Dublin v Tyrone

Boxtyeater wrote:This thread could last up to the Christmas......

patrique wrote:Someone wrote that last saturday Tyrone needed natural talent like O'neill, not manufactured talent like Penrose.

Can't think what he meant.

However with the exception of the Kildare game last year I have never seen O'neill look good since 2005 due to injuries.

patrique wrote:Someone wrote that last saturday Tyrone needed natural talent like O'neill, not manufactured talent like Penrose.

Can't think what he meant.

However with the exception of the Kildare game last year I have never seen O'neill look good since 2005 due to injuries.

North Side Gael wrote:

patrique wrote:Someone wrote that last saturday Tyrone needed natural talent like O'neill, not manufactured talent like Penrose.

Can't think what he meant.

However with the exception of the Kildare game last year I have never seen O'neill look good since 2005 due to injuries.

What is manufactured talent right enough pat?

Now i thought penrose looked off his game against dublin, but ive no doubt he is a good talented player, but i didnt know you could manufacture these talents? Antrim should get one of those production lines lol

Thomas Clarke wrote:OK, let's start with the Dubs. Well done to them, and well done to Pat Gilroy, a man who said 'to hell with the begrudgers', and played the side he wanted to, in the style that he wanted to. And he got the result that he deserved.

For the first time this year, Dublin players looked like they knew what was required of them. A game in which few players mark each other, and everyone runs round the midfield sector doing their own thing, can be difficult to get into, but the Dubs showed considerable positional discipline and an awareness of their overall gameplan. They didn't rush out to meet Tyrone, preferring to suck them further and further into their half of the field, before breaking quickly to the Brogans & O'Gara. Dublin tracked countless runs and put in a huge amount of tackles. A lot of the tackles were late or to block runners, but there are few top sides who don't do this now, so it would be unfair to labour that point.

Overall, Dublin did what they needed to. They came with the perfect gameplan, and executed it as well as they could have hoped to. They deserved their win. But Tyrone helped them immensely....

As a Tyroneman, I am absolutely gutted. This was an all-ireland that was there for the taking. We were awful, on the field and on the line, and yet we had the game on a plate, when Mugsy equalised with 6 minutes to go.

Mickey Harte has worked wonders for Tyrone. He has got great credit for many of our victories, and he has deserved the credit he has received. Yesterday, and in many decisions leading up to yesterday, he got it badly wrong.

I posted on this thread earlier in the week that my fear was that Tyrone's lack of speed that was exposed by Cork last year could yet be exposed again. As the summer wore on, Tyrone's starting 15 increasingly returned to the old guard that had been found wanting against Cork, while faster, promising newcomers like Peter Harte, Martin Swift and, most unjustly, Dermot Carlin were dropped for the older campaigners. Experience is very important in winning titles, but Mickey seems to have forgotten that his all-ireland side in 2003 had little experience, yet they were still good enough. Mickey appears to have believed that last year was a freak game, that we peaked too early, when it was actually proof that the team needed surgery.

Let's name names. Brian Dooher. Leader. Warrior. Legend. But finished at this level. Mickey's loyalty to Dooher was rewarded in 2008, but Dooher has been anonymous in our defeats to Meath ('07), Cork last year and again yesterday. His speed is completely gone, yet he lasted the 70 minutes. It was his exhaustion-caused mistake that led to O'Gara's goal but, in truth, he should have been replaced long before then. In fact, he should not have been starting any games this year.

Martin Swift and Dermy Carlin played very well against Down, yet were inexplicably dropped for Ricey and Davy Harte for the Ulster final. Why? What did Davy Harte do this year, or last, to warrant a place ahead of Carlin? And Cathal McCarron should not have been taken off yesterday after his yellow card, he should have been moved to wing back, and Harte replaced. McCarron's speed and energy would have been a big asset as the game progressed.

The hard-grafting Kevin Hughes was a spent force long before he was substituted, while Enda McGinley, who replaced him, looked totally out of shape. Talking of which, Stevie O'Neill was not fit to play, and shouldn't have been brought on.

Sean O'Neill, PJ Quinn, Marty Swift, Kyle Coney, Peter Harte, Niall McKenna, Ronan McNabb, Carlin - these lads are now going to be thrown into the side next year, yet saw little or no time in the 2010 championship. They should have been introduced, even in the last 15 minutes of games in Ulster.

Tyrone have other issues to address that, unfortunately, weren't addressed this year. Sean Cavanagh's form has been wretched for 2 years. He isn't enjoying his football. He isn't a full-forward, and CHF is no place for anyone nowadays. Tyrone have to get the best out of him, and get him back to being one of the top 3-4 footballers in Ireland.

We also need to look at our style of play. Scoring 0-14 is not enough to win games in August. A sweeper is fine if you have top forwards, but we don't, so we need to play a more attacking brand of football, higher up the field. The likes of Peter Harte, McKenna, Cassidy (if he returns) will help with this change. I should also add that, having criticised him, I still think that Mickey Harte is the right man to oversee this rebuilding.

2010 was a wasted opportunity. A 4th all-ireland was there for Tyrone, but we papered over the cracks, and they were exposed by an average, but deserving, Dublin side. It's gutting, but I guess you need the defeats to help you appreciate the victories all the more. At least, that is what I am clutching to today.

patrique wrote:And I agreed but it is still a bit harsh on TC who is merely giving his tinged with sorrow analysis.

And it does make a lot of sense, even if we both argued much the same before the Dublin match.

mullins wrote: Tc i told you a long time ago this Tyrone team were finished..you were living in fantasy land if you believed this team could win Sam..

Thomas Clarke wrote:

mullins wrote: Tc i told you a long time ago this Tyrone team were finished..you were living in fantasy land if you believed this team could win Sam..

Ah Mullins, it must have been a long, lonely, Paul-Galvin-esque week for you, waiting to post that. I hope it was worth the wait.

2 small things:

1) I hoped that Tyrone could win the all-ireland this year, but actually tipped Cork in the tipster competition.

2) As for 'i told you a long time ago', well you told us many things this year, like Gilroy hasn't a clue, this defensive style will never work, etc etc. And that is before even mentioning your own predictions in the competition. Remind me where you are on the leaderboard, All Knowing One?

By the way, my disappointment at Tyrone's exit has lessened considerably in the last few days. Just a shame, for you, that you weren't around for the last week to take advantage of it earlier...