The 2025 All Ireland Senior Football Championship (Sam Maguire Cup)

In the interview last night , Jack was saying the decision would be up to his wife and that she was taking photos as he went to final training session, I think its obvious the final was his last game.

Belive what you want, I have no proof, but I don't think young intelligent men give up their twenties for nothing when all around them are making money off their backs, that is more fairytale stuff.

Anyway fair play to Kerry, Gavin White gave one of the best All Ireland final performances I have ever seen. Hovered up breaks, kicked 3 points, broke Donegal lines time after time. My favourite moment was when he won the break for the throw in for the second half, he hit two Donegal men driving forward and put them on their arse, one of them McHugh had to come off because of an injury received in the impact. He is a machine. If memory serves me right in his first few years on the scene he had the pace but was very very slight. He is not slight anymore

It doesn’t matter what level I played at, it is objectively a lot more difficult to get the ball off an opponent compared to soccer or hurling.

It makes it far easier to control possession due to the combination of tackling being more difficult and the fact that a first touch isn’t a defining feature of attaining possession from a pass. There is very limited opportunity for a defender to win the ball.

There is nothing controversial about what I’m saying.

You are right there is a world of difference in playing for an All Ireland contender and the rest. The divide is huge, yet the also ran county players are expected to give the same commitment without the perks to close the gap on the contenders, its simply not going to happen and the gap is going to be a chasm. It's certainly not a level playing field out there.

Wouldn't it be refreshing to see a GAA team winning a big prize without the "everybody wrote us off" shtick ?

Any criticism following any poor performances (even if the team itself calls it poor) is, of course, "disrespect".

Overall very disappointing championship, very one sided final, semi finals and quarters.

Donegal looked out on their feet from throw in and the sight of the Kerry lad playing "keepy uppy" with the ball 50 yards from goal with no Donegal player within 20 yards sums up this season for me, 2011-12 Donegal would be rolling in their graves lol.

Period of dominance now for Kerry is possible. Connacht teams have all regressed badly this year. Ulster teams flatter to deceive and Dublin are simply not replacing the class of 2010/12/14 at all, even 2017 U21s will be 30 next year.

It just sounds to me like someone who has never played the game before. I totally disagree with your opinion. It is harder to win the ball back off a hurler in my opinion.

I'd say the Golden Years 3 that was predicted 6/7 years ago has maybe passed.

Other than Clifford the mainstays of the team are around 28/29.

Compared to the 00s they are 1 or 2 all irelands behind that when the major players of those sides were 28/29.

To really get to that level you'd be looking at winning the next 1 if not 2 to remain on par.

28 is still young when you think Dublin had bunch of 30+ in 2017 and Comer/Walsh/Conroy are all 30+ but will still be the guys Galway look to next year.

What's also forgotten is strong underage Kerry teams coming through. Last 2 years they would have been All Ireland U20 winners had it not been for an exceptional Tyrone team.

I think Kerrys biggest weakness jn years to come is management team. If O'Connor stays on there is probably 3 or 4 AIs in the next 5 years.

Kerry will always be thereabouts but there was talk of dominance after 2022 which was hard to argue with.

It's a lot harder to rule the roost now than it was in the 80s or 00s but they didn't get caught out by an honest but non top 3 side like Armagh in 2024.

I'd agree with the management side of it but Tomas,Star,Mark Fitz are also developing which I'd say will benefit them down the line.

Be interesting how it goes.

And of course, if anybody does try to say you are a great team and favourites for Sam - then they try to yerra it away!

Jack O'Connor mentioned in one interview that Kerry were seen as "cannon fodder" for Armagh. These inter-county panels really do operate in their own little bubbles.

I was thinking in Kerry you need three/four Sam's to be in the conversation. It will be interesting to see if David Clifford goes into management when he does hang up his boots. I remember listening to him when he seemed to always get Man of the match in the minor All-Ireland's. Thinking that fella will be Kerry manager in 40/50 years. Had a sensible head on him even then.

3/4 yes in terms of generational teams and players.

Having 2 wouldn't go against david Clifford or Maurice Fitz however.

As far as management material is concerned Kerry have a somewhat patchy record with ex players.

If the Internet existed in 1984 you might have looked at someone like Spillane as a good manager down the line.

And yet it was an unknown like jack o connor that emerged 2 decades after and Donie Buckley who is held in high regard outside of that.

Only Eamon Fitzmaurice from the 00s crew has been a success and even there's people in Kerry who woulf disagree with that.

For me Donegal had two issues yesterday.

Their game plan is to get a lead as force the opposition to chase them and hit them on the counter attack. Once Kerry got a 3/4 points ahead Donegal weren’t able to change their mindset. Their match against Monaghan was atypical.

The second was an unwillingness to go for 2 pointers. They didn’t look like they had done any work in training on setting up for 2 points shooting. Ignoring the goal at the end 2 point scored were the difference. Years of training to only go for the 90% shooting opportunity probably worked against them