GAA All Star Wars

[myboyblue]

I find Ray to be a bit tiresome. He’s disappeared up his own powerpoint.

[Big_Dan_Campbell]

It was an bizarre stretch to make

[myboyblue]

I bet the likes of Mossy and the other GAANFL apostles lapped it up.

[Bandage]

I see him on LinkedIn explaining how the humility, commitment and leadership of GGA players can be translated into YOUR business and YOUR career. There’s going to be some shite posted on LinkedIn as the rubby world cup progresses along the same lines.

[myboyblue]

@Bandage

I see him on LinkedIn explaining how the humility, commitment and leadership of GGA players can be translated into YOUR business and YOUR career. There’s going to be some shite posted on LinkedIn as the rubby world cup progresses along the same lines.

I’m just heading off there at 3.30 lads to make it back for training. I’ll be in there around 10am in the morning once I’ve the recovery session done. Can ye work a bit harder while I’m gone? Fair play lads, you’re savage. We’re all winners here so we are.

[Batigol]

Seamus O’Donnell of Limerick revolutionized GAA jerseys forever.

[Sidney]

@Bandage

By largely turning the kick out into a long pass to a moving target rather than a lorry up into the sky for the two sets of midfielders to compete under. Essentially changing the set piece from a random battle for possession into the first pass of an attack. He’s changed the GGA forever.

A team trying to maximise its chances of keeping possession of the ball in any area of the GAA pitch was always a taboo subject until 1974

It was seen as unmanly

Then David Hickey handpassed the ball to Jimmy Keaveney and all changed, changed utterly

[cluaindiuic]

@binkybarnes

I agree that Jack or Con should win POTY. @cluaindiuic put me straight on this.

Thanks for the endorsement, the thing I’m struggling with is how many people are failing to get there.

It’s not rocket science. Explaining this to someone with no experience of GAA would end in total bewilderment.

Q: Who was the best footballer this year?
A: OK, breaking it down to the extreme basics they played a number of matches in this year’s championship so it needs to be based on how they performed in those matches.

Q: Is there a loosely accepted method of assessing how the better players played in these matches?
A: There’s a man of the match award given in every game. And in bigger matches 3 players are nominated for that award.

Q: Excellent, who did consistently well in that area?
A: Con O’Callaghan, Jack McCaffrey followed by Brian Fenton, Paul Mannion and to a lesser extent Ciaran Kilkenny and Dean Rock who did win MOTM awards but weren’t as consistent as the other 4. Also around there from a Dublin point of view would be James McCarthy, Eoin Murchan, Stephen Cluxton, Brian Howard and Michael Fitzsimons.

Q: So the winner is obviously one of the top 4, but most likely one of the top 2?
A: No, we’re going with someone a long way further down the list.

Q: Huh?

My top 10 this year, such as it is, would be heavily skewed towards the AI final participants.
(Meh, to the victors the spoils)

1. Con
2. Jack Mc
3. Fenton
4. Ó Sé
5. Mannion
6. Clifford
7. Fitzsimons
8. Moran
9. Kilkenny
10. Cluxton

Something like that. But answering Cluxton to “Who is FOTY this year” is like answering “10 past 9” when someone asks you what your name is. You did give an answer but you answered a totally different question than the one asked. I described it before as similar to giving Brian Cody the MOTM award in the 2008 final. An interesting idea for about 5 seconds until you realise how preposterous it is.

It’s Con or Jack. The alternative option is, just that, preposterous and (as twee as it sounds, apologies to @Little_Lord_Fauntleroy) would taint a meaningful barometer of quality dating back decades.

[glasagusban]

@cluaindiuic

outside of that it’s Fenton, Mannion, McCarthy, Clifford and O’Sé

Moran was immense. Well ahead of Fenton over two games in the final.

[cluaindiuic]

Yeah if they get get a couple more years out of him and Tommy Walsh they should be the ones to end the streak.

[glasagusban]

@Bandage

By largely turning the kick out into a long pass to a moving target rather than a lorry up into the sky for the two sets of midfielders to compete under. Essentially changing the set piece from a random battle for possession into the first pass of an attack. He’s changed the GGA forever.

And thereby largely ruining the best element of the game of Gaelic football and destroying the entire sport.

[farmerinthecity]

@myboyblue

I agree with your point, but it says it all about goalies that getting one to actually kick a ball to his own teammate is seen as one of the most revolutionary changes ever seen in the game.

It is not just in GAA where neanderthal tactics were applied. Look at association football. It wasn’t long ago when teams would pick a big lad on the wing so he could be targetted with a kick out to knock the ball into the box with his head.

Now Pep and Klopp have their teams playing out from the back. Of course the likes of Barcelona did it since the days of Cruyff but such play wasn’t widespread.

[binkybarnes]

@count_of_monte_crist

How did Cluxton change the game?

What Bandage said. Its a pretty pathetic reflection on the coaching brains of Gaa that it took 120 years before a goalkeeper decided to try kick a ball to his teammates. I’m not even sure Cluxton can take all the credit because Donal og started doing it in hurling a couple of years earlier

[binkybarnes]

@glasagusban

And thereby largely ruining the best element of the game of Gaelic football and destroying the entire sport.

Largely true but the GAA are at fault for not changing the rules to keep up with tactical innovations. Rugby and soccer do this quite well but the GAA is overly democratic when it comes to this sort of stuff.

[artfoley]

@binkybarnes

Donal og started doing it in hurling a couple of years earlier

yeah but he was using cummings sloitars so it doesnt count

[farmerinthecity]

But the skill in which he exercises in the delivery as well is just unheard of.

His kick out in the replay where he dropped it into Connolly’s arms on the run was majestic. As was Connolly’s arrow like ball to Kilkenny. As was Kilkenny’s control and technique to slot it over.

[binkybarnes]

@farmerinthecity

But the skill in which he exercises in the delivery as well is just unheard of.

His kick out in the replay where he dropped it into Connolly’s arms on the run was majestic. As was Connolly’s arrow like ball to Kilkenny. As was Kilkenny’s control and technique to slot it over.

Exactly. But @croppy_boy thinks your imagining all this and Cluxton’s greatness is a meeja conspiracy

[farmerinthecity]

He is my player of the year.

He was immense in both final matches.

[farmerinthecity]

I recall in the first match Kerry throwing a long, high ball into Geaney. Cluxton came out and punched it clear.

He punched out to the Hogan sideline with such sweetness it nearly reached the 45 line. There wasn’t a sniff of danger in the area.

Bear in mind that Cluxton isn’t a big man yet he dominated his square. There are a lot of so called top professional keepers who aren’t able to do that.

[binkybarnes]

@Bandage

I see him on LinkedIn explaining how the humility, commitment and leadership of GGA players can be translated into YOUR business and YOUR career.

I wonder how the beautifully timef headbutt Ray delivered to Tommy Freeman would go down in the Happy Clappy corporation environment