The 2023 All Ireland Senior Football Championship (Sam Maguire Cup)

Kilkenny not risked because of injury last week. Costello injured in warm up. Mannion still not match fit. Better to be bringing instead replaced by O'Gara or Small.

They do it to get their name on the scoreboard or improve their stats.

From watching bits of yesterdays games - teams seem to be have lots of extremely fit men playing but very few gaelic footballers Cork been a good example. It produces a very unentertaining product.

Did ya hear that fella Lawlor on the Saturday Game? Implied the Dubs have Strength in depth basically because Killian O’Gara and Basquel played well! And Kilkenny and Mannion were benched.

That annoyed me Lawlor has no clue didn’t take into account how Poor Kildare were at all 23 minutes no score second half.

Plus this is the first game K’O’Gara and Basquel showed up. Won’t be playing a team that is such a an inconsistent shambles like Kildare every week. The game was loose and open.

Credit to Dessie tactically though went very direct.Benched Mannion/Kilkenny can see why he wanted direct play. Kilkenny would slow things down lateral passing and I don’t think Mannion has the aggression in him for direct stuff.

Kildare? Annoy me and I am not even a Lilly. If I was would be raging. Is it between the ears? Fitness? Tactical? Mix of everything? Shambles of a team. IMO Kildare have a good few that would walk into the Dublin side. On GAAGO Andrews/Murphy slated Kildare’s lack of defensive tactics HT - why switch from Leinster game tactics?

Fair point! But Jayus that Lawlor fella sits there coming out with lines you’d hear from a fella in a pub.

I don’t like him already as a presenter became of it the relaxed manner he has is a good thing. But the stupid lines he comes out with has me shouting at the telly.

People from other codes can never understand why players don’t go for goals more. I seem to remember an English soccer manager (Harry Redknapp) watch a Gaelic match couldn’t fathom why players didn’t go for goals more. Definitely a mindset thing.

3 qualifying is bizarre and surprising. Many club championships have groups of 4 with 3 going through. Provincial runners-up as Seed 2s is distorting things a bit though. Might have been some small factor in the preliminary quarter-finals.

I think the group stage has been entertaining enough so far. Everyone's battling for at least that one win that will see them through. Going direct to the quarter-finals is surely the preferred route. Plan B being the home preliminary round.

Sparse enough home crowd at this for the "greatest fans in Ireland"

I am not buying the strength and depth stuff.

Mannion - is he in on form? Shadow of the player he once was. I still remember the club match he played against Mullinaughta of Longford was very quiet 2 scored - it is why Crokes needed to ship in Walsh to get a bit spark in the forward line.

Murchan - great player I agree but long term injury has hampered him

A. Byrne - was the next great hope thought he would do well in blue with his clubman as manager but it just has not happened for him in blue. Not sure Dessie really rates him

Costello - ok against the weaker counties in the country starting or coming on as sub. And has the frees. Not a fella that would put the fear of god in the top level defences.

Paddy Small - agree good player aggressive style missed - not many aggressive players on this Dublin panel. He offers something different.

Kilkenny - is great in the slow-slow style of play as the link man - but does Dessie Farrell want that style of play? And has he the players capable of making it work - we saw against the Rossies it was easy for them to play against Dublin with the slow stuff.

Basquel - about 28 now last game v Kildare was his best in blue since u21 level - but you have to factor in how poor Kildare were.

McCaffery - would be badly missed against the top tier sides - or sides that are compact. But the fella is always a hamstring away from being injured - so has to be managed. Much better as an impact sub against tired legs

So the Dublin 'Strength and Depth' line is a bit of stretch. One fella who does not seem to get much mention is Bugler - seems to have really found his feet and is one of Dublin's more impressive players. Plus proves the value of the Super 8's because Jim Gavin gave him his championship debut in the Tyrone dead rubber up in Omagh.

If I was to pick a winner for Sam and put my money where me gob is. I would still say Galway better all round team than Kerry - not as many weakness as Dublin defensively better midfield - and have none of the mental blocks/hang ups that Mayo have. Plus are Derry in the long grass?

Davy Byrne

RTE have massively changed tack to positivity. Just 12 months ago the Ulster final was absolutely slated for being boring crap by O'Rourke etc , to the point that they actually didn't analyse the game at all and just focused on it being a terrible spectacle

This game is considerably worse than that was and it's mainly positive, "credit to the players in this heat" etc.

The change was probably needed, and made sense to do it when the old timers O'Rourke and Spillane left the scene. Interesting all the same

Not going to work half as effectively on a bigger pitch.

Is McHale park not considered a wide pitch?

Harte didn't even try any defensive stuff in CP it was all out stuff.

All Ireland U20 Hurling Final on TG4 😊😊.