Whammo86 I'd agree. Colm Parkinson's proposal looks better. GPA whilst better than current championship would have too many Dublin v Div 4 team type matches.
But main thing is change is needed very soon. All Ireland based on provincial competitions has had its day.
There's flaws in both the GPA's and Parkinson's proposals. Parkinson says give 2 championship points to the provincial winners to make sure teams take it seriously. And who is going to dominate the provincials? The same teams that dominate the championship...so you would be giving them a free pass to fall asleep/ experiment in the early group stages of the championship.Still I think it is better than the GPA proposal.
In their group stage proposal, the GPA have lots and lots of games -- most of which will be foregone conclusions and meaningless -- just to eliminate 8 or 10 of the weakest teams.Most people will tune out of that. People refer to the GPA proposal as revenue-generating (maybe it will be, but it is not necessarily so) and therefore it will be attractive to the GAA itself. Fair enough, but people are being extremely niave if they think the extra revenue will be poured into grounds etc.If extra revenue is generated the players will demand it and it will be a major stepping stone to semi-professionalism. Now increasingly I am not having an issue with this because in the long term, I'm thinking semi professionalism is the only way inter-county GAA will survive. The lure/challenge of rugby is getting stronger all the time (imagine 90k people turned up for the trouncing of Romania last week even though everyone going knew it would be a mismatch) and God knows how stronger it will be if Ireland reach the World Cup final. I know a Dublin gaa man whose sons have gone over entirely to rugby because he says rugby clubs look after their players better. This is the challenge facing the GAA and if the GPA proposal facilitates semi professionalism it maybe the way to go because unfortunately we cannot beat back the waves.
I agree Poolsturgeon I don't like the 2 points for provincial champions part of it, but that's a small detail.
I also agree with your points regarding the revenue generated. More games does not equal more money especially when you are relegating the provincials to becoming a preseason competition and the games you're putting in their place are not particularly interesting.
I think the biggest improvement the GAA could make is to stop sectioning off their competitions. Play competitions alongside other competitions. League one week, championship another. A team gets knocked out early in the championship it's not such a big deal. They've still got league games to play.
People question where you fit club games into that but in my experience club games don't get played in the weeks between games anyway because guys are training with the county. I'd love it if they just played the season with very little breaks in inter county fixtures. Got it finished quickly. St Patrick's day to August bank holiday for instance and then allowed club players a proper club championship.
During the inter county season club leagues can be played without the county players.
I welcome the proposals and I hope they get a good airing.
Yes change is needed however there is an even bigger issue which needs to be addressed and that is the disparity in resources between the big counties and the smaller ones Leitrim being a particular case.
How can those weaker counties compete against the stronger units unless there is a transfer of resources to them to enable them to focus on development squads and also equip their senior teams to be the best they can.
I am disappointed the GPA has not highlighted this issue.Every year there is lip service to doing something for the weaker counties but nothing is happening.
I support the Wham and Tirawley sentiments above - I prefer a re-jigged 2-chance for most, and 3-chance for 12 teams that I've peddled here before - and I'm not a big fan of round robin due to too many dead games. However, if I were forced to accept the GPA plan, I feel it needs a jolt with some 'groups of death'. I would tweak as follows - 2 groups each with a pair of seeds from 1 & 2; 1 & 3; 2 & 3; or 3 & 4. Or, instead of 2 pairs, 3 of one seed and 1 of the other. Group games eliminate 13 in lieu of 8 teams - 3 weakest 2nd placed v 3 best 3rd placed in playoff rd.
If you're going down a group path I think it can be done better.
2 tiers.
Tier A 5 groups of 4. Tier B 3 groups of 4
Tier B group winners and best runner up go to semi finals. Tier B winners goes into second round of Tier A championship.
Tier B group winners go into All Ireland quarterfinals. Tier B runners up go into second round alongside the Tier B champion. 3 winners of this round join the 5 group winners in the quarterfinal.
I think this would make the group stage much more interesting than the GPA proposal. Fewer mismatches, gives weaker counties a secondary competition whilst also still allowing them a route back into the main championship.
In terms of qualifying for the Tier A you'd have the 8 provincial finalists (Tier B can they start at the time of the provincial finals), the previous years Tier B champion and the next best 11 from the league.
In terms of seeding for the A competition you'd have the 4 provincial champions seeded in the top pot plus 1 more from the league. The rest of the seeding is then determined from league positions. Gives some reward for winning your province.
If you're going down a group path I think it can be done better.
2 tiers.
Tier A 5 groups of 4. Tier B 3 groups of 4
Tier B group winners and best runner up go to semi finals. Tier B winners goes into second round of Tier A championship.
Tier B group winners go into All Ireland quarterfinals. Tier B runners up go into second round alongside the Tier B champion. 3 winners of this round join the 5 group winners in the quarterfinal.
I think this would make the group stage much more interesting than the GPA proposal. Fewer mismatches, gives weaker counties a secondary competition whilst also still allowing them a route back into the main championship.
In terms of qualifying for the Tier A you'd have the 8 provincial finalists (Tier B can they start at the time of the provincial finals), the previous years Tier B champion and the next best 11 from the league.
In terms of seeding for the A competition you'd have the 4 provincial champions seeded in the top pot plus 1 more from the league. The rest of the seeding is then determined from league positions. Gives some reward for winning your province.
Sorry that should've read Tier A group winners go into quarter final. Tier A runners up go into second round with Tier B winner.
Overall the GPA system has merit and anything is better than what we have now. But I really fear the missmatches which will wear thin and crowds will drop. It will get the Dubs out of Dublin and there will be much crying over tickets when the Dubs have to head to Sligo or Derry. Wont be many Kerry lads travelling up to see them play Antrim or Louth.
I still think the same format with a top tier of 16 (8 to progress, 4 to qfinal and 4 to play off), 2nd tier of 8 (2 to playoffs) and 3 rd tier of 8 (winner to enter playoffs) would be better and provide a more even standard and very few dead rubbers.
I also really like some of the proposals mentioned by others
1. redistribution of resources - greater share of gate receipts should go to lower tier teams to pay for approved development plans (infrastructure) 2. Really like the idea of bonus points system - would go for extra points for 3 goals of more, 20 points or more, loss by less than 4 points.