Retain the Super 8’s series?

[BennyCake]

Two years into a three year experiment (apparently). There was a tweak after year one, and talk of more tweaks after year two.

So, are you in favour of retaining the Super 8 series, or would you prefer to go back to knockout quarter finals?

Just wondered what the feeling on it was.

[macdanger2]

On the system itself, I'd probably be a no although having big games in provincial venues is very good

[Ball Hopper]

Retain with tweaks. 

1) Provincial champs still at home in Rd 1. 

2) Rd 2 at neutral venues - winners of Rd 1 meet, losers of Rd 1 meet.

3) Two weeks between Rd 3 and semifinal.  The hurling final could be this weekend (11 Aug) and football semifinals on 18 Aug.

[five points]

I'd scrap them. The long weekend of knockout quarter finals used to be great.

[yellowcard]

I thought that they were a bad idea to begin with and I have seen nothing to change my mind. Predictable, flat and boring the only people that benefit from it are the stronger counties with bigger squads, the GAA with the extra TV revenue and the increasing horde of media pundits who get some extra coin by hyping up and talking to death about the games.

Bar a handful of matches they have been largely forgettable matches and it is near impossible for a smaller county now to make a significant breakthrough.

[dublin7]

I thought that they were a bad idea to begin with and I have seen nothing to change my mind. Predictable, flat and boring the only people that benefit from it are the stronger counties with bigger squads, the GAA with the extra TV revenue and the increasing horde of media pundits who get some extra coin by hyping up and talking to death about the games.

Bar a handful of matches they have been largely forgettable matches and it is near impossible for a smaller county now to make a significant breakthrough.

Keep it
In the last year of the qtr finals there were 3 hammerings and a draw between Mayo and Roscommon with Mayo hammering Roscommon in the replay. Unfortunately there are not 8 evenly matched top sides. At least with the Super 8s you get games going to provincal towns.

Dubs neutral game should be anywhere but Croke Park

[Blowitupref]

Retain with tweaks. 

1) Provincial champs still at home in Rd 1. 

2) Rd 2 at neutral venues - winners of Rd 1 meet, losers of Rd 1 meet.

3) Two weeks between Rd 3 and semifinal.  The hurling final could be this weekend (11 Aug) and football semifinals on 18 Aug.

I can imagine most if not all of those tweaks will be done for the final year of this trial period surely those at the top can use their common sense? and if those tweaks become a success i would expect it to be retained for another few years at least.

[Rossfan]

Plusses- 
games in Provincial Stadia
A team can recover from a bad day at the office
Extra €€a

Minuses -
Dead Rubbers
2,356 at a Qtr Final
2 home games for Dublin while another Provincial Champion get 2 away games
Too late in a Competition to have a Group stage.

However I think they should be given their 3rd year with the tweaks outlined by Blowitup and Dublin 7 and then decide.

[Zulu]

I'd scrap them. The long weekend of knockout quarter finals used to be great.

This is one of the issues with those wanting to scrap the super 8's as this simply isn't true. The All Ireland QF's were often a very disappointing weekend and put a real dampener on the football season. Of the games played in the super 8's this year most of them were good and we got a number of massive occasions and important do or die games. The tweaks proposed in this thread would solve some of the issues that come with the super 8's. How anyone can say the super 8's are making the strong stronger after two years of the competition and a number of different teams making it to teh super 8's is beyond me. There isn't a system that wouldn't currenty have Dublin, Donegal, Tyrone, Kerry and Mayo getting to the QF stage of an All Ireland most years because they are clearly in the top 8 in Ireland.


Meath, Armagh, Cork and Roscommon are improving teams and Kildare with all their missing players back would be another team who'll be stronger next year. What benefit is it to the sport as a whole, plyers, managers or fans to going back to the old knockout? Less games, greater predictability and lower profile for the sport and for what? I just can't understand the negativity about the super 8's when the only alternative is the old knockout system.

[Aaron Boone]

Retain with tweaks. 

1) Provincial champs still at home in Rd 1. 

2) Rd 2 at neutral venues - winners of Rd 1 meet, losers of Rd 1 meet.

3) Two weeks between Rd 3 and semifinal.  The hurling final could be this weekend (11 Aug) and football semifinals on 18 Aug.

If there is a draw in a Rd1 match, a complication.

[BennyCake]

Retain with tweaks. 

1) Provincial champs still at home in Rd 1. 

2) Rd 2 at neutral venues - winners of Rd 1 meet, losers of Rd 1 meet.

3) Two weeks between Rd 3 and semifinal.  The hurling final could be this weekend (11 Aug) and football semifinals on 18 Aug.

If there is a draw in a Rd1 match, a complication.

Or two draws? Then what?

Gerard okane made a good point, he says if you have to be continually making tweaks to something, then you have to wonder if it's worth bothering with in the first place.

I'd get rid. Not only of Super 8 but the whole C'ship format. Big games in county grounds can and should happen throughout the chship not just at the QF stage.

[Ball Hopper]

Retain with tweaks. 

1) Provincial champs still at home in Rd 1. 

2) Rd 2 at neutral venues - winners of Rd 1 meet, losers of Rd 1 meet.

3) Two weeks between Rd 3 and semifinal.  The hurling final could be this weekend (11 Aug) and football semifinals on 18 Aug.

If there is a draw in a Rd1 match, a complication.

Or two draws? Then what?

Gerard okane made a good point, he says if you have to be continually making tweaks to something, then you have to wonder if it's worth bothering with in the first place.

I'd get rid. Not only of Super 8 but the whole C'ship format. Big games in county grounds can and should happen throughout the chship not just at the QF stage.

One or two draws in Rd1 means open draw for Rd 2.  Not complicated at all.

[yellowcard]

Retain with tweaks. 

1) Provincial champs still at home in Rd 1. 

2) Rd 2 at neutral venues - winners of Rd 1 meet, losers of Rd 1 meet.

3) Two weeks between Rd 3 and semifinal.  The hurling final could be this weekend (11 Aug) and football semifinals on 18 Aug.

If there is a draw in a Rd1 match, a complication.

Or two draws? Then what?

Gerard okane made a good point, he says if you have to be continually making tweaks to something, then you have to wonder if it's worth bothering with in the first place.

I'd get rid. Not only of Super 8 but the whole C'ship format. Big games in county grounds can and should happen throughout the chship not just at the QF stage.

Correct and rather than putting on a sticking plaster with talking about tweaks to Super 8's, the entire structure needs ripped up completely. The Super 8's is only but one small issue. Anybody who was being introduced to the GAA for the first time would struggle to comprehend the injustices of the fixtures and competition fairness after being told what it entailed. It would need the provincial system to be abolished or at least no longer linked to a 32 county AI championship.     

[Zulu]

If you've two draws then nobody can be knockout by losing in Rd 2, bar I suppose a team getting a serious hammering. If one Rd 1 game is a draw then neither of those teams can be knocked out in Rd 2 so you're guaranteed at least one do or game in that group in Rd 3.

I think there's a strong argument against the super 8's being the best format but not if the only alternative is the old QF's after the qualifiers.

[dublin7]

Retain with tweaks. 

1) Provincial champs still at home in Rd 1. 

2) Rd 2 at neutral venues - winners of Rd 1 meet, losers of Rd 1 meet.

3) Two weeks between Rd 3 and semifinal.  The hurling final could be this weekend (11 Aug) and football semifinals on 18 Aug.

If there is a draw in a Rd1 match, a complication.

Or two draws? Then what?

Gerard okane made a good point, he says if you have to be continually making tweaks to something, then you have to wonder if it's worth bothering with in the first place.

I'd get rid. Not only of Super 8 but the whole C'ship format. Big games in county grounds can and should happen throughout the chship not just at the QF stage.

In an ideal world it would be an open draw with the group stage at the start and then knock out qtrs/semis etc.

Unfortunately there is no way the people on the provincial councils would give up their power. Their attitude is along the lines of it worked for last 90 years so why change now....