|
The GAA - A Far Removed Organisation - 10 Like(s)
Has the time come or is approaching fast where the GAA as an organisation is becoming so far removed from being an organisation of which its members can be proud of, to be part of and relate to?
With constant outcry at the disparity between teams in the championship and the structures in place, HQ's clear lack of interest in the average player and his/her welfare and the lack of respect that is shown in numerous ways to the 'smaller' counties will we soon reach the point of no return at which Gaels will turn away from playing and following clubs/county teams in favour of other sports?
while the championship structure and player welfare has been talked to death up to now, the latest issue of moving the Kildare/ Mayo game to Croke Park really is a sickener and if it had been us in Kildares position my blood would be boiling. HQ have no idea what is going on it seems as their rule stated that a team who is drawn out 1st in this round of qualifiers will be at home. in the case where a div 3/4 team is drawn out second, they will get home advantage if drawn against a div 1/2 team. these are the rules and yet nobody seemed to deem it possible of a situation Kildare now find themselves in. I for one would love to see Kildare hold their ground like Roscommon and fight to play it at home. The GAA bend over backwards for teams like Dublin and Mayo time and time again. Home advantage should mean home advantage especially in the qualifiers!!!
The talk will be of all the wonderful Mayo fans who travel to see their team time and time again and that all their Season ticket holders will need to be looked after....TOUGH!! Take it up with your own county board who issue these tickets in full knowledge something like this can happen. Look at the soccer in England a team like Manchester United can be drawn away to a much smaller side in the FA cup and that game is set there regardless of capacity or Season ticket holders!!
Similarly, I think it will be an absolute disgrace if Dublin get to play 3 or even more games in the super 8's in Croke Park. What was the point of bringing in the format change if GAA cantg even stick by the principle of their idea? One Home, One Away, One Neutral! Stop thinking about the coffers in your bulging pockets and STOP appeasing the likes of Dublin and Mayo CONSTANTLY!
I may be ranting in vein, but I just wonder how much more the regular GAA fan/gael can take of the blatant disregard HQ have for so so so many counties/people.
LongfordSham (National) - 25/06/2018 16:35:47
|
|
Tyrone V Meath Nfl Rd 1. - 7 Like(s)
Why do Meath belong there? Their overall Championship and League performances since the last time they were in Division 1 would suggest anything but an entitlement to be in Division 1?
Glad to see them back in the top tier all the same but please don't talk in a wax lyrical way of this Math team or teams of the past few seasons. They were where they were because that's the level they operated at. Would love to see them use this year as a platform to have more games against top sides to assist them in getting to that level, and they could well stay up but if not, take it on the chin and move on.
LongfordSham (National) - 16/01/2020 17:24:46
|
|
Imagine Being A Kildare/Longford Player Tonight!! - 5 Like(s)
Replying To Daith: "This was played like an OByrne Cup game. The standard was shocking and it was clear that neither team really wanted to win. A complete farce. What is the point in going in against Dublin? Football is dead in the rest of Leinster." What are you smoking? Yesterdays game was a prime example that football inst dead in the rest of leinster, just that nobody is anywhere nearer to Dublin.
If it wasn't Longford ye were playing im sure you wouldn't be as negative when the fact of the matter is Kildare should have lost.
Tough game in tough conditions yet there was 40 scores scored!!! Longford missing 8 players that started and nearly bet ye last year putting up a performance like that tells a lot. Kildare have always had notions about themselves and i think yesterdays game along with the Wicklow game should dispel any of that craic!
That being said we could easily get well beaten next time out but i think the overall standard in the province has improved, excluding Dublin v anyone of course.
LongfordSham (National) - 27/05/2019 13:02:13
|
|
Stephen Cluxton - 5 Like(s)
Replying To clondalkindub: "Is no one going to comment on the cowardly sickening challenge on our keeper who was in the air defenseless and hit an hour late? You seemed to be all very worried about our games health last year when Connolly tickled the linesman but none of you seem to be worried about the kids after one of the worst late hits I've seen in years. I'm all for hard hitting and a physical game but yesterday was cowardly and that longford fella should get a big suspension. From what I'm hearing Cluxton season could be over." Could completely flip this thread around to ask is nobody going to comment on the 'cowardly sickening challenge' on our wing forward by Johnny cooper!!! I highly doubt you'll be as quick to point blame and sentence him to punishment? I'm not saying it wasn't a bad tackle by McGivney but there was no malice, yes he went in too hard, could he have pulled out in time, possibly but calm down. If it was any other player who it happened to on any other team there wouldn't be a word about it so ease off there pal!
LongfordSham (National) - 11/06/2018 16:24:14
|
|
'Tale Of Two Settings' For AIC Structure - 5 Like(s)
Replying To omahant: "Ciaran Whelan's desire for a better AI SFC structure is no different than that of the rest of us. However, all 'would-be' reformers can be divided into two camps - Abolitionists (get rid of the initial Prov Championship set up) and Retainers (wanting to keep them).
Ciaran's solution is simple - top half of NFL forms a Super 16 with the lower half playing for a quasi Tier 2 Cup. We could blend this with original GPA idea - 4x4 groups in each tier leading to a Last 12 KO in each.
I am a Retainer - and don't wish to weaken the Provs further as stand alone.
To bring the equity and fairness everyone wants - my losition is well known - bring on the
'2 + 6' - which simply extends both the Front Door and 1st Rd Qualifiers by one match per team. That is, each current 1st Qual Rd pairing draws a Prov SF loser in 8x3 groups in AIC Rd 1. Then, 4 Prov Final losers join top 2 of each group in 20-team KO Rd 2. Then, 2 Prov Champs Playoff Rd losers join 10 Rd 2 winners in Rd 3.
Finally, 2 unbeaten Prov Champs join 6 Rd 3 winners in the old AIC QFs.
The wider 1st and 2nd AIC Rds leading to 6 Back Door AI QF berths adequately neutralises the Prov lopsided status." This hurts my head!
LongfordSham (National) - 06/04/2018 15:24:43
|
|
The Corona Virus And Possible Effects To GAA Matches - 4 Like(s)
This thread is an absolute hands down disgrace..... It goes from posters talking about Palestine to where Shelbourne FC will play their home games, to saying amateur GAA players should just 'plough on and play'. From the troubles in the north to LGBTQ matters.... Jesus wept, you'd worry about a lot of people on here.
Said it from the very beginning, although would have loved nothing more to see games again and it was entertaining, the GAA should have stood tall among other organisations and scrapped all competitions from Day 1. Scrapping the end of the club chapionships so quickly might have won them some favour but it only covered up the cracks caused by mass breaches in guidelines at each match, celebrations etc and made the organisation look every bit of what it is, amateur.
What is to be gained by running a full intercounty championship season along with the culmination of the leagues? a few euro from Sky? fear of catching a virus from an asymptomatic individual and passing it on to a friend or loved one? Its aright for Premier league and Pro 14 as they are professional organisations and continually test and implement isolations to allow matches to go ahead however the recent international window now casts major shadow on such events spreading internationally.
John Heslin was right in his tweet and the sooner the powers that be realise that the better.
'Are you not entertained?'
LongfordSham (National) - 15/10/2020 09:13:04
|
|
National League 2019 - 4 Like(s)
Replying To waynerooney11: "Right, it's time to turn our attention to 2019. With many of our senior players taking a break, it's time to see who are the new leaders in this squad. Let be honest, we are in a bad place. No underage coming through. No signs that we are remotely close to competing with Tyrone and Donegal. After watching that club championship, instead of filling me with confidence, it did the very opposite.
For the year ahead, I think we need to focus on the players and not the management. Them boys in blue need to lead from the front. Manager after manager has been ostracized as not being good enough. The management don't play. The players do. After them 2 trashings last Summer, the spotlight should shine brightly on the pitch.
Are there any new recruits to the panel? I hope Micky approaches it with an attitude of getting more bulk into the squad.
We need to get a more defined balance between attack and defence. Simply, go replicate that Tyrone model and that will go a long way to bridging the chasm.
Also, I would like to know what preparations are being put in place with the Cavan U20 for next year. It's simply not good enough to have this team competing with their Ulster counterparts on a wing and a prayer.
Much has been made of the Polo Grounds project, rightly so. But the County Board needs to be conscious that solidt structures are needed to be in place to facilitate this." Go way into the Cavan Forum with this!!!!
LongfordSham (National) - 14/11/2019 16:29:51
|
|
The Corona Virus And Possible Effects To GAA Matches - 4 Like(s)
I think it goes without saying we would all love sport and matches of every code and grade to be back but why are people seriously thinking of ways about current guidelines to get games played?
Maybe its me, and im not having a pop at those who are coming up with these hypothetical situations, but surely it would be worth just scrapping all competition for the remainder of this year with the intention of allowing the full effects of this pandemic run its course and be eradicated from its current occupation in the country as much as possible?
What is there to gain by playing any games under any limitations all it takes is one person with a strain of the virus to spread among 30 players, 7 officials, Management Teams, Substitutes, all family members they come in contact with after the game, and thats without a crowd, and then the whole thing starts again.
I just feel by running games as such we run the risk of losing more than just one season, so why not, and excuse the cliche term, 'For the greater good' scrap impending championships, and use this time to come up with a system that best works to be implemented next year (and a plan B if needs to be should it go any later in next year). This time could also be used more wisely with an overall review and restructuring of the GAA Calendar which has been desperately needed for so long.
LongfordSham (National) - 23/04/2020 09:56:05
|
|
The Allianz FL Thread (Division 2, 3 & 4) - 3 Like(s)
Replying To Greenfield: "admins really need to get on top of this sort of rubbish. On some threads innocuous comments don't make it through and then others are let descend to this level of farce. A serious clean-up is needed on this thread to get it back on track or else just shut it down as a waste of time." As the initiator of this Thread I am disgusted at the manner of some of the replyies being allowed posted here....TRIPE! (Said tongue in cheek btw, but still a little peeved) Grand initially a bit of cross border banter but seriously, and its the Meath posters mainly, lads...Calm down!!! ******ADMIN****** Can we make sure that after this weekends games all posts that get uploaded are match/League/Fixture related! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LongfordSham (National) - 21/02/2018 17:01:32
|
|
The Corona Virus And Possible Effects To GAA Matches - 3 Like(s)
Replying To sourmilk93: "Nobody is forcing John Heslin to play with a gun to his head. if he doesn't want to drop off the panel. If he didnt have to face into the Dubs in a few weeks he might be a bit more optimistic. Another fella that loves his own voice and playing up to the media" So you want to give him a platform to play intercounty football for your enjoyment, albeit at the risk of contracting or passing on infection, but hes not allowed a platform to speak out at potential health risks associated with playing an amateur sport? He never mentioned anything about dropping off the panel merely highlighting the narrative needs to stop of how somehow its more important that intercounty players participate to lift the mood of the watching public rather than be concerned about the well being of playing members.
LongfordSham (National) - 15/10/2020 10:31:59
|
|
Are Dubs Aware Of The Pressures On Rural Ireland GAA - 3 Like(s)
Why would/should club members or Dublin GAA fans care about whats happening in other clubs particularly outside of their own county?
Like I'm not trying to be smart but what difference does it make if they do or don't take umbrage with the situation, its nothing to do with them and not their fault or responsibility to fix?
On saying this, perhaps an exchange of sorts could be arranged. For every 1000 Litres required from the Shannon to subsidise the demand for water in Dublin, 2 club players and and a bag of footballs/sliotars could be sent to a rural parish club?
LongfordSham (National) - 24/01/2020 14:46:04
|
|
Longford V Meath - 3 Like(s)
Replying To 11jm11: "Leinster football is dead." Correction, Kildare football is dead!
LongfordSham (National) - 28/05/2018 08:55:52
|
|
New Social Contract - 3 Like(s)
What a load of nonsense. There is nothing more paramount than the health and safety of people, loved ones, neighbors etc! How the notion of things going ahead until the pandemic as a whole is under proper control or eradicated is ridiculous.
People are honestly saying theyd be willing to 'Sign a contract' to go see any type of game and risk contracting or spreading a disease, further putting a strain on the front line staff, the economy and creating emotional turmoil within a family not being able to see loved ones again or through death? Really sound and mature!
I for one love sport as much as the next and will have had numerous sporting events cancelled in the coming months at home and abroad in various codes, so to any biters who say who are you to tell us not to go to a sporting event i say there will be a GAA match next year , the year after and for countless years after that to enjoy, we need to make sure the people we love to watch these games with are there to enjoy it too.
LongfordSham (National) - 23/04/2020 15:51:53
|
|
Club Championships - 2 Like(s)
Replying To arcadia: "I'd say any notions are well banished now. Great club, unmatched underage success, wildly impressive on many different fronts for most of this decade, and have helped to raise the floor, but lacked the discipline to push on and do the really hard stuff like back-to-back or three-in-row. There is good reason why only the very few have achieved those things. There will be a coming to Jesus after this seasons debacle. Giving players a voice is a great thing, but giving management authority and respect is also both great and essential. I would be surprised if we don't see a more honest effort, going back to some basics as previous writer noted. We need strong clubs if we are to have a strong county team playing in this soon-to-be second tier championship :-)." Getting rid of ego's and notions amongst any team in any sport is hard done and I'm not sure if this current Killoe team have the mental strength to get over not only themselves but this hurdle they find themselves in. Sure, they might have the ability to win another county title here and there but to be really considered a great team and achieve back to backs/three in a row type dominance I don't think they can.
In recent times there was that great clonguish team of the early 00's the equally emphatic dromard team in the mid 00's and now Mulinalaghta reigning supreme. I think one of the differences is that the standard in Senior Championship competitions has weaned a bit since the mentioned teams played. There used to be epic battles and rivalries between that Clonguish team and a very strong Ballymahon team who were there or there abouts from 2002-2008 or so. I remember actually looking forward to a time when those two teams would be drawn against each other! There was a time not too long ago where Dromard, Colmcille, Drumlish, Clonguish, Abbeylara, Ballymahon would all have been genuine contenders for a title with Killoe and Slashers also proving difficult to beat.
I think this is where the problem lies, the championship itself is not competitive enough for teams to fight and scrap to win. Granted there are external forces that effect this as in playing numbers and the likes however I have felt for a long time that the whole championship needs restructuring. I know we have a small number of clubs , I think 22 at present with Shroid and Forgney not functioning(could be wrong about shroid), but this does not mean we cant restructure to make a more competitive all round championship that would benefit Longford football overall.
I for one would be in favour of a 22 team championship as follows:
Senior - 8 Teams- Mulinalaghta, Abbeylara, Killoe, Clonguish, Dromard, Colmcille, Granard, Slashers
Intermediate- 10 Teams(With club 2nd teams)-Ballymahon, Carrickedmond, Drumlish, Mostrim, Rathcline, Cashel, Kilashee, Ardagh, Grattans, Sean Connollys
Junior- 4 Teams(With clubs 2nd/3rd teams)- Legan, Ballymore, Moydow, Kenagh
Would def be worth trialling I think for a few years and allow a competitive championship to form, Similar to all the talk of how the national leagues have formed into a competitive competition due to the similarity in standard between teams in each division.
LongfordSham (Longford) - 20/09/2018 10:34:02
|
|
Worst Senior County Football Final Ever ?? Mayo ? Cork? Laois? - 2 Like(s)
The 1946 Longford Senior Football Championship Final went to a replay after finishing as enthralling 0-00 to 0-00 between Ballymahon & Dromard, Dromard went on to win the replay.
While low scoring finals are not unusual, surely a very rare occurrence not to have a single score in a final, or any game, surely?
LongfordSham (National) - 02/11/2023 12:27:09
|
|
Longford GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Replying To Oddball: "From the Senior semi-final of Clonguish and Dromard there is the grand total of 1 player from those two teams.
That is shocking!!!
Paddy Christie seems to be doing a lot of damage to the Longford county team.
3 lads from Killashee, 2 from Drumlish and even 1 lad from the mighty Ballymahon!!!
Longford are lucky there is no relegation from Division 4." While on paper its not the strongest panel we probably have available , but its the best chance to see what they actually have at their disposal. We went all in last year, winning the OBC and falling apart then from the league onwards so theres no point reading into the squad listed for a pre season competition as no doubt there will be plenty of bigger names to come in before the league and championship.
Also, its quite a disrespectful take to have, slating clubs like Kilashee, Drumlish and Ballymahon for having lads on a county panel. Just because the clubs aren't performing well, doesn't mean they don't have players worthy of a look and with the small player pick we do have , best to see can anyone new be found that might add something to a squad.
LongfordSham (National) - 03/01/2024 13:50:35
|
|
Ulster Champions Disadvantaged Again - 2 Like(s)
Replying To shaggykev: "The victors of Donegal and Fermanagh will be in for a big surprise when they look at the calendar afterwards.
The likelihood is they will be rewarded with the group of death with some of Mayo, Monaghan, Tyrone, Roscommon or Cork likely to end up in their pool alongside Dublin.
If Donegal were to win on Sunday and end up with a group of Mayo and Tyrone, the chances are they will be most likely eliminated by the time they get their home game in Ballybofey. That coupled with the fact they must play Dublin in the "neutral venue" of Croke Park means they in fact face two away games against potentially the top two teams in the country if Mayo land in the pool before playing their home game.
As an aside, whilst the gaps between games this season has been short, which on surface is no bad thing, the GAA are not giving pockets much of a chance to get another pay packet in them before the next games.
Somebody trying to go to all three Super 8 matches will need to do so out of one months wage packet and then the following week fork out for Semi final tickets too. No wonder attendances are down and will be done throughout the year. I get what they are trying to do for clubs but GAA championship matches are far more expensive than league, they are usually in Dublin and families will need to pick and choose what games they can attend. Forward planning too is out the window unless the semi final spot has already been obtained before final round. Hopefully it all works out as we should be in for a feast in July/August but many a GAA man will be singing some Simply Red walking to the ground [url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrUB0g8Vjgg
Saturday 14/Sunday 15 July
All-Ireland SFC quarter-final phase 1
Munster winner v Connacht winner, TBC, TBC
Ulster runner-up or Round 4 qualifier v Leinster runner-up or Round 4 qualifier, TBC, TBC
Ulster winner v Dublin, (THIS MATCH IS GOING TO BE IN THE NEUTRAL VENUE OF CROKE PARK)
Munster runner-up or Round 4 qualifier v Connacht runner-up or Round 4 qualifier, TBC, TBC
Saturday 21/Sunday 22 July
All-Ireland SFC quarter-final phase 2
Ulster runner-up or Round 4 qualifier v Connacht winner, TBC, TBC
Leinster runner-up or Round 4 qualifier v Munster winner, TBC, TBC
Munster runner-up or Round 4 qualifier v Leinster winner, TBC, TBC
Connacht runner-up or Round 4 qualifier v Ulster winner, TBC, TBC
Saturday 4/Sunday 5/Monday 6 August
All-Ireland SFC quarter-final phase 3
Connacht winner v Leinster runner-up or Round 4 qualifier, TBC, TBC
Munster winner v Ulster runner-up or Round 4 qualifier, TBC, TBC
Munster runner-up or Round 4 qualifier v Ulster winner, TBC, TBC
Connacht runner-up or Round 4 qualifier v Leinster winner, TBC, TBC
Saturday 11/Sunday 12 August
All-Ireland SFC semi-finals
Quarter-final Group A winner v quarter-final Group B runner-up, Croke Park, TBC
Quarter-final Group B winner v quarter-final Group A runner-up, Croke Park, TBC"]Do ye ever stop complaining up there? If Fermanagh can beat Monaghan, Meath were good enough to beat Tyrone, and Roscommon and Cork being an average side then surely if ye go on an win Ulster you should have no complaints about being drawn with any of them and Dublin?
If youre trying to get anyone to feel sorry for you with that big long spiel of a post...you will be a long time waiting. Get on with it and just play the game. Other counties would kill to get a chance to be in the Super 8's. If you want to be the best you have to beat the best. What do you want a nice handy super 8's? Who does that benefit? do you think you have a better chance of winning an All Ireland in a handy group and meeting Dublin/Kerry in a final because I certainly don't.
I do hope for the sake of respect to all teams in the super 8's however that the GAA do enforce Dublin to play in a neutral venue if that game was against ye for arguments sake it should be Clones, surely you wouldn't disagree with that.
LongfordSham (National) - 19/06/2018 10:14:24
|
|
The Corona Virus And Possible Effects To GAA Matches - 2 Like(s)
I dont think anyone is saying that the GAA and the club training and games is having a direct result in the increased cases or is more harmful than the Meat Factory debacle we have seen recently but I for one believe it to be the right call.
Each week more and more clubs are suspending activity be that having a positive case from a player or member or having played against a team that fell under that scope. in small counties like my own it wouldnt take too many of those scenarios to shut a whole intermediate championship down.
The top brass had an opportunity to do the right thing months ago which i believed at the time to be the right thing, while many will disagree, to scrap all competitions until 2021. This would have given the opportunity to lead the way in the prevention of the virus spreading and reflected quite well on the organisation taking the health and well being of all its members and families as paramount.
I know lots will disagree and thats fair enough, i can see both sides too and sure i too would love to see my Club and County compete in the summer months but surely the positives outweigh the negatives of playing the remainder of club games behind closed doors? Surely county boards wouldnt be making enough to cover most of the expenses of a game with only 200 people there (Take out players, management and officials and youre not left with much).
I always believed that if competitions were scrapped at the start of all this the time could have been used to really address the issues at hand with Club V COunty, Player Welfare, the Fixtures Calendar and aim to come back stronger than ever in 2021. Im no expert and wouldnt want to be perceived to be but if things do indeed get worse and cases keep increasing I find it very hard to see how a club championship will be allowed reach their finales never mind start an Intercounty, and if there is any hope for that then surely behind closed doors is our best shot?
LongfordSham (National) - 18/08/2020 16:47:44
|
|
Paul Kimmage - 2 Like(s)
Kimmage will pick a new topic to put in the spotlight every now and then to try and make himself appear still relevant! Absolutely unnecessary to be picking arguments ALL the time. Not a fan of his now tbh!
LongfordSham (National) - 07/06/2018 14:32:20
|
|
Longford V Meath - 1 Like(s)
Replying To MeathWawa: "Good post. I will tell you no one in Meath ( players management , supporters) are looking beyond the longford game. It is a very tough game for Meath playing Longford on their home patch. Longford would give any team a run for their money playing at home.
As a Meath person I hope Meath improve between now and the start of the championship which should be enough to see us over the line hopefully.
Would take a one point win. I also hope it is a cracking game also. Longford actually play football unlike some Ulster teams so should be good." In fairness, we do try and play each game. I remember maybe 3 seasons ago we had beaten offaly (Could be wrong) and got the 'reward' of playing the Dubs in Croker. We were absolutely hockeyed off the pitch. Before the game we all said that if we could keep it to 15 points or under wed take that!!!! but the only thing is we actually went out man for man and tried to play ball!
As most will acknowledge, give us anybody in the qualifiers and we will give them a game but we just have such a a bad record against teams in the Leinster who we would be pretty much on a par with- Offaly, Laois, Wexford to name some we have lost to over the years.
While on current form and certain factors working to our advantage I would fancy us to progress, Meath have a serious footballing pedigree and scope to improve between now and then. The panel we work off each year literally is the best we can call upon (Unless certain players remove themselves or don't join the panel-small majority) due to a small pool available, so if we lose one/two to injury we are at a loss. Great club teams, structures resources available in Meath it is such a shame that ye are not challenging at the business end of the season more frequently.
A good entertaining game is what we all dream of as a trouncing/ poor game would do neither rof us any benefit!
LongfordSham (Meath) - 28/03/2018 11:19:34
|