Has the time come or is approaching fast where the GAA as an organisation is becoming so far removed from being an organisation of which its members can be proud of, to be part of and relate to?

With constant outcry at the disparity between teams in the championship and the structures in place, HQ's clear lack of interest in the average player and his/her welfare and the lack of respect that is shown in numerous ways to the 'smaller' counties will we soon reach the point of no return at which Gaels will turn away from playing and following clubs/county teams in favour of other sports?

while the championship structure and player welfare has been talked to death up to now, the latest issue of moving the Kildare/ Mayo game to Croke Park really is a sickener and if it had been us in Kildares position my blood would be boiling. HQ have no idea what is going on it seems as their rule stated that a team who is drawn out 1st in this round of qualifiers will be at home. in the case where a div 3/4 team is drawn out second, they will get home advantage if drawn against a div 1/2 team. these are the rules and yet nobody seemed to deem it possible of a situation Kildare now find themselves in. I for one would love to see Kildare hold their ground like Roscommon and fight to play it at home. The GAA bend over backwards for teams like Dublin and Mayo time and time again. Home advantage should mean home advantage especially in the qualifiers!!!

The talk will be of all the wonderful Mayo fans who travel to see their team time and time again and that all their Season ticket holders will need to be looked after....TOUGH!! Take it up with your own county board who issue these tickets in full knowledge something like this can happen. Look at the soccer in England a team like Manchester United can be drawn away to a much smaller side in the FA cup and that game is set there regardless of capacity or Season ticket holders!!

Similarly, I think it will be an absolute disgrace if Dublin get to play 3 or even more games in the super 8's in Croke Park. What was the point of bringing in the format change if GAA cantg even stick by the principle of their idea? One Home, One Away, One Neutral! Stop thinking about the coffers in your bulging pockets and STOP appeasing the likes of Dublin and Mayo CONSTANTLY!

I may be ranting in vein, but I just wonder how much more the regular GAA fan/gael can take of the blatant disregard HQ have for so so so many counties/people.

LongfordSham (Longford) - Posts: 106 - 25/06/2018 16:35:47    2114783

Malonemagic (Laois) - Posts: 766 - 25/06/2018 16:43:15    2114789

totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 916 - 25/06/2018 16:50:50    2114796

Honestly, what if Kildare had made it to the Super 8s and their home game was against ourselves or the Dubs? We have a big support too, would the GAA have insisted they move to Croker? So what's the point in home advantage if a county ground that is smaller isn't good enough for the Super 8s?

Imagine if Leitrim pull off a couple more shocks, I know it's dreamland maybe but just imagine it. Would their home advantage be taken away from them too?

It's a nonsense

JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 25/06/2018 16:53:06    2114798

Totally agree with this post. I hope that Kildare do not roll over on this. However, the precedent was set earlier in the summer with the Wicklow/Dublin game so I think the horse has bolted.

abc_123 (Sligo) - Posts: 6 - 25/06/2018 17:10:12    2114806

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1741 - 25/06/2018 17:21:22    2114815

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1741 - 25/06/2018 17:22:02    2114817

Just another of example of the haves and the have nots in the gaa. Croke park and the media are only interested in a few handpicked counties the like. Whether it be this case or the big push for a tirred championship or last sunday where the connacht final was supposed to be sold out yet there was rows and rows of empty seats and terrace area. The comments of the president of connacht gaa and this runs through the suits in the gaa.

ros1 (Roscommon) - Posts: 1211 - 25/06/2018 17:55:35    2114841

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4896 - 25/06/2018 18:57:01    2114881

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7346 - 25/06/2018 19:29:28    2114895

neverright (Roscommon) - Posts: 1648 - 25/06/2018 20:32:15    2114947

completely agree with the sentiment here.
i created a similar thread,about the gaa not understanding young people.
look at what the gaa has become at grass roots.no club matches in most counties bar a few token county league games.
young people no longer care about the gaa yet they have to listen to talk of drink bans,dont book holidays for the next 3 months because you might have a match,etc.
the elite few administrators,managers,etc have stolen the game from those who created it and have forgotten the reasons why it was created.

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 26/06/2018 08:58:07    2115178

3 things that removed the GAA from grassroots people
1 TV deals, they (TV companies) just like soccer in England and Scotland are telling the GAA what times to have games so they can broadcast them Eir, RTE and Sky are involved
2 The qualifiers, this was suppose to help the weaker counties play more games but all we see is 1 or 2 weak counties get on a role for 1 year playing 3 or 4 games but aren't building on this the following year and its the big stronger counties that still make the quarter finals and semis every year
3 Concerts in Croke Park, this shows that the GAA want to make every penny that they can, we see every year how they ignore Croke Park residents and continue to push the boundaries around how many concerts they are allowed to host every year
All of the above affect grassroots, it affects clubs who have pile up of games to play and normally are still playing leading up to Christmas. The top brass have their own agenda, they don't give a damn what affect their decisions have on players, clubs, officers and the public. They (GAA) claim that the money generated goes back to the clubs but in my local club I don't see it, everything is increasing, insurance, entering competitions league and club championship is increasing, every cent they claim clubs are taking is taken back off them again

riverboys (Mayo) - Posts: 1389 - 28/06/2018 09:50:20    2116301

i would say a bigger reason than all of those riverboys is the inter county managers telling county boards when they can play club matches.
for me,this has decimated the club game in particular and morale and interest are on the floor in wexford anyway

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 28/06/2018 10:20:40    2116309

The biggest problem that the gaa has is that so many people in the organisation like the person who started this thread are so far removed of the realities of running such a large organisation that the complain about everything.

Some of the complaints include for example:

1) Teams should have home advantage no matter what size their ground is.
2) The gaa shouldn't enter tv deals with companies such as sky and they're trying to sell the product
3) The gaa has too much emphasis on county fixtures

Thank god some of you people aren't running the gaa. If you did the organisation would be broke, we wouldn't have croke park or other decent grounds around the country, there'd be no coaches going around the schools promoting our games and encouraging young people to take part. All these things take money and lots of it. Kildare wouldn't have been able to come running to central gaa when they had financial difficulties in earlier years.

In terms of the 3 specific complaints above (there are many more but can't be bothered going in to any more):

1) The gaa has always tried to maximise attendances and allow as many people to see our games as possible. That's what the gaa is about and why it's the best attended sport in the country. There is no excuse for a county with the support of Kildare and the money they have spent on outside manager not having a better ground with a higher capacity than Newbridge. It's not big enough to host big games and this issue has arisen numerous times. We should be encouraging familes and kids to attend our games not turn them away so someone can have home advantage. A pitch is a pitch and it is crazy so many people getting worked up about Kildare having to play in the best one in the country just 45 minutes from Newbridge.

2) Of the course the gaa needs tv deals and can't rely on RTE. If RTE didn't have competition for the games their coverage would be even worse and they'd pay as little as possible. As noted above the organisation needs money to survive and thrive, we can't be turning away millions out of ridiculous principals. And so what if sky want to promote the product - the more people interested in or attending our games the better. RTE don't exactly try to sell the games.

3) The county season has been tightened up to help clubs. But county boards can do a lot more. Games have to go on without the county players at this time of year and regular fixtures put in place for the majority of the players in the country. Do something like Monaghan did and play games with county players getting more points than one's without. This means clubs will accept more games without the county players and allow smoother fixtures. Then most county players will be freed up by early August and the most important part of the club season.

The gaa needs a strong county scene. It's what get national media coverage and attracts most people to the games. Without it we are losing an important vehicle to promote our games to young people and denying them the opportunity to compete at the top level of our sport.

It's time to end all this negativity about every decision that the gaa makes. It's time to get behind our club teams and county teams and get out supporting the games.

A Another (None) - Posts: 193 - 28/06/2018 10:53:34    2116323

WunderBar (Galway) - Posts: 290 - 28/06/2018 11:04:40    2116329

A Another that is complete bull.there are people on here busting their behinds in clubs,etc.
you talk about schools coaches-what is the point having schools coaches when the drop off rate is so alarming?
"The gaa has always tried to maximise attendances and allow as many people to see our games as possible." what about local economies,towns,etc who benefit hugely from matches played in provincial towns?i seen it first hand in wexford,the boost of the leinster hurling round robin has been immense.that is just as important as maximising attendances,and brings the games to the people and conversely people to the games.
fully agree with you re sky,etc.
the county season has been tightened up to help clubs yet in most counties it has had no effect.
"The gaa needs a strong county scene" it needs a strong club scene,where 99% of the players are.at the moment,our club scene is dying on our feet and there is no point talking about promoting the game to young people and then not giving them any games to play themselves.

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 28/06/2018 11:06:55    2116331

CurraghBill (Kildare) - Posts: 6 - 28/06/2018 11:13:56    2116336

Canuck (Waterford) - Posts: 2660 - 28/06/2018 13:59:45    2116414

PaudieSull1 (Down) - Posts: 738 - 28/06/2018 18:50:45    2116500