Hi all, Im just going putting this topic out here. It is time for GAA club players to say "No More"!! I myself, a very committed club footballer has had enough of county boards, county managers and the general GAA Hierachy giving no respect to the club players around the country. For the past month, in our own county we have no games played (league or championship) because our county team has progressed through the qualifier system to the 3rd round. and what has made this worse, the CCC of the county board have not once communicated with the clubs what they are going to do in relation to the round of games that have been called off. so we are left looking for challenge games in the month of july when all you really want to do is play competitive league or championship games.

Club players around the country have to unite in some way to bring the power back to the clubs. Year after year GAA Presidents and other top officals come out with statements about the clubs being the cornerstone of what the GAA is built on, but what do they do about it?? Its all lip service as far as I can see! action speaks louder than words!

The GPA have no interest in what is happening at club level, they are only for the elite!!

But the GAA, the GPA and the County Boards need to realise that without the clubs, there would be no players to fill Stadiums throughout the country from May to September.

I'm just wondering is this the general feeling out there among club players??

I would like to hear your views on the above topic...

GAA_Obsessive85 (Sligo) - Posts: 87 - 08/07/2014 12:18:27    1615660

What you say sounds like a local issue because in Donegal there is club football every weekend.
Indeed last weekend my own club played on Fri & Sun & that included the county players.

I'd say the new proposal from HQ to play out the club championships in the calendar year will put a stop to this nonsense.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 08/07/2014 12:59:09    1615689

I'm surprised GAA_Obsessive85 that even league games have been cancelled in Sligo. Was this the case in previous years or did the cancellation of league games during Sligo's championship only come into play this year?

lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2989 - 08/07/2014 13:40:32    1615714

Yes they could have their first meeting in January and by April they have to disband for the summer, and then get back into the swing of it in October.

Pinkie (Wexford) - Posts: 4100 - 08/07/2014 13:51:09    1615720

county managers should not be dictating to the county board
simple as

valley84 (Westmeath) - Posts: 1890 - 08/07/2014 14:19:55    1615736

This is the first time league games have been called off!! Championship has been pushed back 3-4 weeks to see how the county team go.

For example this weekend, all league games cancelled because Sligo are playing the qualifiers on Saturday. I don't understand why games cannot be fixed for Sunday evening. And the CCC have not communicated with clubs at all.

When the championship does kick off again, it will be ran off over a 6-7 week period, playing week in week out!!

GAA_Obsessive85 (Sligo) - Posts: 87 - 08/07/2014 14:31:32    1615748

Excellent post GAA_Obsessive85. You speak for thousands of players in all counties. There is way to much messing around with club games over the County team playing a match. Inter county managers blackmail county players into not playing with their clubs.

Clubgaa (Limerick) - Posts: 879 - 08/07/2014 14:54:16    1615773

Happens in Antrim too with only the lower leagues having games in the build up to the County matches in both hurling and football. With the hurlers being in Leinster and then playing the round robin and then the qualifiers it has meant that the top divisions in the Hurling leagues have only played 7, 8 or 9 games in a league which started at the beginning of April. Football leagues are similar in that they are now only at the half way stage of fixtures played. Now, with the County Championships starting in both codes in the coming weeks it means that the leagues will have the odd game here and there and it means that the final scheduled round of league games is for October, but as there have been unscheduled breaks it means this date will be later and its common place for league games (which started in April) still being played in November. When you consider most clubs start their pre-season either end Dec or early January it is a long old season for the non-county playing club player for what is in effect not a lot of matches.

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 08/07/2014 15:21:25    1615790

GAA_Obsessive85
Just wondering did you do anything about this?

We were meant to be playing hurling on Wednesday but once Tipp won on Sunday, all games involving county players were called off.
Why bother fixing a game in the first place.
There will be chaos after the All Ireland final now. Back in 2010, we had games under lights mid week.
I think this is unacceptable, and a total insult to club players.

Joe_Bloggs (Tipperary) - Posts: 186 - 19/08/2014 10:29:26    1638723

Whatever about championship matches being postponed, there is little justification for league games being put back. In Mayo, there is a system of "starred games", where teams have to field for a certain number of fixtures, with or without their county players. Generally, it works fairly well, though obviously teams with higher levels of representation on the county panel wouldn't be mad about it.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 19/08/2014 11:53:28    1638789

The GPA were supposed to be around to help club player to but they are only interested in county players. Setting fixtures is very simple.

It takes 4 matches to win a Provincial title and 3 more to win the All Ireland - 7 matches (max 8 if progress through qualifiers)

It takes 7 matches to win a county title (assuming 16 teams and 4x4 round robin to start) and another 6 to win an all Ireland (total 13)

Inter county league finishes mid May giving 28 weekends to complete 20 matches and give players December off.

28 weekends - 8 interounty matches and a rest week for intercounty players before an intercounty match (and gives club players a chance to plan a holiday)

You can easily make it work provided ye let the club league carry on without county players and don't let the county manager cancel matches. This will only happen if fixtures are dictated by the GAA (not county board), all matches play extra time and no cancellations for funerals or minor matches.

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1106 - 19/08/2014 12:28:21    1638815

all matches play extra time and no cancellations for funerals or minor matches.

I think funerals/deaths are an exception and are a justifiable reason for getting a match called off. Can only speak of where I come from but it is a rural community where the GAA club is the lifeblood and which everyone has some connection to. If someone belonging to someone within the team/set up has died then I would not expect a game to go on ahead out of respect.

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 20/08/2014 09:36:13    1639150

'You can easily make it work provided ye let the club league carry on without county players and don't let the county manager cancel matches.'

Not gonna happen.Ultimately clubs could get relegated as a result of not being able to field their county players. FActor in Dual players and its a mess. This is when the co manager cancels games cause his players will , rightly , intend to play for their clubs in league games that could decide the future relegation/promotion.

The only solution is to play everything with all players .. It really is that simple .

Finsceal (None) - Posts: 559 - 20/08/2014 11:08:47    1639207

08/07/2014 12:18:27 GAA_Obsessive85
Hi all, Im just going putting this topic out here. It is time for GAA club players to say "No More"!! I myself, a very committed club footballer has had enough of county boards, county managers and the general GAA Hierachy giving no respect to the club players around the country. For the past month, in our own county we have no games played (league or championship) because our county team has progressed through the qualifier system to the 3rd round. and what has made this worse, the CCC of the county board have not once communicated with the clubs what they are going to do in relation to the round of games that have been called off. so we are left looking for challenge games in the month of july when all you really want to do is play competitive league or championship games.
Club players around the country have to unite in some way to bring the power back to the clubs. Year after year GAA Presidents and other top officals come out with statements about the clubs being the cornerstone of what the GAA is built on, but what do they do about it?? Its all lip service as far as I can see! action speaks louder than words! The GPA have no interest in what is happening at club level, they are only for the elite!! But the GAA, the GPA and the County Boards need to realise that without the clubs, there would be no players to fill Stadiums throughout the country from May to September. I'm just wondering is this the general feeling out there among club players??
I would like to hear your views on the above topic... You don't need a players association for club players though. Too wide an association and hard to define who should get represented.
Clubs should unite but not to create another level of bureaucracy.
08/07/2014 12:59:09
MuckrossHead
What you say sounds like a local issue because in Donegal there is club football every weekend.
Indeed last weekend my own club played on Fri & Sun & that included the county players.

I'd say the new proposal from HQ to play out the club championships in the calendar year will put a stop to this nonsense.Will playing club championships in calendar year really stop this nonsense? Wont it just see a lot of games rushed into final months of the year unless serious changes are made to how club championships are run in each county. When it gets to provincial club level there isn't any issues as theres so few games

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 20/08/2014 11:29:58    1639225

19/08/2014 12:28:21 tirawleybaron
The GPA were supposed to be around to help club player to but they are only interested in county players. Setting fixtures is very simple.
It takes 4 matches to win a Provincial title and 3 more to win the All Ireland - 7 matches (max 8 if progress through qualifiers)
It takes 7 matches to win a county title (assuming 16 teams and 4x4 round robin to start) and another 6 to win an all Ireland (total 13)
Inter county league finishes mid May giving 28 weekends to complete 20 matches and give players December off.
28 weekends - 8 interounty matches and a rest week for intercounty players before an intercounty match (and gives club players a chance to plan a holiday)
You can easily make it work provided ye let the club league carry on without county players and don't let the county manager cancel matches. This will only happen if fixtures are dictated by the GAA (not county board), all matches play extra time and no cancellations for funerals or minor matches. How many counties have a club system where its 16 teams and 4x4 round robin format?
Tipperary have no such format in either sport. Using mix of division championship in group stage then knockout then county championship....
County league split now into several cup competitions giving several games but most games for clubs are in the championship.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 20/08/2014 11:39:34    1639230

Declan Fanning is looking for the matches to be called off this weekend then aswell. Pure madness, hes talking about 2010 when Tipp won and he was hurling out of his skin. The weekend match that he played that year was a divisional final, this year they're only semi finals. So that would mean we'd be two matches behind where we were in 2010 if they were called off.
Also his club are a dual club and will have a few football matches to play after the All Ireland.
Its some bloody mess.

I didnt book a holiday all Summer cos I didnt want to miss games, turn out, I could have went away for the whole Summer.

Joe_Bloggs (Tipperary) - Posts: 186 - 20/08/2014 12:10:25    1639256