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A few points before I open...
1) There's a lot of talk about Kerry and Cork having an advantage playing in Munster. I agree that they have an advantage. However, I don't think it's as marked as some may feel it is. Personally, I think one decent game more before the last 8 is preferable, which I think is why Kerry do so well when they have to go through the back door. However, I still think it's preferable to a tough draw in Ulster from the preliminary round in Ulster.
2) ALL FOUR provincial championships are pretty thin on the ground as far as quality is concerned right now. I think Ulster is definitely the most competitive, but I'm not personally convinced that it's high on quality right now. I think Donegal, Monaghan and Armagh are good teams, but I don't think that right now Ulster is as strong as some say it is. However, over the past 25 years, I do think that overall it's been the best province, and remains a tough competition to win. It's preliminary round should be a match between the two lowest ranked teams at the time. Donegal have been roasted by Ulster draws in recent years.
This is a continuation of a post I put up yesterday. What I suggest is a 16 team All-Ireland series, with a certain amount of automatic 'All-Ireland Series' places on offer in each province. Munster and Connacht have only a few teams, so give them two automatic places. Give four to Leinster and Ulster. I'm suggesting four for Ulster as it has been the strongest province for the most part over the past 25, and this is a reflection of that. Have a co-efficient system to evalutate the provinces if things change.
All the championships should be seeded based on league position (which would also boost the league's importance)
Have a three round qualifier championship. Round one can feature first round losers in Connacht (2), Munster (2), Leinster (3) and the Ulster preliminary (1). This would generally be the weakest round.
In round two, the four winners would be joined by all the other teams (12) who have not qualified automatically. They play-off over two rounds to produce four 'Qualifiers' to joint the 12 automatic qualifiers.
For the last sixteen draw, seed the four provincial champions (generally the strongest pot) to play the four qualifiers (generally the weakest pot), and the provincial runner-ups (the second strongest pot) to play the four other automatic qualifiers. If all the provincial championships were seeded according to league position, this draw would be very fair. Teams from pots one and two could be given home advantage too, possibly.
This system evens out the imbalance that exists between the provinces, boosts the league's importance, keeps the provincial championships and doesn't devalue them, gives every team a shot and gets the 'real' championship underway earlier.
Treaty_Exile (Limerick) - Posts: 386 - 14/10/2014 17:16:25
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Yes, a Last 16 is desirable - how to get there is more of a challenge. I've come up with different ideas - my flagship being the '24/7', from 24 in the provincial stream, three KO rounds to get to 3 teams, with losers (12, 6 and 3) joining in respective rounds to the Qualifiers (remaining 8 'non-24' teams starting in Qual Rd 1 alone). This leads to a 'Last 13', with 5 winners from 10 teams in Qual Rd 4 joining 3 bye unbeaten prov champs (after Muns/ Conn champs playoff). The AI Series of 8 teams is as at present - 3 further rounds, for 7 in all.
Anyway, I digress. Along the lines of what you propose, I thought of a 'Double 32' format, all 32 in the current lopsided prov structure (no change) alongside all 32 entering the Qualifiers as well. The latter could be lopsided to favour the other teams and, for a variety of pairings, be 'inter-provincial' where possible. Teams need to continue winning in both streams to keep two chances.
I propose that Lein/Uls prov QF winners go to the SFs in both streams (last 16); only the 4 Muns/Conn Finalists, as well as half (4) of the Lein/Uls QF losers (those from the 'longer' half of the draw) get a bye to the Qualifier QF round; Other 16 start in Qual Rd 1 (after Prel Rd to accommodate NY and London). The Last 16 consist of 8 prov finalists and 8 from the Last Qual Rd. The Last 4 from each steam go to AI Series (qualifying from both gets bye to AI SFs).
omahant (USA) - Posts: 2570 - 21/10/2014 15:51:23
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21/10/2014 15:51:23 omahant
Yes, a Last 16 is desirable - how to get there is more of a challenge. I've come up with different ideas - my flagship being the '24/7', from 24 in the provincial stream, three KO rounds to get to 3 teams, with losers (12, 6 and 3) joining in respective rounds to the Qualifiers (remaining 8 'non-24' teams starting in Qual Rd 1 alone). This leads to a 'Last 13', with 5 winners from 10 teams in Qual Rd 4 joining 3 bye unbeaten prov champs (after Muns/ Conn champs playoff). The AI Series of 8 teams is as at present - 3 further rounds, for 7 in all.
Anyway, I digress. Along the lines of what you propose, I thought of a 'Double 32' format, all 32 in the current lopsided prov structure (no change) alongside all 32 entering the Qualifiers as well. The latter could be lopsided to favour the other teams and, for a variety of pairings, be 'inter-provincial' where possible. Teams need to continue winning in both streams to keep two chances.
I propose that Lein/Uls prov QF winners go to the SFs in both streams (last 16); only the 4 Muns/Conn Finalists, as well as half (4) of the Lein/Uls QF losers (those from the 'longer' half of the draw) get a bye to the Qualifier QF round; Other 16 start in Qual Rd 1 (after Prel Rd to accommodate NY and London). The Last 16 consist of 8 prov finalists and 8 from the Last Qual Rd. The Last 4 from each steam go to AI Series (qualifying from both gets bye to AI SFs). Your proposal should never and will never happen when part of it states the Munster and Connacht champions should play off for the right to go into the same round as the Leinster and Ulster champions
ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 21/10/2014 18:59:59
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