Might seem like an odd time to start a discussion on this as the season is almost over but can be a retrospective discussion for now over their coverage of the season. I’ll be talking about the football part of it.

What i like:
Wooly throws forth opinions and calls out people like nobody’s business.
He’s the best GAA interviewer there is i believe
The show always goes out, they don’t make excuses for such and such on holiday and they get it out at a consistent time of the day
Wooly’s personality and sense of humor; hes not over jokey or over serious. Keeps a nice balance, has a good voice and delivery.

What I don’t like
I tune out mostly for Wooly’s tactical insights which i find to be high on conviction and short on being actually true and relevant
Wooly’s can take a cut at intercounty managers a little too liberally. Give it a shot yourself wooly if you can do better than the best.
Wooly has a bit of Howard stern about him in that his co workers seem pressured to agree with him.
Mix up the pundits a bit. Stevie McDonnell isnt terrible but there’s a smell of bluff off a lot he says. Getting a little tried.
Lost the Paul Galvin soundbed, lose it now.

Ultimately its a good show but wooly is the show’s best asset but also is the show’s producer so he may have a little too free reign.

Thoughts?

steve_r

Yeah I like it. Re your points

- He wants the show to be "edgy" and draw a little heat. I think some of his opinions are exaggerated to generate debate/reaction

- He is very consistent with putting out the show and I think that's really worked in his favour.

- He uses ex-players predominately as contributors - maybe Joe requires that he only access certain journalists so his hands may be tied a bit on that front. I'd agree though I'd like to see him freshen that up.


- The interviews are very good. He will ask an uncomfortable question, but not in a "gotcha" way - he actually wants an answer and will listen to it. The one with Diarmuid Connelly is very good - happy to challenge Connelly on his opinions - but respected him at the same time. The one with Donaghy recently was not adverserial but interesting all the same.

- I like the humour - doesn't come accross as forced. Soundbeds in general I don't like, they get old very quickly.

Overall I like it a lot, and I like having a dedicated GAA podcast. I don't listen to SC/Off the Ball etc so can't compare it with what they do.

Ciaran_B

It’s an excellent pod and there must be a huge amount of work that goes into it. I listen mostly to the hurling show and as much as I love hurling they drag the arse out of the analysis sometimes. I can’t stand the use of nicknames though, Wooly this and Cheddar that. No adult should be referred to by a nickname! He’s a very good interviewer.

I don’t listen to every episode and I think it could be edited down to maybe 35-40 minutes without losing anything. But if I never hear that ‘goat eating a pallet’ story again I’ll be happy.

Pidae.m

Ciaran_B wrote: »

It’s an excellent pod and there must be a huge amount of work that goes into it. I listen mostly to the hurling show and as much as I love hurling they drag the arse out of the analysis sometimes. I can’t stand the use of nicknames though, Wooly this and Cheddar that. No adult should be referred to by a nickname! He’s a very good interviewer.

I don’t listen to every episode and I think it could be edited down to maybe 35-40 minutes without losing anything. But if I never hear that ‘goat eating a pallet’ story again I’ll be happy.

It's a donkey eating the pallet.....
The worst ear worm is the... Wake up waaake up

He can be a sickened at times but overall the podcast is outstanding

dr.kenneth noisewater

Like the show on the most part and has some good guests on but those jingles/fillers are absolutely terrible

dog_pig

The podcast's generally good but I think they let themselves down with some of their 'tactical' analysis before and after the final.

Dots1982

dog_pig wrote: »

The podcast's generally good but I think they let themselves down with some of their 'tactical' analysis before and after the final.

How do you mean?

I think Wooly gets carried away with himself on the tactical stuff.

To illustrate he was lauding cork ahead of the Munster final talking about how well they were “set-up”.

What somehow didn’t seemed to come into his thinking was that Cork don’t have any good footballers right now.

Tactics play apart but it is still is largely about the players you have and wooly occasionally forgets this.

steve_r

I was listening to a basketball podcast before and one of the guys on just said "the team with the best players generally wins - it sounds simplistic but its generally true".

As well as the Cork game, Wooly also hyped up Galway more than they deserved.

I think sports media have a need to "big up" games and make them seem more competitive and close than they actually are - they need something to talk about so sometimes they stray from reality.

Dots1982

Wooly at his best for yesterday’s pod.

No mealy mouthing just straight talk.

dog_pig

Dots1982 wrote: »

How do you mean?

I think Wooly gets carried away with himself on the tactical stuff.

To illustrate he was lauding cork ahead of the Munster final talking about how well they were “set-up”.

What somehow didn’t seemed to come into his thinking was that Cork don’t have any good footballers right now.

Tactics play apart but it is still is largely about the players you have and wooly occasionally forgets this.

They spent nearly half the episode before the football final ridiculing potential tactical approaches for dealing with Dublin, written by journalists. No insight was offered beyond "this sounds stupid" and whether it was just Wooly being OTT or not, neither of the other contributors offered any counterpoint. No alternatives were suggested to these approaches (the only ones mentioned in the entire show.)

After the final, no mention of any sort of tactical analysis beyond Wooly saying "Nothing wrong with Tyrone’s tactics, they’re leaving enough lads up front, Dublin are just a better team with match winners all over the field." That's the type of thing you'd expect to hear from RTE, not from a usually well made podcast.

dr.kenneth noisewater

Mayo ladies manager Peter Leahy on the show this week, should make for interesting listening

Kingp35

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

Mayo ladies manager Peter Leahy on the show this week, should make for interesting listening

It was a good interview and great to finally hear at least one side of the story. It doesn't sound good for the Carnacon cohort who seem to have been unhappy with the fact they were different players starting games. It's up to them to come out now and give their side of the story.

With accusations that there was an unsafe atmosphere around the team, Leahy had no choice but to come out and speak as it's essentially a character assassination on him.

Dots1982

dog_pig wrote: »

Dots1982 wrote: »

How do you mean?

I think Wooly gets carried away with himself on the tactical stuff.

To illustrate he was lauding cork ahead of the Munster final talking about how well they were “set-up”.

What somehow didn’t seemed to come into his thinking was that Cork don’t have any good footballers right now.

Tactics play apart but it is still is largely about the players you have and wooly occasionally forgets this.

They spent nearly half the episode before the football final ridiculing potential tactical approaches for dealing with Dublin, written by journalists. No insight was offered beyond "this sounds stupid" and whether it was just Wooly being OTT or not, neither of the other contributors offered any counterpoint. No alternatives were suggested to these approaches (the only ones mentioned in the entire show.)

After the final, no mention of any sort of tactical analysis beyond Wooly saying "Nothing wrong with Tyrone’s tactics, they’re leaving enough lads up front, Dublin are just a better team with match winners all over the field." That's the type of thing you'd expect to hear from RTE, not from a usually well made podcast.

Ah, wouldn’t agree, the all ireland final for me was basically man city playing Everton. One team playing at a completely different level to another and a game that was completed at half time.

They could have analyzed Dublin and how they have changed the game but that’s just the way I see it. Tyrone were never going to win no matter what they did IMO.

dog_pig

Dots1982 wrote: »

Ah, wouldn’t agree, the all ireland final for me was basically man city playing Everton. One team playing at a completely different level to another and a game that was completed at half time.

They could have analyzed Dublin and how they have changed the game but that’s just the way I see it. Tyrone were never going to win no matter what they did IMO.

You wouldn't agree with what? I don't understand what you mean.

Dots1982

dog_pig wrote: »

Dots1982 wrote: »

Ah, wouldn’t agree, the all ireland final for me was basically man city playing Everton. One team playing at a completely different level to another and a game that was completed at half time.

They could have analyzed Dublin and how they have changed the game but that’s just the way I see it. Tyrone were never going to win no matter what they did IMO.

You wouldn't agree with what? I don't understand what you mean.

Sorry, what I mean is I wouldn’t think Tyrone vs Dublin was worth analyzing deeply in terms of tactics. I think there was a chasm between the levels both teams operate at. So basically I wouldn’t agree with your post that suggested their tactical analysis was too simplistic or dumb.

boggerman1

I personally think wooly's podcast is the best gaa one out at the minute.I'm a fully signed up hurling snob as he likes to call us but its all in good fun.wooly was very good when on off the ball and in my own opinion he's never been properly replaced on it.kilbane ok but only in small doses

dog_pig

Dots1982 wrote: »

Sorry, what I mean is I wouldn’t think Tyrone vs Dublin was worth analyzing deeply in terms of tactics. I think there was a chasm between the levels both teams operate at. So basically I wouldn’t agree with your post that suggested their tactical analysis was too simplistic or dumb.

Well I mean in the preview show they spent a significant amount of time on the tactical approaches I mentioned. If as you say there was no point in analysing the tactics then why was a lot of the preview show spent on that topic?

Surely it would imbue some responsibility on them to revisit those approaches given that what Tyrone employed, which Wooly stated there was nothing wrong with, resulted in Dublin leading very comfortably for the last 60 minutes of the game despite Tyrone's success early on.

I think your point about it being comparable to Manchester City vs. Everton only reinforces the need for a tactical setup to give the less-capable team a chance at parity. To me your way of looking at this is fairly reductive, there are countless examples across sport where some form of novel approach by the team seen as inferior has led to unexpected victories. If you applied your logic elsewhere then everyone would play on the terms of the superior teams and these underdog victories would be less frequent.

You mentioned that you don't agree with me that the analysis was "too simplistic or dumb." I never actually said, my point is that they didn't do any at all.

Dots1982

dog_pig wrote: »

Dots1982 wrote: »

Sorry, what I mean is I wouldn’t think Tyrone vs Dublin was worth analyzing deeply in terms of tactics. I think there was a chasm between the levels both teams operate at. So basically I wouldn’t agree with your post that suggested their tactical analysis was too simplistic or dumb.

Well I mean in the preview show they spent a significant amount of time on the tactical approaches I mentioned. If as you say there was no point in analysing the tactics then why was a lot of the preview show spent on that topic?

Surely it would imbue some responsibility on them to revisit those approaches given that what Tyrone employed, which Wooly stated there was nothing wrong with, resulted in Dublin leading very comfortably for the last 60 minutes of the game despite Tyrone's success early on.

I think your point about it being comparable to Manchester City vs. Everton only reinforces the need for a tactical setup to give the less-capable team a chance at parity. To me your way of looking at this is fairly reductive, there are countless examples across sport where some form of novel approach by the team seen as inferior has led to unexpected victories. If you applied your logic elsewhere then everyone would play on the terms of the superior teams and these underdog victories would be less frequent.

You mentioned that you don't agree with me that the analysis was "too simplistic or dumb." I never actually said, my point is that they didn't do any at all.

A lot to take in there. Look, I think Tyrone were never going to beat Dublin realistically and I think the match showed that. The absolute ceiling Tyrone could play would could not beat Dublin unless Dublin had a man sent off early doors.

Therefore I think it was pointless to talk about tactics at length after the game. Tyrone played reasonably well tactically, their full back line held up reasonably well most of the game to ball kicked into it. Dublin penetrated it through one poor Tyrone kick out and Dublin’s quick thinking. They were just outclassed.

Jim mcguinness’s plan to beat Dublin was total and utter ****e. It should never have made it to print imo.

If wooly talked about tactics to beat Dublin before the game then I’ve forgotten that discussion. As I remember they pretty much wrote off any chance of Tyrone winning, said they might get within the handicap (which they did) and talked about matchups.

dr.kenneth noisewater

Jesus it was tedious stuff listening to them discuss the new rule changes, like two auld lads bickering in a pub at 1am

dr.kenneth noisewater

Jesus it was tedious stuff listening to them discuss the new rule changes, like two auld lads bickering in a pub at 1am

Dots1982

Bloody tedious alright. Wooly’s Explanation of the sin bin rule made absolutely no sense.

Dots1982

Wooly completely overvalues the appeal of county club championships with these ideas about a soccer Saturday style show for club games and having RTÉ with correspondents in every county reporting back.

OldMrBrennan83

Dots1982 wrote: »

Wooly completely overvalues the appeal of county club championships with these ideas about a soccer Saturday style show for club games and having RTÉ with correspondents in every county reporting back.

He really does. I love them myself, nearly as much as he seems to, but the vast majority of people don't give a crap about them.

Dots1982

Patww79 wrote: »

Dots1982 wrote: »

Wooly completely overvalues the appeal of county club championships with these ideas about a soccer Saturday style show for club games and having RTÉ with correspondents in every county reporting back.

He really does. I love them myself, nearly as much as he seems to, but the vast majority of people don't give a crap about them.

A lot of those club county games are fairly boring. The Dublin final last year was among the worst games I‘ve ever seen and that’s Dublin which is a good standard of player.

He doesn’t make the connection between Eirsport not showing them anymore and the reason why a broadcaster might cut their interest.

Wooly has some weird blindspots.

OldMrBrennan83

Must have been really poor figures for them to can it as they were due to show it this year in the deal weren't they?

threein99

Is there any club games being shown ?

threein99

Dots1982 wrote: »

A lot of those club county games are fairly boring. The Dublin final last year was among the worst games I‘ve ever seen and that’s Dublin which is a good standard of player.

He doesn’t make the connection between Eirsport not showing them anymore and the reason why a broadcaster might cut their interest.

Wooly has some weird blindspots.

His own counties ability would be one of them

Dots1982

When wooly believes something he really flogs it. Every bloody show.

This obsession that the club championships could be huge is such overblown nonsense.

Dr_serious2

Just started listening and impressed. Parkinson is a bit of craic and they have done their research.

More gambling odds being flogged unfortunately but that's par for the course with these podcasts.

Dots1982

The 20 mins given over to moaning about defensive football every episode is a bit much.

Dots1982

Wooly is very weak on understanding the politics of GAA or congress and Conan is too much of a lapdog to interject or correct him.

dog_pig

Dots1982 wrote: »

Wooly is very weak on understanding the politics of GAA or congress and Conan is too much of a lapdog to interject or correct him.

You do an awful lot of complaining about the podcast. Maybe take a break from it?

AnthonyOD1987

Dots1982 wrote: »

Wooly is very weak on understanding the politics of GAA or congress and Conan is too much of a lapdog to interject or correct him.

Agree the point on your man Conan, would prefer to hear more of the chap from Mayo, Conor i think his name is. Seems to have a very good understanding of the game and puts forward well thought out responses. i feel like sometimes conan just provides a summary of what everyone else has said for the previous 5 minutes when its his chance to talk. Would be interesting to see what the listenership is like the weeks when wooly is away and conan sails the ship.

Need some new sound bites, the davy fitz one is getting old now, along with the senan connell one on the football, its must be 3 seasons old at this stage.

any ideas on what the listenership for the podcasts would be?

Its a pity joe.ie don't go back to the shows on facebook live, i thought they had something there, guess the numbers didn't make it worth while.

Dots1982

dog_pig wrote: »

You do an awful lot of complaining about the podcast. Maybe take a break from it?

That is what I am doing now. Wooly is doing my head in and yer man Conan doesn’t offer him any challenge. Wooly will never change his style because he’s not the type to look inward for self improvement so knocking the pod on the head is the best option.

OldMrBrennan83

I disagree with most of what he says but it's still easily the best GAA podcast around. Nearly have to admire how biased he is about a lot of things at this stage.