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

You've been very negative all year about Armagh. You gave them no chance constantly being dismissive about McGeeney and Armagh's ability to win matches. Not even the slightest bit of praise for how they played in the Ulster final which was a fantastic game of football. It must come as a shock to you that they were indeed good enough to win not only a couple of close games but also good enough to climb the steps of the Hogan Stand. And now that Armagh have won the All Ireland your going on about them getting to next level next year. Who cares about next year. Armagh are All Ireland champions for 2024 and thats all that matters.

I'm aware of the reasons for using the strategy. People are entitled to use it but it doesn't meet it is good to watch. Most people would admire more the skill and difficulty involved in kicking a point from 45 metres than handpassing it over from 10.

I'm probably in a minority here but I also don't think the negative strategies used are as advantageous as is commonly thought. We saw both at the end of the All-Ireland final and in the way Derry were set up in the Quarter-final where overly disciplined teams can be their own worst enemy- an unwillingness to attack rapidly for fear of losing the ball ultimately cost both teams. We can also see unexpected dangers arise just from the ball being in and around the square more often- for instance, all 3 goals in the semi-finals this year were from mishit kicks, Tyrone's first goal in the 2021 final just came from booting the ball in. And I also think that as a general rule, the team that is more aggressive attacking will win- you have to score more than your opponent ultimately. But I'm in a minority here, could be wrong, and teams seem set in their ways regardless, with all the negative impact on the quality of the spectacle, so rule changes are required.

There was defensive teams before, but Dublin were the ones who really perfected the 15 men behind the ball strategy. And as I've said before, negative play is not just about defensiveness, but also the endless handpassing/recycling around the 45, only taking high percentage shots, no high fielding etc. All of these existed to lesser extents before, but Dublin was the team who really solidified them in the game over the last few years and made it into the awful spectacle we see today. Nothing illegal about it, it's within the rules, but let's not pretend it's good to watch. Other teams have copied them now, but this style of play was definitely a Dublin "innovation".

I agree short kickouts have reduced high-fielding and that it is tactically sound within this system of playing. ABut aain, it's just not good to watch, which is what so many viewers have been criticising these last few years. It's not "arguably more skillful and diverse than ever" though, that's clearly false. The game is a much worse spectacle than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago. People don't like this style of play and are quite vocal about it. There are many reasons for the collapse in attendances this year, particularly in Leinster, but one of them is definitely the low skill levels on display. Even using the example of Fenton, he is not being given the chance to showcase his skill fully because of this style of playing. So we see again how it's legal and tactically sound but also not making for a good spectacle. The skills probably are ahead of the 1970s and 1980s but there was a lot of positive change between then and when Dublin introduced and perfected this dour, negative style we've been talking about. So the skills and execution are worse today than in the 1990s, 2000s.

We definitely do need rule changes at this stage to improve the game on display. It's happened in other sports as you say and should happen in Gaelic Football too, there's nothing revolutionary about it.

Again, negative play is not just about 15 men behind the ball or just about only taking high percentage shots- it's all these things combined. Taking the standard strategy used by teams nowadays, it's good to up a point, but I think it can be overdone- Derry were far too defensive vs Kerry, Kerry were far too defensive vs Armagh etc. You need to score as well and one way to obtain such scores is by moving the ball into your opponents half at pace and actually taking things on.

As I've said before, these tactics are deemed to be good by almost every team, and if teams keep using them, and neutral interest keeps falling away, then it's on the GAA to change the rules, not any individual team to change it's tactics.

As before, "negative" play is not just 15 men behind the ball. It's also the endless handpassing, lack of high fielding, only taking easy shots from close in. All legal, just not good to watch, which is why we've seen this outcry over the last few years as Dublin introduced and perfected this standard, and other copied them. So by the standards of the last 10, 20, 30 years, Dublin played a very dour, negative style of football.- as well as the other negative play, they played what is now normal but what is by historical standards very defensive. So there is no absolutely no question in fact that they were and are a defensive team!

They'd great players for sure, and they found a strategy that worked for them as they are entitled to do. Although not a strategy which fully showcased the individual skills of their players, but that's not their overall objective, which is just to win. But it's been bad for the game as a spectacle. Others have now copied them so while Armagh are more one of the more attacking teams nowadays, the benchmark for everyone is on the whole far more negative. People can try to wish this way but if the game really was as skillful and good to watch as people claim, we wouldn't be seeing all of this hand wringing.

Not at all, this is clearly nonsense. You occasionally find someone like Joe Brolly making this claim, but it's not true. Dublin are the ones who introduced and perfected this dour, negative style over the last few years in terms of 15 men behind the ball, only taking easy shots, no high fielding, endless handpassing and recycling. So definitely not the saviours of Gaelic Football. They unlocked this huge negativity only in the sense that they brought it into the game. Other teams have copied them since, and there was nothing illegal about these tactics and Dublin are entitled to use whatever strategy they think is best for them. But we can all agree it's made the game worse as a spectacle.

There's no need as I already understand the issue so well. As I've said before, that Donegal team was and is overly criticised. That game in 2011 was awful as a spectacle, and Donegal deserved to be criticised for it. But they didn't win that game, they adapted and played much more positively, albeit still somewhat defensively by the standards of the day from 2012-14. So people focus excessively on that one particular game/year when Donegal wouldn't even seem that out of place by the standards of 2024, since the dour, negative tactics that Dublin introduced and perfected have become commonplace.

Again, you're just focusing on the defensiveness part, look at the other aspects of Dublin's dour, negative style as well. I'm looking at the package in its totality. Plus even on the defensiveness point, Dublin introduced and perfected that to a degree previously unseen. I agree on Dublin not playing this style in 2013, or even in the early Jim Gavin years. I can't recall exactly when Dublin really did bring in, I think around 2017? But they were the leader on it, and others then copied them.

It 100% stacks up, that's why I'm saying it. You're missing the crux of what I'm saying which is that "negative" doesn't just mean defending, or low-scoring. But it doesn't change the fact that Dublin in recent years introduced and perfected a dour, negative style of endless handpassing around the 45, only taking high percentage shots, no high-fielding, 15 men behind the ball when defending etc. There can be no doubt that Dublin brought this strategy in, which others have now copied. It's up to the GAA to change the rules to improve the spectacle or we'll see supporter interest continue to collapse, as we saw this year.