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Replying To BigJoe14: "You are wrong about the day they did the bleep test, they did it on Wednesday and Sean Tobin has not left the panel. Harry Rooney, Brian Conlon, David Toner, Eoghan Green and Barry Dardis have left. It is ridiculous that people are even discussing Meaths training programme on this page. Every football county in the country, apart from Dublin, are training at the moment, and so they should be. They cannot take a full month off in the middle of the season and then only have 2 weeks (1 of which is the week of game) to prepare for the first round. The club championships in most counties that are run properly do not take place until August. The club season in meath should run like this:
February (last two weeks) - June (Last week) = AFL, BFL, AHL and BHL (Including finals)
July = Complete month, holidays and prepare for champ
August - October = Football and Hurling championship
For the above to work the following needs to happen
1. Abolish cup competitions (Feis Cup etc)
2. Make SFC, IFC and JFC four groups of four
3. AFL and BFL need to be played on the same weekends, preferably AFL games first. Most teams should have enough to field both and it ensures players who are not making first team but training with them game time at the same time as first team players, and enthusiasm for training will improve as a result.
How the league would work:
example 6 week period:
week 1 - ALF/BLF Round 1
Week 2 - AFL/BFL Round 2
Week 3 - AHL/BHL Round 1
Week 4 - AFL/BFL Round 2
week 5 - AFL/BFL Round 3
Week 6 - AHL/BHL Round 2
The reason for two weeks in a row of football and only one week for hurling is due to there being 13 rounds of football in a season and only 7 in hurling." Big Joe whose in the know , Has Mark McCabe left the panel ?
Meath_True (Meath) - Posts: 285 - 16/04/2018 13:58:24
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Replying To BigJoe14: "You are wrong about the day they did the bleep test, they did it on Wednesday and Sean Tobin has not left the panel. Harry Rooney, Brian Conlon, David Toner, Eoghan Green and Barry Dardis have left. It is ridiculous that people are even discussing Meaths training programme on this page. Every football county in the country, apart from Dublin, are training at the moment, and so they should be. They cannot take a full month off in the middle of the season and then only have 2 weeks (1 of which is the week of game) to prepare for the first round. The club championships in most counties that are run properly do not take place until August. The club season in meath should run like this:
February (last two weeks) - June (Last week) = AFL, BFL, AHL and BHL (Including finals)
July = Complete month, holidays and prepare for champ
August - October = Football and Hurling championship
For the above to work the following needs to happen
1. Abolish cup competitions (Feis Cup etc)
2. Make SFC, IFC and JFC four groups of four
3. AFL and BFL need to be played on the same weekends, preferably AFL games first. Most teams should have enough to field both and it ensures players who are not making first team but training with them game time at the same time as first team players, and enthusiasm for training will improve as a result.
How the league would work:
example 6 week period:
week 1 - ALF/BLF Round 1
Week 2 - AFL/BFL Round 2
Week 3 - AHL/BHL Round 1
Week 4 - AFL/BFL Round 2
week 5 - AFL/BFL Round 3
Week 6 - AHL/BHL Round 2
The reason for two weeks in a row of football and only one week for hurling is due to there being 13 rounds of football in a season and only 7 in hurling." Big Joe whose in the know , Has Mark McCabe left the panel ?
Meath_True (Meath) - Posts: 285 - 16/04/2018 13:58:28
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Replying To longroadback: "Have sneaky suspicion that some of the players mentioned will feature in the Championship, after this weekend it is back to the county training, from talking to lads, there was a lot of frustration about not been able to train with their clubs last week, and having to do a bleep test last monday night after a tough championship weekend, I think heads will calm down, some of the lads did not feature in the League at all so no surprise they have pulled the plug," Id say around 8-10 lads off the count team were doing a bleep test in Dunganny yday aswell.
rightthere (Meath) - Posts: 128 - 16/04/2018 16:03:36
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Replying To BigJoe14: "You are wrong about the day they did the bleep test, they did it on Wednesday and Sean Tobin has not left the panel. Harry Rooney, Brian Conlon, David Toner, Eoghan Green and Barry Dardis have left. It is ridiculous that people are even discussing Meaths training programme on this page. Every football county in the country, apart from Dublin, are training at the moment, and so they should be. They cannot take a full month off in the middle of the season and then only have 2 weeks (1 of which is the week of game) to prepare for the first round. The club championships in most counties that are run properly do not take place until August. The club season in meath should run like this:
February (last two weeks) - June (Last week) = AFL, BFL, AHL and BHL (Including finals)
July = Complete month, holidays and prepare for champ
August - October = Football and Hurling championship
For the above to work the following needs to happen
1. Abolish cup competitions (Feis Cup etc)
2. Make SFC, IFC and JFC four groups of four
3. AFL and BFL need to be played on the same weekends, preferably AFL games first. Most teams should have enough to field both and it ensures players who are not making first team but training with them game time at the same time as first team players, and enthusiasm for training will improve as a result.
How the league would work:
example 6 week period:
week 1 - ALF/BLF Round 1
Week 2 - AFL/BFL Round 2
Week 3 - AHL/BHL Round 1
Week 4 - AFL/BFL Round 2
week 5 - AFL/BFL Round 3
Week 6 - AHL/BHL Round 2
The reason for two weeks in a row of football and only one week for hurling is due to there being 13 rounds of football in a season and only 7 in hurling." BigJoe it depends on what you are trying to achieve with this set up. It certainly frees up county players to concentrate on the county. Is that the right thing to do ? I think since professionalism was introduced for the county set up the club scene has weakened considerably all over the country. The A and B Leagues and Feis cup are very much secondary competitions. It wasn't always like that as clubs had their county players available for many of these league matches and to win a league or Feis cup was a big deal. For clubs nowadays it is all about the championships and to expect club players to train from February for the real competition that starts in August as you suggest will in my opinion lead to further drop outs from the club scene. Its very noticeable in my own parish how many talented players have just given up on GAA but play other sports that are better organised. This has a knock on effect to our county teams as often the best talent has moved on to other sports. The vibrant adult club scene in rugby has been decimated since professionalism was introduced to rugby a number of years ago and one cant help think that something similar is happening to the GAA particularly in counties with no recent success. Even this year the fixture schedule was set up that all club A league games were on the same weekend as Meath were due to play the league. That was not a coincidence. It was to stop clubs looking for their county players to play with them. I for one believe that we need to get the right balance between club and county participation and only when this is addressed will we attract the best players to play for both.
Poormouth (Meath) - Posts: 204 - 16/04/2018 17:01:17
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Replying To BigJoe14: "You are wrong about the day they did the bleep test, they did it on Wednesday and Sean Tobin has not left the panel. Harry Rooney, Brian Conlon, David Toner, Eoghan Green and Barry Dardis have left. It is ridiculous that people are even discussing Meaths training programme on this page. Every football county in the country, apart from Dublin, are training at the moment, and so they should be. They cannot take a full month off in the middle of the season and then only have 2 weeks (1 of which is the week of game) to prepare for the first round. The club championships in most counties that are run properly do not take place until August. The club season in meath should run like this:
February (last two weeks) - June (Last week) = AFL, BFL, AHL and BHL (Including finals)
July = Complete month, holidays and prepare for champ
August - October = Football and Hurling championship
For the above to work the following needs to happen
1. Abolish cup competitions (Feis Cup etc)
2. Make SFC, IFC and JFC four groups of four
3. AFL and BFL need to be played on the same weekends, preferably AFL games first. Most teams should have enough to field both and it ensures players who are not making first team but training with them game time at the same time as first team players, and enthusiasm for training will improve as a result.
How the league would work:
example 6 week period:
week 1 - ALF/BLF Round 1
Week 2 - AFL/BFL Round 2
Week 3 - AHL/BHL Round 1
Week 4 - AFL/BFL Round 2
week 5 - AFL/BFL Round 3
Week 6 - AHL/BHL Round 2
The reason for two weeks in a row of football and only one week for hurling is due to there being 13 rounds of football in a season and only 7 in hurling." You have reaffirmed my hope in Meath support. Thank you
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 16/04/2018 18:40:37
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Replying To BigJoe14: "I agree it would be difficult to field A and B teams in same weekend but not impossible. An alternative to with B League is from April until June to play B League on Wednesday nights mid week while the long evenings are in. We cannot continue the way we are going with fixtures and the complete uncertainty surrounding them. I appreciate the weather has been bad so far this year but the way fixtures are handled at moment is crazy. The A Leagues are very competive now a days and teams take them very seriously and they would work very well from February to June in my opinion, and a bullet proof holiday period of July with no matches fixed will give everyone a breather after the leagues and they would be then hungry as ever for championship in SUMMER weather conditions in August. Nobody wants to play championship this time of year but we have to at the minute due to the ridiculous situation we have with the amount of group games to be played. Playing 5 group games is way over the top and a burden to everyone. If the championships were 4 groups of four you would have the group matches in Football and Hurling complete by the end of August having only started at the beginning, you have your knockout stages in September and finals the first 2 weeks in October. Decent people in Meath have tried twice to get the four groups of four in Meath done, the first time was successful, and then voted back out a month later, which was disgraceful and we are now paying for it as result and again this year they tried to get it in but the grey heads of delegates, who are not in tune with what the problems and concerns of the modern day player, voted against it again. Fixtures in Meath are at breaking point and this reform is needed immediately! Four groups of four guarantees teams FOUR win at all cost Championship matches (Fourth being either QF or relegation play off) and this would only be a good thing for Meath." You make excellent sense
royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 16/04/2018 18:42:35
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Meath play Laois next Tuesday night in Graiguecullen at 7.30pm. Should be interesting to see what kind of team Andy puts out.
RoylerKing (Meath) - Posts: 809 - 18/04/2018 23:03:20
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Replying To Poormouth: "BigJoe it depends on what you are trying to achieve with this set up. It certainly frees up county players to concentrate on the county. Is that the right thing to do ? I think since professionalism was introduced for the county set up the club scene has weakened considerably all over the country. The A and B Leagues and Feis cup are very much secondary competitions. It wasn't always like that as clubs had their county players available for many of these league matches and to win a league or Feis cup was a big deal. For clubs nowadays it is all about the championships and to expect club players to train from February for the real competition that starts in August as you suggest will in my opinion lead to further drop outs from the club scene. Its very noticeable in my own parish how many talented players have just given up on GAA but play other sports that are better organised. This has a knock on effect to our county teams as often the best talent has moved on to other sports. The vibrant adult club scene in rugby has been decimated since professionalism was introduced to rugby a number of years ago and one cant help think that something similar is happening to the GAA particularly in counties with no recent success. Even this year the fixture schedule was set up that all club A league games were on the same weekend as Meath were due to play the league. That was not a coincidence. It was to stop clubs looking for their county players to play with them. I for one believe that we need to get the right balance between club and county participation and only when this is addressed will we attract the best players to play for both." I agreed with you and not sure what BigJoe hopes to achieve by having fewer games that are taken seriously by all players (unlike the leagues where most teams are only interested in staying in that division). The idea that fewer competitive matches will improve the standard of football is baffling.
browncows (Meath) - Posts: 2342 - 19/04/2018 11:18:15
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Replying To browncows: "I agreed with you and not sure what BigJoe hopes to achieve by having fewer games that are taken seriously by all players (unlike the leagues where most teams are only interested in staying in that division). The idea that fewer competitive matches will improve the standard of football is baffling." Well it seems to be working in counties like Dublin just fine!! A round robin group of 3 teams I think!! Every game is like a final then and brings a more competitive edge, unlike the current system here where you only need to win 2 games out of 5 (a draw in either of the other 3) in the group and still have a chance to qualify for the knockout stage, hence the point that the real competitive football only starts in August!!
ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 557 - 19/04/2018 11:39:48
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'Morale was low... There was tension in the camp'
http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2018/0418/955530-morale-was-low-there-was-tension-in-the-camp/
Thought it was about mens Seniors
Analyst (Meath) - Posts: 1467 - 19/04/2018 13:08:32
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Replying To browncows: "I agreed with you and not sure what BigJoe hopes to achieve by having fewer games that are taken seriously by all players (unlike the leagues where most teams are only interested in staying in that division). The idea that fewer competitive matches will improve the standard of football is baffling." Interesting club league system introduced in Monaghan to address the club v county participation. Clubs will have half their league games with their county players and these games will be worth 5 points. Games without county players will be worth 2 points. Great to see the Monaghan clubs address this issue and I would love to see the same thing happening here.
Poormouth (Meath) - Posts: 204 - 19/04/2018 14:55:37
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Replying To Poormouth: "Interesting club league system introduced in Monaghan to address the club v county participation. Clubs will have half their league games with their county players and these games will be worth 5 points. Games without county players will be worth 2 points. Great to see the Monaghan clubs address this issue and I would love to see the same thing happening here." Top 2 in our Div 1 league are Skryne and Kells, i dont think either have anyone on county panel so how does that work for those teams.
Analyst (Meath) - Posts: 1467 - 19/04/2018 15:35:19
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Replying To ratlag: "Well it seems to be working in counties like Dublin just fine!! A round robin group of 3 teams I think!! Every game is like a final then and brings a more competitive edge, unlike the current system here where you only need to win 2 games out of 5 (a draw in either of the other 3) in the group and still have a chance to qualify for the knockout stage, hence the point that the real competitive football only starts in August!!" If you go to the first 2/3 rounds of championship football in Meath at any grade you will see damp dreary games with not much intensity as teams know its not the end of the world if you lose the first round or even both round 1and 2 as they know they can still scrape through or barely stay up, which St Colmcilles managed to do last year without even winning a single game! If that doesn't say something is wrong with it I don't know what does!
BigJoe14 (Meath) - Posts: 932 - 19/04/2018 15:35:51
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Replying To Analyst: "Top 2 in our Div 1 league are Skryne and Kells, i dont think either have anyone on county panel so how does that work for those teams." Not sure exactly but I like the concept. Hoganstand Monaghan has more details.
Poormouth (Meath) - Posts: 204 - 19/04/2018 16:50:31
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Replying To BigJoe14: "If you go to the first 2/3 rounds of championship football in Meath at any grade you will see damp dreary games with not much intensity as teams know its not the end of the world if you lose the first round or even both round 1and 2 as they know they can still scrape through or barely stay up, which St Colmcilles managed to do last year without even winning a single game! If that doesn't say something is wrong with it I don't know what does!" Your point about cilles makes no sense. Last year St Colmcilles drew with Blackhall but had a better scoring record so Blackhall went into the relegation battle. Exact same situation could happen with a group of four so how will that be an improvement using that argument. I for one am looking forward to good competitive championship football battles on the field this weekend. I don't expect many games to be damp or dreary as players and teams give it their all,
Poormouth (Meath) - Posts: 204 - 19/04/2018 18:37:53
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We played that system in late 90s early noughties........4 groups of 4....everyone complained that the last game in alot of groups was dead rubber or there were too many ties in each group so they kicked it to touch. IMO it was far better and we should get it back and also cut senior to 16 teams. So what if there is the odd playoff in a group.....still alot less games and far more competitive
southmeathgael (Meath) - Posts: 885 - 19/04/2018 19:52:55
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Replying To southmeathgael: "We played that system in late 90s early noughties........4 groups of 4....everyone complained that the last game in alot of groups was dead rubber or there were too many ties in each group so they kicked it to touch. IMO it was far better and we should get it back and also cut senior to 16 teams. So what if there is the odd playoff in a group.....still alot less games and far more competitive" players want to play games. And you want to go and take games away from them.
juicy (Meath) - Posts: 399 - 20/04/2018 08:59:44
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Replying To juicy: "players want to play games. And you want to go and take games away from them." Players want to play competitive games....they also want to be able to live their lives outside of football. The fact of the matter is the majority of players are in favour of 16 team championships with less games but a more competitive atmosphere in them all. Even players from the weaker teams in both senior and intermediate who, if it went to 16 teams know that it would mean them dropping a division are in favour as it means they have a chance of competeing for a title instead of just scraping by!!!
The problem with the vote at county board meetings is that the players opinions arent taken into account, its delegates and people who haven't played in years but like that "status" of being a Senior, or Intermediate club that are voting. The season is to long and drawn out, and doesn't get serious until August and thats a FACT, not an opinion of just mine or one or two on this, that is a majority feeling of players in Meath.
ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 557 - 20/04/2018 09:39:54
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ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 237 - It may be the opinion of many (and these are the many who have not won a championship). Teams who are serious about the championship treat the first matches very seriously, however I would like to see the championship started and finished without a 2 to3 month break.
I do agree that 16 teams would be better, however removing a couple of teams or adding a couple will not improve the standard of football. The clubs produce the players and unfortunately development squads have done nothing to improve our games over the years.
browncows (Meath) - Posts: 2342 - 20/04/2018 10:41:27
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Replying To browncows: "ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 237 - It may be the opinion of many (and these are the many who have not won a championship). Teams who are serious about the championship treat the first matches very seriously, however I would like to see the championship started and finished without a 2 to3 month break.
I do agree that 16 teams would be better, however removing a couple of teams or adding a couple will not improve the standard of football. The clubs produce the players and unfortunately development squads have done nothing to improve our games over the years." While I respect your opinion on this, I have to disagree. The reason being (and I mean this in the most respectful way possible) but teams like Blackhall, Rathkenny etc know that realisticlly they will not win a Senior Championship at the moment and will do enough to survive which means the drive from the players and club as a whole is not the same as Simonstown, Summerhill, Ratoath, Dunboyne etc who all have realistic chances of winning each year. This mentality can become infectious to younger players coming through and have a hugely negative impact on the club. However by reducing to 16 teams and these clubs dropping to intermediate, all of a sudden a team that had very little chance of competeing at their current level now have a chance to win a Championship medal, and when a club is competeing on a continuous basis the it spreads right down through the entire club, the best example being my own club Ratoath, in the last 6-7 years since winning the Junior title and Minor the year previous they have been competing in Division 1 at most underage grades and winning their fair share as well. Yes the increase in population does help but doesn't guarantee success, the underage has fed off the belief and drive from the Adult section.
ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 557 - 20/04/2018 11:00:25
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