Kilkenny GAA Thread

Anyone else hear huw lawlor might be going travelling next year?

did we not absolutely **** away a semi final against clare?all the chances we missed along with finishing with braindead tactics and bringing on lads who were bet. Both defences today arevery open

Cork allowing them to be full flow. Poor defending on both sides. Extra time gone flat. Replay the better option.

Bn

Enda McEvoy told me in February he had a strong fancy for Clare to win the All Ireland this year. He thought they had put a very strong panel together and could go all the way. Hope he had a few euro on them.

Johnny Murphy morphed into Brian gavin today thankfully

He referred completely differently up to todays game 🤣🤣

what the **** are you talking about

In all fairness Kilkenny have great tradition that spooks opposition and is worth a few points and a team that will fight until the end.Unfortunately we are an average team. No way we can put up scores like Cork, Clare, Limerick when they get in full flow, our games evolves around stopping these teams.

Well doe clare,hard to begrudge them.To be fair clare beat kk 3 times and like any close match we had chances where we could of won the semi final. Infact clare give you lots of chances to score. I blame tactically and management got it very wrong and deserve the criticism. There's a few lads here who take comfort or happy enough in being narrowly bet by the champions. This isn't good enough and this is the reason we arent winning any more at any level. I know only one team can win every year but we threw away that semi final. There's some here who think the fitness isn't a contributing factor for fading from game. I agree all teams are superfit but there's a reason that lukas guy now has 3 all irelands with winning teams. Every other county have high profile guys.Have we done anything to investigate why we have faded out of important games. I wouldnt think so.I've nothing against anyone involved but these are the facts. These lads are grand for club teams but county is a different set up. Everyone is entitled to their opinion opinion of course but I think the whole thing needs to looked at. The bottom line is we are to mane. Like it or lump it tactically,training facilities,underage results. We are years behind. The longer lads are happy to get bet in a semi final or final the longer we will win nothing. I don't know how anyone could defend that county board. Maybe you have someone involved and I know there's work in the background but there's work in every county going on. This is a given. We will agree to disagree but I just think the longer we are happy to get bet the longer the rot will continue. The stats don't lie.

Fwiw, were Kilkenny the only team to be beaten once?

well didn’t I send you good news last night on the previous page with all our underage teams winning, some people might scoff at this but I feel we are making real progress underage this year despite the end results. It’s amazing what a bit of shaking up in the underage structure can do. Re. Michael Fennelly if we keep improving these structures then the success will surely come.

Bet, cork wish they had a mikey butler

Spot on, as a spectacle hurling has never been better, but is being facilitated by an abandonment of the rules to fuel that "entertainment"

Just before throw in yesterday, we had Cusack all but appealing to the ref to ignore the rules of the game and just let it flow. Let them throw, let them have their 8 steps, let keepers puck out the ball before the ref signals, let keepers steal 5 yards on puck outs, let players have a bas the size of a frying pan making it impossible to not hit the ball cleanly etc

I hate to be a killjoy, but I believe in 5 years’ time we will be looking back at these score fests and question the wisdom of making the game ridiculously easy in order to make it "look great"

And I don’t believe for a second Kilkenny couldn’t have lived with either team yesterday.

We were told by many here and the media that there was a chasm in standards between the two semifinals, and yet the winner came from the supposedly "inferior” semi.

Again, I contend, that people are getting carried away by high scoring spectacles and not seeing the flaws in those games because it is all so exciting.

In soccer, when you get the odd roller coaster game that ends 4-3, it’s great entertainment, but if most games finished 4-3, there would be a root and branch overhaul to stop the game being made too easy. In hurling we all sit back and gush (and btw if someone else sends me that frigging text about the English man who watched the final and was blown away, I’ll cry). We are too fond of people praising the game as a "great spectacle” and in danger of allowing the game to become just that, “a spectacle” for people to gush at, but I believe that will end badly.

All Ireland Final 2029 limerick 5-39 Cork 4-37?

Never thought I’d live long enough to feel sorry for Cork losing an AIF, but I do, they were desperately unlucky to not have at least got a draw (and remember they were badly done by ref in first match v Clare in 2013 also).

For all my reservations above, Cork and their fans did light up the championship and the atmosphere inside and outside the ground was maybe the best ever on AIF day

Yes indeed. They lacked a ruthless defender above all.

As my family says: Cork play beautiful games and usually lose them! Too soft!