Brendan O'Brien (Irish Examiner staff writer)
Q: Is this the start of things for Dublin, the end of things for Kerry?
A: Yes and yes but that's not to say either process will be immediate.
Q: Biggest controversy of the summer?
A: Was it a goal/point or wasn't it? Bring in goalline technology and scrap the square ball. Simples.
Q: Is the criticism of Donegal’s tactics justified?
A: No. What rules did they break?
Q: Best match?
A: The Munster final wasn't bad but the All-Ireland decider for sheer intensity and THAT finish.
Q: Footballer of the year?
A: Alan Brogan. Consistent excellence all year topped by a superb shift in the final.
Q: Young Footballer of the year?
A: A lot of contenders and no clear winner but Mayo forward Cillian O'Connor has some future ahead of him.
Q: What needs to change to improve championship next year?
A greater focus on attacking football. That means you Donegal and Laois, to name but two.
Fintan O’Toole (Irish Examiner staff writer)
Q: Is this the start of things for Dublin, the end of things for Kerry?
A: This victory should fuel the confidence levels in Dublin's side and they have developed the knack of holding their nerve in tight finishes, a hallmark of champions. But reaching the same levels of hunger will be an issue next year and the importance of avoiding injuries was graphically illustrated by Cork this season. The end of Kerry? Certainly not. Writing epitaphs for them has been foolish in the past and the age profile of their leading attackers means they will not lose their status as Sam Maguire challengers. Will hope though that they can keep their experienced defence intact over the winter.
Q: Biggest controversy of the summer?
A: The fiasco surrounding umpiring decisions was a blight on the football championship and affected key games. Graham Geraghty's goal against Kildare should have been allowed, Tomas O'Connor's goal against Donegal should have been allowed and we're still not sure if Ian Ryan's winning point travelled between the posts in the qualifier tie between Limerick and Wexford. The frequency of the incidents was depressing and wearying, with the men in white coats task becoming more unenviable.
Q: Is the criticism of Donegal’s tactics justified?
A: Absolutely not. It's ludicrous to suggest Donegal should apologise for constructing a system that enables them to win games regardless of the fact that it's not aesthetically pleasing on the eye. As Jim McGuinness pointed out after the All-Ireland semi-final, his job is to put medals in his players pockets. And they will remember 2011 far more fondly than the previous years defined by losing out in freeflowing encounters.
Q: Best match?
A: Dublin's last two games were absorbing affairs, the Munster final in Killarney was a fine encounter and Limerick secured a spot in Croke Park on a brilliant night in Portlaoise. But no game was as gripping, tense and dramatic as the quarter-final meeting of Donegal and Kildare. The denouement was fitting as well with Kevin Cassidy splitting the posts with a phenomenal soaring kick from distance.
Q: Footballer of the year?
A: Alan Brogan was instrumental in Dublin's progress all year and his status as All-Ireland winner will probably lead to him receiving the bauble. But from this vantage point, the leading footballer in 2011 was Darran O'Sullivan. He was outstanding all the way from the low-key early rounds in the McGrath Cup in January to last Sunday's showdown, and produced the most dazzling piece of skill all summer with that goal against Limerick. The superb sub tag has been firmly shaken off.
Q: Young Footballer of the year?
A: James McCarthy and Mark McHugh did many good things in their season as intercounty senior footballers but they were surpassed by the contribution of Mayo's Cillian O'Connor. The leap from minor to senior in one year did not interrupt the Ballintubber forward's progress. He solved Mayo's freetaking dilemmas, displayed great maturity in landing pressure kicks against Roscommon and Cork, and rifled home a splendid left-foot goal in the All-Ireland semi-final.
Q: What needs to change to improve championship next year?
A: The implementation of Hawkeye in Croke Park for 2012 is a welcome step but that is not going to solve all the crises surrounding the awarding of scores. The square ball rule continues to be extremely difficult for officials to judge and either the GAA should embrace technology to allow a video referee assist in those decisions or just scrap the rule completely. Games need to stop being characterised by whether or not a score should have stood.
Kieran Shannon (Irish Examiner columnist)
Q: Is this the start of things for Dublin, the end of things for Kerry?
A: Not necessarily. While Kerry will hardly reach seven of the next eight All Ireland finals again, we're hardly looking at a '86-96 style famine either. The core of that forward line are going to be around for another four years yet and should win at least one All Ireland in that time. With last year's under-21s and this year's minors to come on stream, Dublin will remain a top-four team for probably the rest of the decade but there's now a posse of teams who will feel the gap between them and the top is much closer than it was just a few years ago.
Q: Biggest controversy of the summer?
A: The Donegal and Kildare storylines, including their own head-to-head when there was Tomás Ó Connor's disallowed goal. Outside of that game then you had Graham Geraghty and Enda Muldoon's disallowed 'squareball' goals, Michael Murphy's dubious penalty that turned the Ulster final and Bernard Brogan's dubious free that effectively decided Leinster.
Q: Is the criticism of Donegal's tactics justified?
A: It depends on what's meant by 'tactics'. There's a difference between negativity and cynicism. Donegal trash-talked every freetaker, unashamedly tried to get men sent off; Colm McFadden repeatedly blocked Stephen Cluxton's kickouts and failed to give the ball back when a free had long been awarded. That stuff should have no place in football, though the GAA allows it thrive. As for having so many men behind the ball, we thought it was quite ingenious, actually, only the GAA should legislate to restrict it. Football could actually come to bless Donegal because they might finally force it to assess and decide what kind of game it wants to be.
Q: Best match?
A: Derry 3-14 Armagh 1-11 was fantastic fun, especially for an Ulster semi-final; Limerick-Wexford in the qualifiers was another complete blast, while Donegal-Kildare in the quarter-final was epic, but the All Ireland final itself shades it, for its level of superior sportsmanship alone.
Q: Footballer of the year?
A: Alan Brogan. Outside of the Donegal game he was exemplary. In the final, when Dublin needed a few scores, it was Brogan who delivered them. If he'd been available for the league final Dublin would probably have completed the full sweep.
Q: Young Footballer of the year?
A: Probably Cillian O'Connor of Mayo.
Q: What needs to change to improve championship next year?
A: Sort out timekeeping once and for all and play the proper amount of added time. Acknowledge or curb the time it takes goalkeepers coming upfield to take scoreable frees. Scrap the squareball rule. Derry should be the last side ever asked to play a qualifier within a week of losing a provincial final. Start the championship with a fixture like Armagh-Down, not Antrim-Donegal. Maybe run off both All Ireland football semi-finals over the one weekend and move forward the final by a week to free up time for the clubs. After a frantic July, the championship just trickles out again then for two months.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/uTvS00hHNr4/post.aspx
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