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

that poster either has a short memory or wasn't paying enough attention to this year's championship. Round 3 of the group stage was very similar to the last round of NFL with plenty of twist and turns. 3 of the Prem quarter finals decided on fine margins that's more than a decent start for a new format and once they fix they scheduling next year we should have more competitive Quarter finals.

Can't see past Dublin,Kerry winning this weekend. I'd always side with the underdog plus kerry,Dublin have won enough already so best of luck to Monaghan and Derry hopefully they give it their best shot and sees where it takes them.

Going into the AI semi final last year Derry was scoring on average 22 points per match and conceding 15. What they conceded against Galway was on par with the average (2-8) but was well below their scoring average with a mere 1-6 scored in the semi final and in no small part to the way Galway set up.

If Kerry defend like they did against Tyrone It could be struggle for Derry to get close to their average score again.

That's the thing about cagey defensive football it will get you to a certain level but not the ultimate prize as the old saying goes fortune favours the brave. Armagh were a breath of fresh air last year, they have some fine forwards and they kicked the ball direct, they got some amazing scores, instead of building on it they decided they needed to get more defensively savvy and were beaten by what I would consider less talented teams in Derry and Monaghan without ever firing a shot. Galway not getting to the quarter finals also dented the quality of the latter stages of this championship. It very hard to get enthused about these semi finals. A Dublin Kerry final would be box office, but there are no guarantees in sport.

Will the wet conditions have much of an impact I wonder, will it make the handling tricky and interfere with the intricate hand passing in tight areas?

If you think Donegal in 2012 were playing what Derry play now you don't know anything about football.

Ya agree about Donegal, they upped the anti defensively but when in possession they attacked with pace and intent. The latest incarnation which Derry are the poster boys for involves sucking all the life out of the contest, long long bouts of possession in non attacking areas where its common to see a player standing still and soloing on the spot and the dreaded hand up in the air from a player with the ball to signal to his comrades that we won't be attacking with this possession we will be faffing around in our own half with a necklace of mind numbing passes taking a breather. The most depressing sight in modern football is when their is a huge crowd baying with excitement before a key game and then one of these negative teams wins possession from the throw in and holds onto it in a non threatening area of the field for multiple minutes reducing the crowd to silence, it an amazing achievement when you think about it. I was in the camp of its all part of the game evolving and in all sports its smart and progressive to hold onto possession. But it was pointed out to me that Gaelic footballs problem is that it is just too easy to hold onto possession and there is no skill involved, it's like a child's game of piggy in the middle and the tackle in the game is not properly defined. The difficulty of holding onto possession in soccer makes it a skill to do so. I would be in favour of the Aussie Rules style tackle, once you are wrapped you lose possession, that would cut out all this nonsense and bring a bit of jeopardy and excitement back into the game.

Sport is not like a primary school sports day where 'everyone is a winner' - sport is cruel in reality. Under pressure weaknesses are magnified especially by the better opponents.

Titles have to be well won - more often than not. Tactically, physically and mentally everything has to be spot on.

In the quarter finals Kerry had a handy game against a Tyrone side who let themselves down. Dublin beat a Mayo overall squad who was better on paper - but imploded mentally

I think Galway above anyone else have the forwards to upset Dublin/Kerry. Yes they have tightened up drastically defensively. But outside the above two they have the most naturally talented forwards in the country. Shane Walshs form falling through the floor did for them this year.

And here comes the customary booing from the hill!