Actually a lot of hurling/football teams fans are delusional.
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Let it be ever thus. Sure isnât that the whole point?
True enough but some bit of cop on is needed.Look at the limerick boys.Most of them should be in 5B.
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@myboyblue Whatâs the view in Laois on Graham Brody? There was an ould lad in front of me today nearly having an aneurysm every time he started off, was quite funny really. It seemed fairly unnecessary, real glory boy stuff and was in no hurry back when he lost the ball.
Generational thing, heâs a smashing keeper and rarely loses it and his surges generally launch something. Heâs not our problem, not by a long shot
Watching Laois stink the place out of it yet again yesterday, it occurred to me they could do worse than give the Kerry County Board or Connolly a call to get some advice on a juicing program. Even if it didnât work, Laois lads blaming bad juice would make a pleasant change from Laois lads blaming the manager.
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Still enough of a worry to ye last year, despite being utter scrap, not to play us in O Moore Park. And thatâs not messin, thatâs a fact of life.
Or just follow JOLâs program. Necks that thick donât grow on trees.
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Kildare going well and could rattle the Dubs
Leave the Bull out of this you awful awful man you.
Actually I couldnât give a fuck.
Introspection is lacking in you, mate.
Did you write this lad?
Kerryâs enduring quality is one of the fundamentals of the GAA - they donât need the leg-up the current championship structure affords themâŚ
By Gerry Robinson
In ten daysâ time, Kerry will meet Clare for a place in the 2017 Munster SFC final. It will be the third championship meeting of the Kingdom and the Banner inside twelve months. Including Sunday weekâs game, three of Kerryâs last five championship outings will have been against Clare. If ever there was a statistic that highlighted the urgent need for a complete championship overhaul, then this is surely it.
How can one of the strongest teams in the country be afforded such an easy path to August football year in, year out? Look, we all know Kerry would beat most teams anyway â but itâs not just about that. Itâs the amount of effort they need to invest (or not) in these games, how much they can keep in the tank for August and September.
Kerry are able to go into their Autumn schedule completely fresh every year, while others canât. Some will argue that the Leinster and Connacht championships are equally lopsided and that Dublin (who are an exception to every rule) and Mayo hardly exert themselves in their provinces either (Galway will have other ideas), but when is the last time you saw a fresh Donegal, Tyrone or Monaghan side taking to the field at Croker for a championship game?
Some decent teams are weary going into the latter stages â or donât get there at all â while others are almost ushered through by a grossly unfair and imbalanced system. Contentions that âthe cream will always rise to the topâ or âthe best team will win regardlessâ can be countered with the undisputable fact that âa good team have a better chance of succeeding if their task is simplifiedâ.
It should be the same playing field for everybody. As things stand, the current championship structure â tied to the provincial competitions like a prisoner carrying a ball and chain around his ankle â is totally antiquated and essentially unfair. It facilitates some and hinders others.
On June 12th, 2016, defending champions Kerry faced Clare in a Munster SFC semi-final at Killarney, winning by 2-23 to 0-17 in front of an attendance of 11,358.
In the final, on July 3rd, Tipperary provided the opposition - again in Fitzgerald Stadium - and this time the Kingdom prevailed by ten points to claim their 78th provincial crown. It certainly wasnât the most difficult one theyâve ever captured and there are at least ten county managers in Ireland who would give their right arms to have such a navigable path to the latter stages of the championship.
Unbowed and unbloodied, Eamonn Fitzmauriceâs charges entered the All-Ireland series ⌠and another clash with the Banner County at Croke Park on July 31st. Duly, they won again, 2-16 to 0-11. The rest of the nation looked on with more envy than admiration.
The semi-final against Sam Maguire Cup holders Dublin presented Kerry with their first meaningful test since the previous yearâs All-Ireland final. They lost a thrilling contest on a 0-22 to 2-14 scoreline and their season was over. One difficult game.
Fast forward to 2017 and the mighty Kingdom are currently preparing to face Clare again. On Sunday, June 11th, they will square up to the upwardly-mobile Banner for the third time in twelve months. Victory will guarantee one of the best teams in the country a provincial final berth and they will be just one win away from the last eight. Worst case scenario, should they slip up against Cork or Tipperary on July 2nd (assuming they win on Sunday week, which is hardly a wild leap of the imagination), they will enter the Qualifiers at Round Four and will still be just one victory away from an All-Ireland quarter-final.
This is an obscenely facile path to the business end of the championship compared to many other counties. A host of teams would justifiably feel that if they had this same route that they could put together a genuine challenge for ultimate glory.
Itâs not Kerryâs fault that they have it so easy but I imagine they would be content if things stayed like this forever. Who wouldnât like such an easy life â cruising along while other contenders reduce one another? An easy draw or an easy path is half the battle, whether you are a great team or an average one.
Itâs time for an open draw to give every team the same chance of achieving glory, an equal opportunity of featuring in major contests at the business end of the year. Of course, Kerry would still be there. Didnât they just win a very competitive national football league that was fair to all? Theyâd still be more than a match for nine teams out of ten. They would continue to prosper. But at least it wouldnât be so easy for them to do so.
Defenders of the current system and those who wrongly believe Iâm having a cut at the Kingdom will feel that itâs the same for everybody, and can point out that Donegal (Antrim), Monaghan (Fermanagh), Tyrone (Derry), Mayo (Sligo) and Dublin (Carlow) all enjoyed equally-easy openers this year. All against opponents that Kerry would have defeated with a minimum of fuss. This is true but, generally speaking, these sides tend to run into heavy traffic earlier in the year than Kerry do.
For now, as the mind-numbing status quo remains, we await Kerryâs big entrance into the 2017 championship in a game that they are almost definitely going to win. Itâs not fair on Clare, either.
Mr Robinson must be a fan of TFK
Iâd say he is more of a fan of @Nembo_Kids rantings and ravings.
What a load of nonsense. Clare are a Division 2 side. They reached the All Ireland Quarter Finals last year. If this current Clare side were competing in Ulster or Connacht, theyâd be in with a serious shout of provincial honours:
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Couldnât say, Iâve never looked inwards to know if thatâs true
Laois are shit pal. .you celebrated a laois player getting sent off for punching a dub in the face last year. .thatâs the height of your ambition âŚits caveman stuff. .hardest man in the townâŚcorner boy stuff. .
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