Very few players seem capable of kicking long range scores.

Interesting point Jim The Legend - I have noticed this while watching club games in Antrim and given the way that a lot of club teams now follow the lead of the County teams and park the proverbial bus, it is a great way to get round this. It seems that players now think you have to walk the ball in to the net or to the 21 or 13 before taking the point and too many times have I watched guys within their range and with space unwilling to take the shot. It may be that like the high fielding (before the introduction of the tee) in that it was nearly becoming a dying art of the game or its maybe that coaches and managers are that focused on defending or playing the running game in an attempt to break down the defence that less time is spent on shooting and long range shooting in particular. Thing is, if you have a couple of guys who can comfortably kick points from 40 or 50m then you have a great tool as no matter how packed a defence is you have the key to bypassing this. If a team has packed 13 men inside the 45 and suddenly see that the opposition are scoring before encountering the road block it would make them reassess the defensive setup.

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 22/10/2014 15:09:06    1666144

http://gaeliclife.com/2014/11/kevin-cassidy-whatever-happened-to-the-beautiful-game/

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 05/11/2014 13:25:41    1669838

something needs to be done sooner or later before our great game is ruined forever, fair play to Kevin Cassidy.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 05/11/2014 13:28:14    1669839

Sick to death of the same people telling us there is something wrong with our game yet have nothing to say about what can be done to put it right. Constant hyperbole and fecking misery from the same quarters is whats wearing us down, not the quality of whats on offer. The Hermit was spot on when he said that as the stakes get higher don't be expecting champagne football. Oh and by the way Joe, Ebola has and continues to cause untold misery and suffering to thousands of people, your attempt at some witty play on words falls well short in my opinion, what next, factor in some beheading by ISIL into a hurling story?

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 05/11/2014 13:54:56    1669853

Well at least Kevin Cassidy propose something in his article to improve things.

The only way to imporve the game is to ban the balanket defence.all other rule changes will make minimal difference.

However there isn't a hope in hell of any rules being changed.

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts: 1296 - 05/11/2014 14:03:29    1669858

uibhfhaili1986
County: Offaly
Posts: 409

1669858 Well at least Kevin Cassidy propose something in his article to improve things.

The only way to imporve the game is to ban the balanket defence.all other rule changes will make minimal difference.

However there isn't a hope in hell of any rules being changed.
______________________
Thats the equivalent of banning the offside rule in soccer, cant be done and can't be enforced.

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 05/11/2014 14:08:46    1669860

The big difficulty we are going to face next year are the teams that are newly adopting the blanket defense and who are in year one of a 3 year plan using it. It is not going to be a one season phenomenon. And it becomes a norm very quickly indeed. The litmus test of this theory will be the meeting of either dublin and kerry or mayo and dublin next year, as dublin and mayo have not played a very defensive game plan yet. If they do go down the road, then we will probably have to consider changes to the rules all right. I have nothing against the idea of anything that encourages opening up the game a wee bit, using a mid field more or scoring from play. IT would make the football season much more enjoyable to watch, and play no doubt.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 05/11/2014 14:22:31    1669867

they should ban defending altogether.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5518 - 05/11/2014 14:24:37    1669871

brendtheredhand
County: Tyrone
Posts: 9870

1669860
uibhfhaili1986
County: Offaly
Posts: 409

1669858 Well at least Kevin Cassidy propose something in his article to improve things.

The only way to imporve the game is to ban the balanket defence.all other rule changes will make minimal difference.

However there isn't a hope in hell of any rules being changed.
______________________
Thats the equivalent of banning the offside rule in soccer, cant be done and can't be enforced.


I don't know if it would be that difficult.

I've said numerous times that a rule should be introduced where 5 players for must be inside the 65 of the end a team is attacking at all times.

I don't think it would be that difficult to get the umpires/linesmen to count to 5 and if a player cross the line a free from the 21 is awarded.

Effectively its like an offside rule and if rules like that can be enforced in other sports I don't see why it can't be done in GAA.

The only other rule that might make a difference is 13 a side as it would open up space and an 11 man blanket defence would be easier to break down that a 13 man blanket defence.

Having a 90% defensive mindset is getting relative success currently and that shouldn't be the case in my opinion.

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts: 1296 - 05/11/2014 21:45:43    1670011

uibhfhaili1986
County: Offaly
Posts: 410

1670011
brendtheredhand
County: Tyrone
Posts: 9870

1669860
uibhfhaili1986
County: Offaly
Posts: 409

1669858 Well at least Kevin Cassidy propose something in his article to improve things.

The only way to imporve the game is to ban the balanket defence.all other rule changes will make minimal difference.

However there isn't a hope in hell of any rules being changed.
______________________
Thats the equivalent of banning the offside rule in soccer, cant be done and can't be enforced.


I don't know if it would be that difficult.

I've said numerous times that a rule should be introduced where 5 players for must be inside the 65 of the end a team is attacking at all times.

I don't think it would be that difficult to get the umpires/linesmen to count to 5 and if a player cross the line a free from the 21 is awarded.

Effectively its like an offside rule and if rules like that can be enforced in other sports I don't see why it can't be done in GAA.

The only other rule that might make a difference is 13 a side as it would open up space and an 11 man blanket defence would be easier to break down that a 13 man blanket defence.

Having a 90% defensive mindset is getting relative success currently and that shouldn't be the case in my opinion.

What happens if a team goes down to 14 or 13 men. Would they still have to have 4/5 player inside the 65m line?

evano11 (Cavan) - Posts: 265 - 06/11/2014 10:23:46    1670034

Brolly's choice of title again shows a total lack of respect for other people.

As for Cassidy's proposals, I'm not sure that either of them are the answer, but it is this type of thinking that is required, rather than mass hysteria created by television pundits.

Soccer had a similar problem after Italia 90. Forget Nessun Dorma and Big Jack, Italis 90 was horrendous, and the negative, defensive football on show led FIFA to a turning point. 3 changes were gradually introduced, but all 3 succeed in opening the game up.

1) The straight red card for professional fouls and tackles from behind. This made defenders less inclined to destory opposing forwards, effectively giving the attacker proteciton on the ball. It also discouraged cynical play.

2) The abolition of the backpass to the goalkeeper. This rule meant that defenders had to defend deeper and clser to the keeper, and resulted in both more space in midfield for playmakers, as well as less offsides. This was so impoactful on playing styles that, the year after it was introduced, Leeds Utd finished 17th in the Premiership, having been champions the previous year.

3) The tweaking of the offside rule to allow players to be deemed 'not interfering with play'. This again forced defenders back, giving everyone more space in which to play. It also, obviously, reduced the number of offsides and discouraged teams from playing risky offside trap systsems.

All of these measures had the designed effect of effectively increasing the playing area, and improved soccer as a product. More space = more time = more skill/scores.

On their own, all of them seem quite small, and far less radical than our own calls for 13-a-side and the likes, however, together these small changes made a huge differene. I'd love to see similar thought go into our games, rather than just adopting whatever crusade the Sunday Game boys happen to be on at the end of every season. Let's get creative and make minor but crucial changes, changes that expand the effective playing area and encourage attacking play.

Thomas Clarke (Tyrone) - Posts: 1002 - 06/11/2014 11:52:10    1670056

evano11
County: Cavan
Posts: 164

What happens if a team goes down to 14 or 13 men. Would they still have to have 4/5 player inside the 65m line?

In that case they would still be allowed their 10 men in the defensive part of the field.

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts: 1296 - 06/11/2014 14:04:22    1670134

Rule Changes can be very simple to introduce and can make a marked difference - just look what taking frees from the hand did to football in the 90's

1. All kickouts must pass the 45
2. No handpassing - fist pass only
3. One tackler at a time - free for two man tackle (makes extra defenders redundant and prevents the "choke tackle"

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1109 - 06/11/2014 17:23:15    1670237

tirawleybaron
County: Mayo
Posts: 195

1670237
Rule Changes can be very simple to introduce and can make a marked difference - just look what taking frees from the hand did to football in the 90's

1. All kickouts must pass the 45
2. No handpassing - fist pass only
3. One tackler at a time - free for two man tackle (makes extra defenders redundant and prevents the "choke tackle"

Agree with point 1. Nice and direct.
Point 2 is already in the rules, if it is being enforced or not is an issue, but it seems to be possible to police.
Point 3 is not going to work, as there is very little 2 man tackling going on, there may be 3 men around a player on the ground but it is not the same as 2 players tackling a player at the same time.

2 points for a score from outside the 45 from play could open things up a bit or it could just turn into a percentage war of bad shooting over 70 minutes. If there was a case where players were forced to play long, or forbidden from swarming back (if they were in the full forward line for instance), it would no doubt allow the game to breath a bit and there would be more space.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 06/11/2014 18:30:12    1670263

If you introduce point 1 there then you would not have an attacker anywhere within the opponents 45 for each kickout, the middle of the field would look like the scene in an under-8 game with everyone in one small patch of ground. That is the problem with new rules, you must ensure they have no unwanted consequences.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 06/11/2014 18:36:34    1670268

Another problem with a rule that says kickouts have to travel beyond the 45: what is the penalty if a kickout doesn't go that far? I can imagine a lot of junior club keepers will have difficulty reaching the 45 playing against a gale. Fraher field in Dungarvan, or Pearse Stadium in Galway, with a gale blowing in from the sea could be very interesting with that rule!!

football first (None) - Posts: 1259 - 06/11/2014 19:06:23    1670278

The international rules will have the kickout past the 45 rule so we can see how that works easy enough. You will need a big "bull toe" for junior keepers to get the ball out past the 45.

I also like the idea 2 point for a long range score but I would introduce a 40m arc rather than using the 45m line.

I would like to see a straight red for a foul by the last defender also. Black card not enough for that one.

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1109 - 07/11/2014 08:15:13    1670340

I am not sure anything needs to be done at all. The advantage rule and the black card were only introduced last year and you would say had a marked effect on the flow of the game - ok so there were instances where not everything went right but its the first year. Aside from a dire final the scores were up across the board with some very entertaining games.
There are also a lot of suggestions here although well meaning would make matters worse with it comes to try and implementing them for referees on the pitch - nobody has suggest that we get rid of the toe pickup which is in itself a problem for identifying, causes a lot of frees and slows up the game. Nobody has suggest the tug back of the shirt should also be a black card - any reason why not? At the end of the day regardless of what you do teams will be able to find a way to play defensive games - it has been going on for years. The game now is faster and more skillful than ever before, you can only change things when you see that its giving unfair advantage to other teams or causing the flow of the game to slow down.
For me the biggest issue is how do you push up that % time the ball is in play and thats down to the rules - advantage rule has been great but others shoudl be considered to help eliminate frees - the pick up off the ground, punishment - the black card is making a difference but perhaps more need to be added and refereeing by the book - still some work to be done. If all thats done then its down to the players and managers

zinny (Wexford) - Posts: 1804 - 07/11/2014 09:54:35    1670365

I thought it was generally agreed upon a few months ago that the nonsensical term of "choke tackle" was to be consigned to the bin forever and never to be used when talking about our games!!

HandballRef (Donegal) - Posts: 520 - 07/11/2014 10:35:12    1670375

tirawleybaron
I agree re the 40 m arc, 2 points from outside. It would force defences a bit further out and open it up a bit more inside. Think it's something worth looking at.
One thing I hate seeing is when a fella hits the ground with the ball and is swarmed by the opposition, most of the time he cant get up because he is either a)being tackled while on the ground or b) even worse being kept on the ground by the opposition. Invariably it ends up as a free against.

Plasticman (Dublin) - Posts: 26 - 07/11/2014 16:36:33    1670508