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I'll start by saying that I'm extremely proud of our team, for what they have given us over this season. I wouldn't take anything away from one single player. And for that, thank you.
It wasn't our day. Kerry were awesome. I don't think we played particularly poorly, but Jesus did we get punished for nearly every mistake. The Kerry skill set was incredible. But I think it was their tactical know how that really killed us. Conan Doherty has a good analysis up on Tiktok regarding our zonal defence, and how Kerry picked the wholes in it. And how the Kerry defensive shape wasn't much different to ours, but we struggled to stretch them. There was never the opportunity for that maizey Shane O'Donnell run where he is able to drag defenders around. And it was just too compact for our speed merchants to pick the routes to goal that they normally take. I'm sure Kerry decided on this setup as it was probably felt that we would be too conservative to attempt the lower percentage two point options.
As disappointed as I am, this time feels different to 2014, that was a sickening experience.
Briefly, regarding team selection, like someone else I thought dropping Hughie for Caolán was a funny one. I thought Caolán McGonagle would start at 6, and that Bán would go the wing. As it turned out with the injury to Ryan, McColgan would've been the best replacement at that stage. And I also thought if Hughie wasn't going to start, that it would've been Jason who replaced him, with Langan going to centre forward, which I think is his best position.
Finally, if this is to be the end for Michael, he should be remembered always as the best footballer we have ever produced, and if ultimately unsuccessful at the final hurdle, his return should only augment his legendary status. To borrow a phrase - It's better to have ever tried and failed than never tried, you can rest easy knowing you gave it a go. Michael didn't fail.
SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 860 - 28/07/2025 16:47:13
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Replying To eddieSize5Balls: "I can't recall back to 2014 too much, perhaps I blocked it out from my memory. But I don't recall getting much abuse from other counties. Seems everyone is enjoying our hammering. Kerry fans for the most part have been very nice. And don't get me wrong, we hate Armagh and they hate us so that's expected from them. But seeing Monaghan and Meath fans giving us abuse is very funny considering we spanked both of you with ease and neither one of them are close to contending an all Ireland final anytime soon.
To the game, I'm not sure why we didn't have a plan B. Seems we were expecting to beat Kerry by 1 point scores but once they got going with 2's, we never adjusted. I think had we have scored another point when down 4 to bring it to 3, it could have been a much better game for us but surely Kerry went up and scored a few more with barely any reply.
We went away from hitting 2s in the knockout stages of the all Ireland and that might have been costly.
Some of the frees Murphy had were in the middle and I'm surprised given how much we were behind that he didn't bring at least one back to behind the arc to go for 2.
We should have put more pressure on Kerry's keeper because when we did he often made mistakes. His kickouts aren't anywhere as good as Patton, but even he was stifled by their press and then our middle of the field men couldn't catch anything in the first half.
Feel better today then I did after 2014 since we were utterly outclassed and it showed that although we are easily a top 3-5 team in the country , we are not at Kerry's level yet and I expect them to win a good few more over the next 5-8 years.
My only concern from a donegal side is, sure it's easy saying we will learn and we will be back again. But when have we done that before ? When has any team apart from mayo of the 2010s come back after losing a hammering in a final? We do have a young side and there are players who didn't get a sniff this championship who can still contribute next year. Murphy is going to be gone again and I'm so happy for him that he went out with 52 points in championship and probably his 4th all star.
Everyone will be focusing on club football now. I couldn't care less about it to be honest. Hope Jim unearths a few new players from it. I expect him to at least finish his 4 year term but I would love him to stay longer. Season is over and already I can't wait for it to be back!" Why would you not care less about the club championship?
That's a baffling attitude to be honest. Without a strong, vibrant club scene there is no competitive county team.
Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9936 - 28/07/2025 16:49:21
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Replying To Proudroyal: "Hard luck yesterday Lockjaw.Im sure yee are hurting but at least yee have the Ulster title and got to experience yesterday.While it certainly didnt make any difference I dont know what is to be gained by leaving the parade early?On the game dont know why yee didn't man mark pauide clifford (not easy I know)He ran the show.Kerry very clever bringing lads out and midfield half backs going in.It caused confusion in your defence and gave them chance for 2 pointers.We had a fair few tries at 2 pointers against yee but didnt come off but Kerry nailed most of theirs yesterday.They also had a man inside (near the goal) nearly everytime they shot just in case it dropped short,very nearly got a goal in the first half just went over and Patton just caught one just before a Kerry hand got to it.Kerry took a gamble and drove at yee even though its risky (because yee are one of the best at attacking after a turnover)and they got reward.They also got a few short kickouts away mostly on whoever Murphy was marking as hes not as quick as he used to be.Magee made a difference coming on but thought Gallen got a raw deal as he kicked a few lovely scores.The 2 o donnels showed well but Laingiun didnt really show up and he has been brillant all year.O Baoil had the right idea twice tried to find Murphy in the square but execution just let him down.Its a pity we didnt give yee a better game in the semi as giving teams a hiding in the semi sometimes takes away that edge in the final as we found out in 2001 and Cork this year in the hurling.Hard to take losing an Ireland but Kerry well worth their victory.Do you think a few lads may go?Will Jim stay on?I dont think yee are far away and will learn from this defeat and drive yee on again next year.Anyhow looking forward to next year league and hopefully you will do the prediction game again." Cheers.
Yeah there isn't anything to be gained by leaving the parade, I know that. But the way some people are going on, you'd think it was some sort of decisive factor explaining why we didn't perform on the day.
Kerry are the smartest footballers in the country. Every player is confident on the ball and it's only when you see them up close that you truly appreciate their innate mastery of the game.
We needed some other avenues of attack yesterday when it became apparent that Kerry had our plan A sussed. But it's very hard to just flick a switch and adapt on the fly. Dáire tried a couple of longer passes inside but the execution was all wrong and looked a little bit desperate to be honest.
Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9936 - 28/07/2025 16:58:04
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Replying To Lockjaw: "Why would you not care less about the club championship?
That's a baffling attitude to be honest. Without a strong, vibrant club scene there is no competitive county team." I don't live in the country anymore and have no affiliation with my parish club., not from the town. I was never a big club fan. Sure I'd go to the finals regardless who was playing but I've always been more of a county supporter then club.
eddieSize5Balls (Donegal) - Posts: 215 - 28/07/2025 17:00:26
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Replying To Lockjaw: "Are we a bit too one-dimensional? There's no doubt that when our running game is clicking and working well, other teams find it hard to deal with. But against the very best teams, I think we need a few more strings to our bow. Dáíre attempted a couple of floated balls into Murphy yesterday but the execution was way off, and it looked like an ad-hoc play rather than anything rehearsed.
I often hear the wind used as the main reason why we don't kick the ball as often as other teams. Is that a bit of a cop-out though? I mean, it's not like Kerry is in the Canaries?" We are too easy to read for sure, we should have started all our big men yesterday and hit Kerry hard early on, we should have started McGee and Hughie midfield, Langan at half forward and McGonagle at centre back,
we still might have got beat but we would have done better I think, we needed to hit Murphy inside with diagonal ball more often. Why wasn't Niall O'Donnell given a chance?
Kerry have just shown what they are capable off, they are the new standard the chasing teams have to catch up on, I can see that team winning a few more in the coming years, won't be long till they have 40 All Irelands.
Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3393 - 28/07/2025 17:08:44
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I think being slow to join the parade and then leaving it early was maybe a tactic from Jim to settle the nerves of the players, take away from the big occasion feeling and trying to make it like an ordinary game,
I think it kind of backfired though, your playing in your first All Ireland, you family and friends and fans are all their to see you and part of that is the parade and the pomp that goes with All Ireland Final day, now you've got the boo's ringing out from the Kerry fans and what the hell have you gained?
Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3393 - 28/07/2025 17:15:00
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Any Donegal fans think it was inappropriate or strange that Paddy McB introduced the players in the pre match bit and then led their parade? It's never happened before and I thought it was a bit of a consolation to him. Other teams in All Irelands had captains who didn't start but someone else led their parade. It was unnecessary and distracting. It's an absolute guarantee that if Gavin White wasn't starting for Kerry he wouldn't have been parading behind ABB.
Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2296 - 28/07/2025 17:18:44
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Replying To Lockjaw: "Cheers.
Yeah there isn't anything to be gained by leaving the parade, I know that. But the way some people are going on, you'd think it was some sort of decisive factor explaining why we didn't perform on the day.
Kerry are the smartest footballers in the country. Every player is confident on the ball and it's only when you see them up close that you truly appreciate their innate mastery of the game.
We needed some other avenues of attack yesterday when it became apparent that Kerry had our plan A sussed. But it's very hard to just flick a switch and adapt on the fly. Dáire tried a couple of longer passes inside but the execution was all wrong and looked a little bit desperate to be honest." It wasn't the decisive factor but joining the parade late and leaving early was over thinking it. Kerry scored inside 15 seconds and simple things can have an affect. Dont have to be over defensive about it.
FoolsGold (Cavan) - Posts: 2896 - 28/07/2025 17:21:42
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Replying To SouthOfTheGap: "I'll start by saying that I'm extremely proud of our team, for what they have given us over this season. I wouldn't take anything away from one single player. And for that, thank you.
It wasn't our day. Kerry were awesome. I don't think we played particularly poorly, but Jesus did we get punished for nearly every mistake. The Kerry skill set was incredible. But I think it was their tactical know how that really killed us. Conan Doherty has a good analysis up on Tiktok regarding our zonal defence, and how Kerry picked the wholes in it. And how the Kerry defensive shape wasn't much different to ours, but we struggled to stretch them. There was never the opportunity for that maizey Shane O'Donnell run where he is able to drag defenders around. And it was just too compact for our speed merchants to pick the routes to goal that they normally take. I'm sure Kerry decided on this setup as it was probably felt that we would be too conservative to attempt the lower percentage two point options.
As disappointed as I am, this time feels different to 2014, that was a sickening experience.
Briefly, regarding team selection, like someone else I thought dropping Hughie for Caolán was a funny one. I thought Caolán McGonagle would start at 6, and that Bán would go the wing. As it turned out with the injury to Ryan, McColgan would've been the best replacement at that stage. And I also thought if Hughie wasn't going to start, that it would've been Jason who replaced him, with Langan going to centre forward, which I think is his best position.
Finally, if this is to be the end for Michael, he should be remembered always as the best footballer we have ever produced, and if ultimately unsuccessful at the final hurdle, his return should only augment his legendary status. To borrow a phrase - It's better to have ever tried and failed than never tried, you can rest easy knowing you gave it a go. Michael didn't fail." We got to watch 2 of the greatest players to ever play the game yesterday, Michael Murphy and David Clifford, that's worth the admission price alone.
Michael is a living legend, him being back this year will also have helped all the younger players in the squad when they see first hand his commitment and dedication to the game.
Could he be on the line with Jim next year to freshen up the management team?
that's if he decides to hang up the intercounty boots now which I assume he will.
Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3393 - 28/07/2025 17:21:45
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Replying To Tirchonaill1: "We are too easy to read for sure, we should have started all our big men yesterday and hit Kerry hard early on, we should have started McGee and Hughie midfield, Langan at half forward and McGonagle at centre back,
we still might have got beat but we would have done better I think, we needed to hit Murphy inside with diagonal ball more often. Why wasn't Niall O'Donnell given a chance?
Kerry have just shown what they are capable off, they are the new standard the chasing teams have to catch up on, I can see that team winning a few more in the coming years, won't be long till they have 40 All Irelands." In hindsight, the 4 big men probably would've worked well enough yesterday, Caolán at 6, Hughie and Jason at 8 and 9, and Michael at 11/14. But I'm sure Jim didn't want to sacrifice speed.
SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 860 - 28/07/2025 17:24:25
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Replying To Lockjaw: "Why would you not care less about the club championship?
That's a baffling attitude to be honest. Without a strong, vibrant club scene there is no competitive county team." Funnily enough I asked myself yesterday leaving the ground "how many of the Donegal support today will be out supporting their clubs in the championship over the coming weeks". The ones who won't were the same ones banging down the clubhouse down last week looking for tickets and giving out then when they didn't get their preferred seats.
peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1294 - 28/07/2025 17:50:45
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It wont likely happen in Donegal, but there are questions to be answered with how Donegal setup and then refused to change it up.
Kerry, missing their best two midfielders, were dominant in midfield until Jason McGee came on - Midfield was Kerrys weakness, and Donegal had the tools to punish them, but left them in the shed until it was too late.
Leaving Paudie Clifford free for a whole match was unforgivable - did the stats man not tell the management that this guy had 40 possessions by half time?
Kerry tore into Donegal. Donegal never even hit a decent shoulder all day. It all right being focused on yourself, but you also have to put the opposition off their game a bit.
The pregame carry on (combined with not going after the game) make it look like Donegal weren't focused on the task at hand.
Mayo often get a lot of s#!t on here for "bottling" finals, but at least they gave it a rattle and there were a few cards and shoulders thrown.
Donegal just sat back in their zonal defence and took their beating.
having sat through a lot of losing finals, the hardest ones are those when the team dont give it everything.
Yesterday was one of those days for Donegal. We don't know if there was more in them, because they never gave it a rattle.
Even when they got it back to 4 points, they then sat back in again and let Clifford mess around with the ball to take the sting out of the game.
I dont think there is any dislike for McGuinness or Donegal really, but its hard to fell sorry for lads that wont go out to a fella and tackle him, when your 4 points down in an All ireland. Its alright having a system, but when the system goes against all natural instincts, it cant be the right one.
tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1527 - 28/07/2025 17:57:23
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Replying To bláthach: "You're from Leitrim according to your profile or did you forget to log out of your other accounts?! Bit silly from you. Tut tut. Thanks." Unfortunately I live there...
totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 1144 - 28/07/2025 18:03:44
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Replying To peiledoir20: "Funnily enough I asked myself yesterday leaving the ground "how many of the Donegal support today will be out supporting their clubs in the championship over the coming weeks". The ones who won't were the same ones banging down the clubhouse down last week looking for tickets and giving out then when they didn't get their preferred seats." There's two clubs closer to my hometown than "my club". Why would I support them when I stopped playing for them about 17 years ago. If I was born in the town where our club plays yeah it would be different but it's just not the same.
eddieSize5Balls (Donegal) - Posts: 215 - 28/07/2025 18:53:03
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Replying To totalrecall: "Unfortunately I live there..." Leitrim is a nice spot. Up Allen Gaels!!
eddieSize5Balls (Donegal) - Posts: 215 - 28/07/2025 18:53:26
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Replying To peiledoir20: "Funnily enough I asked myself yesterday leaving the ground "how many of the Donegal support today will be out supporting their clubs in the championship over the coming weeks". The ones who won't were the same ones banging down the clubhouse down last week looking for tickets and giving out then when they didn't get their preferred seats." Yeah that's for sure, the bandwagoners will be long gone back to watching British soccer most likely, they'd hardly know when their local clubs are playing.
Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3393 - 28/07/2025 19:00:12
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Replying To eddieSize5Balls: "I don't live in the country anymore and have no affiliation with my parish club., not from the town. I was never a big club fan. Sure I'd go to the finals regardless who was playing but I've always been more of a county supporter then club." Fair enough
Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9936 - 28/07/2025 19:14:06
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Replying To Lockjaw: "More pub talk. Are you in the Monday Club?
Whether we stayed in the parade, or nipped out to Gills for a quick pint, it wouldn't have mattered a jot.
Kerry beat us because they were the better team. End of." True what you say.Indeed I can't think of of any county which would have fared much better yesterday. Kerry were simply unbeatable.
I was supporting Donegal as most non Kerry folk were.However I was disappointedto see the pre parade shannanigans which were very disrespectful to the occssion and did the team no favours..
joeman123 (Leitrim) - Posts: 590 - 28/07/2025 19:27:17
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Replying To FoolsGold: "It wasn't the decisive factor but joining the parade late and leaving early was over thinking it. Kerry scored inside 15 seconds and simple things can have an affect. Dont have to be over defensive about it." Donegal lose 95% of throw ins anyway. parade had nothing to do with anything. Was Amragh breaking early last year the reason they won?
joeteor (Donegal) - Posts: 258 - 28/07/2025 20:47:07
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