It was a competitive game which is more than what can be said about the munster and Leinster finals. It was tense and from that point of view compelling. A side managed by Rory Gallagher is never going to play an open attractive brand of football especially with a county starved of success for 20 years.
The last time the 2 sides played in an Ulster final in the mid 90’s it was played in a swamp and one of the worst games of football of all time. There is a certain rose tinted view of games from yesteryear that doesn’t warrant it in my opinion. If O Rourke and Morrissey want to be entertained they should go to the top gun sequel but knowing them it will be a lament of how it doesn’t compare favourably with the original. It is an interesting tact of how RTE commentators and pundits continuously say how “brutal”, “boring”, “awful” the product is they are watching and then people get outraged when Sky get rights to broadcast GAA instead. Packed defenses is not exactly a new phenomenon either so they should have had time to get used to it. Gallagher and McGuinness in their 2012 win regularly played with just McFadden ploughing a lone furrow up front, when Gallagher was managing Fermanagh I don’t think he played with any forwards. He has a couple of useful ones in Derry in the likes of McGuigan and Loughlin so is probably a bit more of a mind to play more offensively. I am looking forward to seeing how Derry get on in Croke Park when they come up against one of the big guns like Kerry or Dublin.
What has Brolly been saying?
I sat in Croke Park watching Dublin and Donegal in 2011 fascinated by the way Donegal set up. That was mainly because tactical variations in Gaelic football was practically unheard of other than that coming from Ulster teams down the years. McGuinness himself conceded in his book that he wanted much more of an attacking impetus from his players that day on the break but it didn’t happen. He got it the following year though and that was a brilliant performance to take that All Ireland considering where they had come from.
And where are we now, 10 years later? Every county in Ireland is playing the same way. Matches are now about 13/14 even 15 men behind the ball and then breaking at pace. Possession is the name of the game - hold it at all costs. You have corner forwards running away from goal to kick pass to someone in midfield. What bothers me is that no other county seems to want to think outside the box - do things a bit different. It will probably be up to the Ulster lads to change things up again.
BTW - the Dublin Meath matches in 1991 were amongst the worst I have ever seen and they were played in great weather for the most part.
2011 was the last time the teams played in an Ulster final but that was played on a murky, dank day and was a dog of a game.
1998 was the same and only remembered for Brolly’s goal at the end.
1993 was the swamp and a half decent game of football considering the unplayable conditions.
1992 was the definitive example of what an Ulster final is supposed to be. Claustrophobic, nasty, dour, but tighter than a far too small pair of leggings, tense and ultimately thrilling and one of the great under rated classic games. It was not yet understood but these were the two best teams in Ireland at the time.
It’s become very like basketball albeit on a much bigger playing area and with no shot clock
Teams do have to be much fitter to get through so much running now.
The next innovation I think will be more rehearsed/trained set pieces. I also think a team who can kick long accurate passes into isolated forwards who then go for goals would
work
Yeah, but getting 13/14 behind the ball is close to an optimal defensive strategy, think outside the box all you want but you’re not going to land on some innovation that exploits the blanket. You can shoot from distance, with a low success probability, or you can lob the ball in long, where the defenders will be favourites every time. The best you can do is move it laterally, hoping to draw someone out and work a reasonable shooting opportunity or a free.
If they want free flowing games, they might have to look at each team having to nominate 3 or 4 players who aren’t allowed to retreat past their own 45
There was nothing tense or dramatic about the Ulster final being honest. It was cowardly enough stuff. Donegal holding onto the ball for two minutes at the end and Derry not really trying to win it back or pressing them at least.
I remember a similar game between Liverpool and man united a few years back. Jose set up to counter Liverpool and klopp decided to pull his side back so they wouldn’t fall into the trap. What played out was an incredibly boring game. Sunday was similar.
What made Dublin v Donegal in 2011 so absorbing was Dublin kept probing and trying to win.
Disney wins TV rights for Indian T20 cricket
Disney has won the television broadcast rights to Indian Premier League cricket matches for the next five years in a deal worth about $3 billion (€2.88 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.
However, the company lost the streaming rights to the T20 matches to Viacom18, a joint venture between Reliance Industries, Paramount and a James Murdoch investor group. Viacom18 has won the streaming rights in India for about $2.6 billion.
Television remains the primary way Indians watch the league, but the online market is expected to grow much faster with the spread of smartphones in the coming years. Analysts say this will give Viacom18 and its owners an unrivalled platform to grow streaming and other digital businesses.
The league has been a key driver of subscribers to Disney Plus, which operates a unit called Hotstar in India. Hotstar customers in India make up more than a third of total Disney Plus subscribers, helping Disney to quickly become a streaming rival to Netflix.
A smaller package for the rights to stream about 20 per cent of the matches is still up for grabs, the people added. Disney could bid on this, although it would only allow the US group to stream about 18 of the season’s 74 matches, and would be non-exclusive.
These rights apply to the airing of IPL games from 2023 until 2027 and have been split up between Indian TV, Indian digital and international. Those outside of India are still up for auction, and bidding is set to continue today. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2022
Anthony Joshua has signed a global broadcast deal with DAZN and leaves Sky. A big move for DAZN in the UK but less big if Usyk beats Joshua again.
As long as they dont start ppv ill keep my sub. Decent fights weekly but its well worth the money for the big ones
They are certain to go PPV for Joshua in the UK and Ireland. The Canelo fight was PPV in the USA and Canada. I still think it is good value for money for boxing fans. Less appealing for the mass market however.
Interesting to see them moving for live sports
I’d love to see them doing Le Tour.
….they own ESPN?
Are you asking me or telling me? 
I was unaware of this.
So if I got Hotstar could I watch everything there or would I need Disney? Or do I need Disney Plus for the T20? Or is that just the Premier League? Or would I be better off moving to India altogether?
Have to say the nations league games on Virgin are a handy watch. Highlights show and all. Long term deal i think too.
Yeah they own ESPN.
I think these rights just came when they bought Fox.
Eye pee tea vee
Disney and Amazon.
Thats the future.
My nephew, 7, has discovered “deez nuts” jokes and it’s all he says now. Everything is deez nuts. He simply can’t stop.
I asked him where he heard that joke. He made me promise that if he told me, he wouldn’t get in trouble. I agreed. So he leans in and whispers, “deez nuts.”