Mayo Club Football.

[Mayo4Sam]

Div 1A looks way harder, i would fancy any of the top 6 could beat each other and breaffy are strong enough as well
Holly mount are missing from one of those groups

[muscles magoo]

Did Hollymount not drop to intermediate..??

[AbbeySider]

Did Hollymount not drop to intermediate..??

Probably not, as I said there should be 10 teams in each section so maybe I am missing one team from each. Im only working from memory here but id say it will all be announced soon if not in this weeks papers.

Do you have the make-up of the other divisions Abbeysider? Have dates etc been decided upon?

I didnt hear anything about the other teams/leagues yet or dates yet but I also heard the league will be run early this year.

[AbbeySider]

I am completely speculating about the two last teams but......
Did Killala and Swinford win promotion to Intermediate this year....?
Did Kilcommon and Hollymount go down to junior league....?
Im not sure but if thats the case then Killala and Swinford could be the teams Im missing....

I could be wrong.... 

[intoDwest]

As a Kiltane man I'm quite happy if that is the format for the league, we should be able to push on for a semi spot given the "strength" of Divion 1b!!!!

Plus a derby match against the two parsih club that is Belmullet, this time in Kiltane!!!!

[Mayo4Sam]

I think hollymount were high enough to stay senior, i'll be getting the western now and hopefully htey'll have something in it

[Tubberman]

From The Mayo News:

Proposal for Mayo Leagues 
Tuesday, 16 January 2007 
Proposal for Mayo Leagues

MIKE FINNERTY

MAYO GAA delegates will be asked to ratify a proposal next Tuesday night that sees the 2007 club football leagues divided into six distinctive groups, all based on league form last year.
Mayo GAA Secretary, Sean Feeney, sent an e-mail to every club in the county on Monday night outlining the proposals for the forthcoming leagues, based on recommendations made at the last County Board meeting and submissions submitted by clubs and individuals.
Under this proposal, two teams would be relegated from divisions 1A and 1B at the end of next season with two coming up from divisions 2A and 2B. The same would apply to divisions 2 and 3. There would be a final in each division, all county players would be available for all league games and the leagues would commence on St Patrick's weekend.
The proposal also suggests that the Kelly Cup, O'Mara Cup, Centenary Cup and North Mayo Cup would be run in May, June and July on a divisional basis with and without county players. The divisional winners would compete in county semi-finals and a final. Senior and Intermediate teams must take part and junior participation would be optional.
The proposal that will be put before the club delegates would see divisions 1A and 1B being made up of ten teams.
Division 1A: Crossmolina, Kiltane, Moy Davitts, Belmullet, Westport, Ballinrobe, Tourmakeady, Davitts, Ballintubber and Louisburgh.
Division 1B: Shrule/Glencorrib, Ballina, Claremorris, Castlebar, Charlestown, Breaffy, Ballaghadereen, Burrishoole, Knockmore, Kilmeena
Division 2A: Garrymore, Cill Chomain, Swinford, Bonniconlon, Aghamore, Carramore, Balla, The Neale, Ballina B, Eastern Gaels.
Division 2B: Kiltimagh, Hollymount, Killala, Parke, Kilmaine, Mayo Gaels, Ballyhaunis, Islandeady, Moygownagh, Crossmolina B.
Division 3A: Castlebar B, Knockmore B, Ardnaree, Swinford B, Lacken, Ballintubber B, Claremorris B, Ballaghadereen B, Kilmovee.
Division 3B: Kilfian, Lahardane, Ballycastle, Westport B, Achill, Ardagh, Breaffy B, Ballinrobe B, Ballycroy, Na hÓileain.

MEANWHILE, Tommy Jordan will manage the Crossmolina for the coming season after he was ratified at the club's AGM on Friday night last writes Edwin McGreal.
Jordan, who took over from Hugh Lynn last year, is managing Crossmolina for his second term, having led them to All-Ireland glory in 2001. Once again Eamonn Howley and Mickey O'Donnell will be his selectors.
Elsewhere, Westport have appointed former Westport United manager Kevin Cusack to their senior job, replacing George Golden. Cusack was joint-manager with Padraig Burns when Westport United won the FAI Junior Cup in 2005 and has managed the town's Gaelic football team on two occasion.
Cusack (41) is likely to have been one of the youngest managers in Mayo GAA history when he managed Westport to the 1991 County Senior final, where they lost to Hollymount, when he was only 25.
He has an extensive background in soccer, GAA and rugby and is also a qualified sports therapist. Padraig Barrett has been confirmed as one of his selectors with another appointment likely in the coming weeks.
The senior footballers of Breaffy, Claremorris and Charlestown are all back training while they await an appointment of a manager for the year.
Moy Davitts and Garrymore have yet to make appointments while Shrule/Glencorrib manager Declan Ronaldson is expected to make a decision on whether he will stay on in the coming week.

[Owenmoresider]

Was going to say before Tubberman posted the article, Hollymount wouldn't have been in either the top divisions as they were relegated from the existing Division 2. Looks like Division 1 and the top half of Division 2 included in 1A/1B, therefore Garrymore, Kilcommon and Kiltimagh dropped down as well. Don't see why the pairings in D1 had to be random, a bit silly IMO, like the NFL you may end up never playing some teams (e.g. Cross v Ballina or Knockmore), if they had the Sligo model, with relegation/promotion between 1A and 1B it would be better.

[Mayo4Sam]

I thought the intention was to have div 3 split in relation to location, its a bit ridiculous knockmore B playing claremorris, ballaghdereen & kilmovee and not kilfian, lahardane and ballycastle

[AbbeySider]

Don't see why the pairings in D1 had to be random, a bit silly IMO, like the NFL you may end up never playing some teams (e.g. Cross v Ballina or Knockmore), if they had the Sligo model, with relegation/promotion between 1A and 1B it would be better.

I have to disagree there Owenmoresider, I dont think its silly at all.
There will be way more people at the matches now that some of the intermediate clubs will be playing the cream of senior league. Its better for club football all around in Mayo.

As far as I can tell, next year all the teams that were not demoted and the teams that were promoted go into a draw and it will be different games again. The whole thing is much more exciting.

You say that you may end up never playing some teams like Cross V Ballina or Knockmore?
I think there is some cracking games to be played in both divisions and surely the bigger will be expected to be in their respective semis and then they will meet even if they havnt all ready

[Mayo4Sam]

Talking to the breaffy lads here they're worried that other clubs will be eyeing them up as one of the must win games for 1B. they've targeted castlebar, kilmeena & burrishoule as possible wins

[venter]

It looks like a good system alright. Division 1B looks an awful lot stronger. Possibly 5 of the top 6 teams are in that division, although Kiltane might be in the top 6.


Great to see Moygownagh in the same division as us in 2B. A good derby clash in store. There'll be a mass exodous out of Australia and back to Belville when they get wind of this!

[westmayo]

I'm sure that a lot of sides will eye them up as must win games, but they're a good enough side to avoid relegation in the league. They've had two solid enough showings in the championship over the last two years QF in 2005 and the third place side in the five team group last year so they have the potential to do well enough in the league and they have a lot of youngsters comming through, an Minor A and U21 B county title this season.
Just read though in the Mayo News that they're back training with out a manager yet for the year and that's not a good sign for the year, there leaving it pretty late to get someone to take over if they are going to take it serious this year

[Farrandeelin]

It's a good enough system I suppose but I do think however, like Owenmoresider that there would be a few teams that won't be playing Cross or Ballina this year. Some clubs will not be happy that they won't be playing Cross, Ballina/Knockmore/Ballaghaderreen this year. Saying that, it sounds about right the way the different divisions are drawn up. Will league effect championship status though?

[Owenmoresider]

Don't see why the pairings in D1 had to be random, a bit silly IMO, like the NFL you may end up never playing some teams (e.g. Cross v Ballina or Knockmore), if they had the Sligo model, with relegation/promotion between 1A and 1B it would be better.

I have to disagree there Owenmoresider, I dont think its silly at all.
There will be way more people at the matches now that some of the intermediate clubs will be playing the cream of senior league. Its better for club football all around in Mayo.

As far as I can tell, next year all the teams that were not demoted and the teams that were promoted go into a draw and it will be different games again. The whole thing is much more exciting.

You say that you may end up never playing some teams like Cross V Ballina or Knockmore?
I think there is some cracking games to be played in both divisions and surely the bigger will be expected to be in their respective semis and then they will meet even if they havnt all ready

Exciting maybe, I still think it's silly though. To be fair ye weren't far off promotion anyway so ye could have ended up playing the big guns in time. But, say they don't change it year-on-year, ye'll never face the likes of Ballina, Ballagh, Charlestown or Knockmore, barring the semis. Think about it - Sligo played Division 1 football for six years, but never played the likes of Kerry, Tyrone, Dublin or Cork in that time, and we only faced Armagh for the latter two years. Instead we had a limited range of potential opposition, such as Derry, Down, Laois, Meath, rowing with Kildare over subs, and simply rowing with Cavan. Plus in the current arrangement we couldn't meet any of our neighbours, as all of ye are on the A side of things. That's why I'm happy to see the Div 1-4 system back, at least when you're in D1 you can be sure you'll be up against the top teams.

Plus the way it's set up, imagine if Moygownagh, unlikely as it is, would get out of 2B. The following year they would end up playing Ballina, Knockmore, Ballagh etc. The words "lambs" and "slaughter" spring to mind. The old way would see them at a higher standard, but not with such a gulf. That helped Ballymote here a few years back. They were promoted to D1, but the structure was changed to 1A/1B etc., but with 2 up/2 down between the two. Ballymote were indignant about it, but they ended up being promoted from 1B that year, and have stayed in 1A since, but I suspect that stay may end this year. We were promoted from 2B last year, I'll be hoping we can retain 2A status this year at worst, but I know we wouldn't be near able for it if we were going up against Harps or Curry in such a system.

So see how it goes anyway, but I can't see it lasting. IMO the best thing that can be done is to tie in League grading with Championship again, end this charade of teams doing shite in a lower divsion in the League (take a bow, St. John's) and doing OK come Championship.