If you landed the Top role within the GAA, what Top 5 changes would you make?

Smaller counties are forgetten about
Small Clubs need a hand up
Fixtures for Club Players looked at
County Grounds saga (Kildare, Meath, Louth, Wicklow etc)
More PR for League games.

MR (Louth) - Posts: 2570 - 10/12/2014 15:06:57    1677853

Four things everyone will say and I agree with

Change the structure of the football championship
fix club fixtures
fix awful county grounds
get weaker counties to perform at their potential.

My own personal thing I would do is;
market the sh!t out of the Sigurson and Fitzgibbon cup. So much potential there. Look how big the college sports are in America and the student they can attract.

deadybai (Kilkenny) - Posts: 63 - 10/12/2014 16:26:36    1677867

For hurling

Abolish league and championship structures
1. Play 3 provincial championships, as pure knockout, in March and April in place of league (Munster, Leinster, Connacht/Ulster), all 32 counties participating
2. Create main championship based on "Champions League/World Cup" structure, i.e. 4 groups of 4 playing round robin league matches, then knockout from quarter finals onward
3. Play the championship from mid April to first week of October, with significant breaks at various parts of the year, to allow for club activity (as a large part of championship would be league based, scheduling games and breaks to fit with club calendar would be more doable). All knockout games provide extra time if needed
4. Play Ring, Rackard, Meaghar, cups on same schedule (over the entire summer/early Autumn, with the same breaks for club competition)
5. Have 2 up, 2 down system between every tier

Marlon_JD (Tipperary) - Posts: 1823 - 10/12/2014 17:01:41    1677871

1)Full time coach in every club in Louth, Wicklow, roscommon , sligo, and Laois counties with rising populations and potential, Imagine Louth v wicklow in a leinster hurling final!! Dubs proved that with resources and personal standards can rise!

2) 30,000 all seater stadium in Portlaoise /Tullamore - Hold games that may not fill croke park. Every game in leinster bar the final. Look at brighton, MK dons in championship.

3) Reduce the importance of 3rd level games. Major of people dont care, reduce workload on players.

4) Market the Railway cups! would love a March Madness where the games are sell outs and finals in front of 80K in croker.

5) Bring in home and away games in league. Hard to market a game if your county only plays 3/4 home games! League 14 games - Ran between March to May and Championship June, July August and September. Have one weekend each month for club championship. Pointless having 5 week gaps between intercounty games, Every provence plays rd1/quater final same weekend , semi final etc and finals over one weekend. eg two finals saturday evening and two finals sunday afternoon.

Ben (None) - Posts: 101 - 10/12/2014 17:13:01    1677875

1. Introduce the clock and hooter system to both hurling and football ala ladies football

2. change suspensions from no. of weeks to no. of games

3. work with online ticket swapping websites and void any ticket sold above face value

4. modify the "Nash rule". - 2 players on the line instead of 3.

5. I know this isn't something that would be within the powers of the role but I'd like to see referees appear on the Sunday game. Howard Webb and Dermot Gallagher appear on Sky/BBC quite often and explain refereeing decisions, instructions being given from HQ, etc. .

cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5010 - 10/12/2014 18:06:47    1677883

Five proposals that would not require congress changes:

1. Rule 5.20 states a player should receive an immediate red card if they interfere with the helmet or faceguard of an opponent. Look at every game in this year's championship and you will see players from every county at it. Podge Collins was the only one that was unlucky to be caught. Lets have 10 red cards a game until players get the message - the helmet is there to protect against injury and a not a device to blind a player when the ball is coming and put them in danger.

2. Move the Christy Ring Cup, Lory Meaghar and Nicky Rackard cup finals back to August and play them in front of an All-Ireland semi-final - perhaps play the Christy Ring final before the McCarthy cup final.

3. Automatic promotion and relegation in the hurling league. Scrap playoffs (such as Kerry v Offaly this year).

4. Put a full-time hurling coach in every county. If there is one there - put one more.

5. Scrap the All-star tour. Play the Railway Cup abroad instead (an all-star is not going to lose out and the game becomes more competitive for the people watching)

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 10/12/2014 18:15:55    1677885

1. Restructured two teired intercounty format (football)
2. Definitive calendar as follows:
Jan - preseason
Feb/March - Intercounty and club Leagues, third level championships
April - Club Championship
May - Intercounty Provinical championship and club leagues
June - Club Championship
July - round robin All ireland championship
August - All Ireland knockout rounds
September/November - Club championships and leagues, third level leagues
December - Offseason

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1105 - 11/12/2014 09:53:46    1677956

3. No player trains for more than two teams at a time and plays no more than one game per week.
4. All GAA funding to be centrally collected and evenly allocated to each county with the exception of money raised by supporter clubs
5. Rule changes - Limit to the handpass in football and no defenders on the line for a hurling penalty.

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1105 - 11/12/2014 09:58:33    1677957

The standard of the so-called lesser counties will never improve in a league format where they always play weaker counties. Scrap the league system as it is and the back door. Have 4 seeded groups, not region based of teams mixed from all levels in each. Lesser teams will get some big defeats but they can also improve their standard. Go back to seeded system league each year. Give a bonus point to teams who score 3 or more goals.

Make championship an open draw in the provinces and when you lose you're out. All first round losers to go in a cup competition separate from All Ireland with lower seeded counties given home advantage like they were for back door games. The aim should be to improve the standard of weaker counties not to make the strong counties stronger.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7335 - 11/12/2014 14:36:02    1678054