Top 8 teams in the country

[seafoid]

Who would you include after Dubs, Kerry, Mayo and Tyrone ?

Paddy Power suggest Monaghan, Donegal, Cork and Galway
http://www.paddypower.com/bet/gaa-sports/gaa-football/all-ireland-sfc?ev_oc_grp_ids=2539140

But Kildare are doing well. Cork were atrocious in the league. Galway were very poor against Tipp last year. Monaghan only have one forward. 

[Rossfan]

Monaghan have 2 forwards now.

[Blowitupref]

Top 8 according to the ranking table on boards.ie

1.      =     Dublin    106.11   
2    ▲    Kerry    102.84   
3    ▼    Mayo    101.18   
4    =    Donegal    97.26   
5    =    Tyrone    93.97   
6    =    Galway    93.21   
7    =    Monaghan    91.24   
8    ▲    Tipperary    88.91

Tipp most likely to drop out and to be replaced by Cork,Kildare or Meath in the top 8 ranking point table.

[shark]

Who would you include after Dubs, Kerry, Mayo and Tyrone ?

Paddy Power suggest Monaghan, Donegal, Cork and Galway
http://www.paddypower.com/bet/gaa-sports/gaa-football/all-ireland-sfc?ev_oc_grp_ids=2539140

But Kildare are doing well. Cork were atrocious in the league. Galway were very poor against Tipp last year. Monaghan only have one forward.

The odds will have a weighting dependent on the draw as well don't forget. Roscommon at 50/1 are the 9th favourites. Their draw (beat Leitrim/London to make provincial final) is incomparable to their neighbours Longford (beat Laois, Kildare and probably Meath to make provincial final) for example. Longford are 1000/1.

There is the top 4/5 and then there is a large group of teams who could all beat each other. Longford beat Monaghan last year for example.

[Syferus]

Trying to guess the order past the top three is time-filling nonsense. Who would have predicted Tipp predicted be there this time last year? Or that Galway would win Connacht? Or that Monaghan would be humiliated by Longford?

This sport is fûcked because of the money #1, and to lesser but still very worrying extent #2 and #3, pump into their senior teams. The GAA is a money addict that is unwilling to face up to its habit.

[Zulu]

That's not true. The GAA is the way it is because it's not a level playing field and never was. Money maybe increasing the gap between the top 3-6 and the rest but it isn't the main issue. For two thirds of the country they haven't had a golden age of any description in living memory.

[seafoid]

Trying to guess the order past the top three is time-filling nonsense. Who would have predicted Tipp predicted be there this time last year? Or that Galway would win Connacht? Or that Monaghan would be humiliated by Longford?

This sport is fûcked because of the money #1, and to lesser but still very worrying extent #2 and #3, pump into their senior teams. The GAA is a money addict that is unwilling to face up to its habit.

Mouview predicted that Galway would beat Mayo

[Dinny Breen]

That's not true. The GAA is the way it is because it's not a level playing field and never was. Money maybe increasing the gap between the top 3-6 and the rest but it isn't the main issue. For two thirds of the country they haven't had a golden age of any description in living memory.

Money and it's distribution is the biggest issue.

[Syferus]

That's not true. The GAA is the way it is because it's not a level playing field and never was. Money maybe increasing the gap between the top 3-6 and the rest but it isn't the main issue. For two thirds of the country they haven't had a golden age of any description in living memory.

Money and it's distribution is the biggest issue.

Yep.

[Rossfan]

If money is a big factor surely rich Counties with big relatively well heeled populations like Kildare and Meath should be regular AI semi finalists at least???
Time to be considering Senior/Inter/Junior A I Championships.

[Syferus]

If money is a big factor surely rich Counties with big relatively well heeled populations like Kildare and Meath should be regular AI semi finalists at least???
Time to be considering Senior/Inter/Junior A I Championships.

You mean when one of them went dead broke chasing that dragon?

Time to be considering factors other factors outside of pointless format changes, young ladeen.

[Donnellys Hollow]

If money is a big factor surely rich Counties with big relatively well heeled populations like Kildare and Meath should be regular AI semi finalists at least???
Time to be considering Senior/Inter/Junior A I Championships.

Commuter culture in the satellite towns where the population growth has occurred in Kildare and Meath leads to a lack of local involvement and identity. The 'new' population in these towns are not native to the county and have no connection to it. A huge proportion of Kildare's population are not from Kildare. If population = success then the clubs in the north-east corner of the county would be dominant but only Celbridge are realistic contenders for the Kildare SFC.

[Rossfan]

Noted.
However ye don't have the loss of "indigenous" people like western Counties do.
Also ye wouldn't have to be traipsing big long lanky lads across the country in cramped buses for training sessions.
In addition ye're natives even excluding the commuter crowd are far wealthier than the west, Midlands and most of Ulster.
So ye have more money available, more people and easier training set ups.

[seafoid]

If money is a big factor surely rich Counties with big relatively well heeled populations like Kildare and Meath should be regular AI semi finalists at least???
Time to be considering Senior/Inter/Junior A I Championships.

Money means sponsors with big wallets rather than prosperous citizens
You don't need a big bank balance to be a good footballer.

A new economic system that focused on workers rather than capital would help.
The psychology of mediocrity is a problem for the GAA. Meath have been down for a long time for example.

[Donnellys Hollow]

However ye don't have the loss of "indigenous" people like western Counties do.

Not an issue for the big town clubs but the smaller rural clubs have certainly suffered from emigration recently. Ballymore went from Senior to Junior in the space of a few years. Eadestown lost to Naas last weekend by 3-24 to 0-2. These were clubs who have contributed handsomely to the county team down the years but they're all having to amalgamate to field teams at underage level now.

Also ye wouldn't have to be traipsing big long lanky lads across the country in cramped buses for training sessions.

That fancy bus ye have is hardly cramped!