The club stands the test of time It is the time of year again when the greens fields of all major venues get a break and the emphasis is now firmly focused on the club championships. All the camaraderie of the inter county set up is put to one side for the next number of weeks when players who are privileged to be still in the championship give it their all for the pride of the little village, little town or the local area where they were born and bred. Throughout the length and breath of the country different formats are in place to narrow it down to the final two - some with backdoor systems, some with a league system before it becomes knockout, others with a straight winner takes all into the next round, but whatever it is, as I have said in the past, the GAA are not hitting the right cord when it comes to club structures. The delays in playing the games are farcical - no proper calendar of events, one match played in early May, the next played in August, Intercounty managers taking full control, some counties with no championships played when their intercounty team is involved - the list goes on. Nobody can plan anything but more importantly the club player is now losing his focus also. They are not prepared to hang around and train without competitive games. They will go on holidays or to the States for the summer and who can blame them? I know it is now something which our GAA President is trying to address and a lot of discussion has taken place over the last few weeks and it will continue to be debated I have stated so many times in the past that the stars of tomorrow are going to come from our clubs. That is where the next Shefflin, Canning and Kelly will come from but at times we treat them as if they don't exist. Come St. Patrick's Day when the biggest prize in the club calendar is handed out - all these problems are swept under the carpet and we pride ourselves on a beautiful game up there with the intercounty scene. We forget about all those unhappy hurlers out there who have packed it in and gone off to play junior soccer knowing their will be a game without fail every Sunday. It is time for the talking to stop, something has to be done to finish our games on time and to make sure they are played when they should be played - during the summer months. It seems to happen easily with the counties who have had most success! Managerial appointments I must admit I have never seen so much movement on the management front in hurling as I have seen in the last few weeks. Normally you would associate this on the football side of things and you come to expect it as part of the norm over the last few years. On the hurling front now if you have previous experience of All-Ireland success either as a player, coach or physical trainer, you are now in huge demand and some counties are now willing to go to enormous expense to attract the best to generate success. Let's take a look at two or three of these appointments and start with the biggest one of all - Ger Loughnane leaving his native Clare and taking on the underachieving Galway. I believe that in some quarters they are not too upset in Clare that he has gone further up the coast, but that won't worry Ger one bit! So what was the big attraction there? Obviously impressed with the amount of success they have had at under age level over the last number of years, he may feel it is about time to transfer this into senior success. Maybe he missed the game so badly that he was itching to get back into management, his body language during the year would not have led you to believe that though. Will Ger Loughnane make a difference to Galway? My answer is yes, he certainly will, he will instill a mean streak into them and turn the boys into men very quickly because he has the talent. Having been there before as a manager, he knows what it takes to win a title and it certainly won't be for the lack of effort if they fail. He is no fool and will also know that they will easily come through the qualifiers, which means he will be only three matches away from glory. It will certainly be an interesting summer ahead for the Tribesmen. In Loughnane's former county, many were taken by surprise to see Tony Considine in the hot seat because he too like the former All-Ireland winning manager did not hold any punches on his former players throughout the year. But fair play to him, he is now putting his money where his mouth is and giving it a shot. Has he the talent to work with? Will he clean out the old guard completely and start fresh with the younger guys? He maintains there is plenty of talent in the county and time will tell if he can build a new Banner team. At the time of writing the old order has still been restored in Waterford after six years and now the pressure is even greater to deliver the Holy Grail for Justin McCarthy. Limerick have gone for Richie Bennis and there is no doubt there will be spirit in the team but are they good enough is still the sixty dollar question? Cork have not filled their position yet- negotiations are underway, contracts are been drawn up, interviews taking place and finances sorted out. There is fat chance of getting a few bob down here - or for the same matter neither is there much chance of it in Kilkenny. They are two of the most successful hurling counties in the country and all you get is abuse, but good abuse. I talk to you soon about Cork's new appointment and I can guarantee you it will not be me! Tweet

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