National Football League 2024

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121786311#Comment_121786311

How often to you see the team get disposed with the keeper up the field and a goal scored?

I'll tell you, very rearly.

It happened to Derry v Kerry a few weeks ago and Derry still won.

Armagh have been doing it a good few years and I've yet to see it be the cause of their season ending.

People on one hand complain about the lack of attack in the game and on the other hand complain when the keeper is an extra man in an attack.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121787731#Comment_121787731

From a spectator point of view, the problem with that extra man is that it discourages attacks.

Players are trained to turn and recycle whenever they approach any resistance, and now they have a free man always available back behind midfield so you get this constant cycle of probe down the right, turn and kick it back to midfield, probe down the left, turn and kick it back to midfield, repeat ad nauseum.

Without that extra man teams had to either do something with the ball or a runner had to actually work hard to create space to get available for a pass. Now that boring handpass around midfield gameplan has gotten even more boring again.

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121732291#Comment_121732291

Kildare seem to be doing their level best to copy the route downwards that Meath took.

Ironically given that Armagh hammered Kildare-I think McGeeney was a major factor in Kildare’s decline. He never got a tune out of them. Yet RTE created this myth of McGeeney the great manager.

Kildare had/do have so many players been wasted that was the start of it. It has carried on with Glen Ryan now. The Kildare mentality seems beyond flakey. But you have to wonder what they do in training.

I have seen plenty of Kildare over the years from watching Dublin etc. I would put Kildare as the biggest underachievers in football given the population and quality of players available. I have seen so many Kildare players showing flashes of brilliance then playing within themselves. Against sides of various levels.

I feel Meath/Cork have helped take some of the spotlight off Kildare so far. But when you factor in Kildare’s underage success what are they at senior level. Kildare can’t even use hurling as an excuse like Cork, and I would say the Kildare lads had more potential than the Meath lads.

What I noticed with Meath is that O’Rourke is trying to put structure on them, and a bit of workrate lately. Kildare don’t even have that!

Fr Tod Umptious

...

Seadin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121787731#Comment_121787731

It happens quite often to be fair and players or goalie losing the ball coming in to contact with opposition player. It's makes no sense. It's great when it works but what happens if the ball gets dispossessed? Ball goes up your field and a gift of a goal to the opposition team is the outcome. A silly silly tactic and a goal can be a big score depending on the stage of the game. It's like playing Russian Roulette to win a bag of crisps.

I'm delighted to see it happening because some goalies or managers still can't see the downside of It. It's a pathetic tactic and high risk.

RedDevil55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121787731#Comment_121787731

Always having the keeper available as an extra man is a big reason why defences drop off into their own 45.

Might be radical, but if you banned back passes to the goalkeeper I think it would improve the game no end. Every team would push up trying to turn the ball over high up the pitch. You wouldn't have defenders and midfielders messing around going lateral when they don't have an unmarked goalkeeper available as a get out.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121788176#Comment_121788176

Nah they would just do the exact same thing but leave the keeper out when passing it around. They already have spare men most of the time anyway.

robbiezero

If you use the keeper properly and aggressively it can add to the game. Kerry v Derry last year was a cracking game, with both goalies heavily involved out the field

Derry used the keeper very well especially in the first half to create overlaps through the Kerry defence forcing them to abandon Morley as sweeper/cover and make him come out and defend.

I also agree that is frustrating to watch a team who really only uses the keeper outfield as a safety net for back passes but not getting involved in the attack at all.

I was frustrated watching Tyrone yesterday, won some lovely turnovers, ripe for a fast counter-attack, but they are just so slow and ponderous and safe and then they have no one up front when they are defending, so no target for a long kick after a turn over.

Tombo2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121787829#Comment_121787829

Dont know a huge amount about Kildare football but:

• the downward spiral Kildare have taken is nothing like Meath's - Meath won 4 all Ireland, reached 7 all ireland finals and won 8 leinster titles in the space of 15 years. Kildare by contrast made one all ireland final and won two leinsters in a three year period when they were on the up.
• McGeeney's Kildare were within a whisker of making an all ireland final.
• Yes they've had great individual players, but that doesnt itself mean the county is underachieving, its a team sport.

In terms of sleeping giants or whatever - Meath, Down and Cork are the ones that stand out.

I do however think that Meath and Kildare suffer greatly from being commuter counties, it just means people have less time for a volunteer based activity which is what underage GAA amounts to.

castletownman

As a fella who has become less interested in the game due to the cynicism and seriousness that has crept in, I love the wandering goalkeepers.

Especially when your at a game, and you always have one auld lad going spare at the goalie going beyond his own 21, and also the panic that particularly arises at club level when they are turned over is great too.

Has added to the game if you ask me, and has made the hardest position to recruit for initially a bit more appealing.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121722591#Comment_121722591

It's actually a scandal.

The league has come on leaps and bounds in the last decade or more.

And since league standings get a team into the Sam Maguire championship why do they hamper teams trying to do that by making them play a week later in the fading provincial championship.

As you point out, Div 2, 3 and 4 teams can't afford to finish mid table if they want to progress, but if they do progress they are expected to play a week after the final.

Surely it's possible to add a week between league finals and championship?

Not that long ago the whole month was a no inter county month by design and we were told it was a good thing, now it's a mad scramble to be rid of inter county football by the first of August,vat which point everyone takes a month off anyway and county championships don't start until September.

If people really think the league is the best or second best competition (after the All Ireland Quarters onwards) in the game then it needs to get the respect it deserves form HQ.

manofwisdom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121792107#Comment_121792107

The suits in HQ are too stubborn to give the league the respect it deserves. No reason why the GAA can't have two important competitions creating a huge interest for players and supporters than a focus on championship and everything else secondary.

I also believe HQ made a mess of the underage grades. U18 and U21 wasn't broke and was good U16 competitions such as the Ted Webb cup, Fr Manning cup scrapped for national ran tournaments but director General Mr Duffy had to leave his mark after a decade of service.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121793169#Comment_121793169

The fans take a fair share of the blame for the league. Where is the extra 10/20k per match that will be looking for tickets come championship.

If the fans say it's worth the same then teams will treat it the same. How many here will say "only the league" to the winners.

pgj2015

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121788243#Comment_121788243

Then they should ban the goalkeeper from going past the 21.

dxhound2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121792107#Comment_121792107

It's a non issue. There are a maximum of 8 out of that 17 who could be playing, and it will be a lot less. Last year it was 3, Wicklow, Sligo and Mayo and only Mayo failed to win. As far as I know the dates for the provincial games are chosen by the provinces. So they could choose to run their games on different dates. With the only outside deadline being that their provincial championships are completed in time for the Sam and Tailteann competitions.

And no doubt there will be complaints about how unfair it is to settle games on the day, with some people looking to rewrite the calendar for replays.

theoneeyedman

TV coverage whine incoming....

Monaghan v Roscommon is a crucial Relegation 4 pointer on Sunday, but there is zero coverage of it on TV. Won't matter to me as I'll be at it, but seems strange to be showing effectively dead rubber D1 games that have little consequence for the year ahead and D2 games instead:this is arguably the single most important D1 game this weekend and it's the only one not being covered at all.

Obviously, Roscommon and Monaghan are 'small' counties in terms of population and the viewership in other counties will always be bigger, but I'd have thought sporting integrity and importance would be a factor in the scheduling?

largepants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121787829#Comment_121787829

So McGeeney never got a tune out of Kildare? Within a crossbar of an AI final.

For some reason Dubs had a set against McGeeney because he dared put it up to them during his tenure there.

The Dubs are loving Kildare's demise at present. Gleefully rubbing it in.

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121797203#Comment_121797203

Eacactly all ifs and buts with McGeeney. Name one team he beat that he should not have, on paper with Kildare?

I remember talking to Mayo fan living in Kildare. Knew Olly Lyon’s for example. So he knew the GAA goings on in Kildare.

I used to ask the Mayo fella why the media gave McGeeney so much praise, for doing nothing with all the talent etc.

I still remember what he said most GAA lads are thick, so he brings organisation and gets them fit. They are happy with that much.

He agreed with me that McGeeney was way overrated.

Now with Armagh their fans have told me they can’t be rid of him handy because of some internal relationships. Can’t remember exactly what.

largepants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121797398#Comment_121797398

So some random friend of yours knew Ollie Lyons and the fact that he thought McGeeney was overrated then sure it must be true. 🤣

Not alone that, but you now have the inside track on the internal workings of Armagh GAA.

Ehh ok.

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121797398#Comment_121797398

"He brings organisation and gets them fit".

Same as what Jim McGuinness did with Donegal, and Jim Gavin did with Dublin.

Always_Running

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121796314#Comment_121796314

During covid GAA had all matches on TV or GAAGO, it was forced on them but was a way forward and something to keep yet they have since thought otherwise.

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121798329#Comment_121798329

If you think that is all McGuinness or Gavin did you have not being watching football closely for over the last decade. Innovators of Gaelic Football. McGeeney on the other hand…..

Jayus even Big Joe Kernan developed on the third midfielder trick back in his management.

Maybe I am wrong and McGeeney will finally live up to the hype. But the more I see his teams the less I believe it.

dxhound2005

All you need to know about Round 4. There is a mistake in the preview, saying that the Armagh Donegal game is in Newry. The fixtures are correct, the game is in Armagh. Galway v Derry was supposed to be in Tuam, but it has been switched to Salthill.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2024/0222/1433852-allianz-football-league-round-4-all-you-need-to-know/

MacDanger

Even as a Mayo supporter, this is a hard watch

theoneeyedman

One rule that needs to be implemented.... If you concede a free, you must get away ASAP, no dallying or delaying the kick, punish it by moving the ball 50 meters, or halfway to the opponents goal or something. Every foul or free leads to pulling and dragging and slaps afterward and there is no punishment.

MacDanger

Harsh enough there on Tyrone

Finty Lemon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121813054#Comment_121813054

Throw ball Mayo. Free out.

tayto lover

Poor fare. Typical winter league match. O'Connor making a mound for the penalty sums it up.

FintanMcluskey

This is some mauling after 25 mins in Croke Park

enricoh

Dubs looking scarily good n it's only February!