There’s no mystique about it anymore. Remember when teams would be afraid going to the San siro. You could tell it was a special occasion. That’s all gone now. They ruined soccer.
I’ve had no interest in the CL last 16 games so far. I was in my sitting room last Tuesday night during the games but the remote was 4 yards away so I didn’t bother getting up & turning on the telly. I need Miguel Delaney to cure football’s ills in his upcoming book.
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Some would say that Man United’s lack of success in recent years might be clouding your judgement but you’re consistent across other sports despite Limerick’s recent success in fairness.
I’d largely agree with you. In order for sports to thrive you need unpredictability and a good spread of competitive teams. In modern day association football a small cohort of teams are accumulating all of the best players. The gutting of teams like Dortmund 2011-13, Monaco 2017 and Ajax 2019 is sad to see. It even extended to Brighton last season. Although there’s an argument to be made that it was taking place as far back as the mid-90’s when the Ajax team of that era parted ways after success in Europe. Those driving the flow of money within that game don’t seem to realise that the audience actually want competition and variety or are too far down the road to acknowledge it. Even the much vaunted LOI is in danger of becoming a one team league given Shamrock Rovers financial superiority.
The 90’s must have been a real golden period in GAA when you think about Offaly, Clare and Wexford winning hurling All-Irelands, Leitrim and Clare snaring provincial football honours and emotive breakthroughs by Ulster teams in the early 90’s. Christ it had everything really. Laois even won minor All-Ireland’s, Baltinglass of Wicklow won an All-Ireland club title.
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I actually really enjoyed following man United since ole took over and then ten hag. They’d drive you mental but way way better than Jose, Moyes and van gal.
As Jim Bolger said. It was vital he spoke out about doping in horse racing when he won a group one so people couldn’t point to sour grapes.
Likewise with Limerick I think it is vital to speak out on what I believe is a very slippery slope the gaa are moving towards. It’s easy whinge when Limerick are crap.
They are essentially following pro rugby imo model. Over saturation and just ruining a product that didn’t they need to be changed. I also fear very few counties will be competitive in hurling going forward.
What they done to the Heineken cup is one of worst things that has happened. when it was 6 groups and
A last 8 it was a wonderful competition and the games
Were played at excellent times but they absolutely ruined it.
I just think we need to go back to basics. Maybe soccer a homegrown rule would help.
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Whatever happened the gaa in cork too? It’s amazing how far they’ve fallen in Gaelic football and hurling. Simply incredible.
Last years champions league final summoned it up. You’d Julian Alvarez a wonderful young striker on the subs for Man City and a carthorse in big Rom up top for inter.
That was the difference between the sides.
I’ve often said this,a great decade in general.
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Also why does it seem the American footballers done care about money like the pro soccer players? Messi, ronaldo, mbapppe and a heap more have disgraced themselves recently over Money.
Listening and watching the nfl you still get the
Feeling the players really care about their team
And towns they represent. I’d be jealous of it.
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A salary cap like you see in American Sports should have been implemented around 2010. It’s too far gone now.
I wouldn’t worry too much about Cork. The sheer volume of clubs and underage success would suggest that they’ll be back sooner rather than later. They’re still competitive in the hurling. Football needs a Cork resurgence more. And Kildare and Meath but not to the extent that a Westmeath or Offaly can’t aspire to beat them. Offaly knocked Meath out of the football twice in the seasons after the Royals had won All-Ireland’s (1997 and 2000).
Jim Gavin brought Dublin to such extraordinary levels when he took over in 2013 that he essentially killed off Leinster football completely. I was naive enough to think Westmeath were going to trouble them that year in the Leinster quarter. They had been promoted to Division 1 that spring and would have given previous Dublin teams their fill of it. That day was a rude awakening for an optimistic neutral.
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A pet peeve of mine is the insistence of hapless sports administrators on calling teams nicknames as the official names of teams rather than after places. Rugby is the biggest offender. This comes from an obsession with the NFL.
At the start of the Heineken Cup, Wales had Llanelli, Neath, Cardiff, Swansea, Bridgend, occasionally Pontypridd, Pontypool, Ebbw Vale.
Now it’s the Scarlets, the Blues, the Ospreys and the Dragons. These are franchises, no longer named after places.
The IRFU tried this with the Leinster Lions and the Connacht Eagles and there was even a Munster Kings franchise style name mooted at one point, but Irish audiences rejected all this.
New Zealand and South Africa have a problem with this I think. New Zealand rugby was always about place names - Auckland, Waikato, Canterbury, Otago, Manawatu, Counties Manukau.
Now it’s the Hurricanes, the Chiefs, the Crusaders, the Highlanders. Who can identify with these ridiculous names and franchises?
Nicknames have to be organic. The Toffees, the Pensioners, the Gunners, the Baggies. But they can never supercede the real names of teams.
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As I said many times the top brass in the gaa have created a perfect season for Dublin to dominate Gaelic football.
No club games interrupting the season.
Lots of games means they can really get big sponsorship deals and funding from companies.
Lots of games mean you need a big squad which again benefits Dublin due to playing numbers.
It’s the same with the hri and willie Mullins. They’ve created a perfect season for him to dominate with four huge festivals with the majority of prize money spread perfectly out for him to win.
Interestingly enough I was chatting to a man with some insight into the South African rugby squad and he said they really perform in world cups because it’s the only time they’ve a long spell together as a group.
On wales the clubs were not sustainable so they tried to put a few clubs together didn’t they? It was the neath Swansea ospreys and the Newport gwent dragons wasn’t it? This alienated a lot of fans.
Dunno do New Zealand have that much of a problem. They’ve their own version of a pro ail with Canterbury and Auckland etc etc.
The 90s was peak civilization. Sport and Music was off the charts
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I’d definitely agree with that, maybe
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In fairness the top 14 in rugby has made a huge come back.
I believe there’s some sort of rule on signing foreign players and a salary cap.
It’s a much better product now than a few years ago and the French fans are really enjoying it.
I was born during it so can only remember sports from the early 00’s onwards. You still had the buzz reverberating from the 90’s though. There seemed to be a much bigger crowd at your average provincial championship game back then. Any Dublin football game in championship was automatically a sell-out during the “Pillar” Caffrey era.
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As example Tom Brady was taking some sort of wage cut at the pats to play I believe or a deferral of sorts on money.
Meanwhile Messi nearly bankrupted Barcelona looking for money he surely didn’t need.
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Mark Vaughan was what Dublin football was all about.
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Ray Cosgrave in the summer of 2002 was iconic.
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Kids don’t grow up any more wanting to score the winner in the FA Cup final for Liverpool or United , they grow wanting to be rich and famous.
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