Unpopular GAA opinions you hold

intellectual dosser

My unpopular (Football) opinion:

The Provincial Championships are dead.

This year Mayo and Dublin will win their respective provinces without sweating while the seeding down south means we'll have Kerry v Cork Munster Finals for the next decade at least. Ulster offers a bit more excitement and intrigue but for a long time we had Armagh and Tyrone exchanging titles shortly after the backdoor system was brought in.

I do cite the backdoor system as the critical factor, I think the historically weaker teams will put up a fight in their province but will ultimately fall back on the second chance.

People dont want to change, the provincial championships have always been a cornerstone of the GAA summer, we have our historys, our memories and medals from them, but the longer they continue in the current format the less they'll matter. To fix this, we either resuscitate the provincials by removing the backdoor, or we change the format of the championship altogether. And yes I find it hard to argue against a "Champions League" format complete with seeding. I'm aware that alluding to a soccer institution can be suicidal to my point in this forum.

CurryFlavoured

davehedgehog wrote: »

4. Marty Morrissey is not a ride

Get out.

Martin567

Moneymaker wrote: »

Kilkenny fans superior attitude and seeming divine right to win everything is extremely grating.

Kilkenny fans are mostly very understated. Imagine how unbearable certain other fans would be if their county had won 9 out of 13 All Ireland Finals.

djPSB

Mayo have over achieved in recent seasons.

Their forward line is no where near good enough to win an All Ireland. Cillian O' Connor is way over rated.

wicklowwonder

djPSB wrote: »

Mayo have over achieved in recent seasons.

Their forward line is no where near good enough to win an All Ireland. Cillian O' Connor is way over rated.

Andy Moran is overrated in my opinion. Cillian O'Connor is decent.

donnem33

intellectual dosser wrote: »

My unpopular (Football) opinion:

The Provincial Championships are dead.

This year Mayo and Dublin will win their respective provinces without sweating while the seeding down south means we'll have Kerry v Cork Munster Finals for the next decade at least. Ulster offers a bit more excitement and intrigue but for a long time we had Armagh and Tyrone exchanging titles shortly after the backdoor system was brought in.

I do cite the backdoor system as the critical factor, I think the historically weaker teams will put up a fight in their province but will ultimately fall back on the second chance.

People dont want to change, the provincial championships have always been a cornerstone of the GAA summer, we have our historys, our memories and medals from them, but the longer they continue in the current format the less they'll matter. To fix this, we either resuscitate the provincials by removing the backdoor, or we change the format of the championship altogether. And yes I find it hard to argue against a "Champions League" format complete with seeding. I'm aware that alluding to a soccer institution can be suicidal to my point in this forum.

Great post. I agree entirely with everything you said!

davidfitz22

GAA is a minority sport in dublin, The population advantage counts for nothing if there is little interest in the sport,
GAA is everything to the people in mayo, where as in dublin there is a greater interest in soccer and rugby.
look at the size of the dublin GAA board compared to Mayo for example

dirkmeister

davehedgehog wrote: »

My Unpopular GAA Opinions
1. Kilkenny have taken all enjoyment out of watching the game of hurling. Clare winning last year with their style of play was so popular and was a breath of fresh air.

If you can't enjoy watching Tommy Walsh, JJ Delaney, Henry Shefflin and Richie Hogan in full flight then I don't know what to say.

Clare didn't look like the saviours of the game that they are being made out to be against Wexford.

adrian522

I'm personally no a huge fan of Clare's style of play to be honest, it's effective certainly but wouldn't be my cup of tea from a neutral point of view.

donnem33

I believe it's about time that there were 2 referees instead of 1 officiating at matches in both hurling and football. The game is gone too fast for one man to be able to see and judge everything and make every correct decision.

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

Dislike of Kilkenny and their achievements is mostly borne out of jealousy.

Clare probably won't win another All-Ireland for ten years. But if they do, the hate and jealously will start flowing in like the 90s with Loughnane.

'Everybody pities the weak; jealousy you have to earn.'

CurryFlavoured

donnem33 wrote: »

I believe it's about time that there were 2 referees instead of 1 officiating at matches in both hurling and football. The game is gone too fast for one man to be able to see and judge everything and make every correct decision.

I'd say most will agree with you there. Referee's need some sort of help, be it a 2nd man, video replay or whatever.

Moneymaker

IrishAlice wrote: »

Aaahhh we're not all like that! Every county has the few eejits sure!

Martin567 wrote: »

Kilkenny fans are mostly very understated. Imagine how unbearable certain other fans would be if their county had won 9 out of 13 All Ireland Finals.

Maybe i've just been unlucky so :pac:

ProudDUB

donnem33 wrote: »

I believe it's about time that there were 2 referees instead of 1 officiating at matches in both hurling and football. The game is gone too fast for one man to be able to see and judge everything and make every correct decision.

I doubt if you would find many people disagreeing with you there. It should definitely be in place for inter county games. Or if there are not two refs, there should be structures in place to help him out, such as a TMO for big games in Croker Park or Semple, another official in the stands and/or linesmen & umpires being consulted more often. I'd also look at removing some of his responsibilities (such as time keeping and keeping track of subs) and give them to someone else on the sideline. Let the ref concentrate on the game.

Originally Posted by Martin567
Kilkenny fans are mostly very understated. Imagine how unbearable certain other fans would be if their county had won 9 out of 13 All Ireland Finals.

I'd agree with you there. It is very easy to accuse KK fans of being arrogant, without stopping to consider how you would react if you came from a county who has achieved what they have in the last 10-12 years. After winning Sam twice in three years, I am becoming borderline unbearable. If we ever come close to replicating what KK have, I'll probably have to leave the country.

NavyandBlue

Jim Carney may not be everyone's cup of tea as a commentator but you can't beat that man's passion for football. He always reminds me of many of my primary and secondary school teachers who used to sacrifice their lunch breaks in order to coach us.

RoscommonTom

NavyandBlue wrote: »

Jim Carney may not be everyone's cup of tea as a commentator but you can't beat that man's passion for football. He always reminds me of many of my primary and secondary school teachers who used to sacrifice their lunch breaks in order to coach us.

Who is Jim carney

Fr Tod Umptious

RoscommonTom wrote: »

Who is Jim carney

Original host of The Sunday Game.
Tuam Heard journalist
He used to do the commentary on the highlights of the Connaught Final for the Sunday Game back when there were no live games.

Unique delivery is how I would describe his work.

dirkmeister

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Original host of The Sunday Game.
Tuam Heard journalist
He used to do the commentary on the highlights of the Connaught Final for the Sunday Game back when there were no live games.

Unique delivery is how I would describe his work.

He used to get a few early hurling games too.

I remember he did a Kilkenny game in 1998, the Laois game if I'm not mistaken.

He also did the infamous Munster final replay I think...Gilligan's goal has his voice stuck in my mind.

Tramore84

Hurling is not played in every county because it is not as accessible as football and easy to pick up.

Hurling might be the designated national game but it is not the game of the people - football is.

savannahkat

IrishAlice wrote: »

Aaahhh we're not all like that! Every county has the few eejits sure!

That's quite true Alice, and I am sure in your eyes I would be the biggest one of all and I don't take offense to you thinking that no, not at all, it is just that when it comes to Kilkenny hurling I just can't find anything to be humble about. Let me see 6 from the last 8, 9 from the last 13 All Irelands won, 21st smallest county in the country population wise, most senior, minor and under 21 titles won. I know that litany just bugs the daylights out of every man woman and child in Munster and in particular those from Tipp and Cork that is why love repeating it. It might not be nice but it is TRUE

Miccoli

ciarriaithuaidh wrote: »

4 points ahead of Armagh in 2002...2 kicks of a ball is NOT "well ahead".
Well beaten by a better Tyrone team in 2003.
2005 final was a top notch game,best final I've seen.
Kerry were never well ahead in 2008, so you're wrong again. Leading by 1 at halftime.
You then mentioned 2011, but you were talking about the 2000's..tying yourself up in knots.

Not at all your just being pedantic. Same core of the team in 2011 as there was in the mid 2000's.

RoyalCelt

donnem33 wrote: »

I believe it's about time that there were 2 referees instead of 1 officiating at matches in both hurling and football. The game is gone too fast for one man to be able to see and judge everything and make every correct decision.

completely agree. hurling at inter county should have 2 refs.

RoscommonTom

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Original host of The Sunday Game.
Tuam Heard journalist
He used to do the commentary on the highlights of the Connaught Final for the Sunday Game back when there were no live games.

Unique delivery is how I would describe his work.

Thanks I cant for the life if me remember him, and Im old enough that I should, if I heard his voice id probably know it

ArielAtom

Sky Sports will be good for the GAA.

Dublin are prospering in both codes because of the work done by volunteers (like every other county) at grass roots level and not because of financial assistance.

Blue giant

ArielAtom wrote: »

Sky Sports will be good for the GAA.

Dublin are prospering in both codes because of the work done by volunteers (like every other county) at grass roots level and not because of financial assistance.

Made possible by the extra finance available to them.

Pearlstone

1. I will not watch any Ulster Championship football.

2. Kilkenny hurlers are not as good as they were and are unlikely to win the AI this year.

3. It is only a matter of time before senior inter county gaa will become professional. Players are not fools. Sky getting involved is the beginning of the end for the game as we know it.

MacBizzle

Blue giant wrote: »

Made possible by the extra finance available to them.

Tbh I don't think Dublin's money is having half the effect people are trying to make it look like. It could be by sheer chance that Dublin have the best team simply because they're the most populated city.

Are Dublin's teams even that good anyway compared to teams of the past? Their hurling team have only won a Leinster championship and a league, no U-21s, no minors. Their football team have only won two All-Irelands, albeit they've won 8 of the last 9 Leinsters but that's hardly surprising, two leagues, one minor AI, and 3 U-21s. It's hardly time to start panicking about Dublin having a monopoly over the championship just yet, maybe when they've won 6 or 7 in a row it's time to start looking at things.

^^^^^Now that's going to be an unpopular opinion.

Is there anywhere where we can see the amount of money each county gets from the GAA?

feargale

China will win the 2025 All-Ireland Junior hurling championship, beating Leitrim in the final.

RoscommonTom

Its time that the gaa divided up the cash equally between all counties, its only a matter if time till fellas in other counties lose interest in gaa and start moving to soccer if they keep giving the most of the money to dublin and having them win everything

ArielAtom

RoscommonTom wrote: »

Its time that the gaa divided up the cash equally between all counties, its only a matter if time till fellas in other counties lose interest in gaa and start moving to soccer if they keep giving the most of the money to dublin and having them win everything

If we are going to look at level distribution of funding we must look at the numbers playing in each county. Is has to be done on a pro rata basis. I am assuming that is what you mean and not give every county say 150k for the year.

MacBizzle

RoscommonTom wrote: »

Its time that the gaa divided up the cash equally between all counties, its only a matter if time till fellas in other counties lose interest in gaa and start moving to soccer if they keep giving the most of the money to dublin and having them win everything

But why should Leitrim, who have a population of 31798, get the same amount of money as Dublin, who have a population 1186000, do? Leitrim's population is 37 times smaller than Dublin's.

WesternZulu

RoscommonTom wrote: »

Its time that the gaa divided up the cash equally between all counties, its only a matter if time till fellas in other counties lose interest in gaa and start moving to soccer if they keep giving the most of the money to dublin and having them win everything

That would not be fair at all.

So you propose that Leitrim get the same amount of money as Dublin, even though they have far fewer clubs and hugely different in terms of population?

Soccer is hardly a beacon of light either in terms of financial fairness between that haves and have nots.

Fireball07

Personally, I do think that Cluxton is overrated. A good player, no doubt, but I think saying that he revolutionised football is going a bit far... I really don't think his kickouts are quite as good as people say.

Henry Shefflin is the best hurler ever, some people don't rate him as highly because he's not the most flashy... he's capable of being flashy when he wants, but his intelligence on the ball is supreme.

John Galvin is the best midfielder of the last 15 years.

CurryFlavoured

Fireball07 wrote: »

John Galvin is the best midfielder of the last 15 years.

Not sure if I'd go that far but he can't be far off. Used to love that guy, if he had less injuries and played for a better county he'd be known as a modern great. I remember him being a one man army against Kerry on more than one occasion, almost won games by himself for an average Limerick side.

donnem33

Pearlstone wrote: »

1. I will not watch any Ulster Championship football.

2. Kilkenny hurlers are not as good as they were and are unlikely to win the AI this year.

3. It is only a matter of time before senior inter county gaa will become professional. Players are not fools. Sky getting involved is the beginning of the end for the game as we know it.

It would not be sustainable for the GAA to be professional! Im not sure if the vast majority of players would even like it to be professional, they just want to be treated fairly!

ciarriaithuaidh

Fireball07 wrote: »

Personally, I do think that Cluxton is overrated. A good player, no doubt, but I think saying that he revolutionised football is going a bit far... I really don't think his kickouts are quite as good as people say.

Henry Shefflin is the best hurler ever, some people don't rate him as highly because he's not the most flashy... he's capable of being flashy when he wants, but his intelligence on the ball is supreme.

John Galvin is the best midfielder of the last 15 years.

I'm no Dublin fan and it's a cliché at this stage, but I totally disagree with you, I think Cluxton HAS changed the way people think about kickouts especially. That is indisputable in my view. He has dipped in form as a shot-stopper I think and is not prone to getting rattled as we have seen, but still probably the best keeper I've ever seen.

On John Galvin, always rated him highly and not just cos he's half a Kerryman.:D Being honest though, I can't agree that he is THE best midfielder of any period. He matched Darragh O'Sé (got the better of him once or twice) and many more, but the reality in the modern game is that the top teams aim to peak in August/September, so we don't know how he would have faired in Croker in Autumn against the best guys at their peak.

RoscommonTom

MacBizzle wrote: »

But why should Leitrim, who have a population of 31798, get the same amount of money as Dublin, who have a population 1186000, do? Leitrim's population is 37 times smaller than Dublin's.

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

adrian522

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.

Browney7

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.

theoneeyedman

There will eventually be 10 or maybe 12 pro teams competing for the AI football championship. A mixture of big counties like Dublin Cork etc and joint/make up teams from several counties. Subscription TV will fund it.

MacBizzle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.