Life is unfair. Get over it.

14KY37 (Kerry) - Posts: 30 - 21/07/2015 18:34:10    1757167

21/07/2015 18:34:10
14KY37
Life is unfair. Get over it. it is but championship still needs to be changed
21/07/2015 17:53:51
shaggykev
Yeah it is unfair and perhaps yes sending Donegal down to Connacht every 9 years is the answer.
One Ulster team should play in Connacht & two Leinster teams should play in Munster and we'll all have three games to the provincial final.
Kerry are on for another soft All Ireland whilst in the improbable scenario that Donegal rose from the ashes and beat Tyrone, Armagh, Derry, Galway, Mayo, Dublin & Kerry to win an All Ireland they really should be allowed to keep the trophy on a permanent basis as that would be the hardest won All Ireland in the history of the sport sending Donegal to Connacht isn't the answer all counties should be allowed compete for their own provincial title

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 21/07/2015 18:47:11    1757176

Rightstuff......sure Galway had to beat Armagh and Derry to get to this point also and now they face you, which Donegal will win on paper easily. What is all the crying about, I think you can face off with Mayo in the quarter finals and they will bate ye out the gate. c'ship begins with the final 8.

maroondiesel (Mayo) - Posts: 1197 - 21/07/2015 19:13:51    1757196

Donegal have beaten Tyrone, Armagh and Derry and are in the last 12. Am I right in saying Cork have just beaten Clare and are at the same stage?

MB1 (Tyrone) - Posts: 360 - 21/07/2015 19:35:44    1757208

Football is becoming as elitist as hurling but I don't think the GAA care so long as the cash tills keep ringing. Dublin bring in the revenue and Kerry are worshipped by Croke Park and the media. Beyond these two, and maybe Cork, it's a case of let them eat cake. Everything will always be done to keep these 3 counties sweet but I believe this is starting to have an effect on other counties. When Antrim beat Laois the number of jersies and county related gear seen around the place was unbelievable BUT the GAA has never tapped into this potential. Outside Dublin we could be the second biggest financial spinning county for the Association but Croke Park has abandoned Belfast and Antrim and soccer is the No.1 sport by a distance. Great counties like Meath, Kildare, Laois etc are also pale shadows of what they should be.

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9706 - 21/07/2015 19:54:42    1757218

If Galway had won Connacht this year they would play 7 games to win Sam, by losing semi to Mayo and going through qualifier route they will have played 8 games, now I know Mayo's route is a joke 5 games for Sam but we need some good luck it's 64 years since we won the AllIreland, now stop yer whinging, ah I'm only joking

riverboys (Mayo) - Posts: 1389 - 21/07/2015 19:56:01    1757219

Rightstuff I can only imagine with your love of insults that you must have attended a number of them team meetings Kevin Cassidy wrote about in his book? We were told all spring how tough Donegal were going to have it playing Tyrone, Armagh and Derry. We now see that a fairly ordinary Galway side have knocked out Armagh and Derry with plenty to spare, and a flaky and ordinary Meath side would have beaten Tyrone in Omagh but for a dubious penalty. As Donegal showed in 2012, if you are good enough you win the All-Ireland, anything else is whinging.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 21/07/2015 19:59:11    1757221

Each province Munster apart swings in roundabouts in terms of strong teams and competitiveness. Sure very tough draw for Donegal but that is the way the cookie crumbles. I am afraid it does come across as sour grapes. Ulster should be seeded to make it a fairer playing field and giving weaker teams an extra game while making the path to the final a little easier for the previous years semi finalists.

panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2782 - 21/07/2015 20:00:17    1757223

MB1 ...... I think you are right. But remember, the Munster Championship is way stronger than Leinster and Connaught. Wayyyyyyyy stronger ;-)

JayP (Dublin) - Posts: 1772 - 21/07/2015 20:26:32    1757239

Ulster football is doing ok for itself folks, people whinge about the system. Ok I would seed it slightly but it is unlikely to result in more All Irelands for the province. 5 different counties from Ulster have won an All Ireland in the last 25 years, no other province can show as many different counties winning Sam. Ulster like the rest of the country are competing with tradional counties so an Ulster county cannot win it every year. But 5 different winners actually shows the competitive nature of the Ulster Championship is moulding a great majority of its counties into All Ireland Champions. So Ulster people be careful what you wish for.

sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 21/07/2015 20:31:03    1757244

2000-2009
5 All-Irelands went to a Munster county.
4 All-Irelands went to Ulster counties.
1 All-Ireland went to a Connaught county.

2010-2014:
2 All-Irelands went to a Leinster county.
2 All-Irelands went to Munster counties.
1 All-Ireland went to an Ulster county.

It's not the Kerry way to speak of the 2010 All-Ireland. As Paidi O'Se said, you have to take your hat off to Cork. They won an All-Ireland without beating Kerry!

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 7869 - 21/07/2015 20:56:02    1757265

Soma
County: UK
Posts: 1075

1757221 Rightstuff I can only imagine with your love of insults that you must have attended a number of them team meetings Kevin Cassidy wrote about in his book? We were told all spring how tough Donegal were going to have it playing Tyrone, Armagh and Derry. We now see that a fairly ordinary Galway side have knocked out Armagh and Derry with plenty to spare, and a flaky and ordinary Meath side would have beaten Tyrone in Omagh but for a dubious penalty. As Donegal showed in 2012, if you are good enough you win the All-Ireland, anything else is whinging.

What is the strongest province ? even though you cant name what county you are from , surely you can name what you think is the elite province ? I never said the best team is in Ulster however as a whole the Ulster champo is the best . Look at Tipp on Saturday , can you imagine how easy it would be to win provinces if we had to beat them every year and then one more match. As for insults , I wouldnt even class you as a proper gael with your contant running down of all things Ulster. Whats Galway got to do with the provincial championship ? thats the qualifiers they are in . Yes they best Derry and Armagh , did they also beat Donegal and Monaghan ? We beat them in 03 but couldnt win Ulster so that point is futile .

TheRightStuff (Donegal) - Posts: 1688 - 21/07/2015 21:09:52    1757276

Ohh sorry I acknowledge more All Irelands have went outside Ulster. The point I was making which in no way is having a dig at anybody else is Ulster have produced 5 different winners in the last 25 years. My argument is that the competitive nature of the province is moulding and giving a fast majority of its team the chance of lifting Sam. Of course that is not going to happen every year.. but it is a positive of the system against the negative nature of this topic. I hope Monaghan can become the 6th County this year.

sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 21/07/2015 21:22:11    1757289

You have got yourself all in a fluster Rightstuff. My county is Lancashire, its not an option to select on here so have to settle for UK. Ulster is at the moment the most competitive province, greatly helped by the fact most teams in the province are of a similar level. That is why the shortest priced team in Ulster to win Sam this year is 14/1 at the bookies. Put Monaghan into Leinster and Dublin in Ulster and I would say Leinster becomes the most competitive province. If you cant see the relevance of Galway fairly handily beating Derry and Armagh, showing the quality in Ulster is fairly ordinary this year, then we will just have to leave it at that.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 21/07/2015 21:35:33    1757296

For me its not sour grapes anyway. In 2011 I said the structure was a joke, I said it again in 2012 and in 2013. No matter how we do there is no doubting that the system is inherently unfair. I'm fed up saying it to be honest.

benjyyy (Donegal) - Posts: 1422 - 22/07/2015 10:31:14    1757376

What's so unfair is that the mighty Dubs are so far ahead of everyone else!

SeppBlatter (Dublin) - Posts: 187 - 22/07/2015 10:53:24    1757394

I think we are all agreed from all these posts that a 12 year old would devise a better structure than the one we have at the moment..................but it just seems too much for grown men 'in the corridors of power' (ie co boards) to see it. Monkey see, monkey do. Gaelic Football will only be played in top counties soon. Again, wake me up for the 1/4 finals, the previous 3 months is irrelevant ( = 24 counties eliminated which by & large is the same 24 counties every year) Yawn Yawn Yawn

arjuna (Longford) - Posts: 88 - 22/07/2015 11:08:20    1757406

Soma
County: UK
Posts: 1078

1757076
The Munster, Ulster and Leinster champions have all played the exact same number of games so far in this years championship.

yes, but that's only because Kerry v Cork went to a replay... how can you use that as a basis for your argument.

Let's compare the beaten Connacht,Munster and Ulster finalists (who are all now in the last 12).

Donegal have beaten: Tyrone,Armagh,Derry and they lost to Monaghan by a point.
Sligo have beaten Roscommon and lost to Mayo by 25 points
Cork have beaten Clare and lost to Kerry by 5 points.

so basically to get to the last 12 Cork had to beat Clare and Sligo had to beat Roscommon whereas Donegal had to beat Tyrone,Armagh and Derry.. it is frankly so unfair that one wonders why anyone puts up with it.

For Donegal to win the all-ireland now they would have played: Tyrone,Armagh,Derry,Monaghan,Galway,(Mayo,Dublin,Kerry.)
that's 8 hard games

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5518 - 22/07/2015 11:28:25    1757418

If Donegal had drawn the Ulster final and lost they would have to play 9 games just to win the All Ireland . Maybe the Munster winners and runners up should enter the qualifiers in the 4th round and 3 rd round respectfully.

crikey (Australia) - Posts: 355 - 22/07/2015 11:50:02    1757436

Look there's pros and cons to the current system, the major pro is that the provincials provide a lot of local derbies and hence reasonably big crowds, a new system couldn't guarantee the same crowds or better.

The major con is that the provinces are imbalanced both in terms of numbers and quality, so yes undeniably they are unfair, it's just a question if whether or not we're happy to continue with such a system.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 22/07/2015 12:06:00    1757450