Kildare v Mayo AI Qualifier Round 3

[Crete Boom]

Would be fantastic publicity for Mayo if they could come out and say they back Kildare with this. It's very obvious what way the public opinion is on the issue and I think it would be great for them to show some solidarity.

Not that they have to but turning up in Croker for a walk over would be bad form.

Mayo gain nothing by backing Kildare here.

Maybe not this weekend but down the road I think we do.

[From the Bunker]

It's actually funny seeing the Dubs fans back Kildare on this

It's actually sad that you would use this to try and have a go at Dubs fans.

Yes, the Dublin Clowns have joined in!

Do ye not realise ye are part of the Problem!

Why it is this way?

[thewobbler]

Would be fantastic publicity for Mayo if they could come out and say they back Kildare with this. It's very obvious what way the public opinion is on the issue and I think it would be great for them to show some solidarity.

Not that they have to but turning up in Croker for a walk over would be bad form.

I agree and so do alot of other mayo fans I have been talking too this evening.

When a county decides to go all hari kari on it, the last thing you need to do is be caught holding the sword.

[Jayop]

Mayo gain nothing by backing Kildare here.

Nothing but goodwill from the non Mayo GAA public which while nothing huge it's no harm either.

Also would strenthen their hand should the same thing happen to them in the future.

I doubt anyone in Kildare would hold it against them. Mayo are sort of caught in the crossfire here. It's not their fault that Croke Park just assumed KCB would roll over and have their bellies tickled as they did when they gave up home advantage in 2012 in the qualifiers and 2013 in the league.

No I don't think anyone could blame Mayo for anything as the fact is they're not at fault in any way and Cian O'neill articulated that very well on the news there.

I agree and so do alot of other mayo fans I have been talking too this evening.

Same from the Mayo fans I've spoken to today.

[Mayo Mick]

Would be fantastic publicity for Mayo if they could come out and say they back Kildare with this. It's very obvious what way the public opinion is on the issue and I think it would be great for them to show some solidarity.

Not that they have to but turning up in Croker for a walk over would be bad form.

I agree and so do alot of other mayo fans I have been talking too this evening.

We really should show some moral courage on this. At least a statement that we are willing to play in Newbridge. We don't want a walkover and CP should have kept their mouths shut.  But that's what you get when you allow our Association to be run by bureaucrats and money men.

An AI won and getting a walkover along the way would be devalued. 

[Hound]

The GAA leadership have form when it comes to shafting fans in order to please Sky. This wouldn't be the first time.

Blaming Sky is nonsense, and just letting GAA HQ off the hook.
This is all about ticket revenue for the GAA, Sky will cover it no matter where it's held.

[Crete Boom]

It's actually funny seeing the Dubs fans back Kildare on this

Amazingly, Dubs fans or Dublin County Board don't set the fixtures.

I haven't come across a single Dublin fan who didn't think the Wicklow game shouldn't have gone ahead in Aughrim.

If we backed Kildare on this maybe it might trigger a rethink from the GAA how they deal with these fixtures don't you think Hound?

[Jayop]

Would be fantastic publicity for Mayo if they could come out and say they back Kildare with this. It's very obvious what way the public opinion is on the issue and I think it would be great for them to show some solidarity.

Not that they have to but turning up in Croker for a walk over would be bad form.

I agree and so do alot of other mayo fans I have been talking too this evening.

We really should show some moral courage on this. At least a statement that we are willing to play in Newbridge. We don't want a walkover and CP should have kept their mouths shut.  But that's what you get when you allow our Association to be run by bureaucrats and money men.

An AI won and getting a walkover along the way would be devalued.

It would be a minor footnote tbh and nothing more. Everyone expects you to beat Kildare where-ever you play them and Mayo winning one would be so huge that this would barely get a mention.

[Tubberman]

I think this issue has become a bit of a lightning rod for the general level of disaffection with the direction the association is heading in.
An authoritarian Croke Park combined with the perception that SKY are calling the shots now is the perfect storm.
The powers that be need to think very carefully about their next move here.

Normally in cases like this sides are evenly split but Jinxy is right everyone around the country (bar some mayo fans) is 100% behind kildare. It's fair to say the GAA thought they could just switch the game and Kildare would suck it up. Well done Kildare co board for standing up to the GAA/sky money men and Cian O'Neill was really impressive on the news.

Disappointed in mayo county board/management. If they had any class they would have already come out and said they would happily play the game in newbridge. That would be the right thing to do and really put the pressure on the GAA.

If GAA don't back down and Mayo go to croker sat night I'll go to newbridge. To be there to offer support and also witness history.

Were you in Newbridge when the Dubs played Kildare in Croker when it should have been their home game? Another clown.

Comparing apples and oranges. Everyone New the rules this morning for the draw. First team out gets home advantage. The president of the GAA John Horan was the one who pulled out Kildare at home. I didn't hear the draw but I'd be certain it was announced as the tie of the round and kildare would have home advantage. Did he question the venue at any stage then.

For once the dubs can't be blamed for this despite mayo fans best efforts

who tried to blame the Dubs? You're trying to cast Mayo as the villains in this. Any opportunity... You'll find a way to blame Keegan or David Brady yet.

[From the Bunker]

The GAA leadership have form when it comes to shafting fans in order to please Sky. This wouldn't be the first time.

Blaming Sky is nonsense, and just letting GAA HQ off the hook.
This is all about ticket revenue for the GAA, Sky will cover it no matter where it's held.

The economics for Sky are far greater covering the game in Croker than Newbridge!

[galwayman]

I seem to do a fair bit of defending the gaa to people who would be non-gaa over the years but f**k me this decision is beyond defence.
It's disgusting to be honest.

[tippabu]

I really hope kildare stick to their guns whether that means them being thrown out for failing to fulfill a fixture or not. Something similar happened in tipp in 2004, this was our own county board who refused to postpone a hurling match (2 players on the football panel affected) played days before our footballers were due to meet fermanagh in a qualifier, our team made themselves unavailable for the fixture and fermanagh got a walkover....this is what nobody wanted most especially the players but they had to stand up and be counted.

One thing i really hope comes of this is kildare now stick to this and the GAA make allowances for games where venues are deemed too small for the game, the 3 dublin games on nuetral venues the last 3 years all drew small crowds, if kildare were to draw dublin in the 2nd round of the championship next year i would be disappointed if they didnt try to bring the game to newbridge aswell. This is a game that doesnt have any bearing on mayo supporters attendance records when/if it comes around to all ireland final tickets.

P.S...haha i didnt think i took that long to type this but 25 new replies since i started, id imagine this will be lost amongst the rest up here!!

[Jinxy]

HQ: "Where do you want to play your home games, lads?"
Kildare: "Newbridge"
Cavan: "Brewster Park"
HQ: "Croke Park it is!"

[From the Bunker]

Tickets still for sale on tickets.ie 

[thewobbler]

It's actually funny seeing the Dubs fans back Kildare on this

Amazingly, Dubs fans or Dublin County Board don't set the fixtures.

I haven't come across a single Dublin fan who didn't think the Wicklow game shouldn't have gone ahead in Aughrim.

If we backed Kildare on this maybe it might trigger a rethink from the GAA how they deal with these fixtures don't you think Hound?

But why?

Every fixture has to be looked at in isolation for its potential to draw a crowd.



All that will happen if mayo gets involved is a carefully worded motion from CP that prevents another county from being able to complain should it happen to them, which will be quietly ushered in this winter.