All-Ireland Football Qualifiers 2016

[ILikeStrawberryJam]

Another big issue is that its demoralizing for squad too when they see some of their
best players leaving when they are still involved in the championship.
Would O'Carroll have hung around if we had by some miracle beaten Dublin.
Can lads heads be 100% in it if they are thinking of going to america a few days
after the expect to lose a game ..

The only way to deal with it properly is you cant play in america until your county is out of the championship.

on the bigger issue the championship structures just arent fit for purpose anymore ..

[High Fielder]

The GAA would have an absolute cheek telling lads they can't go to America. They are sitting in Croke Park claiming nice salaries. These lads are free to come and go as they please, and it wasn't Saturday or January 1st that we knew our summer would be a blowout. The GAA are presiding over the most undemocratic sport I can think of. They don't care about this. Whether they like it or not, they have to find ways to redress the huge imbalances that exist in the GAA, be they numerical or financial.

In this day and age, people are not buying into the romance of the GAA, the community, the parish, the do it for the jersey bullshit you hear. They want some bang for their buck, reward for their effort. These lads are going out to enjoy themselves, play a bit of ball and earn a few quid. Good luck to them. Laois may or may not beat Armagh. The winners of that game may or may not win their next round. Does it really matter in the overall scheme of things? It's a sideshow for the bigger parties in August, a way of justifying this pitiful circus that is the GAA. If we had balls as a county, we'd make a stand and ask the GAA to think of changes that allow us to be competitive every single year. Keep going as we are and we'll be reduced to nothing.

[south Laois]

Every day I'm getting sicker and sicker of the GAA and the way that they treat us and other smaller counties. I'm slowly falling out of love with the GAA. It's so demoralizing. I'll still go to Laois games but won't be going to any other inter- county games.

[joemamas]

Two very  thoughtful and accurate responses above.
As mentioned earlier there appears to be an unusually high level of apathy among genuine GAA supporters.
If we were seven weeks on from here, we would most likely be talking about the shitty crowds in Croke Park on the August Bank holiday weekend, (Dublin will be playing the weekend after). Will they give say ten or fifteen thousand tickets to kids from div 3 and 4 counties just to half fill the place, not a chance.

It seems like the GAA is being run by bean counters who may gloat that revenues are up X% year over year due to increased revenue from TV and other sources, while the ordinary clubs and fans and the general promoting of the games is being forgotten about. I am afraid it is well on its way to becoming all about jobs and salaries for administrators, provincial councils etc.

[Dave like the tv channel]

The GAA would have an absolute cheek telling lads they can't go to America. They are sitting in Croke Park claiming nice salaries. These lads are free to come and go as they please, and it wasn't Saturday or January 1st that we knew our summer would be a blowout. The GAA are presiding over the most undemocratic sport I can think of. They don't care about this. Whether they like it or not, they have to find ways to redress the huge imbalances that exist in the GAA, be they numerical or financial.

In this day and age, people are not buying into the romance of the GAA, the community, the parish, the do it for the jersey bullshit you hear. They want some bang for their buck, reward for their effort. These lads are going out to enjoy themselves, play a bit of ball and earn a few quid. Good luck to them. Laois may or may not beat Armagh. The winners of that game may or may not win their next round. Does it really matter in the overall scheme of things? It's a sideshow for the bigger parties in August, a way of justifying this pitiful circus that is the GAA. If we had balls as a county, we'd make a stand and ask the GAA to think of changes that allow us to be competitive every single year. Keep going as we are and we'll be reduced to nothing.

As a matter of interest, do we know what the salaried people in Croker are on?

[Downtheroad]

I think this thread should give the GAA authorities food for thought but I doubt it. The organisation has been captured by a combination of big business and bureaucracy and has been taken away from the ordinary supporter and member. Effectively the GAA mirrors how the country is run. On one hand we have the elected officials who give the impression of an organisation representing the grassroots. Similar to the government they are ultimately passing through and mainly serve the coterie of permanent professional staff who effectively run the organisation.

I have stopped going to inter county matches as I'm disillusioned by the futility of it all. Nothing grates me more than seeing the corporate crowd in Croke Park while the ordinary punter has to pay the full whack for everything. Over the years, I have had dealings with the permanent paid officials of the GAA and I have found that in the main club members are treated with contempt like children of a lesser god. All you get is patronising nonsense of what a great organisation we belong to. None of these officials seem to be listening or even care. In fact, I get the distinct impression that paid officials are laughing at the idiots that are cutting the grass and lining fields for nothing up and down the country.

The days of the idiots lining the fields are numbered if going around the country is anything to go by. The volunteers are disappearing fast and who can blame them.  As a GAA person first and foremost, it pains me to say the GAA is in terminal decline in small counties such as Laois. The treatment of the county over the past year is evidence that we no longer matter.

[Giovanni]

This is a great post Downthereoad.

Instead of sitting around hotel foyers or the executive section of Croke Park congratulating themselves on the latest increase in Revenue, it would be much more useful if they would figure out how to keep players motivated in an environment where the chances of competing with the top countries are becoming increasingly low, how to keep the volunteers motivated in an environment where time is becoming more precious, how to ensure that kids receive the best possible coaching in a safe and welcoming environment, how to get the crowds actually coming to the matches (judging by recent decisions on Laois matches, this doesn't matter at all).

The way that the volunteerism issue is handled though is the one that really shows the Association for what it is. You're dead right about that.

[Giovanni]

By the way, on the Gary Walsh thing. If his account on twitter is true, and I don't have any reasons to doubt that it is, I think dropping him from the panel was more than a bit harsh. I know that you would hope that lads would react calmly to being substituted and try to focus on the needs of the team but the reality is that everyone is not like that. I would hope that he'd be invited back in to the panel without the fuss. He seems to have demonstrated his commitment all year so hopefully they'll get it together before the Armagh match.

[Faugheen]

Any truth that David Conway was drafted into the panel . I think the Gary Walsh issue is a disgrace and an insult to the effort these players put in throughout the year. TBH i do't know how he held his temper for so long, he was subbed in every game that he started. It again shows how players and their commitment is taken for granted and are tossed aside at a whim.

[Giovanni]

Seems that Gary Walsh has met Laois management and apologised on twitter for his "threatening behaviour" at Nowlan Park, whatever that might be.

Not sure why it had to come to that but hats off to Gary Walsh for being humble in his apology. 

[Tony]

Good to have Gary Walsh on board. I do agree he was harshly substituted but he was in the wrong - a manager can take you off after 5 minutes if he wants - you've got to go with his decision even if nobody likes being substituted. If there was, in gary's own words "threatening behaviour" then you can see why he could have been dropped for good reason. I doubt it was for something as small as a few swear words on the sideline.

Anyway, hope everything has cleared up as we'll need Gary in the qualifiers and he seems well up for it. Losing Evan O'Carroll and Costello is disappointing but we were always going to lose 1 or 2 with the system as it stands. Could have been worse had there been a mass exodus of 5-7 players. No idea if Cunningham is effectively taking over now - anyone have any inside info from the camp?

[Junior Ex Laoistalk]

Not sure if he's back on board but I hope he is, he's a great talent.
This is his tweet and it says nothing about him being back on the panel..

[Unlaoised]

Good to see things have been sorted ...I hear Tom Shield and David Conway have been called in to the squad can anyone confirm this?

Its a pity Paul Kingston is still not knocking around as he can offer something ....Look at his club form since he dropped off the panel he is destroying teams!

[Junior Ex Laoistalk]

Great to see lads being called into the squad but they are both forwards, it's really some defenders we need.

Anyway, lets hope we see a bit of support for the lads this Saturday, it's the least they deserve..

[Giovanni]

Having Gearoid Hanrahan back is a huge boost in my opinion. In the few minutes he was on, he managed to get the Dubs all around me well riled, which is always a good sign