GAA Angry Fans

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Fans in other counties may be angry about one thing or another, but this week in Cork everyone seems to be deliriously happy following their senior footballers' defeat of All Ireland champions Tyrone. However, there is anger at some of referee John Bannon's decisions in that game, notably his sending off of Cork midfielder Alan O'Connor.

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 to An Fear Rua himself at GAA Angry Fans in 'The Irish Examiner' Just drop an email to gaafans@examiner.ie and get AFR's reaction to what you have to say.

If you make the 'Comment of the Week', we have a fabulous prize of exclusive 'his or hers' GAA t-shirts, supplied by our old pals at Puckout.com, where you can design your own club or county leisure wear.

TICK IN THE BOOK 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.
- Dodgy Keeper

AFR'S SHOUT: 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.
- Tippsman

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.
- Rebel

AFR'S SHOUT: 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.
- The man with no cap

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 haveAFR'S SHOUT: 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.
- A Real Red Rebel

AFR'S SHOUT: The past year or so hasn't been easy for GAA people in Cork. Credit, then, 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.
- Osceola

YELLOW CARD 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.
- Inglis Drever

AFR'S SHOUT: 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.
- Seamus Walsh

AFR'S SHOUT: 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.
- Donal C

AFR'S SHOUT: 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.

RED CARD 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.
- Ron Butterfly

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!
- Jimmy Presley

AFR'S SHOUT: 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.
- Coiste Man

AFR'S SHOUT: 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.
- Jago

AFR'S SHOUT: 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.
- The Metal Man

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 Puckout.com, the web site where you can design your own Gaelic leisure wear.

CATCH UP with more great conversation, controversy and craic on 'An Fear Rua - The GAA Unplugged!' at www.anfearrua.com

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Wednesday, August 26, 2009