Would you be in favour of a second tier?

[Captain Obvious]

Let's get real here, there already are at least 3 tiers in football at the moment. 8 teams only get 2 championship matches every year and for quite a few that is their lot every year. Another 8 or so only get one more match than that and again most years it's the same counties who end up out after 2 or 3 matches with minimal tv or media coverage. By creating a junior and intermediate championship at county level those teams would have something realistic to compete for. They can compete at their own level and make steady improvements and progression. It's a no brainer for players, coaches and supporters.

We already have the league for that.

[lenny]

Let's get real here, there already are at least 3 tiers in football at the moment. 8 teams only get 2 championship matches every year and for quite a few that is their lot every year. Another 8 or so only get one more match than that and again most years it's the same counties who end up out after 2 or 3 matches with minimal tv or media coverage. By creating a junior and intermediate championship at county level those teams would have something realistic to compete for. They can compete at their own level and make steady improvements and progression. It's a no brainer for players, coaches and supporters.

We already have the league for that.

And look at how it's surpassed the championship for excitement the last few years. Lots of good competitive games at all levels. The bonus being that 4 teams get to celebrate a league win and 8 teams get to play in a final and get promotion. With a 3 tier championship the players and supporters from 6 counties would get the chance to look forward to an all ireland final with 3 teams celebrating at the end. At this stage we can realistically write off the chances of 28 or 29 teams and that's not going to change for most of those teams for the next 20 years. Hence the player drop out being so high in teams outside the top 5 or 6.

[trailer]

i said best of 3  best of  3 means 1st to win 2 games advances if it goes to a 3rd game play it on a neutral site  with best of 3 even if a team gets  a hammering first game they can still win 2nd game and take the game to a 3rd game

Jesus you're still persisting with this stupid idea. Take a lie down. You're talking like someone who's not right in the head.

[Captain Obvious]

Let's get real here, there already are at least 3 tiers in football at the moment. 8 teams only get 2 championship matches every year and for quite a few that is their lot every year. Another 8 or so only get one more match than that and again most years it's the same counties who end up out after 2 or 3 matches with minimal tv or media coverage. By creating a junior and intermediate championship at county level those teams would have something realistic to compete for. They can compete at their own level and make steady improvements and progression. It's a no brainer for players, coaches and supporters.

We already have the league for that.

And look at how it's surpassed the championship for excitement the last few years. Lots of good competitive games at all levels. The bonus being that 4 teams get to celebrate a league win and 8 teams get to play in a final and get promotion. With a 3 tier championship the players and supporters from 6 counties would get the chance to look forward to an all ireland final with 3 teams celebrating at the end. At this stage we can realistically write off the chances of 28 or 29 teams and that's not going to change for most of those teams for the next 20 years. Hence the player drop out being so high in teams outside the top 5 or 6.

What we need is the league made more important and to capture the imagination of all GAA followers.   Attendances has lowered in recent years for the league and TV viewers wouldn't be high either and I can imagine sponsorship money would be tiny compared to the championship. As it stands reaching a provincial final carries more value and interest among players and supporters than winning a Div 2,3 or 4 league title.

[RadioGAAGAA]

I don't see the relevance but originally Tyrone now living in Armagh.

Both of which won the square root of f**k all until less than 20 years ago.

Nice of you to seek to deny the opportunity to other counties via strangling their budgets.

[Rossfan]

How "near" were Derry in reality to pulling off a "shock result"?
They may have briefly took the lead but then Tyrone blew them away in the closing stages.
The one shock so far was Limerick batin Tipp but then Tipp have slid well back this year.
Cavan beating Monaghan and us batin the Rhus were mild surprises at most.

In fairness the manner that Cavan,Roscommon players and supporters celebrated their wins would suggest it was more than a mild surprise.

More to do with relief at  ending   long losing streaks and of course putting one over on smelly neighbours.

[irish345]

provincials are glorified friendly tournaments if tyrone never won an ulster title again but won all irelands no one would really care

[Sportacus]

Which County are you from Trailer?  (2nd time I've asked).

I don't see the relevance but originally Tyrone now living in Armagh.

The relevance is that people from different counties will have different perspectives on this.  People from a current 'weaker' County might have a genuine concern that a tiered system will see their County disappear off the map while all the focus is on the Top Tier.  They're not looking sympathy but could do without people from the current top tier dismissing that view.

[Rossfan]

provincials are glorified friendly tournaments if tyrone never won an ulster title again but won all irelands no one would really care

If Cavan win Ulster this year the whole County will care an awful lot.

[seafoid]

provincials are glorified friendly tournaments if tyrone never won an ulster title again but won all irelands no one would really care

If Cavan win Ulster this year the whole County will care an awful lot.

Munster and Leinster are processions
The system is banjaxed

[trailer]

I don't see the relevance but originally Tyrone now living in Armagh.

Both of which won the square root of f**k all until less than 20 years ago.

Nice of you to seek to deny the opportunity to other counties via strangling their budgets.

Go on. Explain how a second tier would strangle a counties budget?
And don't start talking shite about games not on TV and people not going to them. I was at the Tyrone Antrim game, an USFC quater final and if there was 500 Antrim supporters that was the height of it.

If you're good enough you'll be in the top tier. End of story.

[trailer]

Which County are you from Trailer?  (2nd time I've asked).

I don't see the relevance but originally Tyrone now living in Armagh.

The relevance is that people from different counties will have different perspectives on this.  People from a current 'weaker' County might have a genuine concern that a tiered system will see their County disappear off the map while all the focus is on the Top Tier.  They're not looking sympathy but could do without people from the current top tier dismissing that view.

They're already off the map. No one is going to the games. Catch a grip. Why in the name of everything that is holy would anyone want to persist with what we have now? Explain to me how it's working for Antrim or Leitrim or London or Waterford.

[seafoid]

Kevin McStay

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/kevin-mcstay-time-for-gaa-to-be-bold-and-opt-for-a-new-championship-format-1.3906025

"The April experiment has not worked. The qualifiers have been wonderful but as a concept, their race is run. Overall, the weaker counties did not benefit from the format. The main beneficiaries were the strong counties availing of their second chance to storm to All-Irelands, as Galway and Kerry and Tyrone all did.
The other counties were, in the horrible line, living just to die another day. A good draw was getting a team slightly worse off than you. Sooner or later, they would come up against a big force and then out they would go, often with a drubbing as their closing experience.
I was listening to Colm O' Rourke, one of the architects of the format on RTÉ radio on Saturday, and he conceded that their day is done. Remember, there was a time when there was a real fear that the qualifiers would ruin everything. They didn't. But the level of interest and novelty has died away too."

[five points]

Explain to me how it's working for Antrim or Leitrim or London or Waterford.

Oddly enough Leitrim under Terry Hyland have had an excellent 2019 so far, bar their championship hammering by Roscommon.

[five points]

Kevin McStay

The other counties were, in the horrible line, living just to die another day.

McStay likes that "horrible" line. He used it to describe Tyrone's win over his own county in a qualifier in 2008. He later had to eat his words.  He's wrong here too.