All sports have a massive gulf in class between the top and the bottom. The difference with the GAA sports is that the option to make changes via a draft/transfer system does not exist . Therefore unlike the vast majority of major sport you have to play the hand you're dealt. International rugby/soccer is of course comparable and in these the same teams dominate time and time again in the same way. But I do agree that results such as the kildare debacle should never happen at intercounty level. The provincial system needs to be scrapped . We need a two/possibly three tier championship based on a league system with playoffs. How many teams at start of the championship really believed they could win Sam? I reckon 6 maybe 7, with a tierd system the number believing they can win (their version of Sam ) would be in the 20's and would increase motivation straight away for many counties thus leading to higher standards.

catchturnscore (Longford) - Posts: 149 - 03/08/2015 20:58:18    1763391

Galwaydublin you make a excellent point .

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 03/08/2015 21:12:40    1763408

You hit the nail on the head there galwaydublin and saved me a job posting same. My exact independent thoughts as well. Couldn't fathom why no one had already mentioned it so 10/10.

You exclude 50%+ of the counties from the All Ireland proper at your peril. That really is the absolute nuclear option, and to my mind, yes the widening gap in the championship is inextricably linked to the the revamped league divisions of 15 years or so ago. Championship matches were in general terms much closer in the 90's. Go figure

It baffles me also, as to which counties these 'pundits'', believe should be 'allowed' into the All Ireland proper. Most of them save for Cake yesterday evening, are all beating the same drum. If their rationale/mantra is to be believed why not just have an elite club of four who play two semis and a final. As we're constantly told on RTE, there's only really 3-4 teams who can win it so why really bother with the other 28.

Should Kildare not be allowed into it now? Perhaps Cork too, as after all they were hammered by the Lillies notwithstanding that they in fact drew with the tournament favourites in this years Munster final a few weeks ago. Where does the line get drawn? Mayo have participated in some of the most lopsided finals of all times over the last 20 years. Some of their loosing margins were on a par with what's happening this year. A certain pundit who to my mind first initiated this very dangerous course, seems to forget that.

Passer_By (Carlow) - Posts: 509 - 03/08/2015 21:45:46    1763447

I do not share people's pessimism.

The Kerry hurlers can be an inspiration for lower league football counties. Fermanagh were like the Kerry hurlers of the football year, notably improving in both league and championship.

Tipperary and Clare are making progress.

Roscommon are making progress.

Ulster has it's usual competitiveness.

Leinster is a serious problem. They cannot mount any challenge whatsoever against the capital.

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 7853 - 03/08/2015 21:48:00    1763451

Yeah Garymac Kerry had won 9 before our county board was even set up. Stupid point from that poster about kerry being the only team bla bla bla and 37 all ireland bla bla bla

In my lifetime they have won 30% Very good I agree but doesnt mean they are the only team

DoireCityFC (Derry) - Posts: 1580 - 04/08/2015 08:58:37    1763484

Passer by - under no circumstances should we have less than a 32 county championship. Dundalk are allowed the opportunity to try and qualify for the champions league, so every county should be allowed to try and win the championship. Dominick Corrigan stated on thank GAA its Friday the other night that just because Fermanagh and their like probably wont win the all Ireland doesn't mean they shouldn't try.

Cant the so called weaker counties have both. Cant Carlow mar shampla play in the Leinster, All Ireland and after that a B championship if they are not good enough. I would rearrange the season and have 2 divisions of 16 teams in the league, all play 15 Games. Four up and Down. Provincials as stand alone competitions to be run along with the all Ireland championship. All Ireland championship should be eight groups of 4, 6 games home and away, top 2 in the last 16, bottom 2 to contest the shield championship. If that's Dublin or Carlow then so be it. This way, the teams would more or less be paying every week from January to August at worst. If teams in any given year are not good enough for the All Ireland A, then they have a competition they can strive for while competing in A, and having the chance to win the big prize.

Ill give an example where it did work. A few years, the finalists of the Galway Junior A championship were always from Senior Clubs. Only Junior clubs could enter connacht. To remedy this, the Galway county Board decided to have a Junior 1 competition for just the Junior clubs, which they played as well as the Junior A. Its raised the standard so much that last 3 teams left in Junior A 2014 were all Junior clubs. If they keep going, there are 4 traditionally junior clubs who'll be well able for intermediate in the next five years. The point being if you want weaker counties to improve, they need to be playing more competitive games, not less. (NOT MEANINGLESS CHALLENGES WHICH ABSOLUTELY DO MY HEAD IN). This is another thing, since the thread is how to close the gap. I agree that counties have to take some responsibility, but the structure needs to be right. HOW DOES IT BENEFIT CARLOW, WATERFORD, LEITRIM and the likes to be playing 2 competitive games after the clocks go back? (CHALLENGES DON'T COUNT)

The GAA in general is guilty of games promotion suicide. It only survives because of the loyalty to the county thing.

galwaydublin (Galway) - Posts: 226 - 04/08/2015 11:01:10    1763563

For the record Passerby, of Mayo's 7 losses since 1989, only 2006 was double- digit, 13 or 14 points, and only 2004 at 8 points was also above 4-5 point margins. 2 were lost by a point. It's funny how the facts get lost through media distortion. Mind you, I'd happily swap 6 x 20 point hammerings to turn one of the 1 point losses into a win. While I think Galwaydublin hit the nail on the head, a return to the old league format might just pull the runway 6 or so sides back into the pack, rather than raising the general level. It might also be that the genie is out of the bottle now and we're on the road to professionalism.

Pericles (Mayo) - Posts: 2521 - 04/08/2015 14:46:42    1763753

ROS1
County: Roscommon
Posts: 328

1762971 The gap between the top 4 and the rest is massive. The media seem obsessed with the idea of a 2 tier championship but this will do nothing to close the gap between the top 4 and the next 12, similarly do nothing to help the worst 3 or 4 counties. The only effect it would have is to financially cripple a lot of smaller counties

Yep great point. Very little between number 6 and number 20.

sportsfan14 (USA) - Posts: 281 - 04/08/2015 15:25:22    1763791

The FA Cup has numerous rounds of games before the bigger teams get involved. Could we see a similar approach in the AI championship? If the Div 1 teams were seeded to a last 16 game against 8 qualifiers from the rest then we would have the best 16 teams left in the championship. The way that the structures are at the minutes some weaker teams are able to enter the quarter finals stage easier and although it turns out to be a great day for them it isn't a great spectacle to see a team get hammered by a superior opposition in first gear!

Tir Conaill Abu (Donegal) - Posts: 1671 - 04/08/2015 15:38:19    1763811