Down Club Hurling & Football

[Truth hurts]

So IFA and SFL both use this system?

Does it work well? Obviously it's not very good at making the top half of the Scottish league any more competitive.... But is it well received in terms of relegation battles?

There would be too many dead rubbers?

[manwithnoplan]

There will be a lot of complaints about this after the first few games mark my words. It was pushed through by the county board to stop them from getting hassle.

After the first few games, when a bad performance and a defeat has someone in danger of not being at the top end of the table. They would have to complain openly now if they wanted to avoid looking like they are throwing the toys out of the pram if things aren't going their way.

[SamFever]

Div 2 is fine.Stop the gurnin! As someone said -you all have County delegates.Did any of you speak to any of them before last night's vote?

[6th sam]

There's never going to be a perfect system that everyone is happy with TH but I don't think it is accurate to say county board pushed things through. They asked for solutions from the clubs weeks ago and again last week . I don't think they could have left a decision any later than last night, as we are only 8 weeks off league start and they have to get a calendar out to allow players , coaches and clubs to plan. If there was a better solution taking all the relevant factors into account Ccc would have welcomed it, and indeed their proposal took on board clubs' concerns. There are several factors which should influence decisions on league structures and tbf it's CCC's job to take these into account .   Like every county board , Our county board is subject to a lot of criticism , but you only have to speak to gaels from outside of Down, to hear how well regarded our club structures are nationally . Our county champions are playing in All ireland final again on Thursday , and they have had several of their most competitive games in Down. Surely those  that have given us the club structures that produced this level of club competitiveness must be given some credit.

[Lotto]

I'm really not sure why points are retained for what is in effect a separate competition. But apart from that gripe it makes for one very exciting season.

So you think that a team who finishes in 5th after the first round had 10 points should start the second round of fixtures with a team who has zero points Clubs have not thought this true properly and trust me there will be a lot of complaints about this format. When the league starts there will be a raft of Down seniors who are fringe players who will leave the panel if they are starred. Down senior team is always hampered by the senior leagues.  If you make the league final you will have played a team 4 times before the start of the championship. Familiarity breeds contempt.

Sometimes I wonder what sort of clowns vote for these things.

The problem here Truth is with perspective, and whether you believe it's one competition or multiple competitions. I believe it's the latter, except it's been infected by the former.

——

For over a decade after the starred system came into Down football, the leagues operated like this:

- 12 teams per division (with d4 usually smaller)

- Top 4 round robin playoffs for titles / promotion.

- Bottom 4 round robin playoffs for relegation.

And throughout this time, never once did anyone ever suggest, "maybe everyone should start the playoffs with their league points carried over". Do you know why? Because it would have been batshit mad to do so. They wouldn't have been playoffs. Half the games wouldn't even have been played due to foregone conclusions.

——

Personally, I believe that when we choose to split a season and create new leagues based on positions at a point in time, it is not a continuation of a competition. It's the creation of a new one.

This belief is compounded by the simple, inarguable fact that the principle of starred games only worked successfully in tandem with playoffs, as it meant that although clubs with heavy county commitments would likely suffer during the season, that they would at least have a full-squad opportunity to retain their league status.

We all know that long Down summer is unlikely this year. But the availability of players is going to be sore point for a few clubs.

I do get what you are saying and I fully agree that the availability of the players is going to be massive and will hurt a lot of clubs. Take Gilmore out of St Johns forward line for example, holy christ. Is it fair to penalize Clonduff for having 4 or 5 county players?
The correct thing was to play the full league,
They should have played a lot of Fridays and Mondays. The players love games and it would be better playing a Monday night game than to run around Castlewellan lake.
The fairest thing would have been a full league. This is not a fair system and I fear it could hamper our county squad.

How many starred games is there ?

As mentioned by several posters already, there are no starred games as such. With the new split season, clubs will play totally without their county players until their county season is over. The way we are currently going means that in all likelihood we will be in the Tailteann Cup and would be one of the favourites for this, this final is scheduled for 9th July so if Down were to reach this, any County player would not play for their club until after this. For many, the league will be well and truly over by the time the county men kick a ball for their club. Again, the clubs voted for this.

[snoopdog]

Good Luck to Kilcoo tomorrow. Hope they win it.

[SHEEDY]

Good Luck to Kilcoo tomorrow. Hope they win it.

+1. Good luck Kilcoo, hopefully they can win it.

[Square Ball]

Yes, good luck to Kilcoo for tomorrow. Also congratulations to fellow clubman and club chair Malcolm MacFarlane on his  GAA President's Award, great accolade for him for the work he has put into the club and wider community.

[6th sam]

Yes, good luck to Kilcoo for tomorrow. Also congratulations to fellow clubman and club chair Malcolm MacFarlane on his  GAA President's Award, great accolade for him for the work he has put into the club and wider community.

Good luck to Kilcoo, would be great to see them win the ultimate accolade in club football. Delighted for Malcolm ,well deserved

[seafoid]

Kilcoo abú.

[johnnycool]

Best of luck to the magpies today.

[cokers]

Good luck to Kilcoo today! 

[Mourne Red]

They look nervous just there singing the anthem

[Mourne Red]

f**king hell.. Someone tell Kilcoo they've an All-Ireland final today, pure muck so far

[befair]

How did they win that? Incredible spirit!!!!!!