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Westmeath Football thread

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Replying To Jack_Sparrow:  "Being in group A means being immune from relegation which is questionable in itself. How is that fair when all the teams are supposed to be in the same championship."
How many teams have come from section b to win the championship?
Its because they are the best teams

jobber (Westmeath) - Posts: 1886 - 13/02/2026 21:53:30    2656269

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Replying To Darragh:  "After last night and being in these meetings for a number of years we might have too many votes on the Committee. Maybe an exercise needs to be done to compare Executive vs Club votes in each county. If its far too heavily tilted to the Executive then change may be needed"
How many votes do Killucan one of the small number of clubs that pushed for change have effectively? They have the club vote and 2 or 3 members of the Executive Committee. Clubs are sick and tired of not being listened to. That's the new Chair gone at the first hurdle. How is he meant to succeed without support of the clubs?

Nuggetq (Meath) - Posts: 3 - 13/02/2026 23:37:01    2656281

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Replying To Darragh:  "After last night and being in these meetings for a number of years we might have too many votes on the Committee. Maybe an exercise needs to be done to compare Executive vs Club votes in each county. If its far too heavily tilted to the Executive then change may be needed"
I'd leave the committee off to do their work - it's clear outside views from the clubs aren't exactly their priority. Whatever motion they think suits them is the one they'll push through. I am looking forward to the next Westmeath GAA fundraiser though, seeing how much the clubs buy into that.

Fighting-Cocks69 (Westmeath) - Posts: 138 - 14/02/2026 01:23:33    2656284

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Replying To Jack_Sparrow:  "Being in group A means being immune from relegation which is questionable in itself. How is that fair when all the teams are supposed to be in the same championship."
You don't get into Group A by accident - if you're avoiding relegation it's because you're winning games and staying competitive. That reply was fairly poor to be honest. Yes, all teams are technically in the same championship, but the sides reaching quarter-finals and semi-finals year after year, even if they're not winning it, are still being rewarded by not having to worry about relegation the following season. That's the reality of it.

Fighting-Cocks69 (Westmeath) - Posts: 138 - 14/02/2026 01:28:03    2656285

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Good luck to the footballers this evening. Mark has selected arguably our strongest available team . Let's hope for a bit of luck and 2 points leaving newry

mickcunningham (Westmeath) - Posts: 1921 - 14/02/2026 09:33:59    2656294

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Replying To Fighting-Cocks69:  "You don't get into Group A by accident - if you're avoiding relegation it's because you're winning games and staying competitive. That reply was fairly poor to be honest. Yes, all teams are technically in the same championship, but the sides reaching quarter-finals and semi-finals year after year, even if they're not winning it, are still being rewarded by not having to worry about relegation the following season. That's the reality of it."
Poor in your opinion. The teams that finish 5th and 6th in group A are no great shakes and just because they had a decent year the previous year the are immune from relegation. They mightn't even have the same personnel as the previous year. Nothing to say they wouldn't slide into a relegation battle. Nothing technical about it group A and B are in the same championship with different rules.

Jack_Sparrow (Westmeath) - Posts: 1062 - 14/02/2026 09:41:42    2656295

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Replying To Nuggetq:  "How many votes do Killucan one of the small number of clubs that pushed for change have effectively? They have the club vote and 2 or 3 members of the Executive Committee. Clubs are sick and tired of not being listened to. That's the new Chair gone at the first hurdle. How is he meant to succeed without support of the clubs?"
There's three on the Westmeath GAA website anyway not sure how up to date it is but they've Keith Quinn, Des Briody and Shane Briody

Fighting-Cocks69 (Westmeath) - Posts: 138 - 14/02/2026 10:13:08    2656298

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This voted in format is ludicrous and should be changed back to last years format- Read the below and correct if wrong

Section A is supposed to be the top tier. Yet a team finishing third (9th overall) in Section B can reach a quarter final and potentially a semi final without facing one of the top Section A sides in the group stage.

At the same time, that same team may not be promoted the following year, as only first and second in Section B go up.

So a team could be in the last four of the championship but still not be considered good enough for Section A. That makes no sense.

Three of six teams in Section B qualify for a quarter final. That reduces the jeopardy in that group and increases the likelihood of dead rubbers late in the championship. A strong Section B side could have qualification secured with games to spare- Meanwhile, Section A teams are battling at a higher level from round one.

The structure weakens the link between grading and championship merit. It should be reviewed and return to last year's format, which was clearer and more consistent.

Leftboothaey (Westmeath) - Posts: 42 - 14/02/2026 11:28:24    2656307

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Replying To Fighting-Cocks69:  "I'd leave the committee off to do their work - it's clear outside views from the clubs aren't exactly their priority. Whatever motion they think suits them is the one they'll push through. I am looking forward to the next Westmeath GAA fundraiser though, seeing how much the clubs buy into that."
How is the fundraiser relevant? Is the COE not for the players in the county who are from the clubs of the county? Bet you wouldn't express your sentiments to a county player in your own club.

Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2581 - 14/02/2026 12:21:23    2656314

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As a matter of interest; what would people do if they were the primary decision maker in Westmeath GAA tomorrow?

Of course there'll be arguments for and against but for me:

Return to U17
U18s to play Adult
Retain the previous championship format i.e 2025
Source a potential venue at a different location for a COE
Aim to develop a gym and 2/3 top quality playing surfaces
Engage in further fundraising that incentives clubs to sell

OverTheHill85 (Westmeath) - Posts: 235 - 14/02/2026 12:49:51    2656328

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Replying To Greengrass1:  "Fixtures due out on Sunday which is the normal time frame in advance of games. Clubs know the generic dates for some time now"
Weird lie. Clubs knew at least two weeks in advance the last two years who they were playing. They also knew the exact days of the weekend they were playing so people could arrange time off work etc. A lot of clubs will be out next Friday and won't know until tomorrow morning. 5 days notice is nowhere near good enough. How hard is it to send out a fixture list? the last few years it's been the same order or been flipped. But that's just a small thing in comparison to the ludicrous structure that's been passed

Bluelake (Westmeath) - Posts: 348 - 14/02/2026 15:25:42    2656339

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Replying To Jack_Sparrow:  "Poor in your opinion. The teams that finish 5th and 6th in group A are no great shakes and just because they had a decent year the previous year the are immune from relegation. They mightn't even have the same personnel as the previous year. Nothing to say they wouldn't slide into a relegation battle. Nothing technical about it group A and B are in the same championship with different rules."
Would you mind sharing which club you're from? You're the first person I've heard say that our current format which has been one of the county's biggest success stories since its introduction in 2018 isn't fit for purpose.

I'm genuinely interested in understanding your perspective, so knowing your club would help me see where you're coming from. Everyone I've spoken to across the north, south, east, and west of the county feels that the current structure is working well and doesn't believe change is necessary.

Temple56 (Westmeath) - Posts: 619 - 14/02/2026 15:43:50    2656342

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Replying To Temple56:  "Would you mind sharing which club you're from? You're the first person I've heard say that our current format which has been one of the county's biggest success stories since its introduction in 2018 isn't fit for purpose.

I'm genuinely interested in understanding your perspective, so knowing your club would help me see where you're coming from. Everyone I've spoken to across the north, south, east, and west of the county feels that the current structure is working well and doesn't believe change is necessary."
I agree it's not right, but, assuming you are from Caulry, would you be against it if you were a Section B team? The fact of the matter is if your club was a B team they'd vote for it. And that's what happened, it will affect everyone at different points in time over the coming years.

OverTheHill85 (Westmeath) - Posts: 235 - 14/02/2026 15:52:41    2656346

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Replying To Bluelake:  "Weird lie. Clubs knew at least two weeks in advance the last two years who they were playing. They also knew the exact days of the weekend they were playing so people could arrange time off work etc. A lot of clubs will be out next Friday and won't know until tomorrow morning. 5 days notice is nowhere near good enough. How hard is it to send out a fixture list? the last few years it's been the same order or been flipped. But that's just a small thing in comparison to the ludicrous structure that's been passed"
Clubs were told a week ago that Div 1 and 3 were on Sunday, Div 2 on Saturday.

Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2581 - 14/02/2026 16:35:20    2656351

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The new structure is far from perfect and it seems certain there will be further changes next year if Congress pushes All Ireland finals back, the idea that our previous structure was the envy of counties elsewhere, there were loads of championship matches last few years that were tame affairs, little of the cut and thrust associated with championship football. Shandonagh vs Tubberclair last year was a shocking advertisement for the championship.

Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2581 - 14/02/2026 16:41:15    2656353

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Replying To Claretandblue:  "Clubs were told a week ago that Div 1 and 3 were on Sunday, Div 2 on Saturday."
And what about division 4,5,6 and 7? Many lads will have two games next week and I'm sure any team with lights may play Friday. I didn't see any official correspondence stating the above. I know in my club it's a huge issue that we don't know the date yet, five lads who are rostered on Saturdays for the following weekend so they'll have their hours for next weekend before they can look for a time off. It's a huge issue.

OverTheHill85 (Westmeath) - Posts: 235 - 14/02/2026 18:18:43    2656379

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