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Time for HURLING to leave GAA - 2 Like(s)
Replying To Cavan_Slasher: "Only a few counties take hurling seriously.
Football is more popular in the majority of counties even if it is not played very well." That's because football is an easier sport to play. If hurling was simpler to play than football, then given the respective entertainment values of both sports, hurling would likely be far more popular.
Not that it matters, both are great sports in their own right, and I find that most players involved in clubs are happy to play both codes if given the ample opportunity. The problems with the GAA as I see it are fourfold;
1 - The administration of the games. Its haphazard, all over the place, there are cliques and politics involved that mean little gets down and what does is not thought through but rushed in a panic to the benefit of the money sinning counties, eg the Super 8 and the hurling provincial groups. Its democracy is its mill stone.
2 - The provincial system. It only works as a direct knockout cup competition. Basing a championship on unevenly numbered provincial sections, with replays and a backdoor is beyond pointless at this stage, its creates an uneven and beneficial advantage to the bigger sides. The odd year a minnow might go on a run in the province, or possibly win a trophy, is all too rare to keep the provincials annually relevant. Even at that, there's no reason why there can't be an even championship structure and a separate cup competition based on the provinces, as its meant to be.
3 - Point three comes amalgamates the first two points. Both codes, through poor administration and a haphazard championship structure, are in direct competition with each other.
4 - All three points above lead to the biggest problem; the treatment of the clubs. There's little time set aside for them through poor administration and an over-bearing and unpredictable county structure, and with both codes in direct competition with each other, it puts a strain on the clubs to have their players available to them for their preferred code, never mind both.
If hurling walked from the GAA, or split in some way, and put in place a competition structure that allowed for the clubs and county to work in tandem throughout the year, I would welcome it with open arms. And I'd have no doubt it would force football to follow suit.
As it is, its the blind leading the blind through the darkness towards the edge of a very high cliff because the seemingly fresh air seems more alluring than the murky sh** they've surrounded themselves with.
dblackandamber (National) - 20/10/2017 13:28:36
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New Proposed Hurling Structure - 1 Like(s)
Threw this up on Boards yesterday, said I'd throw it up here.
I would restructure the whole hurling calendar if I could and go with this.
-Provincial Championships would be part of a separate Cup competition run alongside the National League, alternating weekly between League and Cup. Open Draw for the Provinces. All games finish on the day, extra time and 1v1 penalties to decide games if necessary.
-National Hurling League Structure - Three 8 Team Leagues (Division 4A is 6 Teams, play each other once, 4B is 4 teams, play each other twice), 2 up, 2 down for each Division. No final, top team are league champions.
-All-Ireland Championships would be group based, and based around the final rankings of the National League.
Liam McCarthy Cup -
- 12 teams (all 8 teams from Division 1, and top four sides of Division 2), split into 3 groups of 4.
- Seeding for group draws would be; Pot1 (1, 2 & 3 of Division 1), Pot2 (4, 5 & 6 of Division 1) and Pot3 (7 & 8 of Division 1 and 1, 2 , 3 & 4 of Division 2).
- Three games for each county, 1 home, 1 away, 1 neutral venue.
- Top of each group and best placed second go into Pot1 of QF draw.
- Remaining two second placed sides and two best placed third sides into Pot2 of QF Draw.
- Pot1 drawn against Pot2 in All-Ireland QF.
- All knockout games finish on the day, except for AI Final.
Christy Ring Cup -
- 8 Teams (bottom 4 teams of Division 2, top four sides of Division 3), split into two groups of four.
- Seeding for the groups would be; Pot1 (5, 6 & 7 of Division 2, and Division 3 top side (reward for promotion)) and Pot2 (Division 2 bottom side, and 2, 3 7 4 of Division 3).
- Top side plays second of opposite Group in SF.
Nicky Rackard Cup -
- 8 Teams (bottom 4 teams of Division 3, top four sides of Division 4A), split into two groups of four.
- Seeding for the groups would be; Pot1 (5, 6 & 7 of Division 3, and Division 4A top side (reward for promotion)) and Pot2 (Division 3 bottom side, and 2, 3 & 4 of Division 4A).
- Top side plays second of opposite Group in SF.
Lory Meagher Cup -
- 6 Teams (bottom 2 teams from 4A, all four 4B teams), split into two groups of three.
- Top side in each group would play each other in final.
The reason for the National League and Cup being played in the first half of the year, and the group based championship in the second half of the year would be to have a definite calendar structure to allow for club games. Hypothetically if it were to be applied to next year, here's how the structure would look in the calendar year (dates are Sunday's but denotes the weekend as a whole);
04/2/18 - NHL Round 1
11/2/18 - NHL Round 2
18/2/18 - NHL Round 3
25/2/18 - Cup Provincial QF's
04/3/18 - NHL Round 4
11/3/18 - Cup Provincial SF's
18/3/18 - NHL Round 5
25/3/18 - Cup Provincial Finals
01/4/18 - NHL Round 6
08/4/18 - Cup SF's
15/4/18 - NHL Round 7
22/4/18 - Cup Final
29/4/18 - Rest Week
06/5/18 - Club Week
13/5/18 - Rest Week
20/5/18 - Championship Group Phase Round 1
27/5/18 - Club Week
03/6/18 - Rest Week
10/6/18 - Championship Group Phase Round 2
17/6/18 - Club Week
24/6/18 - Rest Week
01/7/18 - Championship Group Phase Round 3
08/7/18 - Club Week
15/7/18 - Rest Week
22/7/18 - All-Ireland QF's (2 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday) - Christy Ring & Nicky Rackard SF's - Lory Meagher Final
29/7/18 - Club Week
05/8/18 - Rest Week
12/8/18 - All-Ireland SF's (1 on Saturday, 1 on Sunday) - Christy Ring & Nicky Rackard Finals
19/8/18 - Club Week
26/8/18 - Rest Week
02/9/18 - Rest Week
09/9/18 - All-Ireland Final
All four AIQF's would take place on the same weekend, as would both AISF's take place on the same weekend, to give all teams an even run at matches. The Saturday QF winners would play the Sunday SF, and vice versa.
Christy Ring & Nicky Rackard Finals to be played the same day as the SF's as curtain raisers.
dblackandamber (National) - 18/07/2017 12:59:53
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What was the greatest GAA minor team of all time? - 1 Like(s)
Kilkenny 2002/2003.
Full of lads that have 5,6,7,8 All-Irelands at senior level, Leinster's and leagues to boost too. Did the business at U21, and the Ballyhale and Village lads would have AI club medals as well as senior, not to mention the lads other clubs who would have intermediate and junior club AI's.
Richie Power, Michael Rice, Eoin Larkin, John Tennyson, John Dalton, Cha Fitzpatrick, Michael Fennelly to name just a few. Plenty too that were subs on the AI winning sides. In the 10 seasons from 2006 to 2015, Kilkenny won 8 AI's, 8 Leinsters, and 5 Leagues. Most of them lads would have played a big role in that success.
dblackandamber (National) - 09/10/2017 17:23:32
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Should James Owens be sanctioned? - 1 Like(s)
Not defending Gleeson here, but was what he did any more dangerous than the clothes line to the neck from the blind side that Patrick Horgan gave Jamie Barron in the first half, and incident in which he also raised his knee into Barron in the same foul?
My view of it is refs are reluctant to give yellows cards for blatant because the game is so fast, even the most innocuous of challenges could carry a risk of injury and will be given as yellow so they make a judgement call rather than literally apply the rules.
I think an 8 minute sin bin with a 3 yellow card system whereby a second yellow card earns a sin-binning would be better, with direct sin bin for certain incidents like a helmet grab, pushing/abusing officials, diving to get an opponent sent off, minimal striking of an opponent (a la Horgan and C Gleeson), and professional fouls in the penalty area when there's two or less defending players in the penalty area. We would still have straight red of course for serious dangerous play.
Would allow for tougher in game punishments for in some of the more serious game infractions for the ref to call upon rather than send a lad off unless he really deserved it. It would really help the refs in my view.
dblackandamber (National) - 17/08/2017 06:49:56
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