GAA Angry Fans
Limerick fans' anger hasn't subsided yet after their crushing defeat by Tipperary
but at least they're now beginning to make constructive suggestions about the
county might lift itself out of its abyss.
Some fans think Pat Spillane
should have been more gracious on his comments on RTÉ after Tyrone's defeat
and is there a mysterious Longford gremlin lurking in RTÉ Sports Department?
Lynx-eyed fans think there may be.
Get in touch: Give your views and comments
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say.
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JOHN BANNON GAVE a poor display of refereeing on Sunday. Maybe Alan O'Connor's
first yellow card was deserved but the second one was ridiculous. After the sending
off, the referee seemed to balance it up by going hard on Tyrone. I know he had
his back to the John Miskella incident and, in fairness, he consulted an umpire
but the umpire 'bottled' it. It's a pity the ref's performance is the dominant
topic after this game because Cork were excellent and fully deserved the victory.
No one will be harder in reviewing
his refereeing last Sunday than John Bannon himself. He has always been one of
our better inter-county referees. Up to Alan O'Connor's sending off in the 29th
minute we seemed to be heading for one a great game of football. Sadly, the ref's
decision spoiled all that. In the end, however, justice was done. The better team
won. No one died.
CONOR COUNIHAN IS showing what an astute manager he is.
Cork's first half display was brilliant offensively and their second half display
was brilliant defensively. Tyrone were beaten all over the field. Graham Canty
must be favourite for 'Footballer of the Year'. He was superb.
Even though
the bookies mightn't agree, Cork must be favourites for the title now. If Kerry
beat Meath they will be hard pressed to beat the Rebels this year.
THE
DISPLAY AGAINST Tyrone was the most complete I have seen since the day I witnessed
Cork defeat Kerry in the Munster final in Killarney in 1974. Cork displayed great
skill, great determination and won dirty ball when the need arose. 'Sam' is not
won in August, so let's not get carried away. This team has huge potential and
has all the characteristics necessary to wipe away all the disappointments.
Pace. Power. Poise. Pat Spillane used
those three words used to describe Cork's display. For once, you'd have to agree
with the Templenoe Talisman. The way Cork consistently tackled, dispossessed and
defended was outstanding. In midfield and in the forwards, their athleticism,
strength and fitness showed, as they always had one or two 'runners' coming through
at pace to cut through Tyrone's defence. If there's a caveat, it must be that
they were a little too profligate in wasting scoring chances, both from play and
free kicks. For that reason alone, I would counsel against writing off Kerry just
yet, or indeed, Meath!
PAT SPILLANE GAVE A fair oul rant on RTÉ TV
about who are 'The team of the Decade'. To me, it seemed a bit petty doing it
off the back of a Cork defeat of Tyrone rather than a Kerry one. He really rubbed
it in and acted like a big child.
Defeat
can often tell us more about a man's character than victory. Mickey Harte passed
that test with flying colours, being dignified and honest in his post-match comments.
Pat, on the other hand, might have been a bit more gracious
to a Tyrone team that has won three out of five All Ireland finals contested,
all in this decade, and all after making their first breakthrough in 2003.
WHAT
A WEEKEND it was to be a Cork supporter! The junior footballers started it off
by winning their All Ireland title on Saturday. The ladies followed on by reaching
yet another All Ireland semi final in their bid for five in a row. Then Sunday
came, the big win and our seniors gave a wonderful exhibition of football on their
way to yet another Final. Ah yes! Happy days are here again!
Two other
happenings made me so proud to be a GAA follower. One was to see the Clare under
21 hurlers reach their first All Ireland final after a real classic against a
gallant Galway side. Like all Cork people I hope they go on now and win their
first title in this grade. They really deserve it.
The other incident was
one of the most sporting I have ever seen from a losing team manager and it involved
Micky Harte. The minute the final whistle was blown on Sunday he walked on to
the pitch and shook the hand of every Cork player he could get to. What a great
person this man is. Even in the post match interview - despite his great disappointment
- he was again most gracious in his praise of Cork.
There was none of this
'I blame it on the media or my past critics'. He just accepted that they were
beaten by a better team on the day. Tyrone and Mickey were great champions who
brought great honour to their county.
to Conor Counihan and his footballers for restoring some of the dignity of Cork
GAA as well as regaining respect from other counties.
BEST OF LUCK to Diarmuid
Kirwan when refereeing the All Ireland senior hurling final. He might well need
it. I am expecting an epic, so I hope he is up for it. It is unusual to get to
do two finals in three years but that is probably a mark of his standing as a
ref. If the Cats start to lose, things could get a bit rough and he would need
to watch that. Tipp have nothing to lose, so they should let it all hang out.
AS LONG AS Diarmuid Kirwan remembers
not to start giving Tipp handy frees like he did with Limerick in '07 just because
the big bad Kilkenny men are handing out another whipping, he'll be fine.
Great to see Cork involved in
an All Ireland hurling final again this year, even if it's only as referee. I'm
sure Diarmuid will do his usual good job. However, getting your criticism in before
even a ball is pucked earns you a yellow card.
LIMERICK HURLING WILL
continue to decline until more finance is allotted to under age teams, especially
in the city where the bulk of the population lives. Limerick rarely appear in
vocational schools finals only contested at minor level back in 1984. Limerick
county board should forget floodlights for the Gaelic Grounds. Nobody uses it!
-
Patrick Q
I AGREE WITH every word Eamon Cregan said in his interview in last
Tuesday's 'Irish Examiner' with Diarmuid O'Flynn. Eamon hit the nail on the head
when he questioned the tactics used against Tipperary by the Limerick management
team. They got it completely wrong. Everyone in Limerick is suffering for the
last week and it is an awful feeling, worse than when we were humiliated by Clare
in Ennis in 2006.
We are too proud a hurling county to sit back and expect
the pain we are all feeling to just go away without taking decisive action immediately.
There definitely needs to be a root and branch approach by Limerick from the bottom
upwards. We have too many mediocre senior clubs, we are too willing to cancel
our senior hurling championship games at the request of the management of the
county team and we should return to the Divisions to run our hurling championship.
The Limerick County Board should send a delegation from the county to Kilkenny
to look into every aspect of their hurling set-up from under 12 up to senior level,
because whatever Kilkenny are doing cannot be half bad.
Ouch! We feel your pain, Seamus. There is a way back. Just ask any
Déise supporter. Limerick is one of several counties that suspend their
county championship while the senior team is still in contention. Interestingly,
Kilkenny don't do that. Could there be a lesson for the rest of us in that alone?
I
DO NOT think the Qualifiers are working. For me the answer is a return to the
good old days of knockout competition when the result meant something. A first
round clash, for example, with Tipp v Limerick - and no way back for the loser
- would mean two teams fighting for their lives to continue the quest for Liam
McCarthy. For one team it continues and for the other it would be back to their
clubs to lick their wounds and wait for redemption the following year. This would
be a great boost for clubs. The result would be a hungry monster of a county team
with a yearlong chip on their shoulders waiting for first round action again.
Back in the old days, the cream rose to the top but the club game was
followed and it mattered. Nowadays, we travel to matches and wear the county colours
with pride but the weekend of the club game, with no county star to watch, will
be ignored by most fans. At least by letting our players back to club activity
early at the county's expense we are surely improving the club game and with it
the respective county's chance a year down the road.
That's another good reason for introducing a straight knock out championship,
one that hadn't occurred to me until you mentioned it. The key to a better championship
is that every game must have consequences - 'do or die!' If counties and panels
want more competitive games, the answer lies in a properly structured league.
THERE ARE CURRENTLY only two teams in hurling and we will soon find out
if there is really only one. I can't see anyone, not even Cork, being close to
these two in the next ten years. Waterford and Cork are the only counties that
might come close. Counties like Limerick, Wexford, Offaly and Clare cannot really
be counted as hurling counties anymore. In my opinion, hurling is in a terrible
state and has no future that you can describe as good. It's a great sport, but
very nearly a dead one.
AFR'S SHOUT: One
hundred and twenty five years after the foundation of the GAA, no one should be
complacent, given the parlous state of hurling. We could easily tip over into
just a 'three county' championship with any one of five or six other counties
making an appearance in a final once every ten years or so. (I'll let you guess
who the three counties might be). However, your prognosis is too gloomy, especially
if it is based on just a couple of recent results. Leaving aside Kilkenny, I foresee
a senior All Ireland title for each of these counties over the next decade: Tipperary,
Cork, Waterford, Galway, Clare, Wexford, Offaly and, possibly, Dublin.
HAS
ANYONE ELSE noticed that RTÉ are using the wrong logo or crest when they
put players' names up on screen? I noticed this again while watching the Limerick
v Tipp game recently but it seemed to be happening only with the Tipp players.
It clearly wasn't the Tipp crest from their jerseys but, instead, looked extremely
like the Longford crest 'floating' behind the player's name in the caption. This
was not the first time I've noticed it happen and, funny enough, it was the Longford
crest in the background on the other occasions as well!
: Could it be an RTÉ graphics designer who hails from Longford
just trying to ensure their native county features in the closing stages of the
championship one way or the other? A bit like the times - thankfully, now long
past - when Waterford's only involvement in major hurling finals was if Michael
Wadding was ref or line official. Anyway, with excellent eyesight like that, you
could offer your services as a 'big game' umpire!
THE 'WISE' PEOPLE who
tried to abolish the Under 21 championships last year got their answer in fine
style on Saturday from the Clare and Galway hurling team. Well done to both teams
for a super game of hurling and good luck to the Banner.
Luckily, only every second harebrained proposal seems to get through
the common sense filter in the GAA. At least, abolition of the Under 21 championships
was one that didn't make it. At the same time, you have to feel for a young player
like Joe Canning who seems to carry entire Galway teams on his back singlehandedly,
yet - apart from his native Portumna - suffers only bitter defeats, and all the
while enduring a groin injury. That doesn't make sense either.
YELLOW CARD
SOMETHING NEEDS TO be done about the number of yellow cards being handed out by
refs in hurling. All the manliness is being taken out of the game by fussy refereeing.
Apart from a few dodgy calls on
points and wides in the quarter finals - involving the umpires as much as the
refs - there has been a good standard of refereeing so far in the hurling championship.
FAIR PLAY TO the Galway minor hurlers. They were well worth their win
over Waterford in their All Ireland semi final. 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 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.
AFR'S SHOUT: 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.
No real
doubt about where our coveted 'Comment of the Week' goes this week. Step forward,
'A Real Red Rebel' and take a bow for your sporting comments about the Clare under
21 hurlers and the redoubtable Mickey Harte, Bainisteoir of Tyrone. 'ARRR' wins
his choice of a His or Hers GAA t-shirt from our friends at ,
the web site where you can design your own Gaelic leisure wear.
with more great conversation, controversy and craic on 'An Fear Rua - The
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