Angry Fans
But even winners can be unhappy too. The former Bainisteoir of Tipperary, the
irrepressible Babs Keating, is criticised for being too negative in his post-match
comments on the Premier county's spectacular victory.
Despite GAA assurances
to the contrary, hurling fans are still wary of the quality of the re-laid pitch
in Croke Park. They're also worried about declining standards in hurling and they
wish referees would go a bit easier on flashing their yellow cards.
All
these topics, plus a lot more, are sparking the fans' anger this week.
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FAIR PLAY TO the Galway minors. They were well worth their win
over Waterford on Sunday. Having said that, however, Waterford had played several
gruelling games before getting into the semi final whereas Galway just had a bit
of a puck around against Antrim. At that age, when players are not fully developed,
tough games can take a lot more out of them, so it wasn't entirely fair to Waterford.
Now that Galway seniors are starting to find their feet in Leinster, surely their
county board should have the full courage of their convictions and take their
minors and under 21s in as well? Let them earn their places in an All Ireland
semi final.`
Both counties
can take great hope for the future from the quality of hurling and hurlers among
their minors. Galway in the past have found it a challenge to transition great
minors into success at senior level. The more sustained competition of being in
a Leinster championship could help them overcome that. With a Badger and a Fox
on their team, it's a wonder they couldn't find room for a Rabbitte as well.
I FIND IT very irritating the way Liam Sheedy always has his daughters
with him during his post-match interviews on TV. At least on Sunday the RTÉ
cameraman was on the ball and zoomed in on his face after a few seconds to cut
out the two kids.
The GAA
prides itself on being a family-friendly organisation so we can hardly complain
when one of our leading figures acts on that basis. Many more people would've
been concerned about Liam's blatant 'plug' for his fellow Portroe clubman, Alan
Kelly, during the European elections. It must've helped him anyway, since Alan
is now eligible to don the jersey of Strasbourg Wild Geese, or whatever the club
out there call themselves.
TOO MANY GOALS were netted
on Sunday after the scorer received a hand pass. This practice should be banned.
Only defenders should be allowed to hand pass and only inside their own '21'.
Hand passing is an excuse for a lack of skill.
The hand pass is a time honoured part of the game and I see nothing
wrong with it when it is well executed, as the skilful Tipp forwards did to perfection
on Sunday. The change you're suggesting would just introduce yet another pernickety
little rule that our already overburdened refs would have to enforce. The kicked
goal in hurling? Now, if we're talking about rule changes there's an inelegant
practice I wouldn't mind seeing banned.
SUNDAY'S RESULT IS a disaster for
the GAA in Limerick. More and more kids are going to take up rugby and I fear
for the future of Gaelic games in Limerick.
: As in many other urban areas, the GAA is finding the going tough in
Limerick city. It's not just competition from rugby and soccer, depending on the
town involved. It's competition from Play Station, the Web and just sheer bone
laziness. But, it's not all gloom. Limerick has a fine football team who could
win a Munster title in the next few years. Building a future in hurling takes
a huge volunteer effort and lots of money and I don't know to what extent Limerick
has these resources now.
JUSTIN'S TACTICS ON Sunday
were insane. Dropping Brian Geary back as an extra defender didn't work. It was
finished as a ploy once Tipp scored after only five minutes. It meant that we
had only five forwards against six Tipp backs for the first thirty minutes of
the game.
: Remember, it was
players in green jerseys who shot all those wides from long distance 'pops' that
could've put Limerick much closer to Tipperary at half time. In the first fifteen
minutes they shot five wides. If you're going to give yourself half a chance,
you have to keep your opponents no more than five points ahead of you - maximum
six - as Waterford demonstrated in the first semi final. Justin can only coach
them on how to hurl. He can't cross the white line and do it for them.
EVEN
AFTER SUCH a comprehensive win on Sunday Babs Keating was still grumbling. An
e-mailer to Jimmy Magee's radio programme asked Babs to say something positive
about the Tipp team for a change and he more or less refused. Lighten up Babs!
Babs is one of GAA's great characters blessed
- or maybe cursed - with a very colourful turn of phrase. Even when he was in
charge in the Premier county, he was fairly critical of some of the younger players.
I, too, heard that programme and felt he didn't really warm up in his comments
until he was specifically asked about Noel McGrath. It turned out the great Babs
had played football with Noel's grandfather.
I KNOW WE are not supposed
to say this, but I will anyway. Footballers may be able to get by on it, but both
Sunday's hurling matches again proved that the re-laid sod in Croke Park is not
fit to play hurling on. There were players slipping and sliding all over the place
at vital times. It is back to the way it was when it was laid originally and to
fix that, it had to be re-laid again.
It's like the elephant in the room that no GAA 'offeeshal' is prepared
to acknowledge. The dynamics of football are different to hurling. Basically,
football is a slower game, but if hurlers are weaving and ducking with the ball
at a faster pace, they seem to keel over. It turned out fine on Sunday when the
game was so one-sided. But what happens if the outcome of Kilkenny's attempt at
a four-in-a-row is determined by a player from either side slipping in front of
goal in the final minute of added time? Will all U2's money be worth that?
I
AM VERY sorry that our great Limerick legend, Mark Foley, will never have a senior
All Ireland medal. Breen and O'Mahony are the only positives. The GAA need to
play provincials earlier and seed accordingly. We should have an open draw with
the winners of Leinster and Munster one and two and the beaten finalists three
and four. We've had two woeful finals and now a nightmare semi final. Thank goodness
we will have a great final but let us reward teams for their efforts and avoid
mismatches. As a Limerick fan, I ask how could a system allow Wexford, Laois,
Dublin or Limerick to get to an All Ireland semi final? Wake up GAA and market
our game. My system allows each team at least two matches and guarantees that
quality teams will make the showcase events. Congratulations to Tipp for saving
this competition.
The way the
championship is currently structured, neither Limerick nor any other county has
to be among the 'top four' teams to get to an All Ireland semi final. If we had
a straight knock-out draw, no provincials and no backdoor, the chances of getting
the 'top four' into the semi finals would increase enormously. Sunday's pairing
is a result of the harebrained way the championship is organised.
game. The real issue is how the fifth or sixth team in the country are so far
behind the second best - just like the difference between first and second last
year. It's killing the game because there is no chance for Wexford, Offaly, Limerick,
Clare, Waterford and Cork for some years to come
: One of the so far unheralded legacies of Brian Cody and this superlative
Kilkenny panel is the way they have challenged other hurling counties to fundamentally
re-examine their approach to the game - from under age structures through to training
methods and tactics. That has to be good for the future of hurling. You can take
the 'Davy Fitz' view that other counties are catching up on them or the 'Ger Loughnane'
view that they have fallen back this year. Either way, all the counties you mention
have benefitted from their example and one of them will wrest the crown from Kilkenny
sooner rather than later.
LIMERICK'S APPROACH THIS year should be a lesson
to the Cork set up on how to go about things. Cork should have introduced some
new players and the rebuilding process would already be underway. Now they will
have to wait longer until they will be again regarded as a top team. Justin introduced
quite a few new players this year and, except for Sunday, they have done very
well. Limerick have a quality squad now and should be in the business end of the
championship again next year.
TICK IN THE BOOK LIMERICK
WERE WORSE than Waterford's performance in last year's All Ireland final. I see
Justin in his post-match interview said they are two years behind Tipp in terms
of this team's development and that a few lads may retire but they have young
lads coming through. Justin must have been giving a gentle reminder he is around
for at least a few more years and some senior players might have to move on. He
must be learning from his Waterford experience but I am not sure it will be of
benefit to Limerick.
I think
Justin's point is that Limerick have some good young players on their panel who
will take a year or two to develop fully. Maybe Waterford this year proved that
any team can bounce back from even the biggest of hammerings if they have the
motivation and leadership required.
EVERYONE KNEW LIMERICK were not in the
top four teams but this is no time for the rest of us to gloat either. You wouldn't
wish what happened on anyone. I really fear for Limerick, though, because at least
Waterford knew there was talent coming up after their All Ireland thrashing but
I really can't see how things are going to improve for Limerick in the near future.
IF KILKENNY HAD scored 6-19 we would never hear the end of it,
so I'll say this much for Tipp: this was an important barrier crossed. All year
people have been banging on about them fading in the second half. Well, on Sunday
they came of age at Croke Park and, mark my words, the momentum is with them.
They won't be beaten by the Cats. Their pace, mobility and skill is a match for
Kilkenny. Will all due respect to Waterford and Limerick, Kilkenny are hopefully
going to get a real challenge for the first time in three years on All Ireland
day.
The sincere sentiments
of a true Cork friend of Tipperary hurling!
WHILE THE ALL IRELAND football
and hurling championships are in the home straight, the over-hyped soccer season
has just kicked off in England and Scotland. I find it infuriating to see some
people referring to cross-channel teams as 'we' and to see adults who forgot to
grow up going around wearing jerseys with the names of soccer stars on the back.
This is sadder when you consider that we have much more credible role models in
the GAA. Also, I find it annoying to see so many soccer magazines in newsagents
while there are very few similar GAA publications to counter the flood of soccer
propaganda. This is something the powers that be in Croke Park should look into.
: To keep on top of the game, the GAA really
needs the top class coverage it gets from newspapers like 'The Irish Examiner'
and from provincial newspapers across the country. However, for some reason or
other, Croke Park has never put in the considerable effort or resources required
to produce a really first class weekly GAA magazine and, while that attitude continues,
there's a huge gap in their media armoury.
TICK IN THE BOOK WELL DONE
ON your idea of picking a Munster hurling team of the last twenty five years.
However, no marks to whoever picked the adjudication panel. There was only one
neutral selector - Jim O'Sullivan. Throughout his all his journalistic career
he has been most fair-minded in all his writings, especially when Cork were playing.
Donal O'Grady and Tony Considine, despite their fine achievements, have not always
shown the same fairness. I also think that when these two men had such close links
with two wonderful teams, they should have stood aside from the adjudication panel.
Good to see more well-deserved
plaudits rolling in for Jim! No one can question O'Grady's and Considine's expertise
and experience. For picking this type of team, it's always a challenge to find
selectors of sufficient standing that their views will be respected. Sure, we
know that both men are committed to their counties, but in their various punditry
roles in recent years they've shown themselves well capable of rising above that.
KILDARE
HAVE NOT been given enough credit for the way they performed against Tyrone. They
have shown Cork a way of beating the Ulster team. At sixty-three minutes gone,
it was level. Kildare were racing up the field and had a man surrounded by four
or five Tyrone players. He didn't get a free, Tyrone went away down the pitch
and got the crucial score to go ahead. They never looked back. While they hey
will be favourites against Cork they are not unbeatable.
: I fancy Cork. 'Nuff said!
LET US NOT have any more new stadiums
in the GAA. Instead, let us make Páirc Uí Chaoimh better and maybe
Cusack Park in Ennis as well. Maybe Limerick could look at developing Kilmallock
so there's a good small pitch to play League games on? To be honest, I would prefer
to see any spare money being spent on getting more kids to play the games and
getting them to play them well.
In the current economic climate, you won't get many to give you an argument
on that point.
THE BIGGEST UNDERACHIEVERS in GAA are Galway
hurlers and Mayo footballers.
The record books don't support your proposition. A big red card to
you for your unfair characterisation of a bunch of guys who are giving it their
best shot.
IT IS HIGH time Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald stopped
complaining about the media and referees. Every time he is interviewed, he looks
away from the interviewer and can't wait to get a dig in at somebody he perceives
to have done him or his team an injustice. He was at it again after Kilkenny saw
off his side in the All-Ireland semi-final. He said after the game: 'I'm not going
to criticise the ref but I was not happy with him'. Then he turned on the media
and said 'A lot of people called us a lot of things last year. I was abused personally
by certain sections that have a personal vendetta'.
Davy would be better
served by looking at some of his decisions regarding the placing of his team against
Kilkenny and the slowness in moving Aidan Kearney from full-back and Eoin Kelly
to wing-forward, and leaving Big Dan so long on the bench.
in the game of hurling who polarises opinion about himself. Out of his first two
seasons with Waterford, a quieter, more determined Davy may emerge.
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