Tyrone Club Fixtures 2014 - Lets try and help them sort it out

[rrhf]

It's not so much that the Tyrone CB call off games, it's the management of U21 and especially minor teams telling cubs that they shouldn't play for the Club on certain weekends. Young lads find themselves under pressure to choose between Club and County, and with the carrot of Croke Park this is usually a difficult choice.

We lost two games this season by one point/ two points where we fielded without our County minor. Games we would've won I'd confidently say if he had of played. Both games he was told not to play for the Club, as were all the Tyrone minor squad. However a lot of players ignored this request.

County managers should not be influencing players to make these choices.
To be honest I think the county managements would  need to look at themselves in this respect. The county board needs to set the perimeters on behalf of the club. The first criteria within gaa should be to play with your club before representative honours. Club men and volunteers are funding garvaghy and the efforts to further Tyrone. The Tyrone county board has a return duty to protect the clubs interests and monitor this no matter who is appointed. We hear of clubs who do not want Tyrone representation because it weakens them and they lose their stars.  This needs to be managed better not ignored because there are very real gaps opening up between club and county.

[Fionntamhnach]

Just a note as I mentioned in the main Tyrone thread, Division 3 league needs 17 rounds of games as opposed to 15 in Divisions 1 & 2, so not one but two extra dates needed for those games.

[Stall the Bailer]

Half of all club players in Tyrone play reserve football.
There is no reason why there can't be a reserve match every weekend from the start of April until the end of August (with a few rounds of championship and a July break as well).
This would be a fix for 50% of players (there is not going to be any county men playing reserve football).
Reserve football would be complete for most by end of August (semis and finals would probably still be outstanding).

[WeeDonns]

Half of all club players in Tyrone play reserve football.
There is no reason why there can't be a reserve match every weekend from the start of April until the end of August (with a few rounds of championship and a July break as well).
This would be a fix for 50% of players (there is not going to be any county men playing reserve football).
Reserve football would be complete for most by end of August (semis and finals would probably still be outstanding).

Action needs to be taken on Reserve fixtures. It would be quite a lot more than 50%of Club players I would guess and there is no reason for them to be without football all summer because of inter county fixtures.

Fionntamhnach made a good suggestion a few pages back (see below) and I think its the way to go.
This will leave Reserve football wrapped up much earlier, giving players regular weekly games and make walkovers much more unlikely.
It'll also keep the club active at adult level - the last couple of years has seen 7-8 weeks of no competitive adult football

* If Tyrone are fortunate enough to reach the All-Ireland Semi-Final this year again, it should be the case that if an All-County League round of fixtures can't be played, the reserve league should continue on to its conclusion on Friday or Saturday evenings when that is the case from Friday 22nd August onwards with the first round of reserve championship games taking place on the 15th-17th August after the Senior/Intermediate/Junior Football Championship first round games played. Any Reserve championship game around this time from the quarter finals onwards should be fitted around fixtures where by there is at a minimum a two day gap from any league game. The senior part of the respective round of fixtures can be played later on, meaning (a) reserve players can get their season wrapped up quicker without being affected by county teams, (b) less likelyhood of walkovers being conceded in the reserve league, and (c) for the corresponding senior fixtures that may take place in October or November, the lack of a prior reserve game means the playing field should be in a better condition especially in poor weather.

[Fionntamhnach]

I haven't looked at this now for a few weeks, but I think from what's been researched in this thread so far it's worth repeating that if Tyrone get into the All-Ireland semi finals either in senior and to a sort of lesser extent minor, that is where the fixture hold-up is going to be at its worst. Up until mid-July club fixtures can be kept fairly predictable. Should there be no Tyrone involvement in the All-Ireland stages at both senior & minor beyond the quarter finals it'll be reasonably smooth for club fixtures from August onwards. 2013 seen probably the worst possible scheduling for Tyrone clubs, regardless of the fixture planners, because of the routes of both the senior and minor county teams. Let's hope it's a long time before such congestion happens again.

[WeeDonns]

At last, some info coming out on fixtures
Good to see they've created a number of 'what if' scenarios, hopefully this will continue

http://ulsterherald.com/2014/02/13/tyrone-teams-progress-to-determine-domestic-schedule/

A much-discussed early round of the Tyrone club football championships will only take place should Tyrone fail to reach the Allianz Football League Division One final, and the county’s u21’s do not reach the All-Ireland championship final.

The draws for the Senior, Intermediate and Junior first round clashes took place at Garvaghey on Tuesday night, to allow clubs time to prepare for the possibility of the opening round of knock-out games taking place before the end of May.

Based on the findings of the extensive investigations and discussions undertaken since the end of the 2013 campaign, the county’s Competitions Control Committee (CCC) have devised a number of possible schedules for early season domestic action, depending on the progress of the county senior and u21 sides.

Although this schedule does shed some light on possible start dates for clubs, an actual start date for the league, as well as a definite date for the first round of the club championships, remains very much up in the air.

Should Tyrone repeat the feat of last season and reach the Division One decider, a distinct possibility given their positive start to the 2014 campaign, and the u21’s fail to reach their national decider, then the All-County League will begin on Friday May 2 with another round of games following hot on their heels on Sunday May 4. If the u21’s are in the All-Ireland final though, the first adult club action would be a starred round of games on Sunday May 11.

Fixtures

The earliest which senior club players in the Red Hand county could be in action is Sunday April 13, but that is on the proviso that Tyrone do not reach the National League final.

Five is very much the magic number, with the clubs given the assurance that they will not be thrust into first round action with any less than five rounds of league fixtures having been played. Therefore, the only way that the club championships will take place on the last weekend of May is if Mickey Harte’s senior team fail to reach the National League decider, and Fergal Logan’s u21 outfit do not make it through to the All-Ireland u21 final, with the All-Ireland semi-finals set for April 19 (Easter Saturday) and the final fixed for May 2. In that instance, clubs would have played five rounds of the ACL, as well as a starred round, by the time the club championships would get underway over the weekends of May 25 and June 1.

It all means that means that in three of the four options put forward relating to club fixtures in April and May, the club championship programme would not commence until the first weekend in September. Even if the Red Hand seniors made what the CCC refer to as an ‘early exit’ and failed to make the All-Ireland quarter-finals, the domestic knock-out competition would still not begin until the weekend of September 7.

The fixtures plan shows that the reserve championships will get underway on the weekend of June 27, the finals fixed for August 22, while the club u21 championship will begin on Tuesday June 17, with the semi-finals down for decision on August 12. It also shows that clubs will be expected to play a maximum of four games over the months of June through to October without their county players, with a total of two starred games altogether should Tyrone fail to make the All-Ireland quarter-final.

Regardless of Tyrone’s progress, the county senior championship final is fixed for October 19, allowing the Tyrone winners two weeks to prepare for the opening round of the Ulster Club series.
- See more at: http://ulsterherald.com/2014/02/13/tyrone-teams-progress-to-determine-domestic-schedule/#sthash.jGwGaAse.dpuf

[blewuporstuffed]

A bit of forward planning at least.
This may not be perfect, but its what players have been crying out for, a bit of notice of what the plans are.

[bogball88]

At last, some info coming out on fixtures
Good to see they've created a number of 'what if' scenarios, hopefully this will continue

http://ulsterherald.com/2014/02/13/tyrone-teams-progress-to-determine-domestic-schedule/

A much-discussed early round of the Tyrone club football championships will only take place should Tyrone fail to reach the Allianz Football League Division One final, and the county’s u21’s do not reach the All-Ireland championship final.

The draws for the Senior, Intermediate and Junior first round clashes took place at Garvaghey on Tuesday night, to allow clubs time to prepare for the possibility of the opening round of knock-out games taking place before the end of May.

Based on the findings of the extensive investigations and discussions undertaken since the end of the 2013 campaign, the county’s Competitions Control Committee (CCC) have devised a number of possible schedules for early season domestic action, depending on the progress of the county senior and u21 sides.

Although this schedule does shed some light on possible start dates for clubs, an actual start date for the league, as well as a definite date for the first round of the club championships, remains very much up in the air.

Should Tyrone repeat the feat of last season and reach the Division One decider, a distinct possibility given their positive start to the 2014 campaign, and the u21’s fail to reach their national decider, then the All-County League will begin on Friday May 2 with another round of games following hot on their heels on Sunday May 4. If the u21’s are in the All-Ireland final though, the first adult club action would be a starred round of games on Sunday May 11.

Fixtures

The earliest which senior club players in the Red Hand county could be in action is Sunday April 13, but that is on the proviso that Tyrone do not reach the National League final.

Five is very much the magic number, with the clubs given the assurance that they will not be thrust into first round action with any less than five rounds of league fixtures having been played. Therefore, the only way that the club championships will take place on the last weekend of May is if Mickey Harte’s senior team fail to reach the National League decider, and Fergal Logan’s u21 outfit do not make it through to the All-Ireland u21 final, with the All-Ireland semi-finals set for April 19 (Easter Saturday) and the final fixed for May 2. In that instance, clubs would have played five rounds of the ACL, as well as a starred round, by the time the club championships would get underway over the weekends of May 25 and June 1.

It all means that means that in three of the four options put forward relating to club fixtures in April and May, the club championship programme would not commence until the first weekend in September. Even if the Red Hand seniors made what the CCC refer to as an ‘early exit’ and failed to make the All-Ireland quarter-finals, the domestic knock-out competition would still not begin until the weekend of September 7.

The fixtures plan shows that the reserve championships will get underway on the weekend of June 27, the finals fixed for August 22, while the club u21 championship will begin on Tuesday June 17, with the semi-finals down for decision on August 12. It also shows that clubs will be expected to play a maximum of four games over the months of June through to October without their county players, with a total of two starred games altogether should Tyrone fail to make the All-Ireland quarter-final.

Regardless of Tyrone’s progress, the county senior championship final is fixed for October 19, allowing the Tyrone winners two weeks to prepare for the opening round of the Ulster Club series.
- See more at: http://ulsterherald.com/2014/02/13/tyrone-teams-progress-to-determine-domestic-schedule/#sthash.jGwGaAse.dpuf

Is April 29th not a Tuesday? 

[WeeDonns]

Is April 29th not a Tuesday? 

Yes it is, as is the 22nd(Easter)

[blewuporstuffed]

Is April 29th not a Tuesday? 

Yes it is, as is the 22nd(Easter)

i would imagine thats a typo and it should be 27th April not the 29th

[LeoMc]

A bit of forward planning at least.
This may not be perfect, but its what players have been crying out for, a bit of notice of what the plans are.

+1
At least an effort is being made.
They must've heard WeeDonns was coming after their job.

[ballymac]

I think every club should have the opportunity to field their strongest side on championship day, so that should be taken into account, but certainly for the league, games need to continue on regardless of county minor football. If that means the lads are unable to play for their clubs, then so be it.

Yeah, I would think so. Our Club are rarely in this situation so would be keen to hear the opinions of others.

My thinking would be these lads are involved in; County Minors, Club Minors, Club U21s, Schools football, Senior Club Championship & whatever Senior league games they're available for when there are no conflicts.
With player burnout in mind, and the hope that they'll have 15+ years adult club league football ahead of them, I wouldn't be expecting them to complete a full season of adult league football alongside the rest of their commitments.

A smaller club with 1 star minor player might disagree...

Did Brendan Harpur quit his role with the Tyrone board over this very thing. We expect too much from our star players especially the young ones. And to achieve 15yrs of football without serious injury there needs to be a change in expectations. Players welfare needs looked at especially when our insurance scheme is in the state it is in. aND IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE

From Gaelic Life
 It was disappointing to see Tyrone receiving more negative press in recent days over the stepping down by Brendan Harpur from his role as coaching officer on child protection and player welfare grounds, and his concerns over the number of games young players are expected to play.

He did great work during his time in a similar role in Dublin, and it was seen as a bit of a coup for Tyrone to get him back up here again. There have been major question marks over how young players have been developed in Tyrone over the past few years, and I think Brendan was trying to sort that out. He felt though that for people to stand up and take notice, he had to take the action of stepping down.

I’m involved with our minors this year, and I can see where Brendan is coming from. Our players recently had a situation where they had to play four games in a week. They played for the seniors/reserves on the Sunday, u-21s on the Tuesday, minors on the Thursday, and back to the seniors/reserves on the Sunday. In three of those games, those boys were going out against physically bigger and stronger and more developed players.

Teams will always play their best players. And players will always want to play in games. Therefore, the onus has to be on fixture-makers to try to ease the workload.

This year, with the minor league and Championship in full flow, and the reserve Championship going full tilt, Tyrone decided to start playing an u-21 competition, and on a group of six basis instead of a straight knock-out.

There doesn’t seem to be any common sense involved when it comes to setting fixtures. Change has to come from the top down, it’s up to the GAA centrally to set the agenda, because until there is a set rota of games, and proper guidelines issued as to what players can or can’t play in which codes, then we’ll carry on talking about this year on year, and our best young players are going to be wrecked by the time they reach 21 years of age.

- See more at: http://gaeliclife.com/2014/07/brian-mcguigan-harpur-issue-a-huge-own-goal/#sthash.jfs5klOL.dpuf

[WeeDonns]

Yeah, I think this is pretty much why he felt he had to step down. Everyone will have different opinions on this depending on their own clubs personal circumstances.

Teams will always play their best players. And players will always want to play in games. Therefore, the onus has to be on fixture-makers to try to ease the workload.

That’s an interesting article from McGuigan; He acknowledges there’s a problem and too much is being asked of young players, but there’s no suggestion of the best youth players focusing on youth competitions, instead the blame is being laid at the feet of the fixture-makers.

But if the fixture-makers rearrange competitions so that the best young players can take part in them all with minimal or no overlaps, what about the silent majority – the shite, average & just not good enough young players? How much of the year would they be sitting with no football at all? They’ll drift away, Granted they might never be the guys to lead the club to the O’Neill Cup, but if a club is to be successful, it needs to keep these people on board. These people need catered for too. This is why it’s nearly impossible for the fixture-makers to keep everyone happy.

IMO, clubs & managers need to take responsibility. It’s easy to blame fixtures, although its often justified, but how about letting youth players focus on youth competitions while they can, there’s plenty of time to focus on Senior & Reserves when they’re the only competitions you’re eligible for…


Although fixturing Minors & U21s in the same week, with adult games at either end is just plain stupid