Hurling- what’s gone wrong and where do we go from here.

newhouse87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120448375#Comment_120448375

Where did i say there was a decline in attendances or viewership, appreciate if you didn't put words in my mouth like you see posters on current affairs threads. I don't expect you to acknowledge the lack of entertainment value in intercounty hurling at the moment, doubt i would see it either if tipp were winning so much. I work wit a few kilkenny lads and most agree this is a great limerick team but the style of play is just not appealing to those outside of limerick. BTW unless fans are confrontational, they are not going to go up to opposition fans and say " ah yere winning but ye are shite to watch".

Freneys Treasure

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120448375#Comment_120448375

You've repeatedly shown an incapacity to understand that it is the decline in the entertainment level of the game that people have concerns about, not who is or who is not winning.

Of course successful teams that have gone before have been subjected to constant whining and criticism of their approach (indeed some of the biggest whiners during the era of Kilkenny dominance were Limerick people who spent most of the decade following 2007 crying about Kilkenny's approach to the game) but if you re-read Newhouse87's post he never claimed there "was nothing but honest praise and standing ovations from the opposition for that Kilkenny team", (this is something you simply made up and assigned to him to suit your argument) he stated that Kilkenny's approach to the game was never thought of as boring, whereas the way game has evolved this time round has lead to a sport that is simply not as entertaining as it once was.

Based on your infantile response to the posted article, you obviously take this notion to be an anti-Limerick thing, but it is not, the main points of the first part of the article would still apply if Cork for example won this years All-Ireland 

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120448491#Comment_120448491

There is no decline in entertainment.

Just old men shouting at clouds.

shocs07

Bit of a silly post to be honest. You probably didn't watch games like the Munster final last year. Skill levels have never been higher. Sit back, relax and enjoy this fine Limerick team

Billy Ocean

The game has never been more skilful that it is now but probably just a bit of spontaneity lacking at times, this might sound mad but with the level of coaching, S&C etc. these days some games are almost too perfect and are a bit like a video game, Kilkenny scoring 2-26 in last year's final and losing an example of that , to put a snooker terminology on it some games now are frame after frame won by century break after century break and not many safety battles or missed pots adding excitement. I still find the enjoyable on the whole but just my observation.

Deiselurker

I'd agree with that. I think hurling entertainment value was probably at it's best in the 2000s but now everything is so prepared so there is less off the cuff hurling and less mistakes. I don't get the same excitement as I did from watching games now.

Davys Fits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120449283#Comment_120449283

Maybe you can define old men for us? Are we the ones that cant see the 3mm gap between the palm of the hand and the ball or cant count more than 4 steps?

zetecescort

how long before they clamp down on arms and hurleys around the neck? no player carries the ball under their chin

but, sure look it, let it flow etc etc

crossman47

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120450347#Comment_120450347

Agree completely. Robotic LImerick are turning me off hurling (and I've been watching for more than sixty years.

Glenomra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120459814#Comment_120459814

watching hurling for decades also, and never enjoyed it as much.

Vinnie222

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120459830#Comment_120459830

Limerick are at a different level. 1st touch, movement and their skill level are well above anyone else.

awaywithyou

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120459814#Comment_120459814

Limerick are a joy to watch... the skill they have for the size of men they are... gearoid hegartys skill level out of this world... their movement is top class.. someone was on bout snooker in an earlier post.. limerick are thinking three or four stick passes or handpasses ahead of everyone else... the way they work together as a team passing the ball around is probably what i enjoy the most.... they have similarities with the Kilkenny team from 2002-2012 in terms of physical size and strength... kilkenny blew teams away as quickly as possible mainly by scoring goals... this limerick outfit doesnt score that many goals.. definitely not as many as KK did but i do think they have more skill and hurling ability and they also are greater then the sum of there parts...

what has happened with the underage system in KK.. it used to be the envy of the other hurling counties... whoever is over the development squads etc. seems to have fell asleep at the wheel about 10 years ago... the KK players that played today i would be slow to criticise them as they are the product of what is obviously a failing underage structure

Dyr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120459921#Comment_120459921

When did Limerick last string four stick passes together?

I know a lot of this stuff is sour grapes towards Limerick from hurling counties who don't like to see an underdog dominating them but Limerick are hard work to watch

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120449635#Comment_120449635

Thats correct, people like me no longer bother watching games like the Munster final, because they are boring for neutrals.

I thought that was the entire point of the thread.

Freneys Treasure

I think posters should be careful not to conflate Limerick's dominance with the general problems with how the game is played and refereed.

While how Limerick play is based on blatant cheating via throwball, they are good enough to win the game any way it is played and although some boredom results from watching them hammer teams, it is disparate to the boredom induced by the sporadic, methodical approach to the game taken by many teams these days, facilitated by the game not being refereed properly

awaywithyou

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120461872#Comment_120461872

tom morrissey was adjudged by ref to have thrown a ball yest.. when a replay was shown on tv.. he clearly handpassed it

BoxcarWilliam99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120459847#Comment_120459847

I hadn't watch a match in a long time tbh and when the camera was showing the Limerick lads lining up the build and size of these guys is immediately noticeable. The Limerick full back is a unit of a man as is most of the team. I'm sure this is the norm in GAA now at this level.

To think it's still an amateur sport is crazy. It should be semi professional at least. There should be some sort of payment for these lads who give everything

Freneys Treasure

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120462083#Comment_120462083

So what? Leaving aside the argument that could be made that he didn't perform the handpass in a way that demonstrated a clear striking action to the referee and so deserved to be penalized, are you trying to suggest one questionable call by the referee means that Limerick don't throw the ball? This is the Derek McGrath/Dalo mindset that has lead to this blight on the game being ignored.

The throwing was at farcical levels again yesterday, in general Limerick will perform a legal handpass when under no pressure such as across the full back line, but when under pressure or as part of a move up the pitch, the ball is flung around like a hand grenade

cnoc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120462126#Comment_120462126

I like the way you like LK!

thinkabouit

Would love to see a Cork or Wexford or Waterford win Liam this year.

I think hurling needs it, somebody new to win it & make it meaningful again.

Limerick looked to be at a different level again or the other team’s haven’t closed the gap yet though.

Having a match on with empty terraces like yesterday does no favours to build an atmosphere or sense of occasion.

teednab-el

Nothing wrong just Limerick too good at the moment and the other counties aren't up to their level. Same as Kilkenny before Tipp beat them in 2010. Limerick will be beaten some day too maybe not this year though. Limerick fans appreciate it while it lasts.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120462249#Comment_120462249

Were you at the game yesterday ?

I thought the atmosphere was great until the game faded in the last few minutes.

Someone new like "a Cork" who have only won 30 odd titles and a million Munsters 🤣

thinkabouit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120462277#Comment_120462277

Mundane enough

Well they haven’t won Liam in almost 20 year’s so I’d say they’re due.

Davys Fits

Flanagans handpass to Gillane for the second goal was sublime and an example of the perfect legal handpass off the hurley. Why cant we encourage more of this and less of the other throwing stuff with a simple rule change...

evolvingtipperary101

Why are posters discussing yesterday's match on here? Or who wins what? Or anything to do with Limerick or any other county's style of play?

That has nothing to do with the thread...

Clare in Exile

It can't be denied that hurling does have an issue currently. The analogy with century breaks in snooker was spot on. The fact that Kilkenny lost the All-Ireland Final last year with the score that they shot tells you that something is wrong. I've little interest in watching a game where it's almost a constant stream of either points or wides. The madness of some of the games from not too long ago has definitely disappeared, nowadays it's almost too structured, close to perfection as someone said.

I much prefer a contest such as Clare v Cork in the football yesterday, where every score was hard fought for and had an effect on the match.

With the scoring rates in hurling these days, I'm constantly reminded that the final tally of 1-13 to 2-08 in the 1995 final is often being bettered by half-time in most of today's hurling matches.

Something has gone wrong, the midfield contest has become a thing of the past and as someone said over the last few days, it's now almost become the case that corner forwards are being asked to minimise the amount of scores that corner backs shoot.

Interesting discussion...

teednab-el

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120462277#Comment_120462277

Cork are going 26 years without a league. 18 years without an All Ireland and 5 years without a Munster championship. 🤣🤣🤣. A generation without success for the first two.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120462295#Comment_120462295

Due me hole.

Were you at the match ?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120462494#Comment_120462494

My heart bleeds for them.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120462316#Comment_120462316

Don't you know this is just the hurling version of the old "split Dublin" threads.