Angry Fans
Referees and added time. The man in Killarney plays too much the other man
in Croke Park plays too little. Either way, the fans are rightly angry at what
they see as the unfairness of it all, particularly to the Cork footballers.And,
speaking of footballers. The Dubs and Rebels both come in for a share of criticism
following their performances on Sunday. In Cork's case, the comments are a bit
muted, because their fans seem to think they'll still get the better of the Kingdom
next Saturday. The Dubs, however, are well 'slagged' for over 'hype' and under
delivery.
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OK, SO TV3 don't get out on
the championship pitch too often but that doesn't mean they can't employ the right
people to direct their games. The Cork-Kerry match TV coverage was not only awful
but actually missed a lot of the action.
They kept showing replays using
a video 'sting' which was too long. Result? The game was well on (or, in one case,
over), when they cut back live to it.
Now, while that was annoying enough
any director knowing sport would have pulled this 'sting' in order to show us
the action. What's going to happen when they show a hurling game?
If they
persist with this nonsense, we could have three goals and ten points scored while
still watching the replay for the first score.
Also in Killarney, an early
Kerry point looked dubious, but they had no definitive 'behind the goal' camera
shot to show us if the decision was correct. For ages, the Killarney cameras laughingly
followed a sub coming on while the action carried on, oblivious to TV3. We didn't
even see the final whistle being blown because of a replay.
: That's a fairly devastating indictment of TV3's coverage,
if true. I didn't watch it myself, so I can't comment. I have to say that the
camera work from RTÉ's coverage of the game in Croke Park was excellent
and their trio of in studio pundits, Messrs Brolly, Spillane and O'Rourke, managed
to be simultaneously entertaining and knowledgeable in their analysis.
IT SEEMS TO BE the same old story again with injury time in big
championship games. If all the time lost was genuinely added up you would have
at least ten minutes extra in most games for injuries and bringing on subs, not
to mention time wasting. Because of this, players will always time waste and feign
injury knowing that three or four minutes is all that will be added on.
IN THE GAME AT Croke
Park, Dublin's Mark Davoren was down for well over three minutes after his injury.
Playing 'at least two minutes' of additional time was way off.
I THOUGHT EXTRA time was to be played for all games finishing level?
It would have made more sense to play fifteen minutes extra time each way and
sort it out. Bringing Cork and Kerry together again, given that they could meet
again later this year, is calculated to give rise to the issues which afflicted
recent contests between the counties.
ANYTIME I'VE SEEN Marty Duffy officiating he's caused some sort of controversy.
Playing only two minutes of injury time in the game at Croke Park was a complete
and utter joke whereas injury time in Killarney was a joke for being way too LONG.
The whistle should have blown after Cork's last point. Instead, Maurice Deegan
seemed to do he could to give Kerry another shot at goal.
THE REFEREE HAD indicated two minutes of additional time. Cork got a
'45' within that time and scored it. By my watch, the Kerry goalkeeper kicked
out after thirty-seven minutes and ten seconds: the game was over. Somehow Maurice
Deegan found another two minutes in which to give Kerry two frees and moved the
last one in twenty metres.
: What
planet are the GAA top brass living on? Have they never watched a Ladies football
game? Eh, you know, the games with the countdown clock? The answer to all these
'additional time' controversies is staring them in the (clock) face. Or is this
just more of the misogynistic attitude to the women's games prevalent among some
GAA diehards?
CORK COULD AND SHOULD have won on Sunday. The Rebels played
with great pace and imagination for periods of the game. Alas, they returned to
the old ways by attempting to retain possession in a laboured manner going across
field. A statistic which I find very frustrating is the number of punched passes,
Eighty five in the opening half alone.
I FULLY
ACCEPT that Cork have only themselves to blame for the draw with Kerry as they
should have been out of sight. The draw appeared a bit contrived to me! The time
was well up when Kerry launched that last attack. Kerry played for the free and
got it rather softly. I thought the Kerry attacker ran straight at Nicholas Murphy
who could do nothing about it!
SIX YELLOW CARDS
to Cork versus one for Kerry! I'm not sure that reflected the extent of robust
challenges put in by each side. Still, Cork it was Cork's own fault that they
didn't win, so I suppose the yellow card count doesn't really matter.
I THOUGHT SUNDAY'S game in Killarney
lacked bite. Did either team really want to win it? The pre match parade was more
like a funeral parade than a pre match parade. The band walked very slowly and
the players looked completely fed up. The ref played for a draw that no one really
wanted! Look at the body language of the players afterwards.
- Inchigeela
Donie
A little 'tickeen' in the Black Book there to
Donie for blaming the poor oul band for the relatively poor fare on show in Fitzgerald
Stadium. Maybe if they had togged off instead of one or other of the teams - and
let the footballers play some music instead - the entertainment value might have
been better.
AH, THE DUBS. Tons of media attention. The usual hype about
certain players, new management, new players. The only problem is, they are still
not good enough. From a scoring point of view, this was a shocking performance
from Dublin. Some of their misses were unbelievable. They are still a very mobile
team all over the field but their shooting will probably let them down when it
comes to the crunch. Dublin haven't a hope of winning an All-Ireland with that
team.
FOR CERTAIN PERIODS of the second half in Croke
Park there was only Jason Sherlock and his marker in the Meath half of the pitch.
Last time I played football, there were six forwards and six backs in a team.
The reason was for the six forwards to try and score and the six backs to try
to stop them. How can you expect to score if you are playing the ball around your
own half back line? Absolutely shocking stuff. There can be no explanation for
the way the Dublin team played yesterday.
I was sitting in the Lower Cusack
stand corner next to Hill 16 and the amount of time this section of the pitch
was completely empty with neither the ball being played into it or a Dub player
moving into space looking for it.
WHAT A WOEFUL game
in Croke Park on Sunday. Meath got some great scores but they just could not get
enough ball into the forwards. Dublin looked awful. They lacked cohesion or a
plan and look to have gone back a long way. The most worrying thing for them is
that their manager in the post match interview seemed clueless. He was happy with
the performance!
The real problem
about Sunday's football games was not the alleged poor quality of the refereeing.
Apart from the genuine complaints about the duration of additional time, I thought
Maurice Deegan and Marty Duffy each did a good job.
No, the real problem was
the appallingly poor standard of football provided by the four teams, and indeed
by Armagh and Tyrone the previous Sunday. The game is deteriorating into a combination
of hand passing and roaming packs of ten or twelve players who look like starving
hens scavenging for a bit of meal. Skills like accurate shot taking seem to be
dying out.
At a time when every cent and getting value-for-money counts
for many fans, how long more before many of them rebel at these regular 'football'
con jobs and vote with their feet to stay away? THERE IS A complete lack of GAA
shirts on sale at Dublin Airport shops. Any chance of somebody sorting that out?
Fair cop, Declan. Maybe the Croke
Park marketing gurus could get on to their hurling sponsor, Etihad Airlines, to
see if they can influence the situation for the better? After that, a phone call
from the Ard Stiúrthóir to the airport's hardworking PR Manager
and enthusiastic Kildare football supporter, Vincent Wall, might pay dividends?
CONTRATULATIONS
TO Denis Walsh and the Cork hurlers for their wonderful display against Tipp.
It was a joy to see and admire their skills, fair play and spirit. My only concern
is about the number of penalties missed over the past three or four years. I despair
when I see each taker shoot straight at the goalkeeper who, after all, is the
most qualified defender on the goal line to stop shots. The great Christy Ring
used to pick out the weakest defender on the goal line and blast his shot past
him.
WE DEFINITELY let the game slip
against Tipp. Cork should have won by four points. Great performances from all
the new lads. Super second half from our senior players. What about Gardiner in
the half forward line? Great to see this team get the deserved support.
: HEY, AFR! WASN'T it great to see Tipp
live with Cork's resurgence without resorting to random and sporadic cramps. How
often over the past few years have we seen teams hit the deck with so called 'cramps'
whenever Cork get into their stride.
We saw it last year in the semi-final
where Eoin Larkin had a mysterious 'cramp' just as Cork were getting into their
stride, yet he recovered miraculously to go on to win the 'Man of the Match' award.
More recently in the League encounter with Waterford there were three players
on the deck with 'cramp', again just as Cork were showing some potential. Tipp
also pulled similar stuff last year in the clash with Cork in Munster. I was delighted
to see them not resort to such tactics this year.
Sorry, Kevin. A Yellow Card for the farfetched allegation of other
teams trying to 'cramp' Cork revivals in big matches. I seem to recall John Gardiner
being badly affected by cramp towards the end of the Thurles match.
There's
no contest for the 'Comment of the Week'. It goes to 'The Ash Doctor' for his
informed and knowledgeable dissection of TV3's football coverage on Sunday. It's
a timely reminder to all broadcasters that the basic job of showing all the action
comes first, before fancy studio sets and whizzy graphics. 'The Ash Doctor' wins
a choice of a His or Hers t-shirt from our pals in Puckout.com.
CATCH UP
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