Martin Brehony hit the nail on the head....
Downgrading leagues is damaging GAA business
The mere possibility that counties want to avoid deciders harms credibility
Liverpool play Newcastle in the English League Cup final on Sunday. Status-wise, the competition is third of three in England's domestic pecking order and fourth of four for the clubs qualified for Europe.
Not a whole lot to get excited about then, a low-key event which doesn't matter very much to either club or the general public. Actually, not true.
Sky Sports and indeed the rest of the English media will hype it all week, Wembley will be packed and the winners will behave as winners should - openly enjoying the occasion without self-consciously trying to conceal their delight in case rivals sneer at them for celebrating success in a lower-ranked event.
If Newcastle win, it will be their first big silverware day since lifting the FA Cup in 1955 and will be followed by a Geordie carnival, overflowing with lots of 'grown men crying' sentimentality.
Contrast that with the Allianz Leagues, specifically the approach of Division 1 teams in both codes to even reaching the final, let alone winning it.
There's a distinct impression that several counties, especially in football, prefer to finish between third and sixth, thereby missing the final, avoiding relegation and free to begin the championship build-up.
It's not quite as marked in hurling, but you still feel that none of them would care very much if they don't make the final. Tipperary manager Liam Cahill appeared to suggest otherwise after the win over Kilkenny on Sunday, saying they would be delighted to win the title.
However, he also mentioned how the first round of the Munster SHC (two weeks after the league final) was very much in their thinking even now.
That he was asked about Tipp's attitude towards the league is interesting. Still, it was a perfectly valid question.
However, it's never one that arises in other sports, where every competition is treated as important. They are not all equal, of course, but the participants never downgrade any of them by implying that they have eyes only for the super prizes.
It's different in GAA, certainly in football, where avoiding the Division 1 final isn't only deemed smart, but necessary in some cases.
Take Donegal as an example. There has been much public musing, some of it fuelled by comments from Jim McGuinness, as to whether they want to be in the final on March 30.
With an Ulster first-round tie against Derry a week later, there's a view that Donegal would be better off missing the league final and spending the weekend of March 29-30 studying Jim's indoctrination manual while locked away in a Rottweiler-guarded location.
Mayo 2023 are, allegedly, living proof of how reaching the league final can damage a season for finalists who have a championship game a week later. Mayo won the league two years ago but lost to Roscommon in the Connacht quarter-final.
The defeat was largely attributed to the quick turnaround, something of an insult to Roscommon, who had finished just two points behind Mayo on the league table. Besides, Roscommon beating Mayo can never be regarded as a major surprise.
The same applies to Derry beating Donegal. Despite that, it will be put forward as the reason if Donegal reach the league final and lose a week later. Still, it's wrong that the league finals and football championship launch are so close. A two-week break makes far more sense, not just for the teams but also from a promotional viewpoint.
The leagues are being downgraded by a schedule which has - rightly or wrongly - created the impression that reaching the finals isn't good for championship prospects.
Of course, it doesn't apply to all counties. Because of the draw restrictions imposed in Leinster and Munster, you won't find Dublin or Kerry facing a championship game a week after the league final. It's a case of success begetting privilege.
There's an obvious solution to all of this. Playing the All-Ireland finals in the second half of August would allow the season to breathe again. Instead, it's squeezed into six months, with the leagues the main casualties.
It's utterly illogical from a promotional viewpoint, but that doesn't seem to register among the decision-makers.
Other sports are working assiduously at maximising promotional opportunities - meanwhile, the GAA allow the leagues to be undermined by scheduling nonsense.
They will come to regret it.
Downgrading leagues is damaging GAA business
The mere possibility that counties want to avoid deciders harms credibility
Liverpool play Newcastle in the English League Cup final on Sunday. Status-wise, the competition is third of three in England's domestic pecking order and fourth of four for the clubs qualified for Europe.
Not a whole lot to get excited about then, a low-key event which doesn't matter very much to either club or the general public. Actually, not true.
Sky Sports and indeed the rest of the English media will hype it all week, Wembley will be packed and the winners will behave as winners should - openly enjoying the occasion without self-consciously trying to conceal their delight in case rivals sneer at them for celebrating success in a lower-ranked event.
If Newcastle win, it will be their first big silverware day since lifting the FA Cup in 1955 and will be followed by a Geordie carnival, overflowing with lots of 'grown men crying' sentimentality.
Contrast that with the Allianz Leagues, specifically the approach of Division 1 teams in both codes to even reaching the final, let alone winning it.
There's a distinct impression that several counties, especially in football, prefer to finish between third and sixth, thereby missing the final, avoiding relegation and free to begin the championship build-up.
It's not quite as marked in hurling, but you still feel that none of them would care very much if they don't make the final. Tipperary manager Liam Cahill appeared to suggest otherwise after the win over Kilkenny on Sunday, saying they would be delighted to win the title.
However, he also mentioned how the first round of the Munster SHC (two weeks after the league final) was very much in their thinking even now.
That he was asked about Tipp's attitude towards the league is interesting. Still, it was a perfectly valid question.
However, it's never one that arises in other sports, where every competition is treated as important. They are not all equal, of course, but the participants never downgrade any of them by implying that they have eyes only for the super prizes.
It's different in GAA, certainly in football, where avoiding the Division 1 final isn't only deemed smart, but necessary in some cases.
Take Donegal as an example. There has been much public musing, some of it fuelled by comments from Jim McGuinness, as to whether they want to be in the final on March 30.
With an Ulster first-round tie against Derry a week later, there's a view that Donegal would be better off missing the league final and spending the weekend of March 29-30 studying Jim's indoctrination manual while locked away in a Rottweiler-guarded location.
Mayo 2023 are, allegedly, living proof of how reaching the league final can damage a season for finalists who have a championship game a week later. Mayo won the league two years ago but lost to Roscommon in the Connacht quarter-final.
The defeat was largely attributed to the quick turnaround, something of an insult to Roscommon, who had finished just two points behind Mayo on the league table. Besides, Roscommon beating Mayo can never be regarded as a major surprise.
The same applies to Derry beating Donegal. Despite that, it will be put forward as the reason if Donegal reach the league final and lose a week later. Still, it's wrong that the league finals and football championship launch are so close. A two-week break makes far more sense, not just for the teams but also from a promotional viewpoint.
The leagues are being downgraded by a schedule which has - rightly or wrongly - created the impression that reaching the finals isn't good for championship prospects.
Of course, it doesn't apply to all counties. Because of the draw restrictions imposed in Leinster and Munster, you won't find Dublin or Kerry facing a championship game a week after the league final. It's a case of success begetting privilege.
There's an obvious solution to all of this. Playing the All-Ireland finals in the second half of August would allow the season to breathe again. Instead, it's squeezed into six months, with the leagues the main casualties.
It's utterly illogical from a promotional viewpoint, but that doesn't seem to register among the decision-makers.
Other sports are working assiduously at maximising promotional opportunities - meanwhile, the GAA allow the leagues to be undermined by scheduling nonsense.
They will come to regret it.
