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

Monaghan have a small population also, about 60k. I really think counties like Monaghan and Roscommon should be focused on by the GAA to somehow give them that extra push to make AI finals. It just feels like they are knocking on the door for years, but are generally a couple players and maybe a few backroom members short of making AI finals. Its hugely difficult for the smaller counties to make the step up to AI final level.

It feels like we are in for yet more years of Kerry and Dublin dominance. The rest like Roscommon, Galway, Monaghan, Derry, etc have reached a level but just can't go that further step of reaching finals or winning outright.

Do they want the likes of Derry, Roscommon or Monaghan involved in finals though?

Financially, it's more lucrative to have the big guns involved year in year out, casual fans can get to know their favorite teams and players and not have culchies and Nordies stinking the place out of it. There are only so many bums on seats and TV subs the likes of Derry, Roscommon and Monaghan can provide too, so it's a losing game for HQ. Even look at the snobbery around here when these teams play their own game to give themselves a chance, anti - football comments and the likes.

From a marketing point of view, there would be better return investing in getting Meath, Cork, maybe Kildare and Galway/Mayo competing for and winning all Ireland's

Putting two men on David Clifford would leave gaps elsewhere for Geaney, O'Shea etc to exploit.

You can get tight to David Clifford though as he spins his man with ease, tremendous strength and power. The only other option I can think of is marking 'the space' around him and not Clifford himself.

To me Clifford is very similar type of player to former Donegal player Michael Murphy -

1) A Constant workhorse (as seen by his chasing back deep in his own half yesterday)

2) Tremendous strength

3) Tremendous Core Strength/balance

4) Has lots of pace (Murphy did when he was younger)

5) Great in the air - the advanced mark is child's play for him

6) Can take a score from long range with ease

7) Is a head up footballer and can bring others into the game

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If anyone has any other ideas to stop David Clifford - send them on to Dessie Farrell and the Dublin County Board!

I think an average enough Kerry team won an All Ireland because everyone else is fairly average at the minute. They probably wouldn't have done it without him though and yes his skill should not be questioned.

"The greatest player his age" though I don't know. Maybe he is maybe he isn't and to be honest I find this things hard to judge and don't really agree with statements that definitive about any player.

I did wonder about McKaigue being left one on one with Clifford, especially since none of the other Kerry forwards were much use, perhaps he could have been given more help.

But then it also seems clear that Derry had a gameplan to control the ball and it did not allow for two man markers. They clearly felt it better to control the ball at source rather than trying to mark Clifford, which was shown well by that instance in the 2nd half where they felt comfortable leaving Clifford all on his own while they had the ball.

Its hard to say that their plan didn't work. They did control the game, for all the talk Clifford did only score 4 from play, all the other forwards were very subdued. It was a good gameplan that put a div 2 side in touching distance of the final so its hard to argue with that one part of it.

Why would there be a conspiracy to favour Kerry? Isnt one of the age old, not particularly funny, comments that we dont bring big numbers of supporters to games.

The GAA do worse financially by having Kerry in the latter stages - a Derry v Tyrone semi would have sold out and the final will sell out no matter what.

There is a commercial benefit in favouring Dublin as they have the biggest population and is the wealthiest part of the country, etc. although they win because they have excellent players

What benefit is there for the GAA in favouring Kerry so? Thats not a rhetorical question either - I would love to hear your reasoning for constantly saying this.

While the Ryan hit was worse than the Clifford hit, I thought both were bad and deserved cards.

How the ref did not stop the game after the Ryan hit was beyond me. I heard people saying he did nothing wrong, that it was just unfortunate that a player got whacked in the head with one of the most solid parts of the human body.

But who gives a **** whose fault it was or whether he meant to do it, why is there not a strict duty of care to make sure the other player is safe?

If you can jump into a players head like that and then claim that no rules were broken then that is a problem for the sport. It absolutely should follow Rugby in that the onus should be on all not to make contact with another players head, and all should get disciplined if it happens.

Not so much biased as bad and inconsistent would be my view.

This Galway team have to do it in the next year or two. Walsh turns 31 next year, Comer and Heaney 30, Conroy will be 35. The likes of Kelly, Daly, Cooke, Silke, Molloy are at their peak at 26/27/28. 3 years time they will be on a downward trajectory.

You might identify the rule broken by Ryan that warranted a card?

Ref's cant go changing the rules mid game.

Some will still insist the yellow was warranted. And don't forget it was also a point for Derry from the free that shouldn't have been

You need to filter out the sour grapes comments. Then I think you'll find that there are a majority who think that refereeing in the game can be awful at times.

I am mindful that they are amateurs too but the inconsistency is the biggest problem IMO.

I would suggest something like what rugby has. A TMO who can intervene if a bad decision is made or if something needs a second look. Has made rugby an infinitely better game even if a side effect is slowing it down.

Clifford is a fabulous player. I got to witness his brilliance up close at bunch of matches last year none more so than the league final against Mayo.

But make no mistake Kerry don't win that AI last year or in the final this without their defence.

Every team in Ireland play the same 14-15 men behind the ball now. The two best at turning the ball over in their own 40 and counter-attacking at speed are in this years final