Greatest FOOTBALL championship in living memory??

[Walter Mitty]

OK, I hate starting new threads but I feel a quick discussion is neccessary on this topic.

Simply question, has it being the greatest ever football championship in living memory.

Throw in cracking games like Dublin meath, Kerry Cork, kerry Dublin, galway meath etc and along with the numorous exiting but lower quality games and i believe it has been.

I have never seen so many high scoring games in my life anyway.

Throw in the novelty of Monaghan in an ulster final, Sligo winning Connaught and the high number of shocks this year and it seems at though it has been an epic year!

What ye think

PS...i know some people have longer living memories than others but you know what i mean.

[ardfertnarrie]

I'm sure the Tyrone boys would disagree. 2005 was far better. The only really good game so far was the Kerry/Dublin match, and the first half wasn't great.

[ardfertnarrie]

I honestly think that last year was better.

[austinstacksabu]

It wouldn't be far off it Walter, but oddly enough for, say the last 15, I would place 2002 at the top of the pile.

[kerrygold]

In recent memory you couldnt look beond at what tyrone did and produced in 2005,they brought the game to a new level.So high in fact that they couldnt maintain those high leves of performance and intensity over a period of time,its hard not to feel 2005 was their peak after building up for nearly a decade from minor through u21 to senior level.

[kerryeye]

The 2000 championship was my favorite,4 great games in the all ireland series.This is strictly from a kerry point of view of course.

[FatTom]

I thought 2002 bar our final loss.
Destroying the All Ireland Champions and reducing Cork to a mockery on route.

2005 was a great Championship as well.

[lostinmayo]

i agree with Kerryseye, i think 2000 was the best, some cracking games that year, i wouldn't rate this c'ship that highly atall, the Dublin Kerry game being the best (2nd half), some very disappointing games other than that, the final will have to be really special for it to be remembered as a good year

[diehard]

danny said:

OK, I hate starting new threads but I feel a quick discussion is neccessary on this topic.

Simply question, has it being the greatest ever football championship in living memory.

Throw in cracking games like Dublin meath, Kerry Cork, kerry Dublin, galway meath etc and along with the numorous exiting but lower quality games and i believe it has been.

I have never seen so many high scoring games in my life anyway.

Throw in the novelty of Monaghan in an ulster final, Sligo winning Connaught and the high number of shocks this year and it seems at though it has been an epic year!

What ye think

PS...i know some people have longer living memories than others but you know what i mean.

In a word NO

[sullyschoice]

I agree with Stacks and Fattom about 2002. Sublime stuff along the way, pity about the final and also have to agree that 2000 was very special. Great value for money that season

[austinstacksabu]

2002 had the Sligo come back against Armagh in the quarter final and almost again in the replay down in Navan, the Dublin Donegal and replay / Donegal collapse, Tyrone shocked by Sligo who had their first ever win in Croke Park, Darragh O'Se giving the finest ever display of fielding in the modern game, in the driving rain in Fitzgerald against Cork, Armagh v Donegal Ulster final cracker up in Clones.....Tommy Lyones talking it up - Dublin v Armagh semi final - Cosgroves last minute kick off the bar - Kerry's champagne football - which proved utterly futile in the end, Tipperary taking Cork to a replay in the Munster final!! And I'm only starting to think about the moments from that year.

[Walter Mitty]

Is is also not a fact that people look back on more fondly on past years.... I am not talking about the year with the best 2 or 3 games,...... I am talking about all games

[binladen]

i think this year has been rubbish no quality games. we should not mix up excitment with quality although on d 16th if we win i couldnt give 2 hoots about quality and if d score is kerry 3 points cork 2 points it wouldnt bother me. i agree 02 and 00 were mighty and obviously 06 was good. a common denomitor for bad championships is d lack of quality northernteams as much as i hate 2 say it

[islandexile]

From a Kerry point of view, I think the 2000 All-Ireland was the most exciting of recent times. The games against Armagh (x2) and Galway (x2) were heart stopping and full of good football. Who will ever forget Maurice Fitz's goal aginst Armagh or his pass for Mike Frank's goal. Pure footballing genius!

[JOAN]

I would have to say the 2005 final was the best football final I was at.

[falveyb2k]

The 2002,2005 and 2000 seasons were the best I've seen but practically every game in the 2000 championship was unbelievably close. Even the provincial championships were excellent, Kerry v Cork, Dublin v Kildare, Armagh v Fermanagh and Armagh v Derry.

[sullyschoice]

The 2000 season will always stick in my mind. Our first child was born i late august, coinciding with with the Armagh semi and replay. Sleepless nights and sleepless days.

[SteelFixer]

1. 2005
2. 1991
3. 2002

[alonso]

never mind 05 people think this is a good championship caus of tyrones 10 games.lets remember 4 of these were against cavan twice down and an up and coming monaghan team. against dublin and armagh they threw away both games and a draw resulted in both cases

[tyroneperson]

I don't see how us playing Cavan and Down is a criticism. Who were we supposed to play in the Ulster Championship, Kerry and Dublin?

[alonso]

tyroneperson said:

I don't see how us playing Cavan and Down is a criticism. Who were we supposed to play in the Ulster Championship, Kerry and Dublin?

im not criticsing tyrone just that people are being mislead in relation 2 d 10 game thing tyrone made alot of hard work for themselves and by beating d likes of cavan and down is no major achievement

[tyroneperson]

But no-one would claim that beating Cavan and Down is an major achievement, but of course when winning the all-ireland you're gonna play teams that aren't a top team, it's a given. 4 of the games were against Cavan/Down/Monaghan, but six were against Armagh, Dublin and Kerry, and that's where the credit Tyrone got came from. Like I wouldn't say that if Kerry won the all-ireland it's not an achievement because they played Waterford, but that it IS an achievement because they beat Dublin, Cork (twice), Monaghan (who are a very good team).

[alonso]

tyroneperson said:

But no-one would claim that beating Cavan and Down is an major achievement, but of course when winning the all-ireland you're gonna play teams that aren't a top team, it's a given. 4 of the games were against Cavan/Down/Monaghan, but six were against Armagh, Dublin and Kerry, and that's where the credit Tyrone got came from. Like I wouldn't say that if Kerry won the all-ireland it's not an achievement because they played Waterford, but that it IS an achievement because they beat Dublin, Cork (twice), Monaghan (who are a very good team).

yes i agree it was a good achievement we got some mighty entertainment with all d close games but d 10 game thing was as a result of falling asleep in d final few minutes in d drawn games take 3 away and its just seven games. but u could argue that if tyrone didnt draw against dublin joe mcmahon would n ot have been full back and gormley not in centre back. maybe it was a blessing in disguise

[tyroneperson]

Yeah it's a fair point. I wasn't particularly disappointed considering Dublin were leading by five points at half-time. Also we have we've got a really good record in replays which helps (probably because of Harte).

[padraigf]

I think it has been a poor year. I just think the standard of football overall has been quite bad. No challenge at all from Connacht, nothing much from Ulster, the Leinster championship was very poor too. Dublin are a mediocre team and won it at a canter.

Kerry are in the final and while they've done enough, they really haven't had to play all that well to get there. I think they had at least two performances in '06 that were better than anything they've done this year (against Armagh and Mayo).

Normally I'd be more of a football fan, but this year I've enjoyed the hurling championship more.

[lostinmayo]

austinstacksabu said:

2002 had the Sligo come back against Armagh in the quarter final and almost again in the replay down in Navan, the Dublin Donegal and replay / Donegal collapse, Tyrone shocked by Sligo who had their first ever win in Croke Park, Darragh O'Se giving the finest ever display of fielding in the modern game, in the driving rain in Fitzgerald against Cork, Armagh v Donegal Ulster final cracker up in Clones.....Tommy Lyones talking it up - Dublin v Armagh semi final - Cosgroves last minute kick off the bar - Kerry's champagne football - which proved utterly futile in the end, Tipperary taking Cork to a replay in the Munster final!! And I'm only starting to think about the moments from that year.

Jez stacks, u've some memory, maybe it's my old age, but there's no way i can remember that much from a c'ship 5 years ago

[Deleted]

2002 was a cracker alright for all the reasons stated above. 2005 was pretty good also.
This year doesn't even come close and was firmly put in the shade by the hurling.