It doesnât say much for Jim Gavinâs New Coke that a lad can just walk in without kicking a ball for years and win a county medal.
Itâs gone like rugby, the skill has been eradicated.
First true thing youâve said about the rule changes
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Thatâs an odd view to take. The reason there was so little opposition to the new rules from Ulster, despite some trying to tell us for years that blanket defence was the peak of footballing art, is because nearly all clubs were seeing some of their most talented youngsters pack in the game. NC have been consistently winning Donegal championships and even their best youngsters were packing it in, the problem was even bigger at middle of the road clubs.
Teenagers always have and always will stop playing for various reasons, but the most talented usually donât. In recent years the most talented were the ones packing it in, thatâs what led to the huge shift in attitude to the need for a change in rules.
Not just the young fellas either, Cahair is doing some fine work on why the rules were so badly needed at grassroots level
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A real feel good story. That game last year was the nadir
Split Season/New Rules Zealots - 2020-2024: âThere has been a huge increase in participation in the last couple of years thanks to the split seasonâ.
Split Season/New Rules Zealots - 2025: âThere had been a huge drop off in participation in the last couple of years thanks to the old rulesâ
These lads dont know if they are coming or going.
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What a despicable attitude, i hope youve no input into any uderage teams.
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Itâs almost like theyâre trolls who donât believe a word they say.
A nasty post by @Galaxy, fuckers like him would bring back the ban
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A pure joke of a scoreline altogether.
Got the teams there?
It was only a few short months ago the anti-football crew were telling us there would never be a goal scored again as every team would be kicking 2 pointers instead. Now the problem is there are too many goals being scored, in some college game where lads wouldnât yet know the names of their own teammates.
The wrestling enthusiasts donât know whether they are coming or going.
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There isnât a greater barometer of ANYTHING that the HE Leagues.
Some would strongly disagree with that - I remember earlier this year when the twitter coaches were using the opening round of results in the Derry u16 league, division 2, to confirm to us why the new rules were a disaster.
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I remember a few year back there were lads saying how little the HELâs mattered when IT Carlow were beating the big dogs. Narratives are difficult.
Some lads can pivot on a sixpence, there is a spot for them in our reclaimed game at cornerforward. Itâs a sad thing that we devalued quality defenders so badly over the past 20 years that a fullback line would be letting 9 goals by them, once the blanket was taken away many fellas have discovered they were just cross-country runners. Hopefully it wonât be long until the next generation of Joe Higgins style cornerbacks are with us again. Does Joe bother with coaching or anything these days?
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Thatâs it in a nutshell. A generation of âdefendersâ looking forlornly up the field for their designated âsweeperâ helper. A generation of midfielder who canât actually field the ball. A generation of goalie who who are more interested in playing out the field without any responsibility.
Joe did a bitta coaching but doesnât seem to on the circuit anymore. Itâs Aidan Fennelly you need. Even when it was him and Joe in the corners, it was always Aidan who picked up the dangerman. Aidan marked them all, Dessie, Mattie, PJ, Stevie Killeavy, Gooch, Declan, Alan. Micko gave them the job and they did it. I go back regularly to Aidans interview a year back in the Indo, thereâs a gem in every paragraph. I love this one
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Aint that the truth.
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A âscoringâ forward 
.Thats what our great game was reduced to.A gym monkey named at CF but playing most of the game in his own half and delighted with himself.
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The âNiall Scullyâ. And listen, Niall seems a very honest chap, and actually could be a good footballer, but like Ciaran Kilkenny, Paul Mannion et al, sacrificed his game for the fucking âprocessâ.
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My attitude?! You referenced the guy that gave up football at 16 in the first place!