I was at the Derry vs Tyrone on Sunday and the minor match was close to great, it was mainly attacking football with man on man of course there was a small bit of defensive football but it was nothing major, it was an enjoyable game to watch and the people there were hooked in the last 10 minutes. Then after that a very boring defensive Senior match. I was talking to a Cavan lad today who was at the Cavan vs Monaghan minor match yesterday and he said it was brilliant match with a lot of man on man marking and great attacking football, I also did read a few articles of it this morning and it did seem a great match, there is also some praise about it on a few posts today. Also in Donegal vs Antrim minors match it was apparently ten times better than the senior match, I also read a few articles about it as well and it did seem very entertaining. And there is also a good few positive posts about it as well. So in a way its good that people are enjoying the minors as they do deserve more recognition than they get but unfortunately Senior matches have gone bad. The league final between Dublin and Kerry was one of the best matches in years because they were playing attacking man on man football and yes sadly there was still some defensive football. So if there is any way for people to enjoy football again is get rid of defensive football. There must be a way or a rule to make to prevent blanket defence. It would be different ballgame if there no such thing of blanket defence, people would enjoy football again and there would be much more players looking to play county again. And last but not least it would be a much more competitive sport with much better teams. The likes of Derry, Armagh , Rosscommon, Cork, Clare, Meath, Kildare, Louth, Cavan and Armagh etc.etc. would all benefit and be much better teams and get further in the league and championship, maybe the top teams like Kerry, Mayo, Dublin, Tyrone and Donegal might not be the top teams if there was no defensive football although they would still probably be great teams. I don't understand why Galway, Monaghan, Meath and Kildare etc.etc decide to play defensive because they have some of the best forwards in the country. Attendances would go up because of more entertaining matches, with a much better atmosphere, the GAA would make much more money if so. Kids would be more happy and encouraged to play football. The sport would of course get more recognition. So all I am saying is get a rule quickly to ban blanket defence please!!!

oakleafersir (Derry) - Posts: 808 - 30/05/2017 00:28:25    1992001

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13650 - 30/05/2017 07:24:53    1992013

You have a point but I'm afraid it's win at all costs, it's a horrible thing to see a team scoring a point or 2 early in a game and then the mentality of parking the bus in front of the goal can kick in. A lot of this comes from what interpretation the ref sees in the rules, for example we were always told as youngsters that 2 players can't tackle an opponent at the same time as it's a foul but now that appears to be gone and the tackle is close to an assault when a number of players tackle 1 opponent, refs need to clamp down on the tackle and judge it on man for man, when a 2nd player gets involved it's a free to the man with the ball. I remember playing a club game where a midfielder caught a great catch but dropped the ball when he landed on the ground, he bend down and picked the ball up turned towards our goal, I was the closest player and put my 2 arms out towards my sides and blocked him with my chest, the ref blew for a free against me, I asked why and he scratched his head unable to answer, then he muttered something about holding up an opponent, I never heard of such a rule in fact years ago my opponent would have given a free away for charging with the ball. It's all down to the way the ref sees the rules

riverboys (Mayo) - Posts: 1389 - 30/05/2017 08:23:21    1992023

essmac (Tyrone) - Posts: 1141 - 30/05/2017 09:14:33    1992037

How would this 'rule' even be defined, implemented or enforced? What constitutes a blanket defence?
For anything like you suggested to be done, there would have to be a very clear definition of what's not allowed, which in this case might have a huge amount of factors, number of players inside the 45 at one time etc.
Policing this for the duration of a game would be extremely difficult with the current refereeing setup.
I can't see anything that would be practical or enforceable.

WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2042 - 30/05/2017 09:40:52    1992051

I think the blanket defence's days are numbered.

Ulster teams are losing ground on the rest of the pack. It's a matter of time before they realise it.

Tyrone look like they'll persist with their mass defence but Donegal and Monaghan seem to be moving toward a better style of play.

It's been found out especially in Croke Park.

Tyrone's defence wasn't even particularly good. When Derry ran at them they caused problems. The ref for me gave Tyrone more of the marginal calls. Very hard to see this Tyrone team cope with the runners Dublin commit to their attack. Mickey Harte going could signal the end of this particular era.

Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 4226 - 30/05/2017 09:56:17    1992054

I have a lot of issues with these types of threads. There is nothing wrong with the game, scores are up from where they were 20 years ago, quality is up, the game is at its peak.

My major gripe is though that people say there should be minimum number of players in the oppositions half. I can understand why some people would say this but they have not given it any thought. Say you're a corner forward and your man takes the ball into the opposition half but you're one of the three left in your half what do you do? Are you giving the opposition the opportunity to have a free man in your half while you sit and twiddle your thumb on the opposition 45?

Or does it be a case that the attacking team has to keep three at the back which is robing spectators of marauding runs from defence.

Quit tinkering with the rules, let the game evolve naturally.

gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 30/05/2017 10:24:15    1992064

Minor matches have always been more free flowing , less cynical than senior games. We used always head early to games to see the minors undercard which was usually better than the senior main event.

It depends on what you like. Not every high-scoring game is a great game. It tells you neither team can defend. I remember the 2004 League Final, Kerry scraped past Galway in a great game of end-to-end football. But the league is for boys and championship is for men. There was barely a good shoulder hit in that game. It lacked the intensity of a championship game. Contrast it to the first half of our first semi final v Dublin in 2015. Not much football played, each team's 15 were in their own half when they were defending. Cynical as you like, some football broke out in the second half. But my god it was intense, no boys on the pitch that day.

Good teams will find a way to counteract a blanket defence. Having top forwards, which we don't, helps a lot. Smart lines of running and creating space helps. I'm biased but having runners from our defence, who a blanket defence isn't set up to mark, that can kick a few points is one way of scoring against a blanket defence. The blanket defence has been around a while now. Time to find ways of beating it rather than asking for rule changes to discourage defending.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7345 - 30/05/2017 10:37:02    1992069

suckvalleypaddy (Galway) - Posts: 1669 - 30/05/2017 10:37:10    1992070

The Senior game between Tyrone and Derry was boring not because of blanket defences but because of the gap in abilities/preparation of both teams.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13707 - 30/05/2017 10:40:09    1992072

Rubbish - How could the teams you mentioned benefit from all out attacking football and a ban on defense?

Case in point: Sligo decided to go man to man with Mayo in the 2015 Connacht final and the game was over after 8mins. This year they came with a defensive plan and were in the game for the most part if not ever really looking like winning it.

You keep harping on about Galway's great forwards in every post....forwards are pretty unless if they can't get the ball. We have seen what happened Galway against Tipperary last year so Walsh has rightly gone defensive and even last year v Mayo, Galway came with a defensive game plan.

Managers of these teams are there to win and under severe pressure to do so.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11231 - 30/05/2017 10:48:13    1992074

GameOfTyrones (Tyrone) - Posts: 469 - 30/05/2017 12:01:44    1992119

gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 30/05/2017 12:12:47    1992130

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7345 - 30/05/2017 12:48:33    1992150

The reason for boring games this early in the Championship is because of a gulf in class. That's why the league has been gaining popularity in recent years. Games are competitive and yes you'll still get poor spectacles but you get very few blowouts so it's always interesting.

Donegal v Antrim in the minors was a very exciting match, end to end stuff and some lovely point scoring. The seniors had some great score-taking too you know, and let's be honest are you expecting a free-flowing, end to end, ultra competitive match between ourselves and a squad relegated to Division 4 this year?

Your problem seems to be with competitiveness rather than a blanket. I'd say if Derry could defend and won 0-06 to 0-05 on Sunday you wouldn't be starting a thread like this.

JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 30/05/2017 13:12:33    1992170

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts: 1296 - 30/05/2017 13:47:29    1992187

gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 30/05/2017 14:16:41    1992207

If you look at the Derry performance last week it wasn't the blanket defence that was the problem but their total lack of any attacking plan. I do agree that underage matches are more entertaining but that is because there is a lack of physiciality to stop players breaking forward. Nearly every underage team plays a blanket defence these days.

I actually think the game will evolve and the blanket defence will change and adapt over the next few years.

Green_Gold (Donegal) - Posts: 1874 - 30/05/2017 14:23:43    1992213

Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 4226 - 30/05/2017 15:02:03    1992240

gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 30/05/2017 15:28:19    1992254