Seventeen wides

[Guest]

Seventeen good reasons why Dublin's 14-year wait for an All-Ireland title will be prolonged this year.

Did anybody else watch it at the weekend? Dublin fielded a lot of new players, some did well, others (especially Alan Hubbard) were badly off the pace.

Some of the finishing, by Bernard Brogan and Conal Keaney in particular, would have made Ryan Babel cringe. Hitting 17 wides in an inter-county championship match is a war crime.

Meath's current side is their weakest outfit since probably the early 1980s, but they had just enough half-decent players to make a game of it, aided by Dublin missing so many chances. Brian Farrell looked the best of them. They're a poor team in general though. The Geraghtys, Fays and Murphys haven't been replaced at all.

Only two points in it at the finish, but it was a crap ould match really. Meath won't last long in the qualifiers and Dublin will be downed by the first strong team they meet.

[Outside Agent]

Seventeen wides

I was wondering when the 2009 GAA season thread was going to begin.

Seventeen wides was indeed atrocious, particularly since many of these weren't just hopefull punts from far out (which usually accounts for a high wide count), but they included five efforts from the hand which were only ten yards from goal. Dreadful stuff.

That's the worst Meath side since before the Sean Boylan era, and it contributed to the most sedate atmosphere I've ever experienced at a Dublin - Meath championship game. Based on that performance Dublin need not wonder how far behind / close to Tyrone & Kerry they are. Derry, Cork & Galway would wipe the floor with them.

Most Dublin supporters, not known for a rational or measured approach to assessing their team's chances in the summer, are acknowledging that there'll be no Sam this year. Best chance for progression is to win Leinster (not too difficult, even for a poor Dublin side), and hope that Tyrone & Kerry win their respective provinces, thus putting those two into the other half of the draw. Avoiding the best sides basically. That's where they're at.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

Most Dublin supporters, not known for a rational or measured approach to assessing their team's chances in the summer, are acknowledging that there'll be no Sam this year.

They're actually a pretty realistic bunch for the most part -- only in 2002 and 2006, when the team lost narrowly in the semi-finals both times, was there a broad consensus that "this is our year". It's invariably the O'Reilly press, particularly the Heggald, who get the hype going, with all their usual horseshite about "swagger" and so forth. There won't be very much of it this year though, even if Westmeath are battered in the next match.

Donegal somehow managed to lose to Antrim today by a point. That is an unbelievable result, even allowing for Donegal being a bunch of lazy pissheads. Antrim have won just twice in the Ulster championship since 1982.

John Joe Doherty, who's only in the job five minutes (and only got it after a very bitter power-struggle), now has the perfect excuse for a big clear-out.

The hurling clash between Limerick and Waterford, billed as a big grudge match because of Justin McCarthy's presence, was pretty dire and best forgotten. All in all, it has been a fairly underwhelming start to the 2009 championship(s).

[Outside Agent]

Seventeen wides

I backed the draw at 18/1 so I'm quite content at the moment. However, that was the worst Munster Hurling Championship game for many years.

And the decline in kicking standards continue in football. Again, we have more wides than scores in games as we see more evidence of what takes priority at training sessions up and down the country - swarming the ball.

Cork were very impressive in defeating Kerry. Full of intelligent running from the forward line, stretching the Kerry defence, and footballers who kicked points for fun. They're an improving side.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

However, that was the worst Munster Hurling Championship game for many years.

The sad thing is that it wasn't. The Munster championship has served up some truly vomitous matches in the last few years, most of them involving either Limerick or Clare. It must be the second most overrated competition in sport after the modern incarnation of the FA Cup.

Watching the Donegal-Antrim highlights on The Sunday Game (with commentary by Tim McCarthy with his ludicrous pseudo-Yank accent), it appeared that losing by one point flattered Donegal, with Antrim blowing a great chance to score another goal.

Having said that, Donegal hit 18 wides. Eighteen! And we thought Dublin were shite . . .

[Ek weet nie]

Seventeen wides

Cracking game of hurling earlier. Galway lead for long stretches but Kilkenny just turned the screw in the last twenty minutes to go from 5 points down to 4 points up. Joe Canning is some hurler.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

Antrim, the perennial whipping-boys of northern football, have incredibly made it to the Ulster final by beating Cavan. This is roughly the same as Luxembourg qualifying for the World Cup.

But they'll be playing Tyrone, who are not the sort of team to ease up on the scoreboard even after victory has been completely secured. So it could be a painful one.

Some Kildare player (Alan Smith, I think) scored a truly fantastic goal against Laois today, catching a high ball from the right, turning inside his man and smashing a spectacular kick into the far top corner. All are advised to look out for it during the round-up at the end of tomorrow night's Sunday Game.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

Another piss-easy cakewalk for Dublin today that will be absolutely zero use in preparing them for taking on real teams later on.

At least they're not hitting very many wides -- only three in the first half out of 17 or 18 shots.

Westmeath are playing like they went on an all-night bender that only concluded this morning, epitomised by the farcical mix-up between two of them that allowed Bernard Brogan in for Dublin's goal.

The fans have stayed away in droves -- there are huge swathes of unoccupied seating in the Lower Cusack, and the Canal End is half-deserted. Haven't seen this many empty seats at a Dubs game since probably the win over Louth six years ago, which I went to, and at which there was not inconsiderable room to swing a cat. (Mind you, that was a double-header with Meath-Westmeath, which ended up being a fabulous game.)

[Duncan Gardner]

Seventeen wides

vennegoor strokes wrote:

Antrim, the perennial whipping-boys of northern football, have incredibly made it to the Ulster final by beating Cavan. This is roughly the same as Luxembourg qualifying for the World Cup

Ahy! Come on Contae Aontroim, you Saffrons.

I always smile at their poor record and predictable underdog status in any high profile game. Antrim has a population roughly ten times greater than Cavan, so compare Luxembourg with er, San Marino or Liechtenstein.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

Have a guess how many All-Ireland championship games Antrim won between 1983 and 2008, out of something like 40.

I'll give you a clue. It's more than one and fewer than three.

Conal Keaney had a pathetically weak penalty saved a few minutes ago, but Bernard Brogan scored his second goal within a few moments anyway. Jason Sherlock, in his 15th season on the Dubs panel, is making plenty of hay against Westmeath's crap defence.

Now Darren Magee has scored Dublin's third goal. Dublin are ahead by 23 points now.

[Outside Agent]

Seventeen wides

As the cliche goes, you can only beat what's put in front of you.

Dublin have given up on getting a serious challenge in Leinster and they're just going about their game - be it poor, like against Meath, or impressive, like against Westmeath. Nobody in the Dublin camp will see today as any sort of benchmark for the rest of the Championship.

That said, Westmeath were embarrasingly poor. Much worse than their non-show in the 2006 Quarter-Final. Dublin and Kildare might just provide a belter of a final, and also provide each other with the sort of battle they need for their next outing.

I was in the bookies beforehand and wanted to back Bernard Brogan at 9/1 for the first goal. My Dad arrived to meet me, the moment was lost, and I'm cursing myself (and him) since.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

The attendance was 51,458. I'd say it's a long time since Dublin got a crowd as low as that at Croker in the championship, probably not since the days of Mickey Whelan in 1996/97.

The aforementioned Louth game in 2003 had at least 55,000-57,000 at it.

What amused me afterwards was Liam Hayes on TV3, when asked by Matt Cooper if he fancied Dublin against Kildare, saying: "After watching that, I would have to say I'd go for Kildare." Dublin might have been up against a very bad team today but they scored a shitload of goals and points, hit very few wides, and didn't do anything wrong in the slightest. So why would Hayes have revised his opinion of them downwards as a result?

Dublin hit 5-22 against Westmeath in the league a few months ago, so this annihilation will hardly have been a surprise to anyone.

Hayes also said a couple of times that he felt Tomas O Flatharta would now immediately resign, and that it was the "end of the road" for numerous senior Westmeath players, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Westmeath are now preparing for the qualifiers. What a fool.

[Outside Agent]

Seventeen wides

Hayes is a clown who feels the need to make ludicrous predictions in order to reinforce whatever point he's trying to make.

In his column in the Sunday Tribune back in August 2007, he confidently predicted that Dublin would beat Kerry in the All Ireland Semi Final by "seven or eight points".

And at the beginning of that summer he tipped Laois for the All Ireland.

A fine midfielder in his day, but a proper fool nonetheless.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

It's been a rancid championship so far, with only one good match (Cork v Kerry replay), and this evening it reached its nadir.

Armagh v Monaghan was the worst game of gaelic football I have ever seen. I am not kidding.

Chronic negativity from both sides, sly off-the-ball badness, endless shirt-pulling, sneaky dives, players missing easy points from a few yards out -- it had it all.

We should cede Ulster back to the Brits.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

Big shock looming on the cards right now, as Cork trail Limerick by four points with 45 minutes played.

Cork are still in touch thanks to a dodgy penalty, but have also amassed just two points in the entire game, and have not scored in any way for the last 35 minutes or so. Lavin missed a goal-chance sitter for Limerick in the first half.

I think Limerick have only beaten Cork three or four times in the football championship in the last 100-odd years, so this will be a big one, if they can close it out.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Seventeen wides

Finally someone to support my drive for a 22 county republic. I'll be sad to see monaghan go, but it'll be worth it when we build the giant crystal wall on the meath louth border.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

Cork score 1-2 in a couple of minutes and now lead by a point. The cunts.

They'll not get anywhere near the final on this evidence though. Six scores in 55 minutes of play against an ordinary team like Limerick is a fair indictment.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

Lavin belts over a point after good work by Ger Collins, and drags Limerick back level.

Cork aren't an entertaining team to watch but they have been involved in the only two good matches so far -- this one and their replay against Kerry.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

Limerick threw that away. They missed chances all through the first half and should have had it won by about the 50-minute mark.

Cork were rotten, as they so often are.

Kubelgog, do you mean a 23-county republic?

[Duncan Gardner]

Seventeen wides

I assume he means 11 from Leinster, six Munster five Connacht. The clue's in the "Meath-Louth border".

If I remember correctly, Kube's distaste for An Lu had something to do with an underachieving football manager from the area.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

I, Rabotnicki wrote:

I assume he means 11 from Leinster, six Munster five Connacht.

The clue's in the "Meath-Louth border".

It's An Lú.
And if those were the notional borders, then it would mean ultimately a 32 county state, as both halves would have an untainted majority.

Anyway, the Dubs were trying manfully to avoid a drubbing against the ever efficient Kilkenny in the Leinster Hurling.

Ultimately Cats win by 6 (2 goals), even missing a penalty.
The Dubs' learning curve continues.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Seventeen wides

I just don't like the accent. I had to share a flat with a shaved ape of an engineering student for 6 months, from drogheda. Lets just say he had some unreconstructed views, which he expressed in that horrific accent.

It just has to go.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Seventeen wides

Duncan where did you get that map, it's..... it's ......... It's beautiful.

[Outside Agent]

Seventeen wides

windowlicker wrote:
[quote]It's been a rancid championship so far, with only one good match (Cork v Kerry replay), and this evening it reached its nadir.

Armagh v Monaghan was the worst game of gaelic football I have ever seen. I am not kidding.

Chronic negativity from both sides, sly off-the-ball badness, endless shirt-pulling, sneaky dives, players missing easy points from a few yards out -- it had it all.
quote]

Armagh v Monaghan was hardly unique. There's been plenty of games like this in the Championship over the last few years. And not all of them have involved Ulster sides. Again, it comes back to priorities at training - professional tactical cynicism (swarming of opponents to provide a cover for sly digs) ahead of kicking for points.

Dublin gave a good account of themselves in the hurling today. A favourable draw in the quarters (Laois or Clare) and I'd fancy them to make the semi.

Cork were blessed in the football, and should be suitably embarrassed by their fortunate win. Outscored and outplayed by Limerick, they went over 35 minutes without a score.

[Guest]

Seventeen wides

Armagh v Monaghan was hardly unique. There's been plenty of games like this in the Championship over the last few years.

But none as bad, surely.

I did think about it before describing Armagh-Monaghan as the worst All-Ireland football fixture I had ever seen. I recall watching a stupendously awful encounter between Sligo and Roscommon in the Connacht championship a good few years back. And Cork v Sligo in the quarter-final in 2007 was absolutely desperate too.

And Monaghan-Derry this year gave Saturday evening's game a good run for its money in the shitness stakes. (Monaghan will be playing Derry again this coming weekend. Roll up! Roll up!)

But I am deadly serious when I say that I have never seen an All-Ireland football fixture as bad as that before, in every respect. Literally everything about it was rock bottom, from the levels of footballing competence to the underhanded behaviour to the cowardly outlook of both sides to the physical violence off the ball. It was extraordinary.

Pity I didn't record it.