2020 All Ireland Senior Football Championship MOD NOTE POST #1

ArnoldJRimmer

ShamoBuc wrote: »

The pitch in Cork is absolutely fantastic. Everyone who has played on it recently, even in monsoon conditions, has nothing but praise for it.

Yep, it looked great for the Cork-Kerry game, they have done some job in turning around the debacle of the last few years

kala85

billyhead wrote: »

What about PUC for the semis to shut up those who think Croker gives the Dubs an unfair advantage. The pitch down their would hold up well in December.

Great idea. Level the playing field

dxhound2005

thelad95 wrote: »

Clones in December would be a swamp. Teams who make it to the All Ireland series deserve to play in Croke Park, one of the finest sporting facilities in Europe, not a swamp in the pissing rain in a small town in Monaghan, just to take away a supposed home field advantage in what will be an empty stadium anyway.

By the way, Dublin would still win comfortably if the game was played on a club field in Leitrim for what it matters.

I think pitches in general would be in worse condition in February than in November / December. Monaghan play League games in Clones in February, and I don't remember any particular issue with the condition of the pitch. If it was a swamp, games could not go ahead. The issue with Clones in these dark days is the absence of floodlights. There could be rain in Dublin as well.

BonnieSituation

jmayo wrote: »

About time we got cynical like everyone else.



Just thinking of fact that Dublin have another advantage this year with covid.
For most of the teams left and looking at the most likely candidates for semis, the players will have to travel the length or breath of the country to play in Dublin.

How do all the players now travel to their away matches ?

I know HQ told teams a while back to park the buses (hits some counties with nice buses more than others ) and travel as individuals.

So why should players from the likes of Mayo, Cork, Donegal have to travel the whole way to Dublin when the Dublin players can roll out of bed and be at the ground in half an hour or so ?

I can see the arguments being made for Croker on pitch, Hawkeye, camera positions and press facilities.

But do we really need Hawkeye when teams have being playing without throughout the year.
And camera placement can be pretty ok elsewhere and well screw the press.

So really it is down to pitch.

So how good is the pitch going to be in December in comparison to everywhere else ?

With all these advantages we have I don't even know why any other teams even bother rolling out of their beds.

billyhead

BonnieSituation wrote: »

With all these advantages we have I don't even know why any other teams even bother rolling out of their beds.

Other teams facing Dublin may as well not turn up. The excuses are boring at this stage. If your good enough you'll win irrespective of the pitch.

dxhound2005

BonnieSituation wrote: »

With all these advantages we have I don't even know why any other teams even bother rolling out of their beds.

It may be that small percentage advantage which allowed Dublin to win four of their finals in the recent decade by just one point. And survive two replays. That should give some hope to the rest.

BonnieSituation

dxhound2005 wrote: »

It may be that small percentage advantage which allowed Dublin to win four of their finals in the recent decade by just one point. And survive two replays. That should give some hope to the rest.

That's it alright.

Who would have thought the GAA would schedule the All Ireland finals to be in Croker.

No one saw it coming!

cave_dweller

Whenever the argument about playing games outside of Croke Park is mentioned, people will make the argument that players want to play there the most. Dublin should play more games outside of Croke Park earlier in the Leinster Championship, but All Ireland semi-finals and finals should always be in Croke Park. Moving them away from CP is a non-runner.

When Kilkenny won All Irelands year after year no-one spoke about all of their advantages. It was just because it was Kilkenny. Lots of stuff is thrown at Dublin, a lot of it unfairly imo. The reality is that they are the best team and have been for a number of years due to having an outstanding squad who were managed superbly. We all seem to have short memories, growing up the Dubs were losing games every year and usually painfully until they got their s**t together. Dublin are the best now but they'll fall back eventually, like Kilkenny.

dxhound2005

The phrases Home Advantage and Neutral Venue would not be in the language of sports if they did not mean something.

BonnieSituation

We geddit.

Wait til you see our silver plated bus that will shepherd the players back and forth from our home stadium on Jones' Road in socially distanced opulence.

No expense spared.

elefant

cave_dweller wrote: »

Whenever the argument about playing games outside of Croke Park is mentioned, people will make the argument that players want to play there the most. Dublin should play more games outside of Croke Park earlier in the Leinster Championship, but All Ireland semi-finals and finals should always be in Croke Park. Moving them away from CP is a non-runner.

When Kilkenny won All Irelands year after year no-one spoke about all of their advantages. It was just because it was Kilkenny. Lots of stuff is thrown at Dublin, a lot of it unfairly imo. The reality is that they are the best team and have been for a number of years due to having an outstanding squad who were managed superbly. We all seem to have short memories, growing up the Dubs were losing games every year and usually painfully until they got their s**t together. Dublin are the best now but they'll fall back eventually, like Kilkenny.

The argument that Dublin will fall back into the pack eventually isn't really based on anything other than gut feeling. All things being equal, a decade where Dublin don't win multiple all-Irelands from here on out should be considered a failure for them- they have the most players, the most resources and play all their games at home. Dublin have a very professional setup now, and are making the most of their advantages in a way that they did not in the past. The gap these advantages lend Dublin will only grow as Ireland continues to urbanise; country clubs with strong traditions in gaelic football are having to amalgamate to field teams in many counties. And that's because their young people, their human resources, are moving to Dublin. This movement happens almost entirely in one direction.

People did complain that Kilkenny gained a leg up by not fielding a football team, allowing them to focus resources on their hurlers, but this wasn't the type of challenge that other counties couldn't possibly match up to. Everyone could see that Kilkenny wouldn't remain as frontrunners in perpetuity. Dublin will do, unless they mess something up themselves, or there's a massive national shift in population and capital away from the capital city.

gourcuff

this moronic argument from dubs that gaelic football is the only sport in the world where home advantage is irrelevant is nonsensical..

just accept that you have every advantage possible, competition structure, a backroom team of professionals, home advantage, sponsorship multiples of other counties, population, huge net migration from other football counties...

eventually things will have to change and the whole thing will be revamped, till then just enjoy your asterisk all irelands and stop being so bitter about kerry and mayo.. you are winning, why do you care what other counties are doing?

Misguided1

I'll be curious to see how a lack of a crowd (empty hill 16) impacts home advantage. Dub's have their routine of warming up in front of the hill, playing into it in the second half etc. They are affected by the crowd before a ball is kicked.
Typically home advantage is linked to the size of the crowd/audience. That advantage can also heavily influence referring decisions. Not that I think Dublin will be beaten this year (sadly) but it will be interesting.

dunnerc

gourcuff wrote: »

this moronic argument from dubs that gaelic football is the only sport in the world where home advantage is irrelevant is nonsensical..

just accept that you have every advantage possible, competition structure, a backroom team of professionals, home advantage, sponsorship multiples of other counties, population, huge net migration from other football counties...

eventually things will have to change and the whole thing will be revamped, till then just enjoy your asterisk all irelands and stop being so bitter about kerry and mayo.. you are winning, why do you care what other counties are doing?

Ok i accept everything you say , happy now ?

dunnerc

Not that I think Dublin will be beaten this year (sadly) but it will be interesting.

Hope your right (happily)

DVDM93

https://twitter.com/KevDoyle_Indo/status/1328610770180059137?s=20

blowitupref

Apart from maybe the All-Ireland final I see little sense to have games in Croke Park this year with no supporters in attendance.

RedDevil55

blowitupref wrote: »

Apart from maybe the All-Ireland final I see little sense to have games in Croke Park this year with no supporters in attendance.

If it was the middle of summer I'd agree with you but pitch and weather conditions are a huge issue in November/December. At least in Croke Park, the pitch will never cut up and the high stands will protect against gale force winds making a mess of games

ArnoldJRimmer

blowitupref wrote: »

Apart from maybe the All-Ireland final I see little sense to have games in Croke Park this year with no supporters in attendance.

I'm all for a better spread of games normally, but the surface in Croker is the best in the country at this time of year. Makes perfect sense

BonnieSituation

gourcuff wrote: »

this moronic argument from dubs that gaelic football is the only sport in the world where home advantage is irrelevant is nonsensical..

just accept that you have every advantage possible, competition structure, a backroom team of professionals, home advantage, sponsorship multiples of other counties, population, huge net migration from other football counties...

eventually things will have to change and the whole thing will be revamped, till then just enjoy your asterisk all irelands and stop being so bitter about kerry and mayo.. you are winning, why do you care what other counties are doing?

Yes. We're the ones with the obsession with other counties.

Asterisks are very sexy. They titillate that there's something more to see. Oooh. Suits you.

thelad95

Croke Park has not just the best playing surface in Ireland but is probably one of the best in Europe.

There's absolutely zero rationale in moving knockout games away from Croke Park apart from some rubbish about taking away home advantage from Dublin.

Clare v Wexford at the weekend was a mud bath on a poor pitch in Portlaoise. An All Ireland finalist or semi finalist really wouldn't be deserving of such an awful surface.

BonnieSituation

Misguided1 wrote: »

I'll be curious to see how a lack of a crowd (empty hill 16) impacts home advantage. Dub's have their routine of warming up in front of the hill, playing into it in the second half etc. They are affected by the crowd before a ball is kicked.
Typically home advantage is linked to the size of the crowd/audience. That advantage can also heavily influence referring decisions. Not that I think Dublin will be beaten this year (sadly) but it will be interesting.

I look forward to Donegal beating us in the SF and the ensuing braying.

Can ye not just enjoy the football.

km79

RedDevil55 wrote: »

If it was the middle of summer I'd agree with you but pitch and weather conditions are a huge issue in November/December. At least in Croke Park, the pitch will never cut up and the high stands will protect against gale force winds making a mess of games

100%

Trampas

I’m to lazy to look up but why was Connaught final last weekend compared to others. They get an extra week rest compared to other counties

dxhound2005

The whole thing was just three games, with Sligo not playing and no London or New York. Another way to look at it is that a three week break for Mayo before they play Cork or Tipp, might not do them much good.

DVDM93

If Galway had won on Sunday it would have been said that Galway had the advantage going in fresh & Mayo just off the back of a game V Roscommon & Leitrim a couple of weeks before that.

Mayo won & as expected I've seen people say that even the game V Sligo would have been worth an extra point or two for Galway whatever about the New York game.

It's often a guessing game really seeing what way will suit a particular team & it's never really seen until the following game where people will then say I told you so.

Hindsight is a great thing.

That's just using Galway-Mayo as a recent example & because the Connacht championship was mentioned above.

It happens all the time & is a bit of a cliche now at this stage imo.

gourcuff

thelad95 wrote: »

Croke Park has not just the best playing surface in Ireland but is probably one of the best in Europe.

There's absolutely zero rationale in moving knockout games away from Croke Park apart from some rubbish about taking away home advantage from Dublin.

Clare v Wexford at the weekend was a mud bath on a poor pitch in Portlaoise. An All Ireland finalist or semi finalist really wouldn't be deserving of such an awful surface.

moronic nonsense, if thats the case spurs should get to play every league game at home in wembley, its the best surface in england, there is zero rationale in spurs having to play any away games - see how stupid that is?

improve the other pitches rather than let a ridiculously unfair structure limp on into farce...

EICVD

gourcuff wrote: »

this moronic argument from dubs that gaelic football is the only sport in the world where home advantage is irrelevant is nonsensical..

just accept that you have every advantage possible, competition structure, a backroom team of professionals, home advantage, sponsorship multiples of other counties, population, huge net migration from other football counties...

eventually things will have to change and the whole thing will be revamped, till then just enjoy your asterisk all irelands and stop being so bitter about kerry and mayo.. you are winning, why do you care what other counties are doing?

Yes Dublin fans are bitter about Mayo & Kerry but this comment isn’t bitter towards Dublin? Hahahaha

BonnieSituation

gourcuff wrote: »

moronic nonsense, if thats the case spurs should get to play every league game at home in wembley, its the best surface in england, there is zero rationale in spurs having to play any away games - see how stupid that is?

improve the other pitches rather than let a ridiculously unfair structure limp on into farce...

That's such a poor strawman attempt.

5/7

dobman88

BonnieSituation wrote: »

That's such a poor strawman attempt.

5/7

I dont know why you even bother. He has made 2 posts and used the term moronic in both of them. Shows the lack of a coherent argument. Not someone to be taken seriously clearly