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Need To Readjust Split Season To Make It Work Better For County And ALL Clubs

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Replying To Viking66: "The intercounty season isn't rushed through to facilitate lads going on holidays. It was done in the deal made with the CPA to facilitate club players and club championships. There's not much any county or club can do about any player going on holidays. These are amateur players who can go on holiday whenever they want. If a small number of players are on holiday it's up to the clubs and counties concerned to change their minds on what dates they go. The fixtures are the fixtures at the end of the day and there's no need to change them because a very few lads are on holiday in the US or anywhere else." It was year one, the split season was mainly successful but it is due a review after two years. I agree with most of your points but I think momentum is building towards having two weeks between the hurling and football final and a discussion around latter stage replays. The CPA did a great job but reality is club championships in many counties started no earlier and players left their clubs after the inter county season. Staging the hurling final first Sunday in August and football third Sunday of August for example wouldn't alter the current system too much but would improve it. sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 05/09/2022 18:31:53 2439786 Link
I don't see why I should have sympathy for clubs doing poorly because their players have chosen to play in the USA. It's not like they're doing their best to play for their club and the GAA should be meeting them halfway. They've pretty explicitly shown that playing for their club is less a priority to them than playing in America, so why should the rest of the GAA be changing the calendar to suit a tiny number? CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1643 - 05/09/2022 20:00:33 2439795 Link
Replying To The_Fridge: "Tyrone Championship starts on the 22nd September. (I think) Tyrone were out of the championship in may. The championship will be played in the wind and the rain - does not finish under end of October. What's the point of a split season when clubs are playing at the exact same time, same as other years. Why not play in the height of the summer - 3 weeks after Tyrone were knocked out. Good weather/crowds etc." And when that's over there's the playoffs for relegation/promotion which will take you into the middle of November. Back training in the middle of January or sooner. Well done county board. Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2013 - 05/09/2022 20:32:25 2439801 Link
Replying To CastleBravo: "I don't see why I should have sympathy for clubs doing poorly because their players have chosen to play in the USA. It's not like they're doing their best to play for their club and the GAA should be meeting them halfway. They've pretty explicitly shown that playing for their club is less a priority to them than playing in America, so why should the rest of the GAA be changing the calendar to suit a tiny number?" Spot on Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 11848 - 06/09/2022 09:23:56 2439816 Link
Replying To sam1884: "It was year one, the split season was mainly successful but it is due a review after two years. I agree with most of your points but I think momentum is building towards having two weeks between the hurling and football final and a discussion around latter stage replays. The CPA did a great job but reality is club championships in many counties started no earlier and players left their clubs after the inter county season. Staging the hurling final first Sunday in August and football third Sunday of August for example wouldn't alter the current system too much but would improve it." We wouldn't fit our club championships in before the start of the Leinster championships then. Those dates won't suit any dual county with dual clubs. Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 11848 - 06/09/2022 09:26:14 2439817 Link
Munster Club Hurling and football draws made last night, if im not mistaken the finals of both will be the same time as last year, why is this the case after finishing the intercounty so early?? OpenStand (Limerick) - Posts: 672 - 06/09/2022 10:25:46 2439826 Link
I couldnt disagree with you more. Club games at this time of the year is seeing better attendances and far better quality of games. Finishing in December ensures the last of the club games are only played on the best pitches and bad pitches have a less of an impact on games. If you're only half way through in December then you're going to see awful games from a viewers perspective as a lot of pitches wont hold up. I've gone to club games in 3 different counties this year and they're a breath of fresh air compared to what you'll get with your proposal. Thats just my own personal opinion on it. I feel its working and no need for more tinkering. I'll be far less inclined to go to as many games as we enter October, November, etc... Also why try compete with other sports in terms of viewership? There's no premier league or rugby in June/July to best of my knowledge so the GAA gets a free run at it over that time and the coverage of the club chsips these days is fantastic also. tiobraid (Tipperary) - Posts: 4119 - 06/09/2022 10:49:45 2439830 Link
Just wondering if any other counties also do something we do here in Wexford, in that we also have club action during the inter-county season? That's when we play our club league competitions, with clubs lining out without their senior and U20 inter-county players, apart from maybe some on the extended panel or others maybe coming back from injury, who the inter-county manager releases in order for them to get some game time. It's very much a secondary competition and not a true reflection of club standings, because while one club mightn't be down anybody, another club might be down five or six. But still, it provides club games from March to June, when otherwise, club players would be sitting idle. So....just wondering if anywhere else does something similar? Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 2247 - 06/09/2022 11:30:23 2439838 Link
Let Tyrone play their co final in December if they wish, split season is brilliant, Galway club teams in both codes have gotten to play a few championship games in August, most games will be done and dusted by end of September. It is a brilliant system, very club player (who are 99% of the members) friendly, long may it last in Galway anyway batitout (Galway) - Posts: 50 - 06/09/2022 13:33:19 2439845 Link
Replying To Viking66: "We wouldn't fit our club championships in before the start of the Leinster championships then. Those dates won't suit any dual county with dual clubs." If your point is true then why haven't the majority of counties started their club championships any earlier? What is strange is some counties have started their championships even later with the split season; most starting late August, early September or one example late September. If the will is there to get two weeks between the two All Ireland Finals and space for some replays which I suspect it is, then how the split season has been managed so far won't stop a slight extension to the inter county seasons. sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 06/09/2022 17:25:26 2439860 Link
Replying To Pikeman96: "In fairness, I think that's a reflection on how you do things yourselves in Tyrone, rather than a reflection of the broader picture of the split season and how it applies in other counties. To the best of my knowledge (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!), you spend most of the club season there playing a comprehensive club league, where 16 teams all play each other, so there are 15 rounds of fixtures? And then follow it up with a straight knock-out championship between those 16 teams? Might be better to split the league into two groups of eight (so seven rounds of matches) and then change the championship on the basis of four groups of four, with the top two in each group going into quarter-finals, for example. But if people there actually want the full league followed by knock-out championship, then the split season is actually working for you rather than against you, since it allows you to play the whole lot straight through without it being interrupted by inter-county matches." Yes we play a competitive league of 15 games, great knowledge. And I wouldn't want to change that. I don't have a solution a suppose but I see Dublin are at the quarter final stage. Would have loved to see the championship in the height of summer in Tyrone, children off school, good crowds, good football etc. 7 league games and 1 championship game wouldn't be enough. The_Fridge (Tyrone) - Posts: 2088 - 06/09/2022 17:58:04 2439865 Link
Replying To batitout: "Let Tyrone play their co final in December if they wish, split season is brilliant, Galway club teams in both codes have gotten to play a few championship games in August, most games will be done and dusted by end of September. It is a brilliant system, very club player (who are 99% of the members) friendly, long may it last in Galway anyway" I've noticed that in a lot of counties but in Galway in particular that theyre running the junior competitions off earlier or starting them much earlier than senior and intermediate. I think this is very unfair on Junior clubs and giving a huge advantage to the big clubs with 3-4 teams. I always thought senior was started first followed by intermediate, etc. With this current system it seems theres nothing stopping a player winning a Jun A and senior championship in the one year which is a farce really. Thats not a dig at just Galway by the way but I'm curious as to what people think. tiobraid (Tipperary) - Posts: 4119 - 07/09/2022 09:30:38 2439896 Link
Replying To sam1884: "If your point is true then why haven't the majority of counties started their club championships any earlier? What is strange is some counties have started their championships even later with the split season; most starting late August, early September or one example late September. If the will is there to get two weeks between the two All Ireland Finals and space for some replays which I suspect it is, then how the split season has been managed so far won't stop a slight extension to the inter county seasons." Tyrone played a League. Most counties I know of started club championships around the same time as us. Cork, Tipp, Dublin etc Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 11848 - 07/09/2022 12:01:55 2439919 Link
Replying To The_Fridge: "Yes we play a competitive league of 15 games, great knowledge. And I wouldn't want to change that. I don't have a solution a suppose but I see Dublin are at the quarter final stage. Would have loved to see the championship in the height of summer in Tyrone, children off school, good crowds, good football etc. 7 league games and 1 championship game wouldn't be enough." Would have to say that if you want to play a league competition that seems to take 17 rounds of fixtures (15 group games, semi-finals and final) before you start your championship, then you can't really complain if your championship doesn't start until nearly the end of September. If you want to play championship during the summer, what you could do is play some early rounds of the league, then switch to championship, and then play out the remainder of the league. But that would probably take a lot of the interest and relevance out of the league, if it's mainly treated as build-up & preparation for the championship that follows? By the way, just to point out that what I suggested as an alternative was two groups of eight in the league, followed by a championship involving four groups of four. So you'd have at least three championship games, not just one. If a minimum of ten games still wasn't deemed enough, another option would be to do two groups of eight for the league and play that to completion, then draw another two groups of eight for the championship. That would give each team a minimum of 14 games. But either way, point remains that these are issues related to how you choose to run your domestic competitions in Tyrone, rather than being related to the broader picture of the split season. Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 2247 - 07/09/2022 13:00:07 2439922 Link
I think the split season isn't the best answer to the question of how we get a fairer deal for club players. It is certainly better than what was there before. A master fixtures list applicable to all counties could achieve similar aims. I can't see why an inter county player cannot play a county championship game one weekend followed by an inter county game the following weekend with the odd break weekend thrown in. Both club and county seasons can be played beside each other. Intercounty managers would not like that - but let's reframe it as club players playing for their county rather than county players being made available to their club. Our all-Ireland finals could be at the start of September and our county finals at the end of September. brianb (Kildare) - Posts: 279 - 08/09/2022 15:29:04 2440049 Link
Replying To journeyman: "There is probably a backlog of club players that have been looking to play in the US over the last couple of years due to Covid where players could not travel which has led to inflated numbers this year. I don't think you can look at this a consequence of the split season. The business end of the club championship is always around Aug\Sept so players that travelled prior to the split season introduction missed games of less important. It has offered a certain amount of certainty for players in terms of planning their return and getting some game time in local championships. If the GAA see a trend in this over the coming years it may need to be addressed. The split season is great for the club and inter county players but leading to less media coverage, TV etc on a national level which is ultimately is bad for the game." What media? Sure teams don't talk to the media any more. Why should the media bother any more, all they get is generic jargon from players, coaches and managers. A media night by Zoom ahead of an All-Ireland? In all fairness. As a player, I loved this year. It was hard going in the last few hurling games but overall it has been great. A match every week, a definite calendar. All the things which I had hated not having up until Covid. StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1732 - 08/09/2022 18:21:49 2440069 Link
They were late starting the League in Tyrone some dispute over a promotion game last year https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/delay-to-tyrone-gaa-club-season-averted-after-dra-resolution-41597339.html They put too much emphasis in the League in Tyrone. Championship grading is done by how they perform in the League. FoolsGold (Cavan) - Posts: 2763 - 09/09/2022 09:10:16 2440095 Link
Replying To brianb: "I think the split season isn't the best answer to the question of how we get a fairer deal for club players. It is certainly better than what was there before. A master fixtures list applicable to all counties could achieve similar aims. I can't see why an inter county player cannot play a county championship game one weekend followed by an inter county game the following weekend with the odd break weekend thrown in. Both club and county seasons can be played beside each other. Intercounty managers would not like that - but let's reframe it as club players playing for their county rather than county players being made available to their club. Our all-Ireland finals could be at the start of September and our county finals at the end of September." they walk amoung us folks!!!!!!!! Stmunnsriver (Wexford) - Posts: 2842 - 09/09/2022 09:59:01 2440101 Link
Replying To FoolsGold: "They were late starting the League in Tyrone some dispute over a promotion game last year https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/delay-to-tyrone-gaa-club-season-averted-after-dra-resolution-41597339.html They put too much emphasis in the League in Tyrone. Championship grading is done by how they perform in the League." Their structures haven't done Football any harm this Millenium. 4 AI titles..... Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 11848 - 09/09/2022 10:52:57 2440105 Link
Replying To FoolsGold: "They were late starting the League in Tyrone some dispute over a promotion game last year https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/delay-to-tyrone-gaa-club-season-averted-after-dra-resolution-41597339.html They put too much emphasis in the League in Tyrone. Championship grading is done by how they perform in the League." No championship grading at all. 3 different divisions so 3 different championships. Championship can be started anytime while league is in progress. Neartheborder (Derry) - Posts: 56 - 09/09/2022 11:04:45 2440108 Link