Unpopular GAA opinions you hold

MacBizzle · 14-06-2014 12:38PM

RoscommonTom wrote: »

But their has to be a fairer way than what we have now where the jacks get every advantage with so much money, playing in Crocker every chanpionship game, etc, how will that develop the game in countys like Carlow sligo lietrim etc? Fellas in those counties will just lose interst and look at taking up other sports, thats not good for the gaa

When have Carlow, Sligo or Leitrim ever been preoccupied with how well Dublin are doing? None of those teams have ever won an all-Ireland, I don't see why they'd stop playing all of a sudden just because Dublin are doing well. If people in those counties were going to lose interest they'd have given up a long time ago.

Playing in Croke park is hardly even an advantage at this stage, for teams like Cork, Kerry and Mayo it's like a second home, and if teams like Carlow, Leitrim or Sligo play there they think of it as an honour and up their game, take Laois last week for example.

donnem33 · 14-06-2014 12:41PM

Browney7 wrote: »

My following theories usually raise a few eyebrows:

1) The great Galway underage hurling teams are a myth as they are put straight into a quarter final each year so don't have to play a long tough inter provincial tournament. Teams like Cork/Tipp/Kilkenny have a long slog to get out of the province and with the break for the leaving cert they effectively have to peak twice.

2) Henry Shefflin being the greatest hurler of all time. 9 all Irelands in the modern age will never again be repeated and he's Kilkenny's go to guy and a pure winner.

3) DJ Carey's point against Clare when he put Ollie Baker on his a$$ not being as good as people make out.

With that analogy you could question Kilkenny's All ireland senior wins during the noughties. It is well established that leinster was a poor competition until Galway and Antrim joined in 2010. And Dublin became competitve around this time thereby making Leinster more difficult to win. Kilkenny had little or no competition during the noughties as can be seen with the scoreline that they defeated teams by. Therefore the didnt have a particularly competitive match until the All ireland semi final and just needed to peak for 2 games, the first beginning in August. Compare this with the Munster championship where any team would fancy their chances of beating any of the others in the province!

Galway enter the minor quarter final and have to play either the munster/leinster finalists or the ulster champions - who are all battle hardened after playing a number of matches whereas Galway may not necessarily know they best team. They then had to beat the Munster/Leinster winners in order to win the All ireland - if they were good enough to beat them in the all ireland series, the chances are they would have beaten them in the provincial championship anyway.

The only fair solution to prevent one team having an advantage is scrapping the provincial championships and have an open draw instead.

Mountainlad · 14-06-2014 12:49PM

Davy Fitz attitude is terrible for the game, credit for what was achieved last year but wed be better off without if he persists with lack of respect he shows towards officials and opposing players, the same respect he hypocritically endorses off the field. Cowardice is not character.

James Ryan should have been banned for ar least 3 months though all the same when he shouldered him 2 years ago. No place for it.

Dublin hurling is going nowhere fast owing to the loss of tip players to football, when in reality some would be better of sticking to hurling.

Hurling, while a highly skilfull game, us not as difficult to excel in as some would suggest. Laois have proven that if teams like Offaly and a few others really strived for improvement they could be competitive. A bit of funding from the GAA would aid things.

Hurling is a more unique sport compared to other sports worldwide than Football. Each have their merits, but it's sad that football receives far greater promotion and a change in this could see a greater interest within the Country in the sport.

adrian522 · 14-06-2014 12:54PM

Yeah but a lot of the Munster teams didn't put up much competition either. How many of those semi finals were really that competitive? Also you had teams like Wexford regularly running Munster teams close and occasionally beating them,

I don't buy that argument at all. Leinster teams were made to look poor by how dominant Kilkenny were but there wasn't a team close to Kilkenny really between 2007 and 2009.

If there had been an open draw during those years Kilkenny still would have won those all irelands. Don't forget some of the beatings they handed out to Galway, Waterford, Limerick, Tipp, etc.

MacBizzle · 14-06-2014 12:59PM

adrian522 wrote: »

Yeah but a lot of the Munster teams didn't put up much competition either. How many of those semi finals were really that competitive? Also you had teams like Wexford regularly running Munster teams close and occasionally beating them,

I don't buy that argument at all. Leinster teams were made to look poor by how dominant Kilkenny were but there wasn't a team close to Kilkenny really between 2007 and 2009.

If there had been an open draw during those years Kilkenny still would have won those all irelands. Don't forget some of the beatings they handed out to Galway, Waterford, Limerick, Tipp, etc.

Tbh I think Kilkenny's team began to peak just as every other team in the country went into decline. There really were no teams even close to Kilkenny's standard from 2007-2009, except perhaps Tipp. I think the Cork team from 2003/2005 would still have ran that Kilkenny team close.

donnem33 · 14-06-2014 01:04PM

adrian522 wrote: »

Yeah but a lot of the Munster teams didn't put up much competition either. How many of those semi finals were really that competitive? Also you had teams like Wexford regularly running Munster teams close and occasionally beating them,

I don't buy that argument at all. Leinster teams were made to look poor by how dominant Kilkenny were but there wasn't a team close to Kilkenny really between 2007 and 2009.

If there had been an open draw during those years Kilkenny still would have won those all irelands. Don't forget some of the beatings they handed out to Galway, Waterford, Limerick, Tipp, etc.

I didnt state that they would not have won as many as they did - they were undoubtedly the best team anyone has ever seen. However, the standard between the provinces was questionable. Kilkenny had to play 4 matches to win an All Ireland - and in the majority of cases only 2; the All ireland semi final and final were they only ones that challenged them thoroughly. Remove the provincial championships and have an open draw would appear to even out everything and therefore the eventual winners cannot be undermined. There could be no bias as to who had an easier route as it would be the same for all teams.

You say the munster teams often didnt challenge them that well in the semi's - perhaps that was as a result of having to peak for matches in Munster. It was only Wexford who ever caused kilkenny much problems during the noughties - and lets be honest- that was only occasionally.

djPSB · 14-06-2014 01:08PM

The skill level required to play football is draining out of the game year by year.

Being physically fit and strong is enough to play at a very high level. A player can go a game without kicking a ball nowadays.

The majority of football teams spend hours on end working on their physical fitness without using footballs at all.

Taking Michael Dara McAuley as an example. Current football of the year. A magnificent athlete, an absolute powerhouse in full flight but when it comes to kicking, he's very poor. On several occasions he bursts forward from midfield and gets himself in to excellent positions but doesn't have the technique to finish the move off.

keane2097 · 14-06-2014 01:26PM

adrian522 wrote: »

I think it' a nonsense to suggest that the strides made in Dublin are due to extra funding. People throwing that out there are just looking for excuses for their own counties IMO.

Dublin put great structures in place over the last 10 years and are now reaping the benefits. Most of the great work being done is by unpaid volunteers.

The rest of the country could learn a lot from this rather than sniping from the sidelines.

This.

Have said it to a lot of people, Dublin have the most money, but they also get the most bang for their buck by running their county superbly well.

When every other county can look at their own spending and structures and honestly say they're as optimised as they could be they can start complaining if they still can't compete at that point, till then Dublin deserve their success on merit.

Dirty Dingus McGee · 14-06-2014 01:28PM

Footballers are more skillful now than the ever were.The game is played at a faster pace these days yet execution if the skills is as good if not better than ever (far more two footed players for example).Teams are putting more emphasis on defensive organisation these days yet the scoring averages remain the same.

Hurling is no more a unique sport than football (or any other sport) it's quite similar to various other stick and ball games like hockey, shinty and lacrosse.

The players and matches of the past weren't as brilliant as some "back in my day" style analysts like to make out (All Ireland gold proves this) they were the best of their era the same as today's players are the best of their era and today's players will be surpassed by players in the future.

Midfielders and defenders primary job is to win possession and defend and if they do that they've done their job.Being stylish footballers is somewhat irrelevant for players in those positions although it is a nice bonus if they are.

keane2097 · 14-06-2014 01:28PM

The idea that how well a player can kick a ball being indicative of their overall level of skill is misguided.

The great Sean Walsh claims to have gone an entire match without touching the ball once and maintains he played well the same day.

savannahkat · 14-06-2014 01:50PM

In the past 10 years Kilkenny have beaten Cork twice Tipp twice, Clare Waterford and Limerick in the All Ireland final and all they can say is boo hoo, boo hoo, ye got there to easy ignoring the fact that we were beating them in the semi finals by even more. Little wonder they love the Munster championship cause it was all they were ever going to win with this Kilkenny team around, just look at the league titles won by Kikenny in the same period. 9 All Irelands and 8 league titles tells the true story of the greatness of this Kilkenny team. I Wonder how they explain the 8 league titles won because as far as I know all them Munster boys have been in division 1A over the past ten years.

WesternZulu · 14-06-2014 01:51PM

djPSB wrote: »

The skill level required to play football is draining out of the game year by year.

Being physically fit and strong is enough to play at a very high level. A player can go a game without kicking a ball nowadays.

Don't believe what Pat Spillane and most of the media say in regards to gaelic football...they seem to let nostalgia get in the way of constructive analysis of the game.
The sport has never been as good, or as skillful!

Watch a match from any decade and tell me that players were more skillful in years gone by!

Dirty Dingus McGee · 14-06-2014 02:01PM

Croke Park looks better as it is than it would have if all four sides had been closed in.It has a unique look to it now and isn't just another new bowl shaped stadium.

Hibbeler · 14-06-2014 02:14PM

djPSB wrote: »

The skill level required to play football is draining out of the game year by year.

Being physically fit and strong is enough to play at a very high level. A player can go a game without kicking a ball nowadays.

The majority of football teams spend hours on end working on their physical fitness without using footballs at all.

Taking Michael Dara McAuley as an example. Current football of the year. A magnificent athlete, an absolute powerhouse in full flight but when it comes to kicking, he's very poor. On several occasions he bursts forward from midfield and gets himself in to excellent positions but doesn't have the technique to finish the move off.

Absolute nonsense! While yes fitness and strength is playing a bigger role nowadays for gaelic footballers I think you are underestimating the skill level still there in the game. The way the game is changing may be evolving but the ability to catch a high ball out of the air or to place an accurate kick pass are skills you can never learn in the gym.

Your example of MDMA is very selective in that yes he is a workhorse but you are neglecting to mention that while he can put the leg work in he is surrounded by talented players the envy of most other counties who can win games by their finesse and can capitalise on the moves created.

I would also point to recent Kildare teams under McGeeney who were considered very fit and strong and labelled 'Gym Monkeys', However when they came up against teams that beat them on quality they were goosed.

Another unpopular opinion from me: There is such a thing as poor hurling game and yes some of these poor hurling games are less enjoyable to watch then poor football or soccer games. Hurling is not special in this regard. No one would call an overly one sided game enjoyable to watch in any code and those sort of games can happen too often in hurling

Frankie Lee · 14-06-2014 02:23PM

djPSB wrote: »

Being physically fit and strong is enough to play at a very high level. A player can go a game without kicking a ball nowadays.

Back in 98 Brian Lacey went the whole championship without kicking the ball and still won an all star. These days corner backs are expected to score a couple of points per game.

djPSB · 14-06-2014 02:49PM

Hibbeler wrote: »

Absolute nonsense! While yes fitness and strength is playing a bigger role nowadays for gaelic footballers I think you are underestimating the skill level still there in the game. The way the game is changing may be evolving but the ability to catch a high ball out of the air or to place an accurate kick pass are skills you can never learn in the gym.

High catching is pretty much becoming redundant now. A lot of teams are even conceeding kick outs now, just dropping back an allowing the other team gain possession. Cluxton has perfected kick out accuracy to be fair but he's an exception.

Hibbeler wrote: »

Your example of MDMA is very selective in that yes he is a workhorse but you are neglecting to mention that while he can put the leg work in he is surrounded by talented players the envy of most other counties who can win games by their finesse and can capitalise on the moves created.

Agree there somewhat. The likes of Brogan, Flynn, Mannion etc. are exceptionally skillful. The Dubs are a bad example though, they are in a class of their own. I suppose if you look a the mid division football teams and club football in general, I think my point becomes more valid.

Watched the Mayo v Roscommon game last weekend. Think it was 4 points to 3 at half time. Only one or two points from play. There was lads attempting to kick points and missing the netting behind the goal. These are lads who train multiple times a week, yet when it comes to a fundamental of the game i.e. kicking, they are pretty sub standard. Would love to see these lads spending more time working on kicking rather than been ran around a pitch like a bunch of race horses!!!

Hibbeler wrote: »

I would also point to recent Kildare teams under McGeeney who were considered very fit and strong and labelled 'Gym Monkeys', However when they came up against teams that beat them on quality they were goosed.

Kildare are a prime example. Big and strong, cannot kick the ball yet they have been playing division 1 football for years.

Hibbeler wrote: »

Another unpopular opinion from me: There is such a thing as poor hurling game and yes some of these poor hurling games are less enjoyable to watch then poor football or soccer games. Hurling is not special in this regard. No one would call an overly one sided game enjoyable to watch in any code and those sort of games can happen too often in hurling

There is such thing as a poor game of hurling. There is such thing as an uncomepetitive game of hurling which is different. For example, Kilkenny walloped Offaly last weekend. A very uncompetitive game, yet some of the skill on show from the Kilkenny players was exceptional.

ciarriaithuaidh · 14-06-2014 04:54PM

djPSB wrote: »

High catching is pretty much becoming redundant now. A lot of teams are even conceeding kick outs now, just dropping back an allowing the other team gain possession. Cluxton has perfected kick out accuracy to be fair but he's an exception.

Agree there somewhat. The likes of Brogan, Flynn, Mannion etc. are exceptionally skillful. The Dubs are a bad example though, they are in a class of their own. I suppose if you look a the mid division football teams and club football in general, I think my point becomes more valid.

Watched the Mayo v Roscommon game last weekend. Think it was 4 points to 3 at half time. Only one or two points from play. There was lads attempting to kick points and missing the netting behind the goal. These are lads who train multiple times a week, yet when it comes to a fundamental of the game i.e. kicking, they are pretty sub standard. Would love to see these lads spending more time working on kicking rather than been ran around a pitch like a bunch of race horses!!!

Kildare are a prime example. Big and strong, cannot kick the ball yet they have been playing division 1 football for years.

There is such thing as a poor game of hurling. There is such thing as an uncomepetitive game of hurling which is different. For example, Kilkenny walloped Offaly last weekend. A very uncompetitive game, yet some of the skill on show from the Kilkenny players was exceptional.

The bolded bit is patently nonsense anyway. Kildare for most of the McGeeney reign kicked the ball more than any other county.

hurling_lad · 14-06-2014 05:14PM

Everything that intercounty managers say in relation to rule changes should be completely ignored.

rebel girl 15 · 14-06-2014 06:02PM

Ungrateful supporters who don't realise the amount of work that goes in to getting success. Ungrateful supporters who are very quick to abuse players on forums, twitter and facebook not realizing the amount of sacrifice that goes into being a modern day intercounty player no matter how much success the county has. The likes of KK supporters being insufferable about being the best, yet the people who put the hard work behind the scenes are not recognized nor are shouting it from the rooftops. KK had a conveyor belt of talent due to hard work put in with development squads, ahead of everyone else. Without doubt, focusing their county on one sport, without having the draw of "foreign" sports that places like Cork and Dublin GAA have to compete against has given them a huge benefit, no matter what their population for both hurling and camogie. Dublin having put a proper plan in place to get a foothold for GAA in the city, and development for hurling have now become successful, the football is also successful which now has calls for the county to be split.

Cork ladies are not given enough recognition for what they have achieved. Won 8 out of the last 9 All Ireland titles against six different sides - Briege Corkery winning every one of them and four camogie on top of that. Look at how much Shefflin is lauded, yet Corkery and the other girls don't get that recognition. Group of five that have played in all 8 finals.

Dick phelan · 14-06-2014 06:26PM

1 Damien Fitzhenry was a better keeper than either DOC or Brendan Cummins an absolute beast in goal best keeper of the last 20 years for me.

2 Paul Flynn is the greatest Waterford player ever

3 Dublin have an unfair advantage over other teams because they play at home in big games.

4 Maurice Fitzgerald was better than Paul Galvin.

5 Roscommon will win an all ireland in the next 5 years.

6 Tony Kelly should not have won Hurler of the Year Anthony Nash should.

7 The game has evolved to such an extent that the likes of Ring and Mackey would be nowhere near the skill level of modern greats.

Fireball07 · 14-06-2014 06:30PM

Dick phelan wrote: »

1 Damien Fitzhenry was a better keeper than either DOC or Brendan Cummins an absolute beast in goal best keeper of the last 20 years for me. Fitzhenry was class, he's right up there.

2 Paul Flynn is the greatest Waterford player ever Loved Flynn, wouldn't agree with that.

3 Dublin have an unfair advantage over other teams because they play at home in big games.

4 Maurice Fitzgerald was better than Paul Galvin. That's not really an unpopular opinion, most people think Maurice Fitz is one of the greatest ever.

5 Roscommon will win an all ireland in the next 5 years.

6 Tony Kelly should not have won Hurler of the Year Anthony Nash should. Strongly disagree, I don't think Nash would have won it ahead of Horgan either

7 The game has evolved to such an extent that the likes of Ring and Mackey would be nowhere near the skill level of modern greats. Again, I think people agree with that... but it's not really a fair comparison... as you say, the game has changed.

.

shockframe · 14-06-2014 08:06PM

The belief that some people have of footballers being inferior to hurlers.

For all the talk of Hurling being streets ahead of Football in terms of skill nearly every inter county footballer I know has been someways useful when playing hurling and that's even when they don't play it as regularly as club/county hurlers do.

Mountainlad · 15-06-2014 01:17AM

shockframe wrote: »

The belief that some people have of footballers being inferior to hurlers.

For all the talk of Hurling being streets ahead of Football in terms of skill nearly every inter county footballer I know has been someways useful when playing hurling and that's even when they don't play it as regularly as club/county hurlers do.

Don't see what this proves? Shane Walsh and Brick Walsh played on a Waterford u21 team that beat a team with Gooch, Declan O Sullivan, Donaghy and Seamus Scanlon in a Munster final. Both start fir the hurlers, neither renowned as skilful players though.

Hurling requires more skill, that doesn't mean the best hurlers would be better footballers than those right now or vice versa.

RoscommonTom · 15-06-2014 08:04AM

rebel girl 15 wrote: »

Ungrateful supporters who don't realise the amount of work that goes in to getting success. Ungrateful supporters who are very quick to abuse players on forums, twitter and facebook not realizing the amount of sacrifice that goes into being a modern day intercounty player no matter how much success the county has.

This is the best one yet,

Gentleman Off The Pitch · 15-06-2014 08:13AM

rebel girl 15 wrote: »

Ungrateful supporters who don't realise the amount of work that goes in to getting success. Ungrateful supporters who are very quick to abuse players on forums, twitter and facebook not realizing the amount of sacrifice that goes into being a modern day intercounty player no matter how much success the county has. The likes of KK supporters being insufferable about being the best, yet the people who put the hard work behind the scenes are not recognized nor are shouting it from the rooftops. KK had a conveyor belt of talent due to hard work put in with development squads, ahead of everyone else. Without doubt, focusing their county on one sport, without having the draw of "foreign" sports that places like Cork and Dublin GAA have to compete against has given them a huge benefit, no matter what their population for both hurling and camogie. .

I know these are your unpopular opinions and by their nature, not everyone is supposed to agree with them, but allow me to respond to two statements you've made

"The likes of KK supporters being insufferable about being the best"
- quite a petty jibe, no?. At least KK people have had an excuse to claim this in recent years. If I was to be petty, I could state that this is in contrast to many Cork supporters who the well earned reputation of being constantly insufferrable irrespective of the fortunes of their senior teams. Imagine how unbearible those Cork fans would be if they had even 50% of the succcess Kilkenny have had in the last 15 years.

"Without doubt, focusing their county on one sport, without having the draw of "foreign" sports that places like Cork and Dublin GAA have to compete against has given them a huge benefit, no matter what their population for both hurling and camogie"

- Here's that perception, again, that nothing but hurling is played in KK. Don't equate a lack of interest in Gaelic football with a 100% dominance of hurling. Soccer is hugely popular in KK, there are many hurling clubs in KK whose disappointing performance in the club scene for many years is widely considered to be due to the popularity of soccer in the parish/town. Also, have a look at the record of KK soccer teams in Leinster championships, even St. Kierans, the hurling nursery have had success at national level. I won't attempt to list all sports played in Kilkenny but the idea that even one lives and breaths hurling in KK is nonsense, when I was in school in St. Kierans for example, far more students in my year did not play hurling than did. I know it's comforting for outsiders to put KK's success down to 100% focus on hurling but that is simply not the case.

Clareman · 15-06-2014 09:07AM

It doesn't matter who the best team was, or who you've beaten along the way, all that matters is who wins.
Provincial championships are a joke and are leading to a lobsided championship, in truth Kerry/Cork will have 1 game to a quarter final whereas Ulster counties could have 5.
Players will never be paid, the population just isn't big enough to support 64 paid teams, rugby is barely able to pay for 4.
98 was a complete disgrace to the GAA, Clare having players banned with no evidence and a game blown up has to have been a conspiracy.
The Waterford team of the 00's should have won something.

Godge · 15-06-2014 09:45AM

Dick phelan wrote: »

3 Dublin have an unfair advantage over other teams because they play at home in big games.

.

The thread is about unpopular opinions. There is a thread a week complaining about Dublin's so-called unfair advantage.

keane2097 wrote: »

This.

Have said it to a lot of people, Dublin have the most money, but they also get the most bang for their buck by running their county superbly well.

When every other county can look at their own spending and structures and honestly say they're as optimised as they could be they can start complaining if they still can't compete at that point, till then Dublin deserve their success on merit.

Now this is more like an unpopular opinion. It is very easy to blame your own county's failings on the fellas in the big smoke with the unfair advantage. It is much more difficult to look at your neighbours and friends and compatriots and criticise constructively what they are doing and put in the hard work to improve.

NavyandBlue · 15-06-2014 11:46AM

Professionalism would be mostly detrimental to the wider interests of a large section of intercounty players. The players wouldn't earn enough to set them up for the rest of life. The last thing we would want is a situation comparable to League1/League 2 in England where the players earn anywhere between a few hundred quid to about a thousand pound a week, retire in their mid thirties and have to fend for themselves in another environment thereafter. There won't be enough room in coaching for the majority of retried players. At present, anyone playing on the intercounty minor team stands a great chance of a University scholarship (as long as they are somewhat tuned into the books as well) and therefore can obtain a third level qualification. So they can enhance their long term career prospects as well as honing their particular football/hurling skills.

NilesCrane · 15-06-2014 11:46AM

That the provincial system keeps the old tradition of old Ireland alive yet they would never like to see Fermanagh and Donegal join up for a Tir Connail team.

savannahkat · 15-06-2014 11:56AM

rebel girl 15 wrote: »

The likes of KK supporters being insufferable about being the best, yet the people who put the hard work behind the scenes are not recognized nor are shouting it from the rooftops. KK had a conveyor belt of talent due to hard work put in with development squads, ahead of everyone else. Without doubt, focusing their county on one sport, without having the draw of "foreign" sports that places like Cork and Dublin GAA have to compete against has given them a huge benefit, no matter what their population for both hurling and camogie..

Little wonder Kilkenny people become insufferable when we have to read this kind of crap. You would think there is no soccer, rugby, basketball, cricket or anything other than hurling played in Kilkenny. There is but those who follow hurling and are interested in hurling work non stop to keep it at the top.

Unpopular GAA opinions you hold

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