'Splitting into two groups of 16 is inevitable for football'

[twohands!!!]

Both the Waterford manager and the London manager have spoken out in favour of at least a 2 tier championship in recent weeks.

When guys like this at the coalface, and who are the ones likely to be affected, are the ones who are coming out in favour of it, you would have to think that there it will arrive before too much longer.

[Rossfan]

How many would turn up for the Rossfan Intermediate Championship clash?

The Roscommon Inter Final usually attracts more than the Senior one
The Inter Championship game ( rather chuffed that it's being called after this visionary ) would attract plenty because it would be 2 middling teams taking part in a Competition they could win.

[Rossfan]

How many would turn up for the Rossfan Intermediate Championship clash?

Not many. You ve to create an incentive. A bit like the Europa League winners get into the Champions League. The intermediate champions show get into the super 8.

The Inter Champions go up to Senior next year -as happens in every County.

[Zulu]

How many would turn up for the Rossfan Intermediate Championship clash?

Quite a lot (potentially). Who would have thought you could get 60K at a Munster Leinster game before rugby went pro? I think if teams were at full strength and really trying to win it then fans would respond. You'll always get more bandwagonners when your county are one of the best teams in the country but I see no reason why significant numbers won't go to games if they know they are going to watch a genuine contest between teams that want to win.

I guarantee you less would turn up than for the first round of Leinster Championship that neither side have a chance of winning.

I disagree. Maybe initially crowds might not be great and the success of it would be dependent on the attitude of the players but I don't accept that fans can't be won over. The rugby example is proof that that's true. People want to attend live sport and want to support their county. If they had something they could get on board with they would come.

You tend to disagree with a lot of things that involve not ghettoising counties and not protecting Dublin as a single entity.

Best leave the discussion to the adults, - the ghettoization of counties - Jesus wept!

You want to not only split Dublin but Cork also and have smaller counties join up before looking at competition structures. I'm not a bit surprised but you're actually proposing the worst way forward. Unlike other proposals that many might disagree with, yours has no merit whatsoever and you haven't even been able to flesh it out. Is your idea to just get rid of teams in existence for over a 100 years and the world will be right again?

We need to change competition structures, distribute funding better and help counties develop improve but there's nothing you can do to make Waterford footballers All Ireland competitors. Most counties will rarely, if ever, challenge for All Irelands so the focus should be on providing them with a season that has a purpose and realistic goals.

[Rossfan]

Time to utilise the ignore function Zulu.

[AZOffaly]

Run the leagues, Seed the provincial draws based on finishing league position, and let the lower seeds play first before the big guns come in. Straight knockout, but all games count towards your All Ireland position, as well as a divisional and provincial interim target.

That would be very easy to implement.

This year would be as follows....
Leinster
Dublin 1
Kildare 2
Meath 3
Louth 4
Offaly 5
Longford 6
Laois 7
Westmeath 8
Wexford 9
Carlow 10
Wicklow 11

First round Wicklow v Longford; Carlow v Laois; Wexford v Westmeath
Quarter Finals Dublin v Wicklow/Longford; Kildare v Carlow/Laois; Meath v Wexford/Westmeath; Offaly v Louth
Semi Finals Dublin/Wicklow/Longford v Offaly/Louth; Kildare/Carlow/Laois v Meath/Wexford/Westmeath

And so on for the other provinces.
           

[seafoid]

Run the leagues, Seed the provincial draws based on finishing league position, and let the lower seeds play first before the big guns come in. Straight knockout, but all games count towards your All Ireland position, as well as a divisional and provincial interim target.

That would be very easy to implement.

This year would be as follows....
Leinster
Dublin 1
Kildare 2
Meath 3
Louth 4
Offaly 5
Longford 6
Laois 7
Westmeath 8
Wexford 9
Carlow 10
Wicklow 11

First round Wicklow v Longford; Carlow v Laois; Wexford v Westmeath
Quarter Finals Dublin v Wicklow/Longford; Kildare v Carlow/Laois; Meath v Wexford/Westmeath; Offaly v Louth
Semi Finals Dublin/Wicklow/Longford v Offaly/Louth; Kildare/Carlow/Laois v Meath/Wexford/Westmeath

And so on for the other provinces.
           

UEFA do coefficients which take the last 5 years into account

[AZOffaly]

Nope current year performance only And no warm balls in a bowl.

[Rossfan]

all games count towards your All Ireland position,.
           

Could you expand/explain that bit AZ?

[AZOffaly]

Your league position has a direct correlation in terms of where you come into the provincial championship, or who you play.

[Rossfan]

So you want to stick with the Provincial strait jacket system of 1890 to 2000?

[AZOffaly]

So you want to stick with the Provincial strait jacket system of 1890 to 2000?

Yes, I want to have provincial championships. I like them, the players like them and I think in general the GAA public like them.

[Rossfan]

I want and like them too but think we need 3 separate graded AI Championships after the Provincials to end the current situation where 75% of Qualifier games are quite frankly pointless.
One thing I and I suspect most of the GAA world don't want is an AI Championship limited to the 4 Provincial winners only.

[seafoid]

So you want to stick with the Provincial strait jacket system of 1890 to 2000?

Yes, I want to have provincial championships. I like them, the players like them and I think in general the GAA public like them.

I think they have been devalued in football by the qfs.
I wouldn't miss them.

[Zulu]

Run the leagues, Seed the provincial draws based on finishing league position, and let the lower seeds play first before the big guns come in. Straight knockout, but all games count towards your All Ireland position, as well as a divisional and provincial interim target.

That would be very easy to implement.

This year would be as follows....
Leinster
Dublin 1
Kildare 2
Meath 3
Louth 4
Offaly 5
Longford 6
Laois 7
Westmeath 8
Wexford 9
Carlow 10
Wicklow 11

First round Wicklow v Longford; Carlow v Laois; Wexford v Westmeath
Quarter Finals Dublin v Wicklow/Longford; Kildare v Carlow/Laois; Meath v Wexford/Westmeath; Offaly v Louth
Semi Finals Dublin/Wicklow/Longford v Offaly/Louth; Kildare/Carlow/Laois v Meath/Wexford/Westmeath

And so on for the other provinces.
           

While I like the linking of the league to the championship and the straight knockout element I just think that keeping the provincials means it will become stale. At the end of the day there are probably two thirds of counties without any chance of winning a provincial title. Many teams might wonder what the point of the league is if they still can't escape the shackles of Kerry, Dublin or Mayo.

Play the provincials as stand alone competitions. If they are valued by players and supporters in their own right they should still be fiercely contested, if they don't then why are we trying to keep them? League dictates your seeding and the knockout element of the All Ireland is 1 v 32, 2 v 31 etc.