All Ireland Hurling Championship 2014

You have form.

So I haven’t. Cool.

Will Shane O’Donnell be far off the UCC fitzgibbon team?

He certainly deserves a chance anyway.

Mark keane and shocks, both were potentially top class and neither made it for different but tragic reasons

[quote=“caoimhaoin, post: 839408, member: 273”]You’ll learn.

UL or LIT does nothing for Limerick hurling. It could do, but hasn’t from what I have seen. UCC and CIT have direct involvement in Cork and a growing involvement. UCC have win 3 titles recently, 2 of those win barely beating CIT along the way.

LIT did more for Clare and Galway hurling.

As for the “Cork is Cork” comment. If you read any of my musings on Corks underage over past few years you would know I’m a very anti the mushrooms theory. It’s based on fact. We have more scope for improvement. We have more clubs, more players, more money, more facilities coming. That’s not gloating(it can actually be a disadvantage sometimes, especially at underage), it’s just the way it is. If we ever decide to fully utilize out resources we’ll be very hard to stop. That old arrogance doesn’t exist amongst the new breed of coaches and administrators in Cork, and God help everyone if we match the work rate and structure of Clare and Killkenny.
The big 4 hurling clubs in the city Na Piarsaigh, Glen Rovers, Blackrick and The Barr’s are coming like an absolute train now. The organization they put back in 8-10 years ago is paying a lot of results now. Add in Midleton and Douglas and smaller places like Killeagh and Ballymartyle flying as well as hurling expanding at an unbelievable rate. you now have football strongholds in West Cork like Skib , Clon and Dunmanway putting huge effort into hurling and being successful at underage and becoming very competitive at adult. You have places like Dromtarriff and Boherbue from football only clubs (up to 10 years ago) on the Kerry boarder playing Premier 2 underage hurling.

Basically Cork is expanding as a hurling county and the net is getting wider. The coaching at development and club level is actually top notch, as good as anywhere. It’s just Cork are not transferring them from development to Senior well due to dreadful decisions made at Minor & 21. There is a separation between Rebel Og (including development squads) and the Minor & 21(run by County Board). Sort that out and ye are all fucked[/quote]
Woeful bollocks in here

[quote=“caoimhaoin, post: 839408, member: 273”]You’ll learn.

UL or LIT does nothing for Limerick hurling. It could do, but hasn’t from what I have seen. UCC and CIT have direct involvement in Cork and a growing involvement. UCC have win 3 titles recently, 2 of those win barely beating CIT along the way.

LIT did more for Clare and Galway hurling.

[/quote]
That is probably the best statement i’ve read in my short time on here! The colleges in limerick have constantly gone outside the county for coaches and manager’s (Davy being one) instead of coordinating with the Co Board to pinpoint people within the county to take on these positions. I know Eamon Cregan and GOM were involved with Mary I this and hopefully its a sign of things to come but i fear not.
I may be wrong but i believe there is a win at all costs in the colleges in Limerick and this does not exist in Cork. They are predominantly made up of Cork lads with outsiders few and far between (bar obvious exceptions). In Limerick the colleges are head-hunting the best talent in the country whilst forgetting the local talent.

[quote=“manbehindthewire, post: 839445, member: 702”]That is probably the best statement i’ve read in my short time on here! The colleges in limerick have constantly gone outside the county for coaches and manager’s (Davy being one) instead of coordinating with the Co Board to pinpoint people within the county to take on these positions. I know Eamon Cregan and GOM were involved with Mary I this and hopefully its a sign of things to come but i fear not.
I may be wrong but i believe there is a win at all costs in the colleges in Limerick and this does not exist in Cork. They are predominantly made up of Cork lads with outsiders few and far between (bar obvious exceptions). In Limerick the colleges are head-hunting the best talent in the country whilst forgetting the local talent.[/quote]

UCC always has a big mix and they certainly don’t pick players based on where they are from. Nevertheless Cork certainly benefits from UCC and in Dr. Con alone there is a huge connection between the 2.

CIT has a much high % of Cork players and has definitely helped bring a few lads up in standard.

You’d know alright.

attempting to get the thread back on track, before it was derailed by Kev’s train, who are the likely candidates to progress next year?
will galway bounce back (as dublin did from their annus horribilis of 2012) or was this year actually a better reflection of where they stand?

what about my own limerick to improve or have we blown our obligatory once-in-a-decade chance?
2014 will be too soon for the current minors to come through, and the outstanding 21s from 2011 are already in the side, the remaining 21s in the squad cover areas where we are already well served. i hate to say it, given that they’re probably the best set of forwards to wear the jersey in my lifetime, but we may still be just short of what’s required up front.

clare could go one of two ways, either steamroll the rest of us en route to a second title, to give a truer reflection of their dominance than this year suggests, or just about sober up for the munster championship followed by the back door where they shadow-box their way to a semi final defeat. back-to-back all irelands isn’t beyond them, but perhaps more likely to happen later rather than sooner.

Tipp to somehow rediscover the workrate and movement that had the rest of us talking about them in 09 as we eulogize clare now?

I’ve heard rumours that walsh, sheehan and cadogan were back training with the hurlers prior to the final, which could provide the spine (in the positional sense of the word) cork need to push on from where they currently stand.

dublin never played clare this year, and like galway and limerick, were built to take on kilkenny, meaing we’ll never know how they would have fared against the challenges posed by the clare of 2013. i’m not sure they have much room left for improvement, they’ve incorporated the 21s from 2010 and 2011 and the cupboard might now be bare for a few years.

Its the Barrs Kev ffs, they should be one of the strongest teams in the county year in year out. They aren’t - Douglas, Sars, Rockies, Piarsigh, Fr O’Neills and Midleton are ahead of them at almost every level, as are a number of other clubs at different ages. Its a football first club now, no two ways about it.

I agree with that football is no.1. That’s because of the people involved. The hurling has changed, believe me. They played in a first grade semi final this year for first time in 7 or 8. They’ll be back near top in 5-6 years.

[quote=“treaty_exile, post: 839448, member: 233”]attempting to get the thread back on track, before it was derailed by Kev’s train, who are the likely candidates to progress next year?
will galway bounce back (as dublin did from their annus horribilis of 2012) or was this year actually a better reflection of where they stand?

what about my own limerick to improve or have we blown our obligatory once-in-a-decade chance?
2014 will be too soon for the current minors to come through, and the outstanding 21s from 2011 are already in the side, the remaining 21s in the squad cover areas where we are already well served. i hate to say it, given that they’re probably the best set of forwards to wear the jersey in my lifetime, but we may still be just short of what’s required up front.

clare could go one of two ways, either steamroll the rest of us en route to a second title, to give a truer reflection of their dominance than this year suggests, or just about sober up for the munster championship followed by the back door where they shadow-box their way to a semi final defeat. back-to-back all irelands isn’t beyond them, but perhaps more likely to happen later rather than sooner.

Tipp to somehow rediscover the workrate and movement that had the rest of us talking about them in 09 as we eulogize clare now?

I’ve heard rumours that walsh, sheehan and cadogan were back training with the hurlers prior to the final, which could provide the spine (in the positional sense of the word) cork need to push on from where they currently stand.

dublin never played clare this year, and like galway and limerick, were built to take on kilkenny, meaing we’ll never know how they would have fared against the challenges posed by the clare of 2013. i’m not sure they have much room left for improvement, they’ve incorporated the 21s from 2010 and 2011 and the cupboard might now be bare for a few years.[/quote]

How solid a source were the rumours from? Goes against all common wading and knowledge and would be very unlike JBM & that crew. Sheehan and Walsh are playing games for their clubs the last few weeks anyway and Walsh is Also with International rules team.

I might be wrong, but I doubt Cadogan even has the balls to go there and he has completely ruled it out several times to concentrate on study.

[quote=“caoimhaoin, post: 839385, member: 273”]I’m basing it on 120 years of GAA and the fact Cork has a bigger pick. I’m basing it on UCC and CIT having the personnel and skills to improve any hurler that comes into them. I’m basing it on the talent I saw around the place2-4 years ago (some un-utilized) when I had a family member on the Cork Minors for 3 years. I’m only gone 3 summers fella, I’m not someone like Fitzy out here 10-12 years.

If Limerick had 5 19/20 year olds good enough this year Allen would have played them.

The likes of Mulcahy will win you nothing, you may not want to believe that, but mark my words as long as him and McNamara are they Linerick are not AI contenders[/quote]

13 years Kev.

Excellent discussion on this thread lads, fair play

Brilliant that we have so much anticipation already for next years championship and the league should be very interesting, it will have a huge focus on it.

Its wide open and from what I can see, the team that will learn the most from this year are Cork. The basis is there for a superb team, they need to sort out the defence obviously and have them playing as a unit, at times in both finals they looked confused as to who had what role. The most frustrating thing about ther forward lines though is that there is undoubtedly some exceptional hurlers there, but they need to get them on the ball much more often. Patrick Horgan would be the go to player on any team, but he’s anonymous for large parts of the game, when he has the ball he generally does something spectacular with it. Ditto Lehane, blistering pace, but you see fuck all of him. Clare are winning clean and dirty ball and always looking to give it to these skillful forwards who seem to find space. Cork aren’t doing that. If they start, they could blow everyone away. The Dublin game (best I’ve seen in years) shows what they can do. Its like a different team walked out for the final.

I doubt anyone from Cork would have had them in the final at the start of the championship. They’ve overachieved to an extent, Jimmy Barry will take a lot from this year and the rumours about the likes of Walsh, Cadogan, Sheehan etc training with the hurler will give him the options he needs. He’s a clever man, he knows where he wants to go.

I reckon Davy has learned all he needs from the Clare team and probably saw a championship in them a lot earlier than anyone. Consolidation now, make sure they keep playing to their strengths, without limiting them.

Then Dublin, Kilkenny (those crazy Kilkenny kids. The shame of not having IC hurling to play in August and September. How will they deal with it? Pretty pissed off I’d imagine, Cody mightn’t have to say a word to them in the next 6 months, reporting for duty squire, who do I kill?)

Waterford, Galway, Tipp, Limerick probably on a par. Fucking hell Limerick, why can’t you all be like Richie McCarthy?

Wexford, Offaly, Laois, Antrim, Carlow - wake the fuck up, hurling world’s moving away from you very very fast.

Roll on 2014. I’ll spend the (Aus) summer watching the championship again and waiting.

[quote="kerry1891, post: 839412, member: ]
Galway are almost written off but they could get their house in order again.
.[/quote]

We have been putting our house in order for the past 20 years. Its going to some fucking house when we finally unveil it.

[quote=“Kinvara’s Passion, post: 839459, member: 686”][quote="kerry1891, post: 839412, member: ]
Galway are almost written off but they could get their house in order again.
.[/quote]

We have been putting our house in order for the past 20 years. Its going to some fucking house when we finally unveil it.[/quote]

Think you’re still at planning permission PK

Clare will lose to either Kilkenny or Dublin next year.

Kilkenny will not win an all-ireland in the next 3 years.

If you were the colleges in limerick would you want connections with the limerick county board? The approach should be made the other way around. Anyway, there will be a lot of limerick players playing fitzgibbon this year.

Very hard to predict what will happen in 2014. The the hurling season is gone it is pretty much in three seperate stages. The league, provincial championships and then from late july onwards. I think that there will be 7 or 8 sides who can all beat each other from February to mid July but I think the gap widens then once the more skillful sides start getting real quality ballwork done over the summer as we saw with Clare and Cork this year and the pace of hurling really quickens - this is what seperates the good sides from the very good sides.

This is why I cannot see Limerick of Dublin contesting an A/I final next year, they are both carrying too many workers and regardless of the systems they play these lads will be exploited in Croke Park come August and they will come up short again. Galway are possibly in the same boat but if they probably have more scope to turn it around if a few lads find form.

Regardless who wins and what happens next year hopefully we have as many exciting games as we had this year