I would hate to see profit become the name of the game as it were.It would be less emotive and sterile for me, and I wouldn't really care about the association as a whole anymore.Clubs will stay as is,countys could change and move in this direction but it really wouldn't be countys anymore.It would be x amount of teams playing out of Dublin and Belfast and Killarney and Cork City etc.Teams like Leitrim and Carlow would cease to exist and wee lads in Tyrone would be wearing "Belfast Bulldogs" or "Killarney Destroyers" jerseys because there are lads from Omagh and Carrickmore on those teams...............Maybe I'm getting carried away but you never can tell. The other problems need to be addressed,if all Ireland semi finals keep turning up games like the Dublin and Donegal game then things must surely be changed.Start by introducing the mark,I think its a great incentive for midfielders and all good fielders of the ball.The 13 a side idea should also be considered to combat "congestion".I have never heard it mooted on this forum but what about the notion of 2 points for a score kicked from a specific distance out to encourage more attempts at distance? Limited number of hand passes and get rid of useless square ball rule and fisting of points.Just some thoughts so don't be biting my head off if ye disagree:)

seanie_boy (Tyrone) - Posts: 4235 - 30/08/2011 11:05:34    1022626

It is mad faithful.

A marquee player like Gooch would be treated like the gold he is. Maybe a county like Dublin or Cork may have 2 or 3 players for every position, but if you come across someone like him, Declan O'Sullivan or Marc O'Se, the Brogans, Sean Cavanagh - these are players you get once in a generation and County boards would look after them every bit as much as they do now.

A journeyman professional footballer in England may not get all the bells and whistles every time he gets injured, but what he will get is Monday morning off in order to recover. He'll get Tuesday off and physio on the injury as normal.

In my opinion, a professional intercounty system would if anything, prolong a players career as they'd probably be barred from playing meaningless club football to avoid injury there. Perhaps they would still play in Championship matches for clubs, but I wouldn't imagine they be risked in a North Kerry league game in February.

Its all hypothetical of course :-)

diablodeKingdom (Kerry) - Posts: 210 - 30/08/2011 11:11:04    1022633

if the game went professional Cavan Manager Val Andrews would be sacked after this years performances

sheva7 (Cavan) - Posts: 498 - 30/08/2011 11:31:16    1022663

Faithfull
County: Offaly
Posts: 139

1022594
If the game went professional, a lot of players would retire young. You imagine the Gooch gets a knock in training today, he will be given full time physio, sent to Oxygen chambers and treated like a god until he has recovered, if the game was professional, he could be replaced by a loan signing etc. An Irishman I know who is a physio for Watford FC once told me that the players on his local GAA team are treated better than the Watford players when they get injured, this is because the injured Watford player can be replaced when injured by a new signing whereas the club player can't be. Sounds mad but it's true

faithful,

you are not really comparing like for like there. you are comparing one of the greatest players currently playing the the game here to a squad player for a championship team in england. Gooch would be a household name whereas yer man from watford would not. maybe compare gooch to rooney . however i do take your point. but at the moment most club gaa players and county fringe players are despendible. they get injured they get dropped. they go back to work and maybe get a call-up again when they are fit or maybe they never get another call-up. consider the amount of time and effort that both Dublin and Donegal squad put in to achieve that level of fitness and organisation . it must have been awsome. after looking at that the Kerry boys will have to really step up the work-rate in training otherwise they will get a hiding. but they are not stupid. i am sure they have stepped up already. but for how much longer can players put so much in for so little reward.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5520 - 30/08/2011 11:40:56    1022674

30/08/2011 10:26:52
diablodeKingdom
County: Kerry
Posts: 101

1022563 Well said Count_Awesome - you're living up to your name!!

-----

Well, I AM a Count............in an online role-playing game about vampires :(

Count_Awesome (Kildare) - Posts: 736 - 30/08/2011 11:48:13    1022685

And let me guess, your name is Dr. Acula?

Anyhoo goldrick, I said I would never watch football if it became professional, if it was all about money you would see a lot more of that rubbish on Sunday as you alluded to, believe it or not, I was agreeing with you when I said that

gigoer (Wexford) - Posts: 1998 - 30/08/2011 11:55:00    1022699

Well, I AM a Count.

Becareful when spelling that on an internet forum :-D

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 30/08/2011 11:57:07    1022704

I have to say the last decade of football has been really sad and not because they're weren't great teams out there but because great teams didn't go out and play good football.
Some of the recent Tyrone teams have been just awesome but we rarely got to see them play to their full potential. I firmly believe they would have won 4 or 5 in a row if they went out and play pure football. When they did decide to do so which happened on occasion they were awe-inspiring, full of entertainment, creativity and skill. I believe a champion team from any era would have struggled to beat them. The same could apply for recent Kerry teams, if you name out the players in their sides in the last decade there are and were some just brilliant players there.
I think it's going to take a different direction from managers. I believe that there are teams out their with the skill to go out and play pure football against these negative tactics and win. The only problem is there aren't many teams out there with the balls to lay down a marker and play it as it should be. Definitely on recent showing Dublin to me are the biggest disappointment with the latest game. They have some great skillful players and generally they do try and play a decent open brand of football.

Nick (Wexford) - Posts: 1100 - 30/08/2011 12:05:27    1022719

igoer
County: Wexford
Posts: 781

Anyhoo goldrick, I said I would never watch football if it became professional, if it was all about money you would see a lot more of that rubbish on Sunday as you alluded to, believe it or not, I was agreeing with you when I said that .
ah Ok... fair enough. that is indeed what i was alluding to. and as joe brolly said Armagh and tyrone started it and now donegal has brought it to it's logical conclusion.

so the question is. If donegal can do it (and this is what other counties will be thinking).. why can't we. but if players are asked for that level of commitment they will be asking to get paid. so we will be all paying to watch rubbish. the solution is.... change the rules..
but what can you do. if you ban the handpass then that will make it even easier to defend and swarm around players. i think we have to look at the tackle and somehow redefine it. We need the best minds to come up with a revised definition of the tackle that will enable us to outlaw this blanket defence... or do we just need to coach players to release the ball earlier. or as someone else mentioned reduce the number of players to 13 aside. I personally think refs could easily reduce the nu,ber of players anyway. there are so many fouls been commited nowadays that quite a few red cards could be brandished leaving more space for a proper game. every time a player blocks an oppenent after he has released the ball he should be booked. every time a player barges another when the game is not in play (as marty boyle did on Sunday) should be booked. every time a player stops another from taking a quick freekick he should be booked and every time a player refused to release the ball after a foul has been given against him he should also be booked. that would reduce the numbers on the pitch.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5520 - 30/08/2011 12:27:35    1022744

2 easy steps that are already in the rules:
1. No blocking of runs - its a late tackle or a foul off the ball
This one drives me mad. If referees picked up on this the game would seriously improve. Central Council have to recognise this an reinforce the law.

2. Third man tackle - Is it not in the rules that a third man cannot jump in on a tackle?
I reckon 80% of the tackles on Sunday featured more than one player touching or tackling the player with the ball. Again, GAA lawmakers have to review the rule and make it one of the pillars on which the game is played.

diablodeKingdom (Kerry) - Posts: 210 - 30/08/2011 13:59:02    1022848