2019 All Ireland Senior Football Championship *Mod note: Post #1*

RoyalCelt wrote: »

In my opinion kerry and Dublin shouldn't receive a penny from the GAA. If those two sides came back to the pack attendances would soar.

Kerry have won one title in ten years? They are not even the second best team or arguably the third. Their days of dominating the championship are over, it will be much harder for them going forward.

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Long may it continue.

I love seeing that. As a Kerry man I disagree with pretty much everyone when they talk about the dubs. You cant simply split them or make up rules or regulations to stop them and theres no point blindly throwing money at counties with no structure. It's up to the chasing pack to catch up, not bring Dublin back. Get the structures in place and reap the rewards like Dublin are now. Also seeing comments like that will make it all the sweeter when yer eventually caught

Although saying that, I'd rather see ye do the 5 in a row than see Mayo win an all Ireland so if ye beat them in the final again I couldn't complain.

Mr.Maroon wrote: »

+1

:pac:

Guess you're a Galway man with a name and comment like that lol

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

Kerry certainly won't be catching them anytime soon. They may steam roll Munster and put up a good showing in the league when others are in heavy training but in the later stages of the championship they will struggle. So keep dreaming!

As for Mayo there's little chance of them reaching the AI final. They'll be lucky to make it to the super8s. The league final was the last hurrah for this Mayo team.

I never said Kerry would catch them. I dont think they will, certainly not this year and something drastic would have to happen for them to catch up in the next few years so no dreaming going on here.

Dublin will be beaten at some stage though but by who is anyone's guess right now.

robbiezero wrote: »

Would like to see Dublin beaten myself. No dislike of them, wonderful team, play great football and the players and management seem like sound lads also, but as a neutral, the football championship badly badly needs it.

I think that's the worst thing that could happen. The gaa would then turn around and say look I told you everything was fine. Dublin would then head off to do another 4 in a row. If Dublin win the next 3 to 4 then the top brass will be forced to act. Game will be half dead by then but totally dead if Dublin lose this all Ireland.

dobman88 wrote: »

Why would it be totally dead if they lost this year or am ii misreading something?

Because the Gaa top brass will then say there was never a problem. Dublin will be amped up at missing out on history and the push will be on to impose their dominance again so it will take another 4 or 5 wins for the Gaa to admit there's an issue and rectify it. If they win the next 2 I think we'll see a change as attendances will be gone to nothing.

threeball wrote: »

First step is to address the huge imbalance in funding. There's far more worthy areas at this stage to invest the money. And not just handing over money, investing in expertise and people to grow the games.

Then put together a proper league that keeps teams interested. Curtail the championship to knockout and only allow the top 24 teams in the league in. You have a chance to qualify every year by proving yourself in the league. Then two quick knock out championships. One for the top tier and one for the teams not in the top 24. Everyone should be playing football until early August at least.

That’s a variation of what we were saying on the previous page and I agree entirely. Problem is getting it past congress, and the provincial councils will go crazy at the suggestion too.

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

That’s a variation of what we were saying on the previous page and I agree entirely. Problem is getting it past congress, and the provincial councils will go crazy at the suggestion too.

Fine, let them go nuts. They won't have a lot to piss in come 5yrs time. Hurling will be the only cash cow, so that's Ulster and Connaught shagged and Leinster won't survive off the back of 4 or 5 competitive games in the hurling.

They can bury their heads in the sand all they want but like the dinosaurs the clock is ticking. The meteorite is already on course and nothing will stop it bar Dublin losing the all Ireland this year which will give a temporary reprieve for a year or two.

bucketybuck wrote: »

I think that statements like this totally understate just what is really happening.

There are no structures that are ever going to let my county compete on Dublins level, not any more, there is no coaching genius or out of the box idea that is ever going to be able to bridge that gap. Its simply isn't happening, the differences in all the numbers that matter have now passed a critical point.

This isn't the 80's any more, where a good group of players might come together and go on a run, it is 2019 where sports science has negated a lot of the old levellers that once gave smaller counties a chance. Especially now that the moronic super 8's have greatly reduced that chance of Dublin getting caught on the hop at some stage.

Put structures in place and catch up? Just as simple as that yeah? Sure, and when thats done I'll put some structures in place and catch up with Kipchoge in a marathon as well.

Some counties will never compete at the top, that has to be accepted or they have to be willing to amalgamate. Football can still be great for those counties if they had a meaningful league to play for, a chance to at least make tier 1 all Ireland or win a second tier if not. Playing football into late summer.
I don't think you can ever have every county competitive unless we move to a draft system which would never happen, although I think teams should be allowed draft 3 or 4 players from strong counties who didn't get picked for their own. Yer man from Kerry playing for roscommon is a perfect example.

SirGerryAdams wrote: »

Wonder could you have a league type situation for 2 provinces each? Then you'd still be able have the provincial championships...

The provincials are the problem. A solution from a time when people travelled on bog roads in an ass and cart or a bike. Fine for the time but things have moved on. A lad can go from Dublin to cork faster than you would have got from Dublin to Navan back in the day.

The very fact you keep playing the neighbours means playing the neighbours is less special. Look at the crowd who came to the mayo roscommon quarter final vs what went to McHale earlier this year. If you meet them in the quarter, semi or final it's amazing. Meet them in round one it's, jaysus not again. No one even watches the draw. It's a total farce.

threeball wrote: »

Some counties will never compete at the top, that has to be accepted or they have to be willing to amalgamate. Football can still be great for those counties if they had a meaningful league to play for, a chance to at least make tier 1 all Ireland or win a second tier if not. Playing football into late summer.
I don't think you can ever have every county competitive unless we move to a draft system which would never happen, although I think teams should be allowed draft 3 or 4 players from strong counties who didn't get picked for their own. Yer man from Kerry playing for roscommon is a perfect example.

Fair play to you for mentioning amalgamation. Most of the time people only go on about splitting Dublin. But if that happens amalgamation is the next step.

The draft thing is not a bad idea in theory?
But will fellas be willing to play for a county they have no connection with?
Cox plays with the Rossies because his auld fella is from there, and he played for them himself back in the day.

Plus will 'blow ins' be accepted at inter-county level?
Micko got a fare few ringers playing for Kildare during his time there.
Including his own young lad.
That is grand if a team does well with them.
But how will supporters react if these 'blow ins' are not much better than the lads whose place they are taking?

threeball wrote: »

Some counties will never compete at the top, that has to be accepted or they have to be willing to amalgamate.

Unfortunately accepting that means accepting that the GAA as people knew it no longer exists.

The entire point of the GAA is club and county, and the dream that your club or county can win it all. My county for example never won a damn thing, but we could have, there was always a genuine possibility that we could do it, and so we persisted.

Put it in black and white that we no longer have that chance, that we aren't even in the competition any more, and there is literally no point in that team existing any longer.

People keep talking about levels, this team on that level etc etc. There were always good teams and bad teams but the differences were never so great as to be insurmountable, teams from lower levels could always step it up in just a few years.

I genuinely feel that a paradigm has shifted in that regard, a monster has been created and the unintended consequence is that a lot of people and a lot of counties are just giving up because they know that the quality gap simply cannot be bridged.

And amalgamation? They might do it, but it won't be my county any longer. By definition it won't be my county any longer, and I won't give two farts about whatever team it is that takes its place.