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Post by aranteorainn on Aug 29, 2016 10:12:48 GMT
All the money in the world won't buy natural talent. Of course the money and the population pool must count for something but unlike Manchester City, Dublin can't buy in outside players. In a way they can , huge number of the employment opportunities in the country are in Dublin. Go thru the Dublin team and see how many have country connections.
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Post by wayupnorth on Aug 29, 2016 10:29:27 GMT
All the money in the world won't buy natural talent. Of course the money and the population pool must count for something but unlike Manchester City, Dublin can't buy in outside players. In a way they can , huge number of the employment opportunities in the country are in Dublin. Go thru the Dublin team and see how many have country connections. Granted but it's not really the same thing. Here you are talking about the next generation. Plenty of Dubs with Kerry heritage but none that I am aware of who have transferred from another county. You also have to put into the mix the opportunity a big city gives youngsters to excell in all kinds of sports many of which will be much more lucrative than Gaelic Football and if money were simply the answer, why haven't the Dublin hurlers performed better.
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Post by onlykerry on Aug 29, 2016 10:31:34 GMT
Was EF appointed for 1 or 2 years last autumn?
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on Aug 29, 2016 10:32:15 GMT
Was EF appointed for 1 or 2 years last autumn? Just the one.
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on Aug 29, 2016 10:35:37 GMT
Well done to Dublin, they are a fine team. We did not do enough in the 2nd half to take the referee out of the equation and for that we have ourselves to blame as we had the opportunity. I think people are making too much of the geaney substitution. Dublin were well on top at the stage and we were struggling to get the ball up the pitch. Like fitzmaurice, I will keep quiet on the ref and also the concerns i expressed before the game. That is for another day. Fitzmaurice removed a player who should receive an All-Star later in the year, our main scoring threat, and our only target man with the loss of Donaghy. It was a fatal mistake. Geaney was just as stunned as the Kerry supporters.
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Post by onlykerry on Aug 29, 2016 10:36:04 GMT
In a way they can , huge number of the employment opportunities in the country are in Dublin. Go thru the Dublin team and see how many have country connections. Granted but it's not really the same thing. Here you are talking about the next generation. Plenty of Dubs with Kerry heritage but none that I am aware of who have transferred from another county. You also have to put into the mix the opportunity a big city gives youngsters to excell in all kinds of sports many of which will be much more lucrative than Gaelic Football and if money were simply the answer, why haven't the Dublin hurlers performed better. I always associate good hurlers as lads who were born with a hurl in hand - its an ingrained skill from the earliest years. I have seen Cork underage footballers arrive at football matches and tournaments with hurleys in hand and spend 10 minutes before and after football games pucking the ball about the car park. Football is somewhat different and the modern footballer is an athlete with ball skills. Money cannot put the hurl in the hands of babes but can improve an athlete....
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Post by ardfertnarrie on Aug 29, 2016 10:37:55 GMT
What might have been.
We were right in the game till the end but you could sense that Dublin were going to close the game out. They just have more game winners than us.
But I am really annoyed about the decision to take Paul Geaney off. We were two points up and needed to go for a few more scores. EF then brings on Marc which signalled to Dublin that we were happy to sit back and invite them on. This Dub team doesn't need to be asked twice. They destroyed us in those last 12 minutes.
Geaney was the one forward who looked like scoring for us anytime he got the ball and was a nominee for the MoTM on The Sunday Game. Really annoyed by that and you could see Paul was perplexed when he eventually realised that he was being taken off. I'm also not sure why Donnchadh was taken off. Thought he was having a really good game.
With that off my chest I do recognise that we really put them to the pin of their collar and had them on the rack. With a fit Maher and Jamsie who knows what might have happened. In saying that, we were very fortunate with the 2 goals (although hard work did help create the first, Donnchadh's touch to Darren was incredible). Without those the game would have been well over.
Big shout out to Murphy, Killian, Crowley and Enright who I thought played really well. Killian's runs were really troubling Dublin and it's a pity we didn't see more of it. I also thought Morely can hold his head high after a shaky start.
The future does look bright for Kerry football when you see what brilliant young lads we have coming up.
Final mention to Star, Marc and O'Mahony. If you do decide to call it a day, the people of Kerry owe you a debt of gratitude for the joy and pleasure you have given us over the last 10 years and more.
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Post by onlykerry on Aug 29, 2016 10:38:31 GMT
Was EF appointed for 1 or 2 years last autumn? Just the one. So in that case there is actually a vacancy to be filled.
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Derek
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Post by Derek on Aug 29, 2016 10:48:54 GMT
I saw a few people criticising Crowley, after that hit from McManamon challenge, saying that he tried to get the game stopped with play-acting. Just spotted this photo of the physios trying to drag him back. Should dispel any of the notions he was acting up. Why would the physios be trying to stop him, if he was ok! www.sportsfile.com/id/1207869/It was right below me and he was clearly concussed and he looked out cold from the initial hit. If this was rugby there would be hell to pay. Gough showed no concern for a player clearing suffering with a head injury and let play continue. The Kerry medical team tried there best to hold Peter back but his will to get back and help his fellow players just shows what those guys are willing to do for each other. We have 4 umpires and 2 linesmen surely they have to draw the ref's attention to a doctor trying to stop an injured player re-entering the game against medical advice. BJK was pulled in 2011 when a player jumps into him and Dublin get a soft free to win the all Ireland, Peter Crowley nearly gets decapitated and nothing.......
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on Aug 29, 2016 10:55:21 GMT
I saw a few people criticising Crowley, after that hit from McManamon challenge, saying that he tried to get the game stopped with play-acting. Just spotted this photo of the physios trying to drag him back. Should dispel any of the notions he was acting up. Why would the physios be trying to stop him, if he was ok! www.sportsfile.com/id/1207869/It was right below me and he was clearly concussed and he looked out cold from the initial hit. If this was rugby there would be hell to pay. Gough showed no concern for a player clearing suffering with a head injury and let play continue. The Kerry medical team tried there best to hold Peter back but his will to get back and help his fellow players just shows what those guys are willing to do for each other. We have 4 umpires and 2 linesmen surely they have to draw the ref's attention to a doctor trying to stop an injured player re-entering the game against medical advice. BJK was pulled in 2011 when a player jumps into him and Dublin get a soft free to win the all Ireland, Peter Crowley nearly gets decapitated and nothing....... Unfortunately for Kerry, Gough set the tone for his second half performance when he threw the ball in for the restart. Moran fields the ball, is fouled, no free given, Dublin turn it over and get a soft free.
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Post by kerrypride on Aug 29, 2016 11:04:44 GMT
I thought the lads played very well yesterday and left the pitch with certainly a lot of pride compared to last year's final. I'm sure they are absolutely devastated. They are the ones who make the sacrifices and are amateurs so I won't be criticising any players for certain and thank them for what time they give the county and us fans. Of course we had some bad misses, poor turnovers and poor kick outs in the first half but so did the opposition. I am a fan of EF and he has made us so competitive at a time of transition as players are aging and the young lads coming up are still a little too young for the senior panel and he deserves great credit for that and the 14 win which was so unexpected. If he wants to stay on, I'm not sure now what people think and if its the best call. Im not sure now myself. Perhaps a fresh voice might be the wiser option, but that depends on who's available and what EF wants to do. We need to freshen up the panel much more with youth and pace (if possible) even if it is just to get them experience until they develop at senior level. One thing I was disappointed with yesterday (other than the ref on the Crowley tackle) was that I thought we came out so flat at the start of the second half having gone in with that lead and we were so up for it had a spring in the step (against the run of play it must be said but we capitalised on one goal to take 2-3 which was impressive) we missed our opportunity on not going for it in the first quarter after half time I felt as our fitness in the last quarter was always going to be inferior to theirs. I thought we showed great heart to go back to 3 up but just couldn't hold out and ref made a couple of decisions at the end that probably cost us a draw but fairplay to Dublins composure. I'm not trying to criticise management but just now have a concern that after 4 years we have become a little conservative, felt a few things could have been done possibly to try to try to nail the win at the start of the second half to grasp an opportunity that had come our way. We may need a fresh voice with some new faces in the panel to freshen it up. Similarly felt the switch of Marc for Geaney was again conservative. Just my opinion and I reiterate I do rate EF highly, just wondering what others think?
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on Aug 29, 2016 11:39:38 GMT
We never played long diagonal ball into forwards in the second half Like we did in the end of first did we change our plan right after we had it figured out ? I thought we would resume second half with more of the same pressing game like we finished the first and had cluxton In all kinds of trouble No one has mentioned the illegal steal by Fenton Right in front of ref when he stole the throw up ball When there we already a Dublin player in for it with star? That was a cheeky steal but looked totally illegal to me Thanks for the effort lads absolutely huge proud to be Kerry we are not going away It was illegal and it should've been pulled up.
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Post by misteallaigh abú on Aug 29, 2016 12:13:21 GMT
How do you sum up that game yesterday? At one stage in the second half I just wanted to get up off my seat in the stand and leave the grounds as I found the tension unbearable, at times. Anyway, I managed to sit through it all and was exhausted, bereft and proud at the very end.
We had the chances to win it. It was the little things that were the difference between winning and losing. Kick outs.Stephen O Brien and Jameso getting turned over, colm' ball into the keeper's hands, Sheehan's balloon kick, a couple of phantom frees into the hill and the 45 given to Dublin that wasn't. Also, Peter Crowley was most definitely fouled when we were one behind. What might have been the sweetest victory in many years was taken away from us and we are left with a winter of contemplation ahead.
We did everything possible to squeeze out a victory. We almost succeeded. Players and management deserve huge credit for the efforts made. I thought Fitzmaurice did most things right, although the substitution of Geaney was baffling. Killian Young was brilliant throughout and played like a warrior yesterday. Tadhg Morley showed that he has serious potential. In fairness, Maher and Moran toiled as best they could but overall, Dublin had our measure around the middle. Once we got going, we had Dublin rocked but we couldn't sustain it for long enough. I was very disappointed with Jameso yesterday. His form has dipped and he's only a shadow of what he was 2 seasons ago. Paul Geaney was immense, Gooch was likewise, at times and stood tall. He fluffed his lines a couple of times but overall, it was great to see him enjoying his Croke park experience. BJK scored a beautiful point when he came on and Stephen O Brien did well, scoring and creating a point.
Dublin played like champions yesterday, they gave a champions performance and are a fine side. They showed what's required to put All Ireland titles back to back. They were aggressive, skilful, creative, patient, disciplined and accurate under pressure. We almost matched them, almost. It was a privilege to be at that game yesterday. I hoped for a performance and I got more than I hoped for. Well done to all of the players. We showed yesterday that we are a top class team, a kick of the ball away from the best, when we are at it. Congrats to Dublin, there will be 31 counties roaring on Mayo in three weeks time but that is always the lot of champions and they're well used to it. I think Donaghy still has so much to contribute to the Kerry cause and would love to see him stay on. I very much doubt he will. His treatment by Dublin fans is testament to how much he gets under their skin, what a warrior and what a competitor. What a way to go out though for him and the other old stagers. Carried out on their shields, the way they would have wanted it.
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Derek
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Post by Derek on Aug 29, 2016 12:28:27 GMT
Anyone else here concerned at why we feel we cant show Dublin our hand before we play them or why we have to change our style of play to play them?
We didn't play a sweeper role in any league or championship game this season or any other one that I can think of, Yet Jim Gavin has no problem showing any team his hand when he deploys Cian O'Sullivan there every game. They have the same game plan for every game with almost the same set of player for every game yet Kerry don't have that continuity. I think if Eamonn thinks the sweeper is the right way to go we should have implemented it and tested it from January right through to yday. Dublin have played it for 2 years so we weren't going to be as good doing it on the first day out.
I think we have the players to stand toe to toe with Dublin and we have gone defensive because of the two late goals in '11 and '13 which both came from turnovers and surely not reason to stand so far off the best team in the country and let them own the ball in the second half. I think that kind of system keeps you in a game due to lack of goals you concede but its very hard to get the scores at the other end as we saw in the second half yday.
Another thing that mystified me at the game was how isolated Anthony Maher and David Moran were when the ball was kicked long - each occasion there were 3-4 Dublin players to 1 Kerryman which meant we had no option to try and break the ball to a waiting Kerry player and we had relied on our lads catching it, landing safely, and they trying to get away from possibly 3 Dublin players. We were the masters of winning breaking ball for years aka Paul Galvin, Declan sullivan etc - anyone else pick up on this yday?
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peanuts
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Post by peanuts on Aug 29, 2016 12:28:53 GMT
I echo all the sentiments about how proud we are of the players. They really left it all out there. I think I enjoyed the last 10-15 minutes of the first half more than any other game in Croker. Its just a pity that Gough didn't give that free for Crowley at the end. It would probably have ended up as a draw and I don't think anyone would have complained. I thought we didn't get Barry John on the ball enough when he was on as his confidence was bound to have been high after his great score and we were struggling to create clear cut chances.
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Post by actionman on Aug 29, 2016 12:57:10 GMT
Some of the referees decisions were baffling to say the least especially in the last 10mins of the game, how is it possible that a guy who refs in Dublin can get a game involving the Dubs? Would a ref from cork that refs in Kerry get a game involving the kingdom? Not a chance. Having said that despite the poor reffing we were second best especially on the side line, the decision to take off Paul Geaney and replace him with Marc was ridiculous , and bringing in Sheehan when we needed someone with legs was another crazy decision. All in all the players did their best and every one of them can hold their heads high, we will be back again we have some great young players coming up. We need a new management team and give them time to build another all concurring team of champions.
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Post by rockie36 on Aug 29, 2016 13:46:15 GMT
I have to say that I am very pleased by most of the postings here since the game yesterday....we are all devastated...and it is hard to take another beating from the Dubs. They are a very fine team and this is their time in the limelight. We, in Kerry, are not used to playing second fiddle and it is very difficult to stomach. Saying that...I had tears in my eyes after that game yesterday because of the effort that our boys gave....it would have been incredible to beat Dublin. We were so close...a few refereeing decisions...a few bad choices by some guys....and some unlucky kicks at goals. I would not be in favour of asking EF to step down...he has done a great job...of course one could questions some of his calls...but no more so than you can question some decisions players make. I trust him and believe he is doing everything to make us the best team in the country once again. Yeah...some guys have reached the end of their careers...and I thank them for every second they played in the Kerry jersey. We have a lot of young talent in the county but there is a huge step from County minor to County senior...talent is not enough...there is a certain mental strength needed as well. I could not name one guy apart from the few that are involved already that is a certainty to play senior inter county football for Kerry. But, if we can get 3/4 players from each minor squad then that is nearly half a panel...and they have all been conditioned within the Kerry set up...so not a lot of work necessary. Today I feel disappointed but incredibly proud of this bunch of amateur men that put everything on hold to serve us....THANK YOU
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Post by homerj on Aug 29, 2016 14:22:10 GMT
i think our performance is being made out to be alot better than it really was yesterday, for large portions of the game, we were awful, absolutely awful.
we scored 2-4 in a quick burst in the first half, for the rest of the game we were outscored 22 points to 10.
we were beaten by the much better team yet we could have won the game - thats what makes it disappointing but lots of players were out of their depth yesterday (albeit against a high quality dublin team) and didnt play well. fitz got much more wrong than the Geaney substitution though id be more worried about the quality of lads he has on the line he has making these decisions with him and not himself.
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Post by leesider on Aug 29, 2016 14:41:05 GMT
Interesting that most posters here have dismissed my post about Dublin having an unfair advantage because of the massive amounts of money at their disposal. I suppose ye don't want to be seen as sore losers (which I understand). But I still stick to my guns, it's not coincidental that the county with the most lucrative sponsorship deal and who get the most of the GAA’s development funds are also the most successful team in football in the country at the moment. Their backroom team is massive, it's like something you'd see in the NFL. Also, the National Sports Campus is right on their doorstep. The top brass in Croke Park won't care if Dublin keep winning all the time of course, in fact they are probably secretly pleased as it means more revenue for them.
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Post by southward on Aug 29, 2016 15:43:30 GMT
i think our performance is being made out to be alot better than it really was yesterday, for large portions of the game, we were awful, absolutely awful. we scored 2-4 in a quick burst in the first half, for the rest of the game we were outscored 22 points to 10. we were beaten by the much better team yet we could have won the game - thats what makes it disappointing but lots of players were out of their depth yesterday (albeit against a high quality dublin team) and didnt play well. fitz got much more wrong than the Geaney substitution though id be more worried about the quality of lads he has on the line he has making these decisions with him and not himself. Over the 70+ minutes, we outscored Dublin from play by 2-10 to 0-12. Beaten by a better team - umm, maybe, but take Gough out of the equation and we have a different narrative today altogether. Understandably, people are reluctant to say this for fear of being seen as sore losers but it's surely indisputable that Dublin got the lion's share of the decisions yesterday. I saw somewhere their free count was almost double ours - was our tackling really that much worse? Sure, we made our mistakes and Dublin made theirs, but ultimately frees were the difference. By the way, it's not the first time Gough has been booed off by Kerry fans - same thing happened vs Cork in Tralee when he singlehandedly brought them back into the game. Things being thrown is unacceptable of course. That said, congrats to Dublin and best of luck in the final. And fair play to both teams for a cracking game.
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Post by misteallaigh abú on Aug 29, 2016 16:07:28 GMT
It's funny how things are viewed in defeat. Sheehan coming on is being criticised in some quarters. Had Crowley's foul been given and the resultant free converted, his introduction would have been lauded a master stroke.
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Post by Kingdomson on Aug 29, 2016 16:22:56 GMT
I haven't read the forum today - still too raw but will catch up over the coming days. I'm sure most has been said already. On a personal note, what a privilege it was to be there to witness one of the most intense sporting spectacles I’ve ever seen. Kudos to both teams for giving everything and more. What a display of courage and determination. Did they deserve to be a loser in this match? NO. Did the better team actually win? Yes, most definitely. Why do we always lose the classics against Dublin? The day will come and come soon when we beat Dublin in the Championship and what a sweet day it will be. For now, it is time to pause and take stock and thank our brave warriors in the green and gold for giving it everything they had- we can ask no more! PS: This picture I saw re-tweeted by Tony Leen’s of Aidan O’Mahony would move a stone. What a WARRIOR and what a servant to the green and gold. twitter.com/sportsfilebrenPS: Congratulations to Dublin.
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Post by taggert on Aug 29, 2016 16:34:06 GMT
It's funny how things are viewed in defeat. Sheehan coming on is being criticised in some quarters. Had Crowley's foul been given and the resultant free converted, his introduction would have been lauded a master stroke. Its less Sheahan coming on and more Sheahan not performing when he came on. Very bad decision making on a number of occasions. His unsuitability to play against Dublin well signposted in the league final. That we finished with Marc, Mahony and Sheahan was not a good plan - they were never going to counter the pace of Dublin.
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peanuts
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Post by peanuts on Aug 29, 2016 16:44:13 GMT
Interesting that most posters here have dismissed my post about Dublin having an unfair advantage because of the massive amounts of money at their disposal. I suppose ye don't want to be seen as sore losers (which I understand). But I still stick to my guns, it's not coincidental that the county with the most lucrative sponsorship deal and who get the most of the GAA’s development funds are also the most successful team in football in the country at the moment. Their backroom team is massive, it's like something you'd see in the NFL. Also, the National Sports Campus is right on their doorstep. The top brass in Croke Park won't care if Dublin keep winning all the time of course, in fact they are probably secretly pleased as it means more revenue for them. Not really for discussion here. You should start a separate thread for it if you want to discuss.
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Post by Ballyfireside on Aug 29, 2016 16:48:51 GMT
It's funny how things are viewed in defeat. Sheehan coming on is being criticised in some quarters. Had Crowley's foul been given and the resultant free converted, his introduction would have been lauded a master stroke. Its less Sheahan coming on and more Sheahan not performing when he came on. Very bad decision making on a number of occasions. His unsuitability to play against Dublin well signposted in the league final. That we finished with Marc, Mahony and Sheahan was not a good plan - they were never going to counter the pace of Dublin. If they could have pace for a short spell then they had peerless experience, I suppose lack of acceleration and that Dubs knew that was key. AO'M did perform and nobody else could do what he did in terms of physicality. I didn't think Marc looked happy coming on, was it that he didn't believe Geaney should be taken off? The thing is the managers know more than we do and of course it is easy be wise after the event. Let's see if Terrace Talk reveals the justification of the Geaney move. I hope we don't to to decipher fact from waffle though, just give it to us straight and we aren't being animals in expecting that.
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Post by sammaguire1 on Aug 29, 2016 17:12:38 GMT
Does anyone think Connolly could/should have got a black card in about 71st/72nd min I think.Cant remember what kerry player he pulled back by the shoulders in front of Hogan Stand. He then went on to kick a brilliant point 2 mins later to put the game to bed
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Post by jackeensabhog on Aug 29, 2016 17:38:01 GMT
All the money in the world won't buy natural talent. Of course the money and the population pool must count for something but unlike Manchester City, Dublin can't buy in outside players. In a way they can , huge number of the employment opportunities in the country are in Dublin. Go thru the Dublin team and see how many have country connections. Dublin have at least 3 players (4 including McCartney) whose fathers also won all ireland medals. It's more than money or population. There's a cultural lineage. I imagine Kerry is the same.
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Post by Ballyfireside on Aug 29, 2016 17:43:11 GMT
Interesting that most posters here have dismissed my post about Dublin having an unfair advantage because of the massive amounts of money at their disposal. I suppose ye don't want to be seen as sore losers (which I understand). But I still stick to my guns, it's not coincidental that the county with the most lucrative sponsorship deal and who get the most of the GAA’s development funds are also the most successful team in football in the country at the moment. Their backroom team is massive, it's like something you'd see in the NFL. Also, the National Sports Campus is right on their doorstep. The top brass in Croke Park won't care if Dublin keep winning all the time of course, in fact they are probably secretly pleased as it means more revenue for them. Not really for discussion here. You should start a separate thread for it if you want to discuss. Here is one place we have addressed it, I have pushed it but it is a complex issue, much outside the GAA, e.g. Multi nationals prefer Dublin as near the airport as we saw with our own Kerry Group relocating to Naas and UK. But there are things we can do and we needn't do a lot to get enough to support what is a low population density, but we refuse to do them and anyone who raises the root issues is castigated by the institutions who favour cronyism. I reported Internet abuse on this forum and the authorities were less than helpful to say the least, so what happens, they start it again last Sat night before the big gamne. How can we criticize a ref in Croker when we don't stand up for what is right and we only have to look at how our heros were betrayed in Rio, by our own. A mother unable to see her child competing because our administrators were touting her ticket on the streets of a developing country for cash in hand of course so there is no record so it is safe to assume the money is stolen! And they have done worse closer to home and not alone have they have the full support of our institutions but they also use contacts in organisations to their own personal financial benefit and all paid for by the public who are denied their legitimate entitlements. kerrygaa.proboards.com/thread/5928/templenoe-rural-clubs-spillane-exanminer?page=3
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Post by Ballyfireside on Aug 29, 2016 17:57:05 GMT
All the money in the world won't buy natural talent. Of course the money and the population pool must count for something but unlike Manchester City, Dublin can't buy in outside players. Unlike Man City they don't have to, they have 25% of the entire population pool of what unlike soccer is a ethnic game, i.e. only Irish people play it.
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Post by Ballyfireside on Aug 29, 2016 18:05:15 GMT
On paper , Kerry had no right to be within a kick of a ball or two of Dublin at the end. But they were. Surely, apart from the heroic effort by the players, the fact that this happened is largely due to the EF and friends. This is an exceptional Dublin. The current Kerry team are far from that status. Yet, this exceptional team were pushed to breaking point. Accordingly, I cannot understand why people are suggesting that Eamon should move on. My hope is that he does not. Of course, I will be asking him why he made one inexplicable change late in the game! I felt the referee was unkind to us on a couple of occasions, most notably the tackle on Peter, but I must refer to the moral fibre of the umpire who waved the green flag for Paul Geaney's goal in front of the Hill. No, we didn't lose because of referee's decisions. We lost to a great team. There is no shame in that. Somebody used the word composure to describe them. That is as good a characterisation as any. For the first twenty five minutes or so, it looked as if we were in for a mauling and the disturbing thing is that mauling seemed to be dispensed effortlessly. Brian Kelly's fine save prevented that mauling from becoming a rout. But then the goals. Not for the first time, Stephen Cluxton cracked and who knows what might have happened if that half time whistle did not come when it did. Was the first ten minutes of the second half the most crucial section of the game? Perhaps. Dublin calmly and methodically had the deficit wiped out in the blink of an eyelid. Composure again I suppose. It must be remembered that we lost KD and Darran in the second half but by dent of a superhuman effort we accumulated a lead of three points going into the home straight. How crucial was the ignored tackle on Peter Crowley? We will never know. How crucial was the substituting of the 1-4 man, Paul Geaney? We will never know. It was astonishing in any case. In the meantime, AO'M. Tadgh Morley, David Moran et al had a few dreadful misses, while back at the ranch Dublin had the composure, you bet, to kick those match winning points. I wonder is that the defining difference between Dublin and other contenders, the ability to kick long range points? We certainly struggled in that department yesterday. Too often, particularly in the second half we tried to bring it in too close and met a brick wall. We were also murdered on our kickouts. The fault of Brian Kelly or outfield players? Not sure. Of course Dublin did not make it easy for us in that sphere. That is what champions do. They make it difficult for you in every department. So the glory belongs once more to Dublin. They deserved it. There is sadness of course at the defeat but greater sadness at the thought that we may sever see, for instance, the likes of Colm, KD and Marc in Croke Park again. My tired old eyes well up at the thought. Warriors forever in the memory. P.S. Memo to Dublin seniors and Kerry minors. The respective All-Irelands have not been secured yet. I posed the question on Terrace Talk, if we take it that Dublin are a better team if only because they have fresher legs, then has any management ever compensated successfully to the extent that they beat a better team? Given your wisdom of days gone by, maybe you are the best man to field this one Vet.
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