The GAA were obsessed with leaving April free of inter-county fixtures. Nobody could have foreseen the winter we have had; however who thought it logical to cram all these fixtures into 3 months!?! We have had games called off; to be refixed 24 hours later, to then be called off again. Does the GAA know something we don't, in terms of frozen pitches being playable with 24 hours. We now have the situation where some league games might not even be played - what about Season tickets etc!?! I also think the league has lost some of it's benefits as we have lost the end of March, early April games when teams are getting fit and matches are crucial to promotion/relegation. To me this was never about the clubs, the obsession was making room for the super 8's. The fixture plan needs a review and the GAA need to admit it's failure.

sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 20/03/2018 16:36:29    2086315

Great post, the GAA at Inter County level is now trying to ape the club scene, where teams have no idea when they are playing from the start of the year. Matches set, cancelled 24 hours later, then reset again, farcical stuff. Dead rubber league games never to be played as happens in the club scene. The only thing they have to emulate clubs in now is to have matches carrying over to the next calendar year. Don't forget all this farce got a ringing endorsement from Congress with Paraic Duffy lauded to the rafters. When many of us questioned on here why details such as weather, the effect on club players, scheduling, why no rule was put in place for April as club month, why there was no answer to clubs re a fixtures master plan we were laughed at. The chickens have come to roost & the guy who oversaw the mess has retired. Anyone who hasn't seen the effect of climate change in Ireland in Autumn & Winter & factored it in, is asleep at the wheel. How long more will sponsors tolerate this crap, do they want their name associated with a shambles. If your a sponsor today & you look at the media coverage & promotion by rugby & the exposure it gets, allied to respect for referees & rules versus poor promotion by GAA, nasty free for alls at every game as we saw on Sunday with pure cynicism, referees accosted & so on, where would you spend your money. The lack of leadership at the top of the GAA is shocking, an organisation that couldn't even get the application for its CEO / Ard Stiurothoir right, it shows where the problem lies. The politics, happy clappy back slapping parish pump stuff we saw at Congress is indicative of why things are in a mess. FBD sponsor the Connacht league, they had to witness, fans, players & others shouting for a round game & final to be roped into one, the whole league was dismissed as a waste of time. Maybe the secondary competitions are too much but if your the sponsor why would you waste your money when it's so disregarded by the base you are trying to support. The GAA sell season tickets & "all NFL & NHL games" are included. Will they now issue refunds if "all the games" are not played. How many counties will start their club C'ships in April as envisaged & how many county managers will free their panels to play C'ship in April ? It's a comedy of errors, when they can't even run the Inter County scene, how are they going to try to rectify the broken club scene. Another unforeseen is surrendering the All Ireland weekends which will probably be now filled with other sports & Autumn international friendlies losing more exposure. Group think has taken over & anyone not falling in to line is an agitator. Will the current secondary competitions, Sigerson/Fitzgibbon, NFL & NHL, club month for April & Super 8's remain in place now for the three years or will the new Uachtaran & Ard Stiurothoir have to admit the GAA got it wrong & change it again ? As Del Boy said, another fine mess you got us into Rodders.

moc.dna (Galway) - Posts: 1212 - 20/03/2018 20:50:28    2086417

I want to reply to the OP on this thread but I honestly can't think where to start.

I feel sad to look at the GAA now and see what it has become.

We are seeing the death of the last great institution that was standing in Ireland thanks to shambolic leadership.

As the line in the movie said "if you want to lead people you have to have somewhere to go". Unfortunately for us the people at the top in the GAA have no idea where to go and are instead happy to lead it off a cliff.

I suppose it was good while it lasted.

Greenfield (Meath) - Posts: 522 - 20/03/2018 22:19:01    2086465

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5518 - 20/03/2018 23:32:48    2086487

You know, it seems like it's the same people who give out about the GAA no matter what they do. The same people who complained about replays in Gaelic Games are most likely the ones complaining about the Limerick V Clare match being decided by Sudden Death 65's.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 21/03/2018 04:08:23    2086501