The 2024 All Ireland Senior Football Championship (Sam Maguire Cup)

I think Damien Comer and Shane Walsh have got a lot of unecessary criticism about bottling it. Yes,Walsh was awful at frees, but in general play they were completely out of it due to the horrendous slow build up, sideways and backwards handpassing and kicking by all the other Galway players out the field. Comer is arguably the most physically strong full forward in the game, but never got quick high or low ball into him while he was on the field. Galway were playing not to lose, Armagh played to win and deserved and should have been more that one point ahead at the final whistle.

McGeeney said yesterday it’s the people who know little that make a lot of noise.

Who is it that’s demanding these changes? The players? They’re the amateurs putting the time in, I’d love to hear their collective opinion.

The jubilee team yesterday was Meath containing legends like Tommy Dowd, Trevor Giles and Ollie Murphy. What a final that was too, Murphy scored a good goal in the first half and then Joe Kavanagh scored one of the greatest we’ve seen in the second. But in reality was it a great final? It finished 1-11 to 1-08, outscored by Armagh v Galway yesterday.

I said the same yesterday after I came home from the match. Two very limited teams. Neither carried out their game plans whatever they were and 1-9 was a very low score to win a Final with.

Sorry 1 - 11.

I happen to think most of the calls for rule change/or that the game is in an awful state is coming from fickle support, i.e. They'll never be happy. There are other things to consider.
You don't agree, fine.

I've seen Galway and Armagh several times and have not been overly impressed. I'd be surprised if either win their Provincial titles next year.

There was no genuinely consistent side all year, save perhaps Donegal who showed greatest improvement. Can't speak for Armagh, but Galway are 3-in-a-row winners in Connacht and should be better again next year with hopefully a fitter and larger squad.

Galway will be back again and Armagh will be thereabouts. A fit Sean Kelly would make a difference and John Daly. They have had underage success while Armagh haven't. Armagh have 3 or 4 players who are near the end of their career. Galway only have Conroy, who would be a big loss if he goes

The issue with the game is not the level of scoring.

The issue is the lack of contest for possession.This has largely disappeared from the game because we have teams who just retreat and put 15 men in defence and we have very little kick passing.

We need to increase the contest for possession and the number of them in the game this is what most people like in my opinion.

When I played football if you played corner forward the number 1 thing you had to do was be out in front of your man and be ready at all times either for a long pass into the corner or a break off the full forward however the ball is very rarely kicked into the full forward line long anymore because of blanket defences.

You don't get as much contest for possession in midfield either because 75% of kickouts go short to a cornerback.

I'd make the following rule changes.

1. Blanket defence tactic is banned, at all times each team must have at least 5 players inside the 65 metre line of the goal they are attacking

2. All kickouts must cross the 45 metre line .Player can claim a mark for a clean catch from a kick out .

3. 3 consecutive handpasses and then the ball must be kicked forward.(getting rid of the blanket defence will mean it will actually be worthwhile kicking the ball forward).

Do this and you'd bring back more catch and kick into the game which is what fans want (and I'd imagine the players would prefer it as well), if I want to see players hand passing the ball around in the circle in order to get a perfect position for a shot (like we see constantly) I'll watch Olympic handball.

Basketball had to introduce the shot clock because teams used to pass the ball around in a circle endless as a way of keeping possession (and stifling the oppositions) and hold back shooting until they were in a perfect posession, that is what Galway were doing for a lot of the game yesterday and it's awful to watch.

People seem to think that the game would work it's way through this defensive phase it's stuck in and it's around 15 years of it now and it hasn't it's got worse over time, people need to face it that the rules don't encourage teams to play more exciting football and we need to legislate the type of football we see far too often out of the game.

Agree and its simple rule changes that can make a difference

Talk about fickle fans or what mcgeeney said isn't the point

It's about improving the game as a "show"

So please put forward your suggestions for improving the game.

And please don't try and pretend it doesn't need to be improved because it does.

One of the noticeable things that has grown over the past decade at matches has been the audible hum of people chatting or even near silence during matches (like you get at baseball and cricket) as opposed to people being fully invested in the game.

Do you think teams endlessly hand passing the ball around in a circle is what fans want from the game (because it's a major feature of the game in the last few years)

Thinking back on yesterdays game
It was very clean. Both teams very disciplined.
I think there may have been one yellow late on and that was it ?
No blacks. No cynical fouls (even from Armagh at the end when they should have 🫣)

That is a credit to both sets of players

The forward mark was meant to encourage a bit of traditional catch and kick. Whilst its done the first part, it doesn't help that the average modern footballer is very mediocre at kicking points. And taking marks 40 yards out is utterly pointless.

100% accurate. Galway did try and leave multiple players forward to be more attacking, but there were so few turnovers in the game that all attacks came off dead balls, and Armagh funnelled everyone back at each break in play. The strategy worked to a tee.

yeah it’s getting ridiculous, is it the fact they are all so beefed up?