In the words of Barack Obama it is time for change, but in this instance im talking about the football championships.
The most straight forward solution was suggested by Martin Carney. He suggested a rejig of the existing setup but
that each province should have eight counties. I think that would be a great solution, but what are the opinions of you guys.

atta (Meath) - Posts: 708 - 19/10/2012 13:27:19    1285476

Omahaunt will have a great view on this,
Time to get my calculater out and also get ready for munseacht

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 19/10/2012 14:17:19    1285501

This caught my eye as the best solution I have seen. Two seperate competitions run off quickly. Brings back the cut-throat knock out football and preserves the tradition and status of the provincial competitions.
http://eircomsports.eircom.net/News/news/gaa/How-to-streamline-GAA-season.aspx

The compettitons and boundaries have been around too long now to start re-drawing them. Look at Galway and Antrim in the hurling. There was a thread here last year from Galway supporters asking would they even care if they won Leinster? If Offaly, Wexford or Dublin won it, it'd be the best day of their lives. I was in favour of that move because of the exceptional circumstances the two counties found themselves in. Football counties and their place within their province are too well defined with tradition and they will rightly resist that kind of change.

This solution surely provides the best of both worlds.

doublehop (Kildare) - Posts: 4172 - 19/10/2012 14:30:22    1285511

ITS VERY SIMPLE!

Get rid of the league. In February, replace the league with a league based provincial championships.
So in Spring your playing league format provincial championships
No doubt the bigger counties like Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Mayo, Tyrone will use it as a platform to blood players for the summer, thus giving the smaller teams like Carlow, Cavan, Meath, Limerick etc a realistic chance at provincial glory

Then come the Summer, 34 counties, knock out football, open draw, keep the back door for first round defeated teams only to play off against each other to get into round 2. Straight knock out from there.

Simples

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 19/10/2012 14:37:54    1285512

19/10/2012 14:37:54
Liamwalkinstown
ITS VERY SIMPLE!
Get rid of the league. In February, replace the league with a league based provincial championships.
So in Spring your playing league format provincial championships
No doubt the bigger counties like Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Mayo, Tyrone will use it as a platform to blood players for the summer, thus giving the smaller teams like Carlow, Cavan, Meath, Limerick etc a realistic chance at provincial glory

Then come the Summer, 34 counties, knock out football, open draw, keep the back door for first round defeated teams only to play off against each other to get into round 2. Straight knock out from there.

Simples

Not that simple. that reduces the amount of games that will be played and gives the GAA less exposure which would be silly.
Players will have less games.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 19/10/2012 14:50:16    1285520

Ormond, how do u work that out?
Each team would have a minimum of 2 championship games, and in the provinces it would vary from in Leinster 11 games, to in Connacht 4 games, so you do like the SPL and play each team twice.....
With home and away venues varying from year to year

So combine both competitions and you will find players will play MORE games and get more exposure....

Simples

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 19/10/2012 15:03:06    1285527

I like Liams suggestion but would also see the Provincial Leagues as creating a seeding for a 4 * 8 (one 9 to include london)....4 pots

Provincial winners/runners up in pot 1
Losing semis in Pot 2
Losing Quarters in Pot 3
First/Qualifying round losers in Pot 4....

It would give the Provincials a bit more importance than just something to get ready for the championship (could use the Mc Kenna Cup etc to do that)

RunOfThePigs (Donegal) - Posts: 131 - 19/10/2012 15:15:06    1285533

Apologies i would have the provincial system still on a knockout basis and not the league as Liam suggested....

RunOfThePigs (Donegal) - Posts: 131 - 19/10/2012 15:17:11    1285534

Atta- that's a great idea. The old system is out dated, time for change. No wonder Kerry wins so much with the easy route they usually get. Level the playing field so everyone plays the same amount of games.

richiescats (USA) - Posts: 420 - 19/10/2012 15:24:03    1285537

Connacht and Munster championships should be merged, with London and New York put into Ulster giving 11 in each province. Easy!

From there, 3 provincial winners play off, top 2 go through to semis, 3rd goes into quarter final to meet 3 teams coming through redesigned qualifers.

Cork and Kerry are fed up of shadow boxing one another now. Tipp are improving and might catch one of the two one year, Limerick threaten sporadically but are a long way behind the big two. Clare and Waterford have no hope of provincial success. I think all 6 teams in Munster would benefit from a merger with Connacht. In Connacht I think Leitrim would view games against Waterford and Clare as good chances of a championship victory, Galway, Sligo and Roscommon are all a good bit off but would benefit from increased competition and won't be down forever. Mayo would be the big winners with a shot at Cork and/or Kerry to test themselves early in the year.

Also new sides would get to travel to London each year up north.

The provincial boundaries need to be re-drawn.

Contrast Donegals path to the final to Mayo.

Cavan, Derry, Tyrone, Down, Kerry, Cork
Leitrim, Sligo, Down, Dublin

Mayo beat what was put in front of them but realistically it was a far easier run than Donegal. Other sides have benefitted from easy runs to the final over the years too in fairness.

Stuckinthepast (Galway) - Posts: 472 - 19/10/2012 15:39:59    1285556

The provincial championships should be competed in one month and not be drawn out for 3 months like they are now. The Club championship is going to have a open championship in a year or two if it's successful it may come into the inter county championship but the provincial championships will remain and football.

Gaa_lover (USA) - Posts: 3653 - 19/10/2012 19:00:35    1285698

combining any of the provinces in gaelic football should never be the answer. the biggest problem with the provincial championships is the different time periods between when countys play their first championship game of the year. some countys are playing their 1st championship game 5-6 weeks ahead of others
thats the real problem with the championship at the moment

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 20/10/2012 14:00:46    1285870

the only change that i can see happening would be keeping four championshiups but instead of them being called leinster munster connaught and ulster
have 4 names of each competition named after gaa greats and openly draw the 32 teams into the 4 championships and run it the exact same way as now having the qualifiers still in place as they are.
this would mean you would not be playing the same teams each year preventing any staleness it would also allow each county to have the same time gap between matches and not having one side wait six weeks to play again.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 20/10/2012 15:03:40    1285882

I actually think you have a point in not referring to them in provincial terms but i do not think changing them every year would work as it would diminish the prestige of winning say the Delaney cup

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 20/10/2012 15:10:52    1285885

As it stands a league of ireland soccer team is guaranteed bout 36 games per year,all of which theyll take seriously while your province in rugby is guaranteed at least 28 games,most of which theyll take seriously.Your county is guarnteed only 10 games in the Gaa and about eight of these will be in the league which many managers discard.
I liked Jack O Connor but he said about three times last year that he didnt care about winning the league.How are people supposed to be interested in a competition under these circumstances?
Essentially a county like Sligo may only have two important games in a year.We need more games and more exposure.

joncarter (Galway) - Posts: 2692 - 20/10/2012 15:19:55    1285891

well you would still have to win them to get through to the all ireland quarter finals and not playing the same teams each year in each championship group would add to it.just say for instance

tom moore cup
QUARTER FINALS
laois v waterford SEMI FINALS
antrim v cork laois v cork FINAL
kildare v limerick kildare v mayo cork v mayo
carlow v mayo at gaelic grounds (limerick)

gerry fitzgerald cup
QUARTER FINALS
sligo v dublin SEMI FINALS
longford v down dublin v down FINAL
galway v cavan galway v kerry dublin v kerry
kerry v london at thurles or croke park

alan murphy cup
QUARTER FINALS
louth v tyrone SEMI FINALS
leitrim v fermanagh tyrone v fermanagh FINAL
meath v offaly meath v roscommon tyrone v meath
tipperary v roscommon at clones or breffni park

david kelly cup
QUARTER FINALS
armagh v westmeath SEMI FINALS
wexford v monaghan armagh v wexford FINAL
derry v wicklow derry v donegal wexford v donegal
donegal v clare at pearse stadium or castlebar

qualifiers
ROUND 1
waterford v antrim ROUND 2 ROUND 3 ROUND 4
limerick v carlow antrim v down down v longford longford v wexford/donegal
sligo v longford limerick v galway galway v roscommon roscommon v dublin/kerry
cavan v london longford v fermanagh laois v derry laois v cork/mayo
louth v leitrim cavan v roscommon kildare v armagh kildare v tyrone/meath
offaly v tipperary louth v laois
westmeath v monaghan tipperary v kildare
wicklow v clare monaghan v armagh
clare v derry

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 20/10/2012 16:29:50    1285909

joncarter
County: Galway
Posts: 27

1285891 As it stands a league of ireland soccer team is guaranteed bout 36 games per year,all of which theyll take seriously while your province in rugby is guaranteed at least 28 games,most of which theyll take seriously.Your county is guarnteed only 10 games in the Gaa and about eight of these will be in the league which many managers discard.
I liked Jack O Connor but he said about three times last year that he didnt care about winning the league.How are people supposed to be interested in a competition under these circumstances?
Essentially a county like Sligo may only have two important games in a year.We need more games and more exposure.

Difference is their players only play for them,they dont play for a local club also. though i agree need more importance of league, Hill had a few good pointers .

AthCliath (Dublin) - Posts: 4347 - 20/10/2012 16:31:47    1285910

ah my qualifiers section got messed up apologies bloomin computer on the brink

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 20/10/2012 16:43:54    1285916

joncarter
County: Galway
Posts: 27

1285891
As it stands a league of ireland soccer team is guaranteed bout 36 games per year,all of which theyll take seriously while your province in rugby is guaranteed at least 28 games,most of which theyll take seriously.Your county is guarnteed only 10 games in the Gaa and about eight of these will be in the league which many managers discard.
I liked Jack O Connor but he said about three times last year that he didnt care about winning the league.How are people supposed to be interested in a competition under these circumstances?
Essentially a county like Sligo may only have two important games in a year.We need more games and more exposure.

would not agree at all with that point.
league of ireland soccer team plays in the ea sports cup they put out micky mouse teams in that the competition is not taken seriously at all.
the fai cup is barely a step up from that for most teams if they have a tough league game the weekend they will play weekend teams in the fai cup so hardly going all out.then you have ateam playing in europe they always field a weakend team the weekend before european game.theres more games in their leagues by virtue of playing each other more times thats all.
to say in rugby they take rabo league games all seriously is not true leinster play most of their games without any of their best players you could count on one hand the amount of games brian o driscoll will play in that league or any of the other big names.same goes with munster keatley will start most games ahead of o gara who is being rested and the same happened before he arrived with paul warick.if they have heinken cup match the following week all teams put out second string teams to avoid injury again hardly taking the rabo seriously.
i do agree the league needs to be spiced up but the idea of playing all four division one matches over friday saturday sunday and monday would give far more exposure to the competition and would be sure to bring in rte and tv3 to screen live games allowing all four channels have one game each over weekend.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 20/10/2012 17:00:30    1285923

i despise the idea of different championships

ffgg (Longford) - Posts: 2571 - 20/10/2012 17:05:38    1285924