jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20600 - 14/03/2018 16:32:01    2084585

PyatPree (Cork) - Posts: 376 - 14/03/2018 18:01:59    2084604

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11230 - 14/03/2018 18:17:54    2084606

I think one of the great selling points of our game is the chance to play against a top teams, standing in portlaoise last year with my son and him gazing in amazement at the crowd and seeing his county giving it all they had against the best team in ireland, watching Sean Murphy pick up his man of the match award against the dubs getting his picture taken with him and then the crowds that turned up for our next two games and all those young lads who previously hadn't been going to games are now at every match know all their own players, have their favourites. you will take all that away and why? Because some counties can't organise themselves to even be remotely competitive.
Hurling is failing in Carlow and part of the reason for that is the fact that the county team is intermediate, before the Christy ring there was 7 senior hurling teams here, since it that number has dropped to 5 and the 5th team was the whipping boy last year. Carlow hurlers don't have the chance of that big championship game anymore where you get a Kilkenny or Wexford coming to a packed Dr Cullen park and young lads can see their team give it all the have against the best. At best they will just yoyo between one grade and another.

Barrowsider (Carlow) - Posts: 1592 - 14/03/2018 18:19:20    2084607

There is no point in splitting the Championship in two unless the winner of the second tier competition is then allowed to compete in the first tier competition similar to what the GAA have done this year in hurling.

e.g. let's say you have 16 tier one teams and 16 tier two teams.

Play the competitions and the top two of tier one go into the quarter finals however the team who is the lowest ranked plays against the winner of the tier two competition that would be a team that finished second in their group (Tier one) and has qualified for the quarter finals but has the lowest scoring difference therefore they are the lowest ranked qualifier.

G.A.A._fan (Laois) - Posts: 102 - 14/03/2018 18:44:00    2084613

If they can come up with a system that narrows the gap in standards between the weakest and strongest it'll be a good thing. From looking at it it doesn't see that it will do that. In the off-championship competitions, probably a league style, they need weaker counties to improve by playing higher standard, getting beat, learning and inproving. Maybe some mentoring of weaker counties by stronger counties too. Not well thought out I know but the let them eat cake atitude towards weaker counties annoys me. We have 32 counties, not 8.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7344 - 14/03/2018 18:50:42    2084616

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 14/03/2018 19:38:37    2084624

I think for me the big thing that gets lost in these discussions is that not all 2 tier championships are created equally.

There'd be a big difference between a 2nd tier championship which was knockout based and one which was league based.

The Sean Kelly 2 knockouts of 16 I don't feel solves any problem. Teams get a chance at silverware but will that silverware be as prestigious as progressing to an All Ireland quarterfinal, a goal that is similarly attainable for the sorts of teams likely to win a 2nd tier championship. The prize for winning that 2nd tier championship is a shot at the last 16 of the All Ireland the following year, which would be 1 game only guaranteed. I don't think that's an improvement on the qualifiers.

A league based championship could be an improvement though.

Say you'd 2 groups of 8, 7 games guaranteed with a playoff competition at the end.

The winner of a 2nd tier championship would have a real prize to aim for. 7 top quality matches the following season.

I'd be very interested in the motivation behind Horan's opinion.

If he thinks the championship needs restructured to provide more games but maintain interesting fixtures then I can see the logic in it.

If it is simple a fact of weaker teams can't compete with the top teams then I think I've a problem with that. Right now there are maybe 2 teams capable of giving a game to Dublin. A 2 tier championship split 16 versus 16 will still have 13 teams with little to no chance of winning the competition. It will not help widen the net for future years either.

Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 4222 - 14/03/2018 19:40:31    2084625

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 14/03/2018 19:47:12    2084629

3 leagues - Top 4 sides go into semi final with winners of top league being the All-Ireland Champions.

Run provincial championships in parallel

Defined season. Players released back to clubs every 3 weeks to play championship games

Ban (Westmeath) - Posts: 1415 - 14/03/2018 21:58:03    2084649

The inter-county systems needs a complete overhaul to maintain interest. Whilst very radical, I would start the inter-county season in March and finish it early September. I would split the teams in 4 divisions of 8 like the national league and have home and away matches. It would guarantee each county 14 games against similar standard. Use promotion and relegation and provide every team a pathway to a quarter final in Croke Park during August. Top 4 in Section A, Top 2 in Section B and the winners of C and D. With this system scrap the national league and Provincal Championships.

sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 14/03/2018 22:14:18    2084651

I've never been in favour of a tiered championship structure, 'weaker counties' don't seem to want it and so should not be forced into it. Now I acknowledge that the provincial system has run its coarse at this stage but I think the Gaa should look into a world cup style format.

I can't see how condemning weaker counties into a second tier and denying them the opportunity to play a big name team in a championship game is a good idea. Hammerings and lopsided games are nothing new, they've existed since the Gaa began and will continue, with or without a second tier competition.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 14/03/2018 22:52:55    2084659

We might end up having to split Dublin into 2 teams, ND and SD, I suppose it would probably end up an all Dublin final anyway in Dublin !!

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 2747 - 14/03/2018 23:21:20    2084663

I think the players have spoken on this one and it is a non-runner going by most of the comments.

Also I would like to add a few observations on this.

No 1. Football is a lot different to hurling as I believe a lower ranking county can occasionally pull on over the big boys.

No 2. All this pius claptrap about giving the Tier 2 Final a prominent date on the fixture calendar would last about two years at most. All we have to do is look how the second and third tier hurling championships were removed from their so-called prominent dates, first down the country on a Saturday evening and eventually to a Saturday evening in Croke Park and the spectators corralled behind barriers and treated badly by officials. That is not the worst but the teams are treated despicably by the GAA during the actual competitions by playing games week after week and making scant allowances for replays, not to mention some of the officiating at those games.

No 3. I would very much like to remind our current President, Mr Horan, from Dublin of a certain situation that pertained in 1974, when Dublin, yes Dublin we're ranked so lowly in Leinster that they were included in a preliminary group of four in the Leinster Championship along with Louth, Carlow and Wexford with the winners qualifying to join the other seven counties in the Championship proper. Dublin went on to win Leinster and indeed the All Ireland that year, yet if this President was around for a few years before 1974 and had his way Dublin would be banished to a second tier championship.

Finally ther was about 7000 people present in Navan in 1974 when Dublin beat Louth in the preliminary final.

MillerX (Meath) - Posts: 1062 - 20/03/2018 15:18:29    2086276

Good to see this thread back on topic despite the best efforts of some

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20600 - 20/03/2018 15:28:48    2086279

Some players want a 2 tier championship and others are completely against the idea. Depending on what way the story is going it's very easy to find a player to outline why it's all a disgrace and a kick in the teeth for smaller counties. At this stage some leadership needs to be shown and a new competition created or the idea of it completely killed. Looking at the joy on Carlow faces at the weekend it's hard to understand why more counties don't go all out in the league and try to start some success that way.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 20/03/2018 15:39:28    2086283

Leave league format the same. Two tier championship. Tier 1 is Division 1, Top 4 Division 2, Top 2 Division 3, Top 1 Division 4 and last place a playoff between 3rd Team in Division 3 and 2nd in Division 4. The rest play in 2nd tier. Could go straight knockout for both and if people are worried about too few games maybe introduce a regional championship as separate if the appetite was there. Format could be either the provincials as they currently stand or reformatting to equal numbers. Scrap pre-league competitions. I don't know if it could work but it would certainly add a bit of extra bite to league.

Hardtimes (Cavan) - Posts: 1056 - 20/03/2018 15:50:59    2086292

I'm fed up of players saying they don't want to play in second tier. If you're not good enough then suck it up, my own county included. I mean I wanna play for Barcelona but it's not going to happen. Not every club gets to play senior. It's the same thing. So long as there is relegation and promotion between the tiers what's the problem

Malonemagic (Laois) - Posts: 766 - 20/03/2018 17:13:41    2086328

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20600 - 20/03/2018 17:27:51    2086336

browncows (Meath) - Posts: 2342 - 20/03/2018 17:57:10    2086343