The 2019 Football Championship review

seligehgit

Always_Running wrote: »

Teams that should be pleased enough

Mayo, recovered well for unexpected Connacht exit to reach AI semi final a big improvement from last years round 3 exit to Kildare

TBH it will be framed in my mind as a lost year.

Our inability to come through the front door when all and sundry knew of it's importance in an aging team was catastrophic.

We were condemned to be the modern day Sisyphus.

An onerous schedule and a crippling list of injuries in part as a consequence which inevitably caught up with us.

A potential crack at Dublin in the final was a real expectation at the start of the championship.

shockframe

If you consider the widespread moaning about the game pre season it was an excellent year in general and quite close to great.The most enjoyable since 2012 and the best since 2010.

First off the senior championship was better than it was the last 2 or 3 seasons.Leinster was a bit of a non event but the other provinces has some very good games. The qualifers had some terrific matches and the Super 8s was an improvement on last year.

Some of the goals like Carr and Murchan were jaw dropping.

The semi finals has dipped slightly from the highs of 2010-17 but Dublin and Mayo was a good occasion and Kerry-Tyrone was nowhere near as bad as people made it out to be.

The finals were a great advert for Football. Dublin-Mayo 2017 is still the best final in the modern era but the 2 games were as good as you could hope for.

It's when you factor in the last few weeks of the league (3 out of 4 decennt league finals to boot and a thrilling Division 1 finale) on top of exceptional minor/under 20 games Gaelic Football can be quite pleased with itself.The only disappointment was maybe the club final but even with that you could greatly admire the brilliance of Corofin.

Interesting how much of a good year it was given how bad other sports finals tended to be. Football had 4 out of 5 great finals over club, minor, under 20, senior league and champ. The hurling had no great final over its 5 majors, the NFL had one of its worst Superbowls and the Champions league final was one of the worst ever. Its amazing given how detractors of Football have always pointed to other sports as being far superior. They maybe should be looking a lot closer as to whats really going on.

I've enjoyed aspects of Hurling and Soccer but frankly its been Football's year.

PressRun

Bonniedog wrote: »

A lot will depend on how Cork use their time in Division Three, They have to get promotion but within that parameter will have plenty of scope to try out new things. Bring in some of the younger fellas, Perfect place to hone an aggressive attacking strategy which seems to be where they are anyway. Watch that space I would suggest.

Cork are football's biggest sleeping giant at the moment, imo. Loads of potential at underage level that just hasn't seemed to fully translate to senior as of yet, but if they funnel that talent through properly and don't lose them to others sports, travel, etc., and like you said, use their league time wisely, you get the feeling that some day they could come really good.


From a Mayo perspective, the league win was a pleasant surprise, but failing to win Connacht was the hammer blow to our championship hopes. We probably overachived in the end by getting to an AI semi-final, what with the litany of injuries we picked up throughout the year and the relentless schedule of games, but next year we really need to be focusing on the Connacht championship and trying to avoid the mental and physical fatigue that comes with the qualifiers. There are also a couple of positions - mainly full back and goalie - that need to be looked at over the winter. I think we can still be competitive next year if we have our **** together early on.

Bonniedog

No one from Donegal has said anything, but they must be disappointed. Thought they managed league very well, and looked very confident and assured in Ulster,

Group of death was bad for them. Did well against Kerry but any team including Dublin would have had to bring their best game to Castlebar when Mayo were fighting for their pride. Was one of the games of the year and I only heard it on radio!

I'd say Donegal if they regroup and keep McBrearty well, will still be contenders.

Not going to make any guess about Mayo, Still top three team, league champions and a few promising new faces. Was surprised Treacy didn't get run against Dublin in second half.

As Pressrun said, vital they win Connacht.

Always_Running

Tell me how wrote: »

^^^^^^

I'd say Cork would be very pleased with their year given where they started from and the upcoming underage teams.

Cork people i have no doubt will be very pleased with their underage success but their year at senior level wasn't a great one, they were relegated to Div 3 and only beat Limerick,Laois this summer.

seligehgit wrote: »

Enjoyed

Mayo v Donegal

Mayo V Galway

Dublin v Cork

Mayo v Donegal game i don't think lived up to the hype but the poor weather didn't help that contest. Dublin winning by 13 points ruined my memory of that game and apart from a 15 minute patch that was the worst a Kevin Walsh Galway team had performed v Mayo

Tell me how

Always_Running wrote: »

Cork people i have no doubt will be very pleased with their underage success but their year at senior level wasn't a great one, they were relegated to Div 3 and only beat Limerick,Laois this summer.

Speaking a few weeks ago to a Cork lad, he was pleased that they had given Kerry a game of it in Munster and even in their Super 8 against Dublin they didn't look bad in the first half by any stretch.

As another poster said, relegation to Div 3 might actually really help blood some younger players in a lesser division and if they gain promotion, 2020 will be off to a good start.

I think they are in a better position than Galway and Galway were in a Div 1 final last year.

Always_Running

Tell me how wrote: »

Speaking a few weeks ago to a Cork lad, he was pleased that they had given Kerry a game of it in Munster and even in their Super 8 against Dublin they didn't look bad in the first half by any stretch.

As another poster said, relegation to Div 3 might actually really help blood some younger players in a lesser division and if they gain promotion, 2020 will be off to a good start.

I think they are in a better position than Galway and Galway were in a Div 1 final last year.

Cork had good performances before in defeat (for example bringing Mayo to extra time) yet didn't build on them and deliver results. I also recall plenty saying relegation to Div 2 would help Cork and it would be only a short term stay yet they have allowed themselves to drop to Div 3.


Not sure how you reckon Cork are in a better position than Galway but maybe you can elaborate a little more?

shockframe

Always_Running wrote: »

Cork had good performances before in defeat (for example bringing Mayo to extra time) yet didn't build on them and deliver results. I also recall plenty saying relegation to Div 2 would help Cork and it would be only a short term stay yet they have allowed themselves to drop to Div 3.


Not sure how you reckon Cork are in a better position than Galway but maybe you can elaborate a little more?

A big difference now is that Cork looks to be a lot more organized than ever before.

A 5 year plan in action and also success at underage. Not to mention support at board level.

Still a bit to go but they have serious scope for development.

Tell me how

Always_Running wrote: »

Not sure how you reckon Cork are in a better position than Galway but maybe you can elaborate a little more?

That's why I picked Galway because of the similarities but whereas I think Cork came away from their championship games with largely renewed confidence, Galway came away with their heads low.

Galway now have to find a new manager with some rumours of discontent in the process from some in Galway.

Bonniedog

Any county that wins the two All Ireland underage competitions is in a good place.

What I like about them is they've gone away from the idea that man mountains were sufficient to win All Irelands, They were maybe ahead of the curve for a year or two in the physical stakes, but that moved on pretty quickly after 2010.

From Dublin perspective, they were the team that was seen more than even Kerry or Tyrone as the one we had to beat back then as a sort of marker of progress. And bear in mind that Cork 2010 were last team in a decade other than Donegal and Mayo to beat Dublin!

Mad, but true statistic.

Always_Running

shockframe wrote: »

A big difference now is that Cork looks to be a lot more organized than ever before.

A 5 year plan in action and also success at underage. Not to mention support at board level.

Still a bit to go but they have serious scope for development.

Organized at county board level or the team on the field of play? if the latter i still see big issues in defence,S&C and i'm not at all convinced Ronan McCarthy will be the right manager to deliver championship result against higher ranked teams.



Was no plan put in place before? its not like Cork hadn't underage success before, they won many recent Munster U21 titles a competition i regard a much higher standard than U20 and that underage success should have left enough of talent there to be doing a lot better than they have done at senior level recently.


Galway in comparison from their underage success have become a established Div 1 team and reached All Ireland semi final last year.

shockframe

Always_Running wrote: »

Organized at county board level or the team on the field of play? if the latter i still see big issues in defence,S&C and i'm not at all convinced Ronan McCarthy will be the right manager to deliver championship result against higher ranked teams.



Was no plan put in place before? its not like Cork hadn't underage success before, they won many recent Munster U21 titles a competition i regard a much higher standard than U20 and that underage success should have left enough of talent there to be doing a lot better than they have done at senior level recently.


Galway in comparison from their underage success have become a established Div 1 team and reached All Ireland semi final last year.

They have always been treated less favorably than the Hurlers. After Counihan left in 2013 the county board wanted a manager to facilitate dual players but the main candidate John Cleary wasn't willing to do so and walked away.

Even the 2010 management team was nothing like Cork's best selection team. None of them have achieved anything of note since. (aside from maybe Counihans work in the new plan).

it goes a long way to explaining why they lost their way against the likes of Mcguiness, Horan, Gavin setups to name but a few.

Plenty of writers flagged Cork's lack of any plan prior to Kevin O'Donovans arrival. Now they have a bit of structure and a feel good factor once again. The likes of Graham Canty is a major part of the new plan. He isn't someone who will just go through the motions.

Cork have been there or thereabouts since the late 80s. They have a favorable path to the last 12 most years and with the underage success they can match up to anyone in the years ahead.

Galway are equally capable of putting it up to most sides on their day too but don't have anything like the animalistic desire that Mayo have. Having won an All Ireland more recently probaby blunts the desire a bit I suppose. The Football team is like a call to arms to all Mayo folk. I don't get that vibe from Galway.