Does the GAA poach soccer stars?

JoeA3

Why is it that the same one or two punters who jumped down someone's neck lately for daring to use the word "Meeelan" think it's perfectly sensible to spout "Gah" all over their posts :rolleyes:

My first post in here, but I felt compelled to point this out, sorry :pac:

estebancambias

it makes them feel big i think.

Bubs101

Haven't bothered reading the thread since it seemed to be descending into one of those stupid rivalries but one of the reasons alot of guys might choose the GAH is that they'd realise that they couldn't make the code in football and become famous, but they could be a hero in the county if they struck lucky with the GAH. Considering the far lower talent pool in GAA, I reckon that could factor into it

applehunter

Who's the moderator.

The title of the thread is a total wind up.

What's Gah?:mad:

Its GAA(Gaelic Athletic Association)

~Rebel~

indeed, i picked up on that a few pages ago too, it just got ignored though.
Its just a silly childish thing.

On Topic, as a rule i would say guys will play whatever they enjoy more.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

jaykay74

intelligent comment

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shane86

Christ. What have I created? :pac:

hunter164 wrote: »

Do you ever think they preferred Gaelic?

tbh in the 21st century I think anyone with a brain in their head will go for money.

What's Gah?

Its GAA(Gaelic Athletic Association)

Do you take such offence to people terming association football as simply football or footy.



For the record I dont hate GAA (well, bar one, I think aussie rules is a scobie sport with ridicilous sportmanship largely followed by the country equivalent of Dubs who go to UFC cage fighting in the Point. But anyway). I just dont particularly hold loyalty to any county team having been born in Dublin but having largely grown up in another crap GAA county before coming back to Dublin. I backed Fermanagh on family connections when they were on a roll in 2004 but apart from that Im not hugely arsed.

Requiem4adream

semibluff wrote: »

old man des strikes again.

Ive never seen someone with so many chips on his shoulder. Even worst is the obvious inability to form a debate and allow other opinions to atleast be recognized, if not, god forbid be discussed.

We should start a debate on the catholic church next, surely a few people have been holding grudges on that too.

BTW ive played both sports to a decent standard, and still do - and think there is no reason why they cant co-exist, and DO co-exist. Strong examples formed on either side dont mean your argument is right. It supports it, but over such a small sample size - it doesnt make it right!

set up a poll, a cross forum poll if possible and see what it brings.

I also am finished from writing in this thread, and feuling egotistic grumpy men who will listen to no reason which doesnt agree with their own.

shame, there were vaild points that could have been argued

need at least 2000 games before we can see a trend

If a teenager has the potential to be either a top class footballer (make it in England) or a top class hurler/footballer, i'd imagine an overwhelming majority would choose the former, simply down to the potential monetary rewards. In these Credit Crunch times i'm not sure GAA has the ability to poach potential top class footballers. If a late-comer 17 year old has 3 offers, let's say Barnsley, Wolves or Kildare senior panel, i dont think that's a close decision in these times. Obviously comes down to personal preference, he might not want to move to england etc but from an incentive point of view i'm not sure what they can offer to poach the best talent.

I dont really understand the negativity and vitriol directed towards the GAA here from some quarters. I'm aware of the Thomas Davis thing but it happens all the time in life, it's pure attempted-protectionism. I'm sure in every town up n down the country local shops and businesses object to planning permission for things like a new Tescos or huge shopping complex. It's just the nature of the beast, you try protect your own interests whatever they are. Sure, you dont have to like them for it, but the depth of hatred here is weird.

Dub13

Thread title changed.

Benedict XVI

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

If a kid gets put onto a Rugby development squad or brought up to a club, the top to bottom standard of the facilities he will train with and equipment used will be better than the top to bottom equivalent in Gaelic or Soccer. The mean standard of coaching will be much higher. And the amount of games and training sessions will be slightly lower. It easy to see how a kid who is sport mad and busy with school and beginning to feel conflicted at all of the Gaelic and soccer teams who want a piece of him will take comfort from Rugby. Having coaches talk to you about weight programs, about how important it is to rest and recuperate and keep fresh will be a new experience for a lot of kids who are used to managers whisking them to their fourth or fifth match of the week on a Sunday afternoon. Then, getting into a rhythm of preparing thoroughly for one game or one weekend tournament over a couple of weeks will also appeal to some kids. As they will be able to appreciate the difference between real preparation as opposed to the tired bunch of cliques that they have heard a million times before launched at them in the 10 minutes before every Gaelic and soccer match.

Rugby has money and a clear strategy in play at the youth levels. The two traditional codes should be looking over their shoulder.

All that may be true but remember Rugby is still concentrated in a very small demographic in this country.
It's traditional base is in the middle class schools in the east of the country. It has no made the inroads into rural Ireland where GAA is strongest or the working class part of big towns and cities where soccer is the most popular sport.

If I am a talented young GAA\Soccer player in Castlebar I will more likely play football for Mayo or get a trail in the UK than get involved in a serious way witha rugby team

Racing Flat

~Rebel~ wrote: »

I personally thought it was very poor form. I also think what the government did limiting the school book refund scheme to only designated poorer schools rather then across the board was an absolute disgrace of a decision. I think a lot of things, but to be honest if i were to act on all of them the way people here seem to expect id be spending all my days picketing.

Do you guys all act against everything you think is wrong in the world? If not then its a bit hypocritical...

QFT


Most of what I know about this issue I've learnt from the last few pages so apologies if the answer to these questions are common knowledge...

A lot is been made of the fact that the central committee of the GAA supported TD and that grassroots GAA members did nothing to intervene.

Did the LOI/FAI support SR?

Did grassroots soccer members (small clubs all over the country) bring it up at their club level, did the clubs take it to the next level and so on?

Racing Flat

shane86 wrote: »

Do you take such offence to people terming association football as simply football or footy.

football or footy is simply a shortening of Association Football. Whereas Gah is intentionally derogatory or provocative - can't compare the 2.

hunter164

shane86 wrote: »

tbh in the 21st century I think anyone with a brain in their head will go for money

And not for the love of the sport? :rolleyes: Cop on will ya moneys not everything.

_blank_

hunter164 wrote: »

And not for the love of the sport? :rolleyes: Cop on will ya moneys not everything.

lol

Benedict XVI

shane86 wrote: »

tbh in the 21st century I think anyone with a brain in their head will go for money.

hunter164 wrote: »

And not for the love of the sport? :rolleyes: Cop on will ya moneys not everything.

Well it all depends on the potential of the player.

If you are really good and have nothing to loose kids will head for the trails.

If you are the better side of average, happy with your lot at home you may prefer to stay, and play GAA and soccer at a high level.

There are lots of good GAA players who were on the books of English clubs over the years but did not make it (Ciaran Lyng from Wexford springs to mind)

OhNoYouDidn't

Racing Flat wrote: »

QFT


Most of what I know about this issue I've learnt from the last few pages so apologies if the answer to these questions are common knowledge...

A lot is been made of the fact that the central committee of the GAA supported TD and that grassroots GAA members did nothing to intervene.

Did the LOI/FAI support SR?

Did grassroots soccer members (small clubs all over the country) bring it up at their club level, did the clubs take it to the next level and so on?

Yes, they did. Clubs were 100% behind the FAI supporting Rovers. The issue was not fudged or buried like it was in GahGahLand.

It was so predicitble that when the Gah lost this case, and a load of central money fighting it, that Gah fans would suddenly crawl out of the woodwork claiming they were never really behind it.

The issue here is that it was done in your name with your membership fees and not one of you had the balls to call halt. So as such, there is lingering resentment in LoI circles towords the Gah grassroots, especially in Dublin, as they tacitly supported this action.

It also buries the idea that the Gah has left institutional bigotry behind in the 60's like some would claim. Not for a second would anyone claim all involved in your organisation is a reactionary. But you elect these people into the positions and leave them there, so have to shoulder some of the responsibility for their actions.

luckylucky

Des for Chairman of the GAA by 2020. :pac:

_blank_

luckylucky wrote: »

Des for Chairman of the GAA by 2020. :pac:

Hardly.

I don't even go to family functions that are being held in gah halls.

premierstone

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Yes, they did. Clubs were 100% behind the FAI supporting Rovers. The issue was not fudged or buried like it was in GahGahLand.

Bull, I remember asking the chairman of a very prominent junior soccer club on he's opinion on the matter at the time and he had no idea what i was talking about

jaykay74

Des wrote: »

Hardly.

I don't even go to family functions that are being held in gah halls.

Just in case you catch teh gah :pac::pac:

patmac

Anyway back on topic:
Q: Does the GAA poach soccer stars?
A: No we prefer them grilled.:D:D

luckylucky

Des wrote: »

Hardly.

I don't even go to family functions that are being held in gah halls.

Do you still get invited . Or do the hold em especially in GAH halls just to p1ss yeah off :pac::pac::pac:

Des's Brother-in-law: do we have to invite that mad brother of yours to the christening.

Sister: Yeah of course you do, he's my brother for fcuk sake.

Des's Brother-in-law: Yeah I know I know, but you know what he gets like after a few pints. He gets on his soapbox about the fkin ole-olers and the f'in GAH and there's no bleedin stopping him

Sister: Hmmmm.

Des's Brother-in-law: Tell yeah what I'll ring my mate Dave in the GAH and see how the GAH hall is fixed this weekend

premierstone

Des wrote: »

Hardly.

I don't even go to family functions that are being held in gah halls.

And yet the GAA are the bigots??

rovingrover

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Yes, they did. Clubs were 100% behind the FAI supporting Rovers. The issue was not fudged or buried like it was in GahGahLand.

It was so predicitble that when the Gah lost this case, and a load of central money fighting it, that Gah fans would suddenly crawl out of the woodwork claiming they were never really behind it.

The issue here is that it was done in your name with your membership fees and not one of you had the balls to call halt. So as such, there is lingering resentment in LoI circles towords the Gah grassroots, especially in Dublin, as they tacitly supported this action.

It also buries the idea that the Gah has left institutional bigotry behind in the 60's like some would claim. Not for a second would anyone claim all involved in your organisation is a reactionary. But you elect these people into the positions and leave them there, so have to shoulder some of the responsibility for their actions.

Any GAA club that protested officially would have been screwed. No games would be scheduled for their pitch. Games would be arranged at awkward times. There are 1001 ways to screw a GAA club if a county board wants to. Ask the club that let Galway United use their pitch? The identity of the DCB official pulling the strings on this is well known. No GAA club in Dublin would dare cross him.

There are still bigots at the top and in many county boards. When the GAA refromers want to get anything passed the best way is to send it out to the clubs.

The fact that all the other local GAA clubs, including the club whose area is covered by the stadium, refused to back Thomas Davis says enough to show they are not bigots. At the top the organisation is still infested with bigots though.

The clubs won't be able to weed the bigots out. it will be up to the media and the public to expose them. I can't see too many media outlets in this country willing to criticise the GAA.

_blank_

premierstone wrote: »

And yet the GAA are the bigots??

I'm a bigot for taking a principled stance and not giving that organisation my money?

Money that has previously been, and may be again, spent trying to destroy one of the most successful sporting institutions in the country.

That is bigoted?

What kind of a world do you live in?

I have my principles, I actually stand by them, instead of saying "ah shure, I'm too far away to care, dere were baby moo-cows getting born".

SectionF

rovingrover wrote: »

can't see too many media outlets in this country willing to criticise the GAA.

Harrumph! :eek:

Racing Flat

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Yes, they did. Clubs were 100% behind the FAI supporting Rovers. The issue was not fudged or buried like it was in GahGahLand.

Thanks for answering my questions. It was billed on here as a GAA+TD v SR, good to know that it was GAA+TD v FAI+SR.

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

The issue here is that it was done in your name with your membership fees and not one of you had the balls to call halt. So as such, there is lingering resentment in LoI circles towords the Gah grassroots, especially in Dublin, as they tacitly supported this action.

It also buries the idea that the Gah has left institutional bigotry behind in the 60's like some would claim. Not for a second would anyone claim all involved in your organisation is a reactionary. But you elect these people into the positions and leave them there, so have to shoulder some of the responsibility for their actions.

I am not a member of a GAA club, have not been since 1985-1987. Was a member of various soccer clubs from 1996-2003. Don't assume that because I ask questions that might appear that I am favouring one side, that I am 'of' that side. Just trying to find out more about the situation.

~Rebel~

Des wrote: »

I have my principles, I actually stand by them, instead of saying "ah shure, I'm too far away to care, dere were baby moo-cows getting born".

No need to take the piss out of my earlier statement Des, my point was quite clearly that not everyone else has the same priorities as yourself, people have their priorities and its a bit shit to think less of someone else because they don't match Yours.

Requiem4adream

Dub13 wrote: »

My own experience on this is what turned me off the GAA for good I despise them now.

Back in the early 90s I was about 11/12 and played for my local GAA team and my local Soccer club.There was no conflict of interest as such with GAA games on a Sat and soccer game on a Sun (it could have been the other way around but they were on diffrent days) training was also on different days.Loads of lads were in the same boat.

One day the GAA club got us together and told us we could not continue playing both and we had to pick one.I was a ok Soccer player but much much better at GAA so as young lads do I picked the one I was best at.And did not play a competitive soccer match again on till I was in my 20s.

I did not realize what the GAA lads did ontill I was bout 16/17 and I resent them for it ever since.I have not been to a GAA game for maybe ten years and I will not return.They broke up a very good and promising soccer team and they did it on purpose,a couple of the lads from that team went on to play pro football some in the UK and are still playing pro to this day.

I've read this post a few times trying to work out what you're trying to say. Is it that if you stayed with the footie you might have had a chance of making a pro career out of it, hence you resent the GAA club for making you choose? That doesn't make much sense though surely, because if you were that good you'd have picked footie in the first place. If you realised this at 16/17 you'd still have been young enough if good enough to make it at footie.

At 11/12 years old if i was faced with this choice i wouldn't pick what i was best at, i would pick the game i enjoyed the most. Everytime. With school as well it's a bit much for young lads to be training 4 nights a week with 2 matches on the weekend. I know plenty do it but i dont think it's crazily unreasonable to be asked to pick 1. Sounds like i'm the same age as you (25) and i know right now to play 2 sports competitively would be a big ask, it's not easy to give your best on a sunday after playing a match on saturday, and train 4 nights a week. Of course it's doable but i reckon if i went back playing 11-a-side the manager wouldnt be best impressed if i was playing GAA as well.

Clearly you think the GAA club had clandestine ulterior motives for doing it but it looks a pretty standard thing to do.

~Rebel~

Requiem4adream wrote: »

I've read this post a few times trying to work out what you're trying to say. Is it that if you stayed with the footie you might have had a chance of making a pro career out of it, hence you resent the GAA club for making you choose? That doesn't make much sense though surely, because if you were that good you'd have picked footie in the first place. If you realised this at 16/17 you'd still have been young enough if good enough to make it at footie.

At 11/12 years old if i was faced with this choice i wouldn't pick what i was best at, i would pick the game i enjoyed the most. Everytime. With school as well it's a bit much for young lads to be training 4 nights a week with 2 matches on the weekend. I know plenty do it but i dont think it's crazily unreasonable to be asked to pick 1. Sounds like i'm the same age as you (25) and i know right now to play 2 sports competitively would be a big ask, it's not easy to give your best on a sunday after playing a match on saturday, and train 4 nights a week. Of course it's doable but i reckon if i went back playing 11-a-side the manager wouldnt be best impressed if i was playing GAA as well.

Clearly you think the GAA club had clandestine ulterior motives for doing it but it looks a pretty standard thing to do.

his problem isn't that he missed oppertunities form picking one over the other, its that he was forced to pick at all! No kid should be told by a local club that they're not allowed to play other sports. it should always be up to the kid and his family to take on what they want to take on - not for some outside institution to be regulating.

If i have kids someday and they're told by some other tosser what they can and cant be doing with regards their free time i'd go fukin nuts!

Blackjack

~Rebel~ wrote: »

If i have kids someday and they're told by some other tosser what they can and cant be doing with regards their free time i'd go fukin nuts!

Beware of tossers insisting that the only sport they can follow is FAIl's League of Ireland. Seems to have it's own share of issues with match fixing allegations at the moment.

Requiem4adream

~Rebel~ wrote: »

his problem isn't that he missed oppertunities form picking one over the other, its that he was forced to pick at all! No kid should be told by a local club that they're not allowed to play other sports. it should always be up to the kid and his family to take on what they want to take on - not for some outside institution to be regulating.

If i have kids someday and they're told by some other tosser what they can and cant be doing with regards their free time i'd go fukin nuts!

Yeah true but the manager is always well within rights to say "look i'm not picking you for a game if you've played 1 yesterday". Which in effect gives him the same choice.

I dont think there is anything ulterior to it. Underage sports are so competitive, most managers think they are playing in the Champions League or for the Sam Maguire!

jaykay74

Des wrote: »

dere were baby moo-cows getting born".

is this gah=culchie farmer, football=Dub

thats no moo cow thats the missus, I'm off, goodnight

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Racing Flat

What are all the principled soccer fans who care more than their GAA counterparts doing about the fact that Sporting Fingal have objected to Drumcondra playing at Morton once Sporting Fingal's season is over?

premierstone

Des wrote: »

I'm a bigot for taking a principled stance and not giving that organisation my money?

Money that has previously been, and may be again, spent trying to destroy one of the most successful sporting institutions in the country.

That is bigoted?

What kind of a world do you live in?

I have my principles, I actually stand by them, instead of saying "ah shure, I'm too far away to care, dere were baby moo-cows getting born".

Yeah your right your not a biggot at all

OhNoYouDidn't

Racing Flat wrote: »

What are all the principled soccer fans who care more than their GAA counterparts doing about the fact that Sporting Fingal have objected to Drumcondra playing at Morton once Sporting Fingal's season is over?

yes, two football clubs having a row over the state of a shared pitch is the exact same thing as a Gah club suing two agencies of state to stop a football stadium being built with the stated intention of killing off a football club. :rolleyes:

anonymous_joe

To do something slightly daring - I'm going to vaguely try and return on topic.

Ireland has three sports that are all relatively similar in terms of the people they want. There are plenty of people who play one, two or all three sports.

Inevitably, there will come a time when choices have to be made as to which sport an individual will choose to compete in.

I went to one of the main rugby schools in Dublin. The school actively organised GAA lessons for anyone who wanted them. They really went the extra mile. Add to that, giving as much encouragement to football (the real kind :P) and basketball as they could. This despite a huge desire for success on the rugby pitch, and a relatively small potential pool of players.

I haven't heard of many Gah schools where they were handing out the rugby balls for a bit of practice.

Saying that, I appreciate the GAA feels it's got a role to play in the maintenance of local values, etc. I don't feel more or less Irish when I'm playing a particular sport. I always found Rule 42 and the attached sentiments vile. The Gah has come on in leaps and bounds recently in terms of stopping some of their dirty tricks. Was it not Liam Brady (I'm not certain) who was expelled for choosing football over GAA? That was in the past. Certainly GAA is more aggressive in its tactics at winning over young players. I would also be a bit worried about some of the amateurism in terms of treatment of players, ie. too many matches, etc. Rugby schools are often blessed with more money, and a portion of that goes on facilities and training.

Oh and there's no doubting that if Ireland played only rugby or football (we've no international rivals at GAA, the Aussie thingy doesn't really count) we'd be a substantially more impressive team. Given how split Ireland's sporting populace is, the level we compete at in these sports is staggering.

_blank_

Just watching the Australia game.

The Irish must have poached some decent soccer talent, given the goals they've scored in that game.

If we had crossing like that in the Irish Soccer team, we'd be laughing.

Racing Flat

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

yes, two football clubs having a row over the state of a shared pitch is the exact same thing as a Gah club suing two agencies of state to stop a football stadium being built with the stated intention of killing off a football club. :rolleyes:

Not the same thing but there are similarities in that in both cases a sports club is trying to stop another sports club from playing where they want to play. It'll be interesting to see if other football clubs offer their support to either side or just let them sort it out themselves.

showry

Racing Flat wrote: »

What are all the principled soccer fans who care more than their GAA counterparts doing about the fact that Sporting Fingal have objected to Drumcondra playing at Morton once Sporting Fingal's season is over?

Hang on, Drumcondra are still playing?
Shouldn't they be getting crowds of 50,000 or so taxi drivers at every game?

Zzippy

New to this forum, but does every topic mentioning GAA get dragged off-topic by posters with chips on their shoulders about Shamrock Rovers? Is it a requirement in the charter? Or is there just no moderation and dragging threads off-topic is normal?

On topic, poaching works both ways. We had good underage football and hurling teams when I played, regularly in north Dublin finals. About half the team played soccer too. The soccer manager told the lads they couldn't play GAA anymore or he wouldn't pick them. Team broke up. I had to move clubs to keep playing hurling as we didn't have enough players anymore. 10 years later, of the lads who kept up the hurling or football, 75% were still playing. Of the lads who played soccer, 10% were still playing.

estebancambias

too true.

dfx-

Anonymous joe, Zzippy and patmac, it has already been highlighted twice in the thread that the TD/SRFC affair is very on topic.

Post 60 and 88, or if you miss them again:

dfx- wrote: »

The objection to a multi-sport stadium in their area?

'The youth of Tallaght will be restricted to a diet of Association football.......applicant would be at a severe disadvantage in attracting the youth of Tallaght to the club, the sport and the GAA culture'.

Des wrote: »

This does all reflect back to the original point of this thread by the way.

The gah were trying to force the closure of SRFC in an attempt to poach the Tallaght based talent.

~Rebel~

dfx- wrote: »

Anonymous joe, Zzippy and patmac, it has already been highlighted twice in the thread that the TD/SRFC affair is very on topic.

Post 60 and 88, or if you miss them again:

Yes the issue itself Is relevent to the thread topic, but the manner in which it was first brought up was not even remotely tied to the topic. It was simply brought up as an anti-GAA comment, which is fine, everyones entitled to their opinion, but it didn't mention anything relating to players being poached from one or the other organisation. It was a another 30 posts before the topic got brought back on track thanks to yourself with a good post dfx.

Des wrote: »

Because they tried to destroy a LoI club, or had you forgotten about that?

ffs, ONYD has a right to be bitter at the gah for that.

They went to court over the Tallaght Stadium, with the EXPRESS intent of hounding Shamrock Rovers out of existence.

Many "fans" of Irish football don't know, or care, about that.

And before the gah sympathisers jump on this, the gah central council backed the T****s D***s court battle.

anonymous_joe

dfx- wrote: »

Anonymous joe, Zzippy and patmac, it has already been highlighted twice in the thread that the TD/SRFC affair is very on topic.

Post 60 and 88, or if you miss them again:

I can accept that, but I'd be worried that such an (understandably) emotive issue would probably derail the thread.

Tallaght would look bloody irresistable to any organisation if it could get a monopoly there. Would Robbie Keane have been good enough to play for Dublin?

I do think that there's no way that 'poaching' can ever be fully avoided. It's the nature of similar sports competing against each other.

cournioni

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

yes, two football clubs having a row over the state of a shared pitch is the exact same thing as a Gah club suing two agencies of state to stop a football stadium being built with the stated intention of killing off a football club. :rolleyes:

Where is this stated intention exactly? As you're intent on whinging about it every time the GAA is discussed, I want to see factual quotations. Because sharing a ground is really setting out to kill off a club isn't it?! :rolleyes:

The only reason that Rovers got their ground is because they were bailed out. I don't see that happening to any GAA club. You see, GAA clubs actually pay and fund for their own grounds...

micks

PORNAPSTER wrote: »

You see, GAA clubs actually pay and fund for their own grounds...

You should let the GAA know about the Sports Capital grants and other grants available to sporting bodies in Ireland.You never know if they were to avail of these grants they might,as a minority sport in Dublin, get preferential treatment
and get more grant aid year on year than the Assoc. Football clubs that greatly out number them!

fund for their own grounds... you had me there..............

Benedict XVI

micks wrote: »

You should let the GAA know about the Sports Capital grants and other grants available to sporting bodies in Ireland.You never know if they were to avail of these grants they might,as a minority sport in Dublin, get preferential treatment
and get more grant aid year on year than the Assoc. Football clubs that greatly out number them!

fund for their own grounds... you had me there..............

sources please ?

micks

Define poach ?
All codes - mainly Rugby, Gaa and FAI are dipping into the same pool of players its prob a bit of who gets them first and outside(family) influences that decide which path a child takes.I would say there are very few that excel at one code while participating at another and get "poached " by the secondary sport, if you know what i mean. You may as i'd say is the case in the high profile examples excel at 2 sports without deciding a favourite and later in teens make a choice that the losing sport would see as poaching. Bottom line in my opinion is that most that get to the top level of their sport in this country could have the basics to excel at another.This is also why i believe that the TD/SRFC episodes are so relevant to this thread. 5 years ago TD were the major player underage for talent in the D24 area. Offering competitive at the top level in Dublin GAA. There was no Football club in Tallaght that offered this ie Robbie Keane went to Crumlin Utd. Then Rovers came on the scene, now for the first time their is a real name in sport in opposition for these Tallaght kids to chose from. Rovers will in time offer premier DDSL to kids in Tallaght year on year which i dont believe has been on offer previously. They have scholarships set up with ITT i believe. And a masive involvement with the communities in Tallaght. Even though its a different sport they will be a major opponent to TD in the future for players on the field.