posted Aug 24, 2008

I can't say I blame people for not turning up for the match. Given the season so far, this is a very strong statement, but that was one of the worst matches this year. For most of it, it rivalled Kildare-Fermanagh for absolute rubbish.

I wanted to turn it off after 50 minutes, but I wanted to hang on and see if Kerry might somehow lose. In hindsight, it was a bad decision to keep watching. Cork never deserved to be anywhere near that match, and Kerry never deserved to pull away.

Under perfect conditions for football, Kerry, with their 17 wides, contributed to an awful piece of football. The Munster final was no classic either (in terms of skills). This is something people should remember when they're falling over themselves with praise for Kerry's quarter final display. The only positive thing I could say for them was that they fought back well after Ó Sé's red card. But they were at their most pathetic and most thuggish in attitude, so that isn't much praise for "the Brazil of Gaelic football". Aidan O'Mahony should be banned for the rest of the intercounty season at least for bringing the games into disrepute and unsporting behaviour. That doesn't excuse O'Connor. Cussen and Tomás Ó Sé were both fairly lucky to finish out the match.

Cork have got to be one of the most tactically inept teams in the country. You would expect any team to play to their strengths, especially against Kerry. From how they played, I can only assume that they think their strengths are running the ball and high fielding in the middle of the park. Neither were successful (Kerry cleaned up in midfield and made sure no one was going to run through them through hard tackling and fouling). Was I the only one who spotted the irony of Cussen making the run into the right corner to cross in a high ball for Masters' goal? I counted one "Cussen type" ball in the entire match (a high ball around the parallelogram right in front of goal) and one very poor attempt at a "Cussen type" ball, the rest of the possession he got was from low balls or passes into the corners. Why they can't play to a gameplan escapes me. The Kerry full back line was there for the taking (even despite how poor Cork were, they still got 3 goals). It won't be so easy next week, with Bowhane coming in.

I've said this before about Cork, but I might as well say it again. In the two seasons 2007 and 2008, they have played one and a half matches worthy of their status as semi-finalists and finalists (2007 semi-final against Meath and the first 10 minutes against Kildare and the last 25 minutes of the Munster final). The rest has been very poor on the whole.

Given that the crowd probably won't be too exciting next week, it might make sense to put both semi-finals in Croker, as long as that doesn't push the minor footballers of Tyrone and Meath somewhere else. No matter how it goes, I truly hope either Tyrone or Wexford destroy their opposition in the final.

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posted Aug 24, 2008

I'm hoping for Tyrone, Ulster football needs a win.

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posted Aug 24, 2008

Totally agree with IRISH ADDICK the game was an absolute joke cork were awful and kerry werent much better very wasteful in attack.Aidan O Mahony disgraced himself today and the people who say this is funny are muppets.What kind of an example does that set for young kids.I hope the Meath and Tyrone game remains in croke park and also i would love wexford to bring sam back to leinster

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posted Aug 24, 2008

As I said last week Kerry are becomeing a team of drama queens and s to the ref, as for the game, Worse than puke football! Fair play to Cork though, they never give up.

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posted Aug 24, 2008

i'm a pure eejit, forgot there was a match today.

and wexford out of the uckfing camogie.

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posted Aug 25, 2008

The standard of gaelic football is absolutely terrible. This game typified the modern game. All too physical and no skill. Too amny wides, as always. Have you ever seen a worse miss than Aidan O'Mahoney's shot from 20 yards out between the posts??

Skill in gaelic football is pumping high balls in to huge forwards and hoping for a break of the ball. Great skill indeed. No wonder crowds are in freefall.

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posted Aug 25, 2008

Dont think it was that bad a game compared to most of the games this year,is it just me or has the rules changed on the tackle in gaelic football,i remember an incident in the Dublin Tyrone game last week when there was six Tyrone players tackling one Dublin player and the same yesterday five and six players at one time tackling one player which as far as im aware is illegal,and another thing that attendence for an all ireland semi final was shocking, maybe they should let kids(u 16) in for free or change the venue

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posted Aug 25, 2008

The paper yesterday said they let kids in for €3 and a free adult with every 10 kids.

I still think that match was rubbish. I suppose I couldn't expect Pat Spillane, Dara Ó Cinnéide, Tommy Lyons and that Cork fella whose name I forget to agree with me. But be very sure that if it was a match involving some of the unpopular teams (Armagh, Tyrone, Derry, Donegal, Mayo, Meath, Fermanagh for example), they'd be out with the knives. The misses from Kerry would be played over and over again if it was Mayo who did them, for example.

Cork and Kerry have played each other 17 times in the last 10 years. I can't remember a single one of those matches being a classic in any sense. Compare that to the three Armagh-Tyrone matches in 2005, or even the Dublin-Meath drawn match last year, if you're going to talk about rivalry affecting the quality.

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posted Aug 29, 2008

I heard MGM studios contacted the Kerry camp looking for extras,in a new movie coming out next year, called the Hillbilly! MGM will have no problem gettin actors from that team, they only thing they will have 2 worry about is? If Cooper Walsh Donaghy O'Maghony are the rest of them dont get what they want they will have a lot of crying to listen to! It comes naturally 2 them!

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posted Sep 4, 2008

Ulster needs to win sure but Tyrone are dungbags Fran (Yes I understood the Irish :P)

As for the game I'm terrible at it so don't watch or try to play so much but maybe just being really bad I think that everyone else is spectacular ...

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